It Was All In The Eyes

Chapter 4: The Coincidence

"Hey. It's Michael again! It's like 1:30 in the morning and I haven't heard from you all day. Call me. And please be okay." That was the third voicemail I had left on Stephanie's phone. I was worried that she wasn't responding to my messages or calls and I didn't trust Jake's punk ass with her at all, especially with her being so vulnerable at a time like this.

After I waited another thirty minutes, I tried giving her another call. "Hello?" a slurred male voice answered. "Who is this?" I asked. I was fairly certain of the identity of the individual, but I wanted some clarification.

"Who are you?" He said. "I'm Jake!" I shook my head and frowned. He answered his own damn question. Jake was clearly drunk, and I was hoping that Stephanie wasn't. Especially not when they were together. "Where's Stephanie?" I questioned. "Stephanie is not here right now, please leave a message. Beep!" Jake slurred. "Jake, I'm gonna kick your ass if you don't tell me that Steph is alright." I growled.

There was a loud thud on the other end of the line, as if he had dropped her phone. What an idiot. "Hey Michael, I'm sorry about Jake!" Stephanie's voice slurred. "I was in the shower and I didn't hear my phone going off." She was in the shower for all of the other calls? I knew she was probably on one and that they had been busy, but I decided to let it go. Not like I had a say in those matters anyway.

"You alright?" I asked her. "Yeah I'm fine, just a little tired and pissed off." she whispered the last part. "Why, what's wrong?" I asked. "I don't want to stay here with Jake the Drunk anymore! I hate it when he drinks." she said. "Would you mind letting me stay with you again?" she asked. I really didn't feel like driving or having her sleep over here again.

I knew what they were doing with all that alone time, and I don't like being used by anyone. I didn't have a right to feel the way I did, but I was jealous. I couldn't just leave her there though. So I told her I'll come get her. She gave me the address, I put on some clothes and headed her way.

On the way there, I noticed that the streets were unusually empty for a Friday. It seemed like a ghost town. There was a low fog set upon the ground that made everything look like a horror movie set. I felt a chill run down my spine and decided to turn the heat on and keep driving.

As I passed by a few familiar shops and restaurants, I began to take notice to the dark alleyways at the sides of the buildings. Every few alleyways was a group of what looked like people wearing hoods. Shrouded in darkness, it was impossible to see anything other than their silhouettes. "What the fuck..." I turned my attention away from the road and slowed down a bit, but not too much, to get a better look. I flipped my brights on was greeted by fog that didn't exactly help me see anything. Shit.

They all seemed to be huddled up together, just standing there. Another chill made its way down my spine. I decided it was time to speed the hell up and get Stephanie back to my house. The roar of engine filled the silent town and echoed through the streets. I almost felt alone.

I pulled up in front of Jake's house and turned my lights off, waiting for Stephanie. I called her and told her to come outside, but she was still getting her clothes on when I called. I guess she had fallen back asleep until I called the second time. As I sat in the darkness for awhile, I began to look around his yard. I noticed something very odd about his trash can.

I flipped on my headlights to get a better look. There was an ominous looking red eye along the side of the trash can. It looked as if it had been spray painted recently onto the trash can. I cranked my car and honked my horn to tell Stephanie to hurry up. The door to Jake's place bursted open. He and Stephanie were having a heated argument. Their commotion filled the dark, empty tree-lined streets with a boisterous noise. Somewhere a dog started barking.

I had already figured that Jake was drunk, but his state of drunkenness was clearly evident in the way he stumbled around without his shirt. His light brown skin was covered in sweat. I hope he caught a terrible cold. "Come back inside!" Jake yelled. "No, I'm leaving with Michael! Get away from me!" she shouted. Jake grabbed her wrist and began to pull her back to the house. I got out of the car and made my way over to the two of them.

I forced his hand away from her wrist. "Back the fuck off Mikey!" Jake hollered. I pushed him back and he tripped backwards on his front door step. He landed hard on the concrete, scraping up his arms and back. "You motherfu-" I shut him up with a shoe to the face. "That's enough you two!" Steph shouted. "Let's go." I walked to my car and got in the driver's seat. Steph followed me into the car.

We drove back up the mountain towards my house. "I'm sorry about that." she said. "It's alright." I said. I was really tired and just wanted to get home. I was hoping she wouldn't strike up any conversation at the house, I wanted to sleep. I pulled up into my yard and turned my car off. As I walked up to my doorstep I felt Stephanie grab my wrist. "Michael.." "Stephanie can we just-" I was cut off by a finger gently pressing against my lips. "Just take me upstairs, we'll get in your bed, and we'll forget it happened." she said. "And maybe you'll be rewarded for your heroic actions." she teased.

I didn't let her see my reaction to her words. I made sure to lead her to my bedroom and make sure she was comfortable in my bed. "You getting in?" she giggled. I didn't want to be a bootycall, plus she was drugged up. "Nope! Goodnight!" I said with a smile. I locked and shut the door and walked to the guest room, making sure to lock the door as well.

I didn't want her finding her way into the bed with me.