Amy

by Deborah A. Price

  Elaine nodded; she had been upset to see that it had been in a place that guaranteed a view of Amy’s bed. She held it up so that he could see it, threw it down angrily and watched Nate jump on it with both feet. “Kyle?”

  “He was followed.” Nate answered with a sigh. “We need to look around for some more.”

  “That’s it? You’re not worried that he might not make it back?”

  “I am, but time is tight.” He bent and scooped up the remnants of the camera to disengage the wires. “Kyle promised that he wouldn’t walk out by himself. Let’s focus on what isn’t supposed to be here.”

  Elaine nodded, watching Nate toss the cameras into the trashcan. “The one in the living room would've covered almost the whole apartment. The placement was thought out.” She noticed that Nate had taken the phone out of the bag and opened the box. Pulling out the phone, she stared at it. “It’s been relaxing not having this.” She mumbled before Nate turned towards her. “I mean, what if he realizes that we’ve disabled the cameras and he decides that he. . .”

  “Stop it, Elaine. Stop trying to get into his mind and figure out what he might do. Amy should’ve had her time with Kyle to herself. Do you want to know about the phone call Kyle received afterwards? The guy talked about taking Amy. There were tears, and you know how freaking helpless I feel because I don’t know how to handle what she’s going through. I wasn’t there before, Elaine,” Nate exhaled, “I wasn’t there to protect her.”

  Elaine walked over and hugged him. “Nate, you didn’t know. Don’t do this to yourself.”

  “I’m going to protect her this time, Elaine, and Kyle is going to be here to help. He has to be. For Amy.” Nate pulled her closer to him and looked towards the living room when he heard Amy clear her throat. “I will.”

  “Where’s Kyle?” Amy asked after sitting down. “Well?”

  “He, umm, let me text him.” Nate noticed that Amy was focused on the new phone before Elaine left him to sit with Amy.

  Amy was silent while she waited, trying to push away any bad thoughts. She stood and paced the room after minutes had passed without a reply from Kyle.

  “He might be in the middle of some catastrophe at the restaurant,” Nate mumbled while scrutinizing his sister. “Amy, we have to believe that. . .”

  “Are you going to finish?” Amy took the phone and hooked it to the landline, daring it to ring before walking away from it. “You want me to believe that everything is going to be alright? I guess it serves me right. Love and then lose because of death.”

  “Nobody has said that Kyle is dead.” Nate walked over to her and placed his hands on her shoulders. “Nobody.”

  Amy grabbed the cell phone that he had placed in his shirt pocket. “I stopped believing that things work out for the best a long time ago, Nate. It shouldn’t surprise you.” She read the stream of texting and frowned before putting it back. “It was a stupid plan, Nate.” Blinking her eyes, she walked in a trance towards the hall and to her bedroom.

  “Nate,” Elaine swallowed the dread while watching Amy, “she believes that something happened, and she won’t see him again. Maybe you should text that to see if Kyle will respond to that bit of info. It won’t hurt anything to use her worry. I’m going to go talk to her.”

  She stopped next to the phone when it rang, and after recognizing the number, let it go to the answering machine. Holding her stomach after the angry, but still muffled voice, informed them that even though they had found the cameras, he would still get what he wanted. He ended the conversation telling them to make sure that Amy was well rested. She’d need it if she were to survive.

  Elaine watched the anger grow in Nate’s eyes and started praying that Kyle would either show up or send a text. “The creep must be at his place. That means that he’s not tailing Kyle anymore.”

  “It could mean that.”

  “Nate, I’m going to believe that Kyle and Amy will be fine. You believe what you want, but I’m not going to let your sister give up hope. There’s always hope. Haven’t we proven that?” Elaine stepped towards him and placed a hand on his face, turning his head so that she was staring at him. “Haven’t we, Nate?”

  “Yes, Elaine, we have. I hate waiting and not knowing.”

  “Your sister is in her room. Nobody has gotten to her yet. That’s what you have to see.” Elaine traced his face and tried to smile. “And, Nate, Kyle is coming back. It would nice if you could whip up something to eat. I’m starving.”

  Nate froze when he heard a knock on the door and glanced at Elaine, motioning for her to go to Amy’s room before picking up the bat and walking to the door. He looked through the peephole and shook his head before yanking open the door and pulling Kyle inside. “You had better have a very good explanation for not texting me back, Kyle.”

  Kyle shrugged and pushed a bag at him. “Amy hasn’t been eating. I thought that maybe I could bribe her with her favorite ice cream.” He glanced at his phone. “And what text was I supposed to respond to? I haven’t received anything.”

  “I sent you a couple.” Nate pulled out his phone and stared at it. “They say they were delivered.”

  Kyle took out his phone and showed it to Nate. “The cameras?”

  Nate nodded towards the trashcan before placing the ice cream in the freezer. “He made sure that he had a bird’s eye view of her bed.” Nate answered. “And I can’t for the life of me figure out why you’re talking to me when I’m not the one that was worried and thought that you weren’t coming back.”

  Kyle nodded and walked to Amy’s bed room, watching while Amy and Elaine folded the blankets Amy had scattered around her room. “Are you sure that you’re folding that right?” He asked to let them know he was there.

  Elaine watched Amy swallow and then close her eyes before she walked to Kyle. “You should’ve called, Kyle.”

  Kyle nodded before he focused on Amy. “I had to sign the payroll, Amy. It took a little longer than I thought.”

  Amy shrugged and kept folding the blanket before he walked up behind her.

  “Am I really going to get the silent treatment from you? I’m going to assume that you have a good reason.”

  She picked up the blanket and stepped to her closet. “Do you want something?”

  “What do you think?” Kyle stepped in front of her and lifted her hands. “Nate told you what we were doing. Right? It worked, Amy.”

  “He called again.” Amy responded, sighing. “I just want. . .I want to give up.”

  “No, you don’t, Amy. Don’t ever say that to me.” Kyle studied her eyes, cupping her face. “You don’t want to give up, Amy. You’re just tired. The stress in the place, of the situation, is taking its toll on you. So I was thinking,” he pushed the hair from her shoulders, “that maybe after you eat something, you could close your eyes. Have a sweet dream for once.”

  “Will that make this disappear?” Amy asked moving away from him and towards her door. “Fine, Kyle. I’ll eat something, but I can guarantee that when I close my eyes, it won’t be a sweet dream.”

  “You’re pushing me away again, Amy.” Kyle snapped while following close behind her. “What did I do this time?”

  Amy stepped on the other side of Elaine and in front of Nate before she answered. “Do I really have to answer, Kyle?”

  “I kept my promise to you. I’m here.”

  Amy glanced at the phone and shrugged. “I guess that you did.” She rubbed at her eyes. “I don’t want to worry about this anymore, Kyle. I told you- I’m done. I’m not going to hole up in this apartment, waiting for the next phone call or letter, when I want to be working or jogging. I want my life back. The life I worked my butt off to get.”

  Kyle stepped to the freezer, opened the door, and stared at the ice cream. Grabbing the carton, he turned to her. “Throwing your hands up in the air isn’t going to help.”

  “I don’t want that.” Amy informed him.

  “It’s your favorite ice cream.” Elaine mumbled. �
��What gives?”

  Amy ignored Elaine and focused on Kyle. “I don’t want anything from you, Kyle.”

  Kyle placed the ice cream back in the freezer and stepped to where he was standing right in front of her. “You don’t want? Amy, I know that you really don’t mean that.”

  “You don’t know what I mean.” Amy retorted. “Maybe, I am tired.” She tried to step around him and found that she was blocked from going anywhere.

  “So tell me,” Kyle guided her towards the living room and gently shoved her down on the sofa. “I didn’t take off to make you worry, Amy. I didn’t make out with you just to leave and not come back. I’m going to be here for you. You.” He lifted one of her hands and lowered his gaze. “But I’m guessing that decision is yours. What else can I say? Except for that I love you, and I know that you love me. Stop pushing me away. Please, lean on me a little.”

  “Where’s the paper you received?” Amy asked, grabbing the pillow from beside her and hugging it to her chest. “Where?”

  Kyle sighed and pulled the paper out of his shirt pocket. “Amy, he’s just playing around.”

  Amy snatched the paper from him and focused on the red ink. Handing it back to him, she stood and shook her head. “I can’t do this anymore. I wish that I had never met you.”

  “Why?”

  “Because then I wouldn’t worry whether or not I’m going to mourn you like I did Randy.” Amy snapped. “Because then I wouldn’t worry about. . .”

  “About what?”

  “I don’t want to love you.”

  “Amy.”

  “I think that I’ll take a bowl of that ice cream now.” Amy stood and looked down at him. “I’m sorry, Kyle. I am.”

  “I bought that ice cream for the woman that said she loved me. Not the one that said she doesn’t want to love me.”

  “So you’re going to take it back?” Amy asked with amusement.

  “You can take back what you said, so yes, I can take back the carton of ice cream.” Kyle stood and stepped in front of her. “I can play this game, too; I think that you should know.”

  “Who said I was playing a game?”

  “I do, Amy, because if it isn’t a game, I don’t know how to feel. This morning was special, but if I had known that some sick pervert was listening to us, it wouldn’t have happened. I would’ve waited because that was our time together. I only wanted to. . .” He smiled when Amy lowered her eyes, “You’re blushing.”

  “Why are you talking about it?” Amy asked before looking up at him. “I’ve changed my mind. Take the ice cream and give it to somebody that will appreciate it.”

  “I thought that I did. You need to eat something, and I left the salmon because I wanted, yes, Amy- wanted to get back to you. But I had forgotten to sign the paychecks so I had to stay longer, and yes, I should’ve called- I know that now. I brought you ice cream instead because you acted like I brought you a dozen roses at the office when I told you about it.”

  Amy found herself looking at the phone again and nodded. “I’m acting like a witch.”

  “Under the circumstances, I guess that I can see past it.” He kissed her on the forehead before guiding her into the kitchen and opening the freezer door again. “I feel that I need to make a point here; this isn’t healthy.” He placed the ice cream down on the counter and grabbed the scoop that Elaine had placed beside a bowl. “One day, I’m going to see you eat something besides ice cream and chips.” Turning around, he smirked when he noticed that Amy had laid her head on the table and her eyes were closed. “But then again, maybe one day I’ll see you eat something. Nate, do you think that my phone was hijacked?”

  “Why would you ask that?” Nate asked, hugging Elaine while studying his sister.

  “What I didn’t say was that I couldn’t call out on my phone.” Kyle answered, sitting down with the bowl of ice cream and a spoon. “I didn’t receive your texts, but somebody did.”

  “You tried to call here?”

  “Yes, I did. I tried the minute I started the car to see if anybody needed anything and because I knew that Amy would be worried. I fumed about it because I know I paid my bill.” Kyle admitted while placing a spoon of the ice cream in his mouth and rolling it on his tongue. “I didn’t want to blurt that out while Amy was doing such a great job letting off steam.”

  Chapter 19

  Kyle watched Amy sleep after he helped her into the bed. The whole time they discussed the paper that he had and the possibility of his phone being hacked, Amy had slept. He understood where she was coming from and it pulled at him, but he wasn’t going to give up on her or them.

  He pulled the comforter up to her shoulders and was about to walk out of the room when he heard her.

  “Don’t leave, Kyle.” Amy opened her eyes and stared at him. “I’m sorry.”

  “You don’t need to apologize to me, Amy. I just wish that you would stop pushing me away. I can only take so much of that.” Kyle stepped back over to her and sat on the bed beside her. “Why do you want me to stay?”

  “You know,” Amy mumbled before closing her eyes again.

  Kyle studied her and ran a hand through his hair before Nate knocked on the side of the door with the duffle bag that Kyle had packed himself. “Nate, she wants me to stay.”

  “Was there any doubt that she would? Look, Kyle, I can’t tell you what to do. I have a feeling you know what that is. I think that she’s just trying to figure out what she wants. She asked you to stay. What do you think?”

  “I should stay.” Kyle stood and walked over to the bag. Grabbing his t-shirt and lounge pants, he glanced at Nate. “If I had asked her out before she signed up for that internet chaos, this wouldn’t be happening now.”

  “Oh,” Nate tried not to laugh, “are you going to take the blame for this, Kyle? We know better, and I think I know why you didn’t ask her. You’re scared of me.”

  “Seriously? Dude, I can take you any day. I was scared that she would say no. Okay? That was it.”

  “Well, that’s your fault. I’ll give you that.” Nate slapped his friend on the back. “But this isn’t. We’re not sure if this would’ve happened if she hadn’t had joined. It could very well be someone that we had play basketball with, and I’m more for that theory now than ever.”

  “Why?”

  “Our friends were the only ones in this apartment, Kyle. That’s what I’ve been wrestling with all afternoon. The question is who.”

  Kyle studied Nate and frowned. “You already have somebody in mind.”

  “Yes, I do. I wish I had a way to prove it, because I’ve already gone a round with him when I found out that he had hit on Amy while I wasn’t home.”

  “I remember,” Kyle started undoing the buttons on his shirt. “But hitting on your sister and pulling this off are two different things. We should ask ourselves if we think he’s capable of it. Whether or not he has the tech know-how to manipulate phones and hide cameras. Those babies weren’t cheap, so he’d have to have money to spend and. . .”

  “We’ll talk about this tomorrow morning, Kyle.” Nate glanced at his sister and sighed. “I promise. Get some sleep.”

  Kyle changed quickly and slid into the bed beside Amy, feeling content when she cuddled next to him in her sleep. He woke when he felt her leave the bed. “Amy?”

  “I’m just going into the kitchen for some water.” Amy whispered, hoping that he would go back to sleep, and she wouldn’t have to explain that she’d had a nightmare.

  The phone started ringing as soon as she flipped the switch to turn on the light. She stared at it waiting for the answering machine to answer it and angled towards the hall to see that Kyle was waiting, also.

  “You’re a creature of habit, Amy. The same time every morning. Did you really think that you had found all of the cameras? I can see you, and I think that t-shirt you’re wearing is preferable over the night shirts. It’s a real turn-on. I can take you right now and make you scream.”

  Amy closed her
eyes after turning the light off in the kitchen and tried to push the voice out of her head before she unplugged the phone from the jack. She’d had enough; she fumed inwardly while she walked towards the hall and past Kyle.

  Kyle followed, watched her sit down at her desk and grab her sketchbook. “Amy?”

  “He’s right, Kyle. I am a creature of habit.” Amy mumbled. “Every night, I wake from a nightmare and go right into the kitchen for a glass of water. It doesn’t really matter if I’m thirsty, I just need to get up and walk it out of my system. I’m thinking that it would be a good idea to move. Maybe, he’ll get over whatever sick fantasy he has, and I can remember what peace is.”

  “Where would you go?”

  Amy shrugged, busying herself with her sketch. “A place without cameras and phones. A corner where I don’t have to worry if I’m being watched. Maybe, a religious retreat.”

  “And?”

  Amy handed him the sketch book and frowned. “I’m tired of living my life in fear. I simply want the chance to taste a freedom that I’ve never really allowed myself. The past several months, I think that what I want has changed. Lord knows I’ve done enough soul searching for a dozen people.”

  “Changed for the better?” Kyle continued to focus on her instead of the sketchbook.

  “I don’t know how to explain it, Kyle. Yesterday I wanted to go into the office and bury myself in work, to forget what I saw in my sleep. Even that’s changed now.” Amy stood and walked around the room, grabbing a pair of sweat pants from her drawer and sliding them on while she talked. “I never knew that I could feel the way I did after you came over. Never in my wildest dreams. Wow, this is uncomfortable to talk about.”

  “I don’t know, Amy. You’re doing pretty good.”

  “It doesn’t matter anymore. That feeling was taken away. I felt like I did after Nash did what he did, and that’s wrong. The creep doesn’t have to physically rape me, Kyle; he’s raped my thoughts, and I can’t see it ending.”