Authors: Sophia Kenzie
Beautiful PRICK (11 page)
“You better go.” I widen my eyes at Johnny before turning to
follow Nick inside my apartment.
“I think I better stay.” His deep, accented rebuttal makes
me spin back to him.
“Johnny, please, this is something I need to handle on my
own, and having you here is not going to make my circumstances any better.” I
reason with him, hoping my calm approach will make him see the light.
“And I understand all that.” He stands, towering above me. “But
I don’t like the way he talks to you.” His lips press into a thin line.
I almost laugh. He seems to still be on this protective
kick, but that’s so not necessary when it comes to Nick.
Kick… Nick… apparently I’m a poet now.
Not a good poet, but a poet.
“I’ve been dating Nick for five years. I know how to handle
him.”
He completely ignores me. “I need a glass of water.”
“Johnny…” I warn.
He finally acknowledges me and reaches his hands out to my
shoulders. “Just a glass of water, Caroline. I’ll stay out of your hair.”
I can’t very well deny the man a glass of water.
“Fine.”
Johnny follows me into the apartment, and I feel Nick’s
glare sear my skin as I direct Johnny to the kitchen and the glassware. I offer
him a deliberate look, praying that he can read my mind that I need him to stay
put and not interrupt the inevitable fight Nick and I are about to break into.
“I got it, Caroline. Go ahead.” Johnny motions to the living
room.
Huh… maybe he
can
read my mind.
I take a deep breath and put on a smile as I sink
onto the couch next to Nick.
“Hey.” I cautiously hum.
“Hey.” I can tell he’s brooding.
“Um,” I squint at him, “This visit wasn’t something we
planned, right?”
“Nope.” He pops the ‘p’ sounds.
“Right, okay then.” I pretend to laugh. “Then what are you
doing here, Nick?”
He repositions himself to face me. “I thought it would be
nice to surprise my girlfriend.”
I feel myself on the verge of an explosion. Not only did we
break up, but the last time we spoke, he essentially told me that my passion in
life was a waste of time and that I had to drop everything and move back to New
York.
But I don’t explode. Instead, I smile and tell him that it
was a very nice gesture, but I’m confused as to why he felt the need to make
the trip. I can tell that he’s trying desperately to remain calm as he explains
that he’s worried about me, especially with what just happened, and that it
would make him feel better if I were to come home.
“And what would that do to me?” I raise my eyebrows.
“For one, you wouldn’t be going out in the middle of the
night and then getting attacked.” His tone becomes harsher. “And secondly, you
wouldn’t be making out with movie stars because you’re,” he puts up his hands
to indicate air quotes, “helping him with a scene.”
“She was very helpful.” Johnny smugly peeks his head in, and
offers his opinion.
“Johnny!” I shoo him away. “You’re not helping.”
He winks at me with a half smile. “I wasn’t trying to help,
Caroline.”
What is he trying to do? I’m handing this. I don’t need his
sly remarks or witty observations. As I tried to make clear earlier, I don’t
need him here at all.
“I’m talking to my girlfriend, man. Not you.” Nick stands up
to face Johnny. I try to tug him back down, but at this point, their eyes are
set on each other.
“As I understand it, she’s not your girlfriend any longer.” Johnny
takes a step into the room.
Oh God. This is not how I thought this day was going to turn
out. Not that I had any idea how the day would turn out, but not in a million
years would I have thought that Nick and Johnny would be standing over me while
they marked their territory.
Nick’s voice deepens. “That is something between Caroline
and me. You have no business in this conversation.”
But Johnny isn’t one to back down from a fight, and he’s not
about to start now. “Well, maybe if you had any idea what was going on in her
life, I wouldn’t have to be.” Johnny takes another step closer.
Nick mirrors him. “Are you trying to say you know more about
my girlfriend than I do?”
Johnny smiles. “I’m not saying that. I’m saying that you’ve
been absent from her life as of late, and I’ve stepped up.”
I don’t know how much more of this I can take.
“You haven’t stepped up.” Nick argues. “You pay her for her
time. She’s practically your whore.”
“Hey!” I scream, shocked at his conclusion.
Johnny’s face reddens. “Don’t you dare say that about her.”
Nick pushes past me, coming face to face with Johnny. “Did
you fuck my girlfriend?”
It’s very rare that Nick uses such harming words. It even takes
a second for me to register what he’s said before I rebuff his assessment.
“We’re not sleeping together, Nick. I told you, it’s not
like that.”
He sinisterly laughs as his sight bounces between Johnny and
me. “Why the fuck would I trust you, Caroline?”
I see Johnny begin to lunge at Nick, but I’m quick enough
that I step in between them, stopping a fight before it breaks out.
“Out!” I scream. “Both of you, out!”
They don’t leave.
“Are you deaf? I want you all out of my house.”
I forcefully push the two while I block out their arguments.
In this moment, I want nothing to do with either of them. They’re childish and
immature and I don’t have any idea why this ridiculous pissing match started,
but I know I don’t want anything to do with it any longer.
I give it a few minutes of pacing before I head onto my
front porch for some fresh air. I turn left out of my door, heading for my
little wicker chair, but stop suddenly as I see Johnny calmly sitting there,
drinking the rest of his wine.
“That was fun.” The tone of his voice is chipper.
“No, Johnny, it wasn’t fun.” My voice is anything but
chipper. “I can’t believe you did that to me.”
I want to sit down, to close my eyes, but I know if I sit
down it’ll look like I’m giving up the power, and right now, I need all the
power I can get.
“I helped you get rid of an unwanted guest.” He nonchalantly
clarifies.
I’m angry: very angry. And that explosion that I was trying
so hard to hold in earlier, well, it takes over. I have no control. “I told you
that I wanted to handle it on my own, and you didn’t have the decency to allow
me to do that. You jumped right in and said something that you knew would start
a fight. What did you think my reaction was going to be? Huh? Did you think I
was going to throw you a party? Lead a parade in your honor? Kiss your feet
because you talked down to my ex-boyfriend? No. When I said that I wanted you
out, I meant both of you. Now get out!”
I turn around and walk inside, allowing him to leave with at
least a little bit of dignity.
About fifteen minutes later, there’s a knock on my door.
I’ve been pacing in front of the door for fifteen minutes,
so without thinking I twist the knob and open it.
“I promise that I did leave.” Johnny smiles as he waits for
my reaction. I don’t give him one. “But then I came back.”
“I see that.” I gesture to him, standing in front of me.
“And I don’t want to talk about it…”
I cut him off. “Good, because I don’t want to either.”
“Good.” He nods.
I’m quite sure my face is bright red. “Then why are you
here, Johnny?”
He grabs my hand and pulls to toward the street, where a cab
is waiting. “It’s a secret.”
I don’t know why I don’t resist, but for some reason, I’m
intrigued, and I follow the man who only minutes before made me want to rip all
my hair out.
Johnny tells the cabbie the address and we take off.
To where, though, I have no idea.
“Where are we?” The sky is now black and the corner where
the taxi dropped us off seems to be missing one, or two, or any source of
light.
“It’s a surprise.” Johnny flashes a smile as he grabs my
hand and pulls me across the parking lot.
“Yeah, see, my kind of surprises usually involve sunlight,
and ice cream, and a few overly energetic people dressed up as cartoon
characters.” I nervously laugh, but it doesn’t stop him.
“There’s none of that where we’re going.” He says under his
breath, but I can tell he’s still smiling.
We turn down an even darker alley and walk toward a door
with a single, partially fading, even flickering, light directly above it.
“Oh good. Light. Even if it is the kind of eerie light that
makes you want to turn around and run
for your
life.” My voice is shaking.
“Caroline, are you afraid?” Johnny turns to look at me, his
dark eyes wide with excitement.
“Hmmm, let’s see…” I pretend to think about my answer. “The
last time I was in a creepy alley…” I don’t need to finish; he knows what I’m
referring to.
“Do you not trust me?” He quickly asks before turning right
back around and pulling me toward to metal door beneath the flickering light.
“I don’t
not
trust you…” I warily reply, but I know
he’s not listening.
He begins to bang on the door: first, two knocks, then a
pause, then another
knock, followed by three
quick bangs with the side of his fist. I hear the latch release and the door
swings open. There’s a tall, dark man behind the metal door, and he offers a
nod to Johnny before clearing to the side to allow us to pass. We walk down a
long hallway, take the first right, and then the second left. From there, we go
down a flight of stairs, through a set of double doors, and down another long
hallway. I don’t say a word, but as we move down the hallway, I begin to hear
voices. There are people: lots of people. They sound like they’re yelling, or
maybe cheering. In fact, it might be a little of
both.
We come upon another set of double doors and Johnny turns to
me. “You ready?”
I make a face at him. “Really? What do you think my answer
is? Of course I’m not ready. I have no idea what I’m supposed to be ready for. You
have refused to give me the slightest hint…”
But I stop talking once Johnny opens the doors.
The room is big, bigger than I thought it could be after
walking through the underground maze. And, it’s packed. It’s full of people,
right up against one another, staring into the center of the room. In
the center of the room is a fight. Two people tackle
each other to the ground while a black and white shirted referee stands close
by.
“What is this?” I whisper as quietly as one could possibly
whisper in a packed room of people screaming.
Johnny puts his arm around my shoulder as he looks out over
the crowd. “It’s an underground MMA fight.”
“Underground?” I look up at him. “Oh, wait, because we’re
underground… I get it.”
Johnny chuckles as he pulls me closer. “Not exactly,
Caroline. This specific arena isn’t…” he pauses, “licensed.”
I nod, as if I have any understanding of what he’s telling
me. But then it registers. “Hold on, this is illegal?” I feel a heat fill my
body.
“A little bit.” He cheerfully bellows as he pulls me through
the crowd.
In a complete mob-mentality type of way, I start screaming
at the people in front of me. I have no idea who is fighting, but for some
reason, I want them to pummel each other. I’m completely enthralled and can’t
take my eyes off the scene in front of me.
“Oh! He’s got him in a Guillotine Choke Hold!” I scream and
point, talking to no one in particular.
“You have quite the memory.” Johnny answers over the crowd.
“Well,” I sarcastically bat my eyes at him, “when you’re
trapped in one for three minutes, because your trainer refuses to release you,
it kind of sticks with you.”
He leans over and nudges me with his hip. “Sounds like you
got yourself a pretty smart trainer.”
“Hmmm.” I growl in response.
We talk about the match, the attacks, the counters, and even
the guys fighting. We analyze their tactics and critique their form, all the
while screaming over the rest of the audience.
It’s fun.
I’m genuinely having a good time.
“Thank you.” I reach up to his ear, resting my hands on his
shoulder for support.
“For what?” He slightly turns to me.
“I needed this distraction.”
“Ha.” He nods. “Yeah, you really did.”
He gives me a look. It’s weird, and I really don’t know how
to take it. He might very well want to kiss me, or else he’s reflecting on how
pathetic I’ve been as of late. Odd that those two looks are fairly similar. I
want to ask him why he’s staring at me this way, but I’m afraid to break the
eye contact. Whatever intention is behind this moment finally makes me feel as
though I am no longer alone.
It’s been so long since I’ve felt that way.
And so I let it last, maybe too
long, but nothing changes between the two of us. I wonder if that’s a good or a
bad thing.
“I hope you know you’re not off the hook.” I finally
challenge.
“What hook was I on?” I can tell by his smile that he’s
playing,
he knows exactly what I’m talking
about.
“Oh, let me think.” I tease as I pretend to come up with an
answer. “Well, there was that time when my boyfriend showed up at my apartment
and you scared him away.”
“Ex boyfriend.” He corrects me.
I toss it off. “Same difference.”
“Actually not.” His lips press together into that same thin
line that he wears so well.
“Why do you even care?”
Oh God, why did I ask that? That was totally a flirty thing
to do. I want him to tell me that he doesn’t want me to have a boyfriend
because he wants me all to himself. But, I have told him enough times that it
will never happen between us, so why should I ever expect him to come through
on my new wish? I dug myself into this hole, and now I absolutely cannot find
my way out.
Note to self: When you’re not sure if you like someone, don’t
take sex off the table.
“I care,” Johnny places his hands on my shoulders and gives
me a light squeeze, “because I don’t think that guy has your best interest
at heart.”
Blah, blah, blah, what kind of a perfectly structured answer
is that? No one says things like that in real life. What he should have done
was picked me up and cradled me in his arms while telling me that I’m all he
thinks about and that his mornings would have no sunrise if I belonged to
another man.
Oh wait… no, things like
that
don’t happen in real
life. What he just said about Nick’s intentions is way closer to reality.
Damn.
As I’m speedily playing out a multitude of fantasies in my
head, I feel the small hairs on the back of my neck begin to tense. Something
is wrong. Something is not right. My stomach turns to knots and I feel my
insides begin to collapse.
“Caroline, what’s wrong? Your face is white. Whiter than
your normal white.” As his hands are still on my shoulders, he begins to shake
me.
I react to the shiver up my spine as I swear to him I’m
fine, and that I just got a really weird feeling, like something was wrong. He
offers to take me home, but I want to stay. It’s silly-just a strange feeling. No
use making a big deal about it.
The referee calls two people to the ring, and my attention
is drawn back to the center. The sound is a bit muffled, and hard to hear over
the crowd, but I believe one guy’s name is David, and another is Juan.
David spins around, grabbing the audience’s attention before
shaking the hand of the other man in the ring with him. The other man, who I’m
assuming is Juan, keeps his head down and his stance low. He doesn’t play to
the crowd,
instead, he focuses on his opponent. The
bell rings and Juan attacks low. He quickly gets him into a Helicopter Armbar
before twisting down into an Elevator Hook Sweep. He’s fast, he’s meticulous,
and he’s good. I can’t take my eyes off him. He quickly becomes the crowd
favorite, even though he didn’t even care to introduce himself before the bell.
But that doesn’t matter anymore,
everyone is
rooting for him now. Everyone wants him to win. And there’s no doubt in
anyone’s mind that he will. David is about to get creamed.
He holds on for two rounds, getting in a few strong joint
locks, before he’s knocked unconscious. The crowd roars to life, and Juan
finally takes his bow. I scream with the rest of the group, cheering him on-thanking
him for the entertainment he just provided. It’s exhilarating, and my entire
body is tingling from the excitement. He turns to us and lifts his arms in
victory.
For the first time, I see his face.
I feel my knees begin to wobble, and my vision clouds. I
push my arms out to the side, hoping to find something to steady myself.
“Caroline, what’s wrong? Your face is doing that white thing
again.” Johnny wraps his arms around me, and I don’t fight him. I give him my
weight.
“It’s him,” I manage, “the guy in the center.”
“The guy in the center? Which guy? What are you trying to
say?” He’s confused and rightly so.
I focus my vision and look directly into Johnny’s eyes. “Juan:
he’s the head of the group of guys that attacked me.”