I'd had a reasonably late night the night before so I just naturally slept in in the morning. I finally did wake up and get up and I had a quick shower. Smelling coffee I wandered down to the kitchen, intending to grab a cup before getting dressed, wrapping a towel around my wet hair as I went.
I entered the kitchen and stopped dead in my tracks, taken by surprise. Instead of Melody, my flatmate, being there, there were two big men standing there. I just looked at them in shock and they looked back at me, smiling. At least, one man was smiling. The other was staring at me like a demented loon.
"Ah, Katrina, more commonly known as Kat," said the smiling man. "I'm Peter, Melody's father. We have met before. The idiot standing there is Simon, my brother and Melody's uncle."
"Ah, I didn't know anyone was here," I mumbled, somewhat confused, wondering where Melody was.
"Well, now you know. In case you're wondering Melody just nipped down to the shop to get some milk. She forgot to get it last night. Did you know that you forgot to get dressed?"
Hell and damnation! I'd totally forgotten that for some reason. The two men were treated to the sight of my face burning bright red and then they had a chance to observe my bottom as I bolted back to my bedroom.
I burst into my bedroom, slamming the door behind me. It didn't slam. It bounced off something soft. Spinning around I saw that the demented loon had chased after me and was grinning so widely it was surprising his face didn't split.
"How nice," he said, reaching for me. "A bed where we can have some fun."
He shouldn't have reached. He left himself wide open to a kick in the testicles. He made a most peculiar sound and bent over at the waist. This placed his face in a nice position to receive a follow up kick, though I did turn my foot so the side of it connected. I didn't want to break my toes on his thick head.
That was all it took. Simon was a groaning heap on the floor, trying to protect his testicles and his face at the same time. I set a new record getting dressed and stormed back out to the kitchen. Peter was sitting at the table, drinking a cup of black coffee. It had to be black. Melody hadn't yet returned with the milk.
"Ah, Kat. I thought you'd be out about now. You didn't kill him did you?"
That's all he had to say?
"He was going to, to. . ." My voice broke off. I was going into shock.
"Oh, I don't think he would have forced you but he is a bit of a fool. He might have taken your little slip to be an invitation. What did you do to him?"
"I kicked him in the balls and then kicked him in the face," I said vindictively.
"How enterprising of you," said Peter. "I didn't know a kick in the balls was part of Krav Maga training."
I could feel my face going red.
"It's not," I mumbled. "I just panicked, I guess."
"Next time, if there is a next time, try not to panic. It's counter-productive. Stay calm and remember your training. I suggest you discuss what happened with your teacher and see if he has any suggestions that will help you keep calm."
His brother had tried to attack me and I'd beaten him up and all Peter had to say was a criticism of how I handled things? And what did he know about my Krav Maga, anyway. I asked him.
"How did you know I do Krav Maga training?"
"Melody told me. She says you're quite good at it."
At that point Simon came staggering into the kitchen, swearing. He was walking crouched over and it looked to me that he was going to have a couple of black eyes. It seemed my side-kick had scored high on the bridge of his nose.
"You're an idiot, Simon," snapped Peter. "Serves you right for scaring the girl. Go and sit in the car. I suspect Kat would just as soon not have you in the house."
Simon muttered something crude and departed, still hunched over.
"Don't worry about him," Peter advised me. "I'll swing past the doctor on the way home and get him checked out. He'll probably explain it was the fault of a vicious door."
I just stood there looking at him, feeling very confused. He pushed the remains of his coffee to one side and reached for my arm.
"Sit down for a few moments," he said gently. "You're going into shock. Just relax, breathe deeply, and let it all flow out."
I just let him pull me down until I was seated and he put his arms around me, holding me. I just concentrated on breathing deeply and steadily, doing a relaxation exercise. After a few moments I found myself getting it all together, relaxing even more. Then I realised where I was and my relaxation started to tense up again.
I was sitting on Peter's lap and his arms were around me. One of his hands was rubbing my back. I'll admit I was feeling safe and secure like this, but still. I started to push myself away from him, meaning to stand up, and his arms tightened around me.
"Don't be silly," he said, his voice flowing softly over me like warm honey. Honestly, his voice seemed to just caress me, calming me down. "Just sit there a little longer. You'll be fine."
So I relaxed, content to feel secure for a little longer, letting Peter idly rub my back for me. After a few minutes something struck me as being subtly wrong but I felt too comfortable for it to worry me. Another couple of minutes and I'd have to get up but right now I didn't want to move.
Boy, my eyes sure opened wide when I worked out what was troubling me. Peter's hand wasn't rubbing my back anymore. It was lightly massaging my breast. Once again it was a case of that feels nice, but still. And on top of that his hand was stroking my leg, and getting far too close to places it shouldn't.
I hastily pushed myself up and away from him, knowing that I was blushing. Before either of us could say anything the door burst open and Melody was there with some milk.
"What happened to Uncle Simon?" she asked. "He's sitting in the car and looking funny. I think he's got a black eye."
"A savage door attacked him," Peter said calmly. "You know how clumsy he gets at times."
I didn't say anything, being too busy filling the electric jug. I wanted, I needed, coffee.
I had my coffee and ignored Peter. OK, he might have held me and calmed me down a little when I was upset but it was his fault I was upset in the first place. He should have stopped Simon following me, even if he did think I could look after myself. He should also have warned me he was here so I wouldn't traipse out into the kitchen in that state of undress. He certainly shouldn't have sat there looking at me and smiling. Smiling? He was probably laughing, the unfeeling brute. Most of all he shouldn't have been stroking my breast the way he did. I could still feel his hand touching me there.
I finished my coffee and went back to my room, not coming out until he was gone.
Later Melody told me her father would be back the next day. He had some of her mother's things that he thought she might like. I just nodded and dismissed the subject. I had no intention of even thinking about that man.
I slept in a little the next morning, but only a little. Hopping out of bed I wandered down to the kitchen for some coffee. For some reason the previous day's memories were especially vivid just then and I found myself checking to make sure that I still had my pyjamas on. Not only did I have them on but they were flannelette, what with the nights being a little on the cool side. Genuine passion killers, these pyjamas.
I made my coffee, reading a note from Melody while waiting for the kettle. 'Gone shopping. If Dad comes while I'm gone tell him to dump the stuff on my bed. If you weren't so lazy you could have come shopping with me.' True, that, but shopping was a lot more fun when you had some money. Right now I had none to spare. Not that that had ever stopped me when there was something I just had to have.
I just sat there and sucked up my coffee. I really should have just gulped it down and gone and got dressed but I just didn't feel in the mood to. For some reason I just wanted to sit and sulk, even if I didn't know what I was sulking over, so that's what I did.
I was still sitting there holding an empty mug and telling myself I really had to go and get dressed when the doorbell rang. As soon as I heard it I just knew it would be that man. Still, one never knew. I might be lucky and find the Sheriff there with a warrant for my arrest. I'm not sure what I'd be arrested for, but it would get me out of the house for a while.
It was Peter. Of course it was Peter. Who else would it be? Certainly not a nice policeman. They're never there when you want one.
I grunted something that might have been mistaken for good morning if the listener was in a generous mood.
