Chapter 17_ Old Mrs. John Did

LSR

***

He was surprised a woman could also jump on windows the way that rogue man previously did. He was in pain but when she placed her hands on his aching leg, he felt a little better. The pain didn't disappear, it only got a bit friendlier.

He was not supposed to like a stranger touching and caressing his leg that way not even one who had jumped in a window like a skilled assassin but he did, a little warmth generated from her touch and he liked it.

Hating himself for finding pleasure in such an harmful touch by the cat-eyed bizarre girl in front of him and also surprised at her devotion, the immense attention she planted in caressing his leg, he found himself asking what she was doing. Even if she had mentioned for him to allow her help him, he would he have succumbed without a protest. He had silently watched her do what she did and he felt ashamed of himself for only speaking now.

The words he had imagined few seconds ago came out of her mouth, LSR, in turn, taking note of how plump her pinkish lips were. He also noted the dryness in them and some peel of flesh that were barely visible on her lips.

If this woman wasn't suffering from cancer then she had forgotten to apply moisturizer or gloss to her succulent lips. They still looked pretty though, dry or not.

Did he just say succulent?

How on earth would his imagination go so wild that he had tagged a lip he had not even touched or felt as succulent. Felt, does that mean him putting his hands across her tiny waists and leaning closer to her then tasting those juicy dried lips?

Oh damn! He growled inwardly. What was going on with him now? This was a woman who looked like she had a dark past, She and her friends. One of them had previously jumped on his window and here was another.

He needed to send her off as harsh as he could, they were messing with him and it was only their first day in the neighborhood. If he did not stop the new guys too, they would join the whole of the residence of his neighborhood in treating him like a loser.

It was when she was set to give answers to his questions about the note that the Orange City sheriff's police car's siren blared outside.

He saw panic rise in her immediately and he loathed the suspicious and irritated gaze she shot at him after.

" I was trying to help you and you called the cops?!" she spat, again the irritation LSR previously loathed apparent and growing heavier in her voice.

He wanted to tell her that was Sheriff Blair's police car patrolling the neighborhood like he usually did but seeing her so shaken and worked up upon hearing a siren, he decided she must be a criminal on the run. She and the rest of her crew occupying burnt haven.

"Trying to help me?" He queried " How does sending a pervert to drop a weird note and then finding you all sneaking up on me just in time to fall off of my wheelchair and you jumping into my window helping?" He asked, his rage already growing.

The woman was a liar and he hated women who lies.

" So, that's why you called the cops?" He heard her say.

Did she just ignored everything he said now? He wanted to send her out of his room immediately but he liked to respect women. Especially beautiful ones like her. But what was the essence of a beauty without morality and character?

He decided answering her questions fast would make her go away " I did not call anybody. Why will I call the cops on you? You haven't done anything wrong have you?" He replied her and watched her chest and shoulders drop.

She went to window and gaze down immediately. Now, LSR could hear the voices of the rest of burnt haven owners telling her to come down.

Was she going to jump down the window like that Vidal man? She was a woman, she shouldn't.

" Don't worry, you can use my door. I have the keys, follow me" he told her and she turned away from the window and to him.

Just when he thought she couldn't be more ridiculous, she asked him yet another question he wasn't expecting " Can the others come inside? If you don't like us jumping your window then let us in" she said, her hand on his window rail as if she was ready to jump down again.

Before he could reply, they heard the door banging loudly. Someone was knocking.

The knocks diverted his attention for a while and when he turned, he saw her ready to jump down. " Congratulations on getting on our bad side next door boy. We await you and your police officer" she hissed and jumped down right in his face again.

" Wait!" he had his hands spread out as if it was going to stop her from jumping but it was too late.

He would never get used to someone jumping on and off his window.

He wheeled himself closer to his window and to his amazement, the whole burnt haven owners stood facing Sheriff Blair who was standing outside now in an engrossing conversation with them.

They were in trouble now, Sheriff Blair caught her jumping off his window. He did his best though, he warned her not to and even offered to open the door for her.

However, he had not called the cops, so who did?

Or was Sheriff Blair just passing by?

Who was knocking his door?

The answer was only few yards away, he would go out and make enquires. He did not like the fact that the new burnt haven owners would get in trouble because of him.

As fast as he could, he wheeled himself out of the house and outside his window.

He was hearing the hot argument between the sheriff and the burnt haven owners.

" Ah.. Speak of the devil" Sheriff Blair said immediately he spotted him. " Hello boy, now come tell me what these new dudes did to you" he said.

LSR was short of words as Sheriff Blair and the rest of burnt haven owners stood, all eyes on him. " Hello.. Sheriff" LSR stammered still unsure of what to say.

The burnt haven owners did jump on his window but they hadn't done anything bad to him except for saying strange words and the Vidal man going through his things. Their actions were still enough to have them arrested though.

As if just noticing his disabled state, " I heard what happened dear boy. The culprits will be brought to book, I tell you. In few days, you should be up and running" sheriff Blair tried to sound nice but LSR wanted to tell him he did not appreciate it. Few days?

He wished he could tell the man that was wishful thinking and he wasn't hoping on it.

He only looked on at the Sheriff while the burnt haven owner's eyes bore into him, making him feel so uncomfortable.

" I found these guys by your window and found this one jumping down just as it was stated when the report was made" Sheriff Blair went on without waiting for his reply.

Now, the intense gaze by the burnt haven owners shouted that he was in trouble for making reports against them. But he had made no such report!

He was not scared of them but it was unfair he was getting judged for what he did not do.

" What report?" he asked Sheriff Blair ignoring their gazes.

Instead of replying with words, Sheriff Blair pointed at the house on the other side of the street, just few yards away from burnt haven. That was the oldest house in the neighborhood, he heard.

It was also the biggest and it had about fifty occupants occupying each flat. It was facing the spare landscape which hasn't gotten any owners yet because it was right beside burnt haven and people feared burnt haven.

The windows of the flats in the building was the direction of burnt haven and LSR's house also the other houses were on their side of the road.

In one of the flats lives retired old Mrs. John, she was the eagle of the neighborhood. With her husband dead and her children all out of the country, she took to poking her nose in all the residents of the neighborhood's business.

She must have seen the burnt haven owners jumping in and out of his window and alerted the cops. Just as he had said before, apart from him, others in the neighborhood had their eyes gawking at the burnt haven owners for being the new guys in the most silent part of Orange City.

" So, who called the cops?" Vital man asked impatiently as if he was waiting for the Sheriff say it was LSR so he could pounce on him immediately.

LSR for the first time since he came outside looked at the burnt haven owners " I did not make the report. Old Mrs. John did" he answered.