There were three people sitting in an empty office room, at the end of an obscured hallway that lead to nowhere, on the thirteenth floor of one of the many tall buildings in the city of Melbourne. There was one person standing. He was on the phone, and in the middle of a heated conversation.

  ‘Oh, you want to sue, do you?’ Thomas growled into the phone, ‘that’s fine. In fact, we welcome it. You think I didn’t get your subtle little threat on camera? Well I did. Loud and clear too. In 4K even. We’ll have a field day on this. We could go for some time off work; we’ll get you for court fees, lost income, and I think I might even throw in a little bit of trauma in there – that’ll get us an extra ten or twenty thousand. Jury is already out on this one bud.’

  There was a moment of silence.

  ‘No worries. I’ll get my lawyer to contact you soon.’

  Another moment of silence. Sally, Daniel and Jacob sat on the chairs around the table in nervous anticipation.

  ‘Oh you don’t want to sue now?’

  Thomas was pacing back and forth across the room as he spoke.

  ‘It makes no difference if you’re just pressing charges against him. This goes to court and your video goes straight onto Youtube. And every other platfrom out there… Twitter? Oh you better believe it’s going on twitter.’

  Silence.

  ‘Well what do you mean then?’

  Thomas huffed.

  ‘Blackmail huh? Illegal? I’ll tell you what - I don’t think it’s as illegal as abusing through girls in public.’

  ‘Okay, well why don’t you call me back when you’ve decided what to do. Just remember, footage like the kind that we have doesn’t just disappear. Especially once it’s up on the internet. You’re pretty stupid for a psychopath.’

  Thomas hung up the phone and looked down at Jacob. It wasn’t Thomas’ usual smiley self.

  ‘So what’s going on. Is he going to press charges or not?’ Daniel asked.

  ‘He’s threatening us – but I don’t think he will. We have too much on him. He hasn’t filed a police report; which is probably the first step anyway and I’m going to guess that he’s the kind of person who doesn’t want the police buzzing around… if you catch my drift’ Thomas breathed a sigh of relief and eyed Jacob, ‘you’re lucky I didn’t stop recording, and that I turned around when I did. I managed to film him grabbing Pip which is definitely enough to turn public opinion against him, even if it doesn’t hold up as self defence in court. See for yourself.’ Thomas unlocked his phone and slid it over towards Jacob, Daniel and Sally. The video was already on screen – Daniel hit the play button almost straight away. The video showed the dark street that they had been walking down only a few nights earlier, the camera was facing away from Jacob and Pip, but it turned just in time to catch Jason with his hand on Pip’s arm. And then a moment later. WHAM. The Jacob struck him in the face.

  ‘Good punch!’ Daniel said.

  Thomas gave Daniel a cold look.

  ‘Don’t encourage it,’ Thomas stared daggers at both Jacob and Daniel as he swiped the phone back, and slid it back into his pocket, ‘I have to go. But make sure Jacob, whatever you do, you don’t let him contact you. If he tries to message you on social media – block him and then let me know about it. If you see him on the street, avoid him. I’ve seen too many of my dad’s clients lose the upper hand because they let their mouth get the better of them.’

  Thomas stood to leave.

  ‘I’m sorry for causing so much mess for you,’ Jacob said.

  Thomas didn’t turn to look back.

  ‘It’s done. I just want to make sure you get out of this without losing your job and ending up in a lawsuit,’ Thomas strode out the door.

  ‘Don’t worry Jacob,’ Sally waved as she stood, ‘he just hates these kinds of stressful situations. I’m sure it will have blown over in a few weeks.’

  Sally followed Thomas out of the room, and the door closed shut behind them.

  Jacob sighed.

  ‘I suppose you’re also going to give me a lecture about how acted without thinking?’ Jacob asked.

  ‘No actually,’ Daniel said, ‘I admire what you did. But I suppose you didn’t get that from the ‘good punch’ comment, did you? I think that loser deserved what he got. I’m honestly a little jealous that I didn’t have the guts to do it myself.’

  Jacob laughed lightly; feeling slightly chuffed by the compliment.

  ‘You didn’t really have the chance to…’

  ‘I spoke to Alex. He agrees with me. And deep down, I think Thomas thinks the same thing. It’s just, you know what Sally said, he hates these kinds of stressful situations.’

  ‘Thanks mate. Let’s hope I get the same reaction from Maria. I’m going to have to tell her at some point.’

  ‘I’m sure you will,’ Daniel said, ‘I sort of pick her for the kind of girl who’d punch a guy for less.’

  ***

  ‘YOU PUNCHED A GUY IN AN ALLEYWAY!?’ Maria screamed.

  ‘Well…umm, it ah…. it wasn’t an alleyway. More of a side-street really. And…he was starting stuff with us,’ Jacob stammered.

  Maria jumped off the couch and inched forward furiously toward Jacob, who had been standing over her awkwardly only moments beforehand. Jacob took a step back, but Maria continue to advance slowly. Her eyebrows were curled down and her face was contorted furiously. Jacob felt his back hit the wall.

  ‘AND SO, YOU JUST HIT HIM DID YOU? BECAUSE HE WAS STARTING STUFF?!’

  ‘He grabbed one of our friends and…I lost it. Just for a moment.’

  ‘You lost it!? You mean you couldn’t conrol your anger!’ Maria yelled and threw her hands in the air. Her nose was only centimeters from Jacob’s.

  ‘Only…for a moment.’

  Maria put her hands up against the wall, one on either side of Jacob’s head, ‘And what if I do something that annoys you!’ Maria growled, ‘WILL YOU JUST LOSE IT WITH ME?!’

  Her blue eyes made harsh contact with his own. Jacob lifted his hands and brushed his fingers gently over her cheek.

  ‘I’d never lose it with you, Maria, you know that!’

  There was a long moment where neither of them said anything. Maria just stared furiously into Jacob’s eyes.

  ‘Good,’ she said softly, and then she pressed her lips gently against Jacob’s. The two of them held a prolonged kiss, and then Maria pulled back, ‘because I just couldn’t stand the thought of you getting angry at me like that Jacob,’ she whispered, ‘I’ve seen it too many times! I’ve been traumatised by it. You’re so good that just the thought the thought of you changing scares me; I feel like I’ve finally made a smart decision in you - and I’d feel really stupid if that eneded up getting flipped on its head…again.’

  Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  Jacob wrapped his arms around Maria’s waist affectionately. Maria laid her head against his shoulder.

  ‘You’ve known me my whole life; do I look like one of those kinds of guys?’

  ‘Yeah well,’ Maria murmured - Jacob noticed a single tear rolling down her cheek, ‘I knew my dad most of my life and he turned out to be one of those guys - didn’t he?’

  Jacob ran one of his hands through her chestnut hair, whilst he held her just above the waist with the other.

  ‘Wasn’t he the Italian one though? The Maltese men never do that.’

  Maria actually laughed.

  ‘Your dad was Maltese, right? And how long has it been since you’ve seen him?’

  The two of them laughed together.

  ‘It’s been a while.’

  Maria stepped back, took Jacob’s hands and pulled them both back onto the couch. They got comfortable, sitting side by side, with Maria still resting her head on Jacob’s shoulder - and Jacob still with his arm around her.

  ‘What happened with your dad, anyway?’ Maria asked.

  ‘It’s umm…not something I usually talk about. Not even with my family.’

  Though secretly Jacob really wanted to talk about it.

  ‘I understand,’ Maria said as she reached for the remote and turned on the TV. Aladdin was playing on 7mate; it had only just started, ‘I still can’t believe you hit someone.’

  ‘You know Daniel reckons you’re the kind of girl who’d probably hit a guy on the street.’

  ‘Well he’d better hope I don’t see him anytime soon or I might hit him…but he’s not wrong. Just don’t ever lose it with me Jacob.’

  ‘I won’t,’ Jacob replied.

  ‘Promise?’

  Jacob reached out and took a block of chocolate off the coffee table, tore it open and offered Maria a piece. She broke off a generous chunk, but into it and handed the rest back to Jacob.

  ‘I promise.’

  He took a bite out of the chocolate as he looked at the TV. Aladdin had found the lamp, and Genie was just about to burst into a song about how you’ve never had a friend like me. It was a relaxing movie, and seemed fitting, so the two just watched in silence until Maria eventually fell asleep on his shoulder.

  ***

  ‘You haven’t spoken to your dad in two years?’ Pip asked.

  ‘Well…it’s been closer to two and a half years, actually’ Jacob replied, ‘I didn’t really talk to him much growing up anyway, and so it kind of just became the norm.’

  Jacob had no idea how their conversation had progressed this far. He certainly hadn’t meant for it to. But him and Pip could talk for hours, and when the subject came up - Pip spoke in a way that made it really easy for him to open up. She seemed so caring, and so emotionally comforting.

  ‘Has he tried to contact you?’ Pip blushed, ‘sorry, we don’t have to talk about it if you’re uncomfortable.’

  The two of them walked side by side as they passed through a park with luscious green grass, leafy trees and a small creek flowing through the middle. The sun was shining down in its full glory, the sky a clear blue, and the trickling sound of the water was soft and relaxing.

  Pip’s anxiety had resurfaced since their encounter with Jason after the markets about a week ago; she was nervous about being alone in public - nervous that Jason was going to take his anger out on her. Especially since he knew where she worked, and where she lived. Thus, her friends were doing their best to make sure that she wasn’t alone in public (at least for the time being.)

  Jacob felt the most responsible; as he was the one who’d caused all this trouble. He felt like he was probably the reason Jason was so angry. On this particular afternoon, all of Pip’s friends were stuck in meetings or working late - Jacob was the only one around to walk her to her car; which was parked a couple of kilometers away. It saved her waiting around at work for two hours which he knew she would, rather than walk through the city alone at the moment.

  ‘No, I’m not uncomfortable about it. It’s just awkward to talk about it.’

  ‘Okay…umm…how long has he been away for?’

  Jacob scratched his chin.

  ‘He left my mum when I was young, and moved up to Queensland. I saw him occasionally while I was growing up. Usually on school holidays. But he wasn’t really around that much. Not at all really. For my birthday, my sister’s birthday - sometimes he’d even forget to call. We saw him on the occasional Christmas; but I’ve gotten pretty used to his… lack of presence. Anyway; he had anger issues and drank a lot of alcohol. I suppose I’ve just always resented him.’

  Pip patted him gently on the back.

  ‘Sounds hard. Do you think things will ever get better between you guys.’

  ‘It’s hard to say. Maybe. Maybe not. He’s kind of settled down now. I’ve gotten the feeling that he’s changed a little bit. He wants to be in more regular contact. I kind of just don’t.’

  The two of them were coming out the other end of the park now, they began crossing the road; towards the entrance of the car park where Pip always parked.

  ‘Do you want my opinion?’ Pip asked.

  ‘Sure. Go ahead.’

  ‘I know it’s easy for me to give this advice. I was raised with two beautiful parents who were always there for me, but I think you should give him another chance.’

  ‘You think so?’

  ‘Yeah, I do,’ Pip said, ‘it might not be easy, but you’ll be happier for it.’

  ‘I’ll keep it in mind.’

  Pip stopped and turned to Jacob as the two of them suddenly approached her car.

  ‘Pip, before you go. I just wanted to say…’

  ‘Yeah?’

  ‘I’m really sorry about the other day. I feel so bad about what I did. It seems like I’ve caused a lot of trouble.’

  Pip waved it off.

  ‘Seriously! Don’t worry about it. You stepped up. It’s admirable, really. Maria is a lucky lady,’ Pip said as she unlocked her car door.

  ‘I suppose so.’

  ‘Thanks for walking me here. I’ll see you tomorrow!’ Pip closed the car door and started her car. She gave him one last wave through the side window as she reversed and drove off.

  ***

  It was a bright Thursday morning; and the streets were just beginning to fill up with morning commuters. Jacob sat on a street bench in front of Tierra Madre cafe with a coffee in his hand watching the city pass him by. The mornings were still a little chilli, and so he cuddled his hot drink with both hands hoping to warm them a little. He looked up at the tall buildings around him pensively. He couldn’t help but wonder; wonder about life and wonder if he’d done the right thing during his confrontation with Jason. He cast his mind back and tried to imagine himself doing something different. But the situation always played out the same. The truth was, he couldn’t imagine himself doing anything different. But it still seemed like he’d caused so much trouble, and so much faff. It was true that it didn’t look like there were going to be charges pressed - or court summons. It didn’t even look like Pip was being targeted by Jason, but still…

  ‘I knew you’d be here around here at this time of morning,’ a voice murmured as someone sat down beside him. Jacob turned around. Thomas sat beside him, his blonde hair flowing, and a warm half-smile over his face.

  ‘Oh hey mate. What’s going on?’ Jacob asked.

  ‘Not much man. Not much at all.’

  ‘You ahh…don’t have a coffee?’

  ‘I didn’t come here for coffee. I swung by because I thought you might be hanging around.’

  ‘Oh, right…you wanted to catch up?’ Jacob asked.

  ‘Kind of. I wanted to chat really.’

  ‘You know you could have just messaged me and asked me to meet me.’

  ‘That would have ruined the spontaneity of it all; me just popping up beside you, coming up with a cool line like it’s a scene straight out of a movie.’

  ‘Spontaneity. Is that even a word.’

  ‘I think so; though I’m not entirely sure. I might have to look it up later.’

  Jacob grinned, though it only lasted a moment. A grim feeling gripped his insides as he began to guess at what Thomas was here for.

  ‘Look, I’m really sorry about what happened. There’s not much more I can say about it. I know how much you’ve gone out of your way to make sure nothing came of it, but in the end all I can really say is that. I’m sorry.’

  Thomas punched Jacob comfortingly in the shoulder.

  ‘That’s not really what I wanted to talk about. On the contrary, I actually wanted to apologise.’

  Jacob rose an eyebrow.

  ‘Apologise? What for?’

  ‘I feel like I was a little too harsh on you about everything that happened. Don’t get me wrong, I still think that what you did was impulsive, but also think we all need friends who are impulsively ready to defend us. It’s a good quality - you’re a good guy. It’s why I keep you around.’

  Jacob’s smile returned, and he felt that dark feeling slip away.

  ‘I thought you kept me around because of my good looks.’

  ‘That’s how it used to be. But now that I’m not single, and don’t really need your help with the girls,’ Thomas slapped him on the back.

  Jacob laid back; he thought he could hear jazz music playing somewhere in the distance, though he doubted that there were buskers out this early. He was probably imagining it.

  ‘I appreciate the apology. Though it probably wasn’t particularly needed. I still can’t help thinking that I caused a lot of trouble though. More than I’m worth anyway.’

  ‘You’re worth more than you think.’

  ‘Do you think maybe if I hadn’t hit him - we could have done things differently. Maybe we could have taken things further against him? After all, he was pretty abusive,’ Jacob looked over at Thomas with sorry and pleading eyes.

  Thomas felt a pang of sympathy hit him.

  ‘I’m not going to lie to you. Maybe we could have. But maybe things would have gotten worse if you hadn’t intervened. I dunno. What’s done is done, mate. Let’s move forward. In reality, it’s rare that guys like him do stuff like that as a once off. I guarantee you he’s probably trying it on other girls. Our best hope now is that one of them speaks out.’

  ‘Maybe we don’t have wait for someone else to come forward.’

  ‘What do you mean?’ Thomas asked.

  Jacob looked down at his cheap Garmin Forerunner 45; which showed the time clearly, as well as his heart rate which was unusually high.

  ‘Don’t worry. Are you going to get a coffee?’

  ‘Hmm, nah, don’t think so. I’ll just make one when I get to work.’

  ‘Okay. Let’s head off then. We’re going to be late otherwise.’

  Jacob jumped up off the bench, and Thomas followed. The two of them began walking side by side down the crowded street towards work.