A Helping Hand [GirlxGirl]

CH 23

Judith's POV

'I hope all is well back at the house. I have to trust that Jess will be fine and will be joining me soon. I know Andrej will take good care of her.'

The GPS leads to the more urban area of the island far away from our little haven. Ex-haven. My face feels cracked and hard from dried tears. I can only imagine what I look like now. Puffy eyes, dripping nose, pale pallid skin, and barely dressed I imagine I look distraught. I wonder if Dame would even recognize me. The closer I get the more frighten I become. Who is Dame with? They must be good if Andrej left Dame with them. Andrej is just as attached to Dame as Jess.

'Oh G-d! What if I lose Jess? I'd be inconsolable. I'd be just a shadow of my new self, nothing more than an empty husk going through the motions of living. Poor Dame, he'd lose his mother and be lost in this cold world. Damn you, Keith! You would make our son suffer because of your own selfish pride. I wish I could say that I wish I never met you but that would be a lie. After all, Dame came out of our miserable union. Oh how I wish Jess was here. She should have came with me! Oh Jess!'

As I near the GPS location, the steady tears blur my vision. I should be use to crying with the buckets I've cried in the last couple of weeks. The GPS leads me to the back of a warehouse. I park and leave the car running, I have no idea the trouble that might be here. I tap lightly on the aluminum door. No one answers so I bang louder. There's a quick shuffling behind the door before a muscular hand pulls me through the doorway.

"Who are you? How did you find this location?" The young man says as he aims a pistol at me.

"Andrej and Jess sent me. My son Damien is already here. Please, I have no reason to lie." I say calmly. I can't afford to rattle him. One slip and my son could end up an orphan in a foreign place. The young man leads me further into the warehouse.

"There's a bathroom to your left. You might want to go in before you see your son. In the state you are in, you might frighten even more." I take his advice steeling myself before looking in the mirror. I was right before. My face is splotchy and my eyes are puffy. Some how, I must have bitten my lip because it appears to be swollen. I turn the cold tap on and splash cold water all on my face. I dab at my face with toilet paper. I look a damn sight better; I leave the bathroom with a higher sprit than when I entered. I stop the young man.

"Thank you for protecting my son. I will forever be in your debt. Please, tell me your name." I ask as I squeeze his forearm.

"My name is Wesley. It is an honor to help any friend of Andrej or Jessica; they have helped my homeland more than any native. Come now, your son awaits." Wesley leads me to big room in the center of the warehouse. It's made to look like a living space. There's a old comfortable couch in front of an older model televison fashioned with rabbit ears and behind it is a mismatch wood bedroom set. Dame is lying on his side facing the wall.

"Damien Lee." I whisper as I perch on the bed by his feet.

"Mommie! Mommie, I'm so glad to see you! Did Uncle Dre find you? How did you find me? Where's Jess? Can we leave now?" Dame bombards me with questions. He sits up in my lap cradled in my arms. I lave him with kisses on his temple. Wes leaves the room. I presume to continue guarding the building.

"Oh baby! I'm so happy to see you. Uncle Dre did find me. He and Jess are on their way; they sent me ahead. Are okay, Dame?" I don't see any wounds but some wounds aren't physical.

"I'm fine. I was scared before but Uncle Dre told me that everything was fine because you guys love me and wouldn't let anything happen to me. I missed you, Mommie. When's Uncle Dre and Jess coming?"

"Soon enough. For now, let's take a little nap so we can be ready when they come."

"Ok. Mommie, can you hold me?"

"Always, baby. Always." I say as I get beneath the covers and lay my exhausted body down. As Damien snuggles into my embrace, I let all my worries fade.

'I have to trust that Andrej will keep Jess and himself safe. I have to believe just like Dame does. It's just like they say "Out of the mouth of babes, the truth pours out".'

Andrej's POV

"Dammit Jess! Stay with me!" I crawl over to Jess's fallen body and grab her hand applying pressure around the wound. Our joint hands cover the bullet wound over her chest. The bullet just missed her heart but she probably has a collapsed lung. She has to hang in here for a moment; I can hear the sirens screeching in the silence of the night.

"You promised." Jess gurgles.

"No, you're going to live! You have a family to live for! They need you! I need you!" Though my strength is drained, I keep the pressure up. Jess's hand has already slipped. The ambulance pulls up out side. Paramedics run in.

"Forget about him! He's dead. She has a collapse lung. Tend to her first." I make room for the paramedics to do their job but never let go of Jess's hand.

"You need to let go, sir. You need medical attention too." A young female says to me.

"I'm fine; it's only a flesh wound. She's dying; she needs you more than me."

"She's in the best of hands now. They are going to load her in and flash to the hospital. You can ride in the second ambulance. It's two minutes out." They stablize Jess and load her in while the young female helps me stand. I blow a kiss towards Jess.

'I'm not a religious man but if someone is listening, please save my friend. She doesn't have an evil bone in her body; she's the most giving person I know. She finally has the acceptance and love that she's searched her whole life for. I beg you, please spare her. I'd give anything in the world; I'd give my life for her's.'

As I get in the second ambulance, I see the coroner bag Keith. The sick bastard died with the biggest grin on his face. I hope wherever he spends his afterlife is a place of his worst nightmare; I pray wherever he is that he suffers.