The Twisted Tales

I discovered your plot

              He chased after her through the woods. She was always faster, and she ran in front laughing and goading him on up the rocky terrain. He was stumbling and wheezing slightly, whilst she gracefully made her way up the hill. She waited for him on the crest of the hill, and he finally stumbled up to join her.

"You...didn't...let...me..." He bent over double, wheezing then finally catching his breath, "You didn't let me finish what I was saying before."

She turned around quickly, a sly grin on her lips as she pressed a finger to his lips silencing him. His eyes, didn't seem to fully enjoy the moment she had sprung on him, as he gently removed her hand and looked earnestly into her eyes.

"You keep promising your commitment if I prove to you mine, but you always move the goal posts. When are you finally going to give me the reward you keep promising?" he panted some more, but some pain filled his eyes now.

She shrugged, and walked around the hill, flashing him a few flirtatious grins before saying "You know what I said, Reggie, I can only ever love a boy who truly cares and is devoted to me."

He looked angrier at this, "How much more devoted could I be? I have done all of your homework for the past year, I have stolen a few items for you, and I wasn't old enough to get a tattoo of your name on me, so I carved it there with a knife. I bought a ring for you that you wont wear, and I keep seeing you with other boys. I don't even speak to my female friends anymore." Upon closer inspection of his face, you could see a deeper routed tiredness behind his eyes.

She stopped moving and looked at him "if you are tired of this, then go. I told you that this was the price of my love from the start. And anyway...," she looked at him with lust while moving closer," don't you want me?" She grinned and put her arms around his neck.

He angrily shoved her arms off, "No. You know what, you aren't bloody worth it." And with that he left, a look of confusion on her face.

Later that evening as he was sat playing computer games, a past time he now had time to enjoy, he could see his phone blowing up for the first time in forever. It was her mates. He switched the phone off feeling freer then he had for a while. The game was more fun then he remembered, and he was joining in with every turn of the race in his beanbag, moving from side to side with a grin on his face. He was coming first until a tap at the window shook him from his gaming and when he looked he saw a face at the window. He almost shat himself from fear, until he paused the game and angrily came to the window. He flipped off the person on the other side before he closed the curtains roughly and went down to the kitchen for some snacks.

Twenty years later, a well dressed man who was finely groomed sat in a restaurant waiting for his blind date to arrive. He sat there, in a relaxed confidence sipping the wine supplied. This was his first date in a while, and he was feeling a little nervous, but that was going the more he drank the wine. The waiter then turned up to tell him that his date was here, and he thanked the waiter politely. He had always liked this restaurant. When his date arrived, though, his blood ran cold.

The woman sat down slowly opposite him, and went to introduce herself. He was confused why she would feel the need to do this, however, he did his part of the charade. The woman then went on to apologise for being late, as her children's nanny hadn't turned up yet. The man waited patiently for her to finish her spiel before asking her how have things gone for her since school. The woman's brow furrowed at the weird first question, however, she went on to explain that she has never fully wanted to settle down. She gave him a flirtatious grin as she explained that she was now ready to give settling down a go. His blood turned to ice, as he took another sip of the wine.

"So, dating, you obviously have been partaking; was if for fun?" he asked before taking another sip.

The woman was now looking uncomfortable at the more pointed question and it was now showing. She stammered a bit before responding that she enjoyed romance, but she found that the fun never lasted. Now she was older she was looking for stability for herself and her child. The man put his glass down, and fiddled with one of his silver cufflinks.

"Are you sure that we have never met?" the man asked as he rolled his sleeve up.

The woman looked down at his arm to see the mangled mess of a scar on his forearm. It still looked like it could spell the name "Hannah", however, anyone looking at the arm could tell that the arm had grown since the scar had been made which had stretched it in many ways. Hannah looked up at the man in shock.

"Reggie?"

Reginald rolled down his sleeve with a clenched jaw, then he put the cufflink back in place. "How many men are there out in the big wide world that have this on their body?"

Hannah stammered at this.

"Do you think the feeling of others is just a game? I remember when Brad was taken to Juvie for stealing - that was because of you wasn't it?"

Hannah looked down, embarrassed.

"I thought as much. You don't care what damage you cause to other lives do you? Brad lost his football scholarship. I have only just come to try dating for the first time in 20 years after years of therapy. So my big question is, why the change now? Surely you have more men you can have slobbering over you out there."

Hannah looked at the floor with tears in her eyes, "It is for my daughter. I don't want her to have the upbringing I have had with a mother that taught you to do what I have done. I don't know how to not be like this, and I don't want her to be me."

His anger subsided a bit, his more calm demeanour coming back, "well that is something at least."

Hannah finally looked at him, "I'm not who I used to be, and I am sorry for what I did to you. I did try to find you fifteen years ago to apologise. I have been trying since my daughter was born to settle down, to give her a better life but old habits are hard to kick. Her father played me more then I ever played anyone else – he knocked me up and framed me for a crime. I came out just before she was born and I swore to be better."

Reginald looked out the window, "You still don't know what you fully did to me then. You turned everyone at school against me. From that moment until I graduated at 18 and left the state, I was the punching bag for the school. That scar marked me out for everyone. By the time I had the money to fix it, the procedure was going to cost more then a house and I wanted to just live. That is just one story of heartbreak you caused."

Hannah remained quiet, waiting for him to speak.

"I discovered your plot back at school. You were trying to find someone devoted enough to kill your mother who was abusing you. Bit of a silly idea, looking back. If you want to know who got her to change, then stop looking at the floor. You may have ruined my life back then, but I wasn't going to let her keep ruining yours."

He looked back at her, and Hannah spoke "She is doing better now. She is allowed controlled visits to me and her granddaughter."

Reginald nodded, "So what do we do now?"