Ch 17 Goodbye Future

Ronnie picked up his feet rapidly and sprinted towards the dark landscape away from the road. He was running from someone. They were right behind him. Ronnie glanced back and saw the figure was carrying a baseball bat. He felt his predator’s footsteps grow closer and heavier. Suddenly he felt the impact of the bat dig into his skull, making him collapse onto the dirt. His eyes remained wide open as he lay there on the dirt. He noticed his aggressor’s shoes as they came around to his view. As he looked up he realized the shoes were connected to Kessler. Kessler dropped the baseball bat and embraced his blonde brogue wife, who was wearing a beautiful white dress. They kissed almost in vulgarly, pushing their mouths together. At their feet were their two children, both in black and white suits. Through their legs, a few yards away, Ronnie could see another figure lying in the dirt, and denoted his identity through the lime green pumps that he was wearing. Right next to Will was also Teddy strewn onto the dirt as well. Suddenly there were a few other bodies he could spot on the dirt, all of them unconscious, all of them dead. 

Ronnie awoke with an idle hatred and a disposition to lacerate at anyone whom he made eye-contact. Kessler made it to the top of the list. How he wished he could cast him away from his infected mind. The memory of his long awaited kiss would dissipate his new found contempt and anger. 

He laid there boiling in his fervent anger that soon turned to idle hatred which then passed down to hopelessness. His head wound burned. He could hear Adelita in the kitchen shuffling to make dinner.  It was at this time he would wait for Pedro to come home from whatever work they put him to do. It wasn’t two weeks before Ronnie fell for Pedro, a slender, tan skinned and rugged man. They slept in the same room and often times he would stay staring at Pedro who slept in nothing but white briefs. He closed his eyes and pictured it. Then he would try to brush it away. He focused on his rage then dwindled back to Pedro. 

Pedro burst through the front door cursing in Spanish. Ronnie was startled and sat up messing up his wound treatment. 

Pedro slams a newspaper onto the coffee table and calls Adelita into the living room. Ronnie looks at the newspaper and sees a younger self with the headline “Wanted suspect for the murder of Cross dressing men”. Ronnie slowly grabbed the newspaper rendering himself in disbelief. It was a cruel and sick joke. Surely no one could believe this. He read further and discovered that Enrique was dead.

Ronnie dropped the newspaper and covered his mouth. Adelita came in the room. Pedro picked up the newspaper from the floor viciously and handed it to Adelita explain to her what it said.

Ronnie shook his head. “It’s not true! It’s a lie!” He tried to remember some of his high school Spanish but his tears started to pour out. Pedro glared at him. The look on his eye pierced right through any of Ronnie’s hopes and right through his humanity. The same look Kessler gave him in his twisted dream. Adelita gave him another condemning look. 

“I… It’s… not me” Ronnie kept crying vulgarly as they started to argue. His heart was blinking rapidly. They were probably discussing what to do with him. She was obviously angry that he brought a killer into her house. It wasn’t exactly clear but Ronnie could make out what they were arguing. Suddenly the anger in him began to boil again. 

It was futile. There was no way he could convince these brooding, base heterosexuals that he did not disgustingly kill his best friend and forcefully shoved him under his bed. There was now a seeping hatred that seemed to evaporate the tears on Ronnie cheeks. Those disgusting and hateful looks; he glared back. 

Ronnie ran for the door praying that his messed up side of his brain wouldn’t trip him. He burst out onto the urban and mitigated street at a less than sprinting pace. He ran and ran. And in his mind he repeated to himself “It was all futile”.

An African American drag queen sat in front of her mirror with golden blond curly hair and a tenacious red lipstick and was applying her platinum blue mascara. Behind her was Kessler. Her right arm was curled over her left eye as she applied her make-up.

“I’m telling you there ain’t a queen from Queens to San Francisco that will show up to no trial about a drag queen murderer” Said Miss Rita.

“Miss Rita, the suspect is innocent, he’s worked so hard to find this killer. I promise you there’s no danger in you testifying in a court of law” Said Kessler.

“Say yous right. That this boy is innocent. And we go to court with yall. Now would’nt it be a nice place for the real ‘ladykiller’ to scope out his next victims” 

“Please, it’ll only be a few while. We need actual testimonies-“

“Wasn’t that notarized paper stating that Enrique was  adick loving queen enough?”

“Like I said. We need testimonies”

“Now why the Hell is it so damn difficult to believe that a man was a cross dressing dick loving fag. Well I guess not too easy. My momma had a damn heart attack when I told her. Damn woman never even seen two men kissing-That’s true ignorance right there. When something is so unheard of, so outrageous that it had never crossed they minds.” Miss Rita switched to blush.

“So what do you say?”

“Well shoot… This lady killer shit is bad for business. I’ll talk to the girls, see what we can do.”

“Thank you Miss Rita” Kessler steps out of her mirror and walks out of the empty dressing room.

Jane sat in her dreary kitchen table with Gemma. Her entire house had been neglected. Although it appeared as if she had washed her hair and taken a few baths. She was listening to Gemma’s banter. All she could think about was her brother Albert being stuck in that house. Jane’s phone vibrated on the table. 

“Who’s that?” Asked Gemma

“It’s Bradley. He’s left me like 50 voice mails already” Said Jane

“You’re not going to answer eventually?”

“Not after that raging bitch, Olivia, tried to kill me”

“Well I don’t think he had anything to do with that-“

“no he had everything to do with that. Besides, we’re supposed to hate each other. Isn’t that how it’s always been?”

“I know what you mean. Things change so fast. It sucks what’s happening to Ronnie. Just wish we could’ve been there for him when he needed us. Feel so guilty.”

“Kessler assured me we’d go after Chico after he found Ronnie. Its most likely that he’ll go to trial and we’ll have to testify.”

“What for?” Said Gemma

“Kessler thinks that this is all a ruse put on by the Reverend of the crusaders, and that they’re going to testify against Ronnie when he appears”

“I wonder what happened to him, Ronnie” Said Gemma staring at the blankness of Jane’s empty kitchen table.

He entered the same gas station store. The heavy smell of taffy and soft tacos gently mixed together at the entrance. Seeing as there was a taco shop connected to the gas station, something he missed that night.  He glanced through the aisles looking for gauze to mask his head wound. He still had 20 dollars in his wallet from that night. He figured Kessler didn’t need them. He found a box of large band-aids and brought them to the register. It had been a good ten minutes since he entered the store and since then he looked grim and catatonic almost zombie like. He had eyes on him the second he walked through the entrance. By the time he reached the counter he heard the police sirens from behind and turned around just in time for a police man to tackle him onto the ground. He felt a swooping gallop and then a painful thrust that triggered his head wound causing him to spasm while the police man held him down with his arms behind his back and cuffed him. His right side seemed to jerk out of control. He felt like screaming but his mouth wouldn’t open. He was lifted by the police man and almost dragged out of the gas station reading him his Miranda rights with prevalent eyes upon him. 

Jeremiah wandered the halls of the student activities center, he peered his head into every door window looking for something. His long blond hair dancing as he quickened his pace and then vigorously bumped into Megan.

“Shoot. I’m sorry. Hey, Megan you wouldn’t happen to have see my cousin, Olivia, around have you?”

“Oh um… no I, I haven’t seen her since our last meeting 2 weeks ago” Jeremiah noticed a distress in her voice. Something was off. It was in his nature to pry. 

“Alright, I’ll have to go to her house. Is something wrong? And don’t lie to me I can tell when a woman is in distress” He said. Megan chuckled.

“It’s nothing”

“Nothing means something. Come on let’s talk about it over a cup of coffee, my treat.”

The two are seated at a café next to the University. They sat in a semi secluded corner so they could speak in private. Jeremiah had his glasses off showing off his picture perfect blue eyes. The nature of his complexity was almost overwhelming toward Megan who seemed to have a few blemishes here and there.

“I hope this isn’t weird or anything, since you have a girlfriend” Said Megan awkwardly.

“Gemma’s not the jealous type. So out with it. What’s bothering you?”

“Well… I’m not sure I should be telling you this-“

“Come on, we’ve been friends since freshman year. I know I’ve been busy this semester but I’ve sort of been neglecting my friends. Especially Teddy, haven’t seen him in a while”

“Well then you must not repeat anything you hear from me”

“It’s done”

“I mean it Jer. Not a word.”

“You have mine that I won’t say a thing”

“Well first thing’s first… Regina is sleeping with the reverend” Jeremiah almost spits out his black coffee.

“What?! Reverend James?! How the- How do you know?!”

“I sort of had a feeling… so I went into the neighbor’s house to spy on him from his office and it was true and… I kinda took pictures of them, you know in the act” Jeremiah sat motionless. She could tell he was feeling uncomfortable.

“And well I kinda sent him the photographs anonymously” She said.

“You’re blackmailing the reverend?!”

“Quiet down.” She whispered looking around to see if anyone heard.

“and that’s not all. The other day I overheard a troubling conversation he was having with Shawn… Jer I think the reverend killed Ronnie or something because you know since he’s missing and he was the one who convinced Olivia and Beverly to say that they saw him that morning that Enrique was killed. He thinks that Ronnie is the one who’s blackmailing him” Megan noticed he was getting too uncomfortable.

“I probably shouldn’t have pried too much into it.” He said.

“No, I’m sorry I shouldn’t have overwhelmed you with all that”

“No its my fault. Im sorry. I can’t really give you any advice. This kind of issue is serious. I really don’t how to deal with it” Jeremiah said .

“I wonder how I’m supposed to” Said Megan.

A thumping knock woke up Albert and Chico.  They were in his room. Albert was being spooned by Chico. The knock separated the two. Chico disconnected from Albert.

“What is it?!” Chico yelled and awoke Rosa who was sleeping on the other side of the bed.

“He’s here” Iago said through the door. Chico sprang up out of the bed naked and quickly grabbed his robe and fastened it. Albert noticed how alarmed and tentative he was, almost afraid.  Chico opened the door that connected to a lounge. Albert slowly got out of the bed and crept to the door and pressed his ear against it. 

All he could hear were muffled sounds. They were speaking in a low tone. He knelt to the floor and peered through under the door. He could see Chico’s pristine feet right next Iago. But opposite to them was a pair of shiny black loafers connected to a pair of fine black slacks. The mysterious person shuffled around the room, his pace seemed almost lax and intrusive.

“What are you doing?” Asked Rosa. Albert got up startled covering himself with the sheets and walked away from the door ignoring Rosa.

Kessler’s phone began to ring as he got inside his 98 chevy, the same car he had thrust Ronnie out of. He answered it.

“Kessler, Ronnie’s been apprehended.” Said Petrovsky.

“What?! They found him?”

“Yeah, he was arrested at a gas station near Ojai. He’s got a serious head injury, they’re calling it off as a concussion and they’re gonna interrogate him before treating him and without a lawyer” Said Petrovky. Kessler quickly turns on his car.

“Call his parents, I’m on my way!” 

Ronnie sat in a cliché interrogation room, with the single light fixture hanging from the ceiling low enough to illuminate his face but high enough to be hit in the face with it. And the proverbial two-sided mirror with which he is observed, dissected and judged. His head was throbbing with pain. They cleaned the green remedy that was on his head and gave him painkillers. The two beefy cops who were standing kept asking him questions. Ronnie faded them out, focusing on his pain, he focused on the futility of it all. 

His fermented anger exploded when the door swung open and Kessler’s face came into view. Ronnie clenched his fists, gritted his teeth and gave Kessler a vindictive look. 

“Show’s over. Ronnie don’t say another-“ Ronnie dug his nails into his palms and burst.

“I did it.” He hung his head in shame to the side of the mirror. 

“Ronnie!” Kessler shouted. The two cops prevented him from getting close to him.

“I killed them. I killed them all. It was me… I’m the Lady killer.”