This is a continuation of Chapter Four. I suggest you read that first if you don't remember what happened there before you try this one.
Happy reading, everyone! Sorry for the long delay.
Amy watched an old woman feeding the ducks bits of her sandwich by the pond. She looked at the homemade chicken salad sandwich in her hand. If she fed it to the ducks, would they know they were cannibalizing their chicken brethren? A part of her wanted to try it, just to have the satisfaction of seeing ducks hungrily devouring chicken, blissfully unaware that they were committing an act against nature.
On second thought, why should she sacrifice her lunch to feed some good-for-nothing ducks that did nothing all day but swim lazily around in the pond, shitting all over everything in sight? If that old biddy wanted to feed those disease-ridden animals, that was her problem. Let her go hungry. As if to prove her point, Amy took a huge bite out of her sandwich, taste exploding in her mouth.
Those ducks didn't know what they were missing.
See what happens when I leave you alone for two minutes? You mentally taunt ducks with your sandwich.
Go away and leave me to my sandwich. It was hard to ignore Tammy when she was sitting on the picnic table, her legs spread wide open so that Amy could see the lacy scrap of cloth that was passing as Tammy's panties.
Had a good enough look yet?
Amy flushed. Well, it's kinda hard not to notice with you just showing it to everyone.
Amused, Tammy sat up and moved closer to Amy's ear. Honey, you're the only one that can see me, so stop looking up my skirt. I'm not that kind of girl..
Amy found that hard to believe. Still, she flipped open the document she had to read as a way to ignore Tammy, who was flashing her goods to everyone, albeit invisibly. She concentrated on the words, not seeing that the woman feeding the ducks had gone, only to be replaced by a man who had no patience for ducks. He sat down on the bench the woman abandoned and stared at the calm water, shooing an occasional duck that had happened to wander too close to him, looking for food.
You're no fun, Tammy said, disappearing into thin air in search of the next party or orgy to attend.
The fucking ducks were pissing him off, always in search of free food, quacking their heads off when no one gave them any. It was really too bad he couldn't shoot these damn creatures; a couple hundred or so wouldn't make that much of a difference to the ecosystem, would it?
"Fuck off," he muttered to a duck foolish enough to actually peck at his shoe. He kicked it lightly, just enough to send it rolling a few feet away from him, but not enough to do any permanent damage. He didn't need the damn PETA nazis on his ass too. After that Lita chick fired him for leaving his broom on the floor, causing that clumsy oaf to trip all over it, Greg was in no mood to play with some ducks looking for a handout.
That bitch Lita didn't know how close she came to having his fist blow a hole through her face. It was only his desire to exact his revenge on Darien Shields that prevented him from punching that bitch's face in. After all, how was he supposed to make Shields pay from behind bars?
The building that housed MediaWorks was directly across the street from the park. Greg turned to look at it, resenting the fact that somewhere up there, Shields was able to look down at him from the comfort of his executive office. He knew the key to his revenge rested on his ability to get inside that building. But how?
"Shit," a female voice said as the wind blew, carrying with it the papers that she had been quietly reading on the picnic table. Greg watched in amusement as she rushed to gather them up before they got soiled.
"Would you mind lending me a hand instead of just gawking at me like an idiot?" Greg raised his eyebrows, but got up anyway. He didn't expect such a mousy-looking thing to have such an attitude. He made a show of walking over to the one closest to him and bent down to retrieve it, almost smearing it in the duck shit it happened to lie beside.
He gathered the papers slowly, preferring to watch her race around trying to rescue her windswept papers than doing it himself. By the time all the pages had been accounted for, he had collected three, while she, twelve.
"Thanks for your help," she said dryly. Greg couldn't help but notice the thinly-veiled sarcasm but chose to ignore it. This town was full of ungrateful females always bitching at him to do more work. He was about to place the papers on her outstretched hand when he noticed something interesting about them.
They all bore the MediaWorks letterhead. What was more, he saw her name on the top: Amy MillerSuddenly, this plain-looking spinster with the bitchy attitude seemed more and more appealing. She could be his ticket into MediaWorks if only he knew what made her tick.
"Hello? My papers?" Greg snapped out of his scheming to look at the woman impatiently waiting for him to return her property. Come to think of it, she wouldn't look so bad if she just did something with her hair instead of just leaving it to fall down around her face, hiding it from view. Perhaps if she got contacts or something….
"What're you staring at?" No one had ever stared at her the way this guy did, and it unnerved her.
Ooh, I think someone likes you, Tammy said, wrapping her arms around the guy's torso, licking his ear. One of her hands moved down to his crotch and cupped it.
Amy looked away. "Stop it," she muttered.
"Stop what?" he asked, watching her as she turned beet red.
"Um, stop looking at me like that," she said, covering up her slip. She grabbed the papers from his hand and stuffed them into the folder.
"So, you work at MediaWorks?" Greg asked casually. He could tell from the way she was looking at him that she was wondering how he knew that. "The letterhead on those papers," he said, gesturing to them.
Amy sighed with relief, thankful she didn't find herself face-to-face with a stalker.
Oh come on, admit it, Tammy said, eyeing the man lustfully. You wanted him to be your stalker.
Amy ignored her, focusing instead on the man in front of her. "Yeah, I work there," she said slowly, her voice full of distrust. She had heard too often on the news about serial killers targeting women that were too trusting to ever be cautious. With her rotten luck, he would probably clock her over the head the second she turned her back on him.
She wasn't going to give him a chance to do anything to her. She was going to go back to work, not because she was afraid of him, but because her lunch hour was almost done. But she had to admit, as potential serial killers go, he was pretty cute.
I knew it, Tammy said in a singsong voice. You like him. You think he's sexy. You want to jump his bones and ride him like a cowboy on a bucking bronco.
Amy scoffed, rejecting the idea of a man like him wanting a woman like her, in bed of all places. As if.
Greg smiled to himself, watching her internal struggle. All this chick needed was a bit more work, a bit of ego-stroking, and she would be his for the taking. In his mind he saw the bitchy Ms. Miller morphing into a key, one that fit into the lock of MediaWorks' door. He extended his hand to her, a friendly expression on his face. "Hi, I'm Greg…Saunders. I just arrived in town the other week from Oklahoma."
Amy ignored his hand, just as he knew she would. "Welcome to LA," she murmured, gathering her things to avoid looking at him. Tammy threw her head back and groaned at the sky.
Honey, we need to work on your people skills.
Greg smiled easily, even though he wanted to drag her by the hair all the way to Shields' office and demand an audience with the big man himself. He knew she was nervous; she must've thought hewas a rapist. As if he was attracted to the shy, unassuming type.
"Well, bye," she mumbled as she walked past him, clutching her purse to her body as if he was going to snatch it off her shoulder.
"I'll see you around," he called after her. She paused in mid-step and waved her hand behind her head, not bothering to look at him.
"I doubt it," she replied loudly, obviously hoping to be overheard by the other park patrons. Greg smirked; she didn't know it yet, but they were going to run into each other often—he'd make sure of it.
Greg followed her from a distance, making sure to stay out of sight. For such a tiny thing like her, she sure walked fast. Greg was having a hell of a time keeping up with her. He watched her cross the busy street, running between the cars with a daring that impressed even him.
She made it across safely and ran for the revolving doors, pushing a man in a business suit out of the way and almost caused him to spill his Grande Latte all over himself. Even from across the street, Greg could hear the obscenities the man yelled at her. She didn't even hear them in her haste to go back to work.
Greg found a park bench close-by and sat down. He had a long wait ahead of him until Amy Miller got off work but he was determined to be there when she left. He was going to keep her in his sights from now until he had Darien Shields on his knees, begging him for mercy.
---
Serena glanced at her watch, waiting impatiently for it to turn five o'clock. She knew she only had forty-five minutes left until the end of the day, but she was itching to leave. She had this feeling that she was needed somewhere, and she was needed now. Or it could just be that she wanted to go home, eat a nice dinner and take a hot bath.
She flipped through the stack of timesheets each MediaWorks employee had to submit every two weeks and sorted them by department, and then alphabetically. Belinda had "asked" her to input the data—the hours worked and lieu and sick days taken—into the database for payroll to process. She felt herself mentally wilting under the enormity of the task. There were almost 300 employees working in the four floors that MediaWorks occupied in the building and Serena had to go through each of their timesheets.
She drummed her fingers on top of the stack. She was tired of being Belinda's glorified gofer. She didn't maintain her 4.0 average for four straight years just so she could do the work that anyone with a rudimentary understanding of numbers could do. When she first got the news that she won a coveted MediaWorks internship last summer, she had envisioned herself working alongside some of the people who created the most innovative advertising in the world, not giving her right hand a workout on the numeric keypad in her less-than-glamorous cubicle. She dreamed of creating images and concepts, not fiddling around with numbers all day. Serena wanted to exercise her creativity in an environment that fostered it, not to waste away in a nine by nine-foot cubicle with nothing but the sound of computer keys tapping in synch to keep her awake.
Serena picked up her coffee mug and took a sip, only to find her coffee had long since grown cold. She grimaced, discreetly spitting the coffee back into her mug. She didn't need any more caffeine today, anyway. Come to think of it, why should she stop at today? She'd give up caffeine for good. As of this moment, she, Serena Lombard, was going to give up caffeine in all its forms. She didn't want to be a slave to it any longer. Today was the start of her new caffeine-free lifestyle. Serena puffed out her chest a bit, extremely proud of herself; not many people had the courage and strength to give up an addiction cold turkey.
She won't look at her empty coffee mug and crave for a refill. She was above that sort of thing now. She wasn't about to drop everything just to rush to the kitchen to top off her mug. She had too many important things—like Belinda's data entry—to do. Not that she was in any sort of rush to do it. Her body was a temple—it was time she started treating it like one.
Twenty seconds passed before she reached into her desk drawer and pulled out a jumbo-sized chocolate bar. Anything as good as chocolate shouldn't count as caffeine, she rationalized. She hastily unwrapped it before her conscience kicked in, and stuffed it into her mouth, savouring the chocolate, wafer, and hazelnut cream flavours explode in her mouth. Lord, that was almost orgasmic.
She was just coming off her chocolate high when the phone on her desk started ringing. Serena quickly brushed off the wafer crumbs from the corners of her mouth, cleared her throat. "Serena Lombard, how may I help you?" God, she never tired of hearing herself say that. She felt so grown-up, she wanted to squeal.
"Serena?" The voice was so shaky, it took Serena a moment to realize who it was.
"Mina?" Chocolate bar all but forgotten, Serena sat up straight and gripped the receiver tightly in her hand. "What's wrong?"
"I need you to come get me," Mina begged tearfully. "Please."
"Well, sure, but I still have a half hour to go—"
"No! Please, Serena, I need you to pick me up." Serena had never heard Mina sound like this. She was always so independent; she would never be caught dead begging anyone, even her own sister.
"What's going on, Mina?" Serena demanded. "You're scaring me."
When Mina didn't reply, Serena insisted. "Tell me."
She heard Mina sigh wearily. The more Mina put off telling her what the problem was, the more worried she got. Serena was about to demand that Mina tell her again when she heard her sister say, "I was arrested today."
"You were what?" Serena exploded, then lowered her voice when her curious co-workers looked over their cubicle walls to find out what was going on. She waved them away, annoyed that she was surrounded by such nosy people. "What happened?"
So Mina told her every sordid detail. By the end of her story, Serena was seeing red. "That bastard!" She let loose a bunch of expletives, letting Mina know exactly what she thought of Vinny Marquez.
"So where are you now?" she asked when her tirade was over. "Are you okay?"
"I don't know!" Mina wailed. She had been trying to hold back the tears while she was telling Serena what happened but now she was sobbing in earnest. "I think I took the wrong bus because when I got off, I was in a totally different part of town. By the time I realized that I was lost, the bus had already gone and I didn't have enough money for bus fare.
"So then I thought I would walk until I came to a part of town I recognized," she continued. "Big mistake. Huge."
"What happened?"
"Some punk kid on a skateboard zipped by me and took off with my purse." She sneered. "Joke's on him: there's nothing in my wallet except my driver's license. And that's expired."
Serena closed her eyes, unable to believe her sister's rotten luck. "Okay, where should I pick you up?" She quickly logged onto the Internet and found a site that gave driving directions. Mina gave her the intersection closest to her location, and Serena typed in the information, including her own location. In seconds, she was printing out the directions.
Serena looked at her watch. She would have to get permission from Darien before she could go get Mina, and then it would have to be by cab because she didn't have her car with her today. "Okay, Mina, just sit tight. I have to tell Mr. Shields there's been a family emergency and I have to go."
"No, don't do that!" Mina cried, practically yelling into Serena's ear. "Then he'll go to Mom and Dad and ask them what happened."
"So you mean you don't want them to know? But how can you keep it from them?" Serena scowled into the phone. "Mina, I won't lie to them for you."
"I'm not asking you to lie for me," Mina replied desperately. "I'm just asking you not to tell them anything. Besides, it's not like they could make the charges against me stick, so I can't possibly know why they'd be mad at me."
"Then why not tell them the truth?" Serena didn't get why Mina wanted all this secrecy.
Mina sighed into the phone. Her sister just didn't get it; she had never been the one to disappoint their parents. "Look, please just let me tell them on my own time, okay? Please?"
They were just wasting time so Serena gave in. "Fine, if that's what you want. They'll find out, you know."
"I know," Mina sighed. She could just picture her parents watching the evening news and their reaction to hearing about Vinny's arrest. At least she still had a few hours' reprieve to get herself together before the inquisition began. It wouldn't matter to her mother that Mina was the injured party; to her mom, it was just another chapter in Mina's book of many mistakes. "Please just hurry," she said and hung up.
Serena shut her computer off for the day, tidied her desk and gathered up her things. The first stop she made was at Amara's cubicle to tell her that she wouldn't need a ride home that day.
"What's going on?" Amara asked. She heard Serena's reaction to the phone call she received just a few minutes ago, and wasn't ashamed to admit that she had been straining her ears to listen to her end of the conversation.
"Mina called and asked me to pick her up. It's an emergency," she added. "I'll be home kinda late so don't worry about me."
Amara watched her dash off to Mr. Shields' office. Mina. She should've known. With Mina, it was always an "emergency" or a "crisis". The little drama queen was fond of getting herself into trouble and then having her sister bail her out. She just hoped that whatever she got herself into this time wouldn't drag Serena down with her.
Part of her hoped that this was the last time Serena would help her sister out, but she knew that Serena would never have the heart to just let her sister sink on her own. Amara thought that was wrong, but what could she do? She was just the friend. And sometimes, Amara thought that being just the friend truly sucked.
"Ivy, I really need to speak to Mr. Shields," Serena said.
Darien's secretary shook her head. "I'm afraid I can't allow that, Ms. Lombard. Mr. Shields is extremely busy and asked me to hold all calls and meetings for him today."
"Please, it won't take very long." Serena was beginning to get desperate. The clock was ticking and Mina was in a very bad neighbourhood alone with no money and no idea how to get home.
But Darien's secretary was resolute. She shook her head no and turned to her computer, obviously dismissing her.
Serena was pissed. Why that bitch…Before she knew what she was doing, Serena rushed past the secretary and turned the knob on Darien's door. She was already inside when Ivy knew what happened. Serena slammed the door in her face, and locked it. She turned around to face Darien, who was staring at her in shock.
The intercom buzzed. It was Darien's secretary, determined to prevent Serena from taking another step into his inner sanctum. "Mr. Shields, I'm very sorry about this," she began in a very severe tone that made it clear she didn't approve of Serena's actions. "I clearly told Ms. Lombard that you were busy and—"
"Thank you, Ivy, but I'm sure Ms. Lombard has a very good reason for barging in here, which she will tell me as soon as she's had a seat," he said, never taking his eyes off Serena, who turned red with embarrassment.
Darien took one look at Serena's pale face and told her to sit down. "What's wrong?"
"Can I leave early today? I'll make it up tomorrow," she added when she saw him hesitate.
"Why do you want to leave early? I need a good reason to grant you some time off, especially this late in the day."
"Oh, it is," Serena assured him, deliberately not elaborating.
"And that is…" Darien raised his eyebrow in a way that said he wasn't going to tolerate lame excuses.
Serena swallowed. He wasn't going to let her leave until he knew the whole story. "It's a family emergency," she said, stalling for time.
"It's not your dad, is it?" he asked, rising out of his seat. Serena immediately shook her head.
"No, it's not," she reassured him. He took a deep breath, visibly relaxing.
"Serena, I need to tell HR something," he told her.
Serena fidgeted with her hands. Time was running out. By the time she got permission to leave it would be five and she would be allowed to legitimately go for the day. "It's Mina," she blurted out. "I have to go pick her up."
Darien folded his hands on top of his desk. "What happened?"
Serena told him the story in under two minutes, rushing through it because of the time. She really needed to get out of there; Mina was out there somewhere, waiting for her in a dingy phone booth.
"You have to promise not to tell my parents," she pleaded. "Mina wants to tell them herself, in her own way."
Which meant Mina wasn't going to come clean to Ken and Irene anytime soon. Still, Darien promised her he wouldn't say anything. It wasn't his secret to tell, anyway. "All right, you can go. Just make sure you make up the time tomorrow evening."
"I will, Darien. Thank you so much," she said gratefully. She hurried to the door, threw him a relieved smile and left. It was going to be dark soon, and Mina was all alone. If she got mugged in broad daylight, she hated to think what might happen when the sun went down.
Darien drummed his fingers on the desk surface, thinking about Mina's situation. It seemed that he called Nathan Cutter just in time, although he would have to do a lot of talking to get Nathan to take her in now. Still, he was sure Nathan would see the talent he saw in Mina.
Serena had mentioned the terrible neighbourhood Mina found herself stranded in. That neighbourhood was a very well-publicized one; too bad it was usually for gang violence and drug trafficking.
He waited a few more seconds, then packed up his things and turned off his computer. "Ivy, I've decided to go home a little early this evening. I'll see you in the morning," he said, brushing past his secretary so quickly, he missed her open-mouthed expression. Ever since he assumed his title, he had been working until well past five every night.
He was gone before she could ask him if she could leave too.
Down on the street corner, Serena was having a hard time hailing a cab. Apparently, she wasn't the only with idea of leaving work a bit early.
"Fuck," she muttered under her breath when the fifth cab sped by without stopping. The man in the backseat actually turned his head and smirked at her. She flipped him off as the cab passed her. Somewhere, someone honked his car horn, and continued honking until everyone on the sidewalk and a few drivers in their cars turned to look at the car in annoyance.
"Serena!" The driver honked his horn again. "Serena!"
Serena turned her head slowly, unsure if the driver was calling her or some other Serena. The driver started honking more excitedly when he noticed that she heard his cries. She followed the sound all the way to a familiar-looking SUV a few cars away from her.
"Darien?" she called. Another beep answered her. Around her, heads turned as people figured out that she was the cause behind the ruckus. She smiled at them sheepishly and ran toward the waiting vehicle.
"Get in," Darien said through the open passenger side window, unlocking the door for her. Serena didn't know why, but she felt an excited thrill as she slid into the passenger seat and closed the door after her.
"So, where to?" Darien asked. He pulled the SUV over until she dug out the directions she had downloaded and handed them to him. He studied the directions, and committed most of it to memory. "I'm going to need you to help me navigate."
"Darien, I don't want to be rude, but what are you doing here?" Serena asked.
"I can't let the two of you wander around that part of town alone. I don't care if you were going to take a cab," he interjected before she could interrupt. "It's not safe."
Serena thought about it. Truth be told, she wasn't looking forward to the long commute to that neighbourhood, so Darien's offer was very welcome. She just didn't know how Mina would react to seeing him in the driver's seat. "I don't know, Darien. Mina…"
"Will have to suck it up because she has no choice if she doesn't want me to rat her out to your parents," Darien finished. He wove in and out of traffic, not letting a little thing like the speed limit get in his way.
Well, when he put it that way…Serena sighed and let him have his way. She was actually glad he was with her; she needed all the moral support she could get. Mina was bound to be on the defensive when they picked her up, and she was the first—and most convenient—person to attack.
As they got farther away from the business district, box houses and low-rise apartment buildings replaced the steel-and-glass skyscrapers; supped-up cars spliced from stolen luxury cars roamed the streets, chrome rims glinting in the sinking sun like diamonds against black velvet, and graffiti covered every exterior wall like colourful tapestry. Sirens, barking dogs, rap music, screams—all these sounds engulfed the SUV like a twenty-foot wave barrelling down a tiny sailboat in the middle of the ocean. Serena's fingers slowly inched their way to the power door lock to make sure it was engaged. Thankfully they were.
"Turn right here," she told Darien, keeping her eyes peeled for a lone phone booth in front of a 24-hour liquor store. Darien's headlights made a wide sweep as the vehicle executed the turn, and landed on a dingy phone booth with busted windows. Serena could clearly see Mina cowering in the booth, and immediately her heart went out to her. "There she is!"
In the phone booth, Mina's eyes widened when she saw a pair of headlights heading her way. Oh God, she hoped those gang-bangers weren't back for another round. Just a while ago, she had talked her way out of a potentially dangerous situation when a truck filled with young men no older than she was pulled up next to her little booth and tried to pick her up. Bravado and a good vocabulary filled with swear words helped convince them that her boyfriend—who had just spent eight years in prison for throwing battery acid on a rival gang member and leaving him for dead—wouldn't take to "his bitch" taking rides from strangers.
She didn't know if she had it in her to repeat her performance. Mina was trembling by the time the big vehicle slowed to a stop beside her and a door slammed shut. They must be back to finish her off. She wasn't aware of the tears pouring down her cheeks or the chattering of her teeth. At least she was leaving behind a beautiful corpse.
"Mina! Mina!" She snapped out of it when she felt someone shaking her. Her eyes fluttered open—and came to rest on her sister's face.
"Oh thank God!" she cried, flinging her arms around her neck. "I thought you'd never get here!"
Serena briefly returned the hug then pulled Mina along until they reached the SUV. The last thing she wanted to happen was to be caught in a gang war while they were exchanging a hug in a busted phone booth. Thank goodness Mina was still a bit shell-shocked; she had yet to notice that Darien was sitting behind the wheel.
"Come on, Mina," she said as she assisted her sister in the backseat and climbed in after her. She smiled sheepishly as Darien, who was observing them through the rear-view mirror, and he nodded in understanding. Serena needed her comforting presence just as much as she needed to comfort Serena.
It wasn't until they were two blocks away that Mina noticed she wasn't sitting in the back of a cab. The rich smelling leather upholstery was the big tip-off. "Serena," she hissed out of the corner of her mouth. "What's he doing here?"
"Giving us a ride home," Serena whispered back. "Now be quiet and be grateful."
"But…dad and mom," she said.
Serena fixed her a pointed look. "After your misadventures in Compton of all places, facing mom and dad should be a cakewalk."
Mina sank into the soft leather, deflated. Her sister had a point, but she was still dreading the inevitable confrontation between them. How could she not? By far, being falsely arrested for prostitution was the biggest offence she'd ever committed, even though she wasn't actually guilty of it. She leaned her head back and closed her eyes.
"Do you want to stay at my place?" Serena asked her softly. Mina shook her head wordlessly. "Are you sure?" She nodded. "You want me to stay at your place?" Again, she shook her head.
"I just want to be alone," Mina said without opening her eyes. A couple of tears managed to slip past her defences but Serena brushed them away before she could even lift her hand. "Thanks."
"No problem." She felt Serena squeeze her hand and instantly felt relieved. Even though there was a one-sided sibling rivalry between them, Serena had always been a source of comfort to her. How could she not love the one person who never judged her, despite the many foolish things she did? She took a deep breath and let sleep overtake her.
Serena was carefully watching her sister. She looked too thin, too tired. Was she eating enough? Getting enough rest? She couldn't imagine the hardships Mina went through to follow her dream. She worked herself to the bone just to gain their parents' approval, mainly their mother.
Serena shook her head and turned away from Mina. Sometimes she really hated their mom for pushing Mina away, even though she was the obvious favourite as a result. It was her firm belief that her mother drove Mina to do the crazy things she did out of a perverse need to get her attention. It was a cry for help but their mother had always been slightly deaf when it came to her oldest daughter.
"Serena?" Darien's voice broke through her thoughts. He had been watching her in the rear-view mirror and had seen the play of emotions on her face. He wondered what she was thinking about.
"Yeah?" Serena tore herself away from her sister's side and sat at the edge of her seat to be closer to Darien.
"Where are we going?" Up to now, he was just concentrating on getting the hell out of Compton and back to more familiar—and less hostile—grounds. He felt like a moving target in his luxury SUV; even the streets of New York weren't as harsh as these. The faster they got out of here, the more relaxed he'd feel.
Serena slid herself closer to him until she was practically perched over his shoulder. She didn't want to wake Mina up by talking too loudly; God knows she deserved some rest after the hellish day she had. When she saw a familiar street ahead, she said softly in his ear, "Turn right at the next intersection."
Despite her good directions, Darien was having a difficult time concentrating on the road. At one point, he had to ask her to repeat what she said because her breath was tickling his ear, driving him to distraction. He furrowed his brow and focused as if his very life depended on it, but no matter what he did, it didn't erase the fact that Serena was too close for comfort.
When she placed her hand on his left shoulder and left it there, Darien mentally groaned. Here he was, stuck in a confined space with a woman half his age, extremely turned on, and she just happened to be his best friend's daughter. Karma was going to owe him big for this.
"Mina's street is coming up soon," Serena said twenty minutes later, unaware of the effect she was having on Darien. She leaned closer in order to point to a little side street on the right. "Turn there."
Darien obediently turned on his blinker and executed the turn. Serena could feel heat rising from Darien's shoulder, warming her hand. It was all she could do to navigate Darien through the winding LA streets. Darien had broad shoulders, she observed, squeezing one lightly. Strong, too.
What was she doing to him? Was she trying to run them off the road, because if she kept doing that to his shoulder, that was what was going to happen. Darien almost heaved a sigh of relief when Serena finally announced that they had reached their destination.
"Mina?" Serena reluctantly moved away from behind Darien's seat to gently wake her sister up. "We're here."
Mina pretended to blink sleepily, keeping her eyes unfocused. Serena thought she was sleeping all this time, but the fact was, she was too wound up to sleep. So she observed her sister through half-shut eyes and what she saw surprised her enough to take her mind off her present situation.
Serena, directly behind the driver's seat, was sitting perched on the edge of her seat, her face near Darien's, her hand on his shoulder. From where she was sitting, it looked like Darien didn't mind the intrusion on his personal space one little bit. In fact, by the way the flush was rising up his neck, he was enjoying it a bit too much.
Now wasn't this an interesting situation. Mina recalled the lust she felt when Darien and his family came over to her parents' house for dinner, and the things she said to Serena, but she didn't mean them. There were just some things she wouldn't do, and sleeping with her father's best friend was one of them.
Not that she thought Saint Serena would do that. There was no way; Serena didn't have a disobedient bone in her body.
Mina at once felt chagrined. Serena went out of her way and beyond the call of duty as her sister to come to her aid, and all she could do was jump to conclusions and judge her. And so what if there was something going between the two of them? Serena was an adult; she was more than capable of making her own decisions. Mina decided to support her sister whatever happened—or didn't—between her and Darien.
"Mina, wake up." A blurry image of Serena's concerned face came into view when Mina slowly opened her eyes. "How are you doing?"
"I'm fine," she said, surprised at how hoarse her voice was. She took her seatbelt off and gave her sister's arm a squeeze. Serena sensed that Mina had something to say to Darien so she slid out of the car first to give her some privacy.
Mina smiled softly at her sister's back. Serena must've been a mind reader in a former life. She turned to Darien and said, "Thank you for watching out for Serena. I know you wouldn't have driven all the way out to Compton if it wasn't for her so I just wanted to tell you that it really means a lot to me."
Darien's eyes softened and he felt pity for the girl. "I would've gone farther than just Compton for one of Ken's girls, just as I know he would for me."
Mina didn't believe that one bit, nor did she believe her father would reciprocate his gesture in kind. Her father was the type of man who believed that asking for outside help to solve family problems was not only a complete waste of time, but also a criticism on his title as man of the house. But she didn't want to damage her father's image in Darien's eyes so she nodded. "Thanks again, Mr. Shields."
She placed her hand on the door handle but his voice stopped her. "Whatever happened to just Darien?"
Mina turned her head towards him and smiled sadly. "When you've hit rock bottom like I have, Mr. Shields, manners are all you have left. Thanks again for all you've done today. I won't forget it."
Before Darien could say anything, she opened the door and stepped out of the car. She took a deep breath, enjoying the smoggy air filling her lungs. Hey, it may be polluted but at least she was free to breathe it in.
"Mina, would you like me to spend the night?" Serena asked, knowing she would be turned down. As expected, Mina shook her head.
"I'll be fine," Mina assured her. She did not want Serena to see her barren apartment and have her go running to mommy and daddy on a mission to save her, as if she were a charity case. "Really."
"Mina, we have to talk about this. We have to—"
"I know, I know. But not tonight, okay? I need to be alone while I think things through." Mina pulled her sister into a hug to smother her other concerns. "Don't worry about me, okay? This is my issue and I don't need you to fight my battles for me."
"But mom and dad—"
"I will handle them." Mina wished she felt as confident of that as she sounded. "I'll be fine, you'll see."
Serena's eyes were clouded with concern but she finally nodded. "I want you to call me day or night if you need to talk. Promise me."
"I promise," Mina said, knowing she wouldn't take her sister up on her offer. In many ways, she was exactly like her father: her problems were her own. She turned to leave but Serena held her arm back.
"I love you." Mina blushed, pleased yet embarrassed that Serena said what she had always taken for granted. Among other things, Mina envied Serena's ability to express her feelings so openly. She could never do that; there was too much at risk. Which was why she answered "Me too" and walked away.
Serena waited until Mina had unlocked the lobby entrance, until she disappeared up the stairwell in the walk-up apartment building, before she opened the passenger door and slid into the seat beside Darien.
"Are you okay?" Darien asked gently. Serena looked at him, worry etched in her face. She was trying to hold herself together, he realized, and she was on the verge of snapping. He reached out a hand to gently push a strand of hair behind her ear. Without a word, Serena broke out into a sob and threw her arms around him, and he found himself holding her close, rocking her like a child in need of comfort. Only she wasn't a little girl, no matter what Ken believed; she was a young woman with the weight of the world on her slim shoulders.
He didn't know how long they stayed there on the curb in front of Mina's apartment building and he didn't care. Serena cried out her frustration at always having to play the peacekeeper between her parents and sister: of being the more adult of the two, despite being born later, at Mina for always pushing her away, at her parents for putting her in the middle, at her own inability to just stay out of it.
Darien could feel her slowly gathering herself together, wiping her tears on his shoulder. He didn't mind. In fact, when she started to pull away, mumbling embarrassed apologies, he stroked the back of her hair, weaving his fingers in her golden hair. She didn't pull away after that, settling even closer into his side.
She smelled like flowers and bright spring rain. He inhaled deeply and closed his eyes.
She didn't know what had come over her. She didn't even know she was going to start crying until he touched her, until she looked in his eyes and saw the empathy and understanding there. She should be embarrassed—she practically soaked his shoulder with her tears—but she wasn't. She had a feeling she never needed to feel embarrassed in front of Darien Shields ever again.
He smelled like clean soap and spice. She closed her eyes and didn't let go.
Three stories above, Mina watched the parked SUV from her tiny window. The exterior grime made it hard for her to see what they were doing in there, but she had a fertile imagination and she wasn't afraid to use it. Scenario after scenario raced through her mind, but the one that was most vivid was the one she was most afraid to see.
So she turned away from the window, away from her sister and the man that was way too old for her. She had too many problems of her own; she didn't need to take on anybody else's.
Mina surveyed her empty apartment, empty except for a milk crate she salvaged from an alley behind a convenience store, an old television with rabbit ears she inherited from her elderly neighbour, a floor cushion she used in place of a couch. Oh, and she mustn't forget about the mattress on the floor in the middle of her bedroom. Her kitchen was just as bad. If the apartment didn't come with the appliances, she wouldn't have anything in there. There were no plants in pretty glazed pottery, no pictures on the wall, no silly knick-knacks scattered around—she couldn't afford them. Why should she blow her money on stupid crap like that when there were more important things to pay for, like her phone? Without it, how was her agent supposed to contact her?
Oh yeah….
Her stomach growled angrily. It had been hours since she last ate that hotdog so she rummaged around the cupboards, hoping that they had been restocked with food since she last checked. No such luck; they were as empty as her bank account. Again, her abysmal financial situation reminded her of those social assistance papers she had picked up at the welfare office a long time ago. Mina shook her head. No, she was not going on welfare. She was not going to take handouts from strangers when she wouldn't even take them from her own family. She pushed those depressing thoughts out of her mind. Maybe someday, when she was really desperate, she'd bite the bullet and go on welfare. But not right now.
She opened another door and to her surprise, saw a box of macaroni and cheese in the far recesses of the cavernous cupboard. She was in luck—she was going to eat well tonight and possibly even have some left over for breakfast tomorrow. Tomorrow, she was going to think about her future. Tonight, she was going to eat like a queen.
Her stomach rumbled again, impatient to digest its meal of carbs and processed cheese that she really didn't need and processed cheese. Normally she hated the stuff but hunger didn't discriminate between good food and bad.
When the food was ready, she divided it between two bowls: one for tonight, and one for tomorrow. She made a mental grocery list in her head, just in case she managed to scrounge up some money this week. If she didn't, she'd just have to buy the cheapest essentials: canned goods loaded with sodium and preservatives and boxed stuff loaded with simulated flavours and colours. Yummy.
She took her bowl and walked over to the window overlooking the street and peeked outside. Good, they were gone. Mina didn't care what they did together as long as they were far away from her. She didn't need to be caught in the crossfire when the shit went down.
---
Darien drove to Serena's apartment building while she slept, sometimes taking shuddering breaths as if she couldn't draw enough air into her lungs. When she fell asleep on his shoulder after another bout of tears, her body twisted in an awkward way to accommodate the bulky centre console separating them, Darien gently shifted her back into her own seat and strapped her in. She was in such a deep sleep she never even noticed.
He flipped open his cell phone and hit the speed dial to call his home. Trista answered the phone in just two rings. "Shields residence."
"Trista, it's me." Darien paused while he negotiated a left turn before speaking again. "I just wanted to know how the girls were doing."
"Oh, hello Mr. Shields," Trista answered a little breathlessly. Darien assumed he had caught her in the middle of doing something strenuous like mopping the floor or doing the laundry, and didn't think any more of it. "The girls are doing just fine except…"
"Except?" Darien's brow furrowed and he unconsciously pressed his foot harder down on the accelerator. His speed climbed slowly and he gripped the steering wheel just a little tighter. "What's wrong?"
"Well, Heather came home with a stomach ache but she won't let me give her any medicine so I tucked her in bed with a hot water bottle. I think she's waiting for you to come home and make her feel better."
Darien let out a sigh of relief. Tummy aches he could handle. Broken limbs he couldn't. Broken hearts…well, he didn't even want to go there. "Tell her I'll be home soon," he said, pulling up at Serena's apartment building. "How's Raye?"
"Raye's fine," Trista replied breezily. The girl was too hardheaded for her own good, which was why she didn't concern herself as much with her. "She's in her room, doing her homework."
"Have you guys eaten dinner yet?" Beside him, Serena was just starting to wake up.
"Yes, we have, although Heather's stomach ache prevented her from eating too much. I've kept your dinner warm in the oven for you."
"Thanks, Trista. I'm just wrapping things up but I'll be home in about half an hour. I'll see you then." Darien ended the call and turned to Serena who was watching him with sleepy eyes.
"Is something wrong?" she asked, noticing the frown on his face. Darien let out a breath and rolled his shoulders.
"Oh, it's nothing. Trista just told me that Heather's stomach hurts. It's probably just indigestion or something like that; she'll be fine." Still, he couldn't keep the concern out of his voice or his facial expression.
"I'm sorry to hear that," Serena replied. She casually placed her hand on his forearm and ignored the frisson of heat she felt there. "I'm sure she'll be fine, Darien. She's a tough kid."
"You have no idea," Darien said proudly.
"So, who's Trista?" Serena asked, deliberately keeping her voice light. She was just making conversation, nothing more.
"She's our housekeeper," Darien replied, shifting in his seat so that he was facing Serena.
"Oh," she replied, turning herself to face him as well. Dismissing the subject of Trista from her mind—after all, she was just a housekeeper—she smiled and said, "Thank you so much for coming to our rescue today."
For reasons she couldn't explain, she moved closer to him until she was once again in his arms. "I could never thank you enough," she whispered, her lips just barely brushing his ear. Then she turned her head and kissed his cheek, leaving her lips on his skin a little longer than necessary.
Darien banded his arms around her, pulling her closer against his body. Her breasts crushed against him but somehow he didn't think she minded. Growing bolder, he moved his hand up and down the small of her back, his fingers grazing the waistband of her skirt. "Anytime," he murmured.
Because she couldn't help herself, she gave him another kiss on the cheek, this time just a little closer to the corner of his mouth. Then she pulled away, blushing because she couldn't believe how brazen she had become, because it felt so natural. "I'd better go so you can see how Heather's doing. I'll see you tomorrow, Darien."
She felt his eyes on her as she walked up to the entrance and unlocked the door. Serena forced herself not to look over her shoulder to acknowledge him, but she couldn't stop her hips from swaying as she practically sashayed up the stairs.
Darien was watching her, all right. How could he not after she practically sat on his lap and planted her lips on his cheek not once, but twice? Or maybe he was reading too much into what could've been just a simple, chaste thank-you kiss.
As he had the first time he gave her a ride home, he waited until he saw the light turn on in the window two stories above him. The curtains fluttered in the breeze, revealing a slim blonde woman in her room, preparing to undress. As if she knew he was down there watching, Serena reached up and pulled down a roller shade.
Darien grinned. Although he could still see her silhouette through the shade, he couldn't see anything else so he decided to go home and see his daughters.
True to his word, he was home in less than thirty minutes. The house was still when he entered it, only running into Trista when she heard him setting down his keys in the crystal bowl on the entrance table. Wordlessly, she took his briefcase and set it down by the stairs where he could easily pick it up on his way to his room.
"How's Heather?" he asked, taking little notice of her as she moved silently about, picking up after him. As a result, he missed the way her eyes roved over his body, admiring the physique that he worked to maintain by going to the gym three or four times a week. He didn't even realize how sexy he was, Trista realized, and that made him much more appealing than her worthless ex-husband, who knew just how handsome he was. His huge ego, along with his endless work as a Hollywood agent, stifled her until she felt that the only way she could regain her sense of identity was to leave him…and her son.
As always, she felt a pang of guilt every time she thought of her son, not because she regretted abandoning him, but because she couldn't live up to her standards of being a good mother. PTA meetings and baking cookies just didn't appeal to her so she left. Sammy was much better off with his father, anyway.
"I'm going to check on the girls before I eat dinner," Darien said, already climbing the stairs. "We'll be fine for the rest of the evening. Good night, Trista."
"Goodnight Mr. Shields," she replied but he had already disappeared down the hallway to Raye's room. In her arms, she held his jacket. She lifted it to her nose and sniffed it, pretending that the empty arms were wrapped around her willing body.
Cinnamon spice and everything nice. She held it for a second longer before she hung it up in the closet.
Upstairs, Darien tapped softly on his daughter's room. "Raye, can I come in?" He entered when he heard her assent.
Raye lay on the bed, a phone held securely to her ear and her open books littered around her. "Just a second, Chad."
Darien immediately frowned. Chad? He wasn't sure he liked the sound of that. He crossed the room and planted a kiss on her forehead. "How are you?"
"I'm fine, daddy." She smiled innocently at him, just like she used to do when she was a little girl and wanted to stay up past her bedtime.
"Have you checked on Heather?" He moved an algebra book aside and sat down beside her. When she put her head on his shoulder, he smiled. Some things never changed, and for that, he was glad.
"She's fine," Raye assured him quickly, leading him to think she didn't check on her sister at all.
"Have you finished your homework yet?" A slightly guilty expression was his answer. "Raye…."
"Okay, okay. Just let me say goodbye, alright?" Darien nodded but he stayed where he was to make sure she really was saying goodbye instead of lingering on the phone. With Chad.
As if she sensed her father's disapproval about her talking to a boy on the phone, she spoke in hushed tones. "I've got to go, Chad. See you in class tomorrow. Bye."
Darien didn't like the way she said bye to that boy, the way she drew the monosyllabic word out into three. Where did she learn to talk like a woman? His little girl was growing up on him. At least he still had Heather. Speaking of whom….
"I'm going to check up on Heather now, unless you need my help with anything."
"That's okay, daddy. I got some help from my friend." Raye blushed but didn't say anything else lest her father pick up on her growing crush on a certain shaggy-haired surfer. "Goodnight daddy."
She kissed him on the cheek and gave him a hug, instantly making him feel better. This Chad person may be the new man in his daughter's life, but he was always going to be the first. "Goodnight, baby."
He closed the door softly and walked down the hall to Heather's room. "Honey? Are you okay?" he asked as he opened the door. The lamp beside Heather's bed illuminated the room softly, and he was able to see his daughter curled up underneath her fluffy duvet, clutching her well-worn teddy bear in her arms. His heart constricted.
"Daddy?" Her voice sounded small and vulnerable. "Is that you?"
Darien gently lowered himself on the bed and forced his voice to remain light. "Trista told me you had a tummy ache." She nodded her head but didn't say anything. In fact, she turned her face away from him. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing." Darien sighed. It seemed that females, no matter what the age, seemed to instinctively know how to drive a man crazy by pretending there was nothing wrong when obviously there was.
"Tell me."
"No. It's embarrassing."
"I'm your dad; you don't have to be embarrassed about anything." Heather sighed a remarkably grown-up sigh.
"It's because you're my dad that I don't want to tell you." By now, Darien was getting fed up with her caginess.
"Just whisper it in my ear, then. I promise not to get mad." When she didn't make a sound, Darien gently hefted her up to a sitting position. "Come on. Tell your old dad what's wrong."
With worry in her eyes and a blush on her cheeks, she cupped her hand around his ear and whispered. Darien's eyebrows raised all the way up to his hairline. Whatever he thought she was going to tell him, he hadn't been expecting that.
"Well, golly." Was all he could say. "Other than the pain, are you okay? Do you need anything?" Heather nodded, to his dismay.
"My teacher gave me some stuff for today but I need to go buy more tomorrow. Can you buy them for me at the drugstore?"
He kissed his daughter's head and assured her he would, even though it was the last thing in the world he wanted to do. Now he really was depressed. It seemed as though his little girls had grown up on him while his head was turned. One daughter was talking on the phone with a boy he didn't know and now Heather…Well. He supposed if he just said it in one breath, it wouldn't be so bad. Besides, it wasn't as if she could help it, right? Well, here goes…
"Heather got her period today," he mumbled, stunned that his twelve-year old daughter, the one who still watched The Care Bears and abhorred Britney Spears, was becoming a woman. "She got her period and she wants me to buy her pads."
There, that wasn't so bad, was it? Except now he wanted to drown his sorrows in a good, stiff drink.
I want to thank Ladysolo for editing this chapter, even though she was preparing to go on a trip to Raleigh. Even though it was express serviced to me about 24 hours after she received it, she went above and beyond the call of duty to edit this chapter. You are my editing guru, LS!
I'll be posting a copy of this chapter with LS' corrections in my LJ at h t t p : w w w . l i v e j o u r n a l . c o m / u s e r s/ crfiction (just edit out the spaces between the characters when you paste the URL into the address bar and add the underscore between cr and fiction if it got removed). See LS smack some editing sense into CR! See CR run. Run, CR, run. coff Anyway, if you have any questions or comments that you'd like me to clarify, leave me a review and I'll answer you in my LJ (see address above). All review responses will be made there as I don't like to do reviewer shout-outs at the bottom of my chapters.
Also! Check out my C2 archive, A WISE Decision, at h t t p : w w w . fanfiction . net / c 2 / 3 0 5 3 / 0 / 1 / (same as above—remove the spaces). Read, subscribe, review. I'm taking fic recommendations if you have any!
Once again, thanks for reading this chapter. Stay tuned for the next one which should be out soon (if you're all good D)