by Jade Bitters
“My ankles, my fucking ankles,” said Mark, unable to rise from the ground. This hadn’t been in the summer job description, this wasn’t something that the benefits at Pyrymyn made up for, but this was totally and entirely bullshit. “A lawsuit on both your companies, I’m so fucking done. Did you fucks really let him get away unharmed?
“Are you hurt?” asked Ben, his eyes wide and watery. He didn’t know what it was about Mark that made him feel this way, but for the first time that summer, he felt scared of losing something that actually mattered to him, something that he couldn’t be without.
“Are you serious? It’s my ankles, just my fucking ankles, but where’s my intern? Go, get me an ambulance,” said Mark to one of the employees, a boy wearing Nantucket red shorts and a plane white V-neck shirt. He nodded and stuck his phone to one ear, his finger in the other, as he walked to an area with better reception.
“It’s gonna be okay, Mark,” said Romeo. “It’s just a flesh wound, right?” he said, hoping that the reference to Monty Python would make his mentor laugh. He’d worked so hard to get Mark’s respect all summer...but it was because of him that Mark had been hurt.
“It’s not going to kill me, but to make me quit? This’ll do the job,” said Mark. “Come to work tomorrow, and you’ll find my desk cleared out. I’m done with this industry, I’m so fucking done. What I said before still stands: a lawsuit on both your companies,. Fucking a, I can’t believe that asshole, that jackass, that douchebag, that fucking programmer could do this to me. That fucking pompous programmer, who fights like he actually practices it. Why did you interfere? He grabbed at me from under you!”
“I didn’t know what to do,” said Romeo.
“Just, take me back to the apartment, Ben, or I’m going to faint. A lawsuit on both your companies! I’m done with tech, and it’s both Pyrymyn and Thisbia’s fault,” said Mark. “I’m done. Fuck you all.” Ben helped Mark up and Mark wrapped an arm around Ben’s shoulders, Ben wrapped his arm around Mark’s waist, and they staggered down to the waiting ambulance.
Romeo froze, sitting on the ground with his eyes staring straight ahead towards nothing in particular: what was he supposed to do, and more importantly, what had he done? Mark...Alex’s friend, my mentor, was hurt, because he was protecting me from Ty...who doesn’t even know that we share someone we care about in common, thought Romeo. Juliet...you’re so amazing, but this is what I’ve been turned into by you, someone soft and lost like a baby bird.
Ben put his hand on Romeo’s shoulder. “Get up. Now. Mark’s...he’s going. He’s going back to New York, he’s done with SF, forever. I tried to convince him to stay, but his mind is made up.” Ben didn’t even want to look Romeo in the eyes: his best friend was leaving, and all because Romeo couldn’t help falling apart. He knew it wasn’t Romeo’s fault, but at the same time, it entirely was, and as much as he wanted to hurt Romeo, he knew that it wasn’t worth the millions it would cost him.
“This is the way the summer ends,” said Romeo. “Not with a bang but a Whispernet.”
Ben looked up at whatever it was that was coming from the left, the thing in the corner of his eye, and wanted to vomit: “Ty’s back. Again.”
“Here’s here, and he’s staying, and Mark’s leaving?” said Romeo. “No. I’m done being nice. I need to do something and I can’t be stopped.” Romeo got up from the ground and glared at the interloper. “Ty, you can insult me, and that’s fine, but the minute you made Mark leave, you made a mistake. He’s waiting for you at the airport, because you’re going to leave tonight too. Either you’re leaving SF, or I am, or we both are.”
“You idiot,” said Ty. “You’ve wasted enough time with that man here...but I guess you’re leaving with him.”
“I guess there’s only one way to find out,” said Romeo, pushing Ty, hard.
Ty staggered backward: why was this boy so strong? He didn’t look like he would be, with his slim build and only a hint of muscle, but he was stronger than Mark had been, by a long shot. Ty smiled. He liked a challenge.
As soon as Ty got up he tried to strike Romeo but failed. Romeo was able to figure out Ty’s every move and reacted with lightning speed, focusing entirely on the way Ty’s body moved, his every tell and muscle twitch.
“Romeo, stop!” shouted Ben, but Romeo literally couldn’t hear Ben: he was so focused on Ty that he had no time to listen to his last remaining mentor when he had to avenge the mentor that Ty had hurt by fighting dirty.
Romeo noted that Ty only fought with his arms, keeping his legs stationary, so Romeo swept a leg and tripped Ty. He gave Ty a chance to get back up but as soon as Ty tried to strike him, he tripped him again. Ty got back up and Romeo pushed him down to the ground before he had his balance.
Ty hit the ground shoulder first, and a sickening snap was heard, followed by even more sickening screams. He’d broken his shoulder and the pain knocked him out as people rushed over to see what had happened.
Ben looked around at the gathering crowd, full of employees from both companies as well as other tech ventures. Many of them were either on their phone, tapping away furiously, or taking pictures, pictures which would implicate him and Romeo. “Romeo, you need to leave,” said Ben. “People saw that, and Ty...he’s seriously injured. Don’t just stand there: Escalus will take you down if he finds you. Get out of here!”
“Fuck, fucking fuck,” said Romeo. He had no idea what to do: should he stay and take responsibility for assaulting Ty, or should he leave and run away with Juliet?
Ben pushed Romeo, the first time he’d ever laid violent hands on his ward. “Go. Now.”
Romeo didn’t need any more prompting. He pulled up his generic teal hoodie and stuffed his hands in his pockets, walking away quickly to the closest BART station and disappearing into the crowd and the tunnels beneath the city.
One of Escalus’s guards came over: Escalus’s security firm had taken over public safety the way that the companies had taken over the local public transit system. “Where’s the man who assaulted a Mr. Mark Cutio?” asked the man wearing all black, from jeans to shirt and a fitted jacket that contained layers of synthetic fibers woven together into a bulletproof weave. He was wearing shatter-proof wearable tech over his eyes, which was playing the assault video over and over, like a YouTube fight clip. Although the outside of his glasses were mirrored, the inside had a high resolution display, but he still couldn’t figure out who the perp was. These techies all looked the same.
“Ty Balt is there,” said Ben, pointing at the knocked-out man on the ground.
“Get up, sir, and come with me: Escalus wants to see you,” said the guard.
“Who started this?” asked Alex.
“Escalus, I can tell you everything,” said Ben. “Over there...Ty’s been knocked out, but he’s the reason Mark is moving back to New York. Romeo lost his temper, understandably, and Romeo knocked Ty out.
“Ty worked for us! He was a board member, an investor...our friend! Alex, Ty, William...Ty’s been hurt. Alex, you’re a man of your honor...so punish them, make them fire whoever did this. Please,” begged Miranda.
“Ben, who started the right?” asked Alex.
Ben chose his words carefully. “Ty started the fight with Mark before fought with Romeo. Romeo talked to Ty politely and told him to leave us alone. He said that you wouldn’t be okay with the fight. He said this all as civilly as possible, but he wasn’t able to convince Ty to drop it, but Ty was looking for a fight. Ty and Mark fought, verbally and physically, and Romeo tried to break it up, but Ty snuck in one last dirty move, and caused Mark to sprain his ankle...and then he left.” Ben took a breath. Why couldn’t they have gone inside to handle this? It was too hot for this. “But...he came back to the park, to confront Romeo, who by now was upset. It all happened so fast: they started fighting, and before I could break it up, Ty was knocked out. Romeo ran off, and I’m telling you the truth about all of this, I swear.”
“Ben is employed by Pyrymyn,”
argued Miranda. “His loyalties to them make him biased. That can’t be what happened: there were probably twenty Pyrymyn employees present, all ganging up on Ty, but what I need is justice. You, Alex, can give me that: Romeo hurt Ty. I need to see him arrested.”
“Romeo hurt Ty, Ty hurt Mark,” said Alex. “So who’s going to take responsibility for Mark?”
“Not Romeo, Alex,” said Ferdinand Caliban. “He was Mark’s friend. He did what any of us would do, fighting Ty.”
“And for that, Romeo is blacklisted from the industry, as I’ll pull my investments from any company found to be employing him,” said Alex. “I’m done having to play daddy to a bunch of companies that can’t get their acts together. Mark was my cousin, my friend, and he’s leaving this city because of your companies’ stupid rivalry. I’m going to deal with you all as harshly as legally allowed, and you’ll regret making Mark leave. I don’t want to hear another word from any of you about this issue, and pleas or attempts at bribes won’t change that, so don’t waste your damn time. Tell Romeo to get the fuck out of San Francisco, or there’ll be Hell to pay. Get Ty to a hospital, and take my warning to heart. If you let Romeo get away with this, there’ll just be more interns causing shit.
Chapter Thirteen: Act Three, Scene Two
Juliet looked out of the large pane glass window towards the setting sun. She’d finished her work early and was lounging on a comfortable brown leather sofa in the HR lounge, drinking a cup of Earl Grey tea, with milk, reading a romance novel on Amy’s Kindle. I wish the sun would just set already, she thought to herself. As soon as it’s night...I can be with Romeo, and we’ll be hidden from the world, and in its shadows. He’s too handsome to talk to by day, but if love was blind, I guess the night may be more...romantic. I want a night as dark as a sleeping monitor, so I can kiss Romeo again, without anyone seeing, and finally, finally run away with him.
Juliet picked up her phone to check the time, but before reviving it from the deaths of sleep mode, she saw her reflection. I need to stop blushing so much...and in the darkness, Romeo won’t be able to see me blush. I hope I can kiss better. She put the phone down, knowing that if she learned the time, she’d be counting the milliseconds until she could see her beloved again. Come on, can’t it be night already? And come on, lover boy...you’re the day to my night, the drive to my port but you’re blocks of city, not code, away. Come on, night, come on already, and give me my lover...and when we’re old and frail and pass on, put his face past the cloud, up into the satellites orbiting earth, and share his handsome face with the galaxy.
Juliet sighed: had she been reading too many of Amy’s romance novels, or had something inside of her actually changed because of Romeo? I’m so close to being with him...but so far. I belong to him, but he hasn’t taken me yet, and there’s nothing I want other than to be with him. It’s like I’m going on a vacation, and I’m packed, but not yet ready to go. Juliet looked at the backpack by her: she’d packed lightly, just taking essential items from her dorm-like apartment, because wherever they went, they’d be able to find the basics, but they’d only be able to find each other when they were already together, hand in hand.
She heard the elevator’s dulcet tone and closed the Kindle. Oh, here comes Amy, she’s got to have news, she thought. Anyone who talks about Romeo sounds tens times more interesting. “Amy! What news do you bring? Are those the documents Romeo asked you to pick up?” asked Juliet.
“Yes, yes, these are the docs,” said Amy.
Juliet looked over her friend: she wasn’t smiling. “Well...what’s the news? Why don’t you look happy?”
“It’s not a good day,” said Amy with a sigh, sitting down. “He’s hurt, he’s hurt, he’s hurt. Everything’s ruined, sweetheart. It’s a terrible day, he’s gone, he’s been hurt, he’s been assaulted!”
“How can the world be so terrible?” asked Juliet, too in shock to even cry.
“Romeo is terrible, even if the world isn’t,” said Amy. “Oh, Romeo, I would’ve never thought you would be the guilty one.”
“Amy, I beg of you, what are you saying? Please, out with it! Did Romeo commit suicide? Just a ‘yes’ is all I need to follow suit. I won’t be the same if you tell me he’s killed himself. If he’s hurt, tell me, if not, tell me, and that’s all I need to know, to know how to feel,” said Juliet.
“I saw the fight, with my own eyes, and Jesus, that fight, right in the park,” said Amy. “Oh, and his body. Oh, his body! So pale, so bloody...all that blood, I almost fainted.”
“My heart,” said Juliet, sitting back on the couch and pulling her knees close. “I didn’t know it could break like this, but it is. I’ll never love again, I’d rather die than move and live when my love is dead.”
“Ty, Ty Balt, he was the best friend I had,” said Amy. “He was such a nice man, and I wish I hadn’t seen the fight.”
For a second, Juliet was too shocked to say anything. She hadn’t thought about anyone else but Romeo in hours and to think, Ty, of all people, had been hurt. “How could things turn out so badly? Did Romeo get hurt, and is Ty dead? Ty was my mentor, and Romeo, the love of my life,” said Juliet. “I hope this city falls into the ocean, because what’s it worth without those two?”
“Ty is hurt, and Romeo has been blacklisted,” said Amy. “Romeo fought Ty, and his punishment was getting blacklisted.”
“Oh no, was it...Romeo? Who fought Ty?” asked Juliet.
“Yes, yes,” said Amy. “I wish it wasn’t so, but it is.”
“I can’t believe I fell for some Pyrymyn scumbag’s act, a wolf in sheep’s clothing. Was there ever such a deceptive, beautiful, terrible, handsome man? He’s not the man I fell in love with, he’s someone who just seduces girls like me for shits and giggles, who pretends he wants a relationship and then, goes out and shows his true colors,” said Juliet. “Oh, Pyrymyn, why would you bring such a vile man into this city? Why would you employ a man so perfectly terrible? Was there ever such a beautiful thing with such a terrible interior? I can’t believe someone so amazing can be so horrible.”
“See no man. Hear no man. Trust no man,” warned Amy. “They’re all the same, they’re all like this, they’re all terrible. Where’s Peter?” She opened up her phone and texted her assistant. Brandy. ASAP. 5Lounge. “I’m too old for this shit. Fuck Romeo.”
“Is that all you have to say? Because if so, maybe you should shut up,” said Juliet. “This...this can’t be his fault. There has to be more to the story. I can’t believe I thought anything else!”
Typical five stages of grief bullshit, thought Amy. I guess we’re at bargaining...or was it denial? “How can you defend the man who hurt Ty?”
“Am I supposed to blame Romeo for something I didn’t witness? Oh, Romeo, who is going to defend you when even I, your true love, heeds the haters? And why...why did you fight Ty?” asked Juliet, looking out and up to the sky. At least the workers in the Pyrymyn building could see the city from up high: she could barely see over the Thisbia walls. “Ty probably threatened you. I can’t cry over this, though...should I cry because you’re okay, or cry because Ty isn’t? You’re fine. Ty, who probably provoked you, is not. That should be fine, so damn it, why should I have to cry? There’s worse things than Ty getting hurt, news that would make truly hurt me in kind, and I wish I could forget it, but I can’t. It’s not that kind of secret, it’s the kind that lingers like some spot on a hand that can’t be scrubbed off: ‘Ty is hurt, Romeo is blacklisted.’ And that...”
Juliet paused as she turned and looked back at the Thisbia lounge. All this would be lost to Romeo, because of one stupid fight. He’d never be able to work at Thisbia or a company like it anymore. “That blacklisting, it’s a banishment and worse than ten thousand injuries on Ty. Ty’s injury would matter more to me if you hadn’t been blacklisted. If bad things come in threes, what could possibly happen next that would make this worse? Something, no doubt. If only I’d just been told that Ty had been hurt. I’d be sad. I’d cry. Th
at’d be it. But no, you had to go and get involved, and now, the news isn’t just that Ty got hurt. No, it’s, ‘Romeo got blacklisted’ and that makes it worse, and that’s as bad as someone telling me that everyone I care about has died. ‘Romeo has been blacklisted’. That’s the worst news possible, because it means we can’t be together, no matter what,” said Juliet, sitting down again. “How are you supposed to date someone in tech if you can’t go to any of their important events, like product launches or office parties or even my apartment? I don’t have answers, and if I did, they wouldn’t help. Where are William and Miranda, Amy?”
“They’re passing around a card for Ty,” said Amy. “Do you want to go sign it? I can take you to the others.”
“That’s not going to fix anything. I’ll cry over Romeo’s fate once they’re done crying over Ty’s stupid injury. Take the documents,” said Amy. “I don’t need these anymore, because Romeo’s basically been banished. These documents were supposed to take me away from this place, but I guess I’m going to just leave on my own terms now...even I have to do the unthinkable. I won’t need Romeo for that.”
“Just calm down, and wait at your apartment,” said Amy. “I’ll find Romeo, we’ll get this sorted out. I know where to find him. Listen, Romeo will meet you tonight. I’ll get him. He was with that barista, Lawrence, so I have an idea of where to find him.”
Juliet slipped off her tennis bracelet. It had been a gift from Miranda last summer. The thin row of diamonds glistened in the light. “Find him, and give him this. I’ll wait as long as it takes to be with him again. Tell him he has to come find me, no matter what, because we have to say our goodbyes. No matter what.”
Chapter Fourteen: Act Three, Scene Three
Lawrence entered the backroom of Wattage after ushering out the last customer, closing the store hours early for an “extended lunch break” for the first time in his history as the shop’s proprietor. “Romeo, you’ve got to come out. You’re nothing but trouble, aren’t you? And so is this girl you love.”