The Psychopath's Prisoner

Chapter 30

Cheyenne woke up and looked at the clock on the wall. It said one forty-five. The sun was shining. She rubbed her eyes and wondered how she could've slept so long. She noticed that Michael was gone. How had he gotten up without waking her?

"Oh well. Guess I'll start my day."

She stood as Michael came up behind her. "Are you hungry?"

"A little bit." Her stomach growled. "More than a little." She sat back down and covered her face with her hands, trying to ward off the oncoming headache.

"I'll go fix a little something. Be right back." "Thank you."

"No problem."

Alone again, Cheyenne's thoughts quickly turned to Gabrielle's murder. Who could've done such a thing to her best friend? Gaby didn't do anything to deserve to die. They were supposed to grow old and be the little old ladies in the nursing home racing wheelchairs, not leaving one to grieve over the other so soon. Her heart was heavy with the burden of thought that it could be because of her. With everything that's been going on with her, it could be the same person who murdered Gaby. Now she had to figure out how to deal with her death. Where did she go from here?

"Got you some lunch," Michael said, interrupting her thoughts. "I hope you have an appetite."

"Not really. Right now, all I can think about is Gaby. I feel so incredibly guilty. It should've been me."

Michael set the tray down, kneeled in front of her and placed his hands on her knees. "Look, Chey, it's not your fault. What could you have done to prevent her death?"

"I could've been there for her. I should've been there for her. It might have been me that they were targeting. If it is, how can I live even thinking that?"

"How can you blame yourself for someone being a whack job? Stop doing this to yourself. Don't beat yourself up over it. Okay?" When she nodded, he went on. "Okay then. Eat something. I made a chicken salad sandwich on wheat, celery sticks with cream cheese, carrot sticks, a sliced apple, and some sweet tea."

"I don't know if I can eat anything. I have a stomachache."

"Just try. Okay?"

"I'll try."

"Good."

She took a bite and nearly vomited. She jerked her head up and looked over at Michael. "I'm so sorry, but my stomach can't handle it right now. Not with all the stress. My life is falling apart." The tears flowed down her cheeks like a broken dam while Michael cradled her in his arms.

"Shhh... It'll be okay," he whispered in her ear as he stroked her hair. "No one can hurt you now."

"How can you be so sure? Even I can't be sure of that." She wished she could stop her heart from breaking.

"Hey," he started, placing his hands on her shoulders. "I will keep you safe. You're much safer here than by yourself in your apartment. No matter what happens, I'll be here for you."

"I know. I'm sorry, but I can't believe this is happening to me. Maybe I need to talk with Raina. I think I need to."

~

"What's up? I thought we were cutting off communication until this was all settled."

"Yes. Originally, but I needed to talk to you."

"About Gabs?"

"Yes. No. I need to talk. I don't know what to do."

"Sis, it's not your fault."

"So everyone keeps saying. I miss her. You know? We were best friends since we were kids."

Raina was quiet for a moment before saying, "Do you remember the time when we went on vacation to Virginia Beach?"

"We had so much fun. Gaby got stung by a jellyfish and acted like she was going to die. She even asked one of us to pee on her."

"It was so funny. I thought I was going to wet myself."

"Do you remember going for ice cream afterwards? She flirted with these two really gorgeous guys."

"I remember. It turned out they were gay."

"She was mortified. Later on the same day, she got hit on by that woman who we couldn't tell whether or not she was a man or woman at first." Cheyenne laughed so hard tears were running down her cheeks.

"Neither could Gaby. Though we did warn her, but she did her own thing, not believing us."

"Gaby left with her and not long after she called us to come get her."

"Guess she learned to listen to us from that point on." Raina giggled.

"After the incident, she would ask us about the newest 'flavor of the month' she struck up after that." Cheyenne paused and sighed before going on. "It's not only Gaby. It's everything I don't understand-any of it."

"Me neither. I hope they catch this psycho. The good news is you do have Michael on your side."

"I know. Believe me, I'm more than grateful, but Michael thinks he can protect me." She paused. "But I'm not sure anyone can." Cheyenne raised her hand to her mouth and absently chewed on her fingernails. "What am I supposed to do in the meantime? He's coming for me. My gut is telling me that when he does, I may not make it out alive."

"Oh Chey, you have to think positive and stop talking like this. Things will work out for the best. You're a fighter. Don't give up and let this son of a bitch win over you. I can't..." Raina let the sentence trail and swallowed hard. "I won't lose you. You're all I've got, sis. I love you."

"I love you, too. I promise I won't give up, but I'll admit, I'm terrified."

"So am I. Anyway, on a positive note, do you remember the time...?"

~

By the time they hung up, both Cheyenne and Raina were in stitches from laughing so hard. Though talking to her sister made her feel better, she still had some guilt. Like her sister said, at least she had the memories. No one could take that away.

She was deep in her thoughts when the phone rang. Michael yelled from the kitchen asking for her to get it and she picked up the receiver. Someone was barking on the other end. It wasn't a dog but a person imitating a dog.

"Hello?" Cheyenne frowned and the barking continued. "If you're not going to talk like a human being, I'm hanging up." Still, the barking continued. She hung up. Weird. Just plain weird.

"Who was that?"

"Someone barking on the other end."

"Odd," Michael called out.

"I thought so too," Cheyenne responded. "I'll be there in a minute."

"No problem. I'll just be lying here on the couch."