[Jimin]
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As soon as I saw the white tulips I knew they were for James. My mother had white tulips covering my sister's grave as well as all over our house the months after Jane's death up until her own. As a matter of fact, each of our 'death' letters from her had a white tulip placed on top of them. To show she was sorry. Everyday there were more things happening to me that linked back to my mother and the reasons for her taking her life. Unfortunately now wasn't the right moment to be thinking about her because Jungkook and I, along with Al and his team of Navy SEALS were trying to hook a fish. A very big, strong, handsome and wealthy fish, who with all those attributes on the outside, it didn't do him much for the inside. For although Travis was well put together, he was as rotten as the deadest fish ever.
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I saw how he had his workers. They were more like slaves. Their eyes looked like they were being kept doped enough to do his bidding but also for anyone to take advantage of them too. My heart broke for them. This was not the likes of a virtuous man at all and I wondered if James knew about this side of him. What was he really into and why did he want Jungkook and his company to be a part of his unscrupulous empire? When we sat down, I only began eating when Travis himself ate from the plates before us. You could never fully trust someone especially if that someone seemed bad to the bone. But the food was excellent and I did thoroughly enjoy Jungkook's and I acting a bit amorous in front of Travis. It was all part of our plan and even though we were 'acting', I couldn't stop melting at Jungkook's touch. For although his lips covered mine in a sweet kiss, it was his hand that was under the table, caressing the palm of my hand that drove me wild. God! I wanted him so badly but we would have to wait. I knew we only had a few days together but I was willing to sacrifice a few hours to helping us find out more about the circumstances surrounding James' untimely demise.
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I couldn't help but ask about the flowers. I knew they were for James but I needed to hear it from him. We needed to hear him talk about his late lover so I mentioned them, "White tulips are so beautiful. They are a symbol of unconditional love and forgiveness." Both Jungkook and I saw as Palmer nodded silently. Kookie realised too. Thank God! So I continued, "My mother had them all over our house after I lost my sister to leukemia." My mother's obsession with the tulips would've been news to Jungkook too and I saw as his eyes softened at me. I never even thought about the flowers until now but I had read a few years back that they are the blossoms to show love and also to say sorry. I wondered if Travis was sorry about something. Hmm...
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"That's really sad, Jimin," Travis answered me, "I lost someone too. Someone very special to me," and with that he bent his head and took up a blossom. He caressed it and smelt its fragrance.
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I almost felt sorry for him. Maybe he did love James after all. Maybe it wasn't his fault that James was killed. We needed him to confide in us about anything that we could get. In one of James' journals he mentioned about his breakup with Travis in detail. It really hurt him to break things off but James wanted to live his life. He even compared Travis to having a hold on him worse than his parents. And believe me, those people were terrors. Not in a bad torturous way but in an overly empowering with affection kind of way. They were almost to the point of being obsessed and I could understand fully what James would've been going through. When he thought he found someone to love him and support him with his choices in life, he found himself stuck in the same glue as with his fixated family. He needed a way out but the bludgeons that were used in his murder, sealed his fate for him.
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I looked at Travis' face and saw a bit of sadness but then he took the flower and crushed it. I sat with my eyes open wide. He watched me and smiled a wicked smile. I heard the raspy sound from his voice. It was almost demon-like, "This is what happens when you defy me. I crush you to get the true sweetness out of you. How do you think they make perfumes? They take the petals of these very flowers," and he did what he was speaking, "and they crush them till they don't look like themselves anymore to make a new product. One that smells a thousand times better and even more profitable than the actual flowers themselves. Do you know how much a gardener makes with his floral garden? It's actually not a bad figure. Roughly about $30,000 per acre in profits. But do you know how much money is made in fashion houses with perfumes alone? Billions. In one year, Chanel's worldwide brand profit was a total of 13.2 billion US."
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Travis kept crushing the petals until the juice started running down his hand. He saw wealth but all I saw was the blood of James' head as it flowed all on the street after he was bludgeoned to death by those men. I was getting upset and was about to blow our cover when I felt the hands of my fiancé gently clutching mine. I saw the look in his eyes. He was trying to comfort and ease my mind and I latched on to his hand and squeezed back. I wanted to hold on to Travis' head and squeeze him just like the tulips he was now destroying. I watched in horror as he took each flower and sucked the beauty out of them. When he was finished the place smelt divine but just like him, the inside of the flowers were now in total pieces. This man was troubled and I got that gut feeling that he was responsible for James' death so I went brave.
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"So when people defy you, they get crushed and what: reborn and transformed?"
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He grinned at my epiphany, "Why yes! That's correct. Reborn. I like that. I'll pitch that name to my company. I'll even credit you for coming up with it."
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I wanted absolutely nothing to do with this guy and I thought, 'Not if you're in jail for murder, you wouldn't'. I had enough of him and his murderous ways, "It's quite alright. I give you full credit for it." But I continued asking him, "So did someone defy you? You said you lost someone who was special to you. Did that person betray you?"
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Apparently I had drove a stake into his heart because then I saw the anger in him, "YES!" And immediately, it subside and he became sad, "Yes, I did. He was so special to me but then he went and..." Then the anger came back, "HE LEFT ME! NO ONE LEAVES ME! NO ONE!!! THE ONLY WAY TO LEAVE ME IS IN A COFFIN" And he slammed both his fists on the table causing everything and everyone on the table to shudder. Then I saw as his lawyer and another guy coming towards him. The unknown man began to hum to him and tell him things in his ears to calm him. Then he took out a bottle from his pocket and gave Travis a tablet of some sort. Ping!
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Jungkook had already put his arms around me to shield me as Travis had his outburst. We both kept our eyes fixed on what seemed like a man who was suffering from some mental disorder. Bipolar Disease came to mind and I felt the people close to him obviously knew of his condition as he was being med-fed by his friend. When Travis calmed down some of the assistants came around him. They pampered him and made him feel relaxed. I was thankful that they didn't do anything sexual but I thought too soon. The girls were there to massage his shoulders, arms and legs but the boys that came around him were to massage his pecks and dick. The two guys immediately went about their business as though no one was there. It was almost mechanical. I looked at Jungkook's co-workers and they were so stunned that they asked to be excused. They were young and obviously hadn't been to parties like what Jungkook and I were privy to in college. This brought me back to times that I really didn't want to think about.
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Travis looked at us with a smirk on his face, "You too could be living the life, my friends. I've got so much money that I can practically run a country on my profits alone. These people are mine. I own them. They work for me and me alone. But you can be a part of this. All you have to do is sign a contract and I'll let you in. You can have any boy or girl you want. Any number too. Our orgies are fantastic."
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And with that the girls began to take off their clothing and touch each other and the lawyer. He was having fun but the person I didn't see was Jungkook's boss. Where was Michael? I looked around the outer area and saw the eyes of some of the people who were gambling looking into our area. It was starting to get creepier now. I held on to Jungkook's hand and he held me back, protecting me. We did pray for protection but I felt it was time to get out of here. But I needed one more thing from Travis.
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I came up closer to him over the table and I pushed the stake deeper into his heart, "Did James find himself in a coffin because he defied you when he left you?"
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Travis' eyes widened and the boys looked at me puzzled too. I think with the mention of his late lover's name it enraged him even more than before. I jumped back into my seat and into Jungkook's arms as Travis flung the two boys off of him and shouted, "JAMES!!! THAT FUCKING IDIOT! NO ONE LEAVES ME. JAMES HAD TO BE TAUGHT A LESSON! NO ONE LEAVES ME!!! YES I PUT HIM IN THAT COFFIN. HE WAS FLAUNTING HIMSELF ALL OVER THE GOD-DAMN PLACE. HE DESERVED IT!" Then he looked down at Jungkook and me and laughed, "I organised that hit on James. He was all over town spreading his seed to every living thing he could get his filthy cock on and opening his ass to every single roach that passed." Then Travis spat out, "NO ONE LEAVES ME! NOT EVEN YOU TWO! TAKE THEM AWAY!!!"
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And right there I felt the arms of someone coming from behind me. I turned to see most of the people from the room had disappeared. Even Jungkook's co-workers were nowhere in sight. I tried to scream out but then I began to feel drowsy and I faintly heard Jungkook's voice shouting out to me. My vision was blurred and just before I passed out, I saw what looked like big strong guys holding Jungkook from behind as he fell screaming out my name.
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I don't know how long I was out but there was a bright flash of light that woke me up. I felt a nauseating feeling in my stomach and my throat was on fire. All I could smell were chemicals like in a hospital. Then I blinked my eyes a bit and coughed. Everything around me was blurry and I could vaguely see the ceiling and something looking like a light bulb hanging above me. It was off. I saw another flash of light and I turned my head to the side. I began to feel dizzy so I closed my eyes and was trying to remember what had happened. I kept getting flashes of old and recent events in my life. I even saw Jane and she looked like she was trying to wake me up. I continued to turn my head and when I opened back my eyes I had to blink a few times for my vision to adjust. I realised I was lying down on a bed. I looked down and saw the length of my body all the way to my toes but I couldn't wiggle them.
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As my eyes finally adjusted to the little light in the room, I looked further down and saw someone sitting on a chair. OMG! Please don't tell me that is who I think it is. I began to sob because as the room became clearer I saw my love sitting on the chair closer to the wall of the room. It was Jungkook with his head bent down, "Jung... kook... ah..." I tried to call him but my mouth tasted like the chemicals I was smelling. Horrible. It was also sore and painful. I swallowed my saliva but just tasted the chemical again. Oh God! Help us! I immediately thought of the prophet Daniel in the den. And I asked God to send his angels to help us as he helped Daniel that day. I prayed for a miracle but I got an answer from the devil instead.
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"Good morning, sleepy head. Did you have a good night's sleep?" Travis was somewhere. I tried to move around but I couldn't. My entire body was paralyzed except my head. I turned towards his voice and tried to shout for help. Travis laughed at me, "That didn't work the first time and I don't think it will work now." Then he came into my visual area and put his chair to sit in front of me. "Oh Jiminy Cricket. Can I call you that? Are you my conscience? Ever since I saw the movie Pinocchio, I've always loved that little woodened fella. I think he was my first boy/man-crush," and with that he started to laugh. "I loved James just like I loved Pinocchio. You know, it was my favourite movie. As a child I always wanted a Pinocchio doll and I wanted one that could have his nose extend out and pulled back in. When I finally got it, I practically lived with my doll. He was everything to me. Like a twin. But unfortunately this didn't go too well with my actual twin."
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He sat caressing my hair as though he was telling a bedtime story to a child. I was totally disgusted but I literally couldn't do anything. His fingers felt like daggers slicing my soul. I felt my tears falling on the side of my cheek. God help us! Then Travis looked at me and sighed, "Yes, I did have an actual twin brother but he was the totally opposite of me. Fraternal twins they're called. He was big, I was small. He was tall and I was short. I was the smart one and he was as dumb as an ox. The only thing we had in common was that our mother loved us. My father thought I was a weakling and girly like my mother so he practically shunned me all my life while he preferred raising his big strapping jock of a son and main quarterback in the football squad. No one could be better than Randy his athletic son not even his other son who had the brain to run his business. And yes, we were both named after the country singer, Randy Travis, whom my mother was in love with at the time of our conception. She would always listen to his songs and said our dad sang the cowboy's hit 'Forever and Ever, Amen' while they were making love. He found his way into her heart and they conceived us. Back then a girl couldn't be pregnant and unmarried so just like a cowboy, my grandfather made an honest man out of my dad with his rifle and shovel close by. Yup a shotgun wedding was still popular back then especially if the bride was six months pregnant and looking like a big hot-air balloon." Travis laughed out.
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While he was telling me his sad story, I realised I began to feel some movement in my hands. They were at my side so I tried moving them back and forth. Then Travis took my hands in his. SHIT! He realised I was trying to move.
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"Jimin, Jimin, Jimin. Tsk-tsk-tsk... What are you doing? Trying to get away from me, are you? No one can get away from me, don't you know that? From the time you set foot in Indonesia, I already knew your height, weight, the colour of your hair and how gorgeous you are. Didn't you realise that I already knew who you were? Hmm..." and he came up to me and kissed my cheek. I was so disgusted but I perked my ears as he said, "I know all about you Park Jimin. Son of the famous director who by the way is out looking for you as we speak. Sorry... but you're not a very good spy. I figured out your plan to try to trap me into confessing to James' killing. Well surprisingly you did get me to say I was involved but I didn't actually do the killing now did I? And unfortunately for you, no one heard my little secret. That I will take to my grave and so will you and your macho boyfriend here." He turned to look at Jungkook and I began to mumble out a scream. "Oh touchy about your fiancé, I see," and the bastard got up and went towards Jungkook. I screamed but nothing but mumbles came out. Then smiling he took up a syringe and injected something into Jungkook's arm. I bawled out as I saw Jungkook jumping out of his unconsciousness.
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Travis looked up at me. Jungkook looked drugged and his head bobbed up and down slowly. His hands and feet were bound and he was shirtless. Then his head rocked totally back and I started to cry. What did he do to him? I felt my tears rolling down to the sides of my face. Jungkook! Wake up! I wanted to shout but it just came out at a mumble in my throat which was still very much sore. Jungkook then moved his head forward and turned it to the side. His eye lids closing and opening. I was scared for the first time in my life and I made up my mind to prepare myself for death. I prayed and asked God to keep Jungkook safe if I wasn't going to make it out of here. 'Take my life and save him if it comes to that. Save him, Lord. Save my Jungkook'.
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Travis then began kissing Jungkook all over his face and touching him around his body. I closed my eyes and cried some more. I couldn't bear to look at him violating my lover. Then I felt all the energy left in me boiling up higher and higher until finally I got it out, "LEAVE US ALONE!!! JUNGKOOKAHHHHH!!!!"
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Travis was shocked and he rushed to my side. He checked my hand and cursed out aloud. Apparently he was keeping me disabled with whatever medicine through the IV. In my movements earlier and my shout out, I was able to take out the tube attached to the back of my hand. Travis came back to the bed and tried putting it back but was getting problems. At least his attention was now on me and not my baby. I looked at Jungkook and his head was slumped back down.
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Then Travis shouted out, "OH FUCK!!! MICHAEL COME IN HERE AND FIX THIS PIECE OF SHIT, WILL YA!!!"
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Did he just say, 'Michael'? So Jungkook's boss was a part of the charade all along. That's how Travis knew what we were up to. Michael was the spy. He came in with a hoodie over his head and a covering over his face. But Travis had already let the cat out of the bag by calling out his name. Plus I could make out his features. Travis then ordered him to fix the needle in my hand and then he said something weird about getting the pictures to the clients. Then Travis left the room. What the hell was that about?
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I looked at Michael as he came up to the bed I was on. I mumbled, 'Help me please' over and over but he wouldn't even look at me. This guy was friends with this evil maniac but he was also friends with my dad. He was the one my dad had asked to give Jungkook the week off when he came to meet me in Florida. I mumbled, 'Dad. Dad. Dad.' And I know he heard me. He looked at me and even though his head and mouth were covered, I saw the trouble and concern in his eyes. Finally I got to say, "Dad... will help you. Please... Help me..." But he just looked at me, did what he had to do and left. I cried again.
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