Tainted Bodies – Sarah Robinson
CHAPTER ONE:
Kate Jackson stepped onto the metro car around 8am, heading for work in her usual morning routine on a crisp Thursday morning. She had been working in a sales position for a large company that sold office furniture to companies all over the country for quite some time even though it was unrelated to what she had gone to school for. She had graduated in the top ten percent of her class from the University of Maryland with a psychology degree, so sales was not her dream job, but at least it was a job.
The metro car roughly slammed from side to side as Kate held onto the railing above her and tried not to fall on the people around her. It was not proving to be the simplest task. Probably not the best day to have worn these heels, she thought, as she warily watched the homeless man behind her eyeing her rear end. Finally, the operator announced her stop and Kate fought her way for the doors before they closed, as everyone else on the car seemed to be doing the same thing in fifteen different directions. Squeezing through, she slid past the crowd and snaked her way to the escalators, then up and out of the ground, onto the street.
She never looked forward to going to work in the mornings even though she appreciated the pay check. The tough economy had made the job market cut throat and Kate felt lucky to at least have found anything to pay her bills. She had been gifted the job from a friend of her late father, who pitied her situation and owned the company. Lenny had become a great father figure for her and her sister since their father had passed away and had helped them out of many difficult situations over the year.
Sighing, Kate spotted her favorite hole-in-the-wall coffee shop, and looking at her watch, she decided to reward herself for her timing by stopping in for a tall vanilla latte. She opened the door to be greeted by the delicious smell of coffee beans and her favorite smiling barista. The Java Jolt was a morning must-have for her and she felt her spirit lifting every time she walked through those front doors. “Miss Kate, good to see you this morning, would you like your usual?” asked Jimmy, a high-school student whose favorite days at work are the days that Kate comes in.
Kate was always surprised at the attention she received from men regarding her looks. At five foot six inches, she wasn’t particularly tall. She was far from stick thin, instead probably a few pounds over what she should be. She had dark brown, curly hair that hung all the way down her back and jumped about in any way it pleased, regardless of what she wanted.
Her pale skin contrasted her dark, piercing brown eyes, brunette hair color, and ruby red lips causing an almost doll-like look to her. She dressed simply but professionally, going for comfort more than glamour for the most part, if you didn’t count her high heel shoes. But even with her striking features, Kate often thought of herself as plain and which made her oblivious to the hints and attempts at flirting from the young barista.
“Thank you, Jimmy, yes please.” Kate smiles at him.
“ Jimmy, add a large brewed coffee, two creams, and one sugar to that vanilla latte order,” said a deep voice behind her.
Kate whirled around to see the face that belonged to that deep voice and was struck by the tall, handsome grin staring back at her.
“Excuse me? Do I know you?” Kate asked, defiantly, stomping her foot on the ground in an attempt to look more confident.
“Well you should, if you are planning on buying me a drink, or do you just make a habit of buying strange men their coffee?” The tall man jokingly smiled at her.
To Be Continued….
CHAPTER FIFTEEN:
Derrick woke up with a start and looked
around, unsure of where he was and trying
to see in the dark. It only took him a few
moments to remember that he was at
Kate’s apartment in her bed and it
was the middle of the night. He
wasn’t sure what had woken him,
maybe a dream or a sound? He felt uneasy
though, like something was off.
He saw that Kate was still fast asleep next
to him. She was laying on her side facing
away from him and the sheet was draped
over her hip, leaving the rest of her bare
body exposed. Her pale skin glistened in
the dark as he took in the curves of her
waist and shoulders and then the softness
of her neck as her hair landed on the pillow
behind her.
Derrick was leaning up on his elbows in
bed wide awake and he still didn’t
know why but something in his stomach
felt off. He decided to get up and go to the
bathroom, maybe he had eaten something
wrong. He carefully slid off of the bed,
taking care to not disturb Kate and wake
her up. Derrick headed to the bathroom
down the hallway but he paused, thinking
he saw something in the shadows.
The living room was at the end of the short
hallway and there was some sort of
movement in the shadows cast from over
there. He slowly approached the living
room entrance, looking down at the wood
floors where he saw the unmistakable
shape of a person in the shadows. He
quieted his breathing and tried to calm
himself down, his heartbeat was pounding.
Somebody was in the apartment.
To Be Continued….
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