"Wait, what?" Roger asked. He nearly dropped the phone. This had to be a mistake or something. "I must have heard you wrong."
"I'm afraid not, Roger. Eddie's dead," Officer Porter replied. Mimi came out of the bedroom with her arms wrapped around herself. Roger shook his head in disbelief.
"What's wrong sweetie?" Mimi asked quietly.
"Does Joanne know?" Roger was avoiding Mimi's question at that given time.
"I called her house,
but her girlfriend said that she already left for your place. Her
cell phone's off too."
"Okay. Umm…how? How could this
have happened? Who did this to him?"
"He did it to himself. He got a hold of a blade, and slit his wrists. I'm sorry, but there's no point in you coming down here. I have to go, I'm sorry."
"No, no, it's umm, it's not your fault. I guess, umm, bye."
"Bye."
Roger slammed down the phone with all his might, and yelled, "God damn it, that bastard!" Mimi drew back in fear. She knew how Roger could get when he got mad. The only thing she couldn't figure out was why her boyfriend was mad. Hesitantly, she approached him.
"What? What's wrong?" she asked quietly. Roger spun around to face Mimi.
"Eddie, Eddie killed himself last night. The son of a bitch is such a damn coward!" Mimi's hand flew to her mouth. She shook her head back and forth as she sank onto the couch.
"How?" she asked in a barely audible whisper.
"Slit his
wrists."
"Just like April?" Roger sighed. He had been so
mad that that hadn't even crosses his mind.
"Yeah, just like April."
Flashback:
roger
banged on the bathroom door with his fist. He couldn't figure out
what was taking his girlfriend, April, so long. They were supposed
to go down to the Life Café with all their friends.
"That's it April, I'm coming in!" Roger announced. He shoved the bathroom door open, and froze. "Oh God," he breathed. Mark got up from the couch to investigate, causing Maureen to nearly fall over because she was leaning up against him.
"What's wrong?" the filmmaker asked. He stood behind Roger. "Oh my-" Roger rushed to Aprils' side. "Roger no!" Maureen got up to see what all the fuss was about.
"Pookie? April?" April's lifeless body was lying in the bathtub with her eyes closed, and her face tipped up towards the ceiling. A single razor was on the tile floor in the middle of a pool of blood. Maureen went to go see if April was still alive out of false hope, but Mark grabbed her arm. Everyone's gaze followed his to a message scrawled across the mirror in bright red lipstick. "We've got AIDS," Maureen read quietly. Both she and Mark turned to Roger who appeared to still be in shock. Suddenly, the rocker pushed past his friends. He got several feet out of the bathroom before falling to his knees sobbing. Maureen rushed to his side to calm him down. She pulled him against her chest, and stroked his hair. Mark walked across the room, picked up the phone, and dialed 911.
"I'd like to report a suicide," he told the operator.
End Flashback
Roger sat on the couch with Mimi's head in his lap. It felt as if a great weight had been lifted from the dancer's shoulders. Meanwhile, Roger was beyond livid. Someone had to pay for Mimi's suffering. For months the rocker wondered who could harm his Mimi, and now that he knew, the culprit would never pay the price. The loft door slid open, slicing through the silence, and Joanne entered in a suit and with her briefcase at her side.
"Come on, we've
got to go!" she exclaimed. Mimi rolled over so her back was to
Joanne, and buried her face in Roger's thigh. "You are
still going…right?"
"Nobody's going, Jo. Eddie committed
suicide sometime last night," Roger replied. Joanne had a look on
her face that said, Okay Roger, jokes over, let's go.
"This can't be happening. I'm so sorry, Mimi." Joanne went over, and put her hand on Mimi's shoulder. "You've been through so much, and now this. I'm sorry chica." Mimi rolled onto her back so she was facing Joanne.
"Thanks Jo." Joanne sat on the edge of the couch, and brushed a strand of hair out of Mimi's face. "Thanks for everything."
"You're welcome. Do you want me to hang around here for a little while?" Mimi shook her head. Joanne gave Roger and Mimi each a kiss on the cheek, and left to go home to Maureen.
That night, Mimi enjoyed her first real nights sleep in what seemed like a lifetime. Not once did she wake up in a cold sweat, or screaming at the top of her lungs. She didn't flip out when Roger's hand slid down to her hip in his sleep. Somehow, it felt relaxing, almost soothing; like things were finally back to normal.
A/N: Next chapter is the last chapter. I've update Off-Set a few times, but haven't gotten many reviews. The link is on my profile!
Tina101
