The Wanderers Beginning: The Wanderers, Reborn, & Unforgiven

by Jessica Miller

  “Huh?”

  “They went from gold, to green, to blue and so on. At the time I just chalked it up to a trick of the lights but after meeting Bobby tonight…I swear his eyes did the same thing. They were a kaleidoscope of colors.”

  She looked at me wearily. “You sure maybe it’s not just the stress of everything getting to you? You did ask him if he’s been to the states lately and he said he hasn’t been in years.”

  “I know, but Josie, I just can’t get it out of my head.”

  “Why would he be there anyway?”

  “I don’t know, but I have a bad feeling about him. You need to keep your eyes open around this one. My gut tells me we can’t trust him.”

  “Hey, I believe you. If you say watch your back I’ll watch my back. Don’t stress it, okay?”

  “Yeah,” I said sighing.

  “Well hurry up, cause you’re hogging up all the mirror time,” she teased, jumping off the counter. “By the way, you were taking too long, so Cameron and I already picked out our outfits without you.” She walked out of the bathroom and came back with what looked like a handkerchief. “This is what was left over.”

  I took the outfit from Josie. “We’ll be in the lobby when you’re done,” she said, leaving me alone in the room to finish getting ready. I looked down at the outfit in my hand. It was a small, black leather, halter dress. I sighed and put it on. Then I meet everyone else down in the lobby.

  “Why do I always get stuck with the stuff that makes it hard to breathe? There wasn’t anything less binding?” I whined. Dean gawked at me. “Stop looking at me like that. This wasn’t my choice.”

  “Look, I am not happy about having my sister dressed like a skank, but Bobby said you would stick out like a sore thumb if you didn’t dress the part.”

  “I was hoping Cameron would have picked the black leather,” Dean thought. I smacked him. “What was that for?” he scowled.

  “I heard what you were thinking,” I glared at him. He just shrugged, but I could see a slight pink in his cheeks from being caught. I walked away. I felt better when I saw the other girl’s outfits. Theirs weren’t any less skanky. Josie was wearing a red lace, strapless dress and Cameron had on a white midriff with a suede brown skirt. Ready to move along I said, “Let’s just get this over with.”

  Dean told us that Bobby had warned him a head of time this was a rough place. He said it would be best if we went in separately acting like we didn’t know each other. He said he could get more info that way without drawing suspicion. That was fine by me. I needed to gather some information of my own and with Bobby being distracted I would have a better chance to hopefully find out what I need.

  I started to get a nervous feeling on the way to the pub. I couldn’t tell if it was just my nerves from wearing this ridiculous outfit – that kept giving me a wedgie – or something else entirely. I ignored it the best I could and put on a brave face. Billy dropped Cameron and Dean off a block away from the bar and then Josie and I a half a block so it seemed like we didn’t come together. When I got out of the car, I pulled down my dress, and the massive wedgie it gave me. “That’s attractive,” Josie laughed.

  “What the hell you want me to do? This dress is making my underwear ride up my ass.”

  “Why are you wearing underwear?”

  “Are you kidding me? Really didn’t want to show the whole bar my ass.” She just rolled her eyes.

  When we walked inside, I realized Bobby was right. This was a rough crowd and most of the women here were dressed more crudely then we were. I wouldn’t have thought it possible if I haven’t seen it for myself. Josie and I took a seat in the middle of the pub. Billy sat at the bar where there was a long mirror on the back wall giving him a view of the room and Dean and Cameron took a seat in the far corner pretending to be a couple. Although if you really paid attention it didn’t look like they were pretending. Something was going on there and I was going to get to the bottom of it, but it would have to wait. Once settled into my seat, I waited.

  A waitress came over to our table and asked us what we’d like to drink. Before I could answer Dean projected in my head to order a beer. He said if I didn’t I would look suspicious. He said to sip it so it at least it looked like I was drinking it. I rolled my eyes and hoped that my next power I received was to project thoughts so I could at least say something back.

  I ordered a beer like he said and even took a few sips to calm my nerves. I didn’t know why I was felt so uneasy. It wasn’t like we haven’t been doing this same thing for the past month, but something about this night was different. There was something in the air that left a bad taste in my mouth – that could have been the beer. These cups didn’t look like they’ve been washed – ever.

  Twenty minutes later Bobby finally showed up. He walked in like he owned the place, saying hi to his buddies as he stumbled through. Proving he couldn’t go a few hours without staying sober. I paid him no mind and went back to my beer. I scanned the room trying not to bring attention to myself, but that was kind of hard to do in this outfit. My eyes shifted to Billy and he looked back at me in the mirror gesturing with his eyes to the guy that was heading to our table. “Sleaze ball at one o’clock,” Josie said, looking over my shoulder.

  “Ella, this guy probably thinks you’re a prostitute. Just play along,” Dean projected.

  Great, so now I have to pretend to be a hooker. At least I was dressed for the part. “Hey sweetheart, how about you and me go take a ride?”

  I cringed when his breath hit my shoulder and tried not to show it. “Sorry, but you can’t afford me,” I said smiling.

  “Then how about your friend?”

  “It’s my night off,” Josie said, smiling sweetly.

  “I didn’t know whores got the night off,” the sleaze laughed. It took everything I had not to punch him in the face.

  I could see Billy tense up at the bar and I knew I had to step in and say something. “Why go for the amateur when you can have a pro. Play your cards right and maybe we can make out a deal,” I purred, dragging my finger down his arm. I could feel the bile rising in my throat, but I did what I had to too keep it at bay.

  The sleaze smiled, pulled up a chair, and joined us. Then he called the waitress over and ordered drinks and shots. His long brown hair was pulled back into a leather band. He had on a leather vest and ripped up jeans. His hairy chest was covered in sweat and tattoos. Bobby was making his rounds and took a swing by our table. “Hey Julius, what you got here?”

  “Mind your business old man.”

  “Hey, there’s enough to go around. Don’t be stingy…share,” he said, looking him in the eye as he compelled him.

  Julius spent the next hour sitting with us and buying us drinks and shots. Dean kept projecting thoughts into my head on what to do, but all it did was annoy me. So I ignored him the best I could. I knew both him and Billy were on edge the whole time. Bobby was the only one who was relaxed, but he was also drunk. Every now and then he would throw me a look, but I’d just avert my eyes. There was definitely something off about Bobby, but I could only handle one problem at a time, and my current issue was finding a way to get rid of this Julius guy. Any more shots and I wouldn’t be able to walk straight.

  I thought quickly and told him we had to go to the bathroom to freshen up. I yanked Josie from her chair and signaled for Billy to do something about Julius. “How you holding up?” Josie asked once we were in the ladies room.

  I splashed some cold water on my face. “I’m not gonna lie. If Billy doesn’t get rid of that Julius guy you’ll be carrying me out of here.”

  She laughed. “Hang in there. You’re doing pretty well. Let’s give it another hour or so and if we don’t find anything how about we call it a night?”

  Normally I would protest, but the way I was feeling I couldn’t argue. “Sounds good to me.”

  We stood in the bathroom for about ten minutes until Dean projected to me that he was gone and wouldn’t be a problem anym
ore. I didn’t care how it was taken care of. I just cared he was gone. We walked back out to the table and sat down. I was dying for a glass of water and wondered if Dean would yell at me for ordering some. I didn’t care and ordered some anyways. I needed to refocus and clear my head, which was hard to do with all those shots the sleaze bought us.

  “You ladies hanging in there?” Bobby asked.

  “Better now that creep is gone,” I replied.

  “Ah, Julius is harmless.”

  “Maybe to you, but he didn’t seem that way to me.” I shivered at the thought of what could have happened if Billy didn’t get rid of him.

  We sat around for another hour and still nothing. I was starting to think this was another dead end when Julius returned. He stumbled back in the pub with a few of his buddies. “Him, over there,” he said, pointing to Billy.

  Crap.

  I watched Billy’s reflection in the mirror. He was very calm and cool. Dean was yelling in my head for me to get out of there, but I refused to move. Julius’s friends gathered around Billy, surrounding him. He finished his drink and stood up. Billy looked at them and smiled. Then he swung and that was it.

  Dean came rushing over to help Billy still yelling at me to get out of there, but I refused. I wasn’t the weak little girl from the bar back home. I knew how to defend myself now and I wasn’t going to back down. I walked over to the biggest guy, tapped him on the shoulder, and when he turned around, I slugged him in the face knocking him on his ass. I was feeling pretty smug until some other guy knocked me to the ground. “You might want to stay out of the way little girl and let the men fight,” he said. I was not going to let some guy tell me what to do. I stood up and dusted myself off. I looked at the guy, smiled, and then attacked.

  The fight only lasted about ten minutes before the bartender busted out a bat and broke it up telling us all to get out. We made our way to the back and slipped out the side door. “What the hell were you thinking Ella?” Dean yelled, automatically attacking me.

  “Relax, I know how to take care of myself,” I said, right as I tripped and fell on my ass. Dean laughed believing he just proved his point.

  I turned to see that it was some bum lying in the alley whose legs I tripped over. His long, dark black hair was a greasy mess and his face was covered by the collar of his trench coat. I looked down to see he was wearing Armani slacks and very expensive designer shoes, his right hand gripping a bottle. I thought it odd for a bum to be wearing very expensive duds, but I figured he probably stole them.

  Josie bent down to help me up. “You okay?”

  “Yeah, but I think I actually hurt my shoulder.”

  “You hit your shoulder?” Cameron asked confused.

  “Inside the bar when that butthead knocked me over. I think I fell on some glass,” I said, reaching behind my shoulder and flinching. Josie turned me around to inspect my cut. She pulled out the shard of glass that was sticking out of my shoulder and I could feel the blood start to trickle down my back. “Where’s Uncle Bobby?”

  “We lost him in the scuffle,” Dean said. “Don’t worry I’m sure he’s fine. He gets into fights at least once a week.” I wasn’t so much worried as I was concerned about what was really going on with him.

  Josie reached into her bag to grab some tissues when I heard a low growl come from the bum. Before I even had a chance to react he grabbed Josie and bit into her neck. She squealed. I could see the panic in her eyes. I quickly changed into attack mode and knocked them both back into the wall. He dropped Josie and Cameron pulled her out of the way while I gave him a quick spin kick to the gut. He growled again and came at me. I countered his attack, but was having a hard time fighting him off. All the booze was affecting my coordination.

  Billy moved in to help me. He had him pinned up against the wall. I reached behind Billy to pull the stake from his back pocket. The bum fought back knocking Billy out of the way and the stake from my hand. I panicked, but when he looked at me we both froze. My heart stopped. Billy grabbed the stake and flew forward ready to plunge it into his chest. “No stop!” I yelled, grabbing Billy’s arm and jumped in front of him.

  Billy looked at me like I was crazy. I ripped the stake from his hand and pushed him away. The bum fell to the ground too weak to stand. “Ella, what the hell are you doing?” Billy asked.

  I ignored him and bent down in front of the bum. I reached out to turn his face towards me. When I saw his eyes my whole body went numb. “Bellissimo Angelo,” he smiled. He reached up to touch my face, but he stopped short. His face turned angry again.

  Dean and Billy rushed toward me but Josie stopped them. “Oh God,” I said breathless. “It’s you, it’s really you,” I whispered.

  “Okay seriously? What is going on?” Cameron asked.

  Everyone stood silently behind me and watched, ready to strike if need be. I looked into his eyes ready to cry. His faced softened and then suddenly he leaned over and puked, barely missing Dean’s shoes. Then he passed out. I sighed and pushed him back on his side. I looked him over and graciously pushed the hair back off his face. “Ella?” Josie said softly.

  “Billy, help me get him up.” I grabbed his one arm and tried to lift him but I wasn’t strong enough.

  “Wait, you can’t be serious?” Cameron freaked.

  “Ella,” Dean said, laying a gentle hand on my shoulder. “You can’t help everyone. Some people just need to –”

  I threw his hand off. “It’s Tristan you idiot!” I snapped.

  He stood back to get a good look at him. “That’s Tristan? Okay no offense but I don’t get it?” Cameron said, shaking her head.

  I gestured for Billy to help me. “Wait,” Josie stalled. “What if he snaps again?”

  “He won’t,” I assured her.

  “How can you be sure?”

  “Because I can read his mind and he’s dreaming.”

  Of me.

  I left that last part to myself. “And because he’s passed out and I have a feeling he won’t be waking up anytime soon,” I said, holding up the half empty bottle of whiskey.

  “He seemed pretty functional a few minutes ago,” Cameron pointed out not liking this idea.

  “That’s because he smelled the blood and I guess he attacked Josie because she was the closest.”

  They didn’t argue with me anymore. Instead Billy and Dean helped carry Tristan to the car. “If he pukes on me, I’m going to be very pissed off,” Dean complained. I just rolled my eyes and slid into the back seat with Tristan. Cameron was hesitant to get in the car. I assured her it was fine and she slowly slid in.

  When we got back to the hotel, I knew we had to find a way to get Tristan inside without drawing attention to ourselves. I suggested Josie transport him. Billy was opposed. Best friend or not he knew at the moment Tristan was unstable. I told Billy I would go up to the room first and he could wait outside with them. Josie wasn’t so crazy about the idea either but no one could come up with a better suggestion.

  Once I made it to the room I texted Josie to let her know I was ready. It took her longer to transport Tristan than it did me. His weight and height made it harder, took more of her concentration. They landed just a foot short of the bed. Her landing wasn’t any more graceful than when we came crashing in. It was a good thing Tristan was passed out. He definitely will be feeling it in the morning.

  “Help me get him onto the bed.”

  “Ella, I could barely transport him. There’s no way I can lift him onto the bed.”

  I didn’t push her to help. Instead I waited until everyone else came up to the room. Billy and Dean helped me carry him to the bed. I asked them if they wouldn’t mind giving me some time alone with him. Josie said we could have the room for the night and they would stay with the boys in their room. Cameron and Dean weren’t exactly keen with me staying alone with him, but Josie reassured them it would be okay and that we were right next door if anything should happen.

  Chapter Six

  I sat next t
o him on the bed and watched him sleep. The boys helped me take his coat off before they left. I peeled off his shoes and laid them next to the bed. He had on a black button down shirt and slacks. His hair was grown out so long it was starting to curl around his ears. From the scruff on his face I knew he hadn’t shaved in weeks and his hands and face were filthy. He had dark circles under his eyes, one of the signs that he hasn’t been feeding much. His skin was paler than normal and I noticed he lost weight. He was in bad shape and I had no idea what to do to help him.

  I got up and went to the bathroom to get a washcloth. I sat down carefully on the bed, not wanting to disturb him and then I gently started to wipe the dirt off his face. He stirred slightly but still slept. I couldn’t believe after weeks of searching I had finally found him. And there he was, in my bed, and unconscious. Okay, so not quite the reunion I pictured, but just knowing that he was alive was enough for me.

  I sighed and gently brushed my fingers over his face. He rolled over on his side, facing me. I pushed a few strands away from his eyes. He shivered and then blinked, opening his eyes. When they found mine he instantly smiled. “You came back,” he whispered.

  “How are you feeling?” I asked.

  “Better now that you’re here. I thought I’d never see you again.”

  “Shh, I’m here and I’m not going anywhere,” I said, gently caressing his face.

  “You told me you had to leave and I wasn’t ready to let you go,” he mumbled. He wasn’t making any sense. I just figured it was the alcohol talking. “I don’t want to wake up. I don’t want to lose you again.”

  “Tristan, you are awake,” I said a little worried.

  “No. I’m dreaming and you look as beautiful as the last time I saw you. Although, I must have had a few because this outfit you’re wearing…” He looked me up and down, smiling. I fought the urge to roll my eyes. “Normally when I dream of you I envision you in white, but I guess I must have been, well…” He smiled his cocky smile that I loved and missed. His eyes traveled down to my breast, lingering.