Ladybug

By Val Blakely

She lived in horror, afraid most of the time. Circumstance landed her on a hospital's mental ward. There seemed no hope for her future when doctors begin uncovering a world nobody knew she lived in.

He lived fast, but fast caught up with him. When he finds himself in a hospital clinging to life, he finds hope in the most unlikely places.

The only thing in common they seem to share is a ladybug key chain...or are there more ladybugs than they can count?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Jun 28, 2015
• ISBN: 9781329221895

Book preview

Ladybug

Ladybug

by Val Blakely

Copyright

Copyright ©2015 by Val Blakely

All rights reserved. This book or any portion of this book may not be used or reproduced in any manner without the written consent of the of the publisher other than brief quotations for book reviews, articles or scholarly journals.

First printing 2015

ISBN: 978-1-329-22189-5

Val Blakely

[e-mail]

Chapter 1

She knew he would make her pay when she returned home.  He told her not to leave, but she did it anyway.  Careful to put her feet directly in the center of each sidewalk slab, she walked just shy of a purpose.  One wrong move and she would have to go back to the beginning and start over.  She could never live with herself if she accidentally touched one of the cracks in that sidewalk, as if that meant nothing.  Every step was calculated and timed so that no part of her foot would touch the lines.  Bad things happen when you lose your focus.  Bad things happen when you step too far.  Everything matters. Every, single, step, matters.

Her feet felt heavy as if she were wearing cement shoes.  She climbed the stairs to their apartment.  Her muscles strained to keep her body advancing even when she had already turned back around and ran away in her mind.  That was about the only thing she could count on these days, leaving him and then coming right back.

She inhaled deeply the last puff from her cigarette.  She could feel the burn in her nostrils.  It slid right down into her throat where the smoke filled her lungs, and she held it in.  She exhaled slowly and reached out with her left hand to feel the cool metal door knob.  As she gently turned the gold painted handle she could feel the course rust on her palm where the paint had flaked off.  The sound of chaos bled through the door.  She began to tremble.  The door wouldn't budge.  It was locked.

She quickly ransacked her purse for the keys before someone saw her, and started asking questions.  The neighbors were sure to have overheard the uproar just a few hours before and she shuddered at the thought of having to answer nosey pries.  She needed to digest the repercussions she had coming her way before she knew how to explain.  Her cheap pale lipstick fell with a thump and rolled down the wooden slat toward the steps.  It stopped on the leg of a green plastic chair she calls her smoking chair.  She could hear the door open of the downstairs attendant which meant she had about fifteen seconds to get that door open before Mrs. Walker came prancing up with that creepy hairless cat in her arms.  Her knuckle brushed against the hard ladybug key chain.  That familiar metal prong which once lied flat against the inside of her purse, uplifted just enough to scratch her finger.  With hurried panic, she grasped the set of keys that would open the door to what she would call pure hell.

She pressed her palm on that cheap hollow piece of wood, darted inside quickly and turned the lock behind her.  Her eyes flashed around looking for signs of him as she flicked the light switch five times knowing it would land in the on position, forcing her to flick it five more times so it would be off again.  She quickly turned off the television that he'd left on, only to hear the one in their bedroom blaring just as loudly.  He'd obviously left them both on different channels and at elevated volumes just to torment her.  It didn't take her long to complete the initial survey of the tiny apartment and realize he wasn't there, but it was clear he had left a message.  The usually spotless rented chambers had been deliberately soiled by him.  The smell of urine permeated throughout the bathroom and hallway and she was crippled with heartbreak.

She dropped to her knees and flooded the carpet with tears as she took inventory of the damage.  He'd moved everything.  She could feel her lunch coming back up and ran to the trash can just in time.  She stood there retching until the sour burned in her throat.  All of the kitchen cabinets were open.  Pots and pans had been pulled out and resided in the floor.  The milk was open on the table with droplets of white all around where he had slammed it down with force.  This was going to be a long night and she wasn't sure she had enough energy left in her soul to make it through this nightmare, again.  He knew what buttons to push, so he had pushed them all.

Chapter 2

Jess, I need the 2014 end of the year P & L statement on Graham Lumber, Inc. when I return in the morning.  I'll be on my cell phone for another hour if you need me, otherwise, I'll see you in the morning.  He always walked swiftly out the door and looked no one in the eyes.  He's been caught too many times on his way out and ended up staying there for hours like a trapped animal.  Not today.  He had a baseball game to get to and he was not about to miss his little boy's first game of the season.  Attending this game would surely earn back some points he'd lost for missing his last weekend visit. 

He'd finally got a chance to ask Kristen out from downstairs in the Real Estate office.  She had flirted and teased for months in the halls, the elevator and right outside in the parking lot.  She had dropped a hint that her favorite local band just got signed with a record label, and they decided to throw themselves a farewell concert at a really nice venue.  Already sold out, she had been trying to win tickets without any luck.  Guess who happened to do taxes for the local radio show host?  After a single phone call, he had tickets in his hand and a date on his arm.  She was pretty hot but after dinner, drinks and the concert too, he could tell she wasn't looking for an overnight date anytime soon.  There were other ladies waiting by the phone to receive his call and he didn’t see a need to put effort into a decent real estate agent who was looking for a husband.  He’d already tried being that.  It didn’t work out too well.

He hurried down the steps and avoided the elevators all together, just in case she had come back without him noticing.  She had been texting him ever since their date and he had responded very little.  He'd already seen her leave her office, towing behind her friends as they giggled like high school children out to the parking lot.  Her pink and grey houndstooth wool mini skirt barely graced the top of her knee as she quickly paced to her black Mustang.  She removed her matching jacket and threw it in the car revealing her bare arms and grabbed a pair of sunglasses.  He could hear the alarm beep as she pushed the remote key.  She and her friends climbed into a silver SUV and left the premises.  They were probably going to dinner, and drinks would follow.  This made him very thirsty.

He felt like a hot shot in his suit but decided to remove the jacket anyway.  He knew he'd get enough attention at the baseball game without it.  Moms would be there in their cut off jean shorts baring tan legs.  Their t-shirts would fit just right and he knew when he stepped out of his little silver BMW, their heads would turn.  It happens all the time.  He would roll up his sleeves and place cool shades over his perverted eyes, and pretend he was focused on the game.

With the radio up and the windows down, he set out on his twenty-five mile journey to redeeming points with his son.  With about a mile behind him, he pulled into his favorite service station to fill his tank.  Grabbing his receipt he quickly dashed back into his car.  He was now running late as usual.  He drove through the residential areas as he made his way towards Highway 77.  He looked around at the missing shingles from rooftops. Windows were