Chapter Six: I'm so Sorry

After she rocked Vincent to sleep, Mary stepped outside and began to look for Li. Because Mary had insisted on it, she had gone home the previous night to rest, and Mary hadn’t seen her since. Li wasn’t far though; Mary found her resting against the house. “Hey there,” Mary said quietly as she sat down beside her friend. “You look a bit down.”

               “Nah, I’m just a little tired. I was thinking of planting a garden here. What do you think?”

               “I think it’s a great idea,” Mary said, “we’ll be able to eat fresh vegetables all year! They may not be that good, but they’ll still be fresh, am I right?” Both of the girls giggled. Although they appeared happy, the girls both knew there was an underlying sadness. “So, what’s really going on?”

               Li shrugged and rubbed the back of her head, “I don’t know. I’m just getting old. I mean, look at these wrinkles!” she sighed, “I think it’s just a mid-life crisis. What about you? You looked kind of down when you came outside.”

               “I don’t know how to tell Kanoa. I know he’s not looking for children and child support, not to mention a woman nagging at him to come see his son,” Mary sighed and pulled her leg up to her chest, “I’m contemplating not telling him at all.”

               Li went silent for a moment. Mary knew she was thinking hard about what to say so she gave her time.  “I think you need to tell him, Mary. Even though he may not like the idea, he’s still the child’s father. Vincent will need him when he grows up,” Li said thoughtfully.

               Mary nodded and then pulled out her phone and called Kanoa, “I’ll ask him to meet up with me somewhere,” but Kanoa never answered. Mary frowned and then tried again, “He always answers his phone, and I know he’s not at work . . .”

               “Maybe he’s asleep?”

               “Kanoa’s not the kind to sleep in the middle of the day,” Mary said.

               Li stood up and brushed her clothes off, “Well, I guess we’re going on a manhunt.”

               “You can’t be serious; Appaloosa is huge,” Mary frowned, “I’ll just try calling him later . . .”

               “It’s too late to change my mind now! I’ll look around town; you look anywhere that’s not town.” Mary sighed. She wasn’t getting out of this situation.

               Mary looked high and low, but she didn’t catch a glimpse of Kanoa. She called Li and asked about her progress, “No luck, how about you?” Mary told her that she hadn’t found anything either, “Dang. Don’t worry, we’ll find him!” Li hung up and then Mary sighed. She honestly didn’t see the point in this search-and-destroy mission.

               

               A deep sigh escaped Mary’s lips. She had come all the way to the river, and now there was nothing to do but explore the coastline. Suddenly, a lightbulb went off in her head. There was a little hangout area farther down the coast. “Why didn’t I think of that before?”

                As she got closer to the hangout, she spotted the red of Kanoa’s shirt, but she also spotted something else: the luminous sunshine of her midwife’s hair. “What the . . .?” Mary slid beneath the pier and around to the stairs. She slid behind a column and watched. She was furious. “He said he wasn’t with anyone . . . and I was stupid enough to believe him . . . ."

                “ . . . and I can’t believe that I had to find out from her own midwife that she was pregnant with my  son!” Kanoa let out a huff.

                “Oh, don’t let it get to you, honey. Stupid whores will be stupid whores . . .”

                Oh, so I’m a whore now? Well at least my boobs are real! Mary thought.

                “ . . . besides, I’m pretty sure there’s something wrong with that child of hers. Never let out a single cry and he didn't respond to loud noises. I think he’s deaf.”

                “And you didn’t tell her?”

                “Why should I? It’s not like she ever did anything good for me. Besides, it will be more than she can afford if I run tests. It’s for her own good,” Amary sighed, “Oh, the unforntunate life of the poor. Did you know she had to have someone move in with her because she couldn’t take care of herself? She always was a spoiled little bitch. Never learned to do a single thing for herself.”

                Mary was somewhere between absolutely furious and perplexed. How did Amary know about her past, and why was she telling all of this to Kanoa? She wanted answers. “So Amary, have you been doing extensive background checks on me? I’m awfully curious as to how you know all of this.”

At the sound of Mary’s voice, Kanoa let go of Amary and shot up. “M-Mary!” but Kanoa wasn’t her target at the moment. Mary stormed over and let Amary feel the wrath of her palm. She staggered back and held her cheek. “You bitch!” she cried.

Mary held her ground, “For one, I am not a stupid whore. For two, there is nothing wrong with my son. For three, Li moved in with me because I needed help with the baby. My life has nothing to do with yours!”

Amary only glared, “It has everything to do with mine! It’s all your fault! All of it!” For a fraction of a second, Mary saw herself in Amary’s eyes. “You’re the reason I’m out in Appaloosa slaving my days away! I hate you!”

Mary was beyond confused. How could she hate someone she barely knew? She crossed her arms and looked at Amary, “What have I ever done to you other than have you deliver my child?”

The longest moment passed. Amary finally moved, “Everything.” She broke a piece of wood off of a chair and came at Mary. In only a few seconds, Mary was able to grab her by her wrist, take the piece of wood out of Amary’s hand with her free hand, and knee Amary in the stomach hard enough to make her double over in pain.

But the excitement wasn’t over yet. A dark shadow cast over Mary, and she turned around to see Kanoa with a blunt object in his hand. Under different circumstances, she would have been able to infer that he was only going to knock her out, but the adrenaline was pumping through her veins and she was acting purely on instinct. With the stake of wood still in her hand, Mary peirced his heart.

               Mary stepped back and looked at what she had done. Logic had not yet returned to her, but she knew that she was in trouble and she would no longer be able to stay in Appaloosa Plains. She looked around quickly and saw that no one was watching. Hastily, she began to get rid of the bodies. Little did she know that someone had been watching the entire time.

               A moment later, Mary heard sirens in the distance. She looked around with wide, fearful eyes. Certainly that’s not for me . . . no, no one saw any of this . . . but as the sirens got louder, she knew it was for her. Mary jumped off the pier and began to run down the coast.

               By the time the cops arrived, she was long gone. All of those hours dedicated the exercising had paid off.

               Mary ran and ran. She didn’t stop until she was safely inside of her home. She leaned against the wall and fought furiously to catch her breath. Li, who was covered in baby powder, came out of Vincent’s room and gasped. “Mary! You look like you just ran a marathon!” she paused and then her eyebrows rose, “Those sirens . . . Did you have something to do with them?”

Mary ran her fingers through her hair, “Li, I think I just killed a man.”

Li blinked, “You did what?”

Mary backed up and held up her hands in front of her, “I-I don’t know what came over me, Li. Kanoa, he came up behind me with a blunt object . . .” Mary could see that Li wasn’t convinced. In fact, Mary could see that Li thought she was some kind of monster. “Li, please understand . . .”

“No, Mary! You killed someone and now you’re running from the law! I can’t understand that, Mary! I know we met as criminals, but this is taking criminality to a whole new level. You’re an outlaw, Mary. Not only have you put me in danger, you’ve put your son in danger too . . .”

Li backed up, “I can’t risk this, Mary . . . not again.” She slowly began to pull out her phone with trembling hands.

Mary could still feel the adrenaline pumping through her veins. She was still acting purely out of instinct, “Please . . . don’t do this, Li . . . Please . . .” Mary felt her hands close around something cold behind her.

Li, paying no attention to her, pulled out her cellphone and dialed the police.

“Li . . . Don’t do this . . . I’m begging you . . .” but nothing Mary said convinced Li otherwise. Her heart was broken; betrayed by her best friends, hated by a woman she didn’t know for an unseen reason, and now she was an outlaw.  Mary knew that so long as she was in Appaloosa, blood would not stop falling and hearts would not stop breaking.

               The moment Li opened her mouth was the moment where everything ended. In one fluid motion, Mary grabbed the garden stake behind her, took one deep step forward, and drove the stake through her friend’s heart.

               Li dropped the phone and something between a gasp and a groan escaped her lips. Mary felt a single tear roll down her cheek. She looked at Li’s lifeless body; her death had been instant . . . painless. Mary couldn’t bring herself to move. She couldn’t see time passing around her.

Time had frozen, and so had Mary’s heart.  

“I’m so sorry, Li. So, so sorry . . .” But not even time could stop the tears that flowed down her cheeks.