JONATHON - Book 1 [Watty Awards 2012]

Chapter 32

The knock came at his dressing room door and Jonathon crossed and opened it. He reared back in shock.

‘Jesus Christ!’ he bellowed. ‘No!’ he yelled and stumbled backwards, desperate to get away and fell heavily on his backside. ‘Get away!’ he screamed, ‘Get away from me!’ frantically scrabbling, still on his bottom, backwards across the floor. ‘Get the fuck away!’ he was wild-eyed and almost hysterical with terror.

‘Jonathon!’ exclaimed Bea rushing towards him.

‘No! No!’ he continued to shriek with fear and scramble backwards.

‘Jonny!’ exclaimed the man, distressed. ‘It’s Ben, Jonny. It’s Ben.’ And the actor ripped off the black hood he was wearing. He was costumed up for his part as the executioner.

Jonny was hyperventilating and still trying desperately to get away from him.

‘Sweetheart!’ exclaimed Bea, kneeling down to him. ‘What’s the matter, darling? Oh, Jonny, it’s only Ben.’

‘Christ, I’m sorry, Jonny, Bea. I didn’t think. I haven’t come to make you a head shorter.’ The grim joke that Henry made to those who dared oppose him.

Jonny was still sweating and breathing heavily. ‘Christ, Ben!’ he managed to gasp. ‘That’s the stuff nightmares are made of. It’s not even fucking Halloween.’ He tried to make a joke of it, but it was obviously no laughing matter to him; he shuddered still.

‘Sorry, Bea.’ he apologised to her for his language.

‘That’s alright, my darling.’ she had no intention of scolding or slapping him.

She was stunned by his reaction; he had been absolutely terrified. It would have given anyone a start to see a hooded executioner complete with axe at their door but she had the feeling it was much more than that. Jonny’s terror was so stark and total that it had to be fact-based. Something, someone had instilled that dread into him and her heart ached for what childhood terror that may have been.

‘What did you want anyway, Ben?’ Jonny asked shakily and only now attempting to get up. Bea helped him and he held on to her with a wan smile of gratitude, she could feel him trembling yet.

‘Change of schedule. They’re ready for you now, Jonny,’

‘But I thought....... no matter.’

‘Are you up to it? Shall I....’

‘No! I’ll be fine. A bad memory Ben, that’s all. I don’t want to go there, okay?’

‘Sure Jonny, sure. I just didn’t think what the sight of me like this turning up on someone’s doorstep....’

‘You won’t say anything, Ben?’

‘No, no. Of course not. I get enough grim reaper jibes as it is. Jonny, I’m real sorry, giving you a turn like that.’

‘It’s okay. It’s okay, now. I’d just rather nobody else got to hear about it and think it might be a good joke to borrow your costume and jump out on me.’

‘That’s not going to happen Jonny. I won’t say anything. I give you my word. I feel bad enough...’

‘It’s okay.’ said Jonny again. But Bea had the feeling it was anything but okay. Ben left.

Bea cuddled him into her and felt him still shaking.

‘What is it, sweetheart, hmm?’ she asked gently.

‘Nothing.’ he said. ‘I over reacted. It was stupid.’

‘No.’ she said firmly. ‘That really frightened you and you don’t scare easy. You’ve got such courage.’ He had been through so much in his young life but he faced his demons, he battled them. They brought him to his knees sometimes, scarred and bleeding but he always got up and fought on. He didn’t quit. He didn’t run.