I awoke to the sound of something banging on my door. Looking around, I realized that I was still laying on the couch, the TV was still on; though it had gone into power save mode and was little more than a black screen, and the half-eaten bowl of cereal I’d started on was sitting on the floor.

The banging continued, growing more incessant as the seconds passed.

I wiped my face with the back of my hand, then reached for my phone, intending to check the time. Only remembering at the last moment that I didn’t have my phone. I let out an annoyed sigh and sat up.

“Hey, wasn’t something supposed to happen?”

Like what?

“I can’t remember. But I feel like it was annoying.”

“Hey, string bean, open the door!” I froze at the voice. There was only one person on this planet that called me string bean.

Fucking Roman. We growled in unison. I swung my legs off the couch and stood up, wincing as a muscle in my neck ached. I ran my fingers across it, but the skin was smooth, as if I hadn’t just had a beautiful vampire sink her teeth into it the night before.

I quickly checked myself in the mirror, and surprisingly, the only evidence left was a hickey. An angry red circle sat about where her lips made contact. For reasons even I’m not sure of, I found myself smiling while I looked at it. Sure, it wasn’t proof that I’d been by vampire, but it was guaranteed to drive Roman crazy.

Actually, I suppose that’s reason enough.

I made my way over to the door and pulled it open, only to be immediately shoved backwards as my brother stepped over the threshold.

Roman and I were a study in contrasts; While he inherited the bright red hair of our mother, my hair was darker and the red could only be seen while I was standing in sunlight. I kept my hair short, while he kept it long enough to brush his shoulders. He was Six-five, 280 pounds of solid muscle, and I was…not.

Roman was a bodybuilder and hadn’t had more than ten percent body fat since we were in high school. I’m sure all of his personal bests were quite impressive, but I never cared enough to keep track of what they were.

All I knew was that he was bigger than me, stronger than me, and a hell of a lot meaner than me.

“The fuck took you so long? Do you have any idea how long I was standing out there?” Standing there in a black sleeveless tee, a pair of black basketball shorts, and his size 17 combat boots, he would’ve been intimidating had he done this yesterday.

Oh wait, he did.

“Hi Roman, nice to see you too. Please, come in, make yourself at home.” I got smacked upside the head hard enough to knock into the floor for that remark, but it was worth it just to see the anger in his eyes.

I wasn’t sure where I was getting this bravery from; for all intents and purposes, Roman had terrified me since we were kids. But I guess there’s some combination of dying and knowing what he was doing behind my back, I wasn’t quite as scared of him anymore.

“Are you getting smart with me, string bean?”

“Me? No, you know me Roman. I’d never do that.”

“Fucking better not. The only reason I still help you is because of Ma.” He pulled a manila envelope out of his back pocket and tossed it onto my kitchen table. “That should get you through the rest of the month. Try not to blow it all on something stupid.”

I eyed the envelope for a long second, then looked back at him. I hated the fact that I had to borrow money from this asshole, but the truth was, it was practically impossible to live in New York City on minimum wage. My car, and more importantly, the apartment was paid in part due to Roman’s ‘generosity’.

See, despite his appearance, Roman was an account manager at one of the local banks. In fact, he was the reason Nancy got her job at that same bank.

“I wonder if that’s when it started?”

I don’t.

“Aren’t you the least bit curious?”

What difference does it make? It’s happening now, that’s all that matters.

“Fair enough.”

Roman snapped his fingers in front of my eyes and I jumped in surprise.

“Did you hear what I said?”

“Um— no, sorry.”

Roman rolled his eyes and shook his head. “That’s always been your problem, string bean.” A poke me in the four head hard enough to make it sting. “You don’t focus, you make people repeat shit. I said, are you coming by Ma’s next week?”

“Sure, I’ll be there.”

“Make that a priority. If you don’t show, I’ll come back over here and break your legs; give you a fucking reason not to show up.”

“I said I’ll be there, so I’ll be there.”

“Good.” He shoved me aside and started walking for the door. And right as he made to open it, the handle turned, and Nancy walked inside. They paused as they looked at one another, grins appearing on both of their faces.

“Hi, red. Long time no see.” She said in a breathy voice.

“Hi, yourself.” He replied, making no effort to hide the fact that he was eyeing her up and down.

How did we never notice what they were doing?

“Because we were young, dumb, and in love?”

You could’ve left out the dumb part.

“You know as well as I do that it’s true. They’ve been playing us as fools for at least a year, you think a smart person would’ve missed that?”

No, no, I didn’t. But it still stung my pride to admit that it was right, they had played us for a fool. Even now, that looks they were giving each other spoke volumes.

They couldn’t wait to be alone.

I felt tightening in my chest that had nothing to do with my asthma. I tightened my fists until they went numb, just to keep myself under control. I knew saying something would only get me hurt, both physically, and emotionally. While keeping it to myself would only hurt emotionally.

Unless she gives us some kind of STD.

“I didn’t think of that. Do you think it’s possible?”

Considering Roman bragged about sleeping with fifteen women in five days last Christmas, yeah, I’d say it’s possible.

“You think Nancy was one of those fifteen?”

Probably.

“Damn.”

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

Roman, apparently done undressing my girlfriend with his eyes, left the apartment without saying another word to me.

Nancy dropped her handbag on the kitchen counter and approached me.

“You could learn a lot from him, you know.”

“I’m sure.” I grabbed the envelope and headed towards my room to get dressed.

To no one’s surprise, Nancy followed along; chattering incessantly about her day out with her ‘sister’. About how they went out to eat and then she ended up spending the night at her sister’s after the car just refused to start.

Got her home in the morning, though.

Funny that.

“By the way, I’m going to need to borrow about two hundred dollars to have the car checked out. I’d hate to have it break down and leave one of us stranded.” Nancy uttered after finally stopping to take a breath.

“I’ll take it to the shop.” I told her, completely aware that the excuse was bullshit. No doubt Roman had asked her to retrieve some of his money for him. Why he didn’t just give me three hundred dollars, instead of the usual five, I wasn’t sure.

Maybe it just didn’t occur to him? Maybe all the nutrients that were supposed to go to his brain went to his muscles.

“And yet, he still makes three times more money than we do.”

Don’t remind me.

“No, I’ll do it. This really no need for you to wake up and make a special trip out of the apartment when I pass by a body shop every day on my way to work.” She argued.

I paused just before pulling a clean shirt over my head and looked at her. “I said, I’ll do it.” I finished pulling my shirt on, making sure to tuck it into my pants, then looked at myself in the full-length mirror I had standing in one corner of the room.

Hair- a mess. Clothes- tacky and unappealing. Me- ready to get this shit over with.

What I saw in the mirror, was a tired GoodMart employee. The only thing I was missing, was my name tag. Which should’ve been in the center console of my car, but if things were truly going to repeat themselves, then it would be conveniently missing, and I would have to ask David to make me new one.

I looked at Nancy, immediately noticing that she was giving me a weird look. She seemed… Incredulous?

“What?” I asked, already annoyed from having talked to her more than I’d wanted.

“Nothing, you just seem different.”

“I’m having a bad day. By the way, you didn’t happen to see my name tag in the car, did you?”

“No, why?” She replied after moment of hesitation.

Ten bucks says she took it or knows who did.

“I’m not taking a fool’s bet. Besides, who would I pay it to?”

Way to ruin the fun.

“I’m just asking, would I be paying myself?”

I don’t know, I didn’t think about it.

“I lost the other day and was wondering if you’d seen it. Guess I get to have a talk with David when I get to work, how fun.”

“Sounds like it.” She said, laughing a little at my sarcasm.

The sound of her laugh almost made me want to cry.

Fuck that. We’re not crying over her, not again.

I shook my head, discarding that thought almost as soon as it came. I grabbed my wallet off the bedside table then headed for the door.

“Forgetting something?”

I looked over and saw Nancy pointing at her face, with my keys inside her hand. It took me a second, but I realize what she wanted. I walked over and stood so close I was afraid I’d stepped on her foot, but she didn’t mention it. She just stared up at me.

I leaned down, bringing our lips closer, our breath intermingling as I hovered just out of reach. I could taste something minty on her breath. I brought my hand up to cup the back of her neck, only to stop at the last second. I returned my hand to my side and gave her a peck on the cheek.

“Have a good day.” I stepped around her, pulling my keys out of her hand as I went, and left the apartment without looking back. I was already expecting a shitty day at work, so I didn’t see the need to make myself feel like garbage before I even got there.

I made my way over to the parking lot adjacent to the apartment and sighed in relief as I spotted karma; the name I’d given to my 1979 Camaro, sitting in the front row.

Why’d I name it Karma?

I stuck my key in the ignition and turned it, the car didn’t make a sound. I tried again— and again, nothing happened.

Because she’s a fucking bitch, that’s why.

I rested my forehead against the steering wheel and let out an annoyed growl.

Isn’t this just our luck?

“Wait, check under the hood. I remember this.”

You do?

“Yeah, didn’t this happen to you?”

No, she worked fine for me.

“Ah, well then, you’re in for a treat.”

What I get the feeling it’s going to taste like ass?

“Because it’s from Roman.”

Of course, why wouldn’t it be?

I reached down and grabbed the hood release lever, then gave it a tug. The hood popped open smoothly and I took a look inside.

You realize I’m not a mechanic, right?

“Neither am I, but it’s a pretty obvious fix.”

How obvious?

My head turned towards the battery and I saw that the cables had been unhooked.

“Pretty fucking obvious.”

I reattached the cables, then tried again.

She cranked like a dream.

I drove to work thinking that maybe my day wouldn’t be as bad as I thought.

Guess what?

My day was as bad as I thought it would be.

Oh sure, it didn’t start out that way. I got chewed out by David for forgetting my name tag. Then I had to deal with a few dozen customers who couldn’t find a bear if it was mauling them. Oh, and there was the incident over and produce where some kid decided to shove half a bag of grapes down his throat at one time and ended up vomiting all over the floor.

And now, history was repeating itself. I found myself standing inside the men’s bathroom, staring at myself in the mirror; a mop laying on the floor and half empty bucket of water sitting nearby.

Why do we insist on letting him treat us like shit?

“Because we really need this job, oh, and because we’re cowards.”

Right, that was the reason.

The door opened then, and Demi stepped inside. She looked as beautiful as I remember, especially since she hadn’t been shot in the head.

She paused, her mouth opened to greet me, then she frowned.

We didn’t say that out loud, did we?

“No, I don’t think so.”

“You okay, Demi?”

If I’d blinked, I would’ve missed the moment her expression changed. She was suddenly smiling, all traces of her previous frowned gone in the blink of an eye.

“Of course, why wouldn’t I be?” She asked, playfully batting her eyes at me.

“You just looked— annoyed, I guess.”

“You know, Luca, you really need to learn how to read women better.” She sighed.

“Yeah,” I sardonically laughed. “My girlfriend used to say the same thing.”

She frowned again, but this time it was subtle; downturn of her lips, crinkling around her eyes, a slight flaring of the nostrils.

“Sounds like a smart woman.”

“Smarter than I am.”

She laughed; I didn’t.

She took a step closer after realizing that I wasn’t laughing along with her. She reached out placed her hand on my arm, giving my bicep a small squeeze. “You okay?” She asked, all traces of playfulness gone from her voice.

I shrugged my shoulders. “I guess.”

“You know, I’m here if you ever want to talk about… stuff.”

“Stuff, huh?” I asked, chuckling. “That’s pretty vague.”

She smiled, and the humor was back in her eyes. She leaned in close, her height making it easy to reach my ear. “Well, maybe I’m just for an excuse to get you alone.” She whispered. Her warm breath tickled the side of my neck, and sent shivers racing down my spine.

The door was violently shoved open. David stepped inside with murder in his eyes; he took one look at me and Demi and looked like he was about to burst a blood vessel. He slammed the door shut behind him and placed his back against it, preventing any escape attempt.

“What’s going on in here?” He demanded.

Demi took a step away but didn’t leave my side. She reached up and pinched the fabric of my shirt, then mimed lifting something off of it.

“I was helping him get some lint off of his shirt.” Demi said, her calm smile a stark contrast to David’s beet red face.

“Why are you in the men’s restroom? You know the rules, no female employees inside the men’s restroom.” He turned his attention to me, and if looks could kill, I would’ve been turned into red mist. “And you, I thought I told you to mop these floors ages ago? They look like shit—” A loud bang cut David off, blood exploding out of a hole in his chest, covering Demi and I with his blood.

Demi and I stood frozen even as David’s body collapsed to the ground. Through the can sized hole in the door I could see one of the men in black suits. He must’ve spotted me at the same time because he opened fire once again.

I dove to the side, pulling Demi along with me. We scrambled to the side and tucked ourselves beneath the sinks. Bullets tore through the door like it was made paper and smashed the tile on the walls behind it. By the time he was done firing, the hole in the center of the door was large enough for me to fit through without touching the edges.

Demi and I stayed huddled under the sinks for several seconds after the bullet stopped flying, just waiting to see what happened. I heard footsteps approaching the door, and I felt my adrenaline begin to wear off.

I was beginning to panic, and could feel an attack coming on, accompanied by a tightness in my chest that I couldn’t ignore.

Gunfire erupted again, though this time the bullets weren’t coming through the door. In fact, it sounded like there was a gunfight outside.

It’s that Claire chick; she’s come to save us again!

“No shit! Tell me something I don’t know.”

Demi’s shirt has a tear in it. My eyes widened and I inspected the tear; blood was seeping out of it, but it appeared to only be a small amount.

“You’re bleeding.” I told her and pointed towards the wound.

“Oh, look at that. I liked this shirt too.” She muttered.

Gunfire raged for a few more minutes before everything went quiet for what felt like an eternity. Eventually, though, life returned to the world and I could hear multiple sets of footsteps approaching the door.

A man poked his head through the door, and I could see blood running down his face, dying his crisp white shirt, crimson.

Not knowing what to do, but not wanting to see Demi’s dead body lying on the floor again, I placed myself between her and the man.

My lungs burned in my chest felt like someone had put it in a vice. It felt like my ribs would break any moment, though I knew that was all in my head. Breathing became more and more difficult as the man just stared at me.

Then he pushed his arm through the hole in the wall and pointed what looked to be a Taser at me.

Dammit.

He pulled the trigger and a pair of needles shot towards me. They easily pierced my shirt and punctured my skin, but that was the easy part. It was what came next that hurt more than anything I’d ever felt.