My Kind Of Bad

Taylor’s eyes widened.

“He told you about that?”

“You knew?”

“Billy and I did. But he made us promise not to tell anyone. He didn’t want anyone to panic.” Taylor sat beside her. “That’s the reason he broke up with you?”

Neera nodded miserably.

“Someone is stalking Kurt and killings people he dated. And he thinks with these phone calls I’ve been getting I’m going to be next.” She sniffed and gave a self-deprecating snort. “He says he’s trying not to hurt me but he is. The bas*ard is really hurting me.”

“I know he is, honey, but you’re going to have to calm down here. It’s not going to help anyone.” Taylor laid a hand on Neera’s knee. “Shall I get you a drink?”

“Please.”

Neera needed a drink. She felt like she had eaten sandpaper. Taylor went into the kitchen and ducked down as she reached into the fridge. She straightened a moment later and brought back an opened can of cola, which she handed to Neera. Neera downed half of it before she felt better. She didn’t bother to hide the belch as the carbonated drink built up the gases.

“Sorry.”

Taylor grinned as she sat again.

“You belch prettier than I do.”

“I didn’t know that was possible.”

Taylor surveyed her for a moment with a strange look. Then it was gone and Neera wondered if she had actually seen it.

“He’ll come back to you, Neera. You just wait. The guy loves you.”

“Really?”

Kurt had never said a word to her. Neera had guessed that he loved her in his actions, although that had waned in the last few weeks with him distancing himself. Now she didn’t know what to think or to believe.

“Really. I don’t think he’s going to walk away that easily. He’s going to be coming back to you very shortly.”

“I don’t think so.” Neera settled back and grabbed a cushion, hugging it tight across her chest. Suddenly she wished she had a cuddly toy; it would feel better to cuddle than a cushion. “Especially not with this psycho out there ruining his life.”

“Ruining his life?”

“It feels like it. It’s getting him terrified to have a long, loving relationship. His brother warned him against getting involved again until the killer is caught.” Neera snorted as hindsight roared to life. “He warned me, right at the start. He told me that getting involved with him was not a good idea. But I ignored him and now I wish I hadn’t. Then I wouldn’t have fallen for him and get screwed over like this.”

Taylor was silent for a moment. Neera saw the funny look on her face again and this time she didn’t imagine it. She wondered what Taylor was thinking.

Taylor laid a hand on Neera’s shoulder.

“Kurt is a fool for letting you go. He’ll come back eventually. Unless he moves on.”

Neera felt sick. She didn’t want to think about Kurt with another woman. That would just kill her.

Her head felt dizzy. Maybe it was with the stress of the break-up. Neera pressed a hand to her head.

“I’ll have to get a new job. I can’t see him every day. You and Billy have been so kind to me but I can’t stand to see Kurt with anyone else.” She lowered her hand and clenched her fist. “I’ll have to tell Billy tomorrow.”

Tossing the cushion aside, Neera tried to stand. And then her legs gave way. She fell back onto the couch and her head started to spin. Suddenly she felt sick.

“Whoa, what’s going on?”

Taylor reached over and picked up the can. She stood and carried it into the kitchen.

“Sorry about that, Neera. I think I overdid it with the GHB.”

“What?”

Neera’s head was so fuzzy she had no idea if she had just heard correctly.

“I normally don’t mix it with soda.” Taylor tipped the rest of the can down the sink. “I bung it in alcohol but since you don’t drink that’s a slight problem.”

“What are you talking about?”

Then Taylor dropped the can into the trash and turned. She leaned against the counter and folded her arms, a nasty smirk spreading across her face.

And then everything went black.