Obsessive

by Lee Heaven

  He stared at me for a long moment as if deciding what to do. His grip on my arm loosened. “I don’t like the guy who moved into your house. He has this huge truck that is loud and keeps odd hours.”

  Huge truck? No it couldn’t be. The card he gave me said Tristian Riggans, the name on the lease was James Spellman. Maybe it was just a coincidence. But it had me wondering. Hell as long as there were no problems then I didn’t care. The further I was from the house the better.

  “Jon, he’s fine. Is anything else wrong besides his loud truck?”

  He shook his head no, “Fine I get your point. Doesn’t mean I’m happy about it, it’s your house no one else’s.”

  I shook my head at him. “Jon it has to be this way. Please let me go.” I was holding off another round of tears. I knew I had ruined my makeup and needed to put off getting a haircut.

  His grip loosened on me and his body had moved back a couple of inches. I pulled off the wall and slide out from his body. He looked at me with this pleading look. “Keep your arms at your side.” He looked at me confused but he put his arms down. I stood on my tip toes and pressed a gentle kiss to his lips. I could feel his arms twitching to move around me, but he did as I asked and kept them at his side.

  “I’m sorry Jon,” I said as I pulled away and turned to walk back down the alley and back towards my apartment.

  I pulled my phone out and shot Sarah a text asking her to meet me in my room and to make sure the guys weren’t going to bother us. I could feel Jon walking behind me, I didn’t turn around to look at him, I just kept my head down and as I approached the building doubled my step to make it through the press waiting around, hoping no one would notice.

  I hurried through the front door and ignored Tobias as he called me from the living room. I heard him enter the kitchen just as I closed and locked my door. I took one look at the concerned look on Sarah’s face and burst out crying again.

  She gathered me in her arms and sat on the edge of the bed with me. She stayed silent until I was done crying. When my body finally stopped shaking she said “Ok, now tell me what’s going on and don’t give me any bullshit.”

  I spilled my whole story to her starting from the day Jacob broke my heart, to Landon cheating on me, to my mother’s death, sleeping with Jon and everything going on with Tobias. I didn’t hold anything back including the fact that I was so attracted to Jon that it almost killed me not to go farther than that kiss. I allowed.

  She gave me that you have to be kidding me look. “I’ll keep this from Decker for now but if he continues to stalk you then I’m telling him. I don’t need what happened to me to happen to you.”

  “You’re right. What am I going to do? I don’t want him anymore, I can’t want him. He’s married and kept that from me. Plus I have this thing, whatever it is, with Tobias.”

  “So we’ll deal with Jon when it needs to be, how it needs to be. Forget about him and focus on Tobias. He won’t let anything happen to you. In case you haven’t noticed he’s crazy about you.”

  I giggled I couldn’t help it that’s how Tobias made me feel. “I’m crazy about him. I think I may be in love with him.”

  “Then tell him. Don’t wait. Don’t be foolish. If I had told Decker I loved him or Decker had told me things could have been so different. Don’t wait. Tell him,” she implored. They both had regrets about not telling each other how they felt. I know both wondered if they had had what had happened with Shawn and Kevin actually happened.

  I hugged her letting her know that she was right and that she can’t let her decisions mess with her mind.

  “Good, now go fix your face because I bet you a hundred dollars Tobias is pacing the kitchen, outside your door wondering what is going on,” she laughed at me.

  I went into the bathroom and grabbed my makeup wipes and went about wiping my mascara streaked face. I rested my hands on the counter and dropped my head taking a deep breath.

  “Wanna talk about it sweetheart?” I heard him say from the doorway.

  “Were you stalking around the kitchen waiting for my door to open?” I asked

  He didn’t answer me just walked over and wrapped his arms around me. “Are you going to tell me what has you upset and why you didn’t get a haircut.”

  I spun around and pushed my face into his chest. I breathed in deep and took in his scent. “I owe Sarah a hundred dollars, since you stalked my door.”

  I felt his chest rumble as he laughed. He reached around to his back pocket and pulled out his wallet. He pulled out a hundred dollar bill and pushed it into my pocket. “My treat this time. Now are you going to tell me what’s wrong?”

  I tightened my grip on the back of his shirt and shook my head no. There was no way I was telling Tobias about Jon at this moment. I can still picture the rage on his face from the last time they had met and telling him now would make it worse.

  “Fine. What you say you put your makeup back on and I’ll take you to get your haircut?”

  I couldn’t help but smile. How sweet of this man to offer to take me. He left me to pull myself together. I smiled as I reapplied my makeup. As I walked into the living room I pulled the hundred from my pocket and dropped it into Sarah’s lap. She busted out laughing and as I headed out the door with Tobias, I heard her telling Decker about the bet.

  Chapter 9

  I felt his eyes on me every time I left the apartment. He made sure I never saw him, but I knew, my body felt him and if the breeze blew the correct way, I could swear I could smell his cologne. I made sure never to leave the apartment by myself. I didn’t want to have that run-in with him again.

  Sarah has kept to her promise and hasn’t told Decker or Tobias. But she warns me every time we leave the apartment and sees my back stiffen that if he comes after me again she won’t keep quiet anymore.

  It’s been three weeks since I’ve left the apartment alone and today I have to. Sarah’s in the office today and the boys are away for a few games, but due back sometime tonight. I have a dentist appointment and there’s no putting it off. Thankfully it’s only a couple of blocks up the street. I secretly hoped that the cameras would be interested in me enough that they will follow me all the way there.

  Of course, as Josie and I leave the building they are all over us. Most leave us alone as we walk towards her school, but a few follow, which I’m happy for because I can feel Jon. I know he’s out there watching me. After ushering her into school I turned to find Max Phillip of The Voice, the local rag magazine, smiling at me.

  “What do you want Max,” I sneered at him. The Voice and Max probably wrote the truth maybe two percent of the time, if ever.

  “Rumor has it you and Tobias Charles are a hot number. We know we’ve seen you around town with him and you’re living with his best friend. So any truth to the rumors?”

  “Max if there was any truth do you think I would tell you?” His sneer was my answer and prompted me to go on. “Whether Tobias and I are or aren’t a couple, is none of your business or anyone else’s. Isn’t it bad enough you’re always all over Decker and Sarah? Why would I allow you to jump all over me if I was dating anyone?”

  I made sure we kept walking; little did Max realize I was using him as a body guard. I made sure to drag out this conversation to get us the two blocks over to the dentist office. For once I was happy this little weasel was following me.

  I stopped outside the office and turned around. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Jon duck into a store front. I blanched and Max caught it. He turned to where I was looking, but Jon was gone at the point and I hoped he couldn’t see what I was looking at.

  He pulled a business card out of his pocket and handed it to me. “Listen Maggie, I’m not always a bad guy. If you’re in trouble and need help let me know.” He looked over to where I was looking before. “I mean it, anything.”

  “Max, get a real reporters job, I might actually like you then,” I laughed as I grabbed the card from him and entered the office.

 
Two hours later I walked from the office with squeaky clean teeth. I started my trek back to the building. I normally would have gone into Central Park and walked home that way, but that added time and knowing I was alone and Jon was following me prevented me from making my trip any longer.

  Just as I hit 62nd Street my cell phone rang. Seeing it was Sarah I answered it.

  “What’s up?” I answered.

  She laughed at me. “Nice way to answer the phone, don’t you believe in the word ‘Hello’. Where you at?”

  “What kind of English is that, ‘Where you at’? It should be ‘Where are you?’” I laughed at her. We were always correcting each other’s language and manners, but neither one of us ever corrected ourselves. “I just got to 62nd street.”

  “Good turn and head to Best Buy. I promised Josie the new Shake It Up CD like a week ago and I keep forgetting to get it for her. Can you go grab it?”

  I sighed. It left me by myself in a very busy store. But it was for Josie, so how could I say no. “Alright I’ll do it for you.”

  “Maggie let Decker get you a bodyguard. You’re out there more now that people saw you at the press conferences while I was missing and some photographs of you and Tobias have been published. At least you won’t be by yourself. You even said yourself you know he’s following you. What happens if he doesn’t let you go next time? What happens if he takes you like I was? What if you’re not so lucky like I was? I don’t want to go through what you guys went through. I don’t want to have to make that call to Tobias like you had to call Decker.”

  She had a point. I couldn’t imagine anyone facing the pain that I faced. I never wanted her to know that pain. Maybe she had a point. But did I really want someone following me around like she did? Did I want to have every second of my day available for someone to know? Have no privacy to myself?

  “Can I have Jimmy?” I joked. Jimmy was one of her body guards. He was smoking hot. Jimmy was only a couple of inches taller than me. He was built with muscles that could barley be contained by his clothes. He had dark hair and steel color eyes. I saw some of the tattoos on his arms but Sarah said he was covered in them and to us that only added to his sexiness, I also wondered how she knew he was covered in tattoos. We often joked that he was a walking orgasm.

  Jimmy was also one major factor in keeping Sarah’s panic attack away. He was hired as a part time night guard, but was starting to come around more and more as Sarah felt completely safe and sane around him. Decker would do anything to keep her from ever feeling scared or defenseless again.

  She laughed a gut shaking laugh. It was infectious and made me laugh along with her. “No way he’s mine. But if you want I’ll ask if there’s any more like him out there for you.”

  “Let me think about it. I’m here so let me run in and get this and get home before he finds me,” I said as I slipped into the store.

  I browsed the CD racks looking for the correct CD. She really needed to think about buying this kid an iPod, who actually buys CD’s now a days. Just as I grabbed the correct one two hands grabbed the rack and caged me against it.

  My body tensed, I knew immediately who it was by the tattoo on his arm and his cologne, and it was all I needed. I didn’t move, I didn’t say anything I just stood there staring at his left hand hoping he would go away.

  It took me a few minutes but I suddenly realized his wedding ring was no longer on his finger. I inwardly groaned. I wonder if he just took it off now or if he actually ended it like he said he was going to. He pressed in tighter against my back and I closed my eyes. To anyone looking at us we probably looked like a couple who didn’t care about PDA. I wasn’t going to let myself react in public. I wasn’t going to break down and scream.

  “Please leave me alone,” I whispered as his nose brushed my hair.

  I willed the tears away as his right hand wrapped around my wrist. Oh god, oh god, oh god. All I can think about is how much I wished I took up the offer for a guard. I wished Sarah or Jimmy or Decker or Tobias or anyone else was with me right now. Why didn’t I stay on the phone? I knew the answer because this store is downstairs and doesn’t get reception on this floor. I knew he wouldn’t have bothered me if I was on the phone or with someone. He didn’t want to be caught stalking or harassing me.

  “Tell me it’s not because of the guy this morning?” he quietly asked.

  I shook my head no and replied, “Reporter.” My voice cracked as I answered him and I knew it was only a matter of time before he broke me down.

  “Tell me again, it’s not because of Tobias Charles. I’ve seen the pictures of the two of you together.”

  I shook my head no again. To me it was a no I can’t tell you that because it was because of Tobias. I was in love with Tobias. I wanted nothing more than him and what he brought to my fucked up world. He was a calming force in my tormented mind. When everything was tilting the wrong way all it took was one look, a hug, a word, a phone call or a txt message and my world was righted and back where it needed to be. However, I knew Jon took my headshake as to mean it’s not because of Tobias.

  “I know you were looking at my finger. I know you saw I didn’t have my ring on. I didn’t just take that off for you. I told you I was ending it. I did, she’s gone. I never loved her. It was always you. Since we we’re kids, it was always you.”

  Since we were kids? What the fuck! He was ten years older than me, when exactly did he fall in love? This wasn’t even love at this point, this was just pure obsession and it was turning scary. At least to me it was scary. I felt the panic hit my chest and it tightened making it harder to breath.

  Then I heard another male voice, “Maggie?”

  My eyes shot open and looked across the shelf. I had never been so happy to see a reporter in my life. Tears filled my eyes and I tried to will them away but a few escaped down my cheeks. Max Phillip had suddenly become my savior.

  He smiled at me, “I just got off the phone with Sarah and she granted me an interview. I was just going to meet her at your guy’s place. Care to walk over with me and answer a few questions?”

  Oh thank god. He just gave me an escape. I could literally jump over this shelf and kiss the man right now. I knew he was also lying. First Sarah was at work and second she would never grant an interview to anyone. She hated the spotlight on her.

  Jon actually growled, “She’s a little busy here bud. Why don’t you just move along without her and ask your questions another time,” he snapped and wrapped his other hand around my other wrist. Squeezing both hands so tightly I thought my wrist were going to snap. Who the fuck was he to decide what I can do or what I can’t.

  “Max, glad she finally agreed to talk. I’d love to walk over with you.” I tried to walk past Jon but he wouldn’t budge his caged gripped on me. He held me tight to his body. I pushed back against him again and he wouldn’t move. “Excuse me,” I finally said to him.

  He took the CD out of my hand and tossed it across the shelf at Max. “Go pay for this and give us two minutes,” he snapped. Jon watched as Max walked away but never taking his eyes off of us. He spun me around and anger seethed from his eyes. “What the fuck Maggie?”

  “Jon, I’ve asked you nicely multiple times to leave me alone. I’m now asking you again. Let go of me and leave me alone. I’m not in love with you. What happened between us was a mistake. Please.”

  He stared at me, deep into my eyes trying to plead with me. Trying to get me to love him back, pleading me to just be with him the way he wanted. “I love you Maggie.”

  I shook my head at him. Max appeared behind him and cleared his throat. “I have to go Jon.” I pushed at him and he took a small step back but didn’t let go of me. “Let me go Jon,” I said as I shook my arms. His fingers slipped from my wrists but his body was still close enough that I couldn’t slip past him.

  He gripped both my arms again and squeezed tightly, to tight. I couldn’t help it at that point and tears leaked from my eye, sliding down my cheek. Something clicked
in Jon when he saw the tear roll down, he took a deep stuttering breath and backed away. He looked utterly crushed and broken but seething with anger at the same time. Something about his look told me that even though he was leaving, I knew it wouldn’t be the last I saw of him.

  Right before he walked out of my reach he ran his knuckles down the side of my cheek. In anyone else it would have been a tender and loving move, but with Jon it was creepy and sadistic.

  I watched as he walked up the escalator and disappeared to the first floor. As soon as he was out of sight I was sagging on to the shelf behind me. Tears spilled down my cheeks at a rapid pace.

  Max stepped into my line of sight at that moment, “What the fuck Maggie? What was that?”

  “Give me a minute and then walk me home and I’ll explain everything. But this is off the record and if one word of this is printed I will hunt you down and cut your fucking nuts off,” I said as I steady my nerves.

  I knew at that moment I was going to have to tell Sarah and Decker. I knew at that moment I was going to have to take the security that had been offered. But worst of all I knew in that moment I would have to do the unthinkable and tell Tobias everything.

  I finally gained enough nerve back and could feel my legs again. As I stood up Max took my arm and steered me to the escalator. Up to the first floor and out the front door. As soon as I stepped out I could feel his eyes on me. I took a step back and Max looked at me strange. I scanned the streets but just like always I couldn’t spot Jon. I knew he was there though. I could feel him; it was like a blanket made of thorns wrapped around my bare skin knowing he was watching me.