Kace

“You dig the new place or what?”

I turned, holding a beer bottle at my side, scanning the open plan apartment and looked right at Mack. “Did you just say dig?”

“As in like,” he said. “Do you like the new place?”

“Don’t ever say dig. And why are you wearing sunglasses again?”

Mack took the sunglasses off. “Man, can you just take this in for a second? I got a hell of a deal on the entire building. This is happening, Kace. I’m going to redo this entire building and rent out the apartments. Then go to the next and the next. Completely update this entire area down here.”

“Ah, come on, Mack, the shit hole isn’t that bad.”

“I thought it was called the ass hole,” Mack said. “Since it’s the end of the town, where everything flows and rests.”

I smiled. “I think every generation of kids calls this place something new.”

“Except the ones who had to live here,” Mack said with a frown.

“We all lived through it in some form,” I said.

“I grew up three blocks from here.”

“I know that.”

“You grew up west of here.”

“Still my own version of a shit hole,” I said. “Do you want to debate who had a crappier childhood? Or should we drink these beers and celebrate a little?”

“Right,” Mack said.

The apartment was a dump, but it fit Mack perfectly. It was a lot of work and he liked a lot of work. I kept looking around, making my own mental list of things I would do if the place was mine. The walls were beaten up, but could easily be saved. The floors needed to be sanded down and refinished, but they looked to be the original wood from when the building was built. The electric was a mess of wires, but it gave the place serious character. Of course, everything would have to be done up to code so nobody zapped his ass.

I heard a thud and a scratching sound.

I looked to my right and saw Mack sliding a box toward me.

“Have a seat,” he said.

“Does it recline?”

“Yeah, sure,” he said. “You can fall on your ass to the floor then.”

“What’s in here?” I asked.

“Stuff,” Mack said. “You won’t break anything. Sit down.”

I sat down and Mack slid another box across from me. He sat and twisted the cap off his beer.

“Hey,” I said. “Cheers, man. This place is nice. I dig it.”

Mack laughed. “I knew you would.” We clanked bottles and took a drink. “That’s why I want this to be our project.”

“What?” I asked.

“You’re looking at this place the way I look at the new bartender over at Archie’s.”

“Shame about Jane, huh?”

“I’m just glad it wasn’t me that got her pregnant,” Mack said. “But if she’s happy somewhere else with someone else, so be it. I’m not losing sleep over it. And the new bartender is… damn.”

“Eve?” I said, raising my eyebrow.

“Yeah. That’s a great name.”

“It’s not bad.”

“Why aren’t you all over it? A little rebound action is a good thing.”

“I’m good where I am.”

“Are you?” Mack asked. “I still don’t understand what happened there. One second you were talking about some woman jumping off a building. Then you’re going out with Kylie. I think she was cool as hell, Kace.”

“She was,” I said. “Kylie’s amazing.”

“What happened?”

I ran it all through my mind and looked around the empty apartment again.

“You’re not going to be able to put much on these walls,” I said, blatantly avoiding the subject. “These walls are really nice. No band and movies posters, Mack.”

“I’m not twelve years old,” he said. “Back on topic, man. What happened with Kylie?”

“She fell for me too hard.”

“What the hell does that mean?”

“She was falling in love with me. I wasn’t falling in love with her.”

“Oh. Damn.”

“Yeah. I figured it was easier to just end it before things got too crazy.”

“Did you tell her what you just told me?”

“I said what I said.”

“So you didn’t. You came up with an excuse.”

“Look, I did what was right. She might be hurt now, but it’ll pass. Better than leading her on and having things get worse.”

Mack nodded. “Can I ask why though? I mean… why not love her?”

“You feel what you feel.”

“She was really cool though. Perfect for you. She understood what you did. She enjoyed it.”

“I get that. It’s not about having things in common. Just let it go, Mack.”

“All I’m going to say is that I haven’t seen you take on any restoration projects in a while. I won’t lie, I don’t mind having you help me with my work. I get jobs done quicker and get to make more by taking more work. But you seem way off, man. I figure as your best friend, I should ask about it.”

I stood up. “That’s where you went wrong. You’re not my best friend. And if you bought this dump of a building to get me to fix it up, then you might be in love with me. Which is a little weird to me.”

“Fuck you, man,” Mack said.

“Thanks for the beer,” I said.

I started to walk away and stopped after a few seconds. My eyes wouldn’t stop searching the apartment for work that needed to be done. The place was so stripped down that it actually worked to its benefit. So much of the original structure was showing, it was a dream for a guy like me.

“You really bought this entire building?” I asked.

“Yup,” Mack said.

“You’re fucking insane.”

“Yup.”

“This is like the time you agreed to fight Mike. Remember that?”

“Yup,” Mack said again.

I looked over my shoulder. “You took on the high school quarterback when you were a freshman. You told the school that he had a small dick.”

“Yup,” Mack said and slowly stood up. “He fucked the girl I was trying to get with. It pissed me off.”

“He was going to pound you into the mud that day,” I said. “And you stood toe to toe with him. He had fifty pounds on you. Six inches in height. And you folded up your dumbass glasses and handed them to someone to hold. And you stood there, squinting, fighting him.”

“Yup.”

I shook my head. “And I had to come in and finish the fight. I knocked his ass out with two punches and became a hero.”

Mack opened his mouth and I put my hand up. He didn’t say yup. He just smiled.

“You’re like a pain in the ass little brother, you know that?”

Mack didn’t respond. He just stood there and stared at me.

“If I don’t help you, you’re going to do all of this yourself,” I said. “You’re going to update shit. You’re going to make it look new and modern.”

Mack slowly nodded.

“Then I’m going to have to kill you,” I said.

Mack kept nodding.

I put the beer bottle to my lips and downed the entire thing. I crouched and put the bottle on the floor. I rubbed my jaw and let out a long sigh.

“There’s something I can’t really explain right now, Mack. Something I don’t want to explain. I don’t need anyone looking after me and doing favors for me. But if you need my help with this place, I’ll help. I’m not doing it because you bought this place like a damn moron. I’m not going to go into business with you either. This was a terrible idea, Mack.”

“But you’re going to bail my ass out,” he said.

“Yeah, I am. Right now, I’m going to leave. I’ll go home and think of some ideas for this place. Come up with a plan and a budget. Sorry we didn’t kill off the rest of the beer.”

“Oh, that?” he asked, thumbing back to the twelve pack he brought with him. “That wasn’t for you.”

“What?”

“I gave you a beer out of pity.”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“Eve has the night off,” Mack said with a grin. “I told her I’m a real estate developer.”

“Christ, that’s a stretch.”

“Is it? I own this building. I’m developing it. And my plan is to buy more buildings.”

I laughed. “I’m not sure what to say to that.”

“I do. Get the hell out of here. I’ve got plans. Figured I would show you the place and get you all horny for it. Then send you home.”

“Maybe I’ll catch Eve in the hallway on my way out. Tell her you just bought the place, but I’m the one making it beautiful like her.”

“Oh, damn, that’s smooth,” Mack said. “Tell you what… you have the balls to do that, you can have Eve. I’ll drink myself stupid and wake up tomorrow alone.”

“So, just a regular night for you then?”

Mack lifted his middle finger.

I laughed.

“I’ll talk to you later, Mack. You’re a damn idiot for buying this place.”

“Yup,” Mack called out as I walked to the door.

I didn’t see Eve in the hallway or outside when I exited the building. I looked back at the building.

I laughed.

I looked at my truck.

I didn’t want to go home yet.

I didn’t want to go to Archie’s place either.

Truthfully, I didn’t know what the hell I wanted to do.

So I decided to go for a walk.

In the worst part of town.

I wasn’t going to look for trouble, even though I knew it was out there waiting.

* * *

I walked with my head down as I did everything possible to just clear my head. Believe me, I wasn’t beyond feeling actual emotions when it came to what happened with Kylie. That conversation wasn’t the easiest I’ve had to have. Especially considering that she had been cooking food and just got done giving me a random present. But I couldn’t let it keep happening though. It made me a complete asshole, but it was far better than letting it continue for months and years before things imploded. The worst thing I could do to someone is waste their time. A heart would heal with time, but time would never come back. Somedays you can sit there and think about those times when your heart was broken, but it would hurt more to think about the time wasted. The way Kylie looked at me, touched me, wanted to be with me… it was far more intense than what I wanted from her and what I felt for her. Yet it still threw me for a loop.

But if I had to be honest to the footsteps on the sidewalk and eerily quiet night, none of it had a thing to do with Kylie. She was a time filler and that was a mistake. I never admitted that to her though. That was for my heart’s safe keeping in the black box of dumb shit I had done in my life.

What got me worse though was that people were noticing something was wrong with me. Call it a funk. Call it whatever you wanted. For me, it was unanswered questions that never seem to fade.

I paused at a street corner and looked up to the soft light.

The night was cool and very comfortable. I felt like I could just walk all night. Which wasn’t the worst idea I’d ever had. Maybe that would help me out a little. Just walk until I was so physically tired that I would sleep for a couple of days and wake up feeling refreshed. As though I hit a massive reset button.

I turned to reverse my path, knowing that going home to down a few drinks and let my brain swirl with mushy thoughts was more realistic than walking all night.

That’s when I heard a noise.

It was a soft noise. An echoing sound coming from down the street a little.

I paused and waited a few seconds until I heard it again.

I turned and walked down the sidewalk, trying to follow the noise. I heard what sounded like a grunt and I paused one more time. For a second, it sort of sounded like two people were enjoying each other’s company. But then came the sound of a scream. It was a quick scream and I swore I heard the word help being yelled.

So I started to run. If I caught two people going at it in an alley, then so be it.

There was a small opening between two buildings, just enough space for people to walk through.

I heard the echoing of shoes scuffling and what sounded like a struggle.

I gritted my teeth, not really sure what I was stepping into. This wasn’t exactly the best part of town to try and be a hero in. I’d more than likely end up with a bullet in my gut and be on the six o’clock news for ten minutes.

“Shit,” I whispered as I turned at the opening.

I stuck my hand into my pocket and thought about taking my phone out and trying to play it off as a gun. Of course, if someone pointed a real gun at me and was trigger happy, I was fucked.

What I saw, I did not expect at all.

It was a guy with his legs spread, holding his forearm against a woman’s chest. His hand covered her mouth, his fingers squeezing against her cheeks to keep her from screaming. Truthfully, that’s all I needed to see to take my hand out of my pocket and go into attack mode.

I charged with fury, my right hand already balled up into a fist.

I got close enough to throw a punch.

I hit the guy as hard as I could, sending him away from the woman he was attacking. I put my back to her to keep her shielded. I grabbed his shirt before he fell to the ground. I swung him to my left, sending him flying. He stumbled and crashed to his knees. I realized then that his fucking pants were down at his knees.

“Are you fucking kidding me?” I yelled. “What the fuck were you doing?”

The guy looked up at me, eyes wide with surprise.

“I was with her,” he instantly shouted. “She wanted it.”

Just hearing those three words broke me. It took me back to a dark place. A dark place that I swore I would never revisit again. But seeing this punk ass of a man on the ground with his pants halfway down…

I grabbed him by the shirt and started to drag him. He kicked and screamed, throwing punches at me. I took the punches to the face like they were nothing but gnats tickling me in the sweltering heat of summer.

I took him to the sidewalk and pulled him up to his feet, making him stand. I threw him against a light pole and punched him in the stomach. He groaned and reached for me.

“Please,” he said. “Please. I didn’t… she…”

I threw another punch. A right hook that slammed against his jaw and sent him around the pole. He grasped it, sliding down a little. Now his pants were down to his ankles.

“You piece of fucking shit,” I growled. “You stay right there, asshole. I’m calling the fucking police after I beat your fucking ass senseless.”

I charged at him again.

The anger was so fresh and raw, like a seal had been broken inside me.

I kicked him in the balls and he let go of the pole and fell into the street. I dropped one knee down to his chest and grabbed his jaw with my left hand.

“Look me in the eyes, motherfucker,” I growled. “Look me in my fucking eyes.”

He looked at me. He was terrified. The same kind of terror that that woman probably had in her eyes.

“Please,” he whispered. His eyes filled with tears. “I think I’m drunk. I didn’t… I’m so sorry.”

“You ever think of touching a woman like that again and I’ll cut your fucking dick off and make you eat it.”

“Okay. Okay. Please. Okay.”

He was begging.

That only made the trigger worse inside me.

I started to punch him again. Holding his jaw steady with my left hand and punching with my right hand. I made sure to keep his head against the ground so it didn’t repeatedly smash into the street. Last thing I needed was to really hurt this asshole.

A blackness started to wash over me and I knew that I was reaching a really bad spot personally. A point of no return. A point where I’d come out of my own darkness and be in a damn jail cell with murder charges hanging over me.

“Kace! Stop! Kace!”

The second I heard my name, I stopped.

I stood and turned.

That voice…

“Kace… please… that’s enough…”

She emerged from the alley and when the full light from the streetlight hit her face, I could have screamed. I looked back and down at the mess of the guy I had pulled away from her.

I wanted to go back and finish what I’d started with him.

“Kace,” she said again. “Please.”

My head turned and she inched toward me.

It took me a few seconds to gather something that resembled a clear thought.

And I said one word.

I said her name.

“Sienna…”

* * *

I finally walked forward and reached for her. When I got within an inch of her, I hurried to stop, remembering what I just saw. The last thing she wanted was to be touched. So I showed my hands to let her know it was okay. That I was okay. That she was safe with me.

“Sienna,” I said again. “Are you hurt?”

“No,” she said. Her eyes were wide, in shock, rightfully so. “No… I…”

“Sienna. I need to know if he… what he did… if he…”

I couldn’t bring the words to life. I couldn’t fucking say it. Because if this guy had touched her or… something more… I was going to kill him.

Slowly, Sienna shook her head. “No. He… he followed me, Kace. I tried to get away…”

“Where’s your car at, darlin’?” I asked.

The word darlin’ just slipped out of my mouth. The second I looked at Sienna, the word came to me again. It had been a while since I’d said that word.

“It’s at my friend’s place,” she said. “A couple of blocks away. I was there… and…”

“Okay, listen to me carefully,” I said. “I can take you back to your car. We can drive to my truck, okay? I’m only a couple of blocks the other way. My buddy bought a building and was showing it to me. He wants me to help him fix it up. I think it’s a terrible idea. But whatever. I need to know, Sienna… if he…”

“No. I promise. I wouldn’t lie. He was touching… just trying…”

I gritted my teeth.

I turned my head and was ready to get back to the guy.

To my shock, I had given him too much time as an opening to make a getaway. The motherfucker was across the street. Running away.

I took a step and Sienna clutched my arm. “Please. Don’t leave me.”

I faced her again.

“We need to call the police. Report this.”

“We will. I just don’t want to be here anymore.”

“Okay. We’ll go to your car and you-”

“No. Take me to your truck, Kace. I can’t go back there. I can’t… I…”

She sucked in a breath and started to cry.

She lowered her head, bawling her eyes out.

I stood there, shaking with fury.

Slowly, I reached for her. I gently put my hands on her arms and she jumped.

“Sorry,” I whispered. “It’s just me, Sienna. I swear. It’s just me.”

She looked at me, blinking fast, nodding. “I… I…”

I touched her arms again. This time she didn’t flinch.

I stayed just like that. It was up to her what would happen next. I knew what I wanted to do. I wanted to track down that piece of shit and finish him off. But I wasn’t going to leave Sienna. Not here. Not like this.

She moved toward me and slipped her hands around me. The second I felt her head touch my chest, I let out a long sigh that was way too much like relief. Like I had been waiting for this all my life. Even though the circumstances were fucking terrible.

She began to cry.

I put a hand to her back and just stood there with her.

I gritted my teeth as hard as I could, fighting back the emotion. But no matter how tall or strong I was, it was no use.

It all came back to me. And here I was with Sienna, again, and I actually felt a little bit okay.

I shut my eyes.

A lonely tear started to stream down my right cheek.