by B. Groves
Lily followed them up the stairs pleading with Michael to stop.
“Michael, let me talk to him. I’m sure he can explain,” Lily said as she reached the landing.
Lily gasped as she realized that Michael was dragging Jordan towards Hannah’s room.
She ran down and caught up with both men. She grasped Michael’s arm and tried to loosen his grip on Jordan.
Jordan struggled to get out of Michael’s grip. He scratched, clawed, and threw punches at Michael with his loose arm. Michael wasn’t even fazed. He kept moving as though Jordan never touched him.
“Let him go,” Lily pleaded with Michael.
Lily stopped when she heard the banging noise coming from behind the locked the doors. She heard Hannah banging on the doors on numerous occasions but this time the noises were loud enough to wake a neighborhood if one had been nearby.
“No!” Lily screamed when she realized what Michael would do. “No, Michael, stop!”
Michael never wavered and didn’t look Lily in the eyes as he stopped with Jordan in front of the other set of doors of the other room that Lily never entered before.
“What the fuck is this?” Jordan turned to Lily’s eyes wide with terror. “What’s in there? What the hell is in there?”
“Michael! Stop!” Lily said, but she was powerless to stop him.
Michael unlocked the door and entered the room dragging Jordan with him.
The smell that wafted towards Lily and she’d never forget it as long as she lived.
She didn’t want to enter the room but when Jordan screamed in terror, she had no other choice. No matter how she felt about Jordan, she didn’t want to see him hurt or worse.
She ran inside, it was empty except for one small lamp that illuminated the room sitting in one corner.
There was a duffle bag in the corner, and Lily gasped as the scene played out in front of her.
Michael body slammed Jordan to the floor. Underneath Jordan was a dark red stain. That dark stain led to a small door carved into the wall. It looked one of those doggy doors that people installed into their homes.
Michael held a screaming Jordan on the floor and cracked open the tiny door.
A hand reached through the door in desperation. Lily heard a snarl through that tiny door that made her blood curdle.
Tears welled up in her eyes as Michael held Jordan close to the hand that was reaching for him.
By this time, Jordan was so paralyzed with fear that all he did was stare at Michael.
“You’ve been trespassing on my property for months now,” Michael said.
Lily stopped sobbing and placed her hand over her mouth at the revelation.
“I know you’ve been watching her,” Michael continued. “Haven’t you?”
He opened his mouth, but only a gargle passed his lips.
He finally managed a nod, and Michael moved him closer to Hannah’s hand.
“Do I need to let you go? Because if I do, she’ll tear you apart,” Michael said.
“No. No. I won’t bother you anymore,” Jordan said. His face had turned a deep red, and he was now on the verge of tears. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry.”
Jordan struggled in Michael’s grip.
“Please, sir. I’m sorry. Please let me go,” Jordan pleaded.
“I could feed her for a month with you,” Michael snarled closely to Jordan’s ear. “If you ever come back here again, I won’t hesitate to do that. Do you understand?”
Jordan nodded frantically.
Michael lifted him off the floor and dragged him out of the room, forcing Lily to move out of the way. She watched as Jordan stumbled and tripped down the hallway with Michael never letting him go.
Lily turned back to the small door. Hannah’s arm had retreated back into her room and Hannah continued her banging against the double doors.
She only hoped that Hannah didn’t have the strength to break through the door and attack them all.
She looked between the locked double doors and the stairs. Jordan cursed and yelped as Michael dragged him back down the grand staircase.
Lily ran to the staircase and followed them down.
Michael walked to the front door and opened it. He grasped Jordan’s jacket and brought him close to his face. Lily could see his face change again to the monster that he had inside of him.
Jordan howled in terror and fought Michael’s grip with all his strength.
“Don’t hurt me, please don’t hurt me.”
“Get out of my house.” The words came out slow and venomous as Michael said them.
He turned Jordan and threw him down the concrete steps and onto the asphalt. Jordan rolled a few times and stopped once he landed on his side.
He moaned and cursed in pain as he struggled to sit up.
Lily ran past Michael and went to Jordan. She helped Jordan into a sitting position. He was holding his right arm where Michael had dragged him around the house.
Lily looked up to see Michael standing there masked in shadows with the lights from the foyer shining behind him.
Michael then closed the front door leaving Lily and Jordan in darkness.
Chapter 15
Stalking
“Are you okay?” Lily asked after Michael shut the door.
Jordan shrugged Lily off. He rose to his feet only to fall to his knees and whimper in pain.
Lily put a hand around his waist and tried to help him but again he pushed her aside without saying a word.
The cooler than usual night air made Lily shiver, and a small breeze picked up making it even cooler. Lily caught the odor of alcohol as Jordan breathed deeply trying to gain his bearings.
“Jordan?”
Jordan turned to Lily. His eyes still wild with fear, his mouth hung open and saliva dripped from his lips. His hair stuck out everywhere, and his jacket had a tear in his left arm.
“What the fuck was that, Lily? What the fuck is going on in this house?”
“It’s a long story—”
“That guy tried to kill me. What the fuck is in that room?”
“Jordan—”
Jordan stood up. He was shaky, but this time he stayed on his feet. His eyes searched the house as if he expected Michael to attack him again.
“I don’t know how he found me. I was halfway to the car when he caught me,” Jordan muttered.
Lily’s worry for Jordan turned to anger. She balled her hands into fists as she watched him try to walk towards the gate.
“Jordan, what were you doing here?”
Jordan turned back to Lily. His facial expressions changed as he eyed her from shock to anger.
“I came here to talk to you. Instead, I see you in that house, kissing that… that thing.” Jordan spat in disgust. “Who should be questioning who?”
Lily was now in the grips of her anger. “You had no right to spy on me like that and was he lying? Have you been here before without my knowledge?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Stephen never moved in. I don’t have the cash to pay for that place. I’m going to get evicted,” Jordan said. “Besides, when I told you I loved you I meant it, but I see you’d rather kiss some kind of fucking freak. What the hell is the matter with you? What’s this place?”
“How about I give you a ride home and we’ll talk?”
“I don’t need your ride,” Jordan said.
Lily heard the gate open in the distance. The metal grinding on the asphalt made Lily’s already frazzled nerves almost go right over the edge.
“He’s giving you an out,” Lily said. “You better get moving.”
“I’m not finished with him,” Jordan said.
“Jordan just go.”
Jordan pointed at the house. “If I hadn’t had a few drinks, I’d go right to the police, but they’d think I was delusional.”
Jordan wobbled as he walked away. Lily didn’t want to lose sight of him. She decided to follow him home to make sure he made it safely. As
much as she was furious at Jordan for stalking her, she didn’t want anything bad to happen to him.
Lily needed time alone anyway. Michael could have killed Jordan by feeding him to Hannah. He didn’t, but it didn’t excuse his reaction and then there was his actual face…
Lily shuddered as the monster’s face surfaced in her mind. She didn’t want to look at that hideous vision again.
Lily ignored Hannah watching her from the window and ran back to the cottage. She found her keys, handbag, and also grabbed her laptop. She wasn’t returning to Carlton House tonight. She would drive over to Angela’s after she was done with Jordan and spend the night there and decide on her future.
Lily almost burst out laughing when she made sure the door to the cottage was locked. Who would come here? Michael? No one ever visited Carlton House except for the occasional delivery man and even then, Michael always greeted them at the gate.
Lily rushed to her car and started it. She backed out of the driveway and put the car into drive. She glanced at the front door but didn’t see Michael anywhere around. All she saw from her rearview mirror was Hannah’s silhouette in the second-floor window.
She drove through the gate and sped down the road. She caught Jordan turning onto the main road.
Lily made the right turn and followed Jordan. She relaxed a little since Jordan didn’t appear to swerve over the lines as other cars passed them on the opposite side of the road.
Lily jumped when she heard her phone ring. She tried to deny it but she hoped Michael was calling, but instead, Jordan’s name appeared on the screen.
“Stop following me!”
Lily scoffed. “That’s rich coming from you. I could file a restraining order but since I’m nice, I’m making sure you get home okay.”
Silence answered Lily and after a few seconds, Jordan spoke further. “You’re making a terrible mistake, Lily. That guy is dangerous. He practically killed me.”
“Did you ever once consider the consequences of your actions? You’ve been following me? Who’s the dangerous one? I’m not sure it’s Michael Carlton.”
“I wouldn’t have hurt you. I wanted to talk because you weren’t answering my texts,”
Jordan’s defense made no sense. Lily was ready to hang up the phone, make a U-turn, and leave Jordan on his own, but since he now swerved over the line, she decided to continue following him home.
“Michael Carlton.” Jordan’s name dripped with sarcasm. “That guy is probably Phillip Carlton. I’m sure he told you the history of the house by now. That’s right, I looked it up. He killed his kid. That’s him, ain’t it? That woman, I don’t know her, but her face… She looked like a fucking zombie or something. Who’s the idiot, Lily? Me or you?”
“Jordan, why don’t you go home and sleep it off? You’re not making sense.”
“Ah-hah! You know what I’m talking about, Lily. You can’t deny it.”
“Stop it, Jordan. You’re swerving .”
“I’m telling you, Lily, you’re in for a real treat with that guy eventually. You do what you want, but that guy stole you from me. He owes me, and he owes me for tonight. I’m not done with Michael Carlton or whatever the fuck his name is.”
Lily opened her mouth to argue but Jordan hung up on her. Lily sighed from Jordan’s stubbornness and refusal to accept responsibility for his actions and take any blame for following her around for four months.
Jordan straightened his car and Lily’s concern for Jordan’s well-being settled down once they reached the apartment complex. Lily hadn’t been back here in four months, and she found she didn’t miss her former home at all.
Lily parked the car next to Jordan’s and waited for him to get out.
He exited his car still favoring his right arm as he approached her. Lily had no intentions of getting out of the car in case Jordan tried to pull something.
She rolled down the window and said, “You’re home safe. If you don’t leave me alone, and I’m serious Jordan, I’ll get a restraining order.”
Jordan ran a hand through his tousled hair. “I guess I’ll get evicted and live out on the street.”
Lily rolled her eyes and shook her head. “Don’t try that shit with me. We had this agreement a long time ago.”
Jordan’s mouth turned down. “I didn’t think you’d do it.” He turned back to Lily, his mouth tightened by anger. “Fine. Get your shit and get the hell out of my life, you selfish bitch. But, that Carlton guy better pray that I never meet him again.”
“I can’t get my stuff until I earn more money,” Lily answered.
Jordan threw up his hands in frustration. “Then I’ll sell it.”
Lily started up the car and said, “Do what you need to do but stay away from me.”
Jordan stomped away, more like a mixture of stomping and staggering. She waited for him to climb the stairs and once she saw the door open and close, Lily backed out of the space and drove away.
Her adrenaline rush from the events earlier had been fading and Lily felt exhausted. All she wanted was a hot meal and a good night’s sleep, but she didn’t want to return to the cottage and have to face Michael to talk to him about what transpired tonight. She needed time to consider other options.
Lily pulled up to Angela and Dan’s house. Both foster parents were home. They would let her stay with them, but she would only spend the night. She figured it was long enough for her to decide. She knew Angela would question her about why she was there and tried to think of a good excuse, but failed as she walked up to the front door and knocked.
Dan opened the door and wrapped Lily in a big bear hug. She sighed in content as she was buried in the arms of the big, burly man she called her father.
The tension left her as Angela wrapped her in a hug and Lily had to hold back her tears and bit her tongue so she wouldn’t break down and confess all that happened tonight.
She guided Lily to the dining room and a given a hot plate of chicken pot pie.
She needed a comforting meal and good company tonight. It would clear her mind, so she would be ready to face Michael the next day after she visited Francine.
Dan and Angela currently fostered two younger children. Eight-year-old Jack who suffered from severe asthma and ten-year-old Danielle who was shy and kept her head down the entire time at the table.
“She’s talkative when she wants to be,” Angela said. “She takes time to warm up to people.”
“I know that one,” Lily said with a grin.
After Lily helped clear the table, Dan went to help the kids with their homework and give Jack his breathing treatment when he wheezed after telling Lily about his superhero collection.
Angela was looking much better and said she felt much stronger after another flare-up of her Crohn’s disease.
“Thanks for letting me spend the night,” Lily said as they sat at the table and sipped tea that helped keep Angela’s digestive system calm.
“Do you want to talk about it?”
“Jordan and I had a fight, that’s all.”
Angela narrowed her eyes but didn’t press her about it. They enjoyed the evening and Angela found leftover clothes from her last foster daughter that she said would fit Lily.
Lily was grateful since she forgot to pack a bag on her way out.
“How is Kristen?”
Angela smiled proudly. “We didn’t know if there was any hope for that girl, but she amazed us. She made the dean’s list at Temple this past semester.”
“Good for her. I wouldn’t have known what to do without you and Dan and Kristen realized that too,” Lily commented.
“She did.” Angela changed the sheets on the bed in their spare bedroom. “Lily, are you positive you’re safe at that house? Did something else happen that made you show up tonight?”
Lily hugged her foster mother and said, “I’m sure. Mr. Carlton is great. I have no complaints.”
Angela pulled away and lifted an eyebrow. “Then why are you here?”
�
��I needed the good company to clear my head from something,” Lily answered not wanting to elaborate.
Angela gave her a knowing look but said nothing more and left Lily alone in the room.
Lily stared at the closed door for a minute with a smile and changed into Kristen’s pajamas. They were a little tight on her but not enough for Lily to complain.
