When Things Fell Apart Pt 1
The train was packed that morning. Freddy was lucky to grab a seat, but was squished between an elderly man and a larger woman. There was also a rather annoying child who kept staring at him.
“Mummy! What’s wrong with that man's face?” The boy said as he pointed to Freddy's protruding teeth. He scoffed, and the mother whispered a quiet apology under her breath as she quieted her son. Even after the boy had left him alone, the words still echoed in his mind. They still hurt.
He unconsciously felt himself hiding his teeth for the rest of the train ride as he waited for his stop, where he quickly sped out to beat the rush of people.
The building was now only a couple blocks away, and wouldn’t you know it? Freddy was early! He was sure to leave a good impression now.
As he came upon his destination, he took a moment to process it all in. The building was tall, sleek, and devoid of any real colour. A complete change of scenery from the lively farm life he was starting to grow used too.
Taking a deep breath in, Freddy headed inside.
He passed by many bland and unmemorable characters which he was sure he would forget by the days end as he walked through the building. It was almost like a maze. Long corridors, several staircases which he had to navigate to reach the specified room.
So much for being early.. He thought to himself, realizing that his interview time was drawing near and he still had no idea where the room was. Infact, he had no idea where HE was. Each hall and staircase looked exactly the same.
Oh god he was lost, so very very lost.
“Scuse me sir, do you need some help?” His pessimistic thoughts were interrupted by a meek tap on his shoulder. Turning around, he made eye contact with a taller woman who wore a cross around her long neck. She was tall, freakishly tall, towering above Freddy.
“O-oh, Hi. Um — I’m looking for room 1307?” The woman nodded and pointed down the hall. And as if by magic, there 1307 was.
Freddy blinked, dumbstruck. “I- Thanks for the help” He nodded to the woman, who only smiled and walked away. “Well.. That was weird. I swear it wasn’t there before..” Shrugging, he started towards the door.
Knock knock knock.
He waited a moment before raising his fist to the door, about to knock again when the door suddenly swung open.
Startled, he took a step back and looked up at the unusually tall man on the other side. He wore a dapper greenish blue suit and a tall top hat of the same colour. His skin was of pale complection, an almost sickly shade.
“Freddy Riley?” He asked, in an almost bored tone. Freddy quickly nodded his head “Thats me.” He puffed out his chest to seem more confident, but the man didn’t notice nor care for his attempts.
“Take a seat, we’ll start in a moment.” Looking completely disinterested with the interaction already, the man took his seat at his desk, his figure illuminated by the rising sun that streamed through the window directly behind him. He looked absolutely gorgeous in the lighting.
Wait. Why would he think that? He’s MARRIED for Christ’s sake. Damn him and his bisexual tendencies.
“Ahem” Freddy straightened up as the man began to speak.
“It states in your resume that you have previous experience as a well acclaimed General Practice Lawyer.”
“Yes sir”
The man nodded as he flipped back and forth through the pages, looking puzzled. “You say that... Yet you don’t have any references, or listed previous clients apart from your husband and his late partner?”
“Y-yes sir..”
“Hmm…” He put down the resume, sighing. At the moment, a million thoughts rushed through Freddy's mind. Was his resume not good enough? Leo thought it looked fine, maybe it was the lack of experience? He had only had two clients, and one of them is six feet under..
“You’re hired”
“What?”
“You're hired” He repeated, flashing his best customer service smile. Freddy nodded excitedly, standing up and vigorously shaking the man's hand. “Thank you sir! You won’t regret this!”
“Yeah yeah, now shoo.” He waved him off, looking back down at some miscellaneous papers. Freddy realized he was no longer welcome so he offered a quick bow and thanks before rushing out of the room, a big smile on his face.
Of course, all good things must come to an end.
And that end was when his phone started to ring, with a number he recognized well. He quickly picked up, a pit forming in his chest.
“Kurt-“
“THEY TOOK PAPA”
Oh god, oh god, oh god. It was Emma
“Emma? What happened?”
She was hysterical, screaming into the phone till her voice went hoarse. “PAPA, THEY HURT PAPA! THEY SAID THEY WERE GONNA KILL HIM, THE FARM-“
“Emma, I need you to calm down. Are you with Kurt? Can you put him on the phone?” Stay calm, Freddy. You need to stay calm.
There were a few muffled sobs from the otherside before another voice came on. “Freddy?” He sounded terrified, Freddy was getting more panicked by the second.
“Kurt! What’s going on? Is Leo okay?”
“...”
“Kurt?”
“I- I don’t know..”
“Kurt, you need to tell me what happened.”
“The-there was a group of men, armed. They—“
“They what?”
“They shot Leo, Freddy. They shot him…”
His phone fell from his hands, shattering as it hit the tile floor. Warm tears slipped down his cheeks, choked sobs escaping his throat. But he didn’t have time to cry, he needed to get home.
Everything was falling apart around him, and he wasn’t even there to witness it.