Title: Twisted
Disclaimer: I own nothing. The characters belong to John Wells, Edward Allan Bernero, NBC and a bunch of other people I don't know.
Rating: R for language and violence
Feedback: Well, it will make me write faster ;)
Chapter 5
As the man sat in his car several days later waiting for Angela to close up and go home, he thought about what he had witnessed just three days before, still not able to get the image of Angela and her lover out of his head. Every night the sight of them kept him awake as he replayed the scene over and over again in his mind until eventually it spun out of control. Soon, all he could see were their naked and entwined bodies lying together, and so every night he woke up in a cold sweat, fearing that he would lose her.
He still couldn't believe that she had back-stabbed him, that she had cheated on him. Although the urge to kill the man, to wrap his hands around the bastard's neck and squeeze until his eyes popped, his face reddened and his windpipe crushed beneath his fingertips, he couldn't. Not yet anyway, for he had no idea where the man lived. Although he suspected that he lived with Angela, his Angela, he had no proof. And so, his revenge would have to wait a little bit longer.
But, as enraged as he was at the man, he was also furious with Angela. She was the love of his life. They were meant to be together. Why couldn't she see that? Why couldn't she understand? Didn't she realize that the man she had so openly flirted with in the bar that dreadful night was not who she was destined to be with? Didn't she care? How could she not have felt him in the bar, just as he could feel her? Didn't he surround her senses until he was all she could see, hear, and taste just as she did to him? Was it possible that she didn't feel the same about him? Could he be wrong about her just the way he had been wrong about the others before her?
He shook his head in a meager attempt to clear it, refusing to entertain these thoughts any longer. He would not do this. He refused to. He knew that they were destined to be together, he could feel it in his gut, it screamed through his veins. The feeling was much too powerful to simply be a figment of his imagination, wasn't it? He shook his head once more and cursed himself. "Of course we're meant to be together." He said. " I just have to get rid of the bastard she was with first." His words menacing as he turned his thoughts towards the man he had seen Angela throw herself at.
Suddenly, a cloud was lifted and his vision cleared. He understood why Angela failed to realize that she was meant to be with him, she was being brain-washed, disillusioned by that man, he reasoned, his fingers tightening on the steering wheel in anger. " I have to kill him." He said simply as he stared out of the windshield. "It's the only way the spell he's cast over you will be broken." He realized, mentally kicking himself over his own stupidity and insecurity. "I don't know what he's done to turn you against me, but rest assured he won't be allowed to do it much longer." He vowed, watching her shadow behind the closed blinds. "And you, my love," He said, his voice sinister, "You will know that we are meant to be together." He said, still peeved that she had allowed the man to disillusion her so easily. " I will make sure that you will know not to cross me again."
As he watched her make her way out of the bar, stopping to lock the door behind her before making her way to her car, he could feel a spark of anger flickering within him. He watched as she climbed into her car and slowly made her way onto the quiet street. He waited until she was a block and a half away before putting his car into drive and following behind at a safe distance, his fingers tightening in anticipation. "Maybe I should remind you who you are really meant to be with." He mused out loud; his gaze fixed intently on the car ahead of him.
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As Angela stepped out of her car and made her way to the front door of her apartment complex, she could feel the hair on the back of her neck slowly start to rise. She quickly turned around and gazed down the street, fear of the unknown playing tricks with her mind. She watched as a lone car made its way slowly down the street. For some unknown reason, she could feel her heart begin to pound in her chest as she quickly reached ice-cold fingers into her purse, frantically looking for her keys. She saw the car continue down the street and turn the corner, and finally let out the breath she had been so desperately holding. Shaking her head at her nervousness, she quickly pulled her keys out and unlocked her front door. She smiled and shook her head at her silliness, slightly cursing her son for making her worry so much, his words back at the bar that night having made her edgier than usual. She locked the front door behind her, failing to notice the car that was slowly backing down the street before coming to a stop in front of her building.
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The man sat in his car, burning a hole into the front of the apartment complex with the intensity of his gaze. He sat in he car fuming, his anger growing stronger by the minute. He opened the glove compartment, practically ripping it open in his haste, and pulled out a pen and paper, the black leather gloves making it difficult to grasp the pen. Angrily, he began to write, his pen moving furiously over the paper, tearing it in spots in his haste. Finally, after what seemed like forever, he stopped writing and stared at the message before him, scrawled in angry blood red letters. He quickly folded it and placed it into an envelope, writing her name in block red letters on the front. Satisfied that Angela would no longer mistake what they have; he opened up the car door and silently made his way to her building. He looked around before bending down and sliding the letter under the door. Satisfied, he quickly got up and made his way back to his car, truly content for the first time that evening. Humming, he started the car and quickly pulled away. "You'll have a surprise waiting for you when you wake up in the morning, Angela." The man said as he quickly made his way home. "I hope you like the message I left for you." He said chuckling.
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It was around 1:00 p.m. when Angela Boscorelli finally crawled out of bed. She sighed as she sleepily made her way into the kitchen and put the kettle on to make her morning coffee. She couldn't believe that she had slept in so late and chastised herself. She didn't know why but for some reason she had problems falling asleep the night before. She had found herself on edge and jittery, the slightest noise causing her to jump. She yawned as she grabbed her coat and put it on over her pajamas and opened her appartment door.
She made her way down the stairs to the lobby and used her key to get her mail. She quickly scanned the various bills and was about to make her way upstairs when she saw an envelope pushed in the corner of the lobby near the door. She walked towards the trampled piece of paper and saw her name scrawled on it. She cursed the tenants and their inability to put it in her box where it belonged instead of stepping all over it. She bent down and picked up the plain paper and made her way back to her apartment. She quickly made her way into the kitchen, the kettle whistling, it's high-pitched shriek setting her nerves on edge. She unplugged it and poured the boiling water into her favorite mug. She stirred in the instant coffee and took a sip before opening the letter. She read it, her expression changing from one of curiosity to horror. As she got to the last line, the hot cup of coffee slipped from her suddenly numb fingers and shattered on the ground, the hot coffee spraying across the kitchen floor.
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"So did you do anything interesting last night?" Faith Yokas asked her partner as they ate their lunch in the squad car.
"Nah." Bosco said, wiping his hands on a napkin. "Went by the bar a couple of nights ago and saw ma." He told her before taking another bite of his pizza.
"How is your mom?" Faith asked, taking a sip of her coke.
"Good. She's got a secret admirer." Bosco found himself telling her.
"Really?" Faith said, delighted for the woman. "Good for her." She said smiling. She saw Bosco's concerned expression and felt her smile dissolve. "What?" She asked him.
"Nothing." Bosco said, shrugging.
"You don't have a nothing face, you have a something face. Don't tell me you're jealous?" She said, not quite believing that was the reason why Bosco looked less than thrilled for his mother.
"No, I'm not jealous." Bosco said exasperated.
"So what is it then? What's got you making that face?" She asked turning in her seat so she could see him better.
"I am not making a face." He told her defensively.
"Umm, yeah you are." She told him matter-of-factly. "Now, tell me why you're not thrilled that your mother has been getting some much needed and might I add deserved attention."
"I don't know." He said, shrugging his shoulders. "I don't think it's so much that she has an admirer. I think what bugs me is that she has no idea who this guy is. I mean think about it, some psycho is sending her flowers and little notes and she's just sitting there with this stupid grin on her face. I mean doesn't she care that some stranger she doesn't even know is sending her these things." Bosco said, clearly frustrated.
"Some psycho?" Faith said incredulously, a small smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.
"What?" Bosco asked defensively, seeing her expression.
"Nothing." She said casually. "I just think that this jealous and overprotective routine when it comes to your mom is kinda cute. Are all Italians like this when it comes to their mommies or is it just you?" She said teasingly.
"Ha, ha. Very cute, Yokas." Bosco said. " I am not jealous or overprotective. I just want her to be careful. I mean who knows who this guy could be." Bosco said trying to justify his remarks. "Are you done yet?" He asked impatiently, eager to get back to work and drop the conversation they were having.
"Yeah, I'm done." Faith said a huge grin spreading across her face at her partner's obvious discomfort.
"And wipe that grin off your face." Bosco scowled as he put the car into gear, Faith's light laughter making him relax slightly as he drove away.
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Angela sat numbly on the couch, holding the letter in her hand. It was crumpled and creased and she had no idea why she still possessed it for she had memorized it long ago. Whenever she closed her eyes, she could see the angry red words before her, taunting her. She looked around the dim apartment, all the blinds were closed and the lights were off for fear that the person who had written the note might be watching her, lurking somewhere unseen. She glanced over at the VCR and saw that it was 5:00 p.m. Had she really been sitting in the dark for the past four hours? She shook her head before picking up the phone.
"Hello?" The woman on the other end said.
"Jessica, good I'm glad you're there." Angela said, her voice distant.
"Ms. Boscorelli?" Jessica asked uncertainly. "Where are you? I've been getting everything ready for tonight. Why haven't you shown up yet?" She asked her boss.
"Umm, I'm not going to be working tonight." Angela told her. She felt as though she were listening to her assistant from a far away place.
"Are you sick? You sound kind of funny."
"I'm afraid that I've come down with something rather suddenly. I won't be able to come in but you should be fine on your own." She told her, eager to disconnect the line.
"Sure, no problem." Jessica said brightly, her perkiness grating on Angela's nerves. " I hope that you feel better soon."
"Me too." Angela said quietly. "Me too." Then she promptly hung up the phone.
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Angela sat in the apartment when she heard a loud thumping sound. She jumped startled and gasped in fear before realizing it was just the neighbours in the apartment next door. She looked at the clock, not having moved from her position on the couch, and saw that it was 11:15 p.m. She stared at the time in shock, not quite believing that she had spent the whole day sitting in the same spot. She took a deep breath and walked over to the phone. She knew there was no way she would be able to stay in the apartment alone, not with the lunatic who had sent her the note knowing where she lived, watching her every move. She shuddered at the knowledge that this man knew so much about her, a deep sense of violation sweeping through her. She reached for the phone, her hand shaking in the process. She took a deep breath before dialing the number of the one person she knew she could trust, the one person who would do everything in his power to protect her.
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"You wanna get a coffee or something?" Faith asked her partner as they were changing. Although normally she would just want to go home and unwind she was feeling restless.
"Umm, yeah sure. Why not?" Bosco said before his cell phone rang. He quickly reached for it. "Hello?" He said.
"Maurice, honey?"
"Mom?" Bosco said, his brow creased, noting that his mother sounded odd. "Are you okay? You sound funny. Where are you?" He asked, failing to hear the clatter and noise that could normally be heard at the bar. Instead, all he heard was dead silence on the other end of the line.
"I'm at home." Angela told him.
"What's wrong?" He asked her, automatically knowing that something was off, his mother being much too quiet.
"Baby, can you come to the house." She asked, her voice trembling slightly.
"Mom, what's wrong?" Bosco repeated, trying to keep his voice neutral but growing more frantic by the moment.
"I'll explain when you get here." Angela told him before disconnecting the line. Bosco stood unmoving for a moment, the dial tone resounding in his ear, before finally hanging up the phone.
"Bos? What's gong on?" Faith asked concerned, having heard his end of the conversation.
"I don't know." Bosco told her as he quickly put on his jacket and pulled his car keys out of his pocket. "I'm going to have to take a rain check on that coffee." Bosco told her as he quickly made his way out of the locker room, not waiting for a reply.
"No problem." Faith said softly to the empty locker room, hoping that nothing was wrong with her partner's mother.
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Angela jumped when she heard the doorbell ring. She hesitantly moved to the door before pressing the intercom button. "Who is it?" She said, her voice fearful.
"Ma, its me." Bosco said his concern mounting by the second. Angela sighed in relief when she heard her son's strong voice.
"Come on up, baby." She told him, quickly buzzing him in. She heard his footsteps as he jogged up the stairs. She looked through the eyehole, relief filling her at the sight of her eldest son standing before her. She quickly unlatched the door before taking him by the hand and pulling him inside, promptly shutting the door behind him, the sound of the deadlock being slipped into place making her feel better.
"Ma? What's going on?" Bosco asked, taking in the pitch-black apartment. He reached his hand along the wall, blindly searching for the light switch. A moment later, the apartment was bathed in light. Bosco took in his mother's frazzled appearance and pale complexion and felt his concern mounting. "Ma, what's wrong?" He asked again for what felt like the hundredth time in the past hour, hoping that this time he just might get the response that he so desperately craved from her.
"Let's go into the kitchen." She told him as she quickly picked up a tattered letter from the coffee table. Bosco followed his mother into the kitchen and sat down across from her. Angela looked at her son, not quite sure where to begin. She took a deep breath before commencing. "Last night, when I came home I felt uneasy." She told him. " I felt as though I was being watched or something. When I looked down the street I saw a car drive by the house but I didn't pay much attention because it went by." She told him, pausing for a moment to collect her thoughts. "When I woke this morning - afternoon," She said, correcting herself, " I went to get the mail and found this on the floor." She told him, her hand shaking as she handed him the piece of paper.
Bosco quietly took it from her. She watched her son as he read the letter, his jaw tightening in anger as he read the words scrawled before him.
" Listen to me Angela because I'm only going to say this once. You and I are meant to be together and I will not fucking stand idly by while you flirt with someone right in front of my fucking face. You better stop what you are doing right now.
I don't like to be teased Angela, I'm not just going to stand by and do nothing while you play me for a fool. That bastard will pay. I'll see to it. You'd better be careful or I'll have no choice but to teach you a lesson too and trust me you don't want that. I should just go over and rip your head off you traitorous bitch. I should gut you from the inside out. You're mine. Don't forget it, or next time you'll get more than a written warning."
Bosco quickly looked up at his mother, rage reflecting in his eyes at the thought that some bastard would scare her this way. The urge to grab this man, whoever he was, and beat the crap out of him was overwhelming. "Do you have any idea who might have sent this to you?" Bosco asked, his calm voice in strong contrast to the rage he could feel bubbling inside of him.
"No." Angela told her son tearfully. "I mean it must be the same person who's been sending me the flowers but I have no idea who that could be."
"It's probably the same person who's car you saw making its way down your street." He told her quietly. "Did you see what kind of car it was?" Angela shook her head.
"Maurice, this man knows where I live, where I work, my name." She said fearfully, "Baby, this man is obviously deranged. Honey, what's going to stop him from -"
"Hey," Bosco said, preventing her from going on any further. The sight of his mother before him, so obviously distressed, making him angrier by the second. The urge to find the man who was causing her so much pain and suffering and rip his head off was getting stronger by the minute. "Ma, don't worry about this, okay? I'm not going to let some psycho hurt you, I promise." He said, taking a hold of her hand and giving it a light squeeze. Angela smiled sadly at her son, grateful to have someone as strong as him in her life.
"I know you won't, baby." She told him squeezing his hand back.
"Come on, let's get some of your things packed. You're going to stay with me until we find this sick son of a bitch." He said rising up from the kitchen table and making his way to his mother's bedroom. Angela followed behind, grateful that she wouldn't have to spend the night alone in her apartment.
"Maurice, honey," Angela said causing her son to stop and turn around. "Thank you." She said quietly, gratitude clearly strewn across her face.
"I won't let him hurt you." Bosco said intensely. "I promise." He said before turning around and turning on the light to his mother's room. He opened her closet door and pulled out her suitcase, quickly filling it with her clothes. The whole time, the only thought reverberating through his mind was that nobody was going to hurt his mother. Nobody.
Disclaimer: I own nothing. The characters belong to John Wells, Edward Allan Bernero, NBC and a bunch of other people I don't know.
Rating: R for language and violence
Feedback: Well, it will make me write faster ;)
Chapter 5
As the man sat in his car several days later waiting for Angela to close up and go home, he thought about what he had witnessed just three days before, still not able to get the image of Angela and her lover out of his head. Every night the sight of them kept him awake as he replayed the scene over and over again in his mind until eventually it spun out of control. Soon, all he could see were their naked and entwined bodies lying together, and so every night he woke up in a cold sweat, fearing that he would lose her.
He still couldn't believe that she had back-stabbed him, that she had cheated on him. Although the urge to kill the man, to wrap his hands around the bastard's neck and squeeze until his eyes popped, his face reddened and his windpipe crushed beneath his fingertips, he couldn't. Not yet anyway, for he had no idea where the man lived. Although he suspected that he lived with Angela, his Angela, he had no proof. And so, his revenge would have to wait a little bit longer.
But, as enraged as he was at the man, he was also furious with Angela. She was the love of his life. They were meant to be together. Why couldn't she see that? Why couldn't she understand? Didn't she realize that the man she had so openly flirted with in the bar that dreadful night was not who she was destined to be with? Didn't she care? How could she not have felt him in the bar, just as he could feel her? Didn't he surround her senses until he was all she could see, hear, and taste just as she did to him? Was it possible that she didn't feel the same about him? Could he be wrong about her just the way he had been wrong about the others before her?
He shook his head in a meager attempt to clear it, refusing to entertain these thoughts any longer. He would not do this. He refused to. He knew that they were destined to be together, he could feel it in his gut, it screamed through his veins. The feeling was much too powerful to simply be a figment of his imagination, wasn't it? He shook his head once more and cursed himself. "Of course we're meant to be together." He said. " I just have to get rid of the bastard she was with first." His words menacing as he turned his thoughts towards the man he had seen Angela throw herself at.
Suddenly, a cloud was lifted and his vision cleared. He understood why Angela failed to realize that she was meant to be with him, she was being brain-washed, disillusioned by that man, he reasoned, his fingers tightening on the steering wheel in anger. " I have to kill him." He said simply as he stared out of the windshield. "It's the only way the spell he's cast over you will be broken." He realized, mentally kicking himself over his own stupidity and insecurity. "I don't know what he's done to turn you against me, but rest assured he won't be allowed to do it much longer." He vowed, watching her shadow behind the closed blinds. "And you, my love," He said, his voice sinister, "You will know that we are meant to be together." He said, still peeved that she had allowed the man to disillusion her so easily. " I will make sure that you will know not to cross me again."
As he watched her make her way out of the bar, stopping to lock the door behind her before making her way to her car, he could feel a spark of anger flickering within him. He watched as she climbed into her car and slowly made her way onto the quiet street. He waited until she was a block and a half away before putting his car into drive and following behind at a safe distance, his fingers tightening in anticipation. "Maybe I should remind you who you are really meant to be with." He mused out loud; his gaze fixed intently on the car ahead of him.
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As Angela stepped out of her car and made her way to the front door of her apartment complex, she could feel the hair on the back of her neck slowly start to rise. She quickly turned around and gazed down the street, fear of the unknown playing tricks with her mind. She watched as a lone car made its way slowly down the street. For some unknown reason, she could feel her heart begin to pound in her chest as she quickly reached ice-cold fingers into her purse, frantically looking for her keys. She saw the car continue down the street and turn the corner, and finally let out the breath she had been so desperately holding. Shaking her head at her nervousness, she quickly pulled her keys out and unlocked her front door. She smiled and shook her head at her silliness, slightly cursing her son for making her worry so much, his words back at the bar that night having made her edgier than usual. She locked the front door behind her, failing to notice the car that was slowly backing down the street before coming to a stop in front of her building.
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The man sat in his car, burning a hole into the front of the apartment complex with the intensity of his gaze. He sat in he car fuming, his anger growing stronger by the minute. He opened the glove compartment, practically ripping it open in his haste, and pulled out a pen and paper, the black leather gloves making it difficult to grasp the pen. Angrily, he began to write, his pen moving furiously over the paper, tearing it in spots in his haste. Finally, after what seemed like forever, he stopped writing and stared at the message before him, scrawled in angry blood red letters. He quickly folded it and placed it into an envelope, writing her name in block red letters on the front. Satisfied that Angela would no longer mistake what they have; he opened up the car door and silently made his way to her building. He looked around before bending down and sliding the letter under the door. Satisfied, he quickly got up and made his way back to his car, truly content for the first time that evening. Humming, he started the car and quickly pulled away. "You'll have a surprise waiting for you when you wake up in the morning, Angela." The man said as he quickly made his way home. "I hope you like the message I left for you." He said chuckling.
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It was around 1:00 p.m. when Angela Boscorelli finally crawled out of bed. She sighed as she sleepily made her way into the kitchen and put the kettle on to make her morning coffee. She couldn't believe that she had slept in so late and chastised herself. She didn't know why but for some reason she had problems falling asleep the night before. She had found herself on edge and jittery, the slightest noise causing her to jump. She yawned as she grabbed her coat and put it on over her pajamas and opened her appartment door.
She made her way down the stairs to the lobby and used her key to get her mail. She quickly scanned the various bills and was about to make her way upstairs when she saw an envelope pushed in the corner of the lobby near the door. She walked towards the trampled piece of paper and saw her name scrawled on it. She cursed the tenants and their inability to put it in her box where it belonged instead of stepping all over it. She bent down and picked up the plain paper and made her way back to her apartment. She quickly made her way into the kitchen, the kettle whistling, it's high-pitched shriek setting her nerves on edge. She unplugged it and poured the boiling water into her favorite mug. She stirred in the instant coffee and took a sip before opening the letter. She read it, her expression changing from one of curiosity to horror. As she got to the last line, the hot cup of coffee slipped from her suddenly numb fingers and shattered on the ground, the hot coffee spraying across the kitchen floor.
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"So did you do anything interesting last night?" Faith Yokas asked her partner as they ate their lunch in the squad car.
"Nah." Bosco said, wiping his hands on a napkin. "Went by the bar a couple of nights ago and saw ma." He told her before taking another bite of his pizza.
"How is your mom?" Faith asked, taking a sip of her coke.
"Good. She's got a secret admirer." Bosco found himself telling her.
"Really?" Faith said, delighted for the woman. "Good for her." She said smiling. She saw Bosco's concerned expression and felt her smile dissolve. "What?" She asked him.
"Nothing." Bosco said, shrugging.
"You don't have a nothing face, you have a something face. Don't tell me you're jealous?" She said, not quite believing that was the reason why Bosco looked less than thrilled for his mother.
"No, I'm not jealous." Bosco said exasperated.
"So what is it then? What's got you making that face?" She asked turning in her seat so she could see him better.
"I am not making a face." He told her defensively.
"Umm, yeah you are." She told him matter-of-factly. "Now, tell me why you're not thrilled that your mother has been getting some much needed and might I add deserved attention."
"I don't know." He said, shrugging his shoulders. "I don't think it's so much that she has an admirer. I think what bugs me is that she has no idea who this guy is. I mean think about it, some psycho is sending her flowers and little notes and she's just sitting there with this stupid grin on her face. I mean doesn't she care that some stranger she doesn't even know is sending her these things." Bosco said, clearly frustrated.
"Some psycho?" Faith said incredulously, a small smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.
"What?" Bosco asked defensively, seeing her expression.
"Nothing." She said casually. "I just think that this jealous and overprotective routine when it comes to your mom is kinda cute. Are all Italians like this when it comes to their mommies or is it just you?" She said teasingly.
"Ha, ha. Very cute, Yokas." Bosco said. " I am not jealous or overprotective. I just want her to be careful. I mean who knows who this guy could be." Bosco said trying to justify his remarks. "Are you done yet?" He asked impatiently, eager to get back to work and drop the conversation they were having.
"Yeah, I'm done." Faith said a huge grin spreading across her face at her partner's obvious discomfort.
"And wipe that grin off your face." Bosco scowled as he put the car into gear, Faith's light laughter making him relax slightly as he drove away.
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Angela sat numbly on the couch, holding the letter in her hand. It was crumpled and creased and she had no idea why she still possessed it for she had memorized it long ago. Whenever she closed her eyes, she could see the angry red words before her, taunting her. She looked around the dim apartment, all the blinds were closed and the lights were off for fear that the person who had written the note might be watching her, lurking somewhere unseen. She glanced over at the VCR and saw that it was 5:00 p.m. Had she really been sitting in the dark for the past four hours? She shook her head before picking up the phone.
"Hello?" The woman on the other end said.
"Jessica, good I'm glad you're there." Angela said, her voice distant.
"Ms. Boscorelli?" Jessica asked uncertainly. "Where are you? I've been getting everything ready for tonight. Why haven't you shown up yet?" She asked her boss.
"Umm, I'm not going to be working tonight." Angela told her. She felt as though she were listening to her assistant from a far away place.
"Are you sick? You sound kind of funny."
"I'm afraid that I've come down with something rather suddenly. I won't be able to come in but you should be fine on your own." She told her, eager to disconnect the line.
"Sure, no problem." Jessica said brightly, her perkiness grating on Angela's nerves. " I hope that you feel better soon."
"Me too." Angela said quietly. "Me too." Then she promptly hung up the phone.
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Angela sat in the apartment when she heard a loud thumping sound. She jumped startled and gasped in fear before realizing it was just the neighbours in the apartment next door. She looked at the clock, not having moved from her position on the couch, and saw that it was 11:15 p.m. She stared at the time in shock, not quite believing that she had spent the whole day sitting in the same spot. She took a deep breath and walked over to the phone. She knew there was no way she would be able to stay in the apartment alone, not with the lunatic who had sent her the note knowing where she lived, watching her every move. She shuddered at the knowledge that this man knew so much about her, a deep sense of violation sweeping through her. She reached for the phone, her hand shaking in the process. She took a deep breath before dialing the number of the one person she knew she could trust, the one person who would do everything in his power to protect her.
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"You wanna get a coffee or something?" Faith asked her partner as they were changing. Although normally she would just want to go home and unwind she was feeling restless.
"Umm, yeah sure. Why not?" Bosco said before his cell phone rang. He quickly reached for it. "Hello?" He said.
"Maurice, honey?"
"Mom?" Bosco said, his brow creased, noting that his mother sounded odd. "Are you okay? You sound funny. Where are you?" He asked, failing to hear the clatter and noise that could normally be heard at the bar. Instead, all he heard was dead silence on the other end of the line.
"I'm at home." Angela told him.
"What's wrong?" He asked her, automatically knowing that something was off, his mother being much too quiet.
"Baby, can you come to the house." She asked, her voice trembling slightly.
"Mom, what's wrong?" Bosco repeated, trying to keep his voice neutral but growing more frantic by the moment.
"I'll explain when you get here." Angela told him before disconnecting the line. Bosco stood unmoving for a moment, the dial tone resounding in his ear, before finally hanging up the phone.
"Bos? What's gong on?" Faith asked concerned, having heard his end of the conversation.
"I don't know." Bosco told her as he quickly put on his jacket and pulled his car keys out of his pocket. "I'm going to have to take a rain check on that coffee." Bosco told her as he quickly made his way out of the locker room, not waiting for a reply.
"No problem." Faith said softly to the empty locker room, hoping that nothing was wrong with her partner's mother.
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Angela jumped when she heard the doorbell ring. She hesitantly moved to the door before pressing the intercom button. "Who is it?" She said, her voice fearful.
"Ma, its me." Bosco said his concern mounting by the second. Angela sighed in relief when she heard her son's strong voice.
"Come on up, baby." She told him, quickly buzzing him in. She heard his footsteps as he jogged up the stairs. She looked through the eyehole, relief filling her at the sight of her eldest son standing before her. She quickly unlatched the door before taking him by the hand and pulling him inside, promptly shutting the door behind him, the sound of the deadlock being slipped into place making her feel better.
"Ma? What's going on?" Bosco asked, taking in the pitch-black apartment. He reached his hand along the wall, blindly searching for the light switch. A moment later, the apartment was bathed in light. Bosco took in his mother's frazzled appearance and pale complexion and felt his concern mounting. "Ma, what's wrong?" He asked again for what felt like the hundredth time in the past hour, hoping that this time he just might get the response that he so desperately craved from her.
"Let's go into the kitchen." She told him as she quickly picked up a tattered letter from the coffee table. Bosco followed his mother into the kitchen and sat down across from her. Angela looked at her son, not quite sure where to begin. She took a deep breath before commencing. "Last night, when I came home I felt uneasy." She told him. " I felt as though I was being watched or something. When I looked down the street I saw a car drive by the house but I didn't pay much attention because it went by." She told him, pausing for a moment to collect her thoughts. "When I woke this morning - afternoon," She said, correcting herself, " I went to get the mail and found this on the floor." She told him, her hand shaking as she handed him the piece of paper.
Bosco quietly took it from her. She watched her son as he read the letter, his jaw tightening in anger as he read the words scrawled before him.
" Listen to me Angela because I'm only going to say this once. You and I are meant to be together and I will not fucking stand idly by while you flirt with someone right in front of my fucking face. You better stop what you are doing right now.
I don't like to be teased Angela, I'm not just going to stand by and do nothing while you play me for a fool. That bastard will pay. I'll see to it. You'd better be careful or I'll have no choice but to teach you a lesson too and trust me you don't want that. I should just go over and rip your head off you traitorous bitch. I should gut you from the inside out. You're mine. Don't forget it, or next time you'll get more than a written warning."
Bosco quickly looked up at his mother, rage reflecting in his eyes at the thought that some bastard would scare her this way. The urge to grab this man, whoever he was, and beat the crap out of him was overwhelming. "Do you have any idea who might have sent this to you?" Bosco asked, his calm voice in strong contrast to the rage he could feel bubbling inside of him.
"No." Angela told her son tearfully. "I mean it must be the same person who's been sending me the flowers but I have no idea who that could be."
"It's probably the same person who's car you saw making its way down your street." He told her quietly. "Did you see what kind of car it was?" Angela shook her head.
"Maurice, this man knows where I live, where I work, my name." She said fearfully, "Baby, this man is obviously deranged. Honey, what's going to stop him from -"
"Hey," Bosco said, preventing her from going on any further. The sight of his mother before him, so obviously distressed, making him angrier by the second. The urge to find the man who was causing her so much pain and suffering and rip his head off was getting stronger by the minute. "Ma, don't worry about this, okay? I'm not going to let some psycho hurt you, I promise." He said, taking a hold of her hand and giving it a light squeeze. Angela smiled sadly at her son, grateful to have someone as strong as him in her life.
"I know you won't, baby." She told him squeezing his hand back.
"Come on, let's get some of your things packed. You're going to stay with me until we find this sick son of a bitch." He said rising up from the kitchen table and making his way to his mother's bedroom. Angela followed behind, grateful that she wouldn't have to spend the night alone in her apartment.
"Maurice, honey," Angela said causing her son to stop and turn around. "Thank you." She said quietly, gratitude clearly strewn across her face.
"I won't let him hurt you." Bosco said intensely. "I promise." He said before turning around and turning on the light to his mother's room. He opened her closet door and pulled out her suitcase, quickly filling it with her clothes. The whole time, the only thought reverberating through his mind was that nobody was going to hurt his mother. Nobody.