Nemesis: A Love Story

TESSA

Tessa opens the door and steps inside. She can feel Hugh behind her.
A steady solid presence.
She hasn't had another person in here ever.
It's an odd feeling like somehow she's letting him inside a part of herself.
Laying herself exposed to be judged.
He says nothing.
Just takes it all in.
There's nothing to see.
Any traces of the crime is long gone.
Besides she doesn't think that's why he came in with her.
He doesn't have some kind of macabre reason.
No, she thinks in someway he feels like he's protecting her.
Maybe he is.
The house feels different with him in it.
Like the ghosts of the past have seeped back into the walls.
Quiet and dormant.
Her mind clicks back to the last thing she remembers from the night before and her cheeks blush pink.
She has a vivid memory of him below her.
His eyes.
His hands running up the length of her legs...
His lips on her scar.
She shakes her head.
"You ok?"
He asks from behind her.
"Yeah. Yeah. I'll just run upstairs to grab some stuff."
"Need help?" He asks.
She shakes her head.
She points to the left.
"The kitchen is that way if you want a drink or something" she points right. "Tv room."
He just nods and stays in the foyer.
She slowly goes up the stairs knowing at some point she should explain what he walked in on.
Or maybe not.
He never really explains his with her.
When she comes down the stairs again she sees him standing in front of their old picture wall gazing at their many many pictures. His hands stuffed into the pockets of his ripped blue jeans. His grey hoodie peaking out over the top of his black leather jacket.
His messy brown hair under a ball cap today.
He'd taken off his combat boots and they stood just inside the door.
This made her grin to herself.
He was looking closely at one of her. She was jumping on their old trampoline, high in the air.
She walks softly up beside him.
"Acrobat" he says with a small smile.
She nods.
"I wanted to be. Chris was the real athlete though"
She sees Hugh stiffen slightly at her brothers name.
"He wasn't a monster. Isn't a monster" she corrects.
Hugh slowly turns to face her. He can see the nervousness in her eyes. Like she wants to retreat from the comment.
"You hungry" he asks "you were pretty sick last night. Feeling up to it?"
She sees that he's giving her an out and she takes it.
"You made me breakfast remember?"
He grins slightly.
"An egg and a piece of toast isn't enough."
"Yeah I could eat. Another coffee would be good."
He reaches slowly and grabs the bag from her shoulder, carrying it to the car.
She doesn't object.
They get into the car.
Silent and unmoving.
He seems to be thinking something over.
"Can I take you somewhere? I don't want to go home yet" he admits.
She looks suspiciously at him.
"Where?"
"A place I go when I want to be alone. Nice view. Water. I saw you like to swim."
Oh yes the beach pictures.
"Ok" she says softly.
"Ok."
He takes her to a diner, close to the beach outside of town. They grab taco salad and drinks and walk over to the beach.
It's basically deserted.
She's thankful for that.
He takes her to a spot with a large drift log buried deep in the sand. He sits down and motions her to join him.
Helps her get settled.
They rest their backs against it.
It feels cool against her warm skin.
"You're right. It's quite the view" she remarks.
They both look out over the rippling waves and the horizon beyond. The skies blue meeting the waters. The sun shining warmly on their faces.
"You come here a lot?"
It sounds like a pick up line.
Hugh nods.
"I've slept here before" she looks at him waiting for more "when things got bad at home and I just needed a break. I'd come here. I'd sit and look out over the water. Imagine I had a boat and I'd take off." His hand reaches out to the water. Off into the distance.
She smiles to herself.
"Sail away across the sea."
He nods.
"I know it's dumb."
"No it isn't." She says to him. "That sounds beautiful. Just the open water, the wind, the sun."
The Sun.
She makes herself not think about it.
"Were there a lot of bad nights?"
He nods slowly eating.
"More bad then good."
His phone goes off.
He looks down and a smirk crosses his face.
"Claire checking in. She says you aren't answering. Wants to make sure I haven't scared you off."
Tessa laughs a bit which makes Hugh look at her. She stops.
" I left my phone at your place."
He texts quickly. His long fingers moving easily over the buttons.
"There that should satisfy her for about an hour."
Tessa looks at the view. Slowly eating. She's not overly hungry but she can feel him watching her like a hawk.
"So this is your special place?"
"Yeah. My place. I guess."
"Do you bring all the girls here? Like the chick at The Descent or Megan?"
She can hear the jealousy in her own voice.
"No. You're the first."
They look at each other.
"That thing with Megan. It's over."he tells her.
"You don't have to explain."
"Yes I do." He says determinedly. "What she did was disgusting. It was wrong. And it was my fault."
"How so?"
"Because I played her. I used her feelings, her insecurities to get my way. It's one of the many gifts my father left me." He says bitterly. "She did that to you because of me. I just hope someday you can forgive me." He looks directly at her and she feels the force of it down to her toes.
"Did you ask her to do it?"
He looks devastated.
"No!"
"Then there's nothing to forgive."
He looks stunned.
Not knowing what to say.
"And if I judged you for your past what does that make me? After last night I'm the one who should be asking for forgiveness. After what I put you and Claire through"
"Trust me we've been through worse."
Tessa looks at him interested.
He seems to make a decision.
"Yeah...ok...so one night it's bad at home, a bad fight. I'm nineteen. I've had enough. I can hear him whaling on Mom. I hear Claire, she's only 14, crying in her room. I never should've gone down there" he whispers getting emotional "but I did, we fought, my mom drags my dad off me. He trips backwards over the table, breaks his neck on the brick fireplace."
He waits for the look of shock to cross Tessas face.
It doesn't come.
She just listens intently.
"At first I thought he was fine. Just fucking around to scare us but then I saw his eyes. I knew he was gone. And I didn't care. I was relieved. For her, for Claire even for myself. My mom. She was always so submissive. She'd let it happen. She'd hide. She'd lie for him when the cops came. She'd always choose him over us. I never could understand how a mother could pick a guy over her kids, ya know?" He takes off his hat running his fingers through his hair.
"Anyway this night. It's like she's someone else. She takes over. Takes charge. Gets me to take Claire out of there. She must've called the cops. They end up taking her into the station. She's charged with manslaughter. It's self defence really but it doesn't matter. She ends up in prison. She died there 3 years later. Cancer."
"I'm so sorry. What about you and Claire?"
"I was 19. An adult. I don't how it happened but somehow we got to stay together. It was hard. I had to make a lot of hard choices so that we could survive. Shady choices. Selling drugs kind of choices. Using people to get what we needed or keep Claire from being taken away from me. Ones I was fine with making for a very long time."
Those blue eyes scan out over the water restlessly.
"What changed then?"
He turns slowly to look at her.
"You showed up"