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Part 1|Part 2|Part 3|Part 4|Part 5
Days are flowing by as if I’m in a dream state. Sophie comes home to me. Well, sort of.
We have an amazing sex life, but for some reason I can’t quite put a finger on, I never wake up until she’s gone in the morning. I begin to wonder if she’s drugging me somehow.
But this morning, she must have dropped something because I wake to find her sitting in front of her antique dressing table. Stark-naked, I saunter over and whisper huskily in her ear, “Stay with me.”
“I can’t, Blue. I have … work … to do.”
The way she says the word ‘work’ piques my curiosity. “What do you do for a living anyway?”
“I work for Alexander.” She gracefully walks into the master bath.
“As what?” I call after her. “I can’t see you as his girl Friday.” Miscellaneous bathroom noises let me know that she’s not going to tell me anything else.
She walks right past me without a glance on her way back to her vanity. The scent of her shampoo is intoxicating. Her long, black hair is gorgeous. It’s all I can do not to run my fingers through it. But I hold back, because I really don’t know her very well. If I were to push her too far, who knows what she’d do to me. Frankly, the woman intimidates the hell out of me.
“Blue, put your clothes on,” she says flatly, without hint of emotion. I do as conscripted.
“Better?” I ask, grinning at her.
“Not at all,” she says, a twinkle in her eye. “But I can’t be distracted this morning.” Eying me up for a moment, she adds, “I think you’re even sexier than your Dad.” She blows a kiss before skipping lightly down the staircase. Left on my own, my mind wanders. I wonder what Kayla’s up to?
I punch the favorite button and wait. At first I think she’s not going to pick up. But then, a groggy voice says, “Blue? Is that you?”
“Yeah, Babe. Can I come over?”
She mutters something that I can’t quite decipher but I take it as an affirmative. I guess I woke her from a sound sleep. I have just the thing to help with that little problem. “I’ll be there shortly!”
I shower quickly to wash the scent of Sophie off me, although it’s probably just my imagination that I am beginning to smell like her. I lower the top on the convertible so that my hair dries somewhat before I arrive.
When I knock on the door, I get no answer. So I use the key she gave me. “KayKay, come out, come out, wherever you are!” I yell playfully. Silence. I bound up the stairs two at a time and find her lying on the bed. Ooh, I’m aroused again. I walk over and lie next to her. She’s on her stomach, her face turned away from me. I lie on top of her and playfully bite her ear. Nothing. What kind of new game is this, I wonder. I’m really not into necromancy, if that’s what she’s thinking. I move so I can roll her over. Suddenly, I realize she’s not kidding around. “Kayla? Can you hear me?” No response. I shake her. Hard. She’s totally limp. And her breathing is really shallow. Shit.
I pick her up and head for the door. I have to get her to Pink. I drive like a bat out of hell back to Dad’s. Once inside, I yell for my sister. She runs from the powder room zipping up her jeans. Obviously, she picked up on the fear in my voice.
“What happened to her?” she asks, as I gently lay her on the couch.
“I think she took something, I don’t know what. She’s hardly breathing, Sis.”
Pink nods and lays her hands on her. A mantle of quiet descends upon us as we kneel in front of the couch, side by side. It takes a few moments, but then suddenly Kayla emits a huge breath and opens her eyes. She looks at Pink and then at me. I smile and say “Welcome back.”
Why doesn’t she say anything? “KayKay, what did you take?” I ask her. She blinks at me and still doesn’t answer.
Finally, a tear runs down her cheek. I grab her hand and squeeze it tightly. “Oh, Kay-Kay, what did you do?”
“She might still be under the influence,” Pink says. “I wasn’t even sure I could help her, Bro, even with my gifts. You should have taken her to a hospital.”
“I couldn’t, Sis. Bad publicity.”
Pink’s eyes flash in anger. “Or her life. Which is more important?”
Feeling like a turd, I pick her up and carry her upstairs to one of the spare bedrooms and place her on the bed. I pull a coverlet over her and kiss her forehead. “Get some rest, KayKay. I’ll be here for you when you wake up.”
I amble back downstairs. “Do you have any food, Sis? I’m starving.”
She reaches into the fridge and pulls out what looks like a pie. “Quiche, okay?”
“Oh, yeah. I’d love me some quiche.”
She heats a piece for me and for herself and joins me at the breakfast bar. “Juice?” she asks. I nod and she pours. “Now tell me,” she says, starting to eat, “What really happened.”
“I told you, Sis, I don’t know. Read my aura. I’m telling the truth. I went over to take her to breakfast and found her like this.” Okay, that’s not the entire reason I went to her house, but it’s close enough.
“Do you think it was an accident or on purpose?”
“I thought she was fine when I left her the other day. But we aren’t exactly on the best of terms right now, for obvious reasons. But to try to kill herself?”
“Maybe she thought life wasn’t worth living without you, Blue. Actions do have consequences.”
“Everyone always says I’m a kid, so I figured I would act my age and sow some wild oats. Now, you’re hinting that I should settle down, maybe pop out a couple of twins? I just can’t win, can I?”
“Blue, that’s not what I’m saying and I’m not blaming you for this. I just think you need to handle her gently, if you care about her at all.”
I glare at my sister. “I do care about her. Hell, I was in love with her until she kicked me to the curb.” I’m still completely in love with her, but I don’t think Pink needs to know this.
“Then, help her, Blue. I have a feeling only you can.”
I finish my quiche and run back upstairs to see if she’s awake yet. She is, eying me over the edge of the coverlet she has pulled halfway up her face.
“Hey, KayKay,” I say, sitting on the edge of the bed. She shies away from me, tears running down her cheeks. “It’s okay, I’m here. I’m not going anywhere.” I open my arms and she sits up enough to collapse into them, crying her eyes out. I don’t know how long we stay that way but eventually she is down to a whimper and pulls away.
Wiping her eyes, she says, “I’m sorry, Blue.”
“For what?”
“For … everything. I’ve been so stupid. Please don’t leave me.” She looks at me through bloodshot, pale blue eyes.
“I’m not leaving you, KayKay. Are you hungry? Sis made some amazing quiche.”
She nods slightly. “And a cup a tea?”
“Sure. I’m on it. You stay here. I’ll be right back.”
Well, this complicates things further. How am I to keep my word to not leave Kayla and still try for something with Sophie? There’s only one of me. Maybe I should ask Dad. I’m sure he’s been fending off the women his whole life.
I fix her a plate of quiche and make a cup of tea. She has managed to get out of bed and is sitting next to the small table by the window. I pull up a chair so I can sit with her.
At first, I’m not sure she’s going to eat, so I cut a bit of the quiche and put the fork to her lips. “Come on, KayKay, one little bite, okay?” I say in baby talk. She giggles and bites the quiche off the fork.
“This is great,” she says, happily finishing off the rest of it, washing it down with the tea. As color slowly returns to her face, I find myself relaxing just a bit. But there’s still a huge elephant in the living room, so to speak.
“Why, Kayla?” I ask softly.
She turns and looks out the window. “Because I didn’t think you were coming back. I know what ‘I’ll call you’ means and I figured you were just using me for sex. And then I couldn’t sleep so I just kept taking the pills I found in Maddie’s stash. I don’t care about your age or what you are. I want to be your special girl again, if you’ll have me.”
Yikes. “Kayla, you really hurt me after you found out my real age. I don’t know if I can …”
“Trust me again? I don’t blame you. But I trust you, Blue. And I love you. I don’t care if you’re not like me. Please ….”
She starts to cry again, her tears falling into the tea cup she’s holding shakily with both hands.
I reach out and peel one of her hands off the cup, holding it firmly in mine. “I told you. I’m not going anywhere. I’m working on a project with a … friend … but if you need me, call.”
She looks at me with a confused expression. “But you said you’d moved on … that you’re already with someone else …”
“It’s complicated,” I say. I know it’s a cop-out, but I can hardly tell her the truth. Mainly because I’m not sure what the truth is myself.
My cell rings and I glance at the screen. It’s Sophie. “I have to take this,” I say, walking from the room.
“What’s going on? I went by the house and you weren’t there,” she snaps. She sounds pissed.
“A friend of mine had an emergency I had to take care of. Are you still there?”
“No. Alexander and I are going to the coffee shop by the bookstore. Be there ASAP.”
I didn’t realize I need to stay where she leaves me until she returns. I’m starting to feel like her puppet. She’s definitely the one pulling the strings and I don’t know how I feel about that.
“I have to go,” I say to Kayla, kissing the top of her head. “But I’ll come back as soon as I can, okay? Let my sister take care of you. You’re be in good hands.” She nods, never looking up at me.
“Where are you off to?” Sis asks as I’m heading for the door.
“Summer job. Gotta go. I’ll come back as soon as I can,” I say, running flat out for the car.
I spot the cinematically creepy duo as soon as I open the door to the coffee shop.
“A friend of mine is ill,” I say as I join them with a vanilla latte. I don’t know why I think I need an excuse. “What’s up?”
Alexander smiles that toothy, creepy grin of his. “I have something to broach with you, Son.”
“I have nothing to report on Dad yet ….”
“Not that. Another job. You’re in my employ now, by way of paying for the article I’m making for you, remember?”
I nod solemnly. Suddenly, I’m wondering how much I really want that talisman.
He takes a long pull on his coffee. “I need you to retrieve something for me.”
I can’t help but think that this man sure does lose track of his possessions a lot.
“What am I looking for?” I ask, accepting the slip of paper he offers me.
“Not a what. A who. She’s a young girl and I want her back.” I recoil. A girl? What business is he in, the sex slave trade?
“Um …” is all I can utter.
“She’s fourteen years old, golden blond hair, beautiful blue eyes. Don’t look at me like that. Alex is my daughter. Her mother despises me and won’t allow me to see her. I can’t go, obviously, since I’d be recognized immediately. But they don’t know you. Get to know her, earn her trust. Then, when the time is right, bring her to me.”
They rise at the same time, turn and walk out the door. I’m gob-smacked. Glancing down at the address, I wonder how in the hell I’m going to pull this one off … not to mention, live with it.