Chapter 20

Tommy hung up his phone and placed his hand on forehead. Suddenly, there was knock on his door. It was Stephanie. She kissed him on the cheek and walked into his house.

"Did you do what I asked?" she said.

"Yes," Tommy responded, "Adam said he and Sauli can come to the dinner. Why do want to invite them anyway? I thought it was gonna be just you and me, baby." Tommy rubbed Stephanie's arms. Stephanie quickly brushed off Tommy's hands.

"Stop it," she said. Stephanie grabbed Tommy's face. "Don't you see baby? Your friendship with that stupid singer is getting in the way of our love. His monster of a boyfriend attacked you and Adam attacked me! If you're friends with Adam, we won't be able to have a relationship. They want to split us up. Is that what you want Tommy?"
"No," said Tommy, "Of course not. I love you babe."

"Good," said Stephanie, "Now, in order to make sure we stay together, we must teach Adam and Sauli a lesson. To make sure they never interfere again." Stephanie reached into her coat pocket and pulled out a small packet filled with some sort of powder.

"What is that?" said Tommy.

"This," said Stephanie, "is Ricin. It's a special kind of poison. You're going to serve Adam and Sauli some tea and place some of this into their drinks. Once they drink it and they're out of the way, we can live happily ever after." Stephanie kissed Tommy on the cheek. "Just like you want." Tommy turned away.

"I don't know Stephanie," he said, "This is some serious stuff. I mean, we could go to jail for this!"
"Shh," said Stephanie, "We won't go to jail. You'll wear these." Stephanie pulled out a pair of see-through gloves and held them up so Tommy could see. "There won't be any evidence. It'll be easy."

"No," said Tommy, "I don't think I can do this. I don't wanna kill anyone Stephanie!" Stephanie slapped Tommy across the face and pushed him to the ground.

"Now now Tommy," she said, "You seem to be forgetting one crucial detail. Remember that dirty little secret of yours?"

"No," said Tommy, "You wouldn't!"

"I would," she said. "I'll tell them all. You'll lose your job and I'm sure the police would love to hear your little story. Wouldn't they?" Tommy gulped hard.

"Ok," he said, standing up. "I'll…I'll do it." Stephanie smiled a devilish smile.

"Good boy," she said as she ruffled his hair. "Here's your gloves and the poison." Stephanie threw the supplies on the counter and headed for the door. "I'll see you Sunday night, baby." Before she left, Stephanie turned and blew Tommy a kiss. The door banged shut as Stephanie left. Tommy was left a frozen statue, staring at the instruments that would soon be the demise of two innocent people.

That night, Tommy was dreaming of himself on stage. He was playing his bass, fully dressed in his usual outfit and makeup. The crowd was cheering loud as the spotlights came on center stage. The beat of Fever came on. The crowd was going nuts. Adam appeared, dressed in his usual outfit as well. He began to strut down the stairs and stopped in front of Tommy. He began to sing.

"There he goes, my baby walks so slow. Sexual tic-tac-toe, yeah we both know it isn't time. But would you be ma-mine?" Adam leaned in close to Tommy, ready for the kiss. Suddenly, the music stopped. Adam tried to sing, but no sound was coming out. He placed his hands on his throat in fear. Tommy saw the crowd change. They were no longer cheering and smiling. Instead they were crying and holding up lighters. The crowd spanned for miles and miles. It was a river of sorrow. Adam looked as if he was coughing. He fell to his knees.

"Adam!" Tommy yelled, "Adam! Are you ok?" Adam was now completely on the floor, his body completely lifeless. The lights of the stage turned black and left a single spotlight on Adam's body. Tommy slowly walked towards Adam. "Adam?" he said, "Are…Are you alright?" Tommy poked Adam with his bass, but Adam didn't move. Tommy used the neck of his bass to turn Adam over. Adam's face was completely white. The glow he always seemed to have when he was performing, was now gone. He could hear the sound of sniffling and crying coming from the crowd. He could see teenagers, grandparents, and young children all in complete despair. He even saw Adam's mother, father, and brother Neil all in tears. "This is all my fault," said Tommy. "I did this. I'm so sorry Adam."

"It's too late to be sorry," came a voice from behind. A tall hooded figure stood over Tommy. "Now," it said, "You come with me." The being raised a scythe and swung it at Tommy.

"No!" shouted Tommy, "I don't wanna go!" Tommy looked around. He was in his bed. "Crazy nightmare," he said. He lied down on his bed and closed his eyes. "You have to do it," he thought to himself, "You can't let Stephanie tell everyone your secret. Plus, you don't wanna lose her. She's so amazingly beautiful. And maybe she's right. Maybe…maybe this needs to be done. For the greater good."

Chapter 21

Adam was digging through his closet, searching for the perfect outfit.

"Sauli," he said, "how fancy do you think this dinner thingy's gonna be? Do think it's gonna be fancy, or casual? Cause I need to know so I can dress properly." Sauli was standing in front of a mirror, frowning as he fixed his hair. "Sauli?" said Adam, "Baby are you ok?" Sauli sighed.

" I don't know babe," he said, "I just don't feel right going to this dinner. I have a bad feeling about this Tommy." Adam walked over to Sauli and kissed his cheek.

"Don't worry love," he said, "I'll be right there next to you to hold your hand. It'll be ok and if you don't wanna stay long, I promise we can leave early. Ok?" Sauli looked and Adam and smiled.

"Okay," he said, "You've convinced me. But you swear you'll hold my hand right?" Adam kissed Sauli on his lips.

"Promise," he said, "Now help me pick out an outfit!" Sauli laughed and walked over to the closet with Adam. Adam held up a suit in his left hand and in his right hand he held up a nice shirt with jeans. "Which do you think would be best? Fancy or Casual?"

"Hmm…" said Sauli, "What about a combination of both?" Adam looked confused for a moment, but then he smiled.

"I got it!" he said, as he ran into his closet and shut the door. Sauli waited patiently for Adam to come out. Suddenly, Adam burst out of the closet, wearing a gorgeous jacket and pants. "Whataya think?" he said. Sauli smiled.

"Perfect!" Adam and Sauli hugged and then headed for the door.

"Wait a minute!" Adam shouted, as he was fixing himself in the mirror. "Okay," he said, "I'm ready now." Sauli rolled his eyes and then grabbed Adam's hand as they walked out of their apartment.

It was a short drive to Tommy's house. Tommy was at the door to greet them.
"Welcome to my humble home," said Tommy. "I know, it's a little crappy, but try and make yourself comfortable." Adam and Sauli took a seat at a small table set up next to a large window. You could see the whole city of Los Angeles in the distance.

"Wow," said Adam, "What a beautiful view of the city you have Tommy."

"Oh yeah," said Tommy, "It's not that special." Tommy quickly wiped a bit of sweat that was dripping down his forehead with his hand. "So," he said, "You guys want some tea?"

"Yummy!" said Adam, with a smile on his face. "I'd love some!"

"I'll take some too," said Sauli.

"Great," said Tommy, as he placed a tray of cookies on their table. "Here's some snacks for you guys too."

"Thank you Tommy," said Adam enthusiastically, "So, when's Stephanie gonna get here?"

"Uh," said Tommy, "I don't know. Probably soon." A bunch of boxes fell on Tommy as he opened his cupboard.

"Aw," said Adam, "That's so cute. Look at you, Tommy. Getting all nervous just because Stephanie's coming."

"Oh believe me," said Tommy, "That's not why I'm nervous." Tommy took out two glasses and poured the tea. When he was sure no one was looking, he put on the gloves and took out the small package of poison. He dumped the powder into both glasses and quickly threw the package and gloves into the trash. "The tea's ready!" he said. "Drink up." He placed the two glasses in front of Adam and Sauli and then began to back away slowly. "Well," he said, "I gotta pee. Be back in a sec." Tommy ran into the bathroom and texted the words, "It's done" to Stephanie.

Adam breathed in the scent of the tea.

"Ahh," he said, "Smells delicious. Aren't you gonna drink yours Sauli?" Sauli shook his head no.

"I don't like tea," he said, "I only took it to be nice." Adam shrugged.

"Oh well," he said, "More for me!" Adam raised his glass and took a sip out of tea. Tommy was watching from behind the wall.

"Look at what you've become Tommy!" he thought to himself. "Keeping your secret is not more important than killing someone!" Tommy gave into his guilt and ran back into the kitchen. "Guys!" he shouted. "Whatever you do, don't drink the…" But it was too late. Sauli was screaming Adam's name as he shook him.

"Adam!" he was screaming, "Adam! What's wrong? Speak to me!"

"He's not going to answer you," said Tommy.

"Why is that?" shouted Sauli, his eyes filled with tears.

"Because…" said Tommy, "Because I put poison in the tea cups." Sauli was frozen for a moment, but then grabbed Tommy.

"You son of a bitch!" he shouted, "Where is the antidote! How do we fix him?" Tommy shut his eyes, trying to prevent the tears from escaping.

"We can't fix him!" he shouted. "Adam's dead!" Sauli dropped Tommy.

"No," he said, "No…no it… can't be true!" Tommy got up from the ground and grabbed his phone. He dialed 911.

"Hello?" he said. "Please come quick! A friend of mine was poisoned with Ricin. We need an ambulance!" Meanwhile, Sauli was on the ground holding Adam. He was holding Adam's hand as tightly as he could.

"I told you," he whispered, "I knew this was a bad idea." Sauli continued to hold Adam until the ambulance arrived. Three paramedics had to pull Sauli away from Adam as he was being placed in the ambulance. "No!" Sauli was shouting, "No! You can't take him from me! He needs me! Let me go!" Sauli's shrieks felt like knives in Tommy's side. Stephanie's voice played in his head.

"It'll be easy."

"This was definitely not easy," said Tommy.