3. Scream for Us #2
“Why? Cause two men are in love with you? Chile, that ain’t nothin’ compared to the drama Aunt Barbara got goin’ on. Did I tell you how she kicked out her husband after finding him in a threesome with two other men? He's still comin’ to the barbecue, with his sidepieces.”
Deja’s eyes bulged. “Stop! Uncle James cheated!? Two men? And she didn’t kill him?”
“Girl! Almost! But she has her own sidepiece, which, get this… is one of the men.”
“Mom! You lyin’!” Deja gasped.
“Not this Christian woman!”
Deja snorted before quickly shaking her head. “Okay, but Mom, this isn’t the same thing-”
“Deja, unless they worship the devil or are racists, serial killers, or all the above, I really don’t care.
God gave me my daughter back, and that’s all that really matters.
” Deja blinked as her mother caressed her cheek.
“My sweet girl is home. So what two men are in love with you? Why wouldn’t they want a smart, beautiful, and successful Black woman like you? ”
Deja smiled at her mother, surprised by her acceptance. “As long as you marry Jax. He’s Chloe’s father, and this family of God does not do broken homes,” Debra said, opening the fridge. And just like that, Deja’s smile disappeared.
The strange sound of laughter from the living room pushed Deja to find out what was going on. “I can’t believe they didn’t catch you,” Jax grinned.
“I had them boys in blue sweatin’! They ain’t know what hittem!” Jared snickered.
“How the hell did you outrun them?” Caleb asked.
“My Black ass just blended in with the crowd. You white people can’t tell us apart,” Jared laughed.
“I won’t be laughing at that,” Jax smiled.
“Nope. That’s a trap,” Caleb grinned.
Jared cackled. “My daughter trained y’all well!”
“Uh, what’s going on in here?” Deja asked when her eyes widened. “Please tell me you guys didn’t finish all those bottles?!”
“Ok. We won’t,” Jared cackled.
“Oh my god! Moonshine, Pops?!” Deja freaked.
“It’s okay. It’s not that bad-” Caleb said, trying to stand before he stumbled.
“You just stumbled,” Deja noted.
Caleb snorted. “I tripped. I’m super sober.”
“He’s not,” Jax said, standing to his feet. “Caleb doesn’t know how to handle his liq-” he started before bumping into the table and knocking over a bottle as Caleb burst into laughter.
“What’s going on out here?” Debra asked, entering the living room.
“I’m terribly sorry… your table was… I hit it,” Jax slurred with a frown.
“Mom, Pops gave Jax and Caleb Moonshine and Hennessy!” Deja groaned.
“Jared! I knew you were up to no good,” Debra scolded.
Jared shrugged. “Them boys needed to loosen up. Besides, Deja can drive. They’ll be aight.”
Deja sighed. “We'd better head back anyway. It’s past Chloe’s bedtime.”
“Alright, text me when you get in. We’ll see you at the barbecue,” Debra said, kissing Deja’s cheek.
“Remember what we talked about,” Jared said, shaking Caleb’s hand.
Caleb nodded. “I swear on my mother’s grave.”
“You keep my daughter safe… and happy,” Jared said, shaking Jax’s hand.
“I’d rip a man apart with my bare hands for your daughter,” Jax said seriously.
Jared laughed. “That liquor got you talkin’ crazy! I like it!”
“Okay, byyyyyee, Daddy!” Deja said, annoyed as she nudged Jax and Caleb to the door.
“Why’re you saying goodbye to me?” Jax asked, confused.
“Not you. Let’s go,” Deja muttered.
“Can I take a plate to go?” Caleb asked.
“Sure thing, sweetie,” Debra smiled.
“You just ate-! No, we’re leaving,” Deja said, pushing him towards the car.
“They can at least have a biscuit,” Debra suggested.
“That would be lovely,” Jax smiled.
“They’re fine, Mom!” Deja shouted.
“What if I wanted a biscuit?” Jax frowned.
“You don’t need a biscuit!” Deja snapped.
“I’ll have your biscuit,” Caleb grinned.
“Get in the car!” Deja ordered.
Loud house music blared from inside the dark suburban estate, with neon lights flashing. “I just don’t think they can last more than 30 minutes in a room together without trying to kill each other,” Keith said, sharpening his machete.
Brandishing a knife, Ian snorted. “You’re severely underestimating how much power Deja wields.”
“Motherfucker, I chopped off faces because of how much I missed her. Of course I know!”
Ian shook his head. “The Deja-Drought was an awful time. Damn that woman…” Ian looked at Keith. “I was quite embarrassed for you.”
“Fuck off. I was manic!”
“Was?”
“Ian! Keith!” Millie skipped towards them, wearing a mask while wielding a crowbar. “I wanna come!”
“Millie, we’re not reaping,” Ian said. “We’re targeting a Reaper.”
“So? I still wanna play! I haven’t had any fun since I met my quota,” she whined. “I’m so bored.”
“There are other ways to have fun, Millie,” Keith smirked.
“Yeah, but that big dick of yours has already been claimed because you’re a monogamous loser now,” she teased.
“Well, shit, Millie!” Keith laughed.
“My pussy is very disappointed,” Millie rolled her eyes. “You can’t just use me for intel and not let me in on some fun!”
“Fine. You can join us. But keep it clean and keep it cute,” Ian said firmly.
“Of course, Daddy,” she smirked. The brothers donned their masks as they approached the house.
“I’m sorry my father got you guys drunk. I don’t know what he was thinking,” Deja sighed while driving.
Jax drunkenly waved his hand from the backseat. “It was a good thing. Now I don’t feel the burning desire to stab Caleb in the fucking neck.”
Caleb laughed. “Exactly! Forks are for eating, not plucking Jax's eyeballs and feeding them to him… as fun as that would be.”
“I imagine it’d taste disgusting,” Jax sucked his teeth.
“And chewy,” Caleb cringed.
“It’s like a thick liquid, almost,” Jax mused.
“Wow, you guys are so drunk, you’re actually getting along,” Deja snorted. “Why can’t you be like this all the time?”
“Because we hate each other,” Jax shrugged.
“For like… 10 years now…” Caleb yawned. He smiled when he saw Chloe yawn in the car seat between him and Jax and nuzzled her cheek with his finger.
“But you guys are family,” Deja insisted. “Doesn’t that count for something?”
“No,” they both said.
Deja sighed with frustration. “Jax, wouldn’t you be sad if Caleb died?”
Caleb snorted. “He wouldn’t even attend my funeral.”
“I’d be the reason he’s dead,” Jax shrugged as Caleb laughed. “At his funeral, I’d say, ‘Here lies Caleb, the most aggravating fucker I’ve ever met’.”
“Aww, you’d speak at my funeral?” Caleb smiled. “I don’t want you there.”
“Too fucking bad. You can’t do anything about it if you’re dead,” Jax grinned.
“True,” Caleb sighed.
Deja blinked. “...what the hell is wrong with you two…?”
“Don’t look at us like we’re crazy,” Caleb smirked.
“I mean… we might be… a little,” Jax grinned.
“A little?!” Deja blurted as they both laughed.
“We’re much tamer than we were years ago,” Caleb smiled at Jax. “You know, before I wanted to skin your ugly ass alive.”
“Oh, yes. Back when I didn’t want to decapitate your deformed head. We were… diabolical,” Jax grinned.
“Remember when we found out the Sheriff was tossing rape kits and taking bribes, so we boarded up the police department,” Caleb reminisced.
“And then we burnt them all alive inside…” Jax smiled fondly. “Iongantach?*.”
“Iongantach, gu dearbh!?*” Caleb snickered in Gaelic.
Deja parked outside the hotel and looked back at them. “Do you guys realize how crazy you sound? Reminiscing about killing like it was fun!”
They both blinked at her. “...but it was-” Caleb started when Deja’s eyes widened. “-sn’t… it wasn’t.”
Deja sighed. “Can’t you guys bond over something other than killing? Didn’t you do other things together?”
Jax and Caleb exchanged glances. “We shared quite a bit,” Jax said.
Deja smiled. “Great! Like cars? Hobbies?”
“Women,” Caleb said.
Deja’s face fell. “Oh.”
“If we weren’t killing, we were fucking,” Jax said, cleaning his nails with a sharp blade.
“And if we weren’t fucking, we were killing,” Caleb said, playing with the window as he watched it go up and down. “We fucked a lot…”
“We killed a lot,” Jax said casually.
“I’m kinda fiending for both right now…” Caleb mused.
Jax hummed. “Likewise. The hunger is definitely there, thanks to the alcohol. Moonshine was a bad idea.”
“Terrible idea,” Caleb shook his head. “The Hennessy wasn’t that bad, though.”
“Could go for a Scotch…”
“And a kill…”
“Both sound good,” Jax nodded.
Deja blinked in disbelief. “How do you crave killing like it’s a tasty treat?!”
Jax raised a confused brow. “...the same way I crave spreading your thighs and fucking you with my tongue- Deja, baby, I’m baffled that this still confuses you.”
“She’s so fucking cute when she’s confused,” Caleb grinned. “Adorably fuckable.”
“Did you just make that up?” Jax asked.
“Rinn mi,?*” Caleb responded in Gaelic. “Did you like it?”
“Not at all. But it reminded me how badly I need to fuck my wife,” Jax sighed impatiently. “Or stab someone in the throat. Preferably you.”
“I dunno. As much as I crave severing your artery, eating her out sounds much more satisfying…” Caleb paused and looked at Deja. “...is… is that an option?”
Deja looked at them, bewildered. “You guys are insane-! Just stay here while I bring Chloe upstairs to bed. You’re too drunk to leave by yourself,” she said, getting out of the car.
“Don’t worry, baby, we’ll be fine,” Jax said, getting out of the car, when Deja put her hand to his chest to stop him.
“It’s not you I’m worried about!” she snapped.
“This party is the shit! Gino never disappoints! Where’s he at anyway?”
Gia smirked, downing another shot of tequila. “Probably getting his dick sucked like the whore he is.”
“Tell him to get his ass over here! He has people to entertain!” the Reaper grinned.
Gia rolled her eyes. “I’ll go find him.”
Hopping off the pool table, Gia moved through the crowd looking for her partner until she reached the kitchen. Grabbing another bottle of vodka, she mixed herself another cocktail and went to take a sip when she paused.
Her eyes widened at her reflection in the window… and the masked man standing behind her. She quickly turned around. “Gino?”