The old Ford Mustang veered off to the side of the road and came to a complete stop. Angel slowly stepped out of the car and stretching her arms and legs, inhaling the crisp fresh mid-morning air. She reached into a pack of cigarettes inside her car and pulled one out, lighting it and closing her eyes as she inhaled. Her tears were hovering just below the surface.

She was close to the town of Argus Falls and she knew that as soon as she drove over the next rise she would be able to see the town. That thought of that made her heart race and her stomach fill with butterflies. She finished her cigarette and stubbed it out on the ground at her feet then she leaned forward and placed her elbows on top of the car and ran her fingers nervously through her thick dark hair. She couldn’t believe she was this close to Argus Falls.

When she had left the town of Argus Falls fourteen years earlier, her father had made it clear that he never wanted to see her again. Her father was a stubborn, formidable man. He was a devout Catholic and a hard worker. He thought everyone should work as hard as he did and he ran his home with an iron fist. Angel thought of the thick black leather belt that hung near the back door of the house as a reminder to behave. It had been used plenty of times to teach them to behave. She felt shaky and faint as she thought about it and she wondered if her father had ever managed to forgive her after all these years.

The tears Angel had been fighting to hold back suddenly began to roll down her face. She looked at the blurry mountains as her tears fell. The mountains were as beautiful as she remembered and off in the distance she spotted the lake where she had gone fishing with her father as a child.

Getting this close to Argus Falls had not been an easy task for Angel. She had come a long way and purchased the old Ford Mustang after getting off the Greyhound bus near Chicago. She had gone south to Texas and then up north to Michigan and Illinois several times in an attempt to ensure that no one was following her and to throw them off her trail. It had been exhausting going from west to east, by way of north and south, but she had done it. It had taken her well over a month to make a journey that would normally have taken less than a week if she had gone by direct route, but now at long last she was close to her destination.

She nervously lit another cigarette and struggled to wipe away her tears which seemed to fall no matter what she did to try and stop them. Her knees were shaking and her hands were trembling as she dropped the last of her cigarette on the ground and then forced herself to get back inside her car. This was it. She gripped the steering wheel and started the engine. It was time to finish the journey that began fourteen years earlier. As her car rounded the top of the ridge and began its decent into the valley below, her heart raced and her palms sweat.

She could see as she got closer to the town that nothing much had changed. There were a few new businesses here and there that had been added, but basically everything was almost exactly as she remembered it and part of her wondered if she had somehow been transported back in time.

She pulled her car to a stop across the street from her father’s old hardware store. The store was wedged between two other buildings on Main Street and a big sign reading Pirelli’s Hardware still hung above the storefront. She could tell the sign had been painted a few times over the years, but other than that, it looked almost the same.

The windows on the front of the store were colorfully decorated, advertising half-off on certain clearance items and seventy-five percent savings on others. She strained to see inside the store from where she was parked across the street. She could see very little and instinctively she slunk down in the car suddenly dreading the idea of being discovered.

She was fatigued from her traveling and as she sat there wondering what to do next her mind drifted back in time and almost without realizing it, she was soon asleep. It wasn’t until there was a loud knock on the passenger side window of her car that she was jolted back to reality. As she opened her eyes she could see that it was now dark outside and that she had slept in her car all afternoon.

She peered out the car window at the dark shadow of the man who was bending over and knocking on her car window. As the image came into focus, she realized the man tapping on her window looked a lot like her brother Frank. What were the odds?

“Hey can I help yah with something?” Frank’s muffled voice came through the glass. He was squinting at her and attempting to see her more clearly.

Angel leaned forward and rolled down the car window so they could get a better look at each other.

Frank was relieved to see that she was alive and well. Part of him feared he might find her overdosed the way she had sat there in her car for hours not moving. He had been watching her. “You’ve been parked here a long time and I just wondered if your car was giving you trouble,” Frank had not seen a ’67 Mustang in years. He marveled that he was looking at one now and that it was still running. He reasoned that it might have even been worth something if the paint wasn’t so badly damaged and the body so badly banged up.

Angel couldn’t speak at first as she looked at him through the open window.

“I work over at the garage,” Frank motioned towards the garage down the street across from where she was parked. “I could help you fix your car if you’re having trouble,” He offered.

The large silver crucifix Frank had worn ever since his first communion dangled in front of her eyes. It always hung around his neck and as he leaned forward it had fallen out of his shirt. When Angel saw the uniquely familiar crucifix, there was no longer any doubt in her mind that she was looking at her brother Frank.

Frank couldn’t understand why she wasn’t responding to his questions. He knelt down even more to get a closer look at her and the minute he saw her face he was startled, as if he had seen a ghost.

“Is there something wrong?” Angel asked.

Frank instinctively pushed himself away from the car. “Nah, it’s just that…” His voice trailed off as he backed away.

“It’s just that what?” Angel encouraged him to answer as her heart raced.

“You look like someone I used to know, that’s all,” He said vaguely and he was careful to keep his distance, “but you couldn’t be her because, well because I think she’s dead,” He said, trying to gather his wits. He then breathed a heavy sigh and turned away, determined to leave, “Hey I didn’t mean to bother you,” He called out as he began walking away.

Angel quickly opened her car door and stepped out so that she could see him better, “Frank?” She asked and he whirled around to face her.

It took a moment, but then Frank finally realized that maybe it was her. “Angel?” He asked, not daring to get his hopes up.

Angel nodded, “It’s me Frank, it’s Angel,” She choked.

Frank rounded the car in a matter of seconds and threw his arms around her, “Oh my God, it can’t be,” He said as he pulled her tightly to him, then pushed her away in order to get a better look at her.

“It’s me Frank,” Angel said. She noticed that Frank looked a lot like he had at sixteen. He was still strong, lean, and very handsome. The years had been kind to him.

Angel’s features were unmistakable, and Frank knew without a doubt it was really her, especially when he saw the small pock mark on her right temple from when she had chicken pox as a child, “Oh my God, I thought I would never see you again,” Frank said in disbelief.

“Me too,” Angel choked. Her eyes were burning with tears as they stood looking at one another, neither of them knowing what to say or do next.

“How have you been?” Frank finally asked, “Where have you been?”

Angel knew it was best not to go into detail just yet, “I’ve been here, there, and everywhere,” she smiled. “What about you, how have you been and what have you been up to since I left?”

“I’ve been right here in Argus Falls,” Frank smiled, “I’m a mechanic like I said,” and he pointed once more across the street at the garage.

Angel glanced at the garage and then looked directly across the street at the empty hardware store. It was closed now. It was Saturday night and the store always closed early on Saturday and Sunday nights.

“Oh my God, let’s go somewhere where we can talk,” Frank suggested.

“Ok,” Angel smiled.

There was a small diner not far from where they stood and they walked side by side to the diner. Everything seemed surreal to both of them and Angel stopped briefly to smoke a cigarette before they entered the diner. She knew she couldn’t survive an entire meal without a smoke.

“That’s a nasty habit,” Frank tried to joke, but it was obvious he didn’t approve of her smoking.

Angel shrugged, “I know.”

When all was said and done Frank didn’t care whether or not Angel smoked or what she did at that moment. All that mattered to him was that she was alive and well and had somehow found her way back to Argus Falls after all these years.

In a small town like Argus Falls, nearly everyone knew everyone else, and if they didn’t know who someone was they had a vague idea how that person fit in. Martin Pirelli, owner of Pirelli’s Hardware was a well known public figure in the small town and almost everyone in Argus Falls either knew him or at least knew who he was.

As Angel and Frank sat down at a table in the diner, they got a lot of stares. Several people whispered in hushed tones. Many of the people in the diner remembered or had at least heard of the young Pirelli girl who had run away from home at the age of fourteen and never returned. All of them speculated that the woman with Frank just might be her.

Frank tried his best to ignore the gawking, “I really missed you Angel.” Angel’s real name was Angelica, but no one ever called her Angelica.

“Tell me more about yourself Frank,” Angel encouraged with enthusiasm.

Angel and Frank were two years apart in age and had been inseparable while growing up. Frank was older than Angel and for several years after Angle ran away he had been angry with her for leaving, but so many years had passed by now that he had gotten over his disappointment long ago.

Frank began to tell her about himself. Thirteen years earlier he had been the star quarterback for the local high school football team but because of a knee injury, he had not been able to play college football as planned. He couldn’t afford the college tuition on his own without a scholarship, so he had ended up staying in Argus Falls, eventually becoming a mechanic and marrying his high school sweetheart. After several years of marriage and heavy drinking, Frank’s wife left him and he got divorced, but he was still in love with his ex-wife Amanda and he hadn’t ever remarried. It turned out that Frank had a seven-year-old son named Colton that he saw on a regular basis. Angel couldn’t help but smile as she noticed the affection in Frank’s eyes when he talked about Colton.

As Frank continued talking, Angel couldn’t help but notice how carefully he managed to skirt around the subject of their father. Frank talked about their oldest sister Aurora next. She was married and had two sons. She was still a “bitch” according to Frank. Everyone had always called her Rori, rather than Aurora and she was about five years older than Angel.

Frank smiled, “Ma’s still the same.”

Angel thought of her mother, slightly plump with a warm, nurturing and bubbly demeanor. The woman was soft spoken, and Angel wondered if she had ever managed to have an independent thought since the day she had married Martin Pirelli.

The two people Angel wondered the most about were the two she was reluctant to ask about, so she waited and let Frank bring them up.

Frank looked down at his food, “Pop’s still the same Angel,” Frank finally said, “He’s as stubborn as ever; maybe even more so. He disowned you ages ago, but I think you already know that.”

Angel looked away, wishing the tears weren’t stinging her eyes, “What about my baby, what about Mia?” Seeing her baby again was one of the main reasons Angel had wanted to come back. The last thing her father Martin had said to her when she left was that he would put her baby up for adoption because the baby was a bad seed born out of wedlock.

Frank smiled broadly, “Mom and Pop kept Mia.”

Angel didn’t know whether to jump for joy or be angry, she was leaning toward angry. She longed to see her child again, but thinking of her parents raising her did not set that well with her.

“Oh God Angel, you should see her, she’s beautiful,” Frank said before he could stop himself. “She reminds me so much of you,” and then Frank grew more serious, “But thank God she’s not a rebel like you were,” He raised his eyebrows, “She’s a good girl and sometimes Pop’s been a little hard on her over the years, but he loves her Angel. I can see it in his eyes every time he looks at her.”

Angel began to feel the old familiar feeling of rejection, “Well maybe he was able to give her the love he couldn’t give me,” Angel said sadly and then she closed her eyes, “I really want to see her Frank.”

Frank looked away uncomfortably, “I know you do Angel; I figured you would,” he paused and then he forced himself to continue, “But Pop told her you were dead to us and he won’t let any of us so much as speak your name anymore, especially her.”

Angel’s eyes filled with tears, “I knew it would be like this,” She said with disdain and the pain on her face was unmistakable.

Frank tightened his jaw as he observed his sister’s pain. “But now that you’re back, Pop might change his mind,” Frank smiled, “Maybe when he sees you, the past will disappear and he’ll forget his anger,” but in the back of his mind, Frank had serious doubts and so did Angel. Martin Pirelli was the type of man who could hold a grudge forever and not think twice about it, even if it was against his own child.

“No,” Angel said, “He’ll never forgive me,” and she suddenly couldn’t stand it anymore. She had to get away, “Is that old motel on Hanover Street still around?” She asked, “I think I need to get a room so I can get some rest.”

Frank was not surprised she wanted to leave so soon after their discussion about their father. He nodded, “You can stay with me if you want,” Frank offered, even though his apartment was a complete disaster and was very small.

“Thanks Frank, but I need time to be alone right now,” Angel said and she honestly felt that if she didn’t get out of the diner soon she might explode.

Frank could tell she was hurting and he knew it was best not to push her right now and to just to let her go. She needed time, “OK, well the Hanover Motel is still there as big as life.” Frank smiled, “I’ll get the check,” Frank picked up the little piece of paper left on the table by the waitress.

Angel hugged him a quick goodbye, “I’ll see you again soon Frank, I promise,” She fled the restaurant and got in her car and drove to Hanover Street. She stopped only briefly at a store where the neon sign was advertising liquor. She rushed into the store and bought a large bottle of vodka before continuing on to the old Hanover Motel.

The motel desk clerk was an older gentleman who gave Angel the creeps the way he looked at her. She rented a smoking room and couldn’t wait to get in there and have a cigarette.

“Sure thing little lady,” The man grinned with admiration as he handed her a room key.

The last thing Angel needed was someone gawking at her the way the clerk was and she stifled an impulse to tell him where to shove it because there weren’t many motels in Argus Falls and she knew if she wanted a place to stay she would have to grin and bear it for now.

When Angel was finally alone in her dingy motel room, she lay on the bed and looked up at the faded yellow ceiling. This old motel was by far one of the sleaziest motels she had ever been in, and that was saying a lot. Tears began to roll out of Angel’s eyes, despite her best efforts to hold them back. She reached for the bottle of vodka she had bought and took a swig. The hot liquid burned down her throat and warmed her insides. She lit a cigarette as the vodka began to take effect and she closed her eyes and wished the sharp pain in her chest would subside.

When all was said and done, Angel couldn’t stand being alone. All of her demons came back to haunt her nearly every time she closed her eyes. John’s, Jane’s, ropes, chains, whips, skimpy lingerie, and slimy greasy men flitted into her conscious mind every time she closed her eyes and attempted to forget. She thought fondly of the other women, but then she cringed as she remembered the filth. It wasn’t the type of filth found at the Hanover Motel, this was a different sort of filth, a gut wrenching putrid sort of filth. Then when images of Rico began to fill her mind, it became unbearable. She sat straight up on the bed and guzzled more vodka, sputtering a little as it burned down her throat. She knew she had to get out of there.

She quickly showered and put on some fresh clothes. She fixed her hair and makeup and shrugged with satisfaction as she looked at herself in the mirror. She locked her motel room door behind her and went to the main office once more. The old motel clerk was still sitting there, watching his fuzzy television and chewing his disgusting tobacco.

Angel smiled at him sweetly, “Do you know where there’s a bar around here?”

The man looked at her with appreciation as he spat a wad of chew into the soggy paper cup he was holding, “Sure do,” He could feel his pecker getting hard as he looked at her. Her perky breasts and hard nipples protruded through her tight blouse. She had undone her blouse an extra button for effect. And the clerk hadn’t seen anyone wearing that short of a skirt in a long time. “There’s a bar on route 78, just follow the highway and you’ll come right to it.”

“Does this bar have a name?” Angel asked with raised eyebrows.

The man, whose name happened to be Charlie, grinned at her, “It’s changed hands a few times, but I think it’s called Red’s Barn these days.”

“Thank you,” Angel smiled warmly at him, “What did you say your name was?”

He cleared his throat, “Charlie,” He could barely spit the words out by now.

“Thank you Charlie,” Angel grinned in a seductive manner before turning to leave.

It would take Charlie a few minutes before he could continue watching his television. He was sweating.

The bar was located on route 78 and it was crowded. Angel thought it looked promising, considering how many dives she had seen in her life. This one didn’t look half bad.

At first no one in the bar noticed her because the bar was packed. There were wall to wall bodies and everyone was busy getting their buzz on. But soon the regulars began to stare with intent at Angel. Plenty of the men began to set their sights on her.

Angel knew the score. She wouldn’t be paying for any of her drinks, and she planned to get plastered. She may have nothing left of value besides her looks, but she knew how to use those.

Angel consumed glass after glass of everything and anything she could get her hands on as man after man bought her a drink. The men kept accidentally bumping up against her and then apologizing. They generously offered to show her how to hold her cue stick as she played pool with them. She wiggled her wares as they ogled her with lust. If she had been sober she would have been ashamed of herself, but she was way beyond sober.

Angel told herself how much fun she was having, but “fun” wasn’t really the word to describe the feelings of numbness that slowly overtook Angel’s body.

Angel was making quite a spectacle of herself. After awhile she was dancing and stumbling around, continuing to flirt with every man in the place, and a couple of the women. Two men had been sizing up the situation all night long. They concluded they might be able to get lucky if they played their cards right. They plotted to lure her into the back room as soon as she was drunk enough, and to give her a good screwing.

As usual, Jordan Parker was sitting at his regular table in the corner of the bar. He was around 35 years old with neatly trimmed sandy brown hair. He was definitely handsome, but most of the regulars ignored him. He kept to himself and no one could figure out why he was always at the bar. When he saw Angel, at first he thought he was seeing things. She was a knockout by anyone’s standards and it had been awhile since he had seen a complete knock out like her. He watched her the entire night because he couldn’t take his eyes off of her.

“Come on little Angel,” Lou smirked. He was one of the men who had his sights set on Angel, and he began leading her into the back room.

Angel willingly followed.

“That’s it darlin’,” his pal Merlin smiled lustfully as he took her other arm.

They were like two wolves leading a lamb to the slaughter. She was damn near incoherent by now, and much of what she mumbled in her drunken state made no sense to anyone.

Just before they reached the back, Lou felt a hand grip his shoulder, “Let her go,” He turned around to see that it was Jordan Parker.

“Aw c’mon Doc,” Lou said, “She told us she wanted it.”

“She’s had way too much to drink,” Jordan said, “She doesn’t know what she wants.”

Angel was swaying on her feet and the room was spinning. Lou held her steady as she tried to balance herself. She looked up into Jordan’s face and for a moment she thought she was seeing things. There was something hauntingly familiar about him and it unnerved her. “Who are you?” She slurred as she squinted to focus.

Jordan pushed Lou away and caught Angel as she stumbled forward, “Jordan Parker,” He said as she fell against him.

“He’s a doctor,” Merlin said, as if Angel had asked for Jordan’s credentials.

“Doctor,” was the last thing Angel heard before her eyes closed.

“That’s it,” Jordan said as he looked down at Angel’s limp form. He motioned with his head for Lou and Merlin to leave, “She’s passed out. I’ll take it from here.”

Merlin and Lou were no strangers to disappointment. They never thought they would actually be able to carry out their plan, but they had both reasoned it was worth a try. They didn’t fuss much when Jordan Parker stepped in to take over, and he wasn’t the type to argue with. “I gotta get home to the wife anyway,” Merlin said. “Yeah, me too,” Lou said.

Jordan watched the two men leave and then he looked down at Angel. She looked a lot more peaceful as she lay against him, passed out. Jordan gently picked her up in his arms and carried her out to his waiting pickup truck. He placed her in the passenger side seat and then climbed in the driver’s side. He wondered what had possessed him. He wasn’t the rescuing sort. He shook his head and started the engine of his truck and headed home.