The clanging sounds echoed through the emotionless street, Leo withdrew his foot from its kicking stance. Each grimy house had their curtains mauled by a wild beast. The scrap of paper James had handed him turned out to be utterly worthless. He was standing beside a rugged manhole on the sidewalk and had no idea what to do. He couldn't understand how descending into the sewers might help. The thought of returning to his room and slipping into slumber returned to him now Lana's party was probably over. But that meant falling back into the monotonous routine of avoiding whoever was in the house and enduring Tessa's presence. The strain upon himself was reaching its breaking point, and he had no idea how much longer it would last. Leo could only pray for Frank's well-being. His best friend was deteriorating.
Leo got a nearby stick, roughly the size of his lanky arm and swung it at the manhole. He believed he needed some secret password to gain access, hitting it in a specific order like morse code. Leo held the grim stick above his head, ready to hit it again. What stopped him was a loud sound that came from in front of him. He didn't know what it was, sounding like a scraping noise. On instinct he pivoted, releasing the stick which landed on the ground, Leo was on the brink of running.
From the depths of the universe, he felt two pairs of scruffy and robust fingers coil around his ankles, gripping tightly and making themselves at home. Leo's adrenaline surged and he attempted to run, propelling his ankles forward. It only caused him to stagger and collapse, like a building in a demolition site.
"GET A HOLD OF HIS BACK!"
Leo stared straight ahead, his eyes meeting a man dressed in all-black, his face concealed by a balaclava, revealing no facial features except for two dots that pierced Leo with an intense stare.
"WHO THE HELL ARE YOU PEOPLE?!"
Leo sensed someone taking control of his back. He thrust an elbow directly toward the person's head while lying down, leaving them concussed and causing them to roll onto their side, clutching the impact site. Leo swiftly got to his feet. His eyes darted between the three individuals in front of him, realising that there was a third person among them.
"Step back," Leo commanded through clenched teeth.
"We've got a natural fighter here, boys. The boss will be pleased," remarked the man on the left, while the other two nodded in agreement.
Leo had no time to concern himself with their boss or their intentions. All he knew now was not to trust street-dwelling drug addicts.
The man in the middle charged toward Leo, intent on tackling him to the ground. Leo was prepared; he sidestepped and unleashed a powerful left hook to the man's head, sending him crashing to the ground once more. The remaining two men quickly closed in on Leo from different angles, cutting off his escape route.
"PUT HIM TO SLEEP!" one of them shouted.
Before Leo could react, the man behind him ran up and placed a damp, foul-smelling cloth pressed against his nose and mouth like a suffocating blanket. His senses began to fade. The overwhelming urge to sleep took him.
Faint whispers all around him, coming from every angle. His head throbbed with a massive ache, and his vision was returning. Leo now felt a smooth concrete floor beneath his entire body. He still wasn't used to being drugged and ending up in random locations with injuries. But fortunately, he felt no harm this time, aside from his stiff right arm wrapped in its cast.
"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, WELCOME BACK TO FRIDAY NIGHT BRAWL,"
Opening his eyes, Leo realised that he was inside a metal cage, at least six meters in length and width. Hundreds of people stood all around. The surrounding area was too dark to see clearly, with the only visible light source being a massive lamp weakly hanging from the ceiling of the cage.
"WE HAVE OUR REIGNING CHAMPION OVER IN THE FIRST CORNER, WINNING ALL OF HIS THIRTY FIGHTS, ALL BY KNOCKOUT. STANDING AT SEVEN FEET TALL, IVORRRR!" The announcer's voice boomed, followed by deafening cheers from the crowd that made Leo's ears nearly bleed.
The man had no hair on his face, not even his eyebrows. He had a severely bent nose and a lazy eye that was trying to escape his face. Leo had only seen one person taller than him before this moment.
"NOW, IN THE SECOND CORNER, THE CHALLENGER! THE BRAVE SOUL WHO THINKS HE CAN TAKE ON IVOR WITH ONLY ONE ARM. INTRODUCING THE ONE-ARMED WANKER!!!!" The announcer concluded.
Leo paid no attention to the people's laughter or the questionable name he had been given. His survival instincts were in high gear as he considered tactics. His thoughts crashed as the bell rang. He had no other choice. Leo cleared his mind of negativity and moved forward to the centre, prepared to confront the beast, he was calm and ready. His opponent launched a haphazard overhand punch. Leo couldn't comprehend what was happening before it felt like a sledgehammer slammed into the entire left side of his face. Instantly, blood poured from his nose. He tripped his back against the cage, his face numb with pain.
"COME ON SON, THAT WASN'T SO BAD HAHA,"
Leo shielded his head with his only arm, expecting another disgusting punch. The opponent's massive fist struck Leo's chest, where it was entirely exposed. Leo's lungs constricted instantly, gasping for air and struggling to cope with the agony. He pushed himself to the side and circled around the cage, head still throbbing and superficially breathing. Ivor continued to mock and toy with him, feinting punches to make Leo flinch needlessly. After fifteen seconds of this taunting, it fortunately gave Leo the opportunity to regain some logic.
Leo's left hand shot out with a jab, aiming for his opponent's crooked nose. His opponent weaved his head to dodge the blow.
"You've got to do better than that!"
"YOU'RE FUCKING SHITTTTTTT, YOU'RE FUCKING SHIT, YOU'RE FUCKING SHIT, YOU'RE FUCKING SHITTTTTTTTTT" The entire audience now came together and started chanting towards the shaken Leo.
Then with both of his hands, Ivor grabbed his neck. He followed it up with a knee straight into Leo's belly then an elbow connecting with Leo's temple, and that's when it all shattered him. The brutal knee to the stomach felt like a clean stab, the blade lodging into the kidney. Leo's vision to fade into monochrome. A nauseating sensation crept up from his stomach, inching its way toward his throat.
The elbow inflicted a gruesome, deep cut right beside his temple. A crimson waterfall cascaded down, painting the side of his head a dirty red. The queasy feeling surged to its peak, forcing Leo to vomit out a repulsive mixture of red and brown goo, splattering it all over his opponent's face.
"WHHUAAA– WHATTTT AAGGGHHHHHHH!"
The audience exploded with a mix of emotions. Some laughed while others were simultaneously shocked and disgusted, a few on the brink of vomiting themselves. Leo was still reeling. His legs wobbled and his consciousness tried not to let go.
"STOP, STOP THE BLOODY MATCH. HE'S FUCKING SHAKEN, CAN'T YOU SEE?" James yelled toward the announcer.
"Yes, sir! YOU ALL HEARD THE MAN, WRAP THIS UP!"
Leo felt the familiar grimy hands take hold of his shoulder as he slumped.
"Don't worry, I've got you, lad,"
Leo kept focusing on his laboured breaths and preventing himself from collapsing. After an agonising journey, James helped Leo rest his entire body on a medical bed. The pressure on his chest and belly intensified, causing more pain and soreness. Leo's eyes met a mouldy, black-stained ceiling.
Although the bleeding stopped, it couldn't compensate for the dried paint covering his face. A throbbing purple bruise marred his left eye, accompanied by bloodied teeth and his tangled beard marinated in vomit. He looked like a murder victim, he wasn't far off the real thing.
"Doc help the kid, will ya?"
"You'll be in good hands. I gotta deal with something."
A wisp of smoke in a corner of the room flew as someone approached.
"Well, this is quite a situation isn't it? Don't worry, I'll patch you up," came a raspy voice.
An elderly woman with a lit cigarette in her mouth came into Leo's view. She wore a nurse's outfit, though it was stained.
"You're lucky your cast isn't damaged; otherwise, I'd have to send you to a proper hospital." She shifted her attention to Leo's face and clicked her tongue.
"No no, you're in a ripe state. It's unfortunate, I was rooting for you kid,"
"Sorry, but where am I?"
"You'll see for yourself. Drink this,"
She handed him a plastic bottle. He thought it was water but the liquid was too cloudy.
"Uh, I'm not so sure about that," Leo felt his throat becoming sick again.
"Oh, sod off. This'll replace all the fluids you've lost," She pushed the bottle closer to Leo's face.
Leo took a sip. It had the pure flavour of apples and tasted far better than what he thought he was going to have. Within minutes of waiting after finishing the bottle, he noticed that his sickness had. The pain in his stomach had been receding as well.
"Now, hold still."
A thin and incredibly sharp object pierced through his skin, sinking deep into his cheekbone. He couldn't react because each root canal was bound by iron bars. The muscles in his face betrayed him. The pain faded but it also killed the nerves. A numbness spread all the way up to his forehead, the majority of his face felt unusable.
"Yeahhh, I carnt feel my fac," Leo slurred.
"I'm going to stitch up that face of yours, you wanna feel everything I do?"
With nothing to do, he could think more clearly. Anger began to bubble up within him. It was James who had brought him here and he was most likely linked with the people that attacked him.
"Excuse me, Nurse. Where can I find the man who brought me here?"
"You mean the boss? Who knows when he'll be available" she replied, avoiding eye contact with Leo as she was still gathering her equipment.
"Alright, enough mucking about. Just lie back,"
After some time of the needle prickling in and out of Leo's skin, the Nurse was done, Leo was ready to be discharged from this 'hospital'. He stood up, his knees felt way too secure as his mind was expecting them to be wobbly. The room he was in looked like one of the hospital rooms he had stayed in before when he got his arm fixed. The conditions were shit, with peeling wallpaper, missing cabinet doors and a floor littered with debris and dirt.
"Yeah, thanks miss" Leo said with his attention fully now on the outside.
Walking through the open gap where a door used to be, he saw the cage he had just fought in. Where from his position looked even bigger, the majority of the audience had left. The announcer was in the middle, with his spartan sized opponent. He had bloodshot eyes and he was staring in nothing. The announcer kept his distance, double checking if he was going to do something then lifted the microphone to his face.
"After five minutes of the brawl, we have made an official decision. Due to an emergency stoppage, we have our winner, IVOR!!!."
The crowd was silent.
"NO, DAMN IT! I DEMAND A REMATCH! I DIDN'T WIN JACK!"
The announcer leaped from his spot, going towards the exit of the cage. Ivor aggressively pounded the cage with his fists and even headbutted it. James entered Leo's field of vision, charging straight into the cage.
"HEY, CUT IT, YOU WHINY CUNT! "
The giant turned towards him.
"Sorry boss." Ivor muttered, then turned and walked away, traces of vomit still on his fight shorts.
James shook his head and left the cage, followed by a team of workers who entered one by one.
"James!"
James turned with a smile, which quickly contorted as he noticed Leo's bruised eye and stitched-up cut.
"Fuck me, Thomas, Nurse couldn't do much could she?,"
"Look mate, I'm guessing you've got a ton of questions right now. Just follow me to my office. We can talk there, and I'll try to clear things up,"
He followed James because it seemed like the only way to find out what this strange place was. They ascended a short flight of stairs and passed through the door, Leo was hit by a blend of tobacco and weed.
Inside was a worn-out desk and two chairs opposite each other. James had a line of some white substance arranged. He settled into the chair behind the desk, then immediately snorted up all the cocaine laid out on the table.
"WWOOAAAHHH,"
Dirty fuck
"Alright" Leo's pressure on the armrest grew.
"Huh? Oh, sorry, sorry,"
"If I see this stuff, I've got to snort it. Anyway, I see you've accepted my...invitation," James said, pausing with a burp.
"Now you wanna bring that up, after I fought that fucking lunatic"
"And now you look like this... Well, all I can say is I apologise. I genuinely mean it, it's my fault for putting you up against that asshole. I thought the fight would do you some good," James admitted, shaking his head in disagreement with his previous judgement.
"That doesn't replace sending me to the ghetto and having your goons fucking jump me" Leo stood up, glaring at James.
"Well, we couldn't exactly walk up to you and say, 'Hey, come down here and fight what could be classified as an alien.' The whole point was to test your ferocity, tossing you into the thick of it to see how you'd handle hell. Seeing your arm in a cast, I do feel guilty now. Our methods might have been a bit extreme,"
"A BIT FUCKING EXTREME? I'LL CAVE YOUR FUCKING HEAD IN"
"OKAY, take it easy, I'm sorry,"
"But here's a question for you,"
"Considering everything you've been through back at home, all the problems you've complained to me about, are you seriously going to stand there in your current state and tell me you'd rather be there than here?"
He couldn't think of a counterargument. The truth was, facing that violent fight and getting his face battered felt better than being anywhere near Tessa. In that fight he had felt alive, even if his senses had died. Leo stood there, mouth agape, while James couldn't help but chuckle.
"Exactly. Sometimes, getting the shit beaten out of you can work wonders,"
"You're right," Leo settled back into his seat.
"Want a hit?"
Leo glanced up, James had got out a bong, holding it with one hand and a lighter in the other. He wanted that state of bliss of last night, where all anxiety melted away. He reached for the bong and lighter, igniting it. He pressed his lips to the bong and inhaled, a loud bubbling noise emanated from its base. The drugs took effect, calming Leo down and pushing aside his negative thoughts.
He smiled faintly and stared up at the ceiling. James let out a hearty laugh at Leo's reaction as he took the bong from him and leaned back on the wall.
"So, you're probably wondering where we are, right? Well, without wasting any more time,"
Now that James was no longer in front of him, he noticed a massive roll-up blind that had been fully shut. He felt so at ease that he couldn't muster much of an emotional reaction. He simply sat there, looking at James struggling to roll up the blind. It moved in a jagged manner, stuttering on its way up.
"Welcome, my friend, to the Underground Club!" James exclaimed, clapping his hands together with a sense of pride.
Through the window, he saw a vast open space with the same concrete flooring as the area around the cage. However, there was a massive entrance with saloon doors pushed wide open, and a large cardboard sign hanging from the ceiling saying 'The Underground Club' written in bold black paint. Leo could only make out a partial view of the interior, but it was clear that there were rows of tables, each filled with people gathered together. Stools lined the bar, where women in bikinis were dancing, and men below were tossing money their way.
"This shit aint underground. How the fuck do you fit a whole cage in here?"
"Lad, I assure you we are,"
"Bullshit"
"Where do you think the name came from?"
Your mom's ass
"How did you manage to build all of this underground then?" Leo asked, suppressing a laugh.
"Hah, you think I actually built anything?"
"Quick little history lesson, mate. Do you remember the nineteen seventy six Russian invasion of London?"
"Uhh…. I was alive at the time but I couldn't remember much, was only two,"
"Why did it happen though? Never really paid attention in school."
"Ahhh, just some shitty politics, that's all. Thank god it only lasted some months. Both governments managed to come to an agreement before it went nuclear and everything stopped,"
I wish they had at least dropped one nuke on Tessa's parents
"Anyways, about a year later, the government had classified programs sent out to each head of all major cities across the UK. Ordering all of them to construct underground bases in the middle of random locations, bases the army would use in case of another attack."
"That's some heavy shit. How the fuck do you know all of that?"
"In my first couple of days here, I first found this office and it held a lot of documents explaining all of this stuff. The operation is obviously over now; it didn't say in the files, but my guess is that they wanted to allocate their funds into more artillery."
"Regardless, the reason I'm here now is that a few months ago, I was running from a bunch of football hooligans. One of 'em caught me ploughing his wife in the bathroom of the bar they owned. I ran out the front door and dashed across town. I got to this rundown area and entered an abandoned warehouse. Then, I stumbled upon this massive place. You'll see the inside of the warehouse yourself when you leave here."
"I got a couple of boys in, and we reworked the place, got that massive cage installed, and cleaned up the bunker and made it into a bar. People have been pouring in ever since,"
"I guess that makes sense," Leo nodded.
"You mentioned something about football earlier, you guys actually have that here? I thought it was rugby. It's actually really popular for us in the States."
"Huh? Of course we have rugby. But we also have football, you know, that game where you use your feet to kick and run with the ball,"
"That's soccer, though."
"NO, don't say that ever again. It's football,"
"You Americans know nothing about sport,"
"Fuck man, alright, I won't say it again,"
"Alright, I believe that's that then. Let's get inside!"
James turned to a door on the left of him and attempted to turn the handle. It was jammed. He continued to twist it, but it wouldn't move. He muttered under his breath about the gunk in his walls. Stepping back, James ran shoulder first into the door. He went flying out of the room and onto the concrete floor, out of Leo's view.
"Oawh," a faint voice said right outside the door.
Leo hurried over and found James sprawled on the floor, holding his shoulder.
"Shit, you good?"
James didn't respond, instead quickly grabbing something from his pocket and sniffing it. He stood up smiling.
"Lad, I'm feeling better than ever, let's go inside!"
Leo shook his head and followed after him. These were likely the same people who had witnessed his disaster in the cage. Leo took a deep breath and walked up the dirty oak stairs towards the entrance, the place appeared much larger than he initially saw through the window in James' office . The tables stretched out, accommodating from Leo's guess, a hundred and twenty people engaged in drinking beer and consuming drugs, which seemed to be a recurring theme in this place. Then he heard James' voice, elevated up a little. He turned and saw him standing on a table, holding one of the strippers by his side.
"Ladies and gentlemen, pause what you're doing and direct your attention to the entrance,"
"IT'S HIM, THAT GUY WITH ONLY ONE ARM!" A balding man bellowed, directing his beer can towards Leo.
During an already strange day, the entire club blew up. Beer glasses and cans soared through the air, some people soaked in frothy brew. The strippers were flung off the tables due to the vigorous vibrations caused by the fist-banging. Leo stood dumbfounded, a whirlwind of emotions in his mind. The cheers persisted until James' amplified voice cut through.
"ALRIGHT, settle down!" His voice rumbled over the speakerphone held up to his face.
The unrestrained amount of decibels that were previously pounding its way around the entire hall of people quickly quieted itself down with some great force. Now Leo could clearly think again, he started to catch on to the fact that not only was James the boss, but he was a very good one at that.
"Bro, what's going on?"
"Bruv, you have no idea what you've just pulled off. You're the very FIRST person to not get knocked out by Ivor and somehow embarrass him in the process." Said the bald man.
"Did ya see that guy's face after you vomited on him? He was in tears, haha,"
He wasn't one to seek fame; he preferred a more secluded life with only close friends. However Leo couldn't help but appreciate that people liked him, regardless of the stupid reasons.
"Yh- yeah. That guy was a bitch," Leo said.
"Alright, Thomas, grab one of these stools at the bar. I need to deal with that guy you pissed off," James said.
Leo took a seat at the nearest stool, facing forward. He felt two ragged fingers to the right of him rapidly tap him, he turned his head to the right side in quick confusion. It was the loud bald man.
"Congrats mate, beer on me!" He said
"Thanks, I guess"
Leo turned the stool to be able to face the man, it was quite hard due to how much filth was in its interior. It was making a massive squeaking sound as Leo on its breaking leather material stuttered his body to his right side.
"How did you end up here?"
"Like we all did, like you, you didn't know that? We were all in your position at one point kid"
Every person in this room had to feel some sort of confusion and fear on the level that Leo felt as he was forced into fighting, this comforted Leo to the fact that at least he knew he wasn't alone.
"I'm Greg by the way, and may I add you look similar to The Boss' infant son"
"James has a son?"
"Yes Bruv, you really think he's middle aged you think he's been a hobo all his life?"
"Anyways, we all love him here man. He's done so much for us"
"This," Greg lifted both arms towards the hall of people behind him.
"is what redemption is for us. We would've all been dead if he didn't pull us out the mud"
"Yeah, I can see that"
Leo was now in a place where he was no longer manipulated and living in fear if the British illegal immigration team would come raiding his door in the middle of the night because Tessa thought he deserved to be gone from nowhere.
"Sorry, but can we get some assistance? There's no one here!" Greg shouted aloud around the hall, turning his fat neck.
"Alright, hold your horses Greg" said the familiar elderly voice coming from a woman.
His eyes made contact with the nurse, she was still in her uniform like it was her second skin that never came off.
"Sorry, miss, didn't you just treat me like fifteen minutes ago?"
"Of course I did, Thomas. This place is short on staff nowadays, and I need the extra money," the nurse explained.
"You guys get paid???"
"Well... Not in cash. We prefer things that— suit our needs a bit bruv." Greg chuckled.
The Nurse retrieved a napkin and unfurled it. There was a massive line of cocaine stretching at least six inches. Leo was far from surprised.
"Well, dig in." Greg gave Leo a pat on the back.
If he refused this offer, they might kick him out because cocaine was heavenly here. Leo was among people who seemed to accept him, he didn't want to ruin his connection by refusing their way of 'hospitality'. The pressure got to him, and he grabbed the small funnel-like tube, positioning it beneath his nose as he lowered his casted hand and his head onto the table. With a quick snort, he felt an immediate rush as blood surged to his head. He found himself massively aware of everything while maintaining an intense focus on himself. His eyes rapidly turned bloodshot and a wide smile ran across his face.
"WWWOOAOAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
No one even bothered to look at him. He jumped to his feet, grabbed the already damaged stool he had been sitting on and further worsened its condition by hurling it to his left. It narrowly missed the front door and crashed through a window.
"Fuckin' hell, it's his first time, ain't it?"
"GIVE ME WHATEVER YOU GOT!"
For the next four hours, Leo threw himself into the degeneracy, surrounded by heroin addicts. He dunked in alcohol, even more cocaine and a bit of marijuana towards the end to mellow out. Leo's train of thought had completely derailed and he mindlessly accepted whatever was offered to him.
By the end of it all, he was left with a pounding headache and his battered face. Surprisingly, James didn't make an appearance even though he could've consumed all the drugs in the club. Leo said goodbye to everyone at the bar, his casted arm with the signatures of tens of people. Leo figured it was midday by then and wanted to see the sunrise, eager for a breath of fresh air.
He paced his way straight through James' office and straight out the door, knowing no one was in there due to the lights being off. Leo walked near the fighting cage. It was much more peaceful now, a far cry from the stampede of rhinos that had taken over. A mechanical noise reached his ears.His eyes wandered beyond the cage, specifically to its right. It had been right but the sea of people blocked it. It was to be a makeshift elevator, connected to the surface by a thick cable. Leo dashed around the cage. He stepped onto the makeshift elevator, sensing the shoddy construction beneath his shoes. It emitted small cracks with every step, as if protesting its own existence. Leo gripped the leather lever, which felt worn and bore traces of dirt. He pulled it with all his might, and the elevator swiftly began its ascent. Instantly, he felt his weight shifting upward, an odd sensation coursing through his legs. The makeshift elevator started to shake violently, its metallic screeches growing louder. Leo clung to a sturdy metal pole that seemed to serve as a handle, his heart pounding with fear that it might give way at any moment and he would plummet to his death.
"May I interrupt? I certainly didn't expect this from you, Mr. Jordan,"
"I beat myself up for it everyday" Leo replied, neck hurting from not having a good head rest.
"Did it have any bearing on 'that moment' you mentioned earlier?" The Figure asked.
Leo's jaw was firmly set.
"Very well, please go on."
Frank realised they were gone. He had been holed up upstairs for what felt like an hour, and the ticking of the clock overhead was driving him up the wall. Frank couldn't help but wonder why she was putting him through this. He had tolerated her behaviour initially to make her happy, but now he had reached his mental limit. He wanted to give her the freedom to do as she pleased and avoid coming off as controlling, but he couldn't ignore her infidelity.
He pushed himself up from the soft carpet, running his fingers through the cotton and got onto his feet. With each step toward the front door, the floor's tectonic plates shifted beneath him. He grabbed the slightly chilled golden doorknob and left one of many guest rooms. He pelted through the corridor and to the staircase to reach the floor below, sounding like a thief. He practically leaped off the final step with his heels and landed imperfectly on the ground. He energetically stood up, with confidence in his eyes, though being Frank he slowly retracted back into his shell. Frank's eyes had dilated to how in control he was on the spot, his mouth hung open, not a single word peeped its way out.
"Uhm, any problem, darling?" Tessa asked.
"No, uh– I..."
"Well, I'll see you later then."
She was about to plant a kiss on his cheek but Frank leaned back, pushing her away gently.
"Please, I want to talk,"
"What about?" She asked
"How you... go around sleeping with other people. Don't we have something together?" Frank spoke, his voice so light that would have made Leo cringe if he had heard it.
"Well, what's wrong with it?"
"Isn't it supposed to be just the two of us?"
She then placed a hand on each of Frank's shoulders and smiled.
"Dill, it's what I like to call an open relationship. You could say it's 'non-exclusive'. We should have the freedom to see other people; life's too short, haha," she explained.
"Be more open-minded with yourself. You'll always know I'll be here as your main partner, so don't be so down. You know I love you."
She then sucked Frank in a warm hug. He allowed her words to slither in his mind, accepting that she might be onto something. Tessa was the only person who truly accepted him for who he was. Leo was a great friend but he was always criticising him, especially since Frank had been trying to adapt to life in England. They eventually broke the hug, exchanged small waves of goodbye. Frank realised how lucky he was to have Tessa in his life, even if it was only for less than two weeks.
She went inside the bedroom, Frank only guessed as he had never seen the inside. Frank turned and descended the stairs. He felt a sense of pride in his current situation, glad that he was finally experiencing a 'healthy' relationship for once in his life. He reflected on how far he had come since the night the girl had slapped him. Now on the ground floor, Frank approached the coat rack next to the enormous front door. It was so wide and massive that it could have easily been a Bigfoot sighting. He grabbed his battered jacket, got the cigarette box from his pocket and opened the flimsy carton. He removed a damp cigarette and stepped outside to smoke, as Tessa didn't appreciate the smell of tobacco in the house.
He needed to satisfy his nicotine craving, it crept up on him during his conversation with Tessa. This addiction arrived when he moved into this house, but he couldn't remember smoking his first cigarette. He opened the door and the sun's rays bathed the smooth, vanilla-white house, Frank crunched over the small gravel. He retrieved the damp cigarette from his pocket and a silver-plated lighter from the other.
"FRANK, WHY THE FUCK DID YOU START SMOKING" Leo
shouted, motioning with his casted hand for Frank to come closer.
"DUDE, WHAT HAPPENED TO YOUR FACE?"
"I got shitfaced and fought off some soccer hooligans last night, they thought I had something to do with messing their cars."
"Damn man, I hope you're recovering okay. Do you want me to call the cops?"
"Nah, I'm all good now."
"It's good to see you," Frank said with muffled words as he held his cigarette in his mouth, extending a fist for Leo to bump.
Leo returned the fist bump and noticed small cuts on Frank's knuckles. He made a mental note of it but chose not to mention anything.
"Mind opening this gate? I need to shower and wash all this shit off,"
He sniffed his armpit and was hit with the most repugnant body odour. He gagged and stumbled against the fence.
"That must be bad." Frank laughed.
Both men entered the house, with Frank going about his own business while Leo kept to himself, sticking to his room. He reached the second floor and was about to turn left for the next flight, that voice wormed its way back into Leo's ears.
"You look different," Tessa uttered.
He tried by heading back up the stairs.
"No, I want to talk," she demanded, sounding like an irritable boss with tight deadlines.
GO HANG YOURSELF, YOU FUCKING PROSTITUTE
Leo turned his battered face towards Tessa. Tempting to splurge another 'go kill yourself', aloud this time, but tamed his anger.
"What?" Leo managed to say.
His left fist clenched so tightly that it became as stiff as his right arm. He was trying his best not to let any of his mental words touch his tongue.
"You spoke to Frank just outside, right?"
"Yeah."
"You're not going to do that again, Not even a whisper"
"ARE YOU FUCKING SERIOUS? IM NOT YOUR PRISONER!" Leo whispered vehemently.
She came mere inches away and then proceeded to lock eyes with him. Leo wasn't intimidated; he held the stare back with an even more venomous look, his intrusive thoughts almost breaking. Leo felt a razor-sharp fingernail dig into his dishevelled and bruised eye. The pain was worse than anything Ivor had ever inflicted upon him. He was going to let out a scream that could have reached their university back in Iowa, but he restrained himself. Leo gripped Tessa's weaponized hand with great strength, forcing her back and then thrusting her forward.
She straightened up and began to turn, but something was wrong. Her smile twisted into something grotesque, stretching unnaturally wide across her face, every jagged tooth in a grin too vicious to be human. Her eyes bulged, pupils shrinking into dark pinpricks. Her purple hair writhed, disjointed, snaking around her head. Leo felt cold. His face no longer in fury, he faltered. He spun on his heel, his pulse hammering, and sprinted for the safety of his floor. But no matter how much he tried to convince himself otherwise, it was too late.
His fear wasn't his own anymore it was hers, and she fed on it, loving the power she had over him. Tessa had twisted his reality, made his home her playground. Leo was nothing more than a prisoner within its walls.
Hours passed as rain pounded relentlessly, its zigzagging path cutting through the clouds. Leo laid wide awake in his bed, the raindrops assaulting his windowpane. The earlier stress had left him unable to find sleep, regardless of the weather. He studied the ceiling, knowing every tiny imperfection in excruciating detail. His eyes were laden with crust from infrequent blinking.
The effects of the weed he had smoked earlier did nothing, unable to calm the raw emotion. He was jolted back by the unnatural noise of the rain assaulting his window. Leo turned his stiff neck towards the window. James' head popped out like a scarecrow in a field. He chuckled in surprise and hurried over to the window, wrenching it open. Without questioning how high James was or how he had managed to climb up there, Leo helped him into the room.
"Sorry for this, mate. I've got a good reason," James said, his voice hoarse as he sat on the ground.
"Dude, how did you find where I live?"
"I had some guys follow you to make sure you meet those pisspots who chased you last night"
How does he know I was being chased
"Thanks, I appreciate it. But that still doesn't explain why you're here at this time,"
"Well, mate, this deal is sealed with a handshake. Are you interested in a rematch with Ivor on November seventeenth? We're giving both of you two months to train. I know there are downsides to this, but..."
"Yes, one hundred percent," This opportunity was his ticket out of this wretched existence.
"One problem, though. Who's going to train me?"
"Me, of course. We start tomorrow. Deal?"
"Seriously, you're going to train me?"
"Yeah, I may look like a rough bloke, and maybe I am, but I've earned everyone's respect back in that place with my fighting skills."
"Alright, then. I'll see what you've got,"
Their conversation was interrupted by a knock on Leo's locked door.
"You've heard everything." James concluded, nodding before quietly slipping out of the window and climbing down the towering ladder.
He opened the door slightly, hiding fear with a stern expression.
"Hey Thomas, sorry for disturbing your sleep. I needed to clear something from my conscience," Lana said.
"Go on," Leo replied tersely.
"I… saw what Tessa did to your eye this morning. I've come to apologise for her behaviour,"
"Wait…What the fuck did you hear?"
"Nothing I swear"
"I was just coming out from the bathroom and I caught her digging into your eye" She quietly said, eyeing Leo to see if he might jump her.
"Okay." Leo replied in a passive-aggressive manner.
The door remained only slightly open, allowing Lana to see only the unbruised side of his face. Through the crack, Leo saw Lana's forearm, which was covered in bruises. She quickly pulled down her sleeve.
"Goodbye." She said hurriedly.