Taking My Ex

Victimless Crime

It was Saturday and Mary was still in bed. She heard the bedroom door squeak, she opened her eyes and saw Joseph. He was in a gray tank top with blue shorts. Underneath was a black pair of leggings, Mary covered her head with the duvet.

“Don’t even think about it. You promised you would go jogging with me.” Joseph pulled the duvet off her.

“Come on it is not even 5:00.” Mary looked at the alarm clock on the bedside table. She whined and kicked her legs. Joseph dragged her to the edge of the bed.

“Please,” Joseph said and got on top of her.

“No, I will go with you next week I promise.” She sat up and kissed Joseph on the lips.

“Remember, I asked you nicely,” Joseph said and got off her. He grabbed her and threw her over his shoulders.

Mary screamed which turned into laughter. He took her to the bathroom and gently dropped her in an already-filled bathtub. The water rose spilling over the edge of the tub. This made the floor slippery, making it easier for Mary to pull Joseph into the tub with her. Now they were both wet, Mary laughed as loud as she could.

Joseph, on the other hand, had a mean frown. Mary immediately stopped laughing. He then scoffed and burst into laughter. Mary joined him they laughed for a while and they both got out of the tub. Mary took a rag from the cardboard and dropped it on the floor.

She turned to see Joseph had taken off his shirt. She stood there and stared.

“How did I get so lucky?” she thought staring intensely at him. He then pulled down his shorts. Water dripped from Mary’s pajamas. She stood there shivering. Joseph took a towel from the top cardboard and wrapped her with it. He hugged her for a while before pulling down the legging. She stepped away from the bathtub. She wiped the spilled water off the floor with the rag. She turned and saw that the water got to the mat in front of the enclosed shower.

Having trouble taking it off he hopped on one leg. All the while she continued staring. Gradually she got warmer, she was no longer cold. The shivering had stopped. Joseph got into the shower and turned it on. Immediately the cold water touched his skin he took a deep breath. He turned on the hot water which was hotter than he intended it to be.

As he fidgetted with the shower knobs to get an ideal temperature. A cold hand touched him from behind. This sent shivers down his spine. He did not turn around, he focused on the knobs. He did not need to, he could feel her heartbeat. She did not want to let him go. She held on tight as if would disappear if she did.

When the water was perfect he turned toward her. He looked her in the eyes and everything went silent. He kissed her slowly then pulled away, then he looked her in the eyes.

The way he looked at her made her feel indestructible. There and then she felt she could jump off a plane without a parachute. She had fallen in love several times. Every time it made her feel weightless. It made her feel like she could fly.

All those relationships ended badly. This feeling made her more comfortable. It felt real, something conceivable. Soon the space between them disappeared. Drops of water evaporated immediately after it hit their skin.

Soon Mary's alarm started to ring. She put on a robe and took her toothbrush from the vanity cabinet. She put toothpaste on the bristles and started brushing. Joseph wiped himself with a towel and went to the bedroom. She went to the room later to see Joseph was dressed.

“You are still going?” Mary asked as she looked at the time on the bedside table.

“You mean we, I will wait for you,” Joseph said and took a seat on the bed. This time she knew the was no getting out of it. She got into something comfortable. They both walked out of the house after doing a couple of stretches. They run on the pavement on the side of the road. Running in the direction of incoming vehicles. After running for about 200 metres they saw others in the group. There were multiple groups. Each group had a song they chanted as they jogged. Most groups had leaders who led the group. They controlled things like the pace of the jog, the songs they sang, and even the distance they were meant to travel.

Mary joined one of these exercise groups. She started by singing along with them. She then matched their jogging pace. Making sure she was not left behind. Joseph did not want to join them. He jogged beside them making sure not to get too far away from Mary. Occasionally, he turned around to check on her. She also kept her eyes on him and always waved at him when he turned around.

Joseph turned and saw no trace of her. Immediately his heart started to pound. Seconds before going into a spiral he saw her. She was arguing with a man.

“What is going on?”

He asked as he walked slowly towards them.

“This man smacked me on my behind,” Mary said and immediately regretted it.

“He did what?” Joseph asked carefully handing his phone and pods to Mary. He slapped the man. The man stumbled backward and then leaned it to reply to the slap with one of his own.

Joseph grabbed his hand and punched him in the face. All the while Mary screamed for them to stop. The man fell and Joseph got on top of him. He continued to give him a beating of a lifetime. Soon others interfered in the fight by pulling Joseph off the harrasser.

After the incident, Mary handed Joseph his stuff and stopped a taxi. She got in and left. When she got home, minutes later Joseph arrived. She ignored him giving him the silent treatment.

“So you left me on the edge of the road,” Joseph said but Mary did not even acknowledge him.

Soon he uttered the three magic words.

“I am sorry.”

“You are sorry? You are sorry that you beat a man within an inch of his life. Or are you sorry I saw you beat him? What if he had died? Did he deserve it, I don't know. But the punishment did not fit the crime. He only touches my butt for god’s sake. Do you know how I would have felt if he had died?” Mary went on and on, then Joseph walked over to her.

“You are everything to me. I am sorry I lost my temper and got overprotective. I would be more mindful next time.” Joseph said and hugged her and she hugged him back.

There was banging on the front door. Mary went to check, immediately she opened the door she saw two cops. Mary was stunned, she could not respond even after the officers greeted her.

“Is this the house of Joseph Abboi?”

“Oh my God, he is going to jail.” Mary thought thinking of what to say.