The Rancorous Heart

V

You were on edge once Stu left the building; thoughts pacing your mind as you stared at the door he left out of. 'Was he in on what happened to you last night? Did he know about what happened at all?' You couldn't trust him fully because of how he easily left you to rot for the crimes he took part in.

Mr. Ray spent the rest of the afternoon showing you around the building, telling you about the history of his bakery/ cafe. Eventually, Mr. Ray moved the conversation over to the subject you dreaded, why you were incarcerated.

"I always thought that something was wrong with you being convicted of murder." Mr. Ray started, pouring himself a cup of coffee as the two of you entered his office. 

"Mr. Ray, I'm more than used to the death threats. I just want my new chance as a free person to be the best I can make it.. I really don't want to talk about it.." You looked at the photographs on his desk of Mr. Ray and his family.

Mr. Ray took a moment to think about what to say next as he placed his mug onto the coaster. 

"You obviously didn't do it. Now I don't know why you're uncomfortable with telling who did this but just know that you need to say something or else this is going to eat your soul." His words hit like a ton of bricks as you nodded. 

'It's been eating me up for almost two decades.. It's too late to say that.' You thought to yourself as Mr. Ray got up his chair to place the empty mug back near his coffee pot. 

A few hours passed once you were back at your new home. The sunset decorated the sky with pinks and blues as the light smell of flowers lingered. When you entered your apartment, you locked the door before grabbing the slip of paper that had Stu's phone number on it. 

You couldn't decide what to do. You wanted to tell the truth to Dale, Mr. Ray, and the rest of the world for the sake of closing the case for the victims and their families. But you know that it's going to be hard to get evidence of what happened. Hell, it's going to be nearly impossible to have people believe your side. 

Sitting on the bed, you decided to give Stu a call. It took two rings before Stu answered the phone. 

"Hello, Stu Macher. Who's speaking?" He spoke out as you couldn't help but to feel butterflies in your stomach from hearing his voice. 

"Hey, it's me. You better have a good reason for wanting to talk now, Stuart." 

The tone of your voice made Stu feel even worse about his actions than before. You opened your drawer as you held the phone with your free hand. Placing the paper with Stu's number in between a couple documents. 

"I'm so sorry for everything.. I really wanted to reach out to you but Billy… I know you hate me and you have every right to.. Billy's at it again. He's wanting the two of us to kill again." 

The panic in Stu's voice caused you to feel empathetic towards your former lover even though you were still angry with him for doing nothing. 

"I can't.. I have too much to lose to let ghostface ruin my life.." Stu continued. 

You sighed softly as you ran your hands through your hair. 'How dare he say that shit after what happened. He doesn't know shit about having lost shit.

"So now that you have a career, this whole thing matters? I spent twenty fucking years behind bars. I was robbed of my prom, graduating high school, and my scholarship- my future  because I loved the two of you." You started, trying to hide the quiver in your voice. 

"You said you'll always be there for me. You fucking promised me.. what do you want from me? You stole two decades of my life. I can never get them back." 

Your body shook from the crashing waves of two decades worth of pain, tears slightly blinding you as you tried your damndest to not show any emotion. It was all you can do to keep as much of your composure as you could.

 The thing about being incarcerated was that when you show an ounce of weakness, the other inmates will use that to their advantage. You've spent many years hiding the overwhelming amount of hurt you've felt but eventually, the pain numbs you- making your mostly dull prison life more bearable. 

"I'm so sorry… I fucked up.. you didn't deserve to go through the last two decades alone.." Stu started speaking after a long pause as he heard you trying to take deep breaths. 

"It haunts me every day… It haunts me to know that not only you took the blame for us but that I abandoned you.. I hated seeing the world hate you for something that you didn't do but couldn't say anything about it." 

Truthfully, you really wanted to believe that Stu was sorry. It's just that how can you be able to forgive him when you don't know if his intentions were true anymore. Mustering up the courage to speak. You swallowed your tears back and responded. 

"What do I get for stopping Billy? I don't see any advantages for me to even want to help you. All I know, you planned this with Billy and wanted to kill me because I'm the only other person who knows the truth other than you two." 

Stu always admired your wit, the way you were able to put two and two together to be able to know any possibilities of whatever decisions you make. He held back a slight chuckle as he finally spoke out.

"I can give you money and other resources to start new. You can start wherever you want and not have to ever hear about the murders again. Be free of not having to be known as the most hated person on the west coast." 

The offer was tempting. You could both get revenge for what happened and could finally use your second chance to become a different person and forget about 1996 all together. But the nagging thought of how could you trust Stu after all these years.

"I'll meet you outside the bakery at sundown tomorrow and we can talk face to face about this deal." Stu finished before hanging up on you. 

The moon was out when you looked back towards your window, white fog covered the bottom portion of the moon as satellites and stars danced nearby. You can tell that you're not going to be able to sleep tonight after your phone call with Stu. 

'Should I trust Stu and take down Billy together… or should I use Stu for the money and seek my revenge on the both of them and leave to start a whole new life.' You thought to yourself as you begin to get ready for bed time.