The Throes (Part 4)

Artwork by: Adee

The continuing story/script/phantasmagoria from Peter Rinaldi
Read Parts 1, 2 & 3 combined here

List of Characters previously introduced:
John- Main Character
Mr. Flynn- John's boss
Sonja - Mr. Flynn's wife who is having an affair with John
Kira - Daughter of Mr. Flynn and Sonja
Sammy- John's friend
Beth- A girl in a relationship(of some kind)with John
Mr. and Mrs. Davis - Beth's Grandparents
Ketchup and Mustard- peripherally introduced girls that
were taken out by John and Sammy. One of whom(Mustard)
went missing for a while after spending the night at John's place.

The Throes
Part 4
"A good way to refresh your memory"

John at his apartment door. He is searching his pocket for his keys with one hand while the other is engaged in returning a text message.

It reads “don’t care. the answer is no.”
It is in response to Kira’s text message that read “i have to, it’s serious”, which was a response to his message “no. you can’t come over. i’ll meet you somewhere tomorrow”
He’s had enough craziness; he doesn’t need his boss’ fourteen year old daughter coming over his home to talk about whatever she thinks is serious.
He suddenly remembers Kira appearing behind her father as he was talking to him, shaking her head. What was that all about?
He pulls the keys out and pushes against the bruise over his eye. It hurts. He puts the key in the door.
Voice/The cops were here you know.
He turns to find a frail old woman’s head poking out of her door across the hall.
John/Yeah, I know, Mrs. Gatto. Everything’s alright now.
Mrs. Gatto/They’re looking for a girl they said was in your apartment last anyone knew.
John opens the door, enters. Impatience runs, quickly, over him.
J/She turned up, Mrs. Gatto. So the search is over. Thanks for your concern.
He is about to close the door on her.
MG/I told them that I seen two girls leaving your apartment last night.
John freezes. He opens the door and steps back out.
J/Two girls? You saw two girls leave last night?
She realizes she’s implicated herself as nosy and gets embarrassed and tries to justify it.
MG/I was up, they made a lot of noise, I looked out to see what was going on.
J/Two girls? One blonde and one redhead?
MG/Young man, you really got something going, don’t ya, that you can’t even keep track? They were both blondies.
John tries to rack his brain. Was there another girl that he took home? That’s crazy. The only possibility would be if Ketchup came to pick her up or something.
J/You sure she didn’t have red hair?
Mrs. Gatto just laughs and slides back into her apartment, the locks close in quick succession.

When John gets inside the apartment and feels like something is wrong. He locks the door and turns. Sonja is right in front of him.
Sonja/John, you have to get out of here. It’s not safe for you here.
He is startled by her.
John/What are you doing here?
S/I fucked up baby, I really fucked up. (She is fighting back tears)
J/What’s happening?
S/He’s gonna kill you. He’s gonna kill you. You have to get out of here.
J/What going on?
S/(Her face crinkles up like she is really going to cry) Kira’s pregnant.
J/What?!
S/(spilling out of her, hysterically)And for some fucked up reason he thinks it’s you! I am so sorry, John. It’s my fault. I told him that you came on to me. I just wanted to mess with him. And now he’s paranoid that you had sex with Kira at the party. I don’t know why he thinks that, John. He’s so riddled with fucking jealousy and paranoia. It’s all my fault.
John tries to take it all in. He doesn’t know where to begin to unravel the whole thing.
J/This is crazy. I’m putting an end to the whole thing right now.
He takes his cell phone out of his pocket.
S/No John! Don’t do that. He’ll kill us both.
J/Sonja, calm down. No one is going to kill anyone. You’re overreacting. I still don’t know why you told him you don’t want me in the house anymore. Explain that one.
S/I thought that would make him admit everything. I thought he would admit he didn’t trust me. But he didn’t.
Something isn’t right. John tries to put it together. Why would Mr. Flynn be overcome by paranoia if he knows that John didn’t make a pass at his wife; if he himself orchestrated the whole thing? Flynn can’t possibly believe, all of a sudden, that John did more than kiss his daughter.
J/And I guarantee Kira is not pregnant. She’s just trying to get a rise out of you guys.
S/I took her to the doctor today, John. She’s pregnant.
John can’t believe it.
J/She doesn’t seem like the type to do that. I didn’t even know see was seeing boys.
S/The fact is we have no idea what these kids are doing these days. (she starts to crinkle her face again) I blame myself for that too.
It’s hard for John to watch her like this. He puts his arms around her. She loosens up a little, places her arms around his waist.
J/Stop worrying about me. I’ll handle it with him. You have enough problems. Once I talk to him, he won’t be irrational anymore.
She starts to shake in his arms. She breaks free from his grasp to look in his eyes.
S/You don’t understand. He made some calls. He’s absolutely got it in his mind that you’re guilty and he’s hell bent on making you pay for it.
J/What do you mean ‘He made some calls’?
S/(starting to get hysterical again)He knows people who handle this kind of…revenge work. This is why I am telling you, you have to get out of here.
J/He doesn’t even know where I live. Besides the movers are coming tomorrow to move the furniture and most of these boxes. I have work I have to do here tonight. If I know Kira she’ll talk sense into him. I mean, I’m sorry, I can’t get scared over something so fucking silly as all this.
She buries her face in his chest.
S/I’m sorry I made this worse for us.
Regardless of how this all resolves, John knows that whatever this is he is having with her can’t go on. He strokes her hair and stares into space.

They are passionately kissing in the hall. Sonja pulls away. She looks around kind of embarrassingly.
J/Call me later. Tell me you’re okay.
She turns and heads for the door without waiting for a response but John gives one anyway.
J/I will.
John watches her leave then turns to catch Mrs. Gatto’s door in an attempt to close quietly. He is annoyed. He makes an acknowledging noise that’s part cough and part “hey”. He enters his apartment.


John, sporting a classic black eye courtesy of Beth, is looking uncomfortable as the movers are hard at work trucking the furniture and boxes out of his studio apartment. He doesn’t like standing around while other people are working. He pretends to be counting boxes and doing mental organizing.
He looks at all the names on the boxes. He forgot he did that. It kind of creeps him out. Why the hell would his unconscious mind do that? Some of these names belong to girls he had one night stands with. Jessica? Was that the waitress? He entirely forgot about her. It starts to worry him. These guys can’t get them out of there soon enough for him.
There’s a noise in the hall. Something fell.
John goes out. It was just a box.
J/Don’t worry about it guys. It’s all crap.
The two men pick it back up and get a better grip on it. As they head to the door, John notices the back of it. A name is written there, like the others. But this one’s different.
“Kira”.
John watches it leave the building, motionless. If one where to witness John watching the box leave, one wouldn’t notice the strange combo of fear, confusion, and disgust that was rapidly swirling in his head.
As luck would have it, someone was witnessing John watch that box leave.
Mrs. Gatto/A good way to refresh your memory, huh?
He jumps but is not surprised she is there. He turns to her. Just her little head is sticking out of the door.
J/What? What do you mean?
MG/Yesterday. I bet she refreshed your memory then.
J/Who?
MG/(making fun of him) ‘Who?’! ‘Who?’! The blondie. The girl you were kissing yesterday. I told you there was two girls that left here that night. She’s the other one. You still don’t remember?

to be continued...