Karine sat at her vanity,
admiring her beauty while Terry sat behind her on her bed.
“You wanted
to talk to me,” he said.
“I have
something important to tell you,” she replied.
“I think I
know what it is.”
“I don’t
think you do.”
“You want
me,” smiled Terry.
Karine
turned around to see Terry standing behind her.
He took her hand and she stood to face him.
“Are you in
love with me?” he asked.
She
hesitated for a moment. “I love the way
you make me feel.”
“How do I
make you feel?”
“Safe.”
Karine
switched the scene to a meadow and she was wearing a medieval style dress, like
in Game of Thrones or something. Terry
was dressed as a knight and they were riding on a white unicorn. Ok, no, just a horse, a unicorn was going too
far even for a fantasy.
“I’ll
always protect you!” Terry announced while brandishing his sword.
“I know,”
Karine replied, burying her face into his back.
“Don’t hate me for keeping her from you.”
“I could
never hate you.”
“I hope
that’s true.”
Terry dismounted
and started to walk away. Karine
followed, still on the horse.
“Terry, why
can’t it be me? Why don’t you love me?”
“You’re
beautiful and cool and totally hot but that’s not enough. You’re not like her.”
“What’s so
special about her?”
“She’s
good.”
“And I’m
bad?”
“Well duh,”
snarked Cerise, suddenly appearing in a white dress while Karine’s dress turned
black. “You have dark hair, Karine. And I’m blonde. That’s how these things work.”
“I’m not
evil!” Karine protested.
“I beg to
differ,” said Cerise, turning around to show the knife sticking out of her
back.
“I never
betrayed you. We’re not even friends!”
“I thought
we were,” she sulked.
Terry
pulled the knife out of Cerise’s back and pushed Karine off the horse. He mounted it and pulled Cerise up with
him.
“Terry,
save me!” Karine called out.
“Save
yourself, bitch.”
Karine
shook away the daydream and turned the volume up on her ipod, hoping the music
would drown out her thoughts. She walked
around the house, surveying the damage from last week’s party. She hadn’t done a thing to clean anything
up. It was at these moments she wished
she still had a boyfriend but she knew how mean that was, to use guys when it
suited her and to reject them when she got tired of them. She was such a giant bitch; it was a mystery
why she even had any friends. Which she
supposed she didn’t, not really. Was
Janice her friend, was Sarah, was Cerise?
Terry was but she was treating him like shit by not getting him back
together with his Cherry angel.
Oh fuck it!
She texted him and he said he’d be right over.
Terry’s mom
was leaving him texts and voice-mails every day but his dad hadn’t done
shit. Fuck those two assholes. Then again, he’d been at Cerise’s place for
over a week and he was starting to feel like he was imposing. None of the Laframboise chicks had made him
feel unwelcome, not even Cerise’s mom.
In fact, they were all being super cool all the time but that was part
of the problem. They were being too
nice, too polite almost. He still felt
like a guest, rather than a member of the family. He was such an idiot for thinking he could
just move in and suddenly he’d be like, what?
Cerise’s husband? Angela’s
son? God, he was such a moron. No wonder his bio-mom had abandoned him when
he’d been a baby. She could probably
tell he was mentally deficient.
So he
jumped at the chance to go hang out with Karine whenever she texted, although
he was also starting to feel like he was way too available to her. He always did whatever she wanted and was starting
to feel like he was her boyfriend except without any of the benefits so how
bullshit was that? When he showed up at
her place that Sunday afternoon and saw that her house was still a mess a week
after the party he figured she’d try to make him clean up like she always did
to Steven.
“You expect
me to deal with this shit?” he asked as soon as he’d walked in the door.
Her lip
quavered and he instantly felt like shit.
Hell, why shouldn’t he help clean up?
He’d been at the party, drunk her beer, eaten her food, he should do
whatever he could to help out.
“Just sit
down, you fucking loser,” she instructed.
“What’s
wrong?” he asked, sitting on the living room couch, careful to avoid the dark
stain on one of the cushions.
She stayed
standing and even paced back and forth.
“I know how you can get back together with Cerise.”
Ok, this
was definitely better than having to clean shit up. “How?” he asked.
“Just do
what she wants. Stop hanging out with
Andrew.”
“Well I
basically already have but that’s not the point, is it? I can’t just give in to her ultimatum, ‘cause
that’s like totally nutso.”
“But I
don’t want you to see him either.”
“How come?”
“’Cause
he’s an asshole.”
“But he’s
still our friend.”
“You have
to understand, Terry. I didn’t tell you
this shit sooner because, well ‘cause I didn’t want anyone to know. I only told Cerise ‘cause she could like,
tell there was something wrong. Like
wrong with me and wrong with him.”
“What do
you mean?”
“He hurt
me.”
Terry’s
stomach tightened and he could feel the anger rising. His hands balled into fists and he had to
force them to relax so he could get up and put a hand on Karine’s
shoulder. “What did he do?”
Karine
shook Terry away and shook her head.
“What did
he do?” Terry repeated, feeling like he maybe already knew and probably didn’t
want to hear the answer.
“He you
know, it was last year. Grad, prom,
whatever. He just, you know, like…” she
sighed heavily and then spoke with exasperation. “Fuck, you know, like forced himself on me or
whatever.”
Terry was
certain he would throw up. It was almost
like the room was spinning. It wasn’t
just that Karine had gone through something so horrible it couldn’t even be
imagined, but that he’d kept being friends with that… that rapist. Hadn’t he always suspected in the back of his
mind that Andrew’s shit was fake, that he didn’t score with so many chicks
‘cause he had game but ‘cause he wasn’t really on the up and up?
“I’ll kill
him,” said Terry, almost shaking now.
“Terry,
goddammit! I’m only telling you this so
you’ll understand. I don’t want you to
do anything crazy!”
Terry
reached out to Karine to try to hug her but she pushed him away. “Did you go to the police?” he asked.
“God, no,
what the fuck?! I don’t want people
knowing about this shit! I never even
would have told you if I didn’t have to!”
“But
Karine…”
“Shut the
fuck up!” she screamed. “This happened
to me, ok? So I decide how to deal with
it. Not you or anyone else.”
“Yeah, I
know but,” Terry didn’t even know how he was going to finish that sentence but
Karine interrupted him anyway.
“You don’t
understand.”
“You’re
right, I don’t. But there’s gotta be
some people out there who do. You should
talk to someone. Get help.”
“Oh my god,
stop it! I didn’t bring this up so we
could have a heart to heart! I don’t
need a kid’s help line. I don’t want you to give me advice and I don’t want you
to like, you know, think of me like this.”
“Karine, it
doesn’t make me think less of you. It
just makes me think less of him.”
He finally
drew her into a hug and she started to cry.
An instant later she pushed him away.
“Just leave me alone.”
“But I
mean, if you don’t like, tell someone, won’t he just do it to other girls?”
“He already
has,” said Karine, her voice muffled as she wiped her face.
“What?”
“Christina. I’m pretty sure he did it to her too.”
Once again
Terry had to fight the nausea rising in his throat. Karine was full on crying now and Terry felt
his own eyes moisten. He reached out to
her again but she pushed him away and yelled at him to go away.
“Karine,
let me…”
“Just fuck
off!” she screeched. “Go!”
And with
that he was pushed out of Karine’s house.
He could have pushed back obviously, could have tried to stay, tried to
help her but he really had no idea what to do.
There was nothing he could do. He
was completely helpless.
Without
even realizing where he was going he wound up at Clyde ’s. Somehow he knew Andrew would be there and
sure enough, he stood by a pool table, guzzling a beer.
“Hey man,
what’s up?” he asked, all smiles.
Terry’s
fist flew out as though it wasn’t even attached to his body. It was like he wasn’t even controlling
it. Andrew was struck square in the jaw
and fell backwards, his beer mug crashing on the floor. Everyone stopped and stared. Terry slowly walked away backwards as Andrew
moaned and scrambled to his feet.
He stood on
the sidewalk outside and waited for Andrew to come out. It didn’t take long.
“What the
fuck?!” Andrew yelled.
Terry held
out his arms, inviting Andrew to attack him, which he did. He was no match for Terry, which Terry was
acutely aware of. Andrew was a bully,
used to pushing little skinny kids around but Terry was an enforcer, a goon as
Vani had so helpfully pointed out.
Within an instant Andrew was in a headlock and Terry knew that if he
twisted in the right way he could snap his neck. Instead he punched him in the gut and threw
him to the ground. Andrew cried out in
pain and wheezed, trying to catch his breath.
It took about a million years but he finally stumbled to his feet and
Terry punched him in the face again.
That had maybe
been a bit much. Andrew kneeled down on
the ground, holding his face as a pool of blood developed beneath him. Shit, he hadn’t even hit him that hard. Andrew tried to say something but instead a
tooth fell out of his mouth. He
screeched and grabbed for it but missed completely, his hand flailing over the
pool of blood. Oh god, maybe he had a
concussion. Terry had played with a kid
once who’d gotten hit really hard and hadn’t even passed out and kept playing
for weeks but it was obvious something was wrong and it turned out he had a way
bad concussion and totally had brain damage and shit. Terry had probably sustained a ton of minor
head injuries without even knowing it.
Why did he even keep playing hockey?
It was so retarded, no wonder Cerise wasn’t into it.
It had
probably only been a few minutes but there was a huge crowd gathered at the
door of Clyde’s and tons of people on the street were watching. Pointe-Claire village always had cops around
so Terry figured this would be a good time to take his leave.
He crouched
down next to Andrew and hissed at him.
“You ever touch Karine or Christina or anyone… you so much as look at a
woman ever again, you even breathe near one, I will fucking kill you.” He grabbed Andrew’s hair and lifted his head,
causing him to groan in agony. “I’m
serious you piece of shit. This was me
at like ten percent. If I wanted I could
snap your neck like a twig. Don’t doubt
it. I will fucking kill you.”
He let go
of Andrew’s hair and stood up. Andrew
slumped into his own blood, moaning incomprehensibly. Terry looked up and saw a ton of people
staring at him in shock.
Everyone
was whispering to one another. “Oh my
god, did you hear what he said? That
guy’s probably like a wife beater or something!” “Totally, he probably deserved it.” “I know that guy, he’s a total asshole.”
Terry started
walking to his car, which he’d left in the parking lot and the crowd parted for
him, still whispering about the situation.
It sucked
that Terry never seemed to want to hang out here. Cerise knew it must be weird for him staying
at her house but he always seemed so eager to leave. Then again, maybe that’s how he always
was. He always had hockey or something
to go to. But seriously, did he have go
see Karine every single time she texted?
And did they have to text four billion times a day? Everyone was always so glued to their
phones. Cerise would never become like
that even when she got one, which she supposed she should do. She was so out of touch with the modern world.
She reached
down to the couch and held up his pillow.
Every morning he would fold his sheets and place everything on the side
of the couch, so as not to disturb anyone.
She wished he wouldn’t bother, that he would just make himself
comfortable, less like a guest and more like someone who really lived
here. They all loved having him, even
her mom had said so. He filled and
emptied the dishwasher every day, always kept the downstairs bathroom spotless
and even offered to do their laundry.
They always declined but she guessed he felt bad about having a billion
loads. God, guys were so stinky. With only girls in the house they only had to
do laundry once a week but Terry did a load practically every day. He usually kept his hockey bag in his car but
he’d brought it in a few times to wash his gear and Christ, it smelled like a
dead rat. Cerise sort of liked the smell
of Terry’s sweat but there were limits to even her olfactory tolerance. With that thought in mind she buried her nose
in his pillow and took a good whiff. It
smelled like his natural musk but also his mango shampoo.
“Cerise.”
She spun
around, her cheeks instantly flushing, and dropped the pillow to her feet. “Terry,” she stammered but then saw that
something was wrong.
He stumbled
towards her and she reached out to him, leading him to the couch, where he collapsed,
seemingly stunned.
“Oh my god,
your hands!” she exclaimed.
He held up
his hands and looked at them as though surprised. They were a gory, bloody mess.
“Don’t
move,” she instructed, rushing off to the upstairs bathroom to get their first
aid kit.
She came
back with the kit as well as a bowl of warm water and a towel. Without saying anything she placed his hands
in the bowl. He didn’t protest. The water turned pink and then red. She pulled the hands out and inspected
them. They were bruised and torn up
pretty badly but she didn’t know what was serious and what wasn’t when it came
to such injuries.
“I’m not
really sure what to do,” she admitted.
“It’s ok, I
know. Can you pass me my bag, I don’t
wanna get your towel all dirty.”
“It’s ok, Terry,
it’s just a towel.”
He nodded
and dried off his hands. Sure enough the
towel became a spotted mess. Reaching
into the first aid kit, which Cerise had opened, he squeezed a ton of
Polysporin onto his knuckles and then wrapped them in gauze. “I should put some ice on for the swelling.”
An instant
later she was back with a bag of frozen peas, which she placed on top of his
hands. They both leaned back on the
couch and stared straight ahead.
“Should you
go to the hospital? X-rays or whatever?”
“Nothing’s
broken,” he said.
“So who’d
you beat up?”
“Andrew
Lester.”
She sat up
straight and looked at him in shock.
“Why?”
“Karine
told me, you know, what he did.”
“Oh my
god! Did you like… is he ok?”
“He’ll
live, which is better than he deserves.”
“What if he
presses charges or whatever?”
“He won’t.”
“How can
you be so sure?”
“’Cause
like pride and stuff. Besides, even if
he does, who cares? It’s worth it.”
“But you
could get like, a criminal record!”
“Well what
was I supposed to do?” he asked angrily, sitting up to face her. “Just let him get away with it? Karine won’t go to the cops so what the
fuck?”
Cerise
nodded and shrugged. In truth she
understood why Terry had done it. She
didn’t necessarily agree with his actions but only because of the potential consequences. Knowing Andrew had been hurt was very
satisfying and a part of her even wished that Terry had killed him. “What’d you
do to him exactly?” she asked, hoping for a gruesome play by play.
“Punched
him in the face a couple times and punched him in the gut. I guess I hit him pretty hard ‘cause he lost
a tooth and there was a ton of blood and he seemed groggy, like dazed or
whatever. He might have a concussion.”
“Doesn’t
that mean he has to be like monitored so he doesn’t fall asleep or whatever?”
“Who gives
a shit?”
“I’m just
saying if he turns out to be badly hurt his parents will like go to the
police!”
“He’s not
even gonna tell them.”
“How do you
know?”
“Just
‘cause, fuck!” he exclaimed.
“Ok, relax,
don’t get pissed at me!”
“Sorry,” he
sighed and then leaned back again. “Ow,”
he said, twisting around.
She lifted
up his shirt and saw a dark bruise on his side.
“Shit, I
don’t even remember that happening. He
didn’t even hit me! God, I’m such an
idiot.”
“Yeah, you
are. That was seriously dangerous.”
“No I mean
for not knowing. That he was a jerk.”
“Yeah
well,” she shrugged, knowing that anything she had to say would only make
things worse.
“I should
have known. Like in grade 9 when he got
that chick pregnant.”
“He got a
girl pregnant in Sec 3?”
“Yeah, and
he was so assholy about it. Like it was
a big joke. He just laughed about
it. He actually made racist jokes about
her. I should have known.”
“What
happened to the girl?”
“I have no
idea. I never even met her.”
“Well…”
“Yeah.”
They sat
there for a while and then Cerise turned on the TV.
Terry was
just lying in the dark, unable to sleep when he heard someone creep into the
room. God, it’d better not be Jules.
“Terry, are
you asleep?” asked Cerise.
“No, I
can’t sleep, you?” he said, sitting up.
She giggled
and sat next to him. “Obviously not.”
She paused
for a moment and then asked if his hands were ok and he said they were even
though they were kind of throbbing. They
sat there awkwardly for a bit and Terry wondered if he should make a move. That’s why Cerise had come downstairs, wasn’t
it?
No comments:
Post a Comment