Chapter Nine

Jabari took the long way back to her condo. They looked at the sights and the bridges she never had time to pay attention to, and they laughed. When she first met him, he had seemed rough, a little too tough, for her. Never could she have imagined them laughing. He did it on purpose to make her smile, but that made her heart melt even more.

Now they were in the elevator going up to her floor. When the door opened, she stepped out and looked around. She loved this place; it was her first real home.

“Brandi, are you well?”

“Yes, I was just thinking…” She turned around with a smile on her face and started to scream. There was something standing behind him. It looked like it came from a horror movie.

She grabbed his arm trying to pull him towards her as the creature lifted its arm. There was a sickle in his hand, and he was aiming for Jabari’s neck. Jabari was trying to get her to calm down while she screamed louder trying to protect him.

“Brandi!” The door next to hers flew open. Piper ran out with a baseball bat. “You leave her alone pervert!” She swung and hit his arm. The bat cracked.

“You broke my bat.” She balled up her fist and began hitting him where she could reach.

Brandi stepped back her mouth open. Her best friend was hitting Jabari trying to defend her. He was standing there not defending himself.

She snapped out of her dazed state. “Piper stop! He wasn’t trying to hurt me.” She grabbed Piper’s shoulders and started shaking her.

“Leave him alone.”

“Are you sure you’re okay?”

“Yeah. Piper this is Jabari, the one I told you about. Jabari this is Piper.”

Piper looked him over from head to foot and back again. “Oh! This is him.”

“Must you be so dramatic?” Brandi laughed at her, and Piper relaxed and joined in.

“They’re going to talk about us again.”

Brandi looked down the hallway where a door was cracked.

“Always. Let’s take it inside before rumors get started about us fighting over the one good male left in the world.” A door slammed, and they laughed as Brandi opened her door.

“If you haven’t figured it out Brandi, and I are best friends.” Piper told him.

“We met in college.” Brandi took over. “We shared a dorm room. We were the ones… I must be losing my mind.” She turned to look at Jabari.

He was different. There was a shift in how he was standing. It was subtle; she would never have noticed if she wasn’t spending all her free time studying him. He gave her a slight nod which could mean anything, but she thought she got it.

“Piper, can I borrow that purple shirt from you? The one you keep hoarding to yourself.”

“You know you can.”

“Let’s go get it; I want to wear it tonight.”

She opened her mouth, but the look Brandy was giving her made her close it.

“Let’s go, besides you haven’t seen the new plant I bought.”

“You and those plants. Try not to kill it this time.”

“Why I never!” They laughed and walked out the door.

They were silent until they got into her condo.

“What’s happening.”

“I know this sounds strange, but it felt like someone was in the house or had been. The longer I stood there the more my nerves crawled. Jabari is going to search the place.”

He waited for the door to shut behind him before he went to her bedroom. It was empty. He checked every room before he was sure that whoever had entered was gone.

“Fie you can show yourself now; it's safe.”

He came out of the closet and rubbed himself against Jabari’s ankle.

“Good job hiding from them. Can you show me what they did?” He turned and walked back into Brandi’s room. He stopped in the corner by the closet and began to scratch at the rug.

Jabari followed him and lifted the corner of the rug.

“That’s nasty.” He reached down and rubbed Fie’s head. “You’re young but your astute. Watch that they don’t move I’ll be back.”

He left and when he came back, he brought a box of freezer bags with him and tweezers.

Fie looked up at him.

“This will work better than using her medication bottles.”

Fie nodded his head and moved back. Jabari used the tweezers to pick up the cocoons that would soon hatch and placed the three of them into a bag. He folded the bag and placed it into another until he used all of them.

“This will keep them from hatching until I get them home.” He moved over to Fie and picked him up running his hands over his little body. “I’m looking to see if they used a heat sensor on you.”

There was a small protrusion on his back leg. It was moving trying to burrow deep into his body.

“This is going to hurt.” Jabari grasped it between his fingers and pulled. Fie gave a soft moan and went silent.

“Brandi is lucky to have someone like you.” He hugged him before setting him down.

Jabari brought the device close to his face. “I don’t know who you are, but your time is running out.” He crushed it between his fingers and then added it to one of the freezer bags.

“Let’s go get our defender.”

“I don’t have to go. I could cancel, go next year.”

“No! You don’t get to stop living just to sit by my side and play babysitter.”

“Brandi…” They both turned when someone knocked on the door.

“Who is it?” Piper walked to the door looking out the peep hole.

“Jabari.”

She opened the door with a look of relief. “I swear I thought I was going to have to call the cops. We were scared.”

“She was scared I knew you’d be okay.” Brandi’s cheeks were warm as she denied being concerned.

He walked over to her with Fie following. “You didn’t have to worry.”

“I wasn’t worried.” She clutched onto him burying her face in his chest.

“No, she was as strong as gold.” Piper rolled her eyes as she walked over to them. Her hand lifted going towards Jabari’s arm.

“Piper!” It took all she had not to laugh.

“I just want to touch so I have something to reference when I’m interviewing a potential boyfriend.” They turned to look at each other and broke into laughter.

“Did you find anything or was I just being silly?”

“Someone had been in your apartment. They were gone before we got back.”

“That settles it. I’m not leaving. You have some pervert in your apartment probably looking at your underclothes.”

“Piper! Stop saying that.”

“I’m not leaving my best friend and you’re…” She turned away rubbing her eyes.

Brandi ran over to her and enveloped her in a hug.

“Don’t run Brandi, I don’t want you to hurt yourself.”

“I love you to Piper. I… Yeah, there’s too much in me right now, but your life must go on. This meeting is important, and I won’t have you miss it.”

“There’s always next year.”

Brandi shook her head. “Take it from me, next year isn’t promised.”

“You’ll be here alone.”

“You could move in with me.” They both turned to look at him their mouths dropping.

“But I have Fie.”

“One cat or two, my house is big enough.”

“Your brothers may object, and Quinn may not want another female around.”

“Isn’t Quinn the one we were going to have lunch with?”

“Yeah, she’s great you’ll love her.”

“Then why won’t she want you around?”

“Under the circumstances… Jabari are you sure you want me in your house? I can’t imagine getting better only worse.”

“I want you in my house and my bed. Piper I’ll give you my number so if you can’t get in touch with Brandi you can call me.”

“Will you call me if…”

“I will.”

“Thank you.” Her natural joy of life was gone as she reached out and held Brandi’s hand.

“Brandi is the reason I made it through college.”

“We helped each other through. I’m still waiting for that shirt.” She leaned over and bumped her shoulder against hers.

“I still want to know why you were screaming in the hallway.” Piper went into her room and came out with a beautiful shirt. The tags were still on it.

“I bought it for you. It practically screamed Brandi when I saw it.”

“You know me so well.” She took the shirt and held it in front of her.

“I do. Stop stalling what happened?”

“I turned around.” She put the shirt down and picked up Fie. “I thought I saw a monster, a Halloween monster, someone wearing one of those masks where your face is stretched out and grotesque behind Jabari. He had a sickle in his hand and was about to cut your neck off with it. I think whatever I have is effecting my mind.”

“It could have been a waking dream.”

“Maybe.” She smiled at her friend. “Jabari what do you think?”

“Anything is possible.”

So much for making her feel better. She gave Piper a long hug and promised to call later before she went to pack.

A shiver went down her back as she stepped in the hallway, but she ignored it.