A Kiss With Death

by Frances Hoelsema

  After the first incident, Laura vowed to never let another man have his way with her when she didn’t consent. Not again. She was going to be the one to remain in control here. This was her life.

  She got to the end of a lap and stopped to take a breath. Holding on to the ledge of the pool, she had this feeling someone was watching her again. With beads of water trickling down the side of her face, she glanced in each direction. The noise of a door closing could be heard faintly. But she didn’t actually see a door close. Or anyone going through it.

  Shaking off the weird feeling, she kicked herself away from the pool’s wall and glided through the water. Lap after lap after lap she swam. Thoughts of Parker’s stunt were right there with her. She noticed how he was getting more and more aggressive. More forward. Not only did that make her feel cautious, but sorry. Sorry for Cassie who had the worst crush on him. Why? She didn’t know. But over and over again she told Cassie she could do so much better. She deserved better.

  Wait! Cassie!

  Laura stopped swimming to look at the time. How could she have forgotten already? She was supposed to have met up with Cassie a half hour ago!

  She quickly got out of the pool and grabbed her towel. Once her face was dried off, she put the towel around her chest and made her way to the locker room as fast as she could. Maybe, just maybe, she’d be lucky enough to still catch her.

  * * *

  Parker Manscotti meandered down the hallway, tousling his hand through his bleach blonde hair before putting on his favorite beanie. He zipped up his jacket and put his fists into the pockets. He knew that Ms. Keaton wouldn’t be long now. So, he was just going to wait outside for her.

  What could he say? He fell in love with Ms. Keaton the first second he entered her class. What had once been a class he dreaded and whined about, was now the very one he made sure to get to early. He couldn’t get enough of her. Or her legs. His lips curled upward as he imagined those legs around him. She had perfect legs. And why she hid them with those pant suits or pencil skirts was beyond him. But that never stopped him from imagining. And imagining is what he did most of the time when he was in her class.

  He could almost kick himself for not taking any tutoring lessons from her sooner. That would have been more time to spend with her. And alone! He was positive he could get her to fall for him if they were just alone. After all, almost every other girl did.

  And he was all man. He was more man than anyone else at school. If only Ms. Keaton would see that. Though he may be roughly ten years younger than her, he could show her a good time, and prove to her that he was what she needed most.

  But so far, she still didn’t budge. She was hooked up on some other dude, and the small little matter of never having any relations with a student. Well, forget that! He was about to graduate so she could no longer use that excuse. And really that’s what it was. He knew she was into him. She hid it well, but there were definitely some sexual feelings for him there. He could see it in her eyes. Feel it in the way she talked with him.

  One day, his wait would be over, and she would be his. But until then, he would stick with his routine, which was to come by the athletic center each Friday night and watch her. He watched her run, savoring every moment he could of her in those short shorts and tight tops. Mostly he saw her from behind, but on occasion he was treated with a view of her perky breasts. His mouth watered just thinking of the mounds of flesh that he wished he could get his hands on.

  And swimming. He thanked every deity out there that Ms. Keaton liked to swim. All that skin almost made him lose control. It made him want her even more. So much so, that he would take whatever measures he could to just have her. Why couldn’t she just make this easy? They were both adults. Both sexual beings needing attention. Why did she have to be so uptight? Distant? Just wait. By the end of the year, she’d be his. Then she’ll see how good they were together. Soon this will all be over.

  Parker opened the door to the outside and walked out. He took a couple of steps away from the door and turned, waiting for Ms. Keaton’s arrival. It should be any second now.

  A strong force from behind him suddenly covered his nose and mouth with a rag to keep him from being heard. His reflex went into attack mode, but the next thing he knew, a sharp needle got him right in the neck. His arm immediately covered the area that stung.

  “Who do you think you are?”

  He didn’t know who it was, but it was a woman. An angry woman. Was it Ms. Keaton? She was the only one here.

  Again, Parker tried to struggle his way to freedom, but whoever it was, had him in the right position to where he couldn’t. That, and the fact his body was starting to feel weak and nauseous. His chest hurt. What on earth did she do to him?

  He couldn’t stand any longer, so he fell to his knees. His breathing became labored and everything around him was spinning. He groaned.

  The woman behind him pushed him forward, making him land on his stomach. His head was to the side, but he still couldn’t see who it was that was doing this to him.

  Again, she spoke. “This is where it ends, player. You’re done.”

  The only person that he knew of to ever call him ‘player’ was Ms. Keaton. But she wouldn’t do this to him, would she?

  Pain continued to seep through his body. Then the lights went out.

  The woman kicked him to see if there was any reaction. Being none, she dragged his lifeless body to the side of the building so that someone could find him. Just not too soon.

  She stuffed a card into his pocket and left, satisfied that problem was now taken care of.

  * * *

  Laura dangled the car keys in her one hand while holding her gym bag in another as she walked to her jeep. A noise from behind her startled her. She looked in the direction it came from, a key sticking out and ready to use in case she needed to.

  From the darkness stepped a familiar silhouette. As the person took a couple steps closer, she realized who it was.

  A hand to her chest, Laura gasped, “Cassie! You scared me!”

  “I’m sorry, Ms. Keaton. I didn’t mean to!”

  “What are you doing here?”

  Cassie drew closer, her hands in her pockets. “Oh, well, when you didn’t show up, I thought maybe I had the place wrong. So, I came back here, thinking you’d be here.” She nodded at the car and added, “And sure enough, here you are.” She smiled.

  Laura let out a heavy sigh. “Yeah, sorry about that. I wanted to get my workout in and time simply escaped me. I’m so sorry.”

  “Oh,” Cassie replied sullenly, looking at the ground. Shyly looking up, she asked, “Should we just reschedule then?”

  Waving her off, Laura replied, “Oh, no, no, no. I’ve got time now if you do. And by the way, I have your sweater!”

  “Yeah, I’ve got time. Thanks!” Her face lit up as she grabbed the sweater.

  “Great. I’ll meet you there then.”

  “Sounds good. See you in a bit!” Cassie quickly turned on her heels to get to her car.

  “Oh, and one more thing.”

  A quick spin around caused the two to lock eyes. “Yes?”

  “If it’s just the two of us, you can call me Laura, you know. After all, we have known each other a long time.”

  Cassie smiled. “Right.” Her eyes made a silent, mutual agreement with Laura’s. Then she was off again.

  Laura watched her leave. She could still feel her heart racing. Cassie had almost given her a heart attack a few minutes ago.

  CHAPTER 12

  P

  ushed to the bed, she fell over easily. Her back hit the mattress first, her head springing backward with a jolt. She winced in pain at the roughness to which she had been handled. She felt groggy and disoriented. Opening her eyes, she saw nothing but darkness with blobs of light in a few corners of the room. Where was she? Who shoved her?

  A man’s voice started speaking sweet nothings. She couldn’t tell where the voice was coming from exactly, but the voi
ce sounded familiar. She just couldn’t place it. When he was quiet, she could hear the sound of a belt. Was it coming undone?

  She tried lifting her head from the bed to see. A brute force knocked her back down, grabbing both wrists and pinning her in place. The next thing she knew, he was on top of her, making his way between her legs. She tried to wriggle free. But that was a bad choice. He put more pressure on her than before, determined to get her.

  Her mouth opened to scream for help, but nothing came out. There wasn’t even a sound. What was wrong with her? Pools of water began to fill her eyes. Not again! She couldn’t take this again!

  The man’s face drew closer to her. She couldn’t see too well, but could feel his warm breath on her skin.

  He leaned in and whispered in her ear. “I’m going to seal this with a kiss.”

  She opened her eyes to get a look at this monster who repeated the same words to her as before. His face had become crystal clear. It was Parker!

  Laura woke up breathless. As she lay against her pillow, she tried to calm down. Her head pounded with the memory of that dreadful night. She hated how it made her feel.

  The image of Parker’s face troubled her. It was never his face. It was always the face of him. The one who she had once trusted with her life.

  Her breathing wasn’t slowing down, and now her muscles had tensed up and her heart started to beat irregularly. She decided to get her medication before her anxiety attack got worse. If she didn’t, she knew she’d feel like death itself.

  She slowly rose from her bed, not too quickly or she’d faint. She ambled to the bathroom and turned the light on. She fumbled around in her cabinet to find the Xanax. Once she did, she grabbed one and threw it in her mouth, chasing it down with a handful of water.

  Practicing her breathing exercises, she went back to the bedroom. Her bed was a mess. The comforter was completely off, laying in a heap on the ground. Her flat sheet was twisted and sprawled on the one side. Even though it had been years, she was still fighting him.

  Laura rubbed the sides of her head as she sat on the edge of her bed, hoping the Xanax would kick in and help her relax.

  Feeling like her mouth was dry, she decided to make a cup of hot chamomile tea. She slipped on her slippers and tied her robe around her waist. She made her way to the kitchen, first stopping to turn on the TV. Whatever she could do to distract her from the nightmare she had was what she was going to do. Anything was worth a shot.

  The news in the background, Laura took her cup of boiling water out of the microwave. She stuck in a tea bag to seep the contents. The scent alone made her exhale a moan. She was starting to feel much better.

  She turned out of her kitchen and went to sit on her couch. On her way over, she heard the words ‘Capstone University’ come through the TV, piquing her interest. Wondering what her place of work was on the news for, she turned up the volume and listened in.

  A picture of Parker came on the screen. Oh, no!

  The newscaster went on to explain his death, and how authorities were calling it ‘suspicious’. As soon as Laura found out he was dead, her mouth fell open and she dropped her cup of tea, its hot contents spilling all over the heads of her penguin slippers. The cup now lay shattered on the floor.

  She wasn’t sure how long she stood there, but the next thing she knew, someone was ringing her doorbell. It scared the living daylights out of her.

  Carefully working her way around the mess she created, she jogged to the front door. It was Marissa.

  Her best friend barged into the duplex as soon as the door opened. “You’re not dressed yet? We’re going to be late!”

  “Late?”

  Marissa pointed to her workout attire. “Zumba, remember?”

  Laura’s hand went to her face. She shook her head. “I am so sorry. I completely forgot.” Walking away from her, she added, “I can be ready in five minutes. Just hang on, okay?”

  “Okay. Hurry!”

  She didn’t feel like going anymore, the shock of Parker’s death fresh in her mind. But she did promise Marissa she would. So, rummaging through her drawer, Laura pulled out the first thing she found that would work for an exercise class. She quickly changed and put her hair up in a messy ponytail. After brushing her teeth, she looked in the mirror. Good enough.

  Grabbing her purse, she met up with Marissa. “Okay. Ready.”

  “Good. Let’s go.”

  The two of them headed out the door. Laura noticed the overstuffed garbage bag at her neighbor’s front door as well as litter in the front yard. She rolled her eyes, groaning.

  “Did Sammy have another party or something?” Marissa asked.

  “Probably. I’ve got to do something about him. I feel he’s getting worse.”

  “Try talking to the landlord again.”

  “It doesn’t do any good. I’ve tried numerous times, but nothing is done. Probably because she has a huge crush on him or something. I don’t know.”

  “Could you call the cops?”

  Laura shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know. Maybe.”

  As they got into the car and Marissa started the engine, both of them saw two scantily clad women walk out of Sammy’s door. They looked tired and had disheveled hair, yet the two were giggling with one another as they tugged on their barely-there pieces of clothing. One was even hopping as she tried to put her high-heel shoe on.

  “Are those –” Marissa began.

  Laura interrupted. “I don’t even want to know. Let’s go.”

  Between her nightmare, news of Parker’s death, and now this, Laura didn’t know how much more tension she could take. Hopefully there were no more surprises.

  * * *

  When the girls arrived back at Laura’s duplex, they were giggling over what someone did in class. And though some of the weight was lifted off her shoulders, Laura still felt burdened. One of her students was dead! She hoped it wasn’t because of her. Deep down she had a gut feeling it was, though. After all, she constantly shoved him away. Maybe he had enough of that and decided to end his life. Laura tried not to allow herself to feel guilty. Then the word ‘suspicious’ came up. Maybe it wasn’t suicide then. But who would hurt Parker?

  “You okay?” Marissa asked, opening Laura’s car door.

  Laura was brought back to reality. Shaking her head, she replied, “Oh, yes. Sorry. I was just thinking.”

  “Gee, I didn’t realize what I said was so thought provoking.”

  Shaking her head again, Laura smiled. “No, it wasn’t that. It’s just someone I know died.”

  Marissa looked concerned. “What? Who?”

  “A kid in my class. Parker. I think I’ve told you about him before.” Laura could tell her friend was trying to figure out who she was talking about. So, she added, “You know, the one that kept hitting on me?”

  “Oh, him! He’s dead? What happened?” Her bottom draw dropped.

  “I don’t know.”

  Marissa exhaled loudly. “Wow, Cassie is going to be so devastated.”

  Laura’s shoulders slumped. “I forgot about Cassie. That poor girl.”

  “Which reminds me. She called me yesterday to tell me she saw you with Parker, him touching you.”

  If she saw, who else did? “Oh, no.” Laura put her head in her hands. “It didn’t mean anything. He put his hand on my face and I immediately removed it.”

  “I told her it was nothing, but you should probably be more careful.”

  “Ugh, I know. Now I feel even more terrible than before. How come she didn’t say anything last night when we had our tutoring session?”

  Marissa shrugged her shoulders. “I’m just glad I was able to calm her down.”

  “Sorry.”

  “It’s okay. Now, come on. Let’s go.”

  Laura got out of the car, and the two of them walked toward the front door.

  A slight breeze stirred up the leaves lying on the ground. Laura loved how they danced so gracefully. She thought they must have lo
oked better than her in Zumba earlier.

  Steps ahead, Marissa looked back and asked, “Can you hurry? I’ve got to use the bathroom.”

  “Coming, coming, coming.” Laura jogged to the door and unlocked it, letting her friend make a beeline for the bathroom.

  No sooner had Laura closed the door and taken her sweater off when bass-like vibrations shook the floor and walls. She could take no more of it! Stomping over, she banged on his door.

  “Sammy!”

  He didn’t answer. She banged with both fists as hard as she could. “SAMMY!” Finally, she struck the door with her foot. There was no response.

  Laura’s head pounded as viciously as the music. She had to stop before she had a stroke. On the ground were a few bottles of various beverages. Kicking one of the cans, it skipped down the sidewalk to the front yard. She went back to her apartment, slamming the door.

  “What was that about?” Marissa asked, coming out from the bathroom.

  “Take one guess,” Laura replied, plopping on the couch. She began rubbing her temples.

  At first her friend said nothing. But it didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure it out. The room wasn’t even quiet enough to hear themselves think.

  Marissa took a seat next to her. “Are you going to be okay? You look a bit frazzled.”

  Laura exhaled. “I’ll be fine. I just have a lot going on.”

  “Like what?”

  “I know you’re a psychiatrist, but you’re not on duty right now.”

  Her friend’s head shifted backward, pain written on her face. “Come on, Laura. I’m not trying to work on you. You’re my friend, and friends never go off duty. They should always be willing to listen.”

  “Yeah, I’m sorry. What I said came out wrong.”