The Ones You Hate - Chapter One

Rosie gets a weird phone call from her friend Maria.

[excerpt]

Chapter One Room 216

It started when Maria called me. And that was kind of weird, because Maria never called me. She gave me the address of a motel and didn't say anything else. I got my jacket from the closet and left the house. The sky was slightly grayish. Every now and then the sunlight came through. 

On the train station I bought a train ticket and waited for the train. A Vietnamese was standing next to me. He had heavy luggage with him. I wanted to give him more space and stepped aside but he smiled and said it's okay. The train arrived and we got in.

I lost sight of the Vietnamese and I would probably never see him again. The train was overcrowded. I remained standing and held on to the pole. I watched a little boy wiping with his sleeve against the fogged window. It was so loud, even though no one was talking.

I arrived at an unknown area. But the motel was right next to the train station. Maria was right when she said, you really can't miss it.

I waited at the reception and when no one appeared I rang the bell on the table. I rang it several times. An elderly lady with thick glasses came out of the back room.

"What can I do for you?", she asked in a shaky voice. Before I could give her an answer, someone tapped me on my shoulder. It was Oliver from school. I was quite surprised to see him here. He hinted that I should follow him and I did. We walked for a while. On the walls hung pictures of various lighthouses. I stumbled over a Golden Retriever that was lying on the floor. We stopped before room 216. Oliver unlocked the door. The narrow corridor led directly into the bedroom. The blinds were down and I saw Maria lying on the bed. She was sweating and partly naked. Oliver stood next to her and reached out for her hand. On the other side a boy I didn't know was kneeling.

"What is going on?", I asked.

"She is having a baby.", the boy I didn't know said.

"What! When?", I asked quite confused.

"Now.", he said and in this moment I just realized that Maria was very much pregnant.

"Oh my God.", I said. "You're pregnant. Is this why you haven't been in school?"

"I guess not.", she said and shrugged. "I just don't like school that much, you know."

"You have to help us with the baby.", Oliver said.

"But I have never done such thing before", I said.

"Me neither.", Maria yelled desperately.

"Just f*****g do it.", the boy I didn't know said.

"But we should bring her to a hospital.", I suggested.

"We don't need a hospital, she just gives birth and doesn't need an operation or anything."

I gave up and eventually settled in front of the bed and Maria got into position. She opened her legs and spread them apart and I stared with a frozen gaze at her entry. She started pressing and her female flesh widened itself like a balloon. I put my hands on her knees and the smell that came towards me made me feel very nauseous and I thought I have to throw up.

"Can't we open a window or something?", I asked.

"No!", yelled the boy I didn't know. "Then someone will hear us."

Maria kept pressing and we kept telling her to press harder.

"I can't press any harder you idiots!", she cursed at us.

"It goes in so easy but oh it doesn't come out that way.", Oliver joked. We shook our heads and rolled our eyes. And after a while something seemed to happen.

"Guys I think I can see something.", I yelled out excited.

Maria pushed out the head and then everything happened very quickly.

I held the baby in my arms and watched it as it fetched for air. It was tiny and fragile and kind of helpless shivering underneath my hands. I wanted to wrap a blanket around its body. But then the boy I didn't know tore the baby from my hands.

"Hey what the f**k!", I yelled at him. He disappeared into the bathroom. I followed him and opened the door. I saw him putting on rubber gloves. Oliver was standing in the shower, leaning against the wall.

"Get the f**k out of here.", he said.

"What are you doing?", I asked but no one gave me an answer.

Then the boy I didn't know held the baby upside down and hit him several times against the edge of the sink. The skull burst into shreds and the little eyeballs were hanging from their strings. There was blood everywhere and I just snapped and started to scream like crazy. Oliver grabbed me by my throat and pressed his palms into my face.

"Shut the f**k up.", he hissed at me. "Or do you want to get caught."

I got quiet and he let go of me.

The boy I didn't know stuffed the dead baby in a garbage bag and then into an Aldi bag, then he wiped away the blood and wrung out the wet towels in the sink. He stuffed the towels into his backpack and stored the Aldi bag behind the couch.

"Here you go.", he said and threw a towel against my chest. "Clean yourself."

Maria was getting dressed then she and removed the foil they had laid all over the bed. Then she opened the windows. Daylight illuminated the room. Oliver pulled out two bottles of beer and him and the boy I didn't know held them up and drank.

"This is Dennis.", Oliver said to me. 

"And this is Rosie.", he said to Dennis.

They lit cigarettes and smoked them.

Maria settled in front of the glass table and took out a sachet. Dennis immediately got up and took it away from her.

"Are you insane. Not right after.", he yelled at her. 

Maria crossed her arms and rolled her eyes. Then she took out her phone and was was quiet.

Oliver and Dennis had already emptied the whole box of beer. Maria was in the bathroom and straightened her hair. They were about to leave to someone called Angie. I moved from where I was standing, pulled up my sleeve over my hand and picked up the Aldi bag.

"And where do you want to go with that?", I asked.

Maria briefly stopped straightening her hair and Oliver and Dennis glanced at each other.

"I know a place.", Dennis said.

"And where's that?", I asked.

"That's none of your business.", Dennis said. "Go home!"

"But I don't want to go home.", I said. "I want to come with you."

Dennis parked the car. He put on rubber gloves again and reached for the Aldi bag in the back seat. We got out and walked in silence for a while. We went deeper and deeper into the forest. Then he stopped and took off his backpack. He threw the Aldi bag to the ground, knelt in the dirt and began to dig.

"Join me!", he said and for about twenty minutes we were digging in the dirt.

Then he reached for the aldi bag and pulled out the bloody bundle. He threw it to the gound and kicked it like a football. The bundle rolled into the hole.

"Can they not find out that it's Maria's, I mean when they find it.", I said.

"That's why we have to make sure that this never happens.", Dennis said and pulled out a bottle of pepsi from his backpack, which wasn't filled with pepsi.

He tipped all the content from the bottle on the bundle in the hole. He set fire to it and we stared into the flames for a few minutes. Then there was nothing left of the bundle and we filled the hole again.

"That's it.", Dennis said and we went back to the car.

In front of the car I grabbed his upper arm.

"Why did you do it like that?", I asked him in an urgent voice.

He freed himself from my grip and walked around the car to the driver's side.

"There are thousand other options!", I yelled towards him.

"No there are not and now get the f**k in!", he yelled back at me.

"But that is not true.", I said and angrily pulled open the car door. I settled on the seat with my arms crossed.

"There are other options.", I murmured.

Dennis sat in the car and slammed the door.

"But that wouldn't be my style.", he said, turned on the stereo on full volume and drove off.