by Susan Reid
I found her so refreshing and admirable, and the more I looked at and listened to her, the more of me she had in her palm.
There was a brief pause.
Just then, the heavy wooden door at the end of the hall swung open, and she shook her head with a smirk.
“I knew it was only a matter of time,” She whispered.
Four girls approached us, three were blonde, and one had dark hair. Two of them were ones I had seen down in the lounge when we first came in. From the looks of it, they were either cheer leaders or models, and it didn’t look like Star thought very highly of them either. She immediately stuck her key into the lock of her apartment door, and rolled her eyes in disdain.
They all wore some sort of fashionable night clothes, even on a chilly night like this, and I was pleased to see that the clothing was quite… skimpy, which left a lot of tantalizingly sweet flesh visible. As an automatic lust response, my eyes glowed as my lust grew, but none of the girls noticed. I quickly turned my face away from Star, because she on the other hand—would see them.
“Oh my God— Star are you alright? You’re face…that looks painful and horrible,” The tall, slender brown eyed blond in the front asked with perfectly rehearsed, over exaggerated sentiment.
She gaped at Star, and her entourage followed suit looking more so— at me with both inviting curiosity and lustful smiles.
“Officer, what happened?” The shorter blonde with blue eyes asked.
“Nothing, everything is fine.” Star replied quickly.
“Just a little accident, she’s okay.” I added.
“Well, thank God you were there to help and bring Star back safely Officer…Black,” The brown eyed blonde with a portrait smile commented. She craned her neck and almost fell backwards, just to read the nametag above my badge, all the while thrusting her chest forward while gazing up at me.
They were all looking up at me now, in the same manner. So much for showing Star concern, but I now understood why she had rolled her eyes in the first place, upon their arrival.
“Did you get into a fight or something?” The dark haired one asked her nonchalantly.
Star cut her eyes to her, “No, not yet,” She replied flatly, more towards the brown eyed blonde though. She and I both apparently shared the same sense of humor.
They all continued to stare at her bruised mouth, and I could tell it more angered than embarrassed her.
“What’s with the crutch?” The seeming leader of the group asked her then, apparently used to Star’s sarcasm. The blonde ignored it and continued on with her concerned friend act.
“I hurt my ankle.” She told them all in exasperation.
“Damn, that sucks. Did you get into car accident?” The blonde one feigned a pout, and asked.
“No.” Star simply answered, still refusing to divulge information to the nosy group.
The girl wrinkled her brow, as if Star’s answers made no sense in relation to her injuries.
“Fall down the stairs? Injury at the gym?” The brown eyed blonde continued to try and guess, but I could hear a distinct note of sarcasm in her voice too.
“Good night Logan,” Star finally said with a pleasant half-smile through her bruised lip, as she cracked open her door, and prepared to head inside.
Her way of polite saying ‘screw you’ made me smile.
The one she called Logan rolled her eyes, and shook her head with a sigh of consternation that made me realize that there was an apparent rivalry of some sort between her and Star on some level. I was sure it had something to do with Logan’s arrogant demeanor. I could already sense it by simply watching her body language, and the underlying tones in her voice. It was laced with envy in the way she spoke to Star.
If these girls only knew, that in the end, Star would be one of the ones destined to protect them…given they’d even make it. I wished I could tell them that, or even show or tell Star herself, but it wouldn’t have been believable on their parts anyway, even if I were allowed to. I could see Morning Star taking girls like this first. They were his favorites, because they made excellent slave lovers for him. He would either spare them for his collection to rent out, or keep for his own personal pleasures.
They really didn’t seem too concerned with her answers so I came to her rescue.
“Well, I’ll let you get some rest. It was a pleasure to meet you— not given the circumstances though, and if you ever need anything, do not hesitate to give me a call,” I told her as I dug out a card that I magically conjured just seconds ago, from my back pocket.
It looked professional enough. I only hoped she didn’t try to call and verify who I was just yet.
She took the card, and then I handed her bags and the crutch to her. She took them, looking reluctantly at the crutch and then smiled as she read over my card. She looked up at me with surprised expectation, and both her brows went up in question.
I think she took the obvious hint in my giving her my personal contact information, and I didn’t care what the other girls thought either.
“Thanks for everything. The show’s all yours this time. Good luck and goodnight.” She smirked at me as she opened the door without another glance at the girls, slipped inside, and closed it behind her — but not before I got a quick glimpse of what looked like the kitchen, first.
“We are so glad that we have an officer with your dedication around campus. You are here around campus right? I’m Logan by the way,” The brown eyed blonde in the front instantly stuck her hand out to shake.
I shook it, admiring the full creamy slopes of her breasts that seemed to spill out of her flimsy camisole top as her robe conveniently fell open in the front.
I licked my lips, looking at all of them, and then sighed.
No, don’t do it, I told myself.
“Around campus? You look like you’re metropolitan.” The shorter blonde added, after gazing over my uniform with a flirtatious smile.
“Ladies, have a great night and stay safe,” I tipped my hat with a quick smile, and took a step towards the direction of the wooden door. They parted the way for me, having surrounded me like cats in heat.
I began to walk briskly away, forcing myself not to look back and even think what I was thinking about those young, supple girls.
“Oh wait Officer Black…” Logan called out.
I shouldn’t have stopped, but I did and I turned around, my eyes scanning her bare legs from her calves to her thighs to her crotch.
“Yes?” I kept a straight face.
The intense rush and onslaught of hormones, and the strong scent of passion and desire coming from all of the girls at the same time was not helping, and it was almost overwhelming; even for me right now given how I was already feeling about Star.
“Well, are you— like working our campus now? Or are you metropolitan?” She repeated with a princess smile.
I thought about that one for a moment. That would be perfect, of course I’d have to tweak some things as far as the staff here went, and even the nearest police department after all— and soon.
Then I thought of Star again with a quick glance at the door of her apartment, “You may see more of me around. You girls have a good night,” I smiled, and continued onward back to the wooden door. I had to leave before I gave in, and acted upon my natural urges.
I instantly heard them began to chitter with excitement, talking about me and then Star, and then me again. All of their eyes were still glued to my back, and waves of potent lust kept hitting me in one powerful rush after the other. The one called Logan whispered—loud and clear to me; that she wanted and would get me, because there was no way I could be interested in Star, which is how the other girls had also taken it. I’d keep that and her in mind the next time I needed a release for any darkness I’d taken in.
Thinking of Star helped to curb that familiar innate urge in me though, and I was thankful. I was trying to kick the habit especially since I would not be returning to Morning Star’s domain any time
in the near or distant future.
I wasn’t ready to completely leave just yet, I thought as I headed back down to the first floor and out of the front doors. I walked the entire perimeter of the apartment complex, before heading back to the cruiser where I sat and waited— for the Logan girl to return to her apartment.
X: Starling:
China left the overhead light on above the electric stove for me. From the still lingering aroma, I could tell she had blown out one of her infamous scented candles not long ago too. The scent of fresh laundry detergent and spring flowers still hung pleasingly in the air. Thankfully, she was asleep already, which was no surprise considering it was a little past two in the morning.
The bruise and cut looked even worse now than from when I had originally seen it in the bathroom mirror, and then again at the diner. It was definitely something that I dreaded having to explain to China and Joel. This day had started out badly, with my dream, but it ended sweetly in the arms of an incredibly gorgeous man in uniform.
I liked him carrying me, feeling his rock solid, muscular arms around my body — cradling me against his broad, firm chest, but it would have been more ideal if it were on a beach at sunset, or up a winding staircase like Scarlet O’Hara.
I sighed and examined my face again in the full length mirror on my closet door, and then glanced back down at my ankle. There was no way to play these injuries off to anyone if Logan didn’t run her mouth, and I already knew she would.
The thought made me groan as I opened the closet door, intent on storing the crutch, and then undressed; finding my pj’s. I was ready for a shower, and to sleep for the next two or three days.
I spied the box of sample Ambien’s China had gotten for me, along with the self-help book she so graciously picked up on the side, still sitting on my dresser where I had tossed it. I picked up the box, reading the back label and dosage instructions. Popping one out of the foil package, I carried it with me, making a pit stop in the kitchen to down it with a glass of water before finally heading to the bathroom.
I didn’t need it to sleep, I needed it to make sure that I would sleep peacefully…without any impending nightmares.
God, I needed that hot shower, and it didn’t take long for me to feel the powerfully drowsy effects of the Ambien’s beginning to take over. I made sure to keep quiet when I closed the bathroom door behind me, not bothering to turn on any lights that China might be able to see under her closed bedroom door. I didn’t need her to wake up right now.
I hobbled quickly, straight for my room. My door had been ajar, so I relied on using the cone of soft light spilling from inside to guide myself. I was ready to crash with no chance of any kind of dreams tonight. I don’t think that what happened at the Hospice or in Professor Phillips’ office earlier, would be the last of it, and that really bothered me, but I was too sleepy to continue to ponder it. I cursed to myself, realizing that I needed to get some ice on my ankle if I wanted to be able to walk tomorrow at all.
I silently stumbled into the kitchen, already feeling as though I was trudging through water as relaxed as my legs had become via the Ambien’s. I made a simple icepack, consisting of a plastic freezer bag and ice cubes; then sealing and wrapping it all up into a hand towel to set on my ankle while I slept. I was apparently successful in remaining as quiet as I could be, before finally retreating towards my room.
“Hey, you’re back. Why you didn’t call?” I heard China whisper with a long yawn.
I jumped a bit, almost tripping over my sore ankle and biting down hard on my bottom lip to stop the ‘S’ and ‘F’ words from flying out of my mouth and causing more pain to my injured lip as well. My eyes instantly watered.
Epic fail in being quiet.
I didn’t even hear China open her bedroom door. She hugged herself, clad in her flannel pajama bottoms and tank top, her short, asymmetrically cut auburn hair was askew, and her eyes were squinty.
I knew she really couldn’t see my face, so I ducked into my room quickly, just to make sure.
“Yeah, sorry…I was really tired, didn’t even think about it.” I told her, bending my leg to keep my injured ankle behind me so as not to stand on it at all.
Crap, I had forgotten to tell Lenell that I made it back too, but then again I had good reason. I hadn’t planned to spend the rest of the evening with Officer Cam either, and that made me smile to think about again.
She’d scold me again, but she’d understand.
“Oh, well did you eat? There’s leftover casserole,” She offered, and pointed to the fridge as she headed into the kitchen.
Don’t flip on the light, don’t flip on the light. I kept repeating to myself in my head as I watched her; ready to duck completely into my room and close the door.
She didn’t. I blew out a breath of relief.
“I had something already, and I’m really full but thanks.” I told her.
“Uh huh, I get it Star; you either don’t like my tuna casserole or my cooking. Are you doing okay?” She teased, and then asked.
I laughed, feeling warm and fuzzy now.
“It’s the tuna casserole — not a fan. Anyway, I took some of that Ambien about ten minutes ago, and I’m really starting to feel it so — I may need you to hold a mirror under my nose tomorrow.” I drawled.
She giggled, “Good. Will do, now get some rest. Good night.”
“Night,” I told her, sighing in relief once again as I closed the door.
I made a makeshift hill of pillows to elevate my ankle at the foot of the bed. Once beneath the warmth of my jersey knit sheets and thick comforter, I balanced the ice pack carefully on my still tender and sore ankle, and then snuggled in with my head between two pillows; pulling my body pillow into a snug hug for support. I pressed the power button on the remote to turn on the nineteen inch television that I had on a small television stand at the end of my bed, for a light source. I left the volume on very low, and then sighed at the chilling relief of the ice as I settled in, finally succumbing to sleep, while thinking about Officer Cam Black.
The smell of melted provolone cheese, garlic, and pepperoni roused my senses and I began to stir. I stretched, taking my time in doing so as I yawned, and found myself still buried beneath an avalanche of my blankets and pillows. I had gone through an entire night actually sleeping for a change. It was the first night in a long, long time, and it was both relaxing and peaceful. No dreams, no images of the end of the world, no demons trying to kill me — it was the way sleep was supposed to be, and I felt so much better.
I pulled the comforter down from my head, seeing the bright yellow slices of sun trying to force their way in through my blinds, and creating a lined pattern of black and gold shadows on the far wall.
Gorgeous sun after a stormy night, maybe today would be a good day.
Was China making a pizza for breakfast or did she have a pizza scented candle? Either way it smelled good. My stomach growled, surprising to me since the huge hamburger was probably still sitting in it, so I really wasn’t as hungry as it was trying to make me believe. I took a moment to just lie in bed and relax, again thinking of Officer Black.
I enjoyed being with him. It was definitely physical, that was for sure. I almost told him what really happened, something about him made me want to. He seemed to genuinely understand, and wanted to know, but I wasn’t sure how to even begin.
I was pretty positive that was why he gave me his card…well one of the reasons I think. I had to wonder, because I wanted to call, but I’d wait. He had to have a girlfriend if he wasn’t married. Cop or not, he was still a guy, and could still be a player too. I sighed and yawned again, taking my time to stretch each muscle, and flexing my ankle, which actually felt much better this morning. Then again, I hadn’t stood up on it yet. The makeshift icepack no doubt had melted completely, and was either lying on the floor somewhere or mixed up in my sheets — hopefully not leaking. I didn’t bother to look for it.
My face on the other hand, was still sor
e and tender. I winced reaching up and gently touching it. It wasn’t as swollen as yesterday though, which was a good thing, but maybe keeping a low profile for a day or two might not be such a bad idea. I glanced over on the nightstand to check my phone for the time, and already noticed my text indicator light flashing.
I sat bolt upright, unable to comprehend if I were truly reading the time right — it read twelve twenty two — in the afternoon. Damn! I had missed two of my morning classes! Why hadn’t China woken me up?
I flung the covers off of me, almost tripping, annoyed and freaking out because I hated rushing. Once I stood, I gasped in pain, and this time — I let it all out and unleashed a tirade of curse words as my eyes teared up. I was immediately halted by the stab of soreness in my ankle when I put pressure on it to stand.
After whining at my crippling dilemma and pains, the next thing that caught my eye…was my room. It was, clean, not that it was really messy, but I wasn’t a neat freak either. The television was still on, and some cooking show where the chef was prepping some kind of meat she tied strings around, was on.
My dresser was neatly arranged.
All of my make-up had been stacked and placed by size, type and color; my perfume bottles sat together in two rows, with the smaller ones in the front; all of the caps were replaced on my lotion tubes and pens, which were all also organized neatly in places designated by whoever did this. My papers and textbooks lay in a neat pile on the end nearest to the door.
The surfaces had even been dusted, and the laminate natural brown surface shone in its original glossy finish. I paused for a moment to look around. There was no way China would have taken it upon herself to clean up my room. She wasn’t the type, and she certainly wasn’t going to do it while I was in here asleep.
I sure as hell didn’t do it — or did I? I wondered.
I leaned over to grab my phone from the nightstand again, in order to check my text messages, figuring maybe China did do it and was letting me know.
