Authors: MICHELLE LEE
Michael sits in his apartment and watches the screen of various monitors. While Charlie and Brody were gone, this morning and afternoon, he posed as a security systems installer; and placed tiny hidden remote controlled cameras throughout the property, the pictures of Brody, and some more roses. He has monitored the neighborhood long enough to know the habits of everyone around Brody’s house, to know no one would bother him. Everyone on this street keeps to themselves.
Michael watches as Charlie smacks away Brody’s hand when he reaches out to her. He looks so defeated and broken. He is begging her to believe him. She throws his past in his face and goes toward the tree where the bullet, for Brody, is laying waiting to be found. She finally picks it up and looks it over, turning a beautiful shade of ‘shock’ white. Michael laughs to himself, thinking this is going to be a piece of cake.
When Brody comes up behind her and she lets him wrap her in his arms, Michael is furious. She is supposed to be mad. How can she let him touch her? This was going to ruin them, forever. She was going to be
mine
again. He stands up and rips the monitor away from the others, and throws it against the wall.
“Damn them, what will it take?” He says to the empty room. Michael is watching them on a different screen. When Charlie opens her eyes it seems as if she is staring directly at him. Her big beautiful green eyes hypnotize him, he can’t look away. Then she turns and heads for her car, and the spell is broken. He watches her drive away while Brody pleads with her to stay.
“Well, well, maybe there is trouble in paradise.” Michael watches until Brody walks back into the house. He picks up his phone and dials. Brody answers immediately.
“Hello?”
“Good afternoon, Mr. Harrison.”
“Who is this?”
“I just called to make a suggestion. I think you should go to the police and tell them about your little friend, the one from Chicago, that way you will be out of the way, my hands will be clean, and Charlie will be alone so I can easily get to her.”
“Michael.”
“I also think the bullet you put in your pocket should be kept on your body at all times. You wouldn’t want it to fall into the wrong hands.”
“How do you know where I put it?”
“Oh, Brody you really have no idea what I can do. What lengths I am willing to go.” He laughs, “You will learn, Brody, I promise.” With that he hangs up.
Brody has no idea what just happened. One minute he has Charlie back, holding her in his arms, comforting her. The next she is pulling free and saying she can’t be here anymore, she needs to leave. She pulls from my arms, runs to her car, and drives away; leaving me standing here watching her brake lights in the distance.
I walk onto the house, it feels so still. Quiet. Her energy filled this house with so much. I walk into the kitchen and look at the place where the table used to be. I am going to show her that she needs to be here; that I need her here. Just as I am getting ready to unload the truck my phone rings. I hope its Charlie, so I don’t check the caller ID.
“Hello?”
“Good afternoon, Mr. Harrison.”
I recognize the voice but I’m not sure why. Maybe it’s someone I know through work. “Who is this?”
“I just called to make a suggestion. I think you should go to the police and tell them about your little friend, the one from Chicago, that way you will be out of the way, my hands will be clean, and Charlie will be alone so I can easily get to her.”
“Michael.” I do know the voice; it’s definitely not someone from work. I hate his superior condescending tone.
“I also think the bullet you put in your pocket should be kept on your body at all times. You wouldn’t want it to fall into the wrong hands.”
“How do you know where I put it?” It’s a test. I want him to slip something, anything that will give us information. He is too smart for that though.
“Oh, Brody you really have no idea what I can do. What lengths I am willing to go.” He laughs, “You will learn, Brody, I promise.” He hangs up after his threat.
Brody hits the end button and
almost
throws the phone against the wall; he stops when he remembers that Charlie is out there all alone, and may need to call him.
I call Patrick because what else can I do. I hate feeling helpless, and that’s how Michael makes me feel.
“Hey, Brody, I am on my way over. I just finish my shift and paperwork.”
“Hey, Patrick.
I just got a call from Michael. I will tell you about it when you get here.”
“Give me about 15 minutes.”
“I will see you when you get here.”
“Later.” Patrick hangs up, Brody calls Charlie. It goes to voicemail of course.
“Hey. It’s me, just wanted to see when you were coming home. Patrick is on his way, I thought you might want to be here when I tell him what happened. I am going to show him the pictures. I want you here. I need you here, please come home. I’m so sorry you are hurting. Well I hope I see you soon. I love you.”
He hangs up and heads to the truck. He starts bringing in Charlie’s things. He puts her things in her room; hangs her clothes, puts her shampoo and other girly things in her bathroom. He puts her towels in the closet outside in the hall. He is filling his house with little pieces of her. He is so close to having everything he has always wanted, Michael is not going to take it away.
There is a knock and then he hears Patrick’s accented voice, “
Heya
Brody, its Patrick, you in here?”
“Yeah, I’m coming. You wanna give me a hand real quick, before we do this?” He asks as he is coming down the stairs.
“What’s up?”
“I have a kitchen table out in my truck; I can’t bring it in by myself.”
“How did you get it in the truck?”
“Charlie.” I say her name and my chest constricts a little. Why isn’t she here yet?
“
Ahh
,
got it.” He smiles a little and looks around. “Where is Charlie?”
“Not here. We had a disagreement and she left to cool off. She was hurting pretty bad.”
They walk outside and get the table as they continue to talk. “I assume this,” motioning to the ground covered in black petals, “has something to do with it?”
“Yeah.”
They carry the table in and sit it down in the kitchen. It’s a black and grey marble finish tabletop, with black pedestal leg that comes out of the center. The pub style; corner nook has wrap around black leather seating, fits perfectly in the squared out nook of windows built for a kitchen table. The high seat of the chairs makes it very comfortable for two people as tall as Charlie and Brody, to sit. He smiles as he thinks about the day she picked it out.
“I love it!”
“It doesn’t even match your new kitchen.”
“I can paint.”
“If this is what you want.”
“I do.” She is beaming. She hasn’t been this happy in months. I hate seeing her sad. The bruises on her face are almost a memory.
Almost.
I can still see them like they are still black and purple, swollen and filled with blood. I don’t want to ruin her day so I shake the bad thoughts from my head and plaster a fake smile on my face.
“Don’t. Don’t fake smile at me. You hate it don’t you?”
“No, I don’t hate it at all. I think it would look better in my kitchen, that’s all.”
“Yours?
You live in a gross bachelor pad. What would you want with something like this?”
“I don’t know, maybe I put a bid on that house we looked at last week.” I say like it’s no big deal, watch as her face lights up.
“I know you put a bid on it; did your offer get accepted?”
“Maybe.”
“Oh come on!” She is practically yelling and hits my arm. “I really liked that house, and if you get it I could live there vicariously through you.” She laughs as she says it.
“I got it.” I smile at her. A house is a house to me. I was reaching a certain age and thought it was time to be responsible, so I went house hunting, with Charlie of course. We looked for a while, until we saw this brick fixer upper. It was outdated and neglected. An older couple lived in it for 45 yrs, raised their family and moved to Florida to finish out their days.
“Come on, let’s get my table; load it in the truck and you can finish telling me while we climb 3 flights of stairs a couple of times.” She leaves me with my thoughts as she gets a sales person. When we have it loaded in the truck she turns and throws her arms around me. “Thank you, so much for doing this with me.”
“You got it, kid.” I kiss her forehead and open her door for her.
Patrick comes in carrying a single chair that goes on one of the two open sides not being used by the corner benches.
“There are one more of these out there, you can get it. I’m done.” He puts the chair down and sits in it. “Wow, pretty comfortable.”
“Yeah, it is.” A smile breaks out across my face. “I knew it would look better here.” I mumble to myself.
I sit at the table telling Patrick everything that happened over the last two days; some he’s heard, some things are new. I tell him about the brunette and show him the pictures. I tell him how badly Charlie has taken it. I finish with the call I got from Michael. The whole time I’m talking he is quiet. I keep glancing at my phone waiting for it to ring, it doesn’t.
“Do you know where Charlie is now?”
“No. I am worried sick about her. She is scared and hurt. I don’t know what else to do.”
“I am going to get a statement from you and the pictures. I have to take them with me, to be able to look into it some more. For now I am not going to arrest you, but I’m in a really bad situation here Brody. If I keep this to myself I can lose my job, but I am going to keep quiet for a little while. You can’t leave town. I trust you. I have to make some phone calls. I’ll be back in the morning with more information.”
“Thanks Patrick and
I’m
sorry to drag you into this.”
“It’s fine. Call if she isn’t back in an hour.”
“Absolutely.”