"Every child you encounter is a divine appointment."
— Wess Stafford, President Emeritus of Compassion International
"I don't like this, man. Feels like there's some shit in the air or somethin'."
"What are you so nervous about, bro?" Max questioned his brother. "You don't think you can handle a couple lanky ass tweakers?"
"I'm not worried about the tweakers. Actually, no, fuck that. I am worried about the tweakers." Beast Boy shook his head as he whispered with his brother. "We don't know how many are in there. What if there's like, a whole duggie orgy goin' down or somethin'? Maybe it's their turn to host Snort and Shoot Up Night, ladies get in free."
"Scrap did his research and we know those dope heads are staying there. We're good, chill out."
"We're good, fine, but why is Marci here?"
From the corner of my eye, I saw Beast Boy glance at me, but I kept my eyes out the window and on the rundown shotgun house across the street. I was sitting in the passenger seat of their Ford Econoline Cargo van and Madman Max was in the driver's seat, his brother leaning in the middle. Gage was in the back with Grimm and I've been hearing the clicking of metal for the last few minutes, so someone's trigger finger was getting itchy.
I didn't exactly want to be here either, but I was the only one who knew what these guys looked like and Gage insisted I come because Grimm would be here. He trusted my life in the hands of his Sergeant-In-Arms and he usually came with me when I went to visit Arcane. He's actually why we're sitting here.
Since Arcane bought about 90% of the Meth the Spartans carried and they usually got Scrap, Beast Boy and Dutchman to sell the remaining 10%, a business relationship formed. The Spartans don't sell on Arcane's turf and nobody gets killed. I'd say the terms were the same when the tables turned, but I don't know anybody who'd be ballsy enough to try to off Arcane.
Since he was a valuable, loyal and lethal customer, Arcane asked a favor of the Spartans because he had a problem on their territory. One of his new guys got mugged and stabbed by a pair of scheming tweakers and they took all the dope he had on him. Arcane's out on parole at the moment and he's trying to be a good boy to prevent getting sent to prison for twenty years, so he asked me to deliver a request to Gage and here we are.
I'm sure the only reason, besides avoiding bloodshed, the Spartans accepted Arcane's offer was the money they'd get in return for doing this. Arcane had a special request for the memento he wanted to be brought to him and I'm sure Grimm would have no problem with cutting the head off the problem...literally. Why the blond refuses to conduct business with his fuck buddy, Scrap, instead of myself is a question I've asked already. According to Arcane, he only talked to Scrap when he wanted sex and that was it. He sure knew how to set boundaries.
"What's wrong with Marci being here?" Max asked his brother and I felt a hand go over my right shoulder. I turned my head a bit and saw that Gage was leaning forward on the space between the front seats. He took a look at the house, but his attention went to Beast Boy. The green-haired man didn't even notice his President was next to him. "She's not gonna get scared off or anything."
"She's a chick, they're afraid of a tiny little mouse scurrying across the kitchen floor."
"Have you forgotten that she's been cutting deals with Arcane? Do you know how fucking deranged that freaky-eyed maniac is?"
"Don't call him that." I scolded without turning to look at Max; the brothers were silent for a minute.
"Bro, all I'm sayin' is this is man shit, you know?"
"Nobody's going anywhere." Gage butted-in and Beast Boy almost jumped out of his skin at the sound of the voice so close to him. Max didn't look too startled, but he sighed at his brother and leaned his head on the window. Gage was glaring at the younger brother and I could see him shrinking under the tormenting gaze. "Marceline's the smallest of all of us and she could get in through the window easier. If there's more than two of those fiends in there, we need the element of surprise and she'll be able to point out the ones we're looking for. Arcane wants this as quiet as possible and without her, we'd be making a hell of a lot more noise. Now stop fucking complaining or I'll make you go in there alone."
"Sorry, Prez. I'm just lookin' out for your lady." Gage waved Beast Boy off and he scurried to the back of the van with Grimm.
"Alright, let's get this started." Gage said and gently squeezed my shoulder. "I'm right behind you, Marci. No worries."
Gage gave me my black rucksack with white birds printed on it. After sliding it over one shoulder, I pulled the handle to my door and opened it, quietly shutting it behind me. The only sound on the quiet, night-drenched streets were the soft scuff of my sneakers on the asphalt as I crossed the street, but my footfalls were silenced when I got on the sidewalk.
I walked the path to the disorderly house and noticed that the front door was a hunk of metal that the city usually put on condemned places to keep the squatters out. It looked like someone shot a hole through the door to make a peephole and the small porch was covered in garbage. I took my gun from the back waistband of my jeans and stepped to the side of the door with my back pressed against the house. Like Gage planned for me to do, I knocked and listened for any sounds inside. I didn't hear any music, yelling, cursing, scurrying feet or doors closing and after a few silent seconds, I knocked again. There still weren't any sounds and I looked back at the van, shaking my head.
I saw Gage say something to Max, then to the Spartans in the back before he nodded for me to continue. The first thing I did was try to open the window, but it didn't budge and I wasn't about to dig in my bag for my knife to pry it open. I hopped the railing and started making my way to the back of the house. The backyard was fenced in and it looked more like a junkyard from all of the piles of broken appliances or stripped car parts, but there was an actual door on hinges. I tried the knob and it wasn't locked.
Before I went in, I waited to hear anything and when I didn't, I stuck my head inside. The kitchen was a horrible mess of paper plates, empty cans and grime, but the house was still silent. Still, I had a good grip on my gun as I inspected the scenery. Like I imagined, the interior of the place was a goddamn mess that looked more like an elementary school lunchroom than a home and the urge to go through this place with the biggest can of Lysol was constantly bugging me.
Within the fast food wrappers, beer bottles or chip bags that layered the floor, I'd see a discarded needle every so often and there were a lot of them scattering the coffee table in front of a surprisingly spotless sofa. Compared to the torn-up and piss-drenched recliners around the room, the sofa looked brand new and I wondered where the hell a pair of drug fiends got the money for new furniture.
I went to the window, unlocked it and had to use a bit of extra force to shove it up because it was sticking to the windowsill. I whistled and made sure the window stayed up before going to sit on the sanitary couch. It even smelled like it was new, like the plastic wrapping was taken off not too long ago. As I waited for the Spartans to come in, I jerked my hand away when I felt something touch it and thought it was an oversized rat or something.
To my surprise, it was a kid.
The boy looked like he was 4 or 5 and his vanilla-beige skin was covered in a layer of dirt. I wasn't sure if he had dark hair or if the hue of it was darkened due to him being grimy, but it was a disheveled mop on his head. The kid was wearing a white t-shirt that looked two sizes too big and it had all kinds of stains on it, the color verging on a grayish-yellow. He didn't have any pants on and he was barefoot.
He had a TV remote in his hand and pushed a button. I saw the light of the TV shine on the side of my face, but I didn't look at it and I could see the color of his eyes now. They were a lovely shade of brown that looked like a rich bottle of Brandy and…they reminded me of Jasmine's sweet honey eyes.
"Where's your Mom and Dad?" I asked and the boy looked at me, but went back to watching TV. I stole a glance at the box and it was some Black & White movie that looked ancient and incredibly boring and the audio was low and fuzzy. A banner came across the bottom of the screen and according to it, we were watching a movie made in 1949 called Late Spring. Why a kid wouldn't want to be watching colorful cartoons instead of this boring crap was a question I couldn't answer. "Don't you wanna watch Sprout or Cartoon Network? The Upside Down Show is on right now, it's cool."
The boy didn't look at me or say anything, so I reached for the remote. He didn't protest when I pointed the device at the outdated 20-inch box and started surfing through the channels. Other than a few static screens, the SMPTE color bars and a channel that was going in depth about golden State quarters, Late Spring was the only working thing to watch.
"Doesn't work anymore." The child finally said something, but it was more of a mumble and I set the remote down.
"You here by yourself?"
"I'm hungry." The kid turned to me again and he didn't look away, just stared at me with those big eyes of his.
If he'd get washed up and into some clothes his size, I'm sure he'd look like a normal kid, but right now, he just looked sad and his eyes held an unforgiving hopelessness.
I took my bag off my shoulder and the Spartans just started climbing through the window. Gage was the only one who stopped to look at me, but he went searching around the house while I pulled out the Ziploc baggie I was looking for. I made a ham and cheese sandwich earlier and packed some snacks, but I never got around to eating any of it. I gave it to the boy and he wasted no time in tearing the plastic open to start devouring the sandwich. My heart ached for him and the life he was forced to live because his parents were tweakers who spent all their money on drugs. Rose was the same way, but she always kept the kitchen stocked with something to eat, which was usually Top Ramen or microwave Mac & Cheese bowls. That didn't mean I didn't go to sleep hungry a few nights.
The boy wasn't wasting any of the sandwich, eating the crusts without a care, and I went digging in my bag again. Along with a Sunny-D, I had a bag of Nacho Cheese Doritos, a baggie of Goldfish, a pack of Soft Batch chocolate chip cookies, a few packets of Gushers and a couple sticks of gum. Once the boy was finished with the sandwich, I opened the fish-shaped crackers for him and gave him the bag. Like he did before, he immediately started eating and only stopped to take a few gulps of the juice.
After the crackers were gone, he seemed full because he was leaning into the couch and had his hand on his stomach. He'd giggle every now and then and I wondered if he was happy that he got to eat today. I was glad I could help him.
The Spartans were still searching the house for people, the stolen drugs or money and they weren't being cautious because I could hear things breaking or getting carelessly thrown around. The boy didn't seem to care because his attention was on me. I liked seeing him smile, so I wanted to make him laugh. He probably deserved a few moments of happiness. He was still watching me and I turned to face him. He tucked his legs under himself to turn to me and I put my hand over my eyebrows as if I were shading myself from the sun. I brought my hand down over my eyes, then flicked it up as I made a silly face with crossed eyes and my tongue sticking out. When the kid laughed, it was the sweetest, most innocent sound I ever heard.
The noise of the men suddenly stopped and I heard them all start to come into the living room. Max and Beast Boy were posted at the window while Gage and Grimm were waiting at the back door. I continued with the little game I was playing with the kid and he'd give me another one of those unsullied giggles that made my heart skip a beat. After a good half hour or so, the boy went back to watching the colorless movies on the TV and that was the only sound in the house. He scooted over to get closer to me and his fingers were wrapped around my thumb. The Spartans haven't moved from their spots and other than a quick check-in of no movement on either end, they were silent.
A low whistle sounded and I figured that meant the tweakers were home. I took the initiative to turn the TV off and the kid didn't do anything. I started to hear a pair of growing, croaking voices and they were coming from the back of the house. Max and Beast Boy went to join Gage and Grimm in the kitchen and once the outside pair opened the door, everyone was yelling. The Spartans were telling the druggies to shut the fuck up while they were screaming in fear or confusion about the situation at hand.
The tweakers were shoved into the living room and Grimm pushed them on their knees when they tried to run away. They were both sickly rawboned with thinning hair that left bald patches on either of their heads. They both had soulless and greedy brown eyes and their discolored skin was littered with red spots, scratches or freshly picked scabs. The woman looked thinner than the man and the tank top she was wearing looked like it could fit a teenager, but it hung loosely on her. The man had a bit more bulk to him, but it wasn't in a healthy way and he didn't look strong.
"This who we lookin' for?" Grimm asked in that scratchy voice of his that always reminded me of how a pirate would talk and I nodded. When he smiled down at the pair, I knew he was going to have entirely too much fun performing the sadistic task Arcane ordered.
With the nearing execution in mind, I thought about the kid and looked to his side of the couch, but he was gone. I looked around the dirty room and he wasn't hiding anywhere, not that there was any furniture for him to stash behind. I didn't even feel him move. Madman Max, Gage and Grimm forced the tweakers to their feet and dragged their screaming bodies to the back of the house. I noticed that the pair was arguing with each other rather than praying that God save them or trying to offer the Spartans the drugs they stole, money or sex in exchange for letting them live.
Beast Boy was the only one who didn't follow the other men and he looked relieved, but still nervous. Of all the Spartans, I've noticed that he didn't take the murders too well and I think he had the lowest kill-count in the MC. Shooting someone and running away was something he could do. Torturing someone until they bleed out or went into shock from the intense amount of agony wasn't something he could do or stand to watch. I knew that Gage, and especially Grimm, had a problem with his reluctance to off someone and I wondered if Max was keeping the heat off his little brother.
"Beastie, Marceline!" Gage called and I got up, quietly walking down the hall with Beast Boy in tow. There were three doors in the hall and he was on the single one on the left side. The door was cracked open and he just poked his head out, smiling when he saw me. I noticed the little splatter of blood on his cheek and the muffled screaming coming from behind him, but didn't say anything about either. "Beast, go get the money from the bedroom, give it to her and come help us in here. Marci, you've done everything you needed to perfectly, so go keep watch from the van and honk twice if something's wrong."
"Um, Gage?" Beast Boy spoke up before Gage shut the door and the Spartan President was glaring at him with utter annoyance. "Maybe I should keep watch with Marceline. Some shit could go down and she could need help or somethin', you know?"
"She can take care of herself." Gage spat and Beast Boy looked nervous, but still determined to convince his President to get out of the house. Gage looked like he was about to lash out, but he suddenly got calm and looked at me. He smiled again. "Actually, Marci can go get the money and take it with her to the van. You're okay with that, right?"
"Shouldn't be too hard." I shrugged and Gage's smile got a little bigger, but he glowered over my head at Beast Boy.
Gage pointed to the door adjacent from the one he was in and he yanked Beast Boy inside the room before he could protest. Like I was told, I went into the room and wasn't surprised when I found it a dirty mess like the rest of the house. A grime coated mattress was in the middle of the floor, but my attention went to the trail of bills leading towards the small closet. I pulled the door open and four goddamn cash registers were hiding in there. It looked like a long, rectangular safety deposit box was propped against the back wall too. I guess this is how they bought the new couch, but how the hell did a pair of brain-dead tweakers manage to steal all this?
There wasn't a bag in the room, so I left and headed to the kitchen. I heard the quiet, stifled shrieks again and Grimm's dark laughter from inside the room they were in, but I didn't stop to imagine what was going on in there. When I got to the kitchen, I went rummaging around the drawers and cabinets for a trash bag to stuff the money in, but haven't found one yet. The last place to look was the cabinets under the sink and when I pulled them open, I flinched at what was waiting inside.
The boy was hiding in there, ducked under the pipes of the sink. He had his impassive face for a minute, then he smiled at me and crawled out, running away with a trail of giggles behind him. He had to think we were playing Hide and Seek or something. I spotted a box of garbage bags and unrolled one, taking it back to the room. I noticed a figure in the corner that wasn't there the first time and it was veiled by a dirty blanket. When it moved, I saw the eyes of the boy and he yanked the blanket back over his eyes, giggling.
I started stuffing the cash into the bag and cleaned out the registers, making sure I didn't leave one dollar behind. The safety deposit box looked like it had a golden padlock dangling on a hasp that was keeping the metal lid shut. From the scratches along the sides, the tweakers tried to pry it open. I was wondering how the hell I was going to open the damn thing when I spotted the blue and black grips of bolt cutters on the floor. It took some elbow grease, but I managed to snap the shackle and my eyebrows went up in surprise when I saw all the money inside. That had to be 30 grand, maybe a little more.
After stuffing the cash into the bag, I remembered the kid and looked over my shoulder, but he wasn't in the corner under a blanket or in the room at all. I left to leave through the kitchen, but the Spartans were coming out of the other room and Beast Boy went straight to the sink to puke.
"Stop being such a pussy." Gage laughed and slapped the green-haired man on the back, making him flinch.
"Yo, man. That was sick on so many levels." Beast Boy panted and Gage laughed again.
"We're done here. Now, you can go home and have sweet dreams about our nice night out."
"Ain't done yet, Prez." All the men turned their heads to Grimm's stony voice and since I was curious, I looked too. Grimm was looking down at the little boy in front of him and the kid barely came to the tops of his knees.
"Get rid of it." Gage dismissed and Grimm slung a burlap sack over his shoulder. That probably had one or both of the tweakers' heads in it. Gross.
Grimm pulled his gun from his jeans and aimed it on the back of the boy's head. The kid never looked behind him, his eyes were scanning all the men around him.
"Whoa, Gage." Madman Max stepped forward and was between Gage and the boy. "We can't off him."
"He's seen all of our faces and thanks to you, he knows my name now." Gage flatly countered, his arms folding over his chest as he leaned against the wall. "We don't know if he saw what we did in there or if he was watching Marci. He's a witness, gotta go."
"That is a kid, man." Max persisted. "He's not a street dog or a goddamn raccoon. This is a child you wanna get rid of."
"It's a tweaker baby, parents probably had it by mistake." The President corrected. "No name, no life, nobody that cares about it. After living with those drug whores, we'll be doing it a favor by putting it down." Max looked fearfully shocked, probably realizing that he wasn't going to sway his leader's opinion, and I heard Beast Boy start to hurl again, but Gage nodded to his Sergeant-At-Arms. "Grimm, take care of it. Make it quick and keep it clean."
I heard Grimm's pistol cock and since Madman Max reluctantly moved away to comfort his brother, the boy could see me now. He locked eyes with me and I saw a spark of happiness in them. It was like he was laughing with those darling little orbs of his. Like I did earlier, he put the side of his hand over his eyebrows, brought it down over his eyes and flicked it up to reveal a goofy face.
And he laughed again, that innocent buzz of pure joy.
I didn't realize I was getting closer to the boy until I saw Grimm raise his gun to point at the ceiling, watching my every move with his hard eyes. The boy was looking up at me with a small smile and regardless of how dirty he was, I picked him up. He wrapped his tiny arms around my neck and curled into a little ball in my arms as I turned to walk out the back door, passing the silent men. I got back in the passenger seat of the van and waited for the Spartans to pile out of the house.
Once the men were in the van, Madman Max started driving, but I saw how he glanced at me and had a world of relief in his eyes. The first stop was my house and I heard Grimm inform Asher that he'd deliver the package to Arcane tonight, so Max went to drive them to the kingpin. Gage came inside with me and I went straight upstairs to the bathroom. I finally set the boy on his feet and drew him a bubble bath. He watched in awe as the mountains of bubbles got bigger and once the water was high enough, I peeled the scarce amount of dirty clothes off him.
Once the kid was in the tub, he was giggling as he played with the bubbles and I was washing his hair. I caught movement from the corner of my eye and saw Gage set something on the toilet seat before he left. There was a black shirt, blue pants with monster-trucks on them, boxers and a pair of socks that looked like they'd fit the boy. Once the kid was thoroughly scrubbed down and I could see his skin, I drained the murky water and dried him off.
Now that he was clean, I could see that he had shaggy, chestnut-brown hair that fell to his chin and his skin was actually a warm ivory. He was thinner than I thought though. I could almost see the bones in his arms and his rib cage was outlined too. I'd fatten him up in no time and I'm sure Mrs. Maisie and Lavinia would love to bake him all kinds of goodies.
After lathering the boy in lotion and dressing him, he clutched my hand and I led him downstairs. I saw Gage watching from the bottom of the stairs and he leisurely trailed behind us as we went into the kitchen, but he didn't say anything.
"Are you still hungry?" I asked the child and he nodded, so I sat him on the counter. "How does chicken nuggets with mac and cheese sound?" The boy smiled at me and giggled, nodding again. "Alright, but you gotta tell me your name first."
"...Bentley." The boy quietly answered and he hung his head, making me frown. I wondered why he reacted like that. I put my finger under his chin and tilted his head up to look at me.
"My name is Marceline." I smiled at him and after a second, Bentley did too. "Let's make dinner, Bentley."
After I got a cookie sheet from the lower cabinet, I took the pack of nuggets from the freezer and Bentley was placing them while I grabbed a box of macaroni. When I turned to the stove, I saw Gage at the sink and he put a pot of water on a burner. He took the box from me and I turned back to Bentley. I knew he was hungry, but he had way too many nuggets on the pan and I put most of them back in the bag. Gage took the pan and stuck it in the preheated oven. Bentley was watching his every move and so was I because I didn't know how he felt about me taking, what he considered, a witness home.
I didn't know what I was planning on doing with Bentley either. I just up and kidnapped him...though technically, he was orphaned before I took him. Besides, he'd be taken care of with me and I'd make sure he'd have everything he needed. I just couldn't leave him in that house. Grimm was going to kill him and if he didn't, Bentley would've been dead within a week. He had nobody to take care of him and that rundown house wasn't a healthy or safe place to live.
I saw myself in Bentley. He reminded me of myself when Rose had her tweaker friends over and I'd lock myself in the attic until they left or were too high to notice me sneaking into the kitchen for something to eat or stealing some of Rose's drug money to get food. I had the same despairing eyes Bentley did and nothing in the world could make me turn my back on a kid going through the same hell I did.
Gage seemed to have taken over with making dinner because he was stirring the macaroni in the boiling water. He was reading the back of the box, but he was still making it. He put the top on the pot and came to the fridge, pulling out a bottle of apple juice. He got two cups out, poured the juice in them and handed them to us, smiling.
"You might be able to catch The Upside Down Show. I think Kenny the Shark's on Discovery Kids though."
"You're okay with this?" I asked, confused, motioning to Bentley. He was sipping at his juice and he looked so innocent with his almond-shaped eyes.
Gage looked at Bentley and cocked his head to the side a little, scanning the child. He smirked and went back to the stove to check on the boiling pot, not saying a word. I wanted to know what was going on in that wacky head of his, but he won't tell me. I didn't like how he was acting either.
I slid Bentley off the counter and took him into the living room. We sat on the couch and I turned on the cartoon Gage was talking about.
Bentley seemed pretty happy as he watched the cartoon and he never wanted to take his eyes off the colorful screen, but he did when Gage came into the living room. He had two plates sitting on the palms of his hands and he set them on the coffee table before us. Our dinner was on the plates and Gage held his hand out to Bentley. He stared at Gage for a second, then looked at me and timidly took the man's hand.
Gage gently slid Bentley off the couch, put his back to it and had Bentley sitting on his lap. As we ate, Gage would keep Bentley's hands and mouth clean of ketchup or cheese. He'd get him singing to the short songs on TV and Bentley looked as happy as he was with me while he was with the Spartan President.
Once Bentley was finished eating, I collected our plates and cups. After trashing them and quickly washing the utensils, I went back to my spot on the couch. Gage and Bentley moved over to the armchair and Bentley was comfortably curled in Gage's lap. Like before, he was intently watching the cartoon on TV.
"Asher." I called and his eyes immediately set on me, glimmering with that adoring sparkle like they always did. "I'm gonna take a shower. Can you...are you okay with-"
"We'll be fine, Marci." He smiled and looked down at Bentley, giving his shoulders a rub. "It's just gonna be you and me for a minute, little guy. We might be able to watch a little girl-on-girl, get some hair on your chest."
"Don't you dare." I warned and he laughed. I couldn't stop the little smile that tugged at my lips, but got up and gently tussled Bentley's soft hair.
Before I left, I glanced back at the pair and hated the fact that I was comfortable with Gage being alone with Bentley. I decided that it was the paternal outlook of the whole thing. Still, he was all for ending the kid's life a few hours ago, now he's cuddling up to Bentley and trying to bond with him. Where did his sudden change of heart come from? Where the hell did his heart come from? Nevertheless, I climbed the stairs and went into the bedroom to get out something comfortable to sleep in.
I ran my shower and basked in the hot water, the feeling of the heated liquid seeping into my skin. As much as I wanted to, I didn't linger under the water too long. I learned my lesson after the first few times and the last thing I wanted was for old feelings or memories to pop-up. I spent too much energy putting them to rest.
Once I was dressed, I went back downstairs into the living room and Gage was still in the armchair with Bentley, but the smaller of the pair was sleeping now. Gage was looking down at the little child curled in his lap and he looked deeply intrigued as he traced his hair with his finger. I didn't know how he felt about kids because he's never said anything about wanting to have a baby. He's said he'd give me one if it'd make me happy, but he never said anything about having one because he wanted to be a parent. I don't think he'd fit into the father role anyway, especially not after all the things he's told me about his own father's version of parenting.
"Why'd you take him?" Gage quietly asked and I came around the chair to his front.
"You were going to have him killed. He's a child."
"Tweaker baby." Gage amended like he did to Max and I narrowed my eyes at him. "He's not gonna make it here. I know you had the best interest at heart by taking him out of that kinda environment, but he's gonna die."
"He is not."
"Marceline..." He sighed and I locked my jaw because I knew the patronizing bullshit was about to start. "He's gonna suffer from withdrawal, throw tantrums and die. His immune system is fucked, he's verging on malnourished, he's weak, his body's used to living in disgusting conditions. A bath and a few hot meals aren't gonna save him. Unless you're planning on giving him a daily dose of Crank, I'd be surprised if he made it the rest of the month. It'd be best if you let Grimm handle it. He won't put him through a lot of pain."
"I'll take him to the doctor and get him all the vaccinations he needs." I spat and went to gently detach Bentley from his hold. Once I had him in my arms, he nuzzled into me and I kept his head pressed over my heart. "Bentley is not going to die. You've killed or taken away everything else that makes me happy, but you will not take him away from me and you'd better tell Grimm to stay the hell away from him or he's gonna deal with me."
"He's your son now, Marci?" Gage asked, a sly smirk on his face, and I glared at him in return. "You wanna play House with a druggie baby that's only gonna live a couple more weeks? Fine, if he makes you happy, but don't come crying to me when you wake up and find him dead."
I scowled at Gage, but turned on my heel and headed upstairs to the bedroom again. I wish he wouldn't have taken my things out of the attic because I didn't have any privacy anymore and that's exactly what he wanted, for me to be in his sight or reach all the time. Jesus, he was such a creep. Refurnishing the garret wouldn't be a good idea because Gage would have the stuff taken out and we'd be back to square one again. Hopefully with Bentley around, he'd stay out of the bedroom like he did before.
I gently laid Bentley on the right side of the bed and tugged the blanket over him. Quietly, I crawled under the covers on the other side and flicked the lamp off. As soon as I set my head on the cool pillow, Bentley stirred and barely opened his eyes. He shuffled closer to me and tucked his head under my chin, his automatic breathing kicking in seconds later.
Bentley wasn't going to die and Gage could go fuck himself because he wasn't going to make me believe that he would. Taking Bentley in was just like taking in a stray cat or dog. All he needed was the proper vaccinations to get him healthy, a daily scrub down, three meals a day and lots of time outside to get some natural air in his lungs. He'd be fine with me.
{Inspired by S:2, EP:5 of Breaking Bad}