Obsessed

by Terry Towers

  There must have been venom and conviction in my tone because his false bravado quickly faded and he nodded. “Yeah,” he rasped, “we’re clear.”

  I gave his throat one more squeeze making him choke before releasing his throat and standing. He scrambled to his feet, found his clothes, got dressed and hobbled his bloody body out of the bedroom and apartment, slamming the door behind him. I turned back to Tina, who had put on a terrycloth housecoat and was standing nervously at the end of the bed.

  “I want you to get a real job, Tina. If you want to keep your kid then that’s non-negotiable.”

  Tears slid from her eyes and she sniffed. “Who’s going to give me a job? Fucking is all I know how to do. I didn’t even graduate high school. What am I supposed to do? How can I be expected to pay the bills working at the supermarket?”

  “People manage. So can you.” I walked up to her and stared at her, giving her a firm stare. “You have one week to get a real job and prove to me you can take care of Chris. I’ve given you way too many chances already to the point where I’m also negligent. I’ll make a few calls and have a grocery order and pizza sent over here. Bring me your bills and I’ll pay them for this month. But it’s the last time.”

  Her lips took on a little pout, but she nodded. “Okay. Thanks.”

  It was a lie though, I’d help as long as they needed it. As long as she was clean and making an effort. There was no way I was going to let Chris go without, at least not without the basics anyhow, but getting her dependent on my financial support was a dangerous game.

  Hearing laughter, I exited the bedroom and entered the living room to see Sidney and Christopher sitting on the sofa chatting as if they were the best of friends. I stood and watched her for a minute. She was amazing with kids, she gave them lots of extra attention at the conventions. Usually giving them an extra free autograph or something of the sort. I’m sure she’d do it for free if her manager wouldn’t have a shit. Her manager was a bit of a dick when it came to money, but I’d admit he seemed to guide her into all the right career moves.

  “That is so cool!” I pulled myself from my thoughts and walked over to them.

  “Momma, she’s a unter.” He meant “hunter,” but had a problem pronouncing an “h” sound so usually dropped the “h” in words.

  “Wow, that’s so nice honey.” Tina walked out from behind me to sit next to her son on the sofa. I watched the two of them a minute. It would be a damned shame if what I’d been trying to avoid happened. She had the potential to be a good mother, she just didn’t seem to know how and couldn’t get her shit together. But then again she was a 21-year-old kid with a 6-year-old kid – it was tragic. When I was a kid I always hoped my mother would clean up and be a real mom, but at the same time, I couldn’t have imagined being with someone else, despite the abuse.

  Chapter 19

  Elijah

  “Ouch, damn Elijah.” Sidney jerked back out of reach as I wiped alcohol over the gash in her forehead. “It stings.”

  “It has to be done. Now sit still,” I chided, swiping her temple again. “It’s rather deep, you should let me take you into the hospital.”

  “No, thanks though. It’ll be fine. Can you imagine, I go to the hospital and next thing I know I’m leaving with a bandage around my head and a dozen reporters asking questions about my brawl with a hooker.” She made a scowl of distaste and the asshole I am, I just couldn’t help but laugh.

  “But wow, would people even be talking about you?”

  She swatted me, but laughed with me. “Ian did want me to drum up publicity and get more engaged with the public.”

  I spread my hands out to the sides. “And what better way than beating up a prostitute?”

  Sidney laughed a little harder and then groaned, adjusting the icepack on her cut lip. “Gotta protect my man from naked hookers.”

  Laughing I gave my head a shake in disbelief. “I’m not sure if you noticed or not, but I was handling the situation pretty well on my own.”

  “She was beating on your back!” Anger flared up in her eyes. Damn she was so cute when she was angry.

  “You never stop surprising me, Sid. I never in my wildest dreams would have envisioned that happening. I gotta give you some credit though, you were giving her a pretty good beat-down until I stopped you.”

  “I got your back, babe.” She put up her hand for a high-five.

  I cocked a brow at her, looking at her awaiting hand then back at her. She waved her hand as if I were the crazy one for not going with it. All right, fine. I gave her a high-five and her grin widened, then faded quickly as she uttered another grunt.

  She cocked her head to the side and gave me a peculiar look. “You and Chris seem close.”

  “Yeah. He’s a good kid.”

  “He’s not…”

  I placed a butterfly bandage on her temple and sat back on my heels frowning. “He’s not what?”

  She shrugged. “You know…”

  Was she actually asking if he were mine? “Mine?” I felt crazy just saying it out loud. If he were my kid I sure as hell wouldn’t have allowed him to remain in that situation. Hell, I was on the verge of making sure he didn’t remain there ever again. As it was I was at odds over what to do.

  Blushing, Sidney nodded.

  “No. Certainly not. If he were he’d be with me. You don’t think I’d be some sort of deadbeat dad or something, do you?” It really hurt that she’d assume that.

  “No, it’s just he seems so attached to you.”

  “I’m the only male role model he has that I know of.” I shrugged. “I try my best to help out without interfering too much. She seems to be clean, that’s a step in the right direction as long as it stays that way. We’re here for the next couple of weeks so I can keep an eye on the situation.”

  “So what’s her deal anyhow?”

  “She, ummm. She’s got issues. She’s barely a kid with a kid and her mother, well, her mother isn’t the most competent either.” I gave my head a shake, not even sure how to go about explaining the situation. This had been something I’d been trying to handle for over six months now; apparently I wasn’t handling it very well.

  I gave her a kiss on the cheek and stood, extending my hand to her. “Come on, let’s go relax in the living room.”

  She took my hand and stood, following me into the living room, but stopped dead in her tracks, her eyes focusing on what, in all of the excitement, I’d forgotten was hanging on the wall. A large canvas 6x9 banner of her.

  “Ohmygod! That’s what Chris meant when he mentioned the big picture of me.”

  “Well, at least it’s not mounted over the bed that should account for something – shouldn’t it?” I replied, giving her a lopsided smile.

  “Yeah, I’m not really sure.” She frowned, pulling her hand from mine and crossing her arms over her chest. “It’s a little… over the top. I get the binder, but I’m not sure I’m narcissistic enough to deal with looking at myself blown up like that.”

  “It’s a beautiful picture,” I protested, already walking across the room to remove it. In truth, with her here with me, it did seem a little much.

  “You don’t have to take it down, it’s…”

  “Yeah, I think I do.” I was already in the process of removing it. With it down I carefully rolled it up.

  “Is it autographed?”

  I looked over my shoulder and huffed at her. “Of course it is! Crazy woman.”

  “You have got some serious mental issues, babe.” I certainly wasn’t going to argue that one. Neither would any of the men I’d killed over the years. But there was a method behind my madness and the world was a better place because of me. In fact, maybe there should be more people like me in the world. If there were then perhaps there’d be fewer people like that poor girl I’d found in the closet.

  “I know.” Walking over to her, I leaned in and kissed her. “But who’s the crazy one, me or the woman who knows how mentally unbalanced I am and stay
s with me?”

  ~*~*~*~

  The day after the little hooker brawl, we were on our way to Times Square to meet up with Ian, Anthony and some hotshot entertainment reporter for some public publicity thing, to be followed by the shooting of a scene from the movie. There was only one Times Square scene in the movie so they were getting it all done at once. This was the first time since the convention she’d been in Anthony’s presence and I’d be lying if I said I was happy about the idea. But I’d have to get over it and do my job rather than play the jealous boyfriend – currently our relationship was still on the down low and the media was still speculating on who the mystery Batman was. I was completely fine with that.

  “Elijah…”

  I frowned as I looked over at her. She was holding her smartphone in her trembling hands. I caught it just as it was dropping from her fingertips. As soon as I noticed what was on the screen I leaned forward and pushed the up button on the privacy screen separating us from the driver.

  “They’re dead… It’s them and they’re dead.”

  Putting an arm around her shoulders I pulled her into me, as I began to read the article. Damn, I hoped she didn’t connect the dots. She knew I was late to pick her up that night. She knew the kind of pistol I had, which was what killed the men and was listed in the article. But why would she? She had no clue what I was capable of and I was becoming more and more convinced that she’d never find out. I really didn’t want to give up my “hobby” or stop working. I was good at it, it helped clean up the streets and it kept me in a lifestyle I’d become accustomed to. But at the same time I had no intention of losing her over it.

  “That girl was taken and kept in a closet, Elijah, and used like some sort of sex slave. That could have been me. What would have happened to her if that guy hadn’t shown up?”

  It could have been. It really could have been and the idea made me sick to my stomach, but it hadn’t. “It seems they’re taken care of now.”

  “Some guy just broke into their house, killed them and rescued her.” She looked up at me. “Who would do that and not want to be identified? He’s a hero.”

  “He killed two men. I’m afraid the police wouldn’t see it quite the same way.”

  She huffed. “They were monsters. That poor girl. Am I a horrible person to say they deserved what they got?” She looked back at me and there were tears rimming her eyes.

  “No, you’re not.”

  Tears began streaming down her face. “If you’d killed them that night they wouldn’t have gotten her. She wouldn’t have spent a week like that. She was only 19 years old. I told you not to.”

  “Don’t think like that.”

  “God, I’m so glad I have you in my life. I know we haven’t been together long, but I don’t know what I’d do without you here with me, Elijah.”

  “I’ll always be here.”

  “Damn, why do you always have to say stuff like that, you’re going to make me cry again…”

  I pulled her tighter, stroking her chestnut locks. “You’d better not, your face already looks like you’ve gone a couple of rounds with Mike Tyson, you don’t need red eyes to go with it.”

  She was silent a moment, her body tensing in my arms. I was scared she was going to break down. But instead she pulled back and gave me a swat and laughed. “You can be such a jackass. I don’t look that bad. Good thing I have a high self-esteem.” She gave me another swat, harder this time; it actually hurt a little bit.

  “But you’re laughing,” I countered. As she got herself back together I finished reading the article. Josie had told the police exactly what I’d asked her to, which was essentially nothing. God, that girl was one strong chick, I really admired her. And I’ll admit that there had been a couple of times where my mind had flashed back on the look of venom she had in her eyes as she spit on them and kicked the dude in the balls. I don’t think I’d ever want to mess with her.

  “Looks like we’re here.”

  I glanced up from the screen and surveyed the scene before us. Part of Times Square was blocked off and there were thousands of spectators crowded around the area set up for the interview. There was also an insane amount of police and security people. When my eyes spotted the hundred or so actors all in full zombie makeup a roar of laughter burst from me. Life with Sidney certainly wasn’t boring.

  ~*~*~*~*~

  Sidney

  In all honesty, I wasn’t hearing much of what the interviewer was saying. And Anthony hadn’t gotten anything more than a curt nod of my head and brief hello. All of the questions directed at me I answered without much thought. I’d done so many interviews and panels at conventions that answering questions with politically correct answers was something I could do while on autopilot.

  My mind was still on that poor girl. I’d found an interview with her on YouTube and she’d talked briefly about what she’d been through. But despite what she’d endured she didn’t cry, instead her eyes had gleamed with determination. She was a survivor through and through and the connection we had made me want to meet her. Maybe I could set up a fund for girls who were survivors of abusive situations in her name.

  I looked over at Elijah, who was standing with his hands behind his back looking intensely sexy. Our eyes locked a moment and he gave me an encouraging nod. Even though I may not be paying much attention to the interview, I knew he caught every word.

  “Some interesting information was passed along to us this morning Sidney, I was hoping I could run this past you?”

  At the sound of my name, I put my entire focus on the interviewer, a pretty blonde woman in her mid-thirties. While many people would dismiss her because of her appearance, mistaking her for the stereotypical blonde bimbo weathergirl, she was nothing of the sort. She was a very sharp woman and could see through a lie a mile away, which was why she was becoming a journalistic superstar.

  God, I hope she didn’t get word of my brawl with the prostitute next door… I’d been preparing myself for questions on my cuts and goose egg on my head. The makeup and hair people had tried their best, but even with a thick layer of makeup and hair styled just right you looked closely you could see something had happened to me recently.

  “Of course.” I flashed her a wide, friendly smile.

  “We were informed by an undisclosed source that you are in a new relationship.”

  I laughed. “That’s hardly new after the release of the Batman picture.”

  The reporter smiled back at me. It was a smug smile and put me on alert. “Yes, that was quite the photo.” She flipped a couple of pages on her clipboard and pulled out a copy of the photo and handed it to me. “The news though is that we were given a tip on the identity of Batman.”

  My throat went dry and I shot a glance at Elijah. His expression became an unreadable slate, but his intense blue eyes were focused on the reporter. I smiled at the reporter. “Surely you get lots of tips. That doesn’t mean they’re true.”

  “For sure, but after comparing the photo with the alleged new man in your life, we’re confident it’s accurate.”

  Well, it was bound to happen. Elijah wanted to keep it quiet a while longer, but eventually it would have gotten out. I shrugged. “Then by all means. Ask your question.”

  “Are you having a fling with your bodyguard?” It was as if the crowd surrounding the closed-off area gasped in unison. Many began to point at Elijah and there became a loud rumble of excited voices coming towards me from all directions.

  I looked over at Elijah and he gave me a nod of approval. It’s not like there was any point in playing the denial game. It would only make us both look like fools.

  “If you’re asking if I’m in a relationship with my guard, then the answer is yes. We’ve been together for a little over a month.”

  The reporter’s eyes lit up with excitement. She’d gotten the big scoop that many entertainment magazines and blogs had been digging for since the Batman picture popped up. Goodie for her. My first thought was that Anthony o
r Ian had spilled on me to gain hype on the movie. I glared at Anthony, who was sitting directly to my left, but he seemed as uncomfortable with the news coming forth as I was. It wasn’t him. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure it out however – Elijah’s hooker neighbour. She’d sold us out for a few quick bucks.

  “Can we have the bodyguard join us on stage?” the reporter asked someone over her shoulder. Apparently whether Elijah was interested in being on stage was of no consequence to her.

  I looked over at Elijah, but his expression remained unreadable. So much for his privacy. I sighed.

  Chapter 20

  Elijah

  Never in my lifetime did I think I’d be on a stage, sitting next to Sidney with thousands of people surrounding us, cheering like maniacs. This whole thing was going to be broadcast for millions of people to see and scrutinize. I was severely out of my comfort zone and while I may not look like it on the outside, I was freaking out a little bit inside. No, no, not a little bit, I was fucking freaking out a lot. What if someone recognized me and connected me to being near a crime scene or worse, saw me leaving a crime scene? It was a dangerous game I was playing. I was supposed to be the man in the shadows, not the one in the limelight. Instead I was sitting on one side of Sidney and her ex-boyfriend on the other, how fucked up was this, seriously.

  “So Sidney, the picture of you and Batman, who we now know to be Elijah Abraham, was taken just a day after it was reported you and Anthony broke up. So was this a fling that was going on before the break-up? How long have you been having an affair with Elijah?”

  I opened my mouth to respond, but Sidney placed her hand over mine on the folding chair and answered, “Elijah and I were not having an affair before the break-up with Anthony and just to set the record straight it was Anthony who cheated, not me, with his co-star. So I’d appreciate not being painted the bad guy in all of this. Yes, Elijah and I kissed at the convention a day after I asked Anthony to move out. He was hired that morning, we spent the day together, there was an attraction and we went with it. And been together ever since, end of story.”