Loverboy (5 page)

I look up at her, and the bright shine of sincerity in her eyes, and smile. “Thank you.”

“I really hope that she’s doing well now.”

I nod.

“I’m sorry,” she says, “I shouldn’t pry.”

“It’s okay,” I tell her, “I don’t mind telling you, for some reason.”

She smiles and has another drink of wine. “Whew,” she breathes. “I really should have had something else to drink. I know it’s great with the pasta, but now I’m exhausted.”

I laugh. “Why don’t you try getting some sleep? I’ll clean up; it’s only fair, since you did all the cooking.”

“Ah, but you stirred the sauce.” She laughs, and I can tell that she’s just teasing me.

“Please, I’d be completely helpless if I couldn’t at least stir a pot of sauce,” I say. “Go on, get some rest.”

She smiles and finally nods. “Alright, I’ll give it a shot.”

I watch her carefully as she takes one last drink of her wine before standing to push her chair in. “Are you sure you don’t want any help?”

I shake my head. “You go get some rest. You need it.”

“Thank you.” She smiles before heading down the hallway to her bedroom.

I begin slowly clearing the table, emptying the wine from each wine glass and clearing the remaining pasta off each plate before carefully loading them into the stainless steel dish
washer. I glance up at the clock, and I can’t help but to think of my sister, Anna. Despite the clock reading nearly eleven, I can’t fight the urge to phone her. I dig my cell phone out of my pocket and scroll through the contacts until I get to Anna’s name, and press the green “Send” button.

Like always, she answers within a few rings.

“Hey Anna,” I say. “Sorry it’s so late, but I just wanted to see how you were doing.” Despite being more than a year past her assault, I still find myself
calling to check on her. She’s young, and, while it did take her a while at first to ease back into life, she’s honestly been doing great. Finishing up counseling, if she hasn’t already. Moved in with her boyfriend, James, whom she met shortly after her assault. Truthfully, she does better with this than I do. I’m just an over-protective big brother who loves to bug his little sister. And, if I’m honest, seeing Charlie and her situation makes me think of her even more, though I know she’s just fine.

“Nicholas!” She squeals, her voice cheery and bright as it always is.

“I was just wondering how you were, and it’s been a while since I’ve called you,” I admit.

“A while?” She asks. “It’s been almost three weeks. How are you?”

“I’m doing okay; working right now,” I tell her.

“Working?” She asks. “Nicholas, it’s eleven at night. I know you’re still somewhat new, but you need sleep.”

“Well, this requires night and day vigilance, and besides, a little lost sleep won’t kill me; I’m a big tough man,” I tell her, making her laugh. “So, how are you?”

She lets out a deep sigh. “Well, I’m pretty sure I destroyed this
Blu Ray player that I just attempted to hook up to my new TV, but other than that…” She laughs. “I’m doing great.” I hear a brief pause. “You should really come up for a visit. You know dad doesn’t know how to hook up anything high tech, and I’m terrified that if I let James he’ll just end up blowing it up.” She laughs again.

I chuckle with her. “Might be a while; not sure when I’ll finish with this assignment,” I admit. “It could be tomorrow, it could be a month from now. But, the good news is if I’m decent with this I might actually get a little recognition.”

“Aw, that stinks about the time frame, and if anyone deserves recognition, it is you,” she says. “You sure you’re okay?”

I take a long breath. “I’m sure; I just wanted to call and see how you’re doing.”

“You know I
am
doing okay now, you don’t have to make these late night calls and phish for information. Just ask,” she tells me. “I’m still talking to the counselor, things are going really well. James has been helping a lot, too; you’d be proud of him.”

“Sometimes, I just really have to check for myself. You are my little sister.”

“I know,” she says. “You should go get some sleep. I’m going to do the same before I throw this Blu Ray player.”

I laugh. “You sound like mom. Goodnight, Anna.”

“Someone has to put you in your place. Goodnight; sleep tight.” She laughs just before the phone line clicks off.

I shove the phone deep into my pocket again, and return to cleaning up from dinner. I store the leftover food in a few plastic containers that I manage to find from her well organized cabinets, and carefully scrub the pots we’d used to cook before placing them in a drying rack. I smile for a moment, and sort of feel accomplished. I don’t think I have ever been in a kitchen this long before in my life; let alone to put away food properly and wash dishes.

I click off the light and head to the little living room. Thanks to a friend at the department, I at least have some spare clothes, bath items, any of the basics that I will need, which helps me. I head over to the couch where my things are, for the first time in my life, neatly stored. I pull out a pair of gray sweat pants and plain white tee shirt. As I turn to head to the bathroom for a quick change, I notice Charlie standing in the hallway.

“Charlie, everything okay?” I ask.

She nods. “Nick, I’m sorry about your sister, and what your ex did to you,” she says, rocking back and forth a moment on her toes. “I’m really glad that you’re here with me. I do trust you, and I’m happy we got a chance to talk tonight.” She’s clearly thinking and a little unsure of herself. Just by coming out to talk to me, shows me just how strong she is, and I admire that.

“Do you maybe, want to talk about things?” I ask her.

I can see her eyes grow large and tears standing in them as the bright emerald-blue glaze over. She purses her lips tightly, looking up as she tries to conceal the quiver. She nods and wipes at her cheek, continuing to rock back and forth on her feet, “Only if you’ll listen.”

I don’t have to think twice. “You know I’ll listen to whatever you feel comfortable telling me.”

I motion for her to have a seat on the couch. She heads over slowly, leaning into the corner, bringing her knees to her chest. She pushes a few stray hairs from her face as she glances over at me. She looks exhausted, so sleep deprived it’s pitiful. Her skin is pale and glowing in the dim lighting of the living room. I toss my change of clothes back into the bag and make my way over to have a seat at the other end of the couch.

“The night he got me,” she pauses. “The night
Loverboy took me, I was so stupid, Nick. It was the stupidest thing I’ve ever done. I was walking through Central Park, by myself, at one in the morning. Who does that?” She scolds herself as a few tears begin dribbling down her cheeks. “Why? Why was I so dumb? I remember him grabbing me. I remember how tight he held onto me, and how scared I was. I remember feeling a sharp pain in my neck.” She wipes at her face as more tears begin to pour down like an out-of-control fountain.

I slowly reach for the box of Kleenex on the table and place them in between us on the couch. I fight an urge to reach out to hug her, and, instead, pass her a tissue. “It wasn’t your fault, Charlie. It wasn’t your fault at all. You can’t just blame yourself when you have no reason to.”

“It was, though, Nick. It was my fault,” she says, wiping at her already red nose. “I made it too easy for him. I put myself out there, and he took me. Why didn’t I just stay at my friend’s party? Or how about call a taxi to get home? Nope, my dumb ass had to walk home. And, I had to cut through Central Park, which isn’t even a short cut.” She cries.

“I think there was a good reason why you left that party,” I say. “I think you need to ask yourself why you left.”

“The party was a mess,” she says. “People started doing hard drugs, the guy I went with came onto me too strong.” She sighs. “It was a bad night.”

“See,” I say. “You got yourself out of a situation that you didn’t need or want to be in. Think of how the night could have ended if you would have stayed.”

“But, by leaving I put myself in an even worse situation!” She weeps.

“Why exactly did you go through Central Park, if it isn’t a short cut for you?” I ask.

“Because I just love it there; I love parks. I love the things going on this time of year. And, I do love the zoo. I go out of my way for Central Park. Guess I haven‘t taken the time to realize just how dangerous it is,” she says calmly as she dabs at her eyes. She takes a breath and slowly moves her eyes to meet mine, “How is your sister doing now?”

“She’s doing wonderful. Has a great life. She’s in school. She has a steady boyfriend. Matter a fact; she met him about a week after the incident.”

She gives a slight smile. “How long did it take her? To find her life again?”

“Everyone is different,” I say, “but, for her, about six months or so. She is still healing, but she’s living.”

“Do you honestly think I’ll ever get to that point?” She gives me such a pitiful expression, that I have to fight myself not to hug her. She looks scared, worried, and lost. She’s obviously strong, or she wouldn’t have made it out alive. I feel even worse for her since not only does she have to recover, mentally and physically, she has to live in fear of knowing that her attacker is out there and may want her dead.

I nod. “I really believe you will.”

She lets out a soft sniffle. “But why?”

“Because you're strong, you're willing to talk about it, and it hasn't even been all that long since it happened; that shows strength,” I tell her as I reach to her and give her shoulder a soft pat.

She looks away for a brief moment to yawn, and then looks back to me with exhausted eyes. “Thank you. That really means a lot to me.”

I smile. “And, I mean every word of it too,” I say. “You should really go get some rest. But, remember, you can talk to me. I’m glad you’re comfortable enough to talk me.” I nearly feel my cheeks flush with embarrassment as I feel more like her father at this moment, than the cop staying with her to watch over her.

She nods. “Thank you, Nick.” She smiles. “Maybe I will talk to that counselor. If they’re anything like you, I’ll be healed in no time. Goodnight.”

“Night,” I say as I watch her trail back down the dark hallway to her bedroom.
             

* * * * * *

The next night, I kick back in her lounge chair, which is quickly becoming my favorite seat in her apartment. It’s clear neither of us truly has a handle on how we’re supposed to do things. We have lounged for a better part of the day, had breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Charlie has had a calmer day. I can tell that after our talk last night she really seems to be doing better. I’m quite proud of us both. She trusted me enough to listen, and I actually listened without pushing counseling on her.

Right now, the TV volume is set low on a children’s channel. Charlie is sitting on her couch, her laptop planted in her lap as she throws out a few choice words toward
one professor in particular. I glance out the balcony doors for a moment to see a calm street. Calm. That’s what it had been for weeks. No one had heard or seen anything. Not the police. Not the media. No one.

A ding rang through her computer’s speakers, signaling another email. I hear Charlie sigh. “I swear to God, if that man sends me one more paper to write.”

I can’t help but to stifle a laugh, as I have to look up and away from her for a moment.

“Um, Nick,” she interrupts me for a moment, and she immediately has my attention. “I think you should look at this.”

I rush next to her. The sender of the email was labeled in bold, capital letters. LOVERBOY. She looks up at me as her breathing quickly becomes choppy and deep. I can tell that she’s in the early stages of a panic attack.

“Nick,” she stutters my name. “It’s him.” 

I can see the tears already starting to form in her eyes as I quickly take the computer from her. I move the screen from her view as I open the email myself. The minute I read the horrible words on the screen, I don’t regret moving it from her view. The sickening paragraph details her days and nights while under his lock and key. I feel myself become nauseous as I read only a small fraction of what he has done to her. Suddenly, I feel my stomach drop completely when I see there are attachments to this email, too. I hesitate, but open it to find several pictures of Charlie. I close my eyes for a moment, and slam the computer shut as I begin to dig my cell phone from my pocket.

As I press the number to my department on my cell phone, Charlie has begun pacing her floor, walking back and forth in a steady pace with her arms wrapped tightly around her. She sniffles a moment and takes a few deep breaths, as I can tell that she’s fighting her tears and her increasing panic attack.

“He knows where I live, Nick.” She whimpers.

I shake my head to her to ease her mind as I begin to tell the department what’s happened. In the months of chasing
Loverboy, not once had he made any direct contact. But, of course, he’d never had any of his victims escape either. I look up in the middle of my conversation to see Charlie is still pacing, now holding her stomach as though she’s about to become ill. The color seems to have dropped from her face.