The Red to My Grey

by William Dudley Berridge Tuckey

  “Because I’m selfish, remember?”

  I looked around us as she pressed herself against me and playfully bit at my neck. The penthouse was adorned in red, from the carpets, to the curtains and embodied the idea of luxury. She got off me and went to the window, staring out over Fellbroke and the night sky while holding the blanket to cover herself. I picked myself up from the floor and walked to the centre of the room. She turned around to face me and the lights suddenly cut out. The room was dimly lit by the city lights shining through the giant glass wall that was the window. She walked towards me, becoming more obscured with every step until she was right in front of me. Her eyes burnt with passion through the darkness and I struggled to find words as I gazed into them. She kissed me, her body against mine, but it was at that moment we heard clapping beneath a vicious snarl. The lights flicked back on and I turned around to see Sinclair and the giant steel-scaled monster from the hospital.

  “Well, would you look at you, so brave, finally clutching at what you’ve wanted more than anything else. You really are as pathetic as they come, Anne,” he mocked her as he rested his hand on the terrifying beast.

  “Get out, Sinclair,” she said while trying to cover herself.

  “Oh, being hostile, are we? I thought you would have enjoyed seeing my face again.”

  “Whatever gave you that idea? Now, as you can see, I’m busy, get out.”

  The beast stood restless as it stared at me with its giant yellow eyes; it raked at the carpet with its enormous claws.

  “You’re acting quite tough. Did you forget you’re nothing but a scared little girl trifling in the world of adults? He won’t make you feel better you know? His heart belongs to another, so he will only bring you pain.”

  “Who cares? If I can feel good at least once, then I’d be happy to live on miserable!” she screamed at him at the top of her lungs.

  “That’s not right. That shit’s not fair. Why do you torture yourself like this? Why choose to be miserable? You may be selfish, but you’re a good person, you don’t deserve this!” I had an outburst at the two of them as they bickered on.

  “Wade…” Anne said softly, and tears fell from her eyes.

  “Haha-ha just when I was beginning to like you boy, but it appears I have some loose ends to tie up. It’s nothing personal, but my beast hunger.”

  The nightmarish creature let out a loud roar and then hurled itself out the glass wall. I grabbed onto the edge of its long tail with one of my hands and held Anne in the other arm. We were thrust into the open air and shards of glass exploded into the sky all around us as the beast sprinted down the side of the skyscraper. My grip slipped from the tail of the great beast and I ran down the side too. Anne was screaming her heart out as we practically fell to our deaths. I looked behind us to see a horde of creatures crash through the rest of the glass window above us. The wind soared around us as I jumped and flipped over the trail of broken glass the steel beast had left us. One wrong move and it would have cost us our lives, but I had never felt so alive. I took a final leap and I grabbed hold of one of the beast’s steel scales. It was hell on my hand, but the creature smashed into the ground, breaking our fall and it got straight back to running. The hundreds of creatures that pursued us took to the streets and wreaked havoc. They punched, clawed and roared at cars that were making their way on the road. I soon let go of the steel beast and it disappeared as abruptly as it appeared inside the penthouse. I faced the streets and apart from the cars that were terrorised by the monsters, it was clear. The beast had suddenly up and vanished. I was utterly baffled by the events of that night, but I didn’t stand around to stop and ask questions. After all, I had just fallen out of a skyscraper and still had a naked woman in my arms. An uncomfortable taxi ride home was the last thing I needed that night before I would have to explain Anne’s situation to everyone before I could crash for the night. It really was a tiring experience, but I felt responsible and I couldn’t just walk away; it was far past that stage. When we arrived home both Anne and I had to prostrate ourselves before Dad and Sophia, who were still half-drunk and were as rowdy as ever.

  “Who’s this Wade? You better not be cheating on my daughter or I’ll slice you up.”

  “Sophy…that’s Anne. Remember the one you used to gossip with at the hospital?” Dad reminded her as she twirled her knife in her hands, only to throw it on the ground as she sprinted up to Anne and smothered her with affection.

  “Sophia…you haven’t aged a day. What are you doing here?” she asked nervously.

  “This is my family,” she replied casually.

  “I see.”

  I hadn’t counted on them being old friends, so it took barely any convincing to let her stay with us, but I wasn’t off the hook that easily. I would have to be the one to explain to Angel for her being here. Dad and Sophia decided that would be my punishment after going off on my own and causing trouble. I ended that night beside Angel in my bed; the adrenaline wore off and my body ached as I drifted to sleep.

  Chapter Eight

  The next morning was pretty awkward as everyone that sat at the kitchen table was either hung-over or still half-asleep. Celia was missing though. I wasn’t sure if she even came home last night. Nobody said a word as they sipped at their coffee or ate toast. Anne clearly felt out of place and Angel watched her closely; not sure if she was being paranoid or jealous, but her gaze was fierce regardless.

  “Wade, can you get Celia from her room? There’s something I want to talk to her about,” Dad asked as he looked up from the table. I accepted his request and went over to her room. Still exhausted from last night, I opened her door without a second thought. I poked my head through the door and I saw her kissing Kitten; it wasn’t anything too bad, they had their clothes on and it’s not like they were getting too into it. After they were done, Kitten jumped out the window and Celia had a warm, gentle expression on her face. She turned away from the window to see me and she couldn’t help but panic.

  “W-Wade, how long have you been there? Why the hell were you watching us?” The panic quickly reverted to her normal flaunt of rage.

  “I wasn’t, just bad timing is all. We’re having breakfast, come eat.”

  “What the hell do you mean by bad timing? You’re a bad liar, Wade!” she yelled at me some more, but with her cheeks blushed right up.

  “It’s fine.” I was satisfied in seeing her so happy even though she wouldn’t be honest with herself. When I got back to the table, both Angel and Nami were barely able to retain consciousness.

  “Geez Angel, how much did you drink?” I asked her as I rubbed her back.

  “Too much,” she replied vaguely. Celia used this opportunity to tease Nami as she clung to the edge of the table with her head against it.

  “Serves you right for wanting to drink when you’re so young. You were pretty cute though, confessing to Johnny the way you did. ‘I love you! Why don’t you love me?’ So adorable.”

  “What?” she screamed as she shot up from the table. Despite everything Celia said being over-exaggerated since she didn’t actually see what happened.

  “You did make a bit of a scene, Nami,” Angel said as she brought her face from the table.

  “Honestly, I don’t see why you’re so into him, you’re only a little girl. Would you even know what to do if he returned the feelings?” Sophia complained to her. Nami’s face turned bright red as thoughts rushed in and out of her head. She fidgeted with the ends of her pyjamas and bit her lips nervously.

  “I would…”

  “Don’t answer that!” Celia and I yelled at her at the same time.

  “Phew. You really do have too much courage at times, then again it would take that much for a little girl to go after Johnny,” Dad ended the conversation just like that. Nami was too shy to respond. Something about him made her really jumpy and she would only ever misbehave if she pretty much forgot he was there.

  “Um Nami was it? Who might you be?” Anne asked nervou
sly.

  “Huh? Who are you? I’m the daughter of those two over there.” She pointed to Sophia and Dad.

  “Gasp. Then that affair the two of you were having at the…” Sophia then suddenly dashed behind her and covered her mouth. Nami stared at them with a puzzled expression.

  “It’s nothing okay? Now be a good girl and eat your breakfast.”

  I didn’t agree with keeping everything a secret from Nami, but she was young, so I could understand why Sophia wanted to shelter her from that kind of stuff.

  As I got ready for work that morning, media announcements played from everywhere about the incidents of last night. I checked my phone to see the headlines ‘Bloodbath boils, another tragedy strikes’. Not exactly a title you’d expect to see from a news report. It displayed a detailed list of victims attacked by the creatures from last night, the expense of the damages that they had caused, and a list of parties and people involved or responsible for the incident. It was disheartening to see Anne’s name on the list, but she was primarily made out to be a victim. Although, the last thing our dysfunctional family needed was attention from the media. When I arrived at work with Anne beside me in casual clothes she had picked from Angel’s side of the cupboard, I had the attention of everyone there and it didn’t help when she hid behind me; it only gave off the impression of us being involved further.

  “Where’s all the confidence you had last time you were here gone to?” I asked her, looking back over my shoulder.

  “S-shut it! This dress is way too short. Why did Angel ever wear this?”

  “Now you’re saying that? I told you it was too short, but you wouldn’t listen. I guess that’s one difference between the two of you. You have a sense of modesty deep down.”

  “And Angel doesn’t?” she screamed at me and got in my face. I held the back of her dress down as she leant against me while I had a pained smile on my face as Dan stared our way.

  “Hey Wade, what’s up? What are you doing here Ms Frey?”

  “We’re stopping by to tell his boss that he’s going to be helping me sort out the damages to my penthouse,” she answered hastily.

  “Yesterday was fun, Dan; we’ll have to do it again sometime.” I said to him as we walked off

  “You bet, alright laters, man.” We kept the conversation short and when we met Mr Smith, it was even less so. He pretty much just nodded at Anne’s request, but I could tell he wanted to ask several questions; despite Anne being all doled up, she was still intimidating in the way she spoke, and her eyes gave off the vibe of dominance.

  When we arrived at the skyscraper decorated with shattered glass and police tape, we used the elevator to ride to the penthouse. Inside, wind howled as we faced the city. I leant over the gigantic drop to the stone-cold pavement below. I still couldn’t believe that I had taken the plunge and survived. The sounds of shattering glass and the wind funnelling behind me rushed through my mind. The experience was all a bit much for me to accept. I looked up to see Anne sneak into her room in the corner of my eye. I remained where I was and examined the main room. The luxurious red carpet that lined the floor was torn. The curtains laid barely hanging to their fixtures as they flowed in the wind from the side of the building. I poked my head into several different rooms: a walk-in wardrobe, the bathroom, a study and those are just what I could identify. The rooms were basically untouched, and it was only the main room that was torn up. As far as I could see, it didn’t seem like Sinclair was looking for anything. I then went to Anne’s room to see her sitting on her bed with one of her cosplay outfits on her lap. She let out an exhausted breath and brought her attention to me.

  “You okay? Last night was pretty crazy,” I asked her as I sat down next to her.

  “Sigh. I’m fine. Listen, thanks for coming here last night. I know you thought it was wrong, I know you were expecting this much from me, but if you never came, I might’ve not been here to thank you right now. I-I’m sorry, I’ve been nothing but trouble for you and Angel. I should be the one looking after the two of you…I’m such an idiot.”

  “It’s not too late to change. I don’t know what’s going through your head, but you’re not an idiot. Stop being selfish in a way that hurts. What you said last night, I can’t accept that.”

  “…I see.” With not another word I kissed her and when I was done, she looked at me with shyness and compassion in her eyes. I was almost as flustered as she was, but I kept my cool and spoke boldly.

  “Like I said, I can’t accept what you said. I don’t know how to stop you from thinking that way, but I swear to you that I’ll find a way to make you happy someday.”

  “Thank you, Wade,” she said softly with a warm smile and from that day on Anne and I had reached a point of understanding with one another. I could feel her resolve behind her words and it was clear to me that she was done being a vulnerable little girl that could only survive in the arms of others. She went on to carry herself with pride and confidence from then on. However, our relationship, although it did undergo a change, remained pretty much the same. Her pitiful dependency she felt for me turned into a deep admiration. Her saddening awkward lust for me became a giddy flirtatious love that she displayed openly despite my relationship with Angel. She would use every opportunity she could to ‘Thank me’. What I’m trying to say is, I may have done the right thing, but she still wasn’t going to make things easy for me.

  “Wade, head back to work for the day, okay. I’ll see you back at the house.”

  “Alright be careful on your way back.”

  After a simple nod from her and a train ride later, I was dragging myself back to my office. Dan came up and greeted me, handing me a mug of coffee. It was really good and helped get me feeling a little more motivated again.

  “Thanks, Dan, you’re a lifesaver.”

  “No problem, if there’s anything I can do, it’s that I can make a good cup of coffee. I’m surprised you’re back though. I was expecting her to steal you away for the day.”

  “Sigh. Don’t say it like that. How’s Em? Is she holding up okay after all the fun last night?”

  “Yeah, she’s fine, running the store today like usual.”

  Johnson and Sabrina also decided to duck into my office and enjoyed the rest of the coffee Dan brewed up. I noticed Johnson wasn’t wearing his tie and he laughed anxiously when I asked him about it.

  “We woke up late this morning, so we were in a bit of a rush. Where have you been anyway?” he asked me, leaning over my chair.

  “Something to do with Ms Frey by the look on your face. If I were Angel I would have you on a leash by now,” Sabrina teased me.

  “Chuckle. I kind of wish she would keep me on one, so that way I wouldn’t get caught up in all this crazy nonsense. By the way Johnny, are you all good after all that stuff Nami said to you last night?”

  “Oh yeah, her little confession, she’s lucky I don’t bop her one after that performance of hers.”

  “It’s fine, Sabrina, it wasn’t entirely her fault. I’m more concerned for her than of my own emotions. That look in her eyes…I hope she doesn’t carry that resentment for long.”

  “I don’t think you’ll have to worry about that. This morning she couldn’t remember a thing from last night, but I get what you mean. She was pretty scary when you tried to comfort her.”

  Johnson suggested that he should come over after work and sort out the entire misunderstanding between him and her. I wasn’t entirely sure how it was going to help since I was sure Nami felt just as awkward, but I didn’t argue with their request and after work the pair came home with me. I wasted no time in making myself comfortable on the couch with Angel, but Anne clung to other side of me and just like that I was feeling just as out of place as the conversation that was about to take place. Sophia was in the kitchen cooking dinner across from the lounge room. If the conversation were to go bad, well things would only become uglier from there on in and I hardly think Dad would have been able to do anything to simmer he
r down either. Nami came into the room and at the sight of all of us she hid behind the wall.

  “Oh no you don’t!” Angel yelled as she disappeared from my side and reappeared next to Nami to push her into the room. Anne fell into my lap and looked up and smiled.

  “Come here often? Giggle.” After she said that I looked at her with a dead, unimpressed expression. Everyone else stared at us, leaving a sense of disappointment which left a sour taste in my mouth. Anne didn’t care, as I expected.

  “Anne!” Angel screamed as she darted across the room towards us. Johnson caught her by the edge of her shirt and held her in place.

  “This isn’t what we’re gathered here for. Nami, I came here to talk over any misunderstandings you may have had about last night and also to apologise. I might have said some things that would have upset you at heart.”

  She went quiet and was too nervous to speak. Confronting him here was overwhelming enough for her.

  “I-I’m sorry. You and Sabrina are getting married someday. A girl like me never had a chance against someone like her. I’m…going to bed,” she ran off with tears in her eyes down the hallway before anyone had the chance to say anything. Sophia rested in the doorway of the room with her arms folded; she was calm, but we could tell she was pissed off.

  “If she’s not at the table for dinner, I’ll serve the lot of you up instead.”

  “Gulp. Yes, Ms Natsuki. If you would excuse us,” Johnson said nervously only to drag everyone down the hallway to Nami’s room.

  “You really have grown up, Sophy. You’re so different from when I first met you,” Anne said to her as I was leaving the room.

  “Hmm? Is that so? Maybe you should try it some time.”

  “Oh…yeah, maybe I should,” she said softly, looking to the floor. My guess was they weren’t as close as I first thought, and it upset me to hear Sophia talk down to her like that, but it was between them, so I knew better than to get involved. Everyone stood outside Nami’s room trying to get her to open her door, but she stayed quiet and the door stayed locked. We then watched Angel vanish into thin air and then the door opened with her inside. The first thing we saw was Nami with tears in her eyes. We all crammed ourselves into the small room. Johnson and I sat on the floor against the wall while the girls sat on the bed. Sabrina sat Nami on her lap and tried to be honest with her. Though it was easy to tell they both were uncomfortable with one another.