Player (8 page)

Curious, Josh ripped open the top of the envelope, and pulled out a small piece of lined paper. The edges were frayed, as though it had been carelessly torn from a wire rimmed notebook. He unfolded it slowly, and read over the few scrawled lines. His heart beat faster with every word.

“Joshua Hanover was a playing man.

To break innocent hearts was his plan.

He kissed the girls and made them cry

Now it’s time for Josh to die.”

The first time he read it, he was too shocked to comprehend it. He found he was having a little trouble breathing as he read it again. It was only after the third time that the words started to sink in. Normally, he wouldn’t have thought anything of it. He would have assumed it was a joke. Just one of the girls trying to get back at him. Or Kevin and Jim busting his stones.

It was the scrawled line underneath the silly poem that really sent his heart racing. Those four words made him believe whoever had sent the note was already trying to make good on their promise. The words were simple and innocent, but to Josh they held an ominous meaning. Especially when they were coupled with the agonizing stab of pain that forced him to double over for the second time that day.

“HOW’S YOUR TUMMY, JOSH?”

“So, how do you think you did on the chemistry test?” Rosa asked.

They had just walked through the automatic doors of the Williamstown mall. It was a large building with two stories of gift shops and department stores. The movie theater was all the way in the back. As they passed clothes racks, jewelry stands, and obnoxious salesman trying to sell them hand lotions and cell phones covers, they went over a few questions from the test.

“I’m pretty sure I passed,” Josh told her. “But I did get a little confused on the moles.”

“You better pass!” Rosa declared. “You’ll make me look bad if you don’t.”

Josh took a moment to steal a glance at her. She looked amazing. Her hair hung loose in gentle waves all the way down her back. She had traded in her sweater for a tighter, slightly lower cut blouse, and coupled it with a pair of skinny jeans. The outfit cast her figure in a new and improved light. She had even put on a little makeup, not that it was necessary. One of the things Josh loved about her was that she was beautiful without any artificial help. Just looking at her was enough to take Josh’s mind off the disturbing note he had received. It was probably nothing anyway. Just some stupid joke. It was just a coincidence that he happened to get sick around the same time. To think it was more than that would be bordering on paranoia. 

“Do you want to grab something to eat before the movie?” Josh asked.

Rosa rubbed her hands together expectantly. “That sounds great. I’m starving.”

There was a small pizza parlor named Rick’s next to the movie theater. Inside were a few booths, each covered in red and white gingham table clothes. Josh bought a few slices of pizza and a couple of sodas, and they settled into the booth in the back of the restaurant. The other booths were unoccupied, so Josh and Rosa had the entire place to themselves. Had he been out with any other girl, Josh would have taken advantage of the privacy. With Rosa, he was too nervous to even hold her hand. It was a strange and new feeling for him, to be nervous and giddy around a girl. Even the fact that his stomach was churning from the smell of the greasy pizza didn’t dampen his excitement, at least not at first.

The longer they sat there, surrounded by the scent of cooking sausage and simmering spaghetti sauce, the worse he felt. His pizza sat untouched while Rosa dug into hers hungrily. Josh picked up his cup and took a sip of his cola, hoping it would settle his stomach. He didn’t realize how shaky he was until he heard the ice rattling in his cup and realized it was because his hands were trembling so badly. Rosa noticed it too. She cocked her head to the side and studied him with concern.

“Josh, are you all right?” she asked. “You’re a little pale, and you’re not eating anything. You haven’t said a word since we sat down. That’s not like you. You normally talk my ear off.”

“I’m sorry,” Josh said. He wiped the beads of perspiration from his forehead with the back of his sleeve. “I’m a pretty lousy date, huh. It’s just that I’m not feeling so hot.”

“Is it a migraine again?” she asked.

“That’s part of it,” Josh admitted, a little reluctantly. She was going to think he was a hypochondriac, always whining about his ailments. “But I think I’m catching the flu or something.” 

“If you aren’t feeling well, we can reschedule,” she offered. “I wouldn’t mind.”

“No way,” Josh replied, a little too quickly to avoid sounding utterly pathetic. “I mean, I’m okay. Really. I don’t want to leave. You’re not going to get out of this date that easily.”

“I don’t want to get out of it,” Rosa admitted, and lowered her eyes.

Rosa finished off her pizza and stood from the booth. Josh followed her lead, tossing his uneaten dinner into the wastebasket. They went over their minimal movie options with a frown. The only choices were a bloody slasher film, a war flick, a four hour epic fantasy, and an animated cartoon complete with musical interludes. After some debate, they opted for the horror movie. At least it had cuddling potential. Josh was handed two tickets in exchange for an exorbitant amount of money, but only after they both showed their driver’s licenses to the attendant who insisted on verifying they were old enough to get into the R-rated movie.

“We still have a few minutes before the movie starts,” Rosa told him. “Let’s run over to the arcade. I want to play pinball.”

Before Josh could even respond, Rosa surprised him by taking hold of his hand and leading him toward the game room. Again she avoided his eyes, but he knew she was just feeling shy. Her cheeks turned scarlet as their fingers intertwined. Her small hand felt warm and pleasant in his. The simple touch sent shivers up his spine. They stayed hand in hand until Rosa found the game she was looking for. Then she let go and gleefully dropped a few quarters into the slot. Josh watched as first one, then two, and then multiple silver balls bounced around the encasement. Things were dinging, lights were flashing, and Rosa’s score kept rising until a loud pop announced that she had just won a free game, making her squeal with glee.

Josh was trying to be enthusiastic, despite the fact that his stomach and his head were killing him. In fact, he was so busy offering Rosa his congratulations on her expert pinball skills that he didn’t see that an angry girl with wild strawberry curls had just stormed into the arcade. Her hazel eyes were flashing underneath layers of thick black eye makeup. Josh didn’t notice her long, leather-clad legs carrying her across the crowded game room. He didn’t even notice when she was standing directly behind him with her pierced lips set in a tight frown. Josh didn’t realize she was there at all, until she roughly tapped him on the shoulder. When he finally turned around, he found himself face to face with a furious gothic beauty.

“Jazz!” Josh exclaimed. “What are you doing here?”

With a cry of pure animal rage, Jasmine lifted a hand covered in silver rings and slapped Josh hard across the face. Black fingernails as sharp as talons scraped his skin, leaving behind a small trail of blood. He wasn’t ready for the surprise attack, and his neck snapped back painfully, sending fresh waves of agony through his already pounding head.

“Pig!” Jasmine screamed so loudly that several arcade patrons glanced over their shoulders to see what was happening. “Surprised to see me? Not as I surprised as I was when I ran into my old friend Elena a few days ago. We hadn’t seen each other for a few months, and we got to talking about school, and life, and boyfriends. You can’t imagine how surprised I was to find out that we both had the very same boyfriend!”

“Jazz, I. . . .” Josh was so surprised that he could barely stutter a reply. At the same time, his aching stomach was making it difficult for him to care. More than anything, he really just wished she would go away, taking the gawking spectators with her.

“But I still had an even bigger surprise in store for me!” Jasmine went on, crossing her arms over her black tank top. “Last night, Elena called and told me that we weren’t your only two victims. You had two more, four girls in all! Is this one of them?” she asked, gesturing to Rosa whose mouth was hanging open. “Or is she a fifth?”

“Jazz, listen to me,” Josh started to protest. “I never. . . .”

“Don’t tell me you never said we were exclusive, like you tried to pull with Elena!” Jasmine interrupted. “That’s a load of crap and you know it. Don’t think I’m going to let you dump me either. This time I’m the dumper and you’re the dumpee. It’s over between us, Josh. And if I have my way, you won’t be getting laid again until your college years. When I’m through with you, no girl in this county will come within a hundred yards of you.” She turned to Rosa, her face still flushed with fury. “Let me give you a little free advice, hon. Ditch this jerk before he ditches you. He’s a dog, plain and simple.”

With that, Jasmine turned on her heel and stormed away, her head raised high in victory. Josh watched her go with a mixture of shock and horror. It had all happened so fast, he thought maybe he had imagined the whole thing. But his cheek was still stinging where Jasmine had scratched him, and if that wasn’t proof enough that the encounter had been real, the look on Rosa’s face certainly was. Gone were the sweet smile and the slight flirtatious blush to her cheeks, replaced by a trembling lower lip and watery brown eyes. Her fingers were still gripping the sides of the pinball machine though the balls had long since vanished.

“Rosa,” Josh said desperately. “Please let me explain.”

“I can’t believe what an idiot I’ve been!” Rosa said in a harsh whisper. The arcade patrons had finally turned away, and she obviously had no interest in capturing their attention a second time. “I can’t believe I ever trusted you! To think, for a little while there, I actually fooled myself into believing you cared about me. I’m so stupid.”

Josh hated himself when he saw one tear sneak free. He wanted to reach out to comfort her, but he was starting to feel dangerously shaky.  He knew that if he let go of the video game that was supporting his weight, he would probably hit the ground. The room started to spin, and it seemed a lot smaller and stuffier. It was getting harder to breath, and his stomach was hurting so badly, he could barely stand up straight.  He knew something was really wrong with him, but he didn’t care. He only wanted to convince the girl he was in love with that he wasn’t a player. Not anymore. He had changed. She had changed him.

“Rosa, I . . . I do care about you,” Josh managed to stutter, even though it felt like his throat was closing up.

“Oh yeah, I just bet you do!” she replied sarcastically. “Just as much as you cared about all those other girls you were messing around with? You need one of everything, huh? The cheerleader. The goth. And now the nerd?”

Josh couldn’t even speak to defend himself. The pain was making it hard for him to think clearly, and Rosa wasn’t waiting anyway. She shook her head in disgust and moved to take the same path out of the game room that Jasmine had taken. Josh forced his arm to move.  He tried to grab hold of her hand, but she tore away so violently that he nearly stumbled backward into the wall.

“Don’t touch me!” She spat.

He was so dizzy that he was seeing two of her at once, but somehow Josh managed to form a coherent sentence. “Rosa, please! Give me a chance to . . . to explain.”

“I only promised you one chance,” Rosa told him. “And you blew it!”

She headed toward the exit again, and this time Josh didn’t have the strength to stop her. In fact, he didn’t even have the strength to stand anymore. His legs started to wobble underneath him just as the pain in his stomach reached an unbearable crescendo. Even as his knees hit the dingy carpet of the game room, he clutched desperately at his stomach. His throat was so constricted he couldn’t even cry out for help. After only a few seconds, he vaguely noticed that concerned people were starting to surround him. The faces were swimming and blurring into one as waves of dizziness washed over him.

“Are you all right, kid?”

“Someone call 911.”

Josh heard the anxious voices around him, but he couldn’t answer. He could barely breathe. He wheezed as he tried to force air into his rebellious lungs.

“Josh? What’s wrong? Josh, answer me!”

Josh immediately recognized Rosa’s voice. He was grateful when he felt her arms wrap around him. She cradled his head against her chest, and he felt her delicate hands smooth his hair out of his eyes. He wanted to say something. He wanted to thank her for coming back, even if it was only out of pity. But speech was impossible, and consciousness was slipping away as the pain became more and more unbearable. Even through the agony, Josh noticed that there was another familiar face watching him from the crowd of curious onlookers. She was impossible to miss, draped in black and covered in silver. The last thing Josh saw before he finally lost his battle with awareness were Jasmine’s black lips curled into a wicked, satisfied smile.

Josh spent the next hour in a haze of horrendous pain and paralyzing fear. The paramedics arrived and carried him out on a stretcher. They strapped an oxygen mask over his mouth, which did nothing to help his strained breathing. He flitted in and out of consciousness on the ride to the hospital. He vaguely remembered his mother’s anxious face when she realized her newest patient was her own son. When he finally snapped back to full awareness, he found himself in a private room, unsure of how he had gotten there or who had changed him into the hospital issued nightgown and attached an IV to his arm.