Haunted

Happy to have a bit of a distraction, Quinn shakes his head. "Just... passing through." He motions with his hand. "I never stay anywhere for too long. Gets too boring."

Though this stopover had certainly been anything but boring thus far. Finally taking the cherry from his coke, he plucks it with his teeth and chews while he fiddles with the stem. "Probably stick around here a few days though... unfinished business I guess you could say." In reality, he'd told Jess he'd be here a couple of days, so if there was any slim chance Axel would actually call, he'd still be here like he'd said. Once the time was up though, he'd be out of here.

Quinn's attention is suddenly diverted to the stage and he can't help but cringe at the male singer who apparently was trying to sound like Elvis. "Oh my." Quinn grimaces, trying not to be too critical, but this time it was obvious the dude shouldn't quit his day job. "Even I could do better than that, poor guy."

He shakes his head and takes another sip of his drink. "Yep... pop is still good though."


Settled in the couch in the quiet, Axel's eyes fall shut for a while, but then open again as Jess speaks once more. He sighs and lets his fingers intertwine with hers, back again, over her palm, then intertwine again, back and forth as he let his mind process.

"My brother and I were always close growing up." His voice is quiet... strained. He never talked about his family. There was never a reason to. "I guess I looked up to him in a way, too. Even in school we were just one grade apart so we still did a lot together. We were inseparable."

Falling silent again, one might think he was going to say no more, but he finally speaks again. "The dogtags... those were just kinda our thing... kinda like a promise to always be there for each other. Kinda silly once you think about it, but at the time it seemed cool." He pauses and almost chuckles. "Quinn always thought it was funny when someone would think they were real dogtags."

Axel's hand retreats to run up Jess's arm and back down again. "About the time I was a senior in high-school, Quinn had already graduated, so we started having different friends. I knew some of the ones I chose weren't the greatest, but I figured I'd stay out of trouble. Quinn didn't approve and he warned me. We had a few arguments and weren't quite as close for a while. Then everything went down with me being arrested."

Another pause comes and one could almost feel his inner tension rise. "I never could figure out why my family didn't believe me that I was innocent, especially Quinn. We'd never lied to each other and I mean, something like that... He told me straight to my face that I was lying... said a few things I won't repeat... just like I was a common criminal."

He'd never forget that day, sitting at the table behind bars... that heated conversation had torn his heart in two. For a moment, Axel almost stops breathing until he kisses Jess' head again and holds her a little closer. "I don't know if he just believed the evidence or what... but when we parted, we both agreed in anger that we didn't want to be brothers anymore. He was angry, I was angry and... those harsh words were the last ones spoken between us. I never saw him again after that. He didn't come to my trial and when I got out of prison, everyone was gone. My parents had never even visited me before the trial, though my father did show up for court. I never spoke to them again either."

Shifting a little, Axel straightens out his legs and wraps a foot around one of her ankles. "I don't know if I can call him, Jess. I don't know what good he could possibly want. But if I don't call... I'll always wonder what might have happened."


Chance cleans out the cabinet over his bathroom sink, placing the contents in a small box and marking it "Bathroom." Closing the cabinet, the mirror swings back into place, showing his reflection. His face still bore the marks of fists, and a bandage was still in place near his eye. But the gaze returned to him was dull, lacking life. He'd wanted so badly to come home, and now that he was here, he hated it.

At night I see your tears.
The ones I brought to life in you.
Every time I breathe,
I think that it might be my last.
Forever punished by,
The vision of you crying.
No matter where I turn,
No matter where I go.
These chains won't let me free, no.
You're still haunting me.

"I'll give you fifty for it."

"Seventy five."

"Done."

Chance hands over his stereo to a man milling in the group out back behind the apartments. The sun was setting and a haze fills the air. The cash is slapped in his hand and he pockets it, turning from the others without farewell. There were things that wouldn't fit in his car...things that he could replace later on if he wanted. But everything seemed worthless right now.

I can't close my eyes.
Your tear-filled eyes stare back at me.
I still see your face.
Arrows to my heart cut into lifelessness.
Running for my life.
Shadows suffocating.
Reaching for my soul.
You haunt me.

Chance hangs up the phone and crosses one more thing off his list. Things were moving very quickly. Whenever he'd thought about this transition, he'd always imagined several weeks or even months to prepare. But as it was, several days was all it really took.

Leaning on the kitchen counter, he flips open a file folder that should have gotten to him before he'd left for Nevada, but it had arrived late. The Underground file had been thorough, including a photo of their bait. Chance's thumb runs over the black and white portrait of Destiny. Her eyes held a faraway look of someone who had just lost both parents. Yet the quiet beauty was still there. While someone else might just simply see an attractive photo, Chance saw a life he'd helped ruin.

Setting the picture aside, he takes the file and holds it over the sink. Taking a lighter, he lights the papers on fire and watches them burn until all that was left were black fragments. Picking up the photo again, he holds the lighter to it. But after several long moments, he lowers the lighter and walks away.

Mirrors tell a lie,
I see your face instead of mine.
I can feel your touch,
Your breath caresses hardened soul.
Suffering within,
Eternity of running senseless.
No matter what I say,
No matter what I do.
These chains won't let me free, no.
You're still haunting me.

Crossing the street to the Elite station, Chance catches sight of a woman on the sidewalk, her blonde hair blowing in the breeze. And for a moment, his heart stops. But as she turns, the mirage fades and his pulse slows. Her face was unfamiliar.

"Chance..."

As he enters the station, he eyes Doug. "Just came to clean out my desk."

"Yeah, well..." Doug reaches behind Shirley's desk and lifts up a cardboard box without a lid. "Toby had me clean it out yesterday. Everything's here."

Chance accepts the box with humility, his face reddening. He turns to go, but is stopped.

"Aren't you forgetting something?" It was Toby's voice this time.

Chance turns back around and holds the box in one arm while his other hand fishes in his pocket. Drawing out his Elite badge, he stares at it a moment, running his hand over the star. Tossing it onto Shirley's desk, he nods. A farewell wanted to come, but his voice just didn't cooperate. Aiming for the door, he hits the outdoors once again, taking the box to his car.

I can't close my eyes.
Your tear-filled eyes stare back at me.
I still see your face.
Arrows to my heart cut into lifelessness.
Running for my life.
Shadows suffocating.
Reaching for my soul.
You haunt me.

Another crumpled piece of paper is tossed into the waste basket as Chance sorts through his files while his phone was held to his ear. “I just wanted a change, that’s all. Been here long enough; figured I’d venture out and do something new. I might-”

“Toby called me, Chance.”

Chance’s blood runs cold as the other male voice continues.

“What else have you lied to me about? These past few years – how much was true, huh? And even now, you’re still not man enough to own up to the fact that you betrayed your own and sold them out. If you’re just going to be feeding me lines, then stop calling. I don’t have time to listen to any more lies.”

“Wait, don’t hang up. Dad, I-”
Click.
Chance slowly lowers his phone.

Morning comes again,
But darkness still surrounds my soul.
Watching every step,
Your face appears at every turn.
Torture drives my heart,
I hate myself for lying.
No matter where I turn,
No matter where I go.
These chains won't let me free, no.
You're still haunting me.

"You look like you could use a friend. Let me help you... I want to. Come on."

Those had been Tiffany's words the evening before at the club. Her eyes had held such sparkle... such life. It was almost as if fate were taunting Chance, reminding him of what he'd lost. He remembered a similar sparkle... a similar life that he had helped to destroy. He just wanted to feel it again, grasping at straws for a second chance.

But as he stares out the window now, a bottle of wine and eight hours later, he watches the rain fall, his soul mirroring the gray light of dawn that couldn't break through the clouds. He didn't belong here either and he hated himself even more for thinking this would fix anything, least of all the ache in the pit of his soul.

Moving back to the bed, he grabs his shirt and jeans and quietly leaves, closing the door to the bedroom where Tiffany was still asleep. The sad truth was that she wouldn't miss him.

I can't close my eyes.
Your tear-filled eyes stare back at me.
I still see your face.
Arrows to my heart cut into lifelessness.
Running for my life.
Shadows suffocating.
Reaching for my soul.
You haunt me.

"I'm out."

"You can't just leave like that and you know it."

"Yeah well, I am." Chance paces the edge of the swimming pool while keeping conversation on his cell phone. "I can't be seen with the Elite now and I don't want to run around in hiding. I gambled and lost."

"You've been an asset to the Underground. So you messed up once. We can still use you."

"Look, Mr. A, I'm not kidding. I'm out."

"You're owed for-"

"Keep it. I don't want your money anymore. Don't look for me. You send men, I'll take them out." Chance flips his phone shut and twirls it in his hand, disgust written all over his face. But it wasn't just a disgust for who he'd been involved with...it was disgust with himself for ever playing both sides of the fence.

Yelling in frustration, he hurls his phone through the air. It flies across the pool, across the perimeter fence and crashes into a dumpster, shattering. No one would reach him now.

What lies ahead of me?
What darkness do I follow?
I can't rid myself of memories,
I can't drag them from my mind.

Chance's sunglasses slide down over his eyes as he puts his car in gear. His apartment was empty. Loose ends were neatly tied, and he was free. Pulling out onto the main road, he merges with the busy evening traffic. Glancing at the road signs, he moves to another lane - a lane he'd never driven in before. Heading against the setting sun, he leaves behind what had been his world... a place he'd never intended to leave. But all he wanted now was to get out. All he wanted now was to run.

I can't close my eyes.
Your tear-filled eyes stare back at me.
I still see your face.
Arrows to my heart cut into lifelessness.
Running for my life.
Shadows suffocating.
Reaching for my soul.
You haunt me.