10 The Visit

Jessy Paris sat naked under her shower, eyes closed and mind concentrating on the drizzle of water splashing against her skin. Her soul was tired. There were a lot of things that weighed her down and the last few days had been nerve-racking for her.

Coming from a less privileged background had taught her the importance of hard work and dedication, but she had spent most of her teenage years making her life useless. She was angry at many things. First of all, she did not ask to be born. If she was never born, all the things she had gone through would never have happened. She was a failure at many things and no matter how hard she tried to appear strong to others, there was that tiny place in heart that reminded her of her weaknesses. She knew she was an intelligent woman and also attractive enough to get a few eyes on her, but she expected more of herself.

When she thought about Judith and the mysterious case they were working on, her heart missed several beats. What if she was the one who ended up being wrong? What if Judith ended up winning? As much as she had failed many times in life, she still had not learned to get used to the feeling that came with it. She hated failing and she hated losing out to a contemporary.

She spread her legs and allowed water splash on her inner thighs. A few drops landed on her clitoris and she sighed heavily. She missed sex. She missed being in relationships where she was dominant although that was what mostly ended her relationships. She had dated a lot of men and broken many hearts, but only one had been strong enough to break her heart.

His name was Jason.

She had met Jason at a local football match that was holding in the town she lived in before relocating to Middleville. He was one of the players playing against the Cloves, a team she supported. He played for the Elephants. At the time, she was still very much into marijuana. The Cloves won and as she carried the victory in heart that day on her way home, she bumped into him at the exit of the football arena. There was an instant spark and when he asked her out on a first date later, something inside her must have warned her that it was this man that was going to break down all her defenses. But she ignored that voice.

They had sex on the first date. It was the first time she ever experienced squirting. It was so good that she wanted it to go on and on. With time, she had grown too much of a strong connection to him that it scared her. She did not believe that a relationship could be so good and that she was capable of loving someone that deeply.

So she began to pull away. She would get angry unnecessarily, snap at him and try to bend him to do what she liked. She became excessively controlling. She knew it was toxic but that fear of not wanting to show how vulnerable she grown with him, did not stop her. She loved him dearly and did not want it to end, but her pride would not allow her risk 100% transparency with him. So her behavior became worse and worse until one day he said he couldn't take it anymore. He had found someone else. Someone who loved and respected him.

She didn't ask him to stay or beg him to forgive her but her heart broke. Her heart broke so badly. It hurt her how much she loved him and wished she had been more accepting of his love. But she knew it was too late. Two weeks after the breakup, she found out she was pregnant. She didn't waste any time before booking an appointment in an abortion clinic. The process was painful but it wasn't very traumatic for her. As a matter of fact, it even let her heal faster even though she knew now that she never truly healed.

As the thoughts of Jason filled her mind, her hand slowly crawled in between her legs and cupped her cherry. She threw her head backwards in pleasure. She began to rub around in circles, inserting a finger or two inside her body every now and then. Her breaths became heavier. The thoughts of Jason fueled her desire. She began to moan, whispering his name as her fingers went in and out of her, faster and faster. When she came, her body collapsed onto the bathroom floor.

"The strongest people are the weakest." She said to herself as she tried to regain her breaths.

"But I will win this case."

***

Abim was a young man who lived his life as gentlemanly as he could. He smiled, he played, he loved everyone, and he lived. But when pushed to the wall, he was a violent man.

As he tapped heavily on the door of Jessy Paris, he felt his heart would explode from the excessive pounding it was now having against his chest. He was angry. He loved his family and friends very much, and would not condone anyone who tried to paint them in bad light or hurt them. He had tried everything to restrain himself from coming here but he just couldn't remove the thought of confronting Paris out of his head.

The door opened and the sleepy face of Jessy Paris peered out.

"Oh please! Can I not get some peace? It's past 10pm in the night for God'sake!" Jessy's tobe was very unwelcoming.

Abim chuckled in derision. This was the face he had so much fantasized about smacking for the last few hours.

Paris groaned and pushed the door wider to allow him access into her house.

"I don't want to come in." Abim said, his voice barely hiding his annoyance.

"Then leave." Paris was still. "I can't have a conversation with you standing on my doorway. It's late." She turned and walked away from him leaving the door open just in case he changed his mind.

He took one hesitant step, halted as though debating whether to continue or not, then took another step, this time entering fully into the house. He closed the door behind him and locked it. Paris was standing a few feet away arranging a stack of brightly colored undies. He gulped spit and looked away. The room was small. One room. A bed-sitter.

"What do you do with all the money you earn? Look at your house."

"Why have you come?" She asked dropping the pile of undies on her medium-sized bed and then walking towards a small glass shelve. She picked up a tea mug. The peppery red color of her pajamas caught Abim's interest. One of his favorite colors.

"I have come..."

"Sit down." She cut him off in a manner that could be considered rude. "You are in my home. You can't stand to discuss with me. You sit." She entered into her kitchen.

He gaped after her, slightly humiliated by her control over him.

"Sit." She repeated now, coming out of the kitchen and walking towards him with a mug of tea in her hand.

Abim could only gape in wonderment. When he later sat down on the bed, he said. "Paris I do not think you should continue with investigating my brother's case further. Judith will do that."

"Was it you who hired me?"

"My brother did but not without my consent." Abim was boiling low key.

"Okay." She said and handed him the cup. "Drink tea first."

Abim reluctantly sipped a little and almost choked. He spat out the liquid almost immediately. The tea tasted weird and unfamiliar. "Are you trying to poison me? Urghhhh..." He gave the mug back to her.

She smiled.

"Listen! I did not come here to drink this awful tea. I have come here to warn you to stop pointing accussing fingers at my family members and friends. I don't know what you hope to gain by doing this. What I know is you have to stop, because it has started to raise suspicion amongst us. Just drop off the case before you cause more damage based on your rootless speculations. I am not as peaceful as I look."

She laughed surprisingly. "You feel guilty don't you? Coming to my house at this time of the night to babble? You are giving me more reason to make you my prime suspect."

"I swear I had nothing to with James's disappearance. I'm just trying to protect my family."

"Well, Is that all? I said it before didn't I? Truth is bitter." She sighed and looked him dead in the eye. "I won't do what you are asking."

Abim was irked by her confidence and stubbornness. It made him feel small. "You will."

"I won't."

Abim looked at her, provoked. She sat down beside him on the bed and drowned the leftover tea in the mug she had given him. "You didn't drink the tea. You don't know what you've missed."

Abim wanted to know what she meant but advised himself against asking. He studied her now at close range, curiosity getting the better of him. She was just an ordinary lady. Or was she?

"Paris, Who are you?" He asked swallowing his pride.

"My name is Jessy Paris."

"No, I don't mean your name." He said, "I mean you. Who are you? Where exactly are you from and why are you like this? Are the rumors about you true?"

"There are some things that are better left unsaid Abim, but then you have the right to believe anything you have heard about me out there. It's not my business ."

"I want to know."

"Know what?"

"Why are you so cold? Or if I'm to be blunt, why do you pretend to be so cold?"

Paris shot him a shocked look. "Pretend to be cold? Why would I do that?" She laughed nervously. I'm just the way I am. By the way, being hot doesn't suit me."

"How about being warm?"

"Doesn't suit me either." She said and stood up from his side. "I believe your business here is finished. It's time for you to leave." She said with a tone of finality.