The Janitor's Girl Pt. 02

Part 2

The following day, all four would-be rapists were arrested. They'd gone home thinking it was all going to get brushed aside. After all, it was their word against that of the girl and the weird old black janitor. Who would believe them over the word of four upstanding fine young citizens whose only crime was to talk and flirt with a pretty girl. Everybody at the ball game had seen and heard them. They'd done nothing wrong.

Darnell's HD video changed everything though. They were arrested and charged with kidnapping and sexual assault. The dark-haired one was also charged with assault and attempted murder.

Darnell spent a week at the hospital recovering from minor surgery, but got all the details from Heather who came to visit him every day.

She wanted to spend every waking moment with him when she wasn't at school or at home. She rode the bus to the hospital then got a ride home from her mother, Dawn, every evening.

Neither Darnell nor her mom let her get away with not doing her homework so while Darnell watched TV or read a book, she did her homework.

Every day they learned more about each other.

Darnell discovered Dawn was a single mother and Heather had two older sisters, one was married and the other went to college out of state. Their small family was well off though. When Heather's father died, more than ten years ago, he'd left them a substantial bit of money which Dawn used to start what was now a very successful business.

It also meant that she was out of town quite a bit so Heather spent a lot of time alone. But she was a good girl, she didn't disobey her mother and didn't throw any crazy parties or go out every night to hang out with her friends. She actually didn't have many friends and boys never asked her out on dates or to parties. She didn't quite understand why this was so, which is why she had gone against her instincts and taken off with those boys right after the game.

Most of the popular girls who wanted to be friends with her, she considered shallow and conceited so she always made excuses and they eventually stopped asking her hang out. The few friends she did have tended to be homebodies like her.

She did enjoy being a cheerleader and playing soccer though, so game days and pep rallies were the events when she socialized and for the most part, really enjoyed.

But now here she was, spending every waking moment with fat old janitor and there was no way he was going to complain. He was the complete focus of her attention. She ate with him, laughed with him, talked for hours with him, and on several occasions even fell asleep with her head pillowed on his thigh, her long blonde hair draped over them both like a golden blanket. And, most importantly for him, when they talked she seemed to be genuinely interested in what he had to say.

It had been years since he'd spent any time with anyone on a personal level, let alone a beautiful young white girl, and he reveled in it.

This whole scenario was surreal, mainly because she spent so much time holding his hand and looking at him, really looking at him when they talked. He knew he wasn't much to look at and yet she couldn't seem to keep her eyes off him. When she was reading or distracted she would hold his hand with long graceful fingers.

Surreal. And since most of the hospital staff knew what he had done they just smiled and gave them whatever they wanted, mainly privacy. It was strange for them also, the short, fat black man made a weird contrast with the slender and incredibly beautiful blonde girl. The hospital staff could tell they got along great, though they didn't have much in common. The nurses smiled at their unusual friendship, at how they were constantly smiling, cracking jokes and becoming fast friends.

Heather had never really noticed Darnell at school but when she thought about it, she recalled seeing him doing his job unobtrusively ... sweeping, moping, cleaning the restrooms, taking out the trash... all the things janitors do.

She remembered some of the stories and rumors about him, though, about him helping out kids who were getting bullied. She hadn't paid much attention or thought much of it. It was just something cool the old janitor may or may not have done. The bullies got in big trouble but as it turned out, Darnell had stood up on their behalf as well and, after appropriate punishment, the former bullies were given another chance.

I guess it's just his way to stand up for the underdog, she thought.

Heather learned Darnell has been the high school janitor for more than 45 years. He'd taken over his father's job after he died when Darnell was 22, right after he'd graduated from Duke University with a degree in English Literature ... back then he'd planned on taking the world by storm. His goal at the time was to write fiction, to become a Pulitzer-winning author.

But his mother's ailing health and the fact that he was black kept him from finding a better job. So he stayed on as the high school janitor and one year led to another. His mother passed away more than a decade before and he hadn't kept in touch with his older brother and sister.

She also discovered he'd never been married and that he'd lived at the high school for years. There was a basement area which he had converted into a living space many years ago. It was a large space and he'd spent a long time making it comfortable, making it into his home. He had a bedroom, a living room, a kitchen, and a bathroom with a shower. It was all well ventilated, cool in the summer and warm in the winter but it had no windows.

He had a fairly large TV and a very up-to-date surround sound system since one of his favorite pastimes was to watch movies. He was a walking encyclopedia of movie trivia dating back to the 1920s. He had a pretty extensive Blu-ray and DVD movie library which filled a hand-made book case taking up an entire wall. A slightly smaller book case housed hundreds of dog-eared paperbacks he'd collected and the stacks of manuscripts of stories and short stories he'd written over the years.

He had everything he needed, he just didn't know how he was going to manage some of his regular work with his injured belly. Hell, he didn't even know how he was going to get home when it was time to leave the hospital. He didn't tell Heather any of this though. It wasn't her concern. He didn't want to take her away from her life and he knew she'd stopped going to cheer-leading and soccer practice to come to the hospital every day.

It's time to get back to reality, he thought unhappily. She'll go back to her life and I'll go back to mine. I'll miss that pretty smile for sure.

He was scheduled to leave first thing in the morning on Saturday. He did a little research and found the bus schedule and locations and, after a few inquiries, he knew what he needed to do to get home.

All of which came to nothing since Heather had talked her mother into taking him home and getting him comfortable once there.

Heather had taken his keys and stolen down to his place after school one day during the week he'd been in the hospital and had restocked his pantry and refrigerator. She didn't want him to want for anything when he got home.

When Saturday came, she and her mother pushed his wheelchair to the curb where they bundled him up into the back seat of Dawn's big, white SUV and drove him home, chatting cheerily the whole way.

Once at the high school, they helped him down to the basement and in his home. The two beautiful blondes then clucked and fretted over him until he patiently convinced them that he was fine and there was nothing to worry about. He was sitting comfortably on his couch with a pillow behind him, his feet on the coffee table and his remotes close to hand.

"Mom, is it ok if I spend the night here?" Heather asked her mother. "The doctor was very specific about what he needed to do so that his wound doesn't get infected and I have a feeling that he isn't going to do any of it."

"It really depends on Mr. Harland, honey," Dawn answered. "He's a grown man and probably doesn't want to be babied. Not to mention the fact that it's not very appropriate."

"Ladies, it's fine. I'm fine. I'll be okay," Darnell tried to say.

"You're so young and it's not right for you to spend the night in a man's house," she continued. "Even if he did save you from... whatever."

"Mom, the whole time he was at the hospital the nurses and I had to stay on him constantly about taking care of his wound," Heather explained, "but it's in a bad spot, he can't see down there. If he can't see it, how can he take care of it?"

Darnell looked around uncomfortably, as if looking for escape and could feel his face heating in embarrassment though the two women couldn't see it through his complexion when they glanced quickly at him then back at each other.

God Damn it, blondie, you don't have to be so damn honest, he thought.

He knew he was overweight.

No... I'm not just overweight, I'm fat. My gut is so big I can't see the fucking spot where the kid stuck the stick into my guts. The little shit is right, I do need some help but I'll be damned if this girl spends the night. I don't want a mob after me when people find out she's been here alone with me, he thought to himself.

He noticed they weren't talking any more. Dawn was looking at him thoughtfully.

He opened his mouth to say "No, absolutely not," but what Dawn said flabbergasted him.

"Alright, honey. I guess this actually works out for the best then," she said. "You know I'm going out of town tomorrow night and I won't be back for almost a week. And I couldn't get your regular sitter. I guess, as long as it's okay with Mr. Harland, you can stick around. You can keep an eye on him and he can keep an eye on you."

She looked at him, gazing at him fiercely and severely. Beautiful, an older more mature version of the daughter, her stare was unnerving.

"Well Darnell, what's it going to be?" she said him seriously.

Squirming, he opened and closed his mouth looking like a gasping fish out of water, his mind a jumble and at a complete loss for what to say.

Heather had a hard time keeping her face stern as she watched him flounder around for something to say.

"Look Darnell, you need help and we need help," she said. "You need someone to look after you and I need someone to look after Heather.

"But I want you to know that I'm not asking this blindly," she continued. "I had a private investigator do a pretty thorough background check on you."

"MOM," Heather exclaimed. "How could...."

"Be quiet and let me finish," she interrupted, the steel in her voice shutting Heather up immediately.

"Darnell, I know you're a pretty decent guy. You've never been arrested, and there are a lot of things on record, on newspapers and such, of things you've done to help other people," Dawn said. "I want you to know that I'm also trusting my instincts and my instincts say I can trust you. WE can trust you.

Hugging her beautiful daughter closer to her she said "I'm leaving you with my greatest treasure and trusting you to be a gentleman and watch out for her as she wants to watch out for you."

Again she looked at him sternly. Her blue eyes, much the same as her daughter's, but where her daughter's were soft and luminous, hers were sharp and piercing.

"So... Darnell... what's it going to be?"

Darnell looked back at her, his embarrassment of moments before completely forgotten.

"Okay, Ms. Galen ... Dawn ... I'll be grateful for the help and more than glad to help you out too," he paused. "I'll take good care of Heather but you need to know there might be trouble. People talk, they gossip and who knows what they're going to come up with when they find out she's staying here."

"Don't worry about that, I'll have a word with the principal and I'll make sure the police know as well," Dawn responded.

"Damn!" Darnell exclaimed. "Are you sure about this? You barely know me!"

"I know what I need to know," Dawn said.

He turned to Heather, "Are YOU okay with all this?"

Heather just looked at her mother with a look on her face he hadn't seen before.

"I'm totally fine with everything," she answered him. "It's okay Darnell. We can take care of each other for a week, right?"

"Good, it's decided then," Dawn said. "Heather, I'll take you home to pick up the things you need for the week. Darnell, just relax, we'll be back in a bit."

With that, the two beautiful blondes, chattering like magpies, walked out the door, up the stairs and were gone.

He sat there, stunned, eyes wide in amazement. Not really sure what had happened, not really sure it HAD happened. He rubbed his eyes.

I think I just had a hallucination, he thought. It had to be a hallucination, otherwise how could it be true?

Never in his wildest imaginings had he ever believed something like this would ever happen.

Well, if this is really happening... just in case... I better get some blankets and pillows so I can sleep on the couch. There's no way that girl is sleeping here while I sleep on the bed.

He stood up carefully and began rummaging in a closet for blankets and pillows. It took him a while to find what he needed and by then, he was sweating in pain and the wound in his gut was throbbing in time to his heartbeat. He could feel something beginning to tear and decided to get back to the couch.

He laid the pillows and blankets at the far end of the couch and leaned back and put his feet back on the coffee table, making some of the pain fade away.

He took a pill the doctors had prescribed for him and fell asleep, still thinking he'd imagined that beautiful young Heather would be spending a week with him.

Groggily, he opened bleary eyes to see a pair of vivid blue eyes looking at him with concern. He noticed a light freckling over pale upper cheeks and bridge of the nose and thought that the face was so beautiful that it had to belong to an angel.

Heather had shaken his shoulder.

"Hi," he said, smiling stupidly, groggy and a bit high from the pain medication he'd just taken.

Then he giggled and she giggled with him. This is when Darnell noticed yet another quirk to this beautiful creature, she had a dimple on her right cheek when she laughed and smiled. He had seen it before when he'd been at the hospital but he'd tried not to look at her too much, even though he didn't want to take his eyes off her.

Heather and her mother bullied him stumbling to his bed, laughing as he giggled, burped and farted on the way. He drunkenly insisted that Heather should sleep on the bed and kept insisting even when he was lying full length on it. Seconds later he was sound asleep, snoring softly.

Heather saw blood at his waist and sucked air through her teeth as she removed the blood-soaked bandages around his middle. She then cleaned and re-bandaged the wound with items he'd been given by the hospital and others she'd picked up at the pharmacy with her mom.

The wound was in a bad spot, low on the left side of his abdomen near his crotch and under his paunch. The dark-haired punk had thrust the piece of jagged broomstick up under his gut, sticking it at least six inches inside him. It was a miracle the injury hadn't been more serious.

She noticed the pants he'd worn had rubbed against the swollen wound, tearing some of the stitches and irritating the skin around it. Even though his skin was very dark, she could see a swollen pink redness there. Her mother had watched grimly as she'd pulled his pants and underwear down a bit, exposing some of his tightly-curled pubic hair and releasing a strange, not unpleasant, musky scent. She ignored it all and finished her work then covered him with a blanket.

There was nothing to be said. He couldn't see or treat himself and he had no one else who could help him. She looked at her mother and shrugged.

"It's okay, Mom," she said. "Look at him. He wouldn't have been able to take care of that on his own. Besides, you've told me before that the eyes are the windows to the soul."

"You've looked into his eyes and I don't think we have anything to worry about."

To be continued...