Page 17 of Now Comes the Dark

“Oh my God,” Ashley gasped, rounding on Roman. “Are you all right? I can’t believe he hit you.” Ashley’s face was slack with shock.

“I can,” Roman said bitterly. The walls in their flat were thin, and he’d heard more than once how Ashley’s rows with Patrick could descend into violence. “I think the ban on Patrick needs to extend to our home. He’s trouble, and neither of us needs it.”

Ashley nodded numbly. “Sure,” he said. “He’s out.”

Roman didn’t believe him. He had forgiven Patrick for worse than this.

Phil came over. “Twice in two days. You’re becoming a magnet for trouble. Are you all right?”

“I’m fine,” Roman assured him and the concerned on-lookers. “For a big guy, there was no force to the punch.”

“That’s not the point,” Phil said. “We caught the whole incident on our security camera.” He turned on Ashley. “Tell your boyfriend I’m reporting this to the police as well the community newspapers. And I’ll show the footage to every bar and restaurant manager in the area. He’ll be banned from all of them by this time tomorrow. Count on it.”

Ashley gulped. “Okay.”

“He’s a piece of shit. Do yourself a favour and get rid of him.” With a final look of concern for Roman, Phil left them alone.

“Saturday night’s alright for fighting,” Roman said humourlessly.

“I…I… I don’t…” Ashley’s lips trembled.

“Don’t try to defend him.” Roman eased himself into a chair. Now the shock was wearing off, his legs trembled.

“I’m not,” Ashley assured him. “I won’t. Not after that. It’s just…I can’t believe he did that. That he hit you.”

“But it’s all right for him to hit you?” Roman said softly. “Just not anyone else.”

Ashley’s face turned red. He sat down with a long exhalation. “I didn’t think you knew.”

“In a two-bedroom flat… Do you think I’m deaf as well as stupid?” Roman swigged his beer. “I’ve never understood what you see in him. He’s ugly, inside and out.”

Ashley put his fist to his mouth. “It’s over now. It really is. I can’t make excuses for him anymore.”

Roman moved closer and put his hand on his friend’s arm. He spoke soft and gently. “You deserve better. Now that you’re rid of him, you’re going to find it.”

There were tears in Ashley’s eyes. He bit his knuckle, holding them at bay.

“Come on,” Roman said. “Let’s go home. I’ve had enough of these bars and being used as a punching bag for one weekend.”

They both laughed. Ashley wiped his eyes. “Okay.”

“Let’s get a pizza. And a bottle of red wine from the all-nighter. It sounds a lot less dangerous than hanging around here, don’t you think?” Roman said.

“Absolutely. Let’s go.”

* * * *

The taxi came to a stop in front of the three-storey terraced house. Two men got out of the back seat. Roman and his flat mate, Ashley.

From the other side of the road, in the alley between two houses, a figure, dressed head to toe in black, watched them.

There was muted laugher as they paid the taxi fare. Roman held a large pizza box while Ashley searched his pockets for keys. From a distance, the watcher could not catch what they said to each other as they climbed the steps to the front door, but therewas more laughter and merriment. They were obviously having a good time.

They went inside, and a few minutes later a light came on in one of the second-floor windows.The living room. The watcher knew the layout of the flat, how the living room led to a small kitchen at the back. The two bedrooms were situated off the front door with a shared bathroom. Roman had the smaller of the rooms, the one that faced the rear of the house. The watcher knew everything.

What brought them home so early?The flatmate usually went out every Saturday night and never returned before three. Roman was less predictable. Some weeks he went out, others he stayed home, making use of the empty flat to entertain his endless hook-ups.

Something was different tonight, and that wouldn’t do. It had to be a typical Saturday for this to work.

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