Chapter 3

Love Rescues

“What the hell are you doing?” asked Brian as he squatted to Kate, swirled to Tony and sent him a dazing punch on the face that left him staggering.

Quickly like a bat from hell, Tony picked up his clothes and ran away.

“Oh, laughing doll!” he exclaimed as he put his ears to her chest, only to perceive the exudate of wine in her breath.

Tony had gotten her drunk or what, he thought.

He hastened into the bathroom, turned on the shower and returned to lift her. She had no pounds until now he tried lifting her into the bath. She had difficulty breathing, with a running temperature.

“What did he do to you?” he asked her, tapping her on the chin.

She coughed furiously upon being showered and repeatedly sneezed.

“Kate, Kate!” Brian called, scared about the shower putting life into her or exacerbating the whole thing. A slight tap on the cheeks, her eyes rolled with the interest of closing back soon.

“It’s me, Brian, wake up,” he assured her and tried focusing her face in the shower and she scowled, tossing her face in disapproval.

Next was a furious throw-up from his victim. “Shit, shit, oh my God,” he lamented, cursed and ran his face in the shower.

It was no longer safe; he undressed himself and showered too. Later he washed Kate twice more, dressed her in her nightie and led her to bed. The offensive odor of alcohol still hung over his face. He returned to the shower, washed himself, and sprayed a heady perfume in her room.

Tap, tap, tap – those were the footsteps of a walker close by. He wouldn’t want to be seen. His eyes sensed for escape or hideout. Thought of the back door struck in his head right on time. He used it and stuck behind it as a breeze. Through the pinhole he could see the walker; the walker opened the door;

“Uh-oh, she’s asleep,” said the walker and turned off the lantern before shutting the door. The walker was Mrs. Fanny. Brian agreed with his thought it was now safe to part before he freed from his hideout and sneaked out through the rear window.

The days ahead troubled his head with thoughts of Kate; his feelings for her and what on earth would make Tony come up with such guts to sleep with her, and whether he would ever make his feelings known to Kate. Would he compromise his feelings because of her? Countless times Tony had phoned him to meet him at a j**** and iron out their differences, but he declined. Avoiding Tony was a bite that would stick to him for life. When Tony noticed he was giving him the cold shoulder, he opted for messages. The other night he sent him a message:

“Stuff doesn’t just happen. Hear me out.”

The day before, he sent another, “You really need to know this.”

The latter plucked Brian’s heart and finally he wired him a call to meet at a j****.

When Tony showed up, he was in the company of two hostile buddies, who waited for him resting on his sports car. Brian recognized the two buddies. The history of neighborhood theft had their names as suspects, but that aside now. Nothing in the world seemed more important than Kate, and falling out of love was a worse crime than neighborhood theft.

Expectantly they sat at a table with no orders placed. “Thank you for your time, Brian,” remarked Tony.

“And those two buddies with you? Are you scared I’m going to have a bullet pass through your heart?”

“Many heroes of love have done worse,” Tony replied, embattled with locking eyes with Brian.

“And when there are two heroes? I owe you no apologies for the punch,” added Brian when he saw a patch of black eye barely covered by the sunshades on Tony’s face.

“Anybody would do the same if the girl is officially his. Kate is my girl.”

Questioning his claim, Brian’s face looked daggers at Tony.

Tony fought back his laugh and tried to smile. “We aren’t dragging over a piece of love, dude. I believe you’re always with her. Try to find out how far we’ve come. I fell in love with her before the creation of the letter B in your name. I am too gentle to make love with a drunk girl.”

“I don’t know if she’s your girl or not, but I’m not in love with her either.”

Tony raised a brow.

Brian implied, “Yeah, fall off my actions. I punched you with the intent of saving an innocent friend about to be raped.”

He chuckled, “Every kid in this hood knows my head is up for Kate, so why would I rape her? My parents raised me to use my penis responsibly like alcohol. The same penis that deflowered her wouldn’t rape her,” he smiled and added, “Do you understand me?”

Brian stood up, and Tony stood up too. “I got to go. Put me on the list of kids that know you’re seeing Kate. Accept my apologies for the punch. But when next you want your girl, remember to shut the door and let her enjoy it with a clear head.”

Tony stroked his dreadlocks and smacked his lips sensually. “Thanks, love master,” he said, “For the record, that night, I saw maddening feelings and love in that punch, but if you say you’re not in love – good riddance. You can still be her friend. And there’s a lot you need to know about her. Let that be your food for thought, Brian,” he added and had a walk.

It was when he had a walk that he noticed the tattoo on his neck; it was a dragon with Kate scribbled on it.

At home, Brian pulled a wry face at everyone. When his father noticed it, he asked, “What’s up with you, boy?”

He tried to let a smile but thought heaved on it. He had fallen for Kate but letting it known was a tug of war, sharing a girl with a crazy guy as Tony was a worse war. He thought Kate was a cool headed chic that wouldn’t have anything to do with Tony of this world. She was the girl of his dreams. She had always cultured in him the vibration of electricity in water whenever he set his eyes upon her. Night and day the only rhythm that played in his head was Kate-blues. He felt Tony was either lying or saying the truth and why didn’t he throw a fist when he punched him that night.

And there’s a lot you need to know about her; Tony’s words resounded in his head.

“I am good, dad, just a rough day.”

“I know, but you can always wind off at the golf, I see plenty of kids there, even Kate, always on and on.”

“Does she play?” he asked.

“Em, no, she’s a spectator. I believe she too has a lot in head to wind off and seeing golf is a welcomed spree. Son, you know the world is always hot for our heads. We always get to cool off.”

Brian winked, “I don’t like golf but I think I’m beginning to love it.”

He ran upstairs, into his room and looked out through the window, a lot paced through his mind – his meeting Kate, the night he punched Tony and washed a girl for the first time in his life; how soft her body was, her spotless breasts, firm buttocks and the fear that warned him when he washed down to her hairless vagina line; it was the magic of washing a baby girl who wet herself, unaware of her dependency on a strange person for survival.

A car was looming on. He kept his gaze until it drove to eyes reach. It was Tony and his cronies and Kate was the only girl in the company.

Brian’s jaw dropped in anger, as his face grinned, recalling Tony’s words – and there’s a lot you need to know about her…

Something spiteful was about to happen…