Obsidian Faith

by Bev Elle

  “What do you want ass—?” Trevor said, before he saw it was Shanice. He was going to say, “asswipe,” But Shanice would’ve freaked out, so he was glad he was able to change what he was about to say, since it wasn’t intended for her anyway. “—as I’m about to head out?”

  Her face crumpled anyway, and it made him backpedal. “‘Nice, I’m sorry. I don’t have to leave right away.” He opened the door a little wider and pulled her into the room so the neighbors wouldn’t see a little girl crying on the doorstep.

  He couldn’t bear to see her cry, so he hugged her. “Shh, don’t cry.”

  “Why don’t you pick up the phone when I call, or come over to the house anymore?” she said through her sniffles.

  Trevor took a deep breath. “Like I told you. It’s just not a good idea for us to hang out anymore.”

  “But why?”

  “Because, it’s just not.”

  She stepped back, as her stubbornness emerged. “You can’t even give me a good reason.”

  “I would if I could, Shanice. I promise. You don’t understand what kind of pressure I’m in over here.”

  “Then you should at least tell my Dad so he can help you.”

  “And get taken from Phil and sent God knows where? No thanks.” Although, that wasn’t the truth either. If he made waves with the DCFS, or with Isaiah Bailey, he would be putting the Baileys at risk, especially Shanice. And if anything happened to her, it’d be lights out for him, too. He’d make sure of it.

  “Is he out of town this weekend?” she said, looking around, as if she were almost fearful his Uncle Phil would come out any minute.

  “Yeah.”

  “Then, why can’t we hang out a while?”

  Shanice looked so sad, and he didn’t want to be the cause of her sadness. He caved. “Just for a little while, but I’m driving you back home.”

  “Mom and Dad say you haven’t had your license long enough for me to ride with you.”

  “I think they’d rather I drove you than have you ride your bike back.”

  “Then I’ll be busted.”

  “We’ll figure it out,” he said. “You had lunch yet?”

  “No, I’m supposed to be at Carly’s birthday party.”

  Trevor grinned. “What do you say, we order some pizza?”

  “Okay!” Shanice said, then strode over and plopped down on the sofa in front of the TV. “I haven’t had pizza in so long. Brenda cooks every day.”

  “And that’s a problem, how?”

  “It’s not. I love Mom’s cooking, I just want a Wendy’s burger, or Papa John’s pizza sometimes.”

  Trevor pulled out his cell phone. “I’m about to grant your wish, princess.”

  They scarfed down pizza and caught up. Shanice’s twelfth birthday was rapidly approaching and Trevor’s seventeenth, so a lot was going on with them both in school. He was gearing up for prom, and she was taking advanced math and science classes already. Trevor was impressed.

  “How’d you land in pre-algebra anyhow? I didn’t get any of that until 8th grade.” Although he could’ve been in the more advanced classes earlier, it was David’s desire to protect him that kept him back.

  “They have this program for kids who think they might want to do something health-related, like nursing or medical school when they grow up.”

  “You want to be a doctor?” Trevor said.

  “No, a nurse. I want to help people get over drug addiction and stuff, but I don’t want to go to school for all the years it takes to be a doctor.”

  “That’s cool. Just don’t fall for some doctor and forget about me,” he teased.

  “I’d never forget you, Trevor,” she said. “And I’ll never fall for some doctor.”

  “How do you know?” he said. “You’ll go off to college and I’ll be as good as forgotten.”

  “You’ll forget me first,” she said. “You already have. You’re the one who’s taking Emily Winters to the prom and everything.”

  “It’s just another rite of passage.”

  “A what?”

  “It’s one of those things you’re expected to do at certain ages that transition you from one stage in life to another.”

  “Oh, well. I’m not passing any rites with anyone but you,” She said.

  “You’re too young to say that, Shanice. You’ve got a lot of growing up to do.”

  “So do you.” She protested, just as he expected her to.

  “Yeah, but I’m closer to twenty-one than you are, and I’ll be going off to college in a couple of years.”

  “I know, but I won’t forget you,” Shanice said with conviction.

  “How do you know this?” Trevor asked.

  “Because I’m going to be like Amy March in Little Women.”

  “Never heard of it,” Trevor said.

  “Probably because boys think it’s stupid. But there is a Little Men, and Jo’s Boys and they’re about orphans and stuff. Anyway, they’re classics. Mom read the books when she was about my age, so she gave them to me for Christmas.”

  “What does this have to do with you not forgetting me?”

  “You’ll have to read Little Women to find out,” she said cryptically. Then she changed the subject by challenging him to a video game. About an hour later, Trevor drove Shanice as far as a block away from home, then took her bike out of his trunk so she could ride home the rest of the way.

  “Hey ‘Nice,” he said. “Don’t ride your bike over to Phil’s again, or I’m going to snitch you out to Isaiah and Brenda. It’s too dangerous for you to ride that far on your bike. You could get hit by a car.”

  She hung her head briefly, then raised her eyes to his again. “Then promise me you’ll come see me sometimes.”

  “Okay,” he said. “I promise.” But Trevor knew the likelihood of him following up on that promise was practically nil.

  He was finishing up another of Phil’s projects before getting ready to go hang out with a couple of friends from school that night when he decided to look up Little Women on the internet. Trevor found a detailed enough summary to figure out that his surrogate little sister probably had a crush on him.

  Trevor grinned, knowing that he would be one of many crushes before she finally decided on the man she would spend her life with. He wasn’t even thinking of a future with any special person at the moment. He just needed to concentrate on figuring out how to get out of the mess he was in with his uncle Philip, and to keep Shanice and her family alive in the process.

  The drive to the University of South Florida was a short one from Orlando, and Trevor realized upon checking into his dorm that this was an experience most freshman shared with their parents. It was times like these that he really missed Elena and David. They would’ve been here, just like the many parents he saw accompanying their children to the dorms on their first day.

  Trevor scolded himself and he hefted his belongings up to his room on his own. Suck it up, Kyle. At least you’re away from that asshole, Phil.

  For that he was grateful. He looked forward to not working for Phil anymore. For the first time he thought he might have a bright future. He’d get his degree in computer science and maybe found his own software startup company someday, and never go back to Phil and his fucked up life. Trevor was first to arrive so he got the choice side of the room, that is the side with the least worn furniture.

  Even when everything was unpacked, his side looked sparse. He’d managed to cobble together most of what he needed from the lists the college provided, but as he watched his roommate settle in with the help of his parents Trevor realized he’d missed some things. He was leaving his dorm to make a much-needed trip to Wal-Mart when a mini-van pulled up to the unloading area in front of his dorm, the horn blasting.

  Isaiah, Brenda and Shanice hopped out. Trevor felt kind of shitty considering how he’d avoided them so much. Well, everyone but Shanice. She never stopped calling.

  “What the... ?” Trevor said, not caring that his face-s
plitting grin wasn’t how college freshmen trying to be cool behaved.

  “We came to make sure you settled in okay,” Brenda said. “We couldn’t let our favorite new USF Bull move in without all the essentials.”

  “Yeah, and we brought you a lot of stuff, too,” Shanice said, and sidled up to him. Trevor threw his arm around her shoulder and pulled her in close to his side, dropping a kiss on the top of her head.

  He shared hugs all around with Brenda and Isaiah and then they brought the stuff they’d come with up to his room. Needless to say, a trip to Wally World wasn’t warranted after the surprise shopping spree the Bailey’s brought to him. Now he had a stocked mini-fridge, a microwave, and matching bed and window accessories.

  “How’d you guys know I didn’t have any of this stuff?” Trevor asked.

  “Shanice told us you were driving down on your own,” Isaiah said.

  “And we knew Phil didn’t have a clue,” Brenda said. “Besides, we couldn’t let Elena and David’s only son go without a proper college send-off.”

  Trevor’s throat tightened at the mention of Elena and David. He just hugged Brenda, then changed the subject.

  “So, where’s Zeke and Ezra?”

  “They’re with grandma being spoiled to high heaven,” Isaiah said.

  Brenda popped her husband playfully on the back of the head. “My babies are not spoiled,” she declared.

  Isaiah bristled and backed away from his wife. “Actually, the boys are little angels,” he said with an elaborate roll of his eyes.

  “Well, they’re not as spoiled as some of the other children at church, anyway.” Shanice said.

  Brenda smoothed the comforter on Trevor’s bed one final time and stood back up. “Did we run your roommate and his parents off?”

  “No,” Trevor said, running a hand through his hair. “They went to dinner.”

  “Speaking of,” Isaiah said. “We’d like to take you out to eat before we head back home, unless you’ve got other plans.”

  “Plans? What plans?” Trevor said grabbing his keys off his bedside table.

  Dinner went by too fast for Trevor, but he wasn’t about to be a wuss and beg the Baileys not to leave. They were just about the only people he’d miss in Orlando, to be honest.

  When they dropped him off in front of the dorm they all got out again to say a proper goodbye.

  Isaiah shook his hand and gave him a hug. “You have our numbers. If you need anything, don’t hesitate to call.”

  “Thanks, Isaiah.” Trevor said.

  Brenda hugged him tight, tears threatening to spill from her eyes. “I’ll send you care packages,” she promised.

  “Who does that anymore?” Isaiah said.

  “I do,” Brenda said with a stubborn hike of her chin. “My parents sent them to me when I was in college. There’s nothing like getting little surprises in the mail.”

  “Thanks, Brenda.” Trevor said. “I’ll look forward to them.”

  Shanice clung to him and cried like she’d never see him again. “Aw, squirt,” Trevor said, patting her back. “It’s not the end of the world.”

  “It’s just... I’m going to miss you so much.”

  “I’m going to miss you, too. But you can email or Skype me.”

  “And text and call sparingly,” Brenda said. “Remember you just got that new cell phone for your birthday.”

  “Oh yeah,” Shanice said, pulling away and rummaging through her little purse. “Here, put your number into my phone.”

  Trevor obliged her.

  She grinned through her tears. “One for each other, and each other for one?”

  “One for each other and each other for one.” He recited it back and really meant it for the first time in a very long time.

  Chapter Thirteen

  While off at USF in Tampa, Trevor was just far enough away to have some freedom from his uncle. But that didn’t stop Phil from calling and threatening the Baileys until Trevor agreed to do more work for him. The jobs got bigger and bigger, and the amounts ballooned.

  Trevor thought he could immerse himself in college life and ignore Phil. He began to refuse to pick up when he called, and didn’t respond to his emails or text messages. Maybe Phil would give up and wouldn’t bother having him do his hacking projects anymore.

  Was he wrong. Phil and his pet mobsters took the ride frequently to Tampa to submit their requests in person. They were on campus so much, they were on a first name baisis with Trevor’s friends. A fact that pissed Trevor off tremendously. The projects they had for him got more and more risky, more and more intricate, but Trevor had honed his skills even further now that he was getting a formal education as a computer programmer.

  Trevor had almost completed his sophomore year when Phil hatched the plan that got Trevor in deeper with organized crime. His uncle actually showed up and dragged him out of class for that one.

  As he followed Phil out of the computer lab to his car, Trevor saw they weren’t actually going to Phil’s car. There was a limousine idling at the curb in front of the building. As they approached, Frick got out and opened the door.

  Phil scooted inside, but Trevor stood looking around, wondering if he should bolt. He figured they’d catch him anyway, and he was really not ready for a beat down, it being so close to finals and everything.

  Trevor slid onto the leather seat between his uncle and Frack. On the other bench seat was the man he only knew as the Boss, who he’d met once when he began programming the slots for the guy. Frick got in and sat on the seat with the Boss.

  “Hey kid,” Frick said. “The Boss is about to make you an offer you can’t refuse.”

  The Boss glared at Frick. “This is not The Godfather, asshole.”

  Frack and Phil laughed, but Trevor wasn’t in the mood.

  “Shut the fuck up,” Frick said. Apparently the little guy didn’t like being laughed at.

  “All of you shut the fuck up,” the Boss said, then addressed Trevor. “I’m sure this young man and I have better things to do than listen to you morons laughing it up.”

  “I was in a computer lab,” Trevor said. “I need to get back so I can finish.”

  “We’ll make this quick and painless,” the Boss said. “I understand from Phil and my men that you have a unique skill which could make us all multi-millionaires, and I’m including you when I say all. How does that sound to you? It’s Trevor, right?”

  “I’m listening,” Trevor said. He may be talking to the leader of the Orlando underworld, but he was not going to answer like a punk.

  “We want to clean house. A one-time deal where we take as much of the unclaimed funds from each state as we dare, which Phil here estimates could be approximately one billion dollars. Split five ways, minus the money I’m willing to front you for equipment, that’s a little less than two hundred million for each of us. Are you game, Trevor?”

  Trevor knew from previous stories he overheard from Frick and Frack, the Boss was not someone to be trifled with. “Sure, but let me tell you, this is going to be a massive undertaking.”

  “Give that to us in man hours or something,” Phil said. “Since this project is going to benefit you too, you might want to scrap school.”

  “That’s... no way. I have to stay in school,” Trevor said.

  “You’ll have so much money, kid, no one will look down on you not having a college degree,” Frack said. “I don’t got one, and look at me.”

  “Yeah, look at you,” the Boss snarled. “A degree will help a man look legit when he’s got to launder a large amount of cash. Trevor is right. He needs to stay in school.”

  Trevor breathed a sigh of relief when the Boss agreed with him, because he didn’t know how he was going to get out of the mess they were trying to put him into just yet.

  He answered the previous question posed to him by Phil. “It’ll take a couple of years to make a program like that viable. Then it has to be tested, and troubleshooting sometimes takes longer than the programming. I
can’t work on it eight hours a day, but I can promise you I will work on it every day.”

  “That’s all we can ask for,” the Boss said. “I’ll get whatever information you need from us when the time comes, but right now if you’ll begin the process, Phil will help with the research. These two numbskulls will get to work on new identities for all of us and those significant others we want to take with us. You got anybody like that, Trevor?”

  Trevor almost broke into a cold sweat, but he held it together. “No.”

  “You playing the field a little, eh? That’s what a college boy should do. No need to tie yourself down until you’re older,” the Boss said.

  “What about the Baileys?” Phil said. “Don’t you want to include them in your outrageous fortune?”

  “They don’t mean shit to me,” Trevor lied.

  “Who do you think you’re fooling? You know, that Shanice has gotten so fine, I wouldn’t mind... ” Trevor’s fist connected with Phil’s nose before he could finish his sentence, and then he pounced as blood dripped all over the front of his uncle’s pricey suit. Frick pulled Trevor off while Frack grabbed Phil.

  “She’s a kid, you asshole!” Trevor screamed. Shanice was all of fourteen at the time, and Trevor had just intervened on her behalf the last time he’d been in Orlando when a boy who’d been obsessed with her since elementary school had begun to spread rumors about her. Owen Nettles had promptly forgotten Shanice’s name after Trevor put the fear of God into him.

  The Boss, who hadn’t moved during the brief skirmish, glared at Phil. “We don’t mess with kids, Kyle, and if I ever hear you have... ” He left it there.

  “So, Trevor Kyle, do we have a deal?” The Boss extended a hand for him to shake as if it were a foregone conclusion.

  Trevor knew that it was, but he would play their game for now—as though he had a choice? He extended his hand.

  “We have a deal.”

  Trevor all but stopped visiting or talking to the Baileys after that because he never knew if Phil and his henchmen were watching, and they’d already proven they would hurt them—or worse—if Trevor didn’t do what they said.

  Phil, pissed over Trevor embarrassing him in front of his mob friends, threatened Trevor until he extended their reach into North and South Carolina, where he funneled enough to keep Phil, Frick and Frack in gambling dough for several months at a time. If they ran low, they’d pay him another visit. Meanwhile, he was working on the program for the Boss which he’d dubbed The Grand Scam, and he’d also been thinking about how he could go about extricating himself from the deal.