The Craziest Thing

So many thoughts flashed through my mind.
YES!
No.
My hair is covered in chocolate! Couldn't he have found a better time?
Damon.
I thought back to three years ago; the day this all started.

It was just like every other day, only ten times better. Damon had the day off, I didn't work until late that night. I woke up and the first thing I saw was his angelic face, smiling back at me. He edged in and kissed my forehead.

"Good morning, Eskimo." He smirked. It wasn't until then that I realized that I was bundled in all of the leopard print comforter.

"Hm. . . Maybe you could keep me warm, so I wouldn't have to steal your blanket." I scooted closer to him, and he pulled the bedspread over himself.

He leaned in for another kiss but—as always—Skylar ruined the moment, launching himself through the door and in between Damon and I. He stretched both arms around the two of us. "Good morning, love birds! I'm sure your having fun making kissy faces at each other, but I'm hungry!"

"Then maybe for once you could get off your lazy ass and make us all breakfast, instead of enslaving me."

"Hun, that's Damon's job, to make you his kinky sex slave. And anyways, do you really want to eat my cooking?"

Damon nodded slowly. "He's got a point you know." I raised one eyebrow in a look of mock surprise and he added, "Not about the sex slave thing, about his cooking."

I changed the subject. "Speaknig of cooking, has anyone seen The Chef?" Jake had just gotten a new job, bussing tables at some fancy restaurant. He ranted about how he'd eventually be promoted to cook in the kitchen, but for now we all said we'd have to see it to believe it. But of course, if it were to happen to any of us it would be Jake, the one that was always experimenting with what he could find around my kitchen.

"I dunno'," Julien broke my mental rambling, leaning on the doorjam, "He hasn't been around since last night. He left after dinner."

Discarding his news about Jake—because it was quite often that he disapearred, probably off to some girl's house—I spread my arms wide. "JULIEN! Come join this threesome and make it a gang bang!" I guess that's just what happens when you live in a house with four guys; you startthinking like one and making suggestive jokes.

In response, being his boring self, he rolled his eyes, pushed off the wall and turned to walk away—never uncrossing his arms. Before he could get too far I clumsily—but silently—scrambled up out of the bed and tackled him into the hall way. I pointed two fingers in a phony handgun and pointed if to his right temple.

"Gimme the money and no one gets hurt." I whispered into his left ear, still lying on top of him, on his back. I giggled and rolled away. "Don't worry! It's not cocked!" I tucked my "gun" back into my pocket.

He seemed to be about to say something, until Damon fell in the middle of the two of us and put his leg up onto Julien. "Hey baby. Usually I go for two-fifty an hour, but you're so effin' hot, I'll give you a discount." He whispered sensually in a rough voice.

I lept to my feet and rushed to look down at the lovely couple. "Julien! Baby! Am I so unsatisfying that you'd resort to buying cheap whores? I promise, I'll be better. We can even try that new thing you saw on—" I stopped dead in my tracks as Jake stumbled up the stairs, looking at his hands which were stained with a dark liquid. All eyes turned to him, one pair at a time. The playful mood changed suddenly after the room realized what the liquid was.

Blood. And from the looks of it, not his.

Another smear streaked his cheek and a splatter painted his shirt. He kept muttering something under his breath. I moved closer to him, cautios.

"Jake. . . Are you okay?" I reached out one hand towards him.

"NO!" He jerked away, and looked at me as if a trapped rabbit staring up into the eyes of a hungry fox. His chest heaved up and down as he took in deep, ragged breathes. He continued to mumble the same indestinguishable phrase. My hand still outstretched, I tried again to touch his shoulder. This time he allowed it, but broke into quiet sobs. I pulled him into a soft hug.

"I killed him. . . I killed him. . . I killed him. . ." I squeezed tighter as what we all thought had happened was confirmed. Damon leaped up and pulled Julien with him. "Julien, come with me and clean up the scene." His tone was dark and completely serious, "Skylar, you clean up everything around here. Blood, weapons. . . Drugs too, just in case the cops do come."

And while everyone scurried off to play their part I just held Jake sitting on the bed.

And then just months later. . .

If I had thought my life was falling apart that day when it happened, I was in for a huge shock about 90 days later. The trial had gone on and Jake wasn't caught—Damon was. Accused for a crime his friend committed, and quietly taking the fall.

Walking away, in his new orange jumpsuit, hands locked behind his back. The guard holding his elbow allowed him to pause near me. He leaned in and kissed me on the cheek. "Wait for me. When I come back, we'll get married."

The tears that had been stinging my eyes the past few hours flowed free then. I fell forward and draped myself around him. "I will."

The guard jerked him back and he tried to hide the pain he felt, both from the hard hand on his arm and from the situation. I felt Jake come up from behind me and put and arm around my shoulder. I fell into him and let myself go. The few sobs I'd been able to hold back broke loose and soaked his t-shirt. I could feel Jake's chest reverberate as he said something to Damon. I missed what that was exactly, but caught Damon's response.

"You touch her, and I swear. I will come back and I will kill you."

"Yes." I slid my finger throught the ring and tackled Jake back onto the ground.