A Beach for My Bed (Part III)

The third part of the three-part story is about a man plagued by so much guilt that he runs away from his family. As he wrestles with nothing, his life changes when he meets Louise. Can she save him?

Part I can be found here: A Beach for My Bed.

Part II can be found here: The Magic turns dark.

****

“Open it, bitch, open the door!” yelled Jacko.

He wrenched the door open and dragged Louise out by her hair.

“You are hurting me; please stop. I will make you another coffee. Please don’t hurt me!”

Brian was not a brave man. He thought about what he would want someone to do if it was his daughter. This was Louise, the one person who had been more than kind to him.

He stepped out onto the path, golf club in hand. He felt sick and angry at the same time.

As he did one of the youths threw Louise against the bonnet of his truck, ripping at her clothes.

“You’re gonna pay bitch,” he yelled in an Aussie bogan accent.

“I’ve got coffee all over me. Hold her down.”

The other two grabbed an arm each and held Louise down.

Brian yelled out:

“Get away from her; I have called the police.”

“You’ll get out of here and leave her alone. If you know what is good for you, get out of here!”

The dominant youth looked at Brian. “Get lost, you useless bum; what are you gonna do?”

Brian was almost on top of them now and started swinging the gold club. The two holding down Louise let her go. They looked scared.

“Let’s get out of here,” said one of them “This guy is crazy, and the cops are coming.”

They turned around and started to run off up the road.

“Where are you going, you gutless bastards?"

"Get your arses back here!”

They took no notice of him. Enraged that they had deserted him, he grabbed Louise and threw her against the bonnet again, ripping more of the clothing.

Brian stepped up his pace and ran toward him, swinging his golf club. One swing connected with the man’s arm.

“You bastard! Your dead meat!” yelled the thug, grabbing at his arm.

Brian swung again, but this time was not so lucky. The youth grabbed hold of the club and ripped it out of Brian’s hand.

Brian was no match for him, he was his size and clearly had no fear of fighting. The youth was on top of Brian now. He grabbed him roughly the shirt and rammed his knee into Brian’s stomach.

Brian doubled over; the wind knocked out of him.

As he did, the youth raised his knee, connecting with Brian’s chin.

Brian lost his footing and stumbled to the ground. He struggled to see; everything was blurry.

“Mind your own business next time,” was all that Brian heard as the youth kicked him in the head.

Brian passed out, hitting his head on the ground as he fell backward.

Louise had no one. She was alone with the youth, who was angry and pissed off.

He turned back to Louise, “Just you and me now bitch!”

“Please don’t hurt me, please, I am so sorry!”

He ignored her pleas and threw her against the bonnet of his truck….

**

[Three days later]

Brian opened his eyes slowly, peeping out of one eye and then the other. The light was so bright that he had to open and close them a few times before focusing.

Four pairs of eyes looked down on him. He felt like they were piercing his soul. He recognized Louise and Henry but could not make out the other two.

“Take your time, I am Dr. Leerhoff. It’s good to see you awake,” said one of the unrecognizable figures.

He tried to focus.

Louise smiled at him as he slowly started to recall what had happened.

“Where am I? Are you OK?” he asked Louise in a confused voice.

“Yes, thanks to you; try not to move, Brain; you are a bit bruised and battered,” she replied.

Brain had not tried to move; when he did, pain shot through his arm and his chest. He found it difficult to breathe, and he had a cracker of a headache.

“You have two fractured ribs, some bruises and cuts, and had been in a coma for three days,” explained Dr Leerhoff.

“We need to ask you some questions,” the other unrecognizable figure said.

“I am Inspector Johnston. Are you up to it?”

The last thing Brian wanted was to answer questions from a police inspector.

He sensed in his heart that this was not going to end well.

He felt Louise grab his hand and gently cup it with her own. It was warm and comforting.

“Tell me what happened. Can you remember?”

“And what were you doing at Blue Beach?”

Brian started to panic as he recalled the thugs that had been trying to harm Louise. He saw himself swinging the golf club and connecting with one of them, and then the pain he felt when the other thug hit him back and kicked him several times.

He relayed what he could remember to Inspector Johnston. They went back and forth, piecing together what Brian could remember.

Inspector Johnston seemed happy with his replies, but Brian did not feel this was over; there would be more questions, each leading to the reality of his past.

Then it came.

“And what were you doing down there, Brian?”

“It seems like that was where you were sleeping there?”

Brain panicked again. His head pounded. He felt like a caged animal with nowhere to run.

“Maybe we should let him get some rest. Can you come back tomorrow morning? I am sure you have paperwork to tidy up. You have all three of these bastards in custody,” Henry interjected, sensing Brian was uncomfortable going there.

Inspector Johnston was not pleased, but he could see that Brian would not give him straight answers, so he reluctantly agreed to return tomorrow.

“I need some answers, Brian,” he snapped as he left the room.

“We need to talk, Brian,” said Henry in a far more assuring voice. “Some things have happened that you need to prepare yourself for.”

“I thought as much,” replied Brian.

“They are running your blood and photo through their database, Brian. I had to tell them you had been working at Blue Bay for the last few months at the refuge.”

“I am sure they will find out who you are and what has been going on,” said Henry.

Brian felt that he needed to confess what had happened to Henry. Right now, he needed a friend, and Louise and Henry were all he had.

“I want to help you, but you must tell me what you are running away from.”

“You saved Louise from what could have been very ugly, and I am indebted to you for that. Please let me help you, but you must give me something to go on,” pleaded Henry.

Again, Louise squeezed Brian’s hand. “It will be alright, I promise you,” she said softly, comfortingly. It was almost angelic and filled with warmth that Brian did not feel he could refuse.

Brian took a deep breath. Here goes, he thought. He shuffled uncomfortably, trying to sit himself up a little bit in the bed.

“My real name is Simon Cresi,” explained Brian in a weak and nervous voice. “I have a wife and two children, a boy and a girl. I have abandoned them. Ruined their lives.”

“Did something happen?” asked Henry.

Brian felt the weight of the world on his shoulders.

“I am sure Inspector, whoever it was, will find out that I am wanted for assault. What he does not know is that the man I assaulted robbed me of my life savings."

“ It was my stupid fault. He swindled me. He told me I would make lots of money, and when I invested in his project, he scammed me out of nearly every cent.”

There was silence.

It was the first time Brian had spoken about it, and he felt a strange calm come over him — a sense of release.

“I don’t know whether he is alive or dead. I panicked and left him.”

“Too ashamed to face my family, I ran away. It just kept getting worse: losing the money, assaulting and possibly killing someone, and then just leaving them. I did not know what to do, so I just hid.”

“I just made the beach my bed.”

Again, Louise squeezed Brian’s hand; she was like an angel. He felt safe with her there and again felt a strange calm come over him.

Henry got up and paced the room. Louise sat and cupped Brian’s hand. Brian followed every step Henry took, wondering what he would say. Back and forth he went, back and forth went Brian’s eyes.

Henry eventually sat down. “Brian, we need to tell Inspector Johnston what has happened when he returns tomorrow. It is better if we tell him before he finds out,” added Henry in a soothing voice.

“We will sort this out, Brian; it is not the end of the world. I also think we should contact your family; they will be worried, and I am sure they would love to see you.”

Brian started to cry, overcome with emotional release and the shame of what he had done.

Several days later, Brian was allowed to leave the hospital. He had confessed to Inspector Johnston, who had said he would do all he could to help him with the charges of assault that may be brought against him.

As Brian walked down the hospital corridor, he saw Louise approaching him. To Brian’s surprise, Henry was there with Louise, and they were both waiting for Brian.

Brian took Henry’s hand. “I will never know how to thank you for all you have done, Henry.”

“You already have Brian,” replied Henry. “Louise is my daughter; you saved her from who knows what would have happened.”

Brian turned to Louise. She had tears in her eyes. Those beautiful blue soul-full eyes.

“I will never forget you, Brian,” she said as she wrapped her arms around him.

“This is not goodbye, Louise. I will be back for a coffee. Until then.”

He kissed her on the head, turned, and walked out the door holding his wife and his daughter’s hand.