Whispers

“What’s that even supposed to mean?” Trystan asked. Rae had just finished telling her about Harry’s drunken words the night before. He stilled hadn’t elaborated on what he meant by saying he was going to take care of Leon, but Rae was uncomfortable thinking about it. He had been gone when she woke up this morning. “You don’t think he’s about to go off and kill the lad do you?”

“No, of course not,” Rae said. She leaned over the counter, plucking a piece of bacon from Trystan’s plate. The blonde glared, but Rae ignored her. “He’s probably going to attempt to talk to him. I don’t know, they both give off some weird vibe that I don’t understand. I get the feeling that Harry feel’s… guilty?”

“Guilty? He was the one who practically killed him last year.”

Rae shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know. I guess they just were on bad terms and I made them worse, some how. Regardless, I don’t like it. I feel like my life has become some sort of tragic, bad episode of a TV show.”

“You’re right on that one.”

Pushing herself off of the counter, Rae walked up stairs. In her studio room, she curled up in a corner on the floor, colored pencils at her feet. She began drawing. At first, it was just a swath of colors and lines. She wasn’t sure what she was drawing yet. But she began to get and image in her hand, fingers gripping her pencils tight as she dragged them artfully across the canvas.

When she was done, she had a pretty, colorful tiger drawn across the paper. It wasn’t anything amazing. It was just a doodle, to her. Something about the tiger struck her as friendly and strong. She smiled softly at it and scribbled Finn’s name at the bottom. Finn always gushed over Rae’s artwork and the tiger reminded Rae of the red head.

Vibrating, Rae’s phone startled her. She picked it up, seeing it was Harry. “Hey,” she answered quickly. “You left early this morning. Alright?”

“I’m fine,” he answered easily. “I wanted to talk to you for a second.” Rae paused, waiting for him to continue. Her grip on the edge of the paper increased. “I’m going to talk to Leon right now, and before you freak out, I’m fine. I think that he and I need to have a lengthy discussion.”

Rae licked her lips, a shaky breath escaping. She nodded but then realized he couldn’t see her on the other end of the phone. “Alright. Are you sure that’s a good idea? I know-"

“I promise it will be fine. I know that he’s got some sort of vendetta, Rae. I get it, but I think the only way around it at this point is to talk. You always say to use my words…”

“Yes,” she agreed dryly. “I suppose that I do.”

“Where are you going to be in the next hour? I don’t want you out. He’s still insane.”

“I’m going to Finn’s right now. I want to give her a drawing.”

“Alright, that’s fine. Just go home after, or something. Niall said he’s coming over to your house in an hour.” Rae rolled her eyes. The last time she checked, Niall hadn’t asked if he could come over. Then again, he rarely did. “I’ll call you when I leave here. And don’t panic, I can hear it in your voice already.”

“Just don’t be stupid. He’s a bloody maniac, Harry. I’m actually convinced he has half a mind to murder us.”

Harry snorted. “If he wanted that, we’d be dead. Anyways, I love you, alright?”

“Yeah, love you too.”

When she hung up the phone, Rae closed her eyes. It did not take a genius to find out Harry was just trying not to make her panic. She wasn’t an idiot. Leon was an absolutely madman, which is why Harry had reacted violently every time he came near Rae. Harry playing cool now wasn’t going to change the way she felt.

Knowing she had nothing else to do, Rae got up. She walked down stairs just as Trystan was leaving for work. They walked down the drive together before Trystan parted and went to her car while Rae walked over to Finn’s, opening the iron gate.

Finn’s car was in the drive, the curtains in the house drawn. Rae knocked on the door, looking over her shoulder down the street. Everything was completely normal. Not for the first time, she was reminded that just because her life was a soap opera, it didn’t mean the rest of the world was. Everything else was perfectly normal.

A shock of red hair appeared as Finn answered the door. She grinned widely as Rae looked at her, suddenly struck with a thought. “You know what’s weird?” Finn raised an eyebrow. “I’ve never actually been in your house.”

“That is weird. Come in! What’s that in your hands?”

Rae walked into the door at Finn’s. Though she had never been past the threshold, she was instantly at ease. The house smelled like cinnamon and something else that was spicy. Everything in sight of the hall was surreptitiously clean. “I drew something and it reminded me of you.”

Finn took the paper as they walked down the hall. The home had the same structure as Rae’s but the living room was very different. It was painted jade-green with black furniture. It all looked extremely wide and particularly empty, something that didn’t seem to fit Finn’s cluttering personality. “This is absolutely amazing,” Finn said, admiring the drawing with a smile on her face. “Do you want some tea? I was just about to pour myself a cup. There’s plenty for two.”

“Tea sounds perfect after the days I’ve been having.”

Finn scrunched her nose. “Feel free to explore.”

Picture’s hung on the wall of Finn’s living room. Rae looked at them all, smiling when she saw the picture of Finn and her sister that she had mentioned before. There were all kinds of holiday pictures from when she was younger, but none of when she was older. Rae made a note to take more pictures with Finn.

Scanning her DVD collection, she found that Finn was very action-movie oriented. All of her movies were action movies. Not a single chick flick, no so much as a comedy. Rae thought it was weird but shrugged her shoulders, turning around as Finn entered the room.

Sitting down on the couch, Rae accepted a cup of tea as Finn sat next to her. “Seriously, that drawing is sick. How long did it take?”

“Not very, honestly. It came is, I swear.” Rae lifted the cup to her lips and sipped it. The heat scalded her tongue, making her gasp and drop the cup. It hit the tile floor, cracking and spilling. She jerked to her feet. “Oh my god I’m sorry! Jesus Christ I didn’t think about how hot it would be!”

“It’s okay, seriously. I’ll grab a mop.”

“No really, let me, it’s my own fault. Just grab the pieces while I get a mop.”

Finn gestured down the hall. “It’s the hall across from the kitchen.”

Rae hurried along, rushing down the hall and around the corner. There were two different doors, one on the left and one on the right. She hurried to the one on the right, opening it. It was a study, not the broom closet. Rae would have shut the door right away, but she was stuck in her place by curiosity that quickly turned to absolute terror.

The entire room was filled with pictures. She had stopped to study it because she thought it strange that Finn’s pictures were all in a study. But a glimpse told her that it wasn’t even Finn in the pictures. Every single picture was of Rae, sometimes with Trystan or Harry, but mostly by herself.

Leaving the door ajar, Rae walked in the room her mouth opening slightly. Her face covered the walls, her daily activities. Rae going to glass, Rae leaving work, arriving home, standing on the porch.
Every single action in the last few months was hung up on the wall there, plastered in front of her.
Cold blood surged through her veins. Rae’s hands shook as she stood staring at the room. She had absolutely no idea what the hell it was, if it was a shrine, if it was stalking tactic, if it was nothing. She didn’t know, but she felt sick, dizziness coming over her.

Rae didn’t even hear Finn’s footsteps, but she turned when the door opened. Finn’s face was a blank slate. If she was mad or surprised, she didn’t show it. She was simply standing there, looking at Rae. “That’s not the door I meant.”

“What the hell is this?”

“You weren’t supposed to see this.”

“What is this?”

Finn shrugged a shoulder. “Revenge.”