Promises.
By Vicki © 2004

She sat at the desk typing on her computer, she had a deadline and knew if she didn’t get the story finished and to the publisher on time she would lose her funding. She hurried to finish the last chapter, her radio booming music that even the music critics would hate. Several times during the evening her neighbors had come to complain about the loudness of her opera music was to loud. Apologizing she would turn down the music and go about her business. She had finally changed the radio to a country music station and listened to the sweet sounds of several new artists. A weather warning came across the news bulletin and she paid it no mind, usually bad weather would stay away from her area and never had to worry about it. She had also heard about an escaped convict that was on the loose. She had to remember to set the alarm before heading to bed.

It had become later, she rubbed her sore eyes and looked towards the clock, four am.
“ Damn it. I give up.” She muttered, her husband had long since gone to bed and she could hear his soft snores down the hall. Laughing a bit she saved the document she was working on and headed up the stairs.
“ Ah shit.” She heard her husband say as he stumbled over something in the dark.
“ Turn on a light dipshit.” She yelled as she headed into the bathroom.
“ I didn’t think you’d still be up.” He said making his way to her.
“ Well that book is due to the publisher today. I have to get it done. Alex I don’t know if this book is going to be any good.”
“ Sam, your last three books where a big hit.”
“ But my last three books where all romance. I wrote a horror book.” Samantha said looking at her husband.
“ Don’t worry if we don’t make it big on your books we always have my music.” He said with a smirk.
“ Yeah I know. When do you return to work?”
“ Couple of weeks. Kevin called yesterday.”
“ So you’ve got today off?”
“ Of course why wouldn’t I? I mean I did promise you that today we would spend it together. I just didn’t think part of it would be spent with you sleeping?”
“So come cuddle with me. You can watch a movie while I sleep. But I have to have that book to the publisher by five.”
“ I will make sure. Did you save it?”
“ Of course the disk is sitting on the desk. I have to get up early to print all one hundred and fifty pages.”
“ Damn girl.” AJ said kissing her.
“ Well you know my love of writing.” Samantha said turning and kissing him.
“ Yes I do. If I recall we met at your first book signing.” AJ said holding her close.
“ Yes that we did. Come on let’s get back to bed.” Samantha said leading him back into the bedroom. She slid off her robe and climbed into bed. AJ slid into the bed next to her and held her close. He knew she’d quickly be asleep because she had been working on that book for three days nonstop and now it was finished and he knew it would be her best yet.

AJ moaned and looked over at the clock.
“ Ok who’s the idiot calling at 3 in the afternoon?” AJ said rubbing his eyes as he reached for the phone.
“ ‘ello?”
“ Mr. McLean?”
“ Speaking.” AJ said, his voice full of sleep.
“ This is Mark at Random house. Is your wife home?”
“ Oh shit.” AJ said now fully awake.
“ Sorry?”
“ Hold on, let me get her.” AJ said putting his hand over the mouth piece. “ Baby the phone is for you. It’s Mark, your publisher.”
“ What does he want?” She muttered.
“ I would guess the book.” AJ said nudging her with the phone.
“ What time is it?” She asked sitting bolt up right.
“ Three.” He said. Handing her the phone. Samantha took the phone and muttered a hello.
“ Sam, where is that book?”
“ Mark don’t get your undies in a bunch.”
“ Sam, you promised that book would be on my desk by five.”
“ Yes Mark and what time is it currently?”
“ Three and that’s besides the point.”
“ No it isn’t, I said I’d have it there by five and I will. Don’t worry.” Samantha said hanging up before he could protest any further.
“ I am going to go and take a shower.” AJ said heading into the bathroom.
“ I’ll be there in a minuet.” Samantha said heading down the stairs to the computer room. She turned it on and waited for it to boot up. She slid the disk in and opened the document. She smiled and then hit the print button, making sure there was enough paper she smiled and then headed up to join her husband in the shower.


“ Ok baby, I’ll be about half an hour.” Samantha said.
“ I’ll meet you at the restaurant.” AJ said into the cell phone.
“ We meeting the guys?”
“ Yep, they are all bringing their wives or girlfriends so we are all meeting for a celebration dinner.”
“ Ok, I’ll be there as quickly as I can.”
“ Ok I love you.”
“ I love you too.” Samantha said shutting off her phone. She headed into the building and up the elevators to the fifth floor.
“ Hello Sam.”
“ Hi Julie, is he still pacing?”
“ Of course. You can go right in.” Julie said shaking her head. Samantha chuckled and headed into Mark’s office.
“ Well isn’t this cutting it close?”
“ Mark it is twenty five after four. And I needed to shower and get dressed.”
“ Do you normally come to your publisher dressed like that?”
“ Not really but I needed to this time cause I have plans with my husband. Here is the book. I really hope you like it. And I gotta go.”
“ We have to talk about this thing first, so sit.” Mark said pointing to the chair in front of his desk. Samantha sighed and sat down.

“ What’s wrong?” Samantha asked.
“ Nothing.” Mark said skimming over the pages of the story that now sat before him. He read the first few pages and let a smile play on his face.
“ Wonderful.” Mark said looking up at her.
“ Thanks, took me nearly a year to write that a three sleepless days to finish it.”
“ I bet, but it’s wonderful. I will send this down to publication and we should have the book out within the next week. Your check should be there in the next few weeks after that. I am seeing another number one from you.”
“ This is my first of this kind. I hope my readers like it.”
“ Promises is going to be your best novel yet.” Mark said with a smile.
“ Good. Now I really gotta go, I have a dinner engagement.”
“ Enjoy your dinner.” Mark said with a smile.



AJ sat down at the large table and looked around. He took a look at his watch and sighed, he was early, that was a first even for him.
“ Hey J.”
“ Hey D, I see that you brought Becky.” AJ said smiling sweetly at the young woman that stood to Howie’s right.
“ Yep, Becky you’ve met Alex?”
“ Yep, the pleasure is mine.” Becky said with a smile. AJ sometimes wondered if that girl was just dating Howie for his money.
“ Here comes Brian and Leigh.” AJ said seeing his other friend.
“ Hey you four. Where’s Kevin and Dianna?”
“ Coming. I received a call from Kevin on my way here. Nick’s coming with Paris too.”
“ Why does he date that girl again?”
“ Because he likes her. To be honest I think it’s cute. And as long as he’s happy I’m not pushing it.” Brian said looking at his friends. AJ knew that Nick was happy at the moment with Paris and that was all that mattered.
“ Hey everyone.” Paris said happily.
“ Hi Nick, Hi Paris.” They all said. AJ rolled his eyes at the site of what Paris was wearing to such a nice dinner.
“ Could have had a longer dress?” AJ asked. Paris just looked at him and then up at Nick.
“ Did he just insult me?” She asked.
“ No baby he didn’t.” Nick said looking at AJ with fire in his eyes.
“ Now boys no fighting. Could you look more like a slut Paris?” Samantha asked coming up to the table.
“ Ok I knew that was an insult.”
“ And your damned right it was. This is a fancy restaurant I would have expected someone of your breeding to know the difference between a fancy restaurant and the local club.” Samantha said looking at her. Paris pouted and then did the one thing they all never expected she slugged Samantha.
“ No one insults me.”
“ Uh Paris. That wasn’t a good idea, Sam is a black belt in Karate and has every right now to beat the crap out of you.” Nick said stepping back.
“ I am going to be a lady tonight Nick. If your whore cant be one then take her home. I was hoping to celebrate this with my family.” Samantha said whipping blood off her face. Nick felt badly but nodded leading Paris from the restaurant, passing Kevin and his new wife Dianna as they entered.
“ How about we get that cleaned up?” Leigh said. Samantha nodded and let her lead her from the group. Dianna and Becky quickly followed.
“ What happened?” Kevin asked.
“ Paris happened. That and my wife’s insatiable urge to insult that girl.”
“ I am so sorry about that.” Nick said rushing back in.
“ Where’s Paris?”
“ I put her in a cab and gave her some money to go home.”
“ You mean you weren’t going to leave with her?”
“ Hell no, I was highly amazed that Sam didn’t just hit her back.”
“ If my wife ends up with a fat lip, your going to get one Nick.” AJ said looking at the younger man.
“ She’s fine.” Dianna said coming back over.
“ How bad?”
“ Split lip, but us ladies handled it wonderfully.” Leigh said moving over to her husband. Samantha walked over to AJ and leaned on his shoulder.
“ Baby, why do you start things with her?”
“ Because Nick can do better. But I am sorry Nick if I ruined your evening with Paris.”
“ Eh, no big deal. Paris was getting clingy any ways.” Nick said looking at Samantha. He felt badly that she had even got hit but Paris had a temper and no one had seen that punch coming.
“ How about we call this evening a wash. I take my wife home and we try another night?”
“ Yeah that sounds like a plan.”
“ Without Paris.” Nick said smiling.
“ Good idea. All right I’ll call you guys when we get the news about the book.” AJ said. They said their good-byes and headed out of the restaurant. AJ stopped and picked up a pizza on his way home, he knew that Samantha’s lip hurt too much so he picked her up a small salad. They arrived back at the house an hour later.


Samantha moved around the house in a daze, she hadn’t slept much the night before, partly excited over the prospect of a new book and partly cause her face hurt.
“ I should have hit the bitch.” Samantha said. She heard AJ chuckle as he entered the room.
“ You would have knocked her teeth out sweet heart. That wouldn’t have been a pretty picture.”
“ So, she would have deserved it. And what’s worse there been a photographer there. We’ve got a nice picture.” Samantha said holding up the front page.
“ Well I hope she’s happy.” AJ said looking at the picture.
“ She better be, I got a call from my lawyer this morning. Papers have been filed.”
“ About what?”
“ Assault.”
“ You’re kidding?”
“ Nope, Andrew called this morning and told me that he had filed the papers. I never even asked.”
“ Baby, your going to have to stop those.”
“ I can’t, I am as much a celebratety as she is. And I have as much right to having her leave me alone as she does me.”
“ I know. It doesn’t look to bad today.”
“ Lots of make up. Has Mark called?”
“ Not yet. But I know he will, cause he always does when the first copy is ready.”
“ I know. Hey let’s go get some breakfast and then maybe just be together today.”
“ Sounds good to me.” AJ said pulling her into his arms. “ I always enjoy days where we can just be alone.”
“ We don’t get them very often.”
“ No we don’t and with the new tour starting soon I want as much time with you as possible.”
“ Whose tour mine or yours?”
“ Both, that book of yours is going to be a big success and with the new album we are going to be so busy.”
“ I am never to busy for you. Remember that.” Samantha said. She smiled and wiggled out of his arms and headed out the front door. AJ laughed and took off after her.

It had been nearly two weeks since she had submitted her book and she was enjoying her free time with her husband and his friends. They lay outside by the pool taking in the southern Florida sun.
“ I’ll get it.” Samantha said hearing the phone inside the house ring. She hurried to answer it before AJ’s godoffal machine got it.
“ Hello?” She said out of breath.
“ Sam?”
“ Hey Mark.”
“ I wanted to call and let you know your book has hit shelves.”
“ Thanks for the call. When do I expect the first check?”
“ Couple of weeks. You just enjoy your free time.”
“ Thanks Mark.” Samantha said hanging up the phone. Samantha walked back out onto the back porch watching her husband and his friends. She knew that soon he’d be leaving her to start the tour and she’d be leaving to start her book tour. Nick scrambled from the water when he heard his cell phone ring. He began talking to someone in a rush and then suddenly dropped the phone.
“ Nick, what’s wrong?” Samantha asked coming to his side as the others climbed from the water.
“ Paris is dead.”
“ What?” Samantha asked as if she hadn’t heard him correctly.
“ Paris is dead. I..I gotta go.” Nick said grabbing his stuff and heading from the house.
“ Nick, you can’t go alone. I’ll come with you.” Samantha said looking at the others.
“ Are you sure?” Nick asked.
“ Yeah, it’s ok little brother, maybe it’s a mistake.” Samantha said heading into the house. “ Just give me a second to get dressed.” She said heading up the stairs to her bedroom.
“ Yeah man, maybe that’s it. It’s all a publicity stunt. You know how dramatic Paris can be.”
“ That was her sister that called. She found Paris.”
“ How?”
“ She has a key to Paris’s apartment just like I do. She didn’t understand why she wasn’t answering the door since her car was right outside. She found Paris hanging from the rafters.”
“ Could she have been depressed? I mean it didn’t look to good for her when she got charged for assault when she hit Sam.” AJ said.
“ How was she found?” Samantha asked coming into the room.
“ Hanging from the rafters. No note nothing.” Nick said as tears rolled down his cheeks.
“ Hey, just remember it was nothing you did.” Samantha said touching his arm. She had the weirdest feeling that something about this was familiar.
“ So you’ll come with me?” He asked.
“Yeah little bro. I will. Come on, and don’t any of you leave this house until we figure out what’s going on.” Samantha said looking at them. Everyone nodded, numb from the actual event of Paris being killed.


Samantha parked the truck and followed Nick into the building. Police cars and reporters where everywhere. Nick lowered his head and headed into the building.
“ Nick you came.”
“Yes I did. I want to see her.”
“ Nick, they haven’t even cut her down yet.” Paris’s sister cried.
“ Then I’ll get them to cut her down, she deserves that much.” Samantha said heading into the apartment. She took a look around the large apartment and then looked up to see Paris’s nearly naked body hanging from the rafters. She turned to the officers in the room.
“ Aren’t you at least going to cut her down?”
“ As soon as the crime scene is dusted yes. Till then she stays where she is. Who the hell are you?”
“ Samantha McLean, my friend Nick was her boyfriend.” Samantha said pointing to Paris.
“ Where is he?”
“ In the hall. I wasn’t about to let him in here to see this.”
“ Where has he been all day?”
“ With me. We where having a party at my place and he’s in a band with my husband.”
“ Can anyone else verify that?”
“ Yes, my husband, his best friend and wife, Nick’s best friend and his wife, Kevin and Dianna.” Samantha said listing off the people she knew where at her home.
“ All right we will need a statement from each of them.” The officer said.
“ Fine then.” Samantha said looking up at Paris once again. Her body was unmarked, except for the rope burn around her neck; there was no struggle. But she knew that Paris wasn’t the type to just suddenly kill her.
“ Nick your not needed here and I would prefer that you come home with me. And I’d suggest you go home as well.” Samantha said looking at Paris’s sister. She nodded and headed for the exit.



Samantha had made sure that Nick was settled into the guestroom of the house and he was sleeping before she headed down stairs to join the others.
“ The police where here and confirmed that Nick was here with us all day.” Kevin said running his hands threw his hair, Dianna looked at him and nodded.
“ Yeah they seemed to think Nick did this but since we all basically confirm that Nick was here, they can’t pin this on him.”
“ But who would hate Paris that much?”
“ Good question.” AJ said looking at her.
“ Well I would feel safer after something like this if everyone would stay here, we have plenty of room.” Samantha said looking at them.
“ We should probably just head home. Sam everything will be fine. We will check in, in the morning.” Kevin said standing.
“ All right, I’d prefer you all stayed here but if you’d rather go home. Please be careful.”
“ We will. Good night.” Kevin said as they all left the house.
“ Something doesn’t feel right.”
“ How so babe?”
“ It’s something that just makes this feel like I’ve seen the scenario before. Like I wrote it.”
“ How so?”
“ I don’t know. Maybe I’ve spent too much time on Promises to really think about it. We have a book signing tomorrow.” Samantha said.
“ You still want to go after what happened to Paris?”
“ Yeah I have to, it’s kind of in the contract. For now let’s get some sleep. Even if this is like a book, I never kill all my characters anyway.” Samantha said with a sly grin.
“ Yeah I know I read Promises, only one person dies and the rest slowly come up missing. Best book of yours I’ve read so far.”
“ Thanks.”


“ Yes it is the best book you’ve written, but your wrong Sam, two people died in Promises, the ditzy girlfriend and the dutiful husband. But I will have fun with this book. You’re best ever. Then I’ll have you all to myself.” The figure in the said in the bushes, he stood watching the couple as they readied for bed. No action tonight, he thought to himself, he knew that she was to worried about young Nick to give up anything to her husband that night. But no matter soon she wouldn’t even have him around anymore.



“ Sam?” She heard Nick said.
“ Nick, what are you doing in here?” Samantha asked turning on her bedroom light, she gasped as the light played on his pale features and now blood covered clothing.
“ What the hell?” AJ said sitting up and looking at his friend.
“ Where are you hurt?” Samantha asked scrambling from the bed; she began checking him for wounds.
“ I’m not, someone came into my room, I heard them. They placed their gloved hand over my mouth and slowly dumped blood all over me. They said it was Paris’s blood.” Nick said trying to control his tears. Samantha nodded, she had seen Paris’s body and she had been pale but there where no wounds how could they have gotten her blood out if she had no wounds.
“ Come on let’s get you showered and changed.” AJ said leading Nick from the bedroom. Samantha knew that was her cue to go and clean the room. She walked into the bedroom and held back a scream. Written on the wall was..
EVERYONE YOU CARE ABOUT WILL SLOWLY DISAPPEAR! PROMISES!
She could hardly hold back the scream let alone the sudden urge she had to throw up. The room Nick had been sleeping in was totally covered in blood from the bed to the walls all the way to the floor. She could have sworn that it was as if someone had been killed in this very room. She pulled the door shut and decided that cleaning it would wait until morning before she decided to even venture into the room. The phone rang startling her from her thoughts.
“ Hello?”
“ Sam, is everything all right?”
“ Kevin? What’s wrong? It’s like.. It’s like two am what did you need?”
“ I couldn’t sleep I was worried about Nick.”
“ He’s fine. How about you guys come over in the morning.”
“ All right.” Kevin said. “ Sorry to have woke you.”
“ You didn’t. Night Kevin.”
“ Night Sam.” Kevin said hanging up. Samantha headed downstairs to her study, she pulled the finished copy of her book from it’s hiding place and began to thumb threw it.


Chapter 2: The missing pieces.

She had been morning her friends death for days now, she hadn’t understood why she had hung herself and why she had been found in such a state. Her friend’s boyfriend had been accused and arrested for the crime. But she knew he hadn’t been at fault he had been out shopping all day for the perfect gift. Now she had her own lover missing, he had come up missing less than two days following her friend’s death, but she knew he didn’t leave of his own free will. She had found the note he had attempted to scribble down.


Samantha looked up from the paper to see AJ standing in the doorway.
“ Babe why are you reading your book?”
“ Something feels familiar about what’s going on. I swear it’s as if some sicko is taking this out of my book.”
“ There is no way that anyone would even bother to try that. I mean come on.”
“ Alex, this book is about a man that is in love with a woman he cant have, the title was for the fact that he had made promises to her that would lead her back to him. That he would do anything in his power to make her his even if he had to kill all of her friends to do it.”
“ Yeah but didn’t the crazy man die at the end?”
“ Yeah at the hands of the boyfriend if I recall.”
“ Don’t worry about it. This book isn’t real life.” AJ said kissing her cheek.
“ How’s Nick?”
“ I put him in the guest room next to ours. How bad was the room he was in?”
“ Bad, Kevin and the others are coming by in the morning to help fix it up.”
“ Good. Come on let’s try to get some sleep.” AJ said leading her back upstairs.