Slices

Trojan

Trojan quickly left the motel and crossed the dark street. It was around midnight and if he got caught, his life would go up in flames. Especially if he was caught by Alan.

He stopped in the middle of a back street and turned his gaze to the sky. You couldn't see the stars in the city, the lights were all too bright. He found himself in a subway, standing between a large black woman and a coughing homeless man.

"I need cold medicine. Please, I don't want to die. Please help me." The man tugged at Trojans shirt.

This man had life much worse than Trojan had ever even dreamed. "Okay, let's go get some." Trojan forced a smile and led the way back out of the subway. "Do you know where the nearest pharmacy is?" Trojan looked back to the sad old man- and to his astonishment, no one was there.

Trojan turned left then right, his eyes scanning the crowd... Aha! There he was- fleeing? Oh shit. Trojans hands were suddenly frantically feeling his pockets for his leather wallet. And it was gone. What was this burning sensation? Why did the world begin pounding and what was this sudden urge to rip someone's throat out?

Trojan launched himself forward in an uncontrollable rage, his feet hitting the ground at the pace of his speeding heart; the buildings flashing by like fleeting thoughts; fists pumping, punching the air. "Get back here you Bastard!" Trojan screamed into the sea of people on the square. His focus was unbeatable, every person but the old man was a blur.

Gaining, gaining, grabbing. Yelling! Shaking in anger, fist lifting, STOP. Trojan panted, staring wildly into the terrified eyes of the old man. His fist was in the air, threatening to come down on this man and the wallet was in the robbers quivering hands. Whatever had stopped Trojan from beating this mans head in- would have to be thanked. Trojan couldn't afford to go to jail, especially when Riane was slowly coming back to him. Maybe? Trojan released his grip of the mans collar and snatched his wallet back. He cast a glare at the man then stuck his hands in his pockets and stormed back to the subway. "Augh!" The yell escaped his mouth before crossing his mind.

Anger was such a ripe emotion, flooding through you like a racing river. For Trojan, the river was still racing, tumultuous winds pushing it faster and faster, sending water splashing over rocks and rain was suddenly thundering down, breaking branches off of unsuspecting trees and lighting was splintering the dark sky; thunder rumbled then exploded and shook the world; the lighting struck again and again and the thunder roared like a thousand lions, threatening to break him. A whisper. The wind brought a whisper from afar- "sir?"

Trojan blinked open his eyes. "W-what happened?" He pushed himself off the wall then grabbed the girls shoulder as the world seemed to slant sideways. "Sorry, I uh..."

"It's okay, sit on this bench." She led him to a bunch beside an advertisement. "Are you okay?"

He rubbed his eyes and wiped a tear off his cheek. How did that get there? "Yeah, what happened?"

"What do you remember?" She sat down next to him. Her eyes were a striking blue, like a husky's eyes, and she had straight brown hair that fell down her shoulders and back.

"I walked into the subway.."

"Oh wow, you don't remember falling down the stairs?"

Trojan raised his eyebrows. "I what?"

A smile twitched at the edge of her mouth. "I'll just tell you what I witnessed."

"Okay, please, fill me in."

"Well, after you chased down that man and took your wallet back, I thought I'd ask you if you wanted me to call the police- so I followed you into the subway. You suddenly stopped walking when you reached the top of the stairs. I thought that was kind of weird, so I hung back a little. Then, you clenched your fists and yelled or something, I think you were really mad. Now, here's where it gets weird- you took a step, but you didn't seem to even be looking where you were going, it was like you were blindly walking. You missed the step and hit the ground pretty hard, laying there for a second and I was running over to you, but then you staggered to your feet and fell sideways, hitting the wall. You stood there with your fists above your head and your eyes closed, that's when I got to you."

Trojan nodded. " Well thanks for letting me know, and worrying about me."

"Yeah, are you sure you're okay? I think you're bleeding."

He touched his forehead, there was blood. "Uh yeah I'm fine. My names Trojan by the way, it was nice meeting you."

"My names Joy. You too."

Trojan smiled, then stood up and walked out of the subway, he decided he'd just walk home tonight.

Anger did not persist from a simple old mans poor actions... Something else was eating away at Trojans patience. And a tear? For Gods sake, why had he been crying? Trojan shook his head and let out a sigh. He knew very well why he had been crying- correction: still was crying.

Love was both horrible and wonderful. Right now, it was horrid.

He locked his door behind him and stood in the middle of the small studio apartment. Riane used to come over all the time and they would sit together, arguing about stupid stuff like how to cook eggs. It wasn't what she said that stuck with him, it was the lively glint in her eyes and her soft curls brushing his neck when she kissed him. Her looong caramel legs and funny slang that crept into her vocabulary whenever she was mad. She always made cookies that tasted like heaven and melted in your mouth, the crisp buttery flavor making him love her even more.

Trojan sat back on his couch and stared at his hands, these were the hands that once would gently touch Riane's face, and wrap around her slim body in a meaningful hug. Trojan felt as if something inside him shattered the moment he saw her and Lincoln, he had been full of hope and love, buzzing with the anticipation of her positive response. The spark between them had always felt like fire, gazing into her dark eyes make the air crackle and his heart speed beyond comprehension.

"No." Trojan wiped a tear from his cheek. "I'm done crying over you." He set down the wedding ring that had found its way into his hands. "She doesn't love me anymore. I have to move on." He whispered to himself. Standing up, he crossed the room and wiped the blood from his forehead, then he sat down on his couch and propped his feet on the coffee table. Frowning, he brought his feet back to the floor. Riane used to always sit on that coffee table when she spoke to him.

RING!!! Trojan jumped, startled by his phone suddenly springing to life in his pants. Reaching into his pocket, he grabbed the phone and brought it to his ear.

A nervous sigh emerged his mouth as he slid the green button. "Hello?"

"Stay away from her. You hear me? I know you've been visiting her. The point is I need all of you out of her life. She's mine now."

Trojan clenched his jaw and his eyebrows smashed together. "Alan, How can I trust you won't hurt her?"

"She's met me before, dipshit. She's in love with me."

Trojan sat up straight, slamming his fist down on the table. "No she isn't! You think she is but she hates you!" Trojan wasn't sure if any of this was actually true, but he would say it anyway.

"Ha, no, you're just jealous." Alan scoffed. Now stay away from her or the deal is off.

Trojan gasped. "You can't do that!" His leg started shaking.

"Yes I can. If You visit her again then my threats won't just be threats anymore. They'll be actions." CLICK. Alan hung up.

Trojan dropped his phone and held his face in his hands.

"I should've brought her home. I should've known Alan wouldn't leave her alone. What's wrong with me?" He shook his head.

------meanwhile------

"Hey, yeah I'll need you to eliminate blondie, my threats weren't enough."

"Cool, I've been wanting to do that since he bashed my fucking face in."

"You kind of deserved it..."

"Shut up Alan, I'll get him out of the picture... Be careful I don't want to have to steal your girl, just like I stole his."

"Dude that's not even cool, it's the same girl."

"Exactly, so it'll be easier to swipe her, just gotta get her heart back."

"She's already mine, so fuck off." CLICK.