by Joe DeRouen
“No. I’m good,” Damien answered. “I’m going to be heading out anyway.” Damien stood back up and strolled to the door.
“You literally just got here fifteen minutes ago,” Kelsey said, confused once again by his behavior.
“Yeah, I have to go now. Is it okay if I return tomorrow?” Damien stopped at the door and turned to wait until Kelsey hopped to him.
“Um, I guess so. Do you want to come during the day, though? Maybe you can stay longer.”
“No, I work,” Damien answered abruptly.
“I meant after your work.” Kelsey sensed that he was becoming uncomfortable.
“I work until very late. I can only come by at night.” Damien seemed irritated as he scowled.
“Well, damn! You don’t have to come. Please don’t feel obliged to come!” Kelsey was feeding off of his energy and was also becoming annoyed.
Damien sighed. “I’ll see you at ten tomorrow night.”
He opened the door and disappeared down the hall.
***
True to his word, Damien continued to come every night during the week. At first, he would only stay a short amount of time. But, as each day passed, he began to stay longer. Some days, he even appeared relaxed and smiled more. Occasionally, he would treat her with his sexy laugh.
Kelsey herself was feeling more comfortable around him. Although he remained secretive, she looked forward to his visits every night. She couldn’t remember the last time she looked forward to anything.
Their discussions, however, remained on neutral topics—until a week later.
“Kelsey, where’s your family? Are you alone?” Damien surprised her with the question.
“Where’s your family? I don’t know anything about you.”
“Don’t do that. That’s my trick.” Damien smiled and reached for her hand. Squeezing her hand, he softly said, “I want to know. I want to know everything about you.”
Kelsey didn’t pull her hand away, enjoying the touch. She noticed her heart beat increased while his strong fingers caressed her hand. When she looked down at her tiny hand in his larger one, she noticed an unusual ring on his ring finger. It was an antique ring, and the details on the design were breathtaking.
“What a beautiful ring. Where did you get it?”
Damien pulled his hands away. “It’s part of my clan…er I mean my family. It’s a family heirloom.” Damien took a deep breath and touched Kelsey’s cheek. “Tell me why you have those sad eyes, Kelsey.”
Kelsey glanced away, not wanting him to see the pain hidden beneath them. Damien turned her face toward him, forcing her to look at him.
“I know there’s some deep pain there, Kelsey. I can feel it. It might help you to talk about it.”
“No! No, it won’t!” Kelsey yelled, her eyes tearing up. She jumped up and began pacing in front of the couch. “Fine, you want to know? My mom, brother, and sister died because of me. They all died, Damien. They died in a fire. It happened on a Halloween night, five years ago. I was a selfish bitch. Even though they begged me not to go out that night, I didn’t care. I wanted to have my fun at my parties. I didn’t even give them a second thought.” The tears were now rolling down her eyes. “Some guy I met—I didn’t even know who the hell he was—drove me home. I was drunk and didn’t register all the chaos around our apartment building. Finally, when I got closer, I realized the building was on fire.” Kelsey covered her face, remembering that horrible night. Losing all control, her body shook violently as the sobs took over.
Strong arms seized her and carried her back to the sofa. Holding her close in his embrace, Damien whispered, “It’s okay. Not your fault. Let it all out.”
“It was my fault.” Kelsey’s voice quivered. “My mom couldn’t help them because she was disabled. She was dependent on her wheelchair. And my brother and sister were too young. They must have been terrified. If I was there, I may have been able to get them out.”
“Or you could have died as well,” Damien whispered.
“I would have welcomed it. At least I would have comforted them and held them in my arms. But living like this…knowing my selfishness cost them their lives…” Kelsey’s voice trailed off as she buried herself deeper into Damien’s chest. “I have died a slow death every day since I’ve lost them.”
Her body convulsed as the pain consumed her.
“No, Kelsey. I promise you, it wasn’t your fault. You weren’t supposed to be there. You must stop blaming yourself.” Damien held her tight in his arms as he caressed her back, trying to make her understand. As Kelsey tortured herself with agonizing sobs, Damien was unable to bear her pain any longer. Instinctively, he began kissing her tears away. Craving to comfort her, Damien delivered tender kisses on her cheeks and eyes.
Kelsey’s hysterical sobs eventually settled to quiet weeping. All the while, Damien continued to whisper soothing words while softly kissing her face. Kelsey suddenly became acutely aware of their close proximity, and she instantly felt the heat that was rising.
Caught up in the moment, Damien’s lips found hers, and instantly, her heart beat raced. As if suddenly realizing what he was doing, Damien jerked away and stared down at her.
Without saying a word, the two were unable to look away, each confused with emotions. When Kelsey saw Damien’s eyes darken, immediately her heart skipped a beat. Damien’s gaze shifted to her lips, and without intending to, Kelsey licked her lips.
As if losing some inner battle, Damien grabbed her face and his lips found hers once again. This time, they were not tender kisses. Instead, they were filled with emotion and urgency.
Kelsey tried to think rationally, but she was helpless as she fell into his spell. Incapable of resisting him, her lips opened to deepen their kiss. She could hear his breathing increase as he pulled her hard against him. Trying to catch her breath, she clung to him, confused. In the back of her mind, she knew he was losing control as his passion increased. But, the part that was captivated by his spell, wanted more, and she was unable to pull away.
Before she could stop him, Damien suddenly ripped her shirt, exposing her breasts which were covered only by the black, lacy bra. Shocked, she tried to shove him off, knowing that Damien was reaching the point of no return.
“Damien, wait…” Kelsey whispered, her words muffled with her failed attempts to slow her breathing.
Damien lifted his head, his eyes shifting to her breasts. With his chest rising and lowering, she became suddenly aware of the dangerous aura around him. Clenching his jaw, he tore the entire shirt off of her, bringing his head down onto her chest.
“Wait, Damien.” Kelsey tried to bring him back to reality.
Instead of stopping, his lips and tongue found her breasts, and he sucked hard through the lacy fabric.
Kelsey knew she should try to resist, but she lost all fight as her body betrayed her, and a moan escaped. In the back of her mind, she sensed that something about Damien terrified her. Although a part of her knew everything was wrong about this moment, the other part of her didn’t want him to stop.
Damien continued to devour her as he ripped her bra off. Once her breasts were revealed, he simply stared at them for a few seconds.
Powerless, Kelsey remained lying there, waiting for his next move. Slowly, Damien lowered his face and inhaled deeply, as if he couldn’t get enough of her scent. As his lips found her bare breasts, Kelsey’s moans increased.
Never desiring any man like she did Damien, she ignored her feelings of uneasiness. The way he was making her feel, it didn’t matter they had just met last week. It didn’t matter that he had been secretive, and she didn’t even know his last name. It didn’t matter that he kept showing up late nights, never showing himself during the day. The only thing that mattered was that Kelsey never wanted anything more than Damien.
When she heard the pounding of the bedroom door and Tom’s hissing and growling, some small part of reality began to sink in. Damien must have heard him as well, because suddenly h
e shoved himself away from Kelsey. As the horror of reality sunk in, he staggered back a few steps. Kelsey came back down to earth as well and quickly grabbed her ripped shirt to cover herself.
“I…Kelsey, I…shit.” Damien tried to speak, but was unable to complete a full sentence.
Kelsey stared down on the floor, humiliated at her behavior. “I’m sorry,” she whispered.
“No! It’s… no, Kelsey! Thank God your cat hates me so much that he made the noises from the bedroom. I never meant for this to happen. I’m the one who’s sorry.” Damien attempted to explain. Grabbing his coat, he rushed toward the front door.
“Wait,” Kelsey managed to say. “What’s going on? You’re leaving?”
Without turning around, Damien replied, “Yes, Kelsey, I must leave now.”
Kelsey jumped off of the sofa and hopped after him. “Wait, Damien.” When she reached him, she continued, “I know things got out of control, but why are you acting like we committed some horrible crime?”
Swinging the door open, Damien stepped out. Without giving her a backward glance, he said, “Take care of yourself, Kelsey.”
***
The next day, Kelsey woke up more confused than ever. She admitted things got a bit out of control last night between Damien and her. But, his behavior afterwards, was even more bizarre. Determined to confront him when he arrived that night, she decided she would force him to discuss the incident.
Rehearsing all day exactly what she wanted to say, she waited with nervous anticipation for the knock on the door. She didn’t want to feel bad about what happened. Yes, it wasn’t her typical behavior. As a matter of fact, she couldn’t remember the last time she’d even kissed a guy. The only thing she knew was it felt good. He awakened a part of her that had been buried for a long time. And she wasn’t going to feel guilty about that.
The knock never came. Kelsey waited up until three in the morning, staring at the door. Why didn’t he come? Was the incident from the previous night that upsetting to him?
With a heavy heart, Kelsey gave up and crawled into her bed. That night, she didn’t sleep at all, wondering what had kept Damien away.
The next day, Kelsey knew she needed to get busy again. If she didn’t, her depression was going to come back with vengeance. This time, she couldn’t take the chance since Halloween was just around the corner.
She had a doctor’s appointment later, and she begged him to allow her to go back to work. He agreed she could start putting her foot down as tolerated because it was healing nicely.
Once home, Kelsey went on a cleaning spree. She wanted to keep her mind away from Damien and Halloween. The busier she stayed, the better.
Against her will, Kelsey found herself getting ready, anticipating Damien’s visit. By ten o’clock, she was staring hard at the door, willing for the sound of the knock. But, once again, she fell asleep disappointed.
Kelsey returned to her job the following day. Even though her ankle was sore, she was thankful she could bury herself in her work. By the time she arrived back to her apartment, she was exhausted, but she didn’t mind. She welcomed it. Knowing in her heart Damien was not going to return, she lounged around until she fell asleep watching TV.
Somehow, Kelsey got through each day, but her pain continued to torture her. Damien was a nice distraction while it lasted. He had disappeared from her life just as mysteriously as he had appeared. He could be a married man for all she knew. Maybe that was the reason why he had stopped coming, especially after the events from the other night. Since he had been out of the picture, though, Kelsey fell back into the same dark place.
Although she had managed to stay away from the rooftop, her need to return there kept increasing. She knew going back there would be her doom. As Halloween was getting closer, Kelsey’s nightmares became so bad she would wake up screaming in the middle of the night.
When the day finally arrived, Kelsey was thankful it was on a Saturday. That way, she wouldn’t be going anywhere near her work and be tempted to go to the rooftop of the museum. Even though it was a cold, brisk day, she purposefully stayed busy. She went grocery shopping, and even watched a movie at the theater. As soon as she arrived home, Kelsey went to sleep early. She just needed to get through the night.
“Kelsey, help us!” Ryan screamed.
“We need you, Kelsey. Where are you?” Tori begged.
“I’m coming!” Kelsey yelled. “Hang on. I’ll save you guys!”
“It’s too late, Kelsey.” She heard her mother’s voice. Kelsey turned to look for her. Where were the voices coming from? Why couldn’t she see anybody?
“It’s not too late! I’m coming for you!” Kelsey screamed, desperate to reach them.
She ran toward the voices, but everything was pitch black. She couldn’t see anything.
“I’m so scared, Kelsey,” Ryan cried.
“Don’t be scared, Ryan. I’m almost there!” Kelsey tried to reassure him, but she was now panicking. She had to reach them in time.
Oh my god, the heat was too much. It was getting unbearably hot.
“Ahh, it hurts, Kelsey!” Tori screamed. “You can’t help us!”
“I can help you. Please, tell me how to reach you! I’m coming.”
She heard the screams. The horrible screams of terror and pain. No, no! Please, no!
“I told you not to leave us. It’s too late. This is all your fault!” Kelsey heard her mom yell before she too joined the others with the agonizing screams.
Feeling completely helpless, Kelsey screamed, “No! No! Don’t leave me! Please, don’t leave me!”
Frantic, Kelsey ran wild. The tears rushed down her face but she didn’t care. She had to find her family. She had to save them.
The smoke was getting to her, and she was beginning to feel light-headed. Scared she would faint before reaching them, she kept running.
“Talk to me! Don’t you give up! Tell me where to find you!”
Silence.
“Mom! Tori! Ryan! Somebody, please talk to me!”
Silence.
“No!” Kelsey screamed.
Kelsey’s eyes flew open, her breathing erratic. Hysterical sobs consumed her. When she noticed she was in her apartment, she cried, “No, no, no!”
Tom jumped on the bed, rubbing against her.
Through her hysterics, Kelsey was incapable of catching her breath. Jumping out of the bed, she ran to the bathroom. She splashed cold water to her face, hoping that she would be able to shake off that nightmare.
But, the terrifying screams remained.
Knowing what she must do, Kelsey placed enough cat food and water for Tom to last him at least a week. Through her sobs, she picked him up and gave him a tight hug.
“Thanks for being my buddy, Tom. I’ll miss you. I promise you’ll be taken care of,” she whispered.
After dropping him, she wrote a quick note and sealed it in the envelope. She then taped the envelope to her front door. The note basically had information that said her cat was in the apartment alone and to contact Tina to come get him. She knew Tina loved Tom and trusted she would take great care of him.
Since rent was due the next day, the owners would come knocking at her apartment when she didn’t pay it on time. She had planned for this for years.
Now, she was ready.
***
As she stood on the ledge, she knew death would come fast. She only hoped it would not be painful. The wind had picked up, and she inhaled its scent. She was ready to leave this world. Five years of the torture was enough. It was time to go find her family.
She inched closer to the edge, refusing to look down. She knew she would chicken out if she saw how far the fall was. She also knew Death was waiting to catch her.
Kelsey wondered how long it would take for somebody to find her. She almost felt bad for the first person who would see her splattered body. At least she was glad the museum was closed on Sundays. That way, none of her colleagues would have to witness her dead body.<
br />
She took one last look at the city. Since it was just past midnight, The Big Apple was still alive. Luckily, the museum was away from all of the action, and the street it sat on was isolated, especially at this time of the night.
Although Kelsey was trembling from fear, she knew she needed to end this agonizing pain once and for all. Knowing it was now or never, she extended her arms, closed her eyes, and leaned forward to allow gravity to take her.
The wind hit her like a ton of bricks. Everything seemed to move in slow motion. Time stood still as she waited for the impact.
And then, there was nothing but darkness.
***
Something soft was rubbing on her face. What the hell was that? Kelsey forced her eyes open, feeling completely disoriented.
She stared at Tom as he purred and cuddled with her. She was in her room, under her warm blanket. But, nothing seemed right to her. As she laid on her bed, wrecking her brain, suddenly, the memories came flooding back. Clearly remembering the fatal leap off of the museum, she flung out of her bed.
“What the hell?” Kelsey said out loud, terrified she had completely lost her mind. “Is this real?”
She stood in the middle of her room with her legs trembling. Glancing toward the time, she noticed it was just after 3 A.M. Did she dream all of it? Could that be possible? Was she more screwed up than she realized?
Kelsey took some deep breaths, trying to think clearly. She needed to make some sense out of all this. She looked at the digital clock once again on her bedside table, trying to remember the time she had fallen asleep. That’s when she noticed the folded white piece of paper. Slowly walking toward it, she picked it up and opened it.
“Not your fault. It’s time to let the past go. Your future awaits.”
The paper slipped out of her hand as the room began to spin.
“Damien,” she whispered. How could that be? But he was here. He was clearly here, because those were his words.