The Driven

Chapter 31

Hank

Hank was tidying his house while stuffing his little possessions into a hand luggage. He had given his neighbor some of the stuff in his kitchen, the refrigerator he'd sold online. His apartment was looking bare except for the plastic chair and bed, he'd cashed in on those too and the buyer was coming to get them later.

He styled his hair and wore the name tags of his former comrades. It was the start of something great and he only needed Thea by his side so they could leave already. He was waiting for her call as he'd been waiting since morning. It was nearing noon and still no words from her.

If she wasn't coming, it'd be because of Jamal and he knew she was done with him so that wouldn't happen. He understood why she'd take her time, not everyone packed as light as him and she could possibly be saying her goodbyes. She had friends and family that were invested in her wellbeing, all whom would be with her right now.

Hank paced the length of his empty apartment and folded his arms. When it was nearing some minutes after two in the afternoon, he decided to call Thea. Her phone rang longer than he anticipated and he tried not to worry. He called again and when she picked, he was met with absolute silence.

"Thea?"

"Yes, Hank," she answered calmly.

Hank couldn't read her mood so he pressed on. "Are you okay? I've been waiting for you to call all morning. We need to leave before it gets late."

"Do we?"

Her question and tone made him doubtful. "Of course. You told me to wait for you so when will you get here?"

"Is Jamal truly your step brother?"

The pin he'd subconsciously been dreading would drop finally did. "Yes."

"Why didn't you say anything? You could have said something, you had time to..."

He hated how distressed she sounded. It felt like she had no fight left in her. "Thea, Jamal asked me not to."

"Because you threatened him to get this job."

"I wasn't going to do anything to him, Thea. I was just desperate and losing my mind."

"You don't have to explain yourself. I think it's best you left now since I won't be joining you."

"Thea, we need to talk. I don't know what Jamal told you but it's not what you think it is. I swear."

"Did he or did he not pay you to hang out with me?"

"Thea, it wasn't personal. I needed the money and he took advantage of that. I'm not the bad guy here, you have to understand I had to do it."

"You had to sleep with me too?"

"It sorta happened. You know that wasn't planned. Where are you, I need to come over so we can talk."

"We're talking right now ."

He sighed. "Not like this, don't do this to me now. Please."

The line went dead and Hank hurried out. When he arrived at Thea's house, he rushed into the gate and didn't wave at the security guy as usual. The door to the house was opened and he entered while calling for Thea. When he got to the terrace, he noticed Jamal sitting there with a magazine.

"What did you do with her?" he asked in annoyance.

Jamal raised his head and motioned for him to sit. "Just the man I was waiting for?"

Hank ignored the seat. "You told her."

"She's my wife for crying out loud. You think I'm going to watch her run away with you? Hank, you have the worse track record and even you know this. Let's not mince words, you're bad news and you have nothing to offer her."

Hank tried not to let his stepbrother's words affect him but his jaw ticked uncontrollably.

"I went through your file." Jamal let the words hang in the air and Hank felt like he was twisting a knife in his heart.

"It's sealed."

"Her dad unsealed it. You're even worse than I thought."

Hank took a seat as all the trauma he had buried deep in his mind resurfaced. His hands shook and Jamal watched him like an experiment gone wrong.

"They let you go because you failed everyone."

"I quit," he corrected. "What did you tell her?" His voice came out a little bit stronger than he wanted and he read panic in Jamal's stance.

"That I paid you for everything you did for her. What I didn't ask you to do was soil my wife."

"Your wife? Was she your wife when you robbed her off her self confidence? She did everything for your approval and you never took notice nor appreciated her efforts."

"And you did, thanks. Although, that wasn't what I paid you for."

Hank realized he didn't have the time for the back and forth with Jamal. "Jamal, where is she?"

He shrugged. "She stormed out after I told her about you. We're getting a divorce, nobody wins this round."

"I'm not competing with you because you were never in the race to begin with. Can you help me find her?" He would be humble, for Thea, he'd beg.

"I don't know where she is. Her dad should but he's not a fan of yours right now. Your file is really bad."

"I was in the army not Wall Street."

"But you sold out, your friends are dead because of you."

Hank lunged forward and grabbed Jamal by the neck. His feet left the floor as he dangled in his hand. Hank corrected him with purpose and controlled himself as he was so close to snapping his neck. "I never sold out, my friends died because we underestimated our opponents not because I fucking sold out."

Jamal scratched at his hand as Hank held on tightly to his neck. He dropped him in his chair like a rag doll when his groans started grating on his nerves.

"I knew you could never rein in your emotions and that's exactly why you're here driving me. Leave my house and don't ever come back again," Jamal commanded with teary eyes.

Hank walked away in frustration and tried calling Thea. Her phone remained on but it was of no use since she wasn't picking. He went home and sat in his empty apartment while contemplating ways to get through to Thea.

Later that night, he got a credit alert from Jamal and he wondered why he was being paid such huge amount for nearly choking him to death. The follow up text he got told him to stay far away from Thea.

He wished he could.