Nine
2007 Words
Jerome took a huge gulp from the bottle of alcohol he held in his hand and grimaced at the taste then gripped the front of his hair and growled. He staggered around the living room of his home while muttering under his breath in anger.
"Ah!" He screamed and tossed the bottle across the room and enjoyed the satisfying shatter of glass.
The blonde haired man fell to his knees and shut his eyes tight against the ache in his heart. He opened his eyes and glared at the chandelier hanging above him.
"How could this happen to me again?" He asked in a croaked voice. "I lost my first baby and now this one?"
Jerome sat down on his buttocks then stretched his long legs on the cold floor. His eyes moved around the room while biting his lip and blinking away the tears.
"Why has fate got to treat me like this? Is it so hard for me to keep a child? This just brings back bad memories," he said to himself and bent one of his knees where he placed his elbow on for support.
Someone rung the door bell and before he could give the person any order, in came a raging Nora. Her hair was out of place, her clothes were rumpled like she had been struggling with someone and her eyes were red with the rage she came in with and all Jerome did was scoff.
"Get out of my house, Nora. Nothing you say will be the truth and I can't believe you had them lie to me!" He yelled and stood up with a stagger.
Nora narrowed her eyes at him and waited until he was close to her before she raised her hand and slapped him across the cheek, twice. Which made Jerome pause sideways.
"You better keep your stupid mouth shut or I'll do more than just slap you!" Nora yelled close to his face then held his collar and pulled him close to her face.
"Get your hands off of me," he growled out and got hit again across the cheek with a slap. "Touch me again, Nora. I swear I'll-"
Nora hissed." What?! You're going to jump and hit me? Just like you jumped into believing that criminal over people who have been there for you? How stupid of you."
Jerome took hold of her hands and pushed her away from his body. He backed away and ran his fingers through his hair then let out a dry chuckle.
"Don't try to turn the tables, please. Just because she's a bad person doesn't mean you should take advantage of her attitude by doing such horrible things," he reasoned and made his way to the drink cabinet in the corner of his living room.
"How foolish you've become, Jerome. I am so disappointed in you right now. Someone who ruined our lives, she almost killed Ciara who you were in love with before and now she comes back and feeds you lies. Isn't that too obvious that it's a strategy," Nora seethed while her hands stayed fisted by her sides and eyes narrowed dangerously.
He chose to ignore her while he poured himself some drink into a glass cup. After he had poured himself the alcohol, he turned around to face her and gave her a nonchalant look.
"The fact that the truth is out and nothing you say can change the disgust I feel in here," he said and placed a shaking finger on the left side of his chest. "It hurts here so much."
Nora glared hard at him, her eyes maintaining it's narrow and her fists still by her side. She clenched her jaws tight, fighting back a harsh retort that was at the tip of her tongue
"What do you want to know?" Nora demanded in an almost shaking tone.
Jerome's ears perked to the question asked by the woman in front of him and walked up to her after dropping his drink. He wiped his face and held her arms but Nora pushed him away slightly. His heart broke more at her reaction.
"What do you want to know, Jerome?" She asked again, this time more firmly.
"Everything and please don't lie to me," he said, pointing to her.
Nora looked him up and down and rolled her eyes then walked past him to where he had dropped the glass. She picked it up and twirled the caramel colored drink within the glass cup.
"Mason had been contacted by Fiona who told him that the house was being robbed, which was impossible when I thought of it. This nice neighborhood has a very tight security and any one foolish enough to come rob it, never makes it out. So, when Mason went over to his ex lover, she confessed that she had lied just so he would come over.
"Fiona later said she was pregnant but Mason being an attention lover in all aspect, knew it did not belong to him. And that was the last time Mason heard of the pregnancy until Fiona and Clark kidnapped our friends. It was found out that Fiona had aborted the baby because she didn't want anything to do with a deranged play boy," Nora said and took a sip from the drink with a pointed look aimed at Jerome who had a blank look on his face.
Jerome scoffed. "The way you said it just tells me how much of a lie it is."
Nora hissed. "You have got to me kidding me! What has gotten into you, Jerome?! How can you believe such a piece of s**t and put your hands on Mason who forgave you and made you his friend! Don't you know she lied to you?!"
"I know," he said in a light tone and smirked. "I know that was what happened. Well, until a few hours ago."
Nora dropped the glass in shock while her mouth was agape.
"E-Excuse me?"
Jerome looked down at the spot where the glass had fallen then shifted his gaze up at the woman. He strode to her and placed a hand on her shoulder.
"I'll tell you how."
Flashback...
Jerome stopped in his tracks immediately Fiona dashed into a corner. He placed his hands on his knees and breathed hard.
"Fiona had my baby?" He asked himself quietly then stood straight and began to make his way towards the direction the dark haired woman had taken only to pause when he heard her voice coming from one of the empty offices in the hallway.
"The plan happened the way you wanted it. Now can I focus on the most important people? I can't believe you had to make me think of that bastard child I had in me. Ugh. I felt so disgusted with this plan. And the stupid look in his eyes when he realized he had a child made me sick in the gut. Did he f*****g know how annoying it was to find out I had his child?" he heard Fiona whisper in the room.
Jerome backed away slightly then flinched when he heard her footsteps coming closer to the door. The man dashed back to where he had been coming from and leaned on the wall behind him. His heart beat faster as he realized just how foolish he felt for believing her for a second in his office.
"She's playing a tricky game on me. Whoever she was speaking with has something against us and one of their plan is to separate us through lies and deceit," he whispered and shut his eyes tight.
A few workers walked into the hallway which caused him to move away frantically from the wall and act natural. When they had greeted him, he craned his head to the direction where the exit was and shook his head.
"Two can play at this game," he said and raced after her.
Nora slapped Jerome across his face hard that the man staggered backwards in his tipsy state. She walked closer to him and was about to hit him with her fist when he caught it and pulled her arm down to her side.
"Let me go, you bastard! How could you act so stupid and had us worried so sick!" She yelled in his face and all he did was laugh out.
Jerome moved away from her body and ran his fingers through his hair. He crossed his arms over his chest and laughed more.
"Listen to me, Nora. No one needs to know about this," he said and she paused.
"Huh? What do you mean by that? They need to know because of the way you displaced everyone," she stated and copied his pose by crossing her arms.
He sighed. "The only reason I'm saying this, is because Fiona and her masterminds needs to think that their plans are actually working. I decided to keep up with this act by fooling everyone because in this very case, Fiona could have anyone watching us and it isn't safe with the way threats have been thrown at us."
Nora bit her bottom lip in thought then placed her gaze sideways. She exhaled and walked over to him with a smirk.
"I didn't know you had it in you," she complimented and punched his arm softly. "But what was the need to hit Mason and get vexed with us."
He shrugged. "I was and I am still angry that no one told me about that woman having my baby. I could have done something to make her give birth to my child. After losing one with Ciara and all, I just can't have-"
"It's fine," she said. "The baby doesn't deserve to come into this world and find out that her mommy was a criminal. It takes a huge toll on kids and growing up with. Then comes bullies who think the best way to hurt their prey is through personal means."
"I want to feel so relaxed with what you just said but it'll take a lot of time for me to get a hold of myself after this news," Jerome added with dull eyes. "I just can't believe that she came back to actually hurt us."
"And luck is on our side," Nora reassured. "No one else would've thought of what you did at the last minute. But thank God for the threats and the miraculous visiting from Fiona."
The blonde man chuckled drily and opened his mouth to speak when the door bell rang. He shared a look with his best friend then looked back at the door.
"Who could it be?" Nora asked and Jerome licked his lips then narrowed his eyes in thought.
"If it's one of our friends, I want you to act like there's still bad blood. We have to keep up with the act until we figure out just what these people are up to," he explained and tapped her shoulder in reassurance before jogging to the door.
He inhaled and exhaled then placed a scowl on his face before pulling the door open. Before him, stood a smiling Fiona who had a carton of pizza and a plastic bag that looked like it contained canned drinks. He almost laughed.
"Hey, I just came over to check up on you," she said.
"Just come in," he stated and moved aside for her to walk in. As soon as he closed the door, he made eye contact with Nora who later glared at Fiona who stood confused.
"What's she doing here?" Fiona asked and looked up at Jerome.
"She was about leaving. You can get out of my house now, Nora. There's nothing you can say that'll change my mind about you backstabbers," he said in a dark tone and gave Nora a flashing smile when Fiona's attention was fixed on the red haired woman.
Nora scoffed and walked up to them. She glared at Fiona then looked up at Jerome who had amusement dancing in his eyes. She poked his chest and hissed.
"You're going to regret this," she stated heatedly and walked through them and left the house, not before Jerome grabbed her hand and squeezed it with a wink which she returned.
"I want you to tell me everything those people did to you," he said and placed a hand on Fiona's shoulder.
Fiona smiled.
- Writer
