Chapter 3

"... and I got my term paper back today. Guess what? I got an 'A'!" Cheryl was bubblier than usual, euphoric from her grade but she knew when someone wasn't listening. "Sean, I said I got an 'A'."

"Huh? Oh, yeah. Good for you Cheryl. I'm happy for you."

"Sean," this usually wasn't like him. He usually listened whenever they talk unless he was playing video games but this time he wasn't. "What's going on? All last week you seemed giddy and happy and this week you look like you just failed a final or something. Is something wrong?"

"No, well, yes. But I don't think you'll be able to help. It's just something I have to figure out on my own."

Cheryl was a little surprised by his reticent behavior; he usually could talk to her about anything. If he didn't want to talk to her about it then it was probably pretty serious. She checked her watch. Damnit, she had class to get to. "Look, Sean. I got class in ten minutes, I better get going. I'll be back at my place in an hour or two. If you want to talk about it then call me, okay?"

"It's pretty dark out, I'll walk you to your car."

When they got to the parking lot, Sean was glad he was walking his best friend to her car. He had an uneasy feeling as they walked through the poorly lit lot and it wasn't just from thinking about Elizabeth. If it were a mugger or a car jacker then maybe he had deterred him from harming Cheryl. He closed her door and watched her car leave. That uneasy feeling only grew stronger after her car had left. He was being watched. Three large shadows appeared from behind a car and headed for him. Sensing what was very likely to happen, Sean relaxed his mind and mentally loosened his muscles. The three walked up to him and soon had his exit blocked. No matter, he wasn't planning on running.

"We have a message for you from a mutual friend of ours."

Sean crouched a little and balanced on the balls of his feet. "It seems that you've been messing with our friend's girl. He says to leave her alone or expect another visit from us." As the large figure said this the three goons closed in. The two that didn't talk moved in first, going for his arms. Sean charged one, feinted a punch but instead kicked the knee while the attacker's guard was up. A sickening crunch was followed by a scream, which Sean silenced with an elbow to the throat. Putting his weight into it, Sean, grabbed the first one by his sweater and swung him around, easily done since he only had one good leg to balance on, into the second guy. Sean bolted for the third one, surprising him, and landed a solid kick to the chest, knocking him back several feet. He spun around quickly and raced back to the second who was still trying to untangle himself from his buddy. Number two never saw Sean coming until it was too late and was sprawled on the floor in half a second. The third guy stood his ground and warily looked at his comrades sprawled on the asphalt.

"Now, you have a choice," Sean said. "You can tell our mutual friend to go leave me and Elizabeth alone and leave here uninjured. Or, you can still try to deliver your message and still deliver my message with my particular handwriting sported in black and blue on your body. Balls in your court, bub. What's it gonna be?"

The large man stepped to the side and Sean calmly walked around him. He stopped and turned around. The large man stiffened and stared at Sean. Slowly, Sean reached into his breast pocket and the large man's eyes widened in fear. Sean pulled out his wallet and dropped four one hundred dollar bills on the floor. "For your friends."

When Sean left the parking lot he ran back up to his apartment and opened the door opposite his bedroom. He stood there for a moment deciding whether or not to bring what was in it. No, not yet. Hopefully not ever. He closed the door and locked it.

By the time Sean got back to the parking lot the three ruffians were gone, a small trail of blood the only token of them having been there. He hopped into his black '98 Corolla and sped off. Many things ran through his head while he drove and he wiped them from his mind, trying to focus on what lay ahead. He hoped he didn't arrive too late like last time. Sean first took a tour around Elizabeth's block, thankfully not finding the black Mercedes parked nearby. He quickly pulled into Elizabeth's driveway and ran up to her door. He rang the chime and waited. Out of the corner of his eye he saw the flutter of a curtain. Good, she was being cautious now. Hopefully she had cooled down enough from three nights ago to talk to him.

The door opened a crack, a chain hanging between door and jamb. "I thought I made it clear I didn't want to see you again."

"I can't altogether agree with that but right now that isn't an option, yours or mine. Charles is very likely on his way here as we speak. It's your choice whether you want to deal with a perceived threat or a real one. I came here as soon as I could after three of his goons tried roughing me up a bit. They didn't do a very good job of it. Can I please come in?"

The door closed on him, he heard the chain sliding from the latch, and the door opened again. She left it open and walked to the living room. Sean closed it behind him and slid the chain in place and locked the new deadbolt. "You want to talk? Talk," she said icily.

The cold tone in her voice had finally gotten on his nerves. Something about the way she stood and the way she looked had gotten to him. Damn stubborn women. "That's it. I've just about had it. I've been kicking myself around for the past three nights, trying to see where I screwed up. But now I just realized it's not me. You had no right to yell at me Saturday night and you know it. I understand that you must have been through hell with that asshole ex of yours so I'm willing to cut you some slack for it. But the last three nights have pretty much worn out my tolerance and my patience. You are not being very fair to me. Yes, I have a lot of money. So what? I thought you liked me for who I was, not what I am. I thought you were a person of values and would have learned from your past that money doesn't count towards character. Matter of fact, it was that that brought me to ask you out in the first place. I thought your view of me would not be tainted by the money. I find I direly miscalculated. I don't really care about my money; I hardly ever spend it. Nor do I think money makes me more privileged than others. Nor grants me any rights above others. I am not Charles, I am not a tyrant." Sean sighed and sat down on the white leather couch, his mind spinning. "I really like you 'Liz. From the moment you plopped down on the seat next to me you took my breath away, and not only from your looks. I looked in your eyes and what I saw was what I've been looking for, although I didn't know it at the time. You really hurt me last Saturday. I... I just needed to say that. If you don't want to be with me romantically then fine, that's your choice. Right now though I'm just concerned about a lovely woman who I've gotten to know over the past week who's in trouble." Sean got up from the couch. "If you need me my car's parked in your driveway where I'll be standing watch."