by Penny Blush
“Well I better let you two get back to work,” Memphis said at the sound of Elizabeth’s heels on the stairs.
"I hate to see you go," I said, he stopped and looked over his shoulder at me, "but I love to watch you leave," I finished winking at him making him laugh.
That man really needed to laugh more.
Chapter 14 Jaxon
I don't think Memphis knew what hit him when I introduce him to Hedge. He had the same reaction every man did when they met her. He had the look of a man who had just seen ethereal beauty, a goddess on earth. Even he could see through the oversized clothes and her gruff, ‘the world can get fucked’ exterior, that she was something special.
As a man, I can admit that she is stunningly beautiful. Hedge is one of those unique women who are gorgeous, a natural beauty but wasn’t pretentious.
What, I know big fancy words!
BUT as her pseudo big brother, she is a sexless, beauty-less, boob-less cyborg, that no one will ever look at as anything other than a buddy, a friend, a pal!
All my over protectiveness aside, anyone would be lucky to have Hedge in their life. She is the funniest most caring, selfless, loving person I know. The man who she chose to give her heart to would be the luckiest son of a bitch alive and would need to worship her like a queen to be able to live up to my expectations. I was not going to let Joe Average anywhere near her, she deserved the best, and if I had anything to do with it, that's what she would get. If they met the expectation that I had for the man in her life, then they would well and truly exceed hers.
I know that she was upset when she had found out that Thomas had been cheating on her, it sucked, and the way that she found out, discovering them fucking in the shower!
Thomas was a stuck-up douchebag and was not the right guy for her at all. I hadn't been a fan when I first met him, and the feeling hadn't changed with time. I couldn't put my finger on it, but there was just something that didn't gel. I mean he was nice enough, he seemed to care about her but to me if felt more like a friend kind of love than romantic love.
It didn't appear to bother him that they didn't spend a lot of time together and he didn't seem to care what she did or where she was and that in and of its self, was weird. If I had a woman like Hedge, I would want to know where she was, what she was doing, and who she was doing it with, not because I am a controlling asshole or anything. But I at least would have shown some interest and cared when she didn't come home.
There was always something about Donavan that was off; he gave off a weasel vibe. I felt that he was just taking advantage of Hedge and her generous nature. Yes, he did amazing things for her career, but they were strategic on his part, everything she did would benefit him in some way.
Thomas and Donavan were both complete low lives and deserved each other and everything they got. I was just disappointed that I wasn't with her when she found out ‘cos I would have loved to beat the crap out of both of them for what they did to Hedge.
She had sent me a text on the way to my house on the day her life fell apart that only said.
Fuck my life
I’m coming over
Provide rum
I knew something big had happened I just never imagined that it would be that bad. I suppose if everything in your life is going to go to hell, having it happened all in the one day was probably the way to do it. Like pulling off a Band-Aid, get it over and done with quickly and in one go so that you left as little pain as possible.
I was so happy when she finally dragged her way out of her funk. It was getting to the point where I was going to have to call in reinforcements. I was getting desperate and starting to panic that I wouldn't be able to help her. I had made the decision that I was going to go looking for a young priest and an old priest to help perform an exorcism when the change happened.
I had seen her fall before, once after her parents died and once after she spent some time with her Uncle Charlie. Thank God, this wasn't that bad, I hoped to any, and all Gods that I never had to see her like that ever again, but this time she was getting close to that level again.
She turned up on my door broken, defeated and hollow. I had tried everything to drag her up and out of the dark. But no matter how much I tried, she just kept getting pulled back under. The riptide of defeat pulling her down into the black depths of despair.
Then one afternoon after a particularly long and busy week, Memphis asked if I wanted to go to the pub after work for a drink. Memphis and the guys from work all knew that my cousin was staying with me, but none of them had ever met her before, she was always so busy with work, training or competitions that their paths just never crossed. We now know why she was always so busy; it had been orchestrated that way ‘cos her boss wanted her out of the picture so that he could fuck her boyfriend.
I had convinced Memphis to swing by home before hitting the pub to see if, between the two of us, we could convince her to come out with us and get out of the house and into the land of the living for a while. I had been trying for weeks to get her to leave the couch, bringing Memphis along to try to convince her was a long shot but I was running out of ideas.
At first, after everything went wrong, she raged around the place yelling and arguing. She was aggressive and so very angry. Then the sadness took over. She was always crying, for no apparent reason, she would be sitting staring into space, and the just burst into tears, and she would be completely inconsolable.
It was like she ran the full gamut of emotions in the space of a few weeks draining her batteries, leaving her emotionally and physically depleted. Then she just gave up, took up residence on the couch and never left.
I'm not sure what happened, but I'm not going to question it. Memphis had been at my house for all of five minutes he hadn't even said anything to her, but his presence got her moving. Fifteen minutes later she was out the door going for a run. She hadn't so much as step into the back yard in months but, there she was going for a run.
Memph and I had made our way to the pub deciding not to wait for her, I was just happy that she was out of the house. She needed to move on, and it seemed like she had finally taken the first step of many. Memphis and I played pool, had a few drinks and talked about anything and everything but work. I spoke with a couple of hotties at the bar but my heart wasn’t in it, I was tired, and my mind kept wandering to a gorgeous little pixie who just so happened to be a giant pain in my ass.
We made it back to mine, with pizza and beer. As I walked up the porch steps, I said a silent prayer that Hedge getting up and going for a run was not just a temporary spark to life that had fizzled and died since we left. I hoped that I wouldn't find her moping on the fucking couch again. The door opened, and the change was immediately evident. The house felt lighter and brighter, and there was a fresh, clean smell in the air. I had a sense that even the House was grateful.
She had cleaned! “Thank you, sweet baby Jesus!”
You have never known clean until you have experienced the magical cleaning skills of Hedge when she's on a cleaning bender. My house glistened and shone. My little lady was pretty once again. I felt like I should have taken my shoes off at the door and headed straight for the bathroom for a shower, not that I was filthy or anything but it was like getting into bed on freshly laundered sheets without showering. First, it just didn't feel right.
We ate pizza, drank and talked into the night, under the stars by the warmth of the fire pit. I had convinced Memphis that the best thing he would ever do would be to hire Hedge as the Shop Manager. Hedge is the smartest person I know, she was business savvy and super organise, I mean like scarily organised.
I was serious when I said that Barber Shop Ink wouldn't know what hit it once Hedge got hold of it. Within no time at all, she would have that place running like a well-oiled machine and organised with military precision.
Memphis had some shit going on in his private life, and things at the shop had gotten away from him as he stubbornly tried to handle things by himself.<
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Memphis Blue, my boss, my best friend is the greatest guy I have ever known. We have known each other for what forever, ever since the chance-encounter at a yard sale. We had both reached for the same toy lying on a card table. It was a complete Voltron action figure in mint condition. Our hands touched, our eyes met, and then, our fists flew.
We had both wanted that action figure, and neither of us was willing to give it up. We had pushed and shoved and tried to snatch the toy from each other. It didn't take long before we realised that neither one was going to give up our prize. We rolled around on the ground throwing punches, kicking and hitting each other as only ten-year-old's could. By the end of it, we both had black eyes, torn clothes, and angry parents.
Memphis' Pop's smacking him upside the head, and my mum was yelling that I didn't need another toy and pointing out that I only needed two of the five lions. It turns out that Memphis already had two of lions and needed the other three. Smiling at each other with blood-coated teeth, we pooled our money bought the toy, taking the pieces that we needed, and the rest, as they say, is history. We’ve been best friends ever since.
Best friends since we were ten which is why I was so angry with Memphis for not telling me what was going on with him. We never kept secrets; we were always honest with each other and supported one another. We are family. I knew that something was up with him, after almost twenty years of friendship he couldn't keep much from me.
It started a few months after his Pop’s had died. He was being evasive and kept ducking out of the shop and missing appointments. He wouldn’t tell me what was going on and kept telling me not to worry about it. So, having the shits with him I decided to follow his ass, and I found out what had been going on. I was so mad at Memphis, beyond pissed at him that he hadn't come to me for help. I loved him like a brother and always had his back and would have helped him out in any way I could if he'd only just asked.
He wouldn't let me help him out of the cluster-fuck that he was in, saying that he didn't want anyone else involved in his trouble. I might not have been able to help him with his misfortune, but I could help him get his shop sorted out.
He might not have allowed me to get involved, but through convincing him that my cousin was what he needed, I would be able to help, his personal life may be a mess, but at least I could contribute to making sure he didn't lose his business.
"I'll bring Hedge with me when I come in, and she can check shit out,” I informed Memphis, yawning and scratching at my beard then stretching out my back.
“You cool with that?” Memphis asked Hedge.
I looked over at her, “Dude, she’s asleep.”
At two AM, we decided to call it quits cleaning up around her. She was sound asleep all twisted up in her chair. Seriously, the kid is a human pretzel. Hedge is the only person I know who could bend herself into the most awkward position imaginable, that any other reasonable person would find uncomfortable and be at peace. Then once she was asleep that was it she was out, a brass band could go marching past, and she wouldn't budge.
“Just leave her man. I’ll wake her and Zombie walk her inside in a minute.”
“All good, bud, get the door will ya?” Memphis asked bending down and picking her up in his arms. As I went to open the glass sliding door, I caught him whisper to her, “I’ve got you Sweetness.”
“Just dump her on the couch, I want to make sure this fire’s out properly.”
Outside by the fire, I watched through the door as Memphis carried Hedge inside. Hedge is tall for a woman but in Memphis massive arms she looked small and delicate, and it reminded me just how vulnerable she was. She has always been so tough and determined, so full of life that then her world fell apart; it started to seriously worry me that she had become so weak and lifeless. She was just so; empty.
Memphis cradled her in his arms walking into the lounge room, lowering her onto the couch taking his time to make sure that she was comfortable. Kneeling on the floor, he tucked a blanket around her. He had a look on his face as if he had just seen something special. I noticed that her hood had slipped off and that Memphis could see her face. Ah, right, now it all makes sense. I smirked poking at the fire making sure the embers were dying.
“You’re in trouble now Bud,” I muttered to the fading glow of the coals.
The next morning more of her darkness had lifted, and she stood in the kitchen, smiling and singing it was a complete turnaround from the day before. I could not be happier.
Sliding a steaming hot cup of coffee and a massive stack of pancakes in front of me, she sang brightly, “Good morning Sunshine!”
I had a slight hangover and woke up earlier than I wanted to. I rested an elbow on the counter holding my head up with a hand not having the energy to hold it up.
“Why are you all ….?” I asked, waving a fork full of pancakes in her direction.
“No reason, I just woke up happy.” She said shrugging.
I dragged my sorry ass around the house getting ready for work, while she sang and danced around the kitchen. I was happy that she was feeling better, and I didn't want her to be moping around the place, but I just wanted her to tone it down a bit. All her singing and dancing and excessive cheeriness were fucking annoying, and my head hurt.
I had taken her to Barber Shop Ink, introducing her to everyone and watched the excitement in her eyes when I showed her the mess that was the stockroom. The girl loves to organise, and if you hand her a big mess to tidy up at the same time, she was in heaven – weirdo!
Hedge had shown Memphis what she had come up with in the short time she had been at the shop and he had taken her to look at the apartment upstairs. Things were looking up for her, a job offer and hopefully a new home, not that I wanted her out of my house or anything, but she needed space of her own.
“So, that’s your sister," Cassidy said. She had a voice like sunshine; the melodic notes slid along my nerves warming my skin.
“Yep, that’s her,” I replied, leaning on the reception desk beside her. I heard her breath catch, as I took a deep breath taking in the scent of vanilla and strawberry. "I like your perfume," I muttered.
“I thought you said she is your cousin?” Bear asked.
"Technically, she is my cousin. She came to live with my parents and me with her brother when she was twelve after her parents died."
“Where’s her brother?” Cassidy asked
“Gone,” I said plainly not wanting to get lost in the explanation of Davan’s whereabouts. “I took over big brother duties after Davan…” My voice trailed off talking about Davan was always hard, I missed him just as much as Hedge did. “Anyway, after a while, I just stopped referring to her as my cousin and started calling her my little sister,” I said with a shrug.
"You're incredible," Cassidy whispered her eyes going wide like she'd caught herself saying something that she shouldn't have said out loud. "You're amazing for doing that for her," she corrected, "to look after her like that after her brother was gone."
The look on her face was one of awe, a look that made my chest burn. Feigning nonchalance, shrugging, "I would do anything for the people I love," I winked at her, "you know for my family."
Cassidy and I had been flirting back and forth since we met, but she is one of my best friends, and I didn't want to mess with that by making the flirting something more. For the last five years, I have been torturing myself by flirting with her and being around her, every day hasn’t helped. It would kill me if we tried for something more and it didn’t work out, I couldn’t do without her. I need her in my life.
“How’s it going with what’s his name?” I asked Cass, the boys going back to work. Whenever I felt my feelings rising, I asked about whatever unworthy dick she was seeing.
“Do you mean Ted?” She asked.
“Yeah, that guy,” that asshole, hipster douche bag wannabe, I silently added.
“He, um, he decided that he wanted to umm…” her voice trailed off looking out the window.
“What was the bullshit excuse, this time?”
Every guy she had ever gone out with always gave some shitty excuse for breaking things off with her. Idiots! They obviously could not see what they had. They were always trying to change her, make her into something she's not.
Cass is a free spirit, she dances to a drum beat all her own and doesn't conform. The jackasses that she had dated always tried to fit her in a conservative mould. One look at Cassidy Aims will tell you everything you need to know about her. Conservative Cassidy is not. She is everything I have ever wanted in a woman and everything I won't allow myself to have.
"He said that…" she paused looked down at her hands. I let her take the time she needed to gather herself, not pushing. "He informed me that I was too quirky," she made air quotes when she said ‘quirky.'
"I'm sorry, Babe," I bumped shoulders with her "that jackass didn't deserve you anyway."
“You’re just saying that Jax, thanks, though.”
The sad smile she gave me tore at me. I was happy that Ted, the wanker was out of the picture, but I didn't like the look she had on her face.
"No, I'm not. You are a very extraordinary person Cass, and any guy would be lucky to have you. Yeah, you're quirky," I made exaggerated air quotes, "but I love the quirky. You're fun and funny. You have so much knowledge crammed into that cute little head of yours that you seriously scare me sometimes, with what you can pull from your brain.” I had my arms crossed on the reception desk. I looked at her while tracing the bumble bee tattoo near her left elbow. "You have the best laugh, the brightest smile and you're beautiful, Cass."
"Jaxon," she whispered questioningly.
Her eyes were searching mine, waiting for me to say more, decipher what my words meant. I don't even know if I could explain them to myself.
Hedge came back downstairs breaking the moment, which was a good thing – probably.
Memphis and Hedge agreed on the job and the apartment, and as soon as Hedge had design plans and crew, construction started on the apartment re-ferb. Things at the shop had begun falling into place. At first, it was just trivial things like the stockroom getting sorted and organised and then more complex changes like the program upgrades and the online booking system. Hedge had big plans for things to come, in the future but she wouldn’t drop it on us all at once, she said that we would all need time to adjust and learn the new systems she had put in place. The minor changes that she had made so far had made a significant difference to life at the shop.