E5: The Gift

BRIAN:

With heavy steps I started to walk out of the lift opening up to the basement where the parking lot was, heading towards my car.

My brains were not working.. Or maybe it was filled up with too many thoughts to react right now.

I lost my job, now my family has no source of income, there was a baby coming and I really worry thinking about the future.

I could have saved my job by hearing what that scum billionaire bastard had to offer but he wanted to trade my wife and well, that wasn't gonna happen here.

But on a second note, I wonder how does he suddenly grew up an interest in my wife particularly? I Know I brought her to the company party two months ago but... Was he there?

Did he see her there?

My company wasn't sold to him back then.. so, did he buy the company only get his hands on my wife?!

No, no, no! This sounds too fucked up to think.

Anyways, I need to get my acts up straight, at least till tomorrow. I don't wanna screw over my wife's big day tomorrow at all!

I headed upto my car and used my spare hand from holding the carton full of my office stuff to grab onto my car key and beep unlock my car.

I placed all the stuff over the roof of my car and was just about to pull out the door open to sit inside, I felt a hard hit at the back of my head, with a sharp pain shooting throughout my brain matter.

"Fuck!"

I cursed holding onto my head and slowly turned around to notice it was a sharp iron rod and a masked man who was hitting me.

He attempts one more hit across my face as the sharp end of the rod slashed my right cheek, swinging my face to my left with a pool of blood smearing down my face.

Before I could compose myself the masked man banged my body against my car and held the rod tight and firm in his grip and stabbed it's sharp edge hard into my left thigh, making me scream for my life.

"FUCKKK!! WHAT THE HECK DO YOU WANT?!"

He hit on my head once, twice and thrice making my head into a bleeding mess as I slowly dropped down almost dead on the floor.

"Isn't it evident enough of what I want already?"

I heard his voice and he sounded like Doherty!

"I want Ruth and I'm taking her anyway!"

I heard him loud and clear before closing my eyes.

~~~~

"Bring me a gift box, I may need to gift someone something nice on her birthday tonight!"

Nick said getting done with his phonecall

...............

RUTH:

"I hope you won't mind having Irene here for the night with you Aunt Mary!" I said wiping Irene's little mouth while she was making a mess of the molten chocolate offered by Aunt Mary to her all over her face.

"Oh no, Ruth.. not at all! Infact I love our little angel here! She reminds me of my granddaughter!" She said caressing her head with a lone tear in her eyes.

In an accident three years ago the old woman lost her only son, her daughter in law and her granddaughter. With her husband passed seven years ago due to a heart attack that petty lady was all alone.

She lived right in our neighborhood, Irene could wave at her from our apartment.

Eversince we moved here two months ago, we bonded real good with Aunt Mary, perhaps the only neighbor we could get close to in such a short time.

We met taking morning stalls in the park when she saved Irene falling off the slide while she was playing carelessly.

She says our family reminds her if her son and his family of three.

"I would seriously hate to do this to you but this one can't sleep without her dad!" I said.

"Trust me Ruth, my granddaughter was really close to me and I know Irene would be too!"

"Ugh! I hate to do this to you! But I really can't have her around in a party filled with alcohol and adult people." I bend down to my baby's level and caress my fingers through her hairs,

"Mama is leaving baby, be good to Aunt Mary!"

I said and kissed her, scooping my bags up to leave.

Don't know why my stomach felt weird about leaving Irene here without one of her parents alone but thinking that it must be my adrenaline kicking in as I have never left my baby to someone else's care before, I left out of the neighborhood.

~~

Sooner enough, it was time I should get ready and so I stripped out of my clothes to grab a towel around myself and walked inside the tub to take a hot bubble bath.

It was four months belly that I was carrying right now, although my belly was out but one can't make out if it's due to the pregnancy or I just happened to eat a lot.

After coming out of the shower I went upto my closet the pull out the most sexy lingerie I had in my closet, wearing it around my body I stood there to check out my reflection.

Perfect!

Brian would definitely love me into these!

I wore Brian's favourite black dress that he liked the most on me and checked myself out in the mirror.

I looked good and it was making me blush. A few more days and will have a huge baby bump over my tummy.

Not that I'm sad about it!

This baby is all I could ask for as I know how much Brian wanted a son the last time we had Irene.

After I was done grooming myself I looked over to the clock. I asked Brian

to return to me at Seven but it was already ten O'clock now.

I reached out for my phone and tried calling Brian's cellphone. It went unanswered.

He was getting me worried somehow as my stomach again started to flip.

The clock struck 12 O'clock and I immediately hear the sound of my doorbell.

"Oh gosh, finally!"

I took a deep sigh of relief taking up the shrug, wrapping up around my body, practically covering myself up from the cold it should be outside at a time like this.

"Of all the days, you had to be stuck at work tonight only!"

I continued to grumble about it all angry while opening the door but it wasn't Brian at my door step.

It was a guy wearing a red T-shirt and a red cap with his eyes not visible at all holding out a gift wrapped large box in his hand for me.

"Ruth Walker?" He asked.

"Uhm, it's Ruth Lewis! What is it?" I asked pinching my brows together.

"Well there is a present for the the birthday girl from an anonymous!" He said handling me the parcel.

Maybe it's one Brian's romantic act... Because he was getting late tonight, he sent me this box?

"Well this doesn't mask the fact that husband is late tonight! He won't be forgiven too easily!"

I said faking my anger at him taking away the box from his hand.

"Damn, that's heavier than I expected?"

I chuckled softly holding myself up from stumbling due to the weight of the box and when I lift up my head the delivery guy was gone.

I shrugged my shoulders without bothering about it and closed the door shut with my one leg heading towards the dinner table where I kept the box and pulled out it's ribbon to remove it's packaging and open it's lid.

As soon as I saw what was inside I screamed in horror stumbling backwards, falling on ground.

"Aaaaaaahhhh"

There was a head. Of a man or a woman, I couldn't make out. The head was burnt down into black, the facial features barely visible.

I was breathing heavily, scared to my death when suddenly I was startled by the jingling of my cellphone.

I saw the number on the screen, it was Brian calling me.

I took a deep breath and immediately picked up the call.

"B-Brian? Wh..where are you?? P-please come home soon, th-three us something creepy that's-"

I was just trying to explain everything to my husband in my shaking voice when I heard a deep voice from the other side of the call.

"He isn't coming back"

It wasn't Brian's voice. I couldn't understand who was it. It almost felt like I've heard this cold voice so many times.

Like this voice has OWNED a part of me.

"Wh-what?"

"Ruth Walker...." The voice chuckled.

My heart started racing as the pictures started piecing up together now. I knew this voice, I can't ever forget this voice.

"I suppose, you got your birthday gift by now didn't you, kitten?"

He called me kitten and I know who it was.

"N-Nick?!"

"Smart!" He replied, in his usual dominating voice, the voice I dread so badly.

"I-is this head..." I shivered so badly at the possibility of it being him, "B-Brian?"

He just chuckled, didn't exactly answer my question.

"Please...?" I begged, out of my usual habbit.

"You didn't do the right thing getting remarried kitten. But don't worry! Your husband is coming to get you!"

With this, he disconnected the call.

"Hello?! Nick? Where is Brian?! HELLO?!" I kept screaming back the phone but he was done with the task he was assigned.

The burnt head in the box....

It was BRIAN!