Hillary_Flesh and Blood (6 page)

“Looking for help
, huh?
”
he shouted angrily.

“
Please, Michael, just get out of here.
”

“
So you can finish your date with your new boyfriend?
”

“
He
’
s just a friend,
”
she cried, trembling, as she held a hand over her bruised cheek.

“
Bullshit! I saw how cozy you were in there. I saw how he put his arm around you.
”

Phillip was unconscious on the ground, his face bloodied and swollen, barely recognizable. Michael could hear the wail of sirens not too far from there. He
released
Kathy
’
s
arm and stood up.

“
I
’
ll see you real soon,
”
he said angrily, and ran off.

Kathy
remained
frozen in place, trembling in fear. It was not until the first police car pulled up along the curb that she was able to move again. She
quickly walked over to
Phillip
and dropped beside him. She
ran her fingers through his blood-spattered hair.

“
Phillip?
”
she called out, trying to wake him.

A police officer approached behind her as an ambulance arrived.

“
Miss? I need to ask you some questions.
”

Kathy was crying heavily now.

“
He
’
s not waking up, he
’
s not waking up,
”
she said
hysteri
cally.

The officer helped Kathy up as the paramedics hurried over to Phillip. Kathy wondered if he was dead.

“
Who did this to you...to him?
”
the police officer asked as he gestured to Phillip.

Kathy was still sobbing heavily
. She could
barely
speak.

“
I know you
’
re upset but you have to calm down. Everything
’
s gonna be okay now. We need to catch this guy. Is he someone you know?
”

Kathy knew she should tell the officer that it was Michael. He had threatened to visit her again soon and she knew he wouldn
’
t hesitate to hurt her. She had seen the anger and hatred in those
treacherous
eyes. If she told the officer, maybe she
’
d be safe. Instead, she shook her head, denying knowledge of the man who had assaulted her and Phillip.

“
Okay. A
re you hurt? Other than your face, I mean?
”

Kathy shook her head again.

“
What
’
s your name, Miss?
”

“
K-Kathy...Kathy Nicholls,
”
she managed to reply.

“
Do you know the man on the ground?
”

Kathy nodded
, adding “m
y friend Phillip.
”

“
Is Phillip your boyfriend?
”

“
No, just a friend,
”
she said unsteadily. She was shaking.

Another officer approached them, a tall, rotund female with short, dark hair.

“
Kathy, this is Officer Sinclaire, she
’
s going to take you down to the station for a statement, okay?
”

Kathy nodded. She didn
’
t want to go but knew she would have to. She followed Officer Sinclaire to a patrol car. The officer was saying something, but Kathy wasn
’
t paying attention. She was transfixed on Phillip
’
s lifeless body on the gurney. The other officer was walking toward a group of college kids. She wondered how many witnesses there were and what they would say. She had lied to the cop. Would they know she was being untruthful?

“
Are you sure you
’
re okay? Do you need medical attention?
”
Officer Sinclaire asked loudly.

Kathy turned to face the large, aloof woman. She looked as though she was annoyed that she was being inconvenienced. Kathy felt like apologizing to her but was too upset to speak. She shook her head, indicating that she didn
’
t require any medical attention then entered the police car.

Kathy denied knowing her assailant and described a man that looked nothing like Michael. After a grueling hour, she was driven back to her apartment. She was nervous about entering. Michael still had a key and she
had
never changed the locks. She expected him to pop up out of nowhere and take the rest of his anger out on her. Instead, she entered an empty apartment.

As before, days turned into weeks without any sign of Michael. This time, even Phillip seemed to disappear as well. He didn
’
t return to class and Kathy no longer saw him at his usual campus hangouts. Kathy later learned that Phillip had been beaten so badly, he sustained brain damage. If the cops hadn
’
t shown up when they did, Michael would have beaten him to death. Phillip
’
s parents had been called and after several days in the hospital, they took him home.

Kathy always kept a watchful eye out for Michael. As opposed to the last time he disappeared, she never let down her guard, always looking over her shoulder, always expecting him to show up. Kathy knew it was just a matter of time before Michael would enter her life again.

Days shy of the month anniversary of Phillip
’
s beating, Michael entered Kathy
’
s apartment while she was in class. He searched her personal items for signs of betrayal. As far as he was concerned, they were still together. Kathy was his girlfriend and he had to keep her in line.

When Kathy arrived home, she had no clue that Michael was waiting for her in the bedroom, on the bed they used to share. She kicked off her shoes, dropped her backpack and raced to the bathroom. Minutes later, she was in the kitchen preparing a cup of coffee. She thought she heard a noise. She scanned the room
cautiously then
peek
ed
into the living room and looked around. Seeing nothing out of the ordinary, she stirred sugar into her cup of coffee and grabbed a bagel from a brown bag within the bread box. She opened the refrigerator and pulled out a butter-substitute spread.
She spread a thin layer of it onto her bagel then set it on a dish.

As Kathy carried her bagel and coffee over to the couch, she though
t
she heard something again. It was a faint sound, but a definite one. Her heart raced as she placed the bagel and coffee
mug upon the
end table. She froze in place awaiting a further sound. Was it movement? She knew without even seeing him that Michael was somewhere in the apartment. She considered running out of there but changed her mind. What good would it do? She was tired of worrying about him. She was going to confront him and let him know that she had no interest in him anymore.

Slowly, Kathy inched her way toward the bedroom. The door was open. From where Kathy was standing, the room looked empty. She wondered if she was just being paranoid. Pushing the door further open, Kathy stepped into the room and gasped. Michael was on the bed, naked, clearly waiting for her.

“
Did you miss me, baby?
”
he asked, as if it were just an ordinary day in their relationship.

Kathy was speechless. She stood on wobbly legs as she pondered whether she should run out of the apartment. He was naked, he couldn
’
t follow her. She had a good lead too, she could make it. Or, should she
just
call the cops?

“
You look scared,
honey,
what
’
s wrong?
”
he asked softly.

Kathy couldn
’
t help it, she began to cry. Tears streaked down her face and blurred her vision as Michael approached her. She took a step back when he was about a foot away from her.

“
I don
’
t understand why you
’
re crying,
”
Michael said, growing angry. He reached out to hug her and she gasped loudly, expecting a blow to the face.

“
Dammit, Kathy, you
’
d better stop freaking out. Why are you so upset?
”

“
Michael...what are you doing here?
”

“
I live here,
”
he replied, placing his hands on her waist, pulling her closer.

“
You...you left,
”
Kathy said, now inches from Michael
’
s face. He looked
“
normal.
”
There was no sign of the crazed Michael within his
clear
blue eyes.

“
Well, you know, I just had to sort some things out. All
’
s well now, all
’
s forgiven,
”
he smiled then planted his lips upon hers.

Kathy jumped. She wasn
’
t convinced that Michael had forgiven her, that everything between them was just fine. What about Phillip? Did he even care that he had nearly killed a man?

“
You act like you
’
re afraid of me,
”
he said, insulted by her behavior toward him.

“
Michael, you...you almost killed Phillip!
”
Kathy blurted out.

Michael
’
s eyes narrowed as he grabbed on to Kathy
’
s jaw firmly.

“
That
’
s what you
’
re worried about, that
’
s all you care about? Your stupid
boyfriend?
”
he spat the word out as though it were poison on his tongue.

“
Phillip was just
—” Kathy began mumbling.

“
I don
’
t give a damn about
Phillip!
”

Michael
’
s grip on Kathy
’
s jaw tightened as his anger intensified. She tried to wrench free, to no avail.

“
You
’
re, you
’
re hurting me,
”
she cried out.

“
Not like you
’
ve hurt me,
”
he replied petulantly.

Kathy felt as though her jaw was on the verge of crushing. She moaned in pain as tears filled her eyes. This was the moment she had feared.

“
You killed my baby,
”
he said angrily, applying even more pressure as Kathy fought to pull her head away. She was trembling as her feet moved about wildly in a bizarre dance of pain.

“
You cheated on me,
”
he continued, hearing a loud snap as he unhinged her lower jaw.

An agonizing scream rose up in Kathy
’s throat, stif
led by her partially-covered mouth
. It
t
urned
into a loud-pitched wailing and sobbing
after
Michael swung her body toward the bed and gave her a violent shove. Kathy fell back upon the bed where she
trembled
helplessly, her hand cradling her dislocated jaw. Michael pushed her outstretched legs onto the bed and pounced on her.

“
Take off your jeans,
”
he ordered.

Kathy shook her head slowly, in too much pain to attempt speech.

“
When I tell you to do something,
you do it!
”
he shouted, his fisted hand hovering threateningly over her face.

Kathy released her aching jaw and reached for the button on her jeans. Slowly, with shaky hands, she fumbled to unfasten and unzip her pants. As she lifted up to slide them down, Michael forcibly yanked them to her
ankles
, then pried down her underwear.