Extra Credit

Another Gift

Bill called Mark about an hour before we closed to let him know that Kane was still unconscious and would be in the hospital until he came to. I felt terrible about it so I asked Bill and Chris if they would come to the hospital with me the following morning to see him.

"Sure toots," Chris said as he placed his arm around my shoulders. "As long as you let this fine gentlemen take you to breakfast before that."

I blushed as my godfather shook his head, "Chris would you just ask her out already? Damn the girl knows you want her…"

"Shut up old man!" Chris said. "Let the player work his magic,"

I chuckled and stepped out the door with them, "A player huh? Well sorry to burst your bubble but I don't date players…"

His mouth fell open as I winked and headed down the street to my car. My Godfather laughed at him and said, "Smooth…real smooth."

"Players fuck up every now and then…" Chris said before heading to his own car.

I shook my head and got inside of my car, ready to go home and get some rest. The entire drive home all I could think about was my fight with Tracy. I felt terrible about it happening but I needed to stand up for myself. On top of that, I wanted Mark to learn how to stand up for himself. He was letting his own wife dictate to him who he should hire when he was the boss! I shook my head as I pulled into the parking lot of my apartment building. I couldn't bring myself to understand why he would allow that to happen. I knew he loved her but does love really bring you to hurt others in order to keep someone else happy?

I parked my car and got out, before locking it and heading up the steps to the second floor. As I got closer to my door, I noticed something was sitting on the ground next to my door. From the looks of things, it was a red gift bag that had another card leaning against it. I looked out over the parking lot before taking a few steps up to it. When I got close enough I bent over and picked up the card and hooked the bag on my arm. I took another glance to see if I saw something or someone before opening the card. Inside I found another poem written to me only this time it was hand written.

I opened the door to my apartment and stepped inside. After closing and locking the door I walked to my living room and turned on the lights before sitting down on my couch. I cleared my throat and read the poem out loud.

"I'm nothing without your touch my love, I'm nothing without your kiss. To spend each night in your arms, is this man's idea of bliss. To not see you each day is to die 7 times by God's wrath. If I was anything other than human, I'd want to be the water in your bath…"

My eyes widened as I reread the poem over and over again. I had me so creeped out that I sat it on the table and didn't bother to open the bag. I sighed heavily and picked up my house phone to call Bill.

"Hello?" he answered.

"Hey Bill its Aria." I said.

"Oh hey honey what's up?" he said.

I sighed and looked around my apartment for any signs of an intruder. "Well…I was wondering if you could come to my apartment tonight…"

"Why, is everything alright?" he asked sounding concerned.

I shivered in fear as I opened my bedroom door and saw more roses on my nightstand. "My stalker was here again and the poem he left this time has me really freaked out."

"Ok honey, don't worry I'll grab a few things from home and I'll be right over." He said.

I nodded, "Thank you."

"You're welcome." He said before hanging up.

I squeezed the phone for a moment before heading back out to the living room to put the phone on the receiver. I decided to take a peek in the gift bag to see what this person bought for me. I pulled out a long, sleek black dress that was strapless. It came with a set of diamond earrings and a bracelet. I found the gifts to be flattering but that poem brought chills to my spine. With a sigh I took the gifts to my closet and put them away before deciding to grab a shower. I took off my clothes and tied up my hair before putting on a robe and heading to the bathroom. Upon getting there I gasped when I saw that my tub was full of bubbles and water…On top of the bubbles were rose petals that spelled out the word MINE.

My heart started pounding as I slowly backed out of the bathroom and backed into a wall. My eyes stayed locked on the tub as my legs gave out on me and I fell to the ground in horror. Who was this punk and why was he stalking me like this?

When Bill arrived I was still sitting on the floor looking at the tub.

"Aria? Aria what's the matter?" he asked as he bent down to check on me. "Hey, look at me honey."

A tear fell from my eye as I looked into my godfather's eyes. "He was here again."

"How do you know?" he asked.

I looked towards the bathroom and pointed at the tub. He got up and went to look at it, sighing heavily before reaching in and draining the tub.

"It's cold as hell…which means he was here a long time ago." He said before bending down to help me up. "Come on kiddo, you need to rest."

I sniffled as he walked me back to my room. "The poem mentioned him wanting to be my bath water. Bill that's freaking weird."

"I don't know Aria, maybe this guy is just trying to freak you out a little bit. Did you have any enemies in school?" he asked.

I sighed as I took a seat on my bed. "Yea this guy named Alberto. But he normally threatens me right in front of people."

Bill nodded as he went to my closet and pulled out my light blue night gown. "Have you had something done about him?"

I giggled remembering the day Mark saved me from an ass kicking. "Mark stopped him from hitting me a while ago at school."

Bill raised his eyebrow, "That boy tried to hit you!"

"Well he did hit me…Mark just stopped him the second time." I explained.

Bill shook his head, "Has he said anything to you since then?"

"Nope." I said as he handed me my night gown.

"Alright, well let's hope he's not the punk doing this shit. I'll make his life a living hell if he ever puts his damn hands on you again." He said as he opened my top drawer and took out a pair of my underwear. "Here, you get dressed and go to sleep. I'll be in the living room if you need anything else."

"Ok…and Bill?"

He looked back at me, "Yes ma'am,"

"Thanks for coming here. I really appreciate it." I told him.

"No problem honey, I'll do anything for you." He told me before heading out of my room.

I smiled after he shut the door. Whoever this punk was he definitely had a death wish and if he didn't stop I planned to call my father and make it all come true.