FOREVER MINE (17 page)

Brody wakes up and his head is spinning; and pounding.  He is naked can’t remember why.  “What the fuck?”  The last thing he remembers is saying good bye to the brunette and heading to his room.  He was a little buzzed, but not, wake up in the morning not remembering why you’re naked and how you got that way or who took off your clothes, drunk.

He gets out of bed stumbles into the bathroom showers and shaves.  He has a few more hours of training this morning.  Wanting to leave as soon as they’re done, he packs up his stuff and heads out the door.

He knocks on Kevin’s door; he opens it putting the finishing touches on his tie.  “I’m ready.”

“Did you hear anything from my room last night?”

“No why did you bring back a
hottie
from the bar?”

“No, I was just curious; I think I drank too much last night.  I don’t remember going to bed.”

“Nope.
  I didn’t hear anything.”

“Alright, well let’s get this over with.”

They go to the training. (No sign of the brunette.)  It lasts until 1 pm.  The hour and 40 minute plane ride is going to be killer.  Brody was so preoccupied this morning he didn’t check his phone to see if Charlie ever called last night.  He sees he has two voicemails.  He feels like an asshole. 

He tries to call now.  Her phone must be off, it goes to voicemail.  He leaves another message.  “Tag, you’re it.  Sorry I didn’t get back to you last night I had a bad night.  I will fill you in when I get home.  Our plane is leaving shortly.  I will see you tonight when you get home from work.  I missed you; I think we have some things to talk about.  I don’t want to do this on the phone, but I can’t stop thinking about you.  I love you.  See you soon.”

He walks through the airport and boards his plane to go home, to Charlie.

Charlie wakes up Wednesday morning, stiff and uncomfortable.  She looks outside to make sure everything is ok.  The sun is shining the birds are chirping; it is a normal summer day.  She looks across the street and still doesn’t see Patrick’s car.

She feels her back pocket for her phone and comes away empty.  She looks in the kitchen, not there either.  It’s not in her bedroom, or in the bathroom.  She goes back to the living room and rifles through the cushions on the couch.  She finds it but it’s completely dead.  While she waits for the battery to charge enough to turn the phone on; she makes coffee.  When the phone beeps she walks over and looks through her contacts, brings up Patrick number and calls him from the house phone.

He answers after what seems like an eternity.  “Hello?” 

“Are you sleeping?”   Charlie is five seconds from losing it.  It has been a long lonely night and she still hasn’t processed what happened last night.

“Yeah, in my car.
  I have no idea what happened last night.  I was flagged, wait Charlie are you alright?  Did something happen?  I was knocked out,” She hears him move around and open the car door.  “Mother, Fucker,” He says “That son of a bitch slashed all my tires.”

“You are lucky that was all he slashed.”

“Did he hurt you, Charlie?”

“No, He showed up and threatened me, but he never got in the house.”

“I am calling the cops.  Stay inside.  Someone will be there.”

“Don’t bother.  There will be no evidence.  He knows what he is doing.  If you want to help, fix your tires, head back to the station and grab any cold case files that involve 27-30yr olds, with brown curly hair, that were raped and murdered, over the last three years.”

“Ok. I’m sorry I failed you, Charlie.”

“You didn’t Patrick, Michael did.  He had me fooled.  He had me believing the worst about myself and people around me.  I need to find him.  He wants to kill Brody, that can’t happen.”

“I will help anyway I can.  I will be over as soon as I take care of this mess, and I think I’m going to go to the hospital; I want to know what he put in that needle.  It may give us something else to look for.   Lock your doors and stay inside.”

“I am safe today.  He scared me last night; he wants me to fester in that fear.  It will breed more fear and that’s when he will come for me, when I make a mistake out of fear.”

“See you soon.”

“Bye, Patrick. 
Hurry.
  I don’t want to be alone for long.”  She hangs up and walks upstairs and starts up her laptop.  She starts looking up old newspaper articles from all over the country.  She plans a trip to the library. 

Going down for her second cup of coffee she sees her phone flashing and it beeps once. She picks it up she hits the voicemail button.  She hears Brody’s voice and slides down the wall and listens to him; the timber of his voice, the soothing cadence of his words.  It doesn’t matter what he is saying, just that he is speaking.  She doesn’t feel alone.  She listens three more times before hanging up.  She thinks about the softness to his words when he said he couldn’t stop thinking about her, and for the first time that day, she smiles.  “Thank you, Brody.”

Michael gets on the plane just in time.  He cut it close this time.  He was still high after what happened at Charlie’s house.  She was so scared she threw up.  He is pretty sure she could see him outside the window.  Doesn’t matter, she heard him.  I can’t wait to see her face to face.  I want to watch her eyes as she watches Brody die.  I want to feel her struggle beneath me while I take what is mine, and has always been mine.  I will come screaming her name.

After the plane is airborne, Michael thinks about his plan.  Formulating and calculating.  He gets off the plane takes a taxi to a cheap motel not far from the airport.  He falls asleep as soon as his head hits the pillow.  He sleeps until noon.  Showers, and shaves, then he
heads
out to start his day. 

His first stop is at a pancake house.  He is starved and even though its lunch, wants some breakfast.  He sits down and is approached by the waitress; she is a younger girl, maybe 25 years old.  She has brown hair with white blonde streaks through it.  She has blue eyes heavily lined in black, a nose ring, and when she speaks he sees a stud piercing her tongue.

She takes his order and makes small talk.  Michael is still very charming to the rest of the world.  He is very fit and good-looking.  He hasn’t lost any of his great hair it’s just darker.  When he is done eating he waits for his bill.  She comes back to the table hands him the paper letting her fingers brush his hand.  She smiles at him.

“It has been a pleasure servicing you.”  Her voice hoarse, “If you need anything else from me my phone number is on the back of your receipt.”  She whispers the last part in his ear letting her tongue and breath caress his lobe.

He turns the receipt over and there is her number and name.  “Kandie” He looks at her and asks, “Tell me Kandie, are you good enough to eat?”

“Maybe, Maybe not.
  You’ll have to find out for yourself.”  She walks away shaking her ass in her short skirted waitress’ uniform.  Michael gets up from the table walks outside goes to the alley and calls her.

“Hello?”

“I think I’m in need of servicing.” 

“That was fast.  Where should I meet you?”

“Outside.
 
Now.”
  Kandie isn’t really Michael’s type, but he will use her to release some of the pent up adrenaline still coursing through him from last night.

The side door opens and she walks out.  She walks up to him and she goes to kiss his mouth, he stops her by turning his head.  She takes the hint and kisses his neck instead.  He grabs her waist and pushes her against the wall; she spins them around, pushing him against the wall and goes down on her knees.  She undoes his pants and sucks him into her mouth in one wet swallow.  His knees buckle he grabs the back of her head and fucks her mouth.  He is ramming into her mouth so fast and hard she gags, just when he is about to come, he pulls out of her mouth, and drags her over to a table used for smoking breaks.  He lifts her skirt, tears her underwear off, and throws her over the table so her ass is in the air. He covers himself with a condom, enters her fast and hard.  He pumps away furiously at her well used, but wet hole.  He comes deep inside her, just as she screams out her release.

They sit there for a minute.  He gently smacks her ass, removes the latex and throws it on the ground at her feet.  “Thanks.”

She laughs, “You do not have to thank me.  That was incredible.”

They get dressed and head their separate ways.  Michael feels much better now.  He can concentrate on the real reason he is here.  He pulls up to a self storage unit and enters a code.  The gate swings open and he drives through.  Once inside he finds his numbered unit and unlocks it.

Inside is a white utility van; a Ford e350.  It has two doors in the back and on the passenger side back.  They open big enough to accommodate large items.  He opens the driver side door and gets in.  It starts on the first try.  He drives out of the unit and lets the van idle.  He pulls his car in and locks up the unit again.

He does a quick inventory of everything he needs.  When he is sure he ready he heads out to meet with the woman who called last night.  It’s 2 o’clock in the afternoon.  He has an hour’s drive and then he has to wait until dark.  He is meeting her in a park.  She feels safe there.  He has to laugh at that, in a city the size of Chicago, or any city, you are never totally safe at night.  Nobody wants to jump in and play hero.  They just want to be left alone.  He starts his drive to the park.

It is finally dark; Michael has been waiting in the back of the van for hours.  He is hungry, hot, and tired.  Anxiousness is a constant companion today.  He wants to do this right.  No mistakes.  If he can do this the right way, he will have Charlie by the end of the weekend.

“Charlie, god the things I am going to do to you.  You will be begging me for your death.  You will regret ever leaving me.  I could’ve been the best husband.  You never gave us a chance.  I loved you and you humiliated me.  Now I will humiliate you.”

Patrick and I are sitting at the table when we hear the keys enter the lock.  I run from the dining room and to the front door just as Brody is coming in.  I am air born, as I launched myself into his arms.  He drops his bag, and catches me at the last second. 

He wraps his arms around me and slides down the wall with me huddled in his lap. We don’t have to say anything we just sit there for a minute. 

Patrick clears his throat, “I will leave the two of you alone, so you can have a proper reunion.” He smiles at them both.

I stand, “No Pat, you don’t have to go.  We have a lot to talk about.  Brody needs to hear everything that happened last night.”

“What happened?”  Brody looks tired; he stands up and he slowly lifts his arm looking at me for my permission.  I grab his arm, put it around my waist, and snuggle into him. “Are you ok?”  He holds my face in his hands looking over my face.  I think he is looking for my ‘tells’.  You know those little lines and wrinkles that give away your lie.  I have more than a few.

“I am now.” I feel my cheeks heat and my eyes fill with tears.

He lets go of my face and pulls me into the circle of his arms, brushing my fuzzy head with his hands.

I don’t want to stop touching him, but we have to figure out what is going on.  I pull away and lead him to the dining room table since it’s the only table in the house now.

“What happened to all my stuff?”

“Steph.”

“Oh, she moved out yesterday?”

“Yep.”

Charlie fills him in on everything from the masquerade ball, yes he’ll go if she wants to, to being kicked out of her apartment, and finally, to the events of the evening.  She told him everything Michael said to her; everything.  She can’t hide anything if she wants to stop him.

“What happened to you?”  He looks at Patrick.

“I was knocked out, thrown in my car, and all my tires were slashed.  I went to the hospital; they did a tox screen to see what was in the syringe.  It was a drug called Haldol.  I filed a police report but left Charlie out of everything.” He looks at Brody very seriously, “From what Charlie has told me about last night, Michael has some pretty interesting toys.  He cut the power, jammed both of our cell phones, and even programmed the stereo to come on playing a specific song of his choice.  I have a friend going over the computer equipment from in the house to remove any programs, viruses, and web cams; anything that can enable remote access.”

They talk about how Charlie and Patrick have been doing research and found at least 8 cases of rape and murder that have taken place in the last four years.  All related; the girls were all between the ages of 27-30, brown curly hair, green eyes, and between 5’7 and 5’9. They were all raped, brutally, and killed in the same way.  He tortured them.  They were cut over and over with a small knife, while being tied up.  A rope was tied around each of the victims’ necks.  Ultimately, it is what killed them.  The more they struggled, the tighter the rope got, until it strangled them.  The public was never told about the rope; it’s the one lead the cops’ have.  Patrick is trying to get the FBI in on the cases, but so far no one is returning his calls.

Patrick has to go to work so he heads out the door.  Then they are finally alone.  Brody walks into the kitchen, looks around and laughs.  “I was just saying I needed a new kitchen table.”

“Well, you can have mine.  I won’t need it for awhile.”  She looks at the empty spot.  “Besides, I always felt grossed out sitting there.  I can only imagine what memories you have of things done on your furniture.”  I laugh, but it’s a nervous laugh.

Brody walks toward me “We will have to make our own memories on
our
furniture, when you’re ready.” 

My mouth goes dry, “I think, I’m in love with my best friend.” And there it is the elephant in the room.

Throwing his head back laughing, Brody wraps me in his arms.  He kisses my head, and lifts my chin capturing my mouth with his.  It is sweet and tender.  I want more.  I thought I was going to die last night, Michael threatened Brody’s life, and I want everything I have ever been too afraid to take.  I want Brody to know how I feel if something ever happens to me.  I put all of that into my kiss.

I tighten my hold on him and move him back against the door; the door that Michael rubbed and licked last night. I push Brody against it and feed my hunger for love and life with his lips, tongue, and mouth.

Brody breaks the kiss, breathless, and whispers against my mouth, “Charlie?”

“Yes. Brody, please” I answer his question. He picks me up and carries me upstairs to our room.  He lies us down on the bed and looks at me.

“You are so beautiful.  I think I have loved you since the first time I saw you.  When I walked into a new school with a broken family and broken heart, with one smile you fixed me, with one smile you made me love you.”

The tears are running down my face but for once they are happy tears. I reach up and trace his face with my hands, and run my fingers over his lips. He has told me he loves me
every
day for as long as I can remember.  I want him to tell me he is
in
love with me. 

Just like every other time he reads my face or thoughts, He whispers against my mouth, “I am in love with you Charlie James.”  And then he kisses me with all the love he feels.

He slows the kiss and breaks it.  Looking at me he says, “We can’t do this right now, so get your
pervy
mind out of my pants.”

Laughing, I pretend to pout, “Why?”

“Seriously, I think we should wait until Michael is behind bars, and we can just concentrate on us.”  He sits up and runs his fingers through his hair getting serious, he says, “I also think you should see a counselor for what has been done to you.”

“I am going to.” I get up and get the card Patrick gave me “I have an appointment in 8 days; July 5
^th
at 5:00.”

He pulls me to him and rolls us around on the bed so we are spooning.  He squeezes me tight, and grinds himself against my backside.  Laughing, he says, “Happy birthday to me.  I only have to wait one week and one day.”

“I think it’s going to take more than a week to fix me.”  I feel self conscience suddenly.

“There is nothing to fix, baby.  You are perfect.  Everything you have been through; the good and the bad, it’s what makes you who you are.”