by Willow Rose
“There’s always sand on the floor of our house,” Andrew argued. “That’s what you get from living on the beach. And maybe you just forgot to close the back door; maybe the wind blew it open.”
Kelly listened to her husband, but didn’t agree. She knows she remembered to close that door. She always does when leaving. And it is no longer just those two incidents that make her uneasy. It’s the feeling of being watched. When she goes to the library or the grocery store, she sees the same car. It was even parked outside of the gym this morning when she came out after her spinning-class. It appears to be everywhere she goes.
She noticed it the first time a couple of weeks ago, and since then, she seems to see it everywhere. In the beginning, she thought she was being paranoid. After all, there are a lot of brown trucks, but soon she noticed it had a dent on the right side of it, and now she recognizes it everywhere. She doesn’t dare to approach it, at least not yet, but it scares her like crazy.
Kelly shakes the thought and cuts up the apple. She puts it in the bowl with the rest of the fruit, and then starts to eat while her stomach is still in a knot. She closes her eyes and takes in a deep breath to calm herself down.
You have to relax. You can’t live like this. Expect good things to happen to you. Life is good.
She looks down at Max, the beagle who is sleeping on the floor. “You’re not much of a watchdog, are you? You’re more likely to lick any burglar to death should he enter, am I right?”
The dog doesn’t even react. That’s when the phone on the counter starts to ring, and Kelly looks at it with a loud gasp. The display says it’s Andrew.
Please tell me she’s all right. Please let nothing have happened to her!
“Hello?” she says, picking it up. She tries hard to sound normal, but her voice is shrill.
“Something happened,” Andrew says.
Oh, my God! Please don’t. Please don’t take my baby from me!
Kelly gasps and clasps her mouth. “What happened, Andrew? Is it Lindsey?”
“Yes,” he says. “She…she caught the biggest redfish I have ever seen in my entire life! It’s bigger than her!”
Kelly stumbles backwards as Andrew yells the last part and follows up with some loud cheering.
“I am so proud of her!” he continues. “She wanted to tell you, so here she is.”
“Mom? Did you hear?”
Kelly slides slowly to the floor, her back against the cabinets, while her heart is pounding in her chest.
“Mom?”
“That’s…that’s wonderful news, sweetie,” she finally says, while relief goes through every muscle in her body. “That’s awesome. I am so proud of you.”
“Thanks, Mom.”
They hang up and Kelly starts to laugh. She sits on the floor, holding the phone in her hand, and simply laughs at her own stupidity. To think that she let herself get carried away with fear like that. It is ridiculous.
You’re ridiculous, Kelly. As always, it is nothing. Everything is fine.
Kelly shakes her head while finishing her fruit salad. She puts the bowl in the sink and looks down at the beach, when she spots someone down there. Someone with a set of binoculars pointed straight at her. As she sees them, the person puts the binoculars down and moves on.
Chapter Twenty
January 2016
He is in her house. Blake is going through the blonde’s drawers, looking through her underwear, and decides to keep a pair. He puts it in his pocket before closing the drawer. He looks at the closet and opens it. Rows of her neatly hung dresses appear in front of him. Blake smiles to himself. The blonde sure is a nice dresser. She likes to show off her legs, he has noticed. She does have nice legs, and she makes sure to stay fit. Blake has been watching her as she goes for her run every morning. Usually, he watches her as she runs through the park, but today he decided to go into her house instead. He wants to get close to her, to get to know her, every little detail about her. Why? He doesn’t know. All he knows is that he can’t stop thinking about her. When lying in bed at night with Olivia by his side at the motel, all he can think of is her, the blonde with the long legs. What it is about her, he can’t explain. He just knows he wants her; he wants to be so close to her he can smell her skin. He keeps obsessing about her skin and how it tastes.
Blake is not popular with Olivia these days. She annoys him. All her constant nagging. He had no idea that’s what it would be like to be on the run with her. He would never have brought her with him if he had known. She is constantly on his case, telling him he goes out too much, that they’ll get caught if he doesn’t stay in the motel room. Blake doesn’t care. He can’t stand it in there anymore. He needs to get out. He needs to see the blonde girl.
Blake smells her dresses one by one, and goes through an old shoebox of her private stuff. Mostly old pictures of the blonde and her friends. Blake laughs when he sees a picture of her from when she was a teenager with braces and big hair.
“Even then you were special, dear. I bet the boys were all over you,” he whispers to the photograph, then puts it back in the box.
Blake picks up a postcard from the Philippines. It’s from the guy she’s dating. He’s some army-guy and is away a lot. Reading the words on the card makes Blake’s blood boil. He loses his temper and rips it to pieces.
As the pieces fall to the carpet, he hears the front door slam. Blake gasps. He picks up the pieces of the broken postcard, puts the lid back on the shoebox, and puts it back on the shelf, then turns off the light in the closet and closes the door. He hears her steps in the hallway as she gets closer to the bedroom, and seconds later, he watches her through the door as she enters. She is still wearing earplugs and humming to some song. She is sweating and panting from the run and wiping her face on a towel. Blake enjoys watching her. He especially likes those short shorts. She sits on her bed and pulls out her phone. Blake can still hear the music playing in her ears. She is looking at the display on her phone while Blake studies her. His breath comes in ragged bursts. His body is trembling. He has never been this close to her before. He can almost touch her, almost smell her, almost taste the salty sweat on her skin.
The blonde turns off the music and starts to undress. Right there, in front of him, she gets completely naked. Blake can’t believe it. He can hardly breathe as he watches her move around the bedroom. She walks to the bathroom and he can hear the shower being turned on before she comes back, grabs her phone and writes something, sitting on the bed all naked.
Blake is holding his breath to not make a sound. He doesn’t want to ruin this special moment. This moment that he will cherish for the rest of his life when thinking back on this day.
The girl leaves the phone on the bed, then gets up and walks into the shower. Blake waits for a minute before he makes his move.
Enjoy your shower, gorgeous, he thinks to himself, while watching her silhouette through her shower curtain. You can run all you want to, but you can never ever hide from me.
Chapter Twenty-One
January 2016
I knock on the window. Startled, they let go of each other and look at me.
“What the hell are you doing?” I yell.
They stare at each other, then back at me. Embarrassed, Sandra looks down, and then goes for the front door. I walk up to her and hand her the leash.
“Here’s your dog. He pooped twice. Now, would you please tell me what the heck is going on? And don’t try to make me feel all guilty and embarrassed again. I know what I saw.”
“Mary, please. You don’t know what it’s like…”
“Well, I know what it is like to be on the other side of that. And that isn’t funny, I can tell you that much. I really never thought you would be…how…how Sandra, how are you able to do that and live with yourself? How long has this been going on?”
Her eyes are avoiding mine. “Only a few days.”
I sigh deeply. “I can’t believe you.”
“You don’t know what it’s
like to have your husband look at you like you’re some monster, Mary. To have him shiver in disgust every time he tries to touch you. You don’t know what that is like.”
“Alright, I don’t. Then, leave him. Divorce him, and then you two can fool around or whatever it is you’re doing. But not while you’re still married. That’s just wrong. No matter what you look like. I feel for you, you know I do, Sandra. But it’s still wrong. It’s not fair to Ryan.”
Sandra looks at me. I can tell she is embarrassed. I grab her shoulder and pull her close in a warm embrace. “I won’t tell Ryan. Don’t worry,” I say. “My loyalty is with you. But you have to sort out your mess.”
Sandra promises me she will and I leave her house. I walk back with the dogs to Joey’s place. Salter and Joey are engaged in a game on the Xbox and barely notice me. Bonnie grunts delightedly as she sees the dogs again. Snowflake and Clyde are equally happy to see her and get all tangled up in each other’s leashes as they run around excitedly wagging their tails and sniffing Bonnie. As I let them all go, they storm towards the couches and jump up on them. Bonnie can’t get up there, so she stays on the floor while Clyde and Snowflake play tug-of-war with a brown teddy bear. Joey yells at them, and I decide he can deal with it while I take a shower after the long walk.
When I get back out, the boys are still on the Xbox. I decide to work a little and sit by the computer, going through my notes. The trashed article is still in the trash can next to me and I pull it out and read it. I shake my head. No. Still won’t do. Chloe is going to get mad at me. I have never been this long writing anything. She wants me to post on my blog every day, just anything to keep the site active.
“You can’t lose momentum,” she keeps saying. “Gotta strike while the iron is hot.”
So, I decide to make a small video instead. Just to have something. I walk to our bedroom to find a quiet corner, and then turn on the camera on my laptop.
“Ah. This is hard,” I say with a deep sigh. “But I am going to try anyway. As some of you might know, my brother is wanted for murder. As far as we know, he has killed one woman here in Cocoa Beach about three months ago. He was arrested for it, but tricked us into believing in his innocence. He fooled me into believing him, and not just me. The whole system. And now he is free again. He is on the run. The police are looking for him and his girlfriend, who was also present when he killed the woman. Now, I am trying to write an article about it. Trying hard to get the words onto paper, but I can’t. I don’t know what it is. It just hurts so badly to even think about it,” I say.
“It’s hard to put words to it. You see, my best friend was badly injured and almost lost her life while we tried to catch him. My best friend’s life has been destroyed ever since, and I don’t know how I can live with myself knowing this. She was a model. A gorgeous woman with a great career. My brother poured acid on her face, and now…” I stop and press back my tears. I try to keep my tone in check. “Now she can’t work anymore. Her career is destroyed. All I know is I want to see him punished for what he did, and I’ll do anything, give anything to find him. He is out there somewhere. What is he up to? Is he killing again? I don’t know. It is up to us to catch him, hopefully before he hurts anyone else.”
I turn it off and decide that it will have to do for now. I put the video on YouTube and then post it on my blog, along with a picture of my brother and Olivia, the same two pictures that have been shown on TV here in Florida.
At least I posted something, I think to myself, as I leave the computer and join the boys in the living room.
“What have you been up to?” Joey asks, as I lean over and kiss him.
“Just striking some iron while it was hot,” I say.
Chapter Twenty-Two
January 2016
Later in the day, I take my bike to Marcia’s place. I have wanted to check in on her for days. I park my bike outside her townhouse and walk up to the door. I knock, and seconds later, the door is opened.
By a man I have never seen before?
“I…I’m looking for Marcia?” I say, worried. Who is this guy and what is he doing here?
The man smiles. He is annoyingly handsome. “You’re probably wondering who I am,” he says.
Well…just a little bit!
“Hi. My name is Harry. I’ve rented the room upstairs for a couple of days. Are you one of Marcia’s friends?”
“Yes.”
“Alright. Come on in.”
“I didn’t know Marcia rented out a room,” I say, and shake his hand before I follow him inside. The place looks better than I had expected. Cleaner and tidier than usual. Two of the kids are sitting in the living room, reading books, I am surprised to see.
“She’s not here right now,” Harry says. “But I thought maybe we could talk for a little while. Do you have a minute?”
“I have many minutes,” I say awkwardly. What is it about this guy? He makes me all goofy.
“Coffee?”
“Yes! I love coffee. Drink it all the time. Can’t live without my coffee.”
What’s the matter with you? Why are you rambling?
“Milk?”
I shake my head. “Black. I prefer black. I mean I like white too…it’s not a racist thing or anything…”
Will you stop talking? What are you? Twelve?
“Here,” he says with a chuckle. I can see his muscles through his tight white T-shirt. I blush and look away, but not without thinking that Joey never had a chest like that.
“Thank you. You’re very nice…I mean, it’s very nice of you. You’re very…handsome.”
Did you just call him handsome? What’s wrong with you!
Harry chuckles. Even his chuckles are sexy. We sit in the kitchen. The coffee is hot and steaming. So is Harry.
Will you stop it now?
“So, have you known Marcia for long?” he asks.
“You could say that. We’ve known each other since preschool,” I say.
He nods seriously. “Good. Then it won’t be too much to talk to you about this. I won’t be overstepping my boundaries here.”
I feel my heart drop. “It sounds serious. What’s going on?”
“I have only lived here for about a week, but I have to say…your friend…Marcia is in need of help. She is hardly ever home, and when she is, she is…well, not really there.”
I sigh and sip my coffee. “Is it that bad, huh? I know she has been drinking a lot since the divorce, but I thought she was getting by.”
“Some nights she doesn’t come home at all; other times, she comes home and then leaves again not long after. The kids pretty much have to take care of themselves,” he says. “I have been cooking for them the past couple of days and taking care of the home, since she is in no condition to do so.”
It feels like a punch to my stomach. All kinds of emotions go through me right now. Guilt being the biggest one of them. How had I not seen this?
“I had no idea it was that bad.”
Harry nods. I can tell he is concerned. Genuinely. “Yesterday, she attacked me in the kitchen with a kitchen knife. She said she had no idea who I was. It appeared she thought I was here to rob her or something.”
“And you’ve been living here all week?”
“Yes. It had me quite concerned.”
“I can imagine,” I say pensively.
“And then, there is this,” he says, and places a letter in front of me. “I know I had no business opening it, but seeing who it was from, I had a feeling it was important.”
“Oh, my,” I say, when reading it.
“Apparently, she was court ordered to go to AA meetings when she had her DUI, but hasn’t been showing up the last three months. “She risks going to jail if she doesn’t do it.”
I look at the children. “She’s going to lose her kids, then.”
“I am afraid so.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
January 2016
“We need to find Marcia. She needs help.”
> I look at the others. I’ve called everyone and asked them to meet me at Joey’s house. Sandra and Alex still look guilty, but keep a distance between them. I can tell by their stolen looks that they’re in deep trouble. I really hope for them that they figure things out before it gets messy.
“What’s going on?” Danny asks.
“I spoke to the guy who is renting a room at her house earlier in the afternoon,” I say.
“Wait. Wait. She has a renter?” Alex asks.
“I nod. I know. It was a surprise to me as well. But, yes, she rented out the room upstairs. Nothing wrong with that. Great that she’ll get a little extra income. That’s not why we’re here. Harry, her renter…”
“His name is Harry?” Chloe asks.
“Yes. Harry Hanson,” I say.
“What? His name is Harry Hanson?” Joey asks. “That sounds like the name of a cartoon character.”
“It does sound like it’s made up,” Chloe adds.
“Whatever,” I say. “It’s his name. Anyway, he told me that Marcia hardly ever comes home anymore, and that he has been taking care of the children for the past several days, since Marcia is not there. I think she might be on a heavy bender.”
The room grows silent. The seriousness is printed on the faces of my friends. They all know it is bad. We have all known for a while.
“But, that’s not the worst part,” I say. “She hasn’t been to her court ordered AA meetings, and now she risks going to jail. She might lose the kids. It’s bad, people.”
“That is bad,” Danny says.
“What do you suggest we do?” Joey asks.
“It’s Saturday night, so my guess is she’ll be in some bar around here. I say we spread out and hit all of them till we find her.”
