Malachi
Tearing into the house the next morning, I stomp down the hallway heading to Maddox’s room. Just as I reach for the door, it opens.
Maddox appears in the doorway, “Yo, Fuckhead! I’m tryin’ to sleep,” he grumbles, rubbing the sleep outta his eyes. He must’ve thought I was one of his brothers.
“Who da’fuck you think you’re talkin’ to Maddy?” I growl.
“I-I-I’m sorry,” he stutters trying to step back as I clench his shirt in my fist, pulling him to me and lifting him off the ground so that only the tips of his toes graze the floor.
“Who did you tell about last night?” I asked him, anger flaring in my eyes.
I can feel the anger radiating out of my pores.
‘Sniveling little shit better have kept his mouth shut if he knows what’s good for ‘im. Bad enough he saw that stupid fuck, Zak, talkin’ to me like he did, can’t have my kids questionin’ my place and I damn sure can’t have this pansy ass runnin’ his cock suckin’ mouth about it,’ I think, watching him squirm and try to push away.
The fact that he was struggling was comical to me. ‘Short little shit’ I think, chuckling as I wait for him to answer.
“No one!” He says, trying to pry my hands off his shirt. “Mel was asleep when I got home and no one else was here. I showered and went to bed. I swear.”
Lowering him to his feet, I shove him away from me, “Better keep your mouth shut! I’m goin’ to bed, shut the fuck up and keep it that way,” I snarl, turning on my heel and heading for my room. ‘I need the seem'-yá off my back so I can go back to runnin’ shit.’
I left my prey scared, bewildered and confused, ‘Just how I like ‘em,’ I think with a menacing grin as I slam my bedroom door shut behind me.
Maddox
I watch him go down the hall, flinching as his door slams before I close my own and flop back onto my bed.
‘Shut the fuck up and keep it that way? I barely said anything, I wouldn’t have said a damn thing at all if he hadn’t come raging through the house like a fuckin’ bull,’ I think as I light a cigarette to calm my nerves.
‘Besides, I’m goin’ back to sleep, Dumb Fuck. ’
Reaching over to find my phone, I open it to see a text waiting for me.
Whore: Good Mornin Baby.
‘Well I don’t like that,’ I think, seeing the name I put out of jealousy and anger. I quickly pull up his contact information to change his name. Clicking back into the messages I look at it again, smiling. ‘Much better.’
Kitten: Good Mornin Baby.
With that fixed, I send him a quick message and snuggle back into the bed, falling asleep almost instantly. My alarm woke me up a few hours later.
Reaching for my phone to turn off the alarm, I find a few new texts from Kai and a missed call from an unknown number waiting for me when I wake up.
Checking the time, I roll out of bed to start getting ready for work.
Twenty minutes later I head out, making my way so that I walk past the school.
Glancing around the courtyard I catch a glimpse of Kai.
He sees me and waves. I hold up my phone, shaking it slightly to let him know to check his.
Khayos: Off at 11, meet me in the van?
I watch him read it, seeing a smile spread across his face as he looks up and nods.
‘Hell yeah, I get to see my Kitten tonight!’ I think, shooting him a wink and a wave as I turn to keep walking.
I pull my headphones out and plug them in, the sounds of ‘Guns and Roses’ filling my ears as I continue on my way to work.
By the time I reach the Pump Palace I’m in a good mood, this morning’s run-in with Mack semi-forgotten. Ollie shoots me a look, frowning in confusion and eyebrows trying to escape to his hairline, when I walk in whistling. I flip him off as I pull my headphones out and he rolls his eyes at me.
“Ay, how often does Zak stop by?” I ask Ollie as I grab a Pepsi from the cooler, opening it, I take a drink as I wait for him to answer.
Thinking about it for a moment, Ollie shrugs, “Not too often. But he did mention a while back that when you got home we may be seeing them more. Which I don’t get,” He says, looking thoughtfully before continuing, “Why does it matter? Dad is a Boyevik, they would stop and check in with him anyway.”
Scratching my head, “yeah, but Ol, something’s not addin’ up here. If he is so high ranked and shit, why’s he workin’ third shift in this shit hole? The math just ain’t mathin’,” I say, leaving him looking just as curious as I am.
Ollie swings his backpack up onto his shoulder, looking at me, he says, “Dude, I stopped tryin’ to make sense of anythin’ Dad says. I just do what I’m told and stay off his shit list. Best place to be.”
I take my seat on the stool behind the counter, nodding as I reply, “I guess. But there’s somethin’ bigger at play here, I just can’t figure out what.”
Ollie shrugs, turning to leave and I settle in to play dealer to the junkies for the next few hours. Pulling my sketch pad out, I start thinking about what I want to draw.
‘It’s been so long since I’ve done this,’ I think, staring at the blank page and chewing my lip as I tap the pencil on the counter.
I’m still thinking when I see my phone light up from the corner of my eye.
Dropping the pencil, I pick it up seeing a new message from Kai telling me that he’s home from school and can text now.
‘Damn, he’s really gettin’ into this relationship thing,’ I think, smiling as I shoot back a message and play with the scruff on my chin as I go back to contemplating what to draw.
Glancing back at the screen, still lit up, our messages still showing, an idea hits me. Picking up my pencil, I start sketching out a kitten. With people coming in and out all night it’s a slow process, but it feels great to be drawing again.
Around 11, Kai texts again, telling me he has sandwiches for us and asks me to bring some drinks. Grinning at the sweetness of that simple act I grab a six pack of beer and send him a pic of it before slipping it into my bag.
I pack up the rest of my stuff and wait. He’s late again, and I text Kai while I wait, letting him know what’s going on. Shortly before midnight, Mack comes waltzing in. Shaking my head, I grab my bag, not saying a word.
‘I don’t want to do this with him tonight,’ I think, scratching my eyebrow as I round the counter.
As I go to pass Mack, he grabs my arm and I try to hide the wince as he snarls in my ear, “Straight home, Maddy, you go straight home. You understand me?”
Nodding, I rip my arm from his grasp. I hate when he calls me Maddy, I hate it even more when he puts his hands on me. ‘Maybe Ollie’s right, maybe I should just let it go. I got Kitten to think about and have to keep him off my trail.’ Through gritted teeth I say, “Yes, sir,” and storm out.
As soon as I’m outside and around the corner from the store, I text Kai that I’m finally on my way. Pocketing my phone, I head for the best distraction from all the questions I still have in my head.
Headphones in as I walk to Kai’s tonight, I use the music to try drowning out the events of the past few days. The confusion of what is really going on with Mack and Zak. Hell, the whole thing with Anton just randomly showing up in my cell.
I wish I could figure any of it out but maybe Ollie’s right and I should just let it go.
Do my stint with probation and hope like hell I don’t get stuck on the overnights so I can sneak in these moments with Kai.
The notification sound coming in over the music pulls me from the spiral I am currently on.
Stopping to open the message from Kai, a shirtless selfie, abs on full display,
Kitten: You almost here? I miss you.
Khayos: OMW, stay like that. B there in 10.
Kitten: K, hurry though or I may have to start without you.
‘Oh, hell no!’ is my last thought as everything fades away. I lick my lips and start running. My Kitten is waiting on me and that’s more important than anything.
∞∞∞
As the days turn into weeks, Kai and I fell into a nice routine. Every night we’re in each other’s arms and every day, I feel more and more confident that there is something happening that Mack doesn’t want us to know.
The day I’ve been dreading arrives, my next visit with Daniels. Walking through the door, I stop and check in with the receptionist who seems just as thrilled as I am to be there. I stand waiting for him to come get me, wanting this over as quick as possible.
Luckily, he doesn’t make me wait too long and points to the bathroom as he pushes a piss cup in my hand. He follows me into the bathroom, ‘Oh yay, he’s gonna watch me piss in this damn thing,’ I think, rolling my eyes. ‘Might as well get it over with.’
I feel him staring me down as I do what I have to do, “See somethin’ ya like over there?” I ask with a smirk and sarcasm lacing my tone. Holding the cup out as I zip up my pants, he takes it with a roll of eyes.
We leave the bathroom and head toward his cubicle.
“Everything looks good, but, Maddox, just as a reminder,” he pauses, looks around, leans in close, and whispers, “from me, as well as your father,” his voice returning to a normal volume as he sits back, “If you mess this up, you will be tried as an adult this time.”
I thumb my nose before, “No shit. And if you could tell my father to stop being late for his shift, I would appreciate it,” I say, cocking my eyebrow.
I watch Daniel's eyes go wide as it sinks in, “Yeah. I know there’s something off with all of this,” I say, motioning around in the air, before continuing, “I don’t know what exactly it is, yet. But I will figure it out.”
Daniels shakes his head at me, “Boy, leave it alone. You do not want to dig into this,” he says, his weasley face twisting into a smirk.