by T. L Smith
“Elicea.”
My eyes snap up to his at the sound of his voice. He sees the horror in them and makes his way over to me. When he’s standing in front of me, his hand reaches out to touch me. And that’s when I realize it’s completely covered in blood and I fall back. Quickly righting myself, I run up the stairs, but slip, my back somehow slamming down onto the stairs.
“Elicea, I want you to listen carefully. Nod if you’re hearing me.”
Somehow, someway, I manage to nod my head.
“Good. Good girl. Elicea, there are two things I want you to do. First, stand up, and second, I want you to walk your fine ass to my living room sofa and sit down. Nod if you understand me.”
My head nods and I push off up the stairs. He watches me as I go. I no longer hear my heart pounding—maybe it’s disappeared from my chest and found a new home.
What the fuck have I gotten myself into?
19
Creed
He screams as I tear another tooth from his mouth. Then cries when I place a sock in his mouth to shut him up. Looking up the stairs, I hear no sound from Elicea. But that doesn’t mean she isn’t there. She better be.
“Why?” His voice is muffled through the sock, but I can make out what he’s saying. Usually, I have no time for conversation, but this guy has pushed my last button.
“You were warned. Did you think it was a joke?”
His head shakes fast. Darby and I paid him a visit last time, the great councilman who likes to run his mouth. Now he’s missing fingers and most of his teeth. I extracted them one by one, and the sound of the heavy rock music and his screams kept me complicit all night.
“I didn’t.” I smile at his words then pause the music, a television with his blood splatter sits in front of me. Pressing play, his eyes focus on the television as he comes into view. And the man who he was speaking to leans in close as if to tell him a secret. The words that leave his mouth on the video make him go white as he watches it. Did he think that with just a warning we wouldn’t be watching him? That’s a joke. We have well-established staff that do the things we ask at a mere phone call.
“You should have known we’d be following you, councilman, but now we know that our threats fall on deaf ears with you. Do you know what that means?”
He shakes his head, tears streaming down his face. He knows exactly what that means. Turning the music back up, I leave him where he is and walk the stairs, shutting the door behind me and locking it.
Cloth in hand, wiping the blood as I quickly change clothes, I pause when I reach the living room and she isn’t there. She didn’t listen to what I said.
Stalking to the bedroom, all her stuff is gone and there’s no sign of her.
Fuck.
She isn’t answering my calls! Fuck! She isn’t even answering her door. I could push my way in, but I won’t. For the sole fact that I don’t want to kill her, no, I want the exact opposite, I want to keep her forever. As my own personal trophy, if only she would comply.
“Go away,” I hear her voice yell through the door.
“Open the door.”
“No.” She pauses. “Go away before I call the police.”
“Call them,” I taunt her, to which she pulls the door open. She’s dressed in that same shirt I’ve seen her in before. She doesn’t bother covering her legs as she stands there watching me.
“I saw you, that night. I saw you. It was you, wasn’t it? You killed that man on the street. You were watching me?”
I smirk at her, finally working it out. “What street?” I ask, trying to sound dumbfounded as she goes to slam the door in my face, but my foot gets in the way.
“If lying is all you want to do—go. Go and annoy someone else.” She thinks her words taunt me. But they don’t, they make me angry.
“I don’t do games, Elicea, it’s the last thing I do. The last person that thought I did, well, let’s just say it didn’t end well for him.”
“Are you threatening me?” she asks, shocked.
My head starts to shake, that’s the last thing I would do. “No, never. I would never hurt you.”
Her eyes look to the floor before she looks back up to me. “I somehow believe you.”
She releases the door and waits for me to speak. Offering her my hand she looks to it then back to me not taking it.
“Come for a drive with me.”
“I don’t want to go with you, even if I feel you won’t hurt me. Doesn’t mean I don’t think you might get someone else to do it.”
Leaning toward the door I cup her face with my hand. “Put on some shorts, now, Elicea.”
She huffs before she turns around, walking inside the apartment. She emerges not long after dressed in shorts and a different shirt.
“You showered,” I state smelling her fruity smell.
She rubs her arm. “You made me feel dirty,” she tells me truthfully.
Opening the car door for her, she gets in, her cell glued to her hand as if she has someone on speed dial in case I try to kill her.
She isn’t on my list of people I would hurt—she’d never be on my list.
When I get into the car her eyes are closed, and I hear her murmuring as she counts to ten. She does this quite often when she’s stressed and trying to calm herself down. Pulling out, she opens her eyes watching every turn I make as I drive, not one word leaving her mouth except for when I finally come to a stop.
“Where are we?” she asks, as I open her door. Offering her my hand, she gets out then slips her hand free from mine as she looks up to the house I once called my own.
“My Ma’s house.” She stands in the middle of the street as my Ma opens the front door. She looks from me to Elicea who’s still standing there, stock still. The sun shines brightly on her making her perfectly tanned skin glisten under the sun.
Her eyes search mine then back to my Ma. She walks up and runs up her hand over my arm as she whispers up to me, “Why did you bring me here? I’m not dressed to meet your mother,” she hisses.
I lace my fingers through hers and pull her to where Ma’s standing. Ma’s eyes look at Elicea. The minute we’re standing in front of her, my mother grips onto Elicea and squeezes her in a tight embrace. She pulls back then gushes at her before she pulls me in for a cuddle.
“Echo told me all about you, so happy to meet you.”
Echo opens the door behind my Ma and holds up his beer smiling at us.
“It’s nice to meet you, too,” Elicea replies.
Following everyone inside, she squeezes my hand until her nails start to dig into my flesh, marking me and possibly making me bleed.
“By the look on your face he didn’t warn you,” Echo says laughing as we pass him.
“No, he didn’t inform me,” she says pleasantly, but clearly pissed at me.
“Well, he comes here once a week for lunch. Everyone else will be here soon as well. So enjoy.”
She pauses and I have to tug at her arm to get her to move again. But she pulls me back. “I want to go.”
I shake my head, but the look in her eyes is determined.
I’m going to try with her—not to be my complete asshole self.
So, I pull my keys from my pocket and hand them to her, dropping her hand as I follow my Ma into the kitchen. I don’t hear her follow and I’m not going to force her to stay. So giving her a way out is all I could do.
“She’s awfully pretty, Creed.” Ma grabs my cheeks kissing them each as I lean down to let her.
“She is.”
Ma looks over my shoulder then back to me. “Did you scare her off?”
Looking to where I left her, I see Falcon has just walked in with his arm draped over her shoulder and is pulling her this way.
“It appears so.”
She taps my cheek with her hand. “You’ll win her back. You, my love, are very special.”
“I found someone trying to escape,” Falcon says, holding onto Elicea as she stands with him holding her. “Now,
I don’t know why she’d do that to you, Ma, considering you’re the best cook for miles. You must stay, Elicea. I insist. You can even sit next to me considering—Creed has no manners.”
Her cheeks go red as she looks to the floor.
“Don’t embarrass the girl, Falcon. Do you need me to call your momma?”
“No, ma’am.” His hand drops from around Elicea and I reach for her to pull close to me again. She comes easily, sliding her hand into mine, but when I look down she’s giving me the keys back. I put them in my pocket and hold onto her as the guys arrive one after the other.
“Your car is parked in my spot,” Darby states as he arrives, walking in then stopping when he sees Elicea next to me. He nods to her then looks up to me—he isn’t sure about us. But he also isn’t against us either.
“Fuck off.” Falcon flips him off. “That’s my car spot.”
Ma grunts at them and they both instantly shut up. Ma’s sweet, but when she wants to be lethal, she can. She was a shark of a lawyer and one of the best in her world. So her sweet facade is just that. I like to think I get my wits from her, but I could never be as good as she is. Ma’s gotten us guys out of a lot of trouble growing up by just being her.
“So, I can’t see any handcuffs, how did he get you here?” D asks as he sits at the table. We follow him, sitting down as Ma finishes cooking.
Elicea looks to me then quickly gazes around the room to make sure my mother isn’t standing there when she answers, “He didn’t tell me where we were going.”
“Oh, snap! You did not do that, did you, Creed?” Echo laughs, shaking his head.
I want her to meet my mother, I don’t see any problem with bringing her. I planned to take her today anyway—that was until she rushed out instead of waiting. “She was also at my house.”
All three sets of eyes look to me, then to her. Her arms are crossed over her chest as she looks around not understanding what’s going on.
“He doesn’t let anyone there. No one. We all have to wait out front.”
I shake my head at Echo’s words. “You’re in my house now.”
Echo’s head drops to the side. “This is your mother’s house.”
I shrug. Half true. Half mine. This is my family home, it will always be my number one residence.
“Why don’t they go to yours?” Elicea asks, as everyone waits for an answer.
“They already have all the other aspects of my life, that one I’m keeping for myself.”
“Now I do.”
Their heads follow, bouncing around to who’s talking. If I had a knife I would throw it at them.
“You don’t.”
She shakes her head. “I work with you. I often spend my time off work with you. Now I’m at your mother’s, and I have been to your house. How is that not all aspects of your life?” She pauses, looks down, before she speaks again, “Unless you’re hiding something else from me.”
“I choose for you to be in those aspects of my life.”
She straightens in her seat as Ma walks out with food. Ma looks around at the guys before she places the food on the table. “When are you boys going to bring your girls here? I want to meet them, too.”
They all cough at the same time before I start digging into the food.
Elicea sits quietly next to me watching me closely.
20
Elicea
He doesn’t make any sense, whatsoever. And the last place I want to be is here in his mother’s house. Even if she is the sweetest woman I’ve ever met. How she created him, I’m not really sure.
Creed’s hand goes to my upper thigh and sits there just holding me in place like he’s afraid I might run off. I do want to, make no mistake about that. I don’t really know this man. His body, maybe. But nothing else.
Darby’s eyes flick to me as Echo argues with Falcon over lunch, like he wants to say something but knows he shouldn’t. At first, I thought it was a joke that no one had actually been to his house, but now that I think about it, I’m not surprised.
“Why don’t you help me in the kitchen?” his mother asks picking up the plates. Creed’s hand drops from my thigh as I stand, grabbing my plate and following her into the kitchen.
“He’s very taken by you.” Turning the water on, I don’t turn to face her, she’s a reader. I see people like her all the time, she reads people’s actions and how they react to a situation. So, I try not to let her know that her son is more than likely sadistic and possibly a killer as well.
“Thank you.”
“I must say, though, if you don’t mind, you don’t seem to have the same affection toward him as what he has to you. Is this just a fling for you?” My head turns around to her. Her eyes are kind and I can see she’s only trying to protect her son. If my mother were alive I’m sure she’d do the same, or at least I would she hope.
“I’m very taken with him.”
Her eyes assess me. It’s true even if I wish it weren’t. No other man has made me feel half of what Creed has, and I know for a fact if another man did half the shit he does, I wouldn’t be here.
“I can hear it in your voice that you are, but your body language says you aren’t sure.” Taking a deep breath, I try to think of something to say that won’t scream, ‘Well, I just saw your son covered in blood, forgive my reticence.’ Instead, I smile. “We’re just—” looking to where he’s seated, not saying a word, just watching the guys talk all around him, “—two very different people.” Looking back, she reaches for me.
“I can hear the pain.” She brushes the top of my hair as if she’s my mother, and I have to try to stop myself from crying. I didn’t realize how much I miss a mother’s comfort. “I’m sorry you’re conflicted, but maybe take away the problem and then look at it from a different angle. Would you be here with him if that problem was gone?”
I nod my head straight away.
She places a gentle kiss on my forehead as she smiles. “There is your answer. Why don’t you go back in there to him before he comes in here looking for you?” I nod, wiping my eyes. “And Elicea?” I look back at her. “You’re welcome here anytime, even without my son.”
“Thank you.”
As soon as I step back into the dining area, Creed’s eyes find mine as he pulls my seat out for me to sit. I feel like a huge weight has been lifted, one I never asked to be. But she also made me see something from a different angle.
Maybe I will let him explain.
Explain exactly what he was doing down there.
We sit next to each other in silence, the sun starting to set as he drives me back to my apartment. Time flew by fast at his mother’s. She’s very kind and sharp, she seems to know everything, even when the guys think she doesn’t know. She isn’t someone to be fooled, not by any means.
As the car comes to a stop my stomach starts churning and I have to open the door fast before I lose my stomach all over his car. My throat aches as I heave up everything I’ve just eaten. Creed is there straight away, grabbing my hair and pulling it back, wiping my mouth when I think I can’t throw up anymore. I look up to him as he lets go of my hair. He reaches for my keys, then walks to the door and unlocks it before he walks back to me—lifting me up and carrying me inside.
“I can walk, I just had an upset stomach.”
He doesn’t answer, simply walks straight to my room, laying me down before he disappears again. My hand touches my stomach, afraid it’s going to happen again. I’m almost asleep as time flutters by and I don’t hear him again. Hoping he’s left, I close my eyes, but soon after his hand is shaking me. As I open my eyes to see him standing there with a bottle of drink in his hands and a wet cloth which he places on my head.
“Drink this, it will help—with your stomach, I mean.”
Drinking it, I lay back and before I know it, I’m falling asleep.
Hands are on me, and I jump with a start. Didn’t I just fall asleep? It’s pitch black outside and a heavy arm is draped over me. Turning, I see Creed a
sleep. No noise leaves him as he seems dead and it makes me want to poke him. Turning to face him, I take in his features from the night sky shining in through my window. His nose is perfect, the straight lines that contour his face make me jealous. Reaching up, I run my finger over the outline of his jaw, feeling the roughness of his hair but the smoothness of his outline.
His eyes flick open and he does nothing but stare at me. I don’t stop touching his face as he blinks, still not saying a word. Reaching forward, I kiss his jawbone, then the other side before I pull back to look at him.
“Thank you for looking after me.”
“You shouldn’t go to work tomorrow if you’re sick.”
I nod my head. “I’m feeling better, must have been something I ate.”
“I won’t tell Ma you said that.”
I grimace at how that must have sounded. “I’m sure it wasn’t anything from dinner.”
He smirks at that. “You like her,” he states.
I nod. “She’s smart, caring, and clearly she loves you.”
“Someone has to do it.” His words hurt. “Why do you wear that shirt, the one that says Arch on it?” I didn’t think he’d notice, no one notices or asks about him anymore. I once heard somewhere that if you don’t say someone’s name out loud and just forget about them, they die twice. That hurt my heart more then I cared to admit, so I always say his name. Always.
“It was Archie’s.” He looks at me waiting for more. “My brother’s.” Rolling onto my back I stare up at the ceiling. “I miss him more than I miss anyone in this world. He was always there for me, even when she couldn’t be. He was always there.” A stray tear leaves my eye. I didn’t realize how much it still hurt to think about him. How much it still affects me.
“What happened?”
“They died together, I should have been with them. Mom was on her way to pick me up, and Archie went with her because she was mad that I quit school. Again.”