Squinting, I saw the object as it first came into view. Brian! It was Brian in my new Mustang. I stood paralyzed as he rapidly closed the gap between us. My mind was pulling me in one direction and then the other, but my feet refused to move from where they were frozen to the ground.
I closed my eyes tightly and screamed, “Brian!” as he turned the wheel sharply and began to circle around me.
He was driving too fast to keep up with him visually, so I turned my head quickly, right to left, as he made pass after pass around me. He wore a vicious smile, one that sent chills from my head to my toes, snapping at every nerve ending throughout my body.
“What do you have to say in your own defense, Meg?” He sneered as he spoke.
“Defense for what? Brian, you’re scaring me, why are you doing this?”
“Let the record show that the defendant refused to answer the question.”
Confusion throbbed in my head. His sadistic smile broadened as his circles grew smaller.
“Brian, this isn’t funny... I’m scared! Please stop.”
All of a sudden, his eyes seemed to bulge along with the veins in his neck.
“Please stop. Please stop.” He mimicked me. “I gave you everything, bitch. I gave you a life of leisure, I gave you the freedom to do as you pleased without having to answer to me, I gave you an expensive ring... I even gave you a car. But did you appreciate any of it?” He raised one brow as he stared at me through cold, unfeeling eyes.
I was able to keep the tears that dampened my lashes from spilling over, but the crack in my voice was more than I could help. “I’m sorry, Brian. I never meant to hurt you... I thought...”
His voice sounded synthesized, as he cut me off sharply. “And let the record show the defendant claims to be sorry?” Glaring at me, he continued, “You may be many things, Meg, but I don’t believe sorry is one of them. Let’s see, you’re the illegitimate daughter of the touched one, but not sorry. You’re deformed from the neck to the waist, but not sorry. You’re the offspring of a modern day Jesse James, but not sorry. And you’re a spoiled little brat who isn’t happy unless the world is spinning only for you—but not sorry.”
No longer able to contain my tears, I buried my head in my hands. Between Brian’s taunts, the loud drone of the engine and my growing fear, I felt as though my legs were buckling beneath me.
Suddenly, I heard my cell phone ring. I reached into my purse, but it wasn’t there. It rang and it rang, but I couldn’t find it. The car moved closer, the phone rang again. I needed help. Goddamit, what happened to my phone? I felt the car brush against my leg while the phone continued to ring.
I realized I was going to die! Brian was going to kill me and out here, there was no one to know. As the car grazed my leg again, I closed my eyes and lost myself in the sound of the ringing phone...
“...Meg. Meg, wake up. I need to talk to you.”
After one flutter, my eyes snapped open as I raised my head from the pillow. Uncertain as to where I was, I trembled, trying to shake off the confusion that clouded my mind. “What... what’s the matter?” I subconsciously searched Brian for signs of bulging eyes and sadistic sneers.
“C’mon babe, late breaking news. No time to hit snooze today.”
I breathed deeply and felt one shudder run the length of my back as I looked around the bedroom, realizing my panic had been merely a dream.
“Okay, okay... I’m awake. What’s wrong?” I rubbed my eyes, hardly concerned with whatever had him out of bed so early on a Sunday.
“Wrong? Hell no. Everything is finally right. Get up, I’ll tell you about it while I pack.”
Pack? I was certain I was awake, no longer caught in the weird dream that had brought me to a sweat, but what was he talking about... packing for what?
He didn’t wait for me to ask him for details.
“That was Jim on the phone. He wants me to go to Detroit and handle the murder case everyone’s been talking about... you know the one... junkyard, bodies buried in crushed cars?” Searching my eyes for the recollection that wasn’t there, he waved his hand in my direction, and said, “Never mind that... Anyway, if things go well in Detroit, it could be just what I need to make senior partner.”
Still trying to organize my thoughts, I said, “That sounds like a real break for you.” I hesitated. “So... when do you leave?”
He glanced briefly at his watch, shrugged and said, “I have to be at the airport in less than two hours...” His expression bordered on lewd as he ran his hand across the front of his pants, pausing at the zipper, adding, “...why, do you want me to take care of you before I leave?”