The Understorey, Book One of The Leaving Series (35 page)

My back stiffened and the hair that laid on
the back of my neck stood. I pulled at the edge of my parents’ sofa
and stared at the opposite wall avoiding Jules’ eyes. I felt the
strongest urge to be anywhere else in the world other than in
Bramwell, West Virginia because I was going to murder Jesse
Thomas.

    “I noticed right after
Thanksgiving that my perfume bottle was on the opposite end of my
vanity from where I usually keep it. I shrugged it off as
absentmindedness, assuming I accidentally placed it there and never
thought twice about it again until a few days later when I observed
that the books on my top shelf had been switched with all the books
on the bottom shelf. The next night, my hanger hooks looped the
closet bar the opposite way I placed them. The night after that, my
bed had been made and they had placed something on my
pillow. 

“When I bent in for a closer look I saw they
had torn a strip from the end of my sheet and formed a noose with
it.” She shuddered. “Every day, I’ve walked into my room in search
of their newest installment. They’re usually harmless, or as
harmless as you’d expect from two complete and utter psychos,
stupid, or unnoticeable except, for last night’s.”
    “And what had they done last night?” I asked
eerily calmly.

She didn’t have to tell me. I was going to
kill him regardless and only because my Uncle Danny, Jules’
parents, my parents, even Jesse’s parents didn’t believe a word
Jules and I had said about him. He was the perfect psycho, a well
adjusted, for appearance’s sake, psycho with the world’s largest
death wish.

    “Go on,” I said. She must
have felt the thoughts because she waited too long to spill what he
had done. She continued to hesitate.
    “Go on,” I insisted, calming my tone so she
would feel comfortable enough to continue.
    “They stole the painting I had been working on
for you for Christmas. I walked into my studio, saw that it was
gone and assumed it was gone for good, until I left to see you
today. After I locked my front door to leave, I saw the painting.
It was hanging by a larger scale noose taken from longer strips of
my sheet but the most disturbing part was what was done to the
painting.”
    “What did he do?” My voice teetered on
hysteria.
    “He drew one word in dripping red.” She paused.
The silence was deafening. “He drew, ‘YOU’,” she continued.
    “Where is this painting?” I asked.
    “It’s still high in the tree in my front yard. I
couldn’t reach it. I was hoping you would get rid of it for me. I
can’t let my parents see that Elliott. They’d leave Bramwell over
something like that.”

I slammed my fists on the cushions and let
the boiling blood rush over my body. I didn’t want Jules to touch
me. I didn’t want to calm down. I
wanted
the rage. I stood
up slowly and walked to the front door. I grabbed my keys from its
hook and swung on my jacket with the wool lining.
If I need
to
, I thought,
I could swing easily in this jacket.
I
dug my hands in to the pockets and felt for the pocket knife I
usually kept in it.

    “Where are you going
Elliott?” Jules asked seriously.
    “To take that painting down babe,” I spoke over
my shoulder.
    “I’m coming with you,” she said.
    “No, you’re not,” I said then checked myself, “I
mean, you’ve been through enough don’t you think? I’ll be right
back. Promise.”

I turned toward her and smiled. I never would
have left without kissing her had I not wanted to keep the
explosion at a breaking point until I saw him and the thoughts to
myself.

I turned back toward the door and pushed it
open. I ran for my truck and slid into the driver’s seat. I turned
the key in the ignition and the engine roared to life. I was so on
edge, I actually jumped. I threw it in reverse and sped out of the
gravel driveway next to the barn and onto the paved road. Dust
billowed up, camouflaging the house.

If Jules was watching from the door I
couldn’t tell and that bothered me. I stopped short on the road and
waited for the dust to settle. She
was
at the door, her palm
resting on the glass. She gazed severely into my eyes trying to
read my thoughts. Her eyes grew wide with realization.

“No,” she mouthed.

She threw the door open and ran toward the
road but I sped away from her before she could reach me. Her
horrified stare grilled into me like a sunburn and I very nearly
turned around. She ran back to the house, I assumed, to call my
Uncle Danny but I didn’t care. I would get there before he
would.

I pulled up to the Thomas house not three
minutes later. I ran up their walkway and pounded furiously on
their door. I plunged my hands into jacket pocket and held my
pocket knife with my right hand. Jesse answered the door and he
didn’t look surprised, at
all
.  His storm door creaked
open and he stepped onto his porch.

“Well, well, well. Look what the cat drug in.
To what do I owe the pleasure?” He asked sarcastically, with the
most smug expression across his nauseating face.

I wasn’t even going to humor him. I pulled my
right hand with the pocket knife in my fist out and braced myself
for what would happen next but I couldn’t do it.

I kept the knife in my hand to add extra
weight to the punch I planned instead and cocked my hand back. I
swung and hit him with all the force I possibly could. Blood began
to trickle out of the corners of his mouth before he even hit the
ground. I stuck the knife back into my pocket, deciding against
murder for that day and steadily strolled back to my truck. I was
back with Jules in less than ten minutes.

    “What happened?” She
asked, tears streaming from her face.
    “Nothing really.”
    “Nothing? I don’t believe that. I can see the
bruise on your knuckles from here Elliott. What happened?”
    “I punched him.”
    “You punched him?” She asked, skeptical.
    “Just once and then he slumped to the wood floor
of his porch with a satisfying thud.”
    “Elliott!”
    “Jules, he’s lucky I didn’t do
more.”   
    “Oh? You planned on what? Killing him? That’s a
dandy plan. I can barely handle a few hours without touching you as
it is. I can just imagine visiting you in prison, a thick piece of
glass holding us back. I’d go insane. Killing him would mean slowly
killing me Elliott.

“Had you thought about that? This is the
first time you’ve ever been so selfish you forgot about me Elliott
and I’m begging you to stop. My heart is breaking.”

I grabbed Jules and brought her head to my
chest.
    “Oh Jules, I’m so sorry. Really. Please forgive
me love.”

She sobbed into my shirt. I imagine,
releasing all the pent up hurt and anger she felt toward the
situation in one good cry. I began to carry her to the sofa when
the doorbell rang. I froze, as did Jules.

    “Did you call Danny when I
left?” I asked.
    “Of course! I didn’t know what you were doing
and I was trying to save you from yourself.”

I stood up and opened the door half expecting
it to be Jesse, almost wishing it to be Jesse because Danny on the
other side of that door meant a trip to the police station. I
opened the door and heard Danny’s radio on his hip asking if he’d
found me. Danny reached for his radio and kept a decided glare on
me.

    “Great,” was all I could
say.
    “Suspect apprehended,” he spoke softly, pressing
down the transmitter button on his radio.
    “What the hell Elliott?”
    “You don’t understand Danny.”
    “You’re right. I don’t understand. I can’t
comprehend why you’ve chosen this boy to be your ongoing battering
ram.”
    “I can’t get you out of this one Elliott, not
this time. Mrs. Thomas wants to press charges. She’s pretty broken
up about the whole thing too, poor woman. She heard a noise and
came out to find her son lying unconscious on her porch Elliott!
And saw
your
truck skidding off. She doesn’t know what has
made you snap but now that it’s affecting her son she feels she has
no other choice.”
    “Well, that’s not really any of her business is
it, since Jesse’s eighteen? Isn’t it up to him to press charges?
I’m willing to bet that he won’t be.”
    “I hope you’re right, for your mama’s sake if
nothing else. Regardless, I still have to take you to the station
Elliott.”

Jules stood up from her sunken position and
walked over to me. She grabbed my hand and started to explain to
Danny, “He was only trying to defend me Danny, honest. Jesse has
been breaking into my room at night and rearranging things and this
morning he stole one of my paintings and hung it by a makeshift
noose on a tree in my backyard.”

“What?” He asked in disbelief.

“That’s right Danny. Jesse’s been breaking
into her room, we know it, he rearranges things to scare Jules. He
knows it’s something hard to prove and that’s why he did it I’m
sure of it, but this time we’ve got tangible evidence of his
harassment,” I added.

“Alright, where is this painting?” Danny
asked.

“Hanging on the large Red Maple at the front
of the house,” Jules said.

“Alright, come on Elliott, it’ll look better
if it appears you came willingly. We’ll swing by Julia’s house and
remove the painting for evidence. Maybe we can get a print on it,”
he said to me before turning to Jules. “Julia, you need to stay
here and explain things to Shelby when she gets here later and help
to calm her down.”

Jules nodded and Danny left to his cruiser
expecting me to follow suit, but I delayed for a moment. I grabbed
Jules and kissed her roughly. I could taste the salt from her
overflowing tears.

    “See you later Jules. I’m
off to the clinker. Will you wait for me?”
    She fought the smile through her tears, “Can’t
you take anything seriously?”
    “I take you seriously. I love you Jules. Don’t
worry. I’ll be out in a couple of hours.”
I pushed open the storm door and met Danny at his cruiser. I piled
into the passenger seat.
    “What? You’re not going to cuff me? I’m a
violent criminal Danny. Maybe you should put me in the back. You
might want the plexiglass between us. I’m dangerous.”
    “Elliott, you seem to have lost your mind so
I’ll remind you how serious this is. You could lose your
scholarship if he does press charges. You know that? You should
stew about that for awhile. Think about what that would do to your
mom and dad.” He looked at me severely. “Why didn’t you just report
it Elliott?”
    “Honestly? I just found out about it myself
today. Jules was too frightened to let me know all that he had done
because she was afraid of my reaction.”
    “Rightfully so,” Danny added.
    “But when he had hung the painting up, she
didn’t have a choice. She had to tell me everything. Jules couldn’t
get it down and she had to ask me to. She didn’t want it scaring
her parents,” I turned to face Danny. “What would you have done if
someone was harassing Aunt Becky?”
    “I’d call the police Elliott.”
    “And what if you’ve told the police and they
don’t believe you?”
    “It’s not that I don’t believe you Elliott! It’s
that I think you’ve pegged the wrong guy. Jesse was your best
friend. You should know he wouldn’t do that. His record is
spotless. It’s just not in his nature Elliott, to be so
cruel.”
    “He’s an incredible
deceiver.”   
    We arrived at Jules’ house and I jumped out to
see for myself what had scared my Jules so badly. The red maple was
surprisingly beautiful. Its red leaves, on the verge of falling,
dusted lightly with a recent blanket of snow. I circled the tree
and found no painting.
Always one step ahead, isn’t
he?
    “Where’s the painting Elliott?”
    “Jules isn’t lying. He must have gotten
it.”
    “Jesse’s been at the station since you hit him.
He couldn’t have done it Elliott.”
I sighed in obvious defeat.
    “I know how this looks Danny.”
    “Do you?” He asked me seriously. “Because if I
didn’t know you personally, I’d think that you and Jules were out
to start trouble.”
    “But you do know us personally!”
    “I’m starting to think that I don’t really know
you at all. Get in the car!” He screamed.
He must have called Taylor
, I thought.
Damn it!
I
punched the dashboard and then brought both my fists to my
forehead.    
    The tiny one room police station had several
people standing around it as we drove up, including my parents and
Jules’. Jules must have called them. I saw Mrs. Thomas standing
next to my mom and they were talking quietly. Jules sat on the hood
of her own Karmann Ghia biting her already short nails.

When she saw us, she jumped up and ran to my
window. She placed her palms on the glass. I shook my head and she
immediately started to tremble. Danny told me to face her so he
could cuff me since everyone was standing around waiting for
me.

“It’s procedure. I’m sorry son.”

I nodded in response. Jules and I both knew
what it meant to have the painting in Danny’s possession. She came
to the same conclusion as I did that Taylor had taken it.
    “You have to go search Taylor’s house!” She
screamed through the glass at Danny. Danny stepped out from the
driver’s side and came over to mine.
    “Julia, I can’t do that. I’d need a warrant and
the judge is not going to issue a warrant over something with no
evidence to back it up. Besides, if Taylor did take the painting,
and I’m not saying she did, she more than likely didn’t take it
back to her house darlin’. Now, go stand next to your mama.”

Jules did as she was told. I didn’t need to
look at her face to feel the tears of disappointment pouring down
her face. Danny removed me from the cruiser and I had to toss my
head back to get the hair out of my eyes to see my poor family
looking on at me in fear. I glanced at each one of them but
lingered with Jules before breaking my focus and catching Jesse
Thomas, or his angelic alter-ego, smiling at me in fraudulent pity.
He intelligently didn’t say a word.