One Good Deed Changed Everything

As Evaine stands before her floor to ceiling bay window looking out at the happy fat snowflakes falling before her she contemplates everything that has transpired over the last couple of hours. Her life had been so happy. Everything had changed in an instant. One decision had cost her way too much. One decision had left her alone with her fear.

It started innocently enough with a kind gesture to someone who seemed down on their luck. At the time she did not know that her gesture would lead to a lifetime of fear and pain. She didn’t really want to accept that the old saying, “No good deed goes unpunished” was true. In her case it was true and the punishment was brutal beyond anything she could have imagined.

Evaine had been out doing some shopping a couple of hours ago when she came across a girl that appeared to live on the streets. Since it was the Christmas season Evaine offers to take the girl to lunch so she can have a decent meal.

The meal went fine but when it was time to leave the girl, who said her name was Bianca, turned on Evaine. The girl waited until Evaine’s back was turned as she was getting into her car and put a gun in her back. “Now lady, take me to your house. Don’t look back and don’t scream or I will kill you.” Bianca said vehemently as she pushed Evaine into her car. To say the drive was tense is an understatement.

Evaine toyed with the idea of driving to the police station but knows that if she did that then Bianca or whoever she is would kill her for sure. She has no other choice than to take this monster to her house and expose her family to such trauma. She unfortunately has no other choice, she has to do it for both herself and them.

As they drive Evaine tries to think of some way she can get out of this with minimal damage done to her family and herself. She wishes there was a way she could send word to her husband, Will, to get everyone out of the house and call the police. Then as if he had heard her his name came up on the screen telling her and Bianca that he was calling.

Bianca seemed to panic a little but she quickly recovers and says, “Pick it up but no funny business.” Then she shoves her gun into Evaine’s temple for emphasis. Evaine nods in understanding and after taking a deep breath answers her phone through her car’s system.

“Hello sweetheart. I’m on my way home now. I’m sorry I didn’t get a chance to pick up your medication. I’ll get it tomorrow after I go to the florist.” Evaine really hoped that Will was able to see what she was really saying. He had no medication and she never went to the florist. At first Will was silent and did not respond but when he finally did Evaine knew instantly that he had understood. “Eva dearest, I don't ask you to do much for me. Why could you not do this one little thing for me? Why are you so selfish? Do you not love me?” Will replied letting Evaine know he understood and would act accordingly.

Evaine had apologized repeatedly even offering to go back to the store since she was only about five minutes from home but Will told her, “It’s pointless now just come home.” Then he hung up and quickly called the police to let them know what was happening.

In truth Evaine was closer to home than she said but she needed to draw out the time as much as possible. “I better go back to the store. He will be so mad. At least if I go back he won’t be as upset.” Then she turned left at the next block and headed back to the pharmacy but not the closest one instead she went to the one that was across town.

She didn’t make it all the way to the store before Bianca came to her senses and said, “Head back home bitch. I don’t want to have to kill you before we get to the house but I will if you keep this bullshit up.” Again the gun was jammed into Evaine’s temple for emphasis but this time her captor cocked the gun so that it was ready to fire the instant she wanted it to. So Evaine had turned the car around and headed home to where hopefully Will, the kids and dogs were out of the house and the police were waiting.

She arrived back home a lot quicker than she had wanted to but in the end it could not be helped. When she parked the car in their driveway everything was quiet and calm. None of her neighbors were out in their yards nor were any kids running or riding their bikes around the neighborhood. Evaine hoped against hope that this meant the police were waiting inside for her and her captor. They walked to the front door, Bianca right behind Evaine so that she could jam her gun into Evaine’s back to ensure that she would behave. Evaine fumbled with her keys trying to delay their entry just a touch before she finally inserted her house key into the door, that was most likely not even locked, and let them inside.

As they walked inside Evaine called out to her husband. Evaine put down her purse and draped her coat over the stair railing then headed further into the house to find her husband. She found a man she did not recognise sitting at her dining room table. The man sees the look of confusion and concern cross Evaine’s face and gets to his feet. He crosses the distance between them and hugs her briefly. As he holds her he whispers in her ear, “I am Officer Paul Stevens your husband and family are safe.” then his attitude changes. “I can’t believe you. First you don’t pick up my medication when asked, then you bring home some stranger without asking me first.” Evaine takes on a look of fear and unease as she listens to the officer berate her as if he were an abusive husband instead of a man putting his life on the line for her. Inside Evaine was happy that her family was safe, happy that she didn't have to face this alone. Evaine says as meekly as she can to “husband”, “I’m sorry Will. I thought it would be ok.” she paused to look at the girl behind her then continued, “This is Bianca she just needed a place to get warm for a bit.” “Will” looked at the girl behind Evaine and nodded before saying,”Fine she can stay but she is your responsibility. Keep her out of my face or there will be trouble.”

After that Evaine took Bianca into the living room to sit and wait. She wasn’t sure what to do next but she hoped the officer in her dining room would act sooner rather than later. The women sat in silence Evaine’s heart pounding in her chest with every passing moment. Then she heard it. “Eva!!” Officer Paul Stevens yelled from the other room, “Where is my dinner? What’s taking so long?” he continued. Evaine bolted to her feet in an instant and rushed into the kitchen. She had done so too quickly for Bianca to react to her sudden movement or try to stop her departure until she had already arrived in the dining room.

As Evaine passed the dining room table she caught a wink from the officer as well as a reassuring nod. Unfortunately before Evaine could completely disappear into the kitchen she heard a gun go off behind her and felt the bullet as it penetrated her arm. She instantly fell to the ground clutching her arm screaming. She was screaming so loud she did not hear what happened next nor did she see what was happening. She had closed her eyes against the pain. Once she had stopped screaming she still couldn’t hear because her ears were ringing from the gun fire that had gone on around her and she was too scared to open her eyes to see what had happened.

After a moment, a lifetime of utter silence, excluding the ringing, she feels someone approach her. Afraid that it is Bianca coming to finish her off, Evaine begins to cry and beg as she tries her best at the same time to move away from the approaching figure. “Evaine. Evaine. It’s ok, it's me, Officer Stevens. She is dead, she won’t be hurting you anymore.” Officer Stevens says as he reaches her and tries to help her stand up so he can assess her gunshot wound. Evaine finally allows herself to break and she begins to cry and shake with her lingering fear.

That was a couple of hours ago. Now she stands at the window that will be hers for at least a couple more days. The world outside her window looks so carefree and safe. Inside her room she knows better. She knows that the world outside is truly and irreparably cruel and violent. The world outside her window harbors evil and ravages the kind hearted. She had found that out the hard way. She had been kind to the wrong person and paid for her kindness with violence and pain.

She is in her room alone now. Will, the police, and her children had left her to recover about an hour ago. Alone though her mind keeps returning to what had happened to her and nearly her family. Alone that is all she can think about. At least while her husband and everyone had been with her she could think about other things. There had been questions to answer.

Now as she stands looking at the fat little carefree snow flakes she recalls what Officer Stevens had told her about what had happened after she had been shot. He assured her that he had no choice but to shoot the woman. Once Bianca, whose real name was Mary Clarke-Davis, had kept moving towards her after the shot intent on killing her had failed. Officer Stevens had yelled at Bianca to stop in an effort to distract her. Bianca had turned towards him swinging around as if she had forgotten he was even there. Realizing again that he was there she had raised her gun and gotten a wild shot off before Stevens had raised his own hidden gun and shot her. After which she never got up again.

Life moved on after that. To say it went back to normal would be largely untrue. Evaine suffered from terrifying nightmares and although her arm healed she still suffered. She rarely went outside and if she did she never went alone. She had lived through her ordeal she’d repeatedly told herself but a part of her died that day, the kinder part. No, her life was never the same and in truth she never escaped that day for the rest of her days. Her life seemed to freeze at that moment no matter what went on around her, no matter how much time passed. She forever felt alone after that. No matter how her husband Will tried to help her he could not. He had not been there. He had not suffered as she had. He had not feared for his life or the lives of those he loved as she had. He tried his best and she loved him for that, she appreciated him for that. It didn’t help with her fear but it didn’t make it any worse either. As long as she had him to hold and comfort her when times got bad, which they did more than they did not, that was all that mattered.

On the final day of Evaine’s life many, many years later Bianca came to visit her one last time as she was fighting a losing battle with a very high fever. As she lay propped up in her bed with her husband Will dozing beside her Bianca approached her side of the bed. The woman who had tormented her all those years ago had not aged, still looking the same aside from a bullet hole in her chest just above and to the right of her left breast. “You tricked me. You killed me.” Bianca had said. Evaine screamed at the sight of the woman and continued to do so even after Will had woken up and tried to comfort her.

An hour later Evaine’s screaming had finally stopped but she had gone with it. She had died from fear because of the hallucinations brought on by her fever. Finally though she was free from her fear and trauma. Finally she could relax and live a carefree life in the stars with her family and friends that had gone before her.

THE END