Don't Break The Rules

Chapter 10 - Freaky Rules

Although there was such glee on Jamie's features, his bright blue eyes brightening as he glanced between the both of them, Fred had never felt such terror facing anybody else before. His stomach began to twist on its own and the only thing he could think of was danger. His fight and flight were in motion and he subtly eyed the front door, seeing that it was close enough for him to reach.

Jamie did not turn away, not even when both of them glanced at one another to think of a response, not even when Joe's gaze lowered to his glass of beer or when Fred scratched the side of his face, hoping to stall for a few more seconds.

And the worse part was that Joe was not the greatest liar and after a minute of thinking of which words to say, he cleared his throat and said, "Just...you know, talking about..." and then he blanked, not finding any excuse as to what else they could have been the topic of their chat.

Fred took the lead, thinking of a match he had watched on television a few days prior. "The Trésor Cup that Tiger Woods just won!" Fred chimed, patting Joe on the shoulder.

Jamie glanced towards Joe for a second, maintaining his grin before asking, "And when exactly did you watch that tournament, Joe?" Although he wasn't entirely certain, he was betting the odds that Joe didn't watch golf—to which he was right, Joe didn't even know the rules of golf.

Joe scratched the back of his ear, thinking of a date to lie about but it would definitely not align with the date that Tiger Woods really played. One of the rules was also not to lie, which was why he struggled to think of a truth that could be used instead of a outright lie.

Luckily, Fred wrapped an arm around his shoulders and faked a few chuckles. "For the four years that I've known Joe, he's never cared about golf but I always tell him about it."

Joe's ears perked, rapidly nodding his head. "Yeah, I've always wondered how—"

"I'm only staying a little longer," Jamie interrupted coldly and they both noticed the way his entire face had changed, no longer the act of kindness and instead replaced by a curled lip, as if he was disgusted by them. His gaze then locked with Fred, peering deeply into his eyes as if to let him know that he knew they had lied. Fred swallowed hard, feeling the hair on the nape of his neck perk. "If you see me walk out, that means I'm leaving. If you don't follow me out, you can spend the night here with your...friend."

He squinted his eyes for a second, holding Fred's for longer even though he had nothing else to say. Even though Fred was also older than Jamie, he felt chills simply being around him. It didn't help the fact that Jamie was not only tall but built, muscle groups outlined by his tight turtleneck. Once a minute passed, Jamie finally twirled on his heels and stepped away, raising his hands while he joined his friends again.

Fred finally exhaled a long breath, his throat suddenly loosening as he felt the tension drop and the danger lift itself off his shoulders. Although he knew Jamie's entire persona had been odd earlier, that had definitely sold it. The strangest part was that neither of them had heard his footsteps nor any sound that he was approaching; he had suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

Fred needed a few seconds to regain his composure, returning his booze on the table before putting one hand on his chest, feeling his racing heartbeat. "You need to leave that guy."

"Fred, come on—"

"Did you see the way he came out of thin air?"

After a cackle, Joe rolled his eyes. "He didn't come out of thin air, he walked over to us."

Fred was panting as his fingers squeezed his chest, attempting to calm his heartbeat. It had been quite some time a stranger had unsettled him in this way. "You should really be careful with that guy Joe," he whispered through heavy breaths, "he gives me the creeps." After a short pause, he glanced towards Jamie once more before adding, "I'll do some digging on him but you shouldn't live there."

"You're overreacting and where else am I supposed to go?"

"Stay at mine for a few—"

"We've already tried that—your wife doesn't like it. We fought every damn day," Joe recalled, his eyebrows narrowing when he remembered the day Fred's wife threw all his clothes outside because she said he had too many. "Your wife is a lunatic," Joe whispered under his breath.

Fred tilted his head from side to side, slightly agreeing with him. "You have a point but it's much safer then some random guy's house—where are you going?"

Joe had been focused on Jamie waving goodbye to his friends and walking towards the exit that he completely tuned out Fred until he felt fingers grip his wrist and tug him back. "I'm sorry," Joe faced him, pointing toward Jamie, "he's leaving so I have to go too."

"Hold on." Fred stopped him, keeping a grip on his wrist. "Give me your new cell number, I'll add my number." He extended his palm and waited.

His reflex was the reach inside his pocket and retrieve the phone, but his movements halted when he remembered Jamie's rule.

Rule #47: you have a phone, the only contact you can have is mine.

There was no way he could admit that to Fred. Not only would he definitely be suspicious of Jamie without a doubt, but he would most likely find a way to prevent Joe from ever returning to that apartment again. It would only be another series of questions that he did not have time to answer as Jamie walked closer to the exit door. Hence why, with a stressful smile, he rested his phone into Fred's palm, watching him add his number. But there was no way he would be in trouble; he would simply need to delete it before Jamie saw it. Besides, he was planning on following the rule and deleting the number as soon as he was away from the bar.

When Fred finished and returned the cell phone, he quietly said, "Call me if he does anything weird, Joe. I think you could be in serious danger—"

"Relax Fred," Joe waved a hand while he rushed towards the door. "Only for a short period of time and until I stack up some cash."

Joe had been too carefree, assuming that he would have been able to hide this right under Jamie's nose. But just because Jamie had been walking towards the exit, does not mean he was out-of-sight. Jamie had stopped in his tracks and Joe only noticed that when he turned back around and met the deadly glare Jamie was sending him. Then, he murmured a series of curse words under his breath as he walked out of the bar.

He had seen the entire exchange between Joe and Fred.

***

Not a word was said during the drive home. Not from Jamie who rested his elbow against the window, glaring towards the road. Not Joe who flinched whenever there was a turn, Jamie wiping the car as if he was throwing a punch. He could even feel the burning rage evaporating from Jamie's pores and decided that waiting until he was willing to talk would be the best option. The moment they arrived home, Jamie slammed the door behind him and exclaimed a long series of curses, feeling the resistance to his anger begin eating at his flesh that he couldn't hold it in anymore. He hadn't even removed his shoes, taking a few stomping steps forward before facing Joe who was unlacing his sneakers.

Then, out of the blue, he spat, "I want you to leave my house." After he said that, he began to release the rings from his fingers and letting them fall on the floor while he stepped towards the kitchen, violently throwing his chain on the counter. He then began undoing his watch when he suddenly shouted, "Give me my cell phone back too."

Although he was not drunk, the few drinks he had downed throughout the night caused his eyes to appear droopy, clearly having a slight effect on him. Before Joe could respond, Jamie started tugging at the collar of his turtleneck and stormed to his bedroom, muttering, "I need to take this off." Shortly after, he returned in a plain t-shirt and folded his arms over his chest, his eyes narrowed towards Joe with his hair much more messy.

Joe sighed, organizing his shoes into the cabinet and motioned for Jamie to do the same. "Take your shoes off so I can put them in h—"

"Are you ignoring what I said?" Jamie snapped, his nose wrinkling with an air of disgust, even lifting his chin as if he was condescending upon Joe. "You're done here, you can leave."

He was resisting the urge to lash out at Jamie as well, not agreeing that he had done anything wrong. Yes, he had broken one of the rules but it was to help the both of them and besides, he was going to delete the number later. Joe straightened his spine, narrowing his eyes towards Jamie as well. "You're kicking me out and we can't even talk about this?"

"You knew the rules," he roared, his shoulders broadening. Joe paused for a moment, seeing the way Jamie's eyes had widened—he was unsure why Jamie was so upset that he had added one number of a friend he had for four years.

It caused him to suddenly feel uneasy, starting to believe the words Fred had said. "What is going on? Why are you so mad?"

"What do you mean?"

Joe's lips tightened for a second as he exhaled through his nose. "I get that I broke a rule but," he chuckled, confused why the issue was this severe, "I'll just delete his number. And I only did it because saying no would be weird—"

"You should've said no."

He threw his hands up in the air. "Jamie, come on—"

"It's Master Jamie," he snarled, his hands balling into fists.

Although Joe was attempting to have a civil conversation to find a positive outcome, he could also feel a few flames being to ignite his the pits of his stomach. It was clear Jamie did not care at all what he had to say, as if he was possessed by his anger, unable to see reason and wanting to simply get rid of him. And that was where Joe's nerves were starting to be tugged; he was thirty-one years old, had been married, had had a successful career until his divorce sent him on a downhill trail, but nonetheless he was grown. He could have been a father if he wanted to. And now, a man younger than him was supposed to dictate who can be in his contacts? Even worse he still attempted to loop around the rule to still follow it to prevent Jamie's image from worsening in Fred's mind.

However, the harshness of Jamie's tone, as if he had been such a failure that he didn't want to see his face anymore, was causing his mind to feel as if it would explode any minute. He bit his bottom lip, attempting to calm himself down and though of which words he could say to prevent himself from antagonizing the situation. However, he couldn't hold back anymore whenever Jamie spat, "Now I'm not surprised that you didn't have a job before this."

"How am I supposed to say no?" he bellowed, stepping towards Jamie menacingly, his shoulders broadening as well. "He already thinks weird of you, you don't think it'll be worse if I have to say that I can't add his phone number because one of your rules is that I can only have you as a contact?"

Jamie was taken aback, pointing a finger towards Joe as he felt his fury combust through his veins. "I knew it; you two were talking about me—"

"Yes!" Joe screamed and he couldn't stop himself. "He thinks this whole arrangement of me working as your housemaid is weird!" Joe pointed to himself, "And I was covering for you, hiding the fact that you are a nitpicking freak that needs everything unbearably clean."

Jamie slowly nodded his head, a sardonic smirk curling his lips. "Oh yea?"

"Yes." Joe had enough. He had enough of being questioned about his business by his friends, he had enough of being told what to do, hell he had enough of all the expectations that had been place on him. He wanted to return to his old life, where people saw his worth and respected him for it and he slammed his fist against the wall. "I was covering the fact that you have a ridiculous amount of money that you shouldn't—"

"I'm paying you, aren't I? Why does it matter where it comes from?" Jamie stepped towards him.

"I was even covering the fact that you have this..." he reached above the fridge and threw the binder with all the rules onto the floor, "list of freaky rules."

"You better watch yourself Joe."

A delirious laugh escaped Joe lips as he yelled, "Let's not even mention that one of them is that I have to call you Master Jamie."

"That's enough!"

The moment Joe heard Jamie's shout resonate across the entire home, his lips instantly sealed, the next series of words stuck at the tip of his tongue. Jamie was panting heavily, his fingers quivering at his sides but the worse was his eyes. They were grim, a murderous gaze filled with such merciless anger that Joe stepped backwards, wanting to get nearer to the door. He felt as if his air was stuck in his throat but was unable to turn away from Jamie's eyes.

He shrieked when Jamie lunged towards him, even squirming as he closed his eyes. In a swift movement, Jamie snatched him by his collar and began dragging him to the front door. He had no chance to forcefully release Jamie's grip as Jamie as much stronger than him and it was only when Jamie pulled open the door that he loosed his hold—to shove him outside of the apartment.

"Don't even come back here."