A young man by the name of Tommy flipped his hair as he offered his hand out to his beautiful girlfriend, Angelica and she happily took it. They strolled through West park, chatting as they had done many times before. It was their four year anniversary and they were reliving some of their favorite moments in their unstoppable relationship. They had grown together as people, and they savored the little things. It had finally arrived, their anniversary, something they both considered very important.
Tommy walked Angelica back to her apartment. Tommy had plans to ask Angelica to move in with him, but he figured it wasn’t the time for serious life choices, it was supposed to be an enjoyable day. He engulfed Angelica in a hug and kissed her forehead, something that had become such a normal occurrence, neither of them even thought about it anymore. The couple spent as much time together as they could, hoping to savor their relationship.
Angelica said her goodbyes and vanished into her small, streetside apartment. He walked to his small, one bedroom rental as per usual. His mind wandered, reimagining the wonderful day he had. He unlocked his door and quickly caught something unusual out of the corner of his eye, a red envelope in the mail slot to the left of his door. He grabbed it, with a look of confusion on his face, and went inside. He eagerly tore open the letter and read it wide-eyed.
<em>Tommy DeVille,</em>
<em> You don’t know me, or who my parents were but all you have to know is that your parents are in danger. Your family owes me. I need to get revenge on your father and you are pretty much the only way to do so. If you tell anyone about this, I’ll take them away too. Don’t even think about the police. Your life, and the life of your father, is already in danger, don’t make it worse. You’ve been warned. Now, the only thing you can do is accept your fate. But don’t worry, it’s not your fault. You have your dad to blame. </em>
<em> Watch your back (or don’t)</em>
<em> -You wouldn’t know who</em>
Shaking, Tommy grabbed a notepad and a pencil from a drawer in his dimly lit kitchen. He had no idea what this was all about, all he knew was his parents had done something to upset this man and now Tommy had to escape. Every few years, he got threats similar, but nothing about ending his life. Tears trickled down his face as he considered his options. He couldn’t leave. He couldn’t live without Angelica, but he couldn’t let her know. He could start a new life. He decided it was the best option. He wrote to Angelica that he had to leave due to a family emergency. He wasn’t sure when he would be back, which was true enough. He tucked the note in his pocket and hastily packed his bags. He ran out of his house and sprinted to Angelica’s, leaving the note in her mailbox. It was evening and he had nothing to do but to change his identity. Tommy did his best to shave his head and facial hair into a different style in a gas station bathroom.
Hopelessly, Tommy wandered the streets, jumping at every sound. He came across a barber shop which he noticed was hiring. After explaining to the man at the counter that he was new to the town and had no place to live, the man agreed to let him live in the back as long as he worked late. Tommy went by the name of Cory Perez and worked hard day and night, shaving mens’ heads by day and speed-cleaning the shop by night. Months went on, and Tommy lived a miserable, lonely life in the back room, eating mostly cereal and watching his picture appear on every local news channel. According to the stories, he had gone missing while visiting his family and has yet to return. It broke his heart to see Angelica on the news in tears, but he knew it was for the best.
Tommy became stuck in a depressing loop of hair cutting and all he could think about was Angelica and the lie-filled life he was living. His job was boring enough, hearing men complain about their lives while he buzzed their hair. On a particularly interesting day, a man ranted about someone who he was extremely angry at. The man insisted that this person did something terribly wrong and he had to find a way to get revenge. While Tommy was cutting the man’s hair, he immediately realized that the situation was similar to the reason he was in hiding. Upon hearing the name ‘Phil’ as the subject of the conversation, Tommy started to sweat. Phil was his father. He still had no idea what his dad could have done to make this man so angry, but he knew he and his father were in danger and now he had the man in his barbershop. Tommy excused himself to grab a razor blade from the back room where he instead called the police. The police arrived and Tommy had to fess up, explaining that when this man threatened him, he faked going missing and instead went undercover by the name Cory. Before he could finish his story, Angelica ran in and hugged Tommy.
