by A. V. Scott
She ran her hand across the damask bedspread. It was silky smooth. She should have guessed. Someone like Valerie would only sleep in the best money could buy. Taking a few more steps, she almost tripped over something on the ground.
“Oh no!” Melissa screamed.
Valerie is lying motionless, face down on the floor of her bedroom, with nothing but a towel wrapped around her. Her long blonde hair, tousled and her skin, blue. There is blood everywhere. There’s blood on her head, on the floor surrounding the body, even on the towel. Melissa covered her mouth with her hand and tried not to pass out. Her heart was racing and she felt faint.
“Valerie! Are you okay?” Melissa screamed, dropping her purse on the floor and running to her side. The contents of her purse spilled out all over the floor and under Valerie’s’ bed. Melissa quickly tried to put everything back inside. Her hand reached under the bed to seize the rest of the spilled items when she thought about calling the cops. Then she changed her mind. What if they think she did it? What if the person who did it is still in here? Slowly, she backed out of the bed room. She had no other thought except wanting to get out of there. So, she ran to the elevator not thinking about her injured ankle and desperately pressed the call button. When the elevator arrived she jumped in and pressed the Lobby button. It felt like ages before the elevator reached the main lobby. She tried not to catch the security guards’ attention as she walked past him.
“Excuse me Miss,” she heard someone yell across the lobby. They’re calling out for someone else, she thought as she continued to cross the lobby. But then, someone grabbed her arm. “Miss? Hello.”
Shit. I’m a goner. That’s it. I’m going to jail! She thought. Her heart was beating feverishly inside her chest. Finally, she understood what people mean when they say that your life flashes before your eyes right before death because she saw herself, dressed in an ugly orange jumpsuit, eating porridge out of tin bowls.
“Miss.” It’s the security guard. “Aren’t you that girl who came to see Valerie Clark?”
“Uh, Yeah.”
“Good,” he said, handing her a pen, “You forgot to sign in.”
“Oh, right,” she said signing the visitors log as quickly as she could and then strolled out of there like nothing happened.
#
The steel train inched its way past the Queens Bridge, pulling and screeching. Melissa could see the bright colorful lights in the sky, through the double pane window as the sun set in the horizon. After she left Jessica’s building, she jumped on the first train that pulled into the station. Unbeknownst to her, the train she hopped on was headed to Queens and it would be another three stops before she could catch a train that was going back to Manhattan.
Sitting on one of the cold metal seats, she crossed her legs at the ankle and repositioned the white Birkin bag on her lap. The train made its first stop a few seconds later, opening its steel doors and exchanging passengers. Two loud teenagers entered the train, laughing, kissing and completely oblivious to their surroundings. She couldn’t help but stare at them. The boy leaned over, whispered something in the girls’ ear and she threw her head back, laughing. His eyes had this sparkle as he looked at her. Melissa was positive that is was puppy love. If only they knew that love didn’t last forever. Eventually, one of them would hurt the other.
Melissa continued to stare at them when she noticed that there was also someone staring… at her. Tilting her head to look past the young couple, she saw him. He was tall; standing near the trains’ doorway. Every time the train swayed on the tracks she swore he’d take hold of the banisters for balance but somehow he managed to sway with the train. As if he and the train were one. He also managed to get her attention which wasn’t an easy task. Never completely aware of her surroundings, she found it odd that out of all the people on the train, he was the one she noticed. But there was also something familiar about him. She made a mental note of his characteristics, in case she needed to give them to the police.
Sadly, her thoughts weren’t entirely on her safety. No matter how hard she tried she couldn’t get the visual of Jessica’s dead body out of her head. She had never seen a dead person or anything close to the amount of blood that she saw when she found Jessica. There was nothing that she could do to get that visual out of her head. Who could have done that and why didn’t she call the cops? A tear started creeping out of my eye as she replayed the memory.
When she looked up again at the stranger, he hadn’t moved. He was still standing there, staring at her. In an attempt to get out of his radar, she shifted on the steel chair but didn’t take her eyes off of him for a second. Suddenly, the familiar ringtone singing from her cellphone startled her. She grabbed the cell phone out of the inside pocket of her purse. Staring at the screen, the word Jonathan flashed repeatedly. Holy shit! Should she answer it? What would she even say? And why was he calling her? She wanted to answer the call. Well, half of her wanted to, the half that still loved him, while the part of her that hated Jonathan wouldn’t let her do it. She couldn’t make up her mind fast enough because, the phone stopped ringing and the only words left flashing on the screen were: Missed call.
The train stopped at a couple of more stations before it was finally underground. She put her cell phone back in her purse finally remembering about the strange man. Her eyes crossed the room, looking for him.
He was gone.
Her heart started to race. Where’d he go? Her eyes glanced all over the train car but he was nowhere to be found. Perhaps he wasn’t a serial killer after all. Now, she was most certain than ever that the week-long stress had caused her to develop paranoia. Shaking her head, she dismissed her fears.
The train stopped again, exchanged passengers and then continued on its path. A few minutes later, the doors opened again, this time it was her stop. She walked out quickly, avoiding the gap between the trains’ door and the platform and made it to the other side of the terminal to catch the train going back into the City. She couldn’t help but look one last time at the train as it went along its journey. Maybe he finally got a seat, she told herself, trying to convince the scared little girl inside her that she had nothing to be afraid of. Walking through the turnstile and up the station stairs she thought she heard someone call her name. Too afraid to turn around, she ran the rest of the way.
As soon as she made it back into Manhattan, Melissa called Regina and told her that Valerie had rescheduled the interview. It was the only excuse that she could think of. Then, she called Christina and they decided on meeting up at Milk & Honey, a small, cash only, 30's-era backlit bar off of Eldridge Street.
The entire time, Melissa knew that she was definitely being followed. At first she wasn’t so sure. But now she was certain. It was the same guy from the train. He reappeared again after she ran out of the train station and into the city streets. It wasn’t paranoia, he was definitely following her. So, she crossed the busy intersection on Broadway and quickly turned around to see if he was there. She saw him, weaving and dodging commuters and meandering tourists. So, she sped up her pace.
Every couple of steps she kept checking behind herself to make sure there was enough distance between them.
By the time she crossed Third Avenue, she thought he had finally given up because she didn’t see him anymore. However, it was New York and one couldn’t be too careful. He could very well be hiding, waiting for the right moment to jump out at her. It was a chance she wasn’t willing to take.
She immediately calls Christina. “Hey, are you at the bar yet?”
“Just got here.”
“Can you meet me outside?”
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah, just please meet me outside.”
Okay,” she said and hung up.
Luckily, she was finally in view of the bar and Christina was standing out in front, waiting for her. She gave her a big hug and quickly started with the questions. “Did you punch her in the face like I’ve imagined it in my head?”
“No,” Melissa said, looking behind her. The stranger was nowhere to be seen. They entered the lounge and took a seat at the bar. “She wasn’t feeling well so we rescheduled,” Melissa told Christina. There was no way Melissa was going to tell her what happened.
“Damn.”
The bartender took their drink orders. “Coke or Pepsi. Whichever one you have,” Melissa said. Sadly, she succumbed to drinking a soft drink as opposed to what she really wanted to drink, a shot of tequila.
“Soda? I thought we were drinking?” Christina asked, looking at her.
“I have a long day tomorrow,” she lied.
“I’ll have gin and tonic with a splash of cranberry,” she said to the bartender and quickly put her attention back on Melissa, “So have you spoken to Angie?”
“That bitch can kiss my ass.”
“Look, I’m not taking sides or anything but you really don’t know what they were talking about. It could’ve been about anything,” Christina said, taking a sip of her drink.
“Do I look like I care?” Melissa was not up to even thinking about Angie after the day that she had. She just wanted the day to come to an end.
Christina shook her head. “All I’m saying is that maybe you should reconsider talking to her.”
“Did you forget she was all chummy with Valerie?” Melissa asked.
Christina began to fidget with the red stirrer in her drink. “Well what if she was here?” She asked, taking another sip. “What would you say to her?”
“I’d tell her to fuck off,” Melissa said. The look on Christina’s face was all-telling. “Christina, if you called her to meet us here I’m going to…”
“It wasn’t her fault,” Angie interrupted. “I begged her to set this up.”
Melissa turned her bar stool around to face Angie. She looked like she hadn’t slept in days and there were tears in her eyes. “What the hell is wrong with you?” Melissa asked.
“You haven’t heard?” She asked, looking at Christina and then Melissa again.
Christina perked up, dying to hear juicy gossip. “Heard what?”
“Charlie’s dead,” Angie said, sobbing.
Quickly, Christina stood up and offered Angie her seat. No one knew what to say or how to console Angie because it was the first time they had ever seen her like this. Angie wasn’t the type to get emotional in front of anyone, unless she was acting out a part in a script. And even then, if you really knew Angie, you could discern that she was being insincere.
“When?” Melissa asked.
“This afternoon,” Angie sobbed. “I walked into his office and there were cops already there.”
“What happened?” Christina asked.
“No one knows. The cops said they’re going to look into it,” Angie said, finally finding some composure.
“Listen, I know you’re upset and very emotional right now. But don’t forget that I saw you chatting with Valerie,” Melissa said turning her back to Angie. Was it wrong that even though Angie was obviously going through a rough time, Melissa really didn’t want to be there with her? Even if she was keeping a secret herself, she still felt betrayed by Angie.
“It’s not what you think,” Angie said.
“Funny that’s exactly what Jonathan said,” Melissa snapped back her, “So you’re telling me that I imagined you and that bitch chatting it up at SPIN? I’m probably imagining being pregnant too right?”
“You’re pregnant?’ Christina said, looking at Melissa in disbelief. “Damn, you look great for a pregnant lady.”
“Don’t call my sister names you bitch,” Angie screamed at Melissa.
“What the hell are you talking about Angie? You don’t have a sister,” Melissa said. She immediately started thinking that Angie had really lost her mind.
“I do too,” Angie said, pulling the file on Valerie out of her purse and handing it to Melissa.
Melissa looked over all the documents, the pictures the adoption papers, everything. Suddenly, she felt the bile rising in her throat. She ran to the bathroom and threw open a stall door. Hunched down on her knees, her stomach began to heave heavily. Then, everything she had eaten within the last twenty four hours found its way back up her esophagus.
“Are you okay?” Angie said, handing her a wet brown paper towel.
Melissa wiped her mouth and sat on the grimy floor without thinking. “I’m fine. Must’ve been something I ate.”
“You still haven’t decided huh?”
Instantly, Melissa knew exactly what she was talking about. “Let’s not start that conversation at this precise moment Angie. As you can see, I’m not quite up to it.”
Unsure what to say, Angie just stood there.
“You know, you have some nerve trying to make up with me. I bet you knew about Jonathan and Valerie. You were all probably laughing at me the entire time.” Melissa stood up and walked over to the sink. She knew that she should tell Angie what happened to Valerie. But she was scared and still very upset.
“I am your best friend,” Angie started to explain. “I would never do anything like that to you.”
“Whatever,” Melissa said, wiping her face with a dry paper towel.
“I tried calling you a hundred times today and it went to voicemail. It’s not the type of news I can leave in a voicemail,” Angie said.
Melissa remembered that she didn’t have her cell phone all morning because of Claude. Maybe Angie was telling her truth. “Why didn’t you tell Christina? She would have told me.”
Angie shrugged her shoulder. “I wasn’t sure how much Christina knew.”
“You should’ve found a way.”
Angie’s voice softened, “I know.”
“Did you even ask Valerie why she did this to me?” Melissa asked. “Why she took Jonathan from me?”
“She didn’t know Jonathan was even seeing anyone. He told her he was single,” Angie said. “She didn’t know until you showed up at the restaurant.”
“Really?”
“Yes, and as soon as she told me I wanted to tell you. But I couldn’t reach you by phone. Then I was going to tell you when I saw you at SPIN, but you disappeared,” Angie leaned in closer, lowering her voice as a group of girls walked inside the bathroom, “I can’t believe you threw up on her!”
“Oh.” Melissa looked away embarrassed, “It was an accident.”
“And Valerie felt so bad about everything that she wanted to make it up to you so she came up with a plan that would force you to have to meet up with her,” Angie said.
“The interview? I was wondering why she had picked me to do it. I thought it was to throw her relationship with Jonathan in my face.” Melissa was starting to feel like the scum of the earth. She was so ashamed that she didn’t know what to do with herself.
“What’s wrong?” Angie asked, seeing Melissa pacing and fidgeting.
Melissa desperately wanted to tell Angie everything but it would break her heart to know that just when she had found her sister, she had lost her. And Melissa didn’t want to be the bearer of bad news. Not after they had finally made up. So she did what she was unfortunately getting good at, she lied. “Nothing. I don’t feel well. I think I’m going to call it a night,” She said, pushing back the tears.
13
It had been raining all morning. The sound of the rain hitting the double glass pane windows in Melissa’s living room was soothing. And that’s exactly what Melissa needed. Sitting on the window seat, she stared out onto the busy Manhattan Street through the bay windows. Even then, with all the rain, everyone had someplace to go, someplace to be and perhaps, she thought, someone to go home to.
She had no one.
Taking a sip of chamomile tea, which is what she always drank whenever she wasn’t feeling well, she contemplated calling Angie. But what would she say and how? She had to take her time and come up with the right words to say, and still hadn’t when her cell phone rang from an unknown number.
“Hello,” she said, sounding dism
al.
“Good morning Ms. De La Rosa, this is Jennifer Harley with Fox 6 News. I’d like to know if you’d like to come into our studio this afternoon for an interview.”
“What?” Melissa asked, confused. “How about no?”
“But wouldn’t you like for everyone to know your side of the story?”
Her side? She had a side? All she knew was that her life was destroyed by a man she loved and trusted. If that was what they wanted to hear well then fine, she would tell them. “Listen, all I know is that a week ago, I was going to marry a very kind and loving man who turned out not to be. If you want to post that on your little network feel free,” she said and hung up. The tears began to fall quickly when the phone rang again. “I said I’m not interested,” she yelled into the receiver.
“Woah. I was only calling to say hello,” Claude said coolly.
“I’m sorry. I thought it was someone else,” Melissa said, wiping her tears away.
“I can call back? And then you’ll know it’s me and you can say something nice,” he said.
Melissa laughed. “Why are you calling me?”
“To ask you out,” he said.
Melissa wasn’t in the mood to have this conversation with him. But it was better than talking to that reporter. “It’s raining,” she offered as an excuse.
“Yes it is.”
“Where would we go in this weather?” She asked looking out of the window. The rain had not discouraged anyone from being outside. There were still lots of people going about their day.
“Someplace indoors, where it’s not raining,” he said.
