This Guy Kills Me

by Anlyn Hansell

  ‘What does it matter? You think I was going to sit back and wait?” Rick interrupted. “This is my life we’re talking about here. Not yours. Mine.”

  A whooshed breath was his answer before a moment of strained silence.

  “You have no idea what you’ve done. Get your ass to her apartment right now.”

  “Why?”

  “Unless you want the cops to find anything to implicate you, you better get there before they do and get it the hell out of there.”

  “The beeper. I gave her a beeper. But that was it, I swear,” he answered quickly.

  “All the more reason to get your ass in gear. Rick?”

  “Yeah?

  “Don’t fuck up any more than you already have. Don’t let anyone see you. There’s a fire escape – I highly recommend you use it.”

  *****

  Toledo.

  She’d stop in Toledo. Close enough for the half tank of gas in her car, far enough that he couldn’t find her. She dropped off his Cadillac at the office building in Warren earlier before jumping in her own vehicle and driving as fast as it would allow down I-75.

  She was fine up until she hit the signs for Monroe, about forty five minutes outside of Detroit. Then the floodgates opened. Driving while swiping tears was difficult at best. Her mind refused to shut out the images of Joe…above her, kissing her, holding her, his sexy grin, the sweet words coming out his mouth…

  Stop it. Just…stop.

  He was just as bad as anyone else that ever used her. He was just…he seemed so sincere, and yet…

  He left her. They were friends,maybe a bit more, especially after he kissed her, but even after that, he just dumped her off at her apartment. How do you forgive that?

  It didn’t matter that he came to his senses, or so he said. She was doing the right thing.

  The ringing inside her purse caused her body to jerk and almost drive off the shoulder before she righted the car and pushed her hand in her purse.

  Without looking, she grabbed the phone and pressed the power button, holding it down tightly before it pinged to signal it was shutting down.

  Throwing the phone back in her purse, she muttered a few choice words and gave another angry swipe to her cheeks before pressing the gas pedal even further.

  *****

  He purposely kept the lights in the apartment off, using the beam from his flashlight to search through her drawers, looking for anything she could have possibly kept that could tie the two of them together. Luckily they weren’t together for that long. No pictures, nothing really other than the beeper. The object that he still could not find.

  Turning from the dresser, his body jumped as he bit back the yell that threatened to burst forth. He aimed the light at the dark figure standing in the small kitchen.

  “Jeezus, you scared the shit out of me. What are you doing here?” Rick asked as he shined the flashlight on a familiar face. The hand holding his gun relaxed immediately.

  “Just tying up a loose end,” came the murmured reply before the whizzing sound erupted in the small apartment and Rick’s body fell backward to the floor.

  *****

  “You’ll stay with me tonight,” he whispered into her white hair as he cradled her small body next to his.

  A sniff was the only answer he received.

  “I don’t believe it,” she finally stated on a small sob as his hand rubbed up and down her back, consolingly.

  “Me either. I…me either,” he stated simply as a man in a crisp suit approached them. He blinked away the burning behind his eyes for the umpteenth time that night.

  “Mr. Peters?”

  “Yes?” Joe looked up after planting a small kiss on the top of Betty’s head.

  “I’m Chad Vanderhoff. I’ll be assisting with the funeral arrangements for your mother,” he stated in a soothing tone.

  *****

  Two hundred, fifty-seven dollars and twelve cents.

  At the rate she was going, she would be sleeping in her car after a week.

  She was staying at the cheapest hotel she could find in Toledo and still she was shelling out $39.99 a night for this dump.

  She had to feed herself. A pack of underwear and maybe something to sleep in…She was going to be broke in a week if she didn’t find a job. She couldn’t use a credit card. Well, even if there was money available on it…she still couldn’t use it. As it stood, it was simply a useless piece of plastic taking up residence in her sparsely populated purse.

  She was obviously woefully unprepared for life on the run…

  Figures…

  She lay on the lumpy mattress with questionable sheets, staring at the ceiling. A slamming door, loud arguing next door before moaning, thumping…more moaning.

  She slammed the pillow on top of her face.

  First night on the lam…total failure.

  *****

  Toledo.

  She was in Toledo. She’d better stay in Toledo.

  He texted once. No response. He called twice and both times her voice message picked up immediately.

  She turned her phone off.

  So she wanted to think. Let her think. Just don’t do anything stupid.

  She left the Cadillac at the office building in Warren. He traced it immediately, not surprised to find the keys tucked under the driver side seat. That was good. That was very good. She took her piece of shit car instead, which almost guaranteed that she wouldn’t go too far.

  He needed help. He needed someone he could trust to watch her because he certainly couldn’t – at least not for the next few days.

  Someone he could trust. Not a whole lot of options there.

  She had said that Rick mentioned his name and finally something clicked around three in the morning last night. He never believed Rick was in it alone, taking Jane and attempting to kill her was absolute proof of that. If Rick knew his name and he knew that Jane was with him, it most certainly had to be someone that knew him. Someone that saw he and Jane together…

  Someone he was close to.

  His mind wandered over the month they were together, trying to create a mental list of those people and crossing off Betty immediately. Anyone else? Fair game.

  Finally, it felt like he was so close, unfortunately the original reason for finding the truth was now gone. He tried consoling himself, thinking his dad was probably waiting for his mom up in Heaven and as soon as she arrived, he explained everything and they were probably just as in love in death as they were in life. Prior to someone taking and jacking up his life royally. Prior to destroying a family for whatever reason…

  The tear he was trying to blink back escaped down his cheek and that was Ok. He cradled his cheek in his hand and stared at the surface of the countertop, tracing lazy circles with his fingertips. At least he was in a different apartment – the one that everyone else knew about, not the one he really lived in. Not the one that would remind him of Jane.

  He was alone for the time being, Betty sleeping in the guest bedroom, Jane sleeping in a shitty hotel on the outskirts of downtown Toledo…

  Life couldn’t possibly suck any more than it did right now. If he talked to Dr. Mike, he’d probably prescribe yet something else for him to take. He didn’t need it.

  He needed Jane.

  His fist slammed down on the countertop before he pushed away and went in search of his phone.

  *****

  This is so wrong on so many levels, dude.

  He deciphered the message and nodded before he shrugged and typed in code back before waiting for a reply.

  I’m not a babysitter.

  No shit. But he was the only person in the world that he could trust.

  I have a day job, but I’ll see what I can do.

  That was interesting.

  On one condition…

  Joe’s brow shot up.

  Tell me what the hell is going on.

  Fair enough. He started typing as quickly as his brain and fingers would allow.

 
He waited patiently for the next few minutes before another coded message popped up.

  That’s fucked up.

  You said it, buddy…

  Send me a picture of this girl.

  He transferred one of the jpeg files from his computer to his phone and attached it to the next message.

  Holy shit.

  Holy shit was right. He felt the need to send him another message.

  “She’s MINE.”

  He didn’t read the last message since his concentration shifted from the phone to the knock on his front door.

  *****

  One hundred, five dollars and thirty five cents.

  Two days down and that’s what she had left. She purchased a pack of underwear, twenty dollars’ worth of crackers, chewy granola bars and juice pouches, twenty dollars’ worth of gas…absolutely no job prospects at this point. The three places she called weren’t hiring.

  Of course, there was a little over five hundred dollars left from the stash Joe gave her. Of course, it was in her apartment. The one place she knew she needed to stay away from, but damn…If she could just -

  The phone rang beside her on the bed, causing her eyes to shift over to the display.

  Doofus.

  Again.

  She picked up the phone and automatically pressed the red button before throwing it down on the bed.

  *****

  “Where’s Jane?”

  He looked up from the casserole he was pushing around his plate to Betty.

  “We um…we’re not together. Not that we were ever really together, you know? But -” he added quickly later that night.

  “What happened? What did you do? Does she know about Karen? What happened?”

  “I…called her. She doesn’t answer, but that’s probably a good thing, right? I don’t really want to discuss this right now.” He shoved the creamy fat filled chunk of noodle-cheese nastiness in his mouth just to avoid answering.

  She watched him warily before placing her fork on her plate.

  “I liked her.”

  I love her.

  “Yeah, well, you know? Sometimes things…happen.” Great answer.

  “I’m sorry it didn’t work out,” she stated quietly, her hand grasping his over the table. Girlie has a phone…

  “Eh, you know? That’s life…” Yet another awesome answer. “How about this casserole, huh?” he changed the subject quickly. “It’s like they took the whole pantry and sorta dumped it in a pan. Is that a pea?” He scooped up another forkful and perused it closely.

  “I think its tuna noodle. There’re five other casseroles in the fridge if you wanna try a different one. This one kinda sucks,” she admitted.

  All day, there was a constant stream of family and friends in and out of his apartment. Each one bearing some kind of…casserole. What was it with the casseroles? Casseroles seriously suck…

  Yet another knock at the front door interrupted his internal musings as he and Betty looked at each other before shifting their gazes to the front door.

  “Probably another casserole. Better let ’em in,” she stated on a sigh.

  *****

  She looked so beautiful, really.

  The last few years of her life had seriously taken a toll on her physical appearance. She looked at peace, finally. All of the pain, the heartache, the physical decline…

  Her hair and makeup were perfect; the cool ice blue of her dress complimented her skin tone. Somehow after death, the yellow tinge just sort of disappeared. Maybe it was the makeup, who knew.

  His hand reached into his pocket as he pulled out a pendant on a gold chain, tears filling his vision as he looped the chain near the rosary that was already in her grasp. Just a small symbol… something that would link them in death. It meant something to his dad. He wore it constantly while he was alive. Besides, in his mind, Marcus and Karen were together and they were happy. They would always be happy…

  “Mr. Peters?”

  “Yes” his voice cracked as he stared at her. He cleared his throat and tried again. “Yes?”

  “I need to speak with you for a couple of minutes, if you don’t mind.”

  “Sure.” He swiped his eyes with the back of his hand as he backed away from the casket.

  He turned to find Betty standing near the back of the room, watching him carefully as he slowly walked toward the double door to the hallway beyond.

  “You Ok?” she asked quietly in the otherwise empty room. He gave a small reassuring smile.

  “You Ok?” he asked back and her answer was a slight shrug of her frail shoulders.

  “Can I borrow your phone for a second? I forgot to call Doris and tell her. I’d like her to be here.”

  “Where’s your phone?”

  “On the coffee table, I forgot it.”

  He grabbed the phone from his pocket and handed it to her before walking toward the funeral director.

  She stared at the phone after swiping her finger across the screen.

  “What’s your password?”

  He turned and his lips clamped before a sheepish expression overtook his features.

  “What?” Betty probed after a moment.

  “Beyoncé,” he stated softly.

  Her expression didn’t change. “Ba-what?”

  “Beyoncé. And don’t say it…”

  “Like the singer? For real?” Her eyes widened as a smile threatened to form on her mouth.

  “I tried to think of something no one would ever figure out. Besides, she’s kinda…cute or something. Oh, shut up, Betty,” he stated as he turned and followed the other man from the room.

  “If I wasn’t so sad, I’d be cracking up right now,” she stated to his retreating back before her eyes focused on the screen in her hands.

  She scrolled through his contacts, her eyes alighting on the name she sought.

  This was for his own good. Whatever happened between the two of them…

  Jane needed to be here. For him.

  She grabbed her own phone from her purse and dialed the number showing on his screen.

  *****

  “Oh baby, Oh yeah, FUCK YEAH, give it to Daddy!

  “Oh yeah. Oh yeah. Oooooooh, DADDY!”

  Thump, thump, thump…

  In the middle of the day? Really? This place must rent by the hour.

  She shifted her eyes back to the screen on the phone. Still no job leads, a plethora of missed calls from “Unknown” as the number. A text message from Doofus that was cryptic as all get out. One thing was clear. He wanted her to call him. Maybe she should. It had been three days. She was ready to run back to him after about 28 hours of being away from him anyway. She just wanted to make sure it was because she wanted to be with him…not because of her severely lacking monetary situation…

  It was him.

  It had to be. She could think of little else for the past three days. As if by design, the phone rang in her hand. Another call from “Unknown”. Maybe he was calling from another phone just to throw her off. He would do something like that…

  “Hello?”

  “Girlie.”

  “B…Betty?”

  “I want you to listen up. I don’t know what happened between you and my Grandson and I don’t care. Karen died and you need to get your ass to the funeral home. He needs you. I need you. You need to get over yourself.”

  A small gasp escaped her throat as Betty continued on with her tirade.

  “…and do you know how hard it is to bury your child? It’s supposed to be the other way around. My heart is broken. His heart is broken. The least you could do is man up and come here and just be here for him. Are you hearing me?”

  She was already stuffing her meager belongings in a grocery bag…

  *****

  His eyes scanned the full room, taking in each face, looking for the specific people on his very short mental list of people that met Jane while they were together. Gary and some of his friends from High School had just walked in. Dr. Mike was starin
g back at him from the long line of people waiting to pay their respects. Scott was near the end of the line with some other guys from Dad’s old Precinct. Funny how they all showed up for Karen’s viewing; most of them didn’t bother coming to his Dad’s except for Scott. His cousin Mark and his family, some people he never saw before in his life, a bunch of gray haired old ladies, Tony Silvano, his wife, Boobs McGerk (as Jane had dubbed her) and some ancient lady just walked in. Tony Silvano? Whatthefuck? Like they were buddies or something.

  “What the hell is Tony Silvano doing here?” he whispered to Betty after nudging her.

  “I play Bingo with his Grandma. I had no idea those two would come, though. Maybe he came to apologize or something.”

  Probably not.

  His eyes focused on Tony taking his place in line. It was hard to concentrate when every few seconds someone new was standing in front of him, offering words of condolence. It was all he could do to acknowledge them.

  “I know this probably isn’t the right time to bring this up,” he heard as his eyes reluctantly shifted to his cousin John standing in front of him.

  “Could you please consider selling? I know…I know…bad timing. You just don’t call me back,” he stated in a forceful whisper.

  “Yes.” Joe stated as his eyes scanned the room beyond John’s shoulder.

  “Did you…did you just say ‘yes’?” John’s voice was now a bit louder.

  “I said yes. Yes. Happy?” His eyes stopped then backed up. Who…just the top of the head was visible but the hair…a deep sable brown, hidden by a younger couple he had never met before, near the bend in the line, almost to the casket…

  It couldn’t be…

  It better not be…

  His cousin’s body shifted and he was staring at…Jane’s profile.

  Oh SHIT. This wasn’t happening.

  “What is she doing here?” He gave Betty a nudge, breaking her conversation with someone.

  “Who? What?”

  He grabbed her arm and stepped back, bending to whisper in her ear.

  “Jane. What is Jane doing here?”

  “Oh. I called her. Sorry, I told her to get over herself and be here for you.”

  “You shouldn’t have done that. Oh god, Betty! You don’t know what you’ve done,” he whispered in a desperate tone. Adrenaline was coursing through his body.