MALUM

Chapter 9

A dark figure sprawled across a large but soft king-sized bed in a cold, dark apartment bedroom. Grey sheets wrapped around the figure as it slept comfortably on the dark grey bedding. The decor and theme across the entire bedroom were dark grey. Masculine in nature, various pieces of black and white art and photos were hung on the walls. One of them, a black and white photo of the famous Frank Sinatra, hung on the wall on the right side of the bed next to the window. A pleasant photo of good old Frankie sitting on a bench with a suit, hat, and iconic smile. What some would consider tacky, the owner lying beside it hung it with significant consideration and care—even putting it in a black wooden frame and hanging it in plain view. A set of thick black-out curtains blocked most of the light and turned on the windows next to the picture. Still, dreary winter light poured through the ends and cracks like water. Making itself known as it faintly lit the room enough to know it was there. Through the darkness and the cold sleeping air the bedroom had, a cell phone rang. The figure, shuffling under the blankets to find said phone, had lifted the heavy dark grey comforter on their head to reveal himself. The figure had been that of Derek Davis. He grabbed the phone angrily and answered it as he was still half asleep.

"Yeah?" Derek said harshly.
"Yes, is this Derek Davis?" Said a calm but cold female voice.
"Speaking." He said it with a groggy sleep and filled voice.
"Hello, Derek; this is Sarah Anderson from the University of Minnesota giving you a call. Do you have a minute to talk?" Sarah said with a cold, uninviting tone.
"Oh. Um, yeah. Yeah, I can talk." Derek said, his tone being a complete one-eighty. He moved out of his lying position to sit on the right side of his bed. I was more awake and focused on what the call was about.
"Perfect. Derek, if you can, we need you to come into the school office as soon as possible today."
"Today, er, yeah. Wait, no. No, I can't do today." Derek remembered that he had made plans to see his father that day.
"Derek, we must talk to you individually as soon as possible," Sarah said.
"Shit. Is everything okay?"
"We will discuss it here in the office. When can we expect to see you?"
"We? I thought it was a one-on-one?"
"We will discuss everything once you're here, but we need to know when to expect you."
"... I guess I'll head there now if it's that damn important."
"Excellent. I will let everyone know. See you soon."
"Yeah..." Derek said as he ended the call.

Immediate rage washed over Derek's body like a rushing raging river. He followed through every orifice as he sat there, trying to recollect what was happening. Derek was not precisely an Einstein himself, but he wasn't all that dumb either, which was somehow even worse than being a complete and total doofus. He was painfully average. Mediocre. Luke warm. Nothing about his intelligence or overall well-being stood out to anyone in any meaningful way. He had friends; hell, he was even hung over from drinking with them the night prior, but Derek was nothing more than an average Joe Schmoe that people didn't know. Nothing about him physically, even that set him apart from others, which is one of the reasons he got away from doing what he did to Ava in the first place. Deep down, Derek was awful and often wore a mask around others to gain something. He had always been a manipulative person, and growing older had made it much worse. Derek's father, a wealthy but abusive individual, had shaped Derek into the monster he had become. He was instilling values that no man or woman should be instilled with. At a young age, he even explains to Derek that he screams and berates his mother "because she deserves it." And that had always been stuck inside Derek's memories, even to that day, because she deserved it. He had mixed feelings of repulsion, but some aspiration always brewed in his soul. The human side hated the idea when he thought of being feared and powerful like his tyrant father. Hating the monster that he was. Even thinking back at what he did to Ava, which was quickly the worst thing he had ever done, a strange morality battle would happen in his brain. He almost resembles the devil and angel sitting on his shoulders, as seen in one of those silly cartoons playing on a Saturday morning. However, what he did was far from laughable. Derek knew that, but the thought only brought regret and disgust. He knew what kind of evil he was; he wasn't selfless enough to fix it.