a fighting chance, part one

Jeff rang the doorbell for the third time, rubbing his callused hands against his worn jeans. The early fall weather had put a damper on more than his construction work, but he was willing to work at the problems Kathleen and he had been having together.

“Come on, Kath..” he said aloud without realizing. With his rising temper, he fought to keep her beautiful face in his thoughts. Her soothing touch, her soft green eyes, her infectious laugh, her perfume ..

“She’s not coming down, Durell.”

Jeff’s stomach dropped as Kathleen’s older brother stepped out from the alley and stood behind him. He’d known he was being followed since leaving his apartment that morning. He could smell Brock Thomas’ coffee and almost laughed out loud after the third block to Kathleen’s apartment.

“I thought I smelled your java back there, Brock. Hard time keeping up?”

“She doesn’t want to see you, Durell. What did you expect after last night? I have half a mind ..”

Resuming his cool façade, Jeff stepped down from the door to meet Brock at eye level. Keeping his voice down would be important, but the smirk on Brock’s face was beginning to get to him.

“Really, Brock. I just want to speak with her. I can’t even begin to explain last night, but I just need to talk to her. I don’t want to lose ..”

Hearing her window sliding open, Jeff stopped mid-sentence to inspect the damage. Jeff could see that Kath had been crying, it was fairly evident at first glance. Next up was the purple-red color of her left cheek. Another stomach-drop occurred when Kath avoided eye-contact with him.

“It’s alright, Brock. Let him up.”

Before Brock could turn around, Jeff had side-stepped him and was half-way up the steps. Kath’s door was propped open by a pillow from her bed he recognized to be one he’d given her. Taking a deep breath, he stepped into her bedroom and prepared for the firing squad..