by A. E. Murphy
“Sir, don’t call me lady.” She swings her glaring eyes back to me. “Please,” she begs, eyes softening, peeking around Stanley’s broad back at me. “It’s really important. I’ve been trying to speak to you for months. I tried to get to you in the institute but they wouldn’t permit visitors.”
“What’s it about?”
She chews on her lip. “Justice. It’s always about justice.”
“Justice for who?”
“For every single one of Landon’s victims. For every single one of your uncle’s victims.”
My heart stops at her words. My mouth goes dry. I can’t breathe. Does she have any idea what she’s doing?
“Get the fuck away from me before you become my victim,” I snarl, stomping towards her so quickly she backs up a step. Stanley grabs the back of my shirt and holds me in place.
“You’re the only one left who might be able to make a difference. We could beat these assholes. They could get time for this.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Yes you do, Mallory.”
“THAT’S NOT MY FUCKING NAME!”
She grits her teeth and pinches her lips together, then digs into her pocket for a business card that Stanley takes. “Please call me if you change your mind. I can help you. Together we can bring him down.”
She walks away and I shove Stanley’s hand away after twisting in his grasp.
“Did your uncle hurt you?” Stanley asks outright and we stare at each other, my gaze determined, angry, shut off, his sad, desperate, and pleading.
“Don’t ask questions you can’t handle the answers to, Stanley.” I spy Carter’s truck passing Mallory’s on the road and begin to walk away. “Just… help Paisley and Presley, okay? Don’t worry about me.”
“We always worry about you.”
I run for Carter’s car, diving into the passenger side before he has even rolled to a stop.
“Whoa, where’s the fire?”
He blanches at his own words, realizing what he just said and then we both start laughing hysterically. It’s probably too soon but it’s still kind of funny. I needed that to get over what just happened.
“How were Presley and Paisley yesterday?” I ask, changing the topic.
I left the hospital two days ago and Carter visited immediately after, he hugged me tighter than anybody else but he didn’t tell me how stupid I was. It was nice to not hear that again. I don’t think what I did was stupid, I knew the risks, I didn’t jump into that burning house thinking I’d survive. I jumped in knowing I probably wouldn’t while willing to take the chance that I might.
I also didn’t tell him about the kiss I shared with Presley, it’s not that I want to lie to him, but with emotions as high and as raw as they have been, I just don’t think it’s necessary. Not right now. Presley needs support right now, not his best friend giving him shade and the girl he kissed causing him problems. It’s my fault, I didn’t tell Presley that I’ve been kissing Carter, but again, I haven’t been thinking straight.
I’m not exclusive with Carter, and it was just a kiss. I hope.
Later, he left me to rest after joining us for dinner that tasted like ash. Who knew smoke inhalation could mess up your taste buds? It’s not something I ever needed to know.
He went to see Presley and Paisley in hospital and then the same again yesterday. I spent most of the day sleeping and texting Presley about what’s going to happen when he leaves. He’s really stressed about it all. His dad is AWOL because he’s an ass. He hasn’t even visited his kids which is just further proving the theory that the fire probably started because of him.
If he’s not going to step up for that family, somebody has to. It’s not like I have anything better to do.
“I’m still reeling from the high of it all,” I say to Carter.
He cringes. “I’m not. I did not enjoy you jumping into that building like that.”
“Me neither, that part wasn’t too fun.”
“I didn’t enjoy Presley kissing you afterwards either,” he admits, smiling with embarrassment.
“I forgot about that,” I lie because it’s almost all I’ve thought about when I haven’t been thinking about other things. The kiss Carter saw, and the one he didn’t see.
“It’s stupid, it was heat of the moment and we’re not exclusive but…”
Exactly.
“You got jealous?” I finish for him with a secret smile. His confession has my heart pattering.
“I did. I got so fucking jealous I had to check myself. You’d both been through so much in that moment, it made sense that you’d share something like a kiss after. But still.” His hands clench the steering wheel and his profile takes on a hard edge that I’ve never seen before. “I only want you to kiss me.”
Do I tell him about the other kiss in the restroom two days ago? Do I tell him about our intimate conversations?
No… As before, there’s no need. God, I’m so conflicted and full of guilt.
He pulls over on the side of the road and a couple of cars drift by.
“Is that something you might want?” he asks, turning to face me, keeping one hand on the wheel.
“I like kissing you,” I say softly. “I still want to see your penis.”
He laughs and looks away, cheeks going pink again.
“But…” My word disappears his smile immediately. “So much has happened recently and so much is still happening. I need time to think.”
He nods twice slowly and then pushes his hair back with his hands while blowing out a breath that makes his plump lips twice as thick. “Time to think. Sure.”
“There’s just a lot going on right now. Emotions are so high and…”
“Can I still kiss you sometimes?”
I laugh loudly and then smile while saying, “Definitely.”
“How about now?”
I don’t want to admit it but I really want him to. “Definitely.”
He leans over the console and presses those plump, soft, thick lips to mine. As always, I immediately taste mint, kind of, my taste buds are still being awkward as fuck.
I hum and grip the back of his head, holding him tighter to me as his tongue touches my own.
My body becomes a mess of need and desire. I fist the front of his black V-neck T and hold him tighter. Our bodies are twisted awkwardly as we try to get closer, but we succeed.
The kiss deepens, my desire worsens, the tingles spiral and fizzle under and over my skin.
I grab his hand and press it against my breast, uncaring that we’re in the middle of the street. I just need to be touched.
His hand squeezes and the tingles get worse… or better… whichever… they’re just more.
I press my hand to his groin where his thick, long cock rests along his thigh under his tight jeans.
A hand slams against the passenger window making us both separate.
Laughing, he puts the car in gear and we peel away from onlookers.
“We could always go back to my place and finish off?” he pants after a couple of minutes of driving.
I consider it. I am soaked between my thighs. It’d be nice to have that dealt with.
“Alice and Asher are waiting for us in the basement.”
“Fuck,” he mutters and pushes on his solid bulge. “This is going to be hard for days.”
Laughing, I give it a gentle pat and then nod towards the green light. “Let’s go. We don’t have time for this.”
“Later, perhaps?”
I nod and grin at him. “Fuck yes.”
“You’re really beautiful,” he states, letting his eyes roam over my face before we pick up speed.
He says it in a sweet way, not the way it used to be told to me as men sat on my bed at night. As though calling me beautiful would make what they were about to do to my immature body hurt any less.
“Thank you,” I whisper, feeling my cheeks heat for reasons other than my arousal.
We meet
in the basement under the gaming store where Alice took me the first time we met. Turns out this is her dad’s place and those assholes, her words not mine¸ who were playing games that day are her stepsiblings.
The basement, or gaming bunker as Alice’s dad calls it, is empty when we get there and there’s a table in the middle covered in paper, pens, and snacks.
We sit around it deciding on ideas that we can arrange with the locals to raise money for Presley and Paisley.
As I’m trying to stuff a paper ball into Carter’s mouth as Alice and Asher look on and cackle happily, the door to the basement opens.
“They’re down there,” Alice’s dad says to whoever is descending the stairs, one creaky wooden step at a time.
Carter spits the paper ball from his mouth when Presley appears and looks over the stair railing at us.
“Room for one more?” he asks, eyes sliding over us all.
I smile brightly, relieved that he’s here. “Always. Where’s Paisley?”
Alice pulls the chair out next to her, he grabs it and moves around to me. I glance at Carter when Presley grips my chair and slides me to the left and away from Carter who I was just forcefully feeding paper for calling my drawing, toddler-level neat. Presley sticks his chair between us, his face showing no expression other than stress and Carter just shrugs, looking unsure on what to do or say.
“Drink?” Asher asks him and he nods. “Orange soda?”
He nods again and she slides a can his way.
“Where’s Paisley?” I ask again.
“Ask your foster mom,” he utters and we all wait for him to elaborate. He doesn’t. He just looks over what we’ve done so far.
Could she have taken what I said seriously? Would they do that? Do they have the power to just take in other people’s kids?
Presley’s words break me out of my thought process. “I don’t like this.”
“What?”
“Taking charity.” He turns towards me and his hand goes to my thigh. I glance at Carter who doesn’t seem to have noticed. “I don’t feel right taking money from people. There are people worse off.”
“Nobody will mind,” Asher says, frowning sympathetically, and Alice agrees with an animated, “Fuck no, they won’t.”
“I’ll mind.”
“It’s not for you, it’s for your sister,” Carter puts in.
“I know, and I’m grateful to you guys for doing this but I’ll figure it out.”
I huff and screw up another piece of paper, ignoring the hand now tightening on my leg. “You’re being a stubborn idiot. Swallow your fucking pride and let people help you.”
“I don’t care. I’ll get a job and—”
“Throw your future away?”
He shakes his head, sending blond hair tumbling into his eyes. When he pushes it back, he continues, “My future is already gone. I can’t leave Paisley and I can’t take her with me.”
“Says who? Society? With a bit of extra cash you could still do everything you want to do and raise Paisley.”
“She’s right,” Carter agrees, smiling at me when I catch his eyes.
“Yeah.” Asher shuffles the papers and places them into a neat pile. “You’d be an idiot turning this down.”
His shoulders lift. “Then, I’m an idiot.”
“Fine,” I say, raising my hands to stop everybody who wants to speak from speaking. “What’s your grand plan?”
“I’ll quit school, get a job…”
“To earn enough to pay for everything you need you’ll need to work morning until night,” I snap. “Who’s going to take Paisley to school? Who’s going to make her dinner?”
“I’ll figure it out.”
“No, you won’t and she’ll end up in care in a failing system, forgotten about, unloved, her clothes in a fucking trash bag.”
“I won’t let that happen.”
I slam my hand on the table, feeling frustrated because I know how this goes. A lot of my friends in juvie were from the foster system, some in the asylum were too. I’m sure there are amazing homes out there like Stanley and Lane’s, but the majority are just in it for a paycheck. “You won’t have a choice and you know it. Where are you going to take her, huh? When she’s discharged.”
“Mom said they can both stay with us for the week as they figure things out,” Carter puts in. “That should buy them some time.”
“Think you can find a few grand in a week, Presley? And that’s just how much it will cost you to move into a new place and replace your stuff.”
Presley doesn’t look at me, he has also let go of my thigh.
“Let us throw a fais-dodo or something.” I place my hand over his and squeeze. “Let us help you help your sister.”
They all beg him, trying to make him see reason until finally he nods once. “Fine. Do whatever.”
I know he’s grateful even though he doesn’t show it. He’s one of those that doesn’t know how to be grateful in a normal way, likely from being put down by his dad his entire life.
“Fais-dodo it is.”
Presley’s hand goes back to my thigh as he relaxes and I’m relieved when Alice gets him smiling and laughing with the rest of us.
Carter seems happier too and we slip into an easy friendship as we plan one hell of a party that will likely never get accepted. Still, it’s fun to think about.
After a couple of hours, Alice’s dad brings down more food, sandwiches and the like from the deli a few doors down, and Presley steps out to take a call when we finish eating.
Alice is tweaking the music and Asher is yelling at her mom on the phone.
Carter moves closer and tucks my hair behind my ear before whispering into it so closely I giggle and shiver. “Why don’t we bail for an hour? Pick up where we left off.”
I squirm in my seat when his hand slides up my thigh and his fingertips barely graze my heated sex. I hate that I’m wearing jeans today. Hate it.
He bites on the lobe of my ear and strokes the tip of his nose along my hairline. Goose bumps break out across my skin, and my panties, only recently dry, are wet again.
“Guys, get a room,” Asher snaps, covering the mouthpiece of her phone with her hand.
Alice is staring at us with a weird smile on her face while eating potato chips. “Don’t listen to her. I’m happy to watch.”
Laughing, I shove Carter away but he lunges back and bites my lower lip. When he kisses me, I hum and twist towards him, giggling when he whispers against my mouth, begging to go do our own thing for just an hour.
“Mom said no,” Asher says, slamming her phone on the table. “She said after Halloween and the fall festival we threw a few weeks ago they cannot afford anymore parties.”
Carter and I separate, upset by the news.
“We’ll figure something else out,” Alice claims.
“What’s going on?” Presley asks when he returns.
“No party,” I grumble and his face falls. “Do you have news? Who called?”
“They’re still looking into what started the fire, I should hear back in a week or so.”
I nod. “Well, at least there’s that. Any word on your dad?”
“Nope. Still incognito. I hope he fucking stays that way.” He crosses the room and stands behind Carter and me. “You’re in my seat, bro.”
Carter looks at me and clicks his tongue against his palate. “Actually, I’m sitting here now.”
Alice eyes the exchange with rapt enthusiasm and excitement, Asher is just gaping like a fish with a stone stuck in its mouth.
“How about I sit in the middle?” I question, my tone high-pitched and one showing major discomfort.
“How about we go get some fresh air?” Alice suggests.
“Great idea.” Carter stands and stretches. His shirt rises showing me a glimpse of dark hair leading down beneath his jeans, and the bottom curve of his abs that I know he has six of, eight when he tenses. “Scandal was just talking about us going off for an hour or so. So we
’ll be back at around two. That cool with you guys?”
“Going off where?” Presley asks.
“Just… off,” Carter replies, giving his friend an imploring look.
“Great, I’ll come too.”
I pat Carter’s arm. He looks ready to sob, but he’s not about to reject his friend after all he has just been through.
“Have fun,” Alice tells me suggestively with a wag of her brows.
I cringe and head upstairs, leaving the boys to follow one by one.
I check my phone on the way and wet my lips.
Stanley: Can you stop by the shop? I need help with something.
“Actually, guys, rain check? I’ve got to go to Stanley’s body shop.” Saved by the foster block.
“I’ll come with; I need to talk to him anyway.” Presley takes my hand in his as though it’s a perfectly normal thing and I feel the awkwardness rise. “That cool?”
“Sure.”
Carter glares at our hands and then gives me an imploring look.
I try to pull my hand free but Presley squeezes it tighter. Is he staking his claim? Do I not get a say in this? “Are we walking or driving?”
“Driving,” Carter grumbles and we make our way back to the car.
“So you’re both coming?” I mutter and they totally ignore me. “Well, okay then.”
I climb into the front, Presley climbs into the back, Carter drives. This is so awkward.
“Hey.” Stanley wipes his hands on a rag and glances at the boys at my back. “You brought friends.”
“They brought themselves,” I respond and pull myself up onto the workbench, letting my legs swing beneath.
“Lane just called actually, she said Paisley has new pajamas,” Stanley tells Presley who smiles.
“I bet she’s happy.”
“She’s taking her to see your mom during visiting hours. I’m sure she won’t mind if you wanted to tag along.”
Presley shakes his head. “I should be taking her. It’s not fair for me to burden Mrs. Oaks. She’s my sister.”
“Leave her, son, she’s not burdened at all. Truth be told, after spending a month with this frosty little bitch—”
“Well, that’s not very nice,” I mumble and he just grins.
“—she needs a cute little girl to spend time with.”