The timer blared from the kitchen,
jerking Caroline out of her private world of literature, the pages of Fahrenheit 451. She glanced at Markus
expectantly, but he paid no notice; he simply continued to stare at his hands
with a frown. “Are you just going to let your pizza rolls burn?”
“Our
pizza rolls.”
“Your
pizza rolls. I eat real food.”
He finally looked up at her, his
eyes questioning. “Do you think I could make it in the army?”
With a mischievous grin she leaned
over the edge of the bed and tousled his hair. “You’re a bit too scruffy for
that. I’m not sure you could rock the buzz cut look.” When his expression
remained serious, she sighed. “Sorry, babe, but you couldn’t be dangerous if
you tried…”
The sound of shattering glass once
more cut through the night as flesh struck the coffee table that so perfectly
accented the room. The shards intermingled with the stained glass lamp and
blood drops already scattered on the floor. “How – how did you find me?”
Caroline coughed painfully as she dragged herself away in desperation, glass
pieces marring her skin with every move. “I moved across the country; I changed
my name. How did you find me?”
Markus kicked the couch furiously,
knocking it clear of his path as he kept the gun aimed steadily at her chest.
“That’s the thing about prison, Caroline Bennett. A guy gets some connections.”
“I hope you liked prison, because
you’ll definitely be heading back after tonight. Stalking, breaking and
entering, assault…” She swallowed hard. “Murder.”
He laughed bitterly, shaking his
head. “I’m not going to kill you, Caroline. Not yet.” His eyes grew unfocused
as his mind again rolled over all that had occurred. “I want to talk about us…”
…There was nothing more exciting to
an eleven-year-old mind than the arrival of summer, and the two of them hadn’t
wasted a second. Markus had been outside her window just as the sun was rising,
and she slunk out the door quietly, a towel resting under her arm. “My parents
are going to kill me when they find out we went to the lake alone,” she whined
as they lost sight of her house. “Dad says that’s how kids drown.”
“If you start drowning, I’ll save
you,” he countered. “Trust me.”
“I’m a better swimmer than you,
Markus!”
He shrugged. “Then you’ll save me.
Whatever.”
The lake was freezing in the early
hours of the morning that June, and it took all of fifteen minutes for them to
call it quits and escape the frigid water. Caroline shivered as she wrapped
herself in her towel on the shore. “Why did you think this was a good idea?”
“Hey, you went along with it!” he
snapped. “Why would you do that if it was a bad idea?”
“Because –” She stopped, and he gave
her a curious look. “Um, never mind.”
“Because what?” he prodded
teasingly.
“Nothing!”
“Because what?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking
about!”
“Because
what because what because what?”
He
started jabbing her in the shoulder with his pointer finger incessantly, and
she pushed him away with a pout. “Stop it!”
“Ow! I should –”
“CAROLINE!”
The familiar screech of her mother’s
voice jolted them out of their feud, and Caroline’s eyes filled with panic.
“I’m going to be in so much trouble!”
“Wait –”
She’d run off before he could finish
his sentence, abandoning her sandals and towel on the rocks. He slumped down on
the beach with a frown, his toes just barely touching the water. “Dang it.”
He felt a tap on his shoulder, and
as he turned Caroline bent over and pressed her lips to his clumsily, her body
trembling with nerves and cold. She blushed sheepishly as she pulled away.
“Because that.”
With that she scooped up her
belongings and darted off again, leaving him bewildered there by the water…
“…There is no us!” she snapped as
she struggled to her feet. The only light in her apartment came from the
bathroom down the hall, and in that darkness she could scarcely see the
expression on his once-familiar face. “There was never an us!”
“That’s
not true!” he growled, stomping forward and shoving her back to the floor.
“You used to care about me! You used to love me! For two years you loved me!”
“You’re twenty-five, Markus! Your
prison sentence took up more of your life than that!”
He shook his head again, this time
his jaw set in anger. “That’s right. Seven years I was in there. Seven years to
think about you, about how you betrayed me, about how you left me.”
“I ended things years before you
went to jail, you psycho!”
“It doesn’t matter. You used to love
me…”
“…I don’t understand any of this!”
Markus grumbled irritably, tossing his algebra textbook to the floor in a rage.
“I give up! I’ll fail, I don’t care!”
Caroline rolled her eyes from where
she sat cross-legged on the floor, bent over her geometry worksheets with
intense focus. “Has anyone ever told you that you have anger issues you should
probably work out?”
“Haha.”
“I’m sure the person you
accidentally punch in the mouth will be saying ‘haha,’ too.”
Markus crossed his arms defiantly
and slumped against her bedroom wall, doing his best to keep his feelings in
check before she made another snide comment. “I never had problems with math or
anything else before middle school.”
“Well, hate to say it, but
elementary school isn’t really good for anything but teaching kids how to do
homework. What we were learning wasn’t really strenuous.”
“Strenu-what?”
“Really?”
“Not everyone’s a genius, Caroline!”
She slowly shut her textbook, her
worksheet carefully tucked in to mark her place, and finally looked up at him
with a frown. “What’s your problem, man? You’ve been even more jerky than usual
lately.”
“I’m not a jerk!” he corrected
defensively. “I just…have a lot on my mind.”
“You’re kind of a jerk.”
“I’m not –”
“Hey, Caroline.” Her little brother
popped his head in the doorway, his annoyance evident. “Mom says to tell your
friend to stop yelling or she’ll take him home. She says she can only have one
grumpy guy in the house at a time, and she’s already got Dad.”
“Get out of here, you idiot!” Markus
snapped, throwing his pencil at him angrily. Her little brother yelped and hid
behind the door before it reached him, and broke in half on the edge of the
doorframe.
“I’m
telling!”
Caroline glared at Markus irritably
as her brother fled down the hallway. “See, you’re a jerk! Jake wasn’t doing
anything to you!”
“He was interrupting us!”
“We’re doing homework! There’s not
much to interrupt!”
“Caroline –”
“Seriously, what harm was he doing?
‘Oh, sorry I’m interrupting your dumb friend failing math.’” She rolled her
eyes. “It’s not like he’s going to judge you for struggling. I mean, he just
started fractions! What’s he going to –”
And suddenly she was silenced by his
lips locked longingly with hers, taking her by surprise. Her eyes widened as
his fingers wrapped into her hair, pulling her closer into him, but before long
she’d closed them expectantly and was sucked into the moment, kissing back with
equal vigor.
A knock sounded on her bedroom door,
and they broke apart with the expression of a deer caught in headlights.
Caroline’s mom stared down at them expectantly, her foot tapping in irritation.
“You. Out. I won’t stand for you disrespecting me by assaulting one of my
children and mauling the other in my own house.”
Markus glanced back at Caroline
worriedly, but her expression remained simply dazed. “Um, I’ll see you
tomorrow,” he grumbled, eyes low as he left the room.
“Yeah.”
Her mom continued to stare at her
curiously as she heard Markus slam the front door shut. “I didn’t know he was
your boyfriend.”
“Yeah, neither did I…”
“…Things change, Markus. You changed.” She hesitated for a moment.
“Or, you didn’t. Maybe that’s the problem. You’re just as childish and insane
as you always were. Poor little boy never grew up.”
“Oh, haha. You’re so funny, as
always.” He kicked her down and placed his boot squarely on her sternum. “Just
like you to laugh at my expense.”
She shrieked in pain at the audible
crack beneath his feet, and she clenched at his calf hopelessly. “Get off! Get off!”
He shook his head, pointing the gun
between her eyes with precision. “That’s enough of that, babe.”
With a shudder she released his leg,
glaring up at him with loathing. “Just like you to lash out at everyone in your
life,” she groaned. “Seems you’ve taken those anger issues to new extremes,
huh?”
“You do a lot of talking for someone
being held at gunpoint. But what can I say? Things change,” he spat mockingly.
“Like you. Let’s talk about how you changed…”
…He found her at the edge of the
lake, just a few feet away from the spot where she’d first kissed him. He
stared at her from a distance for a moment, taking in the image of her blond
hair rippling ever so slightly in the wind as she sat cross-legged, gazing out
at the water.
She turned her head away as he took
a seat beside her and leaned in for a kiss, and he frowned worriedly. “What’s
wrong? Everyone’s been looking for you.”
“I…I needed some air. And some time
to think.”
“Think about what?” He laughed
nervously, eyes never leaving her porcelain face. “You thinking about dumping
me or something?”
Caroline said nothing, simply
nodding as she stared at the sun reflecting off the water’s surface. Markus got
to his feet angrily. “What? Why?”
“It’s complicated, Markus,” she
strained. “I…I just don’t think we should be together anymore.”
“Why the hell not? I love you,
Caroline!”
“I love you, too. But it’s never
going to be in the way you want.”
“That’s not what you’ve been saying
for the last two years!” He glared down at her, sitting calmly there on the
rocks, and he yanked her up by her elbow furiously.
“Markus!”
“Talk to me, Caroline!” he roared.
“Tell me what I did! Is there someone else? Is that it?”
“Of course not!” she snapped,
jerking her arm away and staring him down indignantly. “Or…yes. I don’t know,
Markus! It’s complicated!”
“Who’s the other guy? I’ll kill
him!”
“There’s
no other guy, Markus!” Her hands trembled as she ran them back through her
hair in frustration, but when she’d finished her voice was steadier. “I’ve…I’ve
been talking to Tina.”
“What, the freckled dyke from our
biology class?” he scoffed. “What’s she got to do –”
Caroline clenched her eyes shut and
bit her lip nervously as the gears in Markus’ head clicked into place. “It’s a
girl?” He laughed, and she opened her eyes at the unexpected sound. “Oh, babe,
you don’t have to leave me because of that.”
“Um, what?”
“I don’t mind if you feel like
experimenting. It’s not cheating if it’s with a chick, so you can get your
lesbo kicks and still be with me.” He moved to embrace her in relief, a
near-lusty grin upon his face. “Hell, she could join us if you want. I promise
I won’t mind.”
It was her turn to be angry, and she
pushed him away with disgust. “You’re such a pig!”
“You’re the one that wants to sleep
with a bunch of women!”
“One
woman, Markus. I love one woman.”
His face fell. “Love? You love her? But you love me.”
She sighed. “I’m gay, Markus. I’m
sorry, but you can’t change that.”
“Then what was I, huh?”
“I didn’t know –”
“No, screw you!” He grabbed her by
the elbow again and threw her to the ground, and before she was even back on
her feet he was gone…
“…So, tell me. Are you stealing
munching rug these days, or did you switch back to men when you got all your
slutty escapades out of your system?”
“You’re still a pig,” she coughed
bitterly, wriggling a bit beneath his boot as glass cut into her back.
“Oh, don’t worry. I didn’t expect a
straight answer. But I already saw your precious Jenna’s name on the mailbox.”
He released her irritably, pacing as he struggled to control his rage, intent
on finishing what he had to say despite his instincts begging him to pull the
trigger. “Tell me, does she have freckles like Tina did? Do you have a cute
little type?”
Caroline raised herself from the
carpet shakily, shards of glass still digging into her back and palms. “How
dare you even speak her name after all you did! It should have been you that
died that night!”
Markus slowly sat down on the couch
with a twisted smile, staring at her expectantly. “Does your girlfriend know
you took your dead ex’s last name?”
Her rage made her bulletproof, and
despite the gun still aimed in her direction she lunged, fingernails digging
into his throat as she knocked it out of his hand. The pistol fell to the
carpet with a soft thud as Caroline wrestled him to the floor…
…Graduation had been a long, tedious
procession, but graduation night had been treating them kindly. Caroline
chatted with her friends in a corner of the party, barely listening beneath the
thumping of the music that made it too loud for conversation anyways. Instead
she watched her girlfriend across the room, pouring more beer from the keg
while still inexplicably wearing her graduation cap atop her ash brown hair.
She was adorable, if not a little odd.
“I saw you checking out my butt,”
Tina teased as she slid another drink into her hand. “I totally get it. It’s a
nice butt. Not as nice as yours though.”
Caroline smiled coyly. “Maybe I’ll
have to get you naked later to compare.”
Tina leaned in to kiss her, biting
her lip gently just before pulling away. “You’re cute when you’re drunk and
seductive.”
Their lusty banter was interrupted
by the sound of sirens and the teenage party erupting into chaos. “Shit!” she hissed, slinking with Tina
into the kitchen as everyone scattered. They followed the crowd out the side
door as the cops poured in through the front, but once outside it became clear
that there were few places to run.
Suddenly she was being dragged by
the elbow, Tina yelling angrily as she followed. “Markus, let me go! What the
hell are you doing, kidnapping me?” she slurred.
“We’re getting out of here,” he
snapped, opening the door to his car and forcefully shoving her inside. “I’m
not getting arrested tonight.”
“You’re drunk!” Tina shrieked as he
closed Caroline into the front seat.
“We’re all drunk, you slut!” he
retorted. “But I’m still getting me and Caroline out of here.”
“I don’t want to go with you!”
Caroline moaned, struggling with the door handle. Markus yanked her away,
holding onto her as the car’s engine roared to life.
Tina glanced around desperately
before throwing the door to the backseat open and jumping inside. “What are you
doing?” Markus roared. “Get out!”
“I’m not letting you take her
without me!” Tina growled, disdainfully eyeing his grip on her girlfriend’s
arm. “She’s drunk and I don’t trust you. Either let her go or take me with
you.”
Markus snarled as he threw the car
into drive and sped off toward one of the back roads that led away from the
house. The flashing of sirens behind them proved that they hadn’t made a clean
escape, but he made no effort to slow down.
“Markus, please,” Caroline pleaded.
“They already caught you. Just slow down.”
“I’m not going to jail tonight,” he
repeated, and the car continued to accelerate. “I can lose them.”
“They probably already have your
plates, Markus,” Tina insisted. “It’s a lost cause. At least stop and let us
out.”
“They’ll catch me if I stop.” It
felt as if the car was driving on just two wheels as he rounded a sharp turn in
the darkness, and Caroline shrieked in horror, clutching her chest with her
free hand.
“You’re not even driving with both
hands! You’re going to get us killed!”
“I know what I’m doing, so shut up!”
he snapped at her, tightening his grip until she yelped.
“Markus, stop it!” Tina begged.
“Shut up!”
“If you say you still love her why
won’t you just listen?”
“How
dare you –”
He turned with the intent to fight,
but his words were interrupted by an ungodly scream from Caroline’s lips, and
the unmistakable motion of the car veering off the road as he missed a turn,
sending them tumbling over the embankment.
When Caroline came to, all she could
see was the tree pushing into the crumpled passenger side of the car. The
driver’s seat was empty, and she wiped a trickle of blood from her forehead
with a groan. “Tina? Are you okay?”
No reply came, and she turned around
in confusion. She knew that her girlfriend wouldn’t have booked it like Markus
had. “Tina?”
She was lying on the floor of the
backseat, her neck twisted in a position that no human could survive. The
searching flashlights came too late…
…Despite all her rage and effort,
Markus had regained the upper hand, and she struggled against him vainly as he
straddled her. She clawed at his arms desperately as he wrapped his hands
around her throat. “This isn’t how I’d planned it, but I guess it’ll have to
do,” he growled. “You and that bitch, you ruined my life! You owe me yours!”
She could feel her face grow hot as
her body begged for air, and though she continued to flail and pray for a way
out, she clenched her eyes shut; she didn’t want his face to be the last thing
she ever saw.
A shot rang out, and the pressure
lessened before he pulled his hands away altogether. She opened her eyes to see
him clutching his chest in shock, a telling hole where his heart should have
been. Caroline threw her hands up defensively to catch him as he collapsed on
top of her, and she shoved his body off with disgust.
Jenna’s freckled face stared down at
the dead man with wide, teary eyes. With trembling hands she let the gun fall
back to the floor. “I’m…I’m sorry.”
Caroline climbed to her feet
shakily, the exhaustion and pain hitting her all at once. “Sorry? Why are you
sorry?”
“I killed him. I didn’t mean…I
didn’t know what to do…”
“He was going to kill me,” Caroline
insisted, taking her girlfriend into her bloody arms soothingly. “You saved my
life.”
“I love you so much. I’m so glad
you’re okay.”
“I love you too.”
Jenna cried into Caroline’s neck,
and she stroked her hair soothingly as the poor girl’s shoulders heaved with
each sob. But Caroline’s eyes remained dry, and despite all that had passed she
knew that seeing that lifeless face would still leave her cold…
The summer of sixteen was coming to
an end, and Caroline wore a content smile as she leaned into Markus and let the
sun beat down on her face. He stroked her hair lovingly, his fingers twisting
playfully at the ends. Inside the mall behind them, people were bustling and
searching desperately for the perfect outfit to wear for the first day back at
school.
“This summer was so great, and it’s
still ending,” Caroline sighed. “What if that’s what our relationship’s like,
hmm? Great, and then it ends?”
Markus laughed, shaking his head.
“No way. You and me, babe, we’re going to last forever.”
My mom is flying into town later this morning, so chances are I won't have a chance to post here for the next week or so. But I'll be seeing you soon! Have a wonderful week!
