And Then It Was The End

There were three people living on a college campus. That isn’t to say that there were only three people living there; in fact these three were merely a trio among hundreds of other people. These three were, nonetheless, the most important to our story.
The end of the story came about because one of the three people was a girl, and the two boys both found in their hearts a love for that girl. She was a beautiful girl, and a kind one. Her name was Evangeline. She worked in the mail room and both of the boys had, on occasions, found themselves at the mail room window attempting to make charming small talk in hopes that she would fall as in love with them as they were with her. It was fate that placed the two boys in the same dormitory on campus; it was love that set the two of them against each other.
The elder of the two boys, named Jason, was in a position of authority within the dormitory in question. That is to say, he was the resident assistant to the floor on which the second boy, named John, lived. It wasn’t until a hall outing, which was a group date, that Jason, John and Evangeline found themselves in the same location.
John had invited Evangeline to the group date simply as friends, for at that time he had no more in mind for their relationship than honest platonic friendship. Jason was highly suspicious of this, eyeing the two of them with skepticism, certain that John was romantically interested in Evangeline. Jason confronted John about this during the group date, adopting a friendly lighthearted tone, but all the same begin wary of the potential wrench in his plans. Though John assured Jason that that they were “just friends,” Jason could not let go the idea that John was waiting to make a move on Evangeline.
Jason’s worst fears were confirmed one day when John confided in him, as his friend, that he had developed a romantic attraction to Evangeline, and that he intended to announce his feelings to her. Jason was furious, fearing that Evangeline was sure to feel the same way toward John, with whom she constantly spent time and around whom she always seemed happy and content.
It was Thanksgiving vacation when John finally worked up the courage to tell Evangeline how he felt. The only problem was that Evangeline was not at the school, so John was left to await her return before he could tell her how he felt. During that time Jason had nothing to do but drink and seethe. Despite it being against the rules, Jason downed two full bottles of vodka in as many days, and though he held his liquor fairly well, it proved to be his undoing.
Jason was sitting in his room, looking out his window when John ran by, a look of excitement on his face. Jason realized why John was so happy; Evangeline was back from vacation. In his vodka induced daze Jason had a realization, a divine revelation in fact, or so he thought. He knew what he had to do to get Evangeline for his own. He grabbed his keys and left the room without locking the door.
John, wearing a new fleece jacket that he thought looked particularly dashing, ran past the end of his dorm and down the sidewalk to Evangeline’s. She had, as Jason guessed, returned from vacation, and John had wasted no time in asking her to meet him. As he ran down the sidewalk John mentally walked through everything he was going to say. She would return his affection, he was just sure of it, and then they would be the happiest pair in history, and it would be perfect. There was an aluminum can on the sidewalk in front of him. John stopped running and considered the can. To take it to the nearest trash can would involve crossing the street to a garbage can that sat in a nearby parking lot. Hoping that an act of goodness might increase his cosmic chances at happiness, John collected the can and dashed across the street, hopping the curb before he dropped the can into the green trash receptacle.
He thought to himself, “It’s not recycling, but at least it’s in the trash. Not good but great.” He looked across the street and saw Evangeline, and he knew it was time to be up front about all of his feelings. Back over the curb and across the street he ran, and Evangeline ran toward him as well, so that they met half way; embracing each other in the middle of the street. As their hug lingered John thought to himself that everything was going to be blissful. Evangeline opened an eye, her breath caught in her throat, and with all her might she shoved John away from her. Not a second after she had thrown him to his back at the side of the road, she was struck by the rapidly oncoming vehicle driven by an inebriated and disoriented Jason.
The car screeched to a halt. Evangeline was thrown fifteen feet where she landed on the concrete and did not rise, or even move. John saw it all happen, and not a sound escaped his lips. Jason, as realization dawned upon him of what he had just done, floored the accelerator, rushing right past the still form of Evangeline as she lay in the street. John stumbled to her side and, recalling first aid classes, pressed his pointer and middle fingers under her chin, checking for a pulse. He found nothing, and large burning tears fell from his face to hers as he looked into her dead empty eyes.
John could not move her, nor would he call the police. No one had seen what had happened, they were all gone on Thanksgiving break, and John decided that vengeance was his to deal. He returned to his dorm room, opened his closet and brought out an old shoebox. He flipped open the lid, dug through old letters and odd scraps of memorable events until his fingers felt cold metal. From the shoebox he pulled a Kel-Tec P3AT pistol and a single round of ammunition. It was LA, after all, and everyone had a gun, even students.
Into Jason’s room snuck John, concealing himself in the dark corner to wait for Jason’s return. Three hours he waited, never once questioning what he was about to do. He was a good person, a Christian in fact, and on any other day, had he been asked, John would have answered that never could he possibly be capable of taking another person’s life. The way he saw it on that specific day, however, was this: Jason had taken Evangeline’s life. He was a terrible person, soulless in fact, and deserved to die.
There was movement at the door; John pulled back the hammer of the pistol that was concealed in his new fleece jacket. The door opened, as did Jonathan’s mouth as he prepared to announce the last words Jason would ever hear. It wasn’t Jason though; it was his roommate, returning from vacation.
The roommate turned on the lights and jumped when he saw John sitting in the corner. He was friends with John, however, and greeted him as such. “What are you doing over there?” He asked John curiously.
“I’m waiting for Jason to come back, and it would be better if you weren’t here when he does.”
“Don’t worry, I’m leaving in a minute.” There was a pause as the roommate put his bag onto his bed and turned back to John. “Oh, get this, my cousin is pregnant, she told us all at Thanksgiving, and we were all looking through baby name books to figure out what she should name her baby. I found your name though. Do you know what it means?”
“No, I don’t. What does it mean?” John didn’t really care, but he wanted the roommate to hurry up and leave him to his vengeful thoughts.
“It means ‘God is gracious,’ pretty cool huh?” John couldn’t say anything. He was having his own revelation, this one not induced by vodka, and it was indeed divine. The roommate left, and with him left all thoughts John had about killing Jason. It would not bring her back, she was gone, and Jason would face the law. That was the way it should be. John threw the loaded pistol to the ground and ran out of the room, across the street, through the parking lot, into some adjacent brambles, and down to the bank of the flash flood drainage canal.
He began crying again, for the loss of his love. It was not loud and pathetic crying, like one might imagine; it was silent and heartbreaking. He let go of all the hate in his heart toward Jason, and was left only with pity and love. The pity was for the broken man who had killed Evangeline. The love was for Evangeline. In truth it was the closest John had ever come to a state of perfect grace, and in his sorrow he saw what it meant to forgive, and to love; to be a Christian, to be like Christ.
There was movement in the bushes behind him. John looked up. Jason stood there, framed by the branches of some small dying bush, holding the pistol that had been left lying in his room. His face was drained of all emotion and expression, as was his voice when he finally spoke to John. “I didn’t know I could hate someone this much. You made me kill her, and I will never forgive you.”
John knew what was about to happen and he didn’t care. “If you can never forgive me then there’s nothing I or anyone else can do for you Jason. It’s over now, this is the end.”
Jason raised the gun and pulled the trigger. John fell back into the canal, the dirty brown water ebbing at his dead body. Jason looked on vacantly. He raised the gun to his temple and again pulled the trigger. But there was no bullet to end his misery. He dropped the gun, and dropped to the ground. He felt nothing but the cold pangs of complete aloneness, and for the first time in five years Jason began to cry.