Page 45 of Break You

She seemed equally distracted or genuinely didn’t think anything of finding a strangers’ key. I, on the other hand, was truly reeling inside, and freaking the fuck out. I opened the front door hesitantly, looking around me to ensure that the hall was empty before stepping out. Even though there appeared to be nobody around, I couldn’t seem to shake the feeling of being watched. It was creepy as fuck.

I repeated the process of checking my surroundings before going out into the street, and again felt eyes on me, even though I couldn't see anything or anyone out of place around me. I started walking toward the car and almost had the fright of my life when a few steps in, and still a few feet away, the headlights suddenly glowed to life.

Again, my brain quickly went through a number of possible scenarios to explain what had just happened. Maybe somebody nearby with a remote clicked it just as I left my apartment building. Maybe the lights came on at regular intervals for security purposes or some shit. Or maybe the key fob in my hand was actually for keyless entry, and I’d just unlocked the car door without knowing it.

I did another quick sweep of the area, and despite the continued feeling of unease, and something in the back of my mind telling me not to, I approached the car. I tried the handle and unsurprisingly found it open. I hesitated, and then possibly against my better judgment, got inside and sat down. All the while my brain screamed, “Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid!”

Just as I pulled the door closed behind me, I realized my mistake. On the dash in front of me, was a card with the symbol matching the one on the key ring, and, I also suddenly remembered, was on the paper wraps around money that night at the Swan Club. A single black swan.

As I reached for the door handle to let myself out, it clicked, and even as I pressed the remote on the key fob and tried to pull it open, I knew in my heart of hearts that it wasn’t going to. It didn’t. I pulled frantically another few times, in case there had been some kind of mistake. There hadn’t been. The door was locked beyond all doubt, and I hadn’t been the one to lock it.

Out of the blue, the internal lights came on, as did the sound system, and all of a sudden, the same haunting music from the Swan Club began blasting out of the top-of-the-line in-car sound system, so loud it actually hurt my ears. I pulled at the handle again futilely with one hand, and banged on the window with the other. Nothing.

I gave up for a moment, instead covering my ears in a feeble attempt to block out the deafening noise. I sat like that for a few moments, trying to decide my next move. Not that I had many options. I was trapped in a car that was presumably being controlled by somebody else. It was obvious to me that it was the same somebody who had terrorized me only days earlier, and that they would release me from the car when they were good and ready, not before. That didn't stop me attempting to open the door again, pressing the remote over and over.

Just as I was considering ways I could break the window, the music stopped as abruptly as it had started, and instead, the car was filled with the sound of the menacing voice that had taunted me on the roof of the Swan Club.

“Don’t be scared, little girl, I’m not going to hurt you. Yet, anyway. Did you work out the clues? When you do, pass on this message: Roses are red, violets are blue. Revenge is sweet, and I'm watching you...”

What the fuck?

I really needed answers from Pixie. When I’d told him an admittedly watered down version of what had happened at the Swan Club, focusing on the fact that someone had sent me riddles indicating that they knew about our connection—he’d have gone postal if I’d told him the full extent of the situation—he’d told me he’d handle it.

The problem was that he’d been uncharacteristically vague about what “it” was, which set off alarm bells. Subtlety wasn’t his normal MO, which meant he was hiding something from me, and I had no idea what. Not that I was blameless when it came to hiding things. I was doing the same, but it was for both our sakes.

I’d turned down his offer of ‘protection’—the last thing I wanted was his goons following me around campus like extremely conspicuous, heavily armed shadows. He’d apparently respected my wishes, but remained tightlipped about what, or who needed to be handled, and how he planned on doing it.

As I thought everything through, the voice carried on. “...and I am—watching you, that is. How was your little journey to the DMV? Sorry to have wasted your time on that, but I thought I’d be forgiven once you saw your shiny new gift.”

What? I didn’t know what to say, and even if I had, I would have kept it to myself, not wanting to give the voice the satisfaction. I was itching to tell him that his gift held about as much appeal as a dead rat a cat dragged in as a “present” for its master. Instead, I flipped him the bird. It might not have been a sophisticated gesture, but it was oddly effective in most circumstances.

“Is that any way to thank me for such a generous present? Where are your manners and class? Oh, that’s right, you don’t have any.” So there were cameras in the car. Creepy. His laugh was harsh, and the strangely distorted, metallic sound put my nerves on edge.

If he was trying to scare me, he was doing a pretty good job, not that I was about to let him know that. I clicked the remote again, for want of anything better to do, and this time when I tried the door it miraculously opened. I threw the keys inside, slammed the door, then sprinted back to my apartment, not caring if metallic-voice guy saw me run.

As I dashed inside, I remembered to slow down and walk calmly, so as not to arouse Erykah’s suspicions, although what I really wanted to do was run into my room, lock the door, and never come out again.

As if on cue she called out. “Find anyone?”

“Ah… No. I waited around for a while, and there was nothing. I’m sure someone will come looking soon.”

“No doubt. It’s a beautiful car. I’d love to drive something like that. It looks brand new, too so we’re talking about like one hundred and fifty grand. Who even has that kind of money, to the point where they can afford to lose their car key and not even seem to notice or worry about it?” If only she knew the half of the situation.

Clearly Mr. Cob, had a whole bunch of cash to throw around. There was the money in the bag at the Swan Club, and now this car, which he had apparently bought for me. I was beginning to get a picture of an obscenely rich, distinctly crazy psycho. Rage started building inside me.

Before I knew what I was doing, I’d stormed into my room and grabbed my wallet. Because I hadn’t been able to release Foxy Brown, I still had the thousand dollars I’d taken from the Swan Club, and although I’d initially thought of it as the payment I was promised for a job that never happened, it now just felt like tainted, crazy-psycho-bribe money, and I didn’t want anything to do with it.

I’d rather be poor, and even homeless with my pride, dignity, and morals intact, than keep that cash. It was the exact reason I’d been driving around in Foxy Brown in the first place—I wanted nothing to do with dirty money. Any kind of dirt. I didn’t know what had possessed me to even take it in the first place—the stress of thinking I was going to die and shock when I didn’t must have rotted my brain cells.

“I’m just going to take out the trash,” I called to Erykah and was already out of the front door by the time she yelled her acknowledgment back. I found the door to the car unlocked still and leaned in, stretching across the seat to reach the center console. I shoved the money inside, closed the console, then, on a whim, walked away leaving the car door wide open. Mr. Cob could eat a dick. Hopefully, someone would help themselves to the i8, and he’d learn an expensive lesson about leaving cars like that in neighborhoods like ours. Not to mention, an important lesson about fucking with me.

Xavier

I looked at the message for the ten-millionth time since I’d received it a few hours earlier—a pointless exercise since I’d memorized it instantly. Not that it was difficult to remember.

Roses are red,

Violets are blue

---