Watching a movie with my parents in our living room, my dad’s phone rings. With a concerned look on his face, he stares down at the screen.
‘Excuse me, girls. I need to take this call,’ he says, standing and leaving the room.
‘Should we pause it?’ I ask mum.
‘No, it’s fine, sweetie. Dad has seen this movie before,’ she answers. I return my focus to the film in front of me, and I’m startled when I hear Dad’s tone rise in anger, in the other room.
‘No! That was not part of the deal! You can’t have her. I’m not going over this again with you. She is not for sale! The deal is off. Don’t contact me again, and stay away from my daughter,’ he yells.
I look over at mum who is just as startled as I am about dad’s phone call. I stand and leave the room, and find dad sitting outside near the back door, on the back steps, with his head in his hands.
‘Dad, is everything okay?’ I ask.
‘Yes, darling. Everything is fine.’ He lets out a heavy sigh. ‘Okay, so maybe everything isn’t fine. There is something I need to talk to you about. You know my business has been going downhill, and we have been struggling financially to pay even the basic household bills,’ he says, and I cut him off before he can continue.
‘Dad, it’s fine. I understand. I have two years left of my degree, but mum has taught me everything at her work, in the last few years. I haven’t learnt anything new at uni. I’ll defer my studies for a year or two. I’m sure I can get a part time job at a cafe, to help with the bills or even reception, or admin work somewhere,’ I say. Dad shakes his head. ‘No, Zurielle. It’s more complicated than that. I was offered a large sum of money to help someone with something illegal,’ he says.
‘What kind of illegal work? Are you in some kind of trouble?’ I ask, concerned.
‘I shouldn’t have accepted the offer Zuri-bear. They got me involved in things I’m being blackmailed for. I owe them some money. If I don’t return it, he wants you—’ he mumbles.
‘Who is he? What are they blackmailing you for?’ I ask, looking across at his teary eyes.
‘It doesn’t matter Zuri-bear. You’re my only child. You’re only nineteen. You’re the sweetest, kindest, most beautiful daughter I could ever ask for. I would never hand you over to anyone,’ he says.
‘Does mum know about this?’ I ask.
‘No, I’m going to tell her everything tomorrow. And everything else you need to know. I’m going to return the money in the morning, then we can let mum know. Over my dead body. I would never let him have you!’ He says. I nod.
‘Zuri-bear?’ Dad says.
‘Yes, Dad?’ I answer.
‘No matter what happens, don’t let any man fool you or use you. Men are the worst, most brutal species to exist. They’re nothing but heartless, monstrous beasts.
They only want one thing. To fulfill their desires and their needs. They will use you for your body and throw you away, once they are done. Most men won’t care or notice you, for your kind and gentle personality, or even care how intelligent you are. They will see only your beauty and you deserve more than that. You deserve true happiness and a man who loves you for all of you. I know you will make me proud one day. You’ll find a man who is deserving of you. Always remember this, Zuri-bear,’ he says, and tears roll down my face.
‘I will make you proud. I will be cautious. I won’t trust just anyone,’ I say, and he kisses me on the forehead and caresses my cheek with his thumb.
‘I’m already proud of you, Zuri-bear,’ he says, softly.
‘You missed the rest of the movie,’ Mum says, as she approaches us.
‘It’s okay. We can watch another movie tomorrow, if you like?’ I say.
‘Okay. But I’m choosing the next movie,’ she says, smiling. ‘Okay. As long as it’s not a cheesy, unrealistic, romance movie that would never happen in real life,’ I say, giggling, and Mum scoffs.
‘We’ll see. Anyway, it’s late, and I’m tired, so I’m going to sleep. Are you coming to bed, John?’ She asks, looking at Dad.
‘Of course. Good night Zuri-bear. I love you,’ he says, getting up, taking my mother’s hand, and leaving to go to their room.
I sit on the back steps, and look up at the stars and the moon. A shooting star goes by. I should make a wish!
‘I wish one day to find a man who loves me for me; my other half, my soulmate; a man in love with my personality, rather than my natural beauty, everyone strangely thinks I have,’ I say, smiling, and looking up at the stars.
Rue, my little shihtzu, comes running out the back-door, barking at the back fence.
‘Rue! Come here! There’s nothing there. Just a bunch of trees,’ I yell. Rue runs back toward me, I pick her up and make my way inside, to bed.
I wake up coughing, and to Rue barking. It must be the middle of the night. I rub my eyes, and notice smoke coming in under my bedroom door. Is that smoke? Why aren’t the fire alarms sounding?
I jump out of bed and open my door, only for thick smoke to fill my room. I can’t see past the smoke but I can hear fire burning in the house. I get on all-fours and crawl towards my parents’ room, screaming out for them. ‘Mum! Dad! Fire!’ I yell.
I get to their room, only to find flames coming out from under their door. I’m hoping and praying they have climbed out their window. I have to get myself out. Rue has stopped barking.
‘Rue! Rue!’ I call out.
I hear sirens getting closer; the neighbours must have called the fire brigade, or my parents. I turn around on my hands and knees, and try to get back to my room to climb out my window, but it’s already up in flames. I’m struggling to breathe; I feel the heat of the fire starting to burn me. I crawl faster and almost reach the front door before blacking out.
I wake up to such brightness, I have to cover my eyes with my arm. I can hear beeping sounds, and lots of people talking, and walking around me.
I adjust my eyes, and squint up at the roof.
‘She is waking up,’ someone says. A few different footsteps hurry towards me.
‘Turn the light off,’ a lady says, and the room thankfully becomes darker, and I slowly sit up. My eyes are finally able to fully open. I look around, and take in my surroundings.
I’m in a hospital bed. There are two nurses and a doctor, standing at the foot of my bed, watching me in silence.
My head is aching, and I rub my forehead with my fingers.
‘Why am I here?’ I ask. The nurses give the doctor a solemn look, before looking at me.
‘Do you remember the house fire?’ The doctor asks. As soon as he mentions the fire, I have an instant flashback, remembering everything. I start panicking and cry, reliving it all. The doctor administers an injection into my arm to calm me down. I feel calm and groggy.
‘Miss Summers. I’m sorry you’ve experienced such a traumatic ordeal. You have been in a coma for the last six weeks; you weren’t breathing when the firemen found you just inside your front door. They found you just in time. They carried you out to the ambulance outside your house and performed CPR. We had to put you in an induced coma,’ he explains.
‘My mum and Dad must be so worried about me! Can you tell them I’ve woken? I’d like to see them straight away, please,’ I tell the doctor. His smile becomes a sombre line.
‘Miss Summers, I’m so sorry; your parents died that night,’ he says, and I burst into tears.
‘No! No, that can’t be true! You’re lying!’ I scream.
‘I’m sorry, Miss Summers. I wish I could tell you otherwise,’ he says, looking away sadly.
‘What about their funerals?’ I ask, crying. The doctor turns and opens a cupboard, where two urns sit.
‘Again, I’m so sorry, Miss Summers. No one knew how long you’d be in a coma for. They have been cremated as per their wish, in their wills,’ he explains. I become more and more upset.
‘We will give you some space to process all this, Miss Summers,’ he says, leaving the room.
‘Wait!’ I yell, and he stops and turns.
‘Yes?’ He asks.
‘What about my dog? Rue?’ I ask.
‘I’m not sure, but I can make some phone calls and find out whether Rue survived or not,’ he says, and I nod and watch them leave the room.
My mum and dad are dead; they’re gone! I’m never going to see them again. I wrap my arms around myself and cry, and rock myself, until I fall asleep.
When I wake up, it’s night outside. I reach for the call bell, and press the button. A different doctor from earlier enters the room.
‘Miss Summers. I’m Doctor Wells. The doctor you saw earlier has finished his shift, but he has a message to pass on to you. Unfortunately, your dog Rue didn’t make it. I’m so sorry, Miss Summers,’ she says.
I cry again. My little Rue is dead. My dad bought her for me for my sixteenth birthday.
‘We have told the police you’ve woken from your coma, but they won’t see you until tomorrow,’ Doctor Wells explains. I give her a look of confusion.
‘Why would the police need to see me?’ I ask. Doctor Wells instantly looks very uncomfortable.
‘Oh. I wasn’t aware you weren’t told, Miss Summers,’ she says.
‘Please, my name is Zurielle. Aware of what?’ I ask.
‘Zurielle. The fire was purposely lit; someone murdered your parents. Your parents had stab wounds all over their bodies. Their room was doused in petrol and set alight. The police are still trying to find out who did this, and why you weren’t also killed,’ she says.
I jump out of bed and go into the adjoining bathroom where I vomit into the toilet. My parents were killed! Murdered! While they slept!
Over my dead body. I would never let him have you! Dad’s words resound over and over in my head, until I pass out on the bathroom floor. I wake up in the hospital bed, realising I was meant to survive the fire. Whoever killed my parents want me!
The next morning, I pace back and forth in my hospital room, in my hospital gown. I need to know who the man who murdered my parents is. Is it someone I know? I think of all Dad’s work friends and associates. Damn it! He was going to tell me who it was the next day, before the fire happened.No one really stands out as someone capable of murder. Dad only took me to work events with mum, if he absolutely had to. His associates and colleagues would always stare at me or attempt to flirt with me otherwise.I ignored their advances, and pretended I didn’t hear them or notice them. I instead focused on listening to the speeches.Dad would always thank me for being so graceful and attentive at work functions. He was proud I didn’t give any attention to the ‘hungry men’ or ‘beasts’, as he would call them. I assured him I was there for the function, and not the men. I wasn’t interested in pursuing a relationship with anyone anyway.I’ve never had a romantic connection with any man I’ve met. P
I wake up feeling restless. I get dressed and make my way to the kitchen to make myself a coffee. Hailey is sitting by herself eating breakfast so I join her, and sit down in the chair facing her.‘I’m sorry I haven’t made an effort to talk to you Hailey. I haven’t meant to be rude. I’m still adjusting to a lot. And I’m out of it,’ I explain to her.‘Oh, don’t worry about it,’ she says. ‘I think we all keep to ourselves the first night we arrive. We’re all here because of something bad. We all understand it’s normal to be antisocial at first,’ she says.‘Thank you. I’m glad you don’t think I’m snobby,’ I say, with a smile. Hailey looks up at me and giggles.‘Snobby! I haven’t heard that word in years,’ she laughs, and Debbie enters the room smiling.‘Zurielle! I’m glad to see you up and about. Are you ready to type up your resume’?’ She asks, and I stand.‘Yep, that would be great, to get started,’ I say and follow her out of my room to the computer room.I type down everything I have
The next morning, we arrive at the cafe, and Hailey focuses on taking orders and learning how to make the coffees, while I wash the dishes, and wipe down the tables.Mark and Grace arrive just after eight o’clock, and sit down at the table they were sitting at the day before.Hailey takes their orders and makes their coffees. It’s getting quite busy, so I tell Hailey to keep taking orders while I serve people their coffees.‘Good morning. Your latte and your cappuccino,’ I say, as I place each down in front of them carefully.‘Good morning, Zurielle. How are you this morning?’ Mark asks, sipping his cappuccino. I freeze for a moment. Did this handsome man just ask me how my morning is? No man has ever asked me how my day is. I’ve been standing here gawking at him in admiration. I blush a little, and look away at Hailey who is taking orders.‘My morning has been very good,’ I reply, happily. Mark nods and smiles.‘Good to hear,’ he says.‘Enjoy your coffees. Call me if you need anythin
‘I’ve never had a boyfriend, so I don’t have an ex,’ I explain, watching her go wide-eyed, as she sits down on her bed.‘Are you a virgin?’ She asks.‘Um, I guess so,’ I say, shrugging my shoulders.‘Zurielle! You’re almost twenty-years-old, and you’re super, and I mean super hot, and super beautiful. And you’re a virgin,’ she yells jumping on her bed like it’s a trampoline.‘We need to get you laid girlfriend! Or better yet: have you ever thought about selling your virginity? Do you know how many rich men would want to buy your virginity? You’d probably get paid enough to buy your own house!’ She yells, jumping up and down on the bed again.‘Hailey! Stop yelling. All the other women will hear, and no! I’m not going to sell my virginity. I’m not something you can just buy. Besides, I wouldn’t give it to someone who wants it for the wrong reasons,’ I explain.‘Well, you’re no fun,’ Hailey pouts, and gives me a playful push on the shoulder.‘We should get to sleep. We have work in the m
Hailey begs to come with me to the Snake Pit for safety reasons, but I really want to spend some time alone afterwards, so I go alone.At 6pm, I leave the shelter and walk to the Snake Pit, after half an hour I arrive at road where the Snake Pit should be, there are people arguing, alcohol bottles lying on the ground, and lots of people standing around smoking, and speaking loudly.Even in my oversized hoodie and my skinny jeans, I get a few wolf whistles and men saying, ‘Come over here sweetie!’I keep my head down just enough to avoid eye contact with anyone, and look at the address again to find the right place. The Snake Pit must be around here somewhere… There are a lot of old and rundown buildings, and many drunk people staggering around.I hear the sound of motorbikes stopping, further up the road, and walk in their direction. Outside the Snake Pit are at least fifty, if not more, Harley Davidsons, and their owners, who are smoking and socialising.Hanging above their heads is
On the Yarra River, I spot the Evan Walker Bridge, it’s my favourite bridge in the area made of smooth metal. I make myself comfortable and sit down on a bench, and look out at the water. This bridge always calls to me; the way the piano did at the bar. No one else is around and the stars shine brightly above me.I listen to the sound of the river flowing beneath me, and look up at the stars, at two in particular, shining extra brightly.‘Mum, Dad… I miss you so much,’ I say, bursting into tears.I wonder what they think about me being in a homeless shelter and going to live at a bar next to a biker’s club house. I can imagine the look on Dad’s face. He would be so worried. I saw him worry and stress before work functions, so I can only imagine how worried he would be for me right now.‘Don’t worry Dad. I remember your words, like it was yesterday. I won’t let any man fool me or use me. Men are brutal, heartless, monstrous beasts who only want to fulfill their desire, before they toss
Goosebumps appear on my arms, and my hands tremble with fear, and I drop the note. I stand and look around, at all the people coming and going in the street. The man who murdered my parents could be any of these men!Fear fills me, and I’m scared, so I rush past people, needing to get away. He is here somewhere, watching me and I don’t even know where.My breathing is heavy as I hyperventilate, I pace in circles, looking all around me, panicking. A car horn beeps and someone’s arms latch onto my waist, pulling me out of harm’s way. The car speeds past with the horn still blaring at me.Having warm arms around my waist is soothing; my breathing returns to normal, and I’m feeling more relaxed until someone shouts in my ear.‘What is wrong with you?’ A man yells. I look into the eyes of the man I spilt my coffee on and register him still holding me. I glare at him, and he steps back, and releases me from his grip.‘What is wrong with you?’ I yell back.‘You can’t just go around grabbing
I keep to myself most of Sunday, and think about my parents, the murder and the note. I think about visiting Hailey, and don’t, because I’ll see her in the morning at work.In the middle of the night, I wake to a man yelling and screaming, at the club house next door. It goes on for half an hour, before I get up, open the window, and peer out at the club house, and see a few members outside smoking.‘Hey guys!’ I yell, and they look up at my window.‘Zurielle!’ They all yell, happily.‘Um, I’m trying to sleep and whatever’s going on over there is awfully loud. Do you think you can turn it down a notch, so I can sleep?’ I ask.‘Viper! You need to muffle him! Zurielle’s trying to sleep,’ one of them yells, to Viper, who must be inside.‘Sorry Zuri. We’ll do business a bit more quietly for you. Sleep well!’ He yells back. I close the window and go back to sleep, uninterrupted.I get ready, get on the bus, and wave to Hailey as she gets on, and runs up to me.‘Zuri! How was your weekend a