"What do you think you're doing?" Ralph said, gritting his teeth right onto my face.
His breath, warm and sharp of an expresso shot, hit me like an old memory I couldn't get rid of.
"Ralph I.. I was just trying to…"
"Trying to do what? HELP ME? HUH? You think you can do that Summer?"
"No! I...I love …"
Before Summer could finish her sentence Ralph's eyes widened and he smacked her hard across the face. The impact was so strong, Summer fell to the ground with a loud thud, while the lower lip corner of her mouth started bleeding. Her pale white face was now blood red, and swollen. Whether it was the embarrassment she felt or the hurt of that hard slap her husband laid on her, she couldn't really tell.
She sat near Ralph's feet for a few seconds before gathering up the courage to look up.
"Stay in your limits Summer. Just remember why I got you here. And DON'T YOU DARE EVER ANSWER ME BACK!"
With this, Ralph turned around and left the house cursing Summer and her family in his thick British accent. He left the front door open, where Sunshine sat, curled on the winter snowfall in the front porch. It was unusual this early, but London witnessed some snowfall before Christmas this year. The locality seemed eerily quiet, there was no one in the street, except a delivery man struggling to find the right address. The sunlight filtered through the open door in bits and pieces, almost scattering carefully.
Summer rubbed her hands, talking to herself.
"Mrs Robinson must have gone to her shop by now." she said in a whisper.
Sunshine wanted to enjoy the snow, she looked at Summer with her soft puppy eyes knowing something was wrong and wagged her tail unsure if she should go close and curl up near Summer.
"It's okay sweetheart, I'll get you some food." Summer said in her shivering voice, trying to gain back some normalcy.
She went to the kitchen and added some dog food in Sunshine's new food bowl, then, she went straight to her bedroom remembering the first time she came to London more than a year back. It was the June of 2023.
"Ralph, is London really cold?
"Yes, my love, colder than your city."
"Wow! I really wanna go there some day you know. I want to work in publishing there, maybe some day write my own books."
Ralph looked at Summer with all the love in his eyes, taking in her Indian features- her big brown eyes, her thick lips and eyebrows, her long black hair that bounced on her shoulder every time she moved.
"You know you're beautiful!" He said slowly kissing her right cheek.
"Hey no! Don't do this. If somebody finds out they'll kill me Ralph"
"I won't let that happen my love." Ralph replied pushing back his light golden hair.
'I still can't believe you came all the way to India for me." Summer said, her heart beating fast.
'I had to, it had been months we'd been talking online. I had to come and see you Summer."
Sunshine's sudden bark, broke Summer's nostalgia. She got up from her bed and looked out of the small window on her side of the bed, only to see Sunshine running after a squirrel. Turning around, Summer headed towards the bathroom, then slowly removing her clothes, piece-by-piece she turned on the hot water in her bathtub.
Removing each segment of her clothing felt like peeling off her skin one layer at a time. She looked up in the mirror, now completely naked, her skin rose in the cold, her toe nails curled in the bitter London weather. Her eyes, extremely sad were exhausted due to endless sleepless nights and her body…it burned under her gaze. She lifted her hand and touched her face, the blues on her skin did not pain anymore, they...they only created a hole in her being.
Summer hated herself. She despised her existence, and the fact that she didn't have it in her to let go.
It was half past 11 in the morning, time didn't heal her anymore. She slowly sat in the bathtub, hot water brushing against her sagging breasts when she again heard Sunshine, this time barking more aggressively.
Summer decided to ignore, she tied her hair in a loose bun before closing her eyes; but the barking didn't stop and then all of a sudden, she heard cars racing; too many of them. Before she could understand the situation, five shots were fired. Somewhere real close.
"FUCK THAT MOTHERFUCKER"
"KILL THAT BASTARD!"
"YOU THOUGHT YOU COULD MESS WITH US, YO?
She heard men cursing, one after the other. Then, there was complete silence before she heard one voice that sounded more serious than the others. The accent wasn't British.
"TAKE THAT PACKAGE"
Summer froze in her bathtub, wondering if her Sunshine was safe, there were no more barks. But she felt that if she got up now, she might get killed, her bedroom window was open and her clothes lay on her bed.
She closed her eyes again, trying to breathe, when she heard a woman scream- before it stopped completely. It felt like all this was happening just right next door.
"Is it Sylvie and Ramon?" She questioned herself
"But they... they're such a nice couple. Why would anyone want to kill them?"
"Oh god, maybe it's Henry. He looks a bit shady!"
A final gunshot was fired before Summer could hear the police sirens at some distance. She breathed hard, still not being able to move. Her hands trembled underwater, making soft splashes in the bathtub.
"Thank god!"
But before she could get rid of that feeling of fear, she heard her front door opening. Summer's heart was in her mouth. She took a quick glance at her bathroom door, it wasn't locked, she couldn't make any noise.
Summer quickly closed the curtain and lay very silently in the bathtub water, when she heard footsteps creaking on the wooden floor, she knew someone was coming up. Her breaths, now shallow heightened her anxiety.
"Is it Ralph? Some neighbor? Who could it be?" Summer wondered.
The Police sirens now seemed to be getting closer, Summer held her breath, hoping that the police came in sooner than whoever was climbing up the stairs. She knew whoever it was, that person was right at her bedroom door now.
For a second she decided to call Ralph, but her phone lay on the sink and Ralph would probably scream at her for disturbing him during work hours, she couldn't take another beating from him.
With a click, the bathroom door opened, Summer sat motionless, she could see through the curtain, that it was a man. The curtain slowly shifted, when Summer looked up; and saw him.
"Is she yours?" the man asked wiping bloodstains from his face.
He carefully held Sunshine in his hands, slowly ruffling her hair, while she wagged her tail in that stranger's arms.
Summer slowly nodded, when the man, at least 6 feet tall, with sharp deep blue eyes and hair full of sweat falling on his face handed her Sunshine. The man gazed at Summer, his eyes lingering on her a little longer. His breath was ragged, like Summer's. It was like they were almost in sync with each other.
"You stay here alone? The man asked in his rough, very manlike voice.
Summer nodded a subtle "No!", the police sirens now literally seven to eight houses away, screamed louder in the locality.
"Is there a back door?" The man asked, without any panic or fear on his face.
Summer couldn't take her eyes off him, not that she was smitten or anything, she was just too timid to look away.
She lifted a finger and pointed towards the back door, down the stairs.
The man took one last glance at her and turned around.
"You...will not kill me?" Summer said, against her better judgement, waiting to be shot any time, just like they showed in movies.
The man looked back at her, then curling his lower lip, he came closer and whispered into her ears "Not today, Summer."