Chapter 7- Condemned

Condemned, deemed unlivable. The 2 story row house stood at the end of Green Street caddy corner to Julia's. It gave him a direct view of her bedroom window as well as the street. He'd brought his belongings inside and set up in the master bedroom. No one noticed him or his recent activity. As luck would have it, no one noticed anything on this street. Little life passed through the street. No nosy neighbors, no block full of noisy children. A few houses occupied by low income families that kept to themselves. He parked his truck in the alleyway out back of the house. He entered through the basement window at first, but unlocked the door from the inside. The master bedroom he padlocked while he was away.

His new home came mostly furnished. He pieced together a bed to lay his body at night and set up the master bedroom with some makeshift shelving and a table for him to do his work. 

He spent his first few days ripping out the plumbing and what wiring he could find. Any metal or anything junk-able in the house he piled in his pick up. He set up a decent shelter and a kerosene heater for warmth. Winter was tough and he'd prefer heading south. He would, eventually. With Julia. He spent his days circling his new neighborhood and surrounding districts in the truck. He picked up junk as he went along and by the end of the week he found the local recycling spot and junked his treasures from the truck bed. He earned himself a decent sum of money.

During his daytime junk journey he observed Creekside Quarry, Construction and Paving. He filled out an application, providing his prepaid cell number to the company on the app. Most of the app was embellished. A couple references would answer the phone and give glowing reviews, but most would never answer the phone. He's a man down on his luck and needed a job. He stuck to his usual story.  New to the area, looking for work. Manual labor was no problem. He spent his life working manual labor. Houses, plumbing, construction, roofing. After 34 years on mother earth, he was a Jack of all trades and a master of none. 

The company called him. He toiled weeks in the cold loading trucks full of stone, delivering them and unloading them. He made small talk with his coworkers, earned an honest day's pay, but kept his distance. He could feel the difference in his body, working hard all day. His arms and back grew stronger, his muscles more defined. 

People live in a pattern, developing a routine that they live by on a daily basis. This daily routine outlines the boredom people face. Several weeks of forming his life in Maverick Caleb was growing more and more cagey. He could feel the tension building. As each day passed he grew more impatient. He would need to take her soon. He grew bored of his boarded up home. He grew bored of watching his angel. He needed to be with her. But the girl was never alone. She had a friend at her side at all times. A boyfriend, a child, a girlfriend, her father. Fate was keeping him away from his angel and he was becoming angry at fate. He needed to make his own fate. Seize the opportunity. All he needed was a moment.

He parked his truck out back of The Hole in the Wall bar and walked the alleyway to the front entrance. A seedy bar that catered to the anonymous in life. He sat on a bar stool and nursed a beer as he did every afternoon. He'd observed her several times of late. Dyed blond hair in a pony tail, stretchy shirt, tight jeans, sneakers. She was the type of drinker that looked older than she really was because of the drink. She had chewed up fingernails and a cigarette in her right hand. She eventually swiveled her bar stool to face him. 

"Hi, darlin'. You looking' for a good time?"

"Maybe." He answered, putting the bottle to his mouth, taking a gulp. 

"Well, then, I'm Susie."

"Well, then Susie-Q. Let's do this."

Once in his truck, the money had exchanged hands and she went to work on him. While pleasing him with her mouth, he pulled the gun he had tucked behind the driver's seat and hit her hard on her head, knocking her out cold. Once in his truck, she was his. He owned her and no more money would change hands. Her rules were obsolete and she would follow his rules. He reached for his bag on the floor of the passenger seat and went to his work. He secured her wrists and ankles with zip ties, secured her mouth shut with duct tape. 

She was no angel and she never would be. 

He peered out the bedroom window at Angel Julia's bedroom. The light was on and he could see inside. He spied the corner of her bed, pillows. She laid clothing out on her bed. She wore her white robe. Her red hair was wet and long down her back. He scribbled observations in his marble notebook and then was distracted by Susie-Q as she stirred behind him on the bed. She began whimpering once fully awake, tears were falling freely from her dull brown eyes. She was fully secured to his bed. 

The low lighting in the room shined on her naked body. She lay flat on her back, arms above her with each wrist tied down. Her legs open, each ankle tied down. He watched as she struggled to free herself, tugging on the straps that secured her arms and legs. He always saw the same look of surprise and fear once the realization struck each girl that there was no getting away.

He stood at the foot end of the bed and peered down at her. Her breasts no longer as perky without the bra, each falling toward her armpit. Her belly with a layer of jiggly fat that revealed stretch marks. The patch of brown hair between her legs. A knife lay on the bed by her leg.

"Suzanne Desmond. 31 years old." He read from her photo ID that he removed from her purse. 

Saying her name caught her attention. He'd been through her belongings. 120 bucks, a chapstick, baby wipes, deodorant, perfume, condoms, a cell. He leaned over and picked up his knife from the bed, holding it up for her to view. She began crying again as she observed the length of the blade. He ran his finger over the edge of the knife, then leaned over her. "You see this?" He asked. Every muscle in her body tensed as the knife was held above her. "I'm putting this right here." He said, laying it open on her stomach.

He unbuttoned his jeans, then pulled them down. He kicked them off and out of the way. He knelt between her legs on the bed. "I am going to untie your legs, Susie-Q."  He leaned back and clicked open the strap that held her left leg down. She lay still. She could feel the weight of the knife on her abdomen. "You move and I will pick that knife up and I will use it. Do you understand?"

She nodded. 

He clicked open the strap on her right leg. Both legs free. He removed the knife from her abdomen and set it beside him on the bed. Her legs bent at the knees and her legs remained open. "Whore." He told her as he entered her. His hands grasped her ankles, forcing her legs up. His waist moved, thrusting into her. She cried out through the duct tape that covered her mouth. He forced her legs back further. There was no more struggle as he took her, pinned down she couldn't move. He could feel her struggling beneath him, trying to move him off her with her legs, but she was weak, too weak to budge him. His weight held her right where he wanted her as he continued to ram inside her. When he was done he left her legs go and got off her. He placed his knife back on her abdomen and tethered her ankles once again."Whoo, we're gonna have a good weekend." 

Julia hopped the bus at school that went to the outskirt of Maverick East. The school bus' last stop was on the border of Maverick West. That' s where she met Jay. That stop was only a five minute walk to the high school. They stayed at the bus stop and waited for the local bus to take them into town to the planned parenthood clinic. He held her hand and they sat near the back. She had an appointment scheduled for an exam and to obtain the script for the pill. They got off the bus and went inside the clinic. Julia saw a nurse practioner, had an uncomfortable exam, a breast exam, and a swab test for STD's. The nurse explained the importance of taking the pill daily. If need be set a reminder alarm on the cell phone. She gave Julia a card and told her to call if she had any questions. She left the clinic with three months of pills, a dozen or so condoms, and an appointment to return for more.

"I have to do this exam every three months?" Julia gasped,  grasping blue paper gown over her lap.

"No. You just pick up the pills. The exam is once a year. And remember to continue using condoms for a month til the pill gets in your system, ok? We will call you with abnormal test result, Miss Fry. No call is all negative."

The  nurse left the room and Julia removed and threw away the paper gown that made her feel so awkward. She dressed and met Jay in the lobby where she found him asleep in his chair. No wonder he doesn't sleep at night. He takes 5 naps a day. Julia thought. She nudged him awake and they got back on the bus home. They got off the bus at the daycare and picked up Tatia, putting her in her stroller and walking the six blocks to Mr G's. She left Jay at Mr G's shop and head to his grandmom's to watch the kids. She did homework with Alex, answering 3rd grade questions and encouraging him to think on his own. Tatia screamed from her pack n play then repeatedly jumped out each time she was placed back in. Julia eventually gave up and sat her in her high chair with a few toys so she could finish up her homework.

While grandmom made dinner, she and Julia had awkward conversation. She'd never been a big fan of his ailing grandmom and half the time Julia thought she was faking her illness for her social security check. Still young enough to work and she sat around the house all day on her ass nonfunctional. Half the time she didn't even wear the oxygen that she needed to breathe. She never used the inhalers her doctor prescribed and she still smoked half a pack of cigarettes a day. This was one of the days that Julia wished she'd taken the kids to her house. The days when Grandmom was a martyr, the days when she swore she didn't know where the grandkids would be without her. Julia smiled and politely agreed through her silence. 

Soon, the Friday night fight would blast through the house. Jay couldn't go anywhere or do anything till the little ones were tucked in and asleep for the night. Especially Tatia. Alex not so much. He was directable and easier to maneuver into bed or into a self directed activity. Whenever Julia felt like leaving or hollering at her to just shut up, she'd remind herself that she was responsible for Karen. She raised her. She'd also raised Sandy and all of the boys, too. Maybe she was tired and didn't feel like raising anymore kids. Julia thought she was plain old crazy.

Jay returned home after three hours of work. She'd spent three hours of hell with his grandmother. He could tell she was pissed when he saw her face. The kids ran up to him and gave him hugs. He gave them lollipops and kisses. Julia stood in the kitchen doorway with her hands on her hips. He mouthed a big I'm sorry and frowned.

"Look, I have to get out of here before I stab her straight through the heart with one of her  crosses." Julia swore in his ear as she gave him a hug.

"Thanks babe. I love you."

Julia gathered her bag and threw her hoodie over her arm. "I love you too. Text me ok."

Julia went home and showered the day off her. Showered the doctors hand prints off her body, showered his grandmother out of her head. Three hours with that woman and Julia contemplated taking her life from her. She couldn't imagine the mental stress that Jay had to live through everyday. Julia had a choice whether to be there or not. Jay didn't.

Julia took her time getting ready to go out. She knew Jay would be a while and that gave her plenty of time to play with her hair, choose the right outfit, unwind from using her brain all day. And she took her first pill. She texted her dad,and Hayley, Cass, Chess. Plans in place. A concert in the park and holiday festival with food and ice skating. She laid out her clothes and opted to dress warm for being outside at night. Still wrapped in her robe she cleaned up the house and started her week's laundry. She ate some left over spaghetti, having declined a bite of the food that his Grandmom had made. She never made enough, but she always offered. She left the portion she would have eaten for Jay. Jay texted her at 830. Tatia was in her crib, which meant he was getting ready and would be over as soon as she fell asleep.

He followed them to town where the Holiday festival was taking place. He mixed in the crowd, but it was difficult to do because the majority of these folks were kids. The town was decorated for the holiday with lights and decorations, poinsettias and holly. He watched them get drunk at the town square as they sat on the benches surrrounding the gazebo as the band played. He watched as they ice skated on the makeshift rink. They took a picture with Santa, a group of atleast 15 surrounding the look-a-like. Smiling and laughing. Julia looked like a Christmas angel. She would be his by Christmas, a gift from above. It wouldn't be long at all. The town was dressed for Christmas, and the holiday festival was every Friday and Saturday night and every Sunday afternoon starting Black Friday through Christmas. Each week there was a different cause the townfolk could donate to and this week was the local churches that collected money for feeding the poor. Christmas music played on speakers and the shops stayed open late for shoppers each having a sale with a percentage of the proceeds focusing on a charity. Jay and Julia got hot cocoa at the drink cart, topped with whip cream.

"Oh, shit. Jay." Julia said, tugging his sleeve. She pointed toward the gazebo, which wasn't too far away. She looked to Hayley who was hanging on Chess. "Guys, look."

They looked where she pointed, but nothing in particular caught their eye.

"What is it? One of Santa's elves or something?" Chess laughed, snuggling his face in Hayley's neck.

"It's the guy. The one from the rest stop. Remember, Hayley? The one that was bugging us on the way to the cabin."

"Where, Jules?" Jay asked, scanning his gaxe over the gazebo area.

"That creeper. Julia?" Hayley asked, looking around them as well.

Chess said, "I don't see anyone, Julia. You had too much to drink, I think."

"No, I saw him."

His eyes caught hers for a moment. Her friends were distracted, but she definitely locked eyes on his. He stared blankly at her, offering a smile. Then stepped away out of sight. She knows I'm here, he thought. She's aware. 

"Julia, it was probably somebody that looked like him or something. Chill, if we see him again..."

"Then what?" She asked Hayley.

Julia tried to let it go, but she remembered and felt again that chill she got from him. That cold stare. The eyes that were bizarre and just too intense. She held on to Jay a little tighter the rest of the night, thinking sarcastically that her day was getting better and better. They went and played a few games, balloon darts and ski-ball. The others had fun, but Julia kept scanning the crowd for him. She didn't see him and she didn't sense he was near. I musta been seeing things, she thought, they're right. It couldn't have been him. She told them as much. 

But...she wouldn't stop looking for him. He watched her still. She was aware he was near. They were connected. They're meeting had been fate and fate brought their eyes together again. She could feel his presence, his desire, his need. The more she looked for him, the more drawn he felt to her. The more he wanted to go to her and claim her, then make love to her. He wanted to taste her and hold her, cuddle her close in his arms. He could feel his manhood stirring in his jeans, the stiff rising that signaled his need for her. 

When her hot chocolate was gone she added more alcohol in her cup. She wanted to take the awkward vibe off her. The feeling that strange eyes were on her, burning into her, she couldn't shake it off. She was glad when they got on the bus to go home. Chess and Hayley joined them and went back to Julia's house.

"We're gonna go out back and smoke. You guys wanna?"

"No,"Julia answered, taking Jay's hand and leading him toward her room.

"Nah, I'm good."Jay said, being led away.

"Make yourself at home. We'll be out in a minute."

Julia closed the door to her room, started taking off her clothes.

"Fuck me." She told him.

Julia awoke in the dark without clothes on. She was wrapped up, sweating underneath her blankets. The room was not exactly spinning, but it wasn't exactly still either, and she had to pee. She pushed the blankets off her and stumbled from the bed to the bathroom. She pushed open the door and stood naked in front of a similarly naked Hayley and Chess. She sat on the counter with her legs open and Chess bare and skinny ass pumping away.

"Shit," Julia mumbled, frozen in her tracks, still reeling from too much alcohol. The sight of Chess' ass burning into her brain.

"Julia, what the fuck?" Chess moaned.

Julia crossed the small bathroom and sat on the toilet, her bladder about to burst. "Continue," Julia said, swaying on the toliet seat, waving her hand at the twosome.

Chess continued, but watched as Julia sat naked beside him, eyes scanning her breasts and then down to her patch of red hair between her legs.

Julia removed toilet paper from the roll, wiped, then crept back out the way she came. She went into the living room and found Jay sleeping on the sofa infront of the tv. He must have been out here with them, Julia thought. She crawled onto the sofa, shifting the blanket over her as she settled on top of him. He stirred, pulling her close, feeling her body against his chest. She reached into his shorts and stroked him till he got hard, then maneuvered him into her. "Hey, babe,"

"Ssshhh," She cut him off with her breast in his mouth as she circled her hips on top of him.

She grinded on him till he came. "My God, I fucking love you. Like real love, you know."

"You're still drunk, Jules. You passed out before we even got there."

"Huh?"

"I was eating your snatch and all I hear is snoring. I was like, 'no she didn't'."

"I don't even remember." She said, "It's all a blur."

The darkness was his friend. He crossed the street and crept the patch of lawn to the window and stepped up on the box that he'd placed there. The blind was up. Her dad's car wasn't in the driveway. The house was dark. He was ready. 

Peering in the window, Julia was not in her bed. A light shined inside the house, a swatch of light was in the hallway, on the carpet just inside her door. He expected her to be sleeping, laying like a sleeping princess awaiting her knight to come place a kiss on her soft lips to awaken her from slumber. A shadow emerged on the carpet, he looked up. She screamed.

Hayley's scream rattled the quiet of the night. Everyone jumped about a foot, including the man at the window. Chess pushed past her and ran into Julia's room, leaning over the dresser, he looked out the window, stretching to see left and right. Jay went out the front door, saw a shadow at the end of the street, turning and disappearing. Jay set off into the darkness, running toward him. Stopped at the end of the street where he'd turned, but couldn't ascertain which direction he'd taken.

"It was him. I know it! " Julia cried, shaking as tears streamed down her face.

Hayley was just as shaken up as she was, crying quietly. "It was him! He followed us from the Festival. He knows where I live, where we live!"

"You don't know-"

"I do know." Julia argued, cutting him off. "Hayley, you saw him!"

"For a sec, Julia, it was dark."

"But it was him?! Right, it was."

"I think so." She answered.

All of them fully clothed and sobered up from the shock they had, sat in the lit up living room. It was 530am. Half of them had slept. Half of them had not.

"I gotta call my dad." Julia said. " We should call the cops."

"Fuck that." Chess announced. "Julia, we're all fucking wasted. The place is a fucking mess and reaks of sex and pot. They'll lock us up, thinking we're fucking hallucinating."

"This is serious." Julia said, wiping tears from her cheeks. "What if he comes back? What if he breaks in? He could fuckin' kill me, Chess."

Chess leaned back in the chair and looked at the girls. "You're right. Call your dad."

Julia's dad pulled up to the curb in pajama bottoms and an old tee. Sneakers on his feet, half awake. He'd been at Ellen's. He entered the house and saw the girls still crying. The police were on the way. The kids had cleaned up the house a bit and there was no law against a sleep over. Julia's dad met Officer Ripkin on the sidewalk and explained the situation. The kids were having a sleep over, a man was seen looking in the bedroom window. Officer Ripkin took the statements from all the kids. "Probably a peeping Tom." The officer said.

"No, I told you I saw him at the festival. I saw him before that on the way to the cabin. He's not a stranger peeping in my window." Julia argued. "Dad, "

"Shh, Julia."

"I took all that down, Miss, and the description. We'll step up patrol in the neighborhood and keep an eye out for him. If you see him again or if you have any contact with him at any time, call 911 immediately. If it's at night, ask directly for me and I'll come right over."

He stood at the window, peering down on the street in front of her house. The flashing lights set the desolate street aglow in red and blue. The kids and Julia's dad stood on the front steps and spoke. They called Cal, they called the police. He had to be careful. He'd lost them at the Festival. Had no idea that the others were with her in the house. He stood outside her window everynight, enjoying her beauty while she slumbered. He had followed her, he knew enough. What had he waited for? A chance. A sliver in time that allowed for him to remove her from her life and place her directly into his. She lived to absorb him, worship him, love him. Had all this been for nothing?

The police officer returned to his vehicle and drove off. The street grew dark once again. The dawn of a new day ahead of him, them and his Susie-Q. He had to lay low awhile. Maybe keep Susie-Q around awhile longer.

He turned to her, laying on the bed. Sleeping. He'd unshackled her and left her hands and legs go when he returned from the Festival. Her wrists had bled and the ties had dug into her flesh. He beat her for having struggled in his absence, lashing her with his belt, leaving welts on her back and buttocks. He then allowed her to clean herself. Fed her some takeout from the Festival. Allowed her to use the bathroom. Allowed her to sleep. But the comfort was never long lasting.

He went to the bed and rolled her onto her stomach. She awoke, then he pulled her on all fours. His hand wrapped in her loosely fallen hair, yanking her head back. He thrust inside her, she struggled in front of him, his grip was firm in her hair and he tugged harder to control her. A hand on the base of her spine held her in place. 

He pulled her to him by her hair, so her back was firm against his chest and abdomen. He placed the knife at her throat. " Do your job, whore. Please me. " He told her, dragging the knife along her neck and as he leaned back on his knees, dragged the knife downward along her spine. He kept the steel of the blade against the base of her spine as she pleased him. Forced to comply, she made him orgasm. She pulled off him, turned to face him. She was not crying, she had a blank and dull stare. She submitted finally. That was not difficult. Not at all. "Clean my dick." He ordered. She moved to get off the bed, he stopped her. "With your mouth." She leaned over and placed her mouth onto him. She felt the knife at the base of her neck, a nonverbal warning not to bite or hurt him. She would lose her life if she did. She believed that. All she wanted was the torture to end. To leave and see her babies again. To hold them close. She cleaned him, sucking every bit of herself and him off his member. Only to make him hard again from the warm wetness of her tongue and lips.

She pulled her mouth off his erection and raised to meet him. Her hand working at him at first. She placed her hand on his arm, gently pulling the arm away from her, the hand that held the knife on the mattress. Maybe, she thought, if I please him he'll let me go. Or I can escape. If I gain his trust, then I can run. Run away from here. 

His free hand she placed between her legs. "I can get wet for you." She said softly. "What is your name?"

"You don't need my name."

He grasped her head and pushed her head back to his dick.