Page 18 of Babalon

I need to get home. I don’t want to be out on the road too late, especially when a box of cold pizza and my couch are screaming my name. Tomorrow, I have the chance to do the right thing and stay away from Kace. He may be a prisoner but he still a human, which justifies respect too.

Chapter six

Kace

Past - 7 years ago

Ihave worn a lot of suits and ties in my life, but this was the first time that I feel as if I was going to sweat completely through the fabric and begin dripping on the floor. Today is day three of my trial and sentencing. My lawyer advised me not to take a plea deal when I was first charged because ‘young white men’ usually score a slap on the wrist and community service. Those who typically plead not guilty in instances like this, and in instances of sexual assault, can fight in court and walk away with only damage to their reputation.

Now, I’m not saying that I am opposed to that idea, but I know deep down, I was fucked. I should have taken the deal when I had the chance, but listening to my lawyer is what my momexpected of me. Here I am, sitting in Judge Landon Walkers court, waiting for the jury to return from their chambers and tell me just how fucked I am.

Perched between my lawyer and his assistant, Maggie, I lean back in in my chair. It was as uncomfortable as the day was long, but it didn’t hold a match to the way I felt internally. This day isn’t nearly as dreadful as the day I took that girl’s life. Accident or not, a piece of me died right along with her. The playful side, the side of me that my mother watched grow up through the twenty something years of my life, then let me venture into the world, only to end up in jail.

The dark blue fabric of my suit clings so snugly to my body that it nearly feels like a second skin. I can’t even stretch my legs out without the damn pants riding up and exposing my ankles. Thankfully, I have a pair of Johnson & Murphy socks left over in my dresser at home; just what I needed to look professional and polished for this shitty day. Like I was about to land some CEO job or graduate with my Doctorate in Financing.

What a joke.

Tilting my head back, I stare up at the stone ceiling, it looks like it was about thirty feet up and the perfect height to swing from but I’m no coward. It was just that the unbearable silence of the court room makes my skin crawl and I need to get the hell out of here.

I didn’t go out of my way to harm anyone, I don’t recall ever drinking and driving before; the one time I did landed me in this chair that feels like it may burst into flames. Closing my eyes, I jumped back to a year ago when I went out to celebrate the birthday of one of my coworkers from the car dealership. I can still smell the bar and taste the cheese sticks I had inhaled while waiting for another drink.

What I would give to go back to that day and make different choices, but what do they always say, hindsight is 20/20?

1 year ago

“Kace, my man! Glad you could make it!” Ricky belts close to my ear, trying to speak over the loud music. His heavy hand coming down hard on my upper back almost making me choke on the delicious and stringy melted cheese.

“Mm-fum-pk Rick,” I mumbled through a mouth full.

Reaching for my beer, one I have been alternating between shots and mixed drinks, I tilt it and take a big gulp, washing down the Italian-American goodness.

“Ricky, sorry man. Happy birthday, thank you for inviting me.”

“No problem, my guy. I wasn’t sure you were going to make it. You looked pretty down today when that Maserati sell didn't go through.”

I turned from him and looked at my plate, shifting back in my chair, the heels of my shoes on the bar beneath my seat as my knees spread apart comfortably. Shrugging, I wiped the grease and breading crumbs from my hands, the cheap ass napkins nearly disintegrating in my grasp.

“No biggy, I was just trying to get that punk ass kid into a car I knew he couldn’t afford. At least we would have had him in a contract, made some money, and repossessed the car once he stopped making those hefty payments.”

Rickys’ head fell back as he let out a loud rumble of a laugh. Salesmen are vultures, and I’m no different. I was trained byour boss to not pay attention to the people who have money because they would likely pay cash, and we wouldn’t get much commission off it. It’s the younger ones with large gold chains, terribly outlined facial hair, girls with dollar signs in their eyes, who are trying to impress, that we really want.

They usually start missing their payments after a few months and we would get the car back then sell it to a car-rental company since it was now used. The dealership would make money, I’d make commission, we would get the car returned, and finally, the rental people would get a luxury car for pennies on the dollar.

“Shit happens,” Ricky comments.

“That’s why I am here eating mozzarella sticks and not having fucking lobster. Say, when’s your little sister getting home from her date?”

“What date?” Ricky asked, raising a brow at me.

I’ve been fucking the life out of that girl for months now; Ricky thinks we are on the straight and narrow but God, she’s a slut. I figured out real fast, that it didn’t take much to get under her skirt and have taken advantage of that knowledge ever since.

She’s out on a date tonight, some YouTube sensation wanna-be. I told her to text me when she was on the way back to her place, but it’s fucking eleven p.m. and I’ve heard nothing but radio silence from her. I could just go home, but there’s some rage I need to take out on her little body, which she’s making difficult by taking her sweet fucking time with this guy. With her being so open in the bedroom, she lets me do whatever I want to her as long as she’s mindless and numb by the end of it.

Ricky would probably knock a few of my teeth loose if he found out I was only sleeping with her, and not trying to make her an honest woman. That’s just not today’s society; it’s fuck, be fucked, and get fucked.

“Emilia is out with Warren Faust, some YouTube guy.”

“The fuck is that, and why the hell didn’t she tell me? Better yet, why aren’t you flipping out right now?”

---