“Me, too,” Elisa admitted. “I’ve never felt so at home anyplace as I feel here.”
Eric turned away and gave them some space for tearful laughter and long hugs. They went on at some length. After they got the sniffling under control, Elisa turned to see Eric standing, transfixed, in front of her painting.
Demi joined him, and looked at it herself for several minutes before turning back to look at Elisa. “I should have known, from the chalk drawings,” she said.
“Known what?” Elisa asked.
“This is your thing.” Demi gestured at the painting, her tone matter-of-fact. “Your big thing. Your sacred thing. Your future does not include running a restaurant and a catering company with me. This is your work now.”
“I loved working with you,” Elisa told her. “It was a great experience.”
Demi’s eyes were wet again. “I loved it, too. But even if that part of it’s over, I’m just glad that you’ll be near me. I was so afraid you were going to want to go back to San Francisco now that Clemens is gone.”
Elisa shook her head with a smile. “Nope, Shaw’s Crossing is home for me now. I’m selling my interest in the gallery in San Francisco. Josh and I are selling all the houses. Or at least, we will once all the insurance stuff for the fire and all the property damage gets sorted out. We’re breaking with the past. Both of us.”
“Elisa,” Eric said. “Is this painting for sale?”
Elisa turned to him. Eric hadn’t heard a word of their conversation. He was still completely absorbed by the painting. “I don’t know,” she told him. “I’m still in the middle of it. I don’t even know what it’s going to be by the time I’m done.”
“I want it,” he said.
She just stared at him, openmouthed. “Ah….”
“I have a big empty wall in the central lobby of the Erebus flagship headquarters in San Francisco,” he said. “The decorator has been bugging me about it for a year and a half. She wanted to organize for a mural, but I’ve been putting her off. I was waiting to figure out what I really wanted on that wall. I’ve found it.”
“Oh,” she faltered. “Uh…wow.”
“But I’d need more of them,” Eric said. “It’s one big motherfucking wall. Could you do a series of these for us? Say, five more? Same size?”
She was dumbfounded. “Ah…you’d better wait until it’s done, and I’ve drafted some ideas for the others to commit to something like that.”
“I’m sure,” he said. “It’s exactly right. The way it makes me feel. Light prevailing over darkness. Love wins. That’s what I want people to see when they come to Erebus. That’s what I want Erebus to stand for.”
Elisa was speechless and flustered for a moment. “Ah…thanks, Eric, for the vote of confidence.”
“But of course, you don’t have to decide anything right now,” Demi said, giving Eric a stern look. “Think about it later. Right now, concentrate on healing, resting, taking care of yourself, painting your painting. The world can get all greedy and grabby for your special gifts and abilities later. When it’s appropriate.”
“Ouch,” Eric murmured, chastened. “Sorry.”
“It’s okay,” Elisa assured him. “I don’t mind if—”
“Let’s put that aside for now,” Demi said brightly. “We have all the time in the world to discuss that. So what’s up with your little brother now? What’s he doing?”
“Nate went to Boston with him, and got him settled in with his security detail. He’s bitching and moaning about having a bodyguard follow him around. Tough. I just need him to stay safe.”
“Excellent,” Eric said. “I’m glad he’s covered. So he’s going back to school?”
“Getting ready for the spring semester at MIT,” she said. “We’re trying to find some sort of new normal, but it’s tough. It all feels so strange. Off-kilter.”
Demi nodded, her face somber. “I know. It was like that for us, too.”
“When is Nate getting back?” Eric asked.
Elisa felt her face get warm. “Soon, I think.”
“I’ll be relieved when he gets back,” Eric said. “I’m sure he will, too.”
“He might not even know what to do with me, now that he doesn’t have to save me from certain death anymore,” Elisa said.
“Oh, I’m sure he’ll think of something,” Eric said, under his breath.
“Eric!” Demi shot him a narrow look.
Eric blinked at his wife innocently. “Hey, he still has to protect her from Kimball, right?”
“Right,” Demi scoffed, and laid her hand on Elisa’s shoulder. “Come over for dinner tonight. It’ll be the last meal I cook at home for a while, since the restaurant opens again this weekend. Roast leg of lamb, cheesy potato pancakes and a delicious three-berry crumble with ice-cream. Please come. The gang’s all here.”
“I’ll be there,” she promised.
After the door closed behind her friends, Elisa stared down at the beautiful fern, wondering if she would be able to keep the thing alive. She moved it closer to the light that flooded in the big bay window overlooking Shaw Lake. She had no curtains, because she couldn’t be bothered, and besides, it was an awesome view. She needed to buy a plant hanger. Maybe ask her phone to remind her to water it.
The computer warbled. The ringtone of a video call.
Josh. She sank down onto the floor and placed the laptop on the seat of the single folding chair in the apartment before accepting the call.
Josh’s face filled the video screen. The sight of it made her happy. His bruises were gone, his color was better, he’d shaved, his hair was buzzed short again. Though still thin, his face had lost that taut, wasted look. His sunken cheeks had filled out.
He looked like a young man again, not old before his time. His eyes were brighter, too, though they would always have that shadow. The look of someone who had seen pure evil at very close range, and survived it. It might grow fainter with time, but it would always be there. She saw the same look in the mirror every day.
“Look at you,” she said. “You look great. Have you started classes again?”
“Not yet,” he said. “I’m meeting with professors, getting caught up. Nate left yesterday. It feels so strange to be back. It’s all so familiar, just like it was before, but I feel like I’ve been to another planet and lived an entire lifetime there. But everyone here is the exactly the same as they were before I left.”
“Yeah. That’s exactly right,” she said. “I feel the same way.”
“And it’s weird, having a bodyguard. Are you sure this is necessary? I mean, I’m really far away from all that stuff happening in Shaw’s Crossing, right?”
She shook her head. “I insist,” she said. “It’ll just be for a while.”
“I wanted to check up on you,” he said. “I’m not sure it’s smart to stay in that town at all. Isn’t it sort of like living in the middle of a bullseye?”
“Maybe, but this is home now. And I’m done being shoved around.”
“God, I hear you,” Josh said fervently. “So that’s your new apartment?”
“Yeah. It’s nice. The upstairs of a townhouse, right next to Demi’s. I’ll show it to you.” She picked up the laptop, turned the screen around and strolled through the apartment, from the front room all the way back to the big bedroom.
“Cool painting,” Josh commented. “Will you take some photos of it and send them to me?”
“Sure thing, Joshie. Soon as we sign off.”
When she set down the laptop again, Josh was grinning at her. “Um, Lu? I get that you’re keeping it simple to showcase the artwork. But you do know that you’re going to need furniture, right? A couch, a rug? Maybe a TV?”
“Yeah, I know. But I tried shopping for some stuff a few days ago, and I got overwhelmed. Had to go sit down and eat a couple of brownies just to get myself functioning again. I’ll just wait until I figure out what I want.”
“Ask Nate what he thinks,” Josh suggested. “H
e’ll have an opinion. He certainly has plenty of them with me.”
Elisa picked up the laptop and turned it so he could see the bay window, and the plant in front of it. “Hey, look. I’ve got a fern. See? That’s domestic, right?”
Josh snorted. “Whatever. Hey, I have good news. I’ve been talking to Eric ever since I helped decrypt the videos, and he wants me to work on a special project at Erebus in San Francisco over the summer!”
Her eyes burned with tears to see him looking so happy. “That’s fabulous!”
“It’s epic! All the engineering students I know would kill even for an unpaid internship at Erebus, and I’ll have an actual paying job!”
“You deserve it, Joshie,” she told him. “Erebus will be lucky to have you.”
“You do know you’re not supposed to call me Joshie anymore, right? Not since I was, what, maybe five years old? We’ve been through this, Lu. Many times.”
“Tough shit,” she told him. “You’re my precious baby brother, and you always will be, even when we’re both oldsters yelling at each other’s hearing aids.”
The doorbell buzzed again. She and Josh locked eyes. His smile had vanished.
“Who’s that?” he mouthed, barely making a sound.
She leaned closer and whispered into the mic. “I’ll check the peephole.”
“Turn the camera around so I can see the door.”
She obliged him, spinning the laptop to face the entrance, and rose up, padding silently on bare feet to the door. She peeked out.
Nate. Her heart leaped, and galloped. She threw open the door and hurled herself at him. His arms circled around hers, squeezing hard. Oh yes.
She dragged him through the door, beaming. “Come on in,” she said. “I was just talking to Joshie on the computer. Come and say hello. You’re his idol.”
“Don’t embarrass me, Lu,” Josh called out from the computer screen. “Hey, Nate. It’s about time you got there.”
A smile flashed across Nate’s face as he walked into the room and crouched down in front of the screen. “Hey, Josh. I’m here now, so rest easy. How’s things?”
“All good, man.” Josh’s face had a huge smile. “I’m glad you’re finally there. I about had a heart attack when I heard the doorbell.”
“We’re all going to be like that for quite a while,” he said. “It’s hard to shake.”
“I was just telling Lu that I’ll be working at Eric’s company this summer!”
“That’s awesome,” Nate said. “They’re very lucky.”
“I certainly hope so. I’ll try to keep up,” Josh said. “So, uh, I guess you guys must have some stuff to catch up on, so I’ll call you back later. And hey, Nate?”
“Yeah?”
“You will look out for her, right? All the time?”
“I’m not taking my eyes off her for one second,” Nate said. “If she’ll let me.”
“Hey, Lu?” Josh’s voice hardened. “Let him.”
“Thank you for your input, Joshie,” she called.
Josh’s image froze, and then winked off.
For a few moments, they couldn’t look away from each other.
“Wow,” Nate said softly. “You look fucking gorgeous.”
Elisa looked down at herself, hair tangled, paint-stained overalls, her paint-spotted bare feet, and laughed out loud. “Why thank you, sir,” she said primly. “You look pretty appetizing yourself.”
Nate turned to her new painting, examined it for a few minutes, and looked back at her, eyes wide. “You’ve released the beast,” he said. “God help us all.”
She laughed. “Thanks, I guess. Eric and Demi just got back and came over to say hi, and Eric really likes it. He already wants to buy it, for God’s sake. Plus five more like it, for the lobby of the Erebus building. That would be one hell of a job. And he has no idea what I’ll produce.”
“Are you’re afraid he’ll be disappointed?”
Elisa shrugged. “He wouldn’t be the first.”
“Are you by any chance talking about that shitbag, Alan Herzog? The one who panned your show?”
“Yeah, I guess. Him, and various other dissenting opinions. It’s hard to forget what he said.” Though now that she thought about it, that humiliation seemed very small and far away now. Mortal danger put the small shit into perspective very fast.
“News flash,” he said. “Alan Herzog was on Erasma’s tape. Mace told me while I was with Josh, on the plane to Boston. Herzog liked diddling underaged girls, too.”
She gasped. “Holy shit! No way!”
Nate nodded. “So he’s disgraced and ruined. He was staying at a beach home he owns on Rhode Island, not far from Boston, so I went to see him.”
She was bewildered. “Why would you do that? And why would he agree to see you?”
“I can be very persuasive,” Nate said. “And to be honest, he was glad to talk to someone. Nobody wants to go anywhere near him these days.”
“But what’s the point? So Gil blackmailed Herzog into panning my exhibit. It’s unfair and a big shame, but what can anyone do about it now?”
Nate shrugged. “He felt guilty,” he said. “It was eating at him.”
Elisa let out a sharp laugh. “Oh really? After indulging in all that sleazy scumbaggery on Sinclair’s private island with all those young girls? Saying bad things about my paintings is the thing that he loses sleep over?”
“Yeah, people are weird,” Nate agreed. “We talked about it, and after a few drinks, he agreed to make a public statement. About your show.”
“Public how? Where?”
“On social media platforms,” Nate said. “I recorded it. And I uploaded it for him on the spot.”
She was speechless for a long moment, then swallowed. “But…why?”
“Because I wanted to. Because it burned my ass that they fucked with your show.” Nate took out his phone. “Here, let me run this up to the three minute and twenty-three second mark. That’s the part that’s relevant to you. The guy just never shuts up. He practically talked my ear off. Here. Take a look.”
She held his phone in her shaking hand. It felt hot, from his body.
The video was close-up of Herzog’s face, at a bar somewhere on the water. She saw water, heard seagulls. Herzog had salt-and-pepper beard stubble and had let his thinning hair grow too long. He’d gained weight, and he looked seamed and puffy, like he’d been drinking too much and sleeping too little.
“…of my confession, I suppose you’d have to call it,” he was saying. “My misguided attempt to save my own soul. But yes, I do clearly state, for the record, that I was compelled by Gilbert Clemens. He threatened to release a video that would ruin my life if I didn’t give Louisa Roarke’s art exhibit a scathing negative review. But my life is already ruined now. There’s no coming back from that. So I might as well tell the truth about the paintings that I saw that day.”
There was a pause. Louisa heard Nate’s voice, prompting him. “Yes? And?”
Herzog gulped his gin tonic, his raddled face a picture of misery. “It was incredible work,” he said. “Brave. Vulnerable. Visceral. I could have looked at and talked about and praised those paintings forever. And I had to pan them. I felt like I’d committed treason. As if I had just betrayed my deepest, most intimate—”
Nate hit ‘stop.’ “That’s the general gist of it,” he said. “You can listen to the rest of his blather later, if you’re interested.”
“You got him to say all that?” she said, still amazed. “Isn’t it against his best interests?”
“Probably. The gin and tonic worked wonders. I imagine his lawyers won’t be happy at all when they see this, but I don’t give a fuck. It’s out there now.”
Elisa gazed at him. Her heart felt hot and tender, like it was melting. “You’re amazing, you know that?” she said. “You saved Josh, you saved me, and you just keep on trying to save me some more. You just can’t stop yourself. It’s incredibly sweet.”
He made an im
patient sound. “This guy wasn’t any real threat to you. He’s just a washed up, perverted old man with his tail between his legs, holding forth about how Gil Clemens was mean to him, boo-fucking-hoo. He says that trashing your debut exhibit broke his heart, but for him, it was all about his broken heart, not you. I had to keep myself from smacking that pompous dickhead silly. But to his credit, he did a bad thing, and he wanted people to know the truth before he went down in flames.”
“So this is already public?” she asked.
“It’s more than public. It’s viral. I think it has over a million views at this point, and it keeps on racking up more. It cross-pollinated with the news stories about you and Gil and Josh, and then just went nuts. Now everybody wants to see the brave, vulnerable, visceral paintings of the gorgeous, famous, badass Louisa Roarke.”
“Holy shit,” she said softly. “That is really…something.”
“Now with Erebus asking you for your artwork to decorate their flagship headquarters, I think you’re going to be exactly as professionally busy as you feel like being in the foreseeable future.” Nate sounded pleased with himself. “You can pick and choose your projects.”
Elisa grabbed both of Nate’s hands. “I appreciate this.”
“You’re welcome, but don’t thank me. Helping you is helping myself.”
“But don’t feel obligated, okay? You don’t have to keep saving me forever.”
Nate went very still, his eyes wary. “Meaning what? Do you want me to go?”
“Oh, God, no!” she said swiftly. “I’m just letting you off the hook. From being responsible for me, I mean.”
“I don’t want to be off the hook,” he said. “It’s the only place on earth I want to be.”
Her tears overflowed again. “But I really don’t feel like a prize right now.”
Nate’s smile made her heart race “I beg to differ,” he said. “I’ve never known anyone so special as you. So rare and beautiful. I’ve never wanted anything like I want to be with you. You make me want to be a better man.”
“You’re great just as you are,” she said. “But you never knew me when I wasn’t running for my life.” She gestured at her messy, paint-smeared self. “This is the truth. Disheveled, distracted, out-in-space me. With paint in my hair.”
Heedless: The Hellbound Brotherhood Book Four Page 22