lackingunderstanding

 From Behind The Veil
Part Three

—

Steve had no idea where his phone was. What the hell just happened?  His mind was racing as he tried to replay the last few minutes in his head.  He was standing, Jon was there, and they were looking at each other. His right shoulder was throbbing in pain.  He couldn’t move his arm at all.  He was scared to look down or find out how badly he’d been hurt. He realized that his head was pounding.  He reached up with his good arm and felt his forehead.  His hand returned with blood on it.  He continued to inspect his head and found that the blood was coming from the side of his head.

“What the… Why?” The smell of fresh gunpowder was hanging in the air. Steve knew he’d been shot.  He started to panic the more he felt the wound on his head.  He decided to feel around his right shoulder to see what had happened to his formally useful extremity.  His shirt was drenched in blood and he could feel a hole that wasn’t there before.

“Oh, shit… Oh, shit!” Steve could barely keep his composure once reality started to set in. His shoulder had been blown out by a 9MM round from the back right as he turned to answer his phone.  Once the bullet hit him, it sent him spinning towards the ground where his head had made contact with an exposed board from the demolished couch on the way down.  The force from his head hitting the beam must have rendered him unconscious for several minutes.

As Steve continued with his self-examination, he heard another gunshot. It came from a few rooms over, but it was close enough to snap him out of his currently prioritized task.  He froze, waiting to hear a body hit the floor. Instead, he heard muffled voices and shuffling. Steve unsteadily climbed to his feet with the help of his good arm.  He had never felt this weakened before.  As he got to his feet, he noticed that he was alone in the room.  He looked down and couldn’t help but see that there was a lot of blood soaked into the carpet. Stay focused and don’t freak out, dammit, he thought to himself, you’ve got to get out of here before he comes back. He looked up and started to tackle the first leg of his journey, leaving the room.

Steve made it to through the living room door and tried to continue his way through the kitchen.  He was getting weaker by the minute, but the smell of the kitchen gave him even more motivation to keep going.  He got as far as the hallway on the other side of the kitchen when his legs gave out.  He collapsed in a heap on the floor.  His shoulder and head screamed in protest.  He didn’t know how he was going to make it the last thirty feet to the door.  He needed to get help.

The dizziness drained him. The confusion was overwhelming. Steve didn’t think he was going to make it those thirty feet and closed his eyes. His mind immediately went to Lizzy.  She must be worried sick.  She heard the gunshot and God only knows what else after that.  Why did he ever leave her in the first place? He could have been holding her in their bed, safe and sound.  She didn’t want him to leave and he should have listened.  Tonight could have turned out much differently if he would have only ignored the phone and followed her to bed. But he thought he was doing the right thing.

After what seemed like an eternity, Steve made up his mind to keep moving.  He started to prop himself up on his useable arm when he heard a familiar voice behind him, “Look who’s awake.”

Steve looked back and saw Jon pointing the gun at his head.   He knew that he didn’t have a chance in hell of avoiding this one.

“What the fuck, dude? I’m the one person who came here to help you and you fucking shot me,” Steve’s words came out breathily.

“Don’t feed me that line of shit!  You know you didn’t want to be here.  You’re just like everyone else!  You don’t give a fuck about me unless you’ve got something to gain.  Honestly, I didn’t intend to take you down like that earlier, but you made that evident to me just by picking up the phone. I just snapped.  I’ve got nothing left and you don’t give a shit!  Why do you even pretend to care?  What am I to you that you would treat me like this?” He wasn’t waving the gun anymore, but keeping it steadily aimed at Steve’s head.  Jon was a damn good shot.  He had been going to the range for years and could unload a clip into a paper plate one hundred and fifty feet away in seconds.  Jon’s ability to place a shot like this was without question.

“But I showed up!  If I really didn’t care, I would have stayed at home. I came over because you asked me to!  Fuck, man!  What else do you want from me?”  Steve was practically begging.

Jon cocked the gun, “To suffer like-”

He flinched and his face went slack. As his knees buckled, Carla’s small frame was revealed behind him. She had blood on her hands, and there was a broken liquor bottle sticking out from the back of Jon’s neck where she had jammed it deeply.

“That’s for taking a shot at me, you son of a bitch!” screamed Carla as Jon began to slump towards the carpet. His gun fell from his hands and unloaded a round through his chest once it hit the floor. Then he landed on top of it.

Steve was beginning to lose consciousness when he heard Carla’s voice again. It sounded muffled and farther away than just a few moments ago, “Steve?  Is that you?  What the hell are you doing here? Oh my God, you’re hurt!” He tried to respond, but didn’t have the strength to answer.  Blackness encroached his vision as he passed out.

—

“From behind the veil in each man’s soul lies the true heart of a man,” the preacher stated in a sad, yet passionate voice.  ”We all have that veil within us.  Some are more transparent than others, but regardless of what we try to hide from everyone else, when pushed hard enough by the trials of life, that veil is torn away to reveal the true nature of the person within.”  The preacher pointed to Steve where he laid silent in his casket.  ”Behind Steve’s veil was love.  Love for his family and love for his friends. Behind Jon’s veil was pain.  Pain and suffering.  He lost himself in that pain and let it take control of his thoughts and actions.”

Lizzy sat in the first pew of the church and sobbed.

She was unable to stifle her cries as the preacher went on, “Steve was a man who really loved people.  He always went out of his way to try and be there for someone else in their time of need.  He was kind, brave, and thoughtful.  He was a true friend and he will be dearly missed.”

At the cemetery as they lowered Steve into the ground, Lizzy laid a single rose on Steve’s final bed and between the tears she uttered the words, “From behind your veil, you loved.  I’ll never forget you.  I love you, baby…”  Lizzy collapsed on the ground.  Her screams of pain and love could be heard throughout the entire cemetery.

—

—

A very special and heart-felt Thank You goes out Cheri Anne, A.K.A. Fountains, for her help and beautiful work editing “From Behind The Veil” for grammar, story line consistency, while adding small elaborations and embellishments.  Cheri, I hope you find a way to make writing/editing your career like you want.  Your talent is very evident in your work.  Good luck!

Please visit Cheri’s WordPress site at
http://wherepleasantfountainslie.wordpress.com/

 From Behind The Veil
Part Two

—

“Jon, what happened in here? The place is a wreck!” Steve stated as if it was new information to everyone who heard, ”And why is Carla not coming back?”

“We got into a fight and she left me. She started screaming like a raving lunatic about how I couldn’t handle pressure and life like a real man and that she deserved better.  I told her that if it was too much for her ego to handle then leaving would be the best thing for both of us.  That’s when she really got mad.  I’m usually the one begging for her to come back to me, but with everything that’s happened, with my dad and my best friend and all, I don’t know.  I just couldn’t take it anymore, man.  She’s never supported me!  You remember how we hooked up, right?

“That was a while ago,” Steve avoided the question since he felt bad for not remembering.

“I was a bartender over at Major’s where she came in every night.  She told off one of the customers that couldn’t help but annoy everyone around him, and after he left I gave her a round on the house.  That was all it took for her I guess,” Jon was clearly fed up with Carla.  They hadn’t been doing too well for a while now, but Steve never thought they would actually break up.  Carla needed money and Jon couldn’t stand to be alone.

“That’s a shame.  I really didn’t see that one coming,” Steve replied.  “Wait a second.  What did you mean about your dad and your best friend?”

“My dad died of a heart attack while driving his big rig through Colorado.  His truck went off the road, tumbled down the side of the mountain, and blew up before even hitting the bottom.  By the time anyone could get to him, you couldn’t even tell it was him anymore.”

“Holy Shit!  Man, I’m so sorry to hear that!  You guys were just starting to talk again, right?”  Steve couldn’t get over the unfortunate timing of his dad’s death, or maybe their reunion.

“Yea, we were.  Only a couple weeks prior did he approach me and apologize for the way he treated me as a kid.  I couldn’t stand the bastard before that, but I was in shock when he called me up one day and left me that message asking to talk.  He sounded so different, so real.  He never was like that before.  He never kept his word and was always ripping me open for one reason or another.”

Steve vaguely remembered Jon’s pains about his father, and wondered why he hadn’t been a better listener.

“He never said anything good to me or about me,” John continued. “I hated the man.  But then that night something changed.  It didn’t even sound like him at first.  I had to listen to the message eight or more times before it sank in.  I called him back, and ever since then, we’ve been talking every day for at least a few hours. I just got a father in my life, but now he’s dead.  Just my luck, huh?”  Jon was waving the 9MM around like a toy as he was talking, and Steve was getting nervous.  Now, he could barely take his eyes off of it long enough to pay attention to what Jon was saying.

“What about your friend?” Steve tried to appear genuinely focused, but failed miserably.  Luckily, Jon didn’t notice and kept right on talking.

“He’s in a coma.  ATV accident.  The doctors aren’t sure if he’s going to pull through.  He broke five ribs, shattered his shoulder and collarbone, broke his back in three places, and has a nasty head wound.  It was really ugly, man. I should have been sad but I got pissed! At the very least, he’ll be paralyzed for the rest of his. Can you believe that?!”  The more Jon kept talking about everything, the more worked up he got. The more worked up he got, the more the gun started to move around through the air.  Steve knew that he had to get Jon to set the gun down soon, or God only knew what was going to happen.

“What’s with the gun?”  Steve knew that bringing it up was a risk. He didn’t see any other way to get it from him other than to try and rush Jon, but he knew that doing so would prove to be dangerous.

Jon avoided the question and continued talking, “And do you want to know what really sucks about it?  It happened right after my dad died!  I hadn’t even had the chance to tell him about it yet!  It’s bullshit and I have no one around right now.  No one cares.  No one fucking cares about me or what I’m going through!  My dad just fucking died right after we started to have a relationship again.  How is that fair?  All of my life I’ve wanted this and as soon as I fucking get it, it’s torn away from me!  How is that fair?!”  Jon was waving the gun haphazardly around the room, using it to point at himself and Steve for emphasis.

Steve wanted to calm him down. He stood slowly, “Hey, Jon-”

“The bitch of it is that before I could tell the only person I’ve ever been able to really talk to about anything, he ends up getting fucked up and leaves me all by myself!  I’ve got no one left!  Fuck!  You’re only here because I begged and pleaded with you to show up!  You didn’t even want to be here!  You’re just like everyone else around here.  You want to hang out when there’s a party, but you don’t give a shit about me when there’s not free beer involved!  You’re just like Carla!  When the party’s over, you split!”  The gun began to wave Steve’s direction again.  By this time Steve was on his feet and ready to run if he felt like he needed to, even though he knew he couldn’t outrun a bullet.

Jon started gritting his teeth and clenching his fists with his finger way too close to the trigger, “Steve-”

“Easy there, guy!  I came over because I wanted to help.  I didn’t have to show up, but I did.  Lizzy didn’t want me to, but I did to be a friend to you!”  Steve was shouting when his phone rang. He and Jon stared at each other a moment with only the sound of his ringtone piercing the tension. He carefully began to reach for his pocket while not taking his eyes off Jon.

The next thing Steve knew, Lizzy was screaming.

“Steve!  Oh my fucking God!  What happened!  Steve?!”  Lizzy’s voice was hysterical as it came through phone. He couldn’t make out where it was coming from, but he heard it. He was staring at the ceiling with both a vague numbness and a sharp pain like he had never experienced before surging through his body. The sound of a gunshot rang in his ears.

 From Behind The Veil
Part One

—

The phone rang across the room. Steve was tired.

“Who’s calling at 10:30 at night?” asked Lizzy.

“Whoever it is, if it’s important, they’ll leave a message,” replied Steve.  After the third ring the caller hung up.  ”See? It must not be that impor-” Steve was cut off when the phone began to ring again.

“Would you just get that?” Lizzy was becoming impatient.

“Fine, but whoever this is, they better have a damn good reason to be so annoying,” he said, answering the phone.  Steve couldn’t look at the caller ID because his screen was broken, “Hello?”  There was silence on the other end, ”Hello?”  It sounded like the phone was being shuffled around. He was starting to get angry, “Listen, you bastard, answer me or stop calling.  What do you want?”

“Steve,” the voice sounded upset, “It’s Jon.  What are you doing?”

“What kind of question is that at this hour?  What do you need, man?”  He noticed that Jon’s breathing was heavy and not normal.

Lizzy came over and started rubbing Steve’s back and kissing his neck. “Whatever it is, make it quick and come to bed.”

“I’m not doing well man.  I really could use some company tonight,” Jon sighed.

Steve followed Lizzy with his eyes as she left the room. Something didn’t feel right, but he didn’t know what he was supposed to do about it.  He was friends with Jon, but they were never really close as far as Steve’s friendships went. He said, “Do you have any idea what time it is?  Lizzy’s already in bed and I’ve got to work in the morning.  Can this wait until tomorrow?”

“Can you please just come over tonight?  I really need someone here, man.  I can’t take it anymore!  Everything, it’s all too much….”

Steve was convinced that whatever was happening could easily wait until tomorrow for a more convenient time.  ”What about Carla?  She can’t help you? What about your brother?  What’s he doing tonight?” he was getting desperate to find anyone who could take his place in this.

“He wouldn’t answer the phone.  I tried four or five times.  Carla left two days ago and she’s not coming back. Please Steve, please?”

“Why?  And how do you know she’s not coming back?”  Steve was counting on Jon’s girlfriend to save the day, or his night with Lizzy, rather.

“I guess she couldn’t take it anymore, but she took everything she had and left.  She’s not coming back.  She even filed a restraining order against me.”

“What happened?” Steve asked.

“It’s just too much to think about right now.  Can you please just come over?  I don’t think I should be alone.  Not tonight….”

Lizzy called from the bedroom, “Are you coming or am I going to have to take care of myself tonight?”

Steve sighed into the phone, knowing he’s no good with pressure.  He has never known how to stand up for himself, and since his attempts to find someone else to pawn Jon off on were futile, he knew he wouldn’t be able to get himself out of this one short of fulfilling Jon’s request for a visit.

“Fine, I’ll be over, but I can’t stay long.  Lizzy is not going to be happy with me tonight and I’m going to owe her big tomorrow…  This had better be worth it.  Give me 30 minutes, ok?”

Jon’s voice eased up a little after hearing those words, “Thanks, man.  You have no idea what this means to me.”

-

After finding a shirt, a pair of sneakers, and listening to Lizzy explain to him the need for better priorities, Steve made his way to his ’67 Mustang and cut the quickest path he could find through the middle of town.  He used to be a local pizza delivery boy and knew this way around the busy college town, even for on a Friday night.  Everyone was out drinking and it made a few of the main streets next to impossible to get through.

Twenty minutes later, he pulled up in front of Jon’s house.  The place looked a wreck.  The lawn hadn’t been mowed in several weeks and weeds grew everywhere.  Steve also noticed that the place needed a few good coats of fresh paint.  Between that and a little roofing work, it wasn’t a bad little house.  It just needed a little TLC.

As Steve approached the front door, he noticed that it wasn’t shut.  In fact, it was barely on the hinges.  As he pushed his way past the door, the next thing he noticed was the mess.  Broken dishes and garbage were thrown everywhere.  And the smell!  Steve could barely breathe as he made his way through the kitchen and dining room looking for Jon.

“Jon!  It’s me Steve.  Where the hell are you and what happened here?”  From behind the closed door across the kitchen, Steve heard Jon call out to him.

“I’m in here man.”

Steve made his way through the piles of broken glass and the water-and-week-old-vodka that had collected in random pools around the floor, and couldn’t help but think that whatever had happened here was more serious than he had even begun to understand or imagine over the phone.

He entered the next room and saw the collection of dead soldiers strewn around, along with pieces of wood that used to be a coffee table.  Steve glanced around and saw Jon slumped over in a corner in a cloud of cigarette smoke.

“My God, what the hell happened here?”  Steve was in shock and caught off guard by the condition of the place.  Although Jon wasn’t a neat-freak, he usually kept everything organized by stacking clutter in carefully placed piles around the house.

As Steve moved closer, he noticed Jon waving something around in the air.  It was the 9MM Jon had gotten from his grandpa as a birthday present several years ago.

“Thanks for coming Steve.  I can’t take it anymore.  I don’t know what to do.  It’s all too much.  It’s just too much….”

Steve sat down on what was left of the couch and knew that he probably wasn’t going to be getting back home in an hour like he had promised Lizzy before he left. He also knew this was not going to be a dull night.

Keep an eye out for “From Behind The Veil”, a  brand new short story nearing its completion.  It’s a three part piece so watch for it soon!