The Porters
By Erin Gonzalez
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The Porters
Copyright 2013 by Erin Gonzalez
(Edited by Jose E. Gonzalez)
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This book is a work of fiction. All names, characters, locations, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination, or have been used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons alive or dead, locales, or events is purely coincidental.
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Chapter 1 – Stalkers are getting better at their jobs.
“Life isn’t about finding yourself, it’s about creating yourself.”
-George Bernard Shaw
I lifted the camera that hung loosely from my neck. The rainforest was damp from a recent rain, which was a stupid thought on my account, and the droplets were angled at all the right spots. If I had woken up 20 minutes ago and decided to go somewhere else. I let the warning hang in the air like a threat.
Well, I was here now. I snapped pictures of everything and anything. Who knew Costa Rican rainforests could be so enchanting? I found myself getting lost in the rich greens of the forest. That was practically all there was. I finally regained myself and continued to snap pictures here and there.
The humidity made me uncomfortable and sticky. My sturdy, black pants clung to me with sweat and I wanted to strip down naked. Not that anyone would see anyways. I could strip down here and when I ported back home I could easily be in my shower. Then again Ben could be there and scream at my sudden appearance.
Minnesota was cold this time of year and the colder it got the more people complained. Though I enjoyed the cold that seemed to seep into my bones and chill me to the core. It was relaxing to me at least. I could never understand why anyone would want to be here instead.
Finally, I decided it was time to go home. I ported to the front of the house hoping Ben was still in bed, showering, or pouring coffee into his mug. Our small apartment was chilled and it felt nice on my skin. I’d have to sneak past Ben where ever he was because he would ask why I was sweating in the middle of December.
I smiled at his concerned face and pulled myself out of the day dream, though it wasn’t that pleasant. It was just pleasing to make Ben question himself every once in a while. I listened to see if I could hear anything but the house was silent except for the occasional car that would pass by.
I walked to the kitchen and a note told me Ben had left early for work and would be back late. I rolled my eyes, like always. The coffee was still warm so I served myself a cup and drank it straight. People always seemed confused by my love of black coffee, but I can’t really figure out why.
The floor of the kitchen was tiled with tiny, black and white squares. The fridge was taller than me, not really a surprise, and was a shiny black. The stove was also black and I could see some left over spaghetti residue sitting on it. I made a mental note to clean it later. The counter next to the stove stretched out and formed an “L” shape. When the corner of the “L” began so did a small table.
The top of the counter/table was some sort of black marble because it had spots of gray and white in it. The cabinets were white against a dull gray wall paint that made the counters pop. I was proud of the improvements that I had made to Ben’s apartment, well, condo.
I realized the coffee was lukewarm and my nose crinkled as I poured it out of my cup. I set my camera on the part of the counter that became a table and left the room under a white arch that connected the kitchen to the living room, which I had also worked on.
The first thing you notice is the television that sits in a unique table. It had 3 layers of differently squared boxes. The television sat in the very center and pictures filled some of the other squares. Since Ben is 11 at heart, he has millions of games and remotes that just lay everywhere.
I decided to buy some red, cloth-feeling boxes to pack them away in. Ben had been shocked to discover all the room he had and left me continue to fix it up for him. I bought a black leather couch with one red pillow that sat on the left side of the couch. A circular red rug sat in the space in between the television and couch. A huge red and black picture of Ben’s favorite T.V. show, Doctor Who, sat on a wall. It was of a Dalek with a speech bubble that said ‘Exterminate’.
I walked into our room, which I hadn’t got my hands on. All there was to it was a huge bed that seemed to dominate the entire bedroom. I had to crawl over it to get to the huge walk-in closet on the other side of the room. I finally arrived and opened the doors. The lights flashed on and I swiftly moved to the left side, the one with all my clothes, and picked up a black tang top, blue jeans, underwear, and a bra.
I quickly made my way to the bathroom and threw the clothes into a corner and stripped my sticky clothes off me. My pants were caked with dirt and I realized I would probably have to clean that up because the maid might mention that to Ben and it would be kind of hard to explain.
‘Where was I this morning? Oh, I was just venturing through a rainforest in Brazil. How did I get there? Well, it’s hard to explain you see I have this strange ability to move from one place to another. I could go from Minnesota to Spain and then to France if I pleased.’
I stepped into a lukewarm shower and felt instantly unsatisfied. If I went colder, I wouldn’t be able to handle it. I huffed in frustration and rubbed my body with a bar of soap viciously to get rid of the damp, forest-y smell that lingered on me. When my skin turned red with irritation I decided that should be enough.
After I was dried and cleaned up the dirt trail, I decided to leave the maid to do her job with the stove. She hadn’t had much to do since I got here, which I’m sure she appreciated. I sat down on my leathery couch and watched a few hours’ worth of bad T.V. shows. I clicked the T.V. off when I got bored.
I picked up my phone and dialed Sarah’s number. I seriously needed some sort of human contact or I would go insane.
“Melody?” She answered after 3 rings.
“Hey, you’re not too busy are you?” I asked.
“Nah,” Her voice seemed to drag. “I’m just hanging out watching bad T.V. you?”
“Same,” I nodded in agreement with the statement, I felt sort of stupid doing it. “Wanna come over and have some great Chinese food and watch bad television together?”
“How about we do that with an added plus of ice cream?” She was moving around.
“Yeah,” I nodded. “How long do you think you’ll take?”
“Maybe 15 minutes because 11 doesn’t seem that busy.”
“Can you stop by Golden Wok and pick up some Chinese while I run out and get ice cream?”
“Sure,” She smiled.
I hung up and picked up my small hand purse and imagined an alley in Paris. I felt my feet get soaked in some unknown liquid and almost screamed in disgust. I ported back to my house, slapped on some sandals and ported back to the alley. I quickly crossed the street, ordered my ice cream. I had found this place when I was about 19 and it was my only ice cream place. It was so creamy it could melt you, if that made sense.
The establishment was a small outdoor place. It looked like hut with a Hawaiian pinch. The man handed me my ice cream and I went off to my favorite restaurant. The man at the ice cream shop knew I was busy running off to another place and didn’t say much.
The restaurant was dark and smelt like bad snails but I wasn’t there for the food. The lady at the front recognized me immediately and spoke some words in French to the girl next to her. She scurried away. The woman smiled her brilliant smile. The woman’s hair was now dyed red, I noted. It fit her green eyes very well. She had high cheekbones and a sharp jaw line. Her outfit was very similar to a typical maid.
My champagne arrived wit
hout a single word needing to be said. To them I was a customer who was in and out and paid richly and tipped well. I was the ideal customer. I walked outside and back to the alley. I noticed the green eyes that had been watching me the moment I stepped out of the alley and it bothered me. With a shiver I was back at my place.
I slipped the ice cream in the freezer and poured 2 glasses of the best champagne ever to pass my lips. I’ve been to Cairo, Amsterdam, Australia even looking for the best liquor ever. I also went to Africa and gave a village my thanksgiving dinner one year and it fed 30 people. I stop them every week and drop off food and water. It gives me something to do besides hide who I am and gulp down my problems.
A knock disturbed my thoughts and I grabbed my glass. I opened the door and Sarah stepped past me, obviously trying to get out of the cold. She shivered and placed the Chinese down and pulled her jacket off. I closed the door behind her.
Her skin was a perfect brown color that made me envious because sometimes my light skin sometimes had strange poke-a-dot looking things. Her hair was in tight, tiny curls which she openly complained about. I smiled because I was almost envious of everything this girl had. She was skinny, but not too tall. Her long sleeve shirt was a light green color and her lashes still held snowflakes on them. Her jeans were tight and black. She hugged me tightly.
“Don’t tell me you flew all the way to Paris to buy me my bubbly?” She smiled at my glass. “You should’ve called earlier!”
Flew… right. I led her to her glass and she sipped carefully enjoying it as much as she could. I went back to pick up the food and we made our way towards the dining room.
The room over all was themed red, white, and blue. The table was an actual flag just covered with some sort of see-through plastic. I set down the bag on top of the table and smiled at the blue carpet which had white stars in it, faded red walls surrounded us. To top it all off, there was a beautiful chandelier in the middle of the room. I guessed it was here before Ben moved in because it didn’t really fit in the room.
It had three little lamp-like spouts that held the light bulbs. The spout was a white that was see through in some parts, sort of like an egg yolk. They were held together by a gray metal that made a 3 sided diamond.
“So,” Sarah said in her I’m-going-into-my-drama-mode voice. “Guess what Kiley did today?” I shrugged. “She slept with Kyle.”
I choked on my bubbly. “What? No.”
“Ah, yeah. I was just as surprised and Leslie was pissed because she was sleeping with him and now she can’t because apparently Kiley told Leslie she has herpes.”
“Really?” I pretended to be shocked.
It’s not like I had this exact same conversation with a very upset Leslie. So I half listened to the rest of Sarah’s story nodding and adding in a comment to match the last thing Sarah had said. Finally she allowed me to stuff my face with some delicious Chinese food. I could’ve gone to China but Sarah likes American Chinese food, not Chinese Chinese food.
“So how are you and Ben?” She asked after having her third drink.
“Fine I guess,” I shrugged. “He’s just never home.”
“He said you’re never in bed with him in the morning. You just disappear and he has to go to work eventually.” Sarah stared at me accusingly.
“Hey,” I pointed my chop sticks her way. “You are the one who suggested I date him and knew the person I was. I’m not the kind of girl who stays the morning after and cooks him pancakes. I like adventure, excitement!”
“So my brother’s not exciting?” She asked.
I’d make her regret that. “No. He has this amazing move with his tongue where he teases my-”
“Shut up,” She covered her ears. “Nope. Nope. Nope. Don’t want to know I should’ve seen that coming.”
“I was coming alright,” I laughed as she grimaced.
“Images,” She shook her head. “Anyways. I know the kind of girl you are and I know he’s not ‘the one’ but he’s one.”
“You’re starting to believe Kiley’s crap about true love,” I rolled my eyes at her. “She sleeps with everyone and justifies it as trying to find true love.”
“I don’t believe her,” Sarah said slightly annoyed. “I believe in it. Why don’t you?”
“Because it’s a load of crap,” I stuffed my mouth.
“What’s a load of crap?” Ben’s voice drifted into the dining room.
I turned to see. His black hair stuck to his face and he was dripping wet. I looked out the window surprised to see it was raining. His skin was just as perfect as Sarah’s but he had blue eyes instead of brown. While Sarah was skinny, Ben was buff and I could see his tight muscles working under his shirt. He flashed his award winning smile at me.
“She thinks true love is a load of crap,” Sarah informed her brother.
Ben’s smile wavered and I noticed the pain in his eyes. I turned to glare at Sarah but she was staring at something behind Ben. I turned and Kiley stood there.
Her brown hair was almost black and her blue eyes popped. Her round face was complemented by a round of freckles which gave her a younger look. Her body was tall and lean. Her smiled was a bit on the yellow side and she had a small cold sore starting to appear.
I stood up so fast the chair I was sitting in fell over as I shoved Ben aside. I grabbed Kiley by the back of her leather jacket and threw her out the front door like a dog. I slammed the door in her face and locked the door. Ben looked pissed.
“What the hell are you doing?” He asked me.
“You know how many of my relationships she ruined Ben?” I walked up to him. “She’s charming and clever and has any man wrapped around her finger. What is she even doing here?”
“She needs a place to stay Mel,” Ben’s face was softened.
“She can stay with your sister,”
“No.” Sarah answered firmly from the kitchen.
I ran my hands through my hair. God, does she have to ruin everything. I turned my back on Ben.
“She can stay for tonight,” I could feel his smile.
“Good night,” I announced to Sarah loudly as her cue to leave.
“G’night,” She answered.
“Mel,” Ben said softly.
I walked to my bedroom and crawled over the huge bed. I found some pajama pants and slipped them on. I stared at the mirror that rested to my left.
Brown waves went a bit longer than my shoulders. Naturally lighter at the tips because I had never dyed them before. My eyes were a caramel color, lighter near the center of my eye and became darker until a thin black circle cut the color from the white in my eye. My lashes weren’t long, but they stood tall. I smiled because I looked decent today.
I snuggled under the covers and shivered a bit. I was used to having Ben warming me up. I felt myself frown deeply.
I was running. I didn’t know from what, but I knew I had to run, that my life depended on it. I ran as hard as my legs would take me and it started pouring. The rain and wind pushed against me hard.
I realized I was running down the alley way from earlier today except it was never ending. I was waiting for someone to come and save me. I was running and waiting and I was getting tired. I could port out of there but if the person trying to save me came they’d get killed.
My legs gave out and lighting crash in front of a huge shadow.
I woke up covered in a small amount of sweat. I looked out the window and the rain still poured hard. A crash of lighting blurred my vision a bit. I sat up and noticed Ben wasn’t in bed. As if on cue a moan came from outside of the bedroom.
I rolled my eyes and felt the tears roll down. I wasn’t in love with Ben, but I loved him. I grabbed a bag and packed my stuff. Silent tears streamed down my face. I picked up my phone.
“Melody what’s wrong?” Sarah’s frantic voice still groggy with sleep came on.
“He slept with Kiley,” I sniffed. “Correctio
n. He’s still sleeping with her.”
Now she was awake. “That bastard. I’m going to fucking kill him. What the fuck is he thinking?”
“Listen Sarah,” I wiped at the non-ending stream of tears. “I’m going away for a while, okay? So don’t call the cops or anything because I’m fine. I just need to get away.”
“Where are we going chica?” Sarah spoke softly.
“I can’t have you coming along,” I avoided the question. “You remind me of him.”
A sigh. “You may not believe in true love, but you loved the dumb ass.”
“Melody?” Ben’s voice asked with a laziness that meant he was still horny.
“Is that him?” Sarah asked enraged.
“Good bye Sarah,” I hung up.
I closed my eyes and I was in an empty street of New York, which surprised me until a couple cars honked at me and I moved out of the way. I walked aimlessly and people buzzed past me. I finally found a cheap motel and got a room. I threw myself on the bed.
The walls had a weird pattern to it and the deep red color made the room much darker. There was a tiny closet where I put my back pack into and I lay on the hard mattress. There was a small television that rested on a piece of wood that looked like it was about to collapse. So what do I do now?
I decide somewhere to go. Germany? I haven’t really seen it. Ireland sounds pretty cool too. Go to Rome again if I get bored. I don’t think I’ll settle for long. I’ll go to Egypt tomorrow and spend the night in L.A. having a drink at an expensive club. I’ll sleep on a beach in Costa Rica or sneak into a summer cabin they have down there near the beaches.
It sounds like a plan, but it wasn’t going to distract my mind. Well, he cheated on you, the end of that story. Close that chapter and write a new one. You aren’t supposed to just sit in this bed until you die.
“You look like you’ve had a crappy day,” A deep male voice said.
Black boots were covered by not too loose, not too tight blue jeans. He wore a black belt and a plain, dark purple shirt. His dark, brown hair was streaked with purple and his green eyes studied me the way I studied him.
I ported into the closet, grabbed my bag and ported to the rainforest. How the hell did he follow me? And are you god damned stupid Mel? This is a rainforest during the hunting period of all sorts of things. I ported to a room in Mystic Lake which was thankfully unoccupied. I thanked my luck for not betraying me again.
A smug smile proved that fate was just being a bitch. I stood up and stumbled back. The boy moved so fast I didn’t even see it. He pulled me to stand on my own two feet and stayed inches away from me.
“Who are you?” We asked at the same time.