Mod warning: This story contains scenes of violence and mature subject matter. Reader discretion is advised.

Chapter Two
For the next three days, I walked around the place like a zombie. I
didn’t have the strength to go to the funeral, but instead, I drove
past the cemetery later that afternoon, and said my goodbyes. I told
them that I loved them, and that I wanted to join them very soon. I
suddenly stopped at the thought that had just ran through my head. Was
I serious? I hadn’t thought about suicide in a long time. Then I
started thinking about my little sister, Annie. I couldn’t do this to
her. Instead of being sad, she’d probably hate me for leaving her. I
took a deep breath, whipped away my tears and started the car again. I
drove past Tony’s house, and there was a ‘For Sale’ sign in the front lawn. The place looked empty, and I wondered if he moved to west
like he always talked about. I heard that his old man got a job
somewhere in California, and that with that job, he’s making twice as much
money now.
I hardly said five words to Linda the whole time. She didn’t bother
me. She’d fix me meals, and we’d eat together like an old married
couple, who ran out of things to say over the years. It looked pathetic.
I told her that I was leaving for New York. I made up my mind two
nights ago when I finally got a chance to talk to my Aunt. She sent me
the money so I’d have enough for a cab and I thanked her for it. She
told me how sorry she was, and I told her that I was sorry that she
had lost her brother. When I was about to hang up the phone, she told
me that she could not wait to see my “handsome” face again and that
she loved me. I smiled and said bye.
“Will I see you again?” Linda asked in a choked voice, holding a
fork by her face with food on it.
“Maybe, “ I replied. “Maybe not.” I felt cruel for saying it as I
took a bite of the bread. She didn’t answer and didn’t take her eyes
from the plate, either. I could have sworn I saw a tear run down her
cheek as my eyes darted from the plate to her face a few times. I
wanted to say I’m sorry for being so insensitive, but instead, I took the
plate, placed it into the sink and walked into her room, where I had
been staying for the past week. For the rest of the day, I stayed in
the darkness of the room. For hours, all I did was think. I thought
about my family, about my sister in New York, and even about Linda.
What’s going to become of me now? What will I do once I go to New York?
I thought about school, and wanted to completely give up on it. I
knew my mother wanted me to go to college, but that was out of the
question. Annie was my first and only priority now. I looked at the clock
on the nightstand. It was eleven o’clock. The outside of the door
seemed quiet. I thought Linda had gone out. Without thinking, I stood
up, casually walked out of the room to find Linda laying on the bed,
sleeping with the TV on, and the volume almost all the way down. A
magazine was placed on her chest from when she was reading it, I had
guessed. I observed her while blocking out everything else in the world.
For a moment, she looked so interesting and appealing. I couldn’t
resist her body. I walked over to the couch slowly, sat next to her,
placing the magazine on the small coffee table that was full of other
magazines. She gently groaned, rubbed her eyes as she opened them. She
smiled as I was looking down at her. I bent down and gently kissed
her on the lips. The second one was longer. And by the third one, I was
on top of her, trying to catch my breath as we made love. The
pleasant feeling of pleasure had come back again. It felt like years had
passed since I made love to a woman. At that moment, I had regretted for
even thinking about taking back my innocence back. I couldn’t, and I
didn’t want to. I was eventually tired but refused to stop. All I
cared to hear was her soft moans she tried so hard to block. It didn’t
work. I smiled and kissed her neck a few times.
We snuggled on the couch later that night. We didn’t say much. She
asked me that same question again. I signed and didn’t know what to
say. I didn’t want to say ‘maybe’ again, but I didn’t plan on coming
back to this town again, for a long, long time. I told her I didn’t
know anything yet. She placed her head on my chest and said nothing
more. She had fallen asleep a minute later.


With the three hundred dollars that Aunt Lucy sent me, I was able to
get a cab up to New York. Saying goodbye was harder for Linda than it
was for me. I didn’t cry, but I did kiss her and told her that I’d
call as soon as I reached New York. “I guess you’re not coming back,
huh?” Her eyes were red and puffy from crying.
“I don’t know.” It was the only answer I could give her at the
moment.
“Just tell me, damn it. Either you’ll be back to see me, or you’ll
leave and never come back! It’s a perfect way to break it all
off--again! Am I right?” She raised her voice as I stood in silence,
observing her blue eyes. I reached to touch her face gently but she blocked
my hand with force and pushed me slightly. “Go.” She said in a calm
voice. “Go!” She exclaimed at last. “You have nothing here. And I take
back the time I said I loved you!”
My eyes widened as she spilled out the words.
“No, you don’t know about it because you block me out. My words
don’t mean anything to you! I’m just any other **** you come across,
right?!” She was crying.
I walked over to hold her as she ran into my arms, burying her head
in my chest. Letting out soft cries, she tugging onto my T-shirt and
looked up at me. “I can’t afford to have my heart broken again,
Jesse. I want to be with you. Please understand that this isn’t just a
fling for me.”
I nodded and smiled. I told her I’d call her again and stepped back.
She closed her eyes as more tears came down her face. I hopped into
the cab, looked back, and smiled at her. She blew me a kiss, but I was
already on the road. I didn’t look back.

Annie almost knocked me down when she saw me two days later. I was
tired, hungry, exhausted, and with hair messier than ever. She
squeezed me as tight as she could and told me never to leave her. I laughed
at her and gave her a kiss on the cheek. “Okay, kiddo.” I said,
messing up her hair when I put her down. Aunt Lucy ran over next and
kissed my forehead after a hug. She asked me if I was all right, hungry,
or tired. I said yes to all of them, and she lightly laughed, but the
laugh turned into a small, quiet cry. She hugged me once more and I
put my arm around her, looking down at Annie who was behind her. She
turned around and sat on the nearest bench, looking down at the
ground. I told Aunt Lucy that it’s going to be okay, and I promised that
I’d help her take care of Annie.

In twenty minutes, we’d be home. Home. Finally. I’ll finally get to
sleep in my own bed. I decided to sleep for the next three days of
how exhausted I felt. I barely ate anything and my Aunt asked if I was
feeling sick. I said no, and excused myself from the table. I didn’t
make eye contact with Annie, just let myself out of the dining room.
Linda. I forgot to call her. I promised her I would call her as soon
as I reached New York.
Later that night, when everybody was asleep, I got dressed and
walked to the nearest payphone. I was glad that I thought to take my
jacket with me. The night was cold, and the streets were soaked from the
rain. She didn’t answer the first time around, so I called back a few
minutes later. Again, no answer. I stepped into the convenient store
that was across the street. The clerk looked at me strangely and I
could tell he kept his guard on. I was nearly twice his height, had a
large coat on, and looked like I had just come from hell, or even
jail, for that matter. I felt nervous, and yet distracted because Linda
wasn’t answering her phone.
“Sonny, are you all right there?” He asked with concern, rather than
terror. He wasn’t going to pull out his gun after all, I thought.
I nodded and without thinking, I walked back out. It was sprinkling
now, but I could tell it was ready to pour any second, from the way
it was lightening in the distance. I tired to call Linda. It was going
to be the last time. It rang four times before an unfamiliar man
answered the phone, sounding frustrated.
“Hello?” He said.
I was speechless for the longest time.
“Hello?! Is this some kind of a prank call? Damn kids.”
I wanted to tell him to go to hell, but I also wanted to wish him
and Linda a very happy life together. I was jealous. “Is Linda there?”
“Who’s this?”
Her boyfriend. “Just a friend.”
“She ain’t here, do you wanna leave a message?”
“No, that’s fine. Thank you--” I hung up without giving him a chance
to reply. I silently told Linda goodbye and that I understood her
decision. It was for the best.


I slowly began walking home, as I heard manly laughter in the
distance. I started walking faster as the sound became much closer. I could
not afford to get into anymore trouble, and I knew that. I was
whistled to from behind. I didn’t want to turn around. I smelled trouble. I
knew how to defend myself. I’ve gotten into fights before. But this
time, something about it was different. I hated to admit it to myself,
but I was scared.
“Come on, honey, turn around!” A man’s voice shouted at me. I
stopped to look. He was a bit taller than me, weighed around 230 pounds,
and had a mischievous look on his face. He wasn’t up to any good, I
knew that. The next thing I knew, I was being jumped by four other guys
from behind. I didn’t have a chance to fight back. There were too
many of them. I was barely able to breathe. I told them that I was only
a kid in high school, but not even pity helped. When one of the men
finally stood back, I was able to pull out my pocket knife while I was
being beaten up by the other three--the other one standing to the
side, watching and laughing at the top of his lungs. I didn’t know what
I was going to do with that knife, I didn’t think about it. I pressed
the button as the blade popped out. I slit one of the guys’ throat.
He froze, and eventually fell to the ground. The laughter stopped. I
completely forgot that I had been in pain. The other three ran away,
and I didn’t care to go after them. After all, my pants were halfway
down, and my jacket was stolen. I had been raped and beaten to the
ground to the point where I had trouble speaking. I managed to pull my
pants back up. I held the knife steadily up at the man. He only smiled
miserably as he looked down at me. “You filthy bastard.” He said to
me, pulling out a gun That was it, I though. It was over for me. My
life was in his hands, and I knew he was going to shoot. The man that
got his throat slit started to gag and slightly wiggled his body. A
second later, he did not move. He was dead. The gun was kept pointed
down at me as he looked at his friend. “You’re loved no matter what
you do. You sleep with ****s, do drugs, steal, and yet your family
still thinks you’re the most precious thing in the world.” I could not
believe what I was hearing. “You filthy little dirtball. All I did was
steal twenty bucks out of my old woman’s purse and ended up on the
streets!” I tried to sit up but my back was killing me. “Oh, you aren’t
going anywhere, kid.” I gulped and didn’t say another word. Maybe I
was going to join my family sooner than I thought. He said nothing
else, placed the gun back into his pocket, and dragged his friend away,
but told me that this wasn’t the end. He would be back for me. I did
not say anything but knew that I would be ready for him next time. I
was left alone, beaten, and rained on.

The next morning, I woke up in a hospital. My forehead was bandaged,
my arms were bruised. My chest ached and I had trouble forming words,
for I had no strength to speak. I heard my Aunt and Annie talking to
the doctor outside of the door. I had been found by the clerk that
worked at the convenient store that night. He called the police and
came to my rescue. I didn’t have a chance to thank him in person, but I
was still, never the less, grateful for the old man’s kindness.

This is certainly an interesting chapter.

It began in ways that I was expecting but quickly turned in a new direction that surprised me. I was surprised in a good way though. :cheesy:

I like how you're developping Jesse. There's a freshness behind his character that I seldom see in pure fiction. Good job, Kitsune! Keep it up!