Stockholm Syndrome? - Chapter 2: Chapter 2

Archer's POV
I'm sorry, I can't hang out tonight. Something came up. I love you.
Typical Lennox. Just like that he cancelled on me. Something came up. Something always came up. For the past couple of months it had been the same story. He didn't even have the decency to tell me what that something was. He didn't have the decency to actually call me. He would call the next day. Say he was sorry. Say his dog had to go to the vet. That's if his grandma didn't have to go the emergency room.
"Fuck!" I said and threw my phone on the bed I was sitting on..
For a few seconds my eyes returned to the drawing pad I had balanced neatly on my lap. I had been sketching something. I tore the page, groaning before crushing it and throwing it onto the floor. My eyes followed it and for a fleeting second I caught sight of the beautiful eyes I had drawn.
I sighed. The eyes belonged to one on the hottest guys at my former high school, Lennox Young. Lennox was what many would call silent but deadly. He didn't talk much. He wasn't aggressive and rarely responded to taunts. On the pitch he was deadly. He was the school's number one goal scorer in soccer. He was the state's best striker. Adored by many, hated by a few; he possessed charm that was addictive. He was the kind of guy you wanted to get a word out of, the kind whose thoughts you wanted to read.
He also happened to be my boyfriend of 2 years. As you may have noticed, things weren't going so great between us at that time. Lennox was the silent type. I knew that when I asked him out. I guess I thought he'd open up with me. He did for a while and now he was just shutting off again. I honestly didn't know what to do.
I released one more frustrated sigh just as my mom's voice travelled all the way upstairs from the kitchen. She was summoning me to the kitchen.
I closed my drawing pad and put it neatly on the bed.
"I'm coming!" I shouted back.
I stood up and walked to the kitchen, not before kicking the crushed paper out of my way.
Mom had just gotten back from work. It was a little over 4 pm. Working in a bank had its advantages. She was usually home by 4 pm on weekdays and 1 pm on Saturdays. That wasn't always good for me.
My mom loved and adored me, sometimes to a point of suffocation. She always wanted me close to her, wanted to know where I was and what time I was coming back. She was overprotective and at 18, I was not fond of her over-protectiveness. My protests fell on deaf ears of course. I was an only child; mom thought it was necessary to protect me from the evils of the world. She couldn't afford to lose her only child, something I thought was an exaggeration. Lately her smothering was increasing. It had to do with the fact that I was going off to college out of state soon, a decision she did not like.
Walking lazily, I finally made it to the kitchen. Mom was leaning over the kitchen counter, placing tins of beans neatly on it. There were several plastic bags on the counter, an indication she had gone grocery shopping. It was a surprise she was back so early if she'd taken a detour to the grocery store.
"Hi mom", I said as I walked over to her and kissed her on the cheek.
She fixed my hair, one thing on a long list of things she liked doing to me. "Hi. How was your day?"
"It was okay. How was work?" I said as I helped her pack the groceries.
"It was fine. Did you do anything?"
"I slept", I said grinning.
"All day?" she asked.
"Yeah. I do need it. I have been working hard for the past couple of months", I said grinning.
"Yeah you have, and you did great. I still can't believe high school is done. It's not so long ago I was teaching you how to hold your pen", she said. She had a faraway look on her face.
"Actually, it is", I said with a grin.
She gave me a stern look, but her face softened. "Are you doing anything tonight?"
I shook my head.
"I thought you were going out with Len", she said.
"I don't remember telling you that", I sad.
She gave me a sheepish look. "I heard you telling Stella".
I put the milk I was holding in the fridge and turned to her. "I was going out with Len but he cancelled. Something came up".
"That's the 5th time in two weeks", she reminded me. "Is everything okay between the two of you?"
"Yeah", I said. It must have been the way I said it that got a concerned look from my mom. "We are fine", I added.
My addition served to assure mom of Len and I's stance but did the opposite. My voice was dry and laden with so much deception that it sounded as though I had a lump in my throat. I don't know if it was because I was finally acknowledging that something was wrong between Len and me or if it was my inability to lie to my mom.
"You don't sound fine", she said.
"Mom we are going to college in different states. There are some hiccups", I said.
"Shouldn't you be spending more time together instead? Soon you will be leaving"
"Whatever came up must be serious", I retorted. I was getting annoyed by how right she was.
"Okay", she said quietly and resumed packing the rest of the groceries.
We worked in silence for a while. Mom stole glances at me. She was worried about me. I couldn't stand the surveillance so I excused myself to call Stella. I had to get out of the house. Just because Lennox cancelled on me didn't mean I had to sit at home and watch romantic comedies while feeling sorry for myself.
Stella was one of my best friends. We'd been friends since kindergarten, something she liked reminding me if I did anything wrong. We'd grown up together and formed a bond based on Stella's bossiness and my submissive nature to her. She was like the little sister you could not say no to, with some added threats of grievous body harm if you did.
Stella stood at 5ft 3 inches, just 4 inches shorter than me. Her threats of grievous bodily harm weren't scary, I could take her on. I never felt the need to. Besides my stance on violence against women, Stella always had good intentions. She adored me, something she rarely said but showed.
I walked into my room to get my phone. I had two missed calls, both from Stella. Speak of the devil. She was probably calling to threaten me with a black eye if I didn't accompany her shopping.
I called back. The phone barely rang before she pounced on it.
"Hey graduate", she said.
"Hi graduate. You called twice. Did you butt dial?"
"No", she said dragging her word.
"I was hoping you did. What's up?"
"What are you wearing to the party?" she asked excitedly.
I frowned. "Uh...what party?"
"Caleb Whitmore's graduates-only party!" she said, her voice rising.
"Uh...Stella, are you okay?" I said slowly. "Caleb already had a graduates-only party two weekends ago. We were there. You got so drunk you threw up on my brand-new jacket".
"Don't remind me. There was something else in that drink", she said the same thing she told me seconds after spewing alcohol on me. "Anyway, Caleb is having a graduates-only 2.0 party. You should check your Facebook, you are invited".
"When is it?"
"This Saturday, he says it's a party to end all parties, so bring less of your uptightness and more of the animal inside you", she said.
I chuckled. "Will you throw up on me?"
"No. I'll aim at Clark this time if he decided to come back", she said.
Clark was our friend. The three of us were always together.
"I'm sure he'll be happy about that part", I said. "Anyway, what are you doing?"
"Clearing out my closet. I need a new wardrobe, like new everything", she said.
"Where do I come in?"
"Aw so cute, you already know your role. I have trained you well. I'm going shopping tomorrow. You have to come with. If you play nice I'll get you a new jacket"
Silence.
"Archer?"
"I'm still waiting for you to promise to castrate me if I say no".
She laughed. "I was so not going to do that. But I will if you tell me I look fat. Say the f-word and you'll find yourself with useless balls. You don't need them anyway"
That was more Stella. Taking swipes at me was her favorite pastime. She made jokes about everything from what I liked eating to my sexuality. It was all fun and games.
"Are you doing anything around 6...possibly till midnight?" I asked, remembering why I had gone up the stairs in the first place.
"Georgina is coming over. I will have strangled her before midnight so I'm thinking I'll be free at around 9. Why?"
Georgina was Stella's older sister. She was prim and proper, something Stella didn't even strive to be. I honestly thought Georgina belonged in the Victorian era. Her pose, mannerisms and anything that came out of her mouth was annoying, even to me.
"I was hoping we could hang out", I said.
"If you are inviting me to watch you and Len make out, no thanks. I have better things to do, like making sure my sister doesn't visit again, or that she's six feet under, whichever comes first", Stella said.
"Len cancelled, again. And you sound like you need someone to rescue you from going to jail", I said.
"What's up with him?" she asked. Her tone had changed to worry.
"I don't know. I'm hoping he'll explain tomorrow. So...Rapunzel, do you need a prince to rescue you?" I said cheerfully.
"You do know the prince ends up blind in that story, right?"
"Actually, I don't. I just know they live happily ever after like all fairy tales. So...the park in an hour? You can tell daddy I desperately need you", I said.
"Fine. But my room is a mess so tomorrow you are helping me tidy it up or god help me I will rearrange that pretty face of yours", she said.
I grinned. "You are on".
A few minutes after talking to Stella I let myself into the shower. I briefly let the water fall on me with my eyes closed. I hadn't showered that day because I had planned on showering closer to the time I would meet up with Len. I wanted to be fresh and all those cheesy things. We'd been dating for 2 years, he'd seen me at my worst, but I still tried to look good for him. I'd even chosen what I was going to wear and we'd only been going to the movies and maybe a moonlight walk.
I wondered what he was doing at that moment. I wondered why he didn't call to explain. Was he hurt? If so, not badly enough that he couldn't hold a phone. He'd been able to type a message and send it. If he'd wanted to tell me why he couldn't make up for the date he'd cancelled 4 times in the past, he could have done it.
I reminisced just how much I had been in that situation in the last couple of months as I worked a generous amount of shampoo into my hair. Lennox had left me hanging twice. And then he'd started cancelling the dates a day before or on the day. We'd barely seen each other when we were taking our exams. I had been looking forward to the summer holidays with him. I thought now that school was over we'd have more time.
I was annoyed more than I let up about him cancelling. We weren't fine. Something was wrong. Suddenly he didn't want to spend time with me. We had to talk.
I leaned my head slightly to the jet of water rushing by and rinsed the shampoo off my hair, feeling suds race down my face over my nose and mouth. When I was sure my hair and face were clear of the shampoo, I opened my eyes and wiped my face with my hand. I processed to wash the rest of my body, taking longer than I usually did. Knowing Stella, she was going to be late.
Around 6:15 pm I made my way to the park in the middle of our neighborhood. Stella, Clark and I lived there. The park was like a meeting spot for crazy rendezvous ever since we formed our tight friendship.
I'd become friends with Clark in grade 4 after he moved into our neighborhood, something Stella initially hated. They fought over me, and I tried to make them friends. After being wrestled over like I was the last slice of pizza, I told them to suck it up because I wasn't choosing. Okay, it didn't happen that way. Stella snuck peanuts into Clark's food, which he was allergic to. After a hospitalization, our parents had to intervene. Two choices: either you stop being friends or all of you become friends. We chose the latter, and it was the best decision ever.
Stella and Clark still wanted to strangle each other every now and then, but what's love without a few fights? Plus, their chemistry was undeniable. I regarded everything from their acts of school paper sabotages to physical fights with shoes as a lovers' quarrel. Deep down, like really deep down their dark cold abysses called hearts, they cared a lot about each other.
I didn't walk for long before I was at the park. It was a few blocks away from my house. The proximity was the only reason mom allowed me to stay there way into the night.
I entered the park as the sun hit my face, creating an orange glow that covered my whole body. The sun was setting in the horizon, and produced a red glow in the sky. It was a beautiful sight, so beautiful it deserved to be captured. I didn't waste a single second. I retrieved my Nikon D7200 camera from my backpack and took about 3 pictures of the horizon. I was an avid photographer and took pictures of just about anything. There was something about looking at the world through a lens that made it more beautiful, enchanting. Captured in the moment, anything could look mesmerizing. I believed the camera lens got to see more than our own lenses, saw things earlier than us.
I was about to take another picture when a certain blonde stood in front of me. She spread her arms to the sky and gave me the biggest smile.
"Move six steps back if you don't want me to take a picture of your boobs", I instructed.
"You can take it", she said. "This is the closest you'll ever get to boobs. You might as well take a picture".
"Ok", I said with a grin and pressed the camera shoot button.
"I was kidding!" she shouted as she made to grab the camera. I moved it out of her reach quickly, deciding to make a run for it.
Stella and I chased each other around the park for some time. She couldn't catch me and she knew it, but she tried anyway. She threatened me with violence, then losing a best friend. When all that didn't work, she threatened me with tears. I knew Stella well enough to know crying was the last thing she'd do.
She gave up and sat on the grass with her legs crossed. Free to take more pictures of the horizon, I turned to it only to find the moment gone. I walked over to Stella, snapping a picture of her while she was looking at her phone.
I looked at the picture. You could barely see Stella's face, hidden by her long blond tresses with gold highlights. The Rapunzel joke wasn't far-fetched; Stella had hair that almost reached her waist. She rarely tied it, probably unable to. I liked how it was always flowing around. The Rapunzel hair framed one of the most beautiful faces I had ever seen. With light-brown eyes, pointy nose and pale pink lips and a slim face with a more visible facial structure, Stella turned heads.
At that moment she was wearing a white vest, a maroon checked shirt unbuttoned, short denim shorts, over the knee socks and combat boots. She looked and dressed different from her sister. They couldn't be any more different.
I sat down on the grass next to her. Tucking her hair behind her ear, I showed her the close-up picture I had taken of her boobs. I pressed delete. The camera moved to the last picture I had taken, which caught Stella's eye. She grabbed the camera.
"I love this picture", she said.
"Of course you do. I took it", I said.
She looked at me and smiled. She started scrolling through the pictures I had taken with the camera. There were pictures of random things and pictures of strangers. There were pictures of her, which she lingered on. She rushed through pictures of Clark like he was a disease.
She came to one picture and stopped.
"Do you remember when we took this?"
It was a picture of Stella, Clark and I at the county fair. The Ferris wheel was behind us, imprinting itself into our picture and our memories. Stella was standing in the middle, flanked by what she liked to call her minions. There was a slight wind blowing that day. The picture quality wasn't so great. We'd had so much fun that night, and yes, Stella had yelled at us for being slow to get on the line for the Ferris wheel on the last night of the county fair.
"Summer 2015, we were so excited about finally completing junior year", I said smiling.
"It was fun", she said.
"Yeah, especially when you hit Clark in the face with a donut", I said.
"He tied my hair to a cart!" she said.
"Ah...and of course when you told the girl he kissed he was gay", I said.
"He deserved it. I won't forget that you left me with him to go make out with your boyfriend", she said.
"You made that loud and clear when you made me walk home barefoot 3 weeks later", I said.
She grinned and continued scrolling. There were more memories of us in there. Pictures of her giving Clark the middle finger and the two of them arguing on the bleachers while we watched our school football team weren't the only ones.
"I'm gonna miss the school", I said.
"Me too. At least we'll still be together. Maybe not as much as before, but we'll be in the same place. You can knock on my door", she said.
She, not unexpectedly started singing.
"Tap on my window, knock on my door
I want to make you feel beautiful
I know I tend to get so insecure
It doesn't matter anymore"
Her voice wasn't great. It didn't make my ears bleed though, so that was good.
"You make Demi Lovato sound like she belongs in the back of the choir. You'd give her a run for her money", I said.
"I know. The music industry just isn't ready for me yet", she said and we both laughed.
There was silence as we looked the pictures. It was getting dark around us, something we were used to.
"Want to grab a donut?" she asked.
"Are you going to hit me with it in the face?" I asked.
"If you piss me off", she said giving me a devilish grin.
"In that case yes", I said.
I packed my camera away and we made our way to the donut shop, which was two blocks away. The shop was open till 10 pm. Everyone in the neighborhood loved hanging there. They made the best donuts and were just friendly.
As soon as we walked in we were greeted by freshly fried donuts. You could even smell the glazing. I was going to have a hard time telling Stella to stop eating without using the F-word. No guessing that she would blame me if she gained weight when it was her suggestion to go there in the first place.
We ordered ½ dozen donuts, 3 each and coffee. We decided to stay in the shop for a while, talking about college and our expectations while eating. Staying was a bad idea. It made donuts accessible to Stella. After 3 donuts she ordered one more and one soon after.
"Have you talked to Len since we talked on the phone?" she asked as she scrolled through her Facebook feeds.
"Why? Did he post something?" I asked, intrigued.
"Yeah", she said. "It's a picture".
She showed me her screen and I took the phone from her, looking at the picture. It was words with a purple background.
"You try so hard to shut the feelings out", I read the words out loud.
"What does that mean?" Stella asked.
I shrugged and looked at the comments. Everyone asked the same question Stella had asked me. So far Len hadn't said anything.
I returned the phone to Stella.
"I'm at the end of my tether", I said quietly.
"Archer", Stella said. She was almost pleading.
"Stella I love him, but honestly I don't know where I stand with him. For months all I have is these Facebook posts, whatever they mean. I gave him time to talk to me. I accepted his lousy excuses, trying not to push him in case I pushed him away instead. He doesn't call and texts only to cancel our dates. Hell, I'm the one who has to ask to see him. I don't even remember the last time we kissed"
"Why don't you talk to him?"
"I would talk to him if he bothered to show up to our dates. I think...I think he's pushed me to a point where I like being away", I said quietly.
Stella's eyes enlarged. There was silence for a while before she said, "That's it! You are going to talk to him, force him to talk if you have to. You are going to go to the Young family house and demand that he talks to you!"
"Whatever you say Stella", I said quietly. Having said everything aloud, I had admitted what I had been denying to myself for the last couple of months. I was still stunned by it.
"You'll go there or I'll take you there. I would kidnap Len, but I would need manpower for that. With Clark out of town, you are going to Len's house. It's your choice whether you want to go freely or gagged and tied in the trunk of Leonard's car. You weigh as much as a newborn baby so it'll be easy".
"I doubt your brother will borrow you his car once he finds out what you want to do with it", I said.
"Right. He's borrowing me the car on Saturday for the party. He won't be home on Sunday so I am freaking taking you to Len's house on Sunday. If you need to write a speech, I suggest you start today. Today is Thursday so you have 3 days", she said.
I looked at the serious lines etched on her face. She wasn't backing down. She was the one who encouraged me to go for Len so she couldn't let the ship she helped sail sink without doing anything.
I didn't know if it was futile, but I hoped Len believed in us as much as Stella believed in us.
We ordered more food. It really didn't take more than a few seconds to order so we were guilty of putting ourselves in that position. We had a perfect view of donuts and bagels which made them ever so tempting.
"Morning jog tomorrow?" I asked my companion.
She looked at me with powdered sugar above her lip from the powdered sugar donut she had just taken a bite of.
"I will be lying on my bed like a star", she said. "If you wake me up I swear I'll shave all your hair off".
I put my hands up in surrender as Stella continued to eat like the pig that she was.
Stella didn't gain weight even though she ate like the world was ending every day. Her paranoia was that one day she would wake up weighing a million pounds overnight so she "tried" to tone her eating down. She'd gone for so long being the same weight that if she noticed a slight change she thought everything she had ever eaten was just going to magically appear on her.
One day the food will take revenge all at the same time, she said.
"Say cheese", I said taking a picture of her and her sugar moustache with my phone camera. "I wish Clark was here to see you. I'm going to send it to him"
"You are sending that fucktard this gorgeous face? Breathing the same air as him is toxic enough".
"Sent. I bet he misses us", I said.
"Of course he does. One musketeer doesn't make sense. Three musketeers, now that makes sense".
I raised my coffee cup. "To our displaced musketeer, we miss your buddy".
Stella raised hers and they touched. "I'm not going to say I miss you, but yeah".
Clark called seconds after Stella and I made a toast to him. We talked for quite a while. He and Stella bickered like a married couple of course. I was glad we were going to the same college. I honestly didn't know what I would do without my friends. Childhood friends rarely became adult friends. I hoped we were going to be the exception.