The Man In Black
(Iris POV)
I'm having another session with Molly, she's improving so much. Every time we have a session she talks more and more and her mother told me that she's doing the same at home too and that their relationship and bond has been getting stronger. This was actually going to be our last session, I'm going to miss her but happy that she didn't need me anymore, that is the goal after all.
We are playing checkers. "How is school going?" I ask her.
"Okay I guess." She shrugs, "I hate school."
"Well, when I was your age I loved school, I never wanted to leave. It wasn't until high school that I just wanted to leave so I stopped trying and it was a really big mistake."
"Because of your dad?" She asks, I nod my head.
"Yeah...I know it's hard right now and it feels like it doesn't matter but school is important. You will appreciate it a lot more when you're older." I tell her.
"And now your back in school?" She asks me.
"Yes because I want to help kids like you."
"Well you are good at it." She sweetly compliments me.
"Thank you." I smile as we continue to play checkers.
"Iris?"
"Yeah?"
"What made you go back? Why after all this time?"
"...I realized I wanted to do more with my life and stop being scared." I told her.
"You were scared too?" She asked hopeful like she wasn't alone.
"...Yeah, really scared...just like one of those hermit crabs." I lightly joked, she giggles. "I would just hide in that shell...and it wasn't healthy and it definitely didn't make me happy...and now your no longer a hermit crab either." I gently smiled, she once again giggles. "Your happier now right?" I know she is but I wanted her to confirm it.
"Yep." She very proudly responded.
"Good."
"But I'm nervous, what if I'm not ready?" She suddenly reveals to me.
"Oh you are ready, I can't get you to stop talking now!" We both laughed as I hear a voice outside the door. "That must be your mom." I start putting the checkers away when she walks in with a smile for both of us.
"Did you have fun with Iris?" She asks her.
"Yeah!" She answered excitedly, "I kicked her butt at checkers!"
"Hey, I won one game...but she did very good today. I think she's going to do great but you know if anything changes I'm here." I tell her mom as she smiles at me.
"Thank you Iris...thanks for helping me." Molly says as she hugs my waist. "She's right, you've been great. I don't know what we would have done without you these past few months." Her mom chimed in as she's still hugging my waist, "thank you."
"Your welcome." I reply trying to not get emotional. I watch them walk away, she will turn around a couple of times and wave at me, which I would do the same.
I walk in my apartment, I go into my room and sit next to Luna, I inhale and exhale. It was a emotional day for me, I couldn't believe I actually made a difference in someone's life but I got to be honest I have to learn to not get emotional and stay professional, I have to get use to them leaving. I pet Luna's head and massage her ears, she licks my hands, "come on, lets get you some dinner." She jumps off the bed and excitedly goes into the dining room where she knows her food bowl is. She starts eating her dinner while I make mine when someone knocks on my front door. Why is it so easy for people to get into my building? I look into the peephole and it's Nick.
"How did you get in?" I annoyingly ask as I open up the door.
"Your neighbor was coming home at the same time, he let me in." He tells me.
"You couldn't have rung my buzzer?"
"I didn't think you would talk to me." He explains, I just roll my eyes, "...I wanted to apologize, you were right I crossed the line the other day."
"It's fine. Was there anything else you needed?"
"Yeah, I thought we could go over next weeks test?"
"Okay, just for a little bit, I've had a long day and I'm already tired." I tell him.
"Whatever you say." He smiles as I let him in. I put Luna in her room, she did not like Nick.
We sit at my dining room table and start quizzing each other for the test. He is trying so hard to be charming and not ask me out, I'm surprised he's not being annoying as much tonight. I will never agree to date him but maybe I have been a bit mean and misunderstood him a little bit, I mean he hasn't really been any worse then any other man at the bar. "Okay, I think we're ready." He smiles as he closes his book.
"Yeah, it looks like it." I say, "...well, you should go."
"Yeah, good idea." He agrees as he stands up and I walk him to the front door, "I'll see you in class then?"
"Yeah, I'll see you in class. Thanks for quizzing with me."
"Your welcome...you know Iris, you really are beautiful." He tells me.
"Thanks." Okay, there he goes back to flirting again, I just want him to leave now.
"It's just a shame you won't give me a chance...we really could be good together." He smirks as he runs his finger down my arm, I am so done with him now! I take his hand and twist it really hard, he shouts out in pain.
"I have told you over and over again to not touch me. Don't ever touch me again!" I demand with force, "I thought for a second us being study partners was actually going well and I may have been wrong about you but I was definitely wrong to think that so now you can forget it! Now get out you fucking asshole!" I finish saying as I twist it just a little more so he knows I mean it.
"Okay!" He shouts, and I let go of his arm, "I don't get you! I tried to be nice and be good with you but now you're just pissing me off and its time to do what I was suppose to do all along." He snarls as he starts to lunge at me. I very quickly take my hand using the heel of it to hit him in the nose, it immediately fills with blood. "You bitch! You broke my nose!" He shouts as he once again comes after me, I duck and make him trip using my body.
I try to go for my cellphone that's on the table but he gets back up and grabs it out of my hand. He is behind me holding my arms, "code B now!" He shouts out at no one. I step on his foot, headbutt him with the back of my head and flip him over my shoulder. I'm grabbing my cellphone again and out of nowhere 4 men crash through my windows. I can hear Luna barking in the other room. "Put the phone down!" They shout, I do what they say. One of them stomps on my cellphone. They keep pointing their guns at me. "You bitch!" Nick groans as he holds his nose.
"Who are you guys? Whatever you want, take it." I tell them, I have my hands up.
"Well, you see the thing is Iris, we're here for you." Nick informs me with a grin.
"What do you want?"
"It's simple...to kill you." He said that like it was nothing, "it was suppose to be so simple...date you, fuck you for a little bit and when the time was right...kill you." He explains, I'm just appalled and confused. "And now that's what we're here to do...but first, I gotta do this." He slaps me so hard I fall to the floor and he takes me by my hair really hard so I have to look at him and he plants a gross kiss on my lips that makes me want to vomit! "I've been dying to do that." Once he pulls away far enough I slap him. "That was not very smart." He sighs while holding his cheek, he smiled like he enjoyed it.
"I'm going to die anyways, might as well." I say.
"God you really are feisty...I love it." He evilly smirks as he waves his gun close to my head.
Inside I'm terrified knowing these are going to be my final moments. The one thing I knew how to do was not show weakness, I'm going to stay strong no matter what. I just wish I knew why. Why were they doing this? Why did they want to kill me? What have I done to deserve this? "It's a pity, you really are beautiful." Nick rubs my face and touches the side of my mouth where a little blood was from him slapping me. "Now, it's time." I close my eyes, ready to be killed, Nick is the only one to cock his gun, the others are still just pointing them at me. Not one person looks like they don't want to do this, they all have evil smiles on their faces. I feel a small tear go down my cheek just waiting for them to kill me.
Out of nowhere I hear another bang and 3 more people barge in, it scares me. They were all wearing black, one was a woman for sure, another one was wearing goggles and before I could see the third one the woman turns off my lights. The guy with the goggles comes to me and signals me to go under my table for cover, it's so loud I can't quite hear him too well. I try to see who these people are but with the lights off they are all a bunch of shadows that I cannot make out at all. While the third man was fighting I heard gun shots and I cover my ears and shout as he uses the man he was fighting as a human shield. The woman completely knocks out the man she was fighting. "You! We've finally got you!" Nick snarls, he suddenly starts speaking french out of nowhere, I have no idea what he's saying, it sounds like some sort of challenge. Nick put his gun down so they could fight hand to hand as the man in black responds to him also speaking french...his voice sounds familiar. Every time Nick tries to punch him the man will block and punch him in the face, he grabs Nick by the head and re-injures what I already started by kneeing him in the face twice and when Nick hunched down in pain the man kicks him in the head, Nick goes down like a sack of potatoes.
The man in black starts to turn and walk towards me and as I am trying to see what he looks like Nick stands up grabbing his gun, the woman shouts something, my ears are ringing, the man in black turns back and kicks Nick so hard he flew out the window. Everything was so overwhelming, I'm terrified, it felt like a lifetime that they fought but in reality it was only for a few minutes.
I am breathing heavy, trying not to faint and I get out from under the table. Three of the men they fought were passed out and the fourth was dead. The man in black turns from the window where he had looked down to where he had kicked Nick and he emerges from the shadows and for the first time I can see him and I can't believe my eyes...it must be an illusion..."Steve?"
He's back! How is she going to take this?
