Chapter 7 Melanie #2
“Exactly, but please, Mama,” Enzo pauses with a frown. “Be careful.”
“I promise we will,” I reassure them, but they don’t seem convinced.
“God, this is going to be hell…” Slater growls, and he makes me laugh because they truly are dramatic, but I don’t say it out loud this time because I know he means every word he says, and that shit really does make me love them more.
Ain’t shit better than a nigga who’s obsessed with his girl. Well… except THREE of them!
“I'll be quick. Don’t worry,” I promise them again, leaning into Yamir’s palm. “I just need a few hours. I’ll probably be back before you guys.”
Enzo kisses the top of my head while he helps, then goes into my closet and sets me out an outfit and some shoes while Slater cuts up my bagel and brings it to my lips even though I already said I don’t need them to feed me.
Though if I’m honest, I already knew they would do it even if I told them no.
I open my mouth and eat what Slater is holding out to me while I see Yamir stand and start brushing my hair like this is the most natural shit ever, and to them it is.
Grooming me, providing for me, and protecting me is second nature to them, and I don’t want to deny this because I know it brings them peace.
This lasts all the way up until I’m done eating and get up to wash the dishes, but they snatch it from me and clean it themselves.
I can’t help but shake my head because these men have always been like this.
They never let me lift a finger for mundane labor like this, even if I tell them I have no problem.
“We will handle things here. It won’t take us long to get the things we need and clean this place up.” Enzo nods, tying my shoes while Yamir fixes my coat, and Slater smooths down my hair.
“We’ll take you downstairs.” Yamir grabs my hand and leads me over to the elevator, where we all step on and ride down to the ground floor.
Every worker in the lobby stops in their tracks and bows, shocking the hell out of me and the rest of the guests, who look at us like, “who the hell are they?” This shit never gets old…
When we get out into the biting winter air, I wave at the doorman as I head toward the sleek black town car idling at the curb, where Lionel is waiting for me, standing by the rear door with his usual stoic expression.
I pull my jacket closer and look out at the gray city, breathing in the fresh air and noticing the vast difference in my vision and smell since the bonding.
The world feels brighter and clearer, and the Earth smells…
well, there are a variety of smells, and not all of them are pleasant.
Goodness, how the hell do animals deal with this stench daily?
“Good morning, Mel—”
“GRRRRRRRRR!” I hear them growling behind me, and I see them glaring at him, causing him to flinch.
“I… I m-mean M-Ms. W-Webb,” he corrects himself, saying in his professional voice while opening the door for me.
I sigh, knowing there is nothing I can do to make these men not be jealous.
In fact, I can feel their hatred for every man walking around near me.
Even if they aren’t paying me attention, they still hate them.
“Morning, Lionel.”
Slater watches as Lionel balks, but he stays in his professional bag and rushes around to the driver’s side. I turn and kiss each of their cheeks before waving at them, stepping into the car, and getting in, then rolling down the window.
“I’ll see you guys soon,” I tell them while they watch me with their arms crossed over their broad chests, staring at the car as if they want to yank me out, but I level them with a warning to behave.
There’s a look in their eyes that makes my stomach flip. It’s full of such intense love and a dark, brewing worry that I wish I could wipe away, but I know from now on we will live in a constant state of anxiety, so the least I can do is make this Christmas the best possible for them.
“Don't take long,” Slater says, his voice dropping an octave, and I can tell it’s not a suggestion. It’s a plea.
“Go. Get what you need. Then come straight back,” Yamir grits painfully.
“Straight back,” Enzo reiterates, and I give them one last look and blow them a kiss.
“See you later.” I wave again as the car drives off. I look back, and I swear they stay right there staring even as I drive out of sight.
“U-uhhh.” I hear from the front and jump, turning around to see Lionel watching me out of the rearview curiously.
“Yeah?” I raise a brow, already knowing what he wants to ask me.
“W-was there always th-three of them?” He side eyes me, and I shrug.
“Maybe,” I answer him, and he smirks as if to say, ‘you freaky bitch,’ making me chuckle. “Anyway, how are Dett and the girls?” I ask, changing the subject, and he sighs, shaking his head.
“It’s crazy right now, Mel,” he groans, running his hand down his face, and I sit up all ears.
“Oh? Did something happen?”
“Hell yeah, something happened. I don’t know if you remember, Nell? She’s quiet an—”
“I remember her. Did something happen to her?” I wonder, and he shakes his head, leading me to let out a breath I didn’t know I was holding.
“Nah, she’s good, but do you remember Kimberly?”
“I do.”
“Well, they got into a bad. Like bad bad.”
“Whaaat? Why?”
“Well, I don’t know. Rumor on the block is that Stone took Nell out on a date, but…” he pauses in thought, rubbing his neck. “I don’t believe it though because Reighn…” he trails off and scratches his head.
“Reighn what?”
“Well, let’s just say I find it hard to believe that Stone would mess around with Nell. I don’t believe it, but Kimber just went clean the hell off on Nell, and let’s just say it’s a mess right now.”
“Damn, I hope things get sorted out soon.”
“Yeah, me too. I think things will settle for Kim and Nell, but if Stone is messing with Nell… I just don’t know what Reighn will do,” he grumbles, and I want to ask for more tea, but I don’t because I have my own shit to be worried about, and my mind completely slips into shopping and moving mode when we pull up the first store I sent him on my itinerary.
The day is a blur of high-end shopping bags and frantic errands. I buy things I probably won't need in a cabin in the Alps, but the retail therapy keeps the nerves at bay. Every time my phone buzzes, it’s a check-in from SYE.
Enzo : We miss you mama.
Yamir : Mama… come home soon
Slater : We’re dying without you, mama.
I smile at the screen, feeling that tether to them pulling tight against my chest.
By the time we finish at the last shop, the sun has long since dipped below the skyline. The city is bathed in a sickly orange glow from the streetlights, and the last stop is my parents place. When I climb back into the car, surrounded by shopping bags, feeling exhausted but satisfied
“Thanks, Lionel. Let’s head to my parents,” I tell him, but Lionel doesn’t answer.
He just pulls out into traffic and I sit back with a sigh, dreading saying goodbye to my mom and dad.
I made sure to buy the family a bunch of goodies to placate them.
While we were out, I made it so I can direct deposit into their accounts as well as Lionel’s because I feel bad about having to fire him after this.
I decided I’ll just have him as a retainer to do things for my mom and dad while I’m away.
I close my eyes for a second, but I open them and see he misses the turn toward the park.
I sit up, looking out the window. We’re heading toward the old industrial district, and ain’t shit over here.
Lionel knows where my parents stay. He’s taken me there too many times over his time being my driver.
“Lionel? You missed the turn. Don’t tell me you forgot their address?
” I ask, but he doesn’t respond. The only thing I see is that his hands are gripping the steering wheel so tightly that the muscles in his forearms flex.
“L-Lionel?” I stammer and lean forward, trying to catch his reflection in the rearview mirror.
“Lionel, can you hear me?” I tap his shoulder, trying to get his attention.
When he turns to me, I go to let out a breath, but my heart skips a beat when I see his eyes aren’t brown anymore.
They’re a dull, milky white, completely blanked out, like he’s looking at something I can’t see.
“LIONEL!” I scream. “LIONEL, ARE YOU OKAY?!”
I reach for him, but suddenly, his body jerks and he gasps, his eyes snapping back to their natural color, wide with sheer terror. He slams on the brakes, the car screeching to a halt in the middle of a desolate, moonlit lot.
“MEL!” he chokes out, his voice trembling as he looks at me through the mirror, his face pale and sweaty. “RUN! GET OUT! RUN, MEL!”
“Lio—" The sound that follows is like a bomb going off.
The heavy, reinforced steel of the car door is suddenly torn from its hinges with a screech of twisting metal. I scream, ducking as glass shatters inward. A massive, pale hand reaches in, grabs the edge of the car frame, and with a terrifying heave, flips the entire vehicle.
The world spins. I’m tossed like a ragdoll against the bags and the roof. The car hits the ground with a bone-jarring thud, resting on its side. My head is ringing, the smell of gasoline and burnt rubber filling my lungs.
I scramble toward the missing door, my breath coming in jagged sobs. I pull myself out of the wreckage, crawling onto the cold pavement.
“Li…Lionel?” I gasp, looking at the driver’s seat, but Lionel is lying out on the pavement, bleeding.
“LIONEL!” I scramble to him, feeling dizzy, grasping him, shaking, but I cry tears of utter relief when I see he’s still breathing.
“Wake up. P-please w-wake up,” I cry, but I panic when I see standing over the car is something…
inhuman. It’s tall, far too tall, with limbs that are too long and skin the color of a drowned man.
It has no hair, and its face is a smooth, terrifying mask with glowing, predatory eyes.
I open my mouth to scream, but the creature moves with a speed that defies physics and raises a hand, holding a small, metallic device that hisses as I feel a sharp sting in my neck.
The world starts to tilt. The orange streetlights turn into streaks of fire, and the ground feels like it’s falling away, and I hit the ground with a thud, panting tears in my eyes.
SYE H-HELP!
The last thing I see before the blackness swallows me whole is the creature leaning down, its cold, dead eyes looking into mine, then it smiles.
“The Gatekeepers are coming,” it whispers.
And then, everything goes dark.