The Irony of Regret

6

Quote of the Chapter: "She didn't just walk on the wild side, she lived there, dancing in the streets and setting fire to its sky." -J. Iron Word

Song of the Chapter: Thug Life by Attila

She lay there. She did nothing. Malice was going to be released in five days, and she was not going to mess it up. So, she lay there and let herself get beat. Normally, she would give the beating back, twice as bad. This time, though, she couldn't. Not if she wanted to get out on Wednesday.

Malice sat in the showers, bleeding. She ran her hands over her face, feeling the cuts. She wiped the blood from her eyes and waited for the bleeding to stop. She sat there until a corrections officer came in. He took one look, and he knew. She had finally let them beat her. As much as she didn't act like it, she wanted out. And she was about to get what she wanted.

"Young lady, there is no sleeping in my class!" The art teacher shrieked.

Malice glared at her but said nothing. She hadn't gotten much sleep the night before. She couldn't sleep, so she had gone on a three hour walk.

She had seen Beau and Lex, but they hadn't acknowledged her. That was okay. She wasn't in the mood for company.

Though, a man did try to press his company on Malice. She came to school with a black eye. The other guy looked much worse.

Beau and Lex weren't in school that day. They were downtown. There was a client there that was not paying his debts. They had to go straighten him out.

"Where's the money, Drew?" Beau was uncharacteristically serious. The bright smile that was usually on his face was gone.

"I-I left it at my house. I'll go get it. Just give me time. Please." Drew begged, knowing exactly what would happen. Even if he had the money, they would kill him. He was late with the payment, and that was all that mattered. They didn't want the money anymore; they wanted blood.

"Yeah, that's not happening. You'll take off the second you're out of sight." Lex laughed without humor. He pulled out a Ruger SR9 and started waving it for emphasis, "I think you never had the money. I think you lied. How does that make you feel, Beau?"

"That really hurts me. We trusted that you were going to follow through. You broke your promise. When someone breaks a promise, that really fucks a person up. You know? I feel like I just got cheated on. Of course, you'd be the bitch in the relationship." Beau smiled, but this grin was cruel and sinister.

''You're right. He's definitely the bitch," Lex fired a round into Drew's left foot. "Maybe this will teach you how it feels when you screw us over like that." He shot Drew's right foot, then both of his hands.

"Oh, stop crying. It doesn't hurt that bad. Besides, it will be over soon." Beau smirked as Lex fired the last round between Drew's eyes. His body slumped to the side and hit a dumpster, leaving a long bloody streak. Lex looked to Beau before turning away. He took long strides out of the alley while Beau dug the bullets out and wiped the body clean of prints.

"Man I need a beer." Lex sighed. Beau nodded, killing was his least favorite part of his job.

Malice was exhausted. She had been working for three hours straight making drinks for already drunk men who kept hitting on her. Then, she had two consecutive fights. She got paid handsomely for her wins, but she was tired and sore, none the less.

As soon as she got home, Malice stripped off her clothes and took a cold shower. She was making chicken noodle soup when the phone rang. She dropped her ice pack in the sink and answered.

Later, she would wish she didn't pick up the phone. She dropped that, too, in shock. Malice never thought she would hear Wrath's voice again.

---

It's a cliffhanger. A shitty one at that.

Thanks.

-Danniele