"I'll protect you, don't be scared
No matter what, I will be there
I'll be gentle, I'll be light
These are the words you whispered in the night"
~Here I Am - Marion Raven~
Laura had given it a week for Connor to cool off, then headed over to the twin's apartment to talk to him, and to apologize. She hesitated as she stood in front of the door, momentarily wondering if her impulse to confront her friend was a good one. Gathering her courage, she knocked on the door, the impact echoing loudly in the empty hallway. She fussed with her clothes while she waited, nausea growing in the pit of her stomach. Laura counted to ten, hands shaking nervously as she smoothed a wrinkle from her shirt, listening for any noises behind the door. She could hear foot steps, muffled voices drawing nearer, and quite suddenly the door opened, only a crack, bringing her face to face with Connor.
"Uh, hi." She smiled awkwardly at up him, concealing the tremor in her voice.
"Laura." He acknowledged, expression blank. They stood facing each other in the doorway, neither speaking for a beat. Connor didn't open the door any wider, and didn't offer anything further to the conversation. The quiet grew oppressive, and Laura dropped her gaze as his eyes bored into her. She clenched then unclenched her fists a few times, trying to stifle the anxiety she felt, an action that didn't go unnoticed by Connor.
"Um, can … can I come in?"
Laura faltered as he stood staring at her, saying nothing. She couldn't see what was going on behind his eyes, couldn't determine his mood or thoughts. She was about to ask again when he nodded in response, and held the door open for her, moving aside so she could come into the apartment. She smiled toward Murphy who was in the kitchen, leaning against the sink with a beer in his hand. He nodded back, a smile on his face while he took a drink.
"What did you want?"
Connor's abrupt question took Laura by surprise, and she turned to look at the Irishman. "I, er, I'm sorry?" It wasn't an apology. He didn't reply, reading her expression with mute derision. She shivered, and tried again. "Look, Connor…" She ran a hand through her hair, pulling back a loose strand from her face. "I… I didn't really come here to confront you about anything. I wanted to say… that is… I know that I've upset you, and, I didn't mean to, really."
He nodded slightly, waiting for her to continue without a word. She cleared her throat, unnerved by his calm, but somewhat offended by his determination to remain mute. "So you're not even going to talk to me?"
Connor leant back against the wall and shrugged, pulling out a cigarette at the same time. "Depends on what ye have ta say." He lit it and took a drag. Murphy rolled his eyes, but didn't intervene.
"What?" She crossed her arms, a scowl on her face. "Don't play with me."
He raised an eyebrow, flicking the ash from the end of his cigarette. "I'm listenin'."
She shook her head. "You don't care what I have to say! You've made your mind up about all of this already. I really was trying to help you, even if you don't believe me."
"An' how d'ye know that I don't believe ye?" His response was just as cool and composed as the rest of his previous replies, and Laura resisted the urge to reach across and hit him.
"You're being a fucking idiot here Connor! I mean, I know that you're all hung up on this great romance you had, but, c'mon, it wasn't even all that much to begin with!" He raised an eyebrow, jaw clenching slightly. Laura didn't notice, so focused on her tirade. She pressed on, "I would understand if it was with some person who was totally awesome for you, but, Arlene… she wasn't that good of a person to begin with."
"Don't fuckin' talk about Arlene." He spat, and one look at him caused Laura to back down, knowing she had crossed the line.
There was an awkward silence where Laura looked at her feet while Connor fumed. Taking in a deep breath, Laura said, "Okay, okay. Sorry. I won't talk about her." She paused as Connor turned to walk into the kitchen, but continued with her train of thought before she could register what she was saying. "But that doesn't change what she is."
"Laura!" He wheeled around, and she recoiled from the expression of rage on his face genuinely afraid of his vehemence. He took a deep breath, and calmed himself down to a degree. When he next spoke, every word was punctuated by his anger. "You don't get to fuckin' talk about it."
She simply nodded, eyes wide. Looking over his shoulder, her eyes locked with Murphy, only to find that he was just as surprised with Connor's behaviour as she was. "S-sorry. I didn't know it bothered you that much."
"It does." Connor's eyes narrowed. "Now, unless ye've got somethin' else ta say, I suggest ye get the fuck out."
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Well. That could've gone better. Laura stood in the hallway, looking at the door that had just slammed in her face. Cursing Connor, she stalked down the hall, nearly running down the stairs to the street. And Murphy! Look at what a use he had been! She shook her head. There she had been, arguing with Connor, trying to get him to see reason, all the while Murphy looked helplessly between them, not wanting to side with either of them. But she knew that when it came to it, Murphy had to choose his brother over his friend – and blood was thicker than water. They were twins.
Still doesn't change the fact that out of the two of us, I'm the one who's actually making sense right now… Though I suppose I shouldn't be quite so hard on him. I did just kinda beat up his ex girlfriend. Emphasis on ex. Laura sighed, wrenching the lock off of her bicycle and shoving it into her bag. What a week. At least it's Monday tomorrow… Hopping on her bike, she left their neighbourhood behind her.
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So, she immersed herself in her work, barely pausing from her frantic pace to keep up with what her other friends were doing. She had never been a workaholic in the past, but it felt so natural for her push herself through her work, doing more in a few weeks than she had in months previous, leaving her boss confused and somewhat frightened. Occasionally, she'd get phone calls from her friends, sometimes Sue, sometimes Allie, asking her to come out to a club to party, or to come see a movie, or even to get drinks. Every time she'd politely decline, claiming headache, or flu, or family event just to avoid them. And she didn't even know why.
Sue was easy enough to deal with when she called. Laura had met her through her first friend she had met in Boston, Allie, at a club shortly after meeting the twins. She was a nice enough girl, but a bit on the ditsy side, and painfully naïve. Sue would call, nearly like clockwork, distraught, crying over some man who had been her life who had broken up with her. Laura would listen to her friend's grievances, making considerate noise at her plight in places, offering to hurt the offending male in others. She knew that if Sue had really wanted advice, she would have turned to Allie, because of the three of them, Allie was the most patient, and the best at giving advice. Laura knew that Sue knew that too. At the end of every conversation, Sue would claim to feel much better, and that she never really needed 'that fucker' anyway, then ask Laura to come and spend time with her. As always, she'd decline, saying that she had work, and that they'd have to catch up next time. Sue didn't seem to notice how far next time was being pushed off to, and Laura didn't feel inclined to tell her.
Allie was a bit harder for Laura. Posh and refined, Allie came from one of the upper class families that had settled in Boston after moving from England, renouncing the Crown during the War for Independence. A product of her environment, she was a good person to be seen with, and as her mother had been plucked out from a poor family by Allie's father, Allie had inherited an almost unheard of amount of compassion and understanding. Laura loved the girl to death, she was her best friend in Boston, but she was more persistent than a starved dog after a bone. She'd call, claiming not to want anything at first, then would beg Laura to come with her to some place because she had been "invited last minute" and "couldn't possibly go alone, that's just not done!" Laura would roll her eyes, suggesting Sue, pointing out that she had work in the morning, saying that she had a headache, or something else she had to attend to. Each and every passing conversation, the excuses were becoming more and more wild, and Allie was growing more and more sceptical. One day Allie had called, in a panic, Laura had tried out an extremely far fetched excuse as a last defence, and she could practically feel Allie's look through the phone.
"This is about those Irish twins, isn't it?"
"What?" Laura fought to keep the tremor from her voice as she spoke. "I don't know what you're talking about."
"Oh fuck off Laura!" Came the scathing reply. "Look, if you want to spend time with them instead of us, you should just fucking tell us! Don't lie to us! We're your friends. That should mean something to you!" Before Laura could reply, she heard the slam of the phone on the other end of the line, and was left with a dial tone, feeling like a lead weight had been dropped into her stomach.
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Every now and again she'd check in with Murphy, calling about once a week, almost as predictable as clockwork, just to see how things were going. She never asked to talk to Connor, feeling butterflies jumping in her stomach whenever Murphy mentioned his name. Instead, she'd only ask how he was doing, if he was eating, how things were going in general.
The two of them often just talked about nothing important, and for those brief phone calls, Laura laughed more than she did for the rest of the week. She never asked, but they both knew that these calls were also to see if Arlene had shown up again. The blonde seemed to have disappeared out of Boston, which Laura was thankful for, terrified of the answer every time that Murphy paused before responding.
He kept asking for her to come around, come spend some time with them at the apartment, or even come out with them, but she would always decline. She knew, they both knew, that Connor was still angry with her, so she never gave into her desire to visit, going so far as to stay out of McGinty's in order to avoid the twins. She wouldn't admit how frequently she was calling them, no more than she would admit to missing being around either of them. She hadn't needed them before coming to Boston, so there was no reason to be so hung up on either of them, especially not if Connor was going to be a stupid ass. She also wasn't going to admit that those calls were sometimes the only thing that kept her going through the week, or that she would wonder what they were doing while she was forcing herself through the motions of her job to distract her mind from what she would find herself thinking about – which wasn't really working. No, at the end of the day, it didn't matter what they were doing, because it wasn't anything that concerned her. Even if she all she really wanted was to be a part of their lives again.
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Murphy hated the situation he found himself in. He could stick with Connor, his twin, his brother, even though he was being a complete idiot. Or he could side with Laura, his friend, who had a rational answer for the whole situation, who may or may not be in love with his brother. Picking up his beer, he sighed, eyes sliding over to Connor who was slouched in front of the tv. Laura was right about one thing – that girl had been bad news from the beginning.
Speaking of Laura, "Hey, Conn?"
He got a muffled grunt in reply.
"Did anyone call the cell today?"
"Nah. It was quiet." Connor turned his bloodshot eyes to look at Murphy. "Why?"
"Oh, it's jus' that, well, Laura-"
"I don't wanna hear about fuckin' Laura." Connor resolutely turned away, again distracting himself with the television.
Murphy sighed. "Conn, she's our friend. An' it's been a week. She usually calls ta at least check up on you-"
"She's been checkin' up on me?" Murphy couldn't tell if Connor was angry or surprised.
"Aye… ever since Arlene left."
Connor turned away. "She didn't fuckin' need ta."
"But she wanted ta. Because she's yer friend as much as mine." Murphy stressed.
"I don't wanna hear about fuckin' Laura." That ended the conversation.
~^|*|^~/\~^|*|^~
Laura had noticed that not long after her visit to Connor she had felt an eerie feeling on her way home, a prickling on her neck that made her shiver even though it was a very warm July. She had brushed it off as nerves, and kept moving. It had disappeared once she had gone home, but every time since then when she had stepped out of her apartment, she had gotten that same creepy feeling. After about a week, she had gotten used to it, and completely ignored the feeling, figuring she was just worried about Connor. But, every now and then, out of the corners of her eyes, she could swear that there were men dressed in black, only to be gone when she turned to look. She could almost hear a second set of footsteps following her in the alleyway when she walked alone through the shortcuts she had learned off by heart, she could almost catch whispered words coming from behind her, echoing against the buildings around her.
After a little while (at Murphy's insistence) Laura walked the familiar stairs up to their apartment, knocking against the familiar door. The smile that Murphy had given her had been worth the anxiety of showing up.
"Hi… Mind if I come in?" She smiled faintly.
"O'course ye can come in!" His response was boisterous, and Laura had the feeling that Connor had been getting worse.
"What the fuck is she doin' here?"
Speak of the devil… Laura cringed at the tone of the voice; cold, bitter, and perhaps even confused. "H-hello Connor."
"She came because I wanted her ta. What's yer problem Connor?" The twins glared at each other, and Connor backed down first, leaving the room instead of replying.
Murphy turned to look at the shaking Laura. "Don't mind him… he's just in a mood."
"I – I think I should go…" She blinked furiously to keep tears from her eyes.
"What? Ye just fuckin' got here!" Murphy protested.
"I just remembered that I had something to do… really important." She threw a fake smile over to him, and quickly left the apartment.
~^|*|^~/\~^|*|^~
A few days later, Murphy had again coaxed her to come visit the apartment, so, she dutifully walked up the stairs and stood in front of the door, hesitating before knocking. I could always call from a pay phone, claim that something came up… But as the door opened, she knew it was too late to back out, so she might as well dive in. Smiling cheerfully, she prepared to greet Murphy… only to find that it was Connor at the door.
"Uh, er, hi Connor…" She trailed off awkwardly, not sure what to say.
Instead of the hostile reply she was expecting, Connor gave her a small smile, gone almost as soon as it appeared. "Hullo Laura." His greeting was terse, but sounded somewhat upset.
"Connor…" She was frantically searching her mind for something to say, but Connor cut her off.
"I'm sorry fer being such a prick Laura."
She stood dumbfounded. "Pardon?"
He rolled his eyes, grumbling. "Yer not gonna get the apology twice."
"O-okay. I just didn't think I heard right." Laura moved from the door, wanting to get out of the situation, and feeling somewhat insulted. "Jesus, even when you're apologizing you've got your head in your ass." She left without another word.
Behind the door, Murphy sighed, punching his brother's arm.
Connor hit him back. "Oh, fuck off Murphy. At least I tried; she's the one being a bitch."
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About a week later found Laura sitting between the McManus twins at McGuinty's, having formed an uneasy truce with Connor for the time-being. So long as neither of them spoke of Arlene, they could talk. However, the minute the topic of the blonde girl was brought up, Connor would leave, a dark expression on his face.
At this very moment, Arlene was the furthest she had ever been from Laura's mind. Ever since she started visiting the twins again, the feeling that she was being followed had intensified, making it hard for her to sleep, and she became rather jumpy as a result.
Connor slid into the seat beside her, making Laura flinch, and he looked at her strangely. "Didn't think that we were doin' that bad…"
"N-no, I'm just, uh, cold." She invented quickly.
"Why didn't ye say so? Here, let me help…" He rubbed his hands against her upper arms, making warmth spread through her body. She could feel a flush on her cheeks, and she ducked her head.
"Thanks." She whispered to the ground, and Connor muttered an equally soft 'welcome', taking a drink of his beer.
That evening, she walked halfway home with the twins, pausing the say goodbye to them when she reached their block.
"Are ye sure ye don't want us ta come with ye Laura? Wouldn't be a trouble." Murphy offered, and Connor nodded in agreement, adding his opinion to Murphy's, "It's a bit dark, we wouldn't hold it against ye if ye wanted the company."
She laughed. "No, no, it's fine. I'll call you guys tomorrow, we need to figure out that movie thing you were telling me about."
Connor laughed. "Ye seriously want ta see it?" He shook his head, smiling. "Alright then… See ye later."
"Bye!" She called behind her as she walked away down the street, disappearing into a darkened alley out from the bright street lights.
"D'ye think she'll be alright?" Connor asked to Murphy.
"She'll be fine. She's walked home at night loads of times before." Murphy started to walk up the stairs while Connor looked at the spot where Laura used to be.
"Still… I have a feeling that something's not right…" He muttered to himself, before turning to follow his twin up to their apartment. Perhaps if he had been looking for just a moment longer, he would have been able to see the dark figures following the path Laura took into the alley.
Usually, Laura liked the quiet solitude that walking home provided her. Right now, she was wondering why the hell she didn't agree to have the twins walk her home. She shivered against the cool July air, listening with all her power for any noises near her. Not hearing anything suspicious, she began to relax, until she realized that there was a slight echo to her footsteps. She stopped dead, and a few moments later, so did the foot steps. She gulped, and started to walk faster, wishing that she had taken her bike with her. Ahead of her, she could make out a dark figure at the mouth of the alley, and her eyes widened in fear. However, the figure soon disappeared, and she quickly rushed out, not seeing the shadowy form against the wall.
Even under the street lights walking on the sidewalk, Laura couldn't shake the uneasy feeling, worse tonight than it had been any night before. Hearing a sound behind her, she turned, and saw a man in dark clothing walking behind her, then turn off onto a side street. Heart pounding in her chest, she forced herself to swallow around the lump in her throat. She turned back around and kept walking, legs shaking, breathing quickly. Laura looked down the road, checking if there were any more men dressed in black lurking about, but couldn't see a single person, something that didn't afford her any comfort.
The footsteps behind her grew louder, faster, and she let out a startled exclamation, moving her legs as fast as she could before running. Every now and then she'd risk a look over her shoulder, but wasn't able to see anything concrete in the few seconds she'd glance away from her path. Laura felt her eyes burning, and tried vainly to control her breathing. She felt a fiery pain in her left side, and she grimaced, her legs starting to feel like rubber. Angrily, she forced herself to keep moving, recognizing the street signs, knowing that she was only a few blocks away from her apartment.
Finally, she caught sight of her apartment building, and abandoning any sense of pride or dignity, Laura ran to the door of the building, and raced up the stairs; nerveless, trembling fingers pulling out her keys, and she didn't stop to breathe until her door was firmly shut and locked behind her. Only then did she slump to the ground, hysterical tears falling down her face as the adrenaline pumped through her veins like acid. Somehow, she made it to her bed, and collapsed, curling into a tiny ball, wishing in vain that someone was here to comfort her.
~^|*|^~/\~^|*|^~
In the light of morning, Laura felt much better. Her grey cat, Raja, had joined her in the night and had curled up on her chest. With a smile, she pushed him off, and got up, fixing herself a breakfast of toast with butter and jam. The light on her answering machine was lit up, so she pressed the button, holding onto her slice of toast with her mouth.
"You have… one, unheard voice message. First message: 'If you value your life, remove yourself from the life of McManus twins. You have been warned.' Sent…" The rest of the machine's programming past by her in a blur. The gravelly voice on the recording was unemotional, uncaring, unfeeling. She felt a shudder go through her as the recalled the unrecognizable man's words. A death threat? What the fuck is going on? She dropped her half eaten toast on the counter, no longer feeling hungry. Raja mewled impatiently on the floor for his breakfast, but Laura walked past the animal, face blank and impassive.
Sitting down on a chair near the counter, she nearly jumped out of her skin when the phone rang. Almost hyperventilating, she looked as it sounded again, not sure if she dared to pick it up. Her trembling hand reached out and grabbed the phone, bringing it to her ear. "Hello?"
"Laura! We were wonderin' what had happened ta ye, it's already past noon." Murphy's cheery voice greeted her, and she sighed in relief.
"Oh, I'm sorry." She smiled at the sound of the familiar voice. "I was really tired, only got up about an hour ago." Laura felt the tension leave her when he chuckled, temporarily forgetting her chilling discovery.
"Alright. Are ye comin' over ta see the film?" She could make out sounds in the background. "What was tha' Conn?" Laura giggled as she could make out his voice, shouting at his brother. "No! Rambo!" She laughed even harder as she realized that they were arguing over what movie to watch.
"Look, look, Murphy, why don't we argue over this once I get there, alright? Do you want me to grab some popcorn or something?"
"Huh?" Came the bewildered question as Murphy was forced to focus on the phone conversation again.
She laughed. "Well, you've got the beer; I figure that I should get the popcorn. It's only fair."
He shrugged, and she could hear that he had put a cigarette in his mouth. "Alright, I'd think that pizza's more ta the point, but, whatever. Do what ye want."
Laura grinned. "Sure. I'll be there soon."
~^|*|^~/\~^|*|^~
That night, as she was leaving the twins apartment, Laura felt completely at ease. But as she walked alone through the side streets and alleyways that she had made her path, an increasing sense of dread crept over her. The footsteps sounded loudly in her ears, and her heart began hammering in her chest as she could hear whispered conversation from behind her. And she could swear that they were getting closer.
Certain words were louder than others, she strained to make out what was being said, so morbidly curious she was with what was chasing her. She even slowed slightly, completely unaware of what she was doing in her fascination. Up until the voices stopped, and the footsteps stopped entirely. The silence around her was eerie, and she looked side to side, suddenly aware that she had accidentally turned down a no exit alley.
Gulping, she turned around, only to find that her way was clear, and that there wasn't a soul in sight. Not sure of what to do, she eased herself to the exit of the alley, stepping around piles of garbage and back into the light from the street. Still, there was no one in sight. Confused, Laura left the alley, and continued on her way to her apartment. Shortly after that, the footsteps started again and she shivered, now perfectly aware of how closely they watched her, and how well they knew her route.
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Laura jolted awake in the middle of the night. Again came the banging on her door. She pulled her blankets closer to her, not sure if she should get up and see who it was, or just stay put. Looking over at the clock, she could see it was three in the morning, and she groaned to herself. She had finally been getting some sleep when this started. She heard the banging come again, so she pulled herself out of bed, moving slowly to the door of her apartment. By the time she reached the door, the banging had stopped, but she looked out into the hall through her peephole anyway. A barren corridor was all she could see, lit only by the street lights that glared through the window at the far end of the hall. She looked side to side, but could see nothing, no one.
Unnerved, she moved back to her bed, holding her arms around herself. Raja hopped up on the bed, and butted her arm for attention. As in habit, she pet the fluffy cat, mind reeling. This was now the third night in a row that this had happened. It had been over a week since the phone call, and nearly three weeks since her fight with Connor. Thinking back to the phone call – still saved on her answering machine – Laura wondered if perhaps it would be in her best interests to stay away from the twins. She dismissed that idea as quickly as it came to her head. No, no shadowy people could make her fear going to see her friends. Though, maybe I should tell Connor, or Murphy… She shook her head. No need to bother them. She could handle this on her own.
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In the morning, on a whim after fixing Raja's breakfast, Laura looked out of her kitchen window down into the alley below. She choked back a yell when she saw a man dressed in a black suit watching her windows from below. Hand over her mouth, she felt the stirrings of panic threatening to overtake her. Moving back from the window, she collapsed onto one of chairs at her table, disbelief on her features. No, no this isn't right. This isn't happening. She shook her head.
The phone rang.
Laura jumped nearly a foot in the air, swivelling to stare at the black machine. It rang again, continuing as if nothing was amiss. She swallowed, wondering when exactly it was that she became afraid to answer her own telephone. Tentatively, she reached out, and picked up, bringing the cradle to her ear as if it would burn her.
"You were warned." Spoke the gravelly voice, and then it disconnected, leaving Laura with a shrill beeping in her ear.
With growing trepidation, Laura continued through her daily routine, aware at every turn of the men dressed in black suits that haunted her every step. Sitting at the counter at the bookstore, she could see one with sunglasses lurking beside a light post, and another wearing a black fedora at the edge of an alley. She felt a shiver go through her while she rung up a customer, distracted and distant in biding the man a good day.
Heading home, she heard the familiar footsteps behind her, and moved faster to avoid any contact with the men who followed her. She heard a chuckle, and cursed to herself as the footsteps sped up with her, keeping her pace perfectly, but never being visible. Somehow that was worse.
When she saw her apartment building, Laura could have wept with relief. Dashing inside, she raced up the stairs to her floor, quickly turning the corner and heading down the hallway.
But something was amiss. The door to her apartment was sitting slightly ajar. She froze in the hallway. I - I know I locked it this morning. Heart hammering in her chest, she gently pushed open the door to her apartment, eyes drinking in the impossible scene before her. Lit only by the dim lights from the hall, her apartment looked a shambles; things thrown from shelves across the room, her lamp thrown on the floor, the coffee table broken in two, curtains ripped off the walls and in general, the living room in chaos. Her jaw dropped. She could hear a faint buzzing, an unusual noise that she couldn't place the source of. Hand reaching out to flick on the light switch, she drew back as if burnt when her fingers touched something sticky and wet on the wall. Lifting her fingers to her nose, she hesitantly smelled, and was relieved to find it was only paint.
With a finger, she flicked on the light, and was horrified to find that the destruction didn't end with the chaos of her possessions on the floor. Over every wall, scrawled in many colours of paint, were insults, taunts, warnings, and other disgusting epitaphs. Arrows smeared across the walls pointed to the kitchen, and Laura was hesitant to follow them. The buzzing noise grew in volume every step she took closer to the kitchen. But she had no choice but to go into the room, her curiosity demanded it; what she saw in there was something that she wished that she never had to see. The minute she looked into the room, she recoiled in a mixture of disgust, sorrow and pain, hand cupped over her mouth as she retched, running to the bathroom.
Laura tried to compose herself, but every time she closed her eyes, she could see the image etched behind her eyes; the brilliant red on the floor, the grey matted fur, she could even smell the decay and rot. With a shudder, she drew herself up. She couldn't leave him like that. She had to deal with this mess. Then she'd deal with those men.
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She didn't get much sleep that night, and Laura was relieved when the dawn broke across the city. Sunday morning had never been more welcome. Her eyes felt heavy and tight, like she hadn't slept in weeks, and her throat was sore from crying. The cleanup had taken most of the night. The paint still spelt out lewd and frightening promises, but the general chaos had been contained into one section of the living room. Sitting down on one of her chairs, Laura looked over her apartment, feeling completely spent.
What's worse is that I'm supposed to be with the twins tonight… She closed her eyes, body drooping in exhaustion. I could just tell them that I can't make it… but… Her thoughts drifted over to Connor. No, I can't. I said I'd come already, I can't just back out. She sighed, looking at the clock. I should make some breakfast…
Later that night, Laura stood at the crux of a decision. Her favourite Irishmen were drunk, singing and laughing as they walked to their apartment, which was unusual enough in itself. But even stranger, they offered to have her stay overnight at their apartment. And she almost said yes.
She agreed to come in to talk with them for a while, laughing in the cheerful atmosphere while they told her ridiculous and outrageous stories that she couldn't believe, but didn't think that anyone would be able to just make up. And then she brought up Arlene.
"I don't want ta talk about fuckin' Arlene." Connor ground out, suddenly seeming very sober.
"Please, Connor, just talk to me! I want to understand-"
"Nah, ye want ta judge." He interrupted Laura. Murphy had backed off to the kitchen on the pretext of getting himself another drink.
"But this doesn't even make any sense!" Laura protested. "Can you honestly say that she was that good for you?"
"Aye, I can."
Laura gave him a look. "And can you explain why?"
That stopped him. Laura went on. "I didn't expect so. I can't figure out why you liked her like you did, especially given what she was, and what she was doing. I tried Connor, I fucking tried to like this girl, but she's impossible for me to even want to deal with, and I'm pretty sure that Murph felt exactly the same way. The sooner you figure out why you loved her, why you were so attached to her, the better off you will be."
Connor shook his head, tone soft. "There's no figurin' needed Laura."
"Please Connor, just promise me that you'll think about it?" She begged him.
There was a long pause. "Alright. I'll think about it."
She smiled, and gave him a hug. "Thank you."
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The next morning, Laura found her bike in pieces in the stairwell where she usually kept it. She looked down at the mangled metal at her feet, and she felt like crying. There would be no way to fix this – it looked like someone had cut it up with giant scissors, then took a blowtorch to the remains. The rubber wheels had melted into the ground, and the rest was too disfigured to see what part went where. What the fuck? Why is this happening to me?
She rubbed her eyes in frustration and exhaustion. She had been tempted to call in, claim she was sick, take a day off. But the bills had arrived, including the one for rent, and Laura knew that having a day off really wasn't an option. So, sans bike, she went her way to work, knowing that she'd be more than a little bit late. Hopefully she didn't fall asleep behind the counter today.
After work, Laura made her way to McGuinty's, meeting up with the McManus twins outside of the bar. Connor reached the door first, and held it open for her while Murphy gestured that she should go inside. With a faint smile she obliged, shaking her head at the two of them. "I suppose chivalry isn't quite dead then?" She laughed as she grabbed a booth.
Murphy smiled and shook his head, going to get drinks. Connor said across from Laura, a serious expression on his face, making Laura's good mood disappear. "Are you alright Conn?" He seemed to be struggling with what to say.
"Look, Laura. I am really sorry 'bout all o'this shite that's been goin' on lately. I shouldn't've been so hard on ye, ye were only lookin' out fer me. Ye were right. She… she wasn't all tha' good of a person."
Laura was left speechless. Luckily for her, Murphy at that moment reappeared with three pints of beer. Quickly, the conversation moved away from Arlene, but every now and then Laura would look back over at Connor, still trying to process what had been said.
At around midnight, Laura pled exhaustion, and left the twins at the bar, nearly running home in her haste to avoid the footsteps and whispers that haunted her. Only when she was inside her apartment did she allow for herself to slow down, acutely aware for the first time how alone she really was. Making her way to the bedroom, she collapsed onto the bed, not evening taking off her clothing before falling asleep.
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Over the next week, Laura avoided the twins, partially because was trying to figure Connor out, and partially because Connor had sunk into another mood, which neither Laura nor Murphy could figure out. Shaking her head, she went about her business, trying her best to put her life back together at home, working longer and longer hours instead of going out with the twins to the pub.
The men hadn't stopped pursuing her. Every night the banging on the door would come, nearly at the same time, making her jolt awake. The lack of sleep was beginning to get to her. One day she had returned home to find that all of her efforts to clean the place had gone to waste – someone had broken in again, leaving chaos in their wake. She had no idea what to do, or how to cope.
Murphy called on Friday, making Laura smile. After some persuading, she agreed to go out with them, but said that she wouldn't be able to stay long. So, at two in the morning, far later than she had intended on being out, Laura stood on the street below the twin's apartment.
"I just really want to go home guys. I'll call you tomorrow, I swear, I just have some things I need to do there."
"Can't ye do them in the mornin' Laura?" Murphy wheedled.
She shook her head. "No, I've got to go."
"Laura-"
Connor interjected. "No Murph, if she wants ta go, let her go."
Laura looked over at him. His face was stony, and she sighed. "Look, I said I didn't mean it-"
"I don't want ta hear it Laura." He softened his tone slightly when she flinched. "What's been said has been said. We'll talk ta ye tomorrow, alright?"
"Alright." She turned to leave.
"But I want that fuckin' phone call!" He called after her, making her smile.
"You'll get your phone call, don't worry." With one last look over her shoulder, she was gone.
Laura moved her way through the familiar streets, but the closer she came to her apartment, the more aware she became that something was terribly wrong. Only a few scant blocks away from safety, her fears were confirmed as the shadows converged on her in the alley, whispers no longer inaudible, footsteps now having figuring to which they belonged. She forced herself to hide her fear, and smiled mockingly at them.
"Hello boys. What can I do for you?"