by Rae, Nicki
“Wait, you called the cops?”
“I didn’t call them myself, no, but I made sure it happened. I thought after working with Decker and gaining some of his confidence, you would have put those miserable people out of their misery. You’d still be in prison now and I wouldn’t be putting two more people’s life in danger but I’ll take what I can get.”
“Two?” I ask, confused.
“Come on Fenton, did you think I was going to leave out your sweet Piper?” Rage consumes me and I’m on my feet within seconds. Before I know what is happening, Frank is on the floor with a bloodied lip.
“You’ll want to think about what you’re doing. All it will take is one phone call and she’s dead.”
“Who the fuck has her, Frank?”
“I’m not answering questions. If I feel you need any information, I will supply you with it.”
“You should’ve shot me when you had the opportunity. You’ll be lucky to walk out of here alive; especially if you hurt Piper or Cam.”
“No, shooting you before this big party wouldn’t have been as fun. You’re going to watch the people you love die, just like you made me. You’re going to experience my hurt and I’m going to love every minute of it.” He stands and wipes his bloodied lip with a handkerchief before adding, “Listen, this has been a fun chat but I better go. I’ve more important things to do than to stand here and talk to you all day.”
It isn’t until the door closes that I ask myself why I didn’t try to get out of here. I could kick myself in the ass for not taking him out on that roof. Maybe if I had, none of this would be happening. Piper and Cam wouldn’t be in danger, my bar wouldn’t have been torn to shreds by bullets and I would’ve saved myself the trouble of stepping foot in Geno’s house again. I wonder if he thought his little story earlier was going to make me have a change of heart. He can stand there and talk about how precious his sons were to him all he wants but I know better, I was there. He was demanding of my mother. To this day I don’t know how she put up with him. I occasionally remember being excited when he came home from work and even then those nights were few and far between. He wants to make himself feel better about the shit he put us through.
“Shane, get your hands off of me!”
That voice. Piper’s voice.
“I’m taking what I want, Piper. I couldn’t force you earlier because your fucking dad was around but you’re not getting out of it this time.”
That son of a bitch. Why was he at Piper’s dad’s house with her? Did she lie to me? Was she there with him the whole time?
“You better not touch her you mother fucker!” I scream through the steal walls. I don’t care if she was there with him all weekend, she is mine and I won’t allow him to hurt her.
“Try and stop me, James! Oh that’s right you can’t,” he laughs just before the sound of slapping seeps through the walls. I swear to God as soon as I can get to him, he’s a dead man. None of this was in the plan.
“Fenton, make him stop!” she screams.
“I’m trying, baby! Fight as hard as you can.” And pray to God he doesn’t really hurt you before I can get to you.
Clothes ripping and Piper’s scream assault me. I can’t stand here and listen to this shit. I will rip my arm off trying to get this door open. I grab the handle and pull with all my strength and am thrown against the wall when it opens. If I had more time, I may be confused by this. But I don’t. I have to get to my girl. Within seconds, I’m on my feet again heading for the sound of her screams and I pray they don’t haunt my dreams for the rest of my life. Exiting the room, I notice there is a similar door off to my right.
“Shane, please stop. I don’t want this,” she cries again.
I put my boot through the door but it opens easily. I run in like a wild man but stop as soon as I see Pipers’ naked body under that slime ball.
“Fent, get this bastard off me,” she pleads bringing me back to reality. I rip him off of her and sling him to the side. His head jerks when it bounces off the wall. He lies stunned staring at the ceiling, hopefully watching his life flash in front of him. I take one quick glance at Piper’s assaulted body and her tear stained face and pure rage escalates within. Her eyes find mine and my heart’s ripped to shreds at the fear in them. This should never have happened. I should have taken Frank out when I had the chance. She slides back to the corner of the room and curls up in a ball. I grab her clothes as I make my way to her. I know I need to stay with her but I also have to make sure Cam is ok.
I glance back at Shane to make sure he is still lying there before I move away from him. He’s gone. I was so focused on Piper I didn’t even notice he left.
“Where are you, you little fucking pussy,” I question, screaming toward the hallway.
“Don’t move. I’ll be right back,” I say, kissing her on the forehead before I stand to follow him.
“Don’t leave me, Fenton. He’ll come back.”
Fuck, what am I supposed to do now? I kneel in front of her. She immediately wraps her arms around my waist and snuggles her face into my chest. Her hair is all crunchy and she smells of must, like she’s been in an old room or building. Having her skin next to mine again definitely makes this day so much fucking better. I wish these were better circumstances as I really need to stay and comfort her. Who am I kidding I need her comfort, too.
I knew this was going to be a tricky plan but there was no way around it. I was hoping no one would end up being hurt but there was always the possibility. I just hope they all understand.
“You’ll be fine. I’ll be back as soon as I can,” I whisper, pulling her eyes up to meet mine. I need to let her know she can trust me.
“Fenton!”
Cam’s blood curdling cry pulls my attention from Piper. My eyes meet hers again and the fear has returned. This fucking sucks. I need her to be with me but I don’t have time to wait for her to get dressed. Here’s hoping all three of those bastards are in the same room so I can kill them without having to worry about one of them hurting Piper.
“I have to go, baby. They have Cam and I have to make sure she’s safe. I’ll be right back,” I say to her while bringing her lips to mine, hopefully not for the last time.
The hall runs in a horseshoe around a central post. Once I’m at the end of the right side of the shoe, there is a door on the corner to the left. The door is actually cracked. When I run through it, I find Shane on top of Cam. I grab him by the collar of the shirt and throw him against the wall.
“Are you ok?” I ask her.
“Yes, just kick that fucker’s ass.”
I turn to find him and run right into his fist. I stumble as the pain radiates through my face. A proud cocky grin spreads on his face but he doesn’t realize that he has just fueled the fire. I already had a reason to beat his ass but when you’re as dumb as he is, you only make things worse. I smile at him as I’ve been waiting for this day a long time. He will never hurt Piper again for as long as I live.
I finally lunge at him and we begin boxing on the floor. I really wish I had a gun because I want to shoot this son of a bitch and get it over with. He reaches for my neck and I head butt him before he can grab it. He stops fighting and I go to reach for his gun when someone walks through the door.
“Look who we found?”Frank says. A body guard walks in behind him carrying Piper by her hair. He flings her on the floor and all I can think is I’m glad she has her clothes on. I hate that happened but we can get passed a little bit of lost hair. Being raped by a mad man is a little different. “I’m curious to know how you were able to leave your room, Fenton.”
“I figured it the fuck out, that’s how. Did you kill Gibson?”
“Now Fenton, would I do such an awful thing?”
“Answer my question!” I demand
“Your friend had a gambling issue. I simply offered him a solution he couldn’t refuse. It really is disrespectful when you don’t take care of you debts. Not to mention the help he’s given
you. Did you think I wouldn’t find out you bought that bar, son? It was a valiant effort put forth by you but I have a lot of people on my payroll, you really should watch whom you trust.”
“I’m tired of all this chit chat, I believe we all have what we want here,” Decker says while walking in the door. “You know what’s supposed to happen next, do you want the honors, Fent?”
Piper and Cam are both here waiting for me to answer. They both have something I want and it would be awful to think of them keeping it from me because they think I’m a killer. But Decker was right. It’s in my blood and as much as I try to fight it, it never goes away. I’ve only wanted one thing for the last fifteen years. Peace. There’s only one way to make that happen and it’s standing right in front of me. I know I can make them both understand this is something I need. I need to rid him from my life. He’s the virus that runs through me. He makes me sick and I break out in cold sweats just thinking of him. He’s the kind that even sleep doesn’t help. I know, I’ve tried. Drugs numb your soul and take away the evil, even if it’s only for a little while. This man staring back at me has lived his life to make mine hell and I have a chance to stop him. But he’s my father. How do you kill your father? The only piece of family you have left. Fate has brought me to this spot for the second time and for the second time I’m hesitant. But Fenton James doesn’t make the same mistake twice, especially when the lives of the people he loves are at stake. So without further thought, I bust Shane’s head against the cement floor, making sure he can’t get up. I stand and grab the gun from Decker’s hand.
“Fifteen years is a long time to feel guilt. Guilt you’ve reminded me of everyday. I would tell you to say hi to Mom and Danny for me but you won’t be seeing them where you’re headed.” With a confidence born from years of resentment, I raise the gun to his head. I close my eyes, listening to the silence of the room. I smell freedom and inhale that shit, filling my lungs full. I want to remember every detail about this moment as I know it will replay in my head every day. I finally open my eyes and am staring into the eyes of my maker. I wish I felt something other than hatred right now. I wish I could give myself one good reason not to shoot him. But I can’t. So without a word I squeeze the trigger, releasing the bullet from the chamber and watching his head jerk back as it enters his skull. Decker releases his arms and he falls to the ground.
“Oh my God!” both girls scream behind me. I need to go to them, I need to comfort them but I’m numb. Decker releases him and he falls to the ground. His lifeless body is lying in front of me and I don’t even feel remorse. What kind of person does that make me?
“What do you think, Fent? Does this bastard need to go too?” he asks, stepping on Shane’s chest, pointing his gun at his forehead.
“Yes, sir,” I reply, finally able to speak. Decker isn’t as hesitant as me. He points and shoots like it’s his duty to rid the world of mankind.
“Shane!” Piper screams while running toward me to sit next to him. “You fucking killed him.”
“He’ll never hurt you again, Piper.”
“Did you know this was going to happen?” she asks moving her glassy eyes to mine.
“I didn’t know exactly how it was going to happen but we planned to take these pieces of shit down. I just had to play along a little bit.”
“I can’t believe you killed him! You could’ve just hurt him a little.”
“Baby, he would’ve raped you if I hadn’t gotten to you when I did.”
“Yeah, because of a plan that you put together.” I knew she was going to be upset, I only hope she will forgive me. I know she doesn’t see it now but I did it for her. She will see she is better off without him.
“It was going to happen whether I knew about it or not. Decker just had a sudden change of heart and thought I should know what was going on. I’m glad we were able to take charge of the situation or it would have been a lot worse.” I kneel next to her and pull her into my arms. She sobs for a few seconds before she pulls away from me.
“I can’t do this right now, I need to go.” She stands and walks out of the room without saying another word.
“I’ll make sure she gets home, brother,” Decker says, leaving the room.
My whole body is numb. Here I sit next to my dead father, next to a man who tried to rape my girl in the basement of my family business and the only thing that matters to me is that Piper just walked out.
“I’m here, Fent,” Cam says, wrapping her arms around my waist from behind.
“She just walked out, Cam. I saved her from having to endure that piece of shit and she just left.”
“Look at this from her prospective. He was her best friend and even though he tried to hurt her on more than one occasion, she never thought she would lose him, let alone watch him get shot. Add to that the person who shot him is the man she loves. I can’t imagine what’s going through her mind right now.”
“I couldn’t let him live, Cam. I couldn’t.”
“I know. Give her time and she will understand, too.”
“Why are you being so nice about this? Why wouldn’t you use this to your advantage?”
“Because I love you and if I never have to see the pain that’s on your face right now, it will be too soon. You could’ve told me what was going on, though. You let me be scared all day I was going to lose you.”
“I’m sorry. I couldn’t take the chance something would happen to change the plans.”
“I’ve always loved how you keep me on my toes. Thank you for saving my life.”
“You’re too good for me, Cam.”
“Why are you still sitting here?”
“What do you mean?”
“You need to go after her.”
“You just told me how much you wanted to be with me, now you’re telling me to go after her?”
“You love her, Fenton. Whether you want to believe it or not, you do. I knew she was going to steal you away from me the moment you told me about her. Although it breaks my heart to see you with someone else, I’m just glad someone actually makes you happy. That’s all I really want for you. I’m sorry I was a bitch earlier. I will never keep our child away from you. Well, unless you find yourself in this situation again. I’d rather he not see anything like this. Ever.”
Piper
“You know I did it to save your ass because I can guarantee you if I hadn’t shot him, he was going to shoot you,” the guy they called Decker informs me.
“He wouldn’t have shot me.”
“Listen doll, I knew he was playing both sides of the game, it was going to happen.”
“He’s been so kind to me all day. I can’t believe he had this planned the whole time.”
“He did. I’m supposed to make sure you get home safe, so let’s go.”
“I’m not going anywhere with you,” I reply, not moving from my seat on the sidewalk outside James.
The sky is turning pink with scattered spots of purple. The breeze makes the streaks of wetness on my cheeks cool. How am I supposed to look at him knowing he killed Shane? No, he didn’t pull the trigger but he let it happen. How am I supposed to believe he was going to kill me? Not hours before he tried to get me to sleep with him. He told me he loved me. He’ll never tell me he loves me again. He’ll never dance behind me, I’ll never bust his lip playing horseshoes and we’ll never argue about Monopoly. He was trying to get his life back on track but his life was stolen from him and I will never know if he makes it. I can’t stop the shaking. I want to bury myself in my room and never come out.
“Can I sit down?” Font asks.
“Yes,” I reply. He sits next to me taking special care not to touch me. As pissed as I am at him, I still crave his touch. I want to hate him and tell him I never want to see him again but I can’t. I just can’t. “You know the first time I heard your voice, it paralyzed me. I dreamed of it every night, I still dream of it. I went to sleep and woke up thinking of you. You’re a whirlwind, Fenton Scott James and for the
life of me, I have no idea how I got caught in your storm.
“I never knew you could fall in love with someone so quick but I think I knew you were the one as soon as I met you. Shane told me he loved me today. He spent all day trying to prove to me he was a changed person. I was starting to believe him. But now I’ll never know. How could you take him from me, Fenton? How?”
“I know this is hard for you and I’m sorry. I’ll do everything in my power to help you through this.”
“We were heading to the movies or he told me we were heading to the movies when he told me of the change in plans. I tried so very hard to be friends with him today, to prove to myself that we could be together. But I couldn’t. He was nice and sweet and we had a great time but…”
“But what, Piper?”
“But he wasn’t you, Fenton. You’ve ruined me for any other man on this planet. Shane kissed me today and I wanted to enjoy it. I wanted to show you that you are replaceable. But I couldn’t. When I kiss you, my body ignites. Hell, when I look at you my body ignites. I don’t know what you’ve done to me Fenton James but as much as I want to hate you right now I can’t because I love you too much. I know that probably scares the shit out of you and I know we’ve only known each other a short time but I feel like we’ve known each other all our lives. It’s like you’re everything I’m not and you make everything better. Even when I know you’re feeling down or you’re not sure yourself you make me a better person.”
He pulls me close to him and I relish in his scent and the feeling of completeness that only he can bring.
“Listen, before we go any further I’ve something to tell you. I want us to have a fresh start but we can’t do that unless we have everything out in the open. Are you ok with that?”
“You’re scaring me, Fenton.”
“Well, I can guarantee you’re not as scared as I am. What I’m about to say will change both our lives.”
“Please don’t tell me you’re leaving me Fenton, I won’t survive it.”
