Obsessed (15 page)

He sat still on the bike, but his head turned so he could watch me as I walked away.  “Very interesting,” he repeated.  And then he said something else under his breath, that I couldn’t quite catch.  I didn’t care, I just wanted to be back inside my room.

This was all beginning to be too much.  My feet hit the ground more violently with each step.  My heart pounded faster.  I desperately wanted to look back to see if anyone was following me, but I didn’t dare.  My apartment was only a minute away and there were people all around.  Nothing would happen.

For a brief moment, I considered passing my building and heading straight up Loma Street to an old ex-boyfriend’s house.  But I figured if they
were
watching me, they already knew where I lived so it didn’t matter.

My hand shook as I punched in the pin code at the building entrance.  I thought I could hear hurried footsteps behind me.  In my haste, I entered the wrong combination of numbers.  Access denied.

Calm down, Katie, and breathe.
  I steadied my hand and forced myself to focus on the numbers. 8...1….8….1.  The locking mechanism clicked and the heavy door eased in its frame.  I yanked it open with both hands and darted through.

Mrs. Penrod stood in the lobby with an odd look of amusement on her face.  “Is everything okay, dear?”

I leaned on the door until it snapped shut, and then stood on the tips of my toes so I could see through the narrow window at the top.  There were no frothing mobs chasing me, no angry bikers trying to force their way in.  There was nobody, at all.

“Kate, you look like you’ve seen a ghost.” said Mrs. Penrod.  She was the building’s resident “mother.”  She took in upon herself to police anything and everything that went on, whether it was her business or not.  Most of the tenants thought of her as well-meaning, but I couldn’t stand her.

“Everything’s fine, Mrs. Penrod,” I said.  “I just forgot something upstairs.”

“But you’re out of breath!” she protested.  “And who were you looking for out th-”

“Sorry, I’m in a hurry.  Gotta go!”

She continued to squawk as I pushed by her and squeezed through the closing elevator doors.  I could still hear her yammering as we began to ascend.  Inside the elevator walls, I felt claustrophobic.  It was dark and the world seemed to be closing in around me.  My eyes darted to my cell phone.  It was still early, but my bones ached.  I hadn’t admitted it to myself, but the whole ordeal had taken a severe toll on me.

The doors finally opened on my floor and I burst through them like I was shot from a cannon.  I worked the lock open on the first try.  My bed rushed toward me at a thousand miles per hour.  I only wanted to escape the chaos, which had become my life.  My head hit the pillow and I slept.

***

James had never liked riding into the city.  All of the eyes made him feel uncomfortable, like he was out of place.  But that’s only part of the reason he decided to come under the cover of darkness.  If anyone spotted him in the area, it would be his head.  And it wasn’t the HOHers he was most concerned about.  He knew Charlie would do his best to make things right with Hayes and the gang, but he wouldn’t bet on it until it was done.

The cool wind against his cheek offered the slightest comfort.  It was as if his rough stubble tore through the night air, wounding it.  James had pondered the move for hours, but he knew, in the end, he wouldn’t be able stop himself from going.  Normally he wouldn’t take such a risk, but he had to see her.  To check on her well-being, even if he couldn’t touch her.

He rode with no headlight.  The streetlamps and moon were enough to guide him safely through the maze of buildings.  The stifled roar of his engine sounded so
out of place
in this environment.  It was like a wild animal, so used to running free, being held back against its will, caged almost.  There were no open highways here.  Everything was congested with cars and foot traffic.  He wanted to ride hard, but he couldn’t.

Her apartment was on the North side, in an old, Chaplin-era building.  James was accustomed to using his connections to gather information on people.  It was never a problem when he had to come up with a location on an enemy, or a suspected snitch, but something felt wrong about using the same means to find her.  She was so perfect in her own way, he hated tainting her by bringing her even deeper into his world.

A late-night street vendor cast a weary look in his direction as he let his motorcycle glide the last few feet to the curb.  This was it.  Third floor, number eighty-one.  James cut the engine and dismounted.  When the soles of his boots met the pavement, the street vendor nervously shuffled his feet and turned to head in the opposite direction.

***

What did you get yourself into Katie?
  The thought kept replaying itself in my head.  It was just my style to turn a night out with the girls into an epic back and forth struggle between biker gangs.  I wanted to laugh at that, but I was just too emotionally drained.  Part of me wished I had never met up with them that night, but in reality, I knew that wasn’t true.  I never would have met him if that was the case.  It was almost worth going through the terror of being kidnapped, just to have him rescue me.

I can’t believe I slept so long. 
What the hell?
  That was always the worst part about napping during the day.  I guess the physical exhaustion finally caught up with me.  To make it worse, I got the added bonus of being wide awake in the middle of the night.  Ugh.  Maybe I’ll watch some movies, or…

Creak…

What was that?  My heart jumped into my throat. 
What was that?

Creak…

Oh shit!  Oh shit! Oh shit!  Was that a footstep?  I strained to hear over the whir of the ceiling fan.  I sat upright in bed, my eyes scanning the far wall of the bedroom.  The door was open half way, and I tried to see as far past it as I could without making a sound.

The breath caught in my throat and I sat still and tense.  Then nothing came.  Seconds seemed like hours as I waited for something to happen.  My mind raced.  What did I hear?  But as suddenly as the sound had jolted me from my thoughts, it seemed like it had disappeared.  My heart rate was starting to return to normal, and for the first time I recognized the beads of cold sweat that had formed on my brow. 

Paranoia, that was all.  And who could blame me for that, really?  After what I’d been through, it would be weird if I wasn’t a little on edge.  I took a deep breath and settled back against my pillow.  But as many times as I told myself it had been nothing, I struggled to make myself believe it.  There still seemed to be a presence that wouldn’t let me relax.  It was probably the same phenomenon though, as when you watch a scary movie and can’t help but have that feeling of being watched for the rest of the night.  No matter how real it seems, you know it’s all in your head.

Maybe I should get a dog.  The building probably wouldn’t allow it, but I’m sure I could get away with sneaking a little one up here.  A chihuahua or a little terrier maybe.  It wouldn’t have to be a monster, just something to alert me when things aren’t quite right.

A shadow moved in front of the open door. 
No!
  This time there was no denying it.  Someone is in my apartment.  My hands shook as I pulled the empty coffee mug off of the nightstand.  There was no way I was going without a fight.  If they were going to try to take me again, they would have to kill me.

I wiggled off the edge of the bed onto the floor.  The only thing I had working in my favor was the element of surprise, and I didn’t want to give that away by carelessly making a noise.  As I eased myself to the floor, I felt the hard plastic case of my phone against my butt. 
Call 911 you idiot.
  Why I hadn’t thought of that first, I couldn’t tell you.

I dug my heels into the floor and silently scooted toward the wall, my eyes never leaving the doorway.  I maneuvered the phone from my pocket and held it tight against my chest, so the light wouldn’t give me away.

Someone exhaled in the hallway outside my room.  I couldn’t tell if it came from a place of frustration or exhaustion.  Then the footsteps started moving closer.  Strictly by feel, I managed to mute the volume on my phone.  After a brief pep talk, I decided I wasn’t going to miss my chance.  With cupped hands, I pulled the phone to my face and started punching in the digits.  I was nestled into the small area between the wall and the open door, and I figured that would also help to shield the light.  Why did I have to be so anal about keeping such a dark room?  The damn phone showed up like a flashlight in here.

9-1-1 showed on the screen.  He didn’t seem to be aware of me yet.  As my finger hovered over the call button, I saw him for the first time.  Through the crack between the door frame and the wall, I could see his hulking figure.  I hadn’t been wrong, it was one of the bikers.

He came to a stop directly in front of my room.  I watched, fear-stricken as the toes of his dirty boots turned and pointed toward my bed.  For some reason, I froze, unable to make the call.  There he stayed, only feet away from me, looking into my private area.  I wondered if his eyes had adjusted to the dark.

An eternity passed before he took a step.  The first was confident, the second more tentative.  I pushed into the floor with the balls of my feet until I was in a crouched position against the wall.  My quad muscles screamed in protest as I silently slithered up the wall.  He didn’t hear me.  Another step and he was all the way in.  His hair held tight under the bandana that was wrapped around his forehead.  He looked left, and then slowly to the right, searching the room for me.

I thought about darting behind him and running for the front door, but there just wasn’t enough room.  He would surely spin around as soon as he heard me and he would grab me before I could make it halfway across the living room.

His hands landed on his hips and his shoulders shrugged.  I could tell he was confused.  The waistband of his jeans held a gun bigger than I had ever seen.  I wanted to grab it and shoot him dead where he stood.  I wanted him to have the same fear and vulnerability that I was feeling.  But I couldn’t do it.  I couldn’t kill another person.  And realistically, I wouldn’t know what to do with it if I did get it away from him.

My fingers tightened around the handle of the coffee mug.  It felt strong in my hand.  There was no more time to debate it.  It wouldn’t knock him out, but it would give me enough time to escape, and that’s all I needed.  I raised it high over my head.  His shoulders started to turn back towards the door.

Ahhhhh.
  A primal scream escaped my lips as I brought it down on his head as hard as I could.  I was getting good at hitting people with small porcelain objects.  The mug shattered on impact and he stumbled forward.  I took my chance and bolted for the door.  He uttered a low groan.

“Owww, goddamn!”

“Leave me the fuck alone!” I yelled as I pushed him off balance.

His arm swung back, but I was already by him.  A rush of adrenaline hit, and my legs felt good.  The apartment seemed to shake as his thundered after me.  It didn’t matter; because he wouldn’t catch me this time.

The front door was slightly ajar already.  The cold door knob felt like freedom in my hand.  Down the stairwell, and I’d be home free.  There were always people in the lobby, it didn’t matter what time of night it was.  And if by chance there weren’t, there would be on the street.

“Katie!”

The voice stopped me in my tracks.

“It’s me!”

And it was.  His voice was buried in my psyche.  I hadn’t noticed it at first, but when he yelled my name, there was no doubting it.  James had come back for me.

***

It was so strange, seeing him on my cute little couch, with his arm resting across the back.  It looked like the bad guy from the action movie got crossed up and found his way onto the set of a romantic comedy.  I tried not to laugh as I held the towel to his head.

“You really got me with that thing.  What that a
coffee mug?
”

I shrugged my shoulders and looked coyly down at him.  He had a small cut above his ear by the hairline, but it wasn’t even big enough to require a stitch.