Broken Glass

A drunk roar sounded through the dark room, and a bottle collided with the torn, floral wallpaper.  Chipped glass piled between the bed and the wall.  The pebbled glass barbed the bottoms of Nate’s feet.  He left his feet bare, smearing the muddy green carpet with blood.

Copper, street light stretched across the cotton sheets into Nate’s lap.  He sat with his legs criss-crossed and his idle phone balancing on one thigh.  The end of his long, black coat spread out on the bed around him.  His eyes rested blankly on the gray wall ahead of him.  Laughs echoed through the ceiling above him making his ears throb.  He scratched his ear and shifted his gaze towards the slit of the door letting a line of light divide the room in half.  Thirty minutes had passed.

His phone vibrated, and Nate picked it up.  She would be there in five minutes.  Nate forced himself to reign in his passion for five more minutes.  He clicked his phone off and set it down on a shabby table next to the bed.

An elderly neighbor turned the volume of the TV to the highest setting, provoking the ringing clamor in his ears.  Nate groaned.  His muscles tightened and sharp claws seemed to clamp down on his chest.  The floor swayed, and the bed tilted.  The claws released.  Nate breathed in a slow pattern, and the room gradually stopped rocking back and forth.  Once he was certain the episode had ended, Nate relaxed his muscles and rubbed his eyes.

The lack of sleep and excessive alcohol weighed on him.  He couldn’t coerce his mind to drop this ambition and rest until the job was done.  Then, sleep would be his reward, and after forty-one hours of restless consciousness, Nate would relish a good night’s sleep.

Four more minutes.  He propped his elbow on his knee and laid his head in his hand.  His thick coat brushed against his side, and cold metal seeped iciness through his shirt to his skin.  Nate closed his eyes and cleared his mind.  The TV shut off, and no voices could be heard.  Nate opened his eyes to troubled silence.

Three more minutes.  His eyes rolled over the apartment.  After tonight, he’d never have to come back.  Nothing would be in the way of acceptance.  His parents would listen, and they would be proud.  He’d answer their doubts.  Nate would abolish the standards once and for all.

He pressed the home button on his phone.  Two more minutes.  The moment crept closer, wrapping Nate in chains of anticipation.  Juggling fiery passion and icey contempt, he clenched his fists as a way to deal with the building emotions. 

The phone vibrated on the table.  The text read, “See you in Chicago tomorrow!”.   Nate shuddered.  A shadow moved across the room, formed from the copper light.  Nate’s sister was outside.

Nate fought sanity in the last minute.  The apartment’s door clicked open.  The sound bounced in Nate’s ears, and the world spun.  He cupped his head in his hand as Julia walked into her apartment.  Light flooded the room as the switch flipped upwards.

Julia looked at the glass shards and looked at Nate.  “I thought you were in Chicago.”

Nate shrugged.  “I decided to surprise you.  Here I am!”  He giggled.

Julia set her black, office bag on the floor and tip-toed over the glass.  “We’re both supposed to be at the family reunion in Chicago tomorrow.  That’s seven hours away.  Did you really drive seven hours to Pittsburgh just to see me when I’d be in Chicago tomorrow?”

Nate nodded.

“What’s going on?”

Nate stood up to give Julia a hug.  “I wanted to talk to you before the reunion.  You know how those things creep me out with all of their…stupidity.”

Julia backed away from the hug.  “Nate, you’re drunk.”  She pointed to the scattered glass.  “You’ve destroyed my room.  How did you even get in here?”

“It’s my specialty.”  Nate grinned, showing rows of white teeth.  A tension wrench and a hook sat on the table next to Nate’s phone.  He picked locks in his free time.

“You broke into my apartment?”  Julia studied Nate’s face.  Nate’s pale, blue eyes haunted her to the point of uneasiness.  “I’m calling Mom and Dad.”

“No!  They always blame me for everything.”

“That’s because you’re always getting yourself into trouble.  You should start booking a room.  There’s a nice hotel a few minutes away you should try.”

Nate grumbled.  He wouldn’t miss his chance after days of waiting.  He tucked his phone and lock picks inside one of his coat pockets and stood up near the end of the bed.  He didn’t take his hand back out of his coat.

Julia saw Nate’s blood staining the floor.  “Nate, do you know how hard it is to get blood out of the carpet?”  Julia’s voice thrashed Nate’s ears.  

Nate responded with rapid blinking.  His mind trembled with pressure.

“Nate?”

“I’m tired of this.  You kick me out all the time.”

“You broke into my apartment.  What did you expect?  A warm welcome?  Get out.”

Nate narrowed his eyes.  “At least give your little brother a hug.”

“You promise that you’ll leave me alone afterwards?”

Nate smirked.  “I promise.”

Julia slithered over the broken bottle pieces.  Nate and Julia gave each other a stiff hug.  Nate stayed there for a while, his first rest in the last two days.

Once he pulled back, Nate smiled at Julia’s shocked face.  Julia reached for her phone, and Nate thrust her onto the glass-covered ground.  Nate took his hand off of the knife’s handle.  Towering over his sister, Nate breathed in his twisted triumph.

The knife stuck out between Julia’s ribs, adding more blood to the floor.  Nate bent down and covered Julia’s mouth as tight as he could.  Nate jerked the knife out of Julia’s body.  Looking down, he stabbed again.  And again.  Nate’s fury overtook him.

Across the hall, the landlord twirled his keys in his hand.  Room 125 was getting noisy.  He passed by and looked inside the clear hole.  His hands shook, dialing 911.