When we arrived at his house later that evening, I thought maybe we were at the wrong address. His house looked like a rundown shack. The garden, if you could call it that, was overrun with weeds and I think I even saw a rat. The window shudders were dilapidated and chipping paint. Except for the raccoons digging through the garbage it didn’t look like there were any other signs of life. “Are you sure this is the place?” I asked Dean, sidestepping the overgrown vines.
“Yep, this is it.” He pounded on the door and more paint chips fell off the paneling. “Bobby…hey Bobby, open up!”
I heard some bottles rattle and then a thud, followed by some grumbling and locks clicking on the door. A middle aged man with dark gray, shaggy hair and full beard answered the door. His white tank top was covered in stains and his trousers had tears and holes in them. He looked up at me with his gold eyes. “I didn’t know hookers delivered,” he said, grabbing me.
I smacked his hand. “Eww gross, I am not a hooker,” I said appalled.
“Uncle Bobby,” Dean jumped in. He shifted his attention to Dean, squinting. “Uncle Bobby it’s me, Dean.”
“Dean my boy,” he cheered, giving him a hug. “I see you brought me some lovely ladies.” He reached for Cameron but she quickly jumped out of the way.
“No Bobby. These are my friends and this is Ella, my sister.”
His eyes widened in surprise and he took a step back. “Ella,” he smiled, exposing his yellowing teeth. “You look just like your mother.”
“Thank you,” I said, trying to remain polite which was hard with the way he was staring at me. He started to creep me out and when I met his eyes again they were different. They looked almost purple. I blinked and they were back to gold.
“Come inside,” he said, quickly averting his eyes. Something told me to be very leery of him. I waited for Dean to go first.
The inside of his house was just as bad as the outside. There were beer bottles and whiskey bottles all over the floor and tables. The little furniture he had was either held together by duct tape or covered in stains. The couch slash bed looked like it might fall apart any minute. I was afraid to sit down anywhere.
Bobby took a seat on the couch and picked up a pack of cigarettes offering me one. I politely declined and carefully took a seat on the duct tape covered chair. We all sat there silently for a moment. Uncle Bobby’s eyes wandered around the room at all my friends. He stopped at Josie and sniffed the air. Although I didn’t know how he could smell anything over the stench in this place. He couldn’t seem to take his eyes off of Josie. I could tell he knew something was off about her. Josie shifted uncomfortably in her seat and grabbed Billy’s hand. I kept my eyes on him and I could swear I saw them change from gold to green, blue, and then back to gold again. I sat back in my seat. I knew those eyes. I had seen them before.
Noticing a slight tension in the air Dean spoke up. “So Uncle Bobby, we need your help.”
“All business with this one. Relax, have a drink,” he offered.
“We’re kinda in a rush,” I said, cringing as a cockroach scurried across the floor. “We’re looking for someone. Dean suggested we contact you since you’re a local and all.” I couldn’t shake this feeling that I’ve seen him before. “When’s the last time you’ve been to the states?” I asked, needing to know where I knew him.
“Haven’t been outside of Ireland for years now,” he said a little guarded. “Who is it you seek?” he asked quickly, trying to divert me from my last question.
I had a feeling he was hiding something, but I couldn’t get in his head. I didn’t want to waste too much time and energy on him though. The longer I stayed the more creeped out I got. I was hoping to get this over with as soon as possible. I took Tristan’s picture from my back pocket and handed it to him. He looked it over for a bit then handed it back. “Sorry, don’t know’em.” I put the picture back in my pocket. “Sorry I couldn’t help you out.”
“We were hoping you could also help us get in with the locals. Most of them won’t talk to us because we’re not from here. So we were thinking…” I trailed off looking at Dean.
“I can tell you now it’s the way you’re dressed. It screams outsider,” Bobby said, getting up and walking into the small kitchenette to grab another beer. I gave Josie a quick look to check Bobby out. She looked at me confused and I just rolled my eyes. I tried again, but he was already on his way back out. He popped off the cap and took a seat. “I’ll help you. When do you want to start?”
“Tonight,” I said, hoping to get this over with. Despite him being a so called friend of the family I didn’t trust him. Plus I thought better to get him while he was somewhat sober.
“I got an idea of where we can start, but you ladies are going to have to change. I think I may have something you girls can wear,” he said, elbowing Dean and laughing before he got up again. He came back out with a pile of clothes. “Here, my lady friends left these behind. I don’t think they’ll need them anymore.”
I saw a glint of malice in his eyes and I shivered. “I don’t think that is necessary. I’m sure we can find something on our own.”
“Trust me darling, you wanna take these. It’s the best way you’ll fit in.”
I took the clothes hoping I’d have time to wash them first.
We left shortly after that. I was starting to have a weird feeling and no longer felt comfortable there. The several times I tried to invade his mind he was blocking me. I didn’t know if it was an automatic reaction that he was blocking his mind, but it made me think he was hiding something and I got the feeling it wasn’t something good.
Chapter Five
“Hey Ella, you ever think maybe Tristan’s not here anymore?” Josie asked, plopping down on the bed.
“Josie, I know you don’t want to believe he is alive but I believe he is,” I said frustrated.
“That’s not what I mean. I mean maybe he’s not here in Ireland. Everyone we’ve talked to says they’ve seen him, but not lately. Maybe he left and went somewhere else.”
“That’s a possibility, but I’m not ready to give up yet. I don’t know what it is, but something is telling me he’s still here. I don’t know how I know, but I just do.”
She sat up and looked at me sincerely. “I believe you Ella and I’ll be here with you until we find him.”
“Thanks Josie. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
“Well, you might have to learn soon. I have a feeling they are going to be calling me back any time now to dull out my punishment.”
“Then I guess I’m going to have to spend every minute I can with you.” I smiled, hugging her tight.
Cameron came back into the room, phone in hand, and laughing. Something I haven’t seen her do in a while. When she hung up the phone I asked, “Any luck?” We had taken the clothes Bobby had given us to the laundry service and asked if they could wash them for us. I had no idea where they came from and I wasn’t going to take any chances.
She placed the nicely folded pile of clothes on the bed. “Well they were able to wash them, but I’m not going to tell you how many dirty looks I got when they gave back the clothes.”
“Was that Austin on the phone?” I asked.
“No. Dean,” she said guiltily. “I haven’t had the courage to call him yet.”
I wanted to call her a hypocrite. She lectured me on the plane up and down about calling Roman and telling him the truth, but she has yet to call Austin and she wasn’t on a mission to find a dead ex-lover. I found it very aggravating, but I swallowed my pride and let it go. I knew it was easier to give advice then take it, especially when it was your own advice you should be taking. “You’ll think he’ll be mad?”
“At first, but I’m sure he’ll get over it,” she said, forcing a smile, and trying to convince herself she was right.
“I think once he realizes you did it to help a friend he’ll understand,” Josie said, digging through the pile of clothes.
“Yeah,” she sai
d warily.
“So what did Dean want?”
“Oh, he said he’d meet us here at eleven and take us over.” Dean had decided to stay behind with Uncle Bobby. I didn’t exactly think that was the wisest idea, but then there would be less of his complaining I had to deal with so I didn’t argue.
“I guess we should get ready then.”
*
Cameron
She knew Ella was secretly seething. She had lectured her up and down about being honest with Roman and here she couldn’t even be honest with herself. There was a reason she hadn’t called and talked to Austin, but she couldn’t tell them that. Not now at least. Ella had too many issues of her own to deal with. Her problem with Austin was something she could handle on her own. Nobody knew why she really decided to come along with them. Cameron secretly needed to get away. On the outside she pretended everything was okay, but on the inside she was having a hard time keeping it together.
“Hey Cameron?” she looked back at Ella in the mirror while she continued to brush her hair. “I just wanted to thank you for all you’ve done. And thank you for staying even after my dad busted us. You didn’t have to and I just wanted to let you know how much I appreciate it. I can’t imagine it’s easy spending all that time with Dean.”
“Eh, he’s not that bad,” she said.
“This is Dean McCallister we are talking about. The same Dean who hit on my mom and tore the head off of my Baby hug-a-lot,” Josie said, as she dug through her makeup case.
“Once you get to know him, he grows on you.” Ella looked at her suspiciously. Cameron felt a slight dizzy wave and knew Ella was trying to get into her head. She quickly blocked her. She was about to narrow her eyes at Ella for her invasion of privacy, but then she would have given her what she wanted. Ella would know she was hiding something and would probably push her to give it up. Instead, Cameron continued to brush her hair.
“Please, I know Dean and the only thing that grows on you is his fungus.” Ella laughed at Josie’s comment and then hopped in the shower, steaming up the mirror so badly she forced them to finish getting ready outside of the bathroom.
Cameron reached in her bag to grab her deodorant when her phone beeped. She walked over to the bed and opened up the text message.
Leather is your color
She smiled and texted back.
Leather is not a color
She left it at that knowing they needed no further exchange and continued to get ready. Ella had told her after her father showed up and busted them, Cameron was free to go back to school if she wanted to, but she didn’t want to return, not yet. She didn’t care about getting in trouble for leaving in the middle of the semester. There was no point in going back so soon. Cameron wanted to enjoy her freedom while she could and she would deal with the consequences when she got back. Despite the rough start they had when they got there, she was beginning to actually enjoy herself. For the first time in a while she felt free, unbound from the chains that kept pulling her under.
*
Ella
“Hey, you okay?” Josie asked, coming into the bathroom to share the now fog free mirror.
“Yeah, why wouldn’t I be?”
“I don’t know. You just seemed kind of off when we were at your Uncle Bobby’s place.”
“Okay, he’s not really my Uncle and I did feel…weird when we were there. I don’t know what it is but I have a strange feeling about him and it’s not a good one.”
She pressed her palms on the counter and lifted herself up to sit. “I know what you mean. I was totally getting a creepy vibe.”
“It’s not just that. Something about him seems so familiar. His eyes, I swear I have seen him before. Do you remember the clerk from the costume shop back in Vermont?” She shook her head no. “There was something about his eyes. I never said anything at the time because I thought it was too weird. His eyes changed color.”
“Huh?”
“They went from gold, to green, to blue and so on. At the time I just chalked it up to a trick of the lights but after meeting Bobby tonight…I swear his eyes did the same thing. They were a kaleidoscope of colors.”
She looked at me wearily. “You sure maybe it’s not just the stress of everything getting to you? You did ask him if he’s been to the states lately and he said he hasn’t been in years.”
“I know, but Josie, I just can’t get it out of my head.”
“Why would he be there anyway?”
“I don’t know, but I have a bad feeling about him. You need to keep your eyes open around this one. My gut tells me we can’t trust him.”
“Hey, I believe you. If you say watch your back I’ll watch my back. Don’t stress it, okay?”
“Yeah,” I said sighing.
“Well hurry up, cause you’re hogging up all the mirror time,” she teased, jumping off the counter. “By the way, you were taking too long, so Cameron and I already picked out our outfits without you.” She walked out of the bathroom and came back with what looked like a handkerchief. “This is what was left over.”
I took the outfit from Josie. “We’ll be in the lobby when you’re done,” she said, leaving me alone in the room to finish getting ready. I looked down at the outfit in my hand. It was a small, black leather, halter dress. I sighed and put it on. Then I meet everyone else down in the lobby.
“Why do I always get stuck with the stuff that makes it hard to breathe? There wasn’t anything less binding?” I whined. Dean gawked at me. “Stop looking at me like that. This wasn’t my choice.”
“Look, I am not happy about having my sister dressed like a skank, but Bobby said you would stick out like a sore thumb if you didn’t dress the part.”
“I was hoping Cameron would have picked the black leather,” Dean thought. I smacked him. “What was that for?” he scowled.
“I heard what you were thinking,” I glared at him. He just shrugged, but I could see a slight pink in his cheeks from being caught. I walked away. I felt better when I saw the other girl’s outfits. Theirs weren’t any less skanky. Josie was wearing a red lace, strapless dress and Cameron had on a white midriff with a suede brown skirt. Ready to move along I said, “Let’s just get this over with.”
Dean told us that Bobby had warned him a head of time this was a rough place. He said it would be best if we went in separately acting like we didn’t know each other. He said he could get more info that way without drawing suspicion. That was fine by me. I needed to gather some information of my own and with Bobby being distracted I would have a better chance to hopefully find out what I need.
I started to get a nervous feeling on the way to the pub. I couldn’t tell if it was just my nerves from wearing this ridiculous outfit – that kept giving me a wedgie – or something else entirely. I ignored it the best I could and put on a brave face. Billy dropped Cameron and Dean off a block away from the bar and then Josie and I a half a block so it seemed like we didn’t come together. When I got out of the car, I pulled down my dress, and the massive wedgie it gave me. “That’s attractive,” Josie laughed.
“What the hell you want me to do? This dress is making my underwear ride up my ass.”
“Why are you wearing underwear?”
“Are you kidding me? Really didn’t want to show the whole bar my ass.” She just rolled her eyes.
When we walked inside, I realized Bobby was right. This was a rough crowd and most of the women here were dressed more crudely then we were. I wouldn’t have thought it possible if I haven’t seen it for myself. Josie and I took a seat in the middle of the pub. Billy sat at the bar where there was a long mirror on the back wall giving him a view of the room and Dean and Cameron took a seat in the far corner pretending to be a couple. Although if you really paid attention it didn’t look like they were pretending. Something was going on there and I was going to get to the bottom of it, but it would have to wait. Once settled into my seat, I waited.
A waitress came over to our table and asked us what we’d
like to drink. Before I could answer Dean projected in my head to order a beer. He said if I didn’t I would look suspicious. He said to sip it so it at least it looked like I was drinking it. I rolled my eyes and hoped that my next power I received was to project thoughts so I could at least say something back.
I ordered a beer like he said and even took a few sips to calm my nerves. I didn’t know why I was felt so uneasy. It wasn’t like we haven’t been doing this same thing for the past month, but something about this night was different. There was something in the air that left a bad taste in my mouth – that could have been the beer. These cups didn’t look like they’ve been washed – ever.
Twenty minutes later Bobby finally showed up. He walked in like he owned the place, saying hi to his buddies as he stumbled through. Proving he couldn’t go a few hours without staying sober. I paid him no mind and went back to my beer. I scanned the room trying not to bring attention to myself, but that was kind of hard to do in this outfit. My eyes shifted to Billy and he looked back at me in the mirror gesturing with his eyes to the guy that was heading to our table. “Sleaze ball at one o’clock,” Josie said, looking over my shoulder.
“Ella, this guy probably thinks you’re a prostitute. Just play along,” Dean projected.
Great, so now I have to pretend to be a hooker. At least I was dressed for the part. “Hey sweetheart, how about you and me go take a ride?”
I cringed when his breath hit my shoulder and tried not to show it. “Sorry, but you can’t afford me,” I said smiling.
“Then how about your friend?”
“It’s my night off,” Josie said, smiling sweetly.
“I didn’t know whores got the night off,” the sleaze laughed. It took everything I had not to punch him in the face.
Unforgiven (Wanderers #3) Page 7
