Kings and Bishops (The List): Chapter 15

  In the morning, the sunlight falling on my face woke me up. I blinked, trying to adjust my eyes to it, and it took me a few moments to realize what had happened last night. This thought instantly made me smile, as I stretched my arms and yawned. The memory pillow under my head had become uncomfortable, so I just took it and threw it away, then lied back down, waiting for Victor to wake up.

  I could still hear his soft sighs and feel his hands slip through my skin, I could still smell him on my fingers and taste his kisses on my lips… My smile widened. Perhaps I had wanted this for much longer than I had first thought, and now, after it finally happened, I felt happier than I thought I could ever be.

  I turned my head to look at him. He was still sleeping next to me, unaware of my attention, smiling slightly. I watched him for awhile, then moved closer and snuggled next to him, resting my head on his chest, but gently, trying not to wake him up. His arm wrapped around me and he carefully pulled me closer in his sleep. I buried my face into his chest, inhaling from his specific odor, which this time was mixed with the slight smell of sweat, but it wasn’t unpleasant, it just brought back the memories from the night again.

  I closed my eyes.

  …Skin brushed against skin… Body pressed against body… Trembling hands gripped white bedsheets, shaky breaths and soft moans broke the silence…

  Vic stirred next to me. My eyes flickered open, and even though I didn’t want to, I had to let those memories go for now.

  Not completely awake, he murmured my name and buried his face into my hair. I giggled quietly.

  “Mm… Good morning…”, he yawned.

  “Mornin’. Slept well?”

  “Mmff.” He pouted. “Not really, but I don’t think any of us slept much tonight.”, he chuckled.

  “Yeah, that’s true.”, I nodded, grinning.

  For awhile we remained like this, lying there and hugging. I just enjoyed feeling Vic’s presence near, I could hear his heart beat steadily, his chest was slowly moving up and down as he was taking deep, calm breaths. After a few minutes, when he was finally awake enough, he gently ran his hand up my arm, then across my shoulder and to my chin, lifting my head up so he could kiss me. His kiss was soft and filled me with sweet, warm happiness.

  “What was that for?”, I murmured, when he was done kissing me, my lips still less than an inch away from his.

  Vic grinned. “Do I need a reason to kiss you? Well, I’m very sorry, then, I won’t anymore…”

  He pretended to be offended and about to leave the bed, but I pulled him back down, giggling.

  “Get back here, you jerk.”, I gave him a kiss on the cheek. He chuckled softly and threw an arm around me, then lifted his hand, to look at his wristwatch.

  “Huh… It’s ten.”

  “Ten? Fuck this, I don’t feel like getting up yet.”, I decided and rested my head back down on the now pillow-less bed, lying to the side, so I can watch Vic, my face almost touching his.

  “I wouldn’t let you get up anyway.” His hug tightened around me as he yawned again. “You’re gonna stay with me here until I tell you you’re free to go…”

  “Okay, I don’t mind…”, I laughed. “This time I can be your hostage, for once.”

  “Ooh, sweet, so now I can do whatever I want with you?”, his grin appeared again, his eyes sparkled playfully.

  “Yeah, but don’t go too far, ‘cause, remember, you wouldn’t want to piss me off…”, I winked.

  “I have absolutely no intention to do that.”, he murmured in my ear, leaning closer, then rolled over and started kissing me again, pressing me down with his body.

  I broke the kiss once more.

  “Baby, don’t get me started, it’s only ten o’clock in the morning…”, I muttered, grinning again. His breath was tickling my nose and made me giggle.

  “Okaaaay then.”, Vic let out a theatrical disappointed sigh and grinned as well.

  His hand slipped across my chest gently and stopped at my shoulder. For a moment I wondered what made him do that, but then I remembered. The scar. There was a deep, pale mark starting from my collarbone and going down through my shoulder to my arm. I had it for many years now, and I knew it would never fade, just like the reason why I had it would remain sealed in my mind, and the memories of it would return at night every now and then, always in my nightmares, always in the dark corners of the room, always there… Somehow, Vic finding out about it alarmed me, and I instinctively flinched a bit at his touch.

  “How did you get this…?”, he asked softly, lightly tracing it with his fingertips.

  “I…” I hesitated. I wasn’t sure if I should tell him the truth or change the subject, like I usually did when someone asked me this. Jenny wanted to know once. I didn’t tell her anything, it was something personal I kept only for myself. I didn’t want people to know about my demons, it was painful for me, and boring for them. On the other hand, that was Vic… I felt like I couldn’t just look into his eyes and lie to him.

  “…My dad.”, I said quietly, almost inaudible. “I told you, I had a fucking tough childhood. My mom left us when I was thirteen, leaving me alone with my abusive father, who used to hit me a lot… Once he pushed me really hard. I, like, fell back and hit in the table, turning it over and breaking a bottle. There was this one particularly big piece of glass that stuck into my skin and made a deep cut, and because my dad was too drunk to drive, I had to run about two or three miles to the hospital, before I bleed out. Not that he cared. No one gave a fuck. It took me about a month to completely heal, and then the beating started again… I’ve got other scars, too…”

  My hand unconsciously pulled the sheet up, to cover the marks. The thought of them, all those ugly cuts covering my skin, always managed to make me feel weak and pathetic for never fighting back. Vic took me by the wrist, making me drop the bedsheet, then pulled it down, uncovering the old cut once more.

  “You shouldn’t be ashamed of your scars, Kellin… They show how much you’ve been through, and you never broke, they show how strong you actually are.” He leaned in and kissed the scar gently. “I still think you’re beautiful.”

  “Mm.”, I smiled. “You’re too sweet.”

  “No, I’m not, I’m just trying to be honest and encouraging at the same time.” He looked up at me, smiling. “Is it working?”

  “Mhm…” I nodded and stroked his hair, pulling him into another, tight hug. I liked feeling his soft, delicate skin against mine, and now, as he found himself with his face buried into my chest, I felt his eyelashes lightly tickle me when he blinked. I stayed silent for a minute, enjoying the moment, then spoke up again, thoughtfully:

  “Vic… This, between us… It’s not gonna change anything, right? Or is it? ‘Cause I’m not exactly sure what’s going on… I’m a bit confused…”

  Victor pulled back and sat up. “Well… For me, personally, it would change many things… But y’know what? Sometimes change is a good thing. At least I think so… Especially if it’s a good change, like ours.”

  I bit my lower lip. “But… Dammit, Vic, I’m afraid…”

  He tilted head. “Of what?”

  “Of… How should I put this…”, I paused. “…I’m afraid that if I let things really change, if I let my feelings take over, and insert-more-sentimental-bullshit-here, I… I’d never want to leave you…”

  “You don’t have a choice, though.”, he tried to joke with a bitter half-smile. “You’d have to.”

  I sighed sadly. “I know… I wish there was a way to stay, but there isn’t…”

  “But hey.”, he touched my cheek. “On the other hand, you have one month left to live. So you must fully enjoy it.”, he smiled hesitantly.

  “You know what, you’re right.” I sat up as well. “My whole life I’ve been waiting for love, and I don’t know what that thing between us is, but it’s the closest thing to love I’ve ever experienced. So I have no intention to let it go just like this. I say, let’s spend time together while we still can.”

  “Sounds like a plan.”, Vic grinned. “Now come here.”

  He gently took me in his arms and started humming something quietly while holding me. I closed eyes, wishing we could stay like this forever. Our forever always lasted so shortly, though, and after maybe ten or fifteen minutes, Vic let me go, smiling a bit.

  “Now I’ll go make some coffee, and then, when we’re ready, we can go to the swimming pool downstairs or something. Let’s take a day off, how about that?”

  “Make them two.”, I grinned. “We totally could use some rest.”

  “Yup, we probably need it.”, Victor nodded. “Be right back.”

  He leaned in and gave me a quick kiss on the lips, then got up and slipping his pants on, so he wouldn’t walk around naked, he headed to the door. I watched him leave, my eyes hungrily absorbing every detail about him, every little thing that made him as perfect as he was. I knew it sounded weird, but I was happy that I decided to kidnap him back then, a month ago, which seemed more like year now. It really is amazing how quickly things change…

  I smiled. Vic was right. Change sometimes is a good thing.

*  *  *

  Now completely dressed, I sat on a chair in the small, but luxury kitchen, watching Vic fight with the coffee machine. In the living room, the huge TV was on, and even from here I could hear the show that was on at the moment. It was one of those stupid TV games, where if you’re the tenth person to call and answer the question correctly, you get a toaster or some other dumb shit like that. Honestly, I just couldn’t get the rules of this. I couldn’t get the point

  “How the fuck do I turn this fucking thing on…”, Vic murmured. “Oh, wait, I think I figured it out… Yes, it works.” He grinned, kind of proud of himself. “By the way, I made a sandwich for you, it’s right there.”

  I spotted the plate on the table and smiled. “Aw, that’s sweet, thank you, Vic.”

  “No problem.”, he shrugged.

  “I just wonder…”, I picked the sandwich up and took a bite. “…where’d you get the bread and the butter and all?”

  He grinned.

  “Free food, forgot? We have some stuff in the fridge, and we can call the roomservice later to order some proper breakfast.

  “Sounds good, yeah.” I took another bite. “…Mm. It’s good.”

  “Thank you.” He threw a glance at me, smiling slightly, then, when the coffee machine made a ‘bleeeeeeep!’, showing us that our coffees are ready, he took one of the cups and put it in front of me. “Here you go.”

  “Thanks, baby.”

  …No, I went too far, calling him that seemed too weird. Nope. He didn’t seem to mind it, though, but anyway, I decided not to do it again. It was kind of awkward.

  ”And now, the next word you’ll have to guess, ladies and gentlemen! We’ll give you some mixed letters and you must put them in the correct order! And remember – if you turn out to be the tenth, you’ll have the amazing opportunity to win this great… washing machine!”

  I glanced at the TV, to see that “great washing machine”. In my opinion, it was just an ordinary one, not much different than all the other washing machines I had seen before. And knowing that kind of shows, probably the call would cost more than the washing machine itself. That’s how it worked. Otherwise the producers wouldn’t gain anything.

  I picked my cup up and took a sip. The coffee was good, way better than all the shitty drinks I had had the last few weeks.

  “Just curious.”, I spoke up slowly, tilting head. “…When did you find out…?”

  Vic looked up. He had been staring at the TV too, those games were almost hypnotizing with their boringness.

  “What, that I’m… not straight? I’ve suspected it for awhile now, but I guess Brigitte saw it coming before I did.”, he smiled a bit. “I think this must’ve been one of the reasons why she left me, but I can’t know for sure… How about you? When did you figure it out?”

  I blushed lightly.

  “I wasn’t sure ‘till yesterday night, actually, and couldn’t even think about it three weeks ago. Then that kiss in the car happened, though, and I started wondering…”, I coughed. “But that’s not what I wanted to ask. I meant, when did you realize that you’re, y’know, into me?”

  “Oh, sorry, got it wrong.”, he chuckled awkwardly. “Well, I don’t know about that… I really think it might’ve been Stockholm syndrome at first, I mean, you kidnapped me and kept me locked in different motel rooms for a few days, and I still kinda felt attracted to you, which isn’t normal… Now it’s different, though, now I know you, and I like you as a person, because you’ve proven to be a great man and a good friend, and all. I guess I realized I fell for you a few days after your birthday or something like that.”

  “Ooh, I see, I thought that too.”, I grinned.

  Suddenly Vic knitted eyebrows thoughtfully. “Hang on… You mentioned a kiss in a car… How come I don’t know about such thing?”

  “…Shit. I forgot you don’t remember this.” I put my coffee down and facepalmed. “Sorry. Umm… It happened after the karaoke, when you got really drunk and fell off the table, so I had to drag you to my car, and it… happened inside.”

  His face went pale.

  “What did we do, how far did we go?”

  “It wasn’t a big deal, just a small, awkward kiss, nothing more.”, I shrugged.

  “Oh. Okay. Good.” He obviously calmed down and pulled a chair back to sit next to me. “You should’ve told me earlier, though. This way now we’d be probably already together for quite awhile, I think.”

  “Yeah, I suppose, but hey, you know me well enough. You know I’m a coward.”, I chuckled, but at the same time I was half-serious, I knew that it was true. I really was a coward. Yeah, I did crazy things that probably no one else would, but at the same time pretty much everything about real life, death and responsibilities horrified me.

  ”…I’m really sorry, sir, but you were the fifteenth one to call. Don’t get desperate, though, there will be many other chances for you to win this wonderful washing machine…”

  “You know what…”, I suddenly changed the subject, grinning widely. “Let’s call.”

  “Huh…?” Vic blinked, not understanding what I was talking about. “Call, call who?”

  “The fucking show, man. Let’s make it less boring and mess with people.”

  “Yeah, because you sooo need a washing machine, right.”, he rolled eyes ironically.

  “I’m talking about prank calls, we have a phone in the room, and we don’t pay the hotel’s bills. So what does that mean? We can call as many times as we want, talk bullshit and confuse the fuck outta people.”

  “Hah, sounds fun, we should do this.”, he grinned too. “I’ll go get the phone.”

  “Okay, hang on.”, I quickly stuffed the rest of the sandwich in my mouth. “…Here, I’m ready.”

  “What are you gonna say to them?”, Vic called out from the living room, while looking for the phone.

  “I have no fucking idea.”, I got up and stood at the door, leaning against the doorframe. “I’ll improvise.”

  ”...Our show comes to an end, and no one has won this amazing washing machine yet! Now we’re giving you a last chance, and we’re adding a $500 additional prize! Come on, guys, call our phone number – 2222222223, or send us a text, and get your hands on those awesome things! And hurry, because…”

  I knew why almost no one ever won in those shows. It was all set. Not that the questions were so difficult, they weren’t, they were quite easy, actually. Thing is, in the end the program receives more money from all those calls and texts, than it spent for the actual prize, and in case no one wins anyway, the prize remains for the owners/producers/whatever of the show, then they can either resell it, keep it or use it again in the next episode. It was simply a legal fraud. Of course, it wasn’t always like this, but mostly. Or it was just me.

  “Great, I’ll just sit back and watch, then.”, Vic grinned and handed me the phone. “Here ya go, Kell.”

  “Thanks.” I started dialing the number. “2… 2… 2… 2… How many 2’s?!”

  “Nine. And a three in the end.”

  “That was a rhetorical question.”, I rolled eyes and put the phone to my ear.

  I waited for a few seconds, listening to the signal, trying to get into character. When the young woman’s voice finally replied, I had already had an idea of what I was going to say.

*  *  *

  “And we have a winner! Sir, congratulations, you were the tenth person to call, now you only should answer our qu-”

  A heavy accented male voice interrupted the presenter.

  “I cannot believes you made me wait for so long, this is totally disrespectful, shame on you! And shame on-”

  The presenter furrowed her eyebrows, trying to keep the shiny smile on her face.

  “Sir, I understand your frustration, but we need to do that, because of the great number of calls we receive, we can’t…”

  “I called, and a girl named Regina with a ‘g’ told me to wait for minute, but it tooks you ten minutes to answer, I am so offended, this are unbelievable, and I didn’t even like they… um… they music you played for me while I was waiting! What a shame, I should have not called-”

  The words were pouring from the speakers, drowning the presenter in complaints and horrible English. Judging by her confused and slightly horrified expression, she couldn’t quite locate the accent. She took a deep breath and made another attempt to interrupt the man, who called, and most unfortunately, didn’t have the intention to hang up any time soon.

  “I understand, sir, but you’ve won the washing machine, and $500 additional prize!”, she tried to grin cheerfully. “Isn’t that great? You must just answer our question, and if you are correct, those amazing prizes are yours!”

  “Excuse me, what? I am sorry, Miss, Mrs, I, um, I didn’t understands, I can’t really English well...”

  He obviously “couldn’t English”. His accent was weird, almost Russian with the stressed “r”-s and soft vowels. And all his sentences seemed to finish with a question mark.

  “I’m saying you just-”

  But she found herself cut off once more.

  “I am calling about the washing machine… This washing machine, there?”

  “Yes, sir.”, the presenter’s patience was coming to an end. “The washing machine you just won.”

  “But I do not want it! I am calling to tell you that I… uses to have one, just like this one? The same one? The same washing machine? But when I washed my clothes, I had a trousers, and they shrinked, and some of my other clothes did, too. You are trying to give your viewers a fake washing machine, you want their trousers to shrink, too? Is that what you want?”

  “No, sir, look, it’s not-”

  “Don’t interrupt me, lady, I am trying to warn the… a, um, viewers that you are trying to cheat them, and I want, um, wants to tell they that this washing machine isn’t working! It ruined my clothes…”

  The presenter bit her lower lip.

  “Look, sir, if your machine wasn’t working, then you should contact the store you got it from, or the company that produced it, I’m sorry, but we can’t help you…”

  “I told you not to interrupt me, I simply cannot believe this, what it is this rudeness?! You’re being on TV and you acting so rude, isn’t you ashamed of you? I know about your evil master plan. I bet you’re buyed the machine for yourself, and when you saw it doesn’t work you decided to give it to the a people that watch your show, because you doesn’t want it? Am I right? I am? This is totally-”

  The woman didn’t reply this time, she murmured something in her earphone to the crew.

  “…Yeah, get him off the line, now!... I don’t know, play a commercial break or something…” Then she turned to the camera as the man’s voice was suddenly broken off in the middle of his sentence. “I’m sorry, ladies and gentlemen, but our time is up! It’s such a shame that no one won this wonderful…”, she unconsciously made a face. “…washing machine. But oh well. Next time I wish you better luck, thank you for being with us!”

  “Hello? Hello? What is this, why isn’t no one answering me, this is outrageous, can I speak to the a producer, please? Hello?...”, I burst into laughter, now, when no one could hear me, then turned to Vic, now with my normal voice and accent. “Dammit, man, I told you to stop giggling, you’re making me laugh, I can’t get into character properly! I almost chuckled when I had to talk about my ‘a trousers’!”

  “It’s not my fault that you’re the funniest and silliest human being, Kellin!”, he laughed and ruffled my hair. “Gosh, the poor girl, she totally didn’t deserve an angry Russian guy to call her show and piss her off.”

  “But she was giving away shitty washing machines, dude, and evil people like her must be punished.”, I said with a serious expression on the face.

  “You don’t know that! You don’t know that the machine was shitty, maybe it was good.”, he couldn’t help but laugh again.

  “I don’t know for sure, but I suspect it might have been!”, I insisted, giggling too.

  Vic shook head. “You silly idiot.” He leaned in and gave me a soft, quick kiss. “…Oh, look, a talk show is starting! Let’s call there too!”

  “Sounds good.”, I grinned, then added hopefully: “And… if I’m funny enough, am I gonna get another kiss?”

  “Mm, perhaps.”, he winked at me. “We’ll see. But this time I’m calling.”

  “Nooooo.”, I made a grumpy face and hugged the phone receiver as if it was a stuffed toy. “Miiiine.”

  “Give me that.”, Victor tried to get it, but I flinched away, chuckling. He grinned wider. “…Okay, and what if I bribe you with another kiss? Would you give me the phone then?”

  “I might.”, I said hesitantly, grinning back, then handed him the phone. “Here.”

  “Thank you.”, he nodded and started dialing the number, eyebrows furrowed. “And only because I’m such a sweet boyfriend, I’m gonna let you talk too, I’ll put it on speaker.”

  I slightly blushed at the word ‘boyfriend’. Was that what we were now? Boyfriends? Really? I smiled.

  “Aw, you are, indeed.”, I wrapped my arm around his shoulders gently. “The sweetest ever.”

  For a second we listened to the signal.

  “…Hello?”

  I didn’t reply right away, thinking of a good fake name. Then I remembered how Vic and I first met, and grinned again.

  “Hello there, my name is Harold King, and this is my friend, Gerard Bishop, and we’re calling for the show…”

  Prank calls with your new boyfriend. Such a nice way to start your Saturday morning, isn’t it?

END OF CHAPTER 15.