Damaged Amazon

by Kim Pritekel

  Pushing up from the couch where she’d been flipping through channels, she glanced up the staircase to see if her mother was going to follow. When all remained quiet—other than the music her mother began to blast, no doubt running her bath in the giant soaking tub—Kristie hurried to her father’s home office. She knew just enough about computers to get herself in trouble, but right now, she intended to use that knowledge.

  Turning her father’s laptop on, she waited for it to boot up then went to work.

  Chapter Sixteen

  “Okay, no, no, no!” Nora gently took hold of the kitten, who was already nearly six feet up, using the front window curtains as a ladder. “Let go, Oreo. Let…go.” She held the soft little body with one hand and used the other to pick all four little packs of razors out of the material. Finally free, she held the kitten up and looked her in the eye. “You’re gonna be the death of me, kiddo,” she said, before grinning and bringing the tiny bundle in for a kiss on her furry head.

  At the sound of the knock on the door, she set the kitten down and headed to the kitchen, cursing softly when Oreo attacked her ankle as she passed.

  “Shit, now I’m bleeding,” she muttered, snagging a napkin from the holder in the middle of the kitchen table on her way to open the door. “Hey. Sorry, Oreo decided she wanted to become a podiatrist.”

  “Who’s Oreo?” Sarah asked, stepping into the kitchen, glancing down at where Nora held the napkin to her bleeding ankle.

  “That little monster,” Nora said, pointing to the adorable black-and-white kitten who was batting at a toy hanging from the cat tree Nora had picked up for her.

  “Oh my God, she’s adorable as hell.” Sarah chuckled, walking over to the kitten and giving her some loves. “Are you okay?”

  “Yeah. The other day I was in the grocery store,” Nora explained, pushing up the sleeve of her long-sleeve T-shirt to reveal several long scratches. “I had to convince the clerk I wasn’t a forty-one-year-old cutter.”

  Sarah tried to hide a smile behind her hand but failed. “Well, I’m glad you’re okay. So, I have some news.”

  “Okay,” Nora said, moving past the kitchen and toward the living room couch. She plopped down on one end, Sarah the opposite. Oreo wandered over to the women, hopping up on the couch, and in her usual fearless way, climbed up onto Sarah’s lap. “Sorry,” Nora chuckled, reaching over for the kitten only for Sarah to playfully wave her hand away.

  Sarah smiled. “How can she call you a little monster?” She tucked the kitten into her lap and ran her fingers over the soft fur. “I always wanted to get a cat, but Leslie is too allergic.”

  Nora felt her heart skip a beat, surprising jealousy rising to form a rock in the pit of her stomach. “Your partner?” she finally managed, knowing she had no right to ask, let alone feel the way she did.

  Sarah glanced at her, still absently petting the purring kitten. “Ex. She’s occupying the spare bedroom right now until she can move out.” She looked down at the kitten, sparing Nora a glance before returning her focus to the fur ball in her lap.

  Nora nodded at this new bit of information. Even though the two were obviously broken up, it still hit her that they’d lived together. It was all that Sarah had ever wanted from her and she could never give her. Fighting against a bit of emotional guilt that threatened to well up in her eyes, she smiled as bravely as she could and turned to Sarah. “So, news.”

  Sarah nodded and let out a breath, almost as though relieved to get back on track. “First, Shannon’s apartment. We haven’t gotten the report back yet from the Colorado Springs folks, but I’d wager it was arson. The place had been ransacked ahead of time.”

  Nora’s stomach fell. “Oh, wow,” she said softly, covering her mouth with her hand. “Okay.”

  “I have to ask you a difficult question, Nora,” Sarah said gently.

  “Okay. What is it?”

  “Is Shannon involved in drugs?”

  Nora could only stare for a long moment. “Drugs?”

  ****

  Parkview Hospital – 2006

  Nora paced in front of the window, feeling both angry and worried as hell. She glanced at the bed, the form lying there pale and incredibly thin. She noted the red-rimmed green eyes that watched her and the dirty, stringy auburn hair.

  “I can’t believe this happened,” Nora said, her tone filled with exasperation. “When I told you I wanted to come back here for you it wasn’t because my seventeen-year-old sister was found in a goddamn flophouse overdosing on heroin!”

  Shannon’s eyes squeezed shut for a moment, tears in them when they opened once more. “I’m sorry,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper.

  Nora ran her hands through her short brown hair, having chopped it four months ago and regretting it ever since. “Look, I need to go. Seeing you lying there hooked up to God knows what…” She hurried toward the door but stopped when she heard the soft voice of an angel. Tears coming to her eyes, Nora turned to look at her sister, the beginning lyrics to, “Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again” from Phantom of the Opera and sung by Sarah Brightman floating through the air.

  As soft as it was and as strained as Shannon’s voice was from her ordeal, it still brought tears to Nora’s eyes.

  Halfway through the song, Shannon stopped, giving her a weak smile. “I promised you I’d learn one,” she whispered.

  Nora brought a hand up and wiped at her eyes. “Why now? Why would you sing this now, Shannon?”

  “Because you never came back to hear me.”

  ****

  Nora hadn’t even realized that Sarah had moved closer to her on the couch until she felt the warmth of her hand on her knee.

  Feeling foolish, Nora turned away from her, reaching for a tissue from the box on the end table. “Sorry. Just a bad memory.” She cleared her throat and turned back to the other woman, trying to push away her guilt from so long ago. “So, why do you ask about Shannon and drugs?”

  “They went over that plastic box and thumb drive LJ found,” Sarah began gently. “Shannon’s fingerprints, and someone else’s we’re trying to source, were on the plastic box. Her prints weren’t on the thumb drive itself, but cocaine residue was.”

  Nora buried her face in her hands, the tears coming fresh. She knew LJ would be as devastated as she was. Again, Sarah’s comforting touch was felt, this time on her back.

  “I’m sorry,” Sarah said softly. “I have to be honest with you so we can find her.”

  Nora nodded, wiping her eyes even as more tears came. “What does this mean?”

  Sarah shook her head slowly. “We don’t know. As we speak, my partner Mark is looking over the contents on the drive.” A quick ding rang out, and Sarah grabbed her phone from where she’d left it on the coffee table. Glancing at it, she turned back to Nora. “I have to go. Mark just texted me.”

  Again Nora nodded. Without a word, she stood along with Sarah, who gently placed the sleeping kitten on the couch where she’d been sitting. Together they walked to the kitchen and the back door.

  Sarah turned to Nora at the door and, without a word, gathered her into a hug.

  Nora hung on to her, clinging to her warmth and familiar scent as she buried her face in Sarah’s neck. Their bodies pressed together, and Sarah’s breasts pushed intimately against her own. She sensed Sarah’s breath against her neck and heard the slight hitch in it, like her own.

  Slowly Nora’s head rose from Sarah’s neck, and she looked up into Sarah’s eyes, the dark depths usually so guarded. Now there was so much swirling in there, none of which Nora could discern. Her verdant gaze fell to full lips that were slightly parted. A shudder went down her spine when Sarah’s hands moved to her shoulders and slid slowly down her arms before they were gone.

  “I need to go,” Sarah whispered, pushing out of the glass door into the chilly night.

  ****

  Pueblo, Colorado – 1995

  Nora had lived in the house with Sarah and Daniel for four months, and
true to what her friend, who had given her the lead in the first place, and the doctor told her, her two roommates were rarely home. It was turning out to be the perfect situation, though she was noticing a bit of extra—and unwanted—attention from Daniel when he was home.

  This morning, Nora had woken up early as she had a shoot to do for a family portrait that had been set up for her by Layla, the woman she was interning for, who promised her that she could help lead her to bigger and better things. According to Layla Spencer, Nora was one of the best she’d ever seen.

  She had showered and dressed and was cleaning up her bedroom when she heard someone moving around in the kitchen right outside her closed bedroom door. Rolling her eyes as she wasn’t in the mood for small talk with Daniel, she gathered her gear and created a plan for a quick exit.

  Shrugging into her jacket, she shouldered her heavy camera bag and headed for her door, pulling it open only to stop short.

  Standing at the stove was Sarah, her short dark hair smoothed back from what looked to be a recent shower. She was dressed in a pair of black lace panties with matching bra. Her exposed legs, arms, and back were covered in smooth-looking skin that held a beautiful glow. She was cracking eggs into a frying pan.

  “Uh, I’m sorry,” Nora said, about ready to scurry out of the room.

  “Hey, you’re fine,” Sarah said with a blinding smile, glancing at Nora over her shoulder. “Sorry, when Daniel isn’t here, it’s just kind of nice to do me.”

  Nora nodded dumbly, not sure what to say and not able to take her eyes off of the gorgeous body before her.

  “Want some?” Sarah asked.

  It took Nora several seconds to realize she was being offered scrambled eggs. “Oh, uh, no thanks. I’ve got a shoot that I uh, yeah.” She quickly ducked out of the kitchen, nearly sprinting to the front door.

  “Have a great day,” Sarah called behind her.

  “You, too!”

  She didn’t see her police officer roommate again for a week and a half, their schedules entirely incompatible. But, if Nora was honest with herself, she hadn’t gotten the image of Sarah’s half-naked body out of her mind, the way her incredible shapely ass looked in those panties and even better, the way her breasts were lovingly cupped in black lace and satin. Though she was nearly twenty years old and had known she was a lesbian for several years, it was the closest she’d ever been to a woman that unclothed who wasn’t Jill.

  The episode had made quite the impact and had been fodder for endless dreams and fantasies. Regardless, she was keeping her eye on the ball, her ultimate goal being to someday work for National Geographic.

  One night, Nora knew she was alone in the house and was sitting on her bed with a packet of pictures she’d developed with Layla earlier that day. She glanced over the top of her computer to her closed bedroom door when she heard someone in the kitchen, a chair being scooted out and then soft talking.

  Stomach roiling in fear, she looked around her bedroom for a weapon of some sort. As quietly as she could, she grabbed a shoe but quickly set it back down, knowing it wouldn’t do much. Next, she decided on her bedside table lamp, tugging the plug free from the wall and holding the glass piece in her hands, high over her right shoulder as she neared the door. To her surprise, she heard a sniffle and then a sob.

  “It’s okay, Sarah,” was murmured, somewhat muffled through the door.

  Feeling foolish, Nora tossed the lamp to her bed and opened her door a bit, enough to peek out into the kitchen. There, she gasped when she saw Sarah sitting in a kitchen chair still in her uniform, blood spatter on her face and across a couple patches on the dark blue uniform shirt.

  The fellow police officer standing nearby with a hand on her shoulder glanced over at Nora. “You live here?” he asked.

  Nora nodded, unable to take her gaze off the distraught woman sitting before her, a woman who was usually so strong and stoic.

  “Good. She’s gonna need you to be there for her tonight,” he said. He turned back to Sarah and said something to her before turning and leaving the house, closing the front door behind him.

  Nora took a few steps out of her bedroom, standing halfway between the doorway and the table. “Um, are you okay?” she asked hesitantly.

  Sarah said nothing but nodded. She grabbed a napkin from the plastic holder in the middle of the table and worked at wiping some of the blood off her face, fresh tears catching on it, making her look as though she were crying blood.

  “Hey.” Nora kept her voice soft and stepped closer to Sarah, who was crying harder now. With no response from Sarah, Nora walked over to the sink and squirted a few pumps of dish soap onto a cloth and ran it under warm water enough to activate the suds. She fully saturated a second cloth and walked back to Sarah, scooting a second chair so she could sit in front of her, their knees touching. “How ya doing?” she asked quietly, no idea what had happened as she gently began to wash away the dried blood from Sarah’s face.

  “Been better,” Sarah said with a small, rueful smile.

  “Do you want to talk about it?” Nora asked, switching to a different part of the washcloth that wasn’t already stained with blood to continue her cleaning.

  “No.”

  Nora stopped what she was doing and met her gaze. “Are you sure?” Without waiting for a response, she continued what she was doing, not wanting Sarah to feel like she was being interrogated.

  After a moment, Sarah closed her dark brown eyes as Nora wiped a small smear near the right one, and she softly began to speak. “We got a call about a guy who was threatening to kill his eight-year-old son,” she began.

  Nora said nothing but grabbed the other towel to wipe the soapy ministrations away. She looked her in the eye to let her know she had her full attention. With a sense of dread, she thought of Shannon, who was close to the same age.

  “We talked to him. Really tried to get him to see reason,” she said with a small sniffle. “He put the gun down,” she whispered, pursing her lips. “So, I moved in to grab the little boy.” Her eyes welled again. “Never saw it coming.” She shook her head. “Never thought he’d put the gun…he’d…” The tears came strong and fast.

  Giving up the cleaning, Nora stood and moved to Sarah’s side, cradling her head against her chest. “It’s okay,” she whispered.

  “He shot himself,” Sarah managed through her tears.

  Nora felt her own tears gather, easily able to imagine what happened, what Sarah saw, and certainly how it physically affected her. “It’s okay,” she whispered, holding her tight, cheek resting on top of her crown. “It’s okay.” She felt Sarah’s arms wrap around her waist and pull her in tight.

  ****

  After that night, the energy between Nora and Sarah changed. They’d always gotten along after their first precarious meeting but had never hung out as friends. Even so, Nora had noticed when Sarah was off or wasn’t sleeping, she spent more time out of her bedroom and oftentimes was in the kitchen, either cooking or working on reports for work.

  It was a Friday night when Sarah had a few friends over and, as Nora sat in her room—as usual—working on her word processor to stay out of the way, she could hear their laughter coming from the living room. She glanced up from the screen when she heard a soft knock on her door.

  “Yeah, come in.”

  Sarah opened the door enough to peek her head in. “Hey. Why don’t you come out here and join us?”

  “Nah, I don’t want to get in the way,” Nora said, nervous about the idea.

  Sarah pushed the door open farther and stepped inside. “Come on, Nora. Come play with us and have a beer.”

  “A beer, Miss Police Officer?” Nora said with a raised eyebrow. “You know I’m only nineteen, right?”

  Sarah grinned as she sat on the side of the bed. “Then don’t tell anyone and I won’t lose my job.”

  Nora chuckled, shaking her head.

  “Come on. Come have some fun.”

  Nora sighed, able to see the hope
in those dark eyes. At last she nodded, closing the top of her machine and pushing it aside. She was surprised when Sarah jumped to her feet and grabbed her by the hand, tugging her out of her bedroom, over to the fridge to grab them each a beer, then to the living room where Nora sat next to Sarah on the couch.

  “Hey, she does exist!” one of the two guys exclaimed from his position sitting on the floor on the opposite side of the coffee table.

  “Be nice, Cal,” the girl sitting on the other side of Sarah said to him, tossing a throw pillow at him. “Hey, I’m Tanya.” She reached around Sarah to shake Nora’s hand.

  “Nora.”

  It was after a short round of introductions that Nora noticed a plastic orange pumpkin pail sitting on the coffee table, along with scattered beers and drinking glasses filled with what she assumed was the whiskey from the bottle sitting on the floor next to the guy named, Chad.

  “Okay, Cal, it was your turn,” Sarah said, sitting back on the couch and sipping the fresh beer she’d opened, along with Nora’s, with a church key.

  “Okay,” he said, leaning up to reach inside the pail and retrieving a folded piece of paper. “All right, Chad, in one belch, see how far you can go in the alphabet.”

  The group groaned in unison, making Nora wonder what would happen. She watched as the blond man took a long swig from a beer then, in one amusingly disgusting breath, belched from A to Q. Nora wasn’t entirely sure whether to grimace or laugh, so decided to simply smile.

  “God, you’re so gross,” Tanya laughed. “Okay, Nora, your turn.”

  Nora took a swig from the beer, more hoping it would make her feel less nervous than because she wanted it, then grabbed her own paper. She read it and groaned inwardly. “Um, am I supposed to read it aloud then answer?” she asked Sarah quietly. At her roommate’s nod, she cleared her throat. “Um, it says to say how many people I’ve kissed and were they girls or guys.” She could feel Sarah’s eyes on her as she took a second swig of the foul-tasting beer. “Um, it was a girl.”