Misfit Traveler

by Olivia Marie

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  I watched the news for the next week to see if they had found Jaxson yet or if they were looking for me. Nothing ever came and I started to relax. Picking out my next stop wasn’t as easy as it had been. Killing him woke something inside of me and I realized why Stella and Dreamer repeated their crimes. It was a high, a rush you couldn’t get from anything else, and I found myself craving it more.

  I found another town, bigger that time, and snagged a motel room for three nights. The club I saw at the center of the town told me I wouldn’t have a hard time finding another to scratch both itches I had. Love them, kill them, leave them. That was the way I decided to go. It wasn’t like I wasn’t doing the same thing Stella and Dreamer did. I was getting rid of the scum but mine were in a different form than theirs. Since Jaxson had worked out so well, I wanted to try it again.

  I stopped by the hardware store in town to pick up a few things for the big night I had planned. Grabbing rope, a hammer, nails, and some duct tape, I felt like my “fun bag” was as ready as I was. I got lucky with the first one and found an item that worked perfectly for the weapon. I couldn’t take a chance that would happen again.

  I climbed in the shower and began my prep for the night. I would be as hot as I could to snag any of them I wanted to. I would have my pick and I would choose carefully the one I needed.

  Taking my cut off cream top out of the bag, I laid it out and went back in to look for the jean shorts I had packed. Pairing that with my brown cowboy boots, I was ready to start on the hair. It wouldn’t take long since I had started to dreadlock it a few years ago. Piling half of it up and letting the rest lay flat down my back, I finished with the makeup before getting dressed. I took the bracelet I had stolen from Stella when I was a kid out and clipped the wide, fake gold band to my wrist. It fit looser on me than it had her and I knew if she was still here, that would have pissed her off.

  Taking one last look to make sure everything was right, I grabbed the bag off the counter and headed to my car. I wasn’t as close to the club as I had been the last time, and I would want that with to get me home.

  The place was a typical bar in a big city. Nobody seemed to know each other and stuck to their groups they came with. It didn’t take long to look around the room and pick out the man I would take with me.

  He was standing off to the side and alone. His black hair was slicked back, and his tan arms sat crossed over his broad chest. Not as tall as the last one had been, he still had several inches on me. The fact he seemed to be a loner would help me that time.

  I walked right past him and shook my ass as I did. I could feel his eyes on my backside as I made it to the bar. Ordering my beer, he approached me before the bartender even got the cap off the long neck bottle. Pretending not to see him, I brought the beer to my lips and took a swig. After swallowing, I licked the rim of any liquid I had missed.

  “Damn,” I heard him say as I made my last pass over the top.

  “Jealous?” I teased.

  “So jealous.”

  “Play your cards right and you won’t have to be,” I said and walked away. If he wanted me, he would have to play my game. I would give it up, but I wouldn’t make it easy on him.

  Not even five minutes later, he came up to me with another beer in both hands. Handing me one, he kept the other for himself. I watched him watch me to see if I would put on another show for him. I wouldn’t, not there anyway.

  “Feel like dancing?” he asked moving closer to me.

  “Sure. Let’s see what I will be working with tonight. You know they swear how you are on the floor tells how you are in bed. Let’s see if we fit.”

  “Damn. You are feisty. I love it.”

  “I’m just warming up. You haven’t seen feisty yet.”

  “I will gladly stick around to see what else you got.”

  “Good. Let’s dance.”

  I moved the beer to my other hand and used the one closest to him to drag him to the dance floor. They had a great dance mix on and I let it move me. He kept up easily and by the time the set finished, I was ready to go.

  “I’m ready to go. Do you live alone?” I asked.

  “No. April lives with me, but she won’t mind.”

  Frowning my brow at him, I backed up a little with the news he had someone waiting for him. I would have to start again and that was time I wasted. Shrugging it off, I sidestepped to get around him and move on.

  “Wait. Where are you going? I thought you wanted to do this?” he asked grabbing my wrist to stop me from leaving.

  “I do, but I am not taking you back to my nasty hotel room and you have someone you live with. It isn’t going to work for me. I had fun and I like you, but I need a solo man.”

  “April is the cat I adopted last year. It was a joke. Come on, baby, don’t leave me alone with this monster. It needs you,” he said and pointed to the front of his pants. Hearing him talk like that turned me off in some ways and turned me on in others.

  “A cat?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Real men have dogs. I’m just sayin.”

  “I am gone a lot for work and a cat is easier to take care of. Someday I would like a mutt, but for now, it’s just me and my pussy.”

  “You have to stop talking like that,” I fired off. It wasn’t cute at all and I wanted to have him before I “had” him.

  “Okay. So, you coming with me?”

  “I hope so.”

  He laughed at my joke, but I didn’t.

  “I have my own car so I can follow you,” I said.

  “You can or I can bring you back here after we are done if you want.”

  “No. I’ll drive. I hate feeling trapped places and if I don’t have my car, I will feel trapped.”

  “Okay. I’m not going to hurt you, but if you need your own car, who am I to stop you?”

  “Thanks. I am parked in the back. I can follow you?”

  “Sure thing.”

  He walked me to my car and made sure I got in. I wasn’t sure if he was doing it to be nice or because he was afraid I would change my mind and leave. When he pulled up in front of me in a silver Prius, I almost died laughing. He drove that for a car and had a cat at home. I found the gayest straight man ever.

  “Whatever,” I mumbled and followed behind him. Either way, I came out to have fun and that was what I was going to do.

  CHAPTER NINE

  His house wasn’t so much a house as it was a shoe box. I could have fit it in my old apartment. His neighbors were so close, I could have handed them toilet paper if they ran out while taking a shit. I hoped he had something going for him in the bedroom cause so far, he was striking out.

  “You can park there,” he said coming up to my window and directing me to park opposite of where he had pulled into the garage.

  “Okay.”

  He waited for me to get out before moving toward the front door. Standing half facing me and half facing the lock, it looked like he was ready to sprint after me if I changed my mind and tried to run.

  “So, April is kind of a bitch. I am going to lock her in the other room so she leaves us alone. Make yourself at home and I will be right back.”

  “Sure thing,” I said and looked around at his tiny living room.

  As soon as he was gone, I set my bag down and looked around at the few pictures he had framed on the wall. There was one with him and a very beautiful brunette. Locked in each other’s arms, you could see they were in love. I thought it was odd to still have that hanging if they weren’t together anymore, but he was strange.

  Looking into the adjacent kitchen, it was opposite of the spotless living area. The dishes were piled in the sink and the trash was cascading onto the floor. There were plates with leftover food caked on dotting the counter that was in desperate need of a good wipe down. After seeing that mess, there would be no way in hell I would stay if he asked me to. I wondered if he was a slob before brownie left him or if that was an after effect like the car
and cat choices he made.

  “Making yourself at home?”

  “Sure.”

  “Good. This place severely lacks a woman’s touch, I know that. It isn’t easy keeping up with everything and working the hours I have to put in. It isn’t always this bad.”

  “Honestly, I am looking to get laid. That is all. I don’t care what your kitchen looks like, but don’t ask me to eat or drink anything while I am here.”

  “Deal.”

  I prayed the bedroom was in the same shape as the living room and not the kitchen. I couldn’t get into it if his room was a landing zone for the atomic bomb. He led me down the tiny hall and to the door at the end. When he opened it, I held my breath wondering what would be on the other side.

  My mouth dropped and I couldn’t go in. There were two twin beds on opposite sides of the room. One had been made up with bedding a woman had clearly picked out. The lavender quilt with pink flowers all over it was made up perfectly. The bed to the far side of the room was sporting superhero bedding.

  “You’ve got to be kidding me,” I said under my breath.

  “We will use my bed. I don’t let anyone on Mary’s bed.”

  “Was she your wife?” I dared to ask.

  “No. She was my sister, but we were inseparable.”

  “Your sister? Was that her in the pictures in the other room too?”

  “Yes. Wasn’t she beautiful? Nothing has been the same without her.”

  “I’m sorry you lost her.” It was the only thing I could think to say. He was acting so weird and everything in me said to run. I couldn’t though. I had committed to doing this and I would see it out no matter what. The sex part might get pushed away, but it would help me to get control of him too.

  “Oh, she isn’t dead. She got married three years ago and her husband won’t let me see her?”

  “Why?”

  “He thinks our relationship was too weird. We never did anything, but after our parents died and we were all we had, I guess it made us closer.”

  I felt relief when he said that. Not that he lost his parents, but that he was somewhat, kind of, normal.

  “I know how that feels. I’m happy you had someone to help you through it. That would have made it easier.”

  “It did.”

  A twinge of jealousy ran through me and I found myself almost liking him. I had to put those emotions in check though. I came here for a reason and I wasn’t going to leave until it was done.

  Moving closer to him, I reached for his shirt and pulled him in to me. The sly smile that crossed his face told me he was still ready to play too. Our lips locked and he was forceful, desperate, and ready. I placed my hand on the front of his jeans and felt that he wanted me too. When he reached up under my skirt and found out there was nothing there to stop him, he gave out a low moan before moving me to the ridiculous bed.

  We were into it hot and heavy when I pushed him off.

  “I want to try something. Are you up to it?” I asked.

  “Depends on what it is…” He lay there naked and I took him all in. He really wasn’t bad on the eyes and he had done everything right so far.

  “I’ll be right back.” I ran from the room before he could argue and scooped my bag off the floor in the living room. Running back in to him, I slammed the door shut behind me and held up the rope I bought earlier that day.

  “Oh. You are one of those girls,” he exclaimed, but his smile widened. “I’m game.”

  “Good. I am going to make sure you never forget this night or me.”

  I went around to all four corners making sure he was good and snug to the bed before I climbed back on him and finished myself off. I could tell by the way he was moving under me that he was close too. I made sure I jumped off before he could get there.

  “Hey, come on. I took care of you several times. Let me have my turn.”

  “Almost.”

  I reached back into the bag and pulled out the hammer and nails. Tossing them on the bed next to him, I watched his mood change from excitement to fear. The part that made me laugh though…his boner never went down.

  “What are you doing? Untie me. I don’t like this game anymore.”

  “Relax. It should all be over soon. But I haven’t done this before, so I guess you will tell me how long it will take.”

  “What does that even mean?”

  “It means we are going to take our time and see what happens. The last guy was a fluke and I used what I had available. It didn’t last very long, and I think letting it play out a little might be nice for both of us.”

  “I changed my mind. I don’t want to play anymore. Untie me and you can go. Nobody has to know you were even here.”

  “They won’t. I’m not sloppy like my stepmom and stepsister were. I won’t leave shit laying around for the cops to find. They at least taught me what not to do.”

  “Your stepfamily taught you this? Why didn’t your dad stop them?”

  “Because some asshole killed him. Stella wasn’t really my stepmom. I think she wanted my dad and could never have him. He had this warped fantasy that she would be the sweet teenager he remembered when he sent me to live with her. She was anything but. The strange part, I overheard him talking to my Uncle Jason once about Stella.”

  “Stella? Why does that sound familiar?”

  “Because, you idiot, she was all over the news forever. She was the one that killed all those truck drivers.”

  “The Gypsy Killer?”

  “Yes. Now, can you focus? Anyway. He told Uncle Jack it was his fault she turned into the killer she had. I guess he set her up to do her first kill and once she got a taste for it, she needed more. I thought that was bullshit the whole time I was with her. I thought she wanted to do it and that her selfishness was more powerful than taking care of her own daughter.”

  “But you weren’t hers,” he interrupted.

  “Enough. You are so rude. I let you speak all the time and here you are, constantly fucking up my story with your dumb questions.”

  I picked up a nail from the bed and moved to where his head was. He fought me by moving it side to side causing me to have to let go each time he did.

  “Enough,” I shouted and grabbed him by his facial hair. The small beard he started was long enough for my small hands to weave in and grab hold.

  “That hurts,” he whined.

  “Then sit still.”

  “Okay,” he begged.

  I grabbed the nail, put it up to his lips I held pinched shut, and with one fast whack of the hammer, I sealed his lips shut.

  CHAPTER TEN

  “Her precious daughter was Dreamer, the one sitting on death row right now. She loved her more than anything, I thought. But when the threat of getting caught hung over her because of the media coverage, she couldn’t, or wouldn’t, stop. By then she was well into teaching Dreamer how to kill. She never thought to teach me. I was nobody to her. The one forced to clean up their messes. Well, maybe if she would have, they would still be here. She had to have that one last kill with her daughter. She didn’t pay attention to what or who was around her and when she took that boy’s father from him, it was what sent her away.

  “I think a lot of why she hated me was because I reminded her that my dad had fucked a woman once, only it wasn’t her. I was the result of that one drunk night when he thought he would try a woman and see how it was different than a man. Do you see how our choices, even the ones in the heat of the moment, can affect our whole lives and the lives of the people around us? I think my destiny was laid out for me before I was even conceived. All the stars lined up and waited for me to arrive. Well, I am here now, and I am taking over where they left off. The only difference is, I won’t get caught because I’m not dumb like they were.”

  I looked over at him and wanted to throw up. The blood from the nail in his face mixed with his tears and spit. The pink colored liquid ran down the sides of his face and tried to hide in the fabric of his pillow. He was no longe
r hard and looked as weak as I expected him to be.

  “You used to be hot.”

  I couldn’t look at him anymore, not like that. He wiggled on the bed like a worm trying to get out from going on the hook to be fish food. He was as weak as I thought he would be, and it made me want to finish the job.

  I knew enough to know the blood would splatter if I hit him with the hammer and I didn’t want to add more work to the cleanup I would already have. Taking his sister’s bed apart, I grabbed the sheets off it after throwing the comforter on the floor.

  He tried to yell at me with his mouth nailed shut for that and as he fought to open and close his mouth, the flesh began to rip away leaving shredded pieces of his face flapping around like uncooked strips of bacon.

  Ignoring him, I tucked the sheet up behind his head before bringing the hammer up and slamming it against his skull. The sound that came from him wasn’t human and chills ran up my body with the noises he threw out. I was shocked that blow hadn’t knocked him out and I worried one of his very close neighbors would hear his pathetic attempts at screams.

  “Yes. Oh my god. Harder. Harder,” I yelled when he did.

  It was enough to get him to look at me for a second and sit still. I wasn’t sure how coherent he was after that massive blow, but I didn’t want to treat him like a retard either if he wasn’t yet.

  “If you insist on making those noises, I am going to have to make mine. We can let them talk, but it will be about how much of an animal you are and not the waste of space they think you are.” I moved to right in front of his face, a crooked smile plastered across my lips and winked at him.

  He sat there and shook his head violently from side to side like if he tried hard enough, it would all be erased and he would wake up from the nightmare. It didn’t matter what he did, I was there, real, and he was in trouble.

  “I wonder what it looks like in there,” I said and stabbed his temple with my index finger. “Don’t you? I mean, have you ever seen a human brain? It has to be cool, right?”

  I paused waiting for an answer from him that never came. He was useless to me now, more so than he had been before the first blow.