Behind Closed Doors

Ethan

High school wasn't that bad for me - an occasional bully here and there, but nothing too serious.

Insecure teens finding out new things.

We were on our way to our new house in the middle of nowhere (Ohio).

I was ten minutes older than she was. I liked telling people that. She, however, hated it.

Our parents weren't financially dependent on each other. Money was never an issue in our family, so Dad got us a house out there in hopes that we could start new because we were both in big trouble, though neither of us ever talked about it.

An unspoken connection is what we had.

When we turned 18, we both met Nathan Anderson - a 25-year-old thug who had more tattoos than he had women (and, boy, did he have women).

Soon enough, I became his right-hand man. I pledged allegiance to his gang, and Vera followed suit. He needed me for the brawn and Vera for her brain.

One day, Nathan drunkenly raped my sister. I burst in, slit his throat, and we escaped his goons, thanks to our parents.

Vera couldn't drive because she was too fucking street stupid. She crashed her car once, drunk and on her way back from Gulf Shores. She got her license suspended and had to be hospitalized for three days.

A couple of hours later, we arrived at the house.

I stuck the key in the lock and unlocked the door, looking around our new home.

"Thanks dad," I muttered, pointing at the fully stocked bar. Vera snickered.

I was carrying three of her bags, one of which was a duffel bag full of makeup she insisted that I not drop.

For the first week or so, we hung out and watched movies. Then, we decided that we'd spent too much time together, so we put ads out for new roommates. We decided on the ones who answered first, and they moved into the guest bedrooms the next week.

Damon was the first to arrive. He was 6'0" with brown hair, green eyes, and tattoos. Anna arrived shortly after. She was 5'7" with red hair, blue eyes, and a few tattoos.

For the first month, everything was cool... until shit started getting weird.

Damon only came out of his room at night, but Anna was pretty cool. Vera liked her a lot.

I couldn't put my finger on it, but Damon looked oddly familiar. I shook the thought from my mind, however, and I just went about my life.

One day, Vera and I were downtown for Art Walk, something the city did every month on the first Friday. I looked down at the newspaper I was holding and saw pictures of Vera and myself.

Wanted
Ethan and Vera Callaghan
First degree murder
Reward: $100,000

"V, we have to go... now." I took her hand and started walking.

"Keep your head down," I said ushering her into an alleyway. "Look."

I shoved the paper into her hands once we were out of sight. Her facial expression changed, and then she looked at me in trepidation.

"We can't go back to the house. That's the first place they'll check." I paced back and forth.

"Shh." She stopped me and pointed at her ear, indicating for me to listen.

"No sign of them," a voice sounded from a police radio.

She pulled my arm, and we ran towards a parking garage.

"We're so fucking screwed," she said, voice laced with fear.

We made our way to the elevator, where I pressed the button that would take us to the roof. Once we got there, I pressed the button that read "Stop Elevator" so that it couldn't be called down. Then, I make sure that the staircase door was barricaded.

I walked over to Vera, who was standing at the edge of the building.

"I'm scared," She whimpered.

"It was Damon. He's the cop who was following us. He's got to be related to Nathan," I told her. She threw her arms around me.

"I love you, Ethan," she cried onto my shoulder.

"I love you, too, V."

I jumped when I heard banging on the door that I blocked. Vera stood by me and took my hand.

A group of uniformed men and women surged through. Among them was Damon. I'd never seen so many guns before. I nudged Vera discreetly, and she nodded. We knew what we had to do.

We stepped up onto the ledge. Everything was quiet.

She squeezed my hand tightly, and we jumped.