I’m still on edge. Still on the verge of running toward the safety of my apartment, but for some reason my legs won’t move. Barry stands still, his hands by his side, unmoving. He looks way different from what I remember him. Weeks ago he was battered and bruised in the hospital, and now, apart from a tiny amount of faded bruising, he looks normal. His blond hair is slicked back and styled, his dress smart, but casual. He doesn’t look threatening, but knowing what he did to Amy puts me on edge.
However, I’m curious to know why he’s here, and although curiosity killed the cat, I nod and his shoulders relax on an exhale.
“Thank you.”
“I have Mace, just so you know.” I don’t have Mace, but I’m starting to wish I did have some now. I place my hand in my bag just so he thinks I have it.
“Duly noted,” he answers, a small smile creeping up on his lips. “I’ve been told you’re good friends with Jez, so that’s why I’m here. I figured if he wouldn’t listen to me, he would listen to you.”
“Me and Jeremy aren’t exactly friends anymore since...”
“Since my wonderful sister made up this bullshit that she’s pregnant.”
Wait... what?
“Come again?”
He makes a move to step forward, so I hold my bag up. “Sorry,” he says, stepping back. “Force of habit.” He takes in a deep breath. “Listen, I need you to know, Amy’s extremely manipulative. I never touched her that night when Jez knocked seven bells of shit out of me. Amy hit herself. I watched her do it. She’s fucking psycho. The whole time she’s on the phone to Jez screaming that I’m hurting her and all the while she has this smile on her face like she knows what’s going to happen next. She planned this, all along. At first, because she knew she had Jez most of the time, she was fine, but when you came along and she noticed he was acting different around you, she instantly found you a threat.”
I shake my head, unable to take everything he’s saying in. “How can I believe anything you say? What if it’s you now trying to manipulate me?”
He nods, before retrieving his phone from his pocket. “I understand you may feel that way, but I can show you... if you’ll let me? After Amy wrongly accused me of raping her once, I decided to install cameras in the house, so that it would catch her next lie out. I’m so glad I did as no one would ever believe what she did unless they saw it for themselves. I mean, what kind of person accuses their own brother of rape? She’s completely wacko. The only reason why I put up with it is because we had an abusive father growing up. She used to be such a sweet girl, but our father changed all that. Now... well, now she’s a monster.” He stops a moment and all I can think about right now is how seriously fucked up this all is. “Can I show it to you?”
He starts to walk forward, so I shake my head. He stops dead and sighs. “Can I send it to you via Bluetooth then? You need to see this. Jez needs to see this.”
Watching him carefully, I reach into my bag and retrieve my phone. I’m still wary. Still apprehensive as to why he’s here and what he’s hoping to achieve. I can’t believe what he’s saying is true, but I’m still curious as to what—if anything—he has to show me. I switch my Bluetooth on and nod.
He looks down at his phone, frowning, and then I spot him smile before looking up. “Are you Dill Doe?”
My face flushes pink. I had forgotten about that. One night when overdosing on popcorn and sugar, Stacey and I thought it would be funny to name our phones something inappropriate. I named hers Eileen Ulick. It was humorous at the time, but not now. I nod anyway.
“Cute,” is all he replies before pressing a button.
My phone buzzes, so I look down to see his name on the screen and that he’s trying to send me something. I click Accept and wait for it to download, all the while I’m watching Barry and making sure he doesn’t move a muscle.
Once it’s downloaded, I tentatively play the video, and when I do, I’m assaulted by the images that I’m seeing. Amy’s standing in a living room, a phone clutched to her hand. Barry’s there in front of her as she shouts and screams at him. She pokes a finger at his chest.
“If you don’t get me the fucking drugs, I’m going to tell the world that you force yourself on me.”
Barry looks at her incredulously. “How can you even say that... ?”
“I don’t fucking care. Get them for me, or else I’ll make your life a living misery, and don’t think I can’t.”
I see the horror on Barry’s face as he tries to reason with her. “It’s not something I can easily do, Amy...”
Then, out of nowhere, I watch in sheer horror as she screams and makes a run toward the wall and bashes her head against it. She almost stumbles and when Barry tries to help her, she flinches her hand away.
“What have you done?” she screams. “Get away from me! Get away from me!”
Barry, looking terrified, steps away. “I didn’t touch you.”
Amy then starts dialing a number and I watch dumbfounded as she spills the lies over the phone to who I now realize must be Jeremy. I end the video after that. I can’t watch anymore. I suddenly feel sick.
Placing my hand over my phone, tears pool in my eyes. I don’t know why, but watching that video has seriously disturbed me to the point I want to cry. Barry steps forward again, and this time I don’t flinch. I know he’s not the enemy now. Even when she was full on screaming, he still tried to step in and help her when she bashed her head against the wall.
I should be angry at Amy, but I feel sorry for her. What lengths is she going through to get her way? Whatever happened to her to make her the person she is? She obviously needs help. Help that neither her brother nor Jeremy can provide.
“I’m sorry you had to witness that, but I’m hoping you’ll show Jez. He needs to know. I’m sick and tired of being the enemy. I’ve tried so hard to protect my little sister, but she’s beyond my help now.” He shakes his head, biting his bottom lip. “Against my better judgement, I put her in touch with someone who could get her this particular drug she was after. When I found out she used it on Jez to try and get pregnant, I had to say something. I knew Jez wouldn’t speak to me, so that’s why I came to you. I feel no ill will against Jez. If I had thought someone had hurt my sister the way he did, I would have done the same. Just, please, show it to him. He has a right to know.”
All I can do is nod. I’m in so much shock from what I’ve seen that it’s rendered me speechless.
“Thank you. You also need to know she’s had a vendetta against you. She looked you up, you know. Researched you to try and find your weaknesses. If any weird shit’s been happening, it’s probably because of her.”
My eyes widen when I think about the lengths she went to, looking me up. “I was locked in a broom cupboard at college for over an hour, I’ve had a dead rose left at my house, and a few weeks back, someone broke in and stared at me as I slept.”
Barry runs his teeth over his bottom lip, before nodding. “Yeah, that sounds like something she would do. I know I’ve heard your name being mentioned a few times. It would be just like her to pull that shit. I’m sorry. It can’t have been nice to go through all that.”
I feel bad now that I completely misjudged Barry. He’s not at all like the monster he had been portrayed as. “It’s not your fault.”
He sucks in a breath. “It kind of feels that way. Like I’ve somehow failed her.”
I feel awful for him. I want to say something to lift his spirits, but my tongue seems to be stuck to the roof of my mouth.
“Anyway, I just wanted you to know.” He goes to walk away, but then turns around. “Oh, and another thing. I have one more video that I know Jez will want to see. Have him contact me if he wants to see it.”
I nod again, Barry smiles, and then he gets into a car and drives off.
I stand for a few moments, clutching my phone in my hands. I’m in two minds as to what to do. I know I need to get in touch with Jeremy, but it’s whether I get in my car now, or make a call.
I stand still for a few more seconds, then without another thought, I open my car door and speed away from my house.
Amy was inconsolable when I picked her up from the hospital and brought her home. I left her car there with promises to come and pick it up later. Right now, her well-being was my priority. She was suffering from losing our baby, and I must admit, it hit me in the gut too. The whole way home, Amy desperately clutched to my arm, practically begging me to try for another. All I can think about right now is the one we lost, and yet barely an hour after losing it, she’s ready to try and get pregnant again.
I get her home, make her some chamomile tea to try and calm her down, and then put her to bed.
“Stay with me, please,” she begs, grabbing my arm and trying to pull me into my bed.
“I’ll stay with you for a bit, but I have to leave to go get your car before it’s towed.”
She nods, sniffling before her head hits the pillow. She closes her eyes on a sigh. At least she’s stopped crying now.
“I love you, Jez. I’ve always loved you. Please say you won’t leave me.”
I stiffen at her question. How can I give her the answer she’s hoping for? She knows I was only ever with her because of the baby, but now I can’t leave her because I’ll look like an asshole if I do.
“I’m right here,” I reply. It’s the only thing I can offer her for now.
I see a soft smile encase her lips and then she lets go of my arm. Around another five minutes, she’s asleep, so I take that as my time to leave to go fetch her car. I’m outside, messaging Calvin for a ride when I see Caitlin emerge from down the street.
Frowning, I step down as she gets closer. Her eyes look wide with apprehension. It immediately puts me on edge. When she’s pulled over, I’m already at her car door, opening it up.
“Is everything okay?”
“I had a visitor at my house...”
“Jack?” I ask, my fists clenching, ready to kill the motherfucker.
“No, no, not him. Barry.”
What. The. Actual. Fuck?
My fists still clenched, I walk toward my car. “I’m going to kill him.”
“No, wait... wait!” She wails from behind me, but I’m not hearing it at the moment. I’m too pumped to slow down.
“Did he hurt you? If he hurt you, I’m going to kill him.”
“Jeremy!” she screams, before yanking on my arm. “Will you stop for one second, you hot-headed nincompoop.”
I stop for a moment, but the only reason why I do is because she just called me a nincompoop.
When I turn toward her, she lets out an exasperated sigh. “He didn’t hurt me. He was never there to hurt me. He came to me, because he knew he couldn’t come to you. He has something he wants to show you. He sent me a video and I watched it. I’ve been feeling sick ever since I did. You have to see it, though. You have to know the truth. Barry never hurt a hair on Amy’s head. It was all lies.”
“What?” I ask, completely confused.
“Look.” She immediately turns, walks back to her car, and rummages through her bag. Once she has her phone, she finds what she’s after and turns the phone to me.
I watch the video and the whole time my tongue is cemented to my mouth. When it ends, I hand Caitlin back her phone, wondering what the fuck is going on.
“Barry said there’s more. He wants to show you another video. He said that if you want, you can see it. You just need to give him a call. It sounded important.”
It’s only when she mentions his name that I realize I almost punched to death an innocent man. I close my eyes, rubbing my hands over my face. Why? Why would Amy do this to me? Why would she do it to her brother? That’s her kin, for fuck’s sake. You don’t do shit like that to people who you’re supposed to be closest to. That shit’s fucked up.
“Fuck, what have I done?” I groan, my hand still over my face.
Caitlin grabs my hand, so I let her, opening my eyes to face her. My God, she’s beautiful. Those green cat-like eyes, I could get lost in forever.
“It’s not your fault, Jeremy. You were tricked into believing her story. It wasn’t just you, it was everyone. But she needs help...”
“How can you say that after what she’s done?”
She widens her eyes. “You saw the same video as me, didn’t you? What she did isn’t normal, Jeremy. She needs help.”
She’s right. Of course she is. It still doesn’t take away the fact she did it, though. She manipulated everyone, and I was suckered in the most.
She bites her lip and I realize there must be more. “There’s... something else too. Something I haven’t told you.”
I don’t think I like the sound of this.
“I had a black rose put on my doorstep a few weeks ago and then shortly after I was locked in the broom cupboard at college for over an hour...”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
She lifts one shoulder. “I thought it was just a prank, but when the break-in happened, it really scared me. Barry has insinuated that Amy was the one behind it all.”
My anger rising, I look back at the house. “I’m going to fucking kill her,” I growl.
Caitlin yanks at my arm. “Hey, go easy on her. She’s obviously in a bad way. No normal person behaves like this.”
“How can you say that after everything she’s done?” I smile adoringly at her. “You have a heart of gold, you know that?”
Her beautiful face lights up with the most amazing smile. “It’s just who I am.”
“Breathtaking, that’s who you are.”
She bites her lip, trying to suppress her smile. It’s so endearing, I forget why I’m angry.
“I suppose I best go in and talk to her. We’ve just come back from the hospital. She lost the baby.”
Caitlin visibly winces.
“About that...”
“What?”
“I don’t know how Barry knows, but he said she faked the whole thing.”
I close my eyes again, unable to take it all in. How much more has she done that I don’t know about?
“This just gets worse and worse.”
Caitlin steps forward, taking my hand in hers. I wrap my hand around her small fingers, relishing the way her soft skin feels against my touch.
“Whatever truth there is, you deserve to know it. But, right now, Amy needs you. Go tend to her and let me go home. Call me whenever you’re ready. I’ll be there for you... my friend.”
We both smile like idiots at each other.
Unable to stop my emotions, I pull her into my arms and hug her fiercely. I smell coconut in her hair, so I take a big sniff. I could stay here all day, smelling her hair.
“I love you.”
I know this really isn’t the right time to say it, but I’ve been saying it for a while now, and still know it’s true. I believe Caitlin knows it too. She doesn’t respond and I understand. I know in my heart that she feels it too.
I pull away, tucking her chin up to meet my eyes. I lean down, gently laying a kiss on her lips. “Thank you... my friend.”
She chuckles before pulling away. “Anytime.”
“Nincompoop?” I ask, as she’s walking.
She laughs harder. “It was the best I could come up with at such short notice.”
I watch in awe as her pert ass sways back and forth as she steps toward her car. Once she turns to get in, I sigh, disappointed that I’m no longer able to watch her. Her beautiful face comes into view and she smiles, making my heart dance. For those brief moments, I forget why she came here in the first place.
It’s only when she waves her little wave and drives off that I realize I have a situation that needs urgently attending to. I look back at the house, sighing before pulling my phone out. I send a text to Barry apologizing before asking him what this video was all about. It’s lame apologizing to him when I almost killed him. Why he wants to help me after what I did to him, I have no idea. Sorry will never be enough after the pain I
inflicted. The pain I inflicted because of one person who’s currently curled up asleep in my bed like she hasn’t turned everyone’s worlds upside down.
I take a deep breath and put my phone in my pocket before taking the necessary steps toward my house. I’m barely in the front door when I find Amy, standing by the couch with a knife to her wrist and tears streaming down her face. She has black mascara running down her cheeks as she bares her teeth at me.
“I’m barely home an hour after losing our baby to find you outside kissing that... that bitch!”
I step forward, my hands out front to try and placate her. My anger quickly turns to dread as I watch her with a knife.
“Amy, give me the knife and we’ll talk, okay?”
She lets out a sob before screaming, “Why won’t you love me like you love her? Why, Jez? Why? I did everything I could to keep her away from you, but no matter how hard I try, you still love her and not me!”
I realize without even asking that Amy was the one behind all the shit that’s happened to Caitlin. All this time, I never knew.
But getting angry won’t solve anything. Amy’s standing in my fucking house, with a knife to her wrists. What do I do? What can I say to try and make this situation better? I don’t want to lie to her, but I’m lost for fucking words as to how to make this all stop.
“Please, Amy. Put down the knife and we’ll talk, okay?”
She starts rocking back and forth, the knife still at her wrist as she sobs quietly. “I’ll never be enough for you. Why can’t I be enough for you? I want our baby back. Give me my baby back.”
My mind is blank, my body frozen with fear as I witness Amy falling apart. I always thought she was such a level-headed girl, always believed she was cool for still hanging around me when she knew full well I slept with other girls. If I had known she felt this way, I would have never let it go on as long as this.
“You’re hurting. We both are. We’ve just found out that we lost our baby. Of course we’re going to be upset...”
“Are you upset?” she asks, sniffling.
“Of course I am. I must admit, I never wanted to be a dad this soon, but when I did find out, I knew I would give him or her the world. You know that.”
Scozzari: Deviant #3 Page 22
