Warning: Rated for language and violence.

The main characters of this story are based on characters from the cartoon 'Code Lyoko.' I do not own, nor do I claim, any copyright to these characters.

O o O

The tow truck driver told Suzanne that it would be at least tomorrow before her car would be fixed. She sighed, resigned to the fact that she would be without transportation again, and told the man okay. He set his towing hook on her car and hauled it away.

Jim took her to his car, and they drove to a small café. There, she drank a cup of latte and told her story.

"Clark Hertz, my ex-husband, was my high school sweetheart," Suzanne began, "I met him during my junior year and we became a serious item in my senior year. Before school, between classes and after school, the only time we weren't together was when we went to the bathroom."

"And there were a few times when we shared a bathroom," she added with a blush. She then continued, "we both graduated together and decided to go to the same college. I was going to become a teacher, no surprise, and he was going on a football(1) scholarship. We got closer and then decided to marry during our sophomore year. Things were going wonderfully, the perfect fairy tale marriage."

"Until," Jim queried.

"Until I found out that son-of-a-bitch was cheating on me!" she snapped, "oh, I'm sorry, Jim. Even after all these years, it still riles me. Anyway, I came home from class one day to find him in bed with another woman. We weren't even married a year and he was sleeping around. He was all tears and apologies, saying he gave in to temptation, and it was the first time and please would I forgive him? Stupid me, I believed him and forgave him. What I didn't know at the time was it wasn't his first time, he had been sleeping with other women since I met him! And he didn't stop either, he just became more adept at hiding it. We went on like that for ten years, Jim, ten years! Then, five years ago, this woman calls me, one of his other women. She told me that they had been together for eight years and he was going to leave me for her! Then she said, that she wouldn't begrudge him his other girlfriends, that she actually liked sharing him! She actually watched him when he was with his other women! She even said she had seen him with me, and didn't like that I didn't please him like he wanted and needed. She told me to get out of his life and let real women provide for him!"

"Damn, Suzanne, that's cold," Jim said, "what happened next?"

"What else," she replied, "I divorced him. It didn't take much for the judge to award me a substantial alimony payment from him, but he never paid up. I never really pushed it, having rid myself of him was payment enough. I moved out, came here, and thought if was over, until a few weeks ago."

"What happened?"

"I don't know. A few weeks ago, he called me and started spouting off obscenities, saying it was my fault, and I would pay for what I did. He would keep calling, keep harassing me, sometimes multiple times in the night. Then, strange things started happening. Things started disappearing from my apartment. I would come home and find things broken, things that absolutely couldn't have fallen down. And then the problems with the car started. That day you first asked me what was wrong, he had called and said that the vandalism was only the beginning, that he was going to soon make me pay for what I did to him."

"Maybe I missed something," Jim said, "but from what you've told me, you haven't done anything to him, if anything, you probably should be the one terrorizing him!"

That remark got him a small smile from Suzanne.

"And that's what has me so confused," she said, "I can't think of any reason for this, and it's starting to really frighten me now. Threatening phone calls were bad enough, but damaging my car?"

"Look, you should probably call the police," Jim said, "whatever the reason behind it, it's dangerous. This is really starting to look like one of those stories that end with 'police have no leads on the whereabouts of the murderer.'" Then, changing the subject, he said, "look, your car is in the shop; how about I take you home, then come by in the morning and pick you up?"

"Alright, I'd appreciate that," she replied.

They finished their coffees and left. Suzanne had Jim stop by the grocery store, where she picked up the few things she needed to get. He drove her home, to a nice quiet neighborhood. The apartment building she lived in was older, but well kept. After parking, he got out, ran around and opened the door for her. She smiled as she got out, thankful for a small courtesy she hadn't received in ages.

"Would you like me to walk you to your door?" he asked.

"No, I should be alright," she replied, "Jim, thanks for listening to me. You're right, I need to talk to someone about Clark, and I think I will in the morning."

"When would you like me to pick you up?"

"About six, I have some things to go over before classes start tomorrow."

"Sure, I'll be here."

Jim turned to leave when Suzanne suddenly reached out, stopped him, then kissed his cheek.

"Thanks for listening, you really helped me," she said before turning and almost running into the building.

Jim stood there, dumbfounded. There had always been something that attracted him to Suzanne Hertz, but he never could work the courage up to ask her anything. Even though he knew she was nothing like the image she projected to her students, that image intimidated him. But now...

He was pulled from his reverie by a woman's scream, coming from inside Suzanne's building. He ran inside, only to nearly collide with her.

"Jim! My apartment!" she nearly sobbed. She had grabbed him and clutched herself to him as if he were her only salvation in life. He instinctively put an arm around her and asked, "what's wrong?"

"He, he, broke into my apartment again," she said, starting to cry freely now.

Taking the frightened woman, he went back to her apartment. The door was wide open from when she unlocked it to go inside, and the groceries she had bought were lying on the floor right on the threshold. He could see clearly inside, and was shocked by what he saw.

The entire room had been demolished.

All of her furniture was in pieces, cushions torn up and the stuffing strewn all around. Papers, books and magazines where shredded and scattered about.

"Do you have your cell phone?" he asked. When she nodded in the affirmative, he said, "call the police. Your ex isn't fooling around any more."

As Suzanne got out her cell and called the police, Jim carefully entered her apartment. The first room was the living room. Off to Jim's left was a small hallway that led to the rest of the apartment. The next room was a kitchenette. It too had been utterly destroyed. Dishes broken, food scattered all over the place, appliances ruined.

Moving back, Jim saw a closed door he assumed was the bathroom. Moving further back, he came to Suzanne's bedroom, ruined like the rest of the apartment.

He felt something behind him, and quickly turned to see that Suzanne had followed him. "Suzanne, you should stay outside!" he said.

"So should you," she replied, "the police said they would be her in ten minutes and not to disturb anything.'

"Yeah," he said, then pointed for her to go back the way she came and started out himself. Suzanne stopped at the closed door and opened it, turned on a light and screamed. Jim quickly joined her, and saw what set her off.

The bathroom seemed bathed in blood. On the mirror, the vandal had written:

You have ripped out my heart, and soon I shall rip out yours

In the sink, there was a red lump of something. Both adults looked closer. Suzanne suddenly choked and bolted from the apartment. Jim kept looking at the lump, not able to figure out what it was. Then the scales were lifted from his eyes, and he realized what it was.

It was a small heart.

Footnote:

(1) a.k.a. soccer, remember, this is France.