Apologizing

The next morning I woke up with a start. The shuffling of shoed feet had woken me. The sound was coming from outside my bedroom. I grabbed the knife on my bedside table and silently crept out of bed, tiptoeing to the door. I pressed my back to the wall, inhaled, and opened the door. A figure moved and I hurled the knife at it.

Jeff stood in the middle of the room, his eyes wide. My knife was stuck into the wall with a piece of black cloth dangling from its tip. Jeff grabbed his shirt at the sleeve and stared at the new hole, his skin peeking through it.

"Not cool, Lola. This is one of my best shirts."

"Sorry, blame it on nerves from last night. I'll buy you a new shirt." I walked to my knife, still jutting out of the wall, and gripped it in my palm.

"Why are you in my room, anyway?" I removed the knife and stared at the small hole it made in the drywall.

"I've been here since two in the morning. After what happened I didn't trust Frank. Not that I ever did. C'mon, why was he really here? Tell me the truth."

"Trust me, after this is all over I would be glad to tell you. But until then, better not to distract you with useless worry." I finally looked at him, his eyes seeing the truth behind mine. He shook his head softly.

"Lola, it's not useless if I'm worried about a friend. It is distracting, so maybe you have a point."

"See?" He laughed and I smiled. "But seriously, have you really been awake since 2:00 am?"

"I dosed a little, but I was awake for the most part." He yawned at the thought of sleep.

"Well, it's still early. You could catch a few winks before we leave. We're going at 8:30, which gives you..." I glance at the clock on the adjacent wall, "...two and a half hours. You're welcome to stay here if you want."

"Thanks. I'm exhausted." He flopped down on the couch.

"You don't have to sleep on the couch, you can use the bedroom."

"Nah, I'm good. Besides, this thing is comfier than it looks."

I shrug my shoulders and go to get dressed. After a few minutes, he is sound asleep, his hand dangling off the edge of the sofa.

~*~

After two hours of listening to Jeff snore softly, I decided to make him a cup of coffee for when he wakes up. I place the hot mug on the table and go to wake him.

Before I can, however, Frank comes screeching through the doorway holding grocery bags. Jeff jumped up and grabbed a book, ready to attack.

"Why are you screaming!?" I ask Frank.

"I wasn't. I was singing." He unloaded the bags onto the counter and opened the fridge.

"I'd hate to hear you scream," Jeff mumbled sleepily.

I sat him down and handed him the mug of coffee. He nodded his thanks.

"What are all the groceries for? We're leaving at noon."

"Well," He threw and caught an apple, "I thought I would make us all breakfast." He took a bite out of the crisp, red fruit. "To further apologize for last night."

"Ah, I see. Thank you, but I thought we were just going to order room service."

"Nope!" He selected a pan from the cupboard, pulled it out, then dropped it by accident.

"Do you even know how to cook?" Jeff asked.

"Not exactly, but there's no time like the present to learn."

Jeff and I looked at each other skeptically. This was not going to taste good.

"There's no time like the present to order a breakfast burrito," Jeff whispered.

~*~

Jeff played with the food on his plate with his fork. I inspected mine with disgust.

"Is it food?" Jeff asked as he looked up at Frank.

"Yes, of course, it's food! What, do you think I'm trying to poison you?"

"You're not that far off," Jeff mumbled under his breath.

Finally, he braved a forkful of what I assumed were scrambled eggs. He put it in his mouth, then stopped mid-chew. He covered his mouth with his hand, eyes tearing up. Maybe it wasn't scrambled eggs. I handed him a napkin while Frank got him a glass of water. Jeff spat the foul eggs into the napkin and chugged down the cool liquid. When he had composed himself enough to speak he said; "What the hell was that?!"

"It was just eggs and bacon," Frank said warily.

"That was unlike any egg I ever tasted. Yuck, there's still some in my mouth. Lola, pass me another napkin."

"I think we'll eat out this morning," I said.

I heard a crash behind me. Half a dozen men in masks filled the room, the broken door swinging on bent hinges. I reached for the gun at my belt but stopped at the sound of six guns cocking, aimed at my head.

"You touch that gun there, missy, and there won't be a shred of skin left on your body."

"The man has a valid point." Said Frank, his hands raised in surrender.

"Shut up, and put your hands down!" Jeff told him. Frank obeyed.

"You're coming with us, missy."

I glanced at Jeff through the corner of my eye.

"What if I don't go?" I was answered by every man adjusting their aim to my partners. Jeff didn't even flinch.

"If you refuse then me and my buddies'll blow your friends to hell." The man's voice was gruff, as if he didn't use it often.

I nodded. "I'll come. No need for useless bloodshed."

My captors led me to the parking lot where they patted me down for weapons. When they had taken my gun and four throwing knives they pushed me into a sleek silver car at the cool, steel end of a 9mil's muzzle. I stepped into the car.

One man pulled a bag over my head whilst another taped my hands. The car started and I felt it cruise onto the road.

~*~

Someone opened the car door and yanked me out. I stumbled to the ground. A strong leg kicked me in the gut, the pain sent a clear message. I clumsily got to my feet and started walking. The air suddenly became cooler and I assumed we had entered a building. They sat me down and tore off the bag. I had to squint in the bright overhead lights.

Heavy footsteps filled the room. I watched as a tall, middle-aged man walked towards me, one of my knives dangling from his fingers. I chose not to acknowledge him.

"Whatsa matter? You act as if you've nowhere to go." He laughed.

My jaw clenched and I remained silent.

"C'mon now, it's not as if I've hurt ya. Yet." He traced my jawline with the tip of the knife. "Now, why don't ya tell me what ya know about our little...operation here, and maybe I'll give ya an easy death." He whispered into my ear.

"You're having fun with this, aren't you? It's too bad, because I'm not telling you anything," I spat at him.

Enraged at my disrespect he plowed his fist into my face. I hung my head and tried not to think about the ringing in my ears.

"Tell me!" Again he brought his fist upon me. He punched me a third time, this one in my gut. He yanked my hair and forced me to face him.

"You're gonna...have to do... a lot better than that... if you want to beat the truth... out of me," I said, panting.

"Oh, this is just the beginning, love." He said as he dug a pistol into my shoulder.