Perception

Part 13: It's Okay He'll Die Alone in A Basement

"How did you sleep?" Wayne asked me. That was a good question. Before I snuck down to visit Devon I was nervous and afraid. But after the visit, I felt good. Good enough to get some sleep. "I slept well." I answered taking a sip of the orange juice. "That's good!" Wayne exclaimed. "You ready to go back to work?" "I am." I told him. I was ready. I had been off for a few days and I wanted to focus on something other than the monster in the basement. Wayne had taken the liberty to have the car Devon was driving crushed. He wanted no trace of Devon or anything he owned. My house was cleaned and all of my stuff was thrown out. Wayne offered to let me stay with him at least until this ordeal with Devon was over. I happily agreed. I didn't want to be alone.

When I got back to school, everyone was happy to see me. I was bombarded with questions. Are you okay? Do you know what happened? Who did it? I answered as much as possible but I explained that I really just wanted to get on with my life. "Well, if you need anything." Michelle said. "We're all here for you." she told me. "People nowadays." she shook her head and walked back to her desk. The first thing I did was check my email. I had a ton of unopened items. Most of them were about school events, a couple complaints from parents, a few teachers put in for vacations, school supply drive, an upcoming basketball game, choir concert updates and summer school student registration. I read through each one and returned the appropriate responses. Then I watered the lonely floor plant whose leaves were drooping from dehydration. There was one phone message that came in one day before the incident happened. It was from a woman. She spoke very low like her message was a secret. She sounded far away and frightened. She was asking if I knew a Devon Jones. She said she met him online and had been dating him for three months. She said he showed up out of nowhere and took over her life. She said she found my number in his phone and next to my name was the word 'bitch'. She just wanted to know anything about him that could get him out of her life. She said he's just taken over and there's nothing she can do about it. The police won't help, nobody can help she cried. "Oh, and my name is Sheila. Sheila Greene."

I wanted to call her back and tell her she never had to fear him again. But then I'd have to disclose how I knew that, or at least give some solid information on him. I'd just have to let her sweat it out. She'd soon realize he wouldn't be back to torment her anymore. It's okay I thought. He'll die alone in a basement. I'd always wondered why Devon had such a thing for me. When we first started dating I thought I'd found my perfect match. He was kind and considerate, even loving. But now I know that was all just a game to get me to like him, maybe even fall in love with him. I did think I was going to fall in love. There was a point I even thought about marriage. It made me sick now to think that I was that gullible.

That stupid.

How could I not have seen what a monster he truly was?

The school day droned on and finally it was over. I was glad for it too because it was tiring not knowing what was going on at Wayne's house. Wayne decided not to work all day, he wanted to keep tabs on Devon as much as possible. He explained that he had a relative visiting for a few weeks and would be in the office on and off for awhile. On the drive back to Wayne's house I thought about the situation I was in. I had my ex boyfriend, adultnapped in the basement of my current boyfriend...or man friend...what was Wayne to me exactly? Right now he was a co-conspirator with me to kill my ex boyfriend. I felt all kinds of crazy. Could we actually go through with essentially starving a man to death? Denying him food, water, even sunlight would be torture. Could I go through with it? Devon was so sure that he still had me in his clutches. You can't do that to me he taunted. Maybe he was right.

Before going back to Wayne's I decided to stop by my favorite wine market. Wayne had a wonderful selection of assorted wines and liquors but he didn't have my favorite. Barb's wine bar had that and more. It was a warehouse, literally, of assorted wines from all over the world. Ornellaia is a delicious Italian Cabernet Sauvignon that cost $219 a bottle. I know Wayne will enjoy it too since he has a taste for the finer drinks. We both deserved it after everything that's happened. As I stood tasting samples of the other wines, slowly starting to feel light headed and a little intoxicated, a familiar face approached me. I was hoping it wasn't one of the parents or any of the teachers. I couldn't immediately place the face until she was up close. Sheila. Sheila Greene. "Kelly?" she whispered. She spoke softly to me but she was very close to my face. I didn't answer. I wanted to tell her she had the wrong person. But I didn't have the heart to lie to her she looked so afraid. "Did you get my message?" she asked. "Yes." I said plainly, still holding the clear plastic cup of Pinot Grigio. "Look, I'm sorry to bother you...it's just, I didn't know who else to turn to...Devon, well, I haven't seen him in a couple days. I'm grateful for that. I don't know where he is or what's happened to him, but, I want him gone permanently. He took my car, he does this sometimes, disappears for a few days, with my car, then turns up again. If I question him, he gets angry, he yells, he hits me, the bastard." she muttered.

I still didn't respond. Partially because the wine was kicking in and I didn't want to say something stupid. "I know I'm pouring a lot on you, but I just don't know what to do. He's a..." "Monster." I finished for her. She looked at me for a moment, nodded slowly, then continued. "I reached out to you thinking maybe you could help because he seems to really hate you, but he left you alone." Then her eyes welled up and the tears flowed. I motioned for the lady to pour us a couple samples. Then Sheila and I went over to a table in the corner. I handed her wine and she drank it down in one big gulp. I really didn't need more so I handed her the other cup and she finished that one too. "He didn't leave me alone." I said blankly. "What?" she asked dumbly. "He didn't leave me alone." I repeated. "I moved here to get away from him. He moved here because he was following me." She sat and stared at me for a long time. "What happened with the two of you? After he saw you in the restaurant that night, he was so angry. He was even more scary than usual. He was cursing and throwing things. He was threatening to kill you and that guy you were with. He said you thought you could escape him...he said he'd always find you."

"I got jealous, you know, because he was so mad at seeing you with the guy, I told him to go on then and find you. Then he beat the shit out of me. He told me that I could never escape him either. He said I would always be his. He said I could tell the cops, or whoever, it didn't matter. Then he dropped me off at work. I had to put on so much makeup that night. He drove off in my car and I haven't seen him since. I only wanted to know what you did, to get rid of him." "I don't know where he is, I haven't seen him." I lied. "But I hope leaves you alone now." I said finishing the last of my wine. As I stood to go Sheila grabbed my arm. "Listen, if you hear from him again, please, tell him to leave me alone." I nodded and walked away. Did she think that I would have time to tell him to leave her alone when he was first coming for me? On the drive home I thought about Sheila, glad that she showed up before I did drink too much. The poor woman had suffered at the hands of the same demonic man that I had. I knew all too well how she was feeling. I wanted to tell her she would be safe from now on and that she could go on with her life...