Amor Apache

A part of my arm felt like it was on fire, trying to move I felt painfully aware of the throbbing everywhere. Eyelids felt glued shut and my brain felt eerily fuzzy. I licked my lips. Chapped and cracking. Slowly, my eyelids began to cooperate. Two men were sitting in front of me, one a gun in hand, dozing off, a bottle of tequila sitting empty by his feet. The other paced around barking orders into his phone.

“Where am I?” I tried to sound out but all that came out was a pathetic dry and rasping whimper. Swallowing I realized how swollen my throat was. I tried getting up until I realized...I was tied down to a chair. Heart pounding I finally began to see the real picture. Arms and legs were taped down to a plastic chair that looked like it was about to give way any minute. My arm, the part that felt like it was on fire, was covered in blood and a deep gash was staring up at me. Looking at it made me realize how much pain I was in.

Fear gripped my heart and reason went flying out the door. I began trying to “break” out of the flimsy chair, that happened to be sturdier than what it felt like. It wasn’t until the legs of the chair bent and I fell on my face that the man on the phone came to see me.

Pulling me up by my hair, he ignored my yelps of pain.

″Buenos dias mi amor,” He said. Good morning sweetie. Tears began to well up in my eyes.

″En donde estoy?” I asked hoarsely. He responded by laughing again.

″Como? No te acuerdas? Hmm eso que la pasamos muy bien anoche!” He was talking about having a good time with me last night. I went back and drew a blank.

“Let’s see if you remember with this, mija.” He said with a grin.

″Tavo! El Tequila.” He yelled at the other man, who was awake now.

″Ya no hay. Lo usamos todo anoche.” At this, the man left my side and menacingly approached Tavo.

″Ve por mas guey!” He said lifting him up by the collar.

“I am sorry, mi amor, it seems the party will have to wait. While we wait for the Tequila we can talk a little more, no?” He said, touching my hair. I pulled back not wanting his filthy hand to touch my face. The slap came so fast. Out of nowhere. Again, I was on the floor on my face and I tasted blood. He pulled me up again by my hair.

“Let’s try this again, Okey?” He said ignoring my sobs. He put his hand on my hair and caressed my rapidly swelling cheek.

″Mi amor, I don’t want to keep hurting you but you have to tell me, donde esta tu papi?” Papi. Suddenly I remembered I had not been alone.

″Donde esta Julian?” I asked anxiously. What had they done to my boyfriend? The night before, we had gone to celebrate our first anniversary together. A beach party with our friends later. Nothing we didn’t usually do.

″Quieres que?” He asked

″Donde esta Julian. Que le hicieron, mal nacidos!” I managed to gather enough courage to call him a name. He got up, fearing another blow I flinched. He didn’t do anything. He went outside and whistled, a short loud call. A few minutes later, Julian walked in --Without a scratch.

“Julian! What are you, are you okay? Did they do anything to you?” I tried getting up, only to remember I was bound. My attacker only laughed.

″Ya, dile guey!” He said while chuckling.

“Tell me what?” I screeched. Dread filled my stomach and I could feel as if my heart sank to my feet and jumped back up my throat.

“Charlie, you know I love you...” He began.

“Tell me what?” I screeched again.

″Si tu no le dices, le digo yo! Este guey, el fue el que te trajo aqui.” Disbelief came over me. It was like a bucket of ice water had poured over me.

″No es cierto! Julian! No me mientas. Ayudame!” I began angry and finished pleading.

Kneeling he tried to unbind me.

“Charlie, just, just tell them what they want. Just tell them where your dad is and we can all go home.”

“Why do I need to tell them where he is? Why did you bring me here!” I began to scream.

“Ya sacala de aqui guey! No sabe nada.” A stream of curse words ensued between them. The other man arrived with the tequila just then.

Clapping his hands in anticipation, the man practically jumped to where Tavo was with the bottle. Opening it, he took a sip and then focused on me.

“Mira, Mamita asi esta la cosa, tu papito, he owes me a lot of money. I need him to know, time is running out. Yo he sido muy paciente, but my patience is running out. Donde esta ese hijo de la ch--” He was cut off by the beeping of his phone.

″Mira! Es tu papi!” He teased me as he showed me the caller. It was my father. He stepped outside for a minute and came back too quickly, unholstering his gun he shot my foot. I began to scream as pain shot up my leg, blood spurting everywhere.

″Ya tienes tu prueba de vida. Tienes 10 minutos.” He said through my screams; Julian came close and tried getting me to drink tequila, to numb the pain.

“No! get away from me!” I tried to say in between sobs and screams; Managing to put the bottle down my throat I began sputtering and choking. The vile thing burned my nose and throat bringing back a similar scene from last night. Tavo pouring it down my throat while the other man stuck a knife in my arm trying to get me to talk.

When Julian finally removed the bottle I gasped for air, managing to choke on even more.

“I’m sorry baby! I am so sorry. We’ll get out of here and--” A shot rang out and he never finished his sentence. He fell, a bullet hole showing through his head. I kept screaming. It seems it was all I could do. Scream until my lungs gave out.

“Callate!” The man yelled. He was still on the phone. A smile crept up his face. Looking at Tavo, he signaled with his head towards me.

“No!What are you going to do! No! Leave me alone! Help me!” Preparing for the worst I began to think of all the times I could have been better. I felt my legs and arms loosen and I saw Tavo had cut away the bindings.

“Llevala con el Doc...Ya sabe que van.” I was going to a doctor? A real one?

″Adios mi amor, and remember...” He came close and grabbed my face, hard, between his hands. ”I am going to be watching you, muy muy de cerca.”