Maddox
Home. It feels weird being back here. Dear old “dad” was there to greet me when I walked out of juvie this morning, promptly dropped me here and left. Who the fuck cares when he’ll be back, I am finally alone for the first time in months.
Sitting at the kitchen table, looking at the water stains from years of beer bottles and whiskey glasses, the wallpaper peeling from the smoke-stained walls, the cabinet door hanging by one hinge where someone was smashed into it.
Hell, the hole Mack put in the wall the day he told me I was gonna take the fall for him is still there.
‘This place is an absolute shithole,’ I think as the musty smell coming up from the basement makes me nauseous. ‘I gotta get outta here.’
I hear the door open and freeze, eyes trained towards the front of the house, watching as Mel enters the house.
My eyes track her movements as she drops her bag on the couch.
She runs a hand through her hair, pushing it out of her face, freezing mid-motion as she finally spots me.
She squeals, makes a beeline for me as I stand up to catch her in a bear hug mid-jump.
I may be upset with her, but fuck, I needed that. Pulling out of the hug, I give her a look, “I am so pissed at you.”
Mel rolls her eyes, “tch. You still on that shit?”
I take a deep breath, “Yes, I’m still on that shit. Do you know what I had to do to fix that?”
Mel shrugged, “Well, it worked cause he sure as hell finally started living after that phone call.”
‘What the fuck? What did he do and why does that piss me off more than him begging me to stay connected? I can’t get caught up in that right now though, I have bigger things I need to talk to Mel about.’
“Come on. Take a walk with me. We have a lot to talk about and we can't do it here. I may even buy you one of those fancy coffees,” I tell her as I head for the door.
Catching up to me quickly, she asks, “Thought you were mad at me?”
“I am, but there’s some weird shit goin’ on and I need a soundin’ board. You'll do,” I say as we head for the coffee shop.
We stopped to grab her coffee before heading to the abandoned warehouse Kai and I used to hang out in.
Mel takes a seat in the corner as I take a look at one of our safe places.
Looking around I grab an abandoned beer bottle from the floor, launching it across the room just to hear it break. Sighing, I sit down next to her.
She lights a cigarette for us to share and we sit in silence for a moment. “So, you gonna talk or am I supposed to be getting the info telepathically here?” she asks, passing the cigarette back to me.
I take it from her, taking a hit and exhaling. I watch the smoke dissipate as I start talking, “I think there’s somethin’ bigger going on. Dad’s not the top dog he pretends to be, there’s someone out there, somewhere, callin’ all the shots.”
Mel chokes on her coffee and sputters, “W-WHAT??!!??”
“Right? I don’t know what to do with some of the weird shit I picked up in juvie,” I say, picking at the lint on my sweatshirt. Weirdly it smells like Kai, which pisses me off thinking back to our phone call.
“About a month or so in, I got a new cellmate. He let me know that I was put under protection by order of ‘the big guy’ in Pontiac. I’ve never been to Pontiac, and I don’t know anyone in Pontiac.
Hell, even Mack’s never stayed at Pontiac long enough to make connections.
Not that he’d order my protection even if he had,” I explain, sharing my confusion with my twin.
Mel nodded thinking about it, “He also always comes back from there worse than when he went in. The last time he came back with those broken ribs and grumbled in Russian a lot.”
We sit in silence for a minute, then Mel smacks my shoulder, “The fuck?”
She goes white and looks at me, “I completely forgot about this till you mentioned that. And not that I want to bring this up, but, you remember when I visited you about Kai and told you about all the letters?”
I growl at the mention of Kai’s name, causing her to stop talking. She lights another cigarette, exhaling, she looks at me, “Calm the fuck down or I won’t say shit.”
Snatching the cigarette from her, “Fuckin’ continue then,” I snap, rolling my eyes.
She plucks the cigarette from between my lips mid-drag, as I glare in her direction, she continues, “anyway, when I got home, no one else was there, and when Mack finally made it home, he was hurt. He had a black eye, red marks on his wrists and he was pissed.” Pausing to take a drag she holds the cigarette out to me.
“And once again, there was all the muttering in Russian, but he also made comments like ‘who the fuck did that old man think he was’. I think he had been to see this ‘big man’. Dax, what’s goin’ on?
” She asked, dropping the butt of the finished smoke and stepping on it with the toe of her boot, looking at me with fear in her eyes.
I lick my lips, playing with an old can with my foot as we sit there, “I don’t know what’s goin’ on Mel, but I don’t think we should let Mack know we know any of this.”
Mel shivers, “Yeah, ya think? No deathwish here. Definitely keeping my mouth shut on that,” eyeing me for a moment, she continues speaking. “Now I get why we needed to talk away from the house. Anything else goin’ on?” she asks.
I hold out my hand, “Phone, it better be charged.” she puts the phone in my hand and I power it up. I listen to the repeated ‘ding’ as 18 months of missed notifications come through. Scanning the screen I see 75 texts and 31 voicemails, I don’t have to check to know who they’re all from.
I scroll through them. They start with the ‘I miss you’ texts, then gradually switch to anger. I finally reach the last one, seeing that it’s from three days after ‘the phone call’. This one hurts.
I’m staring at a picture of him and another guy, said guy is kissing his neck. I can’t see the guy's face but Kai is smirking at the camera and flipping me off. I want to throw the phone, shatter it against the wall like glass. I don’t because I need it, but the temptation is there.
Turning the phone towards her, I show the picture to Mel, “You know about this?”
She tries to look away, “Melody, talk!” is all I can say.
With a huff, she speaks, “we went out dancin’ that night. He was pissed off and hurt. I didn’t even know he did that.” Mel explained, nodding towards the phone.
“Anymore hidden letters?” I ask, getting curious as well as pissed.
“No, he stopped writing ‘em after you called. What’d you say to him?” Mel asks softly.
“Wouldn’t you like to know?” I say, malice laced through every word. “Not happenin’, that’s between me and him. And there’s no more of that anyway.” I growl.
“You know that if he saw you, he would jump at it. Dax, go see him.” Mel encourages.
“Nope, done is done. I got what I wanted and I am not gonna derail him. He’s on his way outta this shithole,” I say, standing or find another bottle. “I’m not gonna stand in his way,” I grunt, the sound of shattering glass doing nothing to ease my anger.
Mel flinches, pulling into herself as it shatters. “Maddox Eliy, go see him! Get your closure,” she says, quietly.
I stop mid throw of another bottle, glancing at her, “Closure? The fuck?! I look like a divorcee headed to brunch with the girls? I don’t need shit,” I snap, turning and throwing the bottle.
Sighing, Mel stands and brushes the dirt off her ass, “Come on, we gotta get home. You need to see him, specifically in his uniform. Which…tomorrow is uniform inspection day.”
As we head out I give her a look, “Uniform inspection?”
She licks her teeth, “Yup, once a month he’s in full dress uniform and he fills it out…”
I roll my eyes, “Stop, I know what you’re tryin’ to do. Even I know you don’t check out your gay bestie that closely. Drop it.”
We walk home in silence. That night lying in bed, I can’t stop thinking about him in uniform. ‘Fuck, maybe just a peek. Just because I see him, doesn’t mean he has to see me,’ I think before scoffing at myself, ‘No, not happening! I don’t need closure. Fuck!’
As I toss and turn my cock twitches at the thought of seeing my Kitten in full uniform. It’s been a long 18 months of just me and my hand. ‘Maybe closure is code for somethin’ else,’ I think, finally falling into a fitful sleep.
∞∞∞
Daniella
Sitting at our picnic table outside the school, I clench my hands in my hoodie feeling the cold of the early morning air seeping through my jacket.
The grass is still wet with dew, and I still feel the sleep behind my eyes.
‘It’s too early for this shit. She better come armed with a giant cup of the good coffee,’ I think, lighting a cigarette while I wait for Mel to show.
Finally seeing her walking towards me, I eye the cupholder in her hand. “For gettin’ me outta bed this early, this better be good,” I snarl at her as a large coffee is handed to me. The first sip hits my soul as I notice how fidgety Mel is.
‘Oh? This is gonna be soooo good, she not only brought coffee, she has some tea to spill and from the way she is bouncing, lots of it.’
I light a cigarette after taking a long drink of my coffee, “Okay out with it, what’re we up too?”
She takes a sip of coffee and giggles, “That obvious?” she asks, reaching for the smoke.
Passing it to her with an eye roll, “Okay, Mel, spill it or I’m walkin’ away with my free coffee,” I say as I exhale the smoke.
“Dax is home,” she starts before I interrupt.
“Thank God! Now maybe Kai’ll stop being such a man-whore,” I say snarkily as I pass the smoke back.
Sucking in a breath, she looks away from me, shrinking into herself in shame, “About that…It’s not gonna be that easy.”
Glaring at her, I snarl, “What did you do?”
She squirms under the weight of my stare, “Melody, start talkin’!”
She shakes her head no, putting out the cigarette, “I don’t wanna,” she whines.
“Melody Eliza, it’s too early for this shit. Spill it or I go tell Kai you’re withholding information.”