She Wasn't There Anymore
As Javi was finishing up with the last few dishes, Ms. Garcia lovingly swiped his thick brown curls with a gentle touch and pecked us on our foreheads before leaving out the door to chase her money. My heart did that thing it always does when she showed me affection. A quick stutter like it was trying to remember the feeling for later. I felt a tingle in my bones as her lips touched my skin and willed myself to be nonchalant about it. I willed myself to engage in a conversation with Javi instead of savoring the sight of her walking out the door. Lust aside, it was a brief moment of genuine comfort and a reminder that not everyone in my life was toxic. The spot where her lips touched my skin burned like the sweetest brand.
We hung out, shooting the breeze about hot girls in our school, and smoked a joint together as he showed off the new school clothes Ms. Garcia bought for him. The smoke curled between us, creating lazy patterns in the dim light of his bedroom.
“If we were closer in size, I’d let you borrow my clothes,” he laughed.
I laughed too, imagining how the ankles of his jeans would most definitely be closer to my calves. I’m six feet and two inches tall. Javi was maybe five foot eight inches. He did a good job of making up for his shorter height with a good amount of muscle mass. He was built like a fire hydrant, solid and unmovable.
On top of being an undefeated wrestler on our high school team, Javi’s father had him in the boxing gym ever since he was potty trained. So, anyone who assumed Javi was an easy target because of his height would be in for a rude awakening. Ms. Garcia always made it a point to recognize that Javier was lucky to have such a great dad.
“He is a wonderful father,” she would praise, “Just a terrible husband.”
After the joint was completely burnt out and he finished telling me about how he finally got his first blow job, I said my goodbyes and hurried to the small neighborhood gas station to hopefully sell a few more bags of weed and stop for a burger on the way. My stomach was begging for something. It twisted and grumbled from the hollow ache.
I leaned against the hard bricks on the side of the gas station and inhaled my cheap burger. The hard bread and the bland, lukewarm patty silenced my belly as I waited for the stoners to approach.
I shook a cigarette loose from my nearly empty pack as I watched the small group of high school girls in their cheerleader outfits pass by, chattering on and about hair and makeup products. They looked me up and down like I was a bowl of truffle risotto, or whatever the fuck rich bitches ate. I shot them a wink and they all blushed. I was just doing it for kicks. Skinny blondes aren’t really my thing, probably because my mother is a skinny blonde, I guess. I don’t really know if that’s the reason I’m not into skinny blondes. They just don’t do it for me.
I wondered what they were doing in this part of town. They stuck out like a sore thumb. A trio of prim and polished girls no doubt from an upper-class family, waltzing around the slums with their new Iphones out in the open. It was like watching baby gazelles wandering into a lion’s den. They were probably just looking for some coke. I held the cigarette firmly between my lips as I struggled to get my lighter to flick. Damn cheap lighters ain’t worth the trouble. I need to get myself a good refillable one. I flicked until my fingertip started to get sore before I finally got a flame to rise from it. I rushed to bring it to the tip of my cigarette before the flame went out.
I noticed the pink and purple sky had finally faded into a dark blue and the one streetlight that usually lit up the alley across the street was burnt out. I took a long draw from my cigarette when I first laid eyes on HER, the reason for this story. Time seemed to slow down like in those cheesy movies I always made fun of.
She noticed me too. I could hear the faint acceleration of her pulse alerting me to the fact that she was attracted to me. Her strong and confident posture intrigued me right away. She moved with the kind of confidence that came from knowing exactly who you were, not the fake bravado most people wore like cheap perfume. I loved how one of the little spaghetti straps of her white t-shirt hung off her shoulder a little. Her full breast bounced ever so slightly from the momentum of her determined stride.
I noted a hat with a McDonalds logo that was clipped to the strap of her purse. Her large and coily afro defied gravity, framing her beautiful face like a queen’s crown. She walked right past me, flashing a swift and polite half smile in my direction. I’d never seen such a dark shade of brown skin before. It was unique in the most fantastic way!
The contrast of her bright white teeth and her deep brown skin had me in a trance like state. I made a conscious effort to keep my jaw from dropping. The aroma of warm cocoa butter rising off of her flawless and nearly onyx skin was hypnotic to say the least. I took in her lovely scent, picking up on the faint smell of salty french fries that I hadn’t noticed at first. But there was still something else I was picking up. A unique pheromone I have only smelled on two other people in my whole life.
This girl had the pheromones of an Apex. I wondered what her ability was. I indulged in the view of her hourglass proportions as she walked past until she disappeared through the glass door and into the little store that was attached to the gas station. The effortless sway in her hips drew me in like a shipwrecked sailor to a guiding lighthouse. I planned to approach her as soon as she came out, but she didn’t double back in the direction she initially came from.
She went in the total opposite direction and crossed the street towards the alley. I willed myself not to run after her, but I never wanted to know someone’s name so badly. I watched her supple hips sway across the street when two of the most awful things happened simultaneously. I saw two men step from out of the shadows of the dark alley and pull her in. I heard her scream just as three men crowded me.
“Your broke ass father owes me money. A lot of it. Since he can’t pay, we come to collect from you,” he hissed at me.
I didn’t bother responding. I just shoved him out of my way so I could keep her in my line of sight. I turned up my Apex hearing and I heard her scream again. It was a muffled scream. The faint kind that hardly escaped one’s mouth when it was being covered by a hand. I heard the rustling of belt buckles being loosened and zippers unzipping. The sickening sound made my stomach turn. I tried to run in her direction, but they tackled me before I could even create any sort of distance.
They didn’t waste any time. They slammed me into the pavement and started stomping me. I didn’t care. She was my only concern. Normally, taking on three guys would only be a moderate challenge. I’m strong, quick, and I have stamina. The slightly higher tolerance for pain that Apexes possess didn’t hurt either. But I had no interest in fighting them off, lucky for them. I balled up tightly to protect my mid-section as the three of them pummeled me with endless kicks. I never once looked at them. I took in their unique scents with my bloodhound nose so I could better recognize them in the future and deal with them accordingly.
I kept my eyes on the alley she was dragged into. Eventually, they stopped kicking me and snatched my phone, all of my money, and all the product out of my pockets before the three of them ran to an SUV. I took a quick note of the vehicle before they sped off. It was an old white Pathfinder with a dent in the passenger side door. I vowed to deal with those fucks another time as I swiftly turned my sights back toward the alley those perverts pulled HER into. I tried my best to recover from the beating as fast as I could so I could go help her.
Every breath felt like a knife stabbing into my ribs, but I pushed through the pain. I saw the two guys emerge from the alley and take off. They were both dressed in dark clothing and their shoes were laced tight. Exactly how someone would dress if they knew they would be up to no good. I chased after them. My adrenaline kicked in and the pain in my ribs faded into the background. My vision narrowed until all I could see were targets. I had only one singular focus, making them pay!
They didn’t notice that I was on their heels until it was too late. I dove for them with both my arms spread eagle, tackling the both of them at once. I knocked one of them out cold with one punch. His head bounced off of the pissy concrete after my fist landed on his face. I yanked a freshly sharpened pocketknife from my back pocket and put it to the other guy’s jugular in one swift motion. I could smell their fear. It was potent.
“CONFESS!” I growled, practically foaming at the mouth.
“Wha.....what?” the low life asked faking confusion.
“What did you do to her!” I whispered menacingly.
“Nothing! I swear!” He lied.
His eyes darted in a wild and desperate search for escape. I hammer fisted him in his groin and moved my pocketknife down to the exact spot I just punched him in. He coughed and writhed in agony.
“Lie to me again, and I’ll cut it off! You raped her!” I accused, “Both of you raped her!”
“I’m sorry,” he cried pathetic crocodile tears that only managed to fuel my rage even further.
His meaningless apology did nothing to quench my thirst for vengeance.
“Please....I’m sorry. It was his idea,” he pleaded while pointing to his sleeping partner in crime that was starting to stir, “but then she.....she wasn’t there anymore.”
I took turns punching each of them. Their faces became a canvas for my fury, each strike a brushstroke of justice. The thudding sound their flesh and bone created each time I made contact with their faces were like music to my ears, a twisted yet soothing lullaby. The metallic smell of blood mixed with the stench of their fear and my own sweat created a cocktail of violence that threatened to overwhelm my enhanced senses.
My fists switched back and forth between each of their faces blow after blow until their features were unrecognizable and my knuckles went numb from the pain of colliding with their teeth and jaw bones. The ache in my hands was a small price to pay for the satisfaction of punishing those perverts.
