Lies, Betrayal, And Love

A Stranger No Longer

He hangs up the phone. And starts walking back towards me. With each step he takes towards me, my heart starts beating faster. There are three guys. This can't end well. I'm not strong enough to fight off either one.

Stranger: Now about that favor.

Me: I don't know what you want from me. I have nothing to offer.

Stranger: Oh yes you do. Actually, you owe me two favors.

Me: Two?

Stranger: Oh wow. You really don't remember me?

He gets close to my ear and whispers "still want to jump?"

My eyes are in disbelief. Its him. The guy that saved me from drowning is now standing in front of me. Looking good while I still look like a mess. I'm no longer soaked, but my hair looks like s**t. My clothes are dirty. And I can only imagine what my face looks like. I started to back up and back up into his friends. Not only did he save me from drowning, but he saved me again from those crazy people. And here he is saying I owe him two favors. I bet I can guess what one is. Which sucks because I'm still the proud owner of a v-card and this guy is about to take it.

Stranger: Ready to repay those favors?

Me: No, but do I have a choice?

Stranger: Your right, you don't. So get in the car.

I don't want any more trouble tonight. I get in the car as I'm told to. I headed for the back seat when suddenly he hit the hood of the car. He motions for me to get in the passenger seat. I complied and got in the front seat. I'm scared and nervous. I place my hands in my lap, saying a prayer as he starts the car and we drive off. The ride is silent. I look at the backseat where his friends are and they just stare back. I quickly turned back around.

Not too long after, we pulled up to an all-night burger joint. Why a burger joint? He parks the car. They all pile out. He leans into the window.

Stranger: Let's go.

Me: I'm not hungry.

Oh, great. I could feel it coming. GGGRRRROOOOWWWWLLLLLL. Ugh how embarrassing. I got out of the car. No use denying it. I'm starving. I get out and follow them inside. They head to a booth. We all sit down. The blonde tattoo guy sits next to me. Putting me by the window. I feel trapped.

The waitress comes over shortly after we get seated.

Waitress: Hey Leon. The usual today?

Tatted Stranger: You know it.

Waitress:Who is she?

Tatted Stranger: A friend.

She stares me down like I did something wrong. I look away.

Tatted Stranger: Hey. Are you gonna serve us or cause problems?

She finally looks away and says," I'll get your order in.

He stops her in her tracks. He went from casual to irritated in just moments.

Tatted Stranger: You didn't even get her order.

Waitress: What did you want?

Me: Nothing.

She turns to walk away again. He stops her once more. This time she is irritated with him.

Waitress: She said she didn't want anything.

He looks at me. His eyes show he is no longer in a decent mood.

Tatted Stranger: Favor one. Order food. Anything you want. Get yourself a burger, a shake, a dessert. Just eat something please.

I looked over the menu and ordered a single cheeseburger with loaded fries, a chocolate cookie shake, and a slice of cheesecake. He said order anything I want. I probably won't eat after this, so why not eat well? He looks pleased. She finishes taking my order and then leaves. I started looking around the place for a restroom to go clean up.

Me: I have to use the bathroom.

Tatted Stranger: Ok. Just don't try and leave out the window.

Me: I won't.

He moves aside, and I slide out of the booth and head to the restroom. I reach the restroom and went straight to the mirror. Geez. I looked like something from a horror movie. My hair is all scraggly. There's dirt on my dress. Luckily, I'm dark-skinned, so my face doesn't show how dirty I really am. I grab some paper towels and start trying to clean myself up. Not much I can do about my clothes, but I can at least clean my face up. I wet my hair. I know dirt got in from when I laid on the ground after he saved me. I use some more paper towels to dry it, then slip it into a ponytail. I looked in the mirror again. I look a little better now. Someone comes in. It's the waitress. She is glaring at me again.

Waitress: You think Leon wants you?

I shook my head no. I tried to make my way to the door, but she blocked me.

Waitress: Leon is mine. You can have his friends but not him. Everyone knows he's mine. So back off.

Me: Look, I don't even know the guy.

Waitress: Good. Keep it that way. Remember your place trash.

She then heads to a stall. I take my ponytail down, wash up, and leave. When I returned to the table, they had switched places. the blonde stood up, and I slid back in the booth. I looked out the window, waiting for my food to arrive. She comes out of the bathroom and comes over to our table. She walks up to Leon and apologizes. I guess he senses something is off with both of us.

Tatted Stranger: Where's your Mr. Jones?

Waitress: Why? Something wrong?

Tatted Stranger: Go get your manager.

She's confused but does what he says. The manager is now at the table.

Mr. Jones: Hey Leon. What seems to be the problem?

Tatted Stranger: Hey Mr. Jones. Long time no see. It's nothing major. It's just I want a new server.

Mr. Jones: But you always have Michelle.

Tatted Stranger: Well, Michelle seems to have a problem with my female friend here. I don't want her to not eat her food because she is worried about whether it's been spit in. Also, I saw her go into the bathroom and I think she either threatened or harassed her.

Mr. Jones: Michelle, is this true?

Michelle: She's a fuckin liar. I didn't do anything.

I look over and she is glaring again. My anger is building again. I jump up and I lash out.

Me: No. You're the fuckin liar. You threatened me to stay away from Leon. I told you I didn't even know him. You told me to keep it that way and called me trash. I'm tired of people like you thinking you're better than me. Your not. You're just someone living in a fantasy land. Guess what? Sweetheart, he doesn't want you. So you know your place trash!

I sat back down. Everyone is looking at me. Her mouth is ajar.

Michelle: You f*****g b***h.

Me: What? You wanna go outside? I've already had a shitty day. Beating your ass might actually cheer me up.

The blonde guy holds me back.

Tatted Stranger: Actually, Mr.Jones, can we just get it to go? I don't want to cause any problems.

Mr. Jones: It's fine. I'll bag it up for you. Michelle stay away from their order. You go near it and you're fired.

She mumbles under her breath. Leon stands up and grabs my hand. He motions for me to go behind him to avoid her.

Leon: Briggs take her outside.

I gladly started walking. I look back and shoot my middle finger up at her. The buff one turns me around, and we walk out the door.

Leon comes out the door now with two bags of food and the shake I ordered. We get in the car and drive to a park. His friends start rummaging through the bag. I notice a pier. I grab my shake and head towards it. I sit at the edge and dip my feet in the water. This feels relaxing after the day I've had. I heard footsteps behind me. So much for relaxing.

Tatted Stranger: Hey. You forgot your food.

Me: Oh, thanks.

Tatted Stranger: Mind if I join you?

Me: Go ahead. Even if I say no, you'll still do it.

Tatted Stranger: You're right.

We eat in silence. He had this jerkish air about him, but now he seems really nice. I break the silence.

Me: Its Melanie.

Tatted Stranger: What?

Me: You asked my name before. Its Melanie.

Tatted Stranger: Ok. Nice to meet you Melanie. You already know my name, but I'll say it now. Its Leon.

I laugh.

Me: What about your buddies over there?

Leon: The big one is Briggs and the little blonde one is actually my brother, Kai.

Me: Briggs?

Leon: Briggs is his last name. He doesn't like his first name. Its Wilbur. But you didn't hear that from me.

I laughed again. I looked over at him and he was smiling. I feel relaxed again. The silence returns. He breaks the silence.

Leon: Favor two. Tell me what led you to want to end your life.

Me: Long story.

Leon: We got nowhere to be. I'm all ears.

I sigh. He's just going to laugh at me. I really don't want to tell him. But I do owe him for saving my life though.

Me: You want the end before the bridge or the whole thing?

Leon: The whole thing. Or whatever you're comfortable telling me about.

Me: It's long, so no interruptions. It started when I turned eighteen. Two weeks after my birthday, my parents passed away in a car accident. A truck rammed them in the back. My dad died on the scene. My mom was transported to the hospital where she was pronounced dead. I was at a friend's house. I was unable to say bye to them. I feel a hole in my heart because of that. I was sent to live with my aunt, who I was never close to. I felt like Cinderella living with her minus the evil stepsisters. While living with her, I met a guy named Daniel. We went to the same school and started to hang out. We became good friends. Eventually we decided to be more than friends. Everything was great until we tried to take the next step.

Leon: Marriage?

Me: No s*x and I said don't interrupt.

Leon: Right. Sorry. Please continue.

Me: Anyway, he kept pressuring me and I wasn't ready. So he seemed to understand that and stopped. Graduation came and we got a place together. Not too long after living together, he began pressuring me again. I mentioned marriage and after that everything changed. He started working late each night, hanging out with his friends who liked to go to the club. I started questioning his loyalty, but he would always reassure me everything was OK. Then girls started calling his phone late at night. And it got to the point where he would sneak out. So tonight he came home drunk and started touching on me. I pushed his hand away and he got mad. He told me to stop being a stuck-up b***h. Said he could get it from anyone he wanted. Then gave an ultimatum. Either give it up or get out. So I got up to leave and he threw a vase at the door. I screamed. He degraded me until I ran out the door in tears. He said that I was ugly. That no one would want me. And that he cheated on me with dozens of girls already. I ran out the door. Before I knew it, I was on a bridge deciding whether I should jump. And that's the story of how I ended up there.

He sits there quietly. I looked over at him. His hands are balled up. He seems so angry. He gets up and holds his hand out. I accepted the offer and stood up.

Leon: I know I called him a jerk earlier, but he is beyond a jerk. He is a piece of s**t. I want to f**k him up right now for hurting you.

He looks down for a moment, then looks back towards me.

Leon: You don't have to deal with him ever again. But you will get your stuff. We'll go tomorrow, and I'll be there with you. He won't hurt you ever again. I promise.

I nod my head. We walk back to the car where Kai and Briggs are asleep in the back.

Me: Guess we were gone too long.

He laughs too. He walks me to the passenger door and opens it. I get in the car and he closes the door. I saw him pull his phone out and make a call. He then gets in the car and we drive off. We arrive back to the apartments we left earlier.

Me: Why are we back here?

Leon: You're staying here.

He gets out and walks to my side. He opens the door and offers his hand once more. I don't take it. He grabs my hand and pulls me out of the car. I stood there, looking very displeased with him.

Leon: You remember the girl from earlier that helped us get you out of danger?

Me: Yeah. What about her?

Leon: You'll stay with her.

Me: Why not with you?

Leon: You wanna move in with a complete stranger?

I stop and think for a moment. Move in with a guy who saved my life or the female who helped him save me from those creeps? I'm still going back and forth when he once again breaks my thoughts. He comes super close to me.

Leon: I'm not sure if I'd be any better than your ex of yours if you stayed at my place. I'm just being honest. I probably wouldn't be able to resist teasing you. You are quite the beauty. Those curves. Soft-looking lips.

I raised my hand to his mouth, then pushed him away. Decision made. I headed towards the building. He laughs and follows behind. We get in the elevator and head to the 4th floor. He knocks on her door. She opens it. She's wearing a headset with a controller in her hand.

Leon: Sorry for bothering you so late.

Lilly: Whatever you knew I was up. Come in.

We head in. Her apartment is completely pink. She throws her hand up at him.

Lilly: You stay here.

I followed behind her. Literally everything is pink. Her walls, sofa, kitchen appliances, anything you think of. She walks to a bedroom with a bed, a dresser, and a TV. It looks nice to be so simple. Sitting on the bed is a pair of clothing.

Lilly: You'll be sleeping here. There's a change of clothes for you. I thought you might want to shower.

Me: Thank you. The room is great. And I will definitely be taking a shower.

Lilly: No problem. I miss having a roommate. By the way, I'm Lilly.

Me: I'm Melanie. And wish I had a roommate with interior tastes like yours.

We both laughed. We leave the room and head back to the living room. He's sitting on the couch with a controller in his hand.

Lilly: If you don't put my s**t down!

Leon: Your team was losing.

They seem really close. Almost like brother and sister. Or boyfriend and girlfriend. Watching them makes me feel a bit down. He gets up and heads to the door. He looks back at me.

Leon: I'm gonna borrow her for a moment.

Lilly: Make it quick. I don't trust you with her.

Leon: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

We walked out the door. He stands there for a moment. Like he wants to say something but he is not sure how or if he should. I speak first.

Me: Thank you for everything today. I appreciate it.

Leon: It was nothing. Glad I got to see a smile after the night you had.

I lower my head and slightly blush.

Leon: So I'll see you tomorrow?

Me: For what?

Leon: I told you we were going to get your stuff.

Me: Oh yeah. OK then, I'll see you tomorrow.

He starts to walk away. He stops in his tracks and turns around. He's walking back my way. He takes my hand and kisses it. I snatched it away.

Leon: Good night my angel.

I rolled my eyes and walked back into the apartment. I hear him laughing as he's leaving. Great. What's in store for me tomorrow with this guy?