The Poe Consequence by Keith Steinbaum

Author:Keith Steinbaum
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Black Opal Books

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

In one way, Veronica had come far. That long, difficult journey of working double shifts as a waitress in order to support her schooling and find a stable job away from the neighborhood ended in success. She’d been hired to manage the day care center at a medical clinic about twenty-five miles north of downtown in the San Fernando Valley, kept up with her car payments, and lived in a safe, spacious North Hollywood apartment. But that can of Mace she kept in her purse symbolized a large part of her current life still chained to the past, and as she sat and stared out the window of her apartment, thinking about Kevin Palmer, that chain seemed as inescapable as ever.

He had seen her walking through the mall a few weeks after Seth’s tutoring lessons started and asked her to join him for a cup of coffee. Although her initial reluctance turned into a long, enjoyable conversation, she’d managed to keep the relationship from advancing beyond a lunch date and occasional phone calls and e-mails. His requests to see her more often had been met with imaginary excuses, but how many more could she offer without seeming obvious about it? If he wanted nothing more than her company, no problem arises, but she anticipated and understood his eventual desire for physical love, leading to her rejection of him, and his resentment. Veronica recognized Kevin as someone who didn’t make her feel threatened like other men, but as long as she remained a slave to the memory that ensnared her like an unyielding cobweb, she couldn’t make love with any man.

She had convinced herself that any emotions tied to love had died, but something about Kevin made her defenses weaken. Still, she remained incapable of laying down her shield. Her feelings alternated as a constant tug-of-war between desire and dread, passion and repulsion. She needed more time, but would he be willing to wait for her to overcome her fear? Would his drifting hands and probing fingers make her grow tense? Would the brushing of the hair from his arms and legs feel like wispy icicles shocking her skin? Could her body welcome his penetration without turning frigid?

Her roommate’s cat, Luna, scaled the side of the couch and curled himself in her lap. As she stroked the round, white spot above his eyes, she noticed its resemblance to a solitary moon amidst the black fur. Veronica wondered if her destiny meant living in as cold and isolated a state as the real moon.

“These are the fun years, girl,” her roommate, Kimberly, warned her. “With your face and that body, you could have any man you wanted wrapped around your little finger. Come on, hon, what are you waiting for?”

The tears formed and fell from Veronica’s eyes as she recounted to herself, again, the night that changed her life forever.

* * *

The Halloween party inside the Park and Recreation Center building had been well attended, despite the cold drizzle that moved in that afternoon and persisted into the night.

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