Righteous Obsession (19 page)

Father Michaels awoke, confused, and looked around
him.  At first he couldn’t recall where he was, but he soon remembered
everything.  He saw it was light outside and ran his hands over his face,
rubbing the sleep from it.  He looked at his watch and saw it was six
forty-five.  He sat up, realizing that he’d fallen asleep fully dressed, he
hadn’t even taken off his shoes!  His mouth curled in disgust as he recalled
the sickening memory of Colin and Debbie openly fornicating.  The sounds that
came through the wall, after he’d returned to this room, indicated that they
had committed at least two more acts of fornication, screaming loudly and
lewdly while engaged in their perversions!  It had been offensive and repugnant
to him.  As he showered, he speculated on how he could execute both Colin and
Debbie.  She would be no problem since he knew where she lived and where she
worked.  After his attempt to execute Colin last night failed, he’d concluded
that God wanted him to be face to face with Colin when he executed him.  He
would tell Colin why he was going to die and watch him suffer the agony of
knowing he was going to burn in hell for all of eternity!

‘I’ll make sure before he dies, Colin knows he was not
only responsible for his own damnation but for Debbie’s as well!’  Father
Michaels thought with satisfaction.  He knew it would be difficult to get to
Colin.   Security or other people in his organization continually surrounded
him, but he knew God wanted him to execute Colin so He would provide him with
the means to do so.

He changed into a fresh suit then quickly packed the
few things he’d brought with him.  He checked the hallway and saw no one then
left his room and rode the elevator to the lobby where he turned in his key. 
There was not much traffic at that time on a Sunday morning so he was able to
cover much distance quickly even though he was driving exactly at the speed
limit.  He breathed with relief as he saw the skyline of Minneapolis fading
into the distance and said a short prayer of thanks.

Colin woke suddenly when the bright sunlight hit his
eyes.  He groaned, realizing he’d forgotten to close his drapes last night.  
He smiled as looked at Debbie.  She slept quietly next to him; her face resting
on his chest and her arm draped over his waist.  He glanced at her then looked
again, studying her closely.  Jesus!  He thought.  She’s definitely not twenty-something! 
He had a sneaking suspicion her true age was probably about seventeen.  He
carefully eased Debbie off of him, got up and went into the bathroom.  He
turned on the shower and stepped into it then yelped suddenly as the water hit
his back, causing it to sting sharply.  He stepped out of the shower, dripping
all over the floor, turned his back to the mirror and looked over his shoulder
to find his back crisscrossed with scratches.  They weren’t deep but they sure
stung like hell.  “Shit!” Colin cursed.  How the hell was he going to hide
those from Alethea?  He finished showering, dried off and shaved.  He came out
of the bathroom and saw Debbie was still sleeping.   He plugged in his hair
dryer, sat down and started to dry his hair.  He speculated on how he could’ve
missed last night what was so obvious to him this morning.  That’s what you get
when you let your hormones run wild and rule your life!  He groused.  Granted,
she hadn’t resisted him at any point though he’d given her ample opportunity to
do so and her responses were obviously those of someone very sexually
experienced, but still, she was just a kid.

Debbie woke up at the sound of Colin’s hairdryer.  She
opened her eyes and winced momentarily at the brightness of the room.  She
watched Colin drying his hair, noticing the scratches on his back. She blushed
and rolled over on her back, wincing slightly at the way her hips ached and the
soreness between her legs.  It had been a wild night and Colin was a fantastic
lover!  They’d made love three times and each time he’d brought her to a
screaming orgasm.  Not only had he made sure of her satisfaction, but he’d
treated her with dignity and respect.  None of the other rock stars had ever
done anything but fuck her and throw her out the door!

Colin switched off his hairdryer and felt his hair
then tossed it back over his shoulders.

Debbie started to giggle, unable to help herself. 
“You looked just like Cousin It on the Adams Family when you were drying your
hair.”

Colin laughed, too.  “That’s what Alethea thinks,
too.”  He smiled, motioned at his hairdryer and apologized by saying, “I hope I
didn’t wake you with this.”

“I have to get up anyway.  Is that a picture of
Alethea on the dresser?  Is she your girlfriend?”

“Well, actually she’s my fiancée.  We got engaged
recently, but you’re the only one who knows it outside our parents and the
band.”

“I can keep a secret.  How come she doesn’t tour with
you?”  Debbie asked, suddenly feeling self-conscious and wrapping the sheet
around her.

“She has her own career.  She’s on the staff of Rock
Hard magazine.”

“Your fiancée is Alethea Ford?  I just read her
interview with Dave Mustaine and it was awesome!”

“Yeah, she really got him to spill his guts, didn’t
she?”  Colin remarked with a smile.  “She has a definite talent for that.”

Debbie’s expression sobered suddenly.  Colin noticed
the change in her and asked, “What’s wrong?”

“It’s nothing,” She answered, pushing back the covers
to get out of bed.

“Come on,” Colin disagreed.  He sat down beside her. 
“There’s something wrong.”

“I shouldn’t have slept with you, Colin, it was
wrong.”  She replied flatly.

“Look, Deb, you have nothing to feel guilty about or
blame yourself for.”

“But I do!  I wanted to sleep with you.”

“And I wanted to sleep with you and we had a great
time.  It was a mutual decision so there’s nothing to feel guilty about.  I
should be the one feeling guilty for cheating on Alethea and sleeping with an
underage girl and I do, but there’s no going back.”

“I’m almost eighteen,” Debbie argued.

“Almost doesn’t count as far as the law’s concerned.”

She nodded then suddenly burst into tears.  Colin put
his arm around her and held her.  “There’s definitely something wrong!”

“No,” Debbie denied, but continued to cry.

“Come on, you can tell me,” He coaxed her with a
smile.  “I’m told I’m a good listener.”

“I don’t want to go home!  I hate it and my mother
hates me!”  She began to sob even harder.

Colin reached over and pulled several tissues out of
their box and gave them to Debbie who wiped her eyes and sniffled.  “I’m
sorry.  I shouldn’t be telling you this.”

“Consider me your friend.  Who better to tell it to
than your friend?  Why do you think your mother hates you?”

She looked down at her hands and started to shred the
tissues she was gripping.  “I don’t think she ever liked me.  When I was little
I felt like she could barely stand having me around her.  She never neglected
me or abused me, but she never hugged me or showed me any affection either. 
Once I started to develop, she seemed like she hated me!”  Debbie started
crying again.  “I overheard her talking about me to somebody on the phone one
time.  She said my hair color was a sign of my whorish nature and God must be
punishing her to curse her with such a daughter.”

Colin made a face, but said nothing.  He couldn’t
believe a mother would actually say something that creepy to her daughter. “Jesus
Christ!”  He muttered in an unbelieving tone.  He felt sick to his stomach.  “I
happen to think your hair color’s gorgeous!  No offense, Debbie, but your
mother sounds like she’s got major emotional problems.”

“She’s super-religious.  She pickets abortion clinics
and writes letters to people who don’t believe what she believes, telling them
they’re wicked, immoral and they’re going to go to hell.  She’s the president
of Brunsville’s chapter of Families for Moral Values and she was the main
organizer behind that picket at your concert last night.”

Colin thought for a moment then asked, “Does she have kind
of a faded blond hair?”

Debbie shook her head.  “No.  She has brown hair with
lots of gray in it.  Why?”

He shrugged.  “There was a confrontation last night
between some of our fans and the demonstrators. I got shoved and almost fell on
this woman protester.  It isn’t an exaggeration to say she hated my guts on
first sight!  I thought she might’ve been your mother.”

Debbie smiled slightly, “My mother would’ve given you
more than a dirty look!”

“What about your dad?  Doesn’t he do or say anything
about the way she treats you?”

“He doesn’t care about me.  He spends all his time
with my younger brother, his namesake.  He says girls are their mother’s
responsibility.”  Debbie’s lips trembled and she wiped her eyes again then
suddenly burst out with, “I hate my home – it sucks!  I want to get out of
there and I don’t care how or where I go!”

Colin grabbed Debbie’s arm.  “Promise me you’re not
going to do anything rash!”

“Why?  What do you care?”

“I do care, Deb.  I don’t want to see you run away and
end up on the streets.  The streets are a dead end – literally!”  He let go of
her wrist.   “I’ll make you a deal.”

“What kind of a deal?”  Debbie asked sullenly.

“You finish school and I’ll come to your graduation.”

“You’d do that for me?”

“I’ll do more than that.”  He grabbed a sheet of hotel
stationery and wrote something on it then gave it to Debbie.  “This is my email
address and cell number. Anytime you feel you need somebody to talk to, you can
call me or email me.”

Debbie nodded.  “I guess I can put up with mom for
another year and school won’t be bad because I won’t have to see…” she stopped
abruptly.

“See who?”

“Nothing, it isn’t important.”  Debbie brushed aside
his inquiry then changed the subject.  “Colin, do you think I could be a
model?”

“I don’t see why not.  You’re a lot prettier than most
of the women I see on the covers of the fashion magazines now.   Alethea used
to model and she still has contacts in the business.  She and Vanessa Morrison
are best friends.”

“Vanessa Morrison!”  Debbie said excitedly.  “She’s
totally awesome!”

“We could help you get your foot in the door at least,
but…” He pointed his finger at Debbie.  “But first you have to show me that
diploma.  Is it a deal?”

“It’s a deal!”  Debbie said, smiling.  She gave Colin
a hug and slid out of bed.  “I’ll get dressed.” While she showered Debbie’s
thoughts turned back to the car that had tried to run them down last night. 
She bit her lip; feeling scared.  She didn’t know if Father Michaels had seen
her and if he had what he might do to her to keep her quiet.  She was also
feeling guilty about lying to both Colin and the police – especially since
Father Michaels had tried to run down Colin.   Maybe, though, since he’d tried
and failed, he wouldn’t be stupid enough to try and harm Colin again.

While she showered, Colin was packing.   He reflected,
somewhat ruefully, that this would be the first time ever that he was early. 
Usually, he was bringing up the rear.

Debbie came out of the bathroom dressed and ready to
go.  She stood, uncertain, in the middle of the room.  Colin winced inwardly as
he saw her.  She looked so damn young and vulnerable!

“My girlfriend and I came to the concert together and
she spent the night with Jake.”

Colin sensed her uneasiness and volunteered, “I’ll see
if they’re up yet.”  He went across the hall and pounded on Jake’s door.  “Room
Service!”

“What?  Who the hell is it?”  Jake yelled groggily.

“You mean you aren’t up yet?”  Colin said, continuing
to pound on his door.  He laughed as he heard Jake’s colorful cursing.

“Goddamn it, Colin!  Quit that or I’m gonna come out
there and kick your sorry ass into the next county!”  He snarled threateningly.

Colin grinned and turned to Debbie standing beside
him.  “Jake’s always so pleasant in the morning!  Come on, I’ll buy you
breakfast.  They should be up by the time were done.”

After they finished eating, Colin walked Debbie out to
her car.  He put his arm around her in a friendly gesture.  “Are you sure
you’re okay now?  That’s a hell of a lot of crap you’ve been carrying around
all this time.”

“I feel much better, thanks.”

Diana walked up to them.  She nodded at Colin and
asked, “Ready to go, Deb?”

She nodded then gave Colin a hug and kissed his
cheek.  “Thanks for everything, Colin!”

“No problem.  Just remember I’m available if you need
to talk.  Okay?”

“I will,” Debbie promised as she and Diana got into
her car.  As they pulled out of the parking lot into the street, Diana said,
“Okay, confess. What’s happening between you two?”

“I told Colin about my problems with mom,” Debbie
admitted.

Diana raised her eyebrows in surprise.  She knew Deb
was so ashamed of her home life that she and her mother were the only ones who
knew about the situation.  “And?”