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14: Sweetness
PAS
14: Sweetness
Luci
“Did you have fun?” I ask Cole as I tuck him into bed. He hadn’t fallen asleep in the car, so I gave him a quick bath once I got him home. His entourage said they had to make a stop on the way home, so I brought him. Gave me a chance to return the cooler bag to Baker.
He smiles at me sleepily. “Tons and bunches of fun. Thank you Luck”
“I had tons and bunches of fun too. I love trick or treating and wearing a costume.” I confide in him.
“Did your babysitter take you trick or treating or your family?” He asks innocently.
I swallow hard. “I used to go with Sydney and her brother once I met them. We would all dress up and go around their neighborhood. And then when Barrett was two, we started dressing up again to take him.”
“Your mommy didn’t take you? Or daddy?” He is curious, I’m sure, because of his own situation. Which I remain in the dark about willingly at this point because asking Easton Reed anything would be worse than swallowing razor blades. He seems to vacillate between coldly annoyed with me and coolly tolerant. Cole is the only person he softens for I’ve noticed.
“I don’t like to talk about them much. I lost them when I was three.”
He frowns that little brow furrowing. “How did you lose them?” I confused him.
“Not the word I should have used. They died. They were in the car driving home from a New Year’s Eve party. Someone hit them going really fast.” And really drunk, I add to myself. The woman had escaped the bar, before the bartender could stop her. I was home with our neighbor, an older lady named Junie. They were killed on impact considering she was going about 70 down a residential street. There was a raging thunderstorm dumping buckets of rain and the roads were still slick. It flipped their car and didn’t matter that they were wearing their seat belts or had airbags. She walked away with a few cuts and scratches. Went to prison for manslaughter where she was given everything she needed to be taken care of in every way. Yet my life was ravaged into absolute tatters and uncertainty. It’s been a bitter pill to swallow as I’ve gotten older. The irony of how justice works in our world. Movies were so much easier to live in……
“Do you miss them?” I tune back into Cole.
“I don’t remember much about them. I was too little. I can remember my mom liked to make cupcakes, but not cookies. And my dad would come home with a piece of candy in his pocket for me on days he would pick me up from daycare.” I can barely remember their faces at this point which hurts the most. I only have a few photos left of them too. It’s hard to keep up with that kind of thing being shuffled from home to home. Or when some vengeful kid decides to destroy them to teach you a lesson.
“I sorry Luci.”
“Oh Coco, that’s not for you to be sorry about.” Almost near tears at his words, I lean forward and kiss his
forehead. He’s so very sweet.
“But you looked so sad.”
“It’s not a happy story. How about we talk about your favorite three parts of tonight instead? Tell me.” He smiles again. “Playing at the house with the games, Daddy coming with my uncles for surprise, Barrett
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14: Sweetness
going with me, all my candy, my glow sticks, you and Syd wearing costumes with us umm i think that’s all
I laugh softly. “So everything, huh?”
“Yep. Your favorites?” He asks, his eyes drooping closed.
“Seeing you laugh, the joy in Barrett’s face to have a friend this year, enjoying the holiday as a normal person the same as everyone else.” I whisper to him. He’s out. “Goodnight sweet little Coco. May you always be so loving and kind. The world needs more of you.”
I walk toward the kitchen with his empty milk glass. Which I almost drop as I step in and find Easton standing by the island rustling through a box, wearing nothing but navy sweatpants. So much for the thoughts of dancing crocodiles wearing tutus that Cole had selected to dream about tonight. I had been picturing them vividly a second ago. Seeing a half–naked hockey player built like an Adonis will refocus my egg–scrambled brain apparently.
He has most of his back to me and I gape at the muscles back there. Damn, hockey is definitely a fit sport. Not a single tattoo on his back either like those girls were whispering about one time in class. I close my mouth and make a small sound.
“I heard you already.” He turns, allowing me to see his whole back, and I gasp now. There is a huge bruise on his upper left shoulder area and I’m pretty sure it’s bleeding.
“What happened?”
“I stopped an equipment shelf from collapsing at practice with my shoulder.” He shrugs and goes back to
reaching over his shoulder with a pad doused in what smells like alcohol.
“You walked around trick or treating like that?” I rinse the glass and quickly put it in the dishwasher.
“I had a bandage on it, but it fell off in the shower a minute ago.” He winces as he stretches it.
“I meant the pain you must have been in. And why did you stop a shelf from falling with your shoulder? 1 thought you said you had plenty of common sense.” I walk over and he turns to stare down at me with
narrowed eyes and a very annoyed set to his mouth.
“I thought you had to watch your words with others. Like swords and lightsabers or was that only for the
boys? Do as I say, not as I do.” He smirks and I look away, fidgeting. Ouch, that stings I think.
“You seem to bring out the worst in me.”
He opens his mouth slightly, running his tongue along the bottom of his upper teeth as he watches me. “More like you let out your honest inner thoughts unintentionally regarding me.”
“I can help.” I say to distract him from his analysis. “You can’t reach it.”
He just stares at me like I’ve gone crazy. “I’m not a nurse or anything, but I can clean and bandage a cut. Are you scared it’s going to sting? Big, badboy hockey player fears antiseptic?”
He slaps the pad into my outstretched hand and turns silently. “Uh, could you maybe sit down or something? Not sure if anyone’s mentioned how you are taller than most of the population.”
His head turns and those silver eyes pierce into me over his shoulder. “I hadn’t noticed.” He deadpans as he
sits on the stool.
“Well, I’m sure there’s less oxygen up there. Might explain why your brain has trouble functioning. How heavy
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14: Sweetness
was this shelf?” I ask as 1 look at the bruises and cut closer
W Ports
‘You can bite, little rabbit, can’t you It probably weighed two hundred pounds at least. The problem was the skates i didn’t know that were attached to that corner Without guards, which I will be chewing someone’s ass about. Careless and unsafe. He tenses as i wipe it gently with the alcohol
“Says the guy who used his body to stop a shelf. Seriously, let it fall maybe and pick it up after. What if it had crushed you? I wipe it a few more times. He wordlessly hands me a dry clean pad. I apply it with firm pressure to stem the bleeding, but gentle enough not to push on the bruises too much. Hey look at me using my basic health class knowledge.
“I didn’t need it to collapse. It would have given me away. We needed a way to get out of practice early to trick
or treat with Cole.”
I let that sink in. “You can’t leave me hanging like that. I need to hear what you did. The end of the show.. He turns his head and I see he’s smiling a little. My breath catches. ‘Curious little rabbit. I put something in the ventilation system so it would smoke the rink out. That vent is the only one not on camera and with the shelf in front of it, no one will suspect it. Unfortunately, my foot got hung and it came with me. So I had to
catch it.”
“Necessary, but still not smart. Take lots of deep breaths whenever you sit down and build up your oxygen levels. Or have you smacked into so many door frames that it caused damage?” I lift the pad and see the bleeding has stopped. “Sorry, maybe I should shut up.”
“I think you picked the wrong costume tonight. You are not goodness and light.” He mumbles, tugging on my cape. I should have brought clothes to change into.
“I said sorry.”
“But didn’t mean a syllable of it. You are so sweet with Cole, yet with me, you insult me while being helpful… that gives me an idea.” He doesn’t elaborate. I go to reach around him for the first aid box. He turns a little, so his face is right in mine and I stare at him, never really having paid attention when I was this close to him. He’s a damn god that fell to earth or an angel, I swear. That chiseled jaw, full lips and deep set eyes under strong brows would make anyone weak in the knees…..until he talks. And then they will collapse if they only listen to the tone and not how coldly insulting he’s probably being. His hair falls messily over his forehead as he watches me. I tear my eyes away and grab the box searching for antibiotic cream and a bandaid. Unfortunately, that just means I get a glimpse of his ripped torso. And there is a tattoo on his chest. A tiny fingerprint with a date next to it.
I spread the cream and then secure the bandaid. “Done. You survived with no tears. I’d offer you a lollipop if I had one.” I say softly, moving to throw away all the trash. I reach into the cabinet above the trash can and grab the bottle of ibuprofen. I dump out three considering his size and set them on the counter. He already has a glass of water. He takes them as I close up the first aid kit and replace it with the bottle. Baker made sure I knew where all those things were.
He pulls a white athletic shirt over his head and I think what a shame, but then mentally slap myself. “I’ll go home if that’s alright. Cole is out like a light.”
“Go. And thank you for helping with my injury…..sweetness.” He smirks and I almost drop my bag.
“What?”
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14 Sweetness
“Sweetness. I think I’ll call you that. Sarcastically, because you are that way with everyone else. It might remind you to not bite at me.”
“Umm no.” I say and move toward the door.
“Goodnight sweetness.” He taunts and I grit my teeth. This should be fun.
Ivory Row
A little more about Luci’s past. She has a lot of pain she’s had to process. And sadly her story is all too true. Those who destroy lives are often taken better care of than the victims they left behind. You also get a hint for why she’s always retreating into her head when she unfocuses and heads straight for movies she’s watched.
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