Regret

“Get Out of the vehicle”

A million thoughts go through Dennis's head. What would happen to Julia now all alone with his baby on the way? Would they charge him for life? Why was he so stupid?

He decides to climb out of the vehicle, Mike doesn’t.

“I said get out of the vehicle or I shoot.”

The two traffic cops don’t look very pleased to continue to ask Mike to get out of the vehicle and they decide to shoot three warning shots.

Doof

There goes his change of freedom. Now the officers would indeed think they did something wrong.

Doof

Why would Mike constantly try to sabotage everything?

Doof

But they did indeed to something wrong.

Mike then decides to finally get out of the vehicle before it’s too late. Mike still looks goofed from the last drag of weed he took. How stupid was he to believe Mike wouldn’t do something like this? Now he has gotten himself involved in that business only to be arrested and not get what he did it for in the first place.

Two traffic cops hold them down while the other one investigates the vehicle. He knows he could easily escape the grasp of the traffic cop, but what would that do? They already seen his face and Mike would surely squeak about where he lives He couldn’t do that to Julia.

O his sweet Julia, with their baby on the way she looks even more beautiful.

“Phone the cops, they are getting booked.”

The traffic cop investigating the vehicle said, while lifting up the boot of the car.

He knew what lay under that boot.

How could he have been so stupid to trust Mike?

The traffic cop calls the police and he could hear the irritation in the traffic cops voice. He must be thinking what these two fuckups are doing in this town. He wonders too. Why didn’t he just listen to Julia and moved into her parents’ house?

He remembers why, because he saw the disappointment in her eyes when he told her he got fired from work. He remembers the way she looked down when she said there are place at her parents’ house. He knew she didn’t want to go back to her abusive Mother and how could he let her go back to him?

The police officers arrive. By that time he is so lost in thought the police officer had to shake him to respond.

“Do you know why we are taking you in?”

He doesn’t have the will to form the words and just nods. He looks on the side that Mike is standing his laughing at the police officer. The police offer looks pissed. O Mike why should everything be so difficult for you?

The drive to the police station is quiet. One of the police officers gave Mike a chocolate so that he could just be quiet and we sit in the back seat handcuffed to the ceiling. It gives him more time to regain his thoughts again. He wants to forget about last night, but he just can’t.

He looks out the window; we are 3 minutes away from the strip club. He know cause his been there last night. 2 Minutes away from the tattoo parlour, 1 minute away from the garage store. That means we are only 5 minutes away from the police station. All this he knows, because he has been their last night.

10 minutes later

He is sitting in a small room. No windows, one door. It looks just like the room where criminals sit in when being investigated. He doesn’t want to be investigated. He wishes they’d just booked him and gets it over with, but then he remembers Julia again. He has to talk to see her one day again and his son. Mike is in another room he knows. They do this in the movies too to see if the criminals’ stories add up. What would Mike say? Would he confess the truth or throw him under the dust like always? Or would his goofed up self just say nothing and keep quiet? In that case would he be free to go or get a life long sentence?

The police officer walks in. He is a huge guy with strong arms. He takes a packet of cigarettes out of his pocket and a match box. He offers him one. He rejects. The police officer just shakes his head up and down as in agreement with something he already knows. He then takes the file he has been holding and smacks it down on the table. Dennis flinches. The police officer opens the file and takes out 11 photographs. He places them face up in front of Dennis. Dennis doesn’t want to look at them, but if he doesn’t he wouldn’t recall the whole story of what happened the previous night correctly. He looks at them.

Strip club, heel, bullet, body, tattoo, weed, disprins, lamp, and bag.

“Do you recognise any of this?”

The police officer says sarcastically. Is he mocking him?

Dennis just looks down and nods.

The police officer just slams his fists down on the table.

On his microphone he calls.

“He had admitted to knowing call in detective.”

The police officer just walks out and before his out the door looks at Dennis with a foul expression.

A few minutes later

The door opens and a tall woman walks in. She has on a pair of dark pants and an orange t-shirt. How odd it is for she is a detective with bright colours on. She notices his stare at her t-shirt.

“It helps the people calm down when talking.”

He nods and looks down again. He hears a chair move and creak. She has sat down.

“Now Dennis if I’m correct?”

Dennis just nods

“Tell me what happened?”

….

Dennis

….

My memories go back to that night. Julia is fast asleep and I’m about to head on to the strip club to get Mike. He has told me he has gotten a quick job for me and then I get 50 k. It sounds too good to be true, but I really need the money for Julia and our baby. 

Upon arrival at the club mike is nowhere to be found. I message him. He replies. His at the back. Probably with some random stripper. I descend to the back. Room 3 he said. I knock on the door then go in. Just as I expected he was with a stripper. I stand there uncomfortable.

I’m almost done he says.

I just stand there not looking at anything in particular. I hear Mike’s breathing finally going up. Thank goodness, because I don’t want to be here any longer. Then something unexpected happens.

Someone barge in.

The person, a guy screams at Mike that that’s his wife as he indicates to the stripper. Mike throws the stripper’s shoe at him, because of the interruption. It’s a heel. The heel goes straight in the guy’s throat. This person falls. I hear gunshots, but I’m too shock to register what’s going on.

When I regain consciousness we are in my car. I’m in the passenger seat. The stripper in the back. Wait how did stripper got in the back? Never mind Mike will tell me. Mike looks straight ahead. No emotion in his eyes. Wait is that blood I smell.

I ask Mike what we are doing he just shrugs. Why is the stripper in the car I ask Mike? He replies that he can’t leave any witnesses. In that moment I think how he would know what to do. Then it hits me he has done this before. I start to freak out. Mike offers me something that looks like a pipe. I first hesitate. Then I take it and smoke it. Its tobacco it helps. We stop at a garage. The stripper gets out. I ask Mike what’s going on. He again doesn’t reply only goes to the boot of car and lift it up. In the boot is the body of the man he threw with the heel. What the fuck Mike I say to him. He just shrugs. Shit happens he says. The stripper returns with a box of disprins. She must have a headache, because of this shit. Mike indicates the stripper to get in the car. She does. Then she tells Mike she needs rest. Mike stop at the nearest B&B. I wait in the car. Mike returns a couple of minutes later. He then slams on the window and tells me that we should get rid of the body. I tell him I need another drag of the pipe. He gives it. A few moments later we go into the B&B to fetch a garbage bag to put the body in. What we see there in the room we booked is just making the situation worst. The stripper lays there disprins in hand. DEAD. I get hysterical and without thinking hit the stripper with a lamp.

Let’s go Mike says. I don’t argue. The body in the back with the garbage bag over. We drive away from the B&B. Mike in the passenger seat. Then I hear him smoke something and I smell it. It’s weed.

….

“Is that your final statement?”

Dennis hears the detective say. He hasn’t even noticed he has been speaking this entire time. He nods his head. The detective leaves.

Thanks Mike.

Dennis sits there. He thinks about Julia again how will she cope without him? He thinks about how beautiful her smile is and how funny she could be sometimes. The beautiful way her nose twitch before she laughs. Her beautiful pregnant tummy. He is never going to see his baby boy. 

A few minutes later the detective walks in with the police officer. They handcuff him. Today is the worst day.

He gets his free call. He phones Julia. Someone speak on the line.

It’s not Julia.

“It’s Dennis is Julia there?”

“You asshole you leave her all alone. She is in fucking labour”

He lets the phone fall.