William woke up with a struggle on his neck as he tried pulling the two men up on top of him.
"Get off me!" He yelled, but instead the oldest pinned him to the wall, while the other man squeezed him. William's voice became low and hitched.
"Stop this now!" He lashed out, and he struggled off their grip.
"Someone help…help me," he screamed at the top of his voice, but his voice slammed back to his own ears. The men stared with a smirk; in their hand was a knife.
"How did you all have that?" he questioned, but instead of responding, they rushed him. One slice on his shoulder, as he screamed in pain. "Shit, damn it!" he sassed, touched the place, and stared at the blood oozing from it.
"You love it this way, right? Let's have it then!" William balanced his legs well, like a boxer. With his hands squeezed, ready for the fight.
"One, two, and three, let's go." The oldest shouted, and immediately they ran toward him. But the cell door opened, and police rushed in. They pulled William off their grip as they struggled with the polices. He glanced at them pinned to the ground, and their teeth ground.
"Are you okay? Mr. William?" one of the police asked, and he nodded before walking out of the room with his hands leaning on the police. As they walked through the hallway and then to the police officers, everyone stared at them, eyes filled with guilt.
"Where are you taking me to?" He asked, the police smirked without a word, and then paused at Dave's office. "I'm sorry, Mr. William, we didn't believe you. Pardon our mistake," the policeman said before detaching from his grip and leaving William to pause and wonder.
"Come in, I bet you don't want to be left outside there." Dave shouted from his office. William took closer to a minute before walking inside the office. It was filled with badges pinned on the wall and pictures of him and his colleagues. William's eyes lingered around an old picture, close to the mirror.
"How on earth do you still have this picture? Oh my God." William's jaw clenched as he strode over to the old picture, covered with dust but was still fixed well for eyes viewing. The pictures their teams took together after passing the police exams, the joy in William's face that year. Ten years it was, and but still… It felt like new. Unshed tears welled on his eyes, and he kept on touching the pictures as he recalled those memories.
"Do you remember when you said you would be the best detective in town?" Dave chuckled.
"Oh, yeah, I did, until Oscar knocked me with the beer bottle and told me I was all drunk." William scoffed.
"Yes, exactly, and now look at you? you're the talk of the town." Dave said, as a little smile curled out.
"I bet you time do pass." William responded, moved toward Dave. He dragged an empty seat, and sat down. Dave cleared his throat before he spoke. "I'm so sorry for what had happened earlier; we misinterpreted you, and that's all my fault."
"It's fine; we all make mistakes, remember?" William responded, still on his seat, observing the files on the desk.
"Thank you. This means a lot to me." Dave said, pulling his hand for a handshake. William glanced at him with a smirk before accepting the handshake.
"If you ever need anything, don't forget to come by. I would be glad to help." Dave said, with a smile and a cigarette lit.
"I would, thank you." William stood up and moved closer to him as Dave stood up too, and they hugged. Their breath clenched against each other, inhaling the sweat that escalated from them.
"See you soon." William shouted before walking out of Dave's office and straight to the police firm exit. He took a deep breath and stared at the sky before walking down the street.
The beauty of the morning sky could tell him how beautiful life was today to him. Even though he never expected to be used as trash and dumped.
On the other hand, the two men who attacked Williams were busy in the interrogating room, trying their best to prove innocent. The more they spoke, the more it sounded stupid to the people around.
William, on edge, walked into a little supermarket and entered. He moved toward the dark apple cigarette scent, and as he tugged it off, he found only a pack and a bottle of water. Still on the line, he slid the bottle cover open and diluted the water down his dry and sore throat.
"Exactly what I wanted." He screamed, making the rest in line to stare with aghast faces. He bowed down and whispered, "Sorry," finally it was his turn. He pulled out a 2-dollar note as the man glanced at him and placed the items on the machine. Scanned it, but just immediately the young boy wanted to package the cigarette box and the empty bottle.
"No need, boy." He grabbed the stuff without packing it and walked out of the mall. The teenage boy stared surprised but tossed his head and got focused to the next customers.
Immediately after William walked out of the mall, he immediately lit a cigarette and pulled back the rest into his pocket and walked toward the street. Hands waving at a cab, even though he knew his money wasn't enough. Five minutes gone, luckily of him. A man drove his car toward him and stopped in front of him.
"Thank you." He said before hopping inside the car and got comfortable. He didn't care to check who it was; all he did was to exhale deeply and fold his legs together. The cold air slashed down his skin, even after the window had been slid down a little. Freezing and smoking his cigarette while his eyes were on the street.
"I need my car," he hummered before glancing at his phone and then back on the street. Forty minutes passed; the air slashed across his neck, pulling him to another shivering as he walked out of the car. Waved at the driver and inhaled deeply, already at the scene that nearly cost his life.
"Oh, my lovely car." He ran toward his car, ready to hug it like a kid. But just then, he paused, eyes lingering around. A little moment of three men got to his notice. He tiptoed and walked to his car, ready to hop outside.
Just then, a lady rode passed on her bike, her eyes on him, but suddenly, she insulted him with an index finger.
"See you in hell!" she shouted.