Lumen Cove

by Dianne Frost

  Kelsey struggled and he squeezed her breast painfully, she let out a strangled whimper.

  “Please let her go,” Alex said weakly looking up at Clint through a blackening eye. He sniffed, tasting blood as it slid down his throat. “I don’t know what my brother has done but it doesn’t involve her.”

  “Kenny,” Clint said gesturing back. “Let her go. What are you doing? Let go of her tits are you some kind of fucking savage?”

  Clint stomped over and snatched the album from Kenny while his other hand wrapped around Kelsey’s bicep hard enough to bruise. Alex gritted his teeth, making to move but Rat-Face grabbed a handful of his hair ripping him back. Kelsey tried to reach for him as if she could do anything to stop it. Alex held out a hand as if telling her no, stop, be still.

  Clint was examining the picture, his heavy brow drawn in concentration as he tried to make heads or tails of the situation. Kelsey swallowed hard her eyes trained on Alex who was eyeing Clay with hatred. She could tell he was calculating in his head, trying to work out a strategy to get to her, to get them out of there.

  “This is you?” Clint asked, turning the album towards him and Rat-Face shoved Alex’s head down so he could examine the face Clint was pointing to with a grease caked fingernail.

  Alex swallowed. “That’s Drew,” he gritted. “The other one is me.”

  “How can you even tell?” Rat-Face asked, leaning over to examine the photo himself.

  “Where’s Drew,” Clint barked and Kelsey felt her knees weaken with relief that they finally believed her.

  “I don’t know,” Alex gritted out and Rat-Face gave a sharp tug on his hair.

  Clint gave a sigh of annoyance as he dropped the album with a bang and pulled Kelsey to his chest, his switchblade glinting as it unsheathed and went to the corner of her eyes. Alex’s eyes bulged but he forced himself not to move. Kelsey closed her eye on the knife point in her peripheral, her other squinting at Alex and he could see that she was shaking, wet tracks on her face and he hadn’t even realized she had started to cry. Rage erupted in him and it took everything he had to stay kneeling in front of them.

  “Tell me where your brother is or I pop her eyeball out like it’s a ping pong ball.”

  Kelsey let out a strangled whimper and Alex looked Clint in the eye, his voice deadly calm.

  “I don’t know. He was staying with me but I haven’t seen him in about a week. S–“ He paused looking at Kelsey. “Someone told me he was buying rounds at Lambency Tavern a few nights ago.”

  Clint and Rat-Face shared a look. Kenny had shuffled over to get a better view of the action, his dumb primate face settled into a look of boredom. Clint sighed flicking his knife closed again and released Kelsey who almost fell to the ground without the support. Alex made to lunge on instinct but Rat-Face’s hand in his hair kept him in place. Clint scrubbed at his whiskered cheek, the scratching sound audible to all in the room.

  “Well, it looks like we have a problem here Not-Drew,” he squinted as if dissatisfied. “What was it?” Clint asked looking at Kelsey, who was hugging herself, tears still leaking down her face. “Alex?”

  “Yes,” Alex said, drawing Clint’s attention back to him. He wanted to cut his eyes to Kelsey, to tell her to run but he didn’t dare.

  “We have a problem, Alex,” Clint said crossing his arms over his chest. “Your brother owes us ten grand.”

  “Twelve,” Kenny said in his slow drawl and Clint looked at him with raised eyebrows.

  “Oh, twelve grand then,” Clint amended and then leaned over so he was eye to blackening eye with Alex. “And since you’ve got his face, you now owe me 20K.”

  “What? Why?” Kelsey stuttered and Alex hissed at her; she clamped her mouth shut but Clint was already looking at her.

  “That’s the way it works in the personal loan business sweetie,” he said condescendingly. “You borrow the money and we get repaid or your face gets rearranged.” Clint turned back to Alex, his eyes dark. “Or your girlfriend’s face. Whichever is more effective.” Alex swallowed hard.

  “I don’t have twenty thousand dollars on hand,” Alex said calmly and Clint gave him a wolfish smile.

  “Well, since this was all a big misunderstanding I’ll be generous and give you till the end of next week to get it to us. What is that Kenny? Ten days?”

  “Nine,” Kenny said and Clint nodded pursing his lips.

  “Nine.” Clint leaned over placing a hand on Alex’s shoulder, his eyes deadly. “Nine days Not-Drew. Twenty Gs,” Clint’s hand squeezed hard enough to bruise but Alex’s face didn’t change. “You don’t want to know what happens if you miss the second notice of payment.” Rat-Face snickered and it sent a shiver down Kelsey’s spine. “Let’s go.”

  “Oh come on, boss,” Rat-Face exclaimed petulantly and Clint glared at him. He gestured to his face and Clint rolled his eyes before gesturing at Alex.

  Rat-Face grinned as he stepped around Alex, his hand still on his shoulder and Alex looked up at him warily. Kelsey screamed as he quickly jabbed at Alex’s face, a loud crack resounding in the room and Alex emitted a low sound that he refused to let escape his mouth as he sank forward. Rat-Face patted his shoulder mockingly, his eyes moving to Kelsey. She felt immediate fear when his eyes met hers, some animal instinct inside her screaming at her to flee. He licked his bloodied lip and wiped at his nose with the back of his hand. He winked and blew her a kiss, a gesture that actually made her gag before he turned and the three of them filed out. She saw words written on the back of their leather vests, Outlaws at the top with a cartoon skull and pistons in the middle with Orange Beach underneath. She swallowed hard as Rat-Face looked back at her with a grin before pulling the door closed behind him.

  Kelsey lunged for Alex who was bent over with his forehead on the floor, his hands covering his face. She didn’t know what to do or where to put her hands so settled on touching him everywhere; the back of his head, his shoulder, his forearm, the back of his neck, his lower back. She didn’t realize she was saying his name over and over in a quaking voice until he finally sat up, pulling his bloodied hands away from his face and she threw her arms around his neck, pressing her face to his shoulder.

  Alex wrapped his arms around her but kept his hands away, trying not to smear blood on her tank top even though it was likely already ruined. She was shaking hard against him, silent but he could feel her tears flowing fast and falling down his chest. He finally gave in and flattened his palms against her back, pulling her into his lap and she held onto him tighter, something that hurt his bruised ribs but he let her do it all the same.

  He brought his hands up to run through her hair and she whimpered as his sticky fingers caught on the strands, tugging on her aching scalp and he was horrified when a giant clump of hair came out stuck to his palm. He wrapped his arms fully around her then, crushing her against him and held her for what seemed like hours until she finally stopped shaking.

  “Kelsey,” he said, but it sounded more like “Kelt-sy” his voice thick from his nose clogged with blood. “Are you okay?”

  Her brown eyes were impossibly large and terrified but she nodded all the same. Alex reached to cup her face and watched as she blinked another flood of tears down her cheeks.

  “Wh-who were those guys?” Kelsey asked and Alex tried to sigh but winced instead. “Their vests said Outlaws…”

  Alex growled deep in his chest, letting his head fall to her shoulder in frustration. Goddammit Drew, what the fuck have you done?

  “Is… is that… um…”

  “The motorcycle gang,” Alex replied, frustrated that his Ts sounded like Ds; da modder-zycle gang. “Yes.”

  “What did Drew do?”

  “God only knows,” he gritted out rolling his eyes to the ceiling. “Fuck…” he whispered, his mind racing. Where was he going to get twenty grand by next Friday?

  “What are we going to do?” She whispered, reaching a hand to tentatively touch his swollen jaw, his skin already starting
to purple.

  “I’ll figure something out,” he mumbled and she lowered her head, a hard shiver shaking through her but she made no sound. “Kelsey please don’t cry. It’s freaking me out.”

  The words sounded more like Id’s vreeking be oud and Kelsey coughed out a laugh. He tried to smile, the movement causing blood to dribble down his chin and Kelsey reached up and wiped it away with her thumb.

  “Let’s get you cleaned up,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper.

  She drug a barstool into the tiny bathroom before helping him to his feet. He winced his way over, feeling around discreetly on his ribs as she helped him walk. He didn’t think anything was broken. It hurt to breathe but he was able to get full breaths if he struggled so he didn’t have a punctured lung. Kelsey helped him up onto the barstool. She scurried out again and returned with the first aid kit and bags of frozen vegetables.

  She handed him a bag of peas and he nearly fumbled it, his knuckles already beginning to swell. She snatched the hand towel from the ring and laid it over his thigh before moving his free hand over it and gingerly laying the bag of frozen corn on to it.

  Kelsey took his face in her hands examining the damage. He had a cut through his left eyebrow that was swelling as well as his blackening left eye that was already half closed. His right cheek bone was swelling and his bottom lip was busted open at the right corner. His tongue prodded at it and he winced. Worst of all was the sickening angle his nose was at. It looked flatter and too far to the left, crooked in all the wrong places.

  “You gotta let me fix my nose first,” he said handing her the peas and then the corn, before nudging her hip with his wrist so he could see himself in the mirror.

  “What do you mean?” She asked, her voice raising an octave in alarm as he slipped off the barstool, leaning over the pedestal sink to scrutinize his face.

  “You might wanna go in the other room,” he said, meeting her eyes in the mirror and she jutted her chin out in defiance, placing a hand on his lower back. He shook his head. “Okay…”

  He took a few calming breaths, bringing his hands up to his face and sandwiching his nose gently between his steepled fingers. He applied gentle pressure, gritting his teeth against the pain as he assessed the damage and readied his mind for what he was about to do.

  The crack as he reset his nose echoed in the tiny bathroom along with Kelsey’s shriek, her hands flying to her ears as another flood of tears coursed down her face. Alex’s own eyes were pouring, fresh blood dribbling over his mouth and he had to hold on to the basin to keep from falling over, the pain tunneling his vision. Come back Alex, he told himself, his own thoughts echoing weirdly in his head. Come back. He blinked hard and his vision cleared, his legs feeling a little more solid and he looked at himself in the mirror once more. His nose was already beginning to swell but he thought it looked closer to its previous shape despite the gore flowing from it. He bent over shakily, turning on the faucet and gently splashing water on his face for a long moment before standing upright again, the motion making the room seesaw as if he were still on the deck of the Echo Delta.

  He grabbed the hand towel and patted at his face, wiping away the remaining blood and around his jaw and forehead but it was still flowing steadily from his nose. He looked at Kelsey in the mirror, her head still tucked down with her hands over her ears. Alex tipped his head back, trying to stem the flow of blood.

  “Kelsey,” he said and she slowly lowered her hands, clasping them to her chest as she looked at him with watery eyes. “Do you have any tampons here?”

  Kelsey blinked at him. “Tampons?”

  “Yes,” he said looking at her the best he could with his head tilted back.

  “Um… in my purse…” She said dazed as she touched his arm before walking back into the living room. “One sec.”

  She returned with a handful of plastic wrapped sticks, holding them out to him tentatively. “Open one, please.” It sounded like O-ben one-d bleese.

  She eyed him and set all but one on the top of the hamper and opened it, discarding the plastic wrapper in the trash can. “Get rid of the applicator.” Ge-d rid ob dee abb-licator.

  She pushed the plunger until the cotton ball pushed out the end and tossed the applicator in the trash. “Tear it in half,” he instructed and held out his hand.

  She did as she was told, handing him one half which he promptly shoved up his nose with a grimace. He took the other and after a moment of fumbling to rip off the string, steeled himself and shoved it up the other nostril. He squeezed his eyes shut, grinding his teeth for a half second before opening his eyes again. Kelsey was looking up at him with extreme concern as she reached up and gently wiped away the tears that had leaked from the corners of his eyes from the pain.

  He sat back on the barstool, exhausted and let her take care of him then, holding his bag of peas to his face while the other rested on the back of his hand. She gently wiped away the blood from his upper lip and chin, cleaned the cut on his eyebrow and taped it. She scolded him for licking at his busted lip, dabbing it with antibiotic cream because she didn’t know what else to do. She started to pack up the first aid kit but his hand grabbed her wrist and she furrowed her brow at him. He touched the side of her face and her head jerked away at the shock of pain it gave her. He pulled the peas from the side of his face and pressed it to hers where she took it gingerly, her eyes catching on his bloodied knuckles.

  “Kels,” he said, his voice weak and she looked at him, his left eye nearly swollen shut now, the undersides blackening from his broken nose. His good eye looked fatigued beyond measure. “I need to lie down.” “I deed do lie down-d.”

  She nodded, gently taking his hands in hers and guided him off the barstool. He teetered into the door frame of the bathroom as she guided him out and she positioned herself next to him, struggling to support his weight as they took slow steps back over to the bed.

  A chilly breeze was blowing through the broken door, morning sun glinting off the glass and Kelsey was careful to watch their step as she helped him lower himself to the end of the bed. He sighed heavily, one swollen hand going to his ribs as he winced.

  “I’m getting you more vegetables,” she muttered and hurried into the kitchen pulling out every frozen bag he had.

  She helped him scoot back up the bed, his head snapping back in a tight grimace but he made no sound. Kelsey whimpered for him. He breathed out slow as he finally lowered his head back onto the pillow, feeling something impossibly soft against his neck as Kelsey moved to pack him with frozen items. He was reaching a hand up to paw for the fabric but Kelsey forced him to put his hand back down, her hand gently wiggling under his neck to lift his head while she pulled the scarf from under it. She let out a breath as she wrapped it around itself, fighting the urge to hug it to her chest. She felt the back of Alex’s hand brush her thigh and she sniffled as she set the scarf on her own pillow, before she took his hand and gently forced it back to his side and reached for the frozen bags. Peas balanced on his face being careful of his nose. Carrots and Corn laid atop his swollen fingers which he was already having trouble bending. She packed a giant bag of pizza rolls against his left side and a bag of crinkle fries against his right. She stood back and examined her work, fretting if there was any more she could do.

  “I can’t lay here,” he said suddenly and attempted to sit up but failed with a low groan.

  “You have to,” Kelsey said alarmed, leaning over the bed to apply pressure to his shoulder.

  “I gotta find Drew,” he said attempting to sit up again but for once Kelsey was stronger than him and pinned his shoulder to the mattress.

  “You can start tomorrow,” she said, the quiver in her voice doing more to keep him there than any kind of strength could have.

  “I gotta fix the door,” he said weakly, his good eye rolling to the empty frame.

  “Tomorrow,” she said again, rubbing his shoulder softly and his eye rolled to her face.

  “You nee
d ice on that,” he said indicating her face. “And your arm’s already bruising.”

  Kelsey looked down at her bicep but got distracted by her blood stained tank. “Oh my God!”

  She vaulted off the bed, stripping the offending item off and shoved it in the trash as she strode past it in only her underwear. Alex lifted his head, the peas falling off his face as he watched her bend over and pull one of his t-shirts from the drawer in his wardrobe. She shoved it closed with her foot and was walking back to him, her hands shaking so hard she was having trouble getting the shirt to unfold. He felt his blood boil at the sight of the perfect handprint beginning to darken over her left breast. Kelsey seemed to notice it right when he did and looked down at herself shocked. She got frustrated and just shook it until it unraveled and he saw her face was wet again but still she made no sound, just gingerly lifted her arms over her head and let the fabric fall down her body before she climbed back onto the bed.

  Alex nudged the bag of carrots away, turning as best he could to cup the side of her face that wasn’t injured, using his thumb to wipe away the tears but they were coming too fast.

  “You cry weird,” he said softly and she gave a watery laugh, reaching up to rub at her nose as she sniffled.

  “Everyone says that,” she replied her tone hushed and she looked down at him sadly, her hand moving to cover his on her cheek. “Alex, what are we gonna do?” She whispered, her eyes large with fear and he gritted his teeth.

  “We aren’t going to do anything. I am going to handle this.”

  “But-”

  “Kelsey,” he said sharply and even with his ridiculous stuffed nose she was still sobered into silence. “This is not up for debate.”

  “Okay,” she said, her voice barely audible as she pulled his hand from her face and placed it back on the bed, laying the carrots on top. She replaced the peas over his eye.

  His good eye rolled once again to the window. “I gotta fix the door,” he murmured drowsily, the adrenaline finally beginning to fade and a weariness settled in him, bone deep and drowning.