"Oh, here comes a car guys," I say. Nev and Artis turn to look and we are momentarily silent as it approaches. We know very little about this Jess girl, our research has gotten us barely anywhere. All we know is that the pictures she used aren't hers and she doesn't live where she said she did. Artis is incredibly nervous; I can see him sweating as we sit here.
"Oh no," Nev breathes. As the car draws nearer we can see enough through the front windshield to tell that the person behind the wheel isn't Jess. It's obviously a man. Artis lets out a string of curse words and I shift closer to Nev. Jess had spoken about having a jealous boyfriend and I don't want anyone to get hurt today, least of all Nev.
The man gets out of his car and walks up. Nev picks up his crutches and stands to meet him. He's so fragile right now, one leg in a cast and exhausted from the work and the pain meds and I'm scared for him.
My concern only grows as the man begins ominously slow-clapping, who knew you could ominously slow-clap? mybrain supplies in hysteria as he steps in front of Artis.
"Hey man, you want to chill out a second?" Nev says, moving to support Artis. Not-Jess is glaring at the poor kid and he looks confused as fuck. Not-Jess holds out a hand and has the audacity to shush Nev and I can feel my fingers clench around my camera.
"Excuse me," Nev continues, reaching out to gently hold back Not-Jess' arm.
"Don't touch me," Not-Jess warns, turning his head to look at Nev for the first time.
"You better back up, man," says Nev. Not-Jess does no such thing and repeats his command, taking another step towards Artis.
"What the fuck is this?" Artis demands, finally getting to his feet.
"We're talking, him and I are talking," growls Not-Jess. He points at Artis and he's so close to him, I swear they're almost touching. Probably would be if Nev wasn't standing there, haphazardly balanced on his crutches as his arm restrains Not-Jess' chest, separating the two online-daters.
At that point, I honestly tune out the shit that comes out of Not-Jess' mouth. My attention is focused on Nev's hand as it pushes the aggressor back and on his whole, thin figure standing between him and the desired target. I am focused on the way Nev's voice, usually so strong, shakes as he tries to talk the man down. I am genuinely terrified. There are at least five people with cameras standing around and filming the encounter but somehow I get the idea that this won't even make Not-Jess pause.
Not-Jess is entirely uninterested in Nev's urgings for calm. Nev has gotten him to back up a few feet and I take a few steps closer as well, prepared to back Nev up. Prepared to protect him.
"You're being unreasonable," Nev is saying. "You've come here with a lot of attitude; I'm just asking you to take it down a couple notches."
"Hey, by the way," Not-Jess sneers back, "a lot of attitude last night, thanks a lot, really felt it too, you and I, got to know you better, I loved it!" Despite his rant, he only spares Nev a cursory glance; his eyes are focused on Artis through the whole soliloquy. "But tell you what," he continues, stepping around Nev, "we can do that later. He and I are going to talk."
Things get a little hazy for me after that. I match Nev's every motion, step for step, keeping within a foot of him as he manages to keep himself between Not-Jess and Artis. I have one hand on the camera and the other in my pocket, fist clenched, prepared to intervene at any moment. I'm afraid to speak; afraid I'll make things worse. I'm known to be brash and the last thing I want to do is to make a move that would get Nev hurt.
I manage to ask Artis if he knows the man and Nev gets a confirmation from him that Not-Jess is, in fact, Jess. Eventually, Artis storms away in a whirl of swears and confusion, leaving Nev and I with the maniac.
Nev handles the encounter much better than I do. He keeps his head, keeps control of the conversation, trying to piece together as much of this "Jess" as he can. The man reveals himself to be really named Justin and claims to be some kind of vigilante, providing retribution to men who date girls online while they have a family.
Throughout the whole thing I stay close to Nev and he leans his weight towards me. We are seeking not only protection from each other, but answers. This shit is fucked up. Probably the most fucked up we've seen.
The shit Justin spews gets more and more ridiculous and Nev excuses himself to check on Artis. "I leave you in good hands," he says, looking at me.
"I don't want to fucking talk to him!" I exclaim. Nev turns back, apology in his eyes, but continues walking. As I watch him struggle with his crutches I am again reminded of how physically compromised he is right now. How unable he is to hold his own in a fight. I shut up and shift back towards Justin. I'd rather he fight me than Nev any day, but especially today.
I can tell the camera crew is shaken up too and they agree to film our responses in the morning. Everyone is silent in the elevator, quietly trying to make sense out of what the fuck happened today.
Nev hobbles into the room first, heading to the window. I put my camera down and am about to sit on the bed when Nev slams his fist into the glass. It doesn't break, thank god, and the noise it makes is mostly covered up by Nev's cursing.
"Nev," I murmur. When he turns around, his eyes are wide and the anxiety of the day is clearly evident. He allows me to approach slowly and wrap my arms around him. His crutches drop as he returns the embrace eagerly.
"Come on Nev," I whisper, "let's lie down. It's all right, it's over now."
I get him to lie back on the bed next to me and pull him to my chest. I can feel his breath against my neck coming out in gasps and he's shuttering against me.
"Fuck, Max," he trembles. I feel his arms tighten around me and I tighten mine in return.
"I know, love, I know."
We are quiet for a while, both listening to Nev's breathing even out. His eyelids begin to droop as the adrenaline from today's adventure fades and I carefully take his glasses off him, placing them on the side table next to me.
"That fucker was almost as angry as your brother that one time we ran out of vodka," I comment finally.
Nev huffs out a laugh in surprise and snuggles himself closer to my body. I can feel his lips press against my neck and I run a hand gently through his hair.
"Rel does love his vodka," he hums, his voice low and raspy.
"I love you."
He props himself up on one arm to press his lips to mine before settling back into me. And just like that, both fully clothed and holding each other close, we fade off to sleep.
Tomorrow we'll have to meet with that asshole again and we'll have to find a way to help Artis make sense of this. But tonight, it's him and me, together, in love and safe. As it should be.