Singer's City (Original text)

The Truth

I walked and didn't stop until I was in the basement. I never looked back. Finally, I was below ground and sat in one of the cold, stone corners. With trembling hands I took a picture out of my back pocket and unfolded it. I heard steps coming down the stairs. I stuffed it back in my pocket and looked up. It was Jinxx.

"Who was that?" He asked, sitting next to me.

"I used to know him." I forced my voice under control. I couldn't start crying now.

"'Know' doesn't seem to cover it. Who is he? What does he want?"

I took a deep, shaky breath. "His name is Jimmy. Saint Jimmy, he calls himself. He was the Jesus of Suburbia, a group of kids. They mostly hung out in the out of the way sorts of places. Conflict wasn't anything new. Especially not with Jimmy. So we were a bunch of punks with too much eyeliner and time on our hands."

"Wait, so you hung out with this bunch of troublemakers?" Jinxx looked scandalized. I nodded, keeping down a laugh at his facial expression.

"It was the only place where I could fit in. You were either a prep, a suburbian, or you were bullied. The Suburbia actully became a pretty mild group by the time I joined. They had stopped their drug and alcahol requirement by then. So I could join, no problem."

"I had been bullied my whole life, so it made sense that I was excited. So one day, I followed Jimmy to their hangout and I was casually leaning against one of the walls when he noticed me. He raced over to me."

"'Who the fuck are you and what the fuck are you doing here?' he asked me. Polite as always. Without flinching, I said I wanted to join. He looked me over and said fine. I just had to spray paint my signature onto one of the walls. So I did. He eventually started to like me and-"

"Eventually being after how long?"

"About half a year. He was getting worse even then. He needed someone to keep him in check. But, being his girlfriend is dangerous. If you break up, he'll harrass you forever. It isn't unusual for his ex-girlfriends to..." I couldn't finish the sentence. Jinxx stared at me with a horrified expression.

"Well, we ended up dating, and he was really sweet to me and he protected me. We were the king and the queen of everyone under 18, even though we were just 16 and 17. We could do anything, go anywhere. My parents knew who I was with, but he could manage to make himself presentable for them. So they let me go out with him. But they didn't know where I was or anything."

"Then they died. Their killers were never found. I know who they are, but I'm in even more danger than ever if I tell anyone. So I keep quiet, and I won't tell even you any names. But I knew I had to leave. I could've found an orphanage near there, but I had to run, protect my brother and stay alive. Jimmy thinks I thought he killed my parents. He thinks I abandoned him. And he's mad. I never thought he'd find me, but now..." I broke down. It was too much. I had thought I could run, hide. I should've known that I couldn't. I had lied to myself, told myself I could start over. All the while avoiding the fact that I knew Jimmy well enough to know that no one ever escaped him and lived.

Jinxx hugged me, and we sat there, a new understanding present.