Episode I [continued]

It might have scared anyone else, but it felt so easy. Ollie looked down the barrel of the pistol at the terrified expression on the boy's face. The smell of fresh warm urine burned in his nostrils and made him feel sick; but nowhere on his face did he show it. This wasn't the first time he had handled a gun as proved just a minute ago as he expertly removed the bullets and put the safety on. Since he was an adolescent he had been hunting with his father. His father was partner in a gun dealership in the city before his death, so there was always a gun handy in the Oliver house. He was able to strip down a Glock in a minute flat before he could shave; and could hit a bullseye from one hundred yards before he could buy cigarettes. This though, was the first time he had ever put a gun to somebody's head and threatened to shot them.

He definitely had the boy's attention, but he needed to be sure. He licked his lips and waited for the boy to respond to him. When he didn't he thumped the boy's scalp with the tip of the gun.

"Can't you hear the sirens? Your options are running out fast, friend. You can either get up and walk out now, or wait till the cops arrive. I'm pretty sure they'll arrest you for a myriad of offenses for being in this girl's house... Assault, battery, breaking and entering, I think you get the idea."

As soon as he got the words out he saw out the corner of his eye the red and blue flash of the police car pull up at the front door. The decision was made for both of them.

"Well, I guess the decision's been made for you, see you in the funny papers."

Ollie stuffed the gun in the back of his belt, and made his way to the back door. As he walked out the door he caught Amelia helping herself to a glass of red wine. It took all he had to keep from stopping to yell at her for the inconvenience and hop the fence, but he did it. He pulled out another clove cigarette and lit it as he hopped into his classic 1970 Challenger and put it neutral. As he heard the police screaming at the drunk boy in Amelia's place he laughed as he quitely rolled the car down the alley. He started the car when he got a safe distance away from the house and flicked his clove as he sent Amelia a text message.

"This is the last time I will ever do anything like this for you Am."

And as he sent it he wished he could take it back, because he knew it was a lie.

Episode I [continued]

Amelia had a knack for getting into trouble, and Ollie always had to get her out of it. When he wasn't slapping himself in the face to stay awake as he drove he muttered obscenities under his breath. He couldn't understand why there was no one else for Amelia to rely on. He blamed himself most of the time. He had been in love with her for the better part of two years. It wasn't until he almost overdosed in a bender that he finally lost his devotion.

Maybe he was too persistent or tried to hard because when she told him about her steady boyfriend it pissed him off so much that he popped a whole bunch of pills, went for a drive and drove his car into a ditch. He tried to keep that idea in mind as he turned his headlights off and pulled into her driveway.

The driveway was situated on the back end of the house; the only way to get in was to pull in the alley behind the house. He hopped the fence and made his way to the door as he pulled his phone out of his coat and sent Amelia a message. He pulled out a clove cigarette and lit it as he leaned his shoulder against the door frame. He slipped a pair of leather gloves out of his other coat pocket and put them on as took a drag on the clove. As he peered through the window on the backdoor he could hear the guy in her house loudly asking for a drink. The guy's words were slurred.

"Girl you're fine as hell. Be a good bitch and get me a drink."

"Just a second. I'm... taking out the trash."

Amelia opened the door. As the smoke lifted above his face he could see her. Amelia had her hair in curls this time, like dirty blond ringlets tumbling past her shoulders. He could tell she had been at one of the close by clubs by her outfit. Her black tube top was bra-less and shoulder-less and because of the size of her breasts it left very little for the imagination, and her black leather skirt was definitely shorter than fingertip length. Her exposed midriff showed of the new diamond-studded navel piercing she said she got gratis, but he knew gratis meant a quick lay for the gentleman's troubles. That only aggravated him more, and led him to be more snarky than normal.

" So, what have we learned?"

"Don't bring strange men home?"

"No, who fucking cares who you fuck..."

"Don't play with weapons?"

"No, playing with weapons if fine, but if you have play around, make sure the chamber is empty and the safety's on!"

He looked at her as the outdoor light danced on her face. Her eyes were red and puffy from crying and her mascara was running. Part of him wanted to take her and rest her head on his shoulder. She had done that a few times in the past. But, seeing as how she was still holding a M9 Beretta and the cops would soon be there, he had no time to be sympathetic. He grabbed the gun from her as he stepped into the kitchen. The kitchen was about twenty or so feet away from Amelia's living room where the guest who wouldn't leave was sitting. The television was loud enough that the guy couldn't hear Amelia and Ollie talking by the fridge.

"Boy, do you know how to pick em, haven't you heard of the buddy system, this is what they teach us to keep girls like you from getting raped. Where'd you meet this fucking mook."

"He shared a cab with me and followed me in."

"I bet that sobered you up. Where's Jenn or Shelly?"

"Jenn's off on a date with her bf, and Shelly's seeing her boyfriend off. He's getting deployed again."

"Do you even know the guy's name?"

"It's Craig or Kenny or Alex... Alex I think."

He removed the magazine from the gun and checked the chamber, which only made things worse.

"Christ, Amelia, there was a round in the chamber. You realize you could have killed this guy or yourself if you pulled the trigger. Keep the safety on at all times, unless you need to use it. Pleas tell me you didn't tell the cops you had a gun did you?"

She shook her head. Ollie whipped her prints from the gun and made his way into the living room after putting the magazine back in the gun and making sure the safety was on. By then Alex/Craig/Kenny was nodding off. Ollie walked up to him sitting in the recliner next to the front door. He put a round in the chamber, the sound of which made the guy wake up. He opened his eyes to a gun resting between his eyebrow. Ollie took a deep breath and spoke.

"Hey, chum, wake up the cops are coming; they'll be here any minute. It's time for you to leave."

He dropped his smile, pulled the hammer back, and watched as the drunken fool pissed his pants in fear.

[Continued]

Episode I: The Late Night Phone Call

The sound of the vibrating cell phone on the wooden desk twenty feet away from his bed was so aggravating that it made James Oliver shout out with complete disdain as he rolled out of bed. Three Valiums was almost enough to get him to sleep; too many and he would be in no shape for the next day. Even still, no matter how good the Valiums made him feel, he was still pissed. Why? It was past three in the morning as he looked at his glowing alarm clock. Even on a weekend most drunk dialer's end calling him around two. The only person who would even dare to call him that late was Amelia. More often than not there wouldn't be a particular reason for her to call either. He knew this as he answered the phone, if only to make her annoying ring tone stop. Ollie thought the sooner he got the conversation over with the better.

"Ollie it's me"

"Yeah, I know it's you Amelia... you ruined my beauty sleep."

"I need you to come over."

"Amelia, as much as I would like to come over, sit on your futon and stare at your rack without you noticing, I just want to sleep."

"Seriously, I need you to come over, I'm freaking out. This guy followed me home and won't leave."

That got his attention. As long as he had known her, Amelia had always attracted scores of men. It always made a pit in his stomach when she would tell him about the guys she would meet or bring home; especially when she was still going out with her hometown sweetheart. He tried to figure out in his head if he was scared for her or just jealous that it wasn't her that she brought home.

"Well, tell him you called the cops Amelia."

"I've tried, but he still won't leave."

"Where's Sonya, or Jenn? Please don't tell me you're by yourself in that house."

"I am and I have Shelly's gun."

The pit in his stomach was growing, he felt like he was going to vomit, but then again that might of had more to do with three shots of scotch and the bean and cheese burritos he washed his Valium down with. He could barely believe his ears.

"At least tell me the gun isn't loaded..."

"No, it is."

"Okay, is the safety on?"

"I'm not sure."

By now he was scrambling around his bedroom, slipping back into the clothes he tossed off earlier in the night. 

"Christ, I'm leaving. Call the cops in five minutes, I'll be at your back door in five minutes, put your phone on vibrate."

For any other person getting that kind of distressed phone call would probably send them into a panic.  This wasn't the first time he had to wake up in the middle of the night to come and bail her out. Three weeks ago he actually had to bail her out of jail after she got into a fight at a bar with a girl who stepped on her foot with stiletto heels at a club. She was always a handful.

[Continued Tomorrow]