Dante "Stalker" Foster
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Music)
Exactly two years ago...
Dante was humming the melody from a song that he happened to hear yesterday, while shopping for the perfect present. Glancing at the clock, eleven minutes away from four thirty. Casually sitting himself down, leaning back and exhaling. Noticing her walking out through the kitchen's door, with a tall glass of limeade in her hands. The elderly woman was beaming, seeing the light fixtures, the fancy wallpaper, the polished black furniture all organized even better than she could have imagined with the white linens perfectly aligned. She started to happily giggle approaching him. Offering the chilled glass dripping from condensation, like the sweat coming from his forehead, reaching to the tip of his nose.
“Thanks.” Dante said taking it from her with a smile, before starting to drink it down.
“No, young man. I should be thanking you. Forget my day, you've made the rest of my month! You made this entire restaurant look gorgeous.” “You did all the work of half a dozen interior designers that I paid to work on it, who never actually showed up!” She continues with a harsh change of tone, before smiling at Dante again while taking the emptied glass.
“I never expected someone just walking past to spend hours renovating for a complete stranger.”“It was simply the right thing to do.” Dante answered with a pleasant tone, standing upright then collecting his backpack by the opened doorway, a sudden harsh breeze blew past rattling the chains on the door holding the closed sign.
“No, that's not something anyone would do. You're unique young man and don't let anyone tell you otherwise.” The woman nearly forced around a hundred bucks in his hand. Dante observed her pleading stare to accept the money she offered. He quickly zipped open his backpack and inserted the money, before closing it and putting it on his back.
“And you're wise enough to know not to argue with your elders.” She teased pushing his chair in. “Any girl would be lucky to have you.” Dante stopped while in the midst of leaving and turned his head back slightly.
“I'm actually very lucky to have her. It's our 4th anniversary tomorrow and I'm meeting her today. Bought her something that I hope she'll like, wish me luck.” Dante replied. He headed outside into the streets, feeling the cool breeze that hadn't been there before, attempting to cross with a hurried pace, before the lights changed...
Eventually reaching a garden, he walked through an older gentleman sitting by the lake and feeding bread to the ducks, several kids climbing the trees and a couple walking their dogs across the red wooden bridge.
“Sometimes it's hard to find her since she changes her appearance on the fly, but she's beautiful no matter what she wears...” Dante thought while smelling the strong fragrance from all the rose bushes he was walking towards. Suddenly, she came out from the corner prancing in his direction.
“Snow white hair, purposefully messy looking, her favorite heart shaped nose piercing and her usual Gothic outfit that shows off her stomach...” Dante thought examining her differences and smiling once she got close enough, completely oblivious to the bulky man running past him to catch an incoming football, until Dante's hands and knees got antiquated with the dirt. He stood back up without hesitation, narrowing his eyes at the hulking figure stared at the football, between the feet of the young woman shoved on the ground, reaching his hand toward the woman.
“Ah shit, lady. I'm sorry, I wasn't-” The man spoke with a voice of a foghorn. She remained speechless, until Dante grabbed the man's wrist tightly and yanked the arm back, seemingly trying to break it off and also grabbing his shoulder and slamming his body down. Dante quickly helped her stand up.
“Dante...” She uttered softly.
“One second.” Dante interrupted.
“Ow! What the hell dude!? It was just an accident!” The man yelled. Dante turned his attention to the man and slammed his foot into his throat, applying enough force that could have potentially broken his windpipe. The man desperately pulling at the shoe while flailing on the ground. She flinched from witnessing what had happened.
“Dante! We need to talk!” She exclaimed taking his hand with both of hers and tugged until he started following her while, both running away until they reached a fountain. Both of them were alone, holding each others hand while they sat beside each other on a bench, both remaining silent for moment, just listening to the wind whistling through the trees. Dante immediately started to dig through his backpack before she started to speak, revealing a black case full of chef's knives. He smiled though his expression changed to concern to match the tear coming from her eyes that she quickly wiped away from her cheek.
“We really should stop meeting like this.” Dante half-sung with a chuckle.
“These are the ones you've been wanting right? You've done so much to get me through my college hell...now I can finally support you to go into the cooking school that you've been telling me about.” Dante continued, uncomfortably fidgeting with one of the knives inside the case, pulling one in and out.
“Dante, when we first met...I was being harassed by my ex and his friends, I felt powerless to do anything when he grabbed my neck...I felt like I could never escape my father no matter where I went. But you came in, out of nowhere...I called you my dark knight in shining armor.” She uttered with a slight smile though it appeared she was still frowning. Dante paused staring at his shoes, looking up to her, she kept glancing at him but never made eye contact.
“Emma, what happened? Did you get in another fight?” Dante asked, she merely shook her head.
“That's not it. I-I don't want to say it, because it feels selfish of me...but-” She spoke softly.
“Why does it always feel like you're faking everything? Your mood swings come from nowhere...when you were stomping on that dude's throat...you reminded me of my father. You didn't even look angry, you just had a cold stare on your face. When you act that way, your eyes look like a demon's...I feel like I don't know the real you...” Dante blinked for a moment, but didn't have much of a reaction.
“If you want me to find them to apologize-” Dante answered.
“No, you won't mean it, so it doesn't matter. That's not the point.” She interjected. Slamming her hands against her lap and the fountain.
“Then what are you trying to say? Please, you know I'm not good at interpreting-” Dante responded trying to sit down beside her. Instead she stood up walked away and crossed her arms.
“I'm breaking up with you Dante...this can't work between us...” Dante finally had some kind of reaction, quickly approaching from behind and taking one of her hands and squeezing it firmly.
“Emma wait, you can't mean that. Did your folks change their mind about me?” Dante asked.
“No, they adore you. Why wouldn't they? You're always so perfect around them...And no it's not what you did, it's not even your fault. It's mine, okay? I can't be in a relationship with someone that feels like their lying to me with every word they say...” She spoke sharply getting her distance from him and turning her back.
(
Music)
Both remained silent for what seemed like an eternity for her, but he didn't respond seemingly frozen in place.
“I'm serious, we're done...I'm sorry.” She started running away with her hands covering her eyes, Dante watched her leave, dropping his extended arm down at his side and sitting down, a drop fell down from where he stood. However, it wasn't tears, just rain starting to fall down with the harsh breeze blowing on by...
Going to his house, he was immediately hugged and surrounded by his many younger siblings, the expected routine anytime he returned, all of them starting to explain how their day went and asking him how his date went. One of them mentioning that his newest song had a thousand new views from today. He gave them a grin from ear to ear and gave them a group hug and ruffled the hair on all their heads. Explaining how perfectly his day went and telling them he was exhausted from going on a long hike with her and that he needed to rest, persuading them to go play in their rooms and allow their big brother to get some rest, exchanging I love you's while they all laughed and ran up the staircase. Dante smiled as long as he needed to, before going into the kitchen and cleaning out the entire sink and putting away the clean dishes.
“I promise you all, if I could become immortal I would. Just to guarantee you'd all get everything you've ever wanted. I'd do more than our mother's god could ever accomplish...” Dante thought nearly dropping the last glass from merely recalling that awful word.
Finally alone in his room, locked door and backpack's contents spilled all over the ground from being hurled to the corner. Dante had towel sprawling across his desk, one of his girlfriend's presents resting on the edge of his skin, drawing it vertically across his arm, digging through his flesh with blood seeping out.
“Cry...cry...cry-dammit!” Dante tried but not a single tear fell, not even from the pain inflicted upon him. He slammed the knife down on the desk and simply wrapped his bleeding arm with the towel and tied it in place, being careful to not leave a mess. Grabbing a warm beer bottle a key from the pile of discarded contents on the floor, quickly tossing the rest back into the backpack, unlocking his desk drawer and taking a bottle filled with pills hidden under a stack of papers.
Dante quickly popped one of the pills and downed it with the entire bottle of beer, dropping both to the ground and wiping his lips with the towel tied to his arms. Flopping on his backside on his bed, looking at the room around him melting into a vivid kaleidoscope with drastically shifting colors, like a tie-dye shirt was stapled to his eyes.
“It's not my fault...I was born defective...” He laid there smiling at his ceiling, simply humming the song that he planned to sing to his beautiful girl...
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