Black and White Lies
By: Sailorjj07
7. Chapter 7
Disclaimer: I do not own!
"Talking"
'Thinking'
Actions
(Me!)
Yuri's POV
Celeste had cried herself to sleep. I held her close to me on the couch, listening to the sound of her steady breathing. Most of all, I was incredibly thankful. Celeste was safe and neither of us were harmed. My house was a bit battered, but nothing that couldn't be fixed. Since the kids were at school, they completely missed the event, which was a good thing. Rita and Karol had been through enough. As if I summoned them, Karol and Rita's loud voices erupted from the front door.
"YURI! Oh my God, WHAT HAPPENED?!" Karol came running down the hall towards me, and nearly skidded into the coffee table at the single finger I had placed over my lips. I pointed down at Celeste, who had hardly stirred beside me and Karol covered his mouth sheepishly. Rita stood behind him, fixing a fierce glare at me. She glanced over at Celeste for a moment, then looked away from both of us, a pink tinge covering her cheeks. I did my best to hold in a laugh.
"Someone opened fire on the house. Celeste and I had just gotten here when it happened," I explained solemnly, but softly. Celeste sighed in her sleep and buried her face in my chest. I glanced down at her and laid my hand gently against her hair. "The only real damage is to the house and my car."
"How did they know?" Rita questioned, snapping out of her embarrassment. Karol had started walking around the living room, staring at the bullet holes in the wall.
I patted Celeste's hair, giving Rita a steady gaze, "I was hoping you'd be able to find that out."
Rita nodded, accepting the suggestion. She readjusted her backpack on her shoulder, "I'll be in my room."
I nodded as she headed further down the hall, but looked back in her direction when Rita stopped in the doorway and sighed loudly.
"It's not my business, but… you two..." She paused, and I just gave her time, knowing she had more to say, "Don't let Judith see you like that."
I laughed, not quite sure what she was getting at, "What's Judy have to do with Celeste?"
Rita shook her head, "Come on, Yuri. You're a lot of things, but stupid isn't one of them."
I nodded, watching her back, "I'll take that as a compliment, Rita."
Rita just tsked at me and headed off to her room. Karol stood still, pressing his hand gently against the bullet hole in the wall.
"Karol." I stated softly, shaking him from his thoughts. He turned towards me and I could see the panic slowly filling his eyes. "Can you check on Repede and the Old Man? I haven't seen Repede at all but knowing him, he's hiding out somewhere."
"Raven's here?" Karol questioned, picking up his backpack. It appeared that keeping him busy would help ease some of his anxiety.
"I'm not sure. Find out for me?"
Karol nodded and hurried from the living room. I looked down at Celeste's sleeping face once again. I didn't really want to move, but I knew I had to and soon, like Rita had said. I was slowly easing up from the couch, when Judith arrived in a rush. Her sharp laser focus took in the entire living room before falling on me and Celeste. Her eyes widened and then narrowed to near slits.
I sighed, slowly removing Celeste from my side. Once I finally broke away, I grabbed Judy's wrist and lead her towards the back of the house. I could tell she was two seconds away from exploding.
"Yuri, you better tell me what the hell is going on and fast or-!"
"Judy, the house got hit. Celeste was spooked so I wanted to keep her close-"
Judith rolled her eyes, "I absolutely don't care about your little girlfriend. Where is Raven? Do we know who did this?"
While I was glad that Judith wasn't upset or jealous about seeing Celeste and I together, her terminology didn't escape me. I ran my fingers through my hair, deciding it was best to not bark up that tree.
"Don is on his way. Raven's not here. The kids just got in from school and Rita's trying to figure out who did this. Anything else?" I pulled my hair away from my face, hastily putting it up in a messy bun, out of the way, as Judith and I made it to the backyard. Repede sat beside the pool with Karol hugging him around the middle. Repede looked annoyed by the gesture, which made me laugh.
"We've got some calls to make." I told Judith, yanking my phone out of my pocket and getting to work.
Judith nodded and pulled her phone out of her purse. We went through our contacts, calling up all the members of Mira Vesperia. When the last call was made, I walked over to the bar and poured myself a shot. Judith walked over to me, and did the same. We each poured another drink and just leaned against the bar, both of us lost in thought. Repede tilted his head, and walked back into the house.
"What the hell happened here?" Raven joined us out on the backyard with Repede at his heels. Judy sighed and sent rapid fire text messages on her phone.
"A drive-by. Where were you?"
"Well since you went out on a date, I went to get one of my own," Raven replied, wiggling his eyebrows.
"You're so gross, Old Man," Judy said, rolling her eyes. Both Raven and I chuckled.
"Don's on his way?" Raven asked, plopping down on a bar stool.
"Yeah, he'll be here soon."
"Are you going to wake the Princess up before then?"
I poured myself another drink and sighed again. I had been thinking about that since Celeste fell asleep in my arms. I could cover a lot of things, but there was no way I could cover something this big. I hadn't known Celeste that long and while my gut told me I could trust her, that didn't mean I actually could.
"Yeah." I said softly, staring out over the pool. Judy scoffed and sat down next to Raven.
"There's no reason to tell her, is there?"
"She was here with me when the house got hit, Judy. How do you explain that? Or cover that up? She was so scared she threw up on the front lawn."
Judith shrugged, not looking up from her phone, "All the more reason to keep quiet."
I turned to Raven and he held his hands up in defense, "I can't make that choice for you. If you trust her, then we trust her."
"It's not like we can cover this up anyway," Rita's voice echoed as she stepped out of the house to join the rest of us. She frowned at me, "You need to tell her, Yuri." Rita glanced over at Raven, "Glad to see you in one piece, Old Man."
Raven laughed, "Oh, sweet Rita, were you worried about me?"
"Keep it up and I'll drown you in the pool, Raven." Rita retorted, rolling her eyes. She focused back on me, "Yuri, Celeste deserves to know. Someone shot at her! You can't expect her to just overlook that."
"You're right, Rita. You're right."
"Damn right, I am." Rita pointed at me, "So man up and tell her."
"I don't think he needs to," Judith set her phone on top of the bar, standing up from her chair, "Celeste is too delicate to handle stuff like that. Look at her! She probably can't kill a fly."
"I usually just let them fly out of the window, but I'm glad you know me so well, Judith."
We all turned with surprise to find that Celeste had woken up and was standing in the doorway with her arms crossed and a frown on her face. I'll admit my heart skipped a beat. Celeste was attempting to look intimidating and failing miserably. Her obstinate expression was surprisingly cute.
"Celeste-" I stepped from behind the bar and she turned her frown on me. It made me feel bad.
"Yuri, instead of discussing the issue with everyone except me, you should probably just talk to me about it." The disapproval in her green eyes made me feel like I had wronged her by trying to avoid the truth. I decided then and there to bite the bullet and come clean.
"Uh-oh," Raven said, in a sing-song voice, and I glared at him.
Rita quickly grabbed Karol's wrist, "Let me know when the others get here. We've got homework." Karol nodded nervously and let Rita lead him away.
"Listen, Princess. I only said what everyone else was thinking." Judith crossed her arms as she regarded Celeste.
"Well, Judith, I sincerely appreciate you thinking of me. I'm glad we're so close that you know my world views."
Judith huffed, "I'll be back when everyone else gets here."
Raven bolted up from his seat as well, "I'll take that as my cue. Have a good conversation."
Once the room was empty of everyone except the two of us, Celeste walked over and sat down in the bar stool Judith had just occupied. She stared at me expectantly and I realized with frustration that I was actually nervous…
Would Celeste run for the hills after hearing what I had to say?
Estelle's POV
I sat in the stool waiting for Yuri to tell me what I already knew. I knew who he was and what he did. I had no idea of the extent of it, but I could probably guess.
"So," Yuri said, reaching towards me to take both my hands in his, "I'm sure this will surprise you, but after today, I think you deserve to know."
"Thank you."
Yuri chuckled nervously and I felt the corner of my mouth turn up, "Don't thank me just yet." I nodded, so he'd continue, "When we met, you knew my name. So I take it you've heard a few stories here and there?"
"Like the fact that you're a bad boy and break everyone's hearts?" Celeste questioned innocently, and I truly laughed at that.
"Is that really what people say about me? I haven't had a girlfriend in YEARS, how do I even-? No, neve rmind, I won't ask." Yuri released a breath, and moved forward with his story, "Maybe you don't know the extent of who I am. I do a lot of… odd jobs, around town. Some involve illegal things."
"Like drug deals?"
"Hmmm, more like drug busts."
"So you're like a detective for hire?"
Yuri's smirk made me weak in the knees, "That's a new one. But no, more like a mercenary for hire."
"Hmmm," I patted my chin thoughtfully, combining the information I knew about him with what he was telling me, "And you do this for who, exactly?"
"Anyone with the money to afford me." Yuri replied with a wink, and I was really a flustered mess then. Yuri gripped my hands tighter and elaborated, "Of course, we have a few rules. Like I said, we don't buy, sell, or move drugs for anyone. We don't kidnap children. We're against human trafficking and we will never harm people who can't afford to defend themselves."
"And murder? Do you kill people, Yuri?"
He seemed a bit taken aback by my direction question, but squared his shoulders and looked me directly in the eyes. I was surprised at the boldness of his response, but it was my fault; I had asked for this, "Sometimes."
I was floored, to say the least.
"And this… your work, is what caused those people to shoot at us today?"
"More than likely.
I shifted my eyes from his gaze and I could see him deflate a little. To reassure him, I squeezed his hands, "I'm sorry, Yuri… It's just a lot to take in."
"I understand."
I laced my fingers with his, not at all happy with the somewhat dejected expression on his face. He looked up at me, and I wanted to nothing more than to hug him, "Thank you so much for sharing this with me, Yuri. I know it was hard for you, and the others too."
He didn't say anything, only nodded.
"So tell me: what role do the others play in this?" I questioned, hoping that the subject change would get his attention.
"All of Mira Vesperia helps me out. Since we have a lot of money coming in, they do everything - managing the club, visiting the orphanage, helping at the bakery."
"Wait, what?"
Yuri smiled smoothly, "Did I not tell you? With the money I've made from my work, I invested in my community. I bought the orphanage for Belius; she owns it completely. The club is mine, as is part of the bakery, though I keep trying to give it to Mimi - she keeps saying she won't take it, but that she'll buy it. The club that we met in belongs solely to me. I'm not much of a club-goer, but I figured it would be good to have a safe space for my team to relax."
"Wow, Yuri, that's amazing!"
"Well, I just wanted to help the people that helped take care of me growing up. Karol and Rita came from that very orphanage, and so did I."
"So, have you adopted Karol and Rita? Are they legally yours?"
Yuri laughed loudly, "Whoa whoa, I'm not anyone's father. Not yet anyway," and then Yuri wiggled his eyebrows and my cheeks burned red. "Celeste, you're so easy to tease, haha."
I glared and tried to yank my fingers away from his. Yuri laughed and pulled me closer, "Anyway, I am their legal guardian, but Rita would kill me if I tried to adopt her. Karol's here because he wanted to live with the Don, but Don's wife would have his head if he brought another kid home. They both do pretty well with me and I look out for them."
"What about Raven? Judith?"
"Hmmmm, the Old Man used to work with the Don too. Raven claims he moved out because there were too many kids at Don's house, but there's no telling with him. Raven's like my second-in-command and he does a pretty good job when I'm not around." Yuri shrugged, staring off into space as he thought, "And Judith… Judy just showed up one day. She found me at the club and told me she wanted to work for me. I'm honestly not sure why she's here, but she's been working with me for about 3 years. She's really good at getting us all in and out without being seen so I've kept her around."
"Maybe she just likes you," I muttered and Yuri laughed, wrapping his arms around me.
"Who knows." Yuri replied, hugging me to him. "And what about you?" He whispered in my ear, and a shiver ran up my spine, "Do you still like me after hearing about my job?"
Not trusting myself to speak, I nodded wordlessly, feeling heat flood to my cheeks. This man was going to be the death of me.
Yuri pulled away, cupping my face in his hands, "That's good to hear." He was leaning into my personal space before I knew what was happening, "I'm really glad to hear that, Celeste." I heard as my eyes slid closed.
As his lips touched mine, I realized that I was glad too.
End Chapter 7
