The Point Guardian

by Liza Brown

  “Arnold, it’s a signal to me.”

  “No it is not!” said Colette as she smacked my knee.

  “His mom has this thing where she would kiss his forehead when he was younger and said that was where his guardian angel would stay until they could be together again. So, I gave him his on his shoulder. He’s been giving her high fives.” I grinned as I pulled my feet up under my body and squeezed my knees to me with my throw wrapped around my body.

  “How did you get so lucky, Mae?” asked Colette. “Don’t answer that, I know how. You deserve it. He’s the lucky one.”

  I grinned as I laid my head down on my arm and watched the game go to halftime. I was exhausted. “I need some caffeine to get through this game if I’m going to stay awake until he calls me. I’ll be right back.”

  I ran to my room and quickly changed into my pajamas, smiling at my Elsu pillow that had been reassembled. After, I went to the kitchen and found a Starbucks refrigerated drink and prayed it would do the trick.

  “I have to show you what Magdalena did!” I said as I sat back down and picked up my phone. “Here,” I showed her the picture of my pillow man.

  “That’s too funny, Mae!” she said as she eyed it closely.

  “He wore that shirt and slept on that pillow so it smells like him. Am I weird for sleeping with it?” I asked.

  “Not if I can borrow it when you’re out of town!” she laughed.

  “The only thing that kind of makes me upset is that he shared it with one of his friends.” I pulled up the texted picture and message. “Now someone knows I’m cuddling with a weird Elsu pillow.”

  “Is that from today?” she asked.

  “No. I took this yesterday,” I said.

  “But that’s not the same picture, Mae.”

  “What? Yes it is,” I said as I took the phone back and looked at both images. “Then maybe Magdalena took the picture. But I have her number in my phone and I don’t know who sent this.”

  I quickly called Magdalena and there was no answer. I called Millard. “Miss Mae?” he asked.

  “Is Magdalena there with you?”

  There was no time for formalities.

  “Yep,” he said.

  “Hello?” I heard her sweet voice.

  “Magdalena did you take a picture of my Elsu pillow today?” I asked her.

  “No ma’am,” I had no time to correct her. “I changed the linen on your bed and reassembled him. I thought it was cute how you set him up yesterday, so I figured that’s how you wanted him.”

  I nearly dropped the phone. “Wait, you didn’t set him up yesterday?” I asked.

  “No ma’am, I thought you did.”

  I started to physically shake. “What about Uncle Richard? Would he have done it?”

  “No ma’am, he’s been up here helping with the decorating the whole time.”

  I hung up the phone and stood up quick. “He’s been here, April. He’s been in my apartment!”

  Colette shot up, she looked as petrified as I felt. I was frozen. I looked at my phone and replied to the picture sender. “Who is this?” I texted quickly. I looked at Colette and rushed to her and hugged her. I don’t know why I needed to, I hated hugs, but I needed someone to calm me before the cherry pie came back up.

  I looked to April who was on the phone, by her conversation I could tell she was speaking with Detective Graven. “He’ll be here soon,” she said.

  There was a pounding at my door and April let Millard in. “Mae, he’s been here? Magdalena finally got it all out. I think she’s hyperventilating up there.”

  “What the hell do you think Mae’s doing?” yelled Colette.

  “Tell me everything, Mae,” said Millard.

  “Last night when we came home, this was on my bed.” I showed him the picture I took. “I assumed Magdalena did it.”

  “Today, I got this picture from someone whose number I don’t know and at first I thought it was the same picture. Like Elsu had shared it with a friend or something.” My hands were shaking so badly I could barely bring the message up.

  YOU TWO ARE TOO CUTE?

  “Then Colette pointed out that the pictures aren’t the same. I didn’t set him up and I didn’t take this picture, Millard!” That was it, hearing myself say the words put my stomach over the edge. I ran to the bathroom and my pie came back along with the popcorn. I was sweating and shaking and crying. I was a disgusting mess. Colette came in to help calm me down. She wiped the tears from my eyes, unstuck my hair from my face, put some toothpaste on my toothbrush for me, and brushed my hair while I brushed my teeth.

  I turned to face her. “You and April can stay with me tonight, baby.” She hugged me close and I cried into her chest. I considered myself a straight female, but there were times when I found comfort in Colette’s ample bosom.

  I walked back into the living room and Arnold was still watching the game. He had made no indication that he knew there was turmoil in the room.

  “Arnold, have you seen anyone coming into my apartment?” I asked.

  “All day, Mae-Belle. Yesterday and Monday, too.”

  “The intercom! Millard, who was watching the workers?”

  “Their guy. I…umm…shit. The building manager was going to keep an eye on things.”

  “Jack?”

  “Yeah, him.”

  I quickly grabbed my phone and called Jack. “Yelllo,” any other day this would be a fun and friendly greeting.

  “Jack! Were you watching the workers this week?”

  “Not really, ma’am. There was a guy in charge who seemed to have everything under control. Why?”

  “Someone’s been in my apartment. Taking pictures.”

  “Technically, there have been people in everyone’s apartment, Mae.”

  “Did anything seem odd about any of them?”

  “No Mae. Not that I can think of. I can bring you the work order I signed when they finished today. The guy who was in charge was…hmmm…I can’t read the signature.”

  “I’ll send Millard down to get it, Jack.”

  “Thank you.”

  “Jack, I know you remember Bart, but do you happen to remember ever meeting his brother, Jeremy?”

  “I don’t think so, Mae. It doesn’t ring a bell.”

  “He looks a lot like his brother. Dark hair, freckles, pale.”

  “Still doesn’t ring a bell.”

  After Millard returned with the work order and we stewed over the scribble for a while, we decided the signature was completely illegible. We didn’t seem to know what to do while we waited for the detective to get there so we watched the game and paced. The team was losing again and it didn’t look like they were going to come back any time soon. “Where is the team that played this weekend?” I asked finally.

  My phone beeped and I saw a text from the unknown sender.

  YOU KNOW ME, I KNOW YOU.

  “What kind of message is that?” I asked as Millard wrote down the number and walked away from us to make a phone call. I wanted to reply, but I didn’t like riddles and I had a feeling that’s all I’d be getting.

  There was a knock at the door and Detective Graven was let in. I quickly told him my story and showed him the pictures. “Have you been in your room since you’ve been home?” he asked.

  “I ran in to change into my pajamas, but that’s it. I didn’t want to go back in. I was afraid of what I’d see.”

  Detective Graven entered my room and I stood at the door as I watched him look around. He looked at the picture I took and the picture from the unknown source. He stood in the position where the second picture would have had to have been taken and realized the angle was low. “Hmm,” he said as he looked at the picture again.

  He walked out of the room, handing me my phone as he did. “Mr. Millard, Miss Rogers, Miss Smith, please step into the hallway with me.”

  We followed him. When the door was shut behind us he looked at me and then at Millard and April. “I didn’t want to startle y
ou in there. But there is a camera in the bedroom. I want to get it, but I want to take it out carefully so we don’t ruin any evidence that may have been left. Unlike the camera that was removed from the elevator.” He eyed Millard crossly.

  “A camera?” I asked as I grabbed onto the wall for support.

  “Yes ma’am,” said the detective. “I’m going to go back in and get it out in a way that I can do so safely.”

  I slumped to the floor, my knees drawn to my chin and stared at the wall across from me. “Are there more?” I asked Millard, knowing he didn’t know the answer.

  “I was just thinking the same thing. You can come stay with us tonight,” he said.

  I shook my head. “Colette has offered us to stay with her,” I said.

  “Ma’am, I’d prefer you were with us, you can sleep in Elsu’s bed.”

  “No I can’t!” I said. “Don’t you understand? I’m not going into his bedroom until he invites me. I’m not going to go against his or his mom’s wishes. I’ll sleep on his couch, or in there!” I yelled a lot louder than intended as I pointed to Colette’s apartment door. I felt bad for screaming at Millard, but my emotions had started to take over any attempt at rational thought.

  My apartment door opened and Arnold and Colette walked out. “We’ve been asked to leave. What’s wrong?” asked Arnold.

  “There’s a camera in my bedroom, Arnold. Whoever this is has been watching me.” The thought was making me ill again. “Why, Colette? Why?”

  “Stand up, baby.” I did and she held my hand. “They’re going to find out. Let that guy do his job.”

  The door opened again and Detective Graven emerged with a baggie in his hand that contained some sort of electronic gadget that I assumed was the camera. “It’s out ma’am. I would suggest getting your belongings out of the apartment that you need for the next few days. I’ll bring in some guys tomorrow to see if there are any more. You can come back in when we’re done.”

  I looked at my phone. “Can I text this ass?”

  “He’s going to find out soon that the camera is gone and he’s probably going to be pissed. I wouldn’t recommend it but I can’t stop you.”

  I decided against it, the things I wanted to type would not do anyone any good. “Do you think there are more?” I asked.

  “It’s hard to say, ma’am. I wouldn’t be surprised.”

  My phone buzzed and I looked to see it was the stranger.

  SO YOU FOUND ONE. CONGRATULATIONS. I’M KIND OF BUMMED SINCE THAT WAS MY FAVORITE ONE, MAE. THAT’S OK, I HAVE PLENTY OF PICTURES TO GET ME THROUGH THE YEAR. I SAW WHAT YOU DID WITH THAT WHORE MOUTH TO THAT CONCEITED ASSHOLE. I HOPE WHAT HE GAVE YOU TASTED AS GOOD AS HE SEEMED TO ENJOY IT.

  I stood up and rushed back into my apartment and looked around. “Where are they? Who the hell are you?!” I screamed. Colette came in the apartment and watched me throwing my fit.

  “Get it out, honey,” she said. It was then that I saw tears streaking down her face.

  I looked at the TV that was still playing the Whoopsters’ game. It was the fourth quarter and they were down by nearly ten points. Five minutes left to play. I just sat down and watched.

  Detective Graven came in. “Mae, you need to come out of here now.”

  I looked to him, then back to my TV. “No. I don’t think I’m going to do that.”

  “Ma’am this is a crime scene. We can’t compromise any evidence.”

  “What evidence? Who knows how long that camera’s been here? I’ve probably been compromising evidence for a week now! I’ll move when the game is over.”

  “Ma’am.”

  I ignored him. I wasn’t letting Elsu down by not watching him. He tapped himself on the shoulder and I smiled. He was still thinking about me. This whole time my world had been shattering around me and he’d continued being him. I rooted for him, and focused on the game. I blocked out the entire apartment and whatever was going on around me.

  From my seat on the recliner I tried to send him positive vibes. I said little prayers for each shot and by the time the buzzer rang, they were victorious by one point. I cheered and applauded but quickly realized the apartment was empty. I didn’t care, I had done what I had promised I would do. I had supported my guy.

  I turned the TV off and went to my room to grab my suitcase and realized it was gone. I went to the bathroom and saw my toiletries were gone as well.

  The front door opened and Colette’s voice entered my bathroom. “Sweetheart, I have everything you need. Come on.” I went to grab my Elsu pillow but remembered that it had been touched by some stranger and it suddenly held no meaning for me. I put my nose to it and couldn’t even smell him anymore.

  “Come on, they’re waiting for you.” Colette walked in the room and saw the pillow in my hand.

  “It doesn’t even smell like him anymore. It’s like everything in this room is strange to me now. How can someone do this to someone else? I’m not a horrible person. Am I?”

  “You know you’re not, baby.”

  I saw where Detective Graven had removed the camera from a loose piece of wood in the wainscoting that surrounded the room. “How?” I said as I ran my fingers over the bared wall.

  “I don’t know, Mae. But that’s what that cop’s here for. Let him do his job. Come on, you can sleep with me, April can have my spare bedroom. Ok?”

  “You want me to sleep with you?” I asked.

  “I’m not going to lie, Mae. This shit isn’t just scaring you. I could use a warm body in bed with me. I promise not to hog the blankets.” She always had a way of making me smile.

  As I walked out of the room I grabbed the picture of Elsu’s shoulder with the angel on top that I had hung on the fridge and my bouquet of roses. “I think I’m going to need to borrow his angel.”

  We finally laid down and I held my phone as it charged, waiting for the phone call that would help put me to sleep. It never came. Any other night I might have cried over it, but I fell asleep. Too tired to even miss him.

  My alarm went off at seven and I found that Colette and I had somehow turned to face each other and were holding hands. I let go quickly at the awkwardness and sat up. I quickly remembered why I was there and not in my own bed. I looked at my phone to see if I had missed a call, but I hadn’t. I wondered why he hadn’t called. What could have kept him from the person who he seemed to think about all during his game?

  MISSED YOUR CALL LAST NIGHT. MISS YOU ALWAYS.

  I texted him.

  I quickly took a shower and wrapped my hair in a towel. I checked my phone again after I was dressed, no call. By now Colette was up and doing her morning rituals and I went to her kitchen to steal her coffee for once.

  “Does your coffee maker even work?” I joked as I searched her cupboard for a filter.

  “It’s been a long time since it’s been used, it may need to be given a pep talk to work.”

  “Come on ‘ol faithful!” I said as I turned it on and stood back, waiting for either smoke or a small explosion.

  I picked up my phone again. The sound was up, so if he called I’d hear him, but I kept worrying that I had missed it.

  Colette took the phone and laid it on the counter. “A watched phone never rings,” she said as if that was a common phrase.

  “And a mean neighbor never gets a Christmas present,” I smiled.

  “He’ll call. Maybe he got back late and he didn’t want to wake you,” I appreciated her attempt at calming me, but it wasn’t helping.

  I went to the bedroom and started blow drying my hair. Colette came in and laid a bagel with cream cheese spread on it next to the coffee that sat on the vanity. “I can’t cook like Magdalena.”

  “This is perfect, Colette. Thank you. Is April up yet?”

  “She’s in the shower,” she said.

  I turned the dryer back on and she looked at me. “Stop worrying, Mae. You’re going to have a panic attack. Again.” She remembered when I got them on a near-weekly basis a few short years
ago.

  I started putting my hair back into a ponytail and yelled out the door as I looked in the mirror. “What if he’s sick of my shit, Colette? What if he’s tired of a girl with so many issues? What’s going to happen when he finds out what’s happened here? He’s going to wish he never got involved with the ugly junkyard bitch. What if he found another girl and is afraid to tell me?”

  The light that had been filtering in from the living area was suddenly blocked. “Colette, I wouldn’t date me if I was him. He can have any girl he wants,” I said.

  “I’ve already got the girl I want,” I heard Elsu’s voice behind me and the hair brush landed with a thud on the carpeted floor. I spun around, staring at him like he was a ghost.

  I froze as I watched him shut the bedroom door and take three Elsu-sized steps into the room. He picked me up in his arms. I wrapped my legs around his waist and my arms around his neck as I held on for all I was worth. Tears ran down my face and into the collar of his jacket, still chilled from the outside. We stayed in that position for what seemed like an eternity. I refused to let him go. He sat down in the chair I had been using with me on his lap, my legs now straddling his legs.

  “What are you doing here?” I sobbed.

  “Millard left me a message. I got on the first plane I could to get back here. Pack your stuff, we’re leaving in about two hours.”

  “Leaving? Where?” I said as I furrowed my brows.

  “Detroit.”

  “You don’t have to take me with you. I’ll be fine. I have work. I’ll just stay here another night.” I shook my head trying to make him understand I would be fine, even though I wasn’t convincing myself.

  “Mae, please. Come with me. I need you there. These last two nights have been hell. And knowing this shit is going on here? There’s no way I could concentrate with you dealing with this by yourself.”

  “I’m not by myself. Colette, Millard, April, even Arnold, they’ve all been so helpful.”

  He shook his head and pulled mine into his neck. I felt his breath warm my back as it slipped down my shirt this time. The warmth of his breathing, sent chills down my spine.