Midas
I knew the second she walked into the warehouse. It’s like I could feel her close to me. I have been sitting upstairs since the party started -not wanting to be here- watching and waiting to see if she would come tonight. Odin and Zeus have been sitting with me all night. Neither have been interested in our usual proclivities. They haven’t been drinking or smoking weed, unlike me. I feel almost shitfaced.
I needed the alcohol to deal with Valerie tonight. After I told her to get lost yesterday, she didn’t get the hint and has been following us around. I want her gone, but she keeps coming back, like herpes. She threw a massive fit when she saw I wasn’t wearing the stupid costume she wanted. I don”t dress up, choosing to stay in my usual attire: jeans, a dark shirt, a leather jacket, and boots.
After a couple of hours of listening to Valerie whine and bitch about her costume being “ruined” because of me, I had to get someone to come escort- pick up and drag her- down to the main level. I couldn’t stand listening to her annoying voice anymore, and I was pretty sure Odin was two seconds away from stabbing her. Not that I would blame him.
I didn’t think Serena would come tonight after seeing her with Dante last night. He is the last person I ever wanted to see touching her. I wanted to kill him when I saw his lips on hers. Something broke in me, and I knew I needed her. I would do anything to make her mine. There is no line I won’t cross to get her.
Tonight is the night that I will make that happen. I have my plan, and it’s going to work. I do not doubt it. After tonight, I will claim my girl. A victorious smile spreads across my face.
I get up from my seat and look down over the balcony, looking for the girl who has plagued my mind since the first time I saw her. I have no idea what she dressed up as, but I would know her anywhere. I only need to see her eyes, and I will know it’s her. I scan the crowd, trying to find her. I know she is here. I can feel her nearby.
After my third lap of looking for her and not spotting her, I grip the railing hard, wishing I could bend the metal. At least that would get some of the anger out of me.
“Relax, M, she is here.” Odin comes up next to me and pats my shoulder. I let go of the railing and looked at him. I know she is here. I just can’t find her.
Zeus walks up beside me and gazes at the wild crowd below. His eyes quickly scanned the crowd. He points to a girl with bright red hair. I look down at her. She is wearing a Poison Ivy costume and walking through the crowd. She eventually looks back, and I see it. Serena. Her pale green eyes are shining bright. There she is. She looks so beautiful in her costume. I want to run down to her, but Zeus holds me back.
We watch while she walks through the crowd. She has this natural ability to command a room. All eyes are on her, but she doesn’t notice it. Every guy is watching her while she moves. I watch someone in a Batman costume trailing behind her. My eyes narrow on the man, wondering if that is her stalker.
I push from the balcony and run down the stairs. I shove through the crowd, but everyone is so blitzed. They don’t notice what’s happening around them. They don’t seem to care that I am shoving them around. They stay blank like the shells of humans. I have to guess this is the new drug Dad wanted us to push tonight. Just by looking at everyone high off of it, I never want to try it myself.
I finally find Batman and stay behind him. I was not too close but kept my eyes on him. He is just watching her, following her, and occasionally making sure no one bumps into her. She hasn’t noticed him behind her. Note to self: teach her to be aware of her surroundings. She knows she has a stalker. She should be more careful.
Why is she walking around by herself anyway?
Is she trying to find someone?
She walks past Cowboy- a member of the MC- and he gives her a wink. A growl erupts from me, and I charge over to him. He doesn’t notice me at first, flirting with some little co-ed from Richmond. She giggles at whatever he says before he hands her a baggie of Z. She hands him some money before scampering off to her friends, holding the baggie high for them to see. Cowboy watches her leave, his eyes never straying from her ass until I am right in front of him. His eyes go wide.
“Midas. Hey man. This Z shit is going so fast.” Cowboy yells over the music.
I glare at him, wanting to rip his throat out for looking at Serena. I put on as neutral of a face as I can. I don’t know why I rushed over to him, ready to kill him. He just winked at Serena, and she looked utterly uninterested and repulsed. I don’t want anyone except us looking at her like that. She is ours, and the need to claim her is killing me. I want the world to know that she is a queen. Our queen.
This chick is changing me. In ways I never thought would happen. At the end of summer, I said I would never find my old lady, but I’m starting to think I did. I always said she would have to be a unicorn, and Serena is one. She is intelligent, sweet, and feisty. Serena is the only woman to ever stand up to me. She is not afraid of Odin and his crazy tendencies. She doesn’t ignore Zeus because he is quiet. She sees all of us for who we are.
I never thought I would share my old lady with anyone, but I see how my friends look at her, and how they have changed because of her. We all have fallen, and I couldn’t hurt them like that. I wouldn’t take the only girl they have ever cared about away from them. It’s fucked up, but it looks like I am going to be sharing my girl. I need to make her mine now.
We have always done everything together, so I guess it makes sense to do this together.
I nod my head at Cowboy before walking away from him. I lost track of where Serena went. Fuck. I started pushing through the crowd, trying to find her. Everyone is so fucked out of their minds. I don’t mind selling the regular drugs, but this new shit is insane.
I do a few laps of the space, still not seeing her anywhere. I rake my finger through my hair, pulling the ends of it. Where could she be? Did that Batman guy take her? I’ll head back upstairs and see if I can spot that bright red wig from above. I start walking over to the stairs when someone grabs my hand.
I turn around- hopeful that Serena found me- but it’s Valerie. My face drops into a scowl. This bitch won’t leave me alone.
“Where the hell have you been, Midas? We had a deal.” Valerie pouts at me.
“I don’t give a shit about our deal, Valerie.” I sneer back. She may have some leverage over me, but I refuse to let it keep me from Serena anymore. I will protect her. I won’t let anything happen to her. “Do you worst.”
I rip my arm away from her and walk up the stairs. Odin and Zeus are still up here in a deep conversation. They don’t even look up at me as they continue whispering to each other. I walk to the railing and look down, trying to find that red wig. I scan the crowd, unable to see it. I’m starting to worry now. Where the hell did she go?
My phone starts vibrating in my pocket. I pull it out and answer the phone without looking at who it is, praying Serena is on the other side. “Hello.”
“Midas, how is the party going?” Dad”s voice coos down the line. I clench my phone tightly in my hand.
I walk into the one-bedroom here and close the door behind me. “It’s fine,” I reply, annoyed that he is calling.
I know why he is calling, and it’s not about the party. He wants to hear about Z and Serena. I’ve seen how he looked at her that night at the clubhouse. All of our dads looked at her like something they wanted to devour. Why her? I don’t know, but they have something planned. They always do.
I have never trusted my father, and now I do even less, especially when it concerns Serena. He knew her mom when they first moved in. He never told me how they knew each other. There is some history between our dads and Emma. So many questions without answers. Answers I need to figure out this puzzle.
“Anything to report.”
“Sales are good. Z is selling fast, but all the products are moving like they normally do.”
“Glad to hear.” I can hear him wanting to ask about Serena, but he holds his tongue. “I want you to keep your eyes out for the Brotherhood. We have intel that they might be up to something. I don’t want anything to interfere with our affairs.”
“Yes, sir.” As if I didn’t have to worry about them enough, now I need to watch out for an attack. Fuck.
We used to be close with the Brotherhood. Odin, Zeus, and I used to hang out with Dante all the time growing up. When his father passed, Dante took over. Everything changed after that. He declared war on us, and that was it. There has been constant bloodshed since. We stay in our town, and he stays in his city. We try never to cross the lines of each other”s territory. It’s a death sentence if you get caught.
My dad drones on for a few more minutes about attacks and to push Z tonight before he hangs up. I pocket my phone and plop down in my chair. I rub my forehead and sigh. I have too much to deal with, and I still don’t know where Serena is. I take a minute to compose myself and walk back out.
Odin is gone. Zeus is leaning against the railing, looking out. I walk over to Zeus and stand beside him. He doesn’t say anything as he continues to look, lost in his own world. Sometimes, I wish I could zone out the way he does, but I also know that he is locked in his mind when he does. His accident changed him so much. He used to be the loudest out of the three. There are days that I miss the old him, or I least wish I could turn him back into that person.
“Odin went to go see if he could find Serena.” Zeus finally breaks the silence. I nod my head. “I want her back.”
“So do I, and we will get her back,” I promise him.
I have never broken a promise, and I won’t start now. I vow to do whatever it takes to get Serena back and to keep her. I would make a deal with the devil if he could promise me, Serena. My plan tonight has to work.