Chapter Twenty-One
Sam's head fell back against the headboard, the back of his skull hitting the solid wood with an audible thump. It had been another sleepless night full of tossing, turning and thoughts about whether Michael was actually still alive or whether the sinister voice in the back of his mind and Edgar were right.
On top of the constant looming stress about his brother and sister, he was also dreading facing his mom again. When he'd gotten home last night she'd been sat at the kitchen table nursing a mug of coffee, her face blotchy and her eyes hollow and he found himself wondering if she'd been sat vigil by the phone all day waiting for her angel boy to call. Sam scoffed, combing his finger's through his matted hair. If his mom paid as much attention to him and Flick as she did Michael then maybe the move out here would have turned out differently rather than him having to deal with the prospect of getting his heart ripped out by a pack of blood-thirsty monsters, in a bid to save his sister from a life of perpetual darkness and blood lust. As well as contemplating the notion that the next time he was going to see his brother would be in the form of his bloated corpse on a mortuary slab.
Sam knew that if he told her his theory about Flick and Michael that he'd be labelled a fantasist and a liar, just like Flick had always been. Then again, he doubted that she'd even hear what he said about Flick if he was to tell her that he thought Michael was dead. Sam swallowed around the lump of emotion that had been lodged in the back of his throat for the past few days. He was too young to be dealing with this shit, he was fifteen! He should be spending the day on the beach catching a tan and eating his weight in ice cream. He should be spending his nights running wild at the boardwalk or in the arcades shooting zombies with the worst thing he had to worry about being meeting his curfew. Yet here he was, sat in his room alone with more bags than the carousel at LAX beneath his eyes secretly grieving the loss of his brother and sister while his mother sat downstairs drinking herself into a coffee coma awaiting her precious sons phone call.
He screamed into his pillow feeling a dull throb start to develop behind his eyes. He wanted to scream in his mother's face, he wanted to yell and cuss and throw a fit worthy of an Oscar in a bid to get her to notice just how much he was suffering, for her to notice how much he needed her to see that he was struggling to deal. He was about to try and force himself to sleep when the sound of voices downstairs caught his attention.
Who was his mom talking to?
Had she called the cops?
It wouldn't surprise him...
With his curiosity peaked, Sam quietly made his way downstairs, he could hear his mom talking to someone in the kitchen but they were speaking too lowly for him to make out what they were saying. He reached the bottom step, his brows furrowing when he realised that the second voice was male and familiar. Sam walked into the kitchen only to stop in his tracks when he saw exactly who his mom was talking to. "Dad?" Sam stammered, dumbfounded.
His mom and dad whipped their heads in his direction, his dad's tense expression relaxing. "Sammy," he smiled getting to his feet.
"I don't think so," Sam shrank away from his father's embrace, folding his arms over his chest, the hostile stance losing its edge slightly when he realised he was still wearing his TMNT pyjama's. "What the hell is he doing here?" he yelled, unable to keep his cool.
He couldn't believe she'd gone running back to the man that tore their family apart.
"Do not raise your voice to me Sam, I'm still your mother regardless of how angry you are right now," Lucy warned sternly.
"My mother? My mother wouldn't be sneaking around making secret calls to the man who couldn't keep his dick in his pants for five minutes to keep his family together!" Sam sniped.
"Sam Emerson, how dare you speak to your mother so disrespectfully-"
"-Oh, you want to talk about respect? Where was your respect to her when you had your secretary bent over your office desk, huh? Or what about her respect to me when she's calling you out here without even so much as a warning? Am I invisible to you or something?"
"You've been spending too much time with your sister," his father scoffed, shaking his head as he rubbed his stubbled jaw.
"Gee, who would have thought you'd blame my attitude on Flick. Flick's got nothing to do with this, this is all on me and how I feel – not that either of you care about that, I forgot I'm not Michael, I'm not the prodigal son. And FYI, I'd actually like to be spending time with my sister but unfortunately, she's not really speaking to me right now, no thanks to either of you."
"If you've quite finished making this all about you Sam, I didn't ask your father to come out here, I called to ask him if he'd heard from Michael. He made the decision to come out here and help with the Michael situation," Lucy chastised.
"Situation? What situation? Michael is a selfish asshole who made the decision to leave home without telling anyone. He's probably hiding out in a motel on the outskirts of town getting off on the fact that you two are panicking. Why can't you stop focusing all your attention on someone who doesn't care about anything but himself and start focusing on someone that actually needs you," Sam swallowed thickly, his voice wavering.
"If you're going to be difficult Sam just go to your room," Sam's dad folded his arms over his chest.
"You don't get to tell me what to do any more-" Sam yelled, storming towards the stairs, "-and just so you both know, I don't think Michael's ever coming home!" he added, angrily swiping at the traitorous tears leaking from the corner of his eyes as he slammed the door to his room, throwing himself down on the bed.
"Boo, you need to stop overthinking this, he'll forgive you, just give him some time," Flick chimed, gathering her damp hair in her hands to tie it in a messy bun.
Last nights showdown between David and Paul had really thrown the whole cave and it's inhabitants into disarray. David had given everyone the cold shoulder along with a biting silence and she could see it was affecting not only Paul but Dwayne and Marko too. They were a pack, a brotherhood and for David to pretty much isolate and cut himself off from them must hurt, regardless who was at fault.
David had been the first to head out, not bothering to so much as look at anyone as he did so and it hadn't been long before Dwayne and Marko followed suit, the thirst proving too much for them to ignore. Paul however hadn't wanted to go out, he'd wanted to stay home and wallow in misery and self-pity but Flick didn't want to let him do that.
Yes he was at fault for what he'd said to David but sitting and stewing wasn't helping, he needed to suck it up and apologise.
The divide in the pack didn't just serve to create a very tense living environment but it also made them weak. She didn't like to admit it but she knew that it wouldn't be long before the dork brothers made the move to prove their theory about the boys and she knew that with Sam now on her case that the threat of them forming some kind plan to infiltrate the pack in a way that could change them forever was very much alive and real. Flick knew that they all needed to be alert and cautious – anger only led to making mistakes and they couldn't afford to make any more. Unfortunately, David was the one who kept the boys in line, he was the one who urged them to stay vigilant, to practice and prepare for the inevitable fight but with him now going rogue, it threw their whole preparatory process into jeopardy.
"Since when did you become the voice of reason Mother Theresa?" Paul scoffed and she glanced over her shoulder, rolling her eyes at his sombre figure perched on the edge of the bed in his boxers.
Though it was his own fault that he was feeling this way, she really did hate to see him so down...
"You know what? Fine, wallow if it will make you feel better but I on the other hand am not gonna let you and your little guilt trip bring me down. If you won't play with me, I guess I'll just have to play with myself," she grinned, noting the subtle quirk of Paul's mouth.
He never could resist a good dose of innuendo...
Flick cranked up the volume of the boom-box as she pottered around in her bra and knickers, picking out her clothes and doing her make-up. She absentmindedly swayed her hips along with the music, a knowing smirk tugging at the corner of her mouth when she felt a familiar pair of hands catch her hips and draw her back.
It was truly amazing what shaking your ass in front of a man could do...
The track changed and Flick knew exactly what she could do to put a grin back on Paul's face. "Enjoy..." she breathed in his ear, loving the way that he shuddered. With a wicked smirk, Flick dipped forward, her head now level with his crotch as she set her hands on his knees. She stared into his curious grey eyes and begun to sway her body to the rhythm of the music, starting with her hips before snaking her ass down to the floor. While in a squatting position, she slowly slid her arms forward, sliding them up the length of his thighs, rounding her fingers as they inched forward until they were mere centimetres from the bulge in his boxers.
With her hands splayed out in front of her, she pulled her body along the inside of his thighs as she lifted herself from the ground. Her head was just below his jaw and she bit her lip, peering up into his hooded eyes. Her eyes drifted from the obvious bulge in his pants, back up to the fire burning in his eyes and rather than biting her lip, this time, she slowly wet her lips with her tongue, watching him bite his own hungrily in return. She pushed her breasts up against his lower abdomen, slowly slithering her way up his body, making sure she took her time, teasing and riling him up further.
"Do you wanna play with me?" she breathed against his ear, lightly biting his earlobe.
Paul growled, grabbing her waist before slinging her over his shoulder onto the bed where she landed against the pillows with a soft giggle.
Mission accomplished...
"You know you really shouldn't start something that you can't finish babe," Paul crooned, drawing patterns on the underside of her jaw with his tongue.
"You wanna rephrase that honey? You're the one not letting me finish."
Paul raised his head, meeting her with a mischievous glint in his eyes. "Baby you know I always let you finish – multiple times..." he grinned devilishly.
"You got me there," she giggled, her giggles turning into a satisfied hum when the weight of him settled above her.
Paul's bike came to a rolling stop at the bottom of the drive and he cut the engine, leaning forward on the handlebars as he stared up at the house. "You sure you don't wanna come back later? Looks like somebodies home," he motioned to the thin stream of yellow light bleeding through the gap in the curtains of the lounge.
"It's fine, it's probably just Sam," Flick shrugged, hopping down from the back of the bike.
She strode towards the house, determined to just grab more clothes and a few other essentials and split without causing a scene – she wasn't in the mood for more drama. She heard Paul sigh before the sound of heavy footsteps on gravel followed her up the dirt path. Flick smiled to herself, even if Paul wasn't always great at verbalising how he felt, he always made up for it with his actions.
Flick reached the front door and paused, she was still becoming accustomed to her heightened senses and smelling the scent of someone's blood was the one she was struggling to deal with the most, especially if the blood in question was appealing. Her nostrils flared when the scent of petunia's and cinnamon bark flooded her senses and she took a step back, forcing back the itch of the thirst she could feel building at the back of her throat.
"Do you want me to grab your stuff? You can just wait out here," Paul offered with an understanding smile.
Flick shook her head. "No-" she chewed her lip, "-I need to get used to being around people without freaking out."
"That's the point babe, you need to get used to it, you don't have a strong handle on shit just yet, you need to give yourself more time. You're still volatile, what if your brother says something to piss you off?"
"Then distract me-" she sighed, brushing her windswept hair behind her ear, "-no offence Paul but I wanna be able to take what I want not only what I need..."
"I get it babe," Paul smiled, squeezing her hand in a gesture of support.
"OK-" she exhaled slowly, "-let's do this."
Flick tried the door, surprised to find it unlocked. Usually when Sam was home alone he'd make sure the front door was locked out of fear that he'd be victim to an intruder. She'd tried to tell him that they didn't have anything worth stealing which was when he'd gone into an hour-long spiel about his first edition comics being worth more than the house itself.
She stepped into the hall with Paul following close behind. "Sam?" she called out in a bid not to catch him off guard. She turned into the lounge and came to an abrupt stop causing Paul who obviously wasn't paying attention to bump into her, sending her stumbling forward.
"Shit sorry babe, I always said your ass could stop traffic," he laughed, his laughter fading when she didn't return his amusement; the heavy silence felt suffocating like she'd just stuck her head beneath a wool blanket.
"Is this really who you're so willingly throwing away your life for?" Lucy stared at her daughter from the couch, her father perched beside her looking Paul up and down with an air of superiority.
Flick snapped out of her state of shock, the indirect insult toward her man making her hackles rise. "Says the woman who goes running back to the man that treat her like shit - talk about masochistic."
"I see you're still as charming as ever Felicity," her dad scoffed.
'Don't take the bait babe, let's just get your shit and go,' Paul's voice resounded in her mind, pulling her back from the urge to tell her so called father where he could stick his sarcastic comments.
"I'm absolutely precious-" Flick countered haughtily and Paul released a muffled snort of laughter, "-don't worry, I'm not staying, wouldn't want to ruin the reunion – I'm going to grab some stuff and I'll be out of your life for good," she added, heading for the stairs.
"Typical-" Lucy sniped, shaking her head disapprovingly, "-I've just about had it with the selfishness that seems to run in this family. If you must know, your father is here because Michael is missing yet all you and Sam seem to be concerned with is yourselves."
"I'm surprised you even remembered who me and Sam are, we're practically invisible. Then again, with Michael out of the picture, maybe you'll start to notice someone other than golden balls," Flick argued as she continued to stomp up the stairs.
"Do you not care that your brother is missing because of you?" Lucy yelled, jumping to her feet.
'Babe...' Paul silently communicated for her to stay calm but the need to retaliate gnawed at her like an itch she just couldn't scratch.
"Because of me?-" Flick scoffed, "-dad shagging his secretary and leaving you without enough money to wipe your ass, you being miserable and now Michael going missing, that's all on me? Anything else you wanna add to that list?"
Of course she knew that she was to blame for Michael no longer being around but as much as she wanted to rub it in her mother's self-righteous face that her precious baby boy was dead, she forced herself to keep her mouth shut on that matter.
"What would be the point, you don't care either way-" her father interjected, "-if you hadn't have been such a nightmare back in Phoenix, mine and your mother's marriage wouldn't have been under so much strain."
Paul scoffed. "Listen dude, you can't blame you nailing some other chick behind your wife's back on Flick, she wasn't the one tugging down your zipper – that shits on you. C'mon babe you don't have to listen to this bullshit," he spoke on her behalf, grabbing her hand in a bid to lead her upstairs.
"I don't know who you think you are-" Flick's father started but Paul cut him off.
"-You wanna know who I am old man?-" Paul scowled, "-I'm the one that picked your daughter up off the floor after she'd been battered black, blue and purple and almost fucking raped by two goons that your son sent after her for no reason other than his girlfriend didn't like her. I'm the one who kept her from falling apart when her own mom turned her back on her. I'm the one that's giving her a place to stay to keep her off the streets. I'm the one that's taking care of her. I'm the one that loves her for who she is. I'm not the one trying to change her or tell her she's not good enough – that's who I am."
Lucy laughed resentfully. "Ah I see she's won you over with her lies - Michael had nothing to do with what happened to Felicity. I'd say that it had more to do with the company she chooses to keep," her mother eyed Paul with a look of disgust.
Paul laughed incredulously. "Seriously lady? That's all you took from what I said? Michael had everything to do with what happened to Flick. Unlike her family, I'd never do anything to hurt her or put her in danger. This conversations over," he declared, dragging Flick towards her room.
"When Michael gets home we-"
"-I wouldn't hold your breath about that," Flick snapped, hanging over the rails of the landing, looking down on her parents with hatred.
"What's that supposed to mean? Do you know something?" Flick's father frowned, staring up at her.
Flick gripped the rail so hard that her knuckles turned white as she fought back the urge to spill her secret, the secret that would shatter her parents world. Paul glanced at her with a look that screamed 'what the hell are you doing?' and she bit her tongue. "No-" she stated coldly, "-the last time I saw Michael I told him to go to hell and the word on the street is that hells security is pretty tight so I'm just saying I wouldn't hold out hopes of golden boy coming home anytime soon," she sniped before storming down the hall toward her room only to be once again blind-sided by her younger brother Sam.
"Flick, you're back?" Sam spoke tentatively, his blue eyes brimming with hope as Paul stepped into her room, leaving the two of them alone.
"You've got to be joking right?" Flick scoffed and headed into her room, keen to get what she came for and leave.
"What are you doing?" Sam asked from the doorway, his eyes tracking her as she rummaged through her belongings, stuffing things into any empty bags she could find.
"Getting the rest of my stuff so I never have to come back here," she replied distractedly as she rifled through her cassette tapes.
"You can't do this Flick, we're a family," Sam insisted and she stifled the urge to laugh.
"A family? Gee you're really on it tonight cracking the jokes Sam. We haven't been a family for a long time – the only one mom every gave a shit about is gone," she corrected.
"Exactly, Michael's gone and I don't know when or if-" Sam's eyes momentarily drifted to Paul who stared back expressionless, "-he's coming home. Mom apparently has dad and you have your friends-" he swallowed thickly, "-who do I have?"
"The dork brothers," Paul chimed and Flick swotted his arm in warning, she could see how hurt Sam was and despite how frayed the seams of their family were, she still loved her little brother.
"What Paul means is you have Edgar and Alan now, right? You spend most of your time together now, I'm sure you won't be lonely," she spoke a little softer, gesturing for Paul to finish up bagging the heap of clothes and other odds and ends while she got to her feet, closing the space between her and Sam.
Flick swallowed, trying to sate the itch of thirst that sprang to life when she heard the rapid thump of Sam's heart and the resounding whoosh of his blood as it flowed through his veins. She held her breath, purposely trying to avoid the scent of him as she gently placed her hands on his shoulders. "I'm still your sister Sam-"
"-Are you though?-" he argued, his eyes flickering with doubt, "-are you really still my big sister?"
Flick closed her eyes, exhaling slowly as she battled with her newfound carnal instincts and tried to recall the kindred connection she once felt with her baby brother, the connection that had been all but erased the minute she officially joined the pack. "Of course Sammy, I'll always be around if you need me, I just won't be here," she gestured to her room.
"Seeing you around town isn't the same as seeing you every day, of knowing that you're OK, of being able to talk to you when I need you," she noted Sam's eyes clouding with tears and a wave of empathy she didn't think she'd still be able to feel caused an invisible rock to lodge in the pit of her stomach. "I need you Flick, I need my big sister. Please come home..." he implored, his bottom lip trembling.
Flick sighed heavily. "Sammy I can't," she whispered, rubbing the back of her neck.
"Why? What's stopping you? Your boyfriends still gonna be able to sneak through your bedroom window every night, you're still gonna hang with him at the boardwalk. What's the difference?" he argued.
"The difference is, I-"
Paul cleared his throat, the jarring sound bringing her back to her senses. Had she been about to tell Sam the truth about what she was?
"-You what Flick, what is it?" Sam urged.
"I don't belong here any more Sam-" she exhaled, "-I'm sorry but I have to go," she flustered, grabbing her bags before making a swift exit before she said or did something that she couldn't come back from.
Flick sprinted down the stairs with Paul hot on her heels, by-passing the judgemental looks of her mother and father as she made a bee-line for the door. "Flick wait! Don't go!" she heard Sam hollering behind her, his footsteps growing closer.
"Don't look back," Paul murmured as he loaded the bike while she clambered up back and he hopped up front, the sound of the revving engine drowning out her brother's pleas.
The bike rolled forward and Flick glanced over her shoulder, her stomach sinking when she found Sam stood at the end of the drive wiping at his eyes with the cuff of his sleeve, his eyes brimming with hurt. Unable to bear the wave of guilt washing over her, she quickly looked away, burying her face against Paul's back while tears she thought had long since dried rolled down her cheeks.
Sam stormed into the comic store, his eyes still puffy and bloodshot from crying. "We've waited long enough-" he announced and both Edgar and Alan's heads lifted in his direction, "-they might think they've won but I'm not going down without a fight."
"I thought you were having second thoughts about our plan, you said it was too risky – too dangerous," Alan reminded.
"Yeah well I just realised that I've got nothing to lose..." Sam countered determinedly.