Rebound (Love Burns #1)

by Yolanda Olson

  “For you to write down everything you just told me,” he responded, dropping a pen onto the pad.

  I smiled and looked into his hazel brown eyes before I leaned against the chair again. I had a much better deal for him and now was when I would present it. “Who’s on the other side of that window?”

  “My partner,” he said, clasping his hands on the table.

  I nodded. His answer, however truthful or false, didn’t mean much to me now. I just wanted to take him to Nixon and get it over with. I put my cigarette into my mouth, holding it with my teeth, while I pushed the chair back and got to my feet. I stretched my arms over my head to work out the stiff joints I had from sitting for about three hours.

  “I’ve got my own deal for you, Detective. I’ll take you to where Nixon is, but only you or you’ll never find him. Then I’ll be sure to write out everything I spent the last few hours telling you.”

  Detective Greene stood up and nodded. I waited while a uniformed officer came into the room and handcuffed me. He then took me by the arm and led me out of the police station into the detective’s waiting car.

  “Where are we going Luna?” he asked, once I was secured in the back and he was in the driver’s seat.

  “My house out in the country. That’s where I left him. That’s where you’ll find him. I’ll give you all of the gory details on the way there.”

  I gave him directions on how to get there. Told him when to turn left, right, go straight, whatever he needed to get us there. It would take about an hour to get there and I planned on staying in the car when he went in to get Nixon. I wouldn’t be a part of his discovery.

  Epilogue

  We pulled up in front of the barn, doors still open like I had left them. Inside was Nixon Thorne, the greatest love of my life, but I wasn’t quite sure where I had left him. It had been a few days and I was suddenly tired from being at the police station as long as I was, I wondered if he would even be there anymore.

  He had to be though, didn’t he? It was where we faced off. Where we decided everything would end.

  Detective Greene cut the engine to his car and turned to look at me.

  “There’s one thing you still didn’t tell me, Luna,” he said.

  “Hm?” I asked, tiredly.

  “What website did you meet him on?” he asked curiously.

  “Oh, it was murdermedarling.net,” I replied, glancing out the window.

  “The murder-suicide website?” he asked incredulously. “I thought that was one of those dark web things.”

  “It is.”

  I could feel his eyes boring holes into me. It was obvious that he either thought I was lying or just crazy for going onto the dark web.

  It was a random chance I took on that lazy afternoon day that I was watching Dirty Dancing, hoping to find love. I figured the best way to find it would be to find someone with similar interests. The best part about that website was that you would be matched based on preference of death and whether or you wanted to be the murderer or the murdered.

  His intense stare was finally broken when he sighed. I heard the keys jingle as he pulled them out of the ignition and slid them into his pocket. He exited the car and closed his door firmly before he opened mine and pulled me out by my elbow.

  Detective Greene surely never knew a love like I had, otherwise he wouldn’t have been so rough with me.

  In a way, it made me yearn for Nixon. For the gentle way his hands would hold me, the way he would open doors for me, and the way he would sigh happily when I leaned against him as we watched movies.

  But nothing would be able to bring that back. What we had was broken when I walked into the police station to confess. He would never love me again and I wouldn’t be able to blame him for it.

  Maybe Cecilia had it right when it came to me. Maybe I wasn’t worthy of being loved by anyone, I thought glumly as the detective led me by the elbow toward the barn doors.

  The only sound beside the silence that was ravaging me on the inside was the sound of his shiny shoes and my boots as we walked over the dirt and gravel toward the entrance.

  Was this a good idea? Showing him where Nixon was? I didn’t know, but at this point I honestly didn’t care either. I had already done what I needed to do with Nix and now it was his turn.

  “He should be right inside,” I said quietly as I nodded into the semi-sunlit darkness.

  “Alright, wait here,” Detective Greene said as he pulled his gun from his holster and walked in.

  I closed my eyes and raised my face to toward the sunlight. It wouldn’t be long now before it was all truly over.

  I wasn’t quite sure how long I had been standing outside before I heard him scream in sheer terror. It couldn’t have been more than a few minutes, but it felt like an eternity.

  I could hear the sounds of a struggle, the sounds of a gun going off erratically, and the sound of laughter as a pair of heavy boots came out of the barn moments later.

  That’s when I felt it. The hands that I had longed for. The ones that I wanted more than anything in the world to hold me again, gently grabbing either side of my face.

  “Open your eyes,” his sweet voice whispered. “It’s over.”

  A tear slid down my cheek as I did what I was told to do and looked up into Nixon’s soulful eyes. I could tell that he still loved me, and from the blood stains on his shirt I could tell that he did what we both had been yearning to do. He had taken a life, a life that I had delivered to him, and now he was standing here in front of me ready to love me again.

  “Are you sure?” I asked, in a shaky voice.

  “More sure than anything in the world,” he replied before he kissed me softly.

  His hands slid around my back and I smiled slightly as he started to fidget behind me. Then he pulled the handcuffs off of my wrists and I wrapped my arms around his shoulders.

  “How did it feel, Nix?” I asked curiously.

  “Pretty intense, but we have to go now. It won’t be long before they find him and then they’ll come looking for you. Don’t worry though, Luna. I’ll never let them take you away from me.”

  I bit my lip and smiled shyly. Nixon was ready to protect me with his life and I swore to myself in that moment that I would bring him however many people he needed to needed to curb the craving to kill that was inside him, as long as he would always love me.

  Agony

  One

  “Cut! That’s a wrap, guys! Good job!”

  I was standing next to the director looking at the floor. I listened to him as he told the actor and actress that they could ‘go get cleaned up’. This was the third shoot I stood through today and all I could think about was how badly I wanted to kill my cousin, Adesynne. She was the one that got me this job by telling me that I would be working for a major entertainment company; she didn’t tell me that it was a porn production company.

  One of Addie’s biggest gripes with me was that I was twenty four years old, still a virgin, and barely went out on dates.

  ‘You’re such a pretty girl, Neve!’ she would say. Then she would point out my long, wavy brown hair, dark green eyes, slim waist, and somewhat large breasts. “Let’s go, we can have a good time and we can pick up some guys. You don’t have to screw them, but at least get in a good make out session or two!”

  I would always tell her no; that I would rather stay home and sit in my sweats, watch Netflix, and fall asleep on the couch. Sex wasn’t something I felt I needed to be rushed into so I didn’t bother going out to find any. I was a homebody, I was shy, but most importantly, I was happy the way I was.

  Now here I was watching people have sex with each other because it was their job and my job to be by the director’s side in case he needed anything.

  Yeah. Paybacks are a bitch, I thought glumly as we all headed to the next location in the studio.

  “You look like you need a breather, Neve,” the director observed. I looked up at him and he was giving me a sympathetic smile. “Go out
side kid. I don’t think I’ll need you for this set up.”

  “Thanks,” I replied quietly.

  I practically ran outside. Once I got to the backlot, I made my way through ‘Los Angeles’, ‘Las Vegas’, ‘Chicago’ and went straight to ‘New York’ where I sat down on the steps of a brownstone and sighed. Despite the unhappy feeling I had been having all day, I found myself smiling. I was originally from the east coast so being on 5th Avenue made me feel like I was almost home.

  I closed my eyes and put my face in my hands. I had already decided that once I had enough money, I was going to make a beeline straight back to the Atlantic side of America. I knew that regardless of what type of ‘entertainment’ company this was, it was still a great opportunity and I was learning a lot about how things worked behind the scenes, especially since my Master’s was in entertainment. But I was just so uncomfortable all the time and I was willing to give it up in a heartbeat.

  God, I’d give anything to go home, I thought, lying down and curling up into a ball.

  Apparently I had fallen asleep on the stairs, and I woke up to someone gently shaking me. I guess I had been in New York longer than I thought. I cracked one eye open and groaned. I heard a voice laugh and the hand that was shaking me moved away. Taking a deep breath, I pushed myself up to a seated position and stretched. I opened my eyes and looked at the young man that was standing at the bottom of the steps, one hand on the rail, and smiling at me.

  “I didn’t realize New York was taken,” he said cheerfully.

  I smoothed out my hair and pushed the sides behind my ears. I didn’t know what to say really; partly because I had just woken up and partly because he was absolutely gorgeous. He had shaggy auburn colored hair, the most amazingly beautiful blue gray eyes I had ever seen, and a strong jaw. It was taking everything in my power not to reach out and touch his face. I looked at his hand on the rail and raised an eyebrow. They were so smooth but masculine and I could see just a kiss of his forearm peeking out from under his crisp, white sleeve. His t-shirt was meant to be loose, but it seemed to hug his body ever so slightly. The black fitted jeans he was wearing didn’t do that good of job of hiding his muscular legs. Oh yes; keeping my hands off of his gently sun kissed skin was proving to be very hard.

  “So do you work here?” he asked.

  I reached into my black tank top with the huge white sugar skull in front and pulled out my badge. Eventually I was sure I would learn to speak again.

  He reached over and took the badge in his hand, peering closely at it.

  “Are you new?” he asked, looking at me curiously.

  I nodded.

  “Who did you get paired up with? Usually they take it easy on the new girls,” he replied with a smile.

  “What? No! Hell no!”

  I realized that he thought I was the new girl on the set, not just the director’s go for.

  He threw his head back and laughed, “Not into this line of work, huh? It’s okay; it’s not for everyone. So if you’re not an actress, then what do you do?”

  “I’m the designated director of the day’s bitch,” I replied rolling my eyes.

  He gave me a sympathetic look and sat down at the bottom of the stairs. He stretched out his long legs in front of him and crossed them.

  “What’s your name?” he asked.

  “Neve. What’s yours?”

  “Arsen.”

  “Nice to meet you,” I said shyly.

  Arsen glanced up at my tone change and smiled.

  “Yeah, it is. Nice to meet you too, I mean.”

  We sat there silently for a moment. I was trying not to stare at Arsen as he looked at the Statue of Liberty in the distance. He cleared his throat but didn’t say anything.

  I felt my palms starting to sweat as I was trying to think of something to say. I could just hear Adesynne now; would you grow a pair and say something to him?!

  “So, what ... um do you do around here?” I asked nervously.

  He glanced up at me and grinned. His lips were so full and every time he smiled I felt like I was falling under a spell of some sort.

  “There you are! Max has been looking for you everywhere!” a female voice cried out.

  We both turned our heads and saw a beautiful, blonde girl with large, fake breasts and impossibly slim waist approaching us on a golf cart.

  “You’re holding up the set,” she scolded Arsen as she stopped in front of us.

  “Calm down, Jess. I was just sitting in New York, enjoying the skyline with Neve,” he replied breezily.

  “You’re Neve?” she asked me.

  I nodded.

  “Two birds with one stone! He’s looking for you too, hon. I told him I wouldn’t come back empty handed. You’ll have to enjoy the skyline some other time. Get in guys,” she instructed.

  Arsen rolled his eyes at me and stood up. I got to my feet and sat in the back of the cart as he took a seat next to her. Jess turned the cart around and drove us back toward the studio. I felt a small sadness inside of me as I watched New York growing smaller and smaller in the distance.

  I want to go home.

  When Jess stopped the cart and turned it off, I could feel my stomach turning. I didn’t want to watch anymore people having sex but it was my job and I couldn’t lose it. Not until I had enough money to get the hell out of here.

  She hopped off of the cart and ran up the stairs into the studio and I heard Arsen going up the steps behind her. I sat on the back of the cart and put my face back into my hands. I let out an angry groan into my hands and then leaned back closing my eyes.

  “I thought you were behind us,” Arsen said cheerfully beside me.

  I jumped and opened my eyes wide. I didn’t hear him come back down and it scared the ever living shit out of me.

  “You okay?” he asked, giving me a concerned look.

  “Yeah sorry. I’m just kind of over this whole thing. I’ve already sat through three sets today. I’m not interested in sitting through another one,” I replied glumly.

  “If it’s any consolation, it’s the last set of the day,” he replied.

  I sighed and hopped off the cart. Arsen laughed and took a step back when I bumped right into him. I was staring into his chest. That’s how much taller than me he was; hell I would bet he was taller than most people. I looked up at him and smiled weakly.

  “Come on,” he said, putting an arm around my shoulders and walking me up the steps.

  We walked past the camera men, the production assistants, the boom cameras, Jess, and some other people I could only figure to be more actors and actresses.

  “Jesus Christ, man! Where the hell have you been?” Max yelled at Arsen when he saw us approaching him.

  “Taking a bite out of the Big Apple,” he responded with a grin.

  Max sighed heavily and shook his head. It was obvious that he wasn’t completely angry. I let my eyes wander to their usual spot on the floor. I found myself wishing that this job came with noise-cancelling headphones.

  “And where were you, darlin’?” Max asked me.

  “I fell asleep in New York. I’m sorry,” I mumbled.

  “I don’t think she’s feeling too good, boss. Maybe you should let her get out of here early,” Arsen suggested, giving me a quick squeeze.

  Max was silent for a moment. If he sent me home early, I wouldn’t get a full paycheck and I really needed the money.

  He looked at Arsen carefully and motioned for him to follow him. I stood there and sighed. I had never sighed more times in my life than I had when I started working at this place.

  Jess came over and handed me a bottle of water. I smiled at her gratefully and unscrewed the cap. Taking a big swig, I noticed that a couple of new “actors” and “actresses” had just arrived on the set.

  She suddenly took me by the hand and led me away from the set. We went outside and sat down on the steps.

  “I don’t know what’s taking so long, but you looked like you could use some air,” sh
e said with a kind smile.

  “Thanks,” I mumbled.

  She pushed her long blonde hair behind her shoulders and rested her elbows on her knees.

  “So what do you think? About Devil’s Den, I mean?” she asked.

  “Um. Well. I ... um ...”

  She let out a tittering laugh and rubbed my shoulder.

  “Don’t sweat it, honey. Most people think the same thing when they realize what we do here. Of course those same people also lock themselves in the bedrooms and secretly watch the movies, and jerking off.”

  I glanced at her and she had a grin on her face.

  Virgin or not, I knew I would never have the same amount of confidence that Jess had, or any of the rest of them for that matter. They took their clothes off for a living in a room full of people, had sex, and got paid for it.

  I was having enough trouble just standing there while it happened.

  The door opened and closed, and Max walked out with Arsen behind him. They both walked past us and Max crossed his arms.

  I noticed that Arsen was looking at him tensely.

  “Go home, Neve. It’s the last shot of the day and I’ll be okay without you,” Max finally said gently.

  “I’d rather stay,” I insisted looking up at him.

  Max put a hand on my shoulder and smiled, “I’m going to pay you for the full day, kid. Go.”

  I let out a sigh of relief that Jess to giggle. I got off the steps and went back inside to retrieve my black fabric, kawaii purse and slung it over my shoulder.

  “Thanks Max!” I shouted over my shoulder as I made a beeline toward the gates. I wanted to be able to catch the first bus I could back to my place and take the world’s hottest shower.

  “Neve!”

  I glanced over my shoulder and saw Arsen jogging to catch up to me. I stopped walking and waited for him to catch up.

  “Listen, I shouldn’t be in there too long. Just got to do something for Max. I know you’re dying to go home, but I thought maybe if you were up for it, we could grab something to eat sometime?”

  I was thankful in that moment that I was wearing my obnoxiously huge sunglasses. My eyes went through such a series of emotions that if he saw them all he’d probably retract his offer as quickly as he laid it out.