Obsession (Stalker #1) (14 page)

The day passes and there have been no incidents to speak of…

“Fuck you, asshole, I know you stole it!” I hear shouting coming from the common area and find two men in a standoff. For fuck’s sakes, why does this happen near the end of my shift? I grab my walkie-talkie and call for assistance in the common area.

“Hey guys, what’s going on here?” I approach with caution and with and an easy tone so I don’t agitate anyone further; anything can happen. I see that Doug is the aggressor here and my goal is to get him to focus on me for a minute. “Doug, what did this man steal from you?” I say, approaching with caution. Doug’s eyes are blazing and he only sees red. I know that look and I know he’s going to lose his shit.

“Abby, get the fuck outta here because this guy is about to get it,” he warns me and I step back, but don’t leave.

“Doug, how much does he have?” I keep my gaze on him. He shouts, “That fucker stole my forty piece and he better give it the fuck back or I’m gonna fuck him up!” He is casting a death glare towards the man. He has a nervous twitch about him.

It’s too late. Something glistening moves in my direction. The man I don’t recognize reaches around with his switchblade. I feel the pain in my forearm as the knife makes contact, slicing my skin. Thank God for quick reflexes because if I hadn’t put my arm up, it could have been worse. That’s the only contact the knife makes with me before six male staff have him on the ground, face down, and restrained.

“Call the police! Take Abby to the back office and grab the First Aid kit!” Jake calls out to whoeverthefuck is listening.

I just got my fucking arm sliced by some crazy fuckin’ crack head!

“Abby, come with me,” Mike says, grabbing my injured arm, applying pressure, so that the blood isn’t dripping everywhere. “Abby, are you ok? I need you to answer me.” I stare at him blankly. “Abs, talk to me, hun. You ok?” He’s wiping the blood off with a towel while inspecting my wound; all staff are trained in First Aid and CPR.

“Did I just get fucking stabbed, Mike?” I’m still staring and I hear the words coming out of my mouth, but I feel foggy.

“There’s our girl. Yes, Abby, some asshat just sliced your arm, but it’s not looking so bad. It’s a superficial wound and I doubt you’ll need stitches. I’m going to clean it up a little better for you.”

He leaves me to grab some more supplies, but not before he sits me in a chair. I hear the sirens and I know the police are here. The commotion coming from the common area is only getting louder, but I don’t know what’s happening.

“Mike, is everything ok out there?” I ask, even though I know he doesn’t know anything because he’s trying to help me right now.

“I’ll have a look, but stay put,” he warns me.
It’s like people think I don’t listen
. He goes over to the door that leads from this office area to the common area and looks for a few minutes. He comes back over. “Oh hell yeah, he’s all cuffed and being hauled to the cop car now. Jake is talking with them and I’m sure they are going to want a statement from you.”

I nod. I know I’m going to have to give a statement, write up an incident report, and fill out WSIB forms due to being injured at work.

Fuck my life.

Paramedics are being led towards me, with Jake in tow. Jake’s eyes are the deepest, blackest shade of hazel green I’ve ever seen and it’s really intense. As they lock onto mine, I can see he’s pissed. It totally sucks that this just happened.

Jake kneels down in front of me. “Abby, are you ok?” he says in the softest voice I’ve ever heard. He looks so pissed and speaks so calmly. I nod and hold out my arm.

“Fuck, that’s going to leave a scar for sure, but it doesn’t look so bad.” He is repeating what Mike has already told me. “Abby, the paramedics are going to check you out so let them do their job, please.” I nod my head in agreement.

The paramedics clean my wound, and again, I’m informed I don’t need stitches. They have me bandaged up in no time. I hear them talking to Jake after they finish with me and I hear Jake tell them ‘not to worry about it’ and that ‘I’ve got it.’ What the fuck is he saying? Why do I still feel foggy-like, for fuck’s sakes? A familiar voice brings me out of my fog.

“Abby, fancy meeting you here. I thought you were a trained ninja,” Kev says to me, trying to lighten the mood. It works because I start to laugh uncontrollably.

“Fuck me sideways, clearly a ninja I am not.” I get up to give him a hug. I see Jake glaring in my direction.

“Abs, Jake already gave me the rundown, but I need an official statement from you and we will be pressing assault charges,” he says, using his cop voice. I’m glad it’s him and not some strange dude I don’t know. “You ok? You seem like you’re still in a state of shock.” He is staring at me with concern.

“Uh, I just almost got my arm sliced off today, and I really wasn’t expecting it, so yes, I guess you could say that I’m in a little bit of shock.” The words whip from my mouth with probably more attitude than I meant to spew out. Damn, I didn’t mean it to come out that way.

I give my statement to Kev and he goes over to talk with Jake. I don’t know what they are saying. At this particular moment, I also don’t care. I have a shit ton more paperwork to fill out now and I’m pissed. I go to an unused office and shut the door so I can write my report. I hear a soft knock on the door and I see Jake. I nod for him to come inside.

“Abby, I need to hear from you how you are, baby,” he says softly, and that’s when the waterworks start. He shuts the door and closes the blinds on the window, and makes his way around the desk. He pulls me up and into his arms. “Shhhhh, baby, you’re ok, you are ok. Ralph is being charged with assault and Kev is handling it. I’m sure Ralph will get the royal treatment where he’s going.” I wrap my arms around him. He pulls slightly from me and lifts my face to his. Gently brushing the tears from my face with his thumbs, he looks into my eyes with concern.

“I got sliced,” I say, stating the obvious. Jake pulls my face to his and kisses me softly, not even giving one flying fuck that we are at work.

“Baby, I’m so sorry I didn’t get there fast enough,” he says, his voice filled with regret and I know he thinks he could have stopped this, but he couldn’t.

“It’s not your fault, it’s a big building and everything happened so fast I barely realized I was sliced, until now and it’s sinking in,” I say through my tears. “I’m sorry about hugging Kev, but he snapped me out of the daze I was in and I know you saw,” I mutter, looking
down
. My emotions are all over the joint right now.

“I don’t care that you hugged Kev, babe, I cared that I couldn’t,” he says with a hint of hurt in his voice.

Ohhhh, I get it.

“Baby, nobody makes me feel safer than you do and as soon as I called for assistance I had no doubt in my mind that you would be there.”

I try to sound as reassuring as I can because I mean it. He pulls me closer and kisses the top of my head. He informs me that he’s going to debrief the staff on duty for this incident and make sure everyone has their reports written. He will help me fill out the WSIB forms because of my injury. Jake asks me to stay in this office and to keep the door closed. He will come back after he’s done.

After what seems like forever and a day, he returns and we fill out all the necessary forms. He has to go submit them to the next supervisor on duty. We make our way to the supervisor’s office and the next shift is already here.

This day feels like the day from hell that wouldn’t end. Everyone is asking me what happened, and if I’m ok. It’s making my head spin. Jake finally finishes up, and he grabs my stuff and his, and we make our way to the parking lot. He helps me into the Jeep as if I’m a delicate flower.

On the way back home, Jake makes a pit stop at Tim’s and grabs us some hot chocolates, half dark/half white which is obviously the best kind ever!

********

We get inside and he immediately goes to my stash and starts rolling me up a joint!!!
I knew he was the right guy for me.
I open the door to the basement and Ozzy comes running up the stairs. He tackles me and covers me with doggy kisses.

Right before he’s ready and he has the joint on the end of the pen, Jake says, “Shit, we can’t smoke this one.” His face is all serious like. The look on my face was probably screaming, ‘
what the fuck do you mean, we can’t smoke it?’
Jake starts to chuckle. “Well, it’s such a perfect roll I think it should go into the hall of fame.” He continues to laugh which makes me laugh out loud. I didn’t know how much I needed a laugh. But obviously, hedid
…
LOV
E
.

We make our way outside with Ozzy so he can do his dog thing and romp around, and chase whatever he sees. Jake sparks the joint, taking the first pull and hands it right to me. With a shaking hand, I grab the joint and
puff, puff, puff, puff
.

“Abby, pass it the fuck back, baby.” He grins at me and I laugh again.”Baby, I hope you know that you didn’t do anything wrong and you followed protocol. All the forms and reports are filled out accordingly. Having said that, you will take some time off.” He is demanding, not asking.

“Maybe you’re right, I feel a bit jacked up. I mean, I’ve been through some shit at work, Jake, but not like this.” I’m honest with my feelings and he sees it.

“I brought home the WSIB papers for you to take to the doctor’s appointment that you’re going to make, and I’ll take you since you don’t have a car. You are already being put on the schedule as WSIB, so until you are cleared by your doctor, you won’t be going back.”

I’m puffing away on the joint. Since it’s almost done, I feel floaty and agreeable. I nod my head and light up a smoke.
Yes, every time I smoke a joint I need to have a cigarette right after. Did I mention that already?

We head inside with Ozzy, and I decide I need to make a fuck load of phone calls. The first call is to my ma. Lord, help me. I give her the details, all of them; all about Jake and me and what happened at work today. To say she is unhappy, is an understatement. She likes to be kept more informed, but life has moved at lightning speed over these past days and I haven’t been able to keep up. I tell her Jake is taking care of me and I’m staying at his place. She asks every question a mom asks their almost thirty-year old daughter about the guy she is now living with, so to speak.

I know telling my mother ensures she will keep the rest of my family informed on my life. I’m happy to say she isn’t as upset as I thought she would be, especially the news about me staying at Jake’s place.

The phone call to Dallas is much the same except for the screaming on her end. She screams when she can’t believe something someone is telling her. This is why I needed to smoke a joint before I did all this.

“Oreo! Jake, I need to check on my cat,” I holler, moving towards the bedroom door. I open it and Oreo comes flying out “Shit, Jake! SHIT!!! Oreo got out and went running!” I’m trying to see where the hell he went. Well, fuck me. I see him nose to nose with Ozzy. I’m about to watch my cat get eaten by a dog now to boot. Oh. My. Shit.

“Jake, look,” I whisper. He moves over to the hall to see what I’m seeing. Oreo licks Ozzy’s nose and Ozzy licks Oreo’s head back in response. What in the fuck is happening?

“The fuck? I was so worried Ozzy would eat your cat, babe, but it looks like they just might get along after all.” He is smiling all weird.

Jake looks funny when he’s stoned and it makes me laugh my ass off. My laughing gets Jake laughing.

“Jake, I’m hungry,” I say, giggling.

“My girl is hungry?” Leaning over, Jake softly places a kiss on my forehead. “Is there anything in particular you are hungry for?”
He did not just wiggle his eyebrows at me!

“Seriously, Jake, I’m hungry. I don’t care what we have. Let’s just call it the Chef’s Special of the Day. You make it, I’ll eat it.”

Seemingly satisfied with my answer, he is off to take care of my ass and feed me.

I can’t fucking believe what I witnessed! One of those assholes fucking sliced her arm up and there wasn’t a damn thing I could do about it. I felt… helpless. Not a feeling someone like me is used to. I watched the entire incident. Damn fucker was taken to jail.

It was awkward when Kev showed up and I had to make myself invisible in case he saw me. It would have blown my cover since he knows who I am. But even before the police arrived, I watched Abby try to handle a situation in which she had no control over. I found it interesting that she would deliberately put herself in harm’s way over these people. Even though the man that stabbed her was taken to jail, that meant the other guy, Doug, was still around.

Night had fallen and I went to find him.

Doug wasn’t in the shelter. Instead, I found him at the park sucking back on his fucking crack pipe. Crack is the reason Abby got stabbed and this is the motherfucker who lead her onto that path. He wasn’t about to get away with it. I walked over to where he was sitting on the grass. He’s leaning on a tree, sucking on his pipe.

“Hey, Doug, I see you managed to get your forty piece back.” I smile since I want him to think I’m a friendly bastard who comes in peace.

“Yeah, I feel like fuckin’ shit about Abby, though. I can’t believe that asshole stabbed her, man,” he says, putting his pipe down and lighting up a cigarette. “Abby is one of the best staff in there, she’s so nice to everyone and really tries to make a difference. It’s a shame, but these things do happen and sometimes the staff gets hurt.” He says it like it’s no big fucking deal.

“Mind if I sit with you for a bit? That whole scene made me a bit nervous since it’s my first day here and all.”

I need to sound sincere and I hope it’s coming through. People see me as a menace because of my height.

“Sure, you wanna hit?” he asks.

Man, his blue eyes look like pure glass. “Naw, I’m good, Doug, but I’ll have a smoke with ya.”

I grab my smokes out of my pocket and spark one up. I’m not a big smoker, but figure cigarettes are a hot item in a shelter, just like they are in jail.

“Doug, don’t you feel like it’s your fault Abby got hurt today? I mean, she came out of the office because you were screaming about your crack.” I exhale my smoke looking straight ahead while I feel his glassy eyes staring at the side of my face.

“I mean I guess it’s sort of my fault, but I’d like to think it was the asshole’s fault who stole my rock,” he says.

I know he thinks he’s right. He’s dead wrong.

“Doug, your crack addiction is what got Abby hurt today.” I turn to face him and see he’s loading up his pipe again, and it sickens me.

“No, it isn’t, it was all an accident, man. I think Abby’s great and I hate that she got hurt.”

He takes another fucking hit from that fucking pipe and I can’t contain it any longer. I reach into my pocket and grab my blade. Getting it ready, I watch Doug inhale more crack. I watch it wash over him as he falls into bliss. I hope he enjoys it because it’s going to be the last happy moment this fucker feels.

I lean into him so it looks like I’m talking in his ear.

“Doug, I hope you enjoyed that last hit of crack and I hope your addiction is worth your life,” I whisper, slicing my blade across his throat. Looking into his eyes, I see he is shocked. “This is for what you did to Abby, you fucking crack head piece of shit,” I say softly, laying him down by the tree. His blood spills out of his neck and pools around him.

To anyone else, it would look like two homeless dudes in the park and one passed the fuck out. Not an uncommon occurrence for a downtown park by The Shelter.

I need to leave, so I get up and have a quick look around. I don’t see anyone. It’s too cold at this time of night for people to hang out in a park, especially in September.

I walk the fuck away, grinning to myself.