She took another breath. “Anyway, I keep thinking that if I got him a different therapist this wouldn’t have happened. I blame myself. I’ll do what needs to be done for David. Thanks, Alex.” She gazed up at him and he smiled.
The door opened and there was a woman standing there. “Ms. Blackburn?”
“Yes?” Tiffany stood.
“Dr. Gerald wishes to speak with you. Your friends can stay here, it shouldn’t take long.”
Tiffany walked off with the woman and I turned to Alex when the door closed. “You are like the mother-whisperer.”
“What is a mother-whisperer?” Alex said before chuckling.
“You have the power to calm a distraught mother. It’s a gift, Alex,” I said and realized that his mom didn’t deserve him.
Maybe I didn’t deserve him either?
“I was just pointing out the obvious. She seems nice and she cares very much for her son. It’s something I have rarely witnessed.”
Now I wanted to find some guys to beat up Alex’s mom. This giant of a man had the heart of the sweetest child. So much kind innocence flowed through his veins that it made me want to do anything to keep his mother away from him.
“Thank you for coming with me, Alex.” I got up and sat in the seat Tiffany vacated.
I took Alex’s hands in mine and gazed into his wonderful gray eyes. “I know you want to run away to paradise with me but I don’t think I can leave.”
He frowned and his fingers intertwined with mine. “Why not? I’ve told you everything about me. You’ve shared things with me. I feel closer to you than I have to anyone.”
“Yes, I haven’t told any guy I’ve been with as much as I’ve told you about my life. Even Morgana doesn’t know some of the things I told you, and I’ve known her since I was a freshman in college.”
“Then what’s the problem?” he asked and my heart ached as I watched the pain in his eyes.
“This is the problem.” I waved my hand around. “I have people here I care about. You don’t. My friends are my family and I love them. Before my roommate, Morgana, left for New York I stayed up with her as I helped her get over a broken heart.”
I got up and picked up the unicorn. It was worn and a little dirty, but I could tell it was loved.
“And my friend Evaleen. She doesn’t open up much but when she does, I want to be there for her. These are women who I’m not blood related to but it doesn’t make me love them any less. I can’t just run away from them. It would break my heart.”
I heard him sigh and we stayed there like that, in silence, as the sharp sting of reality tore at our happy dream.
“Maybe we don’t run away together,” Alex said.
I nodded. “Yeah, that’s what I said.”
“No, I know that. Hear me out. What if my mother thinks she won?” Alex said as he stood with a grin curling his lips.
“I don’t understand. I’m sure she will think she won. Wow, that woman’s control issues run deep.” I chuckled, shaking my head.
My breath caught as Alex stood and placed his hands on my arms.
“Yes, she has control issues. Bigger issues than you realize. But what I’m talking about is tricking her. Making her think she’s won.”
“But what would be the point of that? She did win, Alex. We aren’t running away together.”
Alex pulled away, taking the unicorn out of my hand and walking over to the window.
“This unicorn is the key.”
Oh God, he’s gone mental. At least we are in a hospital. It may be a children’s hospital, but they have medical staff that can help him.
“And what does the unicorn say to you, Alex?” I said in a very calm, unemotional voice as I crept backward toward the door.
“What? It doesn’t speak to me, Aria,” Alex said as he turned around. “Where are you going?”
“Nowhere.” My eyes widened from being caught.
“Anyway, it has been eating away at me that my mom seems to show up right when something is about to happen. When I planned to run away with you or when I decided to paint a mural.”
“Okay.” I was beginning to realize that maybe I decided too quickly that he was losing his mind.
I felt bad that I kept doing that with him. Like earlier when we left the Mimir building I kept thinking he was going to take me somewhere to kill me and now, that he was losing his mind. I seemed to jump to extreme conclusions with him.
Maybe I was just making an excuse to run away from him.
“When I started to take down the wallpaper for the mural, I found a small piece of black plastic near the ceiling. It blended into the pattern of the wallpaper. At first, I thought it belonged to something that was hanging before, like an old picture or shelving that had been removed. But the more I looked at it and now, with my mother always showing up at certain times, I believe she is bugging me. Spying on me.”
I gasped. Based on what I had witnessed from his mom I knew she was bad, but to spy on her son, in his bedroom, that was pure evil. Not to mention disgusting.
“Oh God. She’s crazy.” And I thought Alex was the crazy one. Now I really felt terrible.
“You have no idea,” Alex said as he shook his head.
“Then what should we do?”
I glanced around the room and wondered, how many places had she bugged? Did she spy on me too?
“That’s why I took you to that cheap motel. I paid cash for our room knowing she would never find me there. I didn’t want anyone to know where we were going. I wanted to talk you into running away despite what happened at Mimir. But the more I think about it, the more I think we should let my mom think she won.”
“Okay, I’m in. What’s the plan?”
TWENTY-TWO
Alexander
“Is he mangled?” Aria asked with worry surrounding her words.
She sounded faint. Like her words were being muffled. I opened my eyes and had no idea where I was. This wasn’t my bedroom but the smell of coffee had me smiling.
“Just a sprain then? Oh, that’s good. I was worried when you came back and said he would have to stay in the hospital. But everything is fine now.” Aria’s voice was coming from the bathroom.
I sat up and realized I was naked. In Aria’s bed. In her room.
We came back here last night after Tiffany told us she would stay the night in the hospital with her son. From what I gathered, her son, David, had an operation a few months ago to help him walk. The doctors wanted to make sure the fall didn’t have any negative effects on what the operation helped.
I got up from the bed and went over to the bathroom. The door was open enough that a sliver of light shone through. Aria was sitting on the sink speaking on her cell phone wearing a long yellow T-shirt.
“I’ve got to go, Tiffany. Alex is spying on me.” Aria lifted her middle finger toward the door as she curled the corner of her mouth.
She tapped at her phone and put it down on the counter. Pushing open the door I let my full-on erection guide me toward her.
“Can’t a woman have a private conversation in her bathroom without a Hawthorne spying on her?” she said as I pushed myself between her legs and wrapped my arms around her waist.
“No. You know us Hawthornes. Besides, there’s lots of work to be done,” I said as I leaned in and kissed her neck.
“Work in bed or on the mural?” Her words full of questions but her hands full of temptation as she dug her nails into my back.
When we came back here, I was worried her place might be bugged too, so we wrote down our plan. Handing the paper back and forth like children passing notes in class.
Growing tired and horny, we came to bed and fooled around.
“The mural,” I said and I could see the disappointment in her face. “I know it seems weird but when we do have sex, I want it to be right. If that makes sense. I don’t want to be worried that we’re bugged or hiding from my mom.”
“I get it. But when will that be, Alex? I feel like y
our mom will always be watching us.”
Maybe it had nothing to do with my mom. Maybe it’s because I was worried that I wouldn’t be good enough for Aria.
“How about after the mural is complete? Can you wait that long?” I said.
I fought my body every day when I was around Aria. Part of me wanted to sink so deep inside her I might never come out. And the other part, well, it was rotted. It had been controlled by an evil woman for so long that it would make any excuse to keep me hidden.
She reached down to tug at the T-shirt she wore. “Yeah, I can wait.”
Tilting her head, she peered up at me with a sly grin. We kissed for a while. Aria had already showered before I woke up so I took one while she went to the kitchen and made us breakfast.
After the shower and a belly full of scrambled eggs, toast, and coffee, we made our way to the L train. We decided taking the train was another way for us to discuss our plan without my mother hearing about it.
Having never ridden the L before, Aria showed me the ropes and I loved the feel of the rumbling wooden platform and being surrounded by all the people going about their day.
For a moment, I felt real. Like I was an average person, and not some weird man sheltered by his crazy mother. It was now mid-May and an unusually nice day. Warm enough to be without a jacket, even in the early morning. Aria looked beautiful as the warm breeze rippled her lavender blouse across her skin. I loved watching the contrast of her. The fire in her eyes and soft warmth of her skin.
Aria glanced down the tracks looking for a train. “When we get to your place I’ll start to sweep the place for bugs so you can take care of your thing. When I got up this morning, I Googled what we should be looking for.”
“And I know my part,” I said, shoving my hands in my pockets trying to prepare myself for the worst.
The train arrived, almost knocking me back with a gust of sound and air. Once we were inside and seated Aria turned to me, placing her hand on my shoulder. “It’s not going to be easy, Alex. I understand if you don’t want to do this.”
I didn’t. That rotten part of me wanted to go home, crawl into bed, and never come out. But having met Aria and gotten to know her, that sick part of me was shrinking every day.
“No. It has to be done. And when it is,” I said as I glanced around and pulled Aria closer, “I’m going to lick you. I’m going to eat you. And I’m going to worship every part of you.”
My finger outlined the blush that swept across her cheeks. When we came to our stop I followed Aria out. It took a few minutes and many blocks, but we finally got to Michigan Avenue and to Haute Tower.
When we walked through my condo door Bradley was standing there. I wondered if my doorman tipped him off that we were on our way up.
His dark, brown eyes flipped between me and Aria. “Alex, glad you’re home. There’s an urgent matter I need to discuss with you . . . in private.”
That was the excuse I needed. I nodded to Aria as she nodded back. Waiting for her to move down the hall, knowing she was heading toward my bathroom as I told her to start there first, I turned to Bradley. “Of course, Bradley. There’s something I need to discuss with you, too.”
He waved for me to follow him. When we got to the security room, he shut the door behind him.
“I mentioned two months ago that I saw Aria in the security room.” Bradley waved his hand toward the monitors. “Since that day, every time she has been here I have kept my eye on her.”
I held up my hands. “Bradley, that isn’t really necessary. I know Aria. She would never steal from me or try to deceive me.”
“Are you so sure, Alex? Because what was she placing under your bed all those weeks ago when she first started that project in your bedroom while you stepped out?”
Bradley leaned over the desk and typed away at a keyboard. The screen of the monitor closest to me was nothing but static before it flickered and finally a video of my bedroom appeared.
“This is from the day Aria first came to work on the mural about a month ago,” Bradley said pointing to the monitor of my bedroom.
Anger surged through me as I stared at the screen.
Aria was looking at the wall. Her hand touched her chest. After a moment, her head swiveled as if looking for something. She glanced around the room and lifted some things from my end table next to my bed. At one point, I could see her bending down and reaching back behind the table.
“There. Right there. I think she placed something right there. Also, a minute later, you see her do the same thing but under your bed.”
I didn’t care that he was right. My heart sank as I watched Bradley’s words come to life. My fists tightened as I turned to face my cousin.
“You were filming my bedroom?” I said through gritted teeth.
His eyes grew wide. That wasn’t the reaction he expected.
“I’m your security Alex. It’s my job to keep you safe.”
“Are there cameras in the bathroom too? Or am I allowed to take a shit by myself?” I asked as I took a step closer. He stood a little straighter but he wouldn’t lift his gaze.
That was my answer.
“I’ll take care of this, Bradley. You don’t need to worry about Aria anymore.”
He nodded and just before I turned to leave I said, “But we do need to discuss your job later.”
That sickening feeling, the one that came over me whenever my mother said she had to speak with me, erupted and sank to the bottom of my stomach. There were so many people in my life that were using me and I had no idea who to believe anymore.
As I maneuvered down the hall I went straight to my bathroom. Aria was still there. She was lying on the floor with half her body inside the cabinet.
My eyes softened when I watched her smooth legs flex and twist. But then the images of her digging through my things, probably tapping my room like my mother, caused every muscle in my body to harden.
“Aria, let’s move into the bedroom. I want to get started in there,” I said.
She pulled out, her cheeks flush with a beautiful smile on her face. As unhappy as I was with what she had done to me, I would be lying if I said I wouldn’t miss that breathtaking smile.
“Okay, but I haven’t completely finished in here.”
Once we were in my bedroom, I pointed to my bed. “I’ll start here and you can start in my closet.”
I watched her eyes closely to see if she was worried. Waiting for her to protest or make an excuse for her to work on the bed, but nothing came.
Aria nodded and gave me a thumb up before turning to the closet. Perhaps she believed I would mistake it for one of my mother’s bugs so she wasn’t worried.
I immediately pulled back the side table to check where I saw her reach back on the video. There was nothing there but some dust. I removed the lamp and pulled out the drawer but everything was fine.
That’s when I turned to under the bed. I got on my back and scooted as far under the bed as possible. I tried to find anything unusual but only felt the wood frame and box spring. Twisting my head, something metal caught my eye.
I reached over and pulled it toward me. Scooting out I stood to get a better look at it in the light. Holding it up I knew immediately what it was.
“My lucky charm necklace. You found it. I was wondering if I lost it here,” Aria said as she walked over to take the simple gold heart charm.
“You did?”
She nodded studying the gold jewelry. “Yeah, I even searched your room about a month ago to see if I could find it but couldn’t.”
Aria threw her arms around me. “Thank you, Alex. This may not look like much but the necklace is very important to me.”
I stroked her head as I gazed out my door. “Then it’s a good thing I found it.”
Or I would have let the wrong person go.
TWENTY-THREE
Aria
“I hate cleaning,” I said to the dust bunnies.
With a broom in one hand and a dust pan
in the other, I sniffled as I swept up the dirt and dust from my wooden floor.
It had been a few weeks since getting rid of the listening devices and working on the mural. Today I decided to take a break from painting and stay home to clean. Alex and I had found twenty bugs in his place before we came to my apartment where I found fifteen.
We destroyed most of them, except for the ones that were in our bedrooms. Those we kept and planted them near the animal exhibits at the Lincoln Park Zoo.
If Mrs. Hawthorne wants to listen in on what her son does in bed . . . well, she will now get her fill of crazy monkey sex.
Morgana comes home next week from New York and I wanted the place to be clean for her return. I went to visit her two weeks ago with her parents. She looked good but wasn’t as happy as I was hoping she would be.
Maybe coming home to a clean apartment and some of her mom’s cake that her mom was planning to make for a welcome home party would cheer Morgana up.
As for me, I’ve never been happier. Alex and I have yet to do the deed and I’m surprised that it doesn’t bother me.
A little too surprised. Something kept nudging at my chest every time I thought about having sex with Alex. And that scared me. I don’t mind him being my first boyfriend. I’ve been with him longer than I have been with any man, but eventually things will have to come to an end.
It’s not like we will be together forever. Just a summer fling, right?
Besides, Alex’s mom mentioned this woman Alexa. Perhaps she’s an old love. Some friend of the family that his mom would be overjoyed for Alex to be with.
My chest began to hurt again.
There was a knock at the door pulling me from my thoughts. I dropped the broom and dust pan like they were terrible because they were and went over to the door.
I glanced out my peephole expecting to find one of my neighbors since someone from outside would have to be buzzed into the building.
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