She Will Be Mine

Chapter 15: Charlie

​The doctor looked down at me, clearly amused. "I was hoping to not have to see you again for a while," Her eyes weren't unkind, and she carefully rolled me onto my side to assess the damage. "It looks like you will live to see another day Mr. Michaels," she said as she finished. "I want to give you some antibiotics for that mark, but other than that you are free to go." I smiled and thanked her as she left.
​Looking around, I noticed that no one was in the room with me. Not even Des. I grabbed my phone tried to call her. No answer. I paged her. No answer. Then, it hit me. I looked at the clock. It was six in the morning.
​As the nights events came back to me, I remembered it all: The kissing, the man, the bullet, the jerk getting away, and everything else that happened in between.
​My side twanged as I tried to get up. Climbing out, I grabbed my clothes and left the room.
* * *
​The man laid Des on the bed in his apartment. He smiled down at her and her sleeping figure. She seemed so peaceful; he couldn't wait until she really woke up.
​Leaving her in there, the man grabbed his bottle of Bourbon and walked onto the porch. The sun was just beginning to rise over the buildings, casting a shadow past them. It seemed like the whole world was still sleeping. Slamming back his glass, the man ran a hand through his hair. Grey hair was sprouting up among the tendrils, and wrinkles were coming around his eyes. They burned from loss of sleep, and the man wanted to do nothing more than curl up on that bed with her.
​But there were more important things to do. The man leaned over the railing on the balcony and watched the world come to life around him. As soon as the sun officially came over the buildings, the man knew he had to get a move on with his plans. Someone would have to be alerted about Desiree's location.
​The man needed to make sure that Des would be safely secured when she woke up. Walking back over to her, he took her up in his arms. She was light and skinny, just how the man liked it. He carried her over to the chair against his wall, and promptly tied her to it. Lacing her hands behind her back, he tied them to the chair, and then tied her ankles to each individual post. He grabbed the handkerchief from his back pocket and wrapped it around her mouth. Satisfied with his job, the man left her, walking right out of the apartment.
* * *
​As I walked down the street to the Empire State Building, I tried to reach Des. I hadn't even reached the first ring when it went to voicemail. "Hey Des," he started out. "It's me, Charlie. Um, call me when you get the chance OK?" I had a sinking feeling that everything was not alright.
* * *
​When the man returned, Des was still asleep. Her head was hanging over on her chest, and she was snoring deeply.
​The man laid his purchases onto the counter and prepared to deliver the news. He grabbed the new phone off the table first, and using a pre-paid card that couldn't be traced, he called Charlie.
* * *
​When my phone rang with an unidentified number, my flags went up.
​"Hello?"
​"Hello Mr. Michaels," The voice was muted and altered immensely. "How are you today? I hope you are well. I may have some news for you that could be upsetting. You see, I am in a predicament. I am in love with this girl; I have been for a while. The problem is, she doesn't love me back, at least not yet. I am working on those details," The voice sounded too happy. It wasn't normal.
​"Who are you?" I demanded. "What do you want with me?"
​"I was getting to that before you so rudely interrupted me Mr. Michaels," the voice was growing impatient. "What I am trying to say is, I have the girl. The one that doesn't love me yet, she is mine. And there is nothing you can do about it. She is mine!"
​The line went dead. I had more than just a sinking feeling about who I had just spoken with.
* * *