Dark Lust

CHAPTER I

"Abbi!" Called Ana Maria, chopping an apple on the cutting board. I was running late and had to get to the hospital before 7 o'clock. I had a horrible nightmare which decreased my appetite. It had been already five years since my father's demise. I kept picturing our little precious moments cooking together. However, I could not stop seeing a masked man chasing after me in the dreams as if I was his main target. Sometimes, I wished he was real so I could tell him to leave me alone and report him to the police.

I walked around the counter and grabbed one of the sliced apples. As soon as I took a bite, I recalled how much my father liked having an apple before heading to the garden to water the plants. It tasted bitter and sour, for I was still in grief. I started to fear that I'd never moved on nor became normal again.

"Good morning!" I pecked a loud kiss on Ana's cheek which was the usual way to greet her. "You made fish?" I guessed that she prepared food for I noticed two lunchboxes on the counter. Although I tried to convince her that it wasn't necessary to wake up so early in the morning to make me breakfast and food for dinner, she still decided to make it a routine.

"Of course, " She chuckled, "I knew you'd wake up late for work today. I just had a feeling you would, due to what happened last night." My mom found a lot of pleasure teasing me lately after Marrs passed by to recite me a poem. He was a good friend of mine and I hired him as our personal landscaper. He had a missing arm which had been amputated at the beginning of his adolescence. However, I didn't find it a problem at all.

Marrs was smart and hardworking and he'd never accepted to take a day off even when I'd advised him to. He was experiencing excruciating pain in the phantom limb and his daily medications did very little to ease the sensation. As soon as he felt better, he came to the house and showed me the poem. It was nice and I liked it, and maybe I started to appreciate Marrs more than before as well.

Marrs never allowed his medical challenges to limit him. We met at a subway that was across Lindson's Memorial Hospital. He nicely approached me and stretched out a wallet. I assumed that it was identical to mine until I pushed my hand into my pocket and noticed that something was missing. Marrs smiled and placed the small wallet on the table confirming that I dropped it while I was crossing the street. I thanked him and gestured at him to grab a chair. However, he declined my offer to get a sandwich since he was worried about becoming obese which was totally absurd as he was far from being overweight.

Marrs told me about the way that he was discriminated in his community and how he was struggling with an eating disorder. He was thin as if something was sucking up his flesh. His skin looked dull and his eyes constantly looked tired. At the beginning of our conversation, he mentioned that his mom was anorexic which I took to heart due to my profession. As a Registered Dietician, I was dealing with those types of patients on a daily basis and I could tell how hard it was for anyone going through this.

"The fact that he came here and told me about his mom..." I resumed, "I want to get her trust and get a friend to help her. She's killing herself."

"I know you feel disheartened by everything that is happening around Marrs' life and that you care about his mom," Ana said, "But..."

I knew what she was going to say. Marrs was developing feelings that I was not ready to welcome yet. I was still focusing on getting my master's degree and I didn't want to be distracted. Marrs was very sensitive and caring, so I was scared by the thought of disappointing him.

Ana passed her arm around my neck and drew me into a hug. "It'll be alright! I know you're tired and you are worried about Marrs. He's a good guy, just with a missing limb."

"I am not taking two lunchboxes to work though," I whispered, pointing my finger at the food for emphasis.

"Oh, you will!" Ana grinned. "I'll put them in the car."

A thought of panic popped in my head and I froze up remembering that I forgot to fix my flat tire and had no gas in the car. I looked at Ana with a hand over my chest thinking thoroughly if I'd make it on time calling a taxi.

"Something's wrong?"Ana asked. I shook my head, trying to figure it all out. I had to call and let the hospital know that I was going to be late, for I was scheduled to see an anorexic patient before a surgery. I could not be late, for sure.

I headed back upstairs to my room and took my lab coat. I was feeling comfy in my slacks and collared shirt. But then, I was filled up with fright thinking about the worse to happen. Meanwhile, Ana rinsed the cutting board and disinfected it.

"What is troubling you, Abbi?
You look stressed." She looked at me in puzzlement as I turned around, running my hands through my hair. I rushed to the living room and headed to the exit door. She followed me down to the gate where my car was parked.

"Abbi, why are you acting like this? Something happened?"

"Y-Yes, mom!" I nodded. "I'll call a taxi, so don't worry." At the minute I was feeling discouraged, a car arrived and stopped in the front. The driver honked at me and slowly put his windows down. I looked at Ana who then curiously approached the car in small cautious steps.

"Mom! Maybe you should let me go check who it is."

"It's Marrs!"

What? Marrs got himself a new car, just as he promised. He always told me that he wanted to have his own way of transportation and not depend on the metro. However, before I allowed myself to be too excited for him, I wanted to find out in what conditions he purchased it, for I knew he didn't have the means to.

Ana, my mom, opened the car's door and pulled him out and gave him a welcoming embrace. "No, Ms. Maria," Marrs said taking her hand. "Please allow me to do it the right way." He bent his back and kissed my mom's hand. She laughed and patted him on his shoulder which was one of her guilty habits. She was touchy, and that was fine with me since I was her daughter, but it felt quite awkward when it was with Marrs. Yet, itdidn't matter much since she liked him like her own child. I wished he was my brother too, so I wouldn't have to worry about his feelings for me.

"Always trying to act gallant, right Marrs?" Mom said.

"I have no choice Ms. Ana. You are the best lady in this town. No joke!" he cheered.

She offered him to get in and grab some of the breakfast she prepared. I mean one of my lunchboxes, which I didn't agree with at first.

"So, whose car is this?" I asked as Marrs walked toward me.

He greeted me in a warm hug and backed away clicking his tongue. He acted as if he had not heard my question. It was like I was from the FBI and I admit that sometimes, I acted worse than them. I was nosy when it came to everything that related to him.

I was not trying to control his life, but I felt that he was still vulnerable due to his emotional issues. I knew he wanted to be accepted by everyone and that people had tried to take advantage of him before. I just didn't want him to be lured in any sort of trouble anymore. I was like the big sister, while he only saw me as an annoying lover.

"Why are you asking? Are you jealous?" he smirked.

"What do you mean?" I frowned.

"I don't know. Maybe you assume that a rich girl gave it to me."

I snorted. "You're a guy, that'd be a shame to go out with a girl just for benefits."

"You're right! But it's true," he stepped in front of me and lightly brushed my cheek with the back of his hand. "I have been your landscaper and you paid me well. There's something called savings, you know? I manage my money, Abbi and the money came from you, I owe it to you."

He held my chin and winked at me. "But, you'll get my love for free any time, for now, you own my heart forever."

He smiled and I did too. Still, it wasn't genuine, for the more I tried to back away, the more serious he was. "You may go inside with my mom. I'm going to make a call."

"Why?" My mom objected.

"Marrs can take you to work. I'm sure... right, Marrs?" I eyed her confusedly for I spotted her winking at Marrs. That was probably one of their little arrangements which I wasn't aware of. I could not refuse since Marrs would ask questions. I wanted to be nice with him, and as for my mother, I'd dealt with the matter later.