The Boy Next Door (23 page)

THE END

Abducted by the Alien Lord

Chapter one

I stand here at the bus stop knowing that today is the day that they are making the announcement for the promotion. I have my eye on a corner office, but I know that I will never get it. It will go to that slut Jessica. Everybody knows that she’s been sleeping with those that are higher up to get ahead of the game. I never wanted to be like that. Besides, my weight issue had prevented me from being that kind of seductress. I wanted to slap someone, kick the living hell out of some unsuspecting victim, but I had only my thoughts to keep me occupied.

“Mariah, you look like you lost your best friend. Don’t tell me that you are still thinking about that damn promotion. The universe will provide and all you have to do is wait and good things will happen to you.” Jonathan was a good man, but he was always too damn chipper. He was my friend, but he was secretly seeing my sister. Neither one of them knew that I’d already figured it out and was waiting for them to drop the bombshell on the family. “Life has a funny way of giving what you need and not what you want. Be grateful for those things that you do have. There are a lot of people that suffer every day living hand to mouth and never knowing where their next paycheck is going to come from.”

“Don’t you think that I know that? I’ve seen those people panhandling on the streets and it makes me sick inside. People have all this money and they shield themselves from the outside world. They don’t want to know what is happening right in front of their eyes. The worst of them all is those gated communities that think that they are safe. Life would be so much better if we all lived on the same salary as everybody else. There would be no famine, no starving and no people sleeping on the streets. It would be utopia, but we are just too damn selfish to get out of our own way.” I was very passionate on this topic. I’m sure that I ranted to Jonathan on many occasions.

“You speak like a woman that wants to do something about it. I know that you volunteer at the soup kitchen on weekends and that is a good start. I’m working for Habitat for Humanity. I could really use a hand and maybe you can roll up your sleeves and get dirty for a change.” I was not one for manual labor, but for a good cause I could definitely make an exception.

“I don’t know what I can do to help, but I’m more than willing to give the effort.” Giving back had given me a purpose. My work at the IT company was just going through the motions. I would input numbers and do the exact same thing every day. It was monotonous. I didn’t get paid much, but at least I had a job. “You’ve convinced me. If you can show me how to use a hammer and put one in my hand, I’ll see what I can do.”

I wanted to do more to make the world a better place, but sometimes life got in the way. I was known to have bouts of depression, but nobody ever knew and that was exactly the way that I wanted to keep it.

“I don’t know why you wear such frumpy clothing. You have a beautiful figure and you are made in God’s image.” If I was made in God’s image, then He must’ve been one hell of a big guy. I was not in the best of shape, even though I did make a point of doing yoga every morning. I felt like I had a strong core, but I didn’t know how to lose those extra pounds. “There is somebody for everyone. Some guys like a little bit of extra meat on the bones.”

I may have been blond, but I was not a bodacious bombshell by any means. I felt like screaming to the world that they should eat something. I had a healthy appetite, but I knew what was good and what was bad for me.

I was wearing an old pair of black jeans with a pair of mid-high blue sneakers and a blue sweater with white stripes along the sleeves. I didn’t exactly put it all out there, although my breasts were a focal point with some of the guys in the office. They didn’t know, but I could see that they were ogling the merchandise. They would stare open mouthed, until they realized that they were not being very subtle. It was then that they would turn away in disgust at their own behavior. I secretly liked the attention.

“I think that I’m going to play hooky and call in sick for the day. I’m going to take this bus to the very last stop. I’m going find a car to rent and take off for the weekend on a road trip.” I called my boss and told her that I was feeling under the weather and that I would see her on Monday. If she was going to give me the news of the promotion, it would be now or never.

“I’m sorry that you’re not feeling very well, Mariah. Perhaps we should talk when you get back on Monday. I’m thinking about putting together a team of specialists and I believe that you might be a good fit. I’m sorry to say that you didn’t get the promotion. I’m sure that it’s not a big surprise to learn that it was Jessica. Don’t worry, she’ll either burnout in the first six months or go screaming into the night after a few days on the job. She’s not cut out for it, but there’s nothing that I can do. Trust me, I went to bat for you, but they had their mind set on a specific candidate and nothing was going to deter them from that.”

I had a feeling. I closed the phone and smiled at having the freedom of the open road.

“I would go with you, but I have plans tonight,” my sister Gillian told me. Those plans included a wild night of sex with Jonathan that was most likely going to put a smile on her face. “I would really love to go on a road trip and maybe next time I can clear my schedule beforehand.”

Jonathan was a good friend and I don’t know why they were trying to hide their relationship. I was happy for them, but also sad at the same time that they had found one another. Maybe that was the reason why they were keeping it a secret. They didn’t want to rub it in my face. I was a little frustrated by their need to protect me.

I got on the bus and went to the very last seat and snuggled up against the window with Jonathan sitting right beside me. We talked about nothing in particular, until finally he arrived at his destination. I watched as his spiked blond hair and that nice compact ass walked down the aisle. The other night I heard muffled cries of ecstasy and I tiptoed to the door to see them in the throes of passion. He had her pressed up against the headboard with his hands pinning her to the bed, using slow thrusts to keep the noise down.

I rode the bus to the last stop and then I got off and walked the rest of the way to the car rental place. The only thing that they had was this little compact number with a name I couldn’t even really pronounce.

I wanted to make a clean break from everything, but I had no idea how to do that and still have a roof over my head at the same time. I was terrified of getting caught into a job that would never allow me to stretch creatively. Even the idea of joining a team of specialists had made me shake my head and yawn. I didn’t want anything to do with people in general and to be crowded into an enclosed space with many at a time was going to make me want to run right through the door like a cardboard cutout.

I was driving this very tight and enclosed piece of machinery. I could smell the exhaust like it was inside the car instead of outside. I was in the middle of nowhere and getting back to nature was my idea of roughing it. I did not need the little mint on my pillow or the prerequisite breakfast to be served to me on a silver platter. I’d stopped by a local store and bought some necessary supplies to live off the land for three days.

“If you’re looking for good weather,” the radio said, “then you don’t have to look too far. This weekend, we are calling for clear skies and temperatures that are going to dip no more than 77 degrees. I wish that I had the day off, so that I could have a long weekend.” The announcer on the radio became nothing but static. The car lost power, until it sputtered to a stop on the side of the road. I wasn’t going to get mad. It was counterproductive to get upset over something that was out of my control. I tried to turn the key as calmly as possible, but there was only the ticking to remind me that the battery was probably dead.

I got out and picked up the bag of supplies, along with the black backpack that I had purchased to make those long treks that wouldn’t require a vehicle. I started to walk and this very bright light made me shield my eyes with my hand. I saw something of a figure and then, out of the light, came a blond Adonis with a white shirt and pants to match. He certainly didn’t look like he belonged out here amongst the cacti

Chapter two

I immediately envisioned being stabbed to death and left at the side of the road for the buzzards to pick my bones clean. I didn’t want to be another statistic, and if this person wanted a fight, then he was damn well going to get one. I was going to scratch and claw for survival until my very last breath escaped my lungs.

“You are exactly what I’ve been looking for.” I put my hands up in self defense, my fist clenched and ready to strike. He circled me like I was some kind of prey. His hair was blowing with the breeze and his cheekbones were to die for. “Oh yeah…you are something else. Has anybody ever told you that you are a beautiful woman? You have a lot to offer. I have a proposition, but maybe we should get to know each other better first.” He gripped me by the waist. My self defense training that I had taken at the Y came into play.

I drove my elbow into his ribs, but he didn’t grimace or give any indication that it had made any effect whatsoever. “Get away from me, before I hurt you.” I backed away, my feet slipping on the pebbles on the side of the road. “You don’t just touch me and think that it’s OK. I don’t want any trouble, but I will fight you to the death.” I’d always believed that bullies and criminals did not like the light of day shone upon them. They hate it when somebody sticks up for themselves and will most likely back down.

“You are mistaken. I only wanted to feel that you were ready for childbirth.” He had said it with a casual attitude that it was almost believable. He was stalking me and I felt like I needed to run, but something about him made me want to reach out and touch him. “I find you very intriguing and you would make the perfect kind of mother for my child. I need an heir to take back to my people. I feel that you need to step outside of your comfort zone.”

If he thought for one second that I was going to succumb to his charm, then he really didn’t know me at all. “You just stay the hell away from me. If you get any closer, I’m going to kick you where it’s going to do the most damage.” I had my eye on his package and for some reason he flexed it to make me gasp at the size that was slinking down the left side of his leg. “Who the fuck are you?” It was the only thing that I could come up with on such short notice. I had more questions, but apparently he was in no mood to answer any of them.

He suddenly doubled over and began gasping for air. He took out this strange little cylinder device that looked like it was made of silver. He placed it up against his mouth and he breathed deeply. His eyes were closed and then he opened them. For a flicker of a second there seemed to be something different about him. I thought I saw his eyes change color, but maybe it was the trick of the light or my overactive imagination.

“My name is Phoenix. I think that you would do nicely. I thought that I was going to have to go further into town to find what I’m looking for, but they were right. You do have the right bone structure.  If you don’t mind me saying…you are very appealing.”

I could probably say the same thing about him. That shirt was not exactly hiding his muscular frame. I was almost certain that his shirt was going to tear apart like some kind of incredible hulk. “Mariah, I need to tell you something, but it’s not going to be easy to hear.” I was still backing away from him, trying to keep him at arm’s length, but he continued to walk towards me like I had nothing to fear.

Suddenly he was on top of me and he was lifting me in the air. He spun me around like I weighed absolutely nothing. I’d never had a man handle me in such a fashion and it was something that I think that I was missing from my life. “You have such fire and determination. Let us get naked and see if we can’t make that baby that I was talking about.”

His words were strange. He made it sound like it was a common occurrence to proposition a woman into having his baby. “You are perfect. I imagine that transfer of fluids would be pleasing.” I gasped in horror at his attitude. I wanted to smack the taste out of his mouth, but for some reason I felt more inclined to grab his elongated member and give it the attention that it deserved.

“Why the hell are you saying such things? Don’t follow me. If I see you again, I’m going to scream so loud that anybody in the vicinity will hear me.” We were miles away from any kind of habitation. I was alone with this weird stranger that had me feeling like my body was not my own.

I ran down the incline with the bag of goodies in my hand and the backpack strapped over my left shoulder. I kept running, looking over my shoulder to see, if I was being followed. There was no sign of him and apparently I had lost him. I was grateful for the momentary reprieve.

I made my way to the sound of rushing water and I kneeled on the ground. Cupping my hand, I drank from that water and suddenly I felt like I wasn’t alone anymore. “I don’t know why you took off like that when there’s really no place that you can go that I can’t find you. I connected our cerebral cortex, so that I can read your mind and know exactly where you are at any given time. It’s what we do when we mate for life.” He sounded like he was some sort of alien, but most likely he was an escaped deranged patient from some kind of asylum nearby.

“Stop talking like that.” I had no idea how he was able to keep up. It was like he was always one step ahead and there was no way for me to determine where he was going to turn up next.