Chapter 10 #4
From down the hall, I heard a door snap shut, followed by the running of a shower.
I raised a brow at her, and she just grinned.
“That’d be the roomie. He usually works the graveyard shift at a warehouse on the south side.
” She hesitated a moment, chewing the corner of her lip, smiling when Amelie squealed over a rainbow sticker that seemed to be her favourite.
“Just a heads up, he’s kind of sensitive about his appearance, so I’m just giving you forewarning not to react when you see him. ”
“What do you mean?” I asked, alarmingly.
Behind me, Shaw shifted in his seat before I felt his hands reach around my middle to slide me back so that I was resting against the couch, sitting between his legs.
I let him move me and settle in, feeling more comfortable having the sofa to relax against, but I was curious as to what the hell Meredith was talking about.
“He was attacked by some biker when he was a kid,” she said softly, glancing at Amelie, but she was too distracted by her television show and the stickers to pay us any attention.
“Had a bunch of surgeries. Hard palate, teeth, he’s nearly blind in one of his eyes, and they had to completely reconstruct his nose. ”
I felt a numbness seeping into me at what she was saying. “He was a kid ?” I asked, incredulously.
“Thirteen, yeah,” she said, shaking her head, her face twisted in anger.
“Fucking jumped walking home. But he’s a great guy.
Really nice, and he’s awesome with Amelie.
Helps us out a lot. Wants Haldon and I to finish high school.
” Haldon came over then, sitting on the arm of the couch at Mer’s side, and wrapped an arm around her.
She snuggled into his side and reached up to play with his long, dark hair.
When Amelie burst into a fit of giggles at something that happened on her show, I saw Haldon’s face light up at the sound.
Despite their circumstances, being teenage parents, living in Harley of all places, they were obviously happy, and I felt a flicker of jealousy.
What I wouldn’t give to have that closeness with someone, to feel that love again.
The moment was broken when Haldon’s phone buzzed.
He checked it and was on his feet in an instant, moving over to the front door.
I peered over my shoulder at Shaw, and sure enough, he was watching everything like a hawk, his eyes following his crew member.
A minute later, someone pounded three times on the front door in quick succession.
Haldon opened the door in a flash, and my mouth dropped to see Vail and Lee storm in.
I didn’t see any sign of them when Shaw and I had ran out of the cafeteria.
I had no idea what had happened to them.
As soon as the door was shut and bolted behind them, Vail greeted Haldon with a fist bump and a shoulder hug before turning to the rest of us.
When his hazel eyes spotted me sitting on the floor between Shaw’s legs, he didn’t seem the least bit surprised, though his lips had pressed tightly together, as if it bothered him in some way.
Instead of saying anything to us, he just gave his brother a quick nod before turning to Meredith.
“You okay?” he asked, passing by Amelie with a little pat on her head.
The little girl didn’t move an inch, evidently already comfortable and familiar with these guys.
“Please, this is nothing,” Meredith scoffed, flipping her blue hair over her shoulder as she peered up at Shaw, coming off as confident as always. “That bitch just got one punch in. I got about fifty. But man, you should have seen Casey …”
I felt everyone’s eyes move to me, and I shrank back between Shaw’s legs, suddenly embarrassed.
“She saved my ass from that Jackal ‘ho, Celeste. Casey tackled her like a linebacker! It was fucking brilliant! I didn’t see what happened after cuz Mrs. Reeves grabbed me and pushed me out into the hall, but seeing Celeste’s skeletal body flailing like a wacky-waving-inflatable-arm-tube-man was amazing.
” She peeked up at Vail, brows raised high. “They didn’t keep you long?”
“No, not this time. But I’ll be MIA from school this week.”
“We can’t have that!” Haldon said from the door, speaking for the first time. “What if the Jackals pull something while you’re gone?”
“They won’t. Hunter is suspended for the week, too,” Vail said confidently.
“Vail,” Shaw said suddenly, standing up over me, “I need to talk to you.”
The tightness in his voice made me instantly wary as he stepped away, heading down the hall to Meredith’s family’s bedroom, with Vail hot on his heels.
Before I could follow to intervene, as I had a sneaking suspicion he was going to fill him in on what happened with Keith, Lee sauntered over, slid his hands beneath my armpits, and lifted me up off the ground.
I squealed in surprise at being lifted so easily, but he just sat in Shaw’s vacated spot, settling me so that I was literally straddling his lap, and pulled me close so that my ear was pressed against his chest. His hands remained on my waist, and his voice rumbled against me as he asked, “You okay, Babe?”
“I’m fine,” I muttered, feeling so on display to be sitting so intimately with him, but Meredith and Haldon were moving around, each grabbing a backpack and their black leather jackets.
Lee reached up with one hand and cupped my chin, urging me to lift my face so he could see me.
He held me carefully as he turned my head to the side, his eyes catching the marks Keith left behind on my throat, and his dark brows pulled together as he glowered.
I hadn’t seen myself yet, but I was sure there would be some bruising forming there.
It was still tender as hell. “What the fuck is this?” he snarled.
“Nothing, just-”
“It’s not nothing, Casey. What the hell happened? Was this from someone in the cafeteria?”
“No, it’s not that, I-”
Vail came storming out into the living room, his hazel eyes burning with rage as he stomped over to Lee and me. Wordlessly, he lifted me out of Lee’s lap, and I grumbled, “What is it with you guys and manhandling me? My legs aren’t broken! I can walk!”
But Vail ignored me as he lifted my chin to get a look at my throat and growled. He peeked over his shoulder as Shaw joined us again and snapped. “How did-”
“Called an ambulance and we left,” Shaw grunted, moving to the front door and leaned against the wall. “Don’t know what else happened, but we should make a stop by later when it’s quiet.”
Vail nodded, releasing me, and Lee pulled me back down into his lap, arms wrapping around me again as he snuggled me close. “So you’re cool watching things here tonight, man?”
“We’re good here,” Lee said, and nodded to Amelie.
“What say you, kiddo? You down to hang out with Casey and me tonight?” I raised my brows, surprised, and glanced over at Meredith, who seemed utterly unfazed by this information.
I thought I was babysitting on my own? Now it suddenly felt like I was the one being babysat.
Amelie leaned back, tilting her head so that she was peering at us nearly upside down, and grinned wide, nodding enthusiastically just as the door down the hall opened and someone else joined us.
When I looked at Meredith's roommate, peering over my shoulder from Lee’s lap, I suddenly put together what she had said about his face and how sensitive he was about it.
He had a long, crooked scar running up the middle of it, partially over his upper lip connecting to his nose and up over his left eye.
His light brown hair was long, nearly to his shoulders, and it was still wet from his shower.
He let it fall over his face, which was also covered in pitted scars aside from the surgical one, hiding himself.
Holy shit… I thought when I saw the damage that had been done to him. And he was just thirteen when it happened? My God… what kind of fucking psycho would do such a thing?
“Hi, I’m Casey.” I went to get up, but Lee held on to my waist, keeping me where I was, which was awkward enough in front of the others but to be here meeting a complete stranger, I could feel my cheeks turning a little pink.
So I held out my hand instead. He came over, a hint of what I thought was supposed to be a smile on his face, but it was warped due to his scars.
“Hi Casey, I’m Eli.” He shook my hand with a firm grip, and as I grinned up at him, for just a moment, I thought I could see what he would have looked like if he hadn’t been attacked, and he was actually very handsome.
Eli’s dark brown eyes scrunch up for just a moment when he got a better look at my face, and for a second, I wondered if I had a bruise elsewhere since his reaction was a bit off.
He dropped my hand and stepped back slightly, looking a little perturbed.
But when he peered into my eyes again, something like relief seemed to roll off him, and he let out a harsh breath.
“Sorry, I-I’m tired, I think. Long night last night and another one tonight…
” His voice trailed off, sounding uncertain.
“You working, Eli?” Amelie got to her feet and ran over to him, her arms outstretched. Eli scooped her up and gave the top of her head a little kiss.
“Sorry, Princess. No babysitting from me tonight.”
She pouted a little before she threw her arms around his neck.
“What am I? Chopped liver?” Lee called out sarcastically.
But Amelie just held on to Eli while Vail, Shaw, and her parents talked in quick, low whispers for a minute before Meredith straightened and reached for her daughter.
Amelie was passed over to her, and Eli plonked himself down on the lounger chair by the door, his hair falling over his face while he tied up his work boots.