Lancelot

AUTHOR’s NOTES: 1. This short story is based on a personal experience of mine. 2. The opening scene might trigger some of you here. It shows physical violence/abuse.

“Hi!” Jodi said, opening the door. On her parents’ front porch stood her boyfriend Michael, an ear-to-ear grin plastered on his face.

“Are you done packing yet?” Michael asked, then kissed Jodi.

“Just got done, yeah,” Jodi answered with a sigh and a kiss in return. “Why?”

“I was wondering, maybe we could go grab some dinner?” Michael said nervously. “I mean, it’s gonna be our last night together in a long time.”

“Oof! Sorry, babe,” Jodi said with a wince. “Wish I could. I promised Sam one last jam session before I leave.”

“So you gonna hang out with that loser?” Michael asked with more than a little bit of antagonism. His words dripped deadly venom, far deadlier than the inland taipan.

Jodi’s ears turned red and she rounded on him lividly, facing Michael square. Bold move from a girl like her.

“How many times do I need to tell you not to call Sam a loser?” she hissed. “Do you really have that fragile of an ego that you see a harmless nerd like him as a threat?”

“You shut your mouth,” Michael warned through gritted teeth, gripping Jodi’s left arm as tightly as a vise.

“Let me go!” Jodi said, trying her hardest to yank her arm free. “We already went out yesterday. Remember?”

“Goddammit, you’re a female Zeus!” Michael bellowed angrily.

“Oh, and you’re the male version of the virtuous Hera, is that it?” Jodi retorted hotly. “It must be nice having no side chicks, you hypocrite! Don’t think I don’t know about those! Should I start enumerating them?”

And then she spat on him. Bad mistake. A seething Michael let his hand fly loose, backhanding Jodi across the face. She detected a sharp taste of iron in her mouth. Blood. He had cut her lip with that smack. He’d gone too far this time.

“We’re through,” Jodi said, spitting in his face a second time, her saliva mixing with her blood.

“Wait! No, wait!” Michael shouted. “Babe! Jodi, wait!”

“Goodbye, Michael,” Jodi said as she walked away. “You better be gone when I get back or I’ll ask my parents to call the cops on you.”

“You wouldn’t dare,” Michael said with a smirk. “You love me too much, you whore.”

“Maybe I used to,” Jodi shot back before pulling out of her parents’ driveway to go to Sam’s house.

Jodi drove furiously to Sam’s house, banging her fists on the steering wheel occasionally, angry tears spilling down her red cheeks. A fellow driver flashed her the one-fingered salute when he thought she was honking at him. She paid him no heed.

Eventually, Jodi reached Sam’s place and rang the doorbell. Mrs. Osborne answered the door and was alarmed at the way Jodi looked.

“Good Lord!” Mrs. Osborne exclaimed. “What happened? Are you okay? Did someone do this to you?”

“It was a science experiment, Mrs. O,” Jodi joked, trying to lighten the mood. “I purposely tripped to test out Newton’s theory of gravity.”

Mrs. Osborne wasn’t buying it.

“Come in, come in,” Mrs. Osborne said, quickly ushering Jodi inside. “I’ll go get our first aid kit. Sam? Sam!”

“Yeah?” Sam called back.

“Hurry! Go get the kit in the bathroom!” Mrs. Osborne instructed.

“Why? What’s wrong?” Sam asked, his face falling as he emerged from the family’s basement den.

“Really, Mrs. O,” Jodi pleaded. “Please. This is nothing. There’s no need to fuss. I’m fine. I’m okay.”

“What happened to you?” Sam asked.

“I’ll get the kit,” Mrs. Osborne said, sensing that Jodi was more comfortable with telling Sam the truth.

“Can we…? Can we talk?” Jodi asked.

“Yeah, sure, come down here,” Sam invited. “We can talk in the den.”

As they sat on the black leather sofa in the basement, Jodi recounted to Sam what had transpired earlier with tears in her eyes while he listened with concern.

“That son of a bitch!” Sam swore. It was the first time he’d ever sworn. He’d never sworn before. Mr. and Mrs. Osborne had raised him as a good Christian lad and they would be displeased to hear him swear. Jodi was glad that the door to the basement was closed for his sake.

“Calm down,” Jodi said, laying a comforting hand on Sam’s right arm. “I’m the one in this situation, not you. I’m the one who got hurt. Besides, Mrs. O would probably soap your tongue if she heard you.”

“I don’t care!” Sam protested. “I hate that guy. I told you he was trouble.”

“I know,” Jodi said. “I should’ve listened to you. But I didn’t. I was too in love with him to see it.”

“Well, it’s in the past now,” Sam said. “What matters is you had the strength to cut things off before they got worse.”

“Yeah,” Jodi said with a chuckle before wincing from the pain. “I probably would’ve ended up dead in the sewers of Chicago somewhere.”

“Don’t even joke about that,” Sam scolded sternly.

“I’m not!” Jodi said. “I’m serious. I realize that now. He’s a dangerous man. Maybe that’s why I was too afraid to leave him. Maybe it wasn’t love. Maybe it was fear.”

“Maybe,” Sam agreed, nodding. “But tomorrow, you’ll be free of him. But enough about that. You’ve been to San Diego—tell me. What’s it like down there?”

“Oh, my goodness, Sam!” Jodi said with a happy sigh. “It’s so sunny and warm, not like this stupid city where it’s cold like Winterfell. Or Hoth.”

Sam laughed at Jodi’s comparison of the frigid blustery Chicago winds to those of Winterfell and Hoth.

“I’m so jealous of you right now,” Sam said with a laugh. “I wish I could go with you.”

“Where are you going after community college?” Jodi asked out of curiosity.

“I’m staying local,” Sam replied. “UChicago. I hate this stupid city, but it’s one of the best schools. I tried Yale and Harvard but they were way too packed. Didn’t make the quota.”

“Well, good luck,” Jodi said with the tiniest hint of a close-lipped smile. “I’m rooting for you. Promise me two things though.”

“What’s that?” Sam asked.

“Keep in contact and keep your grades up,” Jodi said.

“Deal,” Sam said, extending his pinky for a pinky promise shake.

“Good,” Jodi said, linking her pinky with his.

Soon, their conversation transitioned into lighter topics. They passed the night singing and playing the guitar—mostly Sam though, since Jodi’s jaw and lips were still hurting. They also reminisced about the good old days and cracked jokes. Later, Mr. and Mrs. Osborne came down to join them and they played round after round of Uno until they yawned and went to bed, leaving the two youngsters together.

“Look, how about this?” Sam suggested. “I’ll drive over to your house and grab your things. I’ll explain everything to Mr. and Mrs. Evans. You can spend the night here, and then in the morning, Mom, Dad, and I will drop you off at Union Station.”

“You don’t have to do that, Sam,” Jodi said. “Really, I’m fine. If Mike’s there, I can just call the police. Also, I hate to impose.”

“You’re not,” Sam assured her. “Besides, you’re much safer here. And it’ll be like a sleepover, just like the ones we used to have as kids.”

“One last sleepover?” Jodi asked with a smile.

“One last sleepover,” Sam replied, fist bumping her.

“Well, if you insist,” Jodi said with a shrug. “I’ll stay the night.”

And stay the night she did. While she freshened up in the bathroom on the first floor, Sam prepped her bed on the sleeper sofa downstairs. The next morning, the Osbornes, along with Sam, dropped Jodi off at Union Station to catch her train.

“I’m gonna miss you,” Jodi said, hugging Sam tightly. “Take care of yourself, okay?”

“We’re all gonna miss you,” Mr. Osborne said, giving Jodi a quick hug.

“You’re like the daughter I never had,” Mrs. Osborne said, wiping her tears. “Did I ever tell you that?”

“I was gonna say the same thing,” Sam said with a laugh and tears in his eyes. “Take care of yourself now. Promise me you’ll be okay?”

“I promise, I’ll be okay. As long as you promise to text,” Jodi answered. “Remember our deal.”

“How could I forget?” Sam said.

Unbeknownst to them, however, Michael was standing at a distance, watching the scene unfold. In his hands, he held a crushed and broken red rose, which he let drop onto the marble floor of the station as he watched Jodi walk away to make her way to the platform. All that was missing was for Michael to belt out the Phantom’s lines, “You will curse the day you did not do all that the Phantom asked of you!”

Nine months later...

Sam checked his email before proceeding with homework. With how hectic and stressful classes were, it was a miracle that he was able to communicate with his parents and Jodi. They called each other almost every day, texted, and emailed. They were excited to know what was going on in each other’s lives. Of course, Sam had made new friends at UChicago, including his roommate Tony, but he never forgot Jodi. Speaking of the Devil, the first email that caught his eye was an email from Jodi herself. He clicked on it excitedly. However, his face fell when he read its contents.

Hello, Samuel. It’s me, Michael. I’m writing you this email from Jodi’s address. Yeah, I hacked into her account, so what? You’ve probably heard of me before. I’m Jodi’s boyfriend. You read that right. I’m her boyfriend. Again. I’ve won her back. You lost. The battle’s over. You can give up trying now. Look, I know you’re a cool guy and I’d probably shake your hand if we ever met on the street—or raise the Vulcan hand salute in greeting if that’s what you prefer. But stay away from my girl, you hear me?

You know what you are? You’re like the best friend character in a romcom. The one that comes between the couple. You’re driving a wedge between Jodi and me. Enough is enough. This reminds me of a story—an epic story. Are you familiar with the legend of King Arthur? Pulls the sword out of the stone or receives it from a magical hand in the lake, becomes king of England, tries to find the Holy Grail with his Knights of the Round Table? That King Arthur. But there’s more to the story. See, he had a wife named Queen Guinevere and a really, really good friend named Sir Lancelot, one of his most trusted knights. In fact, he was the king’s champion. But Lancelot and Guinevere had a deep, dark secret. They were in love. And so they started an affair and screwed each other behind Arthur’s back. You’re the Lancelot in this little story of ours and Jodi is Queen Guinevere. And I’m King Arthur, except for one thing. We’re not good friends. We’re not even friends at all. So back off and stay away or there will be consequences. That’s not a threat, because I never make threats. I make promises. Remember I told you I’m King Arthur in this story? Well, Chicago is my Camelot. There is no part of Chicago that will hide you from me. Capiche? Alright, my friend. Until next time. I hope this is the first and last email I’d have to write you. If you receive a second email from me, you know it’s too late. It means you’ve signed your death warrant. Michael Hall out!

With shaking hands, Sam shut his laptop down. After that, he was too depressed to study that his grades dropped. He also stopped talking to Jodi—no phone calls, no emails, no texts, no chat—video or otherwise. There was complete radio silence. He went cold turkey and totally ghosted her. Another man’s jealousy had destroyed their friendship and there was no going back from there. He feared for both his and Jodi’s lives so he had to make a decision, even if that decision stung like bloody Hell. Maybe someday, he’ll send Jodi an email to explain to her what happened so that they could have closure. But for now, he was going to step away.