Chapter Twenty Six
June Third
Wolfgang
He sat at a bus station bench across the street to watch them at the restaurant and hated thinking of what Ben did to her to make her act the way she did. Wolfgang could see she was uncomfortable with him. The fucker didn't even respect her enough to hold the door open for her. It puzzled Wolfie what she ever saw in Ben, that might be a question for him to bring up later.
He pulled out his tablet from his old backpack and observed the battery life, the network here barely worked with the software from the island. He searched the route from Sacramento to Whitmore, California and searched to find bus tickets. To find buses ran to Redding, but not to Whitmore. That would be another thirty miles. The car parked next to him had a for sale poster in the window. He didn’t have the money but that didn’t stop him from thinking about driving north. He had never driven three hours straight, throughout the day, sure, but not at once.
He was tired of sleeping outside and he was starving half the time. He wouldn't be surprised if he lost weight since he's been here, but he didn't care about that or where he was going to be sleeping tonight. All he wanted was getting juniper to himself and making sure that loser of an ex didn’t tag along this time.
Frustrated at his battery life he powered it down. He still had a good twenty percent and had found Juniper but didn’t want to waste it. He shoved it in his bag and placed the sack between his feet, he stretched his chest out, taking up the whole bench, manspreading, as he watched across the street. Waiting.
Roxtyn
Ben would not shut up about his oysters rockefeller and how he had better someplace else. Roxy didn’t care, her anger towards him had grown from earlier . They stepped outside and across the street she saw Wolfgang at a bench, grab his bag and stand. She continued walking with Ben towards their apartment a few streets over. She didn’t think Wolfgang would be on top of them so fast but he had followed her all the way here and she was hoping to not have to spend one more night with Ben.
“The wine was okay, and your food looked okay.”
She tuned him out and agreed when it sounded like she needed to.
Two blocks passed, she looked back and saw a dark figure following them, making sure he watched every turn they took. She tuned back in, “It’s okay, next time you can wear something nicer, you knew it was formal but decided to wear that.”
Ben didn’t acknowledge that she didn’t own anything nice because of their situation but still blamed her.
“Sorry.”
She whispered sarcastically enough to please herself but not for him to know. She mentally noted Wolfie’s steps behind her, she could hear them, each step comforted her and her heart thickened in her chest.
They passed the parking garage and lined up to the door to enter the side of the building. Ben put in the passcode for the door and opened it just enough for Roxy to catch it. She grabbed the handle and opened it, and held it open to be courteous for whoever was following.
Wolfie grabbed the handle and didn’t look at her, he muttered, “Thanks.”
and stood next to them at the elevator. Roxy’s heart raced, she slowly breathed in and out audibly to calm herself. “Are you okay?”
Ben looked at her.
“Yeah,”
She pressed her stomach, “Maybe it was my dinner not agreeing with me.”
The elevator dinged and the doors opened.
Ben stepped in and then Roxy and then Wolfgang. She pressed the thirteen button, lighting it up. Wolfie reached across her, “Excuse me.”
He pressed fourteen. She wanted anything at that moment, to run to Wolfie for protection. She didn’t know his plan but she knew it wasn’t time. Roxy would follow his lead.
Ben picked their conversation up thinking he was quieter than he was as the box closed and ascended, “Too bad, that ruins any fun we could have later.”
She squirmed as he pulled her in by her torso, stepping away from the stranger in the elevator and into him. “We should go to bed early though. You had two glasses of wine and a breadstick more than you should have, you’ll have to hit the gym extra hard in the morning, we don’t want you getting any bigger.”
She was startled by Wolfgang’s sharp exhale through his nose and jumped under Ben’s arm around her. Ben comforted her by saying, “You’re okay.”
As she looked at Wolfie, his knuckles white, gripping his backpack strap. His head turned slowly and she caught his expression of anger crossed with disgust while trying to stay cool after spotting the camera in the corner.
The door dinged and Ben ushered her off. She couldn’t even concentrate on what Ben was saying, She didn’t care either. He was quiet up the rest of the hall and stopping at their door, “I’m kind of tired Rox. Can you pour me a glass of rum while I change?”
He opened the door, letting himself in first, dropping his keys on the counter and walked towards the bedroom.
“Yes.”
She turned to close the door slowly, locking eyes with Wolfgang walking to their door. The door latched before he could reach it. She wanted to act normal and didn’t know where the line was, when the charade was over. She stepped back waiting for a knock, expecting a bang or the door to fly off its hinges and all that came through was a few gentle taps. She dropped her purse behind her and opened the unlocked door, “Hello?”
Her face lifted to Wolfie as he gripped the door frame from above and spoke loudly, “Hello ma’am I seem to be locked out of my apartment. Can I come in for a while and wait for management?”
His deep voice traveled into the apartment as she heard shuffling and the bedroom door shut.
“Can I help you?”
Ben appeared, still dressed.
Wolfgang took two steps in, slammed the door behind him and dropped his bag, “Yeah, you can.”
He pushed Ben into the bedroom hallway with his chest.
Ben's voice rose, “Roxtyn, call nine one one!”
Wolfgang chuckled inches from Ben's face and placed each of his hands against the wall lining up with Ben’s ears, “You really think she’s going to help you?”
“She’s my girlfriend, Roxtyn!”
He cried out.
“I don’t think she is.”
Ben's panicked eyes flickered to Roxtyn and back to Wolfgang. “Help you stupid bit-”
he screamed but was cut short by Wolfgang's hand around his throat.
“Do you want to know where she was the last five months?”
He breathed inches from Ben’s face, teeth gritted.
Ben gawked at wolfgang's eyes, until he lightly nodded, “ With me and I think she’s beautiful, has the body of a goddess and mostly, she sure as fuck isn’t stupid.”
Ben’s eyes darted to her still body until Wolfgang’s hand shifted up, covering his mouth, pulling his face back to him, “I’ve been watching you and you didn’t say very nice things to her the whole way home, or in the elevator. She deserves an apology.”
Gripping his jaw harder than Ben could ever have done to Juniper, he dragged him to the chair Roxy favored, “Sit.”
Ben’s body collapsed in the chair and Wolfie watched Ben’s eyes flicker to the side and turned to see his phone on the floor, Wolfie stepped back and flipped it into his palm. He stared into Ben’s eyes as the glass cracked from his hands bending the plastic sides towards each other. “Now that there are no distractions,”
He chucked the phone across the room and dropped a knee next to the chair, “She deserves a lot more than an apology but let's start there.”
“S-Sorry.”
His eyes focused on Roxtyn as she stood and stared at him, pissed still.
“June, do you forgive him?”
Her expression darkened, “No.”
“Welp bud, I think it’s time for her to take a walk and you’re not going to go after her, you’re going to leave her alone for good, forever .”
June watched a tear come from Ben’s eye, not feeling sorry for him at all. Thinking of how it was nothing compared to what he put her through, “I-”
She paused, catching their attention and stepped towards Wolfgang, ready to feed the fire.
“Yes?”
Wolfgang paused, softening his body while looking at her. She didn’t speak and he asked “What is it?”
“I just want to let you know, he forced himself on me before dinner”
Her lip twitched as her breathing shallowed, “And when you leave, there’s no security cameras in the stairwell, or a good distance south of the building.”
She picked up her bag.
Wolfgang clenched his jaw, “Get your stuff and get out, now.”
He graveled. Juniper turned to leave, before the door closed, she could hear the sound of anger knocking into a man. Ben yelped through the door and for the first time, she took the stairs.
Wolfgang
He dragged the tablet out of the bag and turned it on. ‘There she is.’ He smirked at the blue dot sitting three blocks south and one street over and after some research he discovered it was some bar and cafe.
It took longer than he wanted with June waiting on him, but after cleaning up his mess, washing up and getting into the safe, he was ready. He didn’t know what Ben did, or how he had so much money but he took all of it, enough for that car and whatever June’s pretty heart desired. When they find him maybe they will think it was a robbery gone bad.
The place was a mess and Juniper must have released something in him because he didn’t realize the thrill he would get to let Ben go every now and then, just to watch him scramble in fear.
Juniper
She had six dollars in her purse and nursed her single drink wondering what was taking so long. She didn’t know if Wolfie was going to get close to killing him or actually do it. With it being over two hours, June didn’t want to know. “Here.”
The bartender slid another drink to her.
“I didn’t order-”
“No,”
He pointed, “That guy got it for you.”
She looked at a blonde man in business attire and forced a smile for gratitude. ‘God he’s walking over here.’ She exhaled slowly.
“Hi. I’m Jack, can I sit with you?”
“Um, sure, I won't be here much long. I’m waiting for my boyfriend.”
He slid on the seat next to her, “He left you here? Alone?”
“No, I’m actually meeting him here. He had some business to wrap up.”
“Oh, Are you from here?”
June smirked and finished her drink. “No, I’m not.”
“Where are you from?”
His tall pale stout laced to the sides.
“Fiji.” She lied.
“Oh wow. What brought you here?”
June refrained from rolling her eyes, “Unfinished business. Are you from here?”
Her lips met her straw and she started sipping.
“Well I grew up in Boston but moved here at fifteen with my parents. I went to school at UCLA for biology.”
Jack Really just wanted to talk about himself, the more he talked the more she sipped. Where the hell was Wolfgang? Did he get caught? She began to worry.
The bartender dropped off a third drink for her and another beer for him and she switched her cups. “And that’s why biology didn’t work out and I went with psychology instead.”
“Mm.”
She raised her brows and thought to herself, ‘aren’t psychologists supposed to be good listeners?’ Halfway through her drink and his seventh conversation she saw him and perked in her seat, “Wolfie.”
She whispered, waving in his direction, past the guy.
“What?”
Jack seemed confused turning around.
He approached the two, unconcerned, “Hey.”
He kissed her and ignored Jack, “Are you ready?”
“Oh, you really have a boyfriend.”
He acted surprised. “Looks like he can pay for your drinks then.”
Wolfie grabbed his shoulder forcing him to stay seated, someone needed to stick up for her. Juniper noticed the scrapes on his hand and knuckles, “Did you say you would pay for her drinks?”
The bartender was on it and faced them in a minute, “What’s going on you two?”
Wolfie dropped his hand, “He said he’s not paying for her drinks now?”
“That’s not how that works my man, you know if you ask to send a drink to a girl, you pay for it.”
“She has a boyfriend,”
Jack baffled.
“That’s part of the game. Sorry pal.”
“Let’s go.”
He put his hand out for her, “Thanks my man.”
Juniper hopped down, “Bye Jack.”
She trailed behind Wolfie before he stopped her and maneuvered her to be in front of him and grabbed the door handle. “I missed you.”
She smiled at him.
“I wasn’t that long.”
“No, I mean while we were separated.”
“Here.”
he stopped and pointed to an older black sports car.
“What?”
She stared at it.
“I bought it.”
He looked at her, “Just now. The bus doesn’t go to Whitmore, so we will drive.”
June realized what he meant and acted on her thoughts while waiting for him, now was the time. She dropped her entire purse in the trash can, ID, phone, empty bank cards, all worthless now.
“Oh.”
June picked her jaw up, “I can’t drive.”
“What?”
He opened the passenger door.
“I can’t drive. I never learned.”
He leaned on the roof, “And I’m just now learning about this?”
“Mhmm.”
She smiled up at him as he pushed down the lock and closed the door. His door opened and he swooped down and groaned getting in. The door closed and instantly June asked, “How much did this cost?”
Wolfie shrugged, “Seven thousand?”
She wanted to ask questions, how did it go? Was he almost dead or actually dead? Where’s his body? How long does it take for a human to start to smell from decomposition? Did you avoid cameras? Why are you walking weird? Do you think we will get caught? If he is dead how long do you think it will take for them to find him? Is he going to follow us out of anger? but she didn’t want the answer, she wanted to live in the now, in case there was no tomorrow. Ben wasn't her problem anymore.
Wolfgang
He had loved watching her unwind the last forty five minutes, becoming Juniper and letting go of Roxtyn as she talked his ear off like they hadn’t been apart the last three weeks. “I’m starving, can we stop?”
He exited the freeway heading into Yuba City.
"Yes, let’s stop somewhere,”
She pulled the visor down, flipping the mirror open to check her appearance in the dark.
Wolfie pulled her left hand as she flopped the visor back up, “You look beautiful.”
He couldn’t understand how she was always worried about it, but after seeing how Ben was to her, he had an idea.
“I still can’t believe you're here. You came after me.”
“Do you remember me telling you if the planet exploded, I would find you on the next? Because my world did explode the moment they took you from me.”
He looked at her under the glow of a stoplight. “I hope this is enough proof that I will go any distance to show you how much I love you.”
She smiled back at him, “Is this what it’s like being someone’s stardust?”
He squeezed her hand. “It looks like there is a diner open up here.”