Katherine shifted in the passenger seat, using the corner of her eye to watch the man who was giving her a ride home. She'd only been in the car with him for five minutes, but the awkward silence shared between them made it feel like it had been so much longer.
The fact that she was worried about her best friend did not help matters. She had never seen him so angry and hurt before, but she did not fault him for it. His mother had taken her own life, and his father didn't seem to care.
Katherine had never met Victor before this evening, and she hoped she would never have to be around him again. Aside from what her friend had told her about him, she sensed something inside of the man that scared her.
He was dangerous. He'd hurt his family many times, and she was sure that he would have no problem hurting strangers as well.
"So, how long have you known my son?" Victor asked suddenly, making her flinch in her seat.
Katherine folded her hands in her lap, staring down at them as she answered. "We met on the Fourth of July."
"How nice." He said, smiling.
The tone of his voice was as sweet as cotton candy, and his passenger could not help but relax, which was exactly what he wanted. He merged into the right lane and turned into a quaint little neighborhood.
Katherine relaxed even more when she realized her house was right around the corner. She was eager to see her mother after the ordeal with Vincent.
Victor looked over at her and the smile on his face widened. "I like you, Kathy. May I call you Kathy?"
"Umm...sure."
"Good girl." Victor praised, "I like you, Kathy, because you are such a good girl. My son needs a sweet young girl to play with."
He returned his attention back to the road and pulled his car into a vacant driveway. There was a sign in the yard that read, 'For Sale.'
Katherine found herself becoming tense again.
"Relax." Victor cooed, "I want to get to know you a little before I drop you off at home."
"But, my mom is expecting me-"
"She can wait five more minutes, Kathy."
He unbuckled his seatbelt so that he could face his body towards hers. The smile on his lips slightly faded when he noticed her hand was instinctively reaching towards the door handle.
He gently placed his hand on her arm. "You don't have to be afraid of me, Kathy. I'm not going to hurt you. I just want to talk."
Katherine's eyes narrowed. "About what?
"About my son." Victor said, "He's a good kid, Kathy, but he has a lot of problems. The kind of problems that only a good friend can help him with." He paused and moved his hand to her cheek. "I want you to be that friend."
Katherine winced at his touch. Her mother once said that she should never allow a grown man to touch her and, while his touch was not really inappropriate, it was uncomfortable.
She pushed his hand away and looked back down at her lap. "Vincent is the best friend I've ever had. I would do anything to help him."
"I know you would, sweetheart." Victor said, replacing his hand on her cheek. He looked at her thoughtfully for a while, then slowly began running his large fingers through her hair.
The grin returned to his face. "Has anyone ever told you how pretty you are, Kathy?"
"Mr. Graves-"
"Ah ah ah." He protested, wagging his finger at her. "Call me Victor."
Katherine shook her head. "I'm not supposed to address adults by their first name. My mom says it's rude."
Victor chuckled softly and placed his other hand on her thigh. "Then we won't tell her."
Katherine's throat swelled and her heart began pounding hard against her chest. She thought about her mom and how worried she must be that she hasn't returned home yet. She wanted to scream and jump out of the car, but she was too terrified to move.
"Vincent is lucky to have a beautiful friend like you." Victor said, moving his hand from her hair to her face. "He must enjoy looking into those lovely blue eyes of yours...," He gently rubbed his thumb over her mouth. "And I know he would love to taste these soft lips."
"It's not like that, Mr. G-Graves.." Katherine squeaked, "We're just friends. That's all."
Victor leaned his head into hers and whispered in her ear, "I would have a hard time just being friends with a girl like you, Kathy."
Katherine pulled her head away with a gasp. "I want to go home. Please, take me home."
"Why, Kathy? What's your hurry?"
"Y-you're making me uncomfortable."
Victor's eyes widened for a moment as he studied her frightened face, then he threw his head and began laughing. "Silly girl! I was just fooling around with you. I'm a police officer, Kathy. I would never do anything to hurt you."
Katherine averted her eyes from his. "I guess.., but I don't think you're supposed to touch me."
"I'm just getting to know you, Kathy." He said, removing his other hand from her thigh. "But if the touching makes you uncomfortable I will not do it again. You have my word."
"Thank you, Mr.-"
"Ah ah ah!"
"I mean, thank you, Victor."
"You're welcome, darlin. Now then, let's get you home before your mama starts to worry."
He pulled his patrol car out of the vacant driveway and drove another block until he reached Katherine's home. The living room light shined from one of the front windows and he could see the silhouette of her mother pacing back and forth with a telephone in her hand.
"Uh-oh....looks like we're too late. She must be on the phone with my mom asking where you are."
"Yeah." Katherine said, quickly unbuckling her seatbelt. She reached for the handle to open the door, but her wrist was roughly grabbed before she had the chance.
Victor's grip tightened when she tried to pull away. "You're not gonna be able to open that by yourself. The handle is jammed."
He reached his other arm across her body, his hand still holding onto her wrist, as he pulled the handle to open the door. His eyes captured hers one more time before he let her out of the car. "Remember what I said about being a friend to my son, Kathy. Be there for him when he needs you, or else things might get bad."
Katherine's chest tightened again. Was that a threat?
"Oh, and I would prefer if you didn't tell your mother about our little conversation this evening."
"Why not?"
"Don't ask questions, Kathy. Just do what I tell you and everyone will be happy."
"Y-yes Sir." Katherine answered, fearing for her safety. He was definitely threatening her!
"There's my good girl." He said, smiling. "I knew I could count on you."
He climbed of the car and helped Katherine out of the passenger seat, wrapping his arm around her shoulders as he escorted her to the front door. He knocked on the door three times, and her mother immediately opened it.
Victor smiled when he saw her, for she was as beautiful as her daughter.
"Oh, Katherine!" She cried, pulling her daughter into her arms so fast that she didn't notice the faint tears in her eyes. "I'm so glad you're back. Are you okay?"
"Yes, I'm fine."
"Good." Her mother said. She released her and looked over at Victor. "Thank you so much for bringing her home. I hope she wasn't any trouble."
"Not at all, ma'am." Victor insisted, "She is a very sweet girl."
"Thank you." She said, pushing the front door open further. She scoot Katherine inside and shut the door, her eyes filling with tears as she looked back at Victor. "I'm so sorry to hear about your wife. I can't even imagine what you and your poor children are going through."
Victor pursed his lips shut and tears swelled in his own eyes. He immediately threw his hand over his face. "I-I'm sorry. I usually don't cry in front of people, but-"
"Shhh...don't you worry about that." She said, wrapping her arms around him. "You cry as much as you need to."
"Thank you." Victor said weakly, his smiling mouth buried in her left shoulder. "I really appreciate your kindness, Miss-"
"Call me Molly."
"Thank you, Molly. You're very kind."
"Don't mention it." Molly said, pulling away so that she could look into his eyes. "I know this isn't much, but my home is open to you and your family anytime you need anything."
"Oh, Molly. We couldn't impose."
"You wouldn't be imposing!" Molly insisted, "It's the very least I can do. Your son has been a wonderful friend to my Katherine."
"I'm certainly glad to hear that." Victor said, "And I'm sure we will take you up on your very generous offer very soon."
"Great. Well, I guess I'd better to check on Katherine. It was nice to finally meet you, Victor."
"Likewise." Victor said, shaking her hand.
Molly smiled at him one more time before stepping into the house and closing the door.
Victor walked off of the porch and climbed back into his car, his face covered with a big smile as well. "Yes, Molly. We will take you up on that offer soon, and when we do you'll wish you would've never been so kind to a stranger."