Chapter Three: Travelers in the Night
When Zorell entered the house, she was so preoccupied by her own thoughts that she ran into their maid Stella, who was stunned by their collision.
“Oh, Miss Zorell, I’m so sorry,” she said as she helped Zorell off the floor.
“Don’t worry about it, Stella. It was my fault,” she said, once she was on her feet. “I’m worn out with the wedding and all. I think I’ll just go up to my room and take a rest.”
“Can I bring you some tea, ma’am?” Stella asked.
“No, that’s alright,” Zorell said and looked towards the stairs. “I’m not thirsty.” She walked away and dawned the staircase, wanting nothing more than to lie in her nice soft bed.
Once she got to her room she felt as if she would pass out from exhaustion. It had been an emotional day, but she still needed to pack the things that she intended to take with her. She wasn’t going to take much, only the things she couldn’t part with.
She wasn’t like most girls when going on a trip. Eloise would take four trunks and two carry-ons for a simple weekend trip to the lake. Zorell liked to pack light, so she would only take half the clothes she owned, including the secret dress that she had hidden. She was starting a new life, and anything she needed after the move she would buy. She had a nest egg saved up which would sustain her for at least several months, even if she wasn’t making a regular income, but she would be working soon so she would be more than capable of supporting herself without Leland’s or anyone else’s help.
She looked through her jewelry box and fished out the gold locket that was left to her by her mother. When she was twelve, her grandmother gave it to her for Christmas. Her father never knew about it, and she managed to hide it from him all this time. She always wondered if he came in to her room and rummaged through her things, but her jewelry box was always locked and untouched every time she checked. She also had her mother’s wedding ring. Devlin had it for a while but decided to give it to Zorell thinking that it would be more fitting for a girl to have and not him. When he asked Eloise to marry him, he had bought a new one that he felt fitted her taste better. Zorell was the one who helped him pick it out.
When she was away at nursing school, she had taken both the locket and the ring with her, and it was the only time she had ever worn either item of jewelry. She wouldn’t take the chance of her father ripping the few things she had of her mother away from her.
She had a velvet box and put the few pieces she loved inside. Everything else she would leave behind. She didn’t need much to survive, so she would only take one case and a carry-on. She hid her bags in the closet just in case her father came home. She didn’t want him walking in and see packed bags lying about. She laid her handbag on the dresser and changed out of her dress and into something more comfortable. She lay down on her bed for a few hours’ rest. She wound up her alarm clock and set it so she didn’t oversleep.
She drifted off to sleep but was awakened a few hours later by a knock on the door. It wasn’t a quiet knock, more like a notch below a pounding. “Zorell!” She heard her name being called. As soon as she heard the voice, she knew it belonged to her father. Panic came over her thinking he had learned of her plans.
She jumped out of bed and put on her robe and answered the door. “Why all the shouting?” she asked, and her father looked as stern as always.
“Why did you leave the reception?” he asked as he stepped inside.
“Because I was tired,” she said and sat down on her bed. She wanted a little more rest, but there was no way that was going to happen with his barking. “It’s been a long day, and I needed some sleep.”
“I saw you leave with Leland Freeman,” he said and his sternness lightened a bit.
“He only offered me a ride home, Father,” she said and grabbed her pillow. “Can I please go back to sleep now?”
“First, I want to know about you and Leland,” he said, pacing around her room. “Is there something I should know?”
“Why do you need to know everything?” she asked defiantly. She felt as if she were being interrogated.
“When it pertains to my family, I have every right,” he said and grabbed her arm. “You’re my daughter, and I demand to know what is between you and the Freeman boy.”
“That’s my business, not yours,” she said defiantly and pulled her arm back. There was a red mark from him squeezing her arm too hard. She hoped there wasn’t going to be a bruise, but it wasn’t as if he hadn’t done it before. He hit her numerous times, but most of the time Devlin would intervene and protect her.
She was a young woman now, and she wasn’t going to let him abuse her anymore, not physically or emotionally. “Now, you will tell me, young lady,” he shouted, while pointing a finger at her.
“Figure it out,” she said and had a sly look on her face.
He remained silent, but that look of satisfaction came to his face. He turned and left her room, which gave her some relief. She checked the time, and it was nearly eight o’clock. He would be in bed by ten as he always was, then she could make her getaway. It seemed like fate had decided that she would find that letter and both she and Leland would get what they wanted.
She lay back down and let herself drift off. Dreams took hold of her and regressed her back to a happier more innocent time in her life.
Dream sequence
“Throw the ball to me, Devy,” a young girl no more than five with long brown hair called out.
She had it in two messy braids and was wearing a plain blue dress and playing outside with her older brothers. She was the youngest of her siblings that all consisted of boys. Devlin was the eldest, and the one who always protected her from harm. That’s when he wasn’t teasing her about being a frail little girl. She could hold her own against the boys, even when Zach and Trevor were always rough housing and getting her into trouble.
The boy threw the ball, and she did her best to catch it. Her little arms tried to hold onto it, but she fell backwards into the water.
“Zo!” the boy called after her. She was sitting in the shallow waters holding onto the ball. The boy ran towards her worried that she had injured herself. “Are you okay?”
“I caught it,” she said smiling and then threw the ball at him, which he caught it easily.
She walked out of the water soaking wet with her feet and hands muddy and her hair a mess. “You didn’t hurt yourself, did you?” Devlin asked her.
“No, silly, now, let’s go play,” she said and ran off to where her other two other brothers were wrestling. She tried to get into the fray, but a thunderous voice stopped their moment of fun.
“What is going on here?” a tall dark-haired man asked. He towered over the four small children. The two boys cowered in fear, but the spunky five-year-old girl looked much more confident. “Why are you soaking wet?” There was an angry look in his eyes.
“Just playing ball,” she said with a little giggle. “I fell in the water, but I caught it.” She stood tall, as tall as she could manage, and looked up at him proudly.
“Little girls don’t play ball, and they don’t swim in the lake with a pretty Sunday dress on,” he said and grabbed her arm. “Nice clothes cost money, and you need to learn to behave like a lady should.” He raised his hand up ready to hit her when a boy’s voice called out stopping him.
“No!” he shouted, running up to the scene. “It wasn’t her fault, Father. It was mine. I threw the ball at her.””
“Then you will both get punished,” he said and brought his hand up and slapped the little girl across the face. She fell down on the ground crying.
Her brother tried to come up to her and comfort her, but he was pulled away by their father, who dragged him away into the woods. All three remaining children could hear was the screams of their eldest brother.
Zorell woke with a grasp. Her heart was beating fast as she looked at the clock that read 11:28. She was still shaking from the nightmare when she sat up in bed. She just had enough time to change and make her getaway. She looked down at her wrist and saw that it had already turned faintly purple. She was angry about that, and she realized that she had to leave if for no other reason but for her own survival.
She changed into a simple dress of off white, adequate for traveling, and a pair of brown boots. She brushed her hair and pinned it to the back of her head. She thought of cutting it short, but she actually liked it long. Short hair was a sign of female rebellion, but in truth it was just much more convenient and easier to manage for most women. Zorell often laughed at the seriousness society placed on appearances.
She looked at the clock again and saw that she had less than ten minutes. She grabbed her bag and carry-on and quietly left her room. She looked back once and looked around. It would be the last time she would ever live in this room again in her life. She didn’t hate the room, just some of the memories it kept.
She tried not to make a sound, and even though her father’s room was the furthest down the hall, he was a light sleeper and would hear the slightest noise. Many times, when she was a child, she was punished for roaming the house at night when she couldn’t sleep, or if she had crawled into bed with Devlin after having a nightmare. It was all purely innocent, but her father was against boys and girls sleeping in the same room much less sharing a bed even if they were just mere children.
Her father tended to punish her over the silliest things, and his punishments were usually brutal and did not fit the crime. It was like sending a petty thief to the gallows which was a punishment that was better suited for a murderer. For years, she tried to be the perfect daughter and do everything his said, but she never seemed to measure up. He would then punish her for it, but all that ended tonight.
She managed to sneak down to the first floor without anyone noticing and walked to the front door without making a sound and quickly put her coat on. Even in summer, the nights could be chilly and fall would soon come, and she would need something to keep her warm when she was out and about in the city. She was just about to open the door, when she felt a hand on her shoulder.
She gasped, knowing she had been caught. She was so close to escaping her dismal existence, and it was about to all end now. She turned to see it was Stella, the one servant that her father allowed in the household.
“Miss Zorell, what are you doing up so late?” she asked with a look of concern on her face. “You know your father doesn’t like…”
“I don’t care what he doesn’t like,” she said and the maid bowed her head.
She was afraid of the man just as so many others who had come and gone in his employ, but Stella stayed because she needed the money. She was a live-in servant so she didn’t have to pay for room and board, but Damon Dupree paid her very little.
Because of an incident that happened when she was a teenager, she couldn’t get hired anywhere else. It was either work for Dupree or starve in the streets. Finding a husband was out of the question as well. She was not a pretty girl, although she was only twenty-eight and should have still been in her attractive faze. She was awkward and shy and not good in social situations, but Zorell liked her despite of her shortcomings.
Stella knew most everything that went on in the house, but she never breathed a word to her father about some of the things Zorell and her brothers had done behind his back. If nothing else, she knew that she could trust her.
“I’m sorry, Stella, but I’m leaving for good,” Zorell said and Stella looked shocked.
“Why would you leave, Miss Zorell?” she asked, looking confused. “This is your home.”
“No, it’s just the place I grew up, but it was never a home. Please, Stella, don’t tell my father, at least not until morning,” she said with a look of desperation in her voice. “If you have to say anything, just tell him I ran off with Leland.”
“Why would you do that?” Stella asked and shook her head. “Everyone knows that there’s nothing romantic between young Mister Freeman and yourself.”
“Just do it, okay?” she asked, and Stella nodded in agreement. “I’ll miss you.”
She gave Stella a quick embrace, before opening the door. She picked up her suitcase and ran quietly towards the bushes. Once she reached the edge, she looked back one more time and saw Stella standing there in the doorway. Even though she couldn’t see her face clearly, she felt sadness coming from the woman. Without Zorell it was more than likely his anger would be pitted more towards Stella. He had a hatred for women, or she thought he did. He was civil to the Freeman women, but no others she could think of.
Poor Stella, if she could have, she would have taken her with her, but as things stood, she would be barely able to take care of herself, at least for a while.
She found Leland’s car at the spot where they decided he would wait for her. He was sitting in his car humming some tune. She didn’t know what it was, perhaps something he made up himself.
“Were you bored waiting for me?” she asked as he opened the car door and stepped out.
“You’re ten minutes late,” he said and took her suitcase from her. “I thought that you would have more luggage than this. Eloise usually brings ten trunks whenever we would go on a trip.”
“I’m not Eloise, and I like to travel light,” she said and walked to the other side of the car and opened the door. She sat down in the passenger’s seat and waited for him to get inside after putting her suitcase in the trunk.
He was quiet about it seeing that it was the middle of the night, and he didn’t want to draw any attention. He turned on the engine of the car and pulled out onto the street. Zorell was tapping on the dashboard to the rhythm of the song that she heard Leland humming earlier.
“What are you doing?” he asked as he looked over at her tapping on everything.
“That tune you were humming,” she said as she stopped her tapping and looked him in the face. All he could do was blush after he had been busted for his guilty pleasure. He would only hum or sing songs when he thought no one was listening. “It needs a drum sound, so start humming…unless it has actual words.”
“You heard that?” he asked and looked fully embarrassed. “It’s just a song I wrote.”
“Oh, really, for who?” she asked, but he suddenly lost his ability to speak. “Let me guess. Shanee.”
“You got me, it’s back when we were together that I wrote it for her,” he said and his eyes turned back to the road. “You should have seen the look in her eyes the first time I sang it to her. I played it on that little beat up banjo of mine.”
Zorell laughed while throwing her head back. “Not that old dirty red banjo you played when we were kids.”
“Yes, and I still have it in my apartment in Chicago,” he said and turned back to the road. “I wish nothing more than to play that song for her again.”
“You will, but in the meantime, sing it for me,” she said, and he turned back and smiled.
“Are you sure you want to hear this?” he asked and she nodded. “You asked for it,” he said and opened his mouth to sing the sappy love song he wrote for his love.
Sweet September rain
Falling down on me
Please bring my love
Back to me
I want to smell the flowers
And lie on the soft grass
Alone here with my sweet Shanee
He stopped looking embarrassed just as Zorell was humming along to the melody. “Oh, why did you stop? That was beautiful.”
“It’s embarrassing, that’s why? The only person who was ever supposed to hear that song was Shanee, and I don’t…”
“She’s going to be fine, Lee,” she said, putting a hand on his shoulder.
He turned to her with a sullen look in his eyes. “You don’t know that.”
“Yes, I do,” she said and had a look of determination in her eyes. Leland didn’t look convinced. “Okay, I’ll bet you.”
“On what?” he asked confused.
“Your Banjo,” she said, and he burst out laughing. She laughed too.
“Fine, it’s a bet,” he said and turned his eyes back to the road.
****************************************************
After driving for a few hours, Zorell became tired and fell asleep. Leland didn’t want to stop driving, and drove straight through the night. He found that it relaxed him more, but in no way, did it keep his mind off Shanee. The trip would take another day but putting as many miles between them and Zorell’s father would be best for both of them.
She drifted in and out of sleep tossing and turning and it seemed like she was having nightmares, but he just kept driving. It was becoming apparent to him why she had no second thoughts about leaving home. He always knew Mister Depree was strict and that he and Zorell didn’t get along, but this was the first time he suspected any real abuse.
It went on like that, until he was starting to drift of too. He didn’t want to take the chance of getting into an accident, so he stopped when he saw a motel. A few hours’ sleep would do the trick for both of them. He nudged Zorell to get her to wake up, but she just grumbled and swiped her hand at him.
“Come on, Zo, wake up,” he said, and she slowly opened her eyes and looked at the blurred image of a man leaning over her.
“Get away from me!” she shouted and turned over and opened her eyes. She was in a haze and didn’t realize that the sleeve of her coat rolled up a bit and revealed the bruise that she received earlier that evening.
“Hey, what happened here?” he asked her as he gently took her hand. She was still unfocused but no longer fighting him. “He did this to you, didn’t he?”
“It doesn’t matter anymore,” she said and hid the bruise once again. “Where are we, anyway?”
“About fifty miles outside Chicago,” he said and looked up at the sky through the window on the passenger side of the car. “The sun is about to come up.”
“That means my father is about to find out that I’m missing,” she said and stretched out her arms. “I thought we could get something to eat and find a motel to stay at for a few hours and get some sleep.”
“Sure, why not,” she said and opened the car door so she could stretch her legs.
She could see the sun coming up from the dirt road they were traveling on, and Chicago was just a day away. It seemed that Leland didn’t want to stop on their journey, but it wasn’t safe to drive while tired and after everything that transpired over the last twenty-four hours, he needed a rest. Zorell knew in her heart that he wouldn’t have any kind of peace of mind, until he saw Shanee and knew that she was going to be alright.
“You’ll feel better once you get something to eat,” she said and took his arm. They walked together putting the past behind them and only thoughts they had was about what the future would hold.
Historical Fiction
1 Likes
813 Views
Share: