Love Me Dead
Heather picked her boys up from school and brought them to the recreation center around the corner from their new house. She dropped Tommy off out front to skateboard with his long-haired cohorts and said a quick prayer that he was safe in her absence. His circle of friends was easily identifiable by their permanently implanted head phones, ragged out boards and laid back attitudes. Heather was glad her son had chosen a group that allowed for exercise, despised drugs and adopted such a relaxed perception of life.
“Bye, sweetie, I’ll call you on our way out. Be good. I love you.”
She punctuated her statement with a kiss to his forehead.
When she found an empty spot, Heather parked her car in the crowded lot and walked Jack to the main annex so that he could go swimming. She had signed both of her sons up at the rec center believing it was important to get them acclimated to their new neighborhood. The last thing she wanted was for her fears to turn their normalcy into a luxury.
The guilt of taking them away from their friends was greater than she had anticipated and Heather often had to give herself little affirmations of positive energy. She told herself that the negativity could only seep in if she allowed it to and often willed herself to be the dam that would hold it back.
She was only looking for a better life for her boys but the nagging guilt continued to tug at her like a needy child. At the heart of her discomfort, Heather realized she was more nervous about seeing her stalker than anything else and she reminded herself that she didn’t have the luxury of sitting around feeling guilty. She needed to preserve all of her energy should the need arise for her to protect her children.
As she opened the doors, Heather held Jack’s warm hand in her own and felt calmer knowing the public place provided more security than their private home. She reminded herself that she could call Tommy on his cell phone if she got nervous and just decided to immerse herself in the safety of the crowd.
Damon planned to leave town for a few days and Heather knew she still had Joey to turn to if she needed muscle. She relaxed in the knowledge that there was usually a strong, brave man nearby and that her children wouldn’t be left at the mercy of her own quivering karate stance. Though she would never admit it out loud, Heather did depend on men for more than just the superficial things she claimed and she often faked the bravado she displayed when describing their uselessness to her friends.
Physically, either one of her exes was better equipped to deal with a madman and she couldn’t rightfully deny that. A combination of their anger management issues combined with the unregistered guns each ex kept in his closet would provide her the army and arsenal she needed.
Heather sat on one of the lounge chairs that lined the pool deck and cursed herself for having worn jeans and a black T-shirt. Had she foreseen the trip to the recreation center, she would have worn a bikini underneath her clothes.
The blazing sun sent a direct beam of heat her way and aimed itself at the top center of her head. When she reached her hand up to block it out, she imagined she was searing her fingers on the edge of a light saber and decided she wasn’t prepared to deal with another moment of exhaustion or dehydration. Heather found it difficult not to swear as she wiped a new line of sweat from her forehead.
The ineffectiveness of sitting still while she had answers to find was almost worse than the brush fire sprouting from the roots of her hair. Though she had found a semi-comfortable position on the lounge chair, she continued to fantasize about jumping into the water with all her clothes on.
Heather struggled with worries of how she could maintain normalcy for the boys. They were children and they didn’t deserve premature exposure to the terrors of the world just yet. Their lessons in courage, strength and logic weren’t nearly complete and her sons needed more training to deal with the world that awaited them.
Her stalker was threatening all of their plans. If the danger had involved only Heather, she would probably have already been swallowed whole by her panic but it didn’t. The threat to her children created a fury within her that far surpassed fear. The combination of love and fear supplied Heather with