“That’s just it, Missy,” said Mark. “I’ve dated other girls and even … well, we never went all the way or anything but … let’s just say I know when a girl is actually enjoying the way I … you know. Stuff. Hot and heavy. I could have done lots more with a couple girls, but they weren’t Alice. And, it’s always been Alice, for me, you know? I want to see where things might be going for her and I, especially since this is my last year in high school. Next year, when I’m away at college, will I be coming back to see her or will I be moving on? It’s way too soon for any big commitments but, you know … right?”
“Okay, Mark. I’ll go see her. I won’t tell her about your feelings for her, as that’s for you to do. And, I won’t mention your concern about how she freezes up like that. But, I know I can find out if there’s some problem, one way or another, and I’ll get back to you. Promise.” And, Missy kissed Mark on his cheek, just as she would her brother.
He left, greatly relieved, and Missy found an excuse the next day to drop by Alice’s house to pay her a visit. She told Alice she was doing a project for one of her home school classes and was interviewing random students in each grade about the five things they liked and the five things they didn’t like at the high school. For her assignment, she was then going to analyze all the data, summarize the results and provide some recommendations. She was assuring everyone that their participation was completely anonymous, so they could be honest and say whatever they really wanted. Maybe her report would be submitted to the school paper; she wasn’t sure about that yet.
Alice invited her in and they spent a half hour talking about various things. She wanted to help. Everyone knew how hard Missy was working to catch up with her subjects. And, they shared a lot of the same friends so there was plenty to talk about. What Alice didn’t realize, however, was that Missy was able to scent a man’s smell on her. And, to Missy’s sensitive nose, it was obvious that Alice had very definitely been having sex with that man. Missy noticed this right away, as soon as she came in and sat down with Alice. She could also scent this man was living there. So, after chatting about everything and getting Alice’s answers for her survey questions, Missy then asked about Alice’s Mom. How were things going? She learned that Alice had a stepfather, Tony Gonzales, who had married her mother three years ago.
Her father had never been in the picture, having divorced her Mom when Alice was only three. He’d moved away and never checked on them. He’d avoided paying any child support and was not interested in them at all. Her Mom had always worked to support the two of them and getting married again was supposed to be making things so much better. Financially. Tony owned three restaurants. Now they lived in this nice house rather than that crappy third floor walkup. As Alice explained things, Missy could see there was some real tension whenever she was talking about Tony. It became obvious Alice wanted to avoid talking about him at all. She kept changing the subject and saying how hard it still was for her Mom, who worked nights at Walmart. Second shift paid more. And, Tony wasn’t all that generous with his money.
Missy was pretty sure she understood the situation well enough. Alice didn’t want to hurt her mother, who had sacrificed everything working as a single Mom and then, finally, had ended up with a husband who was supporting them. The fact this guy had managed to molest and abuse Alice, probably starting when she was only thirteen, and had forced her to keep that a secret? Not such a big surprise. Missy had read about situations like this but had no idea how to deal with it. She could remember seeing TV shows, from back when she used to watch TV, which showed how things like this could happen. And, how the victims could feel so trapped, afraid to reveal anything. Afraid they’d be blamed, afraid their mother would be hurt, and all sorts of other fears. Fears that made them keep silent.
She told Alice she had to get going and thanked her for helping with her assignment. She wanted to go home and sort through what she’d learned and try to find some way to help Alice. And, she didn’t think talking to Mark was going to accomplish anything good. Alice would have to eventually do that, but only when she was ready. Missy was going to have to figure this one out on her own. Before she left, she looked directly at Alice and said, “You know, if you ever need a friend, Alice … someone you can tell stuff to and who can keep a secret? I know how it is, when you have to keep stuff secret. And, I’ve had to deal with some pretty terrible things … I might be able to relate to stuff, you know? You can call me. Anytime.” Missy stopped and just looked at Alice.
Alice suddenly had tears welling up in her eyes. It looked like she wanted to say something, but then she held back. She stopped herself and looked away. However, she finally did look back and said, “Missy, that’s really so nice of you. You’re a special person. I’ll think about that …”
Missy stepped up and gave Alice a hug. It was all she knew how to do, for the moment. It was obvious Alice would need more time. She’d been keeping a terrible secret for a long time and wasn’t ready to tell Missy anything. But, Missy felt they’d shared a connection, and hoped Alice might realize that if anyone could relate, that person was Missy. While she’d not really been a victim, she knew what everyone else thought, so she was hoping to use that now. She hoped Alice’s thinking Missy had been grabbed by someone would help convince her to talk to Missy about her stepfather. But, she knew this would not happen all at once and so she said goodbye and left.
Once back home, she decided to do some research about Tony. She learned he’d been married before and had a daughter named Roseanne who was now twenty-five. His first wife had died tragically six years earlier from a hit and run accident when she was walking home from the corner store. The driver was never found. Tony was at one of his restaurants when the accident happened. Missy was able to learn these things by finding the wife’s obituary on the internet along with some of the news stories about the tragic accident, but she didn’t really know how to find out anything else. Then, that night, she got a call from Alice.
Alice had been very moved by her meeting with Missy and, as Missy suspected, she did believe Missy probably had been molested and abused. She had watched Missy’s press conference on TV and was surprised that no details were being given out. But then, she’d thought to herself that really was a good thing; the public didn’t really need to know. She’d wished right then her problem could somehow be solved that way. So, now she called Missy back. Hesitating, she asked, “Did you really mean that today, Missy? About keeping secrets?” From the emotion in her voice, Missy just knew what Alice wanted to tell her. And, that she was ready to do that.
Missy assured her, “Oh, yes! Alice, you can tell me stuff. Really, you can. I’ll help and I won’t tell anyone else unless you want me to.” Pausing, she waited several seconds. Then she added, “I think I already know anyway. It’s your stepfather, right? He’s … doing stuff to you and won’t stop. And, you can’t tell your Mom?”
“Oh, Missy,” cried Alice. “How did you know that? Please don’t tell anyone! If he even suspected anyone else knew, I don’t know what he might do to me! Please promise. Please?” Missy heard all the fear but she also could hear some relief in Alice’s voice.
“Alice, I promise. And, you can talk to me. Tell me everything. You need to tell someone about stuff like this. Let’s try to find out what can be done.” Missy wanted to reassure Alice and maybe together they might find a way to deal with it.
“Can you come back over here, Missy? My Mom’s at work and Tony’s actually out of town on a business trip. I can’t do this on the phone.” Alice felt as though a huge weight was being lifted off her shoulders, even though she didn’t really expect Missy could help solve things. But, if Missy could just keep her secret? The way she’d been keeping her own secrets? She thought that might make some difference if she were able to tell Missy her secret about Tony without fear of anyone else finding out.
“I’m on my way right now,” Missy told her. “Be right there!”
An hour later, Alice had ended up tel
ling Missy everything. Once she’d started talking and had admitted how her stepfather had come into her bedroom that first time, not long after he’d married her Mom, the rest of the story had all come out. Missy was shocked at many of the details but then again, not so shocked. She really could understand why Alice had felt so trapped and helpless. This kind of sexual molestation happened all the time and there were no simple, easy solutions. Even now, Alice was horrified to think how hurt her mother would be to find out. Would she even believe it? And, if she did, would she believe Alice was the one at fault? Tony had her convinced that no one would ever believe he was the bad guy here. And, now that she was over sixteen, the laws were not as strict; she’d reached the age of consent in Massachusetts. He’d claim she was the one who seduced him and it would be his word against hers. She had no way to prove anything had ever happened before she’d turned sixteen. She had no way to prove anything now.
Missy told Alice not to panic and that she’d definitely help her. They talked for a long time and Missy even wondered about Tony’s daughter, Roseanne. Did Alice know anything about her? Missy wondered if she might have also been molested. If so, and if she filed a complaint about incest, age of consent wouldn’t matter and it was still well below the statute of limitations. Missy’s Dad was a lawyer so she’d known enough to check this out on the internet. Alice really had never thought about any of this before. And, she actually had met the daughter once. It had been at the wedding three years ago. Then, when they checked in her Mom’s address book, they found a phone number for her.
Alice said she didn’t want to contact or confront Roseanne. She was too afraid of what might happen and not at all sure how things might go, either way. But, she was starting to really feel she could trust Missy. And, Missy kept assuring her it wasn’t hopeless. Somehow, they’d find a way. Alice felt so good being able to finally discuss what she’d lived through, knowing she wasn’t being judged or blamed. Missy just had a way of making her feel okay about things. Hopeful, even. And, protected. The numbing fear she’d held inside for so long was not there when she talked to Missy.
Missy, meanwhile, knew it was time to take a step back. She’d survived in those mountains for two years as a predatory cat, stalking her prey. There was no rush. She did tell Alice that once her stepfather returned, if he gave her any problems, Missy would rush right over there. She wouldn’t confront him about anything but merely show up saying they’d arranged a sleepover. Alice only needed to send her a blank text message and she’d be over there, ringing the doorbell, in less than fifteen minutes. Alice felt confident she could manage and cope knowing that. She’d been living with this monster for three years now and knew how to anticipate what he would do and what demands he would make. She could evade him well enough and, when she knew he was going to want sex, she now could explain Missy was on her way over for a pre-arranged sleepover. If he forced her to call Missy to cancel, that would obviously be a red flag and she knew Missy would then definitely find some excuse to show up.
Chapter Eighteen
Nov 2015
Things went well after that, for more than a week. Missy did go over a few times and was introduced to Tony as Alice’s good friend, now back home again. Mark’s best friend was John McCrea, remember? And, Missy was John’s sister. Alice had talked about all these guys often enough, so it wasn’t that strange for Missy to suddenly be showing up, even though she wasn’t in Alice’s classes. Of course her stepfather had heard about Missy. Who hadn’t? She wasn’t back in school yet because she was doing all that makeup work with her tutors.
The thing Missy noticed most about Alice’s stepfather during all this was how his eyes kept wandering all over her body. It was very obvious he was undressing her in his mind. But, she was able to smile and put on a great act, giving no indication she knew anything about his abuses of Alice.
In addition, Missy tracked down Roseanne. It hadn’t been difficult finding her. With a couple of fake phone calls, she’d learned where she worked and by what last name she was going by now. She’d married but was now divorced. Interestingly, she’d kept her married name rather than go back to her maiden name. Missy used internet searches and found some arrest records, once for drug possession and once for prostitution. She hadn’t been convicted for either of these but had gone to rehab, paid for by the state. Six months ago, she’d been released from rehab and was now holding a steady job as a waitress over in Lynn. She was still staying at a halfway house, also in Lynn.
Missy had John bring her over to the restaurant where Roseanne worked and they both entered and sat in a booth. Roseanne came up and introduced herself as their waitress. If a different waitress had been assigned, Missy would’ve asked to move so they’d end up with Roseanne but that hadn’t been necessary. She ordered her usual huge meal, which included a large steak which Missy went into great detail talking about, explaining how rare it needed to be cooked. John laughed at her and ordered a fisherman’s platter. When her meal came, Missy asked Roseanne to explain several things and then began chatting, just making conversation. These conversations were enough, however. Missy was able to get a pretty good sense about Roseanne.
The good news was she was sober and not taking any drugs. Missy could tell just by her scent she wasn’t using anything. The bad news was Roseanne would never make a credible witness. And, she wasn’t ever going to the police. She’d never be filing any complaint. Her life had just been too hard and, at only twenty-five, she was all washed up and looked forty. She had a very low sense of self worth and it showed. Missy felt really sorry for her.
At the end of their meal, Missy called Roseanne over and introduced herself, explaining she was good friends with Alice. Talking very fast, so Roseanne had no chance to get a word in, she babbled on and on. Without saying how she knew about it, she just started talking about Alice’s stepfather Tony being Roseanne’s father. Roseanne was too slow to question this. Missy pretended seeing her there was just a happy coincidence and kept saying things about Alice’s stepfather, as though Alice, Tony and Roseanne were all one big happy family. Then she asked in all innocence when Roseanne had last seen Tony. That caused a curtain to drop down and brought fear into Roseanne’s eyes. She stared at Missy and said, “I hope I never see that bastard again! Tell your friend to get as far away from him as possible!” With that, she quickly turned around and walked away.
John looked at her and asked, “What was that all about, Missy? And, how do you even know that woman? When did you start hanging out with Alice, anyway?” Missy went right on with her innocent act, as though nothing unusual was going on and changed the subject. She asked him, “When will I be meeting this new girlfriend of yours, John? Are you bringing her over for dinner anytime soon, so she can meet the family?”
This question did successfully distract John, who replied, “Claire has already met everyone, except for you, Missy. And, the way you eat, I certainly don’t plan to bring her over to watch that spectacle. She’s not really my new new girlfriend anyways. She’s my new old girlfriend, since we went out for a while last year. That’s why everyone else already knows her. Maybe some night after dinner, I’ll bring her over so you can meet her. We can all watch a movie together or something. Only if you promise not to eat up all the peanuts, popcorn and pretzels though!”
Missy laughed and promised she’d be on her best behavior. John told her he’d love to see that, and they bantered back and forth all the way home. He never did figure out exactly why she’d made him bring her over to that restaurant in Lynn. Meanwhile, Missy had pretty much confirmed her suspicion that Alice’s stepfather had sexually abused his own daughter when she was a young girl. She felt certain Roseanne’s many problems could most likely be traced back to that. Unfortunately, that wasn’t going to help Alice in any way now. Some other strategy was needed. She just wished she had some other ideas for what might help.
-----
Three days later, she got a blank text message from Alice at 9:35 p.m. She grabbe
d the small suitcase she had prepared earlier, already packed and ready for this situation, and raced out telling her Mom she was going over to Alice’s. She was able to cut through back yards and get over to Alice’s house in twelve minutes. She rang the front doorbell and waited. She could hear muffled cries from upstairs and she rang the bell again. There was no one coming down so after thirty seconds, she ran around back. There was a bulkhead door leading down into the cellar and she forced her way in, applying some extra strength to the wooden door at the bottom so the lock just broke off. Once inside, it was dark but she was able to see where the stairs were and raced up, entering a pantry off the kitchen. That door wasn’t locked so she came in, turning on lights and calling out, “Hey, Alice, I’m here now. Where is everyone?”
This brought Alice’s stepfather down and he was definitely not happy to see her. “Why are you here, Missy?” he growled at her. “Alice didn’t mention anyone coming over tonight.” He stood at the bottom of the stairs, blocking the way up. Tony was only two inches taller than Missy but weighed about two hundred pounds.
Missy put on her innocent act and said, “Oh, really? Maybe I got the nights mixed up or something. Can I talk to Alice? She’ll know.” She was now in the middle of the living room, still holding her little suitcase.
Tony said, “Alice isn’t feeling well so she won’t be coming down to talk to you. I think you should go home now. I’ll have her call you tomorrow.” He clearly wanted her to just leave and wasn’t going to call up the stairs for Alice to come down.
Missy dropped her suitcase and said, “Oh, I’ll just go up and check on her. If she’s not feeling well, maybe I can get her something. I’ll only be a minute.” Without giving him a chance to even object, she raced over and squeezed past him. Before he could stop her, she was up the stairs and walked down to Alice’s room. She was, after all, able to move really, really fast when she wanted to. He turned around, shocked and now getting very angry. He yelled at her, “Hey, get the hell out of here! Where do you think you’re going, young lady?”
Missy the Werecat Page 11
