Chapters (66)
I loitered for a few moments before continuing to the door at the base of the building. It was a secure entry system with a key code; six apartments in total, but no names on the buzzers, only numbers. The reception of the building was awash with white marble, lockers for bikes at the far end and beneath, in the basement, was where owners parked their cars. It looked expensive. He couldn’t have gone anywhere else, I would have seen. He must live there.
I retreated, jogging back in the direction I had come from. When I reached the driveway, the blonde girl was nowhere to be seen. I wasn’t sure what I was expecting, maybe sirens and flashing lights, but all I could hear was the rape alarm still going. I retrieved it from under the car and switched the alarm off, my ears ringing. No one had come out of their houses to see what was going on. Perhaps they assumed it was just another car alarm, more of an irritation than something that had to be acted upon.
I went over and looked around the grassy floor where he had been, for anything he might have left behind. But there was nothing other than leaves and stones; no evidence an altercation had even taken place.
Nervous energy buzzed around my system and I was unsure what to do next. Should I call the police? Would the girl have reported the attack? I didn’t see what happened, so maybe they wouldn’t believe me if she hadn’t. Was she okay?
My head whirled, I needed time to decide what to do next. There was one thing I was sure of. Knowing where he lived gave me the upper hand.
22
HIM
Fuck! That was close. Too close. She was blonde, just like my mother. Peroxide blonde, dirty yellow hair like straw, her roots still dark. She turned my head. A fine catch at this time of the morning. Dangerous so close to home but I have to take these opportunities when they present themselves.
I wanted to look her in the eyes as I took her, hold her by the throat. I hear my father’s voice behind the bathroom door, the screaming and sloshing of water. The mourners telling me how awful her tragic accident was, how dangerous it is to fall asleep in the bath.
The girl and I were interrupted before we’d even started. Before I’d had time to touch her. Almost before she’d realised what was happening. I glimpsed her terror, wide-eyed, lips parted. A car alarm? No, too loud. At first, I thought it was sirens. They’d finally found me.
Still the itching continues, a constant clawing at my skin. I know I must seek out another. If only I could find my angel from the park.