“Yup, uh huh.” Watching the disbelief flash over his olive toned face was almost amusing. Taking a seat to the left of my legs Will took up the questioning with his hand resting on my sandaled foot.
“So we get to take you out and hold your hand?” Aww, he was a real sweetheart, wasn’t he? Looking at the thick build of him I could think of a few more things to do besides holding hands, but sure let’s start there.
“And then what? Are we competing to keep you? Because we are all the three of us have. I don’t want to tear apart our pack.” Eddy’s worried whisper solidified the concept I had been building within me.
“Yes, each of you can date me. Yes, you can take me out and hold my hand. No, the end game is not for me to choose between you...” Looking out over the wide blue-green lake I thought about my years alone and even the ones where I had found others with powers lime mine I was always alone.
With just ten days left before I turned eighteen the prospect of being truly alone was burgeoning in my mind like an iceberg I could not avoid. “The end game would be for me to maybe become a part of the pack.”
Chapter Four
Accepting the Inevitable
Was I really doing this? Was I really going out on a date with Eddy? He had been the first one to ask me and when I told him that he couldn’t take me out with money they had stolen or sold drugs for he just smiled and swore that they didn’t ever steal things for money.
Rolling my eyes at the memory I wondered, not for the first time, what a group of dirty looking guys did for money in a big city. I guess I could corner him about it tonight. He should be here soon to pick me up.
Leaning my head to the side I let Anna, my roommate, finish twisting up my curls into the cute easy to manage style I wore often.
“And Mama knows you’re going out tonight?” Having bunked together for the last few years Anna was the closest thing to a sister I had. I know she worries about me even if she sounds like a jealous brat.
“Yes, Mama knows. Since I’m not out late for work I had to let her know it’s for a date. I think since I’m about to age out she’s going soft on me.”
“Aww you wish, she probably just feels sorry for you.” Swatting her leg I laughed it off. Yeah, the caretaker we called Mama may just be letting me stay out past curfew because she feels bad for me but I was going to take the opportunity and have a fun time with my guy. That sounds really nice, my guy.
Sitting on the front porch steps to the old brownstone I watched people meander down the street as I waited for him. People watching was calming to my shattered nerves.
So many concerns whipped through my head as I slowly pulled breathes in and then cast them out of my chest. Worrying would solve nothing. The only thing I could really trust were my instincts. The feelings my roots give to me were the only thing I could count on.
Remembering the aura of protection they guys had given off in the alley the night Slater tried to attack me solidified my nerves that this was the right decision. They had wanted to protect me then, against their leader. Again in the park, I’d gotten nothing but good vibes from the guys.
A shiny red Aveo hatchback pulled up to the curb in front of the home. The grin on his face shone up at me from my perch on the steps. If I thought I was nervous the silly look of excitement on Eddy’s face told me that the guys were each so much more nervous than I could ever be. After all, this was me not only forgiving them for being monumental assholes to me for months but also giving them a chance to date me.
Lucky bastards if I do say so myself. Lucky me if this goes well. I could look forward to a future with three gorgeous guys to cuddle the chilly night away with.
Jumping out of the surprisingly nice mid-sized car Eddy opened the door for me, looking every inch the sweet southern cutie he had begun to resemble lately with his faded jeans and cotton henley. Stretching up I planted a kiss on his cheek before sliding into the passenger seat of the little red car.
“Wow, I am going to tell the guys I got the first kiss. They will be so jealous.” Giggling as I buckled in I let the breath of anxious excitement. I was really going on my first date. It was happening at last and it was with one of the guys I had been thinking about poisoning for the last month.
How things have changed. I suppose after the situation in the alley our lives had no choice but to change, though I definitely did not have a mock harem imagined. A lesser woman would have thought I was crazy for dating three guys. Good thing Mama didn’t take in and house no foul.
“So what’s on the agenda this evening?” Looking ahead to where Eddy was driving us I hoped it would eventually lead to food, I had not eaten since my break during this mornings shift.
“Well, I was thinking of a not so fancy meal, maybe Italian?” Stomach grumbling I couldn't agree more. Smiling over at me he held his hand out. Placing my tanned hand in his I felt the casual comfort I had always read about in my romance books. Point one for the guys, that easy hand holding ask was hella smooth.
“Sounds perfect, I am so hungry.” The bumpy drive through crowded city streets was spent listening and singing along to the thumping punk rock mix that blasted from the cd player. It figures that a group of possibly reformed drapes would bop to rock music in their off time from roaming the streets.
“My lady.” Opening the door Eddy shined me his most charming smile. It’s a shame I spent so long thinking that his smile was an attempt at charming that fell into the sleazy category. He was completely genuine in his gestures of kindness.
I was actually doing this, my mind began to reel with the awkwardness of it all as I walked slightly behind Eddy on our way to the wooden booth. His broad shoulders had always been a feature I admired, watching the way he filled out the gray and blue shirt my eyes ate him up. Even when he was being needlessly shitty to me for all those months I had often thought that a good bath would serve them all good. I suppose now is my time to get answers. Why had they seemed to single me out for their daily dose of douchebaggery? What made annoying me for months on end worth it?
"Ladies first?" Holding his hand out indicating I could have my choice of sides in the empty booth Eddy shined me with his sweet smile once again. Was that a dimple I spotted on his cheek? Be still my heart I was done for if the guy had a dimple.
"Thanks, I like this new gentlemanly Eddy. Was he always in there or..." Launching my eyebrow at them I felt the reminder of the groups' past behavior might have been a bit harsh. They hadn't made any indications they would act that way ever again in the week since the incident. Still though, I felt like some kind of explanation was absolutely needed.
"I uh,” running his long spindly fingers through his short-cropped blonde hair he stumbled over his words. “I can’t apologize enough 'Maya." Sliding across the blue plastic seat I let the words sink in. Maybe one day I would feel the irritation of those days sink away to a memory. That day was not today though. "We are done with all that ridiculous shit." Sighing heavily as he slid a worried hand down his shirt.
"What can I get y'all tonight?" The waitress had arrived and stalled the conversation. It felt supremely odd to be sitting at the table being waited on rather than running around doing the serving. Placing our drink order I picked up my menu and quickly found the cheapest plate that would give me the most food. I had no idea if Eddy would let me split the bill but I wanted to be prepared.
"Yeah, that was all Slater, ya know.” Folding up the menu I held my reply as he went on. “We're not about that life anymore." Leaning back against the seat Eddy shined my watchful eyes a slight smile as he folded his menu and placed it on mine.
"And just what life are you about now?"
"You, mostly, and getting the shop figured out." They had a shop? Like a store? How much about these guys was I missing? I figured quite a bit since I only knew them from the few hours a day that they came to fill up space in the diner.
"What kind of shop?" Looking up from his hands still fiddling with the plastic edge of the menu he gave me a
hopeful half-smile as he answered.
"We work in an auto body shop, the owner is an old man so it's mostly us doing the work." The explanation left quite a bit to the imagination but it was good to know they weren’t just wandering the streets. I had no idea what an auto body shop did other than repair dents.
Honestly, as long as it wasn't a chop shop I could care less. They had jobs! That was a surprise to me. In all these months I had assumed they stole car radios and ran small gang-related jobs to get by. Maybe that was because of the faux greaser look they used to shoot for?
When the waitress came back with drinks in hand we quickly ordered our food. Eddy ordered a burger and fries, no surprise there I'd be willing to bet that was pretty much his entire food source.
"I was worried you'd get a salad or something and fake being an 'I don't eat much' barbie doll type." Eddy's easy banter made me smile after the touchy subject of Slater had come up. Laughing at his unfiltered way with words I cocked my eyebrow at him. “Sorry, you can order whatever. Really.”
"Nah, you're right. A lot of girls do that, but I'm not like them." Shining him a big grin I plucked his hand up off the table from where he'd been fiddling with a napkin. Holding Eddy's strong spindly fingers in mine I felt the flow of compassion pass between us. The connection with the guys was so much easier than it had been with any other people.
Maybe that was why they had annoyed me so much these last few months? I had always gotten plenty of rude and messy customers but the guys were the only ones that got under my skin. Could it be because I was somehow more aware of them?
As the plates arrived we kept up the easy banter while chowing down.
Eddy explained to me in great detail about the guys day jobs at the shop. Turns out they had been working there for a few years but Slater wanted them to start chop shopping cars on the side. He was a shit, that guy. I was glad he was out of their lives and mine. We were all so much better off without him.
“Hey, uhh what did you guys do with… with him?” Watching his blue eyes blink a few times Eddy chewed the french fries that he had just popped into his mouth slowly.
“We, umm, we beat the shit out of him and told him never to come back to town.” The thought had occurred to me that maybe they didn’t want me to kill Slater because they had done it themselves. I was simultaneously glad and irritated that the guy had lived to see another day. People could change but I sorely doubted that one would.
“Good, he deserved it.”
“More than you know, but that is all over now.” Setting into companionable silence we ate at our meals. The food and atmosphere of the cute little family restaurant felt great. Being on my first date was surprisingly less stressful than I had imagined it to be. It had to be because of the cute, easy to be around guy that I couldn't keep my eyes off of.
"So I was wondering if you'd like to take a walk with me?" Eyes on his hands I wondered what Eddy was nervous about.
"Of course I do, I'm down for whatever you want to do tonight." Casting his gaze up at me with a grin I realized my stumble. "Uhhh yeah, a walk is fine."
Grinning he paid the check before I could get a word in and we walked out of the restaurant into the early evening air. Grumbling at him about not letting me split the check with him he just laughed it off.
"It's a guy thing."
"A neanderthal thing, more like it."
"Yeah probably, I just have to be a provider." Shrugging it off I told myself I would just have to figure out a way to pay my share. I wondered if all the guys would have the neanderthal trait. That would be frustrating as fuck.
Walking down the street I held on to Eddy's long fingers as I felt the eerie tingling sensation of being watched. Casually looking behind us I saw only the sidewalks sprinkled with people going about their afternoon much like us. Has to be nothing, I rationalized to myself. Just the leftover monkey brain firing neurons for nothing.
"So I hope it's not too weird but…" Focusing again on where we were headed, I realized we were standing in front of a small cemetery next to a huge church. "This is where my parents are buried."
Opening the gate Eddy lead us through the little walkway, down the winding trail between headstones.
"It was a car accident last year, they got t boned by a drunk driver." Holding his hand I followed him in shocked silence. The cool aura of the cemetery brought goosebumps to my skin, or maybe it was his explanation. Either way, I felt like I was a stranger watching a family mourn.
"Since I was eighteen I didn't have to go into the system but I also didn't have anyone... So when I found the guys I just fell right in." His steps came to a halt at a pair of headstones adorned with lilac plants. The purple flowers bloomed brightly next to the gray stone.
"It wasn't so bad at first, with the guys." Crouching down to adjust the pot of flowers he went on. "We were all helping each other out, but Slater wanted us to be like his lackies. That's when things got hairy and we started coming to the diner every day."
Standing behind him as he tended to his parents grave I felt the sadness that coursed through him at the loss of both his family and his would-be family. The emptiness he still carried around washed over me in waves. He was hurting behind his sweet smiles and sly jokes, hurting every day. Mourning the loss of his family and the break down of the world he had built in their absence.
Placing a hand on his shoulder as he sat crouched at the grave I pushed my reassurance out into the world. We were all here for him. The guys and myself. If all we had was each other then at least we had each other.
"So yeah, that's how I wound up here. Living above an auto body shop with a bunch of guys." Wiping a tear from his cheek he offered me his hand and I slid my tanned finger between his pale ones easily. There had been so many questions bouncing around inside my head about whether to trust the guys fully. If I could ever really rely on them? I just had no idea until now how much they were in search of the same things I was searching for, a pack.
“What did you mean when you said we aren’t supposed to kill humans?” It had been bothering me since the night in the alley. He had said it like there was a unified ‘we’ that I had no idea about. Were there others like me? Like Will?
“Well, we are blessed by the Goddesses with these gifts. Your plants, my shifting.”
Interrupting him I quickly asked, “You shift?” How had I not known that?
“Oh yeah, into a hawk. It’s pretty cool flying.”
“I fucking bet it is, you have to show me one day soon.” Smiling down at me he continued on with the explanation of these Goddesses.
“So I was told the stories as a kid. These three Goddesses blessed a few chosen humans to become more than human thousands of years ago. Now they mostly ignore us because so many of the Blessed Children have hurt people with their powers.” Damn, all this knowledge he had seemed pretty important for the kids with powers to have. I quickly thought about all the missing puzzle pieces that he had filled with this information. I should write this all into a book for the kids at the foster home. I wondered if Mama knew about these stories.
Walking slowly back to the parking lot Eddy had quiet, he seemed to have something on his mind.
“What’s going on up there big guy?”
“Well, I was wondering if I should invite you over or if I should take you home…” Mock pondering the question I gave him a loud ‘hmmm.’
“I think you should offer to bring me over, and I will politely decline since it’s getting close to curfew.” The sly smile slid over one side of his lips then the other, much the same way that my affection for him slid from friendly to affectionate. Something about his sandy blonde hair cut close mixed with his wild laughter made me want to spend more time with him.
As we pulled up to the curb of the brownstone townhouse I had been living in for years I breathed a sigh of regret. Maybe I should have gone to the guys’ house? A girl was only young once and breaking curfew wouldn’t mean anything in a few days when I was eighteen.
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“Hope you had a good time tonight,” tapping on the steering wheel he looked everywhere but at me with his wild sky blue eyes. “Really hope that trip to the cemetery wasn’t weird.”
“Nope,” placing my hand on top of his I leaned across the small distance in the cab of the car to him. “I really liked getting to meet your family. They are a part of you, a piece of the puzzle.” As his eyes focused on me I held my breath so I didn’t lose my determination. Eyes on his lips he leaned the rest of the way in toward me as I made my way to him.
My lips met his in with a flare of intent. At that moment I felt many things more clearly that I had ever felt them.
One such feeling was the silky touch of lips. How had these things that I had on my face never know the caress of another before now?
Pressing myself against him I felt the rumble of his chest, the warm panting of his breath and the roaming heat of his fingers as they pulled me closer. I was lost in the mixture of our breath as my lips opened to him.
Chapter Five
Growing New Roots
Wiping the tables I sighed out the stress of yet another day at the diner. The work wasn't too hard but doing it every day from open to close was wearing on me. Luckily I had the weekend off, by switching some shifts around with the other waitresses I made room in my schedule to go take a break. The word sounded foreign to me. Since I graduated from school two years ago I had worked every day.
Will had asked me to go camping with him. Since it was a past time I had never gotten to enjoy I jumped at the opportunity. Running the idea by Mama had been the real challenge. Still having five days to go till I was out on my own she was hesitant.
'If anything happens to you I will be responsible.' She'd countered me when I reminded her that I was basically an adult. The late middle-aged woman really takes her role as caretaker for the undesirables to heart. I couldn’t blame her, with our group of delinquents we were twice as likely to skip town as to actually go camping.
Tormented: A Bully Romance Anthology Page 12