Angel's Fall

Chapter Two ~ Saved by an Angel

Three days after our escape from Bryce, Kasey and I were staying in a women's shelter. I was given nourishing food, clothing, and a place to sleep. I had also been given much needed essentials to care for Kasey, including clothing, diapers, and other infant neccessities. I also didn't have to give the shelter a lot of information, only that I had escaped my abusive husband and needed some help.

Little Kasey was thriving. She had grown so much since she had been born. The days kept blending one into another and even though we hadn't a permanent home, at least we had each other. At the shelter, the staff members were trying to help me find work and a place to stay. Even though everything was up in the air, I was joyous to be free of Bryce, the man who had abused and imprisoned me in his home for over three years.

Ms. Murphy, my caseworker, came to talk to me as I was changing Kasey's diaper and dressing her for the day. She was carrying a few new things for Kasey's care, including a pink carseat. "Thank you so much," I said as I accepted the items. Today was the day I would start my job search and I would need to put Kasey into the carseat and take her to a nearby daycare. I was nervous about

leaving my baby with virtual strangers, but Ms. Murphy had assured me that Kasey would be in great hands at the Little Tots ChildCare Facility over on 5th Street.

After having dressed my baby girl in a little pink sleeper, I placed her into the carseat and gently secured her within it's safe confines. "Kami, I know you are nervous... but all will be fine. Hopefully you will get this job... and then after that, in no time at all, we will have found you and baby Kasey a nice place to stay," Ms. Murphy spoke kindly.

I looked at the elderly woman and smiled. "I hope you are right. Thank you for all your help," I said with much appreciation.

I was wearing one of my new outfits, a white button-up blouse, a black skirt, and a new pair of ladies dress shoes for the job interview. As I glanced in the mirror on the way out of the sleeping hall, I was pleased with my appearance. I had regained some of the color in my face, now that I was free of Bryce and my long blond hair had just been freshly brushed. I had a good

feeling about this, and I was almost certain I would get the job.

"Kasey, Mommy's getting a job," I said to my sweet little one as I carried her in her carseat along with her diaper bag outside of the Shelter and headed out to the parking lot to get to the car. As I walked outside, the bright sunlight stung at my eyes. After years of being locked up in the back bedroom of Bryce's house, I still wasn't used to the bright rays of the sun. I squinted as

I searched the parking lot for the place where I had parked my car. I didn't see it at first, but realized after a moment that a huge RV was parked right next to the vehicle, blocking my view. I began walking toward it, oblivious to the danger that Kasey and I were now in.

As my new dress shoes made distinct footsteps on the pavement, a car approached me from behind. At first I did not panic, but then I realized it was

coming at me at incredible speed. I turned to look, seeing a man in the driver's seat. "Ohhh my God!" I cried out, recognizing him to be Bryce. He had a patch over one eye, the one I had injured, but I would have recognized his evil face anywhere.

"No!" I screamed, running at top speed toward the car. I had to get away from him! I had to escape!

As I ran, Kasey began screaming at being jostled in her car seat. Frantically, I redoubled my steps, almost making it to the car, but not before

running into a woman, the owner of the RV. When my body collided with hers, I nearly knocked her to the ground. "What the ---?!" she gasped, looking at me as she attempted to regain her balance.

"Help me... please help me!" I heard myself begging. No sooner had I said those words when gun shots rang out. A couple whizzed by my head. Glass

shattered as the bullets hit the car, breaking the windshield.

The woman didn't need to hear or see anything further. She took action, taking hold of my arm and guiding me into the RV with her. As we got in, she jumped in the driver's seat and started the engine. We narrowly escaped as Bryce began shooting at her vehicle, too. The entire time Kasey was screaming, so I did all I could to console her, reaching a hand into the carseat to gently caress her little head as I spoke comforting words.

We sped away, down the highway, Bryce chasing after. I didn't even think about my job interview or the fact that I was going to miss it. Once again, Bryce had complicated my life. Tears came to my eyes and slowly spilled. "Why won't he just DIE?!" I cried out from deep within. How I hated him and all he had done. Would I ever be free of this horrible man?!

"Who are you? And who is that guy wanting to kill you?" asked the woman whom

was driving the RV.

I looked at her, wiping away the tears. Although she was driving at top speed and trying to watch the road, she glanced over at me, looking incredibly concerned. It probably wasn't often that a woman ran into her in a parking lot, and then some crazy guy opened fire.

"I--- I'm Kami," I said softly. "And he's my--- my husband."

She nodded, seeming to have gained some understanding. After all, it had been a parking lot of a Woman's Shelter. The question was ... what was SHE doing there? She seemed well-off with a fancy RV and designer clothes. What had she been doing at the shelter?

"Don't worry, Kami. I'm going to help you," the woman promised. "I'm known for my wild driving skills." She winked at me, and I stared back, looking dumbfounded. It was an attempt at a joke to lighten the mood, but with the horror of what had just happened, I wasn't laughing.

"What's your name... and what were you doing at the shelter?" I asked, glancing down at Kasey whose cries had changed from loud screaming to tiny whimpers. She was quieting and seemed to realize that the danger we had been in was disapating.

"I'm Jiana Linx. I am a doctor. And my assistance was needed at the shelter," she said as she was glancing in her side rearview mirror to see if

Bryce was still following.

"Ohhh... a doctor," I said softly, although Jiana looked nothing like any doctor I had seen before. She was wearing a very tight pair of black jeans.

Were they denim... or perhaps they were leather? And she had on dark-purple top that had to be silk. No doctor I had ever known had dressed quite like that.

"Actually I am sort of on vacation right now. Been staying in my RV in a nearby campsite. But there was a young woman who had been raped and they asked if I could come to the shelter...." explained Jiana as if she sensed my questions. "So I said I would help."

Raped? My heart sank. I knew all about that. Sadly. I looked away from her bright blue eyes and nervously tried to get a view out of the side mirror to see how closely Bryce was following.

"Where is he?" I asked Jiana. "Have we lost him?"

"I think we have," she said with a little smile, looking quite proud of herself. She did drive like a maniac... and because of that, Bryce had lost us

on the country roads.

I slowly breathed a sigh of relief, hoping it was true; hoping we were actually free of Bryce. "Thank God," I whispered, glancing into Kasey's

carseat to see that she had gone to sleep.

"I hope he never finds us," I said as I was gazing at my beautiful baby girl.

"I won't let him hurt you," Jiana promised. "He'll have to get through me first."

"Thank you," I said as I looked up and met her gaze. "You saved me and my daughter."

"Well, I am a doctor... and I do all in my power to save lives," Jiana replied. "But saving women from their gun-totting husbands in parking lots

wasn't exactly in my job description."

Once again, Jiana was speaking in a joking tone of voice, and since now Bryce wasn't anywhere close, I could actually smile. "You were amazing," I said to her truthfully, thankful that her quick thinking had saved me and Kasey.

"I'm just glad I was there... and I could help," she replied. "You do realize though, you can't go back to the shelter now. He will be there looking

for you...."

"Yeah, he won't give up. He'll never give up," I spoke sadly.

"Don't worry. You and the baby can stay with me. I will keep you both safe until I can find you another shelter. I won't let him harm you."

"Some vacation this has turned out to be for you..." I said, feeling like such

a burden.

"Nonsense. I have a kid.... and if anyone ever tried to harm a hair on his head... I'd wanna kill 'em."

I smiled when she spoke of her little boy. "What's his name?" I asked.

"Jaylen. He's three," she said as her pride for her son shown in her expressive blue eyes.

"Where is he?" I asked.

"He's staying with my best friend. I had a lot on my mind... so I had to get away for a little while. Being close to nature, it helps...." Her voice trailed off, and I sensed there was more, something she wasn't saying. Maybe Jiana had a few demons of her own that were chasing her?

"What about his dad?" I asked.

"He doesn't have one," she said as she was pulling the RV into a campground. It was near a lake with lots of trees and ever-so-peaceful. "I was artificially inseminated," she went on to say.

"Wow," was all I could say. "I wish I had been," I mumbled under my breath. She glanced over at me, but didn't say a word.

Jiana pulled into a campsite, parking the RV. "We'll stay here tonight," she said to me. "And tomorrow we will go to Historia. It's a nice place to live. I work at the hospital there."

"Do you live there, too?" I asked.

"Actually I live on an estate in the country. I don't work as a doctor because I have to, I do it because I love what I do. My best friend provides

everything I could ever need. He's the one who got me the land and paid for my mansion to be built," she told me.

"Wow, some friend," I said with a big smile. "And he babysits, too?"

"Ohhh and get this... he's freakin' hot!" she said with a smirk.

I didn't know quite how to respond to that remark. After years of forced sex and abuse by Bryce, I wasn't sure if I could ever look at a guy again and think of him as hot. I was looking at Jiana and not responding, and she must have sensed my inner torment.

"Your husband... he abused you badly, didn't he?" she asked as she turned in the driver's seat, gently touching my arm as though to comfort me.

I nodded, great-big tears filling my eyes again. "Yeah, he did," I murmured, not able to hold her gaze. The pain was so overwhelming. The horrific

memories. "He hurt me.... raped me... abused me..."

"I hate him," I went on to say. "I tried to kill him. I didn't succeed, but at least I got me and Kasey away from him."

"Kasey," she repeated. "What a beautiful name." Her eyes were now on the car seat where Kasey was peacefully sleeping.

"She's so tiny. She can't be very old. Did you just give birth?"

"A couple of weeks ago. I've lost track of the days," I admitted. "I gave birth to her all on my own. Didn't even have a doctor."

Jiana's eyes widened. "You gave birth and haven't even been seen by a doctor?"

"No... uhhhh--- all I wanted was escape. Kasey seemed fine. I didn't go to a hospital because I didn't want them asking a lot of questions."

"I could take a look at you... and the baby, too," Jiana offered. She seemed insistant, yet I couldn't imagine anyone looking at me... touching me.

"No, I'm fine," I said quickly. "But if you want to look at Kasey, that's okay."

"Alright, let's go in back then. I have my doctor's bag back there. Never leave home without it," said Jiana as she lead me to the back of the RV. In the back was the living area, complete with a kitchenette and a small dining table. She gestured for me to take a seat at the table, so she could examine Kasey. I sat down, then gently unstrapped Kasey from the pink car seat, handing her over to Jiana.

"So small," Jiana said softly as she marvelled at my baby daughter and tenderly caressed the soft blond baby-fuzz atop her small head. "She looks

like you," Jiana said with a smile.

I watched as Jiana carefully and gently examined my baby girl. After she was finished, she tenderly placed the sleeping infant back into my arms.

"She's very healthy," she said in an almost-whisper. There was a catch in her voice, as though she were struggling not to cry. I wondered at the source of her pain, but thought it not very polite to ask. I looked at her questioningly, yet I didn't pry.

She seemed to snap out of it all of a sudden and began insisting once again that she must examine me. "I need to take a look at you, Kami. Just to make sure everything is alright. After all, you gave birth about two weeks ago... without a doctor's assistance. We need to make sure there are no tears... nothing wrong internally... or signs of infection----."

"No," I said firmly. There was no way I was undressing and allowing her to examine me or touch me. I would never be that vulnerable again. "Thank you, but I'll be alright," I said, tensing as I sat in my seat at the table.

Jiana seemed to read me like a book. She had an enormous amount of compassion, most likely because she was doctor and had seen a lot of things in

her years of medical practice. "You're afraid, aren't you?" she asked softly. "Because he hurt you?"

"Yes... he hurt me very bad," I said as glanced down at my hands which were clenched from the tension I was feeling.

Jiana didn't say anything at first, so I looked up at her. A muscle in her jaw was twitching and she looked furious. "He's an animal," she spoke. "And

if I ever see him again, I will kill him myself."

I didn't say a word, but once again, huge tears began to fall. They were hot as they hit my hands tightly clenched in front of me. Jiana then sat down next to me at the table, wrapping an arm around me and holding me close. "It's going to be alright, Kami," she said as she pulled me against her warmth. "You're safe here with me. I'll never let anyone hurt you again. I promise."

Strangely, though I barely knew her, I believed her. I found myself wanting to snuggle against her, wanting the warmth of another's touch as I had not had it for over three years. All I had been exposed to was violence, rape, and abuse. Jiana was none of those things. I pressed my face into the curve of her neck and shoulder, wetting her silk blouse with my tears. She smelled of

almonds and other sweet scents, and I was comforted. Tenderly her hand began caressing my hair.

"Will you help me find my parents?" I asked her softly as she just held me safe in her embrace for the longest while.

"Yes, I've decided you are coming home with me. You and Kasey can live with me and Jaylen. We've plenty of room," she said as I felt her place a soft kiss atop my head. "We can get online and start searching for your family."

"He kidnapped me when I was only 16 and made me his unwilling bride," I told her as I shuddered in her arms. It all then just came spilling out. Every awful word and memory. I told Jiana everything. About his countless rapes of me... even the skull-fucking. There were lots of tears, but I felt better once I had it all out.

After it was over, Jiana held and caressed me. Softly she brushed away my tears from my cheeks. "My best friend has connections," she said to me. "I will tell him where to find this asshole who hurt you. You won't ever be troubled by him again, I promise you. That prick will regret ever harming

you."

"What is he? Some sort of mob boss?" I asked as I hugged Jiana tight.

"Sort of," she said as she pulled back a fraction and looked down into my eyes. "We don't go into the details of his business, because he doesn't want to make me a target. His work is dangerous, so it's best I do not know."

"I used to see him all the time before I had Jaylen... now he doesn't come around that often. He's a very busy man."

"What's his name?" I asked, no longer crying and needing so much comfort. Even so, I did not leave Jiana's embrace because being this close to her felt so good.

"His name is Xane."

"And he's Jaylen's biological father," she added.

"Wow... did he just, offer his sperm?" I heard myself asking.

She laughed softly. "Xane knows everything about me. We've been best friends like forever. And we had talked about how I wanted a child... but not

so much a guy or a husband.... so yeah, he just sort of offered..."

"Actually he offered a hell of a lot more than that," she said with a chuckle. "I guess it's no secret he's been hot for me since we were in high school. But I told him no.... I didn't want sleeping together to harm our friendship."

"Jaylen doesn't know that Xane's his father. In most respects, I raise him all on my own. I had a nanny, but she quit... after---------."

Once again, Jiana's voice had trailed off. There was something more... something she wasn't saying. She had that pained expression her face again.

A sudden urge came upon me, to kiss her and comfort her. What in the world?

Kiss her? I didn't want to really kiss Jiana, did I? I had just met this women... and I didn't like women in THAT way, did I? I suddenly realized I

didn't know what I liked or even what I wanted. I had never had time to think about it... not with Bryce's abuse. Now I was free of him and in the company of a beautiful woman, and I was feeling all these stirrings. I didn't know what to think of it. All I knew as that I felt this powerful attraction for Jiana, but it scared the hell out of me.

Pulling myself out of her embrace, I moved over on the seat, putting some space between us. I looked at her, all these new realizations having stole my

voice. "Jiana, can I ask you something?" I finally spoke.

She nodded, seeming still lost in some haunting memory. "Sure, ask away," she said.

"You said Xane was hot... but you didn't sleep with him. And you got artificially inseminated because you didn't want to settle down with a guy.

Why?" I heard myself asking. "Is it because you don't like men?"

Jiana looked speechless, but she didn't seem offended by my question in the slightest. "To be honest, I think you're partially right," she replied. "It's not that I don't like men... because I do."

"But I think I like women more," said Jiana.

Although I wasn't certain how to respond to her admission, I think that I had instinctively realized she was in fact bisexual. I was attracted to her as I had never before been to anyone else. There was just something about Jiana that made me want to get close to her, as close as possible. With everything that had happened to me, that feeling was as scary as hell. I honestly didn't

know how to deal with it.

"And do you have a girlfriend?" I asked her.

She shook her head. "No... and I haven't for a long time. It's just been me and my little boy," she answered. Again, that painful look came back to her eyes. "I spend too much time at the hospital to have a relationship... but all that's gonna change."

My eyes met hers, wondering what exactly she meant by that statement. "You're thinking... thinking of finding someone?" I asked softly. Part of me

was feeling hopeful, maybe she was referring to me, to us... but then another part of me didn't even want to go there.

"Spending time out here at the lake close to nature, I actually was thinking of meeting someone," replied Jiana. "Someone really special. But the last time I had a girlfriend she just turned out to be a spoiled bitch... all she

wanted was my money. She didn't care about me..."

I shook my head in disbelief. "She must have been an idiot. I haven't even known you less than a day and I can see that you are wonderful, giving,