Chapter Eight...
"DUDE, DON'T LET HIM GET AWAY!" Tony yells to Nick as he's trying to catch up to his friend who was fiercely hauling ass across the street towards the studio.
"AND DON'T COME BACK!" Nick screams to the stranger with the hat, who is now high tailing it down Ocean in the direction of the highway.
"ASSHOLE!" Nick shakes his head in disgust & looks up to see Tony just now making it to where he is. "Took ya long enough, cripes Tony, you really ought to think about coming with me to the gym once in a while man."
Tony, pretending he hadn't heard him, "That guy just didn't know when to quit! I'm glad we chased him outta here!"
Nick, not feeling in the mood to split hairs over who actually did the chasing, changed the subject, "So, what's up with funeral plans for Jeff? You hear anything yet? She's gotta do it soon right? I mean, they can't keep him in a morgue forever."
Tony thinks for a minute, "No, I don't think they can, can they?" he looks confused.
"Never mind," Nick pats his cell phone, "she'll call when she knows something."
Nick checks the lock on the door of the studio, good & secure. "Alright man, I'm outta here, I'll catch you later, k?" he waves to Tony & heads for his car. Tony, smiling, says "Ok dude, see ya tomorrow." as they head home in different directions, Nick towards town & Tony off away from town to his larger than life house filled to capacity with Italians just waiting to feed you a home cooked meal.
Such different lives yet such cemented friendships.
Nick arrives home, well it was home to him anyway, a charming little studio apartment on the east side of town, right on the water. Cost him a fortune, but in the summer was a tiny slice of oceanfront heaven that he wouldn't trade for the world... well, maybe to get Jeff back, but he knew that wasn't an option.
He put the key in the door & headed inside, the place was frozen in the wintertime & the money he shelled out for heat barely left him much in the way for groceries & other necessities.
Ah, the price you pay for prime real estate in Massachusetts.
He tossed his keys down on the side table by the door & went to grab his space heater. "It's like a God damned IGLOO in here!" he said to himself aloud.
He sets the heater down on the hardwood floor, directly in front of the couch, plugs it in & turns it on. "C'mon you bastard," he says to it, as if it's going to listen & heat up his little place sooner rather than later. "I'm fucking frozen!"
He puts a pot of coffee on & goes to his bedroom area & grabs an extra pair of wool socks & a big polar fleece throw & heads for the couch.
Plopping himself down, he grabs the remote & turns on the TV; "Authorities are saying that they still don't know who is responsible for the vandalism, but investigators are looking into it." the news caster reported. "And in other more local news, the murder of 28 year old Jeff Hathaway Jr, is still under investigation. Authorities are currently following several possible leads & ask if anyone knows any information, to please contact the Collins Cove police department. In other news, one local man is being hailed a hero tonight after saving a family of stray cats from a burning shed in his neighbors yard. Ron Sandy with the story, Ron?"
Nick clicked off the TV. Who in the hell would want to murder Jeff? It had been on his mind ever since hearing it even happened to begin with.
Jeff was a good egg, just a bit high energy once in a while, no biggie.
Nothing anyone would wanna kill him over, certainly.
The smell of coffee was wafting through his little one room paradise like a fart in a car, only much, much better.
He got up & made himself a handsome cup with both cream & sugar, never understood why anyone would drink black coffee when such flavor was available at the shake of a sugar packet or the popping open of a little creamer.
His pocket started to vibrate, he reached for his cell & checked the caller, 'Jess H.' calling... "Hello, Jess? Everything ok?" he was happy she had called.
"Nick, no every thing's not ok, you got a minute?" she sounded scared.
"Jess, for you I got ten, what's up?" he said.
"It's Alice, she's just," she hesitated...
"She's what, Jess, what is it?" he pleaded.
"She's acting a little nuts, like paranoid almost. I don't understand it but honestly, she just isn't being her, I know that for a fact. I've known her for years, I know her better than anyone and I just can't pinpoint why she's behaving this way. I mean I know she lost a boyfriend too but c'mon, we all lost someone we loved dearly, this is hard on all of us!" she started to cry.
"Aw, Jess honey, don't cry, it's ok, Every thing's gonna be ok, I promise." he said.
"I just don't understand it, why is she so afraid of talking to the cops? I mean it Nick, it's like she's acting crazy or something. I mean it's not like she's got anything to hide, none of us do, we ALL loved Jeff! And now, she just wanted to go straight home, she didn't invite me in and she just said she needed to sleep & said goodnight, just like that, goodnight. No hug, no nothing. I'm really worried about her. I'm afraid she might do something drastic. I really want to be there with her but I'm not, I'm here in my apartment alone, that isn't being a very helpful friend, right? I mean, I should call her & insist on coming back over to stay with her, don't you think?" she heard the sound of her voice rambling.
"Jess, first of all, relax for me, will ya? I mean, it, we can't solve anything if you start to lose your marbles too, right? Ok so let's think. Maybe she really just does need some time alone, I mean we've all been through a pretty big tragedy here, right? It goes without saying that we might want some down time to process all this stuff. It's some pretty heavy shit Jess, you gotta admit that much." he said, hoping he had calmed her down, if only just a little.
"Yeah, I suppose but I'm her best friend Nick, why, of ALL people, shut ME out?" Jess was obviously upset.
"Jess, look... you want me to come over & stay with you? I can totally come over there right now, it's freezin' ova here anyways..." he said hopeful she'd say yes.
"No, I'd just bum you out, I just needed to vent, who knows. Maybe I just need a good long cry & a half decent night's sleep. You're sweet to offer though, thank you for that." she said.
Disappointed, Nick says to her, "Well, if you change your mind, you know how to reach me, k? Sleep well Jess & try not to let this bother you too much, Alice loves you to pieces, I'm sure she just needs a good night's sleep, like we all do, k?"
"Yeah, you're right. Thanks Nick, goodnight." and she hung up the phone.
Nick snaps his cell shut & slips it back into his pocket. He slinks back into the cushions of his couch, the space heater just now starting to give off some warmth, he curls up under his blanket and allows his thoughts to wander.
On the other side of town, at that exact same moment, Jess too allows her mind to wander, but unlike Nick, her wandering leads her home.
"AND DON'T COME BACK!" Nick screams to the stranger with the hat, who is now high tailing it down Ocean in the direction of the highway.
"ASSHOLE!" Nick shakes his head in disgust & looks up to see Tony just now making it to where he is. "Took ya long enough, cripes Tony, you really ought to think about coming with me to the gym once in a while man."
Tony, pretending he hadn't heard him, "That guy just didn't know when to quit! I'm glad we chased him outta here!"
Nick, not feeling in the mood to split hairs over who actually did the chasing, changed the subject, "So, what's up with funeral plans for Jeff? You hear anything yet? She's gotta do it soon right? I mean, they can't keep him in a morgue forever."
Tony thinks for a minute, "No, I don't think they can, can they?" he looks confused.
"Never mind," Nick pats his cell phone, "she'll call when she knows something."
Nick checks the lock on the door of the studio, good & secure. "Alright man, I'm outta here, I'll catch you later, k?" he waves to Tony & heads for his car. Tony, smiling, says "Ok dude, see ya tomorrow." as they head home in different directions, Nick towards town & Tony off away from town to his larger than life house filled to capacity with Italians just waiting to feed you a home cooked meal.
Such different lives yet such cemented friendships.
Nick arrives home, well it was home to him anyway, a charming little studio apartment on the east side of town, right on the water. Cost him a fortune, but in the summer was a tiny slice of oceanfront heaven that he wouldn't trade for the world... well, maybe to get Jeff back, but he knew that wasn't an option.
He put the key in the door & headed inside, the place was frozen in the wintertime & the money he shelled out for heat barely left him much in the way for groceries & other necessities.
Ah, the price you pay for prime real estate in Massachusetts.
He tossed his keys down on the side table by the door & went to grab his space heater. "It's like a God damned IGLOO in here!" he said to himself aloud.
He sets the heater down on the hardwood floor, directly in front of the couch, plugs it in & turns it on. "C'mon you bastard," he says to it, as if it's going to listen & heat up his little place sooner rather than later. "I'm fucking frozen!"
He puts a pot of coffee on & goes to his bedroom area & grabs an extra pair of wool socks & a big polar fleece throw & heads for the couch.
Plopping himself down, he grabs the remote & turns on the TV; "Authorities are saying that they still don't know who is responsible for the vandalism, but investigators are looking into it." the news caster reported. "And in other more local news, the murder of 28 year old Jeff Hathaway Jr, is still under investigation. Authorities are currently following several possible leads & ask if anyone knows any information, to please contact the Collins Cove police department. In other news, one local man is being hailed a hero tonight after saving a family of stray cats from a burning shed in his neighbors yard. Ron Sandy with the story, Ron?"
Nick clicked off the TV. Who in the hell would want to murder Jeff? It had been on his mind ever since hearing it even happened to begin with.
Jeff was a good egg, just a bit high energy once in a while, no biggie.
Nothing anyone would wanna kill him over, certainly.
The smell of coffee was wafting through his little one room paradise like a fart in a car, only much, much better.
He got up & made himself a handsome cup with both cream & sugar, never understood why anyone would drink black coffee when such flavor was available at the shake of a sugar packet or the popping open of a little creamer.
His pocket started to vibrate, he reached for his cell & checked the caller, 'Jess H.' calling... "Hello, Jess? Everything ok?" he was happy she had called.
"Nick, no every thing's not ok, you got a minute?" she sounded scared.
"Jess, for you I got ten, what's up?" he said.
"It's Alice, she's just," she hesitated...
"She's what, Jess, what is it?" he pleaded.
"She's acting a little nuts, like paranoid almost. I don't understand it but honestly, she just isn't being her, I know that for a fact. I've known her for years, I know her better than anyone and I just can't pinpoint why she's behaving this way. I mean I know she lost a boyfriend too but c'mon, we all lost someone we loved dearly, this is hard on all of us!" she started to cry.
"Aw, Jess honey, don't cry, it's ok, Every thing's gonna be ok, I promise." he said.
"I just don't understand it, why is she so afraid of talking to the cops? I mean it Nick, it's like she's acting crazy or something. I mean it's not like she's got anything to hide, none of us do, we ALL loved Jeff! And now, she just wanted to go straight home, she didn't invite me in and she just said she needed to sleep & said goodnight, just like that, goodnight. No hug, no nothing. I'm really worried about her. I'm afraid she might do something drastic. I really want to be there with her but I'm not, I'm here in my apartment alone, that isn't being a very helpful friend, right? I mean, I should call her & insist on coming back over to stay with her, don't you think?" she heard the sound of her voice rambling.
"Jess, first of all, relax for me, will ya? I mean, it, we can't solve anything if you start to lose your marbles too, right? Ok so let's think. Maybe she really just does need some time alone, I mean we've all been through a pretty big tragedy here, right? It goes without saying that we might want some down time to process all this stuff. It's some pretty heavy shit Jess, you gotta admit that much." he said, hoping he had calmed her down, if only just a little.
"Yeah, I suppose but I'm her best friend Nick, why, of ALL people, shut ME out?" Jess was obviously upset.
"Jess, look... you want me to come over & stay with you? I can totally come over there right now, it's freezin' ova here anyways..." he said hopeful she'd say yes.
"No, I'd just bum you out, I just needed to vent, who knows. Maybe I just need a good long cry & a half decent night's sleep. You're sweet to offer though, thank you for that." she said.
Disappointed, Nick says to her, "Well, if you change your mind, you know how to reach me, k? Sleep well Jess & try not to let this bother you too much, Alice loves you to pieces, I'm sure she just needs a good night's sleep, like we all do, k?"
"Yeah, you're right. Thanks Nick, goodnight." and she hung up the phone.
Nick snaps his cell shut & slips it back into his pocket. He slinks back into the cushions of his couch, the space heater just now starting to give off some warmth, he curls up under his blanket and allows his thoughts to wander.
On the other side of town, at that exact same moment, Jess too allows her mind to wander, but unlike Nick, her wandering leads her home.
4 comments:
I loooooooove it!!!
My one suggestion for this chapter has to do with the news report. In a real crime, the police would probably not release a lot of the details of the murder to the public during the actual investigation. Maybe there's a way you can introduce more characters at the police station who discuss the evidence instead? I'm not a novel writer, so I don't have a great idea on how to do this, but the news report didn't come off quite as believable.
Good luck!
Got'cha Michelle, just changed it up a bit, wha'cha think?
-Amy
ps. K & G are still on their way up here, so far, no flight cancellations but it could totally change as flakes are just now starting to fall & they're calling for a serious noreaster.
Yikes, I hope the weather holds! At least for them to get there and back safely. I know how you love your winter and snow, though!
I think the changes sound more accurate to what you might actually see on a new report. Can't wait to see what happens next.
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