The Good Neighbor - Bettes Kimberley A.. Страница 30

Andy asked if Jill had called the police. The reaction from Carla as he asked that simple, obvious question was one none of us suspected.

She nearly screamed, “No! No police. Absolutely not.”

I exchanged a quick glance at Andy, both of us puzzled. I didn’t want to anger her at such a time, but I had to know why she refused to call the police.

“Carla, why not? Bernie has to pay for this.” I said this in a calm and soothing tone. I didn’t want her to feel as if I were pressuring her in any way. I didn’t want to cause her more stress than what I already had.

She sighed deeply. “When I was ten, a man broke into our house and raped my mother. She called the police after he left, even though he told her not to. They arrested him a few days later. He never did time, though. He was let go on a technicality. He came back. He killed my mother because she had told on him. I won’t put my kids through that. They won’t grow up without their mother the way I did.”

None of us said anything. We knew then that neither of the four of us would call the police.

I felt the change in me. I knew I’d have to deal with Bernie. I had to rid her of this threat, this problem that lived next door to her. I couldn’t possibly expect her to live beside him without fear.

I would take care of her at any cost.

50 Bernie

I watched the room spin as I lay on the bed. The ceiling was nearly out of control. It might have not been such a good idea to drink so much. Especially since that damn Owen would probably be coming. They hadn’t called the cops, for whatever reason, so I had no doubt that he’d come over here and start something. He’d want revenge for what I’d done to the broad. He didn’t realize that I’d only done what she’d asked me to do. She hadn’t asked with words, but actions. And everybody knows what they say about actions; they speak louder than words.

I smiled and closed my eyes as I remembered creeping up the stairs and sneaking in the room where she lay, naked, sleeping, waiting for me. I relived every moment, every detail. I’d never forget the way she looked in the dark, or the way her skin felt as I crushed it between my teeth, or the way it felt to be inside her.

I didn’t realize I was jacking off until I felt the warm mess on my hand as I finished.

I opened my eyes and laughed. That was almost as good as when it had really happened. I wiped the gunk on the wad of blanket lying beside me. Who cares?

I was glad that I could experience it over and over, because I doubted that I’d ever get another chance to do her. Even though I knew she wanted me to sneak over there and do her every night. I was sure Owen knew it too. I was also sure he’d do everything he could to keep me from satisfying her. He was jealous. He knew she wanted me and that made him jealous.

I lay there with my eyes closed to avoid watching the spinning room, and wondered what that damn Owen had up his sleeve. It had to be something. I didn’t know why they hadn’t called the cops. I imagined her begging him not to because – though she’d never say it to him – she’d wanted it. Whatever the reason, they hadn’t. That led me to believe Owen had a plan.

I imagined him sneaking over here in the night, slipping into my house and trying to catch me by surprise. The surprise would be on him, though, when he realized that while he was here trying to catch me, I was at his house giving it to the broad again.

The thought of having another chance at her gave me yet another hard-on. To take care of it, I closed my eyes and imagined creeping back up those stairs again.

51 Andy

The women were upstairs. Owen and I had gone to the kitchen under the pretense of needing a drink. What we’d really needed was a moment to ourselves to talk about what to do about that bastard Bernie.

I wasn’t sure how to handle this situation, and I knew Owen wasn’t either. What I did know, was that if it had been Jill he’d done these things to, I’d be throwing the dirt over his limp body right now.

Even though it hadn’t been my wife, it felt almost as bad. It was Owen’s girlfriend, and he was like my brother. I felt the pain it caused him and what hurt him, hurt me.

I leaned against the kitchen counter with my arms folded across my chest. Owen sat at the table, looking exhausted, with his head in his hands. There were a couple of times when I thought he was crying, but I was never really sure.

“Maybe we should talk about this more after you’ve had some rest,” I suggested.

“I just don’t know what to do, Andy. I have to do something.” He sighed heavily.

“Well, I’ll tell you this. The son of a bitch will pay for what he’s done. What we have to do is figure out what we’re going to do to him and when. That’s it.”

Owen nodded slowly. “You’re right. Let’s get something figured out.”

I sat down at the table with him and we began a conversation that lasted until after dawn. In the end, we had what could only be described as a rudimentary plan. It was basic and unsophisticated at best. Basically, we’d just talked about what we wanted to do to him and what we should do to him. In the end, we sort of just threw it all together.

I walked away unsure of how much of it would really be done. We were both angry and tired. In a well-rested and less emotional state, would we see things the same way? Bernie had to be punished. There was no doubt about that. But were capable of being the kind of monster he was?

Only time would tell.

52 Jill

I sat at the kitchen table sipping a glass of milk and nibbling on some buttered toast. I was trying to work with my stomach instead of against it. Andy on the other hand was really putting away a bowl of oatmeal, saturated with sugar, butter, cinnamon and cream. I tried to not look at it or smell it, or even think about it. I just wanted to keep down the toast. So far, so good.

He hadn’t told me what he and Owen had talked about in the wee hours of the morning, and I wasn’t sure I wanted to know. I was sure the conversation had centered on Bernie and his misdeeds.

I wanted desperately to talk to him, as I still hadn’t had the chance. There had been so much going on lately, there just never seemed to be an appropriate moment.

I watched him rinse his now-empty bowl in Owen’s sink before checking on Ethan and Shelby, who were playing in the back yard. When he returned, he took his seat at the table once more and sighed.

“This is just awful,” he said, resting his elbow on the table and his head on his hand. “If that would’ve been you...I don’t know what I would’ve done. I can’t imagine what he’s going through.”

“What about her? I mean, she has to live next door to that creep. I couldn’t do it. I don’t know how she’s going to do it.”

After a moment of silence, Andy said, “I still can’t believe he had the nerve to come over here and do such a thing. How did he know Owen wasn’t here?”

“I don’t know that he knew Owen was gone.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, look what he did the night before. He walked in and molested her with Owen lying right there. That’s guts. Or stupidity.”

Andy chuckled. “In Bernie’s case, it’s both.” He thought for a moment. “It’s like he was watching Owen’s house. Like he knew the moment he left. He saw his opportunity and took it. And he was finished and nearly gone before Owen came back. Had Carla laid there like he told her, he would’ve been gone.”