Othello

by C. E. Wilson

  “So who did this to him?” Lucas asked. Sirens began to wail in the distance.

  “The cops are on their way,” Gavin said from behind them.

  “Shit, Gavin,” Archer gasped in surprise, grabbing his chest. “I almost forgot you were here. What a damn mess.”

  “Who…who’s that?”

  “Roderick,” Archer said. “I know him well.” He shook his head. “To think that he was capable of this! Someone must have tricked him.”

  “Don’t know…him,” Micah said from the ground.

  “But there’s someone suspicious here who might,” Archer said as the sirens got closer. “Bentley.”

  “I didn’t—”

  “Did you have something to do with this?” Archer asked her. “You look guilty.”

  “I didn’t—” she croaked out as an ambulance and several police cars stopped in front of the house.

  “A likely story,” Archer said. Several policemen came running back with their guns drawn.

  “Are you kids alright? What a blood bath,” one grunted. “Where are your parents?”

  “I don’t live here,” Archer explained as another car pulled out front. “I was walking to my girlfriend’s house when I heard some strange noises. I ran into Lucas and Gavin here when I came over to investigate. Oh, here’s my girlfriend right now.”

  “What’s going on? Why did you call me here?” Ellie asked breathlessly as she ran up to Archer. She pulled him in for a hug. “Are you alright?”

  “I’m fine, just a little shaken up,” Archer said.

  “You’re going to have to start telling us something useful,” a cop said.

  “Do you see that girl?” Archer asked, pointing at Bentley. “Don’t let her leave. She was here when we got here, possibly trying to rob the house.”

  “I swear I didn’t do anything,” she said through tears of shock.

  “You’ll need to stay here, miss,” the cop said, stepping close to her.

  “What’s…what’s going on?” Ellie asked, suddenly noticing the puddles of blood around Micah.

  “We think Roderick stabbed Micah.”

  “Oh my God! Is he alright?”

  “I think he’ll live,” Archer said, pulling away.

  “Why would anyone want to hurt Micah?” Ellie asked, looking up at him. She couldn’t bring herself to look down again. So much blood.

  “I think that slut Bentley had something to do with it. She was always upset that Micah didn’t want his father to know about her. You remember the summer, don’t you, Ellie?”

  “I do,” Ellie said. “But I wouldn’t think Bentley would—”

  “Don’t listen to him!” Bentley cried as a policeman took ahold of her arm. “I didn’t have anything to do with this!”

  “Then why do you look so frightened?”

  “Because there are two bloody bodies on the ground!” she howled as Micah was put on a stretcher.

  “Are you scared because you were caught?”

  “Caught what? I told you! I didn’t do anything!”

  “You were always upset that Micah didn’t want anything to do with you.”

  “That’s a lie!” Bentley said, her cheeks growing pink.

  “Oh my God, could you be that jealous?” Ellie said.

  “I didn’t do anything wrong.”

  “What did you expect would happen when you thought this up, you crazy bitch?”

  “I’m no more a bitch than you are,” Bentley hissed as she was restrained by the officer.

  “Stop that,” Archer interrupted. “Both of you shut the hell up. We just want to make sure that Micah is alright. I’ll stay here until this is cleared up and the appropriate statements are made. You need to get in contact with Orion and Dev and let them know what happened.”

  “But, Archer—”

  “You should go now,” Archer said, feigning concern. “Please. Dev will die if she knows you knew about this and didn’t tell her. Leave now.”

  “I’ll see you later?” she asked.

  “Just go.”

  Chapter Three

  Her hands trembled with something which could have been anticipation or fear. She listened to the water running as Orion used the sink in her private bathroom. It couldn’t have been fear she felt. She refused to believe she was scared. This was Orion – her boyfriend for almost half a year – and he wanted to talk to her. Clenching her hands into fists she continued to listen to the water running.

  “Orion?” she asked softly, not moving from the bed. “Everything okay in there?”

  “I’m fine,” he grunted back, turning the water on even faster. “I have to do this,” he whispered to the hazy image of the red-eyed man in the mirror. “I can’t stay with a woman who cheats on me. Even if Micah was gone, there will always be another man to catch her eye. If I listen to anything she has to say, she’ll pull me back into her web and I’ll resign myself to a life of betrayal and mockery. No, that will not stand.”

  “Orion?”

  “I said I’m fine,” he said as pleasantly as possible, then returned to his whispered conversation with the mirror. “I’ll say that I’ve forgiven her but I cannot live my life with a devious girl like her. If I were to leave she would simply sink her beautiful claws into another man’s heart. Could I condemn another to this torture?” He gazed at his haggard face for a moment in silence, and then nodded resolutely. Turning off the water, he walked to the bathroom door and looked at it for a moment as he tried to compose his features. The color of the paint was so similar to her skin. He wanted nothing more than to ruin it. To make it as dirty as she was. “Sorry I took so long,” he said, opening the door.

  “Orion, you have to understand…” she said, starting to get up from the bed.

  “Don’t move,” Orion said, holding up his hand. “I’m here to let you know that I’ve forgiven you.”

  “You have?” she asked, her face lighting up.

  “You’re still dead to me,” he said in a low voice.

  “You brought me back here to say that?” Devony asked. “Why would you need to come out here, then? You could have said this at school.”

  “Some things are meant to be kept private. Unlike you, I value the traditions and honor of a relationship.”

  “What don’t I value? Orion, please,” she said, holding out her hand. “Won’t you come talk to me?”

  “I am talking,” he said, leaning against the door frame. “But I won’t touch you.”

  “Why not?” She gave a hopeful hint of a smile. “Are you afraid of what might happen?”

  “In a way.”

  “Don’t be scared,” she whispered. “We can still make this right.”

  “Devony, if I come too close I’m afraid I’ll put my hands around your neck.”

  She winced. “You don’t mean that.”

  “I wish you were dead,” Orion went on, taking a step towards her. “Every time I look in your eyes, watch you smile, watch you move, there’s nothing more I want than to stop you from smiling. I hate you, the one whom I once loved the most.”

  “You don’t mean that,” she said again.

  “I do mean it.”

  “What happened to you, Orion?” Devony asked. “Since when do you talk about death and dying all the time?”

  “I said stay away from me,” he warned as he watched her shift towards him on the bed. “I don’t want to hurt you.”

  “I hope you won’t.”

  “In many lands you would deserve to die for what you’ve done to me,” he said.

  “You’re scaring me,” she whispered. “I hate how you look at me now.”

  “Good.”

  “You have no reason to look at me like that.”

  “Think of what you’ve done.”

  “I haven’t done anything.”

  “If you really believe that, you’re even worse than I had thought.”

  “I can’t believe you’re saying this,” she muttered, rubbing the back of her neck. “Do you see
yourself? Do you hear yourself? What’s happened to you? You’re still sweating like crazy! Your eyes are red! Are you sure you’re not having a bad reaction to something? Let me drive you to the hospital, Orion.”

  “Shut up, I’m not going anywhere with you,” he said hotly. “And don’t move.”

  “I won’t come any closer,” she said. “I have to know, Orion. What happened? When did you suddenly decide you hated me?”

  “When you gave my ring to Micah.”

  “What? Orion, I never did that! Call him and ask him yourself!”

  “You’re a liar.”

  “Call him! Ask him, dammit! He’ll tell you the truth if you won’t believe me!”

  “Of course I don’t believe either of you! You’re both dead to me!” He rushed towards her and took hold of her shoulders with wild strength. “Just admit that you did it! At least then you’ll still be a cheater but a truthful one.”

  “Call him!”

  “I won’t! I don’t trust his word any more than I trust yours.”

  “Then I don’t want anything to do with you!”

  “Good.”

  “You’re insane, Orion,” she said, wriggling out of his grasp. “I never did anything like that, and I can’t believe you won’t listen to me or even try to learn the truth. I never gave him your damn ring!”

  “I saw him with it earlier today!”

  “It wasn’t mine!”

  “You’re a liar! You’re lucky I’m not a violent man—”

  “You’re delusional—”

  He reached out and shook her again. “I would kill you right now if I were, Dev. I saw the ring. That’s all there is to it.”

  “I don’t know how he got it, but I never gave it to him. Orion, just call him. If you don’t do anything else, just call him and find out the truth.”

  “I already know the truth.”

  “How?”

  “He told me.”

  “What did he tell you?”

  “He told me that you two had sexual relations.”

  “Me and him?”

  “Don’t pretend to be surprised. I heard it from his own damned mouth.”

  “Micah would never say anything like that.”

  “He’s been punished for his role in this. You’re much luckier – I cannot lay my hands on you in anger, although I would do the men of the world a great favor if I could.”

  “I never slept with him,” Devony said, starting to cry now. She angrily wiped her tears away as Orion stared at her with hateful eyes.

  “Crying now, are you? It won’t work on me. I see clearly what you are. Release all of your tears. When we get back to school, I don’t want you to look at me—”

  “I wouldn’t.”

  “Talk to me—”

  “As though I would waste my breath—”

  “Or come anywhere near me,” he finished. “You’re dead to me.”

  “I’m fine with that,” she muttered through her tears. “Get the hell out of my house.”

  “With pleasure,” he said, walking unsteadily towards the door. “You’re a whore.”

  “And you’re a stranger,” she whispered, pulling out her phone.

  One missed call.

  She quickly dialed Ellie’s number.

  Chapter Four

  He took his time leaving the house. Anger still flowed through his veins and his hands wouldn’t stop shaking. “That bitch,” he whispered to himself as he took the stairs one at a time. Something was wrong with his balance and he still wasn’t satisfied with what had happened. It still felt as though she had won. She had cheated and defeated him.

  “You need to leave,” a tired looking servant said from the foot of the stairs, eyeing him like an unwanted dog.

  “Shut the hell up,” he growled, turning aside at the bottom of the stairs. “I’m going to wash my hands.”

  “You can wash your hands somewhere else. You’re not welcome here. I heard Devony crying and I’m sure that your uncouth shouting was the cause.”

  “Did you not hear me when I told you to shut up?” he said, shoving her against the nearest wall. A few cigarettes and a purple lighter fell from her pocket onto the floor. He picked them up as the woman struggled to catch her breath. “Get out of my face.”

  “I’ll call the police!”

  “You do that,” he said, tucking the lighter and cigarettes into his jeans pocket. “Just get out of my face.”

  She hustled away as he headed into the kitchen. Just as he reached the sink he had a sudden impulse to open the nearby garage door. Looking around, he noticed a few red containers of gasoline. His eyes lit up at the sight. Maybe there would be a way to make her pay. She wasn’t going to win. He picked up two of the cans and stumbled back into the kitchen. He could hear the maid’s panicked voice talking to someone over the phone but he paid her no mind. He uncapped the first can and dumped a trail of gasoline from the kitchen to the hallway. This would teach her a lesson she’d never forget. He opened the second can and trailed it down the hall and out the door.

  “Please hurry, he’s crazy!” the maid’s voice drifted out of the open door.

  “Leave me alone!” he growled. “She deserves this…” he trailed off, pulling a single cigarette from his pocket and turning it about in his fingers. He had never understood the appeal of smoking. They smelled and tasted terrible.

  He heard the sound of a car racing up the street behind him.

  “Enough,” he whispered, placing the cigarette in his mouth and lighting it with a grimace. Vaguely, he felt the smoke tickle his lungs as he inhaled. He took the cigarette from his mouth and as he exhaled a stream of smoke, he flicked it towards the door.

  The gasoline ignited with a whoosh and within moments it had spread across the first floor. He gazed at the flames as if hypnotized. They flickered and danced through the windows and the haze from the smoke they gave off seemed to match the haziness of his own vision.

  “Orion!” a voice gasped out from behind him. He turned his head slightly to see Ellie breathing hard, her hands on her knees.

  “That’s my name.”

  “Orion, Orion, Orion, where’s Devony…” her eyes widened as she looked up and noticed the smoke. “She isn’t—” she screamed. “What…what’s going on? Did you…” She put her sleeve over her nose and mouth and darted for the open door. Orion caught her by the arm and pulled her to him with terrible strength. “Stop!” she shouted through her struggles. “Let me go!”

  “Don’t fight me,” he growled as he held her tight.

  “Is she in there?”

  “Of course.”

  “Then let me go!”

  “It’s only a warning,” he said calmly as he held her in his iron grip.

  “Are you blind?” Ellie screamed. “You’ll kill her!”

  “If that’s God’s will, then it shall be.”

  “You nut job!” she screamed, elbowing him in the stomach. He winced but did not release her. “Let me go! Let me go right now! There’s still time! We can still save her!”

  “Just relax, Ellie,” Orion purred. A loud scream could be heard from the second floor. “Good,” he whispered. “Can you hear her, Ellie? She’s screaming.”

  “What’s wrong with you?” she demanded, still trying to get free. “What’s wrong with everyone? All this violence!”

  “There’s more?”

  “Some slut set up Micah to get hurt and somehow Roderick was killed.” She felt his arms slacken but she still couldn’t escape.

  “Roderick’s dead? What about Micah?”

  “He’s hurt, but he’s alive.”

  “He should have died in Roderick’s place. Roderick never did me any wrong.”

  “Let me go!” Ellie screamed, suddenly kicking backwards and catching him in the groin. Orion let out a pained grunt and released her as Devony’s window opened, smoke pouring out.

  “Fire!” she screamed, looking around. “Help! I can’t get out!”

  “Dev!” Ell
ie shouted, skidding to a halt at the front door. The air in the house was so hot that it singed her hair. “Devony! Are you alright?”

  “I can’t get out!” she shouted down as Orion clamped a hand over Ellie’s shoulder and pulled her away from the doorway. “Orion! Help me!”

  “He’s the one who did this!” Ellie screamed.

  “You…you set my house on fire?” Devony choked out as she coughed.

  “You’ll have to jump,” Ellie said.

  “I can’t!”

  “You have to!”

  “I’m too scared. I’m going to try and go through the back. I have time.”

  “You can’t! Don’t leave the window, Dev!” Ellie shouted. “Jump!”

  “I can’t!”

  “You have to try!”

  “I’m going down the back stairs,” she choked out and disappeared from the window.

  “No!” Ellie screamed, collapsing in Orion’s arms. Orion continued to drag her further away from the house. “Let me go! I have to call the fire department!”

  “No.”

  “Yes!” she wailed. “She might still be alive.”

  “She made her choice.”

  “You monster!” she roared, flailing in his grasp.

  “She betrayed me. I have not touched her! This is a warning to her!”

  “A warning that’s going to kill her! Can’t you understand what you’ve done?”

  “She made her choice.”

  “Stop saying that! She’s probably dead now! You killed her!”

  “She chose not to jump just as she chose not to be faithful to me. Ask Archer.”

  Ellie stopped fighting for a moment, the fire still crackling heavily in her ears. She turned and looked up at him with a fresh terror in her eyes. “Archer? What does he have to do with this?”

  “He’s the only one who didn’t laugh about it behind my back. He told me everything.”

  “Everything?”

  “He told me about Devony’s infidelity with a man who I considered a friend.”

  “Archer told you that?”

  “Yes.”

  “Archer told you that Devony was cheating on you?”

  “Yes…with that manwhore, Micah. If Devony could have kept her legs closed, this house wouldn’t be burning to the ground.”