Trouble Begins

The air smelt was clean and fresh on the City Golf Club that weekend and Zack in his polo shirt and shorts looked regal. It was a bit chilly so he debated on whether to wear the cardigan that was fastened stylishly and securely around his neck. The court was filled with elegant men and women some of whom he knew.

The glances from the women never felt to surprise him. He knew he looked good but he felt a bit bothered by the way women threw themselves at him. He used to bask in and enjoy their wanton attitude but now it just felt plain annoying.

One lady a few feet away who had been eyeing him openly and winking much to his disgust slowly bent down arching her waist towards him. Her skirt was incredibly short and clingy. He quickly made to walk away and a hand held him back.

"Not enjoying the show?"

Zack looked at his friend and shook his head. Fred backed away noticing the seriousness in his face. As Zack walked away the woman looked longingly at him and waved to get his attention, some men edged closer to her and began to converse, she totally forgot about Zack and began to speak to the new guys.

"I'm sick of this place, I'm off."

"Off to where? We just got here? What's going on man?"

Zack continued to walk, enjoying how his sport shoes caressed the grass gently, he totally ignored Fred who was asking one question after the other and offering suggestive answers. Zack looked at his face. It was plain and fat, and as he spoke, his nose kept moving in a funny way. He looked at his friend who barely made it up to his shoulders, they were the same age but Fred was already married to a heiress of a fortune 500 company.

"Are you even listening to me?"

"Yeah."

They approached the golf cart they initially rode in to the court and Fred walked closer to sit in the passenger side. While Zack walked on.

"I'm walking."

"Oh? Why?"

Zack looked at the chubby, stubby man child before him and almost hissed.

"You need the walk."

"No I don't. What's that supposed to mean?"

You need to eat healthy and work out. A walk from here to there will be quite beneficial.

Fred shook his head frustrated at his friend who had been in a somewhat sour mood since morning. He beckoned to an assistant and requested that their clubs and gear which was at the back of the golf cart be sent to his driver. After giving the necessary instructions he looked ahead and saw Zack already far ahead. He walked briskly to catch up with Zack.

"What's bugging you?"

"I am fine."

"Wrong answer genius."

Zack knew his friend would never understand him or his feelings, he was a corporate heir to a multinational corporation and he had just gotten married to a foreign heiress to an equally powerful company. Matters of the heart would be greeted with derision if he dared talk to him.

It doesn't matter.

"Drinks?"

"Didn't you just tell me moments ago to cut back?"

"Yeah. So?"

"Never mind."

They both got to the relaxation hub where many well dressed, expensively cladded people were discussing, laughing, eating simple deserts and drinking. Most of the elderly men were his father's acquaintances. He did not want to have to meet any of them and be drawn into an uncomfortable discussion. Any topic at all would be uncomfortable, he decided to go up to the floor above and sit on the veranda.

The three-storey hub was filled with neatly, smartly, and expensively dresses guest. He knew he would have to say 'Hi" to one or two people so they could tell his father that they had seen him in the club, at least he would have one or two alibis when the time for a report came.

His father was not a golf person but encouraged and somewhat coerced his son to socialize with people of the same class.

Fred walked ahead stepping on the escalators first followed closely by Zack. He was still talking, as they got of the escalators and entered into another open space filled with more younger people. Most of the people here were in their twenties and thirties and their conversation was less loud. Which was not conventional.

They ordered drinks and sat. Unsurprisingly Fred was still talking and explaining unnecessary details and pointing to things

"Can you stop talking for a minute!"

Zack raised his voice a little and some people looked towards them. Fred looked hurt at the attack and kept quiet.

"I'm sorry. I just-"

"It’s okay. My wife tells me I talk a lot too."

"Are you happy? With her?"

"I am happy. I think she's happy and both our families are happy what more can we ask for."

"I mean, are you happy together, do you love her?"

Fred looked at Zack in the face and exhaled loudly.

"People like us hardly ever find true love so it doesn't matter."

"It should"

"You're probably going to spend the rest of your life with her."

"Yeah. But that doesn't mean I have to live for her and go out of my way to make her happy, and listen to her moan about the littlest things like some poor common woman. She feels the same. We get along just fine."

"That's sad."

"That will soon be your story Zack. I heard you will get married as soon as you resume executive duties."

"I don't look forward to it."

"You definitely shouldn't."

Both men looked out down below at the court, breathing in the pollution free air.

A beautiful blond-haired lady walked up to an empty seat beside them and sat comfortably as if the seat had been reserved for her. Fred began to prance around like a child around a piñata, talking animatedly and excitedly to the unaffected lady. Zack did the exact opposite. She looked at the two of them closely placing her autofocus lens on Zack. Fred decided to strike up a conversation

"Oh, Hi Sharon, how are you today?"

He asked, seating up, admiring the lady before him and grinning broadly. She did not reply him but instead kept looking at Zack who decided to nod his head and she nodded back.

Fred edged in closer to her chair and she bent closer to Zack to speak directly into his ear

"You never called me back."

"I never said I would."

Zack moved closer to her face and looked closely at the beautiful slender lady who had been his colleague back in his university days. Most people around were looking at her and she was enjoying the attention. Zack wasn't. He moved away from her face and sipped from his cup.

"Call me?"

"We'll see."

And with that she smiled and walked away. Fred eyes followed her till she faded out of view. He looked at his friend and wondered if good looking people were imbued genetically with the power to be unfazed in the presence of their attractive counterparts. She totally ignored him but he was not offended, it was not unusual.

"What do you think about her? If I were you, I would happily fall in love with her."

Zack looked away, Fred looked at his cup. It was empty and he needed the conversation to flow steadily or he would end up with another drink which would only do more harm than good.

"Well, two Masters and one Ph.D. on her résumé surely make a her a good catch for whoever decides to cast their nets."

"You're not interested in casting your net?"

"Not one bit. Let's go. The stares are becoming unbearable."

Zack stood up and looked at the time. He had somewhere else to be.

Siri lay on her Sofa watching a TV show and eating cookies. She had been having nightmares regularly and was grateful she had not seen her neighbour after that incident. She still felt terrible every time she remembered it.

"Maybe I have a terminal disease?"

She realized she spoke out loud to herself and she shook her head. She had been acting out of character and the sudden change frightened her a bit. She had heard the saying that it was not wise for one to change so abruptly unless they would die.

Death. It seemed like a very faraway concept. She did not have any close friend, relative or acquaintance who had passed on and she could not remember her parents’ burial.

She wondered what it would be like to pass away. Would she sink into nothingness or face judgement from a supreme being? Would anyone miss her when she was gone, she thought. Her head lulled from side to side as she dozed off.

She heard a knock and her ears perked up, maybe, it was from the neighbour's door. She didn't want to open her shut eyes, she was feeling very tired and sleepy after all the craziness of the past weeks.

The knock was heard again and this time a voice that seemed familiar softly called out her name. She tried to place the voice to a recognizable face and she did not find any. To avoid Miranda having to come out she stood up and went to the door and opened it quickly hoping to dismiss the intruder as quickly as possible. She was not prepared for what she saw.

Zack stood in front of her door reeking of alcohol and staggering stupidly. The frown mixed with surprise on her face made her look decades older.

"Hi Baby!"

Zack spoke, a wave of alcoholic breath washed over her face and she gagged. She took another look at him and noticed he looked very clean and proper even though he was heavily inebriated. She heard footsteps and she instinctively dragged him into the house shutting the door quickly to avoid any prying eyes. Zack smiled happily and clapped his hands.

I knew you w- wanted me terribly but held yourself back.

What?

"It's what made me go crazy."

He put both hands on her shoulders and as she felt the weight of his hands, it dawned on her that he was well built and was definitely out of her weight class. She shrugged of his hands and assessed the situation. Only then did she realize the precarious situation she was in.

"Why did you come here? And drunk at that? Is this some kind of sick joke?"

"No, it’s not."

Zack replied trying hard not to slur his words.

"I don't care get out"

"I will, after we finish what we started, you see I came here just for you. I would never have dreamt that you lived in this type of apartment."

He squeezed his nose with his hands and made a retching sound. Advancing slowly towards her

"Did you drive down in this state? You could have killed someone!"

"You see! You do care about me. You want me. Of all the women I've ever known, you've put up the most resistance. Now, no more"

And with that he advanced towards her, she immediately moved away but he caught up with her and swirled her around pushing her roughly to the door, Siri was more scared than hurt and pushed against him as hard as he could.

"Stop struggling!"

Zack roughly whispered in her ears as he held both her hands up her head with his right hand and started undoing her pyjamas shirt buttons.

Siri screamed and he quickly held her mouth with the other hand.

"Don't scream, I haven't even started yet."

Siri kicked him on the shin and bit his hands running toward the room frantically looking for any weapon, he ran after her and caught her, just as she was about to get to the foldable chair by the side of her bed. Both of them fell to the floor and he was on top of her, be lifted her and placed her on the bed amidst her struggling and then he kissed her neck tenderly biting tenderly at her ear.

Siri unsettled by the way he was working up her emotions but she knew it would be wrong to relax and let him have his way. She was dazed and confused at her body's reaction but still tried to fight back nonetheless, he kissed her forcefully, demandingly and suddenly she began to relax her tense muscles as she looked around the room for any object to protect herself with.

He saw this as the much needed greenlight and using one hand to hand both her hands he used his other hand to undo the last button on her pyjamas. He was met with more clothing underneath. He grunted his disapproval and yanked at her shorts.

Siri began to hyperventilate she looked into his eyes, he seemed possessed. She began to try to loosen her hands. Aren't two good hands better than one? The shorts was loose and he artfully slipped his hands into them and was content with not having to grapple with her underwear she wasn't wearing any.

He kissed her neck and she shuddered she tried to bite him but was unable to with him kissing her heavily all over her neck and chest. She settled with hitting him hard with her head. This made her head spin while he continued going about his business. She felt weak and tired of fighting. He was obviously stronger.

He sighed his hands further into her shorts, searching, digging till he slid his hands down her legs and then towards her opening, he was met with resistance no matter how hard he tried to penetrate while she screamed at the top of her lungs. He stopped abruptly and looked at her. He rolled away from her and fell of the bed with a thud.

Siri lay still, gasping for air, feeling faint and weak, trying to put on her clothes, he stood up from the floor and staggered sobering up from the shock.

Uncontrollable, tears began to roll down her eyes and she sat up from the bed.

"You're, you're-"

He gagged and retched catching the vomit in his mouth while he ran into the bathroom and threw up, after crying for a while, she stood and went to check on him and noticed him lying on the floor passed out. She stepped over him, flushed the toilet, l and walked out slamming the door loudly.