A/N:
This is the third installment of the October Rust saga. All stories can be read individually, but if you wanna start at the beginning, the stories are as follows:
October Rust
Loving you was like loving the dead
October looked up at Rosa as she came walking in with a light bounce in her steps. She was still only in her red thong, but that was to be expected with this line of work. They were strippers after all. Rosa had just finished on stage.
"Guess what," Rosa grinned.
"What?" October asked.
"The twins are here again," Rosa answered.
The twins. Jimmy and Jey Uso. They had their eyes on Rosa and October, and everyone at the club knew it. What the two men didn't know was that they were the sole reason October was there to begin with.
"Who do you want? Please, say Jimmy," Rosa sat down. "I think Jey is more for me. I love his cross tattoo on his arm."
"I like Jimmy," October said.
"Yes!" Rosa beamed. "Oh shit, you're up, girl. Go get them. Show them the fierce tigress you are."
October took a quick look in the mirror. She couldn't get used to those bright blue eyes even though she had worn the contacts for a month now. Her job usually allowed her to keep her piercing green eyes on display, but not this time. She needed those eyes to finish the look. She wore a baby blonde wig, currently put up in pigtails with red ribbons. Her outfit was always the same before she went out there. Catholic school girl. Portraying innocence. Innocence most men, especially Jimmy and Jey, wanted to be the first one to soil.
"Forgive her," the DJ spoke in the microphone. "For she knows not what she does."
The famous words he always said before she entered the stage. She always danced to the same song. "Christian Woman" by Type O Negative. Her eyes landed on Jimmy and Jey. She had their attention as always. They seemed to crave her so much.
Those two men weren't right in the head. They claimed to be men of God, yet they were regulars in a strip club. That didn't matter much. What mattered was that they seemed to think they had a say in what their God wanted and especially didn't want. They picked people they thought were sinners and killed them. There was no pattern behind their choosing. They just picked randomly, and she knew they had it out for Rosa. That was why she had targeted Rosa too.
She didn't like that she had to bring someone else into her work, but she couldn't find another way around it. Rosa was the key to these two men. Rosa had needed a roommate, and October had pretended to accidently meet Rosa in a bar. She had cried her heart out, giving her a sob story about an abusive ex that she needed to hide from. Rosa had taken her in, and sworn to never tell anyone that October was in her apartment.
Rosa had quickly gotten October a job at the club, and from there it had been easy. The owner happily paid her under the table, and he never asked to see any ID. Jimmy and Jey saw Rosa as a sinner, but they saw October as a saint. An innocent angel they needed to save from the harlot.
She did her thing as always, dancing slow, sensual and innocent. The twins never took their eyes off her. She finished in a little, white, lace thong. She gave them a sideways smile like a shy, little girl, and then walked backstage where Rosa had dressed in the meantime.
"You were amazing out there," Rosa said. "You were born to dance."
"Born to strip," October corrected Rosa with a giggle.
"I'm going out with some of the girls to check out this new club. They say it's super hot. Do you wanna come?" Rosa asked.
"No, I'm gonna go home and read that book you finished last week. You did tell me to read it," October answered.
It wasn't easy reading a book with gloves on, but October never took off the gloves in Rosa's apartment. She knew the time would come where she would have to move on, and she didn't leave any trace behind. The few items in her room wasn't even hers. Just things from second hand stores. Rosa didn't know October had her own place that no one knew about. She was half way through the book when the front door unlocked. From her room she could hear Rosa giggle and talk to someone.
"October!" Rosa called out. "Look who I brought home."
"Who did you pick up this time, you ho?" October joked.
She walked in and stopped in her tracks. Jimmy and Jey were there. That was not part of her plans.
"Look, it's Jimmy and Jey," Rosa said. "I met them at the club."
"Rosa, you're drunk. Go to bed," October said.
"But the party is just starting," Rosa said.
"Now!" October barked.
She wanted Rosa out of the way as fast as possible. Rosa didn't move, and then a shot fired. Rosa sank to the ground with a horrified look on her face. She held her hands over the left side of her stomach where the bullet had gone in. October saw the revolver in Jey's hand. Of course it had been him, the one that Rosa really liked.
"Call the cops!" Some neighbor shouted.
"Fuck!" Jey growled. "We need to go."
"You too, October. You need to come with us," Jimmy said.
The kick to his chest took him by surprise. Another kick was placed in Jey's chest. Both men scrambled towards the front door, not understanding why their innocent angel had just kicked them both. They should be mad. They should punish her for going against them and thereby going against the word of God, but they were too surprised.
"The cops are on their way!" The same neighbor shouted.
"Go! Go! Go!" Jey pushed Jimmy out.
October grabbed a cardigan Rosa had left hanging over the couch the night before, and pressed it down on Rosa's wound. She grabbed Rosa's hands, and placed them over the cardigan.
"Press down on it. Help is on the way," she said.
"Don't leave me!" Rosa begged.
"I have to," October said.
She had never thought this would be so hard. This was why she didn't get involved with anyone. Getting involved meant feelings. She had tried to keep her distance to Rosa, but it hadn't worked. Rosa was too much of a social butterfly to leave October alone. Rosa was probably the first person in many years that October could call a friend.
"You'll live, Rosa. I promise," October said. "And what I'm about to tell you right now will sound crazy, but it's important. When help arrives, you live here alone. You brought the twins here, and they shot you and ran away. I'm not part of this story. Say it, Rosa!"
"You're not part of this story," Rosa said. "Damn it! I always knew something wasn't right with you, but that didn't stop me from loving you."
"I love you too, Rosa, and if you knew the real me, you'd know that makes you pretty fucking special," October said.
She ran out of the apartment, leaving a crying Rosa behind. Her first friend since she was a kid, and she would never see Rosa again. That hurt. Jimmy and Jey had to pay, and they had to pay tonight.
She drove to her safe house to get changed. She pulled the blonde wig off, and placed it on its rightful place in her room with all her work gear. The blue contacts went next, and then she changed into black clothes to blend in with the night a bit better. She took a look in the mirror, seeing the woman she truly was. Short, black hair and piercing green eyes. The twins were in for a surprise.
She went back to her car, and drove for 30 minutes. The twins owned a mansion on the edge of town with no nosy neighbors around. She parked the car as close as she could without them seeing the car lights. She took the items she needed before exiting the car. She took one of her many burner phones and called Jey as she walked towards the house.
"Hello?" He asked.
"It's October," she said.
"How do you have my number?" He asked.
"That's not what you should be asking," she said. "What you should be asking is how much time you have left to live. Two minutes? Five minutes? An hour maybe?"
"She threatens to kill us," he said to Jimmy.
Both men started laughing like hyenas.
"Good one!" Jimmy laughed.
"How are you gonna do it?" Jey asked. "You don't even know where we are."
"At home. I can see the lights are on," she said.
"You can see...?" His voice died down.
"What's going on?" Jimmy asked.
"Hey Jey!" She growled.
"What?" He asked.
"Knock knock," she said.
Jimmy and Jey jumped in surprise as their front door slammed.
"She's here," Jey whispered.
"How the fuck does she know where we live?" Jimmy asked.
"How the fuck should I know?" Jey snarled.
"She's a sinner. We should have seen her for what she truly is," Jimmy said.
"Up to the attic," Jey said. "Let's make this an easy round."
Finding her way through the mansion was easy. She had been there many times before without their knowledge. They were so convinced that they were men of God that they thought they were untouchable. She had broken in many times, getting to know the mansion inside out, finding their playroom in the attic. The room was huge. It was filled with boxes and stored away items along with their toys. It was only fitting they saw their own ending up there as well.
"Is she here yet? Where is she?" Jimmy whispered.
"Shut the fuck up!" Jey whispered.
They really weren't all too bright. She could hear them despite whispering.
"Take the other side. Hide well and get her," Jey said.
She followed from her spot in the darkness where they went. There was little light in the attic, and she already knew before going up there how to roam around without being seen. Jimmy went behind some stacked up boxes. He had his revolver out, just like Jey had his out. They were old school when it came to that. Classic revolvers, six rounds in each. Jey had fired one round into Rosa. That was important to remember.
She unscrewed the lid of the ether, and poured some of it over the cloth in her hand. She silently sat the bottle down, and moved towards Jimmy. She placed a kick to the back of his knees, and he dropped down. She placed her left arm around his throat, holding him in place while placing the cloth over his mouth and nose.
"Jimmy!" Jey called out. "What's going on? Why are you making noises?"
Jimmy was out. He was still on his knees, being held up by her.
"Jimmy! Talk to me, damn it!" Jey barked.
"Jey!" She singsonged.
"You're here?" He asked. "Where's Jimmy?"
"Would you suffer eternally or internally?" She asked.
"What?" He asked.
Somewhere in the back of his mind those words clicked. He had heard them many times. Everytime she was on stage.
"Oh, I get it," he said. "You're quoting that song you dance to. You're nothing but a whore, October!"
"That's not even my favorite part of the song. Do you wanna know what is?" She asked.
"What?" He barked.
She used all her strength to pull Jimmy up on his feet. She pushed him through the boxes in the direction of Jey's voice. Jey fired his revolver fast. She counted the shots. One, two, three, four, five.
"Jimmy? Oh my god, no!" Jey cried.
She stepped out in front of Jimmy's fallen body with a smile on her face.
"A dying God-man full of pain," she said. "That's my favorite part of the song. And that man is you."
"Fuck you, bitch!" He said.
He raised his revolver, but she laughed in return. She squatted down to take Jimmy's revolver. Jey pulled the trigger, but his revolver clicked.
"No! I got one left," he said.
"No, you left the last one in Rosa, remember?" She said. "You're a lousy shooter, by the way. Even so close to her, and she's still alive. It took five bullets to take your own brother down. Not like me. I shoot to kill."
She fired one bullet that went straight into his heart. He sank to the ground right away. She placed the gun back in Jimmy's hand. She took a look around, and nodded. It had been more messy than usual and most certainly not the way she had planned it, but she had gotten the job done.
Rosa would need surgery to get the bullet removed, and that was the only reason October had time to pull this off. Once the cops had taken Rosa's statement, they would come searching for the twins. They would find them up here. It would look like they had killed each other. No one would even look for traces of ether in Jimmy. The story would probably end up with Jimmy being angry at Jey for shooting Rosa, and it had ended with them going head to head in the attic.
If the cops took their investigation into the club, everyone would tell them that the twins had a fascination with Rosa. No one there knew they wanted to kill her. It would look like jealousy. Rosa chose Jimmy, so Jey shot her. October picked up the cloth and the bottle of ether.
"One last time, gentlemen. Say it with me," she looked at the corpses. "Forgive her, for she knows not what she does."
October could only hope her name would be held out of it, but if it didn't, at least she wouldn't be found. They would look for a blonde, blue eyed woman that didn't exist. No one in the club knew she actually lived with Rosa. Rosa wasn't allowed to rent to others. That combined with the lie about October's ex had made Rosa keep it a secret. October had always paid Rosa in cash, so there was no paper trail to follow. October Rust didn't exist.