Cranberry Lane

by Laurèn Lee

  33

  Wayne

  My heart ached for Serenity after her admission surrounding the stolen money. Just as Sammy deserved to have a future outside of this town, Serenity did, too. Also, the idea of shaking the bastard loose excited me beyond words. A lot of times, my targets were innocent people caught up in a dangerous state of affairs. Sometimes, though, I had the chance to take care of real sick individuals. Those kills were the highlight of my career. Getting rid of filth felt better than anything. I even pictured myself as a vigilante of sorts during those jobs. Like a fucked-up Batman or something.

  I drove Serenity and myself to the floral shop uptown. Traffic had been stuffy despite the morning hour. The trip had been taking longer than planned.

  “You’re pretty pissed at your mom, huh?”

  “You have no idea,” she said.

  “I might,” I admitted. “My parents both disappointed me quite often. There was a time my mom found my piggy bank, smashed it to pieces and stole all my change.”

  “No way?” she asked incredulously. “What did she use it for?”

  “Booze, mostly.”

  “I’m sorry, Wayne,” she said and patted my arm.

  “It’s okay. I just learned how to stash my stuff better. I never did save that much again, though.”

  “What were you trying to buy?”

  “I wanted to buy Sammy a crib.”

  “A crib?”

  “My parents sold mine after I’d grown out of it and never bought another for Sammy when he was born. He slept in a dresser drawer until he couldn’t fit,” I responded somberly.

  “What the fuck?” Serenity whispered.

  “Yeah.” I laughed. Sometimes, I had to try to smile when I thought about the bad times. Otherwise, they’d consume me.

  “Can I ask you something personal?” Serenity questioned.

  “Sure,” I replied cautiously.

  “Why or, how did you become a hitman?” She continued to bite her nails.

  “It’s a fairly interesting story,” I began. “When Sammy and I were desperate and hungry, I mean hungry enough to eat from the garbage, I knew I had to do something about it. I found a dice game down the Lane and used what little cash I had to buy in. Unfortunately, I lost and it didn’t settle too well for me. I needed that cash to buy food for us. I couldn’t stand to hear Sammy cry from hunger pains any longer. So, I jumped the kid with all the cash. Right before I’d been about to run for it, this older guy came out of a limo with a gun in his hand. I thought for sure he was going to drop me right on the spot. The kid I’d jumped had worked for this guy. Instead, he said he saw something in me. He saw raw determination. He put his gun away and extended his hand instead. He offered me a job working for him. Once he told me how much I’d make per assignment, I couldn’t turn it down. This job literally saved mine and Sammy’s life,” I finished.

  “It didn’t bother you that to save your life, you were willing to take someone else’s?”

  “At first, yeah. But, then it became a necessary evil. I cast the guilt aside. Eventually, I didn’t even feel much guilt at all. I’d gotten Sammy and I an opportunity for a better life. And soon, I’ll be able to give him even more.”

  “I get it now,” Serenity said. “I understand why you do it. I’d probably do the same.”

  I reached over and squeezed Serenity’s hand. I never realized I needed her forgiveness or understanding until now. The weight had been lifted off my shoulders and I could be my genuine self with her.

  Finally, we parked the car right outside the floral shop. Up and down the street were luscious trees and niche, boutique stores. I wondered why a creep like Jerry would be in the decent part of town buying flowers. Why didn’t he go to Ivy’s not too far from Cranberry Lane?

  “Ready?” I asked.

  Serenity nodded, and we strolled into the flower shop. When the door closed behind us, the aroma of sweet nectar and flowers danced into our nostrils. An older woman wobbled to the counter and brushed away the snow-colored hair out of her eyes.

  “Can I help you?” she croaked.

  “Yes, I was hoping you could look up a customer’s information for me,” Serenity said as she smiled sweetly. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think she was an innocent girl.

  “Oh, sweetie, I don’t like to give out that kind of information,” the elderly woman said. “Bad for business.”

  “I completely understand! But, you see, a wonderful man bought me flowers and I just want to send him a thank you note to tell him how grateful I am!”

  The woman thought for a minute and made no effort to disguise her furrowed brow.

  “You sure he bought them from this shop? There are a few others across town. It could be any of us.”

  “Oh, I’m absolutely sure! They were the most beautiful flowers I’d ever seen. And, by the looks of your lovely shop, I know I’m in the right place,” Serenity glowed.

  Damn, she’s good.

  “Oh, all right. I suppose just this once would be okay,” she said as she shuffled to the other side of the counter and opened a larger-sized book. “I keep all my records on paper. I don’t believe in computers,” she rambled on.

  Serenity looked over to me and winked.

  “Okay, dear. When were the flowers sent to you?”

  “Yesterday afternoon. Carnations,” she said.

  “Carnations, carnations, carnations,” the woman repeated as she dragged her feeble finger down her ledger. “Ah yes. A gentleman ordered those yesterday. Seemed like a real Don Juan. His name was Jerry.”

  “Jerry is such a great guy!” Serenity cooed. “Do you have his address?”

  “You’re in luck. He asked that I bill him later and left a mailing address. Most customers prefer to pay in cash upfront, which is what I typically prefer, too.” She pursed her lips. “Nine seventy-eight Puce Street,” she said.

  “Perfect. Thank you so much! You’ve been very helpful,” Serenity said.

  “Well, now aren’t you going to order any flowers while you’re here, Missy?” the woman asked with her eyes suddenly aglow.

  “I’ll be back soon. Don’t you worry,” Serenity promised and then nodded toward the door.

  Once outside, Serenity nearly jumped into the air with happiness, or rather, the promise of revenge. “We’re going to get this bastard and show him not to mess with us!”

  I raised an eyebrow.

  “You are still going to help me, right?”

  “Yes, of course. I did promise, after all.”

  Serenity leaped into my arms and squeezed my neck tightly. “Thank you, Wayne. You’re the best.” I tried not to hold on too close, but I couldn’t help but nuzzle into her flamingo-colored hair and breathe in her vanilla caramel scent.

  After a minute too long, Serenity finally let go of me and regained her place firmly on the ground. “Ready to go?”

  I looked at my watch and my heart sank a little bit. “We will have to postpone our little adventure.”

  Serenity instantly pouted her glossy lips. “Why? I want to go now!”

  “Sammy will be home any minute.”

  “Maybe he can come with?”

  I shook my head and sighed. “Not a good idea.”

  “You’re a lame big brother.” She winked. “Actually, I haven’t hung out with Sammy in a little while. Do you mind?”

  I eyed the vixen before me extremely carefully. “And, do what?”

  “I actually wanted to hit the mall.” She shrugged innocently.

  “Hmmm,” I thought aloud.

  “Please, Wayne? Pretty, pretty please with a shot of Jack on top?”

  If there’d been one thing I learned since meeting her, was that Serenity made it difficult to ever say ‘no’ to her. “Fine. But, I’m cooking dinner tonight, so make sure to bring him back around seven or so.”

  She saluted me and I even though I’d agreed to let her hang out with my little brother, I had a feeling I would regret this decision soon enough.
<
br />   34

  Serenity

  “Where are we going?” Sammy asked as we drove away from his apartment with Wayne watching us from the street.

  “Just keep going straight. I’ll tell you when to make the next turn,” I promised.

  Sammy drove Wayne’s car while I leaned back, relaxed, and put my feet up on the dashboard. Sammy nearly exploded with excitement when I asked him to hang out with me this afternoon.

  “How was school?” I asked.

  “Meh, same old, same old.”

  “What’s your favorite class?”

  “I like Calculus,” he said.

  “What a nerd,” I teased as I reached and ruffled his hair.

  “What about you? What was your favorite class in school.”

  “Lunch.”

  “Oh, come on, Serenity. You had to have had a favorite class!”

  “Okay, okay. You talked me into confessing. I’ll admit it; I took a Criminal Justice class my Senior year. It was awesome,” I admitted.

  Sammy smiled. “I’m taking that next semester! Who was your teacher?”

  “I didn’t go to East, remember? I was stuck at shitty ‘ol West.”

  “Oh yeah. Sorry.”

  “All good. Oh - turn right here, then another right at the light up there where that red car is turning.”

  “You sure you don’t want to tell me where we’re going? I already know we aren’t going to the mall,” he said.

  “How do you know we aren’t going to the mall? Maybe I’m taking a detour.” I smiled wickedly.

  “You’re not taking me on another drug deal, are you?” Sammy asked nervously.

  “Not today. This will be even better, though!”

  Sammy followed my instructions to a “T” and we arrived exactly where I’d been dying to visit again: the tattoo parlor!

  “Uh, why are we here?”

  “Time to spice up your virgin skin, kid!”

  I instantly witnessed the panic invade Sammy’s face. “Wh- What?”

  “C’mon. It will be fun!”

  We walked inside, and I almost thought about taking Sammy’s keys away so he couldn’t run and abandon ship. I knew Wayne would absolutely kill me if he knew where we were right now, which only made it that much more exciting.

  The tattoo parlor, Kinky Inky, was my favorite in the city. Snake Eyes usually inked me, and I trusted him with any design I proposed. Now, it was Sammy’s turn to go under the needle. And, depending how long Sammy’s tattoo took to finish, I might spring for another for myself.

  Sammy shuffled inside behind me and I had to grab his hand to bring him to the front desk which had been decorated with skulls, swords, and tits.

  “Is Snake Eyes here?” I asked the receptionist with more piercings than a damn gypsy.

  “Uh, yeah, bro. Let me go check.” She hopped off the chair and moseyed into the back of the shop.

  “What do you think you’re going to get?” I asked Sammy.

  “Serenity,” he whispered. “I don’t want a tattoo. Wayne will kill me.”

  “Not if he doesn’t know.” I smirked. “Get one where he won’t see. Maybe one on your ass?” I slapped his behind so hard he almost jumped out of his skin.

  “Why don’t you get one and I’ll watch?” he offered nervously.

  “We aren’t leaving here until you get something. Even if it’s something small.”

  “I’m going to be so grounded.” He put his head in his hands.

  “Ay! Look who it is, my favorite client!” Snake Eyes picked me up and spun me around the shop. “What cha gettin’ today?”

  “Today is about my friend, Sammy, here.” I nodded toward him.

  Snake Eyes sized Sammy up and pushed his dreads out of his face to get a better look at my guest.

  “He eighteen?”

  “Close enough!” I said.

  Sammy eyed up Snake Eyes, too. I’m sure he couldn’t imagine how one man could have so many different tattoos. You couldn’t touch an ink-free area of skin on Snake Eyes if you tried!

  “Come on back with me,” Snake Eyes instructed.

  Sammy looked to me one more time with pure fear etched into his face.

  “Don’t worry,” I said. “I’ll come with you and hold your hand!”

  We walked back into a sectioned off station where Sammy sat down and tapped his legs against the chair. A waterfall rushed behind us and coral, purple and blue fish popped their heads out of the pond below the waterfall from time to time to grasp the food bits on the surface. Around the parlor, paintings and photographs of tattoos lined the walls. Just like his own body, Snake Eyes covered his shop with mouth-dropping artwork, too.

  “Fill out these forms while I get the needles ready,” he asked Sammy.

  “Is this place clean?” Sammy whispered to me once Snake Eyes disappeared.

  “Well, I haven’t died yet,” I snickered. “What are you going to get?”

  “I have absolutely no idea. This is a bad idea, Serenity.”

  “All good ideas stem from bad ideas. Right?”

  Sammy groaned and filled out the paperwork on his lap.

  “All set?” Snake Eyes asked as he stepped back into the sequestered room.

  “I don’t know what I’m going to get yet,” Sammy panted.

  Snake Eyes and Sammy both looked to me. “I know what you can get.” I rubbed my hands together and cackled.

  The needle buzzed menacingly, and my heart pounded as it touched Sammy’s bicep for the very first time.

  “Wayne is going to kill me, you know that, right?”

  “What he doesn’t know won’t hurt ‘em. How does it feel?”

  “Like a need stabbed me one hundred thousand times.” He cringed.

  “Well, that’s fairly accurate then. Where to now, captain?”

  “Uh, home?”

  “What? Already? I thought maybe we could go on another adventure?”

  “Your adventures are too painful. Plus, Wayne is cooking chicken parmesan tonight. It’s my favorite!”

  “That does sound pretty tasty.” I licked my lips.

  “Are you going to stay for dinner?”

  “At this point, why do you even bother asking me? Hell yes, I am!”

  35

  Wayne

  I pulled the steaming pan out of the oven and the aroma of chicken, homemade sauce and cheese danced into my nostrils.

  “That smells fucking orgasmic,” Serenity said.

  “Yeah, what she said,” Sammy agreed.

  “Sammy, why don’t you set the table,” I suggested.

  “What can I do to help?” Serenity asked eagerly.

  Serenity had changed outfits from earlier today and I couldn’t help but wonder why she chose the new get-up. She wore a red summery dress with gold hoop earrings and she’d put her hair in a loose, high ponytail.

  She almost looked like someone who hadn’t grown up on Cranberry Lane. Almost.

  “You can pour the wine.”

  “Oh, la la. Wine tonight? How fancy!”

  “One for me, too?” Sammy asked earnestly.

  “Sure, why not. It’s family night.”

  Serenity stole a glance my way and her cheeks reddened to the likes of her spaghetti strap ensemble. She swiftly looked away once our eyes met and proceeded to look over the bottles in the hanging wine rack in the living room.

  “Is white okay?”

  “I think we should do red with our meal since we’re having red sauce.”

  She raised her eyebrows. “Oh, so you’re a wine connoisseur now, too?”

  “Kind of.” I smiled.

  “Red it is, then, But, I’m just going to pick the one with the prettiest label. Got it?”

  “Whatever you want,” I responded.

  “Oh, yeah? Whatever I want?” She grinned wickedly.

  Sammy looked from Serenity to me and back again. If I hadn’t known him, I wouldn’t have seen the tiniest bit of hurt hidden within his eyes.

  “L
et’s eat!”

  Glasses chinked, forks and knives scraped the plates and moans of euphoria had escaped our lips. Family night had been a success.

  “That. Was. Fantastic.” Serenity sighed as she rubbed her belly.

  “Definitely one of your best meals, big bro,” Sammy said.

  “I live to serve.” I bowed as I carried the dishes to the sink. “Okay, it’s your turn to wow and impress me, you two. I cooked, now you clean.”

  Both Sammy and Serenity groaned like pre-teens.

  “But, we’re so full,” Sammy whined.

  “Write your congressman,” I laughed.

  The two of them ended up doing the dishes, as requested, and wiped down the stove and cleared the table. I had to admit; it was nice to have a fuller house lately. Even if, one of the two was a royal pain in my ass.

  The next morning, I woke with a start, but it wasn’t because of my alarm clock. Serenity jumped on my bed and danced like a damn hippie.

  “What the hell?” I groaned.

  “Sammy left for school early. Said he had a project or something to finish. Wake up. Wake up!”

  I turned over from my side to lay flat on my back. Serenity hadn’t noticed and as she landed from another obnoxious jump, she tripped over my ankle and fell directly on top of me. Unfortunately, I had an early morning package erect and pulsating.

  “Ow!” we both yipped in unison.

  However, Serenity failed to get off me right away and stayed parallel on top of me.

  “Someone is happy to see me,” she said as she bit her lip.

  In that moment, I wanted nothing more than to flip over and be on top of her. I wanted nothing more than to rip off her clothes. I wanted to show her I was more than a trained killer. I was more than a skilled chef and wine snob. I wanted to show her what I was truly capable of.

  I felt myself throbbing against her and I ached for her touch.

  “Wayne,” she murmured.

  She pressed her lips against mine and I felt the familiar pang of hunger return in full force. As though we were in tune with each other’s bodies, we rocked back and forth. I imagined what it’d feel like to be deep inside her. I wondered how tight and smooth she’d be. I wanted to rip off her clothes and find out as soon as humanly possible. I thought I might burst if I didn’t consume her in totality very, very soon.