Chapter 3

Angela woke up the next morning feeling better than she had in weeks…physically, anyways. She sat up and stretched and realized her body wasn’t sore today. She hadn’t had any strange dreams. She looked at her arms closely. She could feel the tiny bumps underneath them that led the doctor to believe she was taking drugs…but she still couldn’t see anything there. If Thomas was giving her drugs…he was really, really good. She didn’t want to believe her “friend” could actually be sick enough to sneak into her room at night and give her something to knock her out while he did…God knows what. But, her trusting and sometimes naïve nature had let her become way too involved in this mess with Thomas already. She had to stop thinking of him as the man she thought she knew. She threw back the covers and stepped out of bed. She needed to talk to someone who would take away any doubts she still had that Thomas was a freak. She needed to talk to Joanne.

As she was getting dressed and ready for work, she text Jo: “I need to talk. Can you meet me for coffee before work?”

A few minutes later she got one back that said: “I’m there. The Coffee Bean on Spring Street?”

“Perfect,” she text back. “I’ll see you soon.”

She finished getting ready and when she passed the hallway bathroom, she heard the shower. Thomas was in there. She stopped and looked at the door to his room. Quietly, she went over and tried it. It was definitely locked. Damn it! She made her way to the kitchen and the ring where Thomas hangs his keys. There was a key to the building and one to the front door. The same two keys he’d had on that ring as long as she had been here. She looked at his car keys next. There was nothing new there either. He was keeping the key close which made her believe seeing what was in that room was even more urgent than before. There was something in there that he really didn’t want her to see. She grabbed her own keys and picked up her purse and left. He would be annoyed again that she left without telling him. Screw him! She was so sick of this twisted game of his she was right on the verge of giving in and running away. She couldn’t do that though. She had to be strong and see this through.

Joanne was waiting for her when she got to the Coffee Bean. She’d already ordered her a latte and as soon as she sat down her friend said, “You look more rested today. What happened at the doctor yesterday?”

“Kind of a lot,” she said, taking a sip of her coffee. “Let me get through it first, okay? Then, I’ll try and answer your questions. I have to get to work on time, so I don’t have a lot of time.”

“Okay, I’m listening,” Joanne said, taking a long sip of her own coffee.

“The doctor said a lot. He said there where drugs in my system. The kind of drugs that would knock me out and not let me remember things. The nurse said I have “tracks” on my arms. You can’t see them, but if you run your hand along my arm, you can feel a few bumps underneath.” Joanne’s face was red and it looked like she was going to have a seizure if she couldn’t say what was on her mind…but to her credit, she held back.

Angela took a breath and went on. “He also said that I’m pregnant.” That elicited a squeak from Joanne. Angela smiled at her. She really was a good friend. “I took the rest of the day off work after that and I searched Thomas’ room. I found some creepy escort cards. One girl looked like me and had my name written over hers. Then I found a “secret” door in Thomas’s closet. I think it’s an attic, but he’s definitely using it. I only got a peek, but there are pictures all over the walls.”

Joanne finally couldn’t stand it. She said, “Pictures of what?”

Angela shook her head. “I don’t know. I didn’t get a good look, it was too dark. Steve knocked on the door and I went to let him in. I didn’t want him to know what I found…”

Joanne lost it then. “Why the hell not? Please God tell me that you at least left with Steve and didn’t go back, Angela!”

“I left with him…but I went back. I’m an idiot, Jo. I left my phone in Thomas’s room. He confronted me and I made up a dumb reason for it. He didn’t believe me. I confronted him about the escort cards and he made up a dumb reason for that. I didn’t believe him. We were at a standoff and I was willing to leave it there for a bit…and then I saw that he’d changed the doorknob on his bedroom. He put a deadbolt on it. There’s something in that room upstairs that he really doesn’t want me to see.”

“Son of a bitch. I knew he was a lunatic! You have got to get out of there now. If you’re not ready to live with Steve until your place is ready, then you come stay with me. I’ll sleep on the couch. You can’t stay with that freak! You need to tell Steve and the police…”

“Jo, listen to me, please. I have nothing to call the police about. I have no proof he drugged me. I have no proof that he is anything other than a horny asshole with those cards…”

“Oh honey, he is so much more than that. Please tell me you do realize that now.”

“I do. I know that you’re right. But, I need more time. I need to prove it. I need to see what’s in that room. As it is now, he could easily talk his way out of everything and I’m the one that looks like the nutcase.”

She could almost see the wheels turning in Joanne’s head as she processed it all. When she looked back up at Angela, she had tears in her eyes. “You’re pregnant?” was what she said.

Angela nodded. “Before I tell Steve, I have to be sure, do you understand?”

Joanne nodded slowly. “I don’t like it,” she said, “But I do understand it. You’re not going through this alone though.” She finished her coffee and looked at her watch. “We both have to get to work now, but you’ve just met your shadow for the next week. I’ll pick you up for lunch and I think maybe I’ll bring Chinese for dinner tonight, does that sound good?”

With tears in her own eyes, Angela got up and hugged her friend. “Thank you,” she told her.

“I love you. I’m not going to let that freak do any more damage to you than he already has.”

Angela nodded. “But Jo, don’t provoke him, okay? I don’t want him doing anything to you either.”

“Me? Provoke him? I would never!”

“Jo, I mean it…”

Joanne laughed. “I know you do,” she said. “I’ll be good, but not too nice. If I’m too nice he’ll know something is up.”

Angela smiled and said, “True story.”

“I’ll see you for lunch,” Jo said before leaving. Angela headed to work. She felt a little lighter just knowing someone else knew. The fact that someone else was her best friend who always had her back made it even better.

**

Thomas was visibly annoyed when Joanne showed up with the Chinese food that evening. He’d already tried to take Angela out for lunch and she told him she had plans with Joanne. Then when they both got home that evening he asked what she wanted to do for dinner and before she answered him, Joanne was on the doorstep.

“Wow, breakfast, lunch and dinner?” Thomas asked as she walked in with arms laden with food.

“Yeah, but don’t worry, I ordered enough won-tons for you to have one.” Thomas narrowed his eyes at her and said,

“Don’t you have your own place?”

“I sure do,” she said. Then she looked at Angela and said, “Maybe if Thomas doesn’t want you to have your friends over, you should come and stay with me until your place is ready.”

“No!” Thomas said, before Angela said a word. He realized as soon as it was out, how desperate it sounded. The girls could tell by the look on his face. “I mean, I don’t care if you have friends over. Jeez, Joanne, stop trying to make trouble already.”

“Both of you stop, please.” Angela gave Joanne a look that said, “I asked you not to antagonize him,” before going on to say, “I’m starving. Let’s eat. Thomas, join us okay?” Thomas and Joanne were still having a stare-off. Angela stepped between them and took the box out of Jo’s hand, giving her one last desperate look. Joanne gave her an almost imperceptible nod as if to say, “Okay,” but Angela got a gut feeling that Joanne wasn’t finished with Thomas yet.

Dinner was a quiet affair. Thomas didn’t seem to be hungry at all. He fixed himself a plate more or less to spite Joanne, Angela figured and then he picked at it while the girls ate. He didn’t seem interested in being there, yet, he wouldn’t leave. Joanne started off trying to be good after Angela’s warning look, but the longer he sat there, the more annoyed she was becoming. Angela was afraid things were about to blow up so she said, “Aren’t the Country Music Awards on tonight?”

Joanne looked at her watch and said, “Yeah, I think they just came on.”

“Why don’t we take our Chinese Food and move into the living room and watch it?” Thomas still didn’t say a word. He gathered his plate and picked up the bottle of wine he just opened and followed Angela into the living room. She was drinking a bottle of water and he looked at it and said,

“Do you want some of this wine?” Angela thought about the baby in her belly.

“No thanks, I’m feeling a little dehydrated tonight. I think I’ll stick with water.”

“I could use some wine,” Joanne said, holding out her glass. Thomas completely ignored her and then took a swig straight out of the bottle. A few seconds passed and he looked at her and said, “Oh, sorry Jo. Did you want some of this?”

She made a face and said, “Not after your lips have been all over it like a caveman.”

He smiled and shrugged. “I was just thinking that since this wine…and everything else around here is mine, there was no sense in wasting a glass.”

“You’re disgusting,” she said.

“And you’re a…”

“Thomas, Joanne, please…” Angela said in a desperate voice. “You two are acting like children.”

Properly chastised, they both let it go. After Thomas finished his dinner he put his plate away and went into his room. Joanne breathed out a long breath and said, “Finally, I thought he was never going to leave.”

Shaking her head at her friend she said, “Great job not antagonizing him.”

Joanne made a face. “I’m sorry, but he just pushes my buttons. Did you hear him say “everything here is mine?” maybe, he is including you in all that.”

“We have to bide our time though Jo. I have to figure out how to get in that room.” Angela had lowered her voice to an almost inaudible whisper.

“I still say you should tell Steve at least. Let him find the room. He’ll know what to do, and Thomas is a punk, he won’t fight Steve.”

“I don’t want anyone fighting, Jo. I don’t want anyone getting hurt. I want this to be over and I want to move on with my life. I just need some answers first and as soon as I have those, I’m gone…and everyone is safe.”

Joanne curled her lip and said, “I hope so.”