Two Wrongs

Two Wrongs is a story about all of the tragedy that can come from one bad decision. Also the affect that decision can have on other people.

Two Wrongs

By James Anthony Love

 

He drummed his fingers nervously on the steering wheel. He had been outside for close to two hours and there were still no signs of him. He wondered if he had the right place. He looked out of his car’s window towards the house. It sat there in complete darkness. The only source of light came from the porch light which shined directly on the numbers 1412, the house’s address. He studied those numbers again as if they weren’t already etched in his mind. They were the same numbers that were written on the piece of paper that lay in the passenger’s seat. He knew this already. He just needed to reassure himself and also calmed his nerves. The time had come, he would just have to be patient and wait.

Waiting should not be hard, since he had been waiting for this moment for five long years. He was close, so close that he could feel it. Tonight would be the night. Tonight would be the end.

He pulled the pistol out of his pocket. Again for the umpteenth time he checked the cylinder of the revolver to make sure that all of the bullets were loaded. All six of them were there, he would need all six.

He examined the revolver while it was in his hand. It was old, so old that it looked like an antique. The gun belonged to his father and it belonged to his grandfather before that. He was told that it had been in his family for four generations. If he was able to pass it down to his son it would have seen its fifth generation, but that was no longer possible. Still, it would serve its purpose tonight.

To the best of his knowledge, the gun and not been fired for years. He feared that it would not work, so last week he went out to the country and fired a few rounds. It fired perfectly, well at least to a novice like him. It was the first time that he had ever shot a gun. However, after a couple rounds of practice shots, he felt like he was good enough to do what needed to be done. He did not care about his aim, because he knew that he would not miss. He needed to be close enough that his victim would see his face. He wanted him to know who he was so that he would know why he was killing him. His face would be the last face that he would see.

He put the gun back on his lap. He looked outside again and there was still no sign of him. He was tired of waiting. He wanted to get it over with. He needed to get it over with. He checked his watch and it read seven o’clock. His stakeout had officially hit hour number two. He would be here soon, he told himself. It was destined, it had to happen tonight.

His eyes floated down to the picture in the left corner of his car’s dashboard.  His wife and son were in the picture smiling back at him. He looked at the picture only for a second, after that he forced himself to turn away. He could not be distracted or deterred. You are here for them, he reminded himself.

Still, he heard his wife’s voice telling him to turn on the car and leave. He knew that she would not agree with him being here. She would have told him that no good would come from revenge. She would have said that it would not ease his pain. She would have said that two wrongs do not make a right.

However, she would be wrong. He was not doing this for revenge. He was doing this to avenge them. He had to make the man pay for what he did to his family. And he was not doing this to make things right, because he knew that things would never be right again. He was simply providing the justice that he was due. Since the system failed him, he would now have to become the judge, jury, and the executor all in one. He had already given the guilty party his verdict and his sentence, now it was time to carry it out.   

Headlights appeared directly in front of him, they illuminated the otherwise dark street. He waited not wanting to get his hopes up until he was sure. He unknowingly held his breath as he waited. He finally exhaled when the car slowed down and pulled into the driveway that he had been watching for the past two hours.

The time had come and he was ready. He grabbed the picture from the dashboard and then he slowly stepped out of his car, with a look of determination on his face and a pistol in his right hand.

***

 

Ryan swerved across the road has he drove home. He told himself to get it together. He thought that it would be okay for him to drive, because he had only had a couple of drinks. He was wrong.

It was the first time that he had had a drink since that night, this exact night, five years ago. He had done so well, but tonight he had fell off of the wagon. He tried his best but the memory of that night and his life afterwards, were both too much for him to handle.

Five years ago he had everything that he had ever dream of having. He had a beautiful wife, three healthy kids, cars, an amazing home, and a thriving career. Then he threw it all away, because of one stupid mistake. After that one mistake he watched his life fall apart right before his eyes.

He has spent every night since then thinking about how his life would have been if only he had made smarter choices that one night. If only he had left the bar thirty minutes earlier, like he had planned on doing, if only he took his friends advice and called a taxi and came back to get his car the next day.

Even when he chose to drive he could have taken the longer route home instead of the shorter route that he chose to take. If only he would have seen the car a split second earlier. If anything of those things would have happen he believed that he would be going home to his family tonight, but instead he was going home to an empty house.

He would have given anything to change that night, anything to make things right. The faces of the woman and the child still haunted him when he closed his eyes at night. And even though he paid his debt for his crime, people still looked at him and treated him like he was a murderer. He had to chase reporters away from him daily. He spent four and a half years in prison, he lost everything that he had, and he had to deal with what he had done for the rest of his life. He could not understand why people would not just leave him alone.

This was his life. That is why tonight, on the fifth anniversary of the accident, he could no longer handle it. He had had enough and he broke down and had a couple of drinks.

Now he just wanted to get home safely and go to sleep, because he knew that tomorrow he would have to wake up and it would start all over again.

He pulled up to his driveway he turned off the engine and sat in his car. He did not want to go into the empty house, but he knew that he did not have a choice. He had to force himself to get out of the car, when he did he stumbled. He was more inebriated then he had thought, so much so that he did not notice the man that had walked up behind him.

***

He saw him has he stumbled out of his car.

“Excuse me,” He said, as he hid the gun behind his back.

He did not hear him so he spoke louder.

“Excuse me…” he made sure that he caught his attention this time before he continued, “…are you Ryan Matthews?”

Ryan stumbled to the other side of the car to get a better view of him. The man could tell that he did not recognize him and it was obvious that he was drunk. This made his blood boil even more. He tightened his grip on the gun.

“Are you a reporter or something?” Ryan asked. His speech was slow and slurred.

Before he could speak Ryan continued, “Look I’ve paid my debt to society, so leave me the hell alone.”

He did not know anything about debt, the man thought to himself, as he moved closer to him. Ryan ignored him and turned to walk to his house. He slid along the car’s frame because he was too drunk to stand up straight.

“You don’t recognize me?” He asked Ryan.

Ryan looked back at him. He looked at him like he was trying to place his face.

“Here let me help you out,” he said as he tossed the picture of his wife and son onto the roof of Ryan’s car.

Ryan picked up the picture and looked at it. He studied the picture for a couple of seconds before the man saw the look of recognition come upon his face. Then he saw the look of terror come upon Ryan’s face when he realized who he was.

The man did not need say any more words; he just pulled the gun out from behind his back. Ryan tried to run, but he was in no condition to do so. The man caught up with him easily. He grabbed him by the back of his neck, swung him around, and then threw him to the ground.

“Please, Please, I’m sorry, I’m so sorry,” Ryan whimpered as the man stood directly over him.

“You said that you paid your debt. Do you really believe that?” He asked Ryan.

Tears poured from Ryan’s eyes as he said, “Please, Please don’t kill me. I have kids too.

“Too, no you have kids. I had a kid and a wife before you killed them,” He said as he jabbed the gun at him.

“I’m sorry. It was an accident. I didn’t mean to do it. You got to believe me. I would change it if I could. It was the biggest mistake of my life,” Ryan cried.

All that the man heard was him admitting his guilt. He held no pity whatsoever for him in his heart.

He raised the gun and pointed it directly at Ryan’s chest. He did not need to talk anymore. He needed to finish what he came to do.

Ryan begged and pleaded for his life, but his cries fell upon deaf ears. All that the man could hear was the laughter of his son and all that he could see was his wife’s beautiful smile. Both caused him to loosen his grip on the gun.

Tears flowed down his face as he pictured his family when they were all together, when they were happy. The thought of his wife made him momentarily reconsider what he was doing.

Slowly, he lowered the gun, until the picture of their caskets going into the ground flashed through his mind. Without thinking about it anymore he pointed the gun back at Ryan’s chest and pulled the trigger five times, the five shots rung loudly through the silence of the night. The heat of the gun singed his hand with each shot, but he held unto it as if the two were one.

He saw the porch lights from the surrounding neighbors houses come on and after the ringing stopped in his ear he heard screams, but he paid it no attention. Justice had been served. He picked up the picture of his wife and son and then he walked slowly back to his car.

Once in his car, he stared at the picture one more time before he put it back on the dashboard where it belonged. The he opened up the gun’s cylinder. One lone bullet remained. He realigned it with the gun’s hammer, he put the cylinder back in place, and then he turned the gun on himself.

 From a distance he saw flashing lights and he heard their sirens.

With tears in his eyes he said, “I’m sorry,” as he looked at his wife and son. Then he pulled the trigger one last time.

 

End