Fractured Fairy Tales

by Catherine Stovall

  “We have to go. I’ll tell you in the car,” he raised his hand and called over the waitress, demanding our check and gathered his things, slapping the money on the table when the bill was presented. “Come on, I’m sorry, but we have to go.”

  I stood and followed him, without question and without finishing my meal, until we were safely in the car. Then I demanded answers. “Okay, now what the hell is going on? You’re worrying me.”

  “Gregory is in trouble. He’s at your house, but he’s in bad shape. Bryan called.” He sped through traffic, weaving in and out of cars and forcing me to grip the oh-shit handle with more force than I was comfortable.

  “Slow down before we get in an accident and don’t make it there at all,” I pleaded.

  He looked over and nodded before letting up on the throttle.

  After what was merely minutes, but felt like hours, we pulled up at my house. George jumped from the car, barely remembering to turn off the engine, even if he did leave the keys in the ignition for me to grab. I followed him through the side door and into the kitchen, where a macabre scene met my eyes. I gasped and almost fainted at the sight of so much blood.

  Gregory lay in a heap on the tile, a trail of blood from the door to his position. His head was bleeding profusely, as was a deep wound in his side that looked like some sort of stab wound. His hair was matted with crimson and dried in patches, and his eyes were purple and swollen almost completely shut. He still managed a smile at the sound of my voice and raised one scratched up arm to hold my hand.

  “What the hell happened?” George was clearly angry and overwhelmed with emotion, so I simply waited for Bryan’s answer and sat holding Gregory’s hand. “Why haven’t you taken him to the hospital? Where were you when this happened?” The questions came in rapid succession, giving Bryan no time to answer in between.

  “Hold on so I can answer,” Bryan barked. “He went to Don’s. I don’t know what happened because I was eating dinner and didn’t know where he had gone. He’s a grown ass man, and I wasn’t watching him.” Bryan took a breath and then continued, his eyes flashing in anger. “I didn’t take him to the hospital because he begged me not to. We can’t afford a police report, and he was smart enough to know that.”

  I knew why they couldn’t afford a police report and didn’t want to ask any questions. I sat, brushing the blood encrusted hair from Gregory’s forehead while trying to comfort him on the hard, cold tile floor.

  “Why the hell would he go to Don’s? I was supposed to meet with the bastard tomorrow, not Gregory!” I didn’t understand what George was talking about, but I got the distinct feeling that Don was not a man I ever wanted to meet under any circumstances.

  Gregory tried to speak, only managing to mumble some unintelligible words and grumbles, but it calmed the other two brothers down, and he smiled up in my direction. No doubt that he couldn’t actually see me through his swollen and beaten eyelids.

  “Okay, well, we need to get him some medical attention,” I interrupted. “I have a first aid kit upstairs in the bathroom.” Bryan left immediately without a cross word to get the kit, which surprised me. I murmured encouragement to Gregory as we waited for his brother to come back.

  “Thank you,” emotion clogged George’s voice as he stared at me sprawled on the kitchen floor, his little brother’s head in my lap. I smiled back at him as Bryan entered the kitchen and thrust the first aid kit at me.

  I pulled out the gauze, steri-strips, and alcohol wipes and began to clean and dress Gregory’s head wound. For the stab wound, I had to direct Bryan to my sewing kit and hope that nothing internal was damaged as I sewed his wound closed.

  After dressing his wounds and cutting his blood soaked shirt from Gregory’s body, George and Bryan carried him to the guest room upstairs to rest and returned to the living room, where I waited for an explanation.

    

  “Tell me who Don is, and why he almost killed your brother,” I began as soon as George and Bryan sat down. I wanted answers. In a matter of days, my life had gone from boring and predictable to the exact opposite. I’ll think about that later. I snapped myself from my thoughts and focused on what Bryan was saying.

  “Don is the local drug lord. We needed money in a bad way, and took out a loan from the wrong person. Our next payment was due yesterday.” Bryan stated it matter-of-factly, as if it were the most normal thing in the world to know a drug lord, much less be involved with him.

  I felt my mouth hanging agape and closed it. “Wait, so he beat the crap out of Gregory over a payment that is a day late? Doesn’t he give you a grace period?” I knew the question was a stupid one the moment it left my mouth. How the hell am I supposed to know the ins and outs of dealings with a drug lord?

  Bryan grunted and rolled his eyes as George gently answered my question. “No, he prefers his payments a day early. I don’t know why Gregory went to Don’s, but if we don’t pay him tomorrow, we’ll have more to worry about.” He scrubbed his hands down his face before continuing. I could tell he was tired, and he looked as if he had aged years over the few hours since the restaurant. “I am so sorry that I brought this to your doorstep.”

  I walked to him and sat on his lap, placing a kiss on his cheek. “I don’t blame you, and I will take you with whatever baggage you have. I love you, and we will figure this out,” I promised. I didn’t know how we would figure it out, but I knew I was in it for the long haul. I will do anything for this man, I thought with clarity as I laid my head against his shoulder.

  “Unless your girlfriend, here, has thousands of dollars to hand over, I have a plan to get the money we owe Don,” Bryan offered, if a bit cynically.

  “Well, then, let’s hear it,” I cut George off from whatever he had planned to say. Take that, Bryan. I am here to stay.

  Bryan seemed taken aback at my acceptance of everything, but continued. “There is a huge shipment of diamonds that comes in once a month to the biggest jewelry store in Chicago. Tomorrow is the monthly delivery day, and I have an inside track on where they are kept.”

  The three of us sat in silence. I was thinking over his plan. I had never even imagined having the conversation we were having, and definitely never considered committing a crime. I had always been a law-abiding citizen. Hell, I even recycle and pick up litter from my yard.

  “I think it will work, but I don’t want Goldie anywhere near it,” George finally broke the silence. “She’s done enough.”

  I started to argue, but he placed his finger over my lips to stop me. “Listen, love. If anything goes south, I want you as far away from me as possible. I couldn’t bear to hurt you in any way.” My heart melted as my brain screamed and rebelled at the idea of anything happening to him.

  I was lost in my thoughts as George and Bryan continued talking about the plan and the inside man, but still listened, gleaning as much information as I could. I knew George wouldn’t allow me to be a part of the plan, but I was going to be damned if I simply sat on the sidelines. I wanted to at least know what my love would be doing, so I could prepare to help in any way I could if things went wrong.

  An hour later, we were headed up to bed, our last night together before the heist that would be risky at best. I loved him as if it was the last time I would ever have him in my bed. It very well might be the last time, a small voice spoke in my mind before I dismissed it.

    

  The next morning, I awakened to an empty bed. I pulled on my robe and padded down the hall to find George laughing quietly with a much healthier looking Gregory. “Well, hello there boys,” I smiled and gave Gregory a light kiss on the cheek.

  “You’re gonna spoil me with that,” he greeted me, his speech much clearer than the night before. “I want to thank you for what you did for me last night. I might have bled to death without your help.”

  I clasped his hand and gave a gentle squeeze, gazing into George’s smiling face. For just a while, the upcoming events of the day were forgotten and w
e existed only in the moment. I wanted to stop time, to freeze the world and extort the moment, but I knew that wasn’t possible.

  Reality, you are a bitch.

  After talking with Gregory for awhile, listening to George outline the night’s plan, then arguing with Gregory over his participation in said plan, we headed downstairs for coffee and breakfast. I stopped in to throw on some clothes and met the two oldest brothers in the kitchen, the smell of coffee enticing me.

  “Thanks for the coffee, honey,” I smiled at George over my shoulder before reaching for a mug out of the cabinet.

  “I didn’t make it,” he nodded in Bryan’s direction.

  I can’t believe it. He isn’t a complete jerk after all. I thanked Bryan instead and sipped the delightful brew.

  “What are we doing first?” Bryan immediately began, wasting no time.

  “Well, first, we are going to have breakfast,” I interrupted, wanting to fake a sense of normalcy for as long as possible. I knew what was going to happen later, but wanted to hang on as long as possible to the happy morning before reality slapped me back into place.

  “Agreed.” George smiled at me as he cracked eggs into a pan and pushed the toast down. We sat around the table like a family and enjoyed our meal, the men groaning after stuffing more food into their stomachs than should have been possible to digest. I fixed a small plate for Gregory and took it up to him.

  “I brought you some breakfast,” I entered the room to find him sitting partially upright. His color was much better, a slight pink tint to lips that had been white and thin the night before, cheeks that had been sunk in and completely alabaster now a bit ruddy.

  “Great. I’m starving.” He sat up with only a small grunt and took the proffered plate, immediately digging into the food without another word. I sat in the armchair next to the bed to keep him company and waited for him to finish his meal. His appetite was similar to his brothers’, and I worried I hadn’t fixed him enough to eat.

  “How are you feeling?”

  “Much better now that I’ve got a full stomach,” he laughed and rubbed his stomach. His face took on a much more serious look before he continued, “You know he loves you, right?”

  I knew who he meant, and I professed my own love of his brother to him. “He makes me feel things that I’ve never imagined were possible, even in such a short time, which should scare me, but feels just right,” I admitted for the first time aloud. “I am worried about something going wrong tonight, though.”

  “I am worried as well, and he won’t allow me to be there in any capacity,” Gregory sighed.

  I wouldn’t tell him, but there was no way he would even be able to stand, much less be a part of a high-risk heist. I felt the need to immediately leave and go to George, to spend as much time with him as I could before they began their preparations, but I knew Gregory was just as worried and couldn’t leave the bed, so I stayed a bit longer, the minutes acting as grueling little spikes driven into my nerve endings. Finally, I left Gregory to a nap and went to find my lover and his taciturn brother.

  I found them sitting at the table, a hand-drawn map spread between the two of them. As they pored over the plans and plotted, I sat down to listen. He may not want me there, but damned if I won’t know what’s going on.

  “I think that will work, Brother,” Gregory smiled and rolled up the floor plans of the jewelry store.

  I blew out a sigh of relief, knowing I would have a bit of time with him before the hour for them to leave was upon us. I was wrong.

    

  Don showed up at my door, his pudgy frame blocking out the small bit of sunlight that managed to escape the overcast sky, which matched my mood. “I hope you have a plan of payment, because if I don’t have my money by midnight, I will come back here and show your lady the same courtesy I showed your brother.”

  George had to be held back by Bryan as he lunged for Don’s throat. “Do not threaten Goldie. Not if you value your worthless life,” he growled.

  While I knew he was standing up for me, I couldn’t help but cringe. He had just given Don confirmation that hurting me would be the best way to get to George, and the drug lord’s smile chilled me to the bone.

  “We will have your money in plenty of time,” Bryan pulled George further from the door, standing between his brother and Don. “We’ll meet you in the usual place.”

  “Fine. But you know the consequences. Midnight, and not a minute after.” Don finally left and George calmed enough to gather me in his bruising embrace.

  I wished I had more time to show George how much I cared, but the hour of their departure was upon us, and I had to watch him leave with his brother no sooner than Don had vacated my driveway. “Please, please be careful,” I begged, tears threatening to overflow.

  George never said a word, only tenderly kissed me, before leaving through the side door and piling into the brother’s vehicle. I watched as they pulled into the road, and I collapsed on the kitchen floor, sobs wracking my body. I felt an overwhelming sense of foreboding, and knew something was going to go terribly wrong. I couldn’t shake the grief, and sought out my couch where I could scream into the pillow without disturbing Gregory.

  In such a short time, I couldn’t imagine losing George, or any of his brothers. I had taken them into my home, but he had taken me into his heart, and that was a far greater gift. Once my sobbing had subsided, I waited, the hours ticking by and welcoming me into my own private hell. Four hours later, the numbers on the clock began to blur as my eyelids tried to droop shut. I fought it for as long as I could before I succumbed to sleep’s embrace.

    

  Goldie! Goldie help! Goldie, wake up! My eyes snapped open, George’s voice ringing in my memory. I knew something was wrong. The clock showed after midnight, and I wasted no time in jumping up and running up the stairs to grab a jacket and my shoes. I couldn’t wait any longer.

  I ran into Gregory’s room first, the look on his face mirroring my own emotions. “Go. I know it too, just go,” he pleaded with me.

  I nodded and ran from the room, no time for words. I jumped in my car and headed towards the jewelry store where the heist was supposed to have gone down. A block away, was met with police and ambulance lights, the streets taped off with yellow crime scene ribbon. I felt my heart lodge in my throat as I pulled off of the road. I had to get inside the perimeter, had to see George. I needed to know what had happened, though a part of myself felt the loss already.

  I stepped out onto the street and walked briskly down the block, trying to circumvent the group of police standing at the main street. I walked around the entire block, stopping to sneak through one of the fences belonging to a neighboring business. Once inside, I made my way through the parking lot and peeked around the building.

  The ambulance was loading a gurney with a body bag into the back, and without thought, my feet carried me at full speed towards the vehicle. I heard screaming, and it took me a moment to realize that I was making the sound and sobbing as I skidded to a stop in front of the black bag.

  “George! Oh God! Noooo!” I wailed and cried, the tears choking my words, my throat closing up in spite of the cries of rage and denial begging for release.

  “Goldie,” I heard my name croaked from behind me. “Goldie, I’m here. I’m okay.” I swung my head around, intent on ripping out the throat of the man daring to pretend to be George. Red colored my vision as it zeroed in on a bloody man strapped to another gurney.

  I stalked over to the second ambulance, but as I got closer, the man’s features came into view through my bloodshot and blurry vision. Oh God! Thank you! I ran the rest of the way and placed kisses on George’s face, heedless of the blood and injuries, before being yanked back my police officers.

  “Let me go, damn you! Let me hold him! Fuck off!” Words that rarely left my mouth tumbled out in a colorful array, but still the policeman continued to drag me away. “I love you, George! I love you!”

  My min
d did the obvious math and I realized that the man in the body bag must be Bryan. My heart ached for George’s loss, but the relief I felt left a guilty hole in my heart. I had to find out what had happened. I had to know.

  After hours at the police station in interrogation, I found out that someone had called in the attempted heist, and it had led to a gunfight. George was spared, lying somewhat safely in a hospital bed. Gregory had called me to tell me he had made it to the hospital after I had used my one phone call to contact him. I knew George was safe, and I no longer cared what the officers threatened me with if I failed to speak. I continued to give them different versions of the same answer, still in my colorful language.

  Finally, the officers placed me in a cell. I sat and waited to be arraigned on charges of aiding and abetting, harboring fugitives, receipt of stolen property, collusion to commit a crime, amongst a handful of other charges. I didn’t care. All that mattered was that George was alive, and someday, I would see him again. We would be together again. I lay down on my flimsy cot with my thoughts of reunion and waited for that day.

  Curse of the Witch

  Nicole Daffurn

  It has been two years since that day—the day that was my downfall. I try to think about the events of that day as often as I can, the grudge that I harbour for Joringel growing, twisting, and turning into a fiery passion for vengeance within me.

  Joringel destroyed my life with a blood red rose, which possessed a single perfect dew drop, and he is going to pay for the courage that burned like a flame within him—the courage that led him to his one true love, and by extension, to me.

  My life had been perfect before he entered it. My abilities were surmounted by none. By day, I could choose to adorn myself with the gift of transformation. At my command, my body could shift into that of an owl or a feline. Disguising myself as either of these animals, I could lure my prey with ease and eat for a week. By night, I was the most beautiful witch to have ever graced the lands. Other people saw me as an old hag, but it was just part of my disguise.