by Sue Allerton
The ground was torn up and cantered around one spot. Throughout the chaos he saw Molly standing on the other side of the crowd, staring with a face of horror. He circled the crowd and found her. She stared at him without really seeing him.
“Molly? What’s wrong? Why are you out at this time?” he asked and she was quiet for a moment as she stared blankly at him.
“I saw her” she muttered, Axel put his arm around her shoulders and turned her away from the wreck. They walked down the street and he asked her what she meant. She was pale and cold, but she didn’t shiver.
“Saw who?” he asked but he thought he knew exactly who she was talking to.
“Eris” she whispered, he didn’t know what to say.
“Eris isn’t real” he mumbled back and she turned her gaze to glare at him.
“I’m not a liar, Axel. I know what happened. It was that red haired girl. She kidnapped us and tortured us. Why don’t you believe me? Is it because you’re boning her? Hell stop thinking with your junk” she snapped scornfully at him. He tried not to take it personally. He didn’t want to have a go at her. She was shaken up but clearly upset. Maybe she needed professional help.
“I’m not. I went to her house; I saw the basement. There was nothing there” he tried to console her by putting a hand on her shoulder. She smacked it away and turned to walk away from him. He went to walk with him when Detective Kavanagh stepped into his path and smiled at him with a small, sly smile.
“Hello, Mr Pace. It’s awfully early to be out isn’t it?” he said, not really a question. He put a hand on his shoulder and they walked toward a brown saloon car at the side of the street. He opened the back door and gestured for Axel to get inside.
“What’s this about? Am I under arrest?” Axel questioned as Kavanagh watched him intently.
“Just get in the car” he said politely and pushed his head down so he didn’t hit it on the roof of the car. The seats were a worn grey and had numerous questionable stains; he tried not to think about what they were. It stank of stale coffee and bagels. Kavanagh got in the driver’s seat and he took off down the road.
“Are you going to tell me what this is about?” Axel asked, frustrated because he hadn’t done anything. Kavanagh was silent, it made him even more nervous. He watched the scenery fly past trying to figure out where they were going. They were going to the older part of town where the buildings were decorative with designer shops and estate agents. They pulled up outside a large, plain building with police cars parked outside. Kavanagh opened the door for him and they walked into the police station.
“Wait here” Kavanagh grunted as he gestured to the waiting area filled with a few old, tattered seats and a table full of outdated magazines. He took a seat and watched the detective pace over to the front desk. There was a dark skinned woman with wild black hair sat behind the desk. She looked up at Kavanagh and smiled. She was pretty with Hazel eyes. They talked for a few moments before she scurried into the back room and returned a moment later with a file. She handed it to him, he must have made some kind of gesture because she giggled quietly and looked around embarrassed. Kavanagh looked to Axel and gestured for him to follow him. They walked down a long corridor into a room on the left. There was a wood table and two chairs sat opposite each other, an old TV with a video player underneath and a water dispenser in the corner. A camera watched them from the top right corner of the room. Kavanagh glanced at the camera and closed the door behind them. They sat down opposite each other and Kavanagh opened the file and began flicking through it. He glanced up at Axel before taking a video from the file. He placed it carefully on the table. The suspense was killing him, but he imagined that was the detective’s goal. To catch him off guard.
“Axel Pace, university student, works part time at The Eagles Wings, no criminal convictions. Brother died young, father died in a fire…tragic. Sounds like you’ve had a hard time of things” he said as he linked his fingers together and rested his hands on the dark, wood surface. He watched him intently, scrutinising his every reaction.
“No harder than anyone else” he shrugged; Kavanagh’s lip twitched slightly.
“I’ve seemed to have a lot of calls about you recently” he sighed as he leant back in his chair and looked down his nose at Axel.
“Oh?” was all he said in response, he knew he had done nothing wrong.
“Yeah, I mean first of all I find you surrounded by mangled corpses, second I get a call from a coffee shop assistant saying you’ve been fighting in the street with a woman. I asked about you at your university and work place, apparently you’ve been skipping both, speeding and dangerous driving and setting fires to cars. So tell me, what’s been going on?” he explained, Axel stared blankly for a long moment. The images of the mangled bodies flashed through his memories.
“I told you what happened with the bodies already, they were chasing me, I turned down an ally and the next thing I knew they were like that. The woman in the street is my friend, Molly Radway, she thought she saw the person who kidnapped her, she got upset, I was trying to calm her down. I admit to speeding and skipping school and work, but I didn’t set fire to a car” he told him, firmly. He remembered the night clearly. He remembered the three young men stood at the other end of the road, staring blankly at the burning car and sirens sounding in the distance drawing closer and closer.
“Molly Radway? I’ll look into that, who did she think kidnapped her?” he asked as his brow furrowed and he leant forward with his pen and started writing on a piece of paper.
“She thought it was a woman, I didn’t get a good look at her” he said dismissively.
“Thank you, that was helpful. Back to the car then, you said you didn’t set fire to it?” he asked again, Axel sighed exasperated and ran his hands through his hair.
“No, I didn’t do it, I was walking home and crossed the street where it was, I saw three guys at the end of the street, sirens were already on their way so I didn’t call the services” he answered, his lids were beginning to feel heavy and painful.
“So why run? Why not stay and tell the police what you saw?” he pressed
“The girl I was with, she kind of convinced me to go, she said there was nothing I could do” he shrugged and Kavanaghs eyes glinted slightly as he smirked.
“You were with a girl?” he asked, sounding all too interested in that one detail.
“Yes” he snapped, he was beginning to feel drained.
“That’s interesting, because I’m pretty sure there wasn’t anyone with you that night” he smiled and walked over to the TV with the video. He put it in and a dark image appeared on the screen. He fast-forwarded the tape until Axel appeared from one side, alone. He saw himself stop and stare at the car, he kept looking at one spot as if he was talking to someone before running away. He knew he was with Eris that night. Maybe she wouldn’t show up on videos because she was a Goddess, maybe she wasn’t supposed to be seen by anyone.
“Still think you were with someone?” he smirked and Axel fell quiet.
“Obviously I wasn’t” he mumbled
“So why lie?” Kavanagh asked looking confused but cheery at the same time, he left the image on the screen and sat back down.
“I don’t know” was all he said, he didn’t want to be there anymore. He just wanted to sleep.
“Look, Axel. I know you think I’m trying to catch you out, I am. But it’s my job, bodies like the ones we found with you don’t just magically happen. It’s annoying and I’m trying to find out who could do such a thing and leave no trace of evidence” he explained as he rubbed his temples with his fingertips.
“I’m sorry I can’t help you, can I go now, please?” he asked and Kavanagh nodded once. They got up and left the room.
“Look, kid. Go to school, go to work, you’ll be fine” he said as they got to the front door. Axel just nodded and walk out of the building. He wished he grabbed a thicker coat when he left that morning. He walked along the street back to his
apartment. It took an hour and by the time he got back, the sun was coming up. He sighed heavily and went to bed. He knew he had class, but he wouldn’t be able to concentrate on anything with no sleep. He read her note again, he smiled lightly. He knew she didn’t want to leave him. He curled up under the covers fully clothed. His apartment was freezing, he forgot to pay the gas bill.
Later on that day he went to the shop and paid for more gas. He bought some food, something else he had forgotten to get. He felt like he was wondering around aimlessly. All he wanted to do was sleep. He thought about calling Connor. He was his best friend still. He dialled the number but it got cut off. He sighed and curled up on the sofa and watched a TV programme under his duvet as the radiators clanged as they began heating the apartment.
His phone rang a while later. Molly. He answered the phone sleepily.
“Can I come over?” she asked in a weak voice
“Sure, I’ll text you the address” he muttered and she hung up, he fired the text back and the replied with a smiley face. He got up and began to cook some food. He didn’t know what he was cooking exactly, he had never been good at cooking. All he knew was pasta was cooking, he had one jar of cheap pasta sauce, sausages and picked onions. They all went in the pan. There was a knock at the door and Molly walked in.
“What are you doing?” she laughed as she looked into the pan and saw the mess which now had cheese added to the concoction.
“Making food” he said flatly and grinned “Want some?” he asked and she nodded hesitantly. He put a ladle full in two bolls and they sat on the sofa and watched TV.
“As weird as this is, it’s not bad” she muttered as she took another bite.
“Thanks, it’s one of my specialties” he grinned a goofy grin. He still felt tired, but it was a nice distraction to have company. They watched TV, she didn’t talk about anything like he thought she was going to. Maybe she just wanted the company. She scooted slightly closer to him but he thought she may have been cold. He grabbed the duvet from the back of the sofa and draped it over her. She smiled at him delicately.
“Thanks for hanging out with me” she said in a sweet, angelic voice. He glanced at her to see her peaking up at him through her lashes.
“Anytime” he grinned and she cuddled up into his side, he shifted uncomfortably but she didn’t seem to notice. He could feel her looking up at him, he looked down at her and she reached up and pressed her lips to his. He tensed, he didn’t move, he just stared as she kissed him, not moving. He moved away and looked at her in surprise.
“What…what are you doing?” he asked as kindly as he could, he didn’t want to hurt her feelings.
“Um…I’m sorry…I thought…” she stuttered as her cheeks flamed bright pink. She moved back to the other side of the couch and stared in embarrassment.
“Molly…I, I like you as a friend, but that’s it. I have…a girlfriend” he said hesitantly, she watched him for a moment in silence, her eyes wide with shock.
“A girlfriend? Who…not? It’s not Eris is it?” she muttered desperately, hoping it wouldn’t be true.
“Her names not Eris, Eris is a mythological Goddess, it wasn’t her who kidnapped you” he told her gently, he knew she was going to be upset; but he wanted to soften it as much as possible. Her eyes welled up, she rubbed her face to stop them from falling. He didn’t know what to do. It made him uncomfortable when women cried around him. He moved next to her and put his arm around her. She resisted at first but then nestled into his side and sat there crying. Neither of them said anything.
She stayed the night. They fell asleep on the couch not long after. He didn’t want to ask her to go, she was still his friend and he knew she needed him.
The following morning, she smiled at him and apologised for kissing him. He made no big deal of it and made onion, mushroom and cheese omelettes for breakfast. She laughed and made fun of him for nothing being able to cook ‘normal’ stuff.
“Hey as long as it’s edible” he laughed and she smiled at him, blushing.
They spent the day together. She made no attempt to leave and he didn’t want to make her feel unwelcome. They hadn’t mentioned the kiss or Eris again. Instead they talked about how Molly wanted to study art. She drew him while he played a video game. He didn’t even notice until she showed him the picture. She was very talented. Nobody had ever drawn him before and it made him a little uneasy to see how other people saw him. He had never thought of himself as good looking, quite the opposite. Molly had drawn him just how he was. The longer he looked the more he picked out his imperfections.
He joked about drawing Molly, she took it a little too seriously and handed him the drawing pad and pencil. He took it and began drawing, a few moments later he showed her a picture of a stickman with short hair. She pouted and laughed. He shrugged and said he wasn’t an artist. He felt almost uncomfortable around her. Knowing she liked him made him awkward and he was in love with someone else.
He needed to go to work. He got up and stretched and grabbed his work clothes.
“Hey, I need to go to work” he said and she looked at him, confused.
“Okay? Mind if I wait here?” she asked with a wide smile. Why would she want to stay?
“Um…not really, I need to get a shower and stuff” he said and she frowned. She looked down at her hands in her lap. He wasn’t sure what she was thinking. She looked up at him again and stood up.
“Okay, it’s just, my dad is being horrible, I was just trying to get away from him” she explained in a weak voice. He felt silly, he thought it was because she liked him.
“Sure, you can stay” he smiled slightly and she hugged him tight. She bounded back over to the sofa and cuddled up under the duvet. He sighed to himself and jumped in the shower.
He left her alone in his apartment while he went to work. Bill wasn’t as cheerful to see him as he usually was.
“I’m sorry I’ve missed a couple of shifts, it won’t happen again” he told the old man
“Make sure it doesn’t, I’ve fired people for a lot less than that. Don’t take my kindness for granted” he scolded and Axel felt like a child again. He worked fast and efficiently, trying to make up for missing his shifts. He knew it would take more than just serving tables fast but it was all he could do.
Jacob said nothing to him all night, in fact everyone only spoke to him when they needed to. He was almost glad for that; he didn’t really want to talk to anyone. He just wanted to get on with work. Being busy took his mind off of everything, Eris gone, Kavanagh trying to trip him up and now Molly staying at his apartment. He sighed as the last customers left. He counted the receipts and money in the till and went to see Bill before he left.
The old man was asleep. Axel covered him up with a blanket and went to leave.
“Come here” the old man murmured as he woke from his dream. Axel sat on one of the chairs in the office and waited patiently.
“What’s been going on?” Bill asked and Axel hung his head in exasperation. He was exhausted, with everything. Getting together with Eris had taken its toll on him. But she was like a drug and he was addicted.
“It’s just been crazy with school” he lied, not all too convincingly.
“I won’t beg you to tell me, Axel. I’m here if you need to talk, now bugger off and let me sleep” the old man chuckled, Axel smiled at him and left the office after saying thank you.
It felt good to go back to work. Except for when he got home he was going to have to deal with Molly. He understood why she wanted to get away from her father, but he thought it was weird how she wanted to stay at his place after he just rejected her.
When he got home he smelt something delicious. Inside Molly had ordered pizza. They sat on the couch and ate together. He didn’t know why she was still awake, but he was glad for the pizza. They watched a movie and Axel crawled into his bed with just a thin blanket and a fluffy night robe. He felt the duvet float over him and a warm lump rested on his chest. He wanted to
move her, but he was too tired and too lazy to move. He slept with Molly curled up in his chest. He liked the way it felt to have someone cuddled up to him, be he wished it was Eris.
When morning came he didn’t want to wake up. It was a Saturday and he had no class. He had no work on either. He could sleep in as long as he wanted. Which he did. He woke later in the day to Molly playing on the Xbox, loud. She shouted at the TV and whooped when she won or killed someone. Axel groaned in annoyance. He didn’t want to tell her to go but she was annoying him. He didn’t understand why she was still at his place, it was only a few days ago she was yelling at him, acting like she hated him. How can one person change from one feeling to another seemingly overnight? He searched through Facebook on his phone as he lay in bed.
“Hey! Want a brew?” she asked as she spotted him awake. He nodded and didn’t say anything. He was beginning to feel suffocated. He felt like his space had been violated and he wanted his own time back.
“I’m going to go to my mum’s today” he said without even thinking. He felt like he hadn’t seen or spoken to his mum in weeks and he missed her. Molly turned to him and spilt boiling water over the floor. Her eyes were wide with worry and her hands began to shake. He propped himself up on one elbow to look at her.
“What’s wrong?” he sighed, he didn’t understand why she was being so weird with him. He only said he was going to see his mum.
“Nothing…I just, like hanging out with you” she said in a small voice as her cheeks turned pink. If things were different, he might like her. If he hadn’t have met Eris, he might have dated Molly; but life is cruel and he felt like he was a joke.
