Chereads / So Not Guilty, Mr. FBI / Chapter 4 - Chapter Four

Chapter 4 - Chapter Four

I glance up at the sky from the bench on the roof. The sky is thick with clouds. It will start raining at any moment. I like weather like this. Cloudy and gloomy.

I rarely come up on the roof. I do not like to climb stairs. Well, I always could take the elevator, but the thing is, I am a little wary of it. I get a sense of vertigo every time the elevator starts and stops. It is not the main reason though.

Dad was the assistant of the CEO of Slumber Beauty, a fashion brand. The CEO was a nice man and he treated my father well. Dad said he and the CEO were of the same age and went to the same high school.

"It's strange how far he went despite being so young," Dad used to tell us. I was ten at that time. Dad was thirty-six.

"Do you envy him, Dad?" Teddy, my brother said. His main name is Ted, but I do not remember ever calling him that. He has always been Teddy aka Teddy Bear to me. Not just me, but my parents too.

"People might think so, but actually, I don't," Dad said with a laugh. "I would never be as good as he is at his job. He has ambition and charisma, which I don't. I am happy where I am. The pay is good too. So, all is well."

Five years later, I was pulled out of my history class by Mrs. Kenly. She took me to the headmaster's office where my brother was taken a few minutes after me. Then, Mom picked us up.

"Your father had an accident," she said.

"Car accident?" I asked, automatically assuming so. After all, when someone said an accident, it was mostly a car accident. Or, a road accident of some sorts.

Mom just shook her head. Later, in the hospital, we learned that the elevator fell from the ninth floor while Dad was in it. With him, there were the CEO's wife and son, who had gone to visit the CEO and were leaving; Dad was walking them to their car.

The little boy lived, but Dad and the wife of the CEO died. Dad died on the spot. The wife lived a few more hours and died in the emergency room.

Since then, I never once used an elevator. I am scared, you can say, and a little paranoid.

I live on the third floor and always take the stairs. The building is has eleven floors, so it is not usual that I come up on the roof.

I went to an eye doctor from the café yesterday. As I suspected, I need glasses. The two pairs I chose at a shop were delivered this morning. I have tried them on. I do not look bad. But it is uncomfortable. There is also a thrill as I am using glasses for the first time. I will switch to contact lenses as soon as I tire of these glasses.

My phone is in my hands. Lloyd gave me his number yesterday and told me to call him.

"It's informal, Tasha, in case you are wondering. I'm interested in you and I would like to get to know you. Will you call me?"

I am pretty sure he just wants to find out more about me in a negative sense. He suspects me of something, I know that and he will do anything to know if his suspicions are right or wrong. He wants to get close to me for that reason, not because he likes me.

It is thrilling.

I start typing a text.

Hey.

I hit the send button. I have no idea what to say anymore. Do I just ask him out on a date? I have never done adult dating. Now that I think about it, I should have. For a woman of my age, I should have some experience in dating.

Do I tell him about one of my secrets now that he should know if he becomes my boyfriend? Fake boyfriend, or whatever; boyfriend nonetheless.

My phone pings. He has sent me a reply within five minutes. Wow. I did not expect that.

Hi.

He also uses full stops, I see. I have never met one person who uses full stops while texting. I have this friend, Riley, who keeps telling me how weird I am for using full stops after 'Hey' or 'Hi'.

How are you doing?- Lloyd

Okay.

You don't talk much, do you? Or, do I bore you?- Lloyd

You tell me. You are the profiler.

I don't remember telling you that.- Lloyd

Shit, that was a slip.

Agent Fredrick Wood said you are one of the best profilers the FBI ever had.

No, he did not. I did not mention Lloyd to Agent Fredrick Wood and he did not mention Lloyd to me.

Are you impressed?- Lloyd

You will need more than that to impress me.

You need two players to play a game. If he wants to flirt, I will try my best too. I must admit I am not good at it and sometimes, I might even sound artificial, as if I have taken a line out of a book or a movie. But really, I am trying my best here.

I want to see you.- Lloyd

Within a second, he sends another text.

Do you want to meet up today?

I think for a moment. My arm still hurts. But overall, I feel okay. The marks around my neck is bothering me. The fact that a man made those marks make me feel humiliated.

I can just wear turtleneck. It is a little chilly anyway. Besides, it is not like Lloyd and I are going to have sex right away. Sex is casual for some people. But for me, I need to be serious with someone to have sex. Sex is intimate. Too intimate. I am not going to do with just anyone. Moreover, I think having sex with a stranger or someone you barely know is unsafe. For one thing, he might be a murderer, or worse, a serial killer and wants to kill you. Then, he can drug you and rape you. He can also be a human-trafficker. There is also the matter of illness. He may have a skin disease or something contagious. He might even have AIDS. Condom is a must, even if you want to have a quickie in a public restroom or something; I never understood the hype of it though. Public restrooms are gross, probably the dirtiest and the most unhygienic place on earth.

My ex (the one and only) tried to get intimate on the first week of our relationship. I refused. I only let him do it after two months of dating. In that one month, we had sex probably five times max. Now, the reason is entirely me. He kind of bruised my body and thought it was kinky. It was not. He would hold my wrists so tightly that there would be bluish marks on them. Then, he once bit the inside of my thigh and it bled. Him wanting to put a collar on me was the last straw. I broke things up with him.

Now, as I think of Lloyd, I dearly hope he is not like Andy (my ex). I do not want someone controlling and totally abusive in bed. Rough sex is good, I think, but you need to know your limit. So does your partner.