Craze

by Andi Jaxon

  “What the hell is that? You grabbed at that letter like it was a freshly baked batch of my mom's brownies. What the hell is on that note?”

  AB looks at me like I’ve lost my mind, “Elliot, seriously it was Nate’s number. I think your right. I should give him a shot, I mean, what’s the worst that could happen?”

  Does she really think I don’t know she’s lying through her teeth? There must be a good reason for why she doesn’t want to share this with me, but I can’t pretend that it doesn’t hurt my ego a little that she can’t share a stupid note with me.

  “Alright AB, enough with this mushy crap, I am hungry. Time for some mind-numbing TV, but only one beer, I have to drive home.”

  Annabelle snuggles into my side as I flick through the channels.

  “I really missed you, Elliot. I don’t know what I would ever do without you.”

  I look down at her and kiss her on the top of her head.

  “Lucky for you, you will never have to find out.”

  Annabelle eats her soup until she’s ready to explode and after she finishes her wine, she lies down on the couch and uses my thigh as a pillow.

  Don’t get a hard-on.

  Don’t get a hard-on.

  Naked Grannies.

  Dead kittens.

  Baseball.

  Come on, buddy! WORK WITH ME HERE!

  “Elliot?” Annabelle says my name like she would say a prayer. It makes my heart rate increase.

  “What’s up, AB?” I respond, hoping that I don’t sound as tense as I feel.

  Annabelle rolls onto her back and looks up at me. It’s hard to concentrate on anything but her lips, but I try my best to listen to her words.

  “Why am I attracted to assholes? I know it’s not going to end well, I know I’m going to get hurt. Why do I keep doing this to myself?”

  Tears are once again threatening to fall from her eyes, she’s never this emotional, and it hurts my heart.

  “I don’t know, but you always have. You’re a beautiful woman, you could pick any man you want, and yet you pick conceited assholes who just want you to be arm candy.”

  With that, she rolls back onto her side and stares at the TV. Since I’ve known her so long, I know how to comfort her, so I run my fingernails through the little hairs on the back of her neck. Eventually, she falls asleep, so I cover her with a blanket, get a pillow tucked under her head, and kiss her forehead before turning off the lights and heading home.

  ANNABELLE

  That’s it. Get your lazy butt up, unpack these boxes, and do your damn laundry. Two weeks to mope around about Jared is too long. ENOUGH!

  My inner monologue continues as I drag my ass off the couch, I feel something prick my side and remember the note from last night. I take a deep breathe, and open the note “Even when no one else is there, I will always be here.” It makes me smile to see his handwriting, to know he put effort into getting this note to me. Even when I don’t know I need him, he is there, just like one of the first times my Psycho showed himself to me.

  ...I’m walking back from the library freshman year, it’s late. I stop at the student center to grab some food, but when I pull the door, it won’t budge. I look at my watch and notice I missed closing time by 5 minutes.

  “Fuck,” I mutter to no one in particular. I flip my bag around to pull my wallet out. I open it up to find a couple of quarters, but that’s it.

  Well looks like its water and saltines again for dinner tonight, I think to myself. Eventually, I will learn how to pay closer attention to the time so that I won’t starve. One thing is for certain, I don’t have to worry about gaining the freshman 15.

  As I get closer to my dorm room, I notice a bag hanging from my door with a note on cream cardstock. I run my ID to unlock my door and then grab the bag and note. I drop my bag and coat on my bed, and then take the note and bag to my desk.

  When I peer into the bag I see all my favorite things to eat at the student center, breakfast burritos and bagels from the Mission, Club Salads, Turkey Clubs, broccoli and cheese soups, and cereal from the local deli, just piles of food. I get to the bottom of the bag and find my one guilty pleasure, the giant cinnamon rolls with extra icing from the campus bookstore coffee shop. I rip the lid off and take a huge bite. I can’t help but moan loudly because it’s just so damn delicious.

  The note! I almost forgot I need to know who to thank for keeping me fed for at least the rest of the semester when I can get more goodies from Elliot’s mom. I reach over my spoils for the note. I unfold it and read, “You need to take better care of yourself please, but for now, let me do it for you.” Is someone following me? I don’t know if I am freaked out, or flattered. However, right now I am tired and hungry, the rest I will figure out in the morning...

  He has been taking care of me in his own way ever since. I smile to myself as I scribble down my reply and leave it on the balcony table before heading back into the kitchen to make coffee. The only boxes I’ve unpacked are my coffee supplies, work clothes and enough bathroom supplies to shower.

  When the caffeine has finally hit my system, I turn on Pandora and get to work. Music helps to get me moving, singing lets my mind wander, and dancing gets me some cardio.

  I set to work on getting my kitchen entirely unpacked and put away. Progress! I’m jamming out to “Animals” by Maroon 5, dancing my heart out and singing like my soul depends on it when I get a familiar tingle that runs along my skin. The hair on the back of my neck stands up, goosebumps cover my body, and I know he’s watching. It’s the first time since I moved in that I’ve felt him.

  Having him watching me has always brought me inner peace, with him close I know I will be okay. Since I was a child, I was often left alone by my foster parents, bullied by the kids at school: I started to feel him then. When life would get hard, when I felt like I couldn’t take anymore, I would feel him, keeping watch.

  I pause and turn slowly to look out the balcony doors, see if I can get a peek at my Psycho. In all these years, I've never caught a glimpse of him. I don't know why I even look anymore, but I'm just so curious about him. Is he tall? Or short? Light skin? Or dark skin? Does he have light or dark eyes? Is his hair long or shaved short? I've always figured it was a man, what if it's a girl?

  Before I realize it, I'm standing in front of a bank of windows, in what will someday be a dining room. I can see the apartment building across the street that looks like it's made of mirrors, the busy street below filled with taxies and city buses. It’s strange to live alone. I have always lived with roommates or my boyfriends. Living alone was quiet.

  After a few more hours of unpacking, my apartment looks like someone actually lives here instead of just a storage unit. A few boxes remain with random items which have no home yet. Some items are shoved into closets, so I don't have to look at them. I hop into the shower, nothing is better than sleeping on fresh sheets when you're freshly showered.

  I walk out onto my balcony to watch the sunset and drink my chamomile tea. I know he is out here watching me. He always is. How I yearn for him to show himself to me. I just want to feel loved...he does love me, doesn't he? I imagine getting a hug from the person that can probably read my body language like a book. Does he know that I need comfort in physical form? As these questions swirl through my head, I can't help but voice them out loud.

  "Why do you hide from me?" I whisper to the darkening sky. I honestly don't expect him to answer, but it feels good to give these feelings a voice finally.

  "Do I know you? Have I seen you during my everyday life? I would hope that my heart would know when it was near my better half.” I am trying to get the courage to ask the one question I need the answer to more than anything when I hear it.

  "Of course, you know me, Annabelle. Your heart and mine are meant to be together. We are made for each other." His gruff voice floats in the breeze with the honking of car horns.

  "Have we met? Did we live in the same foster home? Go to school together? How tall ar
e you? How old are you?" I fire questions off as quickly as they come to mind in fear that he will disappear as quickly as he appeared.

  "All in good time, my love. You must be patient, as I have been. You will learn who I am, as I have learned about you, by paying attention. Just remember, I am always with you."

  I hear the squeaking of rusty metal, and leap from my chair, and lean over the railing trying to catch a glimpse, but something he said stops me.

  I must pay attention.

  Alright Annabelle, time to put your thinking cap on.

  "I will find you, Psycho, if it is the last thing I do!"

  CHAPTER FOUR

  ELLIOT

  I head into my apartment and strip down before heading into the shower. AB is going to be back at work tomorrow, and I am stressed out as fuck about this. Jared has been lurking around. I keep catching him down the hall from our office by the elevators and bathrooms trying to catch her alone, I’m sure. It takes every ounce of self-control for me not to beat his face in every time I see him. I notified security already, so hopefully, they get off their lazy asses and take care of it before she heads back to work tomorrow.

  I get out of the shower and grab a beer before I try to figure out what the hell I am going to eat. I’m staring into the fridge when the hairs on the back of my neck stand straight up. I can’t shake the feeling that something is just wrong. I go around and check all the windows to make sure nothing is out of place, but nothing.

  So, it has to be AB. I grab the keys and take off for her place. Luckily, I live close to her apartment, so I get there in about five minutes. As I park my car in a visitor space, I catch a glimpse of Jared coming from the direction of AB’s building.

  “What the fuck are you doing here, Asshole?” I yell as I get closer to him.

  “If it isn't the ever-present, wannabe boyfriend. Still begging for a taste of my pussy, Elliot?” Jared chuckles.

  I grab him by his collar and hoist him in the air. Most men would be intimidated by my 6’4 frame, but this asshole knows that AB would lose her shit if she knew I did anything to her precious Jared.

  “Don’t fucking talk about her like that again, Jared. My patience with you is waning. Not even Annabelle will be able to save you from the ass beating in store for you if you push me any farther.”

  Jared smirks down at me. “Oh, I am so scared of you accountant boy. Belle is mine, and always will be. So why don’t you just run along, and count some numbers or something.”

  I drop him on his ass and then step forward, so I tower over him. “Get the fuck out of here before I call the police.”

  “You can't have me arrested! This is public property, Dumbass.” I bend down, so I can look him right in the eye and say.

  “It’s not for you. It’s so when I start beating the fuck out of you, they make sure I don’t kill you in the process.”

  He turns white as a sheet, but quickly stands up and heads towards his car. I stand and watch him as he leaves the complex. I do not want to take the chance he is going to be able to figure out exactly which apartment belongs to AB if he hasn't already.

  How the fuck did he find out she moved here already? The only people that are supposed to know are my parents and me.

  Oh well, I better check on AB. I take the stairs three at a time before banging on her door. It takes her about five minutes before she answers. She is disheveled looking but all in one piece when she opens her door. I can’t resist the urge to grab her into a bear hug and hold her close.

  “Thank God you’re alright. I was afraid he had found you, or worse, done something when it took you so long to come to the door.” I bent down and laid a kiss on the top of her head.

  I suddenly feel her beginning to struggle in my arms, so I released my grip on her. She pushes away from me and then socks me in the jaw.

  Fuck, that hurt.

  “What the fuck is your deal, Elliot? Banging on my door like an asshole at almost ten at night and then grabbing onto me like some psycho? Sorry about your jaw but I'm a punch first ask questions later kind of girl.”

  “Well, fuck you very much, AB!” I holler at her, holding my jaw. “I got a bad feeling that something was wrong, so I came to check on you. When I got here, your douchebag of an ex was coming from around the side of your building. I thought he might have broken in or something!”

  My other arm is waving around as I try to let go of some of the adrenalin rushing my system.

  “Sorry, I was worried about you! Last time I got one of these feelings, I didn’t listen, and you fell off the bleachers and broke your leg! This time it was something way more serious.”

  “O-M-G, you are such a drama queen! Put your fucking tampon back in Elliot. I tripped over my feet because I am clumsy as fuck. I would have fallen and broken my leg whether you were there or not, so stop thinking you're psychic or some shit like that.” She’s standing in front of me with her arms crossed over her chest and hip cocked.

  “Wait, Jared was outside….hmmm.”

  “That’s all you have to say!” I think I want to choke the shit out of my best friends right now, or I want to kiss the shit out of her.

  Her nipples are hard as shit right now and perfectly see-through in the white tank top she’s wearing. I wonder if she’s wet right now as well… it would be so easy to slip my finger into those tiny shorts that are barely covering her ass cheeks. I stop myself before I take a step closer.

  “Elliot, you need to calm down, I had no idea he was here. He did not come to my apartment. So obviously, he doesn't know exactly where I live. Maybe one of his new whore’s lives here, and it is a coincidence. What did he say to you? What did you say to him? How did he look? How…”

  As she talks, she straightens up, her hip no longer cocked and her arms at her sides. I cut her off before she could ramble off more questions with a finger on her lips.

  “AB this seems to be exciting you. Are you glad this asshole was here? Do you want to go back to being with him?”

  “Are you kidding me? No. I just want to make sure he’s miserable. Okay, that is a lie, I want him to regret cheating on me and to want me back desperately, so I can tell him to go fuck himself,” she says with a giggle.

  Oh, that giggle goes straight to my dick, so I’m instantly hard. I’ve got to get the fuck out of here, but there is something in her eyes that says she is lying to me. I am too hard to stand here and try to figure it out, or we will have another incident like before. Maybe Jared was right. Maybe I am just waiting for her to look at me like I am something other than her protector. I guess it is time for me to man up.

  PURSUER

  I’m going to kill him. How dare he touch what is mine. Even though she has had others, her heart has always been mine. Her heart longs for mine, as I long for her. I am sure he saw it in my eyes, but he has no idea what is coming to him when I get my hands on him. I will try my best not to kill him, but I do know some good places to hide a body. Lessons will be learned. Annabelle Kingston was born to be my wife, and come hell or high water I will make it so.

  ANNABELLE

  Walking into the office for the first time in over a week, I stop in my tracks as I see Elliot blocking the doorway from Jared.

  Elliot is standing with his feet shoulder-width apart, and his arms crossed over his chest with a mean glare on his face. Jared is standing directly in front of Elliot, with his back to me, hands on his hips and shoulders squared. Both are breathing heavier than normal which leads me to believe there was shouting before I got here.

  “Jared?” I have no idea why he’s here; this was not how I wanted to start my first day back at work. Fuck me.

  At the sound of my voice, Elliot looks over at me with a raised eyebrow. It looks to me like Elliot is asking me if he can punch Jared, I’m not exactly opposed to this idea.

  “Baby, there you are,” he says as he walks to me, gripping my arms in his hands. “I’ve been trying to get ahold of you, but this dumb ass wouldn’t let me come in. I’v
e been trying to call you, why haven’t you answered my phone calls?”

  Jared talks to me like I didn’t find him balls deep in some bimbo like nothing ever happened.

  “Are you kidding me? Maybe you should have taken the hint that I didn’t want to talk to you.” I say, trying to pull my arms out of his hands.

  “Leave on your own, or I’ll call security to throw you out,” Elliot says from behind Jared.

  I try again to get him off me, but he holds onto my arms tighter, hard enough to leave bruises.

  “Let go of me!” I scream at him.

  He pulls me towards him and leans into me so that he can whisper in my ear, “You’re mine, you little bitch. You will show me the respect I deserve, or I will be forced to teach you how.”

  I’m completely shocked, in the year that I dated Jared he never spoke to me like this. Ever.

  I’ve never been afraid of him, but I am now. I was taught how to defend myself as a child and have continued to learn, but right now, I’m frozen. My entire body is tense as I stare at his face, all hard plains, and anger.

  Suddenly, Elliot steps up directly behind Jared, so close they are almost touching.

  “Get your hands off her. Now.” Elliot is seething mad, ready to break arms and crack skulls.

  “And if I don’t?” Jared says calmly over his shoulder, not taking his eyes off me.

  “If you don’t, your face is going to get intimately acquainted with my fist, you stupid fucker,” Elliot responds, hands clenched into tight fists.

  Jared releases me so unexpectedly that I stumble backward, catching myself on the wall behind me. He calmly walks to the elevators as if he has all the time in the world, as he steps inside he looks directly at me.

  “This isn’t over,” he says before the doors close, and he’s gone.

  As soon as the doors close on the elevator, Elliot pulls me into a bear hug. Once I’m enveloped in the warmth of my best friend, I break down. My entire body shakes so hard I feel like I’m vibrating and tears stream down my face though I’m not sobbing. All I want right now is to curl up into a ball with my favorite blanket and a stiff drink.