Cuts Like A Knife
Doris holds her hands under the hot water, frantically scrubbing them with soap to remove the blood. At first she thought she’d cut herself somehow and the blood was hers but having checked her hands and arms there was no sign of any wound, which was a huge relief because the amount of blood would mean she’d lost a considerable amount. The blood is difficult to remove and so she scrubs them harder. Eventually her hands and arms are free from any signs of the blood. Doris is totally confused as to what has happened and if the blood wasn't hers then where has it all come from.
Slowly she makes her way back into the bar. The room now has less people in it and she sees her younger self sat over by an arcade game, with Bruno, wearing different clothes.
Doris assumes that while she was in the rest room she did actually move in time. She wonders if she had moved so quickly that she didn't have time to register where she'd moved to before she came back again and some how that’s where the blood had come from.
She notices that Will steps up to the microphone and addresses the audience.
Will: "Okay well we've had a request, so we're gonna slow things down a little again."
As the band begins to play Doris watches her younger self turn away from the game and looking loving at Will as he performs on stage. He is performing a ballad. This one has a tinge of sadness to it and Doris wonder if Will has any idea of what is going to happen to him. For a moment she wonders if there is any way she could try to save his life but soon realises the trouble trying to change things with Bruno’s father and with Nicole, had got her into and decides it’s better to try and avoid getting involved with anything.
"Sometimes late at night
I lie awake and watch her sleeping
She's lost in peaceful dreams
So I turn out the lights and lay there in the dark
And the thought crosses my mind
If I never wake up in the morning
Would she ever doubt the way I feel
About her in my heart
If tomorrow never comes
Will she know how much I loved her
Did I try in every way
To show her every day
That she's my only one
If my time on earth were through
And she must face the world without me
Is the love I gave her in the past
Gonna be enough to last
If tomorrow never comes
'Cause I've lost loved ones in my life
Who never knew how much I loved them
Now I live with the regret
That my true feelings for them never were revealed
So I made a promise to myself
To say each day how much she means to me
And avoid that circumstance
Where there's no second chance
To tell her how I feel
If tomorrow never comes
Will she know how much I loved her
Did I try in every way
To show her every day
That she's my only one
If my time on earth were through
And she must face the world without me
Is the love I gave her in the past
Gonna be enough to last
If tomorrow never comes
So tell that someone that you love
Just what you're thinking of
If tomorrow never comes"
As the song comes to an end both the teenage and older Doris wipe tears from their eyes. Bruno has gone over to talk to Nancy so the older Doris sits down in the chair opposite her younger self at the arcade game.
Doris remembered the game very well. She had been playing it one time with Will and they had taken the name of the game, “Meteor Madness” as their secret password that they would say if one of them ever needed the other one. Doris had whispered it to herself many times over the years and it had often made her feel better thinking that Will was watching down over her and she wasn't completely alone. She watches her younger self who is totally oblivious to the heartache that lies ahead. She wants to tell her to seize every moment for happiness and not give up on her dreams, like she did, but she knows her younger self cannot hear her.
After awhile Doris’ attention is caught by a commotion at the bar. A young man standing at the bar begins to shout: “I've got the money!”
He places some coins on to the bar and pushes them towards the bartender, who is shaking his head. The man frantically starts searching through his pockets looking for something.
The man seems familiar so Doris moves closer to the bar to see what is going on. The man pulls out another couple of coins from his jacket, places them on to the bar and pushes them towards the bartender.
Bartender: “I'm sorry there’s still not enough money to cover the cost of the whisky”
As Doris gets closer she realises the man is her ex boyfriend Sandy Bailey and as usual he’s drunk.
Sandy: “Please man, I need this drink!”
Bartender: “Well give me the money and you can have the drink!”
Again Sandy searches through his pockets but comes up empty and again tries pleading with the bartender.
The bartender has had enough and picks up the glass of whisky and moves it to the back of the bar.
Bartender: “I've got other people to serve, let me know if you come up with the money!”
Sandy desperately looks around him, not knowing quite what to do. He eventually starts to ask other customers to loan him a couple of dollars but no one is interested in helping him. He sees a woman who has just ordered some whisky form the bartender and he moves closer to where she is standing. Doris watches as Sandy concentrating solely on the alcohol, lunges forward and tries to pick up the glass. He doesn't realise the woman is with her boyfriend, who is a very tall, thick set country guy, who towers above Sandy.
The boyfriend taps Sandy on the shoulder: “I suggest you put that down!”
Sandy looks up at the rugged guy and then looks at the glass in his hand, contemplating what to do. Even in his drunken state he realises that there is no way he could win against this guy in a fight but he is desperate for a drink. He quickly moves the glass to his lips and starts to gulp down the brown liquid. Incensed the boyfriend throws a punch which lands squarely on sandy’s jaw, knocking the glass to the floor. A big burly bouncer quickly steps in to break up the fight. He picks up Sandy, who is yelling and screaming, throws him over his shoulder and removes him from the bar.
Doris shakes her head in despair at the state Sandy keeps getting himself in to, all in the name of alcohol! Although she has consumed quite a bit of alcohol herself tonight she would never understand why Sandy drank so much. All it ever did was get him into trouble.
As the commotion dies down Doris’ attention returns to the music and she watches Will work the room. After a while Doris wanders what she is going to do next? She can’t just stay in this bar watching Will, as enjoyable as she was finding that is she needed to come up with a plan to sort out her own problems. She notices Bruno standing in the corner laughing with Nancy and the room starts to fill up with dancers from the school, including teenage Leroy. For fear of being noticed Doris decides to leave the bar. As she approaches the exit Bruno is standing next to the door and he opens it for her. Without looking at him Doris thanks him and quickly hurries out into the night.
The night air feels cool against Doris’ skin and as she walks through a darkened car park she wonders if she should attempt to try and find her way back to her flat. Maybe that will lead her back to her other self and she will finally discover what happened to her.
Just then she hears a noise as though somebody is behind her. She quickly turns around but can’t see anyone. Doris worries that maybe it’s the hooded Leroy, who has been watching her. She hears the noise again but looking around still can’t see anyone.
Doris calls out: “Who’s there? Leroy is that you?”
But only silence greets her calls. Feeling a little scared Doris starts to walk towards the street that lies a couple of hundred metres away. Suddenly she feels something touch her and a hand grab her arm. The next thing she knows is that someone is holding her tightly against their body and their arm is wrapped tightly around her neck. As the person tightens their grip Doris finds it harder to breath. She realises this is exactly the same feeling that she experienced when she was alone in the rest room. Then in front of her the person waves a knife. The neon flashing sign from Kickers bar reflects in the metal blade making it sparkle. Doris realises that again that is what flashed in the mirror in the restroom. Doris' heart starts to race and she worries that she is going to be cut and the blood she saw was also hers.
Doris nervously calls out: “What do you want?”
The person: “Just gives me some money and I’ll let you go!”
As the person speaks she can smell the alcohol on their breath and she recognises the voice
Doris: “Sandy?”
Sandy panics: “How do you know my name?”
Before Doris can reply another voice calls over: “Hey you, what are you doing, let her go!”
Doris tries to turn to see who is calling out but Sandy’s body blocks her view. As the stranger rushes over to try and help her, Sandy loosens his grip on her and she pulls away.
Sandy turns to confront the other man, who is approaching carrying a guitar. As he comes into view Doris realises that it’s Will.
Sandy snaps at Will: “Give me that guitar!”
Will laughs: “Sorry buddy no one is going to take this guitar.”
Doris sees the knife blade sparkle again: “Be careful he has a knife!”
Will becomes more cautious: “Look buddy, I don't want any trouble. Why don’t you just walk away and there’s no harm done? Knife or no knife you’re not getting this guitar!”
Doris’ body suddenly goes cold with fear. In her head she hears the words she wrote in her diary all those years ago when will was killed: “Today I lost a friend..... because he wouldn’t give some slime his guitar. Some say that was a dumb thing to do but it wasn't it was a cowboy thing to do!”
Doris watches, with her heart in her mouth as Sandy gradually moves closer to Will. She can’t believe what she is seeing Surely it couldn't have been Sandy who killed Will, Could it?
Doris cries out: “Will please be careful, he’s an alcoholic and he’ll do anything to get money for another drink!”
Will is surprised that the woman knows his name. He turns and looks at her: “Doris? Is that you?”
Doris’ face fills with horror as she sees Sandy lurch forward and she yells: “WILL LOOK OUT!”
Will turns back just in time to dodge the knife and the two begin to struggle. Doris is relieved that the knife didn't cut Will but watches pensively as Will tries to struggle the knife out of Sandy’s hand. Doris hopes that maybe her presence could change things and Will might survive.
Doris: “Will, please be careful I can’t lose you again?”
Will is confused: “Doris what is going on? What are you talking about?”
Will pushes Sandy with a hard blow. Sandy starts to fall and grabs on to Will to try and stop himself from falling. This causes both men to lose their balance and fall over, with Will falling on top of Sandy. Doris watches and notices that Will isn't moving. Then to her horror she sees blood running on to the ground next to her ex boyfriend. Doris’ mind flashes back to the blood that covered her hands in the rest room and she screams in horror: “NOOOOOOO!!.
Eventually Sandy starts to move and pushes Will off of him and sees the knife sticking out of Will’s chest. Will lies virtually motionless on the ground.
Sandy starts to panic: “It wasn't my fault! He came at me! It was an accident!
He looks at Doris who glares back at him in silence.
Sandy: “It wasn't my fault, I tell you!”
Looking around him he sees the guitar lying on the ground, he quickly picks it up and runs off into the night.
Doris watches him go and then slowly moves closer to Will’s body, tears running down her face. She sits down on the ground next to Will and cradles his dying body in her arms. The blood from his chest starts to run down on her hands and she feels sick with desperation. She pulls out her cell phone and starts to dial 911 however she soon realises that she has no signal and she can’t do any more to help him.
Doris Starts sobbing: “I, I love You Will, I always have!”
Slowly Will opens his eyes seeing Doris’s face and looking deeply into her eyes, not understanding what he is seeing.
Will’s speech is a little slow and slurred: “Dor, ris!”
Doris: “I'm here Will, I'm here. It’s all going to be okay.”
Gently she strokes his hair.
Doris cries: “It’s okay Will, you can go to sleep now.”
Will swallows slowly and tries to speak but no words come.
Doris tries to reassure him: “Just rest now, there’s no need to talk."
A single solitary tear slowly rolls down Will’s cheek and Doris gently wipes it away.
Will swallows again and with every last ounce of breath slowly manages to speak:
Will: “Me – te –or Mad- ness”.
Doris sobs and pulls his body closer to her. Will’s eyes close again and his last breath emits from his body, which falls limp in Doris’ arms, covering them in his blood.
Doris cries: “Meteor Madness”.
Rocking gently backwards and forwards with Will in her arms Doris realises, he’s gone.
To be continued.......