Never turn your back on a friend

Our story takes place on a day like any other. A winter  wonderland  in the middle of January in suburban Boston,Massachusetts. Today we are going to witness the events of one of it's local residents, a man who mostly has everything one can hope for...friends included.
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Frederik Welker heard the phone ring as he just stepped out of his washroom. Bathrobe on and hair now dry after using a towel, he tossed the towel on his bar stool and picked up the phone.

"Hello"

Voice:"Hey, Freddy! What are you up to?"

Frederik let out a short sigh and quickly responded.

"Hey, Mike."

"What's wrong, Freddy? Caught you at a bad time?"

Frederik immediatly wondered if the question was rhetorical. After all, when you have a friend like Mike calling you frequently for the same reason, you kind of get the impression that your emotions have no real value. Frederik raised his left hand and put it to his forehead, a gesture he commonly used when he was annoyed or irritated.

"I'm just fine, Mike. How many times do I have to tell you? Don't call me Freddy..."

"ok ok. We're not Strangers, you know. Besides, I like calling you Freddy"

With work behind him and a date planned for the evening, Frederik was in no mood to keep this conversation going on any longer than necessary.

"Listen, Mike. I got something to do later on. Is there anything important you wanna ask me?"

Frederik knew the reason behind the phone call but wasn't willing to wait ten minutes or more to hear the question after a tedious conversation.

"Well, ummm....Is there any way you can throw a twenty my way? I don't get paid till thursday, you know...and I gotta have my smokes and stuff..."

There it was. Micheal's mantra. Frederik only wondered if he still had his recent job at the super market. His mother always wondered what a succesful real estate agent like her son possibly had in common with a drop out like Micheal Winslow. "Micheal's my friend,Ma." He had told her. "I can't just turn my back on him"

"Sure. How's your job holding up at the super market anyways?"

"Oh, you know. The first week's always tough. You get a bit nervous and then slowly, you get used to it. But the boss really likes me."

Believable, if not for the fact that Micheal's voice quavered slightly.

"Alright, use the spare key I gave you last week. The money will be on the kitchen counter. Don't touch anything or mess with my stuff,though. Veronica might sleep over tonight and I don't want the place looking like a pig sty...I mean it."

Overjoyed, Micheal thanked his loyal friend and hung up the phone. Frederik did the same and then proceeded to prepare for his date with Veronica. A lovely lady who had just moved from Atlanta, Georgia to Boston, Massachusetts hopping to start a new life here. They met the night his brother got married to her best friend last winter. They've been seeing each other for quite a while ever since, who knows, one day he might even propose to her. The though of having kids thrilled him.

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An interesting conversation at the dinner table, good food and accompanied by a woman who means more to him than anything else in the world. What can go wrong? Frederik started to wonder. He figured they'd stay for another ten minutes, order dessert and coffee, then go home.

"So,Veronica..I was wondering if you'd like to come over tonight and finish our evening with a movie. Maybe a classic holiday movie?"

Veronica smiled. That smile, he was sure, caused much envy between the female body and much longing between the male.

"I'd love to, Frederik, but Mary asked me to come in early tomorrow morning and help her, she's way behind schedule."

"Your loss." Frederik responded with a bitter smile.

A great night for both of them indeed. Frederik took care of the bill, Veronica made one quick trip to the washroom before heading outside. They both stood outside for a while, talking and taking advantage of the mild winter cold to say goodbye and kiss each other goodnight. Veronica then walked to her car, turned on the ignition and drove away, all the while smiling and waving.

Frederik now started to make his way towards the opposite direction. He never understood why she never wanted him to drive her home. "You live one block away" She insisted. "Why bother making two trips for nothing when I can come by myself?" .She was just too modest. He smiled at this. He then turned into the alley to where his apartment was located and was halfway near the exit when he heard a gunshot.

"What tha...???"

He tried to turn around but found himself stumbling. He raised his arms instinctively to try and reach for support but groped his chest. He looked down and couldn't steady himself and was then shocked to see his stomach bleeding profusely.

"'Get down on the floor and put your hands where i can see e'm!" He heard a voice behind him shout.

He wasn't sure if it was because of the fact that his life was now in danger or from the shock of having been hurt in such an extreme manner but the voice sounded very muffled. He was aware of the danger though and fell to the floor and started to feel his assailant reaching into his pockets.

"Good, now stay down. It'll all be over before you know it."

The dead weight didn't help much as his attacker was frustrated to learn that his victim's wallet was in his coat pocket and proceeded to turn him around. Frederik Stubbornly tried to stay awake, as if he was certain that he would be able to overcome this and start fighting back but instead found himself only clawing the air.Suddenly, his attacker paused.Even with his vision dimmed, our protaganist noticed the look of confusion that had overtaken his antagonist.

"Freddy,is that you?" He suddenly asked. The voice now became much weaker and concerned

Everything came to a standstill so suddenly. Frederik started to cough.

"Miiiike..?!?" He started to ask in a very raspy tone.

His attacker now removed the mask to reveal the face of his longtime friend. Micheal Winslow.

"Oh...My god! Umm...listen, Freddy.My new job...a the market. Well, it didn't work out...so..."

Micheal started to look frantically to his right and left. Frederik, at this time, realized that this was a good oppurtunity for his friend to run and call for help. Maybe out of all this misery and pain, something uncommon for someone who found himself victimized by a malignant maniac can possibly save him. Micheal then started to talk again.

"Ok, Freddy. It will be ok, you'll see. I'll just walk away and someone will come and see you and call for help....it will be ok. I promise i'll pay you back this time."

Micheal started to sob and tear, he looked around once more and then put on his mask and started to run away in the direction that Frederik just came from.

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Lying there, Bleeding. Frederik suddenly felt very cold. He tried to turn and rub his chest with his arms but numbness had already set in his joints. The only thing he can think of now was Veronica. Not thoughts of regret or remorse, though.. He probably wouldn't live to see her again but he was sure that, even without him, she will surely find a way to stay strong and carry on. He was glad for that. Even in his last hour, he was happy knowing that his last thoughs would be positives ones. As people now started to rush and crowd around him there was only one sentence that left his lips repeatedly.

"Sure,Mike....Sure.Mike...."

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                                                    THE END