FOREVER MINE (18 page)

Michael is sitting on a park bench; the sun has set 20 minutes ago.  It is breezy and comfortable.  The park is empty.  He is enjoying the calm.  There is something soothing about the dark, it smoothes out all the rough edges, and harsh lines of everyday life. 

The woman is wearing heels.  Her feet clack down the sidewalk.  She stops in front of him.  “Do you have what we agreed on?”  She is all business, tonight.

He takes a moment to admire her.  She is dressed in a slinky black dress, with tiny spaghetti straps, that can hardly contain her fake round breasts.  The back of the dress is open with an intricate
criss
- cross pattern that starts below her shoulder blades, tapers and disappears at the top of her ass crack.   She is wearing a pair of 5 inch stilettos with a metallic heel, of silver.

“I have what you want; do you have what you were supposed to get for me?”  He looks at her and motions to the bench seat next to him.  “I gave you $1000; you get the rest when I see that you finish the job.”

She sits down, opens her purse, and get out a small digital camera.  Handing it him, she says, “Everything you need is there.  I made sure it looked real.”

“We shall see.”  He takes the memory card from the camera, puts it into a laptop that he had waiting on the ground at his feet, and he brings up the first image.  He looks at all the images on the memory card, saves the ones he can use and deletes the ones that are of no use to him.

He puts the camera away and hits the save button on his laptop.  Carefully, he reaches into the front compartment of the bag and pulls out a stack of 20 dollar bills totaling $4000.  “This makes it an even $5000.  The figure we agreed on.”  He stands and outs his hand out to her.  “It’s been a pleasure doing business with you; I hope to never see you again.”  He smiles as he says it.

She stands and accepts his hand.  “The pleasure was all
mine
.”  She shakes and tries to take her hand back.  “You’re hurting my hand, please let go.”  She is acting brave, but her voice has raised a few levels. 

She tries again with no success to retrieve her hand.  This time when she pulls her hand Michael uses the momentum to trip her and land sitting on the bench together in what looks like a lover’s embrace, when in reality, he has a syringe with a dose of Haldol injected into her arm while he covers her mouth and whispers into her ear.  She tries to struggle but it is useless, “Don’t resist me, it will be over soon.”  

She passes out and Michael puts her in the van.  He closes the door, gets into the driver side door, and drives them to an abandoned warehouse.  No one here will hear her scream.  He unloads her and begins the final stage of his plan.

Charlie wakes up tangled in Brody’s arms.  It’s Thursday, almost a week since Michael came up to her on the street.  Almost a week since she thought she had a secret admirer, since she thought Brody was her best friend and only her best friend.  A lot can happen in a week.

Brody wakes up and rolls over.  “Good morning, beautiful.  How did you sleep?”

“I slept like the dead.  I don’t even remember falling asleep.”

Brody picks up his phone and calls work.  He tells them he has something personal to take care of.  He should be back in about a week.

They get out of bed and prepare for the day.  Charlie has to get the rest of her things from her apartment within the week.  Brody said he’d help her.  Patrick has to fill them in on what the hospital said about the drugs used on him.

Once they both make it downstairs, Brody makes coffee while Charlie makes him breakfast; eggs, bacon, home fries and toast.  She has a bowl of cereal, since breakfast isn’t really her thing.

After they eat Brody wants to go and pack up the rest of Charlie’s apartment.  When they get there they go through each room packing up the things they can carry out themselves.  Whatever is left behind will be brought by a moving company. 

“You know you can stay with me for as long as you need too.”

“I know.  Thanks.”  She turns looking around her little space.  This apartment tells a story of a single, lonely woman with no friends, no family, it’s just a place to eat and sleep, there are no real memories here.  Charlie has a moment of sadness for the person who lived here.  She thought being on her own, shutting everyone out would make it harder for Michael to get to her.  She thought she was being independent.  She was still letting Michael control her.  A smile tugs at the corners of her mouth; she turns to Brody and says, “I’m ready, let’s leave.”

“Why are you smirking?  You are being kicked out of your apartment.  Aren’t you mad? 
Sad?”

“Nope, I am ready to leave this Charlie behind.  I want to live again Brody.  Remember how much fun we had doing everything?  Somewhere along the way I forgot how to do that.  I want to remember how.  I want to live, I want to fall on my face failing at something I’ve never done; but fail because I failed, not because I’m afraid.  I don’t want to be afraid anymore.  I have been afraid for 10 years, 10 years wasted. 

I want to love again.  I want to feel special to someone.  I want to be wanted, to have someone love me so much the idea of hurting me is unimaginable.  I want to feel safe and protected.  I want someone to take care of my heart, take care of me.  I don’t want to do it by myself anymore.”  I turn and look at Brody, “Will you help me?”

“I will always help you.  I will give you anything you need or want from me.”  He walks over and takes me in his arms, “Now, shut up and kiss me.”

I laugh and give him a quick peck on the mouth and break out of his embrace. 

“Where are you going, I want to make out.”  He wiggles his eyebrows.

I laugh at him, “No more making out.  I want to be wooed.” 

“Wooed?  Oh, I can woo you, but it will take making out and a lot less clothing.”

“Slut.”

“Yep.
  You love it.”

“Yes I do.”  I am laughing as I pick up a box to be loaded into his truck.

“Hey, do I still get to sleep with you?  I mean I don’t have a bed anymore, so it would only make sense, right?”  He is carrying a box and a devilish smile to the truck.

“You can have my bed; the one upstairs left in the apartment.”

“I don’t like that bed.” 

“Well that’s too bad.”

“Damn.  How long do I have to woo you?”

“As long as it takes.”
  I can’t help laughing.  He sounds really funny saying woo.

“Damn.”  He looks at me and gets serious, “You know, kidding aside, I will wait for as long as you need me to.  I mean, I’ve waited this long, what’s a little more time.  Speaking of time do I get like bonus ‘wooing’ points for being your best friend?  I do know everything about you already.  It’s not like we have to see if there’s a connection or not, we know there is.”  He looks at me with a heated look as he finishes his sentence; I know his thoughts didn’t stop when his mouth did.

Feeling flustered, I walk away to get more boxes.  This is going to be harder than I thought. 

Michael is back from Chicago.  He feels refreshed after his time spent with the lovely brunette woman.  He only regrets never getting her name.  It would have been nice to a call her something while remembering her.

He is driving over to see how Charlie and Brody are doing this morning.  Sitting in the back alley he can’t pick anything up on the computer.  He can’t get into it by remote like he did yesterday.  He turns off his laptop, and picks up the binoculars.  They are at the sink cleaning up breakfast.  Just like a real couple.  Laughing, Michael knows that their honeymoon is about to be over. 

They talk for a little bit and then get into Brody’s truck and drive away.  Michael drives around the block a few times making sure the cop isn’t around, he should have killed him so he wouldn’t have to worry about him, when he thinks the coast is clear, he pulls his car right into the driveway. He is dressed in a uniform for a security company.

He gets out, takes a black garbage bag out of the back, and goes to the front porch.  He empties the bag; on the porch and down the walkway.  Then he places an envelope on the ground by one of the rocking chairs and strategically places tiny hidden cameras throughout the property. They took away his computer access so he got creative; afterward he gets in his car and drives away, whistling.

After the truck is loaded to maximum capacity, Brody and Charlie drive back to the house.  When they get there they notice something’s wrong.  Brody stops the truck, “Stay here.”  He gets out and walks around the truck careful not to move anything on the ground.

I get out and close my door.  When I see what is actually all over the ground my heart rate speeds up and I know this is not going to be good.  I bend over and pick up a petal from a rose.  A black rose.  I rub it between my thumb and fingers.  It is like silk, so soft. I drop the petal and stand out of my crouched position.  They are everywhere; on the walk way, on the porch, blowing in the breeze to cover the green lawn. 

I walk over to where Brody is standing and touch his arm.  He jumps a little as I disrupt his thoughts.  I point to the chair.  “What is that?”

He walks over to the chair and picks up the envelope.  It is big.  It is also stuffed full.  Brody opens the envelope and his face goes pale.  He runs to the side of the house and throws up. 

“Brody!”
I yell his name. 

He holds up his hand, “Stay away, please.  And call Patrick.  He needs to come here. 
Now.”

I pull out my phone and call Patrick.  He gets done in an hour.  He can’t come sooner.  Do we want him to send someone else?  Brody nods his head.  I don’t like how his is acting.  I am scared.  I get off the phone with Patrick and slowly approach him.

“Are you going to tell me what is going on?”

He takes a breath and stands with his back to me.  “Remember on my message to you I said I had a shitty night?  Well I never got around to telling you about it.  I went to the bar and had 2 drinks; one was bought for me by some woman in my class.  I didn’t even get her name. She asked me if I wanted company, I said no, I just miss my girlfriend and want to be left alone. She buys me a drink wishes us luck and leaves.  I barely remember making it back to my room, I woke up naked and don’t remember how I got that way.”

“That doesn’t sound like you; you have such a high tolerance for alcohol. 
Girlfriend?”
  I am having a hard time wrapping my mind around what he’s saying.

“There are pictures in this envelope of me and that woman” He turns around, his eyes are watery and his voice cracks, “I’m doing things with her.”  His lip trembles.  “I don’t remember any of it.”

I hear a whooshing sound in my ears.  “What kind of things, Brody?”  I know I shouldn’t be mad, but I am.  I am incensed.  “Isn’t it convenient you can’t remember?”

“Charlie.  Please, you have to believe me.  I have waited so long for anything to happen between us.  I would not hurt you or ruin
anything
that we have a chance at being together.   There’s more.” 

He reaches a hand out to me, and I smack it away. 
“How much more?”

“Something happened to her.”

I feel like I’ve been doused with ice water.  “What?  What do you mean?  What did you do?”

“I don’t know if I had sex with her or not, but would never hurt another human being in my life, especially a woman.”

I rip the envelope from his hands with such force something flies out of it; something gold and shiny.  It lands on the ground under the maple tree. 

The first picture is of Brody, he is lying on a bed naked.  He is on his back, showing his bare chest, his flat toned stomach, and the tops of his hips.  The bottom half is not showing. 

The second picture is of him and a brunette woman; she is sitting on his pelvis, leaning forward to kiss his lips.  Their eyes are closed; his hand is resting on her hip.  Is he pulling her closer or pushing her away?

The third picture he is fondling her breasts, eyes half open.  Her head is thrown back in absolute pleasure. She is moving on top of him, from the position of her body and where Brody’s other hand is touching her, he is just as into it as she is.

The tears are running down my face.  Each picture is worse than the last.  Why am I still looking?  I can’t stop myself.  I need to see it through or it won’t be real.

A little over halfway through the pictures, the scenery changes, and the girl is in a warehouse.   It is dark and the pictures are grainy. She is lying on the ground.  She is wearing a black dress, her makeup has run down her face and her hair is a mess.

The next picture she has her hands and feet tied, and she is hanging from a thick beam in the ceiling.  The rope around her neck is loosely tied.  It looks like there is a wooden box under her feet for her to stand on.

As Charlie looks through the pictures it is clear to her that this wasn’t Brody; it was Michael.  It is just like all the cases she has been reading about.  She feels sick to her stomach.

The last picture; the brunette girl now naked, is hanging from the rope that is now so tight it’s cutting her flesh.  There are knife wounds on her arms, on her legs, and strategically placed all over her abdomen.  She is bleeding so badly there is a pool gathering at her feet.  Charlie also knows she has been raped.  There is a thin line of blood trailing down from between her legs and she is covered in the same bruises Michael gave to her three years earlier.

“Brody, we can’t show these to the police.  They will think you killed her.”

“We have to.”  He has been standing so still and quiet this whole time.  “I know I didn’t do it.  I won’t let Michael have this kind of power over me.  Isn’t this exactly the thing he gets off on, control?”

I am still so angry he has been with another woman, with everything else I’ve just seen I can’t get past it.  “You were the last one with her.  They will think you did this.  You can’t let them think you did this, if they do you will get blamed for all the others.” I am yelling now.

“I will be cleared in the long run; I probably have alibis for every one of them.”

“And if you don’t?  What if you were perfect for Michael’s game?  You travel all the time, Steph never cared where you were who you were with, your computer has been bugged for god knows how long.  Don’t be stupid, you are going to take the fall for him, don’t you see what he’s doing?”

Brody walks to her and holds her hands.  “I have to show them the pictures.”

“Don’t touch me.”  I rip my hands from him.  “You have ruined everything.  I never should have trusted you.  I knew you could never be faithful to anyone, why would I be any different?  You had sex with another woman, then came home and acted like we could just pick up where we left off.  Would you have ever told me, or did you tell me because you were caught?”

“Please Charlie, I don’t know what happened.  I don’t know how to fix this.  What can I do?”  He scrubs at his face, runs his hand through his hair pulling his bangs, like he can pull the answers out.  “You know me, please; I need you to trust me like you never have trusted me before.  I know I did nothing with her.  I can’t prove it, yet, but I will.  I love you, really love you.  I would never do something like this to you.”

“I’m trying, Brody.  I do know you.  That’s why it isn’t hard to believe.”

I wipe the tears that seem to have no end, and walk over to the tree.  Searching the ground I find what I’m looking for.  There, on the ground under a couple rose petals, is the shiny gold thing that flew out of the envelope.  I bend down and pick it up.

It is a bullet.  It’s about 3 inches long; copper not gold, and pointed on one end.  As I roll it over in my hand I see that there are scratches on it.  No, not scratches, its Brody’s name etched into the side.  I start to shake. 

Brody comes up behind me and wraps his arms around my middle.  He takes the bullet out of my hands, puts it into his pocket, and holds me from behind.  I turn in his arms and bury my face in his neck.  I inhale the masculine scent that is all him; the smell of soap, man, and home.  I know nothing can happen to him, I wouldn’t survive it.  I also know what I have to do.  I will lure Michael out in the open.  If it keeps Brody safe I will make myself a target, I will play Michael’s game.