No-one belongs to me. Sob
I am a sweetjazzbabe!
One year later
Roxie came home from her work in one of Chicago's top nightclubs. She had a lovely little apartment in a prime location, and it often entertained the top men in Illinois. She was very happy, she thought. She was famous, got paid lots of money, and had all the men she wanted. She no longer had to rely on her good-for-nothing husband, who was still trying to get her back, and she could do whatever she wanted!
"I must be the goddamn luckiest girl in Chicago," she said out loud. But, she wondered, was she really? Just yesterday, Roxie had caught a glimpse of a young, pretty girl, younger and prettier than herself, auditioning for a slot in Roxie's nightclub. Roxie always thought of it as hers, she was the star act, as her manager frequently told her. What right did this girl have to come and audition, she thought.
"I'd better be careful," she said, to no-one in particular, "Else someone will steal all this from right under my feet!"
"Talking to yourself, are we?" drawled an amused voice from a corner. Roxie swung round, and swore.
"Jesus, Mary and Joseph," she shouted, "What's the big idea? You nearly frightened the life outa me!"
Fred smiled.
"And what the hell are you doin'?" she yelled. "I finished with you about a year ago!"
He smiled again, infuriatingly. Then, swiftly, he moved towards Roxie and pushed her onto the bed, kissing her violently. She flailed her arms and legs, kicking him wherever she could. Then at last, she found her target, and he leapt away from her.
"For Chrissakes, Roxie, what the hell was that for? I know you still want this..." And he started to peel off her skirt.
A year ago, Roxie had hesitated, and he had just walked away. This time, she wasted no time. Kicking him away again, she felt under her pillow for the gun she always kept there. Taking her time, she slowly aimed at his chest and pulled the trigger. She kept on firing with unnerving deliberacy, even after he had fallen to the floor. (Question: is deliberacy a word? My computer doesn't recognise it...)
Blood pooled everywhere, and she knew she hadn't much time.
As she filled a bucket of water, she heard footsteps outside her door.
"Holy shit! So soon!" she thought, as she closed the bedroom door. Looking through the peephole, she relaxed. It wasn't the police, but her neighbour, who had probably heard the shots. Taking a moment to collect herself, and think of a convincing story, she flung open the door.
"Mr Shale, how are you? Come in!"
"Thank you, Miss Bell, but I won't impose myself on you," he said. Roxie found herself grinning at the man's old fashioned speech.
"Oh no, it's quite all right," Roxie said, and he stepped inside.
"It's just that I heard some...well, they sounded like shots, to me," said the old man.
"Oh, that! Well, did you know that I have a very rare bird," asked Roxie, and he told her that he hadn't known.
"It cost me the earth! But, apart from that, I'm very fond of it. Well, it lives in my bedroom, and I was just coming in with it's food, when I noticed that a cat was coming in through the window and taking a swipe at it's cage! I always leave the window open, it's much healthier, don't you think? Anyway, I keep a small gun under my pillow, it couldn't kill someone, of course, that would be dangerous, but it does scare cats and the like away. So, I got it out, and fired into the air. The cat was naturally scared, and it ran away from my precious little birdie. I'm just about to clean Freddie's cage now. It's loose in the room, so I don't want the door open," lied Roxie.
"I see!" said Mr Shale, "Well, you've certainly put my mind at rest. I thought for a minute someone was shooting you!"
Roxie smiled. "I'm quite alright, as you can see."
Mr Shale left, and Roxie heaved a huge sigh of relief.
"Now I can clean it all up," she said.
Okay, a bit of a weird chapter! The question in the summary is: What would have happened if Roxie hadn't shot Fred? Answer: She would have shot him a year later! Hmmmmmm.....
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