FOREVER MINE (5 page)

Michael sits in the park watching the comings and goings of the people around him.  His objective for today is to see if he scared Charlie enough to come to the police station that is located across the street from where he is sitting now.  She is a no show, so far.  It’s early; he will wait all day if he needs to.  Maybe he needs to step up his game.  If she isn’t scared, his plan will be more difficult to put into motion.

Sitting, with nothing to do, his thoughts wander to Charlie.  She has actually gotten more beautiful over the last 3 years.  She is a little thinner, which wouldn’t be appealing except for the fact that he knows he is the reason.  She is stressed out and scared and she’s not eating right.  A smile makes a brief appearance on his face but it never reaches his eyes. 

Her remarkable eyes have changed.  They have a depth in them that wasn’t there before.  She has lived life.  She is all grown up now.  The rose colored glasses have been removed.  She has looked danger in the eyes and lived through it.
Barely.

He thinks about what he has planned for her.  All the time and planning it took to make his plan perfect.  The things he is going to do to her. The thought is making it uncomfortable to sit straight.  He adjusts the erection behind his zipper.  Just remembering the way she struggled, the terror in her screams has him almost coming in his pants. He tries to settle his raised heart rate and slow his breathing. 
Soon, Charlie.
Soon.

Michael is finishing his second cup of coffee, when a familiar dark blue truck drives down the street looking for a place to park.   She’s here, he says to himself with a satisfied smirk.  I must have made an impression. 
Brody.
  That man will never get lost.  Even when Charlie was all
mine
, he was always putting his nose in our business. He tried to get her to stay away from me, and always filling her head with ideas, like she was a strong, independent woman, who could stand on her own two feet.  He told her once that I was so concerned with her cheating, because I was the unfaithful one.  She almost bought that one and left me. Fortunately, for me she was very naïve and insecure, she believed everything I told her.

I watched as Brody helped Charlie out of the truck.  His hand lingered on the small of her back just a little too long for it to be a friendly gesture.  His hand trailed from her back to the top of her arm and down to her hand.  They walked the short distance to the station very close to each other.

“That fucking whore!!”
  He says through clenched teeth, with spit flying into the air. “I knew they were screwing around behind my back!” He is so angry he can feel his blood boil, there is sweat starting to form on his upper lip.  He sits he tries to figure out what can be done with Brody.  He has become a new player in his game.  Now, what to do about it?

After what seems like forever, they walk out of the station.  They are all smiles.  They stop on the sidewalk to talk to each other.  Brody grabs his heart and says something to make Charlie laugh. He makes the decision after seeing them so happy; he is going to kill them both.  First, he needs some time to plan the perfect way.  The original plan just involved Charlie.  The new plan will include Brody and then Michael will disappear forever.

Charlie unlocks the door to her apartment and lets Brody in. He goes to the kitchen to start dishing out dinner, while she goes to her room to change into her PJ’s.  Penne with vodka sauce for Charlie and Veal parmesan for Brody.  They each got a side salad and garlic bread.  Beer is the beverage of the evening.

Sitting at the kitchen table, Charlie picks up the play station remote and starts looking for something to watch. “Don’t think I forgot about the whole flowers at work thing.” Brody says around a mouth full of food.

“I didn’t think you had.”

“Well, start talking.”

Finishing her last bite of pasta, and after taking a long pull from the bottle of beer, she answers. “About six weeks ago, I had flowers delivered to me at work on a Wednesday.  They were three red roses.  The next week on Monday, I got a mixed bouquet of spring flowers. It continued like that until yesterday.”

“Hmmm.”
Picking up both of our plates Brody walks over to the sink and drops them in.

She gets up and walks over to him.  “Why are you not saying anything?”

“I’m angry with you.  Why wouldn’t you tell me?” He washes the dishes while he waits for her to answer.

“I thought maybe someone at work sent them.” I am having a hard time keeping eye contact, so I pick up the dishes Brody has washed, rinse them and put them on the drying rack.

“Yeah, I get that, but that doesn’t explain the secrecy.” He turns to face me.

“It wasn’t a secret.  I just thought if I said something it would stop.  It was nice to think someone liked me.  Now, I just feel foolish. I mean really, look at me, who would ever be attracted to me?”  She opens her arms at her side and moves her hands up and down, telling his eyes where to look. 

His eyes darken a little bit; he tries not to focus on the strip of skin that shows, between her t-shirt and tiny shorts, when she lifts her arms. The tip of his tongue, darts out of his mouth, runs along his suddenly dry lips, in a husky voice, “You are
a beautiful
girl.”

“Ha, not quite.
  Girls like Steph are beautiful, I’m cute.  I’m too tall to be beautiful.”

“Why would you compare yourself to Steph?”

“For reference, so you can visualize what type of girl I mean when I say beautiful.  Speaking of Steph, maybe you should call her.”  Charlie turns and walks into the living room.  She sits on the big, brown couch and continues her movie search.  It is her way of ending that conversation.

               
**********

Brody walks out into the hall to call Steph.  He closes the door behind him.  Taking out his phone, he dials her number. She picks up on the 5
^th
ring.

“Hello?”

“Hey, it’s me.  What are you doing?”

“I’m home, waiting for you.”

She doesn’t sound mad.  I think about my plan to get closer to Charlie.  Do I see where that goes?  What if it goes bad and we can’t be friends?  There is too much to think about right now.  I can’t leave Charlie alone with Michael out there.  I feel like I’m just leading Steph on if I have no real plans for her and our future.  Do I have future plans with Steph? I don’t think of her in those terms.  It’s always Charlie I see myself with; everyone else is a distraction until I can get to that point with her, right?  UGH, I’m such a dick.

“Brody?”

“Yeah?
I thought you were mad at me?”  I run my hand through my hair, pulling on the bangs.

“I am.  I think we need to talk. 
Now.”

I can hear the sadness in her voice.  I think that is why I say, “By talk you mean make up sex, right?”

“Ugh, no jack ass.
 It means we need to talk, like with words.”

“OH, ok.
  Well I am going to watch a movie with Charlie, and then I’ll be home, k?”

“Do I have a choice?  See you when you get here.” With that she hangs up.

                **********

Charlie stood listening at the door.  There was a long pause like he was thinking about something, hard.  He sounded so sad.  Then he jokes with her about make up sex.  He tells her he has to watch a movie and then he’ll be home.  I don’t want to be an obligation.  He should be home with his girlfriend, having (gag) sex.

She doesn’t want to listen anymore.  Running to the couch, lies down and pretends to sleep.  When Brody walks in he stops in front of the couch he wakes her up.

“Hey, sleepy head.”

“Wow, I must be more tired than I thought.  I think I’m going to go to bed.”

“Awe, what about our movie night?”

“Rain check?”

“Alright.
  Are you going to be ok, tonight?”

“You bet.”

“I will leave my phone right by me. Call me anytime, for any reason.”  He wishes she would ask him to stay.  He waits, giving her a few more minutes to ask.  When she stays silent, he knows it’s time to go.  Standing he pulls her arms so she is standing with him.  He leads her to the bedroom, wishing the circumstances were different, lays her in bed.

 “I mean it about calling.” He pulls the covers up to her chest, smoothes her unruly curls and kisses her cheek. “Love you.”

“Love you, too.” She says

He walks out of the bedroom closing the door.  He doesn’t know what is waiting for him at home with Steph, but it seems that is where he is heading. Is it fate that keeps leading him back to Steph, or his dick?

Brody left, I am not tired, and I have no friends.  When did my life become so pathetic?  Getting out of bed I grab a beer from the kitchen and sit back on the couch.  I put on Dirty dancing.  I love this movie!  “Nobody puts Baby in the corner”, classic.  

When the movie is over, I stared to flip through channels on the TV, on one of the national news stations there is a report of a rape that has occurred on the west coast.  The victim is a 30 year old brunette, with curly hair.   She was found in an abandon building, on the outskirts of town.  She was hanging by a rope, around her neck.  Cause of death, strangulation. People at work who knew the victim, claimed she had been getting flowers from an admirer.  No leads on who the admirer was. 

When the story ends I can’t believe what I heard.  I was panicking.  Could Michael be responsible for that attack?  I have lost my mind.  I think every bad thing is his fault.  He attacked me, not some random girl,
right
?  Besides, he was probably here last week.  I have been getting flowers for more than a month.  I just need to relax.  I know; a bath.  That always makes me feel better.

Getting up she turns off the TV, double checks the locks, and grabs her favorite vanilla and lavender candles.  Lighting the candles and spacing them throughout the small bathroom she starts to fill the tub adding some vanilla lavender bath salts. She puts her hair up and strips out of her t-shirt and shorts.  Walking to the bedroom to wait she texts Brody: 

ME: nothing wrong, just wanted to say tnx. 

I have something to tell you tomorrow. 

Nite, nite.
Xoxox.

Immediately he answers: Ur welcome.  Ok?
Ru
sleeping?

ME:  no. taking a bath.

Brody
: oh. Ok.
Nite then.
Cya
in a.m.?
   

ME: yep.
11ish?

Brody: you got it. Xoxox

I put my phone away, walked into the bathroom, and climbed into the tub. My tub is heaven.  It is one of those old fashion claw foot tubs that people pay a fortune to have installed.  Mine, has probably been here forever.  It’s long and deep.

Closing my eyes I try to relax, I can’t shake the uneasy feeling have.  The hair on the back of my neck is standing on end and I have goose bumps running up and down my arms.  I turn off the light; hoping that being surrounded by candlelight will help.  After half an hour I feel my eyes getting heavy so
I,
stand up and pull the plug.  After blowing out the candles, I exit the bathroom.

Entering the bedroom, I am totally relaxed and exhausted.  I slather on some baby oil to keep my skin silky smooth. Summer is here in full force today and it is sweltering in my little room, so I climb under the sheet naked, enjoying the freedom of no clothes.  Leaving in my ponytail I’m asleep seconds after my head hits the pillow.