Darkness Lurks

by J. L. Drake

  My phone vibrated next to me. It was a text message. I squinted at the screen and saw a video from an unknown number. I pulled my sunglasses off and opened it. It was a fifteen-second clip of Pete and me singing the night before. What the hell? It had clearly been taken from far away. A second text came through.

  Unknown Number: Will you sing for me?

  I looked at the number again. Oh shit, it was the one from last night! My fingers trembled as I typed.

  Emily: Who is this?

  I waited.

  Unknown Number: I still smell you on me.

  Oh gross! I tossed the phone next to me. Who the hell was that? It buzzed again. I thought about ignoring it, but something told me to read it.

  Unknown Number: I didn’t hurt your ribs too badly, did I, darlin’?

  As my eyes read the last word, I felt as if someone had hit me in the stomach with a shovel. Everything started to spin. I tried to stand, but my legs weren’t working.

  My brain screamed at me to do something, but there was no response. Seth looked over and saw me sitting there not moving, undoubtedly turning paler with each second. He was at my side in a flash.

  “Emily? Are you all right?” I could hardly hear him with the loud ringing in my ears. He bent down to my level. I met his gaze. He saw my tears, and then I handed him my phone. He slid it gently out of my grip and read the texts. He jumped up and looked around. It buzzed again.

  Unknown Number: Morning, Officer Connors.

  “How does he know my name? Where the hell is he?” Seth hissed to himself. He looked all around, then quickly pulled me up and walked me inside. He locked all the windows and doors, setting the alarm. He called Garrett. “He texted her phone. He’s watching us. How fast can you get here?”

  Garrett arrived in record time, and Seth filled him in. By then, I had managed to pull myself together a bit. Garrett texted someone. “Okay, Johnnie is going to stay with her until we get off work.”

  I looked at Seth. I wanted him to stay, but I knew he couldn’t. “Who’s Johnnie?”

  Garrett put his arm around me. “He’s a good friend of ours. We trust him. He’s been on the force for a long time.”

  I ran my hands through my hair. “Great, a babysitter,” I muttered under my breath.

  After I got showered, I started picking up my laundry from yesterday. I couldn’t find my neon pink panties anywhere. I knew I had kicked them off in the same spot as always.

  Then it hit me. What if whoever was in my room took them? No, don’t be ridiculous, Emily! They’ll show up. I shook my head, grabbed my bag, and headed down to my dad’s office to study. I turned off my phone and tried to focus. An hour later I heard a knock at the door. It was Seth, all dressed for work.

  “Johnnie’s here.” I followed him out to the living room. There stood a tanned, tall, medium-built guy with a shaved head. He was deep in conversation with Garrett.

  Seth put his hand on my waist. “Johnnie, this is Emily.” The man came over and shook my hand.

  He nodded. “Hey, Emily, I’ve heard a lot about you.” His smile made him seem softer than his appearance. He winked at Seth. “She is pretty,” he said and whistled softly.

  Seth smirked. “Thanks, man.” I fought back a smile.

  Garrett grinned at me, knowing I enjoyed where that came from. Seth must have been talking about me at work, and that made me feel good. “Okay, Em, we’ll be off at 6:30.” He showed Johnnie around the house.

  Seth moved in front of me. “You’ll be fine,” he said softly. “Johnnie’s good.” I looked down at my hands, wishing he didn’t have to go. He lifted my chin to make me look at him. “We’ll catch this guy, I promise. We need to talk later, though.”

  “About?” Oh, please say about us.

  “About this guy, Em. I really need you to—”

  Garrett came in. “We gotta go.”

  “I’ll call later,” Seth said, staring at me for a moment. Then he gave me a quick kiss on the cheek, and before I knew it, he was gone.

  I studied for the rest of the morning, though not much sunk in. I was constantly looking out from behind the curtains, wondering if he was still out there. I had Garrett’s phone so they could get hold of me. They had insisted on taking my phone with them. I came into the kitchen, where I found Johnnie on a laptop. “Hey, you hungry?” I asked.

  “Yes.” He stretched out his long arms. “I am.”

  I pulled out some burgers, but when I unlocked the door to go outside, I hesitated. What if he was out there? “I think I’ll fry these instead.” Johnnie nodded, agreeing with me. We ate our lunch, and we chatted a bit about the force.

  I found out he was close to his brother who visited him often from the east coast. He had twin sisters who drove him crazy, but you could tell he loved it, and he saw his mother every Sunday for lunch. I slowly relaxed, letting my guard down. Johnnie was funny and could carry on a conversation easily.

  I cleaned up and went upstairs to prepare for school the next day. Seth texted me.

  Seth: You doin’ all right?

  Emily: Always.

  Seth: How’s Johnnie?

  Emily: Great, other than when he fell asleep on the couch.

  I waited for a few moments, grinning at my last text. It was kinda fun messing with Seth sometimes.

  Seth: You better be joking, or he’s dead. I’ll personally take him out.

  I swallowed hard. He was even scary over texting.

  Emily: Of course I am. Like I’d tell you if he was!

  Seth: I have ways of making you talk, baby.

  I tried desperately to control my stupid smile. I felt like an ass, grinning.

  Emily: Now that I’d like to see.

  Seth: I bet. Now if you don’t mind, I need to get back to ‘serving and protecting your ass’ as you so nicely put it the other day. Be good and listen to Johnnie. I’ll be home soon.

  Now that made me laugh. I flopped down on my pillow. Home. I loved the way that sounded coming from him.

  ***

  Seth

  I tucked my phone back into my pocket. I loved hearing Emily’s playful side. I loved that I even had a playful side with her. My life had been serious for so long that sometimes it seemed I’d forgotten how to have a little fun.

  Detective Michaels sat across from me and Garrett. He was wrapping up a phone call.

  “Okay,” Michaels said, rubbing his head and dropping his phone with a thud. “Her clothes came back with nothing, not even a print. Because of the weave of the material, nothing stuck.”

  My stomach sank. I had been banking on them finding something. It was pretty much our only hope.

  “Not even a print on the envelope from the note, and his calls are coming from a burner phone. I’m sorry, guys, but now this all falls on McPhee and what she can tell us.”

  I raised my head, trying to gather my thoughts. Why her? What did this prick want with my Emily?

  ***

  Emily

  I watched some TV and called Erin to meet up at school the next day. Johnnie checked in on me often. He even checked the locks on my window.

  At 6:00 p.m., I started dinner. Johnnie hung out, offering to help, but I noticed he didn’t even know how to chop an onion. I laughed, took back the knife I had given him, and shooed him to the table. I wondered if he lived off frozen dinners and canned goods, poor guy. I pulled out a beer and handed it to him. “Here, you deserve this.”

  He smiled. “Thanks, but I’m still on duty.”

  “The guys will be home any minute.”

  He smiled, unscrewing the cap.

  I poured myself a glass of wine to calm my nerves. The entire day, I had found myself glancing out the windows wondering if he was watching me at that very moment. Knowing he could be watching me all the time changed things.

  I didn’t enjoy the darkness anymore. Monsters lurked in the dark. He lurked in the dark. Ugh…I shuddered when I saw his face in front of me, staring at me from the tree outside. The bottom of my
glass rattled against the counter. I knew it was my mind playing tricks on me, but it was still scary as hell.

  “Emily?” Johnnie asked softly. “You see something?” I heard him get out of his chair. I slowly shook my head, not looking at him. I closed my eyes, taking a moment.

  “Where was I?” I looked over at the stove.

  “Something smells good!” Garrett called out, coming into the kitchen.

  Johnnie laughed. “Try smelling it for the last forty-five minutes.”

  Seth came in. He looked tired, but his eyes lit up when he saw me. “How was your day?”

  I grabbed for some plates, “All right. Yours?”

  He pulled a chair out. “It went.”

  I set a large meat lasagna in the center of the table along with three hot French loaves.

  “I can see why you like it here,” Johnnie said, as he inhaled deeply. I enjoyed having new company, and I was thankful for Johnnie taking a day to watch over me. Maybe having a babysitter wasn’t all bad.

  Seth rubbed his head, looking troubled. “So, we got the results back on your clothes, and there wasn’t a hit on anything.”

  “What does that mean?” I asked.

  “It means we still don’t know the identity of your attacker.”

  “Oh.” My stomach sank and a rush of nerves hit me.

  Seth shook his head slowly. “Babe, we need to know what was said that night, and we need you to come in and look at some head shots.” He leaned forward, resting his arm on the table. “I know you thought you could move on and get past this, but he’s not going away. For some sick reason he’s following you, watching you, watching us. We need to nab this guy before he tries something else. Who knows what kind of sick, delusional ass we’re up against?”

  I cleared my throat, taking a moment, then reached for my water glass and took sip. Was I ready to open this box? I swallowed my lump past the sandpaper feeling in my throat. I knew it was time to tell them. I was nervous as hell, though. Oh shit, I felt sick.

  I took two deep breaths and looked up, while the three of them stared and waited. “O-Okay.” I fought to find my voice. Seth reached out and clasped my hand, giving it a quick squeeze before he returned to the water glass he was twirling anxiously.

  I tried to think back without opening the whole Pandora’s Box in my head. “I had to stop for gas. He came out of nowhere.” As I told them what had happened, I began to see it all in my head like a play. “He knew my name and told me not to anger him. He knew about the guy at the beach, Jacob. He didn’t like that I was flirting with him.” I looked down. “But I wasn’t…flirting with him, that is.”

  I closed my eyes, seeing him in front of my face and feeling his hand on my leg. My fingers wrapped around my glass as I took another unsteady sip, trying to dampen my cotton mouth. “He said if I…um…told my cop buddies that he’d...” I looked at Seth. Oh God, just say it. “He said he’d chop me up into bits and pieces and do the same to my cop friends.”

  Silence filled the room. I had no idea what they thought.

  Finally, Garrett broke the silence. “Can you describe him, Em? Anything you might have seen that would help?”

  “He was wearing a wool ski mask. I think he had a scar on his neck. I’m not sure, but I think. He smelled bad. His breath smelled funny, sort of sweet. It was terrible. He, he…” I began to shake.

  “Okay, a scar. That’s really helpful. Thank you for telling us, Emily. If anything else comes to you, you have to tell us, okay?” Garrett whispered.

  Seth still looked stuck in a parallel space. Garrett cleared his throat, bringing Seth back to us. He ran a hand through his hair, glancing at me as I stood up and placed my dishes in the dishwasher.

  The dishes rattled in my unsteady hands as I tried to act normal, but I couldn’t contain my fear. What would this guy do when he found out I’d told them everything?

  I excused myself and went into the living room. I figured they’d want to chat about stuff I didn’t want to hear.

  I felt exhausted and stretched out on the couch. I could hear them talking every once in a while, but I was thankful I couldn’t make out what they were saying. As soon as the darkness took over…he was there waiting for me.

  “I like this,” he said, touching my shoulder. I was in a red room, arms and legs bound to a bed, my body quivering in so much fear that I could barely catch my next breath. I could hear cars go by. I knew I was close to people. All I needed to do was get through that brown door.

  “Now, Emily, what are we going to do with you? I told you not to say a word, but you didn’t listen, did you?” I looked at him, but I couldn’t see his face. There was a shadow over it.

  “Please, I’m sorry,” I sobbed. “Please don’t hurt me, I’ll do anything!”

  He stopped at the foot of the bed and rubbed his chin “Oh, I know you will, you’ll be mine forever.” The last word, ‘forever,’ was dragged out. As it danced over his tongue, he slowly pulled a pair of pliers off the table and came over to me. “Now let me hear you beg!”

  I started to scream…

  “Hey, hey.” I heard Seth’s soothing voice. I looked at him, then all around, trying to come back to reality. “You were dreaming, baby, it’s all right,” Seth said.

  I was breathing hard. My chest felt heavy as I put my hands over my face.

  “Was it him?” he asked.

  I nodded. He moved to lie down alongside me, rolling me on my side, my back against his chest. He wrapped his arms around me and tucked me into him. I felt so safe in his arms. Being held there gradually slowed my heart back to its normal beat. I spent the night like that, wrapped in the hope that I would make it through this.

  The guys drove me to school in the morning in their squad car. I was quieter than normal. I hated that I still couldn’t find my damn panties. My imagination filled my head with all kinds of sick thoughts. The idea of someone being in my room, touching my stuff with the perverted, twisted intent to harm me scared the life out of me.

  “You all right, Em?” Garrett asked, peering at me through the rearview mirror. I nodded and stared out the window, lost in my thoughts.

  “Baby,” Seth said, grabbing my attention. I turned slowly to look at him. “We’re here.”

  “Oh.” I fumbled with my seatbelt buckle. I hadn’t even noticed we had stopped. Seth opened my door, offering me a hand out. “Thanks,” I whispered, but he didn’t let go right away.

  “Hey.” He ran his fingers down my cheek. “You’re so quiet.”

  I nodded and looked down. I didn’t want to be separated from him. I wanted to be back on the couch in his arms, away from this crazy guy.

  Seth cupped my face. “Erin will stay with you today, and I’ll be back to pick you up after your classes, okay?”

  I nodded, trying to clear my head. I was being a child, and I needed to grow a pair. Where was my braver side when I wanted her? “I’ll be fine.” I plastered on a fake smile. I waved at Garrett, who smiled. “I’ll see you later.”

  Seth caught my arm as I started to walk away. “Call me if you need me. I’ll come right over.”

  “Thanks, I’ll be fine. I’m okay now,” my braver side reassured him.

  Oh, there you are…

  He let me go.

  ***

  Lasko

  I paced the room as I listened, and my blood raced under my skin. “Did he, now? What fucking right does he have, touching what’s mine?”

  “He dropped her off this morning, but nothing happened. I don’t think there’s anything to worry about,” the voice said calmly.

  “Yeah, well, you better be right. I swear to God if—”

  “Jimmy, stop talking.” I ran a shaky hand through my thin hair. “I need you to be clear-headed. You’re goddamn lucky they didn’t find any DNA on her clothes, or you’d be sittin’ in a six-by-six right now. As for him, right now we need him. He’s kept every hard-cocked male away from her. So right now he stays put. Don’t touch him!” There was silenc
e. “Do. You. Understand. Me?”

  “Yes!” I shouted into the phone. I hated being told what to do. “I just don’t know how much longer I can last.”

  “Shhhhh, Jimmy, I know, and we will. Give me some time. I’ll call you later when I can.” The line went dead.

  I tossed the phone at the couch while my frustration grew…I knew what I needed to do. I opened my duffle bag and pulled out a small white envelope. I angrily dumped the small stack of old pictures on the stained brown comforter. I rifled through them until I came across the one I was looking for. I tilted my head to stretch my neck—these damn headaches.

  Then I undid my belt and pulled it through the loops, freeing it. I wrapped one end around my fist and propped the picture up so that it was looking directly at me. Breathing hard, I flexed my stomach muscles and whipped the belt across myself. A long pink trail that quickly turned red ran across my torso. Fuck that felt good.

  “Again,” I shouted, sending saliva spraying over my chin. I cracked it across my chest this time, and the tail end caught my neck. My chest heaved as the sweat broke out across my forehead. I tightened the belt around my fingers and struck myself hard three more times. Yes!

  Crying out in pleasure, I dropped to my knees. My pants quickly grew wet as I leaned my forehead against the bed. I rubbed the damp spot, letting my mind finish for me. Finally, my breathing went back to normal. When I looked up, my eyes met the picture. My eyes met hers.