Laik

My world changed last week when Laik Rhodes moved in next door. But, it didn’t change in the way you would think. See, I didn’t fall head-over-heels for this girl; it was quite the opposite, actually. I hated her the moment I laid eyes on her. 1

She was a murderer, the murderer of my soul.2

My life wasn’t bad, not at all. But, then again, anything gone awry in a teenager’s life is pure hell. Anyway, for reasons that escape me now, I had a handful of pills in my right hand and a glass of Sprite in my left. I was about to do myself in when I heard the U-Haul pull in next door. They’d be greeted with a funeral. 3

Out of curiosity, I peered out the window of our two-story house. She caught my eye first. Her long, blonde hair was tied back in a pony tail. Her eyes were as blue as the ocean. Wretch! No, murderer. 4

I heard my mother calling me down to meet the new neighbors. I cursed. Oh well, I’d end it later. “Coming!” I called back. I sipped the Sprite and hid the pills under my pillow.5

There were eight of them moving into the five-bedroom house next door. Realtors thrived in this town cursed with extravagant homes. Anyone who moved in was…well-off. 6

I met them one-by-one, shaking hands with each of them and “connecting” with the eighth. 7

The head of the household was Mr. Blair Rhodes, a British business tycoon who had left London for New York City a few years ago. He had been transferred here, to the suburbs of Chicago. This man was a shark that went for the kill and took no prisoners. 8

The first lady was Lara Rhodes, a British fashion designer who was also from London. She bragged about her store in the local mall, causing me to see her as arrogant and snobby.9

The oldest child, Jesse, was twenty-one and an actor. He had played minor roles in a handful of movies and was seriously full of himself. He was home from college on spring break. 10

Next was Ali, the typical cheerleader. She was a senior this year and, at eighteen, she looked like she knew how to get what she wanted. Her outfit barely covered her, and what did cover her was too tight. 11

Eighteen-year-old Peter was not much of a talker. His father explained that he missed his girlfriend back in New York. My mother thought it was sweet; I thought it was bloody pathetic. 12

Little Billy was, well, little. He was twelve and had the build of a twig. There wasn’t much else to him. 13

Then there was Callie. She was nine and had mischief written all over her face. She was a cute little thing, though. 14

Finally, the murderer. Laik Rhodes was the most gorgeous thing that I had ever laid eyes on. She was seventeen—my age. The moment her hand touched mine, a bolt of electricity surged through my body. It didn’t tickle, but it didn’t hurt, either. It was unnerving. 15

Then, she spoke to me, hand still grasping mine, in the loveliest British accent I had ever heard. The odd thing was that her voice, though audible, wasn’t so much heard as felt. I would never forget what she said to me that day.16

The first words she ever spoke to me were: “I love you, Logan; I love you very much.” 17

The way she said it was impersonal. She said it like someone would say, “Nice weather we’re having.” I mean, she didn’t even know me; how could she tell me she loved me? It was terribly unnerving. Needless to say, I didn’t respond. 18

Later Sunday evening, I was in my room again contemplating my demise. I had taken the pills from beneath my pillow and was fully prepared to toss them down my throat and chase them down with the flat Sprite still sitting in my room. 19

I ran through my checklist.20

Pills?21

Check.22

Sprite?23

Flat. Check.24

Suicide note?25

Check.26

Laik?27

Che—Laik?28

“Laik?!” I said out loud. “Dammit!” I threw the pills down and sipped the Sprite while shaking my head. I put the note through the shredder and cursed the new neighbors. That wretch! That wretched murderer!29

I simply couldn’t keep her off my mind. I turned and glared at the house next door through my window. I found that I could see clearly into a dark room through a second-story window. Then, a light came on. 30

Just then, Laik walked by the window with a towel in her hair and a towel around her body. Then she walked by with clothes in her hand, towel still in her hair, but nothing on her body. I saw everything from her waist up. Then, as if realizing something, she stopped, took a step back and looked at me. Her beautiful blue eyes made contact with mine. She smiled, winked, and drew the curtains just like that. 31

She smiled, winked, and drew the curtains just like that.32

Smiled. Winked.33

Just like that. 34

Wasn’t she embarrassed? Even a little? I mean, I saw her naked body! Didn’t she feel defiled?35

Nope. She didn’t. She smiled and winked. 36

She was in my dreams that night, smiling and winking without a towel on. In my dreams, though, there were no curtains to draw. And she wasn’t all the way over in the house next door. She was right next to me, drowning me in her ocean blue eyes. 37

When I woke up the next morning, I cursed Laik Rhodes for the second time since we first met. Then I proceeded to change my bed sheets. 38

At breakfast that morning, my parents and siblings wouldn’t stop talking about how great the new neighbors were. Frankly, I thought they were rude, rich snobs—like most others in the neighborhood. I openly shared this with my family, and they openly excused me from the table. I should’ve popped the pills. 39

I was enrolled in an internship program at a business firm that got me out of school on Mondays, so I didn’t have to deal with the school on the first day of the week. 40

I pulled up to the firm at about nine o’clock. I walked up to the secretary, gave her my papers, and she sent me up to the third floor of the building. I found the room I was supposed to be in and knocked on the door. 41

A short, greasy-haired man opened the door. “Can I help you?”42

I explained to him who I was and why I was there. He turned and yelled into the room. “Blair, you know ‘bout this kid?”43

“Yes,” he said, “let him in.” His accent was unmistakable. “Oh, Logan,” he said when he saw me. “Hi.”44

“Hello, Mr. Rhodes.”45

“I wasn’t expecting you, lad,” he said. 46

“Well, I-” his phone rang and he turned around to take the call. I could hear a faint voice mumbling on the other end.47

“No!” Blair hissed. “I don’t care! We have to seal this deal!”48

There was more mumbling on the other end. 49

“I said I don’t bloody care!” He turned and looked at me apologetically. He put his back to me again and continued to yell into the phone. It seemed that all he cared about was money. Greedy bastard!50

After hours of calls like that and some minor paper work, he let me go. Just before I left, though, I saw him receive an envelope full of money. I figured a deal must have worked out. Blair counted out three thousand dollars. He put three hundred in his wallet, two thousand in his pocket, and left the rest in the envelope and set it on another desk. 51

He left the building shortly after I did. I ran to my little blue 1994 Dodge Piece-of-Shit Special Edition and followed his Lexus when he left. 52

A few minutes later, he pulled into a meter parking spot between a bar and a gentlemen’s club. He got out of his car and put a quarter in the meter. So, this was how the greedy Brit spent his money—on boos and boobs. 53

But then he did something unexpected. He jogged a couple of blocks down the road and turned left. I hurried at a distance to see what the heck he was doing. When I turned the corner, my heart melted. 54

The building seemed to be made of glass windows. A single light illuminated the entire place. I walked up to the window and try to take in what I’m seeing inside. I saw what Blair had done and went back to my car with tears in my eyes. 55

I knew that the woman inside the building had tears rolling down her cheeks too, when this business tycoon—this greedy bastard—walked in and donated two thousand dollars to the women’s shelter. 56

I didn’t get any sleep that night. I stayed up thinking about Laik and her family and her father’s good deed. It haunted me to no end. 57

I came to the conclusion that I wasn’t going to go to school on Tuesday. I’d done it before. Besides, one day wouldn’t hurt anything. 58

With that, two of my friends and I drove to the school, parked in the lot, and got out of my car. We left my car there and started heading for the mall. 59

We were walking down the sidewalk planning how to waste the day away when the most hideous green van pulled up next to us. My friends and I exchanged looks. 60

“I swear,” Jake said, “if anyone offers me candy, I’m getting the hell out of here.”61

“Shut up,” Dylan said.62

The driver rolled down the window. I knew her instantly as Lara Rhodes and swore under my breath. 63

“You boys aren’t skipping school, are you?” 64

“No, ma’am,” we said in unison. 65

“Right,” she said. “Get in. I’ve cut class a time or two. Want a ride to the mall?”66

We looked at each other, shrugged our shoulders, and got in the van.67

She was on her cursed cell phone the entire ride. Jake made fun of her and Dylan punched him in the leg. I hit them both once and told them to knock it the hell off. I was interested in eavesdropping. 68

The entire call consisted of Lara making demands. She wanted her employees to find and reproduce the latest fashion designs of the biggest names in the clothing industry. She was just as rude with them as her husband had been with his clients. I wondered if all Europeans were like that. 69

We arrived at the mall not ten minutes later. She let us go and told us she wouldn’t tell our parents. Jake and Dylan immediately headed for the video games store. I, on the other hand, followed Mrs. Rhodes. 70

I kept a distance so I wouldn’t draw any attention to myself. A few yards down, she clipped a name tag to her blouse and walked into a clothing store. I read the store’s name. Lara’s Discount Closet was a clothing store that sold top-of-the-line clothes at really cheap prices. I saw clothes there that were new even to the big stores. Yet, here, the prices were only dollars and dimes. 71

It occurred to me that Lara Rhodes was not at all envious of other fashion designers, but was, in fact, content with what she had. She didn’t care about competing for the latest designs; she only wanted to price the newest items so that the poor could afford them. She spied on competitors and sold their high-priced items for next to nothing. I found a really nice tuxedo and lifted its price tag. Ten bucks. 72

I felt my face flush, and then left the store. 73

Tuesday night passed even more slowly than Monday night had. 74

I woke up Wednesday morning after getting only three hours of sleep. I swore to myself that I would have a good day or I’d go back to the pills hidden away in my room and off myself.75

The day was going fairly well until lunch. It was unusually warm, so everyone ate out at the picnic tables scattered around the school. 76

The first sign of trouble appeared when a new girl tried to sit with the cheerleaders. At that instant I knew that the new girl was in for it. But I didn’t know it was going to be as bad as it was. 77

Ali Rhodes, who had crowned herself queen of the cheerleaders, stood and let the new girl have it. We were all shocked because Ali was new herself. 78

“You think you can just come over here and sit with whoever you want? Who do you think you are?” Ali’s voice was harsh. 79

Tears filled the new girl’s eyes. 80

Ali went on. “Go sit with someone who actually likes you! Or don’t you have any friends?” Ali stared the girl down. “Get the hell out of my sight.”81

With that, the girl dropped her lunch and ran off. I surveyed the area to confirm that I wasn’t the only one who had just witnessed the scene of wrath and hostility. Everyone had seen it. 82

I spotted Laik standing not that far away. She seemed unmoved by her sister’s wrath. What a heartless girl! But no, she did have a heart; I could feel it. 83

I, personally, had had enough. I stood and challenged Ali. “Hey, Ali!”84

She glared at me with regret in her eyes. “What?” She spoke so calmly it caught me off guard. 85

“Who do you think you are? Give the poor kid a break!” The new girl stopped and glanced my way. The silence that followed was so thick that I could’ve heard a pin drop. 86

“Listen,” she said sharply. “You don’t know me, Logan. Don’t pretend to. I did her a favor.”87

“Hey, I may not know you, but I sure as hell know that that little scene was definitely uncalled for.”88

“Enough!” It was Laik. 89

Ali looked just as shocked as I knew I did. 90

“It’s done; it’s over with. Leave it at that. Please.” Her voice was so convincing. How I hated her so. 91

Laik pulled me aside and I noticed Ali glance at her watch. She and the rest of the squad hopped into a pink convertible that had “LONDON” printed on the license plate and drove off. 92

“Look, Logan,” Laik’s voice sounded so sweet, “not everything is as it appears. Please don’t jump to conclusions.”93

I responded without argument. “Okay.” Wait! Did she cast a spell on me or something? Wasn’t I even going to argue with her? That wasn’t like me at all!94

“Now, why don’t you come over for dinner tonight? What do you say?” 95

“Sure,” I said. “Why not?” 96

“Be at my place at seven, okay?”97

“Yeah,” I said, “it’s a date.”98

She smiled and left without another word. I stood still and thought for a moment. I had actually said date! She was a mind controller too!99

I drove into town and picked up some flowers for Laik. I mean, I had to take her something. I stopped by the women’s shelter and donated a few bucks and left. That’s when I saw the convertible. 100

It was pink and “LONDON” was printed on the plate. Ali. I glanced across the street and saw the bar and the gentlemen’s club that I had seen the other day. She wasn’t twenty-one, so she wouldn’t be at the bar. She was, however, eighteen, and that meant she was legal. 101

I ran over to the club and inched the door open just enough for a peek. Sure enough, the cheerleaders were putting on a show in fewer clothes than I bathe in. 102

“I noticed it just before you did.”103

I turned around and saw the new girl that had been thrashed by Ali. She was smiling now. “Noticed what?” I asked. 104

“The cheerleaders spared me this.” She motioned to the club. 105

“I don’t get it.”106

“Think about it,” she said. “New kids would do almost anything to fit in and make new friends.”107

“So,” I reasoned, “had you befriended Ali Rhodes, you might end up on stage flashing all of those dirty old men like she is now?”108

“Likely,” she said. 109

“So, she wasn’t full of wrath against you, but was merciful towards you?”110

“She spared me from this. I had her all wrong.”111

“So had I.”112

I arrived at Laik’s house at five after seven, knocked on the door, and waited. 113

Laik answered, beautiful smile on her face. Her ocean eyes were sparkling, and her hair was braided into beautiful pig tails. She was so stunning in her low-cut, baby blue dress that I had to tear my eyes away before I fell for her right then and there. She was like a spider luring me, the fly, into her web. She was such a tempting devil, but such a sweet angel.114

“What took you so long?” she asked. 115

Without speaking, I handed her the flowers.116

“Awe,” she said, smelling them, “how sweet.”117

She led me into the dining room. Mr. and Mrs. Rhodes sat at opposite ends of the rectangular table. Laik sat and beckoned me to the seat at her left. Billy sat on the other side of me. I sat across from Laik’s brother, Peter. His girlfriend, Julie, was visiting from New York, and sat to his left. Callie sat to his right. 118

The dinner went fairly well until Jesse entered the house. “You’re late, honey,” Lara said. 119

He didn’t acknowledge her. “Who’s that?” he said, pointing at me.120

“That’s Logan,” Lara said. “Don’t you remember meeting him the other day?” 121

“Whatever,” he said as he walked to the stairwell. He went upstairs without saying anything else.122

“Jesse,” Lara tried, “why don’t you join us for dinner?”123

He slammed his door. 124

We sat in awkward silence until Laik started a conversation about school.125

Then I realized something odd. Laik’s younger sister, Callie, was eating more slowly than everyone else. With every bite she took, she seemed to grow more and more disgusted. I also noticed that she never looked down at her plate; she kept her beady eyes on everyone around her. The poor girl reminded me of a tiny mouse making sure no one stole its morsel of food. 126

As I watched her more closely, I noticed that she was actually taking food from the table while no one was looking. With a quick look around, I realized that I was the only one that noticed. What a little glutton! I wondered if she was saving the food for later. Maybe she didn’t like eating in front of other people. A million other possibilities ran through my mind, but I chose not to say anything. 127

After she choked down a few more bites, Callie excused herself and ran upstairs. 128

Billy was the next one to leave the table. He wandered into the living room and sat himself down in front of the television. 129

We talked some more, but I wasn’t able to pay much attention. I hated myself because, no matter how much I resisted her, I grew ever fonder of Laik. 130

I was sure she was seducing me on purpose, but I couldn’t figure out how or why she was doing it. 131

The rest of us finished our dinners and put our plates in the sink. Lara called for Billy and asked him if he’d wash the dishes. 132

He either didn’t hear her, or chose not to answer. 133

She went into the living room and asked him again. 134

This time, he was definitely ignoring her.135

I wasn’t meaning to, but I guess I was staring at Lara and Billy. Laik put her hand on my arm and assured me that Billy and Callie were good kids, that they just have issues now and then. I nodded and made sure I didn’t gawk anymore. 136

It did occur to me, though, that the boy was lazy. It didn’t seem like he had any aim—he just went with the flow. He moved slowly—like a…sloth. 137

Billy quickly grew tired of his mother’s nagging and stood up. “Callie!” he yelled upstairs, “let’s go!”138

Callie rushed down the stairs with her backpack on. She stopped at the bottom and looked to Billy. “I’m ready.”139

They went right out the front door, ignoring their mother’s call. 140

With tears rolling down her cheeks, Lara turned to Laik and me and asked us to follow them. We agreed. 141

When we turned to leave, I almost ran right into Jesse. 142

“Watch it, kid,” he said. “Don’t mess this up.” He pointed to himself as he said that. He pulled a tiny mirror out of his pocket and checked his hair. “You’re lucky, kid.” 143

We followed him out the front door. He went to his car, planning to shoot some scenes for a movie, while we went hunting for Billy and Callie. 144

Laik and I kept a distance behind the kids so that they didn’t know they were being followed. When they arrived at their destination, we crept slowly along. 145

“Where are they going?” Laik asked me. 146

“The railroad bridge.”147

“Is it dangerous?”148

“Not as long as they stay off the tracks.” 149

Luckily, they didn’t venture onto the tracks; they stayed below, by the creek. 150

We finally got close enough to see what was going on. A run-down shack sat on the bank of the creek. Callie handed an old man her backpack. He had a dirty face, a ripped shirt, and torn jeans. He had a black band around his arm. His feet were calloused because he had no shoes. His beard was greasy and his body was bony. The poor man probably hadn’t eaten a good meal in years. 151

Lying around his shack were a few items—a flashlight, a book of matches, a knife, and a lighter. There was an old Dalmatian lying at the man’s feet. 152

Curiosity took hold of us and dragged us closer. The man’s face was misshapen. He had one eye and very few teeth. A scar marked his left cheek.153

The creek was littered with beer bottles and junk. 154

On the opposite bank, I saw an old, tattered military uniform. There was a pair of boots next to it. He was too young to have served in either of the World Wars, but he was just old enough to fight in Vietnam or Korea. I looked at the old man again. The black band around his arm told me he fought in Vietnam. 155

The old man reached into Callie’s backpack and pulled out some food. He ate as though he had been starving, which he probably was. 156

Only then did Callie’s actions at dinner make sense to me. She had not been a glutton in taking the food; she had been taking it for this old man! She had been eating in moderation so that she would be able to take more food to this veteran. Poor Callie was probably starving as well. 157

I looked to the shack to see what Billy was doing, and saw that he was working! He was cleaning out the shack, and washing down the outside. He cleared many of the sharp rocks out of the sand around the shack to protect the veteran’s feet. Perhaps the boy wasn’t such a sloth after all.158

I turned to Laik and saw that she had made the same realization that I had. Just then, I felt a hand on my shoulder. I turned around and saw Laik’s parents. They had been following us the entire time. They sent us back to the house, saying they’d take it from there. 159

On our way back to Laik’s house, I wondered if we would be the only ones there. I wondered if she would try to seduce me. Her parents wouldn’t be there. Neither would Billy nor Callie. Jesse and Ali shouldn’t get there until much later. That left Peter there alone with his girlfriend. 160

We walked in the door and saw Peter and Julie on the couch. Laik and I exchanged awkward looks. She said his name to get his attention, but Julie was saying his name much louder. After a few moments, we decided to go upstairs and leave them be. 161

“You act as if that were normal for him,” I said.162

Laik looked at me and said simply, “It is.” 163

I figured Peter was consumed with lust. Laik, of course, disagreed. 164

Wednesday night was much easier to sleep through than the previous nights that week. 165

I woke up Thursday morning and went to Laik’s house. She took my hand and led me up to her bedroom and to the window that I had seen her through a few nights before. She told me to look down. I did. 166

Outside, Peter was down on one knee, asking Julie to marry him. Laik knew this was going to happen; she had to have known. She knew that Peter did not lust after his girlfriend; she knew he loved her. 167

Friday finally arrived. It was good news for me, but not for the Rhodes family. For me, it was the end of a long week. But for them, it was the second day in a row that they had not seen Jesse. He had not been home since he left Wednesday evening. They were all worried and praying. 168

When school let out, I went strait to Laik’s house. They still hadn’t heard anything from or about Jesse. A few hours later, the phone rang. 169

It was Art, the director of the movie that Jesse was in. He said that he was on his way to their home. To the dismay of the family, he refused to comment on Jesse. 170

He arrived fifteen minutes later with a grave look on his face. “I’m sorry,” he said. “Blair, Lara…” His voice started to crack. “Earlier today, while we were filming, a gunman broke through security and began shooting,” he lowered his head, “at me.”171

“He was once an employee of mine, but I had to fire him for his habitual absences and tardiness to the set. He had come back to kill me for ‘ruining his life.’172

“We would have expected what happened next from anyone on set except Jesse. He had always seemed self-centered and vain. But, he knocked me out of the line of fire and took a bullet for me. 173

“Security quickly subdued the gunman and called an ambulance and the police. Medics pronounced Jesse dead moments later. 174

“Jesse, through one selfless act, saved my life,” Art said. “I am forever indebted to him and to you.” 175

The whole family cried. So did Art.176

The funeral was held Saturday morning. It was short, to the point, and was over almost as soon as it started. 177

I went home that night wondering about Laik. Her family seemed to be full of sinners. They were greedy, envious, wrathful, slothful, gluttonous, lustful, and vain. But what about Laik? 178

I concluded her sins were murder, treason, and hate.179

But then, as I thought about it, she didn’t really hate; she practiced tough love. And, she wasn’t really a traitor—she was loyal and true. 180

But, I felt that she hated me, when really she loved me. She never really betrayed me either. 181

She was, however, a murderer—the murderer of my soul. She was the one who helped me find redemption—the destruction and resurrection of the soul. 182

So, I suppose, murderers can be saviors too. 183