Cure For Pain

by NM Facile

  Ty was staring at the fridge. She waited for him to elaborate, but he just stayed silent. His eyes roved over the magnets, the pictures, and the vast amount of takeout menus the girls had accumulated. Finally, she had to ask him how it got nasty. He just shrugged.

  “You brought it up. You need to explain that.”

  His eyes went back to the cold stones he had turned on Dom earlier. “I just think that in the end she got her freedom by taking away mine.”

  Mary blinked at him a few times, trying to understand. “You think she had something to do with you going to prison?”

  Ty looked away enigmatically. “I can’t prove anything, but I’m sure it was my involvement with her that brought it about. Whether it was her directly or someone attached to her,” he shrugged again. “I’ll probably never know.”

  Mary still wasn’t sure what to think of everything he had said. It sounded reasonable, but then so had Nikki when she told her side. The difference was that Mary didn’t get the feeling that Ty was exaggerating, like Nikki often did. She was mulling it over when Ty spoke.

  “So what do you think? Am I some, what was it…‘crazy-ass stalker’?”

  “I don’t know,” she smiled mischievously, “I mean, you did leave that note on my door…”

  It was Ty’s turn to blush.

  “How did you know strawberries were my favorite?”

  His eyes widened slightly. “Um, your freezer was full of strawberry ice cream.” He gave her that smile where he pulled the left side of his lips out just a bit more than the right, showing just the hint of a dimple. It was a look that was both endearing and incorrigible.

  “Seriously, though, Mary. I want to know what you think about all of this.” His eyes were soft and pleading.

  Mary wasn’t ready to put complete faith in him, but she could at least give him the chance to prove himself. She eyed him carefully, wanting him to think that she was contemplating it, and that she hadn’t already made up her mind. “I don’t know; I think perhaps I could give you a chance.” He smiled broadly at her. “But,” she held up one finger. “You have to tell me: did you really stop dealing? No trace of any left? You’re not going to go home and find some and sell it?” He was shaking his head emphatically.

  “I flushed it all away. I promise, I am not selling it anymore.”

  “Then I think we can be friends.” There was no way she would be able to just be friends with him. From the gleam in his eyes, she doubted he was thinking ‘just friends’ either.

  “What about dealing? How did you get into that?”

  Ty shook his head. “Enough for tonight; that’s a conversation that’s going to take more than a hot chocolate to get through.”

  Mary’s phone sounded, and she picked up a text from Faith saying that she was sorry she was late, but was on her way home. Mary regretted having to tell Ty goodnight, but she had a feeling that after a long shift at Safe Works with Jack, Faith was going to be in the mood to talk. She looked up from her phone and Ty knew that their time was up.

  “I guess it’s time for me to leave?”

  She sighed and nodded. “That was Faith. She’s on her way home.”

  Ty stood and picked up their mugs. “Thanks for the hot chocolate.” He put the mugs in the sink before turning to her. He leaned back with his hands gripping the edge of the counter behind him, and she couldn’t help but notice how his t-shirt stretched over his chest and shoulders, highlighting the sculpted muscles beneath it.

  “Thanks for sharing…you know,” she motioned awkwardly with her hands, hoping he understood what she meant.

  He nodded with a calculating look in his eyes and that crooked little smirk appeared. “So, can a friend ask you for your phone number?”

  “Of course, give me your phone.” Her gaze followed his hand as he reached into his front pocket and brought it out. It was warm when he handed it to her, and just for a second she let herself remember how warm he had felt, pressed against her earlier outside Dee’s. She programmed her number in and gave it back.

  He followed her to the door, but stopped when she opened it for him. For a heartbeat, she thought he was going to lean down to kiss her again, and her eyes fluttered closed in anticipation. When she felt the back of his fingers softly stroke the side of her cheek, she opened her eyes wide again, looking into the depths of his dark eyes. He took a deep breath in and looked like he was going to say something, but he let it out slowly, never taking his gaze from her.

  “Good night, angel.” His voice was so quiet she could barely hear it. His fingers trailed away from her cheek and he reluctantly stepped back, smiling softly. He continued to take small steps back down the hall, still watching her. Mary knew that if she didn’t shut the door, she was likely to call him back in, and that was not a good idea. She closed the door slowly, watching him disappear behind it. Once she heard the latch click, she leaned her head against it. For good or bad, Ty Jaden was about to become a very big part of her life.

  Chapter 11 - Dancing Diversions

  Karl was late. Ty was already pissed. He was supposed to be out with Mary, but instead he was sitting in the parking lot of a local tourist trap. It had been almost two weeks since he had seen her.

  Between their jobs and her volunteering schedule, they hadn’t been able to find a time to get together until tonight. They had planned to grab something to eat – no big deal, just a friend thing – but fucking Karl had messaged just as Ty was leaving for Mary’s, and he had had to cancel. He told her he had been called into work at the last minute. Then Karl was late, and he was stuck waiting in a dark spot in an already under-lit parking lot in front of the Wabasha Street Cave. He watched a number of carefree couples floating out of their cars and SUVs and in through the double wooden doors of a fake brownstone castle. The fucking thing wasn’t even a real building. The castle was a false front that led into some kind of man-made cave on the side of the bluffs. Now it was a bar or restaurant or some shit like that. There were all sorts of legends about the place, including it having once been a speakeasy where some mobsters were killed. He was trying to remember the story when Karl pulled up beside him.

  Ty quickly slipped into Karl’s car. He wanted to get this over with. Karl had an even goofier fucking grin on his face than normal, which did nothing to improve Ty’s mood. Ty scowled in return and his knee bounced to the anxious rhythm set by his foot.

  Karl looked Ty over and pointed at the package resting on the floor at his feet.

  “What’s got you so on edge?” Karl eyed him carefully.

  “Nothing.” Ty didn’t want to say too much. Karl may not know about Mary yet, though Ty had no doubt that if he continued to see her, Karl would find out. He always found out.

  “You sure as hell don’t look like it’s nothing.” He raised one of his bushy brown eyebrows, and his mustache jumped up on one side along with it, like they were connected by a string.

  “You were late. I was just being paranoid, I guess.” He pushed his foot down to stop the tapping and tried to will himself to calm down. He didn’t want to raise Karl’s suspicions.

  He was too late.

  “What’s this I hear about you going out of business?” Karl leaned forward and rested his elbows on the steering wheel, looking towards the doors of the castle. Ty knew he was watching him out of the corner of his eye. This was his game. He pretended not to care about the topic at hand to disarm Ty or trip him up. It may have worked when he was seventeen, but not anymore.

  Ty shrugged. “Hinks was starting to ask too many questions. I figured I’d take a break from it until things calmed down,” he lied, keeping his eyes steady and on Karl. It was easy enough to blame his parole officer; Karl never needed to know any different.

  Skepticism was all over Karl’s face when he turned towards him. Ty just continued to look him in the eye, a silent dare to call him on it. “What else did Hinks have to say?”

  “He doesn’t know. Shit, do you know how much time I’d be looking at?�
� It was a subtle reminder to him that Ty knew he had fucked up once and wasn’t taking any chances on making the same mistake again.

  Karl sighed and shook his head. “Ty, boy, you need to get yourself laid and quit worrying. You’re covered. We’ll be warned if there is even a glimmer of suspicion in our direction long before Hinks would hear of it.” Ty wasn’t too sure of that. Karl was too confident in his bosses, whoever they were.

  Ty bit back a comment about how even the mighty fall. Instead, he nodded and asked where the deliveries were going. Karl gave him the numbers and told him that his cut was in there if he changed his mind. Ty wouldn’t. He mentally added it into the COD’s portion. The Krasnoffs’ was already calculated and paid for, and he didn’t want R to make extra, preying on the stupidity of the kids in the suburbs.

  Karl was watching another couple enter the castle. He pointed towards them. “You ever been in there, boy?” He glanced back over at Ty.

  “No.”

  “Great food, and the music is usually pretty good. Live bands there on Thursdays after a tour of the cave,” he shrugged, “if you don’t mind the tourists.”

  Ty wasn’t in the mood for a fucking chat. He grabbed the bag at his feet and opened the door. “Later.”

  Karl shook his head slowly. “When you’re ready to start again, let me know.”

  Ty simply nodded and got out. He hoped he could get all this shit moved by morning, or at least before he went to work at noon. It was looking like it was going to be a late night. He wondered if he could get a hit of Mary before he started. He sent her a text to see if she was busy, not wanting to call and interrupt her if she was.

  It wasn’t long before she replied:

  I went to the movies with Faith. I’ll let you know when I get home.

  He didn’t respond, and later that night got another one from her, saying that she was home but dead tired and was going to bed. He replied back, wishing her sweet dreams just as he was heading to his first exchange of the night.

  That weekend their schedules screwed them over again. He closed at Dee’s when she opened at Safe Works and she closed when he opened. He was beginning to feel like he’d never get to see her. By Tuesday he had had enough with phone calls and texts. She was at Safe Works that night, so he stopped by at closing time.

  He parked out front and waited for Mary to come out. Ty was relieved to see Jack’s car parked by hers in the lot, and not Nikki’s. The light filtered out through the shades but they were shut, denying him a glimpse of her. He turned the car off and got out to wait for her. The June night air was perfect, very different from the cold night when he had first seen her. Summer was coming, and it was shaping up to be the best summer in a long damn time.

  He leaned back against his car and lit a smoke, wondering if Mary would be irritated that he was there. At that point he didn’t care; he just had to see her.

  When the door swung open, he tossed the rest of the cigarette to the side and stepped forward. His heart beat a little faster and he felt the same intense longing he did every time he saw her. Her long hair hung in waves against her denim shirt. His hand itched to brush it back over her shoulder. She was saying something to Jack, but stopped mid-sentence when her eyes reached his. For just a moment they lit up and she smiled, then her face shifted to a guarded mask.

  “Ty? What are you doing here?” She asked reticently.

  He smiled tentatively, hoping she wasn’t too upset. “I was on my way home and thought I’d stop by to see you.”

  The light around her brightened, giving her a hazy halo, Ty realized that Jack had moved from behind her but didn’t look over at him right away just felt Jack’s distrustful gaze searing him. He shifted his eyes to Jack’s. Playing nice was probably the best route to go with Mary there.

  “Jack.” He acknowledged him with a nod and a silent plea not to start anything.

  “Ty?” Jack answered with raised eyebrows, questioning Ty’s motives. Jack must have heard by now that Ty had had contact with Mary, despite his warnings. “Mary, do you want me to walk you to your car?” Jack turned to Mary, searching her eyes.

  “No. I think I’m good. Have a good rest of the night. I’ll probably see you Saturday when Faith and I come in.” She gave Jack a reassuring smile.

  “All right, then.” He continued to eye them warily. “I’ll be inside if you need me.” Jack went inside, but made no effort to conceal the fact that he was watching them through the window. Ty wanted to be pissed off about it, but it was good to know that there was one more person looking out for Mary.

  “So are you stalking me again?” His eyes widened but the smirk on her lips told him she was just teasing.

  “Always,” he grinned back at her. They had moved within touching distance. He couldn’t resist and reached out to twirl the silken strands of her hair through his fingers before brushing it back over her shoulder. “I missed you.” He immediately regretted saying that. For not wanting to look like he was moving too quickly, he wasn’t doing a very good job.

  “I missed you, too.” She responded shyly.

  “I’m sorry about having to cancel last week.”

  “It was fine. We can go another time.”

  “Are you busy this week?” He was scheduled to work a few evenings but he would find a way out of it if she was free.

  Her smile widened. “I’m free in the evenings until Saturday.”

  “How about Thursday?” He had that night off.

  “Thursday will be perfect. What are we going to do on our non-date?” There was a sparkle in her eyes as she waited for an answer.

  When he had first asked her out, he had jokingly referred to it as a non-date, in keeping with the whole ‘trying it out as friends’ thing. He wasn’t really sure what they would do. What did one do with a girl like Mary? An image of the happy couples walking into Wabasha Street Cave flashed through his mind.

  “There’s this thing at a cave, if you’re interested.”

  “You are Batman.” Her eyes were wide with a mock surprise. “A cave, huh? Here? I didn’t know there were any caves in the Cities.”

  Ty shrugged. Was it a stupid idea? “We could do something else if you want.”

  “No, the cave sounds interesting.” She was looking intently at his face, then she brushed her fingers over his left cheek. “You healed up nicely.” Her eyes flicked to his.

  Ty glanced away, not knowing what to say. They stood gazing at each other until she yawned, reminding him how tired she looked.

  “Come on. I’ll walk you to your car.” He took her elbow and led her from the sidewalk to her waiting car. They lingered outside her car. Neither of them wanted to be the first to say goodnight.

  “So what time should I be ready on Thursday?”

  “I think the cave tour starts at six. I could pick you up at five. Would that be all right?”

  She nodded. “I’ll be waiting.” She was dangling her car keys in her fingers. He took them from her, unlocked her door, and opened it for her. He wanted nothing more than to lean down and kiss her, but felt that it was pushing things.

  “Goodnight, Mary.” He stepped back and motioned for her to get in.

  “Goodnight to you, too, Ty. I’ll see you Thursday.” Her smile was bright and beautiful and warmed him completely. How he ever managed to get an angel to smile like that at him, he’d never know.

  Once she was settled in, he shut the door and watched her back out. She paused before turning onto the street and gave him a little wave. He raised his hand in return and watched her drive away.

  Ty caught sight of Jack standing at the edge of the small parking lot. He sighed and turned to face him.

  “Jack.”

  He expected another warning or a lecture, but it appeared that Jack wasn’t going to do either. He just waited with his hands in the pockets of his jeans as if he had all the time in the world. Ty started to get edgy and defensive under his impassive gaze.

  “You heard about me helping Mary the night
she fell?” Jack nodded slightly, indicating that he did. “So we’ve been talking, and I plan to go out with her sometime soon.” The cool bastard just arched his eyebrow. “Damn, man. I know you know by now that I’ve stopped dealing. I’m going to make things right for her.” Ty pulled his hand through his hair in frustration.

  “I have heard that.” Finally. Ty had thought he was just going to stand there and stare at him. “How long you stay away from it remains to be seen.” His tone was icy and those damned eyes of his drilled into Ty.

  “I won’t go back.”

  “What else did you stop?”

  “What the fuck are you talking about?” Ty needed to tread carefully with this. Jack knew way more about Ty’s business than most. He wasn’t the kind to rat Ty out, but he could make things difficult with Mary. Mary knew nothing about the supplying, and he knew that he was lying by omission when he assured her that he was done dealing, but left out the part about delivering for Karl. Ty couldn’t drag her into that; he had to keep it well hidden. It could potentially be very dangerous for her if she were to find out.

  Jack’s cold eyes pierced him. “You know exactly what the fuck I’m talking about.”

  “There is nothing else to stop.” Ty pronounced each word slowly and clearly. Jack knew better than to talk about that shit.

  They stood there glaring at each other. “Don’t drag Mary into your shit, Ty.” His words were the same as Dom’s.

  “I can keep her out of it. What I can’t do is stop seeing her.” Ty had his own fears regarding the first part, but he knew the second was, without a doubt, the truest thing ever to come out of his mouth.

  Jack’s hard scowl changed into a look of concern. “When she ends up hurt, you’ll have no one to blame but yourself.”

  “I’m not going to hurt her.” Ty’s voice was anything but steady.

  “I don’t see how you’re going to avoid it. She will find out. What are you going to do then?”

  “I’m going to be done soon. Then it won’t be a problem anymore.” Ty didn’t know why he was telling Jack this. It was none of his fucking business, and if Karl ever caught wind of his plans, he would be completely fucked.