Angel - Chapter 9

Brian and Josh rang the bell 3 times before deciding the girls weren’t home yet. This both discouraged Josh and let him breath a sigh of relief. He wasn’t sure yet what he was going to say to Angel when he saw her anyway.

“Should we go up?” Brian asked which brought Josh back to his senses.

“Do you think we can break in?” Josh asked.

“Why not? We can wait for them inside. I don’t think they could be too much longer.” Josh agreed and they ascended the stairs and found the door number that matched the one on the piece of paper Amber had given him. Before picking the lock, Josh knocked again. When he still didn’t get an answer, he began fooling with the lock, sliding a credit card through the crack and finally popping the door.

They made their way into the loft style apartment and could just start to see the light of dawn creeping in. They actually began to pack some of Angel and Johanna’s things in anticipation of their return. They figured they would pretty much grab them and go.

15 minutes later, they did in fact hear the sound of their voices coming up the stairs. Josh and Brian froze, preparing for their discovery of them. Josh tried to stand in the middle of the room so as to be as visible as possible and maybe reduce the alarm in their screams he was sure they were going to make. Seconds later the door opened and Angel walked in first and froze. 

****

And then I screamed.

Loud.

Johanna followed behind me and without seeing the guy in the middle of the room started to scream too. I don’t think she knew what for, but two screams were better than one.

Before I could take another breath to scream again, the figure in the middle of room charged me and covered my mouth with a hand. I was terrified, thinking I was going to be raped and murdered in my own apartment. I tried to reach my purse for pepper spray, but the person had knocked that away. 

“Shut up!” The voice shouted. I tried to scream again when I heard the voice say again, “Shut up Angel! It’s me! Josh!” 

I stopped screaming and turned my head to see if what this person said was true. My eyes filled with tears of relief when I realized it was Josh. My Josh. And then I got mad. What the hell was he doing in my apartment? How the hell did he find me? And what the hell was he doing here? I slapped his hand away and shrugged my falling shirt back onto my shoulder. I glared at him.

“What the fuck are you doing here? You scared the shit out of me Josh!” I paused to catch my breath. “What are you doing here?” Before Josh could answer, another even more familiar voice spoke up from the chair across the room. This made Johanna gasp.

“We have come to get you and take you home. Both of you.” Brian said holding up the mostly filled suitcase.

“What?” I said, almost stuttering from the shock. “I mean, we can’t leave. Romeo…he’ll come after us. He won’t let us leave!” I almost began to cry as Josh took me into his arms.

“Listen baby, Angel.” He said soothingly. “I won’t let him hurt you, I promise.” He sat me down on the old bed and patted my head. Sighing and getting myself under control, I tried to explain again.

“He will come after us. Both of us. He knows where my parents live. He wants me here. He’ll never let me go. Don’t you understand? I can’t leave. He owns us.” I looked at him pleadingly.

“Lets just get out of here.” Brian said, grabbing Johanna’s hand. “This place gives me the creeps.” Johanna nodded and then kneeled in front of me.

“Listen, if we just go, get out of here, we don’t have to do this,” Johanna made a sweeping motion with her hand, “anymore.”

I nodded, finally realizing this could be the chance to change things. The chance to move on, get out of this life and a chance to be a better person. All at once the shame I had been keeping bottled up seemed to bubble to the surface and I felt embarrassed and dirty. I didn’t know how Josh and Brian found us, but at this moment I didn’t care.

“Lets do it.” I said, feeling life come back into my body. I was tired, needed a shower but at this moment I wanted out. Without waiting a second longer, Josh and Brian began to help Johanna and I throw our stuff into bags. We packed what we could fit and those that couldn’t fit were going to be left behind. We were ready to leave when I heard the phone ring. Johanna and I looked at each other and by the 3rd ring I reached for the receiver.

“Hello?” I asked hoarsely, tensing to hear Romeo on the other end.

“Angel?” The male voice said. 

“Yeah? Who is this?” 

“Angel, its James. Listen, something is about to go down.” I paused, my mouth suddenly going dry.

“What?” I asked.

“Romeo was just here. He was babbling about some girl named Amber and how she was talking about a guy she had met and how interested he was in you and Johanna.”

“Amber?” I asked, remembering the girl who was last blowing Romeo. Josh and Brian shot each other darting glances of concern. My pulse quickened.

“Yeah. He put a beating on her and came over here looking for you. I tried to stall him, but Angel, he is on the way to your place.” James paused and I heard him sigh. “You need to get out. Now.”

“Thank - thank you James. Johanna and I are on our way out. Thank you for the warning.”

“You know I love you girls.” He said, almost sadly. “Goodbye.”

“Bye.” Before I could hang the phone back up, Josh was pulling me out the door.

“We need to go now!” He almost screamed. Johanna was leading the way with Brian behind. I managed to close and lock the door and rushed down the stairs. Brian had already unlocked the car door and was practically pushing Johanna and I into the back. The two boys got in front and started the car.

Out of nowhere, we heard a scream of agony come from the front of the car. Romeo shouted obscenities and was wildly waving a gun.

“Get off my bitches!” Romeo screamed, red in the face. “You fucking whores better get out of that car or so help me god I’ll kill you! Do you hear me? I’ll kill you!” He raised the gun and Josh yelled for us to get down. A shot rang out and the mirror to the passenger door was blown off. Josh squealed on the gas peddled and the smell of burning rubber seeped into the car.

“Get back here you fucking cunts!” Romeo yelled, following the car on foot. The traffic had begun to pick up with the morning rush and as Josh darted into traffic so did Romeo. He fired off another shot and Johanna and I screamed.

“Jesus!” Josh yelled. “This guy is a fucking maniac!” Romeo continued to chase the car while Josh dodged the traffic. Romeo was in a blind rage and although Johanna and I had felt his wrath before, we had never seen that crazy look before. Remembering the drugs I had seen on his desk earlier, I didn’t doubt that he was high on something.

Josh yanked the wheel of the car to the left and Romeo followed. For a pudgy man, he was fast enough to almost keep up. Another shot ricocheted off the fender and for the first time I was really scared for my life. Coming to a light, Josh ran the red it to get ahead of the traffic to hopefully lose Romeo. Although this was the plan, Romeo kept coming through the intersection, gun in hand, screaming curses and calling names. 

The number 55 bus never saw the pudgy man run from the corner into the street. 

With a sickening thud and a resounding squeal of breaks, Josh glanced in the rearview mirror and saw Romeo. He was laying in the street and next to him the gun.

Josh gunned the engine and swiftly made his way to 95 north. It wasn’t until several hours later that Johanna and I believed we were finally free.