A short story

So i wrote this. And I haven't really edited, but... here it is. I'm trying a new-ish writing style so it might seem a bit choppy or something of the like. If anyone is reading this, feel free to critique. I'm just starting to write and finish things on my own now so this is fun at least. Here 'tis! It's called "Only Fear".




“The only thing to fear is fear itself!” A voice yelled, breaking, from the midst of the crowd, a voice from a man dressed in black, and then there was an explosion, and fire, and more endless screaming.

~

“Why did you leave the kettle on?”

“... What? The kettle... Oh, I was making tea.”

The man paused. “But it was whistling when I got home, and you’re just... Why didn’t you get up to turn it off?”

“I forgot I guess.” She turned her face back to the window, grey city spread out below her.

The man muttered under his breath, “You... forgot. Right.” He set the stainless steel kettle back on the stove and turned off the burner, and sighed, digging his open palms into his eyes in frustration.

“I’m sorry, Theo, I didn’t mean to. I got distracted. There was a dog and he was running away, and a chubby man was chasing him and there was almost a car accident. That’s all. I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay. Was he hurt?”

“He fell and probably just scraped his knee.”

“Did the dog get away?”

“No, some couple caught him before he went too far.”

“Oh.”

Theo walked to stand next to her, a warm hand rested on her curved, slouched back. She was dressed in a knit navy blue sweater, the sleeves of which flared and reached past her short, almost chubby hands. They both gazed out at the city, the huge city of people.

~

“Was Adam your brother?”

She paused a moment. “Yes, he was. I haven’t spoken to him in... years. We haven’t spoken in years.”

There were murmurs in the room. The reporters scribbled madly, and she watched them. Watched pens moving rapidly across pads of lined paper, some of the eyes still on her, others turned down to their notes on their laps.

“Why haven’t you spoken to him? What happened between the two of you?”

It was a woman in a pinstripe suit with brown hair pulled tightly back into a bun who asked. Olive made up a story for her, a husband who left, alone in an apartment with Chinese take out and complete focus on her job. Despite herself, she smiled slightly.

“No comment.” And she stood to leave.

There was more murmuring, buzzing going around the room, bees had invaded, she mused. And they all just wanted to know her, they thought they wanted to know her.

~

“What? No, I don’t believe you. She’s not... You’re not...”

“We’re just trying it out, you know? It’s not serious... It’s just like, advanced friendship.” She grinned slightly, hoping it would make him laugh, like they used to when they played hide and seek in the lot by main street. There had been a place to play baseball and there was a basketball hoop and abandoned cars were left and old crates that perhaps used to contain food for the grocer down the road.

“Olive. You can’t do that. It’s wrong, it’s unnatural, it’s absolutely disgusting.”

“What the hell are you talking abou-”

“Shut up. Shut the fuck up Olive!” His fist slammed into the wall, and his face slid into a terrifying frown. He stormed toward her, grabbed her shoulders. He shook her, and the grin fell sideways down her face into a scared look.

“Why would you do that to mom and dad and me? It’s so WRONG, Olive!”

“No it’s not, Adam, get the hell off me!” She slapped at his arms and twisted her teenage body away from his strong arms.

She stepped back quickly, staring in shock. “Adam, I’m- I’m your sister! Are you homophobic? Because there is no reason to be, I’m not gay I just wanted to know I’m sorry I just wanted to tell you, I thought you’d... Well I don’t know. Never mind.”

She turned away from him, frowning slightly.

“You are disgusting. I can’t believe you’d do this. It goes against God, and it goes against nature, and it is disgusting.”

She turned back to her brother, shocked. His face twisted in anger.

The smack echoed through their parent’s living room and the girl stumbled backward into the wall, her head hitting with a dull thud, mouth open in surprise.

Olive clutched her left eye, and screamed in pain.

“It’s a good thing I’m leaving.” He spat in her face.

She looked up at her brother from the ground, she had fallen to her knees. Her hand came away from her forehead over her eye, shaking, a few drops of blood staining her fingers. She moaned when she blinked. Her hand went back up to her eye, and her whole body trembled as she looked back up at her own brother through her blood.

There was nearly a flash of regret over Adam’s face, but she missed it.

The front door slammed, the car started outside, and Olive let out a sob into her still shaking hands, feeling dizzy and confused and achingly sad.

~

“Are you excited?”

“Definitely! I’ve been seeing the previews for ages now, this looks great. Plus, Jake told me about some of the scenery where they’d been, and it sounds gorgeous. I’m kind of jealous Anne got that part, I was thinking of auditioning.”

Theo grabbed her hand and entwined their fingers habitually, comfortably. She beamed up at him, and they walked to their seats, hoping to go unnoticed. As she slid out of her coat put on for the chilling wind outside, a couple walked over to them, conversing behind their hands quietly.

Olive saw them coming, and nudged her boyfriend with her elbow, motioning to the young couple.

“Hey, are you Olive Murphy? I thought I recognized you in the lobby, but wasn’t sure...”

“Yes, I am, hello.” She slapped her publicity smile on her face as the couple grinned. They shook hands, and she said, “Well, I hope you guys enjoy the movie. Jake told me it’ll be great.”

“Oh my god, you know Jake Gyllenhaal? That’s amazing!” The girl stammered out, then blushed in embarrassment.

“Yeah, we have dinner every once in a while.”

“I remember your scene together in “No More Ophelia” with the knives at the mother’s wedding, that was my favorite movie for so long!”

“Thank you, it was fun to film. Jake’s a great guy. I hope you enjoy the movie.”

Olive smiled again and sat down, hoping they would get the point. The young couple did, and they walked to their seats, still chattering.

Theo leaned close and whispered in her ear, “I hope they don’t ambush us after the movie.”

“Me either. They seemed a bit dull. And starstruck. As always”

“At least the lights are dimming now, we can finally see what we’ve been living vicariously through Jake for weeks now.”

“Yeah.”

They held hands again, watching through the previews. Occasionally leaning and making the other laugh quietly with a comment, ignoring the people seated around them.

When it was over, Olive had teared up, and Theo held her hand tightly, face wearing a stoic expression, and they walked out together after most of the credits had passed down the screen slowly, quietly.

They passed the sign out in front of the theater that read Brokeback Mountain, and “NOW SHOWING” in big, block red letters. It had two men, two star-crossed lovers in cowboy hats with a gorgeous mountain range, snow-covered and cold.

Olive wondered about something she had tried to stay away from for years now. She wondered about all the coverage this movie was getting; all the press and previews on television.

And all those people who walked out of the theater after a few… select scenes. She had noticed. How many people around the world walked out of Brokeback Mountain in the theater? Too many was her guess.

She remembered her head hitting the wall and her vision swimming, going funny. And the door slamming loudly and echoing in her head and bouncing around like so many marbles of little thoughts, glassy and colorful and mostly red. Echoing fitfully and forever and it hurt so much.

Her brother hadn’t contacted her in years, and she thought she knew what he would think of this gorgeous story.

She pictured him standing upright and he looked so so tall, and his face twisted and morphed and purple and ugly.

He would probably be wearing black.