Page 14 of Has-Been
“Not looking for girl talk either.”
Tesio sat down on the sofa at the end of the room. Yeah, like I said. Big room. A full fucking living room set up across from the bed, and bigger than mine. I pushed back any feelings of inadequacy, and grabbed a bottle of water from the mini fridge for Ice.
“Can’t believe you’re a biker who doesn’t drink,” Tesio murmured as he eyed Ice suspiciously.
“Yeah, all bikers drink copiously before we climb on our extremely expensive bikes we’re incredibly attached to.” He rolled his eyes, and I smirked.
“Can’t believe you’re a mafia guy who isn’t a greasy… oh hang on, nah, scratch that…”
Tesio flipped me off. “So, now the pleasantries are over, I just wanted to let you know I had all those porn videos pulled for you.”
The fuck?“You did? How? Ice has been trying for weeks.”
Ice shot me a glare, and I think I understood why. Hadn’t I just insulted his tech wizardry abilities or something?
“Sorry, all I meant was, it’s a lot for one guy with a fraction of your set up. Plus, you know, we’re a troubled club at times.”
Tesio nodded. “I see that. Few guys red flagged for me in your club, so I thought I’d mention them.”
Shit.
Elise
Iwaswokeninthenight by a sound, and for long agonising moments, I lay there in the dark, my eyes firmly fixed on the direction of the door, waiting for whoever was sneaking in on me. When it happened again, I realised it was my phone buzzing on the floor by the bed. When did it end up there? I almost knocked over the wine bottle to get it, but that didn’t really matter since it was empty, right?
I had three text messages waiting.
Unknown:I enjoyed tossing off while I listened to your fear.
Oh my god. That’s… who sends a message like that?
Unknown:I look forward to witnessing more of it. It gets me hard just thinking about it.
Unknown:Wherever you’re hiding out, I’ll find you.
I threw the phone across the room, and curled up against the headboard, staring fearfully into the dark for the rest of the night. I heard it buzz a few more times from over there, but I was way too scared to even get out of bed to check if it was more of the same.
As night turned to dawn, one deafeningly-silent minute at a time, I watched my room slowly starting to appear around me as light started to permeate the blinds. For once I was glad that they didn’t quite shut out everything, because I needed that light.
Only when the room was bright enough that there were no more shadows left, did I finally feel brave enough to climb out of bed and run to the bathroom for a pee I’d been desperately holding onto for several hours. I couldn’t even close the bathroom door, because I knew if I did, I’d be too afraid to step back out into the bedroom.
Why was I being so pathetic about some dodgy text messages? Was it just because I was a pathetic virgin and predatory men terrified me, or was it because the messages were unnerving in a way that made me think the sender meant me harm. There was a serial killer in the area, right? What if it was him?
I rolled my eyes at myself as I washed my hands. Serial killer, with his pick of any woman in town, and somehow he happened on my number, and he wants me next? Nah. I’m just being pathetic. It’ll be some teenager with his adolescent urges and he probably rang tons of random numbers until a woman answered. In the light of day it was easier to tell myself that, wasn’t it?
So by the time someone actually knocked on my door, I was showered, dressed, and ready to face the day like I hadn’t had just three hours of sleep all night.
It was still sensible of me to call out and ask who was there, right?
“It’s me, Cammy. You okay, babe? I brought breakfast.” Oooh aren’t they the magic words? I was so desperate for company that I’d have let her in without food, of course. I actually really liked my sister in law, and she was so good for Seth.
I locked the door after her, and she took the tray to the dining table, turning to open the blinds fully.
“Babe, you okay? You look like you barely slept.” Wow, busted. I thought I looked okay, but maybe that’s because I was judging myself based on the fact that I’d spent all night curled up in a ball of fear instead of sleeping.
I took the coffee she’d also brought with her for me, as I sat down.
“Oh, I was up late reading, that’s all. This looks great, thanks so much.”
