Disclaimer:
I own nothing of what David Elliot and Paul Lovett had written. I do, however, own my very own character Ms. Olivia Friedman.
"What? You're gonna leave again?" Sofi asked - her Spanish accent thick with anger. Rolling his eyes, Angel pushed her arm out of the way, giving himself enough room to head out the back door. Following close behind the dark skinned man, my gaze stayed on the floor. A sudden feeling of sickness came over my stomach and not in a good way. My hand traveled to my torso as my body slammed into the wall. Angel's head rapidly turned, investigating the noise, but as soon as he realized my current state, his face softened and he moved to help me.
"You aight?" he inquired softly, holding my shoulders. Giving him a small nod, I rested my back against the wall. Though the pain in my stomach faded away, my head inherited it while my vision blurred.
"Yeah, though I think I'm going to sit this one out." Angel nodded and agreed. "Let Bobby know I'm not feeling well and I'll see him when he comes back?" Again Angel nodded before wrapping his large arms around my petite body.
"Listen Liv, I know we never really hung out or talked much growin' up, but I'm happy you and ma brother are back together. I know you guess are happy and I'm glad you finally saw that." His words brought a smile to my face. Giving him another hug, I thanked him and rushed him out; Bobby didn't like waiting on anyone. "Watch after Sofi, aight? I don' want her breakin' shit." With a nod I waved him off and shut the door. After the back door was safely closed behind Angel, I moved the where Sofi previously was. It came as a surprise when she was nowhere to be found but shattered glass and blood scattered on the floor.
"Sofi!" Calling out for her resulted in nothing. There was no sound coming from anywhere in the house – worry began to take over. 'What if whoever hired the shooters found us first?' Quickly and quietly tiptoeing to the dining room, I picked up one of the countless weapons that lay exposed on the table. Holding up the firearm, I checked the magazine and chamber before walking around the first floor; no one. My eyes moved to the stairs and my mind raced as many different thoughts and scenarios formed giving the reasoning behind Sofi's disappearance.
As each foot took another step, I kept the firearm raised the standard police way. Once I reached the second level, the sound of water running could be heard. Quietly reaching the bathroom, I slowly opened the door and opened my gun inside. The only sound heard was Sofi's high pitched screams and my sigh of relief. Shaking my head at the situation, I slid the gun in the back of my pants while Sofi yelled in Spanish. But just as I was about to tell her to shut the hell up, my eye caught the blood in the sink and the wound on her left hand. "My God Sofi, what happened?" I asked as I rushed to her side, looking at her wound. This took the Spanish woman by surprise, that I could clearly see, but she still responded stating she punched the glass from the cabinets, cutting herself. Slightly annoyed, I pulled her hand underneath the faucet and began cleaning her would, making sure there weren't any shards of glass still stuck in it. Once the cut stopped bleeding, I opened the medicine cabinet and grabbed the peroxide and band-aids. "Follow me," I mumbled as I moved to Ma's room where the light was better to see. Doing as she was told, Sofi sat on the bed silently. Setting everything on the nightstand, I joined her and began cleaning the wound.
"I thought you hated me." Snapping my head to look at her, my brow rose. Sure, I never said anything to the woman and her mere presence caused my brain to spaz out, but I never hated the woman. "When we were growing up you never talked to me and now you don't even look at me when we are in the same room. Why you doin' this?"
"Because Angel told me to look after you. How do you think this will look when he comes home?" I answered while I bandaged her hand up. Once I was done, I looked to Sofi who kindly thanked me. "Can I ask you something?" She nodded. "Why are you with Angel again? I mean, if I remember clearly, he used to cheat on you when we were in high school and he hasn't necessarily been around long enough for the two of you to become re-acquainted again." I'm guessing my question came to her as a shock since she simply stared in my direction.
"Because I love him." Was her simple answer. And just like that I realized the dark-haired bimbo and I actually had something in common. Love. We were both madly and deeply in love with men who caused so much agitation and aggravation that sometimes the easiest thing would be to leave. But we don't because we love them and we were both willing to put up with everything sent our way. "You know, the way you love Bobby. You have to love him 'cause he's the most annoying man I ever met." Letting out a small laugh, I nodded.
"Yeah, he can definitely cause a few veins to pop in your forehead, but I do love him; more than anything." Patting her hand, I was about to open my mouth to say something else but instead my nostrils caught a wiff of something bad. "You did turn off the stove before coming up here, right?" I asked, cautiously eyeing her. Sofi didn't answer; her facial expression said it all. Swiftly jumping to my feet, I ran down the stairs and into the smoke filled kitchen. Whatever was in the pot was dark and no longer edible – this I could see as I turned off the stove and moved the burnt pot to a different burner. Sofi popped into the kitchen, worry in her face.
"Fuck! Now I'm going to have to cook again!" Inspecting the pot, I knew I could save the cooking instrument but the food inside was long gone. Shaking my head to the woman, I grabbed my work cellphone and waved it.
"The good thing about cooking for men is they'll eat anything. We'll order pizza – don't sweat it." This satisfied Sofi since I instantly watched her shoulders relax.
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Once the pizza guy came, Sofi and I cleaned the dining table of all the weapons and began indulging ourselves. While we ate, we told each other different funny stories about our men and quickly began with the normal girl talk and gossip. It felt refreshing to speak with another female instead of the brothers for a change – she easily read between the lines. Laughing and joking, Sofi and I both realized we had more in common than just being with our men. But after a while the tone and mood of the conversations began to become serious. "Why do they always bring you whenever they go out and never me?" she asked. I could sense the jealousy in her voice which only caused me to pity the woman.
"Probably because I have a badge and if they get into trouble I can help," I voiced stating a mere guess. Though I did know the real answer; because I've been with the brothers longer and I'm like a sister to most of them. But I couldn't say that to her, not when she was already jealous of my rank in their lives.
"Where do you think they are right now?" Sofi rose and grabbed our dirty plates, taking them to the kitchen. Following behind her, I rested my body against the counter and shrugged.
"Probably at the lawyer's house to get some information on how he knew mom." As soon as I responded, I quickly regretted it when a sparkle gleamed in Sofi's eyes. "But they should be home soon," I quickly added, feeling slightly uncomfortable.
"Do you know where he lives?"
"No." I lied and Sofi easily saw through my façade. Giving me a glare, Sofi folded her arms across her chest while she dangerously stared me down. Years as a cop and a detective and nothing scared me more than Sofi's sharp glances. "Yes," I mumbled, staring wide-eyed. Gripping my car keys in her hands, Sofi grabbed her coat and started for the door. Knowing nothing good was going to come from this, I followed her actions and entered the car upon her demand.
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The entire car ride was silent with only the sound of Sofi's muffled rants and heavy breathing. Mostly she was tuned out while my knuckles turned white from gripping my seat, holding on tight while she twisted and turned the wheel. Once we got to the house, I thanked the good Lord I was still alive and stumbled out of my car. "This is their car," Sofi spoke, mostly to herself. Looking to the black VW, I silently cursed them for leaving the window open.
"Alright Sofi, think about what you're doing here. They're breaking and entering, meaning, if caught, they will go to jail." Although my words were meant to be highly convincing, Sofi reached her hand inside the vehicle and pressed the horn – multiple times. Listening to the woman calling out Angel's name, I shook my head as I leaned against my car, my arms crossed. No matter what, I knew I was getting out of this with my badge, but I needed a contingency plan.
"Angel! Angel, come out! I see you in the window! Come out you idiot, I know you're in there!" Covering my face with my hands, I just couldn't believe what was happening. "Angel! People there are robbers in the house!" Hearing the last bit, my head snapped forward. This woman was officially dubbed crazy. Just as I was about to physically stop Sofi, Angel rampaged through the door.
"I thought I told you to watch here!" Angel barked in my direction as my legs walked toward Bobby.
"I'm watching her." Reaching Bobby, I watched as a very nice car approached the house, turning into the driveway. Unfortunately the men didn't notice this because they were hauling the crazy Hispanic away, but as soon as Bobby heard the car, his head turned. His eyes lit up as if he was a child on Christmas morning as he realized the man in the car was Mr. Bradford. Making a B-line for the car, both Jeremiah and I chased after him but with no avail.
"Bobby! He's a lawyer Bobby," Jerry pointed out, trying hard to pull his brother off the older man.
"Jail time, prison, probation, community service; any of this ring a bell?" I listed as I watched the scene fold out in front of me. Bobby had pulled the lawyer out from his car and out onto the cold snow. Pulling the man's jacket over his head, Bobby began his own version of interrogation.
"You fuckin' lied to me. You said you didn't even know my mother; you were the last person to see her alive." I watched as Bobby's hand rose and swiftly shot down onto the man's bare stomach. The lawyer let out a yell and quivered under Bobby, scared. "Oh, look at that Jerry. It leaves a nice big red handprint, huh?"
"Just ask him the question," Jerry pleaded as the rest of us watched.
"No." Bobby protested. "I'm gonna do it again –" His hand was brought down to the lawyer again. "- and again until I find out what I wanna know." Another hand smacked the man but this time it was Angel who helped with the amateur torture. Finally he gave in and waved a metaphorical white flag.
"Okay, I'll explain!" Bobby let go of his jacket and stood beside me as the lawyer adjusted himself. "It's just that I … I felt so guilty," he started.
"Guilty for what?" Jerry asked lightly, as if he felt sorry for the guy.
"I-I'm not even sure I know how to say it," he continued.
"Say what?" Bobby asked with agitation.
"Your mother and I were – were seeing each other socially."
"Socially?" Bobby's confusion was clear as day but I instantly understood everything. Letting out a sigh, I realized all that was done this evening had been for nothing.
"I didn't want to sully your mother's reputation." While the man spoke, Bobby finally understood. Rolling his eyes, he pulled Mr. Bradford to his feet. "She was a fine, fine woman."
"I know. I know." Bobby began dusting off the snow from the man's jacket as everyone else began to disperse.
"I have some of your mother's night things if you want. They –"
"No!" Bobby interrupted as we all gagged. "It's not necessary." Jerry began walking for the car with Jackie as Angel continued his tussle with Sofi. I stayed with Bobby, making sure he didn't say or do anything stupid – besides everything else he'd done. "I apologize Mr. Bradford; we broke your back window. We're just trying to figure out what happened to my mother." The man nodded, understanding. "You have a beautiful home." Grabbing Bobby's arm, I pulled him away and over to the cars.
"Angel!" Turning his head, he sent a glare my way. Half of me wanted to smack that glare right off his face but the other half understood why he was mad. "Take Sofi and them in your car, I gotta talk to Bobby." Without waiting for an answer, I pulled my man over to my car and got in. Roaring the engine to life, I pulled out from the home and began driving.
We had been driving for a good ten minutes in silence before Bobby finally asked what was wrong. Fortunately for him my anger had lessened and my voice wasn't up for a screaming match. "I'll never understand," I began. At that point my mind was so jumbled with a million words to say at once, causing nothing to come out.
"Understand what?" he inquired, getting impatient.
"How you can be so careless," I finally said, finding the right words. Bobby didn't respond but looked forward, ashamed. Whenever we had talks like this in the past, Bobby would react the same way; like a puppy who had done something wrong. I'd have to admit whenever he'd act this way it was hard to be mad at him, but this time it was different. "A lawyer, Bobby, really?" My voice was raised and it startled both Bobby and I.
"He understood," he mumbled quickly. "We're good."
"But what if that didn't go well, Bobby, huh? What if he would have called the cops? We have Green on our asses enough; we don't need more. Dammit Bobby, I can't lose you again!" It took a little while but I felt the tears pouring down my face. Pulling the car over, I wiped the tears away while Bobby wrapped his arms around me.
"Hey, it's okay," he cooed. "Everything's going to be okay." His head rested on mine as I buried my face in his chest. "Geez, Livy, when did you become so fragile?" Stopping my sobs, I listened to his words as they echoed in my head.
Author's Note:
Hello everyone! How long has it been? Since January? Well, I do apologize for my long absence in writing this story. Truth be told, I had lost interest and motivation to write it. But after re-watching the movie multiple times I decided that I will finish this story because I cannot let me readers down! (And because I have a surprise for everyone!)
Thank you to the following for following the story: Cap3r, zipsspyderman155, Spyro Flavord Skittles, Wolfihood, nikkiMac20, Isis04, ILoveAnime89, TheLostGirl15, firewieldermera, Aris Moon,
Thank you to the following for favoriting the story: camsam17, Kikibowen, MarshyBayBee, ILoveAnime89, TheLostGirl15, newty01, vickibaby1992, Aris Moon, animefangirl0219
Thank you to the following for adding me to their favorite author list: Kikibowen and Aris Moon
Thank you to the following for following me (author alerts): Aris Moon, Kikibowen and ILoveAnime89
And a HUGE thank you to the following for reviewing!
sundance1989 – Thanks for the compliment about the last chapter! I'm sorry if my absence upset you but I promise I will be finishing this story soon! Thanks for being a constant reader! :)
Kikibowen – Thanks so much new reader/reviewer! The smut in the last chapter was supposed to be a present for my long absence; I apologize there wasn't any in this one for a present (lol!).
ILoveAnime89 – Here's the update you've been waiting for! Thanks for reviewing m'dear! :D
And there are all the wonderful people who support the story! Y'all are amazing! Thanks so much. Until next time kiddies and I do promise you won't have to wait two months for the next chapter!
Much Love,
Julie Jay
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