The Pulse Pt. 11

This was everything that Harry had dreamed of. Here she was offering herself to him and...and...he just felt sick and couldn't wait to get her out of his sight. He swallowed the rising bile.

"Get over here then. Just don't use your teeth this time."

Embarrassed and humiliated, Jennifer fought against her need. She tried to re-establish control...and failed. She moved forward almost in a trance and sank to her knees. The welcome mat was sharp and prickly under her knees as she pulled his towel off his hips and leaned forward to suck his limp cock into her mouth.

"In the house you dumb slut! Not out here where that old biddy can see!"

He moved them back inside and shut the door. She grabbed his arse cheeks and pulled his cock back to her mouth, desperate to please him. Desperate to make him want her again. Desperate to have him all to herself. He started to moan as his cock thickened.

She hummed and started to bob her head up and down like she'd seen in a porn movie once.

Harry screamed and pushed her away from him, violently throwing her to the floor.

"What? What is it?"

But Harry was doubled up in pain, clutching his cock, his breath ragged and looking pale and sweaty.

"You're a fucking curse. Leave me alone. Do you hear me you cumguzzling cocktease? Fucking leave me alone! Get out!"

He was shrieking at the top of his lungs even as she ran outside, crying and shaking, only aware that she had somehow hurt him and that he never wanted to see her again. She didn't know what to do.

She slowly turned and began the two mile walk back to her house. She took off the strappy shoes that she was so proud of and started to trudge back up the cul-de-sac, confused and desperately upset.

= = = = = = =

Mum had said she'd be back late as it was her best friend's birthday, so the house was dark as I unlocked the door.

Fiona couldn't contain herself any longer.

"What happened Jake?"

"On our way to the cinema we saw Jennifer Sawyer and Youle. They had a little argument near us and he seemed to be blackmailing her, threatening to tell everyone that her family started the rumours."

"Blackmailing her to do what?"

"To be around him. To still go out with him. And a blow job in the cinema if what he said was any indication."

"He's gross."

"Maybe she'd had enough of him and didn't want to see him any more and this was his only way of keeping hold of her..? Maybe he realised that she would try and protect her family name? I don't know. You should have seen them still putting on the big 'I am' when some of the other people from school saw them. And this was just after they'd been talking shit to each other five seconds beforehand."

We sat down on the sofa and Fiona stroked the grey hair at my temples.

"What caused this Jake?"

"The Pulse. At least I think so. I couldn't resist the opportunity to get even with that pair of odious, shit for brain, tosspots. I've been so angry about what they did. About the scars they've left. So I decided to give them some of their own."

Fiona gasped.

"What did you do?"

"I changed them physically. I've never really been as deep into someone's body before but I used the yellow pulse to trigger intense pain whenever Youle gets an erection. I also blended the yellow with blue so that every time he looks at Jennifer Sawyer he'll feel physically sick."

"Oh my god!"

"And Jennifer is now infatuated with Youle the Tool. However badly he treats her she will still be hanging out near him, stalking him, needing to be with him."

"Whatever he does?"

"Regardless. He could drag her by the hair through the town centre and she'd come back for more."

"And he gets sick just seeing her?"

I nodded.

"And his dick will feel like passing kidney stones every time he gets an erection. And it will just get worse the longer that he has one."

"That's..."

"And she's never going to be able to orgasm ever again."

"Oh Jake!" gasped Fiona in horror.

"I know. I'm not proud of myself, or what it took out of me. It was petty and vindictive and all the things I pride myself on not being."

I hung my head. But there was a fierce determination in my voice when I looked up again.

"But they caused untold damage to my family and me. Made my life and my parents lives hell. Removed any chance of me getting a scholarship. Meaningless to them, rich, entitled fucks that they are but crippling for someone like me. And that's saying nothing about the years of mental abuse I've suffered at his hands. I'm not proud of it, Fiona, but I'd do it again in a heartbeat."

She looked at me, her eyes brimming slightly as she began to understand the depth of my pain, and she nodded.

"I'm not sure that I can condone it, Jake. But I can't say that I would have done anything differently in your shoes."

"Of course you would. You're the kindest person I know. You would have found a way to forgive them. Found something about them that meant that you could turn the other cheek. I'm sorry. I couldn't. Not after this."

"Don't kick yourself like this Jake. They did what they could to get you charged with rape for fucks sake! They are immoral. They don't deserve your guilt. And maybe I would have talked myself out of doing anything but I'm glad that you didn't. They deserve it."

She thought for a moment.

"What you did won't really affect anyone else but them either?"

I shook my head.

"Good. In which case they deserve it."

She reached across and stroked my cheek.

"What I'm most concerned about is what it's done to you. Are you OK?"

"I think so. I mean, the orb is much smaller than it was now. I don't know what that means. Maybe it's finite? Maybe when it's gone it's gone and the power with it? I'm not sure."

I suddenly felt very tired.

"You know how little knowledge I have about this. Everything about this power is so frustrating because I'm the guinea pig every time. There's no one to tell me 'don't do that or you'll kill yourself' you know? It's a wonderful thing to have but equally I have no idea what I'm doing."

"So stop using it. You don't need it. You are who you are and I love you for it. Please, Jake."

I pulled her into my arms, feeling the wave of her love wash over me. I realised that I'd had a knot of tension inside me which had been getting worse and worse until I'd told Fiona and she'd accepted what I'd done. The relief was immense.

I held her to me and we took strength from each other's embrace.

She took my hand as we went up the stairs to bed. Each step was getting harder and harder and I began to feel cold.

"Fiona..? I..."

The last thing I remember is her concerned look as I slumped to the floor.

= = = = = = =

The next few days passed in a bit of a blur. Thankfully Fiona convinced Mum that I just had a bug and that she would look after me. She knew that I categorically did not want to go to the hospital. I slowly began to improve and by the following Tuesday I was able to do a light workout in the garden.

I made sure that any and all threads were severed in case that had been the source of my sudden weakness but there was nothing there to sever. I did my best to ignore the pull of the swirling orb as much as possible. It was hypnotic and scary at the same time.

I grew stronger and as the days turned to weeks we busied ourselves preparing for university. While it wasn't the course that I'd really wanted, I managed to get into Imperial College London. The huge benefit was that we could be close to one another.

We started looking for a flat or a house share that we could afford and eventually found a three room flat on the very top floor of an old four storey house near the high street in Acton. There was a living room/kitchen, a tiny shower room and bedroom. We looked around the area for part time work and I managed to find a warehouse job that I could make work with my timetable, while Fiona found a waitressing job at one of the better restaurants in the area.

Mum and Dad were brilliant when we left. Dad promised to look after my mini as we couldn't really afford to run it and certainly couldn't insure it in London. He looked happy and relaxed now that the VC funding had come through, securing his job. Mum and Mrs Davis had formed an unlikely friendship and between them made sure that we didn't want for anything. Our small flat soon began to look like a home.

Fiona thrived at the London School of Economics, making friends quickly and relishing the challenge of her degree. If I'm honest I struggled. Two months in and I realised that I was on the wrong course. I transferred to a neuroscience course and while it was tough to catch up I really began to bury myself in the work.

The commute via the Tube was manageable but unpleasant when you're rammed into a carriage with so many other people. I slowly became inured to it and found myself studying for the half-an-hour journey.

We came home when we could. It was always a delight to see Fiona and her mother together. When we came home at Easter, neither of us were surprised when we heard that Mr Davis wouldn't be moving back in. He was seeing a psychotherapist and was staying with his family back in Birmingham. He hadn't tried to contact Fiona even once. He wasn't missed.

A year after I first met Eleanor Jenkins we had a call from her asking to review an offer from the Sawyers.

It was late summer and we were due to go back for our second year of university in a week or so. The mini felt small and unfamiliar after so much time away from driving and it was a wet and cold drive as we parked near the law offices of Taylor Jenkins.

Eleanor was all smiles when she met us.

"Lovely to see you both in person after all these phone conversations."

"You too Eleanor."

"Well, it would be unfair of me to keep you hanging on much longer so here it is."

She pushed a document several pages thick across the table to us.

"The bare bones of the offer are an agreement to settle, assuming that we drop any and all cases relating to this affair."

"So we'd never go to court? We'd never clear my name?"

"No."

I was upset. I didn't want the rumours to hang over me. I wanted a full retraction in court. I wanted them on show for being lying slanderers.

"Eleanor.."

"I know Jake. We've talked about this a lot. I wouldn't have put this offer in front of you if I didn't think that it was in your best interests."

"I know but..."

"Be honest, Jake. When was the last time anyone so much as mentioned the rumours to you."

"Apart from Jamie," smiled Fiona, forcing me to grin at the memory of being called Rapey McRapeface by my best friend on and off for the last year.

"I don't remember."

"This offer will set you and Fiona up..."

"It would be Jake's money, not mine."

"My apologies. Jake, this offer would give you a large measure of financial security."

"How much is it?"

"One hundred and ninety-seven thousand pounds."

"Wow."

"Yes, wow."

I looked across at Fiona. Up until now, Eleanor had kept our expectations very low and so I had held on to the idea of that day in court. This changed everything.

"Can we think about it?"

"Of course you can, Jake. But I would urge you to take it."

"What do you think Fiona?"

"It's your decision not mine."

"But what do you think?"

"I think that it's a lot of money that you could do a lot of good things with. You could help out your Mum, devote your time fully to your course without the distraction of the part time job and still have plenty set aside for tuition, living expenses and anything else that you want to do."

I took a deep breath and walked to the window and looked out over the river below. Eleanor was right. The rumours felt like they were long gone. But then my world had increased in size. I was the only one that really remembered them. It was me that needed to take that step.

I turned back to Eleanor.

"Why now? This has dragged on for over a year."

"I understand that the Sawyer's are going through some personal issues. Leonard and Celia are splitting up and I believe their daughter is undergoing some kind of therapy. Their lawyers will have cost them a lot of money already and I think they want this whole case to be gone so that they can sort out their finances and move on."

I couldn't help the satisfied smile that came over me as I heard the news. But there was still a small part of me that felt sorry for Jennifer. A very small part.

"Let's take the deal."

"Good. I'll get this drawn up formally and sent over for your signature."

She stood up and reached out a hand.

"It's been a pleasure, Jake."

"You've been wonderful Eleanor. Will you please let me..."

"No. Not a penny."

"How about a donation to a charity on your behalf then?"

"Jake, money isn't an issue. Make the most of what you have, use it wisely. All I ask is that you pay it forward."

"What do you mean?"

"When you're in a position to help out like I've been here, then take the initiative. Volunteer. Make a difference to someone else's life."

I felt very humbled.

"Thank you, I will."

We shook hands and left to fight with the Guildford traffic.

= = = = = = =

Summer has always been my favourite time of year. Particularly summer in England. It's a modest heat and the colours of the countryside and the smells of the garden are unrivalled. Sometimes I ask Fiona to drive me out to a country pub somewhere just so that we can enjoy the scenery and each other's company.

I am old now. Well, let me clarify that. My body is old now. Twenty years have passed and I turned forty during the pandemic. But my body looks like that of a frail seventy year old. A very frail seventy year old.

The wonderful Fiona is more beautiful now than ever. Two children made her body slightly more shapely but she still only has to look at me and I am as hypnotised by her beauty now as I was those twenty years ago. The boys are fifteen and thirteen now. I pray that they do not have the Pulse but Fiona will know how to handle it if they do.

I'm proud of them. They're swimmers like their mother and the eldest is already breaking hearts even if he can't see it.

I have made her promise me to live her life to the full when I'm gone. The orb of power is almost entirely dull and grey now and a mere speck of what it once was. The threads are all but gone. Mere gossamer strands remain, twisting into dust with each passing day.

Sometimes I sit and watch it spin and curse the wasteful boy that I was.

But how was I to know? What would my life have been like without the Pulse? I doubt that I would ever have got the courage to ask Fiona out. I would probably be an unhappy, lonely nerd working in a lab somewhere. Maybe I would have come out of my shell. Maybe I would have shrugged off the bullying and become the person that I am now.

Maybe.

And what about the good that I've done? The Pulse allowed me to make discoveries about the brain that I could not have achieved without it.

And when the cancerous growths were discovered in her breasts, how could I not do everything in my power to save her? She has been everything to me.

I have to thank the Pulse for that.

Twenty years with the love of my life and my two amazing sons are all that anyone could ask for.

I am at peace.

The End.