Nocturnal Obsession

Rachel went to knock on Mark’s door. He was late with his rent payment again, only this time he was later than usual. She noticed the foul odor as soon as she stepped up to the door to knock on it. Must be one hell of a slob, she thought to herself. When she got no answer, she taped the notice to the door and walked away. Just then, Teresa rounded the building from the opposite direction. She had been at the pool chatting with Sasha and telling her how determined she was to win Sabrina over. “Oh, just forget it and move on, girl,” Sasha had told her. “Don’t bother with the taken ones. There are plenty of other women to meet. Why don’t you come out to one of the gay bars with Kate and me this weekend?” “No thanks. You know what I think of bars, gay or straight. Besides, the type of woman I want wouldn’t need to go to bars.” Teresa noticed the odor was increasingly stronger each time she came and went from her apartment. “Geez, Mark, you’re decomposing awfully fast in there, aren’t you?” she muttered under her breath as she let herself inside. “Another day or two and I’ll just have to complain about you,” she giggled. After what seemed to be the longest weekend of her life, she put in the call to the office first thing Monday morning. “Are you aware of the horrible smell coming from Mark’s place? It’s unbearable!” she exclaimed. “I did notice it,” said Rachel, “when I posted his late-payment notice. Did he ever take it in?” “Nope. It’s still there on his door.” “Oh, dear. I guess it’s time to check things out.” Teresa watched through a tiny opening in her blinds as the coroner took her neighbor’s dead body away. With the front door being so close to Mark’s, she could hear the people talking just outside of it. Judging by the things they were saying, her attempts to make it appear to be a suicide had been successful. She waited till things quieted down before she headed for the office. Rachel had just hung up the phone as she stepped into the cool interior of the office. “What a day it’s been so far,” she said with a weary sigh. “So what happened?” asked Teresa, pretending not to know anything. “He killed himself, from what they told me. He drank poison and killed himself. Did he seem that miserable to you?” “I wouldn’t know. I didn’t see him a whole lot, and when I did, he was trying to come onto me, so I’d always escape him as quickly as I could.” “Perhaps he was just a desperate, lonely man.” “Perhaps. Anyway, I’ve come to buy some stamps.” “Oh, ok,” said Rachel, opening the top drawer of her desk. “One book?” “Sure,” said Teresa with a smile. After paying for the stamps, she went to her mailbox on the other side of the grounds. There were a few checks waiting for her. That was her reward for hacking into sites that were running contests and rigging things so she’d be sure to be one of the winners. She added up the checks back in the studio. There was close to a thousand dollars. She looked at the clock. “Oh, Sabrina, I can’t wait to see you!” But she had hours before she was scheduled to work. Therefore, it was as good a time as any to take the bus to deposit the checks and do some grocery shopping. When 7:30 rolled around, she sat out on her porch, grateful not to have to put up with Mark. Her heart thumped with the anticipation of knowing that Sabrina would be making her rounds at any moment. It seemed like the moment would never come, but finally, she came from around the corner. “Hi, Sabrina.” Sabrina glanced at her. “Good evening, and how are you?” “Ok. Did you hear the news?” “News?” asked Sabrina with a frown as she came to a halt. “My neighbor killed himself.” “Really?” “Yeah, the guy that lived right next to me.” “That’s too bad.” “I don’t know about that. After all, I did have my problems with him.” “Did you?” Teresa nodded. “He was always putting the moves on me.” “Oh,” Sabrina said, not sure what to say next. “Well, I’ve got a busy night ahead of me, so I’ll see you around sometime. Take care.” She smiled and was gone. That’s it? She’ll see me around sometime? What a bitch! In the wee hours of the night, Teresa was determined to warm Sabrina up with her sexy ways and outgoing demeanor. She gazed at her appearance in the mirror with approval when she finished the final touches of her makeup at 1:45. It drove her crazy to wait this long, but she felt it was best to do so, so as not to come on too strong. Sabrina obviously needed to take her in small doses till she finally came around and realized just what she was missing by sticking with Carly. When Sabrina spotted her approaching the station, Teresa was dismayed to notice that she seemed rather annoyed, as if she were interrupting her from something more important. “What’s up?” asked Sabrina. “I just came to say hi and see what you were up to.” “Business as usual.” Sabrina sneezed. “Got allergies?” “No, I think someone’s got on a wee bit too much perfume.” “Oh, sorry,” Teresa laughed. “I’ll tone it down next time.” “Thank you. I’d appreciate it,” said Sabrina, still seeming irritated. Teresa suddenly found herself feeling a little uncomfortable, as though her plans to win Sabrina over were failing, becoming more hopeless by the minute. Finally, it was Sabrina who broke the silence. “So, just why are you dressed so provocatively, if you don’t mind my asking?” Teresa gazed at Sabrina’s profile and took a deep breath. “I’m a very positive, determined person, Officer. That means I still hold out the hope of winning you over one day.” Sabrina looked up from her paperwork and studied Teresa’s face. “Teresa, we’ve been through this before. I love Carly. I’m not going to leave her.” “I’m sorry,” Teresa said, lowering her gaze to the ground. “I just didn’t think it could hurt to try.” “That’s beside the point. Think of the danger you could be putting yourself in by traipsing around here at night dressed like that.” “I have the mace you gave me in my pocket.” “That’s good, but why ask for trouble?” Teresa looked up sharply. “I don’t mean to sound like a lecturer, but as a security guard, it’s my job to keep you safe.” “It’s your job, huh?” Sabrina gazed at Teresa, eyebrows knitted in a frown. She just wasn’t sure what to make of this girl. One minute she seemed bubbly and cheery, the next downcast and irritable. “Well, I don’t want to be just a job to you, so I think I should go now.” Without another word, Teresa spun on her heel and headed for home. Sabrina rolled her eyes, shook her head, and returned her attention to the papers before her. Somehow, the thought of working here another two months did not appeal to her. Teresa ran and ran through the night. Her heart was pounding fiercely by the time she reached her door. She unlocked it, slamming the door behind her. The building shook, but she didn’t care. Leaving the lights off, she flopped herself down on her foam mattress and sobbed audibly. The tears streamed down and off her face, becoming absorbed in the mattress. She cried hard and steadily for a good ten minutes. “Why?” she sobbed out loud. “Why can’t I have this woman? I’m so, so in love with her. She’s the only one for me, and I’ve just got to have her! Never again will I meet anyone nearly as gorgeous. Never.” Then an idea came to her. If something was in the way of something you wanted, then why not simply remove the obstacle? Teresa dried her tears and reached for the phone book.