Dark Heart

by Eve L Mitchell

  “Yeah, I thought that was good too,” I acknowledged. “How did she take it?” I heard my mom take a breath and steeled myself for the worst.

  “Alicia was ok, upset, because she still blames her actions for this mess.” I nodded, she was bound to, but that’s what would make her stronger and better as an adult in my opinion. “Your Uncle Paul was a bit more of a problem. He may not be coming with us,” mom said quietly. Even though I had told mom it was ok if he didn’t, at this time I really needed him to be moving with them. I had planned to stay a few days to get them settled, but with having Lela and this fucker creeping about my place, that wasn’t a luxury I could afford. Shit.

  “You need me to talk to him?” I asked.

  “No, you know he’s as stubborn as a mule, like your father, like you.” I bit my tongue from the usual comments I would make about my old man. “I’ll talk to him later today and see what he’s thinking. Have you got a date planned? We started packing up last night.”

  I closed my eyes in a mix of despair and relief. My mom was a superstar. She may not like what had happened or that she had to move, but my God, she could roll with the punches. No pun intended. Her accident set her back about a week, if that. She gave herself a few days to grieve and then she was up in the physiotherapists and doctor’s faces, demanding to be taught how to adapt. Jesus, I think I took longer to come to terms with the accident than my mom did. However, despite my mom’s resilience, it had still been too much of a burden for Alicia to adapt and her acting out was the harsh reality. She would hold that guilt for a long time, but if this worked, it wouldn’t be for forever that she was looking over her shoulder. I would be the only one who knew where they were, and I would keep them safe.

  “If you’re happy with it, I’ll phone the realtor this morning, I need you moved before Skinner comes back. Even with him gone, I can’t be entirely sure he doesn’t have people watching.” I forced myself on. “Mom, I think Jay told more people than just Skinner.” The answering silence was unnerving. Lela’s door opened and I inwardly cursed. “I need to go, but I’ll call you back this morning, ok?”

  “Yes, I’ll keep boxing stuff up. I love you Aaron.”

  “Love you too.” I hung up. Lela looked at me in surprise at my endearment but wisely said nothing. “Let’s go,” I ordered and we left for the garage.

  When we parked on the street, Lela got out the truck with no comments. We hadn’t spoken on the way over, which was good as I wasn’t in the mood for her questions.

  I went in through the main garage with her trailing behind me. It was just gone eight-thirty and most of the guys were there. I found Jim in the office muttering and cursing at the computer. One of the other guys was with him, just standing idly by. Jim looked up at me and his relief was noticeable.

  “Aaron, I don’t know how she gets through a day, this system is…” he trailed off as he noticed Lela, I think if Lela hadn’t been beside me, he would be swearing.

  “It’s ok Jim, I know how she thinks.” I clapped him on the shoulder as I walked behind the desk. “You go get the guys sorted with yesterday’s bookings, I have this covered.” He left so quickly it was funny. I looked up and saw Lela watching me. “What?” I felt my eyes narrowing as she continued to appraise me.

  “Nothing,” she muttered as she looked away.

  “Come around here with me,” I offered. Lela was the one frowning now but she came around the counter and stood beside me. Daisy had a ton of pink and glittery things under the counter – there were about five different nail polishes, a nail file, a book, a photo frame of Daisy and me, which I found surprising and slightly alarming.

  “Wow, her work area is, what can I say? Personalised?” Lela joked. I grunted in agreement, I was sorely tempted to dump it all in the trash, but I resisted, for now. Although I did away with the photo frame immediately.

  “What did you do at college?” I asked Lela casually as I closed all the windows on the screen that Jim had opened in his frustration.

  Lela had covered a startled laugh at me throwing away the photo, but now she looked at me suspiciously. “Fine Arts. Why?”

  I nodded non-committedly. “Uh-huh, there any other courses you took, beside Art?” I glanced at her as she crossed her arms over her chest.

  “I did Fine Art at Parsons, in New York.” Lela was looking at me as she emphasised her course. I looked back at her expectantly, what difference did it make really? Art was art, wasn’t it?

  “Can you use a computer?” I asked her bluntly.

  “I’m twenty-two, of course I can use a computer,” she snapped at me.

  “Excellent. Right – Daisy has an interesting booking system, do you need pen and paper while I talk you through it?” I looked at her, she stood there glaring at me, she wasn’t looking at the computer at all. “Lela! I need you to pay attention, I have a lot to do today.”

  “Are you joking?” she demanded. “I’m not working here.” She looked around the office like it was dirt.

  I looked at her properly. She looked pissed off, outraged even. I looked over my shoulder at the door between the office and the garage. I went over and closed it and made my way back to her.

  Lela was tall, so I didn’t need to dip my head too much to look her in the eyes. “Listen to me you spoiled little brat. You’re going to learn this system, you’re going to work here all day and stay out of trouble. You’re going to be nice and not treat my staff like shit. At the end of the day, I am going to come back and pick your scrawny hide up and take you back to my house, where you will stay without complaint until your mother comes back. Then you can get to fuck out of my life.” She was staring at me wide eyed and pale faced. “Do you understand me?” Lela continued to stare at me. “Lela!” I snapped, which caused her to jump. “Do you understand what I have said to you?” She wiped her hands over her eyes and nodded. “Speak!” I snapped at her again.

  “I understand you,” she muttered, “you’re basically saying I have no choice but to do what you want, whenever you want it.”

  I took a step back and grinned at her. “Good Brat. You’re finally learning.” I turned back to the computer. “Now, do you want pen and paper to take notes while I explain Daisy’s booking system?” Lela nodded.

  Twenty minutes later, after explaining Daisy’s booking system and how to book work in, print invoices and general running order, I looked at her expectantly. She was frowning but she was frowning in concentration and was eyeing the screen. I took a step back and watched her. She moved unconsciously into the space I vacated and then started clicking and writing. I fought the smile back as I watched her – Lela was totally in the zone. Seemed the Brat liked puzzles, which was good because Daisy’s system was a complete clusterfuck.

  “I’m going into the garage now; will you be ok here?” I asked her quietly.

  “Huh? Oh, um yeah,” she turned back to the screen, “I just need to, ok yeah, I have it, ok, yeah go.” She actually made a shooing motion with her hand, I walked around the counter and went to walk into the garage when she called me back. “Aaron?”

  I braced myself, expecting her to kick off again. “I haven’t noticed, what’s the name of this place when someone calls?” Lela was standing with her notepad and pen and I genuinely had to fight not to laugh outright.

  “J & Son’s Autorepair,” I answered. The ‘J’ was my grandfather, the sons my old man and my uncle. If I ever saw my dad again, I planned to get him to legally hand his half over to me and then it would be mine and mine alone.

  “Ok, got it.” Her head was back to the screen and I was all but forgotten.

  I went in and walked over to Jim. “She’s ok in there, she may need a helping hand every now and then…but she’s smart and took to it like a fish to water.” Jim looked instantly less stressed.

  “That’s great Aaron, I was really panicking, I knew we had two big jobs due this week and Gregor has a respray scheduled for this afternoon, I couldn’t afford to take anyone off the floor fo
r the desk.”

  “Listen Jim, she’s a girl with some issues.” He glanced at me quickly. “She’s going to cover for Daisy, but she needs to be kept on a tight leash.” I noticed Gregor coming across the yard. “Maybe keep them separated. He’s sweet on her and I don’t need the complications.”

  Jim harrumphed in agreement. “She Skinner’s kid?” he asked quietly.

  “His wife’s. Some problems with partying too hard.” I was vague but I needed him to know. This was my business and his livelihood. Plus, Jim had more daughters than any sane man would want, he would watch out for her.

  “I’ll keep an eye on her. She seems like a good girl.” He squinted at the office, we could just see Lela muttering to herself and still jotting down notes. “I’ll keep the boys away from her. At least with Daisy they know the score, they may be distracted with this one.” I nodded in agreement.

  Daisy with her inappropriate work attire aside, at the end of the day, was completely harmless. She had refused all offers from all the guys that worked here, the only guy she pursued – unfortunately – was me. She still flirted with them and kept it light hearted, but she kept them all at arm’s length. They worked here, after all – you didn’t shit in your own backyard. Lela, however, was temporary. I frowned again, I didn’t want any problems with the guys. Although, thinking about it, with the way she had looked at the office, like it was so obviously beneath her, and the way she had treated Gregor the night before, I could be worrying for nothing.

  “Ok, well I need to head off, I have things to do.” I said to Jim.

  “Yeah, you go, as long as I have someone on the desk, this place pretty much runs itself.” I nodded as I made to leave. “You’ll come back for the girl later?”

  “I’ll be here for closing,” I confirmed. I considered checking her before I left but decided against it, I didn’t want to give her the opportunity to complain again. I checked the time, it was too early for the gym despite Jordan being there early yesterday, we usually opened about ten. I made my way to Shadow’s – I needed another pair of eyes on those pictures.

  “What do you think?” I asked. He flicked through the phone again. He kept glancing at me and I was beginning to doubt myself.

  He finally sighed and handed me back my phone. “You check the girl out?”

  I shook my head. “I haven’t, she said she gets it free from her friend at his parties. It’s the kind of shit that could easily happen, too much money and too little to do.” I frowned.

  Shadow’s back door opened and in walked his mom. Shadow spun and had his mom in his arms in seconds. She screamed with delight and they stood hugging for a good while. I eyed the living room door, I was considering escape when I felt those beady eyes on me. I tried a welcoming smile. She snorted at me. Old bat.

  “You’re still hanging about I see.”

  “Clara.” I nodded in greeting. She snorted again.

  “You shouldn’t slouch, been telling you since you were ten years old, stand strong, be proud of who you are Aaron Jonson. Sure no one else can be proud of you,” she muttered latterly. Shadow mumbled about her being nice.

  “It’s so nice to see you,” I lied blatantly as I leaned against the counter.

  She snorted at me again. Clara Simmons was a battle-axe if ever there was one. She stood proudly as she assessed me and I stared right back at her. She had always been tall and whippet thin. Her hair was as wild as ever, the grey ran thicker than before through the black, but it was still wild and untamed. Alicia had asked her once why she couldn’t use conditioner properly because Clara’s hair was always frizzy. Alicia hadn’t been able to sit comfortably for a few days for her ‘racial slur’, the bitch had whipped her with a belt. She was eight years old at the time, I’d been fourteen and thinner than a toothpick, but I’d still put a brick through every window of the bitch’s house. I knew the old bag knew it was me, but she never outright accused me and I never owned up to it. I couldn’t imagine her with any other hairstyle – she wore her hair like I wore my tattoos. Proudly.

  “What you doing here? You getting Ronald into trouble again?” Her eyes narrowed on me shrewdly.

  “Mama, stop it, you know I work with Aaron. He’s family,” Shadow muttered. She harrumphed again, I was going to Heimlich her soon, she was obviously getting choked by something. Pity I couldn’t choke her.

  “Ain’t no family of mine.” My eyes narrowed, but I didn’t retaliate, even if she was a shrivelled up, heartless bitch.

  “Mama!” Shadow was louder this time. He glanced at me apologetically. “Come see Maria, she’s so pleased you’re going to be here.” It was my turn to snort. The old bat stilled and glared at me.

  “What?” I demanded of her. “Just get it off your chest, I’m sure you’ve been eager to tell me whatever bullshit you came up with on the way here.” All pretence of being nice was long gone.

  “Don’t you cuss at me boy, I’ll tan yer hide, you don’t frighten me.” I shook my head in disgust, I walked out the kitchen and shouted up the stairs to Maria.

  “Your mother-in-law is here, I’ll see you later.” I heard Maria groan and grinning at her misfortune, I walked back to the kitchen and with a nod to Shadow, I left.

  Clara hadn’t always been horrible. But then when I was sixteen, I found out that Shadow’s dad was having an affair and Clara didn’t know. I don’t think anyone blamed him. Poor bastard had a hard life living with that shrew. Unsure of what to do with what I’d discovered, I told my mom, who told me I had to tell Shadow so he could tell her about it, before someone else did. It wouldn’t be easy, she said, but it was the right thing to do. I’d done as my mom advised. I wasn’t good with people, but I knew someone with pride like Clara would be humiliated if someone else told her. Her husband sure as shit wasn’t being discreet. Clara hadn’t believed Shadow and when she learned that I told him, she told Shadow that I was a liar and a fool. I was sixteen and for once was actually feeling sorry for her. I’d been furious, I was no liar – well not then anyway – so like any hot-headed teenager, I went straight to their house and confronted her and her husband, John. He’d broken down, started weeping and confessed everything to her. I’ll always remember that day, she had stood still listening to John’s confession, watching me the whole time. I hadn’t been able to move, I was equal parts shocked to be witnessing it all and I was sixteen, after all – hoping to watch the fallout, because Clara was batshit crazy and I had front row seats to the shitstorm that was coming her husband’s way. I’d kept looking at John and then her, waiting for the explosion.

  Clara had simply gone into the kitchen when he was finished, John sat there with his head in his hands and when she came back out, she kneeled down beside him and embraced him. As he put his arms around her, she stabbed him. I’d almost shit myself. I remember standing there, watching as she calmly withdrew the knife, blood flowing freely. Clara had turned to me and told me to get out whilst holding the bloody knife. I ran out of there like the devil himself was chasing me.

  John had ended up in surgery. When he came to, he claimed he’d fallen on the knife. Clara met every single stare and accusation head on and never once blinked, as she told anyone who accused her that he’d fallen. John left to live with his lover and together they left Boulder. About two months later Clara checked herself into some clinic for depression or something. A short while later Shadow informed me, she had found redemption – and apparently God. Shadow stayed with us while she was away being saved. No one cared as long as he was fed and turned up at school, no one batted an eyelid in regard to who was actually looking after him.

  Clara was even more batshit crazy in my opinion now that she had God on her side. She hadn’t moved back to Boulder, she stayed in Colorado Springs now, a mere two hours away, not far enough in my opinion. I understood why she disliked me. I had been there to witness her humiliation and maybe I could have stopped her from stabbing her husband. Truth was, I hadn’t been expecting it, I had thought there may be yelling and
screaming like my mom had used to do, when my dad had spent the house money on booze. I hadn’t expected a knife to the gut. Tell me who would?

  When we were forced to be in the same room, I was always civil. Shadow was my family, whether she liked it or not, I always tried for him. However, as I got older it was easier to just leave the room. Maria and Clara didn’t bond exactly, but Maria was a nicer person than me, she tried harder.

  I drove to the gym whilst contemplating the past. When I’d parked, I got a text from Shadow apologising for his mother and saying he would be there later to talk about what was going on. I doubted he would get away but acknowledged the text anyway.

  Once I was settled in the office, I started making phone calls about the house in Watertown. I could get the house as soon as Tuesday next week – she dropped the rent since I was willing to take it within the week and take it furnished. The rent hadn’t bothered me, but I took the discount. A saving was a saving. That meant I would need to drive to South Dakota on Monday to be there for the Tuesday and Wednesday to help them get settled. I needed to be back for Thursday – I ran fights Thursday to Saturday, not every night but the weekend was fight night. I needed to be at the fights. I had no doubt Skinner would be keeping an eye on me, plus I needed to be there to make sure that Kyle and his guys didn’t overstep. I closed my eyes in anticipation of the thirteen plus hour drive. I was going to be surviving on coffee next week I knew.

  What the fuck was I going to do with Lela? There was no way in hell I was taking her with me. I couldn’t leave her in my house – I didn’t trust her; I had no one else I trusted with her either. I couldn’t run the risk of her telling Skinner I had left her either. I ran a hand through my hair. I would need to think of something and think quick.