Resistance Is Useless

I sat on the couch in my living room, with two newspapers opened to the jobs section. I needed a job as soon as possible. Alex told me not to worry about it, but how could I not? If I didn’t get a job soon, I’d either be homeless or Alex could expect me to live with him.

Without a college degree there wasn’t much to do that was high paying. Working at a fast food joint was totally out of the possibilities. There was a job open at a hair salon. How hard could washing someone’s hair be? There was a job at a daycare center, but I wasn’t one to handle little rugrats with ADD all day.

I grabbed my purse and dug through the inside pockets, taking out the crumpled mystery check I’d gotten in the mail before. I still couldn’t make out the handwriting of the signature to see who it was. I never cashed it either, even though I could have. Something just told me not to. I put it back in my bag and left it alone. I wouldn’t need it. I’d just find myself a job.
A knock at the door interrupted my thoughts. For a second I thought it’d be Alex but remembered he said he had to work today. I opened the door and two tall uniformed men stood there.

“Let me guess, you’re feds?” I asked and one of them nodded, showing me his badge.
“Ms. Jennings, I’m Special Agent Andrews, this is my partner Special Agent Grayson,” He said.
“You can call me Karina,” I said, allowing them to come in and leading them to the kitchen for better lighting.
I was getting tired of the back and forth process. I was tired of different people showing up at my door every week to ask questions. I was tired of visits to police stations. I was tired of the phone calls every night. I was tired of everything.
I just wanted it to be over. If they couldn’t catch them, they couldn’t catch them. I could move on.
“We hate to bother you, but did you, by any chance, see this tattoo?” Grayson asked, pulling a sketch out of a folder and handing it to me.
It was a perfect sketch of the guy’s at the bank- same details and everything. I tried to relax and stop my hands from shaking.
“I-I saw it,” I stuttered. “That’s it. The guy that grabbed me had it on his neck. Where’d you get this from?” I handed the sketch back to him.

Both agents looked at each other with a knowing look. “We had a few clues, and bought in some suspects.” He took more papers from the folder. “Do you recognize any of them?” He laid four pictures out on the table and I bit my tongue to stop from gasping.
All four pictures were in fact pictures of Jack, Rian, Zack and more importantly, Alex. They wouldn’t do it. I know they wouldn’t. Except for the fact that in the pictures, I realized that Alex did have a tattoo on his neck. The exact same one I saw. I suddenly felt like I was going to pass out. How could I have missed something so obvious like that? How could I have been so stupid?
“N-no, I-I’ve never seen them,” I stuttered some more.
“Alright,” Andrews shrugged. “If you see them or recognize them, let us know.” He put the photos back in the folder.
“Thanks,” I choked out just above a whisper. I shut the door behind them when they left and locked it instantly.

I paced back and forth in my living room, mentally arguing with myself. I eventually made myself dizzy and had to sit down and take a breath before I threw up on my carpet. God knows I can’t afford a new one. I could feel my skin crawling again. I didn’t have time to take a shower again, no matter how disgusting I felt. A thousand questions and thoughts were running through my mind and I could barely keep up. It was going to drive me crazy unless I found out the truth.
I ran to my room and put on my converse, thankful that I decided to wear jeans this morning. I grabbed my purse and keys and locked my door, quickly running down the hall until I was at the elevator and in the lobby.

--

I slammed my car door shut and cut across the lawn, walking up the few steps onto the porch. That fucking liar. I didn’t even know how to feel. I knew Alex was too good to be true. Whenever something good happens to me, something bad follows. He wasn’t a saint like I thought he was. He lied to me of all things.

I didn’t even know what to be angry about. Mad that he’d robbed the bank? No, forget the bank. I was pissed about the fact that he tried to use me as a cover and patch everything up.
I walked into his house like I usually did. I knew he was here. He wasn’t at “work” like he said he was. His car was in the driveway. Maybe he didn’t even work at a music store. What do you need a job for if you already have tons of money that isn’t even yours?
I circled the first floor, realizing the basement door was open. I could see a dim light down there and I heard Alex’s adorable laugh. I crept down the stairs quietly, staying in the shadows. They couldn’t see me, and I couldn’t see them.

“Eh, Karina doesn’t really bother me. She’s cool.”
“She shouldn’t bother you, she’s the one keeping us all out of trouble. I pretty much have her believing anything I say.” Alex said.
I walked down the rest of the steps until I was near them and in their view. They all whipped around instantly. I should’ve known better. There were stacks and stacks of bills wrapped in rubber bands and three or four handguns out on the table.
“I fucking knew you were too good to be true,” I shook my head, looking at Alex. He opened and closed his mouth
“Babe, come on,” He said, stepping closer. “I would’ve explained, I swear.”
“You would’ve told me? What about the rest of the lies you swore on?” I asked sarcastically, stepping back the closer he came. “You don’t have to explain, the police did it for me earlier.”
“I knew we should’ve fucking killed her when we had the chance,” Jack growled, reaching across the table and grabbing a gun.
“Jack!” Alex yelled, shoving him.
I instinctively turned and ran back up the steps as fast as I could. It probably wasn’t a good idea to come alone. I should’ve told the feds I knew who they were. But I didn’t and I don’t know why.
Someone grabbed me before I could make my way out the house and pushed me against the wall forcefully. My head and back collided with the wall and I whimpered slightly, breathing heavily. I blew my bangs out my face and looked up to see it was Alex who pushed me. His tattoo was in plain sight now. After all this time, I’d missed it.
“Alex, you’re hurting me,” I whispered, trying to twist my wrists out of his grip.
“Now, you’re not going to tell, right? Otherwise we can’t let you go.”