by Smoke, Lucy
"No promises," I shot back.
Bellamy laughed and ushered me outside, and into a new car, a newer model SUV. The ride back to their condo was much shorter this time. I rolled down the window and let the speed of the car whip wind at my face and through my hair. When we pulled into the parking lot, I hopped out and followed Bellamy to the front doors.
We used the regular elevators this time. I scanned the area for the bitchy looking front desk attendant, but she wasn't there so I guessed it was her day off. As the elevator doors closed behind us and Bellamy slapped one of the buttons, I was curious enough to ask about why we had used the service ones before.
"Marv's paranoid," was his response.
The moment we stepped through the doorway, I was startled by an attractive male butt encased in sweatpants swaying as Texas crawled along the floor next to the couch.
"Come on, little one," he cooed. "I'm not going to hurt you, I swear."
Cleo's hiss of uncertainty had me laughing. He was on the floor, crawling, trying to appease my cat. She recognized my laughter and shot out from beneath the couch, near Texas' feet. Before he could react and grab her, Cleo's little, fuzzy body was wrapped around one of my ankles. I bent down to retrieve her while Texas sat up, pressing his back against the coffee table.
"We were doing so well," he said. "I don't know what happened."
I shrugged. "Cats are fickle, I guess." I petted her back and she purred in my arms
Bellamy chuckled as Texas stood and glanced between us. "What's up? I thought you were at the construction site."
Bellamy looked down at me before addressing Texas. "She's gotta do homework," he said. "Take a test, work on her paper, that sort of thing."
"Ahh." Texas hummed as he moved back towards his room.
Bellamy shuffled in the opposite direction. "I'll make us some lunch," he announced. "I'll let you know when it's ready."
With Bellamy heading one way and Texas heading another, I wasn't quite sure where to go until Texas turned around and gestured for me to follow him. I clutched Cleo to my chest and let him lead me back to his bedroom.
"Okay, Marv dropped your bag off a while ago with–" He motioned to Cleo. "Bell probably already forwarded you the test. It should be in your email. You get to work on that. Let me know when you finish. We'll be out in the living room or in the kitchen if you need us. You can get changed in here if you want to shower in the bathroom. We won’t bother you."
I guessed I was using his room then because the moment he was done informing me, he turned and left the room. I sighed, placed Cleo on the pillow at the head of the bed, and shifted to sit down. Cleo curled up, scratching her paws along the surface a few times before falling asleep.
Opening the laptop that I retrieved from my bag, I scrolled through my emails and found one forwarded from an unfamiliar address. Sure enough, my history teacher had sent me an online version of the final exam with instructions on how to go about completing it. I could already feel the pressure of the test throbbing in the back of my brain, but I got down to work and opened the document. The sooner I started, the sooner I could finish and it would all be over.
Chapter 12
I finished my test rather quickly and moved on to my paper which took up the bulk of my time. After an hour spent on an analyzation of the character developments within Chbosky's Perks of Being a Wallflower, I decided I had depressed myself enough. I shut the laptop after saving the pages and cracked the sore muscles in my neck. I was thankful that my teacher had allowed the class to choose books that we were all interested in rather than force us to write something about Shakespeare or Edgar Allen Poe. They were great writers, yes, but so overdone. If I read one more obnoxiously complex play or horror-stricken poem, I would vomit.
Stretching, I rose from Texas' bed and headed for the hallway. Cleo continued to sleep on Texas' pillow. I tiptoed down the hallway, intending to sneak up on Bellamy and Texas. I imagined their faces when I jumped and screamed. Carl, from work, had caught me doing my side work enough, zoned out, and scared the crap out of me multiple times. I tried not to think about how comfortable I had become with the guys that I was doing this.
I reached the corner of the hallway, and just beyond were the living room and the kitchen. I peeked around and saw the back of Bellamy's jeans. They were in the kitchen. Before I could jump out, though, I heard one of them say my name. I couldn't tell who spoke, it was whispered so low, but the hushed voice had me thinking that they were trying to stay quiet, to keep me from hearing. Without intending to, my tiptoeing had a new purpose. I sidled back, my spine pressed to the wall.
"–should've asked Marv's cousin or his sister, maybe another girl from Iris," Texas was saying. "She's going to need to go in with him tomorrow night and I'm not sure she should. It's dangerous."
Bellamy's low rumble replied. "His sister isn't old enough to attend one of these parties and I've only met Quinn once or twice, but even I know she'd rather cut off her own ear than be forced into another socialite gathering. From what Marv says, she gets forced into it enough. Another Iris girl would have been preferable." I frowned. It sounded like they were referring to a party. Was I going to one? I looked down at my old clothes. "But we were looking to add to the team anyway. She works with us. Marv likes her. I like her."
"I don't know if she works with us, yet." My head turned at the bite in Texas' words. Did he not want me around? He seemed nice enough. He was even willing to give me information and phones. Had he changed his mind? "I haven't gotten to spend any time with her."
"Neither have I," Bellamy said.
"You at least got to have contact with her at the school. You were her first contact on behalf of Iris."
"Do you want me to head out?" Bellamy didn't sound like he wanted to. The offer was given gruffly. "I can head over to the construction site or call Marv and ask if he or his parents need help."
There was a pause where silence reigned. It could have been Texas considering his offer. In truth, however, I pictured his face pinched with guilt. These guys cared about each other. I knew he would never intentionally push Bellamy out of his own home. At least, I hoped not.
"No," he finally said. "No, don't do that. I'll be fine. She'll have to work with me at some point. It doesn't matter."
A thousand thoughts swept through my mind. Were they fighting over working with me? What was this about a party?
I crept back, sliding along the floor until I got to Texas' bedroom door. I opened it and closed it to alert them that I would be coming in. Almost guiltily, they jumped at attention, scrambling to get into the living room before I got there. Standing in the doorway with my hands clasped behind me, I rocked back on my heels as though I was unsure of entering, as though I hadn't just been eavesdropping on them.
"Hey," Bellamy spoke first. "You done?"
I nodded. "Just finished."
"Cool, lunch is ready. I was just about to come get you."
Sure, I thought, but I didn't comment.
We sat in the living room, and each ate a bowl of chili with a side of cornbread. I had never tasted anything so delicious. I wolfed down the food and was done before either of them had finished half. They stared as I got up, rinsed my dishes in their sink, and placed them in their dishwasher.
"Do you think she even breathed between bites?" Texas asked.
"I don't know about breathing, but she sure inhaled that food," Bellamy replied.
I ignored their teasing. "What else are we doing today?" Would they tell me about the party? The slightly angry, betrayed part of me dared them to lie to me.
Bellamy popped up from his seat on the couch. "Shopping," he said.
My eyes widened, and my mouth dropped open in surprise. It was the furthest thing from what I had expected him to say.
"Shopping?" I clarified.
Texas was the one who replied. "Yes, shopping. Marv wants to take you. We're all going."
"Why shopping?" I looked down at my clothes. I didn't need
more.
Texas winked. "It's a surprise."
I stiffened. A party kind of surprise? I didn't ask, though. Within the next twenty minutes Texas had finished his food while Bellamy rinsed his dishes and went about the same routine that I had. I waited in the front hall, leaning against the wall, while they rushed around the apartment, grabbing shoes, turning out the lights, and all of the various other things people usually did before going out.
"Ready?" Bellamy asked as Texas came skidding around the corner, this time dressed in a tight pair of jeans cinched at the waist with a brown belt, and a dark t-shirt with a pair of converse completing the look.
"Let's go."
When we reached the parking lot, Bellamy claimed the driver's seat of the SUV. Texas reached the front passenger seat and held the door open for me. I was going to insist that he ride there, but with one look, he silenced me. I politely thanked him in a quiet voice as I reached for the suicide handle and heaved myself up into the car. He beamed.
"So, where are we going?" I inquired as Bellamy pulled out of the parking lot. "The mall?"
"One of the outlets should have something," Texas said from the back.
"Yeah, okay. Text Marv. Tell him we'll meet him there."
"Oh, that reminds me!" Texas reached into his back pocket. "I knew I would forget. I grabbed it just before we left." He reached between the two front seats and handed me a new iPhone. "This is your new, permanent phone. It's under warranty, figured we would need that in case anything else happened."
I flinched. "I really don't need a phone." I pushed it back at him, but he refused to take it. "I don't want my mom to find it."
"So, you'll hide it." Texas waved away my concern. "Keep it. You might need it for emergencies. Check it out, I installed a few new apps for you." He leaned forward, the seat belt stretching across his chest.
"Isn't it just for emergencies?" I said. "I don't need any apps."
"Hush. Click that button." He pointed to a blue square with a red outline. I opened it and a small creature popped up on the screen. "It's a video game. Have you ever played Pokémon GO?"
"Uh...considering that I didn't have a phone before this, no. I can't imagine how I would have been able to."
"Oh, right. Well," he stretched even farther until his hand hovered over the phone. "It's a really cool game where you can walk around and find different creatures. Hey, look! There's a Charmander. Quick! Catch it!"
"How do I–" I slammed my fingers down on a few buttons until Texas flicked the ball at the bottom of my screen and it slapped the small, orange dinosaur looking creature, jerking back only to absorb it into the ball. "Holy cow! That's cool. How did I do that?"
Bellamy rolled his eyes. Texas grinned and proceeded to school me on the awesomeness of Pokémon hunting. I became so absorbed in finding the little, strange looking creatures that by the time the SUV pulled into the outlet mall I barely realized that much time had passed. I grudgingly closed the app when Bellamy informed me that I wouldn't need my phone with me.
"What if she gets lost?" Texas argued.
"She'll be with one of us the whole time," Bellamy reasoned. "There's no need and you're the one who told her it was for emergencies. Who would she need to contact? The only one not here is Knix and he'll likely contact us first. It's fine. Leave it."
"Maybe we should leave our phones then, too," Texas said, though I could tell he didn't mean it. He kept his phone in his back pocket, not even feigning to reach for it. He just wanted to bait his friend.
"Oh, for the love of – you and I need to keep our phones in case someone needs us. How are we going to find Marv without our phones?"
Texas wasn't listening. He had already found Marv, who stood at the closest entrance, waving his arms. As we approached, I noticed that he had also changed clothes. He wore a pair of expensive looking black slacks, a bright-pink dress shirt tucked into his waist, and a blue and white bowtie. Texas hooted with laughter.
"Dear god, who dressed you?" He was laughing so hard that his eyes began to water.
Marv arched a perfectly sculpted brow. "My sister did."
"She's got horrid taste, Man," Texas chuckled. "Never let a fourteen-year-old pick out your clothes."
"I think he looks nice." I didn't know why I felt the urge to defend him, but I thought it was sweet that he was willing to let his little sister pick out his clothes. I could remember wanting to do the same for Michael, though he had never let me.
Marv smirked. "She thinks I look dashing, Tex. Maybe you should try to leave the house in something other than nightwear." With that, he turned on his heel and headed inside, Bellamy trailing behind.
"I'm wearing jeans, you snob!" Texas yelled, following after the both of them. From there, I fell to the back of the group.
The outlet mall was similar to the regular mall, except the shops were all much more extravagant, set outside, reminding me of a place in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina that I had once gone to as a child. A vinyl canopy covered the path that separated the stores, giving the illusion that they were indoors. Instead of high blast air conditioning though, the sweltering heat poured through, only minimized by the shade the canopy provided.
Marv strode with purpose, Bellamy on his right, Texas on the other side of Bellamy. Together they were a trio of beauty. Every so often, I would catch girls and women of all ages, as they turned their heads to watch the boys. With the three of them standing side by side and me trailing behind them, I finally got a good look at some of their differences.
Bellamy was obviously the broadest, his shoulders were massive. It truly made no sense for him to be between Texas and Marv because he would frequently have to angle his body to allow one of the others closer as shoppers milled around them. He and Texas were about the same height, and though Marv didn't tower over them, he stood just a few inches over six feet.
Marv was similar to Texas in certain ways too. Both were slender, their waists tapered, though Texas' more so. Each of their shirts stretched across easily visible muscle, though Marv's clothes looked personally fitted. As my eyes traveled down, spotting the grooves and quirks of their bodies, they came to rest on each of their behinds. I blushed when I realized where I was staring and jerked my gaze back up just in time to slam my face into Bellamy's back as they all came to a stop.
"Sorry," I mumbled, pulling back and rubbing at my nose.
Bellamy turned with a grin, seemingly unaware of why I had collided with him. "No worries."
"This one should do," Marv announced.
My eyes widened at the displays. Sleek black dresses and sparkling silver numbers were caged in the glass windows at the front of the store. As they led me inside, I felt even more out of place. A woman in simple black glided over to greet us.
"How can I help you gentlemen today?" she practically purred. "Looking for something for a girlfriend perhaps?"
"Actually," Marv said as Bellamy pushed me forward. "We're looking for something for her. It's for a party–" My eyes widened. Marv had come right out and said it. It made me wonder if Bellamy and Texas had been trying to keep it a secret at all and if, maybe, they had just been trying not to disturb me. "We were wondering if you had anything you think might suit her."
"Hmmm." Tapping one long, manicured nail against her cheek, the woman – whose nametag read Lindsey – circled me. I shrunk inward on myself, feeling caged by a strange, weirdly floral smelling, animal. "We might. What kind of gown were you thinking?"
She directed her question at Marv as Bellamy and Texas wandered off to finger through the racks. "Cocktail dress. Something loose fitted maybe. She's small, but I don't want to make her uncomfortable in one of those skin-tight dresses. I also don't want it to look like she's trying too hard."
"Not used to dressing up, is she?" The woman – Lindsey – smirked.
I bristled. I was standing right in front of them! I opened my mouth to say so, but Marv interrupted me.
"She doesn't need to," he said. "She's beautiful e
nough without the window dressing." My heart almost stopped right then and there.
I looked back at him and he smiled my way, letting me know that everything would be okay. No matter what Lindsey said, no matter what I wore, I would always be beautiful to him. It was something I had never been told before. I had never worried, and never cared before what someone else thought about my appearance. But here, in this moment, I wanted him to like whatever I wore because he was just the kind of person who deserved to have an elegant lady on his arm. It wasn't me, but I would do my damned hardest to try.
"Alright, follow me back, young lady," Lindsey said. "Let's see what we can find." I didn't take my eyes off of Marv even as I followed behind the woman. He grinned, letting me know with his eyes that everything would be okay, that I would be okay.
Lindsey went straight to a rack at the back of the store. She spread a few dresses apart and began pulling ones in different colors. Red. Blue. White. Her arms were filled by the time she decided she had chosen enough, and she led me back to the dressing room. I thought it was odd that she hadn't asked my size, not that I knew. It had been years since I wore a dress for anything and I hadn't had the money since to spend on anything so frivolous.
"Try this one on first." She handed me the red dress before hanging the rest on the back of the dressing room door, and stepped out, closing me in. I stared at the gown she had chosen. I didn't particularly care for it, but I slipped out of my old clothes and into the red sheath, staring at myself in the mirror. It really was a lovely dress; bright red, and tighter than I would have liked. It hugged my thighs and butt, molding to my curves, but at the top it sagged open and I had to hold it closed. There was no way I was walking out in this. I stripped and started looking through the remaining dresses. "Are you almost done?" Her high pitched and slightly whiny voice grated on my nerves.
"Almost," I replied.
I selected a white and blue dress with a mesh upper bodice that crawled up my shoulders. The skirt was flared, with blue and black petals spread across the fabric. More mesh poked out from the bottom of the backside, making the dress seem longer than it really was. It was more fun than elegant, but when I looked in the mirror, I decided that this dress fit much better. I felt pretty, even confidant. I opened the door.
