Double Shot by Haekang Kim

It was just like any other day for the thirty-seven year old Dan: spend some tedious time at work, modestly shrugging off all the credits and compliments people showered him with, drop by the deli on his way back home and grab some food, and then enter his unfurnished, dimly lit apartment by himself. Except this time, there was a girl standing in front of his apartment.

“Hello? Can I help you?” at his call, the girl seemed to steer awake. She stood still for a moment and then slowly turned around. Dan gasped as he witnessed that the girl was crying blood, which was soaking her white dress. But this was not what was shocking him. What shook him was the fact that he knew this girl.

“Marie!” Dan’s body jerked up soaked in sweat. For a moment, he could not recognize where he was. He breathes in and out for a moment, trying to relax.

“It’s only a dream,” he tried to dismiss his nightmare until he heard a dripping sound. Something trickled down his forehead. He raised his hand to swipe it to see what it was. He stared at it for a moment, and once he recognized what the substance was, his eyes started shake. Dan slowly looked up and froze, as his eyes connect with that of the bloody woman staring down at him from the ceiling. More blood dripped down, covering up Dan.

“Aaaaaaah!” Dan woke up screaming. He started to rub his body with his hand, leaving it reddened. He turned his palm toward his face, and with trembling eyes, realized that there was no blood on it. It was all a dream – yet, it was so realistic. Tears started to form in his eyes, and soon, Dan was crying hard.

“I’m sorry.. I’m sorry..” Dan covered his face and cried hard, cried for the past that could have been prevented. From the distance, a woman covered in blood stared at him with no expression.

#

Anne, a blond woman in her early 30s, adjusted her glasses with her hand. She calmly stared at Marie, who looked nothing like anyone else in this world in a simple black dress.

“So, tell me what happened,” Marie did not even blink, as if she was oblivious to her surrounding. She just sat in front of Anne and stared into nothing. Without even a sign of impatience, Anne stood up, slowly walked over to Marie, and kneeled down next to her.

“It’s okay. No one’s going to hurt you. You are safe now,” Anne held her cold hand, trying to soothe her. Marie still does not respond. Anne glanced at her watch. The session was over.

#

Dan was an ordinary kid in high school. He played basketball, did okay in class, and was concerned about the blooming zit on his forehead. He was just chilling around when he first saw Marie. She was not awkward, but just out of place. She was literally different from everyone else as she was the rare breed of Rouge. There weren’t that many Rouge in this world so Marie was the first one Dan had ever seen. Most people showed aversion toward Rouge, fearing their red eyes, white hair, and pale skin. They abhorred their existence, thinking that Rouge represented misfortune. However, Dan was taken back by Marie. He could not take his eyes off her, even when rest of the class was throwing insults at her.

#

Dan was a good worker. He was focused, and was very efficient. So most of the time, he finished faster than everyone else. Usually, Boss had more work installed for Dan to work on, but that was not the case this time. He had nothing left to do. He sat in his cubicle, staring at the gray wall, which had random graphs and numbers on them. The clock ticked from the distance, fading him out into space. He needed to get out. So he picked up his jacket and walked out of the office. Nobody stopped him.

He did not like having extra time. When he had time, he started to think. When he started to think, he started to reflect on his past. When he started to reflect on his past, there was always Marie. Thinking about Marie made him feel weak. It made him walk as if he had no bones. So he was staggering around in a broad daylight when he bumped into a woman.

“Excuse me,” the woman cautiously stepped out of Dan’s way. Dan stared at the woman he just bumped into for a moment. His eyes widened in disbelief and he rushed to grab a hold of her.

“Marie!”

#

Marie stood in the middle of the gymnasium. She stared at the people around her and then closed her eyes. Balls flew and pelted her body. Her body shook at the force and faltered to the ground. Balls continue to pummel her as she rolled up her body to protect her self. Laughter is heard everywhere. Dan stood in the gymnasium, watching the whole scene. Someone tapped his shoulder.

“Come on! Throw your ball at that! Come on!” People seemed to be all encouraging Dan to throw his ball at Marie. Marie was still on the ground, not moving. Dan closed his eyes and threw the ball.

“Yeah!” people around him yelled out and continued this deed. Dan slowly inched away from the crowd.

After awhile, students got tired of harassing Marie and one by one, they started to leave. When they were all gone, Marie slowly rose and limped out of the gymnasium. Her body swayed, looking as if she was going to pass out. Dan hesitated for a moment but rushed out of his corner to grab her.

#

“Yes?” a woman’s voice snapped Dan back to reality. He stared at the woman carefully.

“You are not Marie,” at his statement, the woman seemed a bit surprised, but soon composed herself.

“No, I’m not,” her reply felt like a blow to his head. Dan let his hold of the woman and staggered. He felt like his chest was going to explode. He grabbed a hold of her arm again. The woman’s eyebrow arched up at Dan’s strange behavior but let him hold on to her until he calmed down.

“Oh, God, I.. I’m sorry. I didn’t.. Shit. I mean..” Dan really did not know how to explain his behavior. However, the lady seemed fine.

“It’s okay. I am fine,” she rummaged through her bag and pulled out a business card. “If you need to talk, please come by my office,” with that, she saluted Dan and walked away.

“She looks nothing like Marie,” Dan muttered as he watched her disappear into the crowd. Dan glanced at the business card that read Anne Schumer, Psychologist blah. He then quickly shoved it in his pocket and hurried off.

#

Anne entered her office. The old secretary greeted her, to whom she merely nodded. It was that day of the week again when she had to meet with Marie. Her office did not have too much furniture. The wall was thick to prevent disruption; there was a desk, two comfortable chairs, and a large mirror on the wall. Anne stared at the mirror for a moment before she turned around to face Marie.

“Are you ready to talk?” Marie does not respond, and just stares into nothing.

#

Dan watched Marie staring at her locker. It was banged up and there were curses smeared on it with red paint. Trash filled up inside. People laughed at her as they passed by. Marie turned around and looked at Dan. Dan flinched and his eyes widen in horror as Marie’s eyes start bleeding tears.

Dan gasped for air. It was another nightmare. He grasped his chest, writhing in pain. His chest heaves in and out for a while. Slowly, he stood up and rushed to his closet to pull out his pants. He rummaged through the pants he wore earlier and found the business card. He looked at the phone number for a while, and after reaching his decision, dialed the number. After few rings, somebody answered the phone. Dan gulped.

“Can we talk?”

It was just like any other day. Marie was getting beat up, and was rolling on the ground, coughing blood. Dan felt sick because no one seemed to find this act obscene. One of the attackers spat at her for one last time and they all took their leave. Marie looked up at the sky. It started to rain. She just lied down, letting the rain wash the blood and dirt off of her face. Dan stood in the rain, wondering if it would wash away all his shame.

Dan sat in front of Anne looking a bit uncomfortable. Anne calmly faced him without any expression. Dan picked up his coffee mug, did not take a sip, put it down, and then pick it up again, not taking a sip. Anne drank her coffee in silence.

The ringing noise indicated the end of the school. People rushed out, excited to go home, or go to their respective practices. Marie slowly stood up, preparing to go home. It was chilly out. She slowly walked out of the classroom, and walked by the field behind the school. Suddenly, her body was thrown to the ground as a football player tackled her. More people came and joined the assault. This was only a start. Once they felt that they warmed up enough, they dragged Marie to a park nearby, where there was a pond. Without any hesitance, they pushed her into the pond. Marie surfaces, but they push her back into the water. Marie gasped for air but they were relentless. They laughed as they continued the sequence. Marie’s resistance weakened as she was losing breath. Realizing this, they dragged her out of the water and threw her on the ground, leaving her puking water. Afterwards, they start all over.

“I can’t sleep.. She’s everywhere,” Dan covered his face in pain. Anne stared at him without any expression.

There was this other time. They would slam her body to the desk and then glue her to the desk with a hot glue gun which burned her. She would try to free herself. At this, people would laugh and someone would offer to help.

“Oh, is your hand stuck? Let me help you,” he would say. He took out his pocket knife and grabbed Marie’s hand. Dan’s eyes widened in horror as Marie’s eyes clenched shut. Blood splattered everywhere. Afterwards, Marie sat by herself in the empty classroom, looking at her bloody hand.

“I still remember her looking at her hand. She was not even crying,” Dan stared at the woman for a moment as if he was looking for someone.

“Have we met before?” Anne merely smiled and put her mug down.

“I think you are good for today.”

“Oh, okay. So what is the charge for the treatment?”

“There is no charge because this is not a therapy.”

“Not a therapy?” Dan looked confused, but Anne looked completely at poise.

“No, because you are not my patient.”

“Then, why are you doing this?” Anne looked startled at Dan’s question, but soon composed herself.

“Because, you also remind me of someone from the past.” There was a silence between them. Anne paused for a moment, thinking about what she should say to Dan.

“Come back, when you have trouble sleeping again. We’ll talk.”

#

Dan lies awake in his room. He couldn’t fall asleep. He got out of the bed and looked for the number. After hesitating a bit, he calls the number. A voice answered the phone.

“I can’t fall asleep,” there was a pause after Dan’s statement. But the person across replied softly.

“Would you like to go out for a drink?” Dan smiled weakly.

Marie was hurt, just like any other day. She headed towards the nurse’s office. Of course, the nurse would not treat her because Marie was a Rouge. The nurse just looked at her with a pure disgust and left the room. Obviously, Marie was used to this because she simply proceeded to grab the emergency kit and treated herself. Her movements were swift, showing that she was very used to fixing herself. A roll of gauze fell out of her hand and rolled on the ground until it hit someone’s foot. It was Dan. Marie stared as Dan bend over to pick up the gauze. He slowly walked over to Marie and started to treat her wound.

Dan did feel more relaxed as he spent more time with Anne. She was an understanding person who did not say much.

“Do all psychologists just randomly comply to people’s request like this? I mean, I don’t think they would all rush out in the middle of the night like you did.”

“This would not be a normal case,” she replied nonchalantly.

“So.. this is unusual, isn’t it?”

“Yes, but Dan, you are a special case,” at this reply, Dan looked at Anne carefully. Her face did not reveal anything. She simply smiled, leaving Dan feeling even more awkward.

“We should go,” Dan complied and they both stood up and left the café. Dan did not know what to say so they walked in silence for a while.

“Well, I have to go this way,” at Dan’s announcement, Anne nodded and continued her way. Dan hesitated for a moment, but soon called out again. “Hey, can we do this again?” Anne paused for a moment, and nodded.

“Yes, you can call me whenever you need to talk to someone.”

“No, I meant, can we meet.. normally?” at this, Anne seemed to think for a moment, but she soon smiled and nodded an agreement to which Dan beamed.

“All right! Uh, well, I’ll see you next time. Good night!” Dan hurried away feeling a bit embarrassed. Anne stood and watched him walk away.

“Of course we can talk,” Anne murmured as she held Marie’s hand who walked up from the back and stood next to Anne. In silence, they both watched Dan with no expression.

#

Anne sat in her chair and closed her eyes. As it opens, she sat forward and smiled.

“Shall we begin our session?”

By the time Dan was done treating Marie’s wound, it was getting late. He helped her walk. She did not say much and Dan did not have much to say either.

“So, uh, are you okay?” Marie did not answer. It was uncomfortable.

“Sorry about the whole situation. I mean, it’s very rotten of them to treat you like this just because you look different.” Marie still did not say anything. Dan felt even more awkward.

“Uh, I think we are at your house.” Marie nodded and stood in front of the door, waiting for Dan to leave. Dan hesitated for a moment.

“I just wanted to tell you.. I know people say that you are wrong and all. But I think you are beautiful.” At this, Marie’s head rose and she looked at Dan straight in the eye for the first time. Dan’s face reddened, and not knowing what to do, he ran off.

“Uh, well, I’ll see you in school. See ya!” Marie watched Dan fade away into the distance. For the first time, she smiled.

“But things just couldn’t stay that way,” Marie smiled sadly.

#

It was just like any other day for Dan. After hard day at work, it was time for him to go relax. He was walking home when he walked passed by where Anne worked at. He thought about the last few encounters with her.

“I think I’ll pay her a visit,” with that, he entered the building.

Anne seemed a bit surprised when she saw Dan walk into the office. Dan looked around and noticed that the secretary was not there. Anne looked a bit nervous than her usual composed self.

“Did I come at a bad time?” Dan asked, worried that he was imposing on her time.

“No, I’m almost done. Can you just wait out here for a moment?” Dan nodded and sat down with a cup of tea. He rummaged through different magazines, trying to entertain himself while he waited for Anne to finish. Then he heard a shout from the office, which made him freeze.

“Marie! Marie! It’s okay! Marie!” Dan’s eyes widened at the familiar name and he rushed to Anne’s office and without any hesitation, he opened the door.

“Marie!” To his surprise, Dan found Marie in the middle of the room. She was staring at him with no expression. Dan could not breathe. This was all too much.

“Marie, I..” but before Dan could finish his sentence, something hit him hard, crashing him to the floor. His vision was blurry but he could still see expressionless Marie in front of him.

“Marie..” then it was all black.

#

Dan stood at the park waiting for Marie. They were supposed to hang out, perhaps take a stroll at the park. Suddenly, he heard Marie scream from a distance. Dan felt his blood turn cold, but immediately ran toward the sound. Dan froze when he saw few of the gangs harassing Marie again. They were doing their usual beating on her again. Except this time, it was a bit different because they were drunk. Dan stood horrified as he watched them proceed with ripping her clothes off. Marie screamed and lashed out but she was helpless.

“What are you doing here, Dan?” Dan jerked around to see one of the gang behind him. He looked at Dan for a moment and pulled him to the crowd.

“Look at that. What a whore.” Dan flinched at his remark. Marie recognized Dan and started to resist even harder. The man pushed Dan forward.

“Come on, dude. Why don’t you give it a try?” At this, Marie’s eyes widened in horror. Her eyes were now focused on Dan. People urged Dan. Dan slowly moved towards Marie as if he was hypnotized. Dan kneeled down in front of her and grabbed her legs. At his touch, Marie froze as if she forgot to resist anymore. Cheers were heard from the background. Dan’s eyes met Marie’s.

Gangs left in satisfaction. Marie was abandoned. There was no focus in her eyes. Dan looked at her body for a moment, but soon is ushered away with the rest of the boys to a party. Everyone seems to be having fun, getting drunk, and being stupid. Dan just drank in silence. He continued to take shots even though he went way beyond his tolerance. He had done something unforgivable. Drunk and incoherent, Dan staggered back to the park. He arrived at the location where the mayhem took place. Marie was not there anymore. Dan crumbled to the ground and started to cry.

#

Anne stared at Marie. There were tears in her eyes.

“It’s okay. No one can hurt you now.” Marie’s eyes shook a bit but she kept her silence. Anne continued to cry in front of Marie.

“You don’t have to worry about a thing. I will take care of everything,” Anne walked up to Marie and hugged her tightly.

“He will pay for everything.”

#

Dan was walking down the street. From the corner of his eyes, he saw Marie passing by. Dan’s eyes widened and he rushed up to grab her.

“Marie!” Marie slowly turned around and looked at Dan. Then her face and body rotted away and crumbled into pieces. Then there was a loud shriek.

“Marie!” Dan yelled as he gained his conscious. He tried to stand up but realized that he was tied up. Dan looked up and found someone else in the gray room.

“Marie?” at the call of her name, Marie smiled coldly at Dan.

Let me tell you a story about a girl and a boy.

Marie moved over to Dan. Dan looked up.

They liked each other, but could not be together because the girl was an outsider.

Marie’s red eyes shone as she raised her hand.

The girl understood this and did not mind the boy hiding all the time. After all, she did not want him to get hurt because he was nice to her.

Marie’s arm whooshed down and blood splattered. Something flew out. Marie bends over and picked it up. It was a hand. Blood splattered Marie turned and looked at very pale Dan and smiled. She raised her arm again.

Life was difficult but the girl was fine. At least the boy will stay with her and be her friend. He would not be able to protect her but he would never hurt her. Never.

Blood splattered. Dan was now gurgling blood. Marie’s expression did not change as she continued to slam her arm.

Who would have known that the boy would betray her like that? Who would have known?

Marie stood over very bloody pulpy Dan. Anne stood next to Marie and stared at Dan coldly.

“I know I didn’t.”

Marie swooshed her arm down for the one last time. Dan’s eyes closed. Blood splattered everywhere, covering the entire wall red.

#

Marie sat down, covered in blood, looking very tired. Anne sat down next to her, also covered in blood.

“It’s all over. Are you okay?” Marie did not say anything. Anne looked at her for a moment and smiled. She reached her hand out. Marie looked at it for a moment and grabbed it.

“Don’t worry. You are okay now. You are going to be fine.” Anne stood up with Marie in her hand and started to leave. When she walked in front of the mirror, she paused for a moment, trying to reassure herself.

“You are going to be fine,” she murmured as she walked away from the mirror which only showed her reflection.

You are going to be fine.