Chapter Five
“CRACK”
I opened the door and there she was, sitting on my couch playing with her hair. Her long blonde locks tangled in between her fingers. She was the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen. I thought I was going to cry but felt like I was going to throw up.
“…Anne,” I muttered.
She turned around and the wig fell off. I hated myself so much I could’ve blown my head off right then and there.
“Oh, it’s Jen.” She stated, “My name’s Jennifer.”
“Right,” I said as I walked past her, making a bee line for the kitchenette. I set the bag of groceries on the table and pulled out the bottle of Scotch. She just sat on the couch, staring at me while I downed a few swallows. The bottle came down on the table a little harder than I wanted it to. She was nervous.
“Are you hungry?” I asked, trying to break the tension, “I got some food.”
“Um, okay. Yeah, actually I am.”
I microwaved some pizza. We ate in silence. My mind was a mess. What was I going to do about this girl? Did I even have a plan? No, I didn’t. She clearly doesn’t seem all that stable. Did she kill that guy? Is she a killer? Fuck, is she going to kill me? I could kill her if I needed to. I tried to think back to last night. I took a swig of scotch. I think better when I’m drinking.
The whole scene was kind of surreal. She was on top of that guy, beating his face to a pulp. Was he moving? I don’t think so. No, he was dead by the time I got there, I remember that. The night was still kind of a haze, I needed more time to think about it, but I was having a hard time focusing right now. Too much stress, I guess. I took another drink.
We continued to eat. She just stared down at her plate, nibbling at her pizza, as if she was afraid to eat it. Fuck me! It wasn’t until just then that I realized she was wearing her costume, only without the mask.
“You want some clothes?” I asked.
It shouldn’t have surprised me when she put the jeans and sweater on over her costume. I gave her the smallest belt I had; it barely kept the jeans up. It didn’t look all that natural, but she seemed a little more relaxed, which made me more relaxed.
We sat in silence and ate our pizza until she finally blurted out, “I didn’t kill him.”
The words were slow and deliberate. It seemed like she had been practicing those words all morning.
“I didn’t kill him,” she repeated and then emphasized, “the guy in the parking lot.”
I paused, unsure of what to say. I guess we weren’t going to be beating around the bush anymore.
“Why don’t you tell me what did happen,” I said.
“I’m not sure,” she hesitated, “You wouldn’t understand. It seems like so much needs to be explained.”
“Why don’t you start with why you’re wearing a costume?”
“Isn’t it obvious?” she chirped, “I’m a superhero.”
“Do you have any…powers?” I asked.
“Of course not, I’m a Real Life Superhero. We’re just regular people who have been inspired by comic book characters to take a more proactive social role.”
“You need a costume to do that?”
“Well, duh. It’s a safety measure.”
“Yeah, okay, I get it.” I lied. This girl seemed to be a little emotionally unstable, so I didn’t want to push any buttons that I didn’t need to and decided to just get to the facts, “so you’re a superhero. Fine. What happened last night?”
“Well, it all started with this guy called The Watchman. He operates out of this city. He has been trying to get a group of us together for a while now. I guess there’s a lot of crime around here.”
I couldn’t really argue with her about that. This place is a shithole.
“We all came in over the weekend and went on our first big patrol last night.”
“How many of you were there?”
“Seven, including me. The Watchman, Super Citizen, Captain Kick, Pisces, Ombre, and…Azul Amigo. Poor Azul…”
I could see the tears welling up in her eyes. She tucked her head under her arms and to hide her sobbing. This was taking to long. I sat at the table, silently waiting for her to get herself back together. I was just reaching for the bottle of scotch when I heard the loud “CRACK” of my door being kicked in.
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