Canes and Gunshots

The Mayor

The Colonels POV

I looked over at Damien, smiling brightly at his tall figure.

Damien and I had been friends since we were kids, playing games together, went to the same school, hell, I even worked in the same office with him for a while till I got bored with the offices.

I walked up to him and hugged him tightly which he returned immediately. I felt his stiff cane press into my back, not caring one bit about it.

He was the first to release from the friendly embrace, looking down at me like a graceful angel.

"How have you been?" He asked, still holding the gentlemen smile.

"I've been good, still adjusting but I'm alright. How bout you?" I answered, watching his facial expression shift quite fast.

"Everythings been fine... Got divorced which isn't fun I guess."He replied, chuckling softly at the end to hopefully brighten the mood. It didn't help.

"You got a divorce? How is it not public already?" I stumbled out, blushing faint pink in embarrasment from asking a rude question.

"We both kept it as secretive as we could, avoiding the press from fondling our story to make one or the other look bad." He answered, still a little gloomy.

I nodded softly, loooking down at the ground, hoping to find something else to talk about that wasn't very... dark.

"How have you been after the whole... accident?" Damien mumbled.

So much for a less dark topic.

"Well... I'm not gonna lie, it's been very hard. I've been having nightmares since that day and this is the first time I have actually gone out in public and hung out with soemone." I said in complete honesty.

Normally if someone asked me how I was doing wih what happened, I would lie and say I'm doing just fine. Tell them I'm seeking help, visiting family and friends to clear my head, the normal shit you say for a lie.

But for some reason, it felt right to tell Damien what was really going on with me. He was my best friend and I trusted him with more about myself than I did my own family.

"I'm sorry. Hopefully it'll get better for you. We all know it was an accident so at least you're not going to prison for it." He said, trying to make me look on the bright side.

At this point, I never saw the bright side of things anymore. I considered to be shut down from the rest of world, always quiet and hidden from the public eye.

Although I appreciated the gesture, I knew deep down it was just fruitless effort to make me smile once again.

"True, but they're still pressing charges even after the case was closed. The judge keeps denying them because it's been over for so long." I said, watching as he gave a thoughtful nod.

I looked over him and examined the little badge on his chest that read, "The Mayor," in a bold, white.

"What's it like being the mayor?" I asked, watching him look up at me with the widest puppy eyes I ever saw in my life. And god were they adorable.

"Well... it's stressful but it's ok." He replied, rubbing the diamond of his cane.

I looked down at the cane, admiring the every detail of the long wooden staff, a paint job over the wood so it was now black. On top of the cane was a diamond embedded in some metal to protect it from breaking. It was very beautiful.

"So... if you don't mind Colonel, could you explain to me what happened that day? The day of the accident?" He asked in a forgiving tone.

"Well.." "Hello dear friends!"