Engle Byen A Place to Call Home Read online

  “What the hell’s going on here?” I yelled.

  Angelo opened his eyes in shock and shot me a dirty look while the perpetrator’s head ceased moving and remained under the covers.

  “Piss off you bloody interfering, nosey bastard!” Angelo shouted at me.

  “Who do we have here?” I said as I pulled the covers off the bed.

  “You’ll be fired for this, you disgusting, vile creature!” I yelled at Jacob.

  Then Angelo yelled at me, “Why don’t you just get out of my room. I don’t need a nurse, Jacquie is looking after me just fine.”

  Jacob stood up, took a step towards me, invading my body space and looked me right in the eyes whilst licking his lips.

  “Jacob, I think you’d better leave right now.”

  “Jacquie, don’t listen to him you can stay.”

  Jacob turned and looked at Angelo with that wry smile of his, that smile that I thought was only reserved for me.

  “It’s OK my stud muffin, I’ll leave, but I will be back for my prize real soon,” Jacob said very coyly and walked out of the room.

  “What the hell was that all about nurse man? You have no right to send her out of my room, I’ll have you reported.”

  “Whoa hang on, Angelo, that was a staff member acting very inappropriately with you and he will be reported.”

  “Yeah, well, nurse man, you better get your eyes checked because that was a woman, that was Jacquie. For some reason you keep denying her existence, well there you go, you just saw her leave the room. I’m not sure if it’s the meds or not but were you referring to her as Jacob?”

  “Well, yes, that’s who it was, Jacob Devlin. He works here as an orderly, I know him quite well.”

  “Well one of us needs to check into the psychiatric unit or get glasses and it sure isn’t me. Do you think I would let a bloke do that to me? Disgusting!”

  I picked up the chart at the end of Angelo’s bed and examined the medication he was prescribed. There was nothing there that would give him hallucinations except perhaps the small amount of morphine he was on. I recalled the confusion with the recently deceased Miss Duffy, she referred to Jacob as an older distinguished man also named Jacob, but he wasn’t my Jacob. This is all getting way too confusing.

  “Did this Jacquie woman want anything from you? What was it that he, I mean she, said about returning for a prize?” I asked Angelo inquisitively.

  “Just get outta here, I want to rest now, it’s been an exhausting evening.”

  Later in the shift, as I walk into Mr Burgess's room I hear a noise... tap tap, tap tap, psssst. He has been put on life support, the poor old bugger is not long for this world, I can tell just by looking at him. Even though he wasn’t a particularly nice person, I always find it sad when a patient passes. I wonder what the future holds for them. Is there a future? Are they reincarnated, do they go to heaven, or hell, and do such places even exist. What is it like to be on life support? I’ve heard that you disappear into another world but you can still hear things going on around you.

  I feel quite sad, deflated and exhausted today as I take Angelo Burgess’s hand, “I wish you well on your journey after this life, Angelo.” I prop up his pillow and rearrange the bedding, he looks more comfortable now. I sit next to him while listening to the machine keeping him alive... tap tap, tap tap, psssst. Over and over again, a strong steady rhythm.

  I feel I want to cry, I’m not sure why. As I gaze around at the luxurious surrounds of this beautiful hospital suite I feel a presence. I walk towards the window and notice what looks to be someone standing behind the curtains which frame the beautiful ocean view. I carefully take hold of the curtain and rip it open all the way back.

  “Oh fuck,” I shout as I feel a hand clamp down hard on my shoulder. I swing quickly around, and it’s Jacob.

  “What the hell man, you frightened the shit out of me!” I yell at him.

  “Hey quiet mate, there’s a guy dying over there, a bit of respect,” Jacob whispers to me.

  I look at Jacob, he is one hell of a beautiful man, so damn sexy and so damn wrong. I feel at my lowest ebb, I just want to be held, to feel secure, for someone to tell me everything is going to be alright. Just then Jacob wraps his arms tightly around me, he feels stronger, stronger than before. I don’t resist, I enjoy the physical contact and begin to cry uncontrollably, oh Michael what a fool, what are you doing, this is the guy who’s messing with your head.

  “Just let it all out, Mikey, everything is going to be OK,” Jacob whispers into my ear. It’s what I need to hear; maybe he isn’t so bad after all.

  I think back to Miss Duffy, who Jacob promised to marry before she died, but she saw an older gentleman named Jacob, while at the same time I saw my handsome young Jacob. My mind drifted off to Angelo imagining Jacob to be Jacquie, he was so convinced he was seeing a woman and I only saw Jacob. Am I having difficulty recognising fact from fantasy? Am I losing my mind? Maybe I have been working too much, so many bizarre thoughts drift in and out of my mind.

  Jacob sits me down on the overstuffed sofa facing the window as I see the sunset over the ocean, all the while in the background the ‘tap tap, tap tap, psssst’ sound of Angelo’s life support continues. Jacob kneels down in front of me reaching his hand up to my face, he gently places his thumb on my face and wipes my tears across my cheeks so lovingly and I feel I am falling for him all over again. Jacob sits down beside me, reaches out and takes my hands in his, I turn to him and he looks into my eyes as I gaze back into his.

  “Maybe you need to rest, Mikey. Just lie down here on the sofa, you don’t look very well.”

  “Yeah, I think I just might, Angelo is the only patient in my ward tonight, just for a bit though. Just make sure I’m not here too long though, OK?” I lie down and close my eyes and let the darkness wash over me.

  Suddenly, I sit up and notice night has fallen, the room is dimly lit, I hear the life support machine... tap tap, tap tap, psssst... and look over at Angelo’s bed. I see a figure leaning over Angelo, their face very close to his, I can’t make out who it is at first but then recognise the uniform as belonging to Jacob, that’s nice of him to be looking out for Angelo while I recover from my exhaustion.

  I can see two small faint red lights that look like they are coming from Jacob’s eyes and then a bright blue light that appears to be coming out of Angelo’s mouth going into Jacob’s. Angelo’s arms begin to flap about uncontrollably. Jacob leans further over him and pins Angelo's arms down with his hands while the blue light continues to syphon out of Angelo's mouth into Jacob’s. What should I do, yell out or stay quiet? I don’t want to alert Jacob that I am watching what’s happening. I feel light headed, my eyes are heavy, they close.

  I wake up with a jolt, I sit bolt upright. I hear the life support machine... beeeeeeeeep... Angelo has flatlined. I walk over to Angelo and notice his face and arms are shrivelled up like a freeze-dried pea as if he has had the life sucked out of him?

  Immediately Angela Duffy came to mind. I never saw her after she died but I do recall Viktor saying she looked like she had her soul sucked out of her, I didn’t quite understand what he meant then, but I think I do now.

  “Hey, Mikey, I was just coming in to wake you up when I heard the life support machine flatline, has the old guy died?”

  “Yes, he has, poor guy, look at the state his body is in, like something from a horror movie.”

  “Yeah, he does,” Jacob replied in an unconcerned manner.

  I haven’t seen anything like this before but perhaps Jacob has, judging by the controlled manner of his response. “Mikey, you tidy him up and I’ll take the stiff down to the morgue and I’ll be right back.”

  Jacob can be so insincere.

  Chapter Eighteen

  I woke this morning with what had transpired last night at the hospital going through my head; when Jacob either turned into some kind of demonic creature or I dreamed the whole thing while I slept on the sofa in Angelo’s hospital sui
te.

  “Right, Michael, enough is enough. It’s time you confronted all of your neighbours that warned you about Jacob,” I said aloud to myself.

  As I sat up in my bed another beautiful, sunny morning welcomed me. I took a moment to listen to the birds chirping outside as I pondered how I will go about confronting Viktor, Ralph, Muriel and Gabriella regarding their warnings against becoming involved with Jacob. Had their warnings actually led me to these really bad dreams I was having about Jacob?

  What was the reason I had been resisting him for so long after all his subtle and not so subtle advances towards me? Any other time I certainly wouldn't have held back, he is the man of my dreams or my nightmares, I just don’t know which.

  Maybe I should leave this town, I love it here so much but everything is getting confusing and difficult for me now. I feel like I am losing my mind, that reality is fading.

  “Focus, Michael. Right, get yourself organised, get out of bed and enjoy your day off,” I said out aloud. Great, now I am talking to myself! I jump in the shower, the warm water cascading down my body helps calm my mind somewhat; I try and think of nothing, but fail. After the relaxing shower, I make my way into the kitchen and make a lovely cup of coffee; I take it with me into the backyard to enjoy the gentle rays of the morning sun.

  Who will be the first person I confront over their warnings about Jacob, I wonder. I have to do this, I need to get this man out of my head, he is driving me crazy, literally. Viktor and Ralph live within a few feet of me, but I can't hear any noise coming from their house, and usually, Ralph is out there in the garden at this time of the day pottering around.

  Mind made up, Viktor and Ralph will be the first I speak with, especially as I now recall the evil look Jacob gave Viktor that time when I nearly gave myself to Jacob, in the heat of the moment, at the beach. Oh, and not to mention that strange vision I had of Jacob assaulting Viktor and they were both angels. Ding, dong! I hear the doorbell and wonder who this visitor could be, I hope it’s Viktor. I make my way to the door and open it. Jacob!

  There he stands, his perfectly styled black hair, fringe slightly hanging over his forehead looking particularly cute. His eyes the darkest shade of brown, his pale skin with slightly rosy cheeks. He is dressed in what I assume to be his favourite colour, black. Black tight-fitting polo shirt showing off his muscular frame, accompanied by tight black jeans, same as the first day I met him. Absolutely gorgeous, what’s not to like?

  “Are you going to stand there and stare at me all day, Mikey?”

  “Oh, yeah, sorry, do you want to come in? I guess that means yes,” I say as Jacob walks in right past me.

  We make our way through to the backyard and sit where I had been sitting previously.

  “I just wanted to check up on you, make sure you are alright, you were acting pretty weird last night at work,” Jacob said in a concerned manner.

  “Yeah, not bad thanks, just my headspace, think it needs clearing a bit,” I explained.

  “You wanna talk about it, I’m a good listener, I’m sure I can take away all your pain," Jacob said as he gave me one of his smiles, the same smile he gave Angelo before he sucked the life out of him. Focus Michael. Say it, go on and say it.

  “Great day today, huh?” Idiot. Jacob nodded.

  How can I open the conversation; I really need to purge all this nonsense that is piling up in my head, driving me batshit crazy. So, are you a soul-sucking evil angel with red eyes or what? No, too direct, but to the point! I begin staring at Jacob again, my eyes making their way up and down his biceps, then his chest, they appear larger, he looks so much stronger than he used to.

  “Jacob, can I ask you something?”

  “Sure, Mikey, whatever you want. Nothing is off limits to you.”

  “Have you been working out a lot more, your body has really beefed up?” Idiot Michael. Jacob gave me a cute grin and I melted.

  Michael, there is no way this guy is evil. If you ask him, you know he will have you committed to the loony bin.

  “So, Jacob, how do you know Viktor, Ralph, Muriel and Gabriella?" Good, I said it.

  “Who? I don’t,” Jacob said quite blankly. “Well, I met that Viktor guy when we were in the sand dunes, Mikey, remember that, and I may have seen him pass by at work. As for the other names nope, don’t know ‘em. Why do you ask?”

  “They all know you, they told me to keep away from you. Whatever I do, they told me not to have anything to do with you,” I spurted out. Good one, Michael.

  "So, what do you think, Mikey, you like what you see, right?" Jacob said as he flexed his huge biceps and flashed me one of his heart-melting smiles.

  “Yeah, well, I kind of think they don’t know you like I do. You are, well, very handsome and we get on really well. I like you a lot and you appear to be the most perfect man I have ever met,” I gushed.

  “So, problem is, Mikey?” Jacob smiled.

  “Problem is… maybe I shouldn’t listen to my nosey neighbours.”

  “That’s right, Mikey, don’t listen to those people that don’t even know me. You know me, you know me much better than anyone else. What you see is what you get, or you’re going to get.”

  “Yeah, I suppose you are right,” I mumbled. Jacob got up out of his seat and took my hand. “Come on, let’s go inside,” he smiled. He led me into my living room and we sat down close together on the sofa.

  “You wanna go with me?”

  “Go where?” I ask.

  “Derr, be boyfriends,” he responded cheekily.

  “I’ll have to think about it,” I giggled. Jacob pushed me down on the sofa, sat on top of me and began caressing my body with his strong masculine hands.

  “Just a minute,” he said as he got up off the sofa and closed all the blinds blocking out the morning sun. Jacob took off his polo shirt and boots; I melted more into the sofa at the sight of his perfectly toned body, a body that I was going to be tasting any second now. He re-joined me on the sofa, his hands moving all over my chest. He slid his hands under my t-shirt and gently pulled it over my head and tossed it onto the floor. My hands were now running over his chest. Voices in my head were telling me to back off; I pushed them aside, those silly voices, the voices that almost drove me insane, they aren’t real. This is real, just me and my “boyfriend” Jacob, that is real, nothing else matters.

  Jacob began kissing me deeply and passionately, chills going through my body, jolts of electricity that I have never felt before. I felt like I was being transported into a state of euphoria, nothing else mattered, just the two of us together here and now.

  Jacob whispered something in my ear; I couldn’t make out what he was saying. He said it again, louder this time. “Will you be mine, Mikey, give yourself to me? Let’s be soul mates, give your whole self and your soul to me.” He began to nibble at my ear, sending my body into an uncontrollable bout of quivering; I’ve never felt such a sensation.

  He whispered again into my ear, “Will you be mine, Mikey? Give yourself to me, let’s be soul mates, give your whole self and your soul to me.”

  ‘Stop talking,’ I thought.

  "Just say yes, Mikey, just say yes." In the throes of passion, I usually would have said yes, yes, yes, but instead, I didn't answer him. Jacob continued saying the same thing; I was getting a bit annoyed.

  “Oh, will you shut up!” I yelled out at him surprising myself. Jacob drew back a bit in shock at my sudden outburst, then continued to send me into seventh heaven.

  "Say yes. Mikey, just say yes," Jacob's sexy voice breathed into my ear. Jacob's voice became louder and more demanding, obsessive even. Instead, I just moaned in pleasure.

  "Enough!" I yelled out as I somehow summoned the strength to push this big brut of a man off of me. He landed on his back with a thud on the floor. He lay there motionless.

  Oh shit, he’s dead. I straddled him searching for a pulse; I couldn’t find one, my heart started to race. I put my cheek next to his mouth and could feel his breath, phe
w, he was alive.

  Jacob's hands suddenly grabbed my throat, holding just tight enough not to choke me. He opened his eyes, those beautiful dark brown eyes that I gazed into just moments ago had turned a shade of dark red. Jacob looked angry, really angry. I tried to pull his arms off me but they were too strong. Even though I was in the power position on top of him, I just didn't know what to do. The dreams I was having weren't dreams at all, this red-eyed, evil Jacob is here on the floor with me on top of him, I was right all along; there was something not quite right about him.

  “Say yes, damn you, say yes-you-agree!” Jacob shouted as his grip on my throat tightened.

  “No, never!” I yelled as best I could, his powerful hands clutching my throat. “It was you, it was you all along. You killed Angela Duffy and Angelo Burgess.”

  Jacob gave out the evilest, blood-curdling laugh that sent shivers of fear through my body. His face changed from my gorgeous Jacob to an attractive older man, then to an attractive young woman. Jacob laughed and laughed and as I tried as best I could to release myself from his grip. I slapped him hard in the face and looked on in terror as his eyes became redder, he continued to laugh. I’m not a fighter; I don’t know how I’m going to get out of this.

  Jacob released his grip from my throat, manoeuvred his way out from under me and stood up whilst I stayed bent over on the floor coughing. “Oh Mikey, you should have just said yes and given me your soul, now, because you didn’t, I’m going to have some fun with you until you submit to me.”

  "I'll never submit to you, whatever you are!" I felt a rush of adrenaline pulse through my veins; I jumped to my feet and pushed Jacob hurtling back against the wall behind him.

  “I like it when you get rough, Mikey,” he laughed as his eyes glowed red. He just stood there, in all his bare-chested glory, taunting me.

  How can someone turn nasty so quickly? Just when I thought I knew him well, just when I was beginning to trust him, just when I was beginning to fall in love with him. I no longer recognised my Jacob, this beautiful bare-chested man that stands in front of me I no longer know, I just see a mean-spirited person who is trying everything to hurt me. My neighbours were right about him after all.