by Ky Crossfire
— Isabel. — He call me, seeing me spy him through the window.
I hate when calls me by my full name. Not bothering to hurry at all, I get out and go towards him.
— What is it? — I grumble, crossing my arms through my chest.
He hands me the small rectangular white box, which has a bitten apple stamped in gold. I open it and find a white and gold Iphone. I touch the screen and it lights up on the spot, showing a picture of a blue-eyed wolf, no, not that wolf, a wolf, like, a howling one.
— You are aware that I ain’t paying for this, right? — I ask, and he smiles.
— I am. It’s a gift, since I… — He stops talking.
— Since you threw mine out the window — I say, looking at the phone.
— And I want you to have this too. — Nicolas takes the keys to the truck and stretches his hand towards me to hand me it.
— I’ll take the phone, as you destroyed mine, but you can keep the pickup. I have Little Carol already and, on Monday, I’ll go to the car shop to ask the to take care of her.
— Take the keys, Isa. — He grabs by hand puts the keys in it.
— I don’t need your gifts, Nicolas. If you think you can buy me with this stuff, you must be mad. — I shove the keys back to him. — I’m not for sale, Nicolas.
— Buying you? — He looks offended. — Do you really think I need to pay a woman to be with me? My son is coming today, and I don’t want him walking around in that wagon you call a car. You’ve made your point very clear this morning: I’m not going to keep running after you, Isabel. And this truck — he slams his hand against the pickup’s front. — is for my son’s well-being!
He throws the keys in the phone box.
Nicolas leaves me there and stomps towards the kitchen.
I get inside and take my new phone to the kitchen. I place the box over the counter and fetch the snack I had prepared a couple hours ago. Too bad Miss fancy hoe ain’t here to savor it alongside him.
Nicolas goes through the kitchen wearing a white towel only. He walks towards the pool, and I hears the sound of his body diving into the water. I glance at the chocolate hazelnut donuts.
I take the tray carrying the custom made snacks to Nicolas and walk back to the living room to fetch the broom. I figure out it’s best watch everything front row, I don’t want to miss a thing!
Nicolas Reis
Isa sweeps away the dry leaves from the pool side while I take full laps. I swim ‘til I’m too tired to keep on. I hadn’t done anything with Diana the night before: when I woke up, she was there already and, when I went to talk to Isa, she kicked me in the nuts. I didn’t have a clue about how to understand that girl, but I wasn’t about to waste my time trying to.
I kept on swimming until I felt my legs and arms exhausted, trying to forget about last night. Panting, I took a break and noticed that she had left a jar of fresh juice and some sweets at the poolside.
I held on to the metallic ladder and got out, and she took a quick glance at me before resuming sweeping, pretending I wasn’t there. I shoved the first donut into my mouth and took a sip from the juice.
I felt her eyes on me again, watching me from a distance. I ate the second sweet and chugged the juice.
The sound of quick honking called my attention: Rico must have little Nicolas already. I wrapped the towel around my waist.
— Come here, Isabel. — I demand when I walk near her. — Let me introduce you to my son.
I hear her mumbling a couple curses, but I shrug it off.
Nick hands Rico his helmet, and he messes up his hair, disvelishing the blonde strands.
— Where’s my hug? — He looks at me angrily and shoves his hands into his pockets without even saying a word.
I come closer to him to examine the black eye he has.
— What it this, Nicolas? — I demand an explanation. — Have you been fighting again?
I feel a twinge, followed by strong churning in my stomach.
Isa takes a step forward and smiles at the boy.
— Oh well, look at that, the lil kid is your spit image. — She giggles. — Don’t worry though, kid. What we got on the inside is what really matters. — She teases me again and goes towards his side, bringing her hand to his shoulder.
I feel churning again, followed by a twinge stronger than before.
— What’s up, sucker? Are you that touched by seeing your spawn? — Ricos laughs and gives a playful noogie to Nick.
— Yeah, Nicolas, you’re a bit pale, it’s frightening me, actually. — Isa remarks, not even bothering to hold her giggling. — Maybe you got a bu… — I don’t even wait to hear her and walk fast towards the guest bathroom.
It’s locked! I try to open the door one more time.
— Isabel, where’s the bathroom keys? — I shout, cold-sweat taking me over already.
The bitch won’t answer me. Fuck!
Nick throws himself on the couch and starts tapping on his phone.
— Huh? — She questions, shameless. — Isn’t it there?
— No, Isa, or else I wouldn’t be asking.
My stomach getting worse and worse, I have no time to argue with her. I run up the stairs before the worst happens.
The door to my room is closed too.
Oh, that devilish hinny.
— Why is my bedroom door locked, Isabel?
I hear her laughing from the lower floor.
Isa Oliveira Brandão
After Rico left, I took a chance to get closer to miniature Nicolas.
I sit down on the couch next to him and stretch. I feel my body hurting from Mr. Bad Wolf, from all the cleaning, the sleepless night, but at least I was solaced by the fact that, as a bad as I was, Nicolas was way worse. Fucking bastard!
— You know… — I chew my pinky nail. — If you had a sling, I highly doubt you’d have that black eye.
His phones tap so quickly on his phone’s screen that I’m not even sure if he’s actually listening to me.
— You know that scar Rico has on his forehead? — I ask, chewing on another nail. — Your father’s blind ass did that. — I slam my hands on my tights and sigh. — Ok, that’s final, I’m teaching you how to use a sling tomorrow.
Gods, what a petty little kid, he had to be Nicolas’ son, didn’t he?
— C’mon, let’s eat some pizza. — He looks at me and goes back to ignoring me, not making a single sound. I take his phone from his hand and shove it into my jumper.
— Give it back. — He screams at me and gets to his feet.
— Well, damn! — I stand up and smile. — Seems like the little wolf does talk in the end of all.
He looks at me furiously.
— I’m going to make my dad fire you!
— Then do it. — I dare him. — I’ll tell him you grabbed my booty.
He huffs anger and snaps his tongue at me.
— Stop throwing a tantrum. Come, let’s use those skinny arms to stretch some pizza dough. And I’ll give you some tea on your dad.
Nicolas Reis
When I was finally able to leave the bathroom, a couple hours later, I went out set on killing that little devil with my own bare hands. Of course, spiking my food and then locking the bathrooms was just like her.
The sound of my son laughing, followed by his voice, gave me chills. Soon, it would be five years since he had last spoken one single word to me.
— I don’t believe it! — He laughs.
I get closer and stand at the door.
— You should’ve seen the look on his face when he woke up basically half balf.
Nick laughed loudly again.
— And you didn’t take any pictures? — He’s almost crying from laughter.
— I actually did, but your father threw my phone in the toilet as payback. — Isa recounts.
I open the door to the room, and the become quiet. Nick ignores me, as usual, and closes himself up, staring at the TV.
— Do you want pizza?
— Isa offers, a big smile adorning her face. — It’s super spicy.
Nick leaves his pizza slice on the plate and walks through me, careful not to touch me. He slams the door, and Isa watches it all in silence.
She gets up from the bed and stops at the door.
I lean my head against the wooden post and run my thumb over a spot that is stained from ketchup. How did she manage to talk to him so quickly, make him laugh that loud?
— I want to talk to you. — I asked.
— But I don’t want to hear you. — Good night, Nicolas. — Then, she closes the door.
Chapter 16
Nicolas Reis
— It’s all your fault, idiot! Why are you doing this to me? — Isa cried in my arms while I ran with her through the farm: I just couldn’t see her suffering like that.
— I didn’t do anything, Isa! — I answer, breathless, holding her tight.
— Liar! You lying ass dog! All you ever do is lie! — She cries. — When I don’t need you anymore and I vanish from here I’ll be relieved to not look at your bastard face ever again!
I take a wrong step, and we fall together.
— Leave it to me, I’ll take care of her. — I hear Logan’s voice. I hold my head up to face him.
That wasn’t the same tomboyish Isa I was just holding in my arms a couple seconds ago. The woman Logan lifts from the ground is Isabel, wearing that Little Red Riding Hood costume. My Little Red Riding Hood.
I wake up drenched in cold sweat, all alone in my dark room. I roll over on the bed, trying to forget that nightmare, so real and intense. I punch the pillow and roll over again, trying to get comfortable, but I am unable to.
The hours go by, but sleep doesn’t seem to come. My head pounding, I get up to get a cup of water and and aspirin. When I open the bedroom’s door, I smell a myriad of scents: chocolate, vanilla, fresh-brewed coffee.
When I reach the kitchen, I find Isa singing:
“I'm feelin' myself, I'm feelin' my, feelin' myself, I'm feelin' myself, I'm feelin' my. Changed the game with that digital drop, know where you was when that digital popped.
I stopped the world, male or female, it make no difference, I stop the world, world stop. Carry on”
She looks overbearingly hot in a crossed-back swimsuit and a couple of jeans shorts barely exposing. The strip of cloth barely covers her lower bottom. Fuck! She’s doing that to tease me. I feel my cock throb and clear my throat loudly, and she stops dancing around. Then, holding the round baking pan on a dish rag in her hands, she faces me.
On the counter, I see two other cakes ready to eat, one chocolate flavored and the other orange.
— Your shake is over there. — She signals her head to the already filled glass and a covered plate over the counter. — And the egg white omelette is covered so it won’t get cold.
— Hum… — I mumble, wary.
She smiles, looking at the cake as it comes out perfectly from the pan. It smells like it is coconut flavored.
— What, Nicolas? — Isa drops her activities and grabs the glass and the plate. — Isn’t this what you need before your workout?
She takes a sip from the shake and runs her tongue through her thick lips.
— Hum… — She moans. — This is actually not bad.
Isa hands me the glass and uncovers the omelette, taking a small piece of it.
— Hum… This is so good. — She sucks on the tips of her fingers.
I feel my dick harden at that teasing motion. I take a step towards her, take the plate from her hands and leave everything over the counter.
— Morning, Isa. — Nick shows up at the kitchen’s door.
— Morning, punk. — She walks through me and shoves my shoulder when she goes towards him.
Isa pulls my son’s messy hair friendly.
— Sit there. — She opens the fridge and takes a milk box. — As I didn’t know what you like to eat, I baked some cakes.
Holding the fridges door with her behind, she takes a couple pots and balances them on her hands
— The brown one is chocolate. — Isa closes the door using her foot and sets the pots on the counter. — The light yellow one is coconut, and the bright yellow one is orange.
She opens the pots
— Here’s a couple extras, chocolate syrup, frosting. Choose one and dig in!
— Sweet! — He thanks her and takes a slice of the already cut chocolate cake.
I sit on the stools next to him.
— Are you going to tell me how did you get that black eye? — I take the shake, still wary of it, but the taste seems to be the same as always.
Nick, as usual, ignores me and takes another bite.
— You want to drink chocolate milk or juice? — Isa breaks the silence.
— Chocolate milk. Ice cold, please.
I take a couple forkfuls of the omelette and eat.
— I’m not going to mess with your meals, but, since you spent a good part of your day yesterday sitting on the throne, dear King, I’d recommend you take it easy on your reps today. — She stops to take a slice of coconut cake. Pouting, she blows air on it before taking a bite. — You may end up having an accident. I don’t want to take care of your shitty undergarments, hell no.
— Isabel! — I scold. — How about you take care of your shit and I take care of mine?
She turns her back to me and goes on complaining.
— All I ever do is trying to help and that how he treats me.
God, is it possible that this woman has a smart ass answer to EVERYTHING?
Isa hands a chocolate milk glass to Nicolas e takes a moment to grab a slice of orange cake.
— Yesterday, I was telling Nick about how bad your aim is. That’s how Rico got that scar. I can only hope you haven’t passed your shitty sight down to him. After breakfast, we’re shooting some rocks.
I chug the drink and face him
— Nicolas, I want you to tell me who hurt you like that. That can’t just be ignored!
Nick gets up and leaves me talking to the wind.
— I’ll wait for you outside. — He says, looking at Isa, before leaving the kitchen.
— Good Lord, such spite. — She eats another piece of cake and starts taking the dirty dishes. — What did you do to that boy? Spank him with nettles?
— No. — I growl, not in a good mood. — That’s all his mother’s fault.
She seems attentive, but tries not to show it.
— It was a couple years ago, when… — But Isa doesn’t let me finish.
— When you’re done, just leave your plate on the sink. I’m gonna rush, I want to take the best of the day.
And so, Isa leaves, swaggering, not finishing our conversation.
After finishing breakfast alone, I brush my teeth and change clothes. I out on shorts, socks and running shoes. As I head to the gym next to the house, fully equipped with what I need to work out, I meet Diana coming through the front door.
— Morning, Nick. — She smiles and puts her sunglasses on top of her hair. — Working out this time in the morning?
— Diana, haven’t I told you already that you can’t just come to my house whenever you feel like?
— Oh, Nick… — She groans, and runs her hand through her straight blonde hair. — This house is also my sister’s, don’t forget that.
I take her bag and open it.
— Nicolas! — She scolds me while I search through her bag for the remote to the main gate. I take it, give her back the bag, and shove the small remote in my pocket. She sighs unhappily.
— I didn’t come to see you . —I knew you’d end up forgetting it.
— Forgetting what? You know damn well that I’m staying away from the company for a couple days.
— Yeah, I got that, sweetie. — Diana hooks her arm on mine and playfully slaps my biceps. — But today you got a photo shooting here at your house, remember? Francis, the new scout, and that reporter will be coming by noon, and we got to be r
eady to show the media just how much our company is growing.
Fuck… I had completely forgotten that.
— Go, punk! Just climb it already, if I can do it, so can you! — Isa shouted.
— Lord, Nicolas, I can’t believe you haven’t fired that chick yet. And I’d rather not even talk about those videos I saw on Youtube, with you manhandling her in that costume party.
— Then do me a favor and don’t talk. — I take her hands off me and walk towards the sound of laughter and shouting coming from the back of the house.
Diana follows me a bit more slowly, as she had high heels on.
— C’mon, use those arms! — Isa shouts again, holding on to the tree, her thick golden thighs around the branches. — Let’s go, let’s go, you’re almost there!
— Nicolas, — Diana whispers — what the heck is she trying to do?
I ignore her, as I can’t pull my gaze from Nick’s large smile as Isa helps him up until they’re both on top of the mango tree.
Isa breaks a branch and shows Nicolas how to choose on.
— See? It needs to be thick enough that it won’t break when you pull the sling. It need to be Y shaped. — She explains.
— Like this? — He breaks a branch and shows her.
When they get down from the mango tree, their smiles vanish as they see us there.
— Why don’t you give her some money to take Nick to the movies? Maybe a little trip to the mall, so there won’t be no screaming during the interview. — Diana suggests and starts searching through her bag. — Here, honey. — She takes a couple hundreds and fifties and hands it to him. — Buy a little toy or game. And keep that money secure. — As she says that, she takes a quick glance at Isa and goes back to facing Nicolas.
He doesn’t take the money.
— Nicolas, I’ll be spending the day on the beach. — Isa looks at Diana. — Keep your money: today, Nick’s my guest. Copacabana better be ready for us, cause we’re gonna make that beach shake!
Isa pulls at Nick’s hair friendly, and they leave whispering, but not really bothering no to be heard.