The lampposts flickered overhead as they sped down the road in Imani's car. Delphine's heart was thumping loud in her chest, her palms perspiring as she squeezed her fingers into a fist.
There was no misplacing the overbearing curiosity lingering in her brain. She was going to uncover who this "Reese" character was, and hopefully retain the information she so desperately desired. Legs bouncing in excitement, Delphine periodically glanced out the windshield, clocking the minutes until they arrived. She worried her bottom lip between her teeth.
"Delphine," Imani risked a glimpse in her direction. "Keep still."
"Je ne peux pas rester en place," she sighed. "I am sorry; I know I am too eager."
"I don't understand why you're so excited." Imani squinted her eyes through an oncoming vehicle's high beams. "This could be dangerous, you know, just forcing ourselves onto a stranger that has something to do with these… other yous."
"But what if Reese has answers? What if he can explain all this?"
The other woman's brow rose. "He? What if it's a woman?"
"There are woman named Reese?"
"Delphine, this is America. You could name your child 'cheese sandwich' if you really wanted to."
"Un pays étrange."
A snort rang in Delphine's ear. She looked over to Imani, who was shaking her head, amused smirk playing on her lips. "Delphine, what's the address again?" She asked after her snickers died down. "I don't want to accidentally pass it."
"Um," fumbling around in her pocket, Delphine retrieved the crumpled paper and squinted to read the lazily scribed cursive, "8252 Fremont Avenue."
"Fremont Avenue," she whispered to herself while nodding, her neck craning as searched for the correct street sign. She made a small sound of acknowledgement when she spotted it, and turned the car smoothly down the path to their right.
Shabby apartment complexes and condos passed them by and Delphine was transfixed on how grungy they appeared. Siding on the homes had been torn off, stained a sickly green and brown. Yards looked wild and untamed as tall grass sprouted from underneath cracked and dry clusters of dirt. She swallowed the nervousness she felt and turned back around in her seat, facing forward, Imani slowing the car to a stop.
"8252 Fremont Avenue," she stated, looking out the window to her left. Delphine leaned forward to peek at the building, a small condo with a boarded window. Her nose scrunched.
"A scientist lives here?" She asked, incredulous.
Imani shrugged. "I have no idea."
"I pictured something…" she gestured towards the crumbling white wall next to the front door.
"Not this?"
"Yes, oui."
Inching closer to the glass, Imani cocked her head to the side as she examined the structure. "It doesn't look like anyone's home. I don't see any lights on."
"Maybe they're asleep?"
"Maybe." She said offhandedly, still searching for some form of life. Delphine tried to look as well, but Imani's head was moving in front of her each time she changed position.
"Can you stay in one place?" Delphine huffed in annoyance. Imani twisted her neck to stare at her, brow cocked upwards in challenge. "S'il vous plaît?" As Imani rolled her eyes and moved to turn back, Delphine spotted something shift from the side of the house. She clutched onto Imani's arm. "Regardez!"
Imani's attention shifted to where Delphine was gazing, watching as two silhouettes danced across the neighboring house from the direction of – what Delphine assumed to be – Reese's backyard. The two women sunk lower into their seats as the shadows slinked along the side of the house until two figures emerged, strolling into the front yard.
"Delphine, are you seeing this?"
"Oui," she whispered harshly. "Keep your voice down."
"Oh my God, do you think that's Reese?!"
"Imani, be quiet."
"But what if-"
"Imani, hush."
"It's not like they can hear-"
"Tais-toi!"
The figures seemed to glance and their direction and Delphine shoved Imani downwards and ducked alongside her. She held a hand over her mouth as if to quiet her breathing; Imani choked back a wheeze.
Peeking over the frame of the window, Delphine saw the two shadows part from an embrace, one stalking off down the sidewalk while the other waved goodbye. After the departing figure was out of view, the other spun on its heels and trudged off in the opposite direction.
"Should we follow them?" Delphine asked, the top of Imani's head bumping up against her chin as she tried peering out the window.
"Which one?"
"I don't know, but," Delphine reached behind her, unbuckling her seatbelt and throwing the car door open, "I'm taking a chance." She leapt from the car and strode swiftly across the street, picking up the sounds of Imani's feet skidding across the ground as she caught up to her.
They followed the figure down the street, cars and trucks zipping by them, the force of the air as they drove past tangling and knotting their hair. A foul stench tainted the breeze as they neared a small shopping strip, the figure they stalked walking towards it. They waited for the person to cross the road and get a safe distance away before starting after them once more, Delphine a few paces ahead of her friend, the excitement getting the better of her.
Instead of heading inside one of the shops, the figure dashed behind and went around to the rear of the liquor store. Delphine felt her pace slow and Imani bump into her, questioning what had gone wrong, but Delphine only shook her off, along with the gnawing ache in the pit of her gut.
The eroding bricks felt like sand against her fingertips as she trailed her hand along the side of the building, edging closer to the corner and around to the back. Imani was pressed against the wall behind her, making her was ever slower to the end than Delphine was.
She sensed the tension surrounding them, and felt the small hairs on her nape rise as a sharp gust of wind billowed overhead. After a deep breath, she rounded the corner, and was met with a darkness that seemed never ending. Not being able to see more than a few feet in front of her, Delphine began to panic.
"Maybe we should turn back," Imani suggested. "I'm not liking the vibe here."
"I think that's a good-" a shove to her side knocked the wind from her lungs and sent her slamming against the unforgiving concrete beneath her.
Delphine attempted to muffle a cry of pain into her palm, but it transformed into a gasps as she witnessed her friend being bulldozed back into the brick wall by a shadowed figure. Imani's body slumped to the ground, head lolling to the side as she seemed to go limp.
Something gripped the collar of her jacket and she was yanked to her feet, eyes slamming shut. Squirming did nothing but cause a tighter hold of the fabric around her neck,. Delphine let out a garbled yelp as the starch material rubbed her skin raw.
She managed to grab on to what felt like hair in her hands and she tugged harshly on it, the grip on her collar falling loose and, instead, moving to clutch onto her forearm as it squeezed unforgivingly.
"Are ye fuckin' insane?" Her attacker snarled, the woman's accent rough in her ears. "Do ye know how much shite we'd ge' into if someone saw you followin' me?"
"Lâchez-moi!" Delphine hollered.
"Too bad there ain't wa'er around," The woman's hand reached into her hair, nails digging into her scalp. "I'd fuckin' drown ye."
Despite her struggling, Delphine could not manage free her tresses from the assailant's grasp, which only tightened each time her body twitched. She called out for help, earning her a slap across the face and a hand forcefully clamping over her mouth. Through her distress, she sought out the fingers covering her lips and bit down, hard enough that the hand pulled away, her assailant letting out a hiss of pain.
"What the fuck was that?" She just barely made out a hand shaking up and down. "Ye fuckin' chomped me!"
"Allez vous faire foutre," she jeered, a smug smile spreading across her lips.
"Hon hon, oui oui, baguette," the woman mocked, "I don' speak yer fuckin' French trash, so I got no idea what t'fuck yer sayin'!"
"Delphine," Imani mumbled to her left, snapping Delphine's attention towards her. She scrambled towards her, but an arm to her throat shoved her back against the brick before she could traverse two feet.
"Where ye goin', blondie? Huh?" Her wristed pushed agonizingly on Delphine's airway. Something cold and metallic pressed on Delphine's cheek, leaving a stinging sensation along her skin as she jerked her head back. "Smart, y'damn cut yerself."
The woman's grasp dropped as she was tackled to the ground. Delphine listened to the smack of bodies as they collided against ground.
Imani had the assailant pinned to the ground, which had bought her enough time to whip her phone out, flick on its flashlight, and shine it down onto the woman's face.
Their resemblance was uncanny, exempt the deep frown bestowed along the woman's lips, the scar marring her left brow, and the fire behind her hazel eyes fueled by rage. The shock of seeing her face made Imani falter and look-alike took the opportunity given to her. She rolled Imani onto her back, and dug her knees into her clavicle. Delphine lunged forward, but stopped short as the woman held the knife against Imani's neck.
"Ye take another fuckin' step and I slit her throat."
Delphine's nails dug painfully into her palm as she clenched her hand into a fist. Imani glanced up at her, tears rimming her eyes, and her lip trembled in fear as she shook her head when Delphine attempted to move forward. "Don't."
"Let her go," Delphine demanded through gritted teeth.
"Oh? Why wouldae do that?"
"Because I need her." She swallowed her pitiful attempt at reasoning, and exhaled shakily. "Please."
Something flashed in the woman's eyes, something relative to understanding, and her features softened so quickly that if Delphine had blinked, she would have missed the twitch of her brow as it relaxed along her face.
Spitting on the ground beside Imani's head, the woman rose and stepped backwards, allowing Delphine to rush to Imani's aide and tug her into a seated position, placing a comforting hand on her lower back. Imani panted heavily, a few tears leaking from her eyes as she glared at look-alike looming above them.
"What the hell is your problem?" Delphine barked, whipping to face the woman, who was now twirling her knife between fingers.
"My problem?" Her face contorted into a grimace.
"Oui, votre problème."
"What part of 'I got no idea what the fuck yer sayin'' did you not understand?"
"You can't understand her?" Imani squawked. "I can't understand you! What even is your accent?"
"Oi, shu'up. I'm not talkin' you, y'twat," she growled. "'nd it's fuckin' Sco'ish. Educate yerself."
Delphine's hand on Imani's shoulder cut her rebuttal short, glaring down the two bickering women; Imani flinched under her harsh gaze, but the woman remained as stoic and pissed off as before.
"We just wanted to talk," Delphine's voice came out smoothly, despite the tremble in her throat. "We want answers."
"So ya think you'll ge' 'em in behind a stingy liquor store?"
"Who's Reese Alexander?"
The woman blinked hard. "What for?"
"We're looking for him."
The laugh that came from the woman was beautifully shrill as it bellowed from deep within her chest.
"Christ, don't know shite, do ye?" She snickered. "Tell ye what, since the two of ya look so pitiful, and I feel bad for cu'in blondie's cheek," Delphine's hand shot up to touch the broken skin, "I'll humor you." The visible part of her smirk was wicked in its form. "I got answers, but I ain't shoutin' em back here. Go back to my place; I guess ya know where it is, since yer parked outside."
Confused, Delphine asked, "Right now?"
"Aye, but wait a few minutes before you stalk after me again, yeah?" The woman huffed. "Just because we share a face, don't mean someone won't no'ice we aren't alike at'all, or that I just beat t'living hell outta ya." Without another word, she took off, leaving the friends to watch her retreating leather-clad form disappear around the corner.
Delphine helped Imani to her feet, letting her wrap an arm around her shoulder for support, and they limped off in the direction they had come.
Delphine's knuckles rapped softly against the front door. They heard a short "go 'round back", and both raised a brow before trekking across the unkempt yard and around the crumbling abode.
They spotted the mysterious woman from before waiting at the sliding glass door, peering out from behind the curtains. She saw them approach and opened the door, and after she ushered them inside, slammed it shut and locked it behind them, drawing the curtains closed.
In the brighter lighting, Delphine took a moment to really soak in the resemblance: their jaws and nose were chiseled the same, but where Delphine's lips were healthy, the woman's looked raw and chapped; the eyes were the same distance apart, same hazel color, and same wide oval shape. The Scottish woman's tight leather jacket hugged the larger muscles of her arms. Delphine chanced a glimpse down at the woman's hands, where her fingers were twisting together, just like her would do when she would grow anxious.
"Were ya followed?" Her voice was much calmer than it had been before, but it held a deep, husky tone, where Delphine noted that they differed again; her own pitch was much higher and held a whimsical air about it.
"How should we know?" Imani was visibly angry, her lips tight in a frown.
"Mind yer 'tude." The woman rolled her eyes and moved to unzip her jacket; Imani's grip on Delphine's hand tightened.
She noticed their tense statures and chuckled darkly. "Relax. I'm not gonna jump ya again." She shucked her jacket off and exposed her arms through her cut-off t-shirt. Tattoos flexed along her bicep as she tossed the leather over her shoulder, reaching up to run a hand through her long, tangled hair. Delphine could only stare.
"This is so…" she began, but trailed off as the woman gave her somewhat of a smile, her lips curling upward slightly.
"Like lookin' into a mirror. Remember when I first got dragged into this bullshit." She left the room, Delphine and Imani following close behind.
The walls of the condo were much different than Delphine had expected. Intricate graffiti littered the walls in a way that seemed to accent the woman's personality, or the parts of it Delphine had witnessed firsthand. The den was in a state of disarray, mixed-matched furniture surrounding a worn down, wooden coffee table, which had magazines, an ashtray, and an array of beer bottles scattered across it.
"Beer?" The woman called from somewhere in the distance, Delphine and Imani lingering by the couch.
"Oui," Delphine answered.
"Eh?"
"Yes, please." She cleared her throat. The woman entered the room, three bottles in hand, and gave one to the both of them. She took of her cap with her teeth, shrugging off their shocked expressions, and offered to do the same to theirs, but Imani offhandedly stated "I got it" and took the bottle from Delphine's hands, popping off the lids with a key.
"So, questions?" The look-alike plopped down onto the sofa, gesturing for the two to take a seat in the chairs opposite her. Hesitantly, they stepped forward, each dropping down onto the cushions, clutching their bottles tight in their hands.
"Do you- do you mind if I smoke?" Delphine implored. "My mind is a bit… frazzled. This is so much to take in. You are so much to take in. Ça me stresse. "
She smirked. "Only if ye don' offer me one. And, speak English."
Delphine fished the cigarettes from her pocket, her pack smashed from their earlier quarrel. She handed the woman one, and stuck another between her lips. Imani declined when Delphine held out the pack to her.
"These questions ain't free," the women piped. "If I answer yers, ya answer mine. Deal?"
"Oui." The woman frowned. "Yes."
"A'right, shoot."
Delphine licked her lips. "Where can I find Reese Alexander?"
The woman laughed, like she had back behind the liquor store, and kicked her feet up onto the table.
"Yer lookin' at 'er."
a/n: okay so these haven't been updated consistently, and i apologize for that, but i'm starting to have more free time to write, so updates should be more frequent!