Professor next Door

by Summer Cooper

  But it was not her fault; Angela clearly saw that now. There was a small piece of rope lying at her feet draped across the catwalk and tied on one side to the bottom of the stage. The other end was loose and pointing to the crowd on the other side.

  Angela tried to squint through the glare of the lights to see who might have been sitting over there who would do such a thing. It was probably some stupid kid who thought this would be the best way to impress his friends at school, or it might have been some college fraternity prank. It didn’t matter to her because she was going to—

  A woman running through the crowd, running away. Her long dark hair flowed in the breeze as she weaved her way through the large group of people and chairs. She looked familiar—

  Naomi.

  She turned her head slightly back towards the stage for one brief instant and Angela could clearly see her face. She had done this. She was trying to sabotage her career and teach her a lesson because Angela was continuing to see her father. She was hell-bent on destroying it all.

  Well, this was one thing she was not going to be able to destroy. Angela was damned sure going to make sure of this.

  She had to catch her.

  Angela stood up fully.

  “I’ll be right back!” she called as she jumped down off the side of the stage. She landed gently on the ground and was instantly hustling through the crowd, Naomi’s head firmly in her sights. She was going to put an end to this crap right now. She had to confront Naomi and make her realize that nothing was going to keep her away from Richard. He made her happy and she made him happy. Naomi had to know that she had to grow up and deal with her own issues and her emotions.

  Angela was out of the crowd and rushing down the corridor now. Naomi had made a turn and was temporarily out of her sights. She had to find the bitch. She never thought she would be thinking of her best friend this way, but there was only so much that she could put up with. If Naomi wanted to trash the friendship for good then that was her problem. Angela was not going to let her misbehave this way and attack her and everything she had worked so hard for.

  As she rounded the corner what she saw stopped her dead in her tracks.

  Naomi was stopped. Richard was there, his arm holding onto her arm as if she were a ten-year-old girl who had done something very bad. In a sense, that was what had happened. Naomi was acting like a kid and she was going to be treated like a kid.

  “Let me go!” Naomi said.

  Angela tried to hang back scooting back around the corner. She just wanted to hear what was being said without interfering or possibly making this worse with her presence.

  “No. You have to understand something. This is not Angela’s fault. Nothing you do will drive a wedge between us. You can’t continue to act this way. It’s not right.”

  “Oh, a lecture from you about what’s right? Give me a break. You lied to me my whole life!” Naomi yelled, struggling in Richard’s grasp.

  “I withheld the truth for your own protection and when your evil stepmother told you, you couldn’t handle it.”

  “Don’t you dare say anything bad about my mother!”

  “She isn’t your mother. I told you that. She didn’t give birth to you and she sure as hell didn’t care about you. Sweetie, I hate to be this blunt with you, but nothing else has worked. You have to understand!”

  “I do understand! You lied to me and the only mother I ever knew betrayed me. I have no one who really cares about me and I never have.”

  “That is not true! I care. I love you. Why can’t you see that? I lied to you to protect you. As a small child, it would have been very confusing if you’d known the truth about your mother.”

  “Whatever. Just let me go. I don’t want to be around you anymore. I’m done with you.”

  “Honey, why won’t you listen to reason? You’re old enough to know better. You can’t take this rage out on me and you certainly can’t take it out on Angela. She has always been your best friend.”

  “Don’t you tell me who is my friend. She knows how I feel about women you date. It’s a slap in the face that you never cared about my mother. That’s why you cheated.”

  “She is your friend and she cares about you. She deserves to be happy. I deserve to be happy. And you deserve to be happy. But I can’t bring happiness into your life for you. You’re a grown woman and you have to figure it out for yourself,” Richard said as he let go.

  Angela peered around the corner and even from there she could see the daggers in Naomi’s eyes.

  “Then I am dead to you. I hope you two are happy. She lost her best friend and you lost your only daughter.”

  With that, Naomi ran off down the hallway.

  “Naomi!” Richard called after her, his voice echoing down the hall.

  Angela debated for a few seconds whether to walk away and pretend that she had never heard this heated exchange, or comfort the man she loved who was now clearly a broken shell of himself.

  As Richard stooped down to the floor and leaned against the wall with his head in his hands he began to cry. It broke Angela to see that big, strapping man whom she loved so much in so much pain.

  She took a deep breath and tried to wipe away her own tears as she rounded the corner and walked to him.

  She kneeled down beside him and he laid his head on her shoulder, trying to hold back her own tears. She wanted to tell him it was okay and he needed to just let it all out but she didn’t dare. He would do what he needed to do right then. She just wanted to be there for him.

  “I’ve really lost her,” Richard said.

  “She’ll be back. I know it,” Angela replied.

  She didn’t know how, but she was going to help Naomi.

  Chapter 11

  Angela pulled up in front of Naomi’s apartment building about an hour after she finished the catwalk show. After the craziness that Naomi had caused Angela had pulled herself together just enough to go back out there and knock them dead. Luckily she didn’t break any teeth or smash her lips as badly as it felt. Her makeup artist was able to apply a slightly darker shade of lipstick that covered the slight bit of swelling she had just fine and it was all good.

  Richard had pulled himself back together after only five minutes of time with her. She was glad that she had been able to be there for him and allow him to be vulnerable enough to lean on her for a few minutes. She was shocked that he didn’t take more time than he did, but he said she had a show to do and she could tell that he quickly sucked it up and turned the tables around to be the support guy for her.

  And she needed it.

  The rest of the show went by smoothly and everyone was amazed at how well she did for her first time. She heard that there was talk in the works of her being added to the Gala, which was one of the biggest fashion shows in New York City that would be televised on The Style Channel around Christmas—that was the big time. Beyond that, she might even be up for some Victoria Secret things.

  That terrified Angela to her very core because that wasn’t wearing sweet outfits; that was mostly lingerie and other skimpy items. She wasn’t sure she was nearly hot enough for that, but every time she heard that voice of doubt entering her brain she was learning to quickly tell it to shut the hell up. And she was getting good at this.

  Angela walked into the building and Tony the doorman recognized her. Luckily, Naomi had not had the presence of mind to tell him not to let Angela up. But as she approached the elevator Tony stopped her; maybe he was told not to let her up after all.

  “What’s going on?” Angela asked.

  “I just saw Miss Kane leave about twenty minutes ago.”

  “Did she say where she was going?” Angela asked.

  “No, but she had a small bag with her,” Tony replied.

  “What kind of bag?”

  “It was a pink duffle bag,” Tony said.

  Angela thanked him and walked back out to her car. She was starting to wonder if she should have brought Richard in on this, but he probably di
dn’t belong on this particular mission. This was a big showdown between her and Naomi. She had to speak to her woman to woman without any referees or outside interference. That was the way it had to be; she was not sure Richard would have understood that.

  Angela sat down in her Corvette and pulled out her phone. The Corvette had been a bit of an impulse buy, but she didn’t know how she had survived without one. She had picked it up on advice from Richard. He told her that now she was starting to get a bit of a taste of the success that was due to come her way and she needed to just spoil herself a bit by buying something ridiculous. Angela had always been kind of cautious, especially with money, but Richard was persuasive as hell and she started to feel he was right. Ever since she was a little girl she had dreamed of owning a shiny, red Corvette. It was not the most luxurious sports car, or the most expensive and prestigious, but it was damn sexy, she thought; and she felt like a million bucks when she was behind the wheel.

  She found Naomi’s number in her contacts and took a deep breath before pressing call. She knew that Naomi would either answer and tell her to go straight to hell or ignore her and Angela would not know where she was still. There was something off about Naomi tonight. From her perch looking around the corner in the corridor at the show, Angela had seen a woman desperate for someone to help her, but scared to death to ask for it. She was a woman on the brink of doing something crazy. And that terrified Angela. What was Naomi capable of in her current state and what the hell was she doing with that bag that Tony mentioned? It sounded so familiar. Where had she seen Naomi with a bag like that? It was eating at her brain because she knew the answer somewhere; she just didn’t know how she knew.

  After five rings Angela hung up the phone. She pressed *69 and tried again, hoping that this would work if Naomi was screening her calls and not just not talking to anyone. After five rings it went to voicemail. Naomi wasn’t taking any calls tonight apparently.

  Angela dialed Natalie who picked up on the third ring.

  “Nat, can you do me a favor and call Naomi? I’m worried about her and she isn’t answering my calls.”

  “Sure. No sweat,” Natalie said.

  Angela waited three minutes until she heard her phone ringing back. It was Natalie.

  “Yeah, did you get through?”

  “No, just voice mail. You think she’s okay? Or is she just having one of those weird moods?” Natalie asked.

  “I’m not sure, but thanks for trying. We’ve got to hang out soon,” Angela said. She suddenly realized it had been almost a month since she had seen her friend.

  “Yeah, for sure. Call me later. Let me know if you find out anything about Naomi,” Natalie said.

  “Will do,” Angela replied before disconnecting the call.

  Angela thought a moment. The only thing that might have a clue about what Naomi was thinking or feeling or doing would be social media. Angela pulled up her apps for Facebook and Twitter and went to Naomi’s profile. Her latest post was actually only twelve minutes ago.

  Falling Abyss, can’t make it to the shore. Why would I want to? See you all in the underbelly of Moby Dick. Peace.

  Angela read the post several times. It was an excerpt of a poem by someone she didn’t recognize. What the hell did it mean? What was she trying to say? After thinking it over for a few minutes she finally realized; that pink bag kept popping into her head and the words ‘abyss’ and ‘shore’. She knew where Naomi was.

  When they were kids they would often go down by the coastline of Coney Island Creek. It was a private little getaway that their parents would often take them too. It was a little further down than the normal public beaches and they would feel special, as if they had their own private beaches there. But the tides at night could get rough, especially if you were not a good swimmer. Every year several people lost their lives there trying to go swimming at night. It was getting a bit late in the year to really do that, but it was possible that that was where Naomi was headed.

  Was she really going to do herself in? Was she at the end of her rope for real? Angela could not allow herself to believe that her best friend would do such a thing. But she would not have been a friend if she ignored her gut reaction to the situation. She only hoped that she was not too late.

  Angela felt she had to tell Richard. He had to know what his daughter was planning, but what good would it do? He would be too late; it would take him at least twice as long as her to get there. If she couldn’t save Naomi, then no one could.

  She thought about calling the police, but she was not sure that they would even be in on coast patrol this late at night and if they did they didn’t really patrol that section of water; it was not considered a real beach. Actually, Angela believed it might have even been private property; it certainly was not a public beach. As she began dialing for the police, she started to fear that the sounds of sirens or the sight of bright flashing lights might send Naomi over the edge—there would have been no talking sense into her. Angela had to do this herself. She just hoped that her old friend would listen to her.

  How had this happened? How had Naomi, who had the strongest personality she had ever come across, become so disillusioned that she was seriously considering killing herself? Angela just could not make sense of how everything had taken such a serious turn.

  She had to get there fast.

  Ignoring every safety and every traffic law that she knew, she floored the pedal. It was a Tuesday night so the traffic was rather light as she got closer and closer to the island. She would be there in ten minutes. She just hoped that the part of the island close to Kingsman College where they had always gone was where Naomi was going. If she pulled a fast one and decided to go to an undisclosed spot then Angela would never find her in time. She just had to keep her hopes up.

  It was possible that the Facebook message was some sort of a sign to her friends to come and find her. It was so vague that most people wouldn’t understand it. That meant that Naomi wanted to be found. She didn’t want to suffer through this anymore and she didn’t really want to end it all. She wanted someone to show her that they cared enough to save her.

  Angela knew that. But that didn’t mean that Naomi wouldn’t go through with it. If no one showed up in time she would take that to mean that no one really cared enough to figure this out and that they didn’t care enough to talk her out of any of this.

  She had to prove Naomi wrong. She did care and if she could get there in time she just might be able to save her friend’s life.

  She was almost there. She wondered how long Naomi had actually been there on the shore, watching the dark waves crashing and wondering how soon it would be before she would put her bathing suit on and walk into the water and let the waves take her away.

  That was what was in the pink bag. Angela could remember it clearly now. She had seen Naomi carrying it the last time that she went to this secluded beach to go swimming. If she was going to kill herself she would not dare jump in the water with her nice clothes on. Even in death, Naomi was still pretty vain and she would want to be properly attired if and when her body was dragged from the waters. That was just the type of girl that Naomi was. It was almost funny to think about the stupid little things that Naomi would be concerned with when she was about to make this kind of stupid decision.

  Angela pulled up in front of the beach. She was only about a mile jog from that corner that was well hidden from the main beach by some jagged rocks. She was going to have to climb over those in the dark, which she was not at all looking forward to. Maybe she could yell for Naomi to come to her senses from there and put an end to the whole thing that way. She didn’t think that was going to be an option though, so she didn’t bank on it.

  The air was cooler than it had been back in the city. The ocean breeze was strong here, almost as if it wanted to suck her out to sea. It was beautiful and peaceful; she used to love coming to these waters during the summers when she was a kid. It was a great place to come, day or night. Rarely could she
convince her parents to come later in the day so she could enjoy the beach at night, but as she got older and closer to adulthood she started to do this by herself, but she made sure to stay away from the private beach. Angela didn’t quite have the balls to go into that area alone at night. Anything could have happened to her.

  The rocks were bigger than she remembered and they were wet. Angela sighed as she took a deep breath and slowly began to climb over the front of the rock formation that seemed to create a natural barrier between the two beaches. As her feet slid and skated across the wet rocks under the cover of darkness she tried to tell herself how important it was for her to complete this mission and reach the other side. Naomi’s life depended on it. She had to get there in time.

  The constant reminder propelled her to move quicker, but she forcibly slowed herself down enough to maintain the safety that was needed. If she fell and was hurt then it would not do Naomi or her any good at all. She took steady deep breaths as she reached with her hands and then followed with her feet. She was almost around the rocks and in a second she would be landing safely on the other side.

  She took the last step almost too quickly and felt her whole body jerk as her feet slipped out from under her, but luckily her arms came into action and she held on tightly. The sea was roaring beneath her with the loud thrashing waves calling her name. They wanted her. They wanted to suck her whole body and soul up in one swift movement, but she would be damned before that happened.

  Angela maneuvered her body around the final rock and planted both feet on the sandy beach that they had always dubbed “the hideout” when they were kids. They were not sure if it was part of the public beach, or if it had been condemned for some reason—rumor had it that the rocks formed a perfect pool with the cliff on the other side of the beach and that the tide flooded over there every single morning. Angela and pals had never ventured to test this theory.

  There she was.

  Naomi was midway on the beach, close to the edge of the shore. She was just staring blindly out to the sea. Angela could see her figure outlined by a light that was suddenly off in the distance. She could not tell if it was a lighthouse or just someone’s home, but it was giving her enough light to see the perfect silhouette of her friend.