The Beast In the Basement Part 15 (957 hits)
Category: NoneLabels: the_beast_in_the_basement
Rating: 1.9 on 12 reviews (Rate this item) (V)
Submitted by Anansie (View user info) at 2004-08-03 19:00:30 EDT
Well, it may not seem like it, but it looks like I can see an ending for this story coming, finally. The ball is rolling, so I should be able to keep posting it until its finished. To those still following it, sorry for another delay.
As always, here are the previous parts:
Part 1: http://www.ubersite.com/m/23801
Part 2: http://www.ubersite.com/m/23902
Part 3: http://www.ubersite.com/m/23978
Part 4: http://www.ubersite.com/m/24070
Part 5: http://www.ubersite.com/m/24256
Part 6: http://www.ubersite.com/m/24411
Part 7: http://www.ubersite.com/m/24512
Part 8: http://www.ubersite.com/m/24931
Part 9: http://www.ubersite.com/m/25150
Part 10: http://www.ubersite.com/m/25444
Part 11: http://www.ubersite.com/m/26319
Part 12: http://www.ubersite.com/m/26450
Part 13: http://www.ubersite.com/m/36587
Part 15: http://www.ubersite.com/m/36691
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Cauley Temple sat on the couch and ran his index finger along the smooth surface of the diamond. It was a marquis cut, simple, but beautiful nonetheless. It was not gold. Annie had never been a big fan of gold, preferring silver and platinum. This ring was set in platinum. He had meant to give it to her today, but then she had received the phone call, and plans had changed.
He was worried about Annie. Her cell was cut off, and she had promised to call when she arrived home. In that case she should have called hours ago. The scant details she had provided had led him to believe that Maggie had been murdered. And not just Maggie, either. Others, she had said. There were others, but she had left without giving him details. He had offered to accompany her, and she had refused. Why, exactly? Why did she feel the need to do everything alone?
He remembered the first day they met. He was working as a waiter at Rackett's, one of those dime a dozen bar and grill numbers you saw everywhere you went. In walked Annie like she owned the place, and she got a job on the spot. Her naturally dark hair was cut short and died a punkish shade of burgundy. It struck him immediately that she had a long, feminine neck, accentuated by a beaded choker. Her slender frame was flattered by the simple form fitting white tee and jeans she wore. At the time, she was involved with someone else. He himself was casually dating with one of the waitresses there, Helen. A shallow little thing, he knew, and a bit of a psycho, but hey, she was hot.
In spite of the fact that they were both dating other people, the two of them always found themselves in the corner, laughing at each other's stupid jokes. After work the four of them would hang out at Cauley's place. He and Annie would play chess and talk about books over drinks while Helen and Annie's boyfriend looked on. They developed a deep friendship that lasted long after their significant others were gone. She stuck by him long after Helen had stolen his money and run. She stuck by him throughout his relationship with the clingy obsessive bitch that came after. She was smiling and cheering at him when he walked across the stage to receive his degree.
Annie came to rely on him too. She would come over to his house and tell him about whatever asshole she was dating, and he would play her songs on his guitar. Feed her shots, if need be, and cheer her up in whatever corny way he knew could think up. Neither of them never seemed to be able to find mates that suited their idiosyncratic personalities. He found himself wishing for someone he could just be comfortable around. Someone who would let him be himself. One day it hit him. He already had that with Annie.
Now, a year later, he sat here with a ring clasped between his thumb and index finger, and worried about her whereabouts. Sometimes it hit him like a brick how much he loved her. It was funny, growing up he had never had an image of that one, never knew exactly what she would look like, or what particular mold her personality would fall into. There were just things he had known she'd be.
Funny, that was a big one. She had to have a sense of humor. That was the greatest thing about Annie. She always had him laughing. Sexy. But not your common sexy like in the magazines and Entertainment Tonight. They didn't know sexy, they knew eye candy. They knew trendy. He meant sexy, to the bone, emanating from the whole package kind of sexy. Have-to-stick-it-in-you-now kind of sexy. And smart. Yes, his lady had to have the brains. She had to know things he didn't.
When he was with her for days on end he forgot what she did to him. But when she was gone, it all came back. He needed her. Needed to see her eyes, to touch her skin, to smell her hair. When he was with her, he knew what kind of man he wanted to be. The kind of man he needed to be. She made her a better man, kept him centered. Her voice somehow made him normal. He was a man in love. He knew it, and he did not shy away from it.
Most of all, though, he found himself loving the other part. The friendship part. The times when all the boyfriend/girlfriend stuff fell away and the thing they had before came to the surface. He loved it. They were able to ask anything, say anything. Able to talk and laugh and simply enjoy each other's company, no debts owed, no I-owe-you-ones. Just them, perfectly content, amid this world of crap and shit-on-you's.
He put the ring back in its soft velvet covered box, and slipped the box into his pocket. He could not leave Annie to face her best friend's funeral alone. He'd been foolish to listen to her. Besides, if there was a murderer on the loose in Gilford, shouldn't he be there with her? He thought she could take care of herself, but there was no way to be sure. He made up his mind. He would catch the next train to Stanton, and join her at her childhood home. It was the only logical choice.
User Reviews
Submitted by inion_de_trua (user info) at 2006-06-02 15:14:48 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by Rads_wife (user info) at 2005-06-13 23:06:32 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
http://www.ubersite.com/m/68315
WINNER!!! WINNER!!!!
Submitted by munkeypants (user info) at 2005-01-03 19:33:16 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by Avals (user info) at 2004-08-10 15:37:39 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
+2 for "Have-to-stick-it-in-you-now."
Submitted by engine13 (user info) at 2004-08-04 20:38:46 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Shit. I just saw Part 16, and forgot to rate this one previously. I am really getting excited for an ending. Okay, I'm goint to go read 16 now, WooHoo!
Submitted by AshK (user info) at 2004-08-04 11:16:15 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Uh oh. Cauley is in trouble....
Submitted by shark25 (user info) at 2004-08-04 10:07:50 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
FINALLY!!!
Submitted by comicbookguy (user info) at 2004-08-03 22:28:34 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
"hurry up! I can't stand here poking you all day."
Simpsons go to Africa
Submitted by JohnGalt (user info) at 2004-08-03 22:26:46 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
My face is 2 inches from the computer screen by the time each part is finished.
Submitted by dakingisdead (user info) at 2004-08-03 22:09:57 EDT (#)
Ranking: 1
Careful you are starting to sound like a penny romance.
Submitted by Luckystar (user info) at 2004-08-03 20:23:32 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
before*
Submitted by Luckystar (user info) at 2004-08-03 20:23:16 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
DAMN finish it befre i DIE, i've been following this shit for like months now