Flash Fiction: It’s Been Too Long

(It’s been a long time since I’ve written a story of any kind. I made this up on the fly. Of course, some things I’ve been thinking about in the past few weeks showed up. No editing and just writing).

It had taken too long. What should’ve been a quick activity ended up being something else. The woman in the oversized jacket with her head covered with a knitted hat pulled up her sleeve and looked at her watch. The problem was it was too dark to see where the hands were positioned. She moved under the street-light and held it close to her face. She twisted her wrist around to get rid of the shadow or whatever was preventing her from seeing the time. When she realized five minutes had passed, there was only one choice for her.

She removed her hat, brushing her bangs out of her eyeline, and stuffed it into her jacket pocket. It wasn’t even that cold out but for some reason her body told her to bring the jacket. Good thing she did because when she opened the door, once inside she knew something bad had happened, and it was the only thing that saved his life. Okay, sort of but the hat for sure was a lifesaver.

“What the hell? What happened?”

“Whaddya think? You see it!”

“I didn’t think he’d do this.”

“A guy like that has no problem playing with knives.”

“You’re bleeding pretty badly.”

A red circle filled the lower half of the man’s shirt. “You wanna help me or stand there like a statue.”

“Sorry, I’m stunned Michael would do this.”

“I told you everyone has his breaking point.”

“Where is he?”

“In his bedroom. Don’t go in there. He took the knife with him.”

“I’m not going in there. I’m calling 911 and waiting until they arrive. I want him in handcuffs before I speak to him.” The woman removed her jacket and handed it to him. “I don’t have hypothermia.”

“No you dummy, take the hat from the pocket and hold it against your wound.”

“Why didn’t you just give me the hat in the first place. You’re about as bad as Michael.”

“No, I’m not! I’ve never stabbed you before!”

“Thank God for that. You’re a good woman to me.”

“He probably has a gun hidden somewhere in here.”

“They don’t give guns to people like him and don’t call the cops. We don’t need more trouble this year. Even though he’s a bastard, he deserves one thing to go his way. He didn’t mean to stab me.”

“What if he got your heart?”

“He didn’t.”

“You should’ve let me come with you.”

“He’s my brother. You don’t have to do my dirty work.”

“He belongs in an institution.”

“I’m not going to lock him up somewhere. He would hate me forever.”

“He already does.”

“Hey Michael, no hard feelings, okay. I’m going to head out now. Don’t do anything to yourself while I’m gone. Be the good brother I know you can be.”

The man got to his feet when the door opened. Michael still had the knife in his hand. The blade was cutting into his palm.

“Drop the knife.”

“Mom named me after Michael Myers. She named you after Freddy Krueger.”

“I know but your last name isn’t Myers. It’s Stanton like mine. Remember I even changed the spelling of my name. It’s now F-R-E-D-D-I-E like Freddie Mercury.”

“That wasn’t his real name.”

“Kick the knife over to me.”

“You know I have a complete set of knives in the kitchen.”

“I know.”

“Do you hate me?”

“No.”

“I know Sara does. Why is she here? I didn’t invite her.”

“You didn’t invite me either.”

“That’s why I stabbed you. I thought you were an intruder.”

“We’ll discuss this later.”

“When?”

“After I get this looked at,” Freddie said, pulling the hat away from his shirt. “See, the bleeding has basically stopped. Sara grabbed the bloody hat, picked up her jacket, and nudged Freddie toward the door. He kept his eye on Michael, never turning his back to him while Sara opened the door.

Sara grabbed Freddie’s hand and picked up her speed in the hallway. They took the two flights of stairs down and once inside the parking lot, they kept up their momentum. Sara was quiet for a few miles but as she pulled into the parking lot of the nearest hospital, her level headedness turned into a full-fledged rage. She hit the steering wheel hard and slammed on the brakes, not caring if another car was behind her.

“You trying to kill me or something?”

“Oh, shut up.”

“What’s the matter?”

“If you don’t know by now, all is lost between us.”

“Don’t be so dramatic. Come on, I need to see a doctor.”

“Get out of the car and go see one.”

“At least park the car first.”

“It’s me or him. Which is it?”

“Seriously?”

“You need help as much as your brother.”

“I can’t do this right now.”

He opened the car door and lingered, then slammed the door shut. He never turned around as the tires squealed when she drove away. He felt a twinge of guilt. It was soon replaced with fear. He now had no one in his life as his brother. Their mother had always said they belonged together. They were each other’s lifeline. They were twins after all. They had bonded for life in the womb.

His hand shook as he picked up the hat. The smell of blood and conditioner filled his nostrils from it. Sara must have thrown it at him in her anger. He knew she would eventually forgive his silence and his brother would hopefully warm up to Sara again. They had all known each other since high school. Sara had become like a sister to Michael. The three were a triangle, a bloody triangle, and now their lives had reached a new point. They could make it really worthwhile.