It was six in the evening and Jane wasn’t expecting me ‘til 7, so I still had time to drop by Ben’s house and see how he’s doing. I rapped on the door impatiently for the second time. Then I heard a lock being unlatched and the door swung open. Ben stood in the doorway with a whole box of pizza in his hands. He rolled his eyes once he saw me. “Oh, it’s just you.” He sighed as he pulled the door completely open.
“Why, who were you expecting? Satan in a drag?” I quipped as I pushed through him and invited myself in.
He closed the door and followed me to the living room, still holding the box of pizza. “Not quite. Satan dropped by to say ‘hello’ a couple of minutes ago… in the form of Joannou. Actually, I was waiting for a rented dildo.” He said while taking a huge bite off a slice of pizza. He managed to drop a few pizza bits to the floor and gave a disgusted look.
“You are so sick, Gillies.” I laughed at his statement. He completely ignored me as he dropped on both knees and started scraping off the fallen food. “Damn, I just cleaned this.” He stated, as an ugly reddish stain remained on the carpeted floor. I quickly diverted my eyes and studied the area. Something was a tad unusual about his place. It was… clean. Ben was never a clean freak. Actually, last time I visited, his place was much more wrecked than my flat. And seeing his place spick and span was really odd.
I looked at Ben quite puzzled. But he didn’t notice my look until he had settled down on a chair and silently nibbled on his pizza. “Pizza?” he offered me a slice. I just continued gawking at him. He was acting strange. It wasn’t like him to be sharing pizza. He’s usually greedy with it. And besides, he knows I don’t eat pizza.
“What?” he asked. I raised an eyebrow at him and he narrowed his eyes at me. “What is it Dan?” he asked again, quite exasperatedly.
I sat down on the couch across from where he was seated. “Are you all right?” I asked.
He eyed me inquisitively. “Hey, you’re the one who’s acting weird Daniel. Not me.” He pointed out, then took a bite from his pizza. Then he started humming a tune I’ve never heard of before.
“Where did that come from?”
“I made it up myself.” He answered giddily. Quite too giddily in fact. I was starting to doubt if he was sober.
“Are you drunk?”
“What made you ask that?” he asked, his tone rising a bit. I was about to answer his question when he cut me out.
“What made you become the self-centered smut that you are Daniel?”
“WHAT?” I asked. “What? Just because you write all the fucking songs doesn’t mean we can’t contribute anything. And you think you’re the only fucked-up person in the world. Hell Daniel, the world doesn’t revolve around you, you know.” He said, half shouting.
“What is wrong with you?” I shouted back. I was really starting to believe that he was drunk, or if not, high on something. And I knew that I really shouldn’t loose my temper and just ignore him, but I can’t.
“Know what, we’re all tired of putting up with you. Maybe we should just leave you the hell alone. You’d like that right? Maybe we should just wait ‘til you fucking put a hole through your head.” He paused, probably realizing what he had just said.
I stared at him, unmovable in my sitting position. I knew it was the alcohol or drugs talking and not him. No, he didn’t mean those words. He couldn’t possibly be serious. I stood up quietly and looked him in the eye.
“Maybe dropping by wasn’t such a good idea.” I said quietly, tears stinging my eyes.
“Yeah, maybe you should just leave.” Ben said, looking down. I made my way to the front door and left.
I can’t believe this. Tears were making my sight hazy as I drove down the road to Jane’s house. I violently rubbed my eyes with my free hand. God, I really shouldn’t be thinking too much about that incident at Ben’s. He wasn’t himself back then, and he really didn’t mean what he said. But I couldn’t help but think… alcohol could really blur your grip on self-control and moral thinking sometimes. And there’s a possibility for your tongue to slip out words you never really intend to say. What if Ben really did mean those words?
Then I remembered that incident in the bar a couple of weeks ago. It must’ve been really hard for Ben. To begin with, Jes dumped him for the second time. And to top that off he received a few bruises from his fight with Travis. It had probably been the worst night for him. Come to think of it, I didn’t really support him back then. I just drove him to his place, hung around for a while and after making sure that he’d be fine, I left with Jane. Maybe that was what made him say that I’m a ‘self-centered smut’. But then again, I’m not sure if he really meant that. But something, rather than the alcohol or drugs, made him say it.
I put those thoughts behind as I approached Jane’s house. It was fairly big for someone to be living alone in. She told me she felt cold and empty living alone there. She said that bad memories still burned the walls in that house, though I was not quite sure what exact memories they were. Most probably memories of her ex-hubby.
I’ve actually been spending more time with her now. Apparently, she loves cooking and she’s really good at it. She’d invite me over occasionally for some lunch or dinner and I’d always end up sleeping over. She said she appreciated the company. The really sleazy part would have to come a couple of hours after dinner. We’d lounge around the living room or bedroom just adoring each other with kisses. And at some point during the wee hours of the night, we’d have this certain urge to go down to the kitchen and sip some coffee. We’d spent hours talking over our cup of coffee. Come to think of it, I’d prefer that part over the sleazy sex. I’ve learnt how to treasure those petty and sometimes futile conversations. But as oddly as it seems, no matter how pointless those talks are, I still found profound meaning from them.
Slowly, I learned more and more about Jane. She wasn’t like any other person I’ve been with. She had a very strong spirit, and though she had been through a lot, she didn’t let that distort her expectations about life. She believes that after getting over her problems, she would start all over again and this time she wouldn’t fuck up. She had an inborn will to live, very much unlike me. Sometimes even, I find myself looking at the reasons of why I had wanted to just waste my life away and I end up finding them all in a blur. Her brilliant spirit and enthusiasm about life is nearly contagious.
The smile that had crept up my face quickly faded as I parked my car up the driveway. There, in front of her house was a very familiar black car. “Shit.” I hissed as I quickly ran out of my car, to the front steps of the house. The door flung as I stepped in.
“Jane?” I called as I examined the disarrayed living room. A lamp and a table was toppled over indicating some sort of struggle. “Jane?” I hollered again as I checked the kitchen and the dining area. Finding no sight of her, I went back to the living room. I gasped when I noticed some drops of blood that I had seemingly overlooked earlier. Then I heard a loud thump coming from the second floor followed by a scream.
“Jane!” I yelled as I hurried up the stairs. I paused once I reached the corridor. “NO. I fucking don’t have it.” I heard her voice. I quickly approached the slightly open door of her room. Upon entering, I saw Michael pinning her down on the bed with a knife pressed against her neck.
“Where is it?” came the rough, irritated voice of Michael. I stood there in shock as the events happened before my eyes. Jane had struggled and she tried to yell something, when Michael pushed the blade to her skin and made a cut.
“NO!” I managed to shout. Before Michael could turn to me, I lunged at him and used all my strength to pull him off of Jane. Then I pushed him to the ground and quickly moved away from his grip. He hit his head hard on the wall and looked as though it would take quite some time before he’d be able to stand up. Actually, he looked dead.
Jane was still stunned and blood was flowing from the cut on her neck. She managed to sit up. “Let’s go.” I said as I pulled her up, eyeing Michael who was still sprawled on the floor.
We went for the door but just as we were about to leave, Jane was jerked away from my grip. I turned around to see Michael who was very much alive. He had an arm around Jane’s neck while the other one held a bloodstained knife to her face. He tightened the grip around her as she tried to struggle free. Michael turned to face me, his eyes burning with terrifying madness. His lips curved to a sadistic grin as his bent his head down and kissed the curve of Jane’s neck. Jane struggled once more.
“DANIEL, GO!” she screamed.
“SHUT UP!” Michael snapped, touching Jane’s skin with the jagged edge of the blade. Jane’s breathing grew ragged and closed her eyes, as the blade pushed through the skin on her neck. The pressure wasn’t hard enough to sever her flesh though. Michael just did it to threaten us both. He turned to look at me once again. The fire in his eyes burning even more.
“So, that’s your name?—Daniel?” he asked as he licked his upper lip viciously. I didn’t answer him. I was too shocked to do anything actually.
“Why don’t you shut the door Daniel? Then come join us here.” He pointed at the door with the knife, allowing Jane to breathe more freely. I didn’t move and just stared at Jane who was still struggling.
“SHUT THE FUCKING DOOR!!!” Michael shouted. I snapped out of my daze and slowly closed the door.
“Good. Now walk over here.” He ordered. I turned to face them. Jane was seated on the bed sobbing, and was rocking back and forth. God, I hated to see her like that. Michael laughed as I glared at him, my eyes burning with anger. I wanted to kill him for doing this to Jane. His smile faded and quickly returned to his former cruel look.
“You know, one thing I hate is having to repeat my orders.” He hissed. I didn’t have the time to move away as he grabbed my arm and pulled me towards a corner of the room. He roughly shoved me to the wall. I slipped to the ground as I felt the sharp pain on my back.
He stood in front of me, managing to eye both Jane and I. A cigarette had magically appeared in his hand, and he began lighting it. He laughed at me and shook his head. “You two are so pathetic.” He said, as placed the still lit bulb on an ashtray atop a bedside table. Then, he made his way to Jane. I tried to get up but couldn’t. My head had hit the wall and was spinning. I watched helplessly as he pushed her down on the bed and climbed on top of her. He started kissing her mouth then he moved down to kiss her bruised neck.
I could hardly hear what he was whispering to her, but obviously it was something awful as Jane squirmed under him. “Get off of me you fucking son of a bitch!” she yelled. Michael took Jane’s arms and pulled her up. He gripped her chin tightly and made her look at him.
“What…” he hissed. “you throwing me out now? Don’t tell me you’re choosing that bastard over me.” He pointed at me. Jane was trying to pull Michael’s hand away. Michael finally released her face and stood up to get the cigarette. He started puffing out a white cloud of smoke and paced around the room. Jane faced me, and was giving me some sort of a secret message. She stood up, but before she could come any closer, Michael shouted. “Don’t you dare move.” Jane sat down again and swallowed a sob.
I felt something dripping from the back of my head. I touched it expecting that it was just sweat and gasped as I saw traces of blood on my palm. I was beginning to feel lightheaded, but no, I can’t faint. I pushed back the feeling. A sudden thud caught my attention. Looking up, I saw Michael violently rummaging through Jane’s closet. He was mumbling something to himself as he pulled open the drawers and scattered pieces of clothing all over the place.
“Where the fuck is it?” he screamed at Jane. Jane jumped, then swallowed hard before answering. “I told you, I don’t have it.”
“I don’t believe you.” He hissed. He went back to finding whatever it was he wanted. After a few minutes of hastened looking, he emerged unsuccessful. This made him more pissed. He looked at me then turned to Jane. “You gave it to him didn’t you?” he asked. Jane shook her head. “I didn’t. He doesn’t take that shit. He isn’t as fucked up as you are.” She answered.
Michael, now fuming with anger, loomed at her and with a tight fist, punched her across the face. Jane yelped and collapsed on the bed.
“Jane!” I let out. I reached for a nearby chair and with all my strength forced myself up. I limped a bit but I was able to walk toward Michael. I didn’t think he noticed me approach him and I grabbed his arm at once and made him look at me. He was quite surprised and before he was able to do anything, I gave him a punch on the nose. He stumbled to the floor as I stood there. Then suddenly, a moving pain washed over me. Dammit, why am I so weak? I was breathing heavily now and tried to regain my balance.
Michael stood up, quite unhurt, though there was some blood on the part where I hit him. “You mutherfucker.” He hissed as he lunged forward and punched my face. I could barely stand up straight and I grabbed the side of the bed for support. Before I could recover from the pain, Michael kneed me in the stomach. The force made me hurl over and I sunk to the floor again, grasping the pained part with both my hands. I crouched low and tried to lessen the pain. My eyes shot open as I saw Michael’s feet moving around the place.
He had started rummaging again, this time attacking another cabinet he had missed earlier. He was removing everything in it and crashing them to the floor. “Fuck!” he screamed in sheer frustration. He kicked the objects lying on the floor. Then he started approaching me again. I tried to move away but before I could, he had grabbed me by the hair and forced me to stand up.
“Do you know where that bitch hides it?” he yelled. I wasn’t sure what he was talking about but I had an idea it had something to do with money or maybe drugs. I didn’t answer which pissed him even more and he pushed me down to the floor.
My whole body was aching now that I could barely keep my eyes open. He knelt beside me and I felt a sharp, cold metal against my neck. “You tell me where she hides it.” He whispered. When I didn’t reply, he pressed the blade deeper to my throat.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” I was able to say.
“Bullshit.” He spat and slapped me across the face with the back of his hand. My head remained facing the direction where he slapped me.
I felt my all my strength leave my body. And I helplessly complied as he forced me to look back at him. I watched him as he drew another cigarette and lit it. The one he had earlier must’ve fallen while he was thrashing the cabinets. He took a drag and released the smoke to my face. I tried coughing but I couldn’t.
He grabbed my neck and pushed my head to the wall. A cry escaped my throat. He smiled vilely at me and started hoarsely stroking my neck with his thumb. “You don’t look that bad.” He whispered. “I would’ve had mistaken you for a girl even.” He laughed.
His laugh quickly faded. I was positive this man had serious mental problems. I started wondering how Jane ended up with such a psycho. He tightened the grip around my neck and I started choking. My breathing was becoming ragged as I felt waves of pain from the pressure of his hand on my neck.
He released me a bit and waved the lit cigarette in front of my face. He started undoing the first few buttons of my red collared shirt. “What the fu—“ I started but before I could finish cursing, he grabbed my hair and snapped my head backwards. I felt a shot of pain as the burning cigarette touched my skin. I gasped and tried pushing him away. It didn’t work. He pulled it away only after making a nasty burn on my neck. He grabbed my neck again and started choking me. I was too weak to do anything at all. I could hardly breath and if he would've continued grasping my neck like that, I would've died because of suffocation. But, something made me look behind him and I saw Jane standing, her face smeared with blood. She lifted her arms and pointed a gun at Michael.
“Let him go Michael.” She stated in a confident tone.
Michael quickly let go of me as I gasped for air. He turned around and looked at Jane.
“Get away from him.” She hissed. Michael raised his hands as if surrendering and stood up to move backwards. Seeing Jane quite stable somehow returned my strength and I stood up slowly. I approached her, limping. She still had her attention on Michael.
“Go away Michael.” She said.
Michael stood there, smiling at us like an idiot. “Oh come on babe—“
“I said GO AWAY!” she shouted. I noticed a tear reap down her face. She bit her lower lip as her index finger moved to the trigger. “I swear I’ll kill you if you don’t.”
Michael’s face slumped into a frown but I could see there was no sign of fear in his eyes. “You can’t do that.” He said.
“Oh yeah? Try me.” Jane said smiling and taking the role of the sadistic hunter away from Michael. Finally, Michael’s determined look melted down to fear. He knew Jane was serious about killing him.
“Hey, maybe we could talk this through.” He said, a tint of fear entering his voice.
Jane simply looked at him sternly as she placed more pressure on the trigger. I realized this was wrong and that Jane could get in trouble with the police if she went on killing Michael. I reached for her arm and tried to move it down. She just nudged my hand away.
“Jane please…” I started.
“NO. No Daniel. He deserves to die.” She said, not taking her stare away from Michael. A tense silence followed her statement. I would’ve surrendered if I were in Michael’s place. But as I’ve said, he’s probably too deranged to know that it’s the best thing to do.
“Honey, please…” he said and took a step forward. That served as a mistake and Jane quickly pulled the trigger. A loud ‘bang’ rung through the air as a bullet hit Michael on his left shoulder. He stumbled to the floor and clutched the wound with his hand.
“Jane, let’s go.” I yelled. She stood there in shock. “Let’s go.” I urged, as I got the gun from her. Finally, I got her attention. She looked at me and sobbed. “It’s all right.” I reassured her and pulled her to a hug. Michael was sprawled on the floor screaming from the pain. I noted that he had started to get up again.
“Let’s get out of here.” I got her hand and pulled her along with me. We exited her house and quickly got in my car.
We didn’t speak in the car as I drove towards my flat. A whirlpool of thoughts had found its way to my head and it was almost enough to make me forget about the pain I received from Michael’s blow. But when I stepped out of the car, I crouched down in pain. Jane was immediately beside me and helped me get to the door.
I was able to walk up to my room, but only barely. Jane had gone off to find some medicines and towels. I slipped into the comfort of my bed and closed my eyes. I had actually suffered physically more than Jane. But then, the emotional trauma she maybe feeling as of that moment must’ve been more intense. I felt small dabs of a wet cloth being pressed to the side of my mouth. I opened my eyes to come face to face with Jane. She smiled as she continued nursing my wounds.
“I’m sorry I got you into this.” She whispered. I smiled back at her and stroked her cheek.
“You don’t need to be sorry.” I whispered back. She leaned forward and planted a soft kiss on my lips. She then laid down and rested her head on my shoulder.
“Do you want to report this to the police?” I asked
She shook her head. “I’m in trouble with the cops too, you know, because I work for Jed. He’s been under suspicion for supplying drugs and it would only be a matter of months before the cops could gather up enough evidences to put him to jail… this time maybe, I won’t be able to nudge my lawyer friends to help him out.” She explained.
“So, that was what he was looking for… drugs?”
She nodded. “I can’t believe I did that…” Jane mused aloud.
“Can’t believe you shot Michael?” I asked.
“No, that I didn’t kill him that instant.”
I raised my head up and looked at her, quite taken aback.
“Just kidding.” She smiled. I relaxed my head down again. She pressed her body closer to me. “Dan?” she whispered.
“Yeah?”
It took her some time before continuing. “Thank you.”
I smiled. “Hey, it’s no big deal.”
Yeah right, almost getting myself killed wasn’t such a big deal. Then it dawned on me, if I hadn’t dropped by, Michael could’ve killed Jane. I could’ve lost her. I sighed and closed my eyes. For now, what’s important is that she’s here with me.
To Be Continued
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