CHAPTER 11
The house was quiet the next morning. There was no gathering at the kitchen table, no pleasant and light conversation to be had. Glitch and Raw tiptoed down the hall towards the back bed room. The door was opened a crack and Glitch pushed it open. The door gave way easily with a slow creek. Cain looked up from the dresser and put a finger up to his mouth, the other pointed over at DG. She was curled up under several blankets, sleeping peacefully.
"Did you," Glitch raised an eyebrow. "last night." He smiled and elbowed Raw in the side. Cain looked over at his goofy friend and only shook his head. "Really?" Glitch asked.
"Yes between getting slapped by her sister, and having her entire morale crushed, the idea of getting it on her in her nurture parent's bed really wasn't high on her to do list last night. I'm thinking right up there with being eaten alive by papays." Cain whispered. He walked down the hall towards the bathroom. He turned on the lights and starting rummaging through the cabinets and drawers. Finally, in the last one, he pulled a razor out. He dug out an old rusty can of shaving cream out of the back of the bottom cabinet. He watched his friends enter the bathroom. So much for privacy. Raw put down the lid of the toilet and sat down while Glitch sat on the edge of the tub, trying not to fall back.
"Is she going to be ok?" Glitch asked. Cain contemplated it for a moment, spreading shaving cream on his face. After a moment he nodded.
"She will be. You know her. She's a fighter. There isn't anything she can't handle. It's just a low blow for her to have to take. She and her sister were just starting to get close again. We just need to find a way for her and Az to make up. " Raw snorted, thinking that was easier said than done. Cain glared over at him and Raw pointed towards Glitch. Cain looked into the mirror, bringing the blade to his face. "Until then, just let me do what I'm good at."
"Shagging DG?" Glitch said, once again without thinking first. Raw and Cain looked over at him. Cain's razor blade reflected the bright light into Glitch's eyes. "Oh yeah, kicking ass and taking names." Glitch slowly muttered. He watched carefully as Cain brought the razor up to his face.
"What happened to you?" DG said from the bed when Cain came back to the room. Cain looked over at her, his hand held a towel to his face, stopping the bleeding.
"I'm sorry we woke you," he whispered. He walked over to the bed and sat on the edge, pushing her hair out of her eyes.
"What happened," DG repeated again, ignoring his concern and swatting his hand away.
"Never let Glitch near you while you shave." DG looked carefully towards Cain.
"Why would I let Glitch," She started slowly. She stopped and shook her head. "Never mind I don't want to know." She put her head back on the pillow. Cain patted her on the head.
"That a girl." He looked over at her, all curled up and cozy. He would have killed to be able to get back into bed with her. "How are you feeling?" DG wanted to be strong. She wanted to get out of bed, but she just didn't have the energy to do so. She sunk lower into the bed, pulling the covers higher. Cain sighed.
"I can't stay locked inside this house with two women that remain pissed off and mopey." Cain said as he stood up. DG looked up at him, her head popping out from under the covers, a pout on her face.
"Fine!" he said sternly. "I'm going to take Raw and Glitch and we are going to go do some male bonding away from this house. You can stay there all curled up in your little cocoon for all I care." DG nodded. Cain bent down and kissed the top of her exposed head gently.
"I'll be back later. Don't do anything too wild and crazy while I'm gone." He could hear DG fake a laugh from under the abyss of covers covering her. He shook his head and left the room, calling out for Glitch and Raw.
Later that afternoon DG sat on the front porch watching the rain as the truck pulled up into the yard. The large drops splashed into the already formed puddles. She could hear the drops hitting the metal of the truck and the soft sounds soothed her. After spending the rest of the morning and all of the afternoon in bed, she got out of bed and tried to get stuff done. She cleaned the dishes, picked up the living room and started a load of laundry. She began to worry about the guys and paced the living room for an hour before finally grabbing a blanket and sitting out on the porch. It had started to rain shortly before and she hoped Cain was handling the truck ok in the weather.
She watched as Raw and Glitch slid out of the truck. They looked stunned and shocked. Was Cain's driving really that bad?
"Where have you been?" She asked Raw and Glitch as they walked up the steps of the porch. She watched them, their eyes glazed over, their faces somber. They hardly blinked in her direction and kept going into the house. She looked over at Cain as he stepped onto the porch, her eyes fixed on him. He shook the excess water off his jacket and looked down at DG. He started for the house, but DG jumped out of her chair and ran in front of him. She put a hand on his chest, stopping him in is tracks.
"Ah, ah, ah Sparky. What. Did. You. Do?" She asked, each word more severe than the first. Cain shook his head and tipped his hat.
"Now why would you think I did something? Come on DG, let's have a little trust." He looked up over DG's head and at Glitch through the screen door. His eyes grew wide and he shook his head.
"Cain, do you remember how they had the dollars folded?" Glitch asked. DG went to turn around to look at Glitch, Cain tried to stop her. She looked at Glitch. He had several dollar bills, all folded in different ways, sticking out of the edge of his pants. He was folding the one in his hand. "Was it this way?" He folded the dollar in half long ways. "Candy said there is a way to get them in easier without a lot of touchy." Glitch looked up at the two of them. Cain was waving his hand at Glitch, so Glitch waved back.
Cain shook his head. Gltich realized that it meant to go away. Cain turned to DG and watched the realization hit. Her face filled with shock and she reached over and smacked his arm.
"A strip club Cain? Really?" She crossed her arms . She could hardly speak. "I don't understand."
"Well I got kicked out of the closest bar and this was the next one. Who was I to know it had half naked girls?" He said innocently. DG's face filled with anger.
"For starters, the fact that I have driven you to drink twice in less than a week is not a good thing. And a strip club Cain." She sighed and turned to leave. "That's low." She felt Cain's hand on her arm, turning her to face him. He leaned down and started to kiss her.
"No." She said covering his mouth. "I'm mad at you." She could feel his mouth curl up into a smile under her hand. "Don't think that anytime I'm mad at you, that will work." Cain pushed her hand down and pulled her close. He kissed her cheek, then her jaw.
"Really, it's not going to work." He moved on to her ear. He could feel her start to breath heavily as he nibbled her hear, gently blowing on the newly wet area. He could feel her body relax and her skin filled with goosebumps. "Cain, stop it." He knew he was wearing her down, the way her words faltered. "I'm serious-" He covered her mouth with his. She tried to object, to push him off. She wasn't happy with him at the moment, but he deepened the kiss and she fell under his spell. She practically melted in his arms, clinging to his frame for support. He lifted her up and she wrapped her legs around his waist. He pinned her up against the side of the house next to the front door and pulled the door open. He kicked his leg out and pushed the door out, carrying her inside. He sat her on the counter of the kitchen and broke the kiss. He began kissing his way down her neck towards her collar bone when they both heard someone cough.
"Oh, don't mind me I'm going away." The voice came from the refrigerator. Cain and DG looked over at Az as she backed out of the kitchen.
"Az, wait." DG said, pushing Cain off of her. Az turned to leave the kitchen, leaving the two alone. DG closed her eyes and sighed. Cain looked down at DG.
"I thought you said you handled the situation with your sister," he said. DG squinted her eyes in thought and looked down at her hands.
"In what sense of the word?" DG asked. She watched as Cain groaned and took a step back. "I just haven't formulated a plan yet." She said smiling. She batted her eyes at him. "I know how much you just LOVE plans." When her flirtation didn't change his expression, she returned her face back to normal and sighed. "Fine, I'll think of something." Cain nodded and took off his long jacket, throwing in on the back of a nearby chair. He took off his hat and placed it on DG's head and then began rolling up his sleeves.
"So, how was your little jaunt through the prairies on pursuit of strippers?" DG asked. She looked over at Cain while he rifled through the fridge for food. While keeping her eyes on him, she reached beside her and pulled over a jar of peanut. She screwed off the cap and dug her finger into the soft tan mixture. She brought the covered finger to her mouth, licking off the gooey concoction, a content smile spread over her face.
"I don't see what the big fuss is about. I didn't see anything that made me want to give up here and take off on the open road with Candy. Who by the way is quite a flexible one." Cain raised his head out of the fridge, his face stern as stone except for a raised eyebrow. DG's mouth dropped and she jammed her finger back into the peanut butter. Cain frowned and walked over. "Give me that." He yanked the jar out of her hands and tossing off to the side.
"Hey," DG yelled, using her spare hand to reach out for the jar. Cain took her gooey finger and licked off some of the peanut butter. DG rolled her eyes. "Oh don't think that's going to get you off the hook about this. We haven't even begun to finish with this." She watched as Cain's mouth remained firm, but his eyes gave way to his happiness. He took a step back and went back to the fridge, pulling out a pack of cheese and some butter. He reached behind DG and grabbed the bread.
"So I ran into your good friend, Officer Gulch, at Hunks House of Girls," Cain said over his shoulder. "Hunk? Any relation to Hank, the bar owner?" He asked.
"Their twins." DG said quickly. "Wait? You saw Gulch there?" She could see his head bob up and down. "Elmer Gulch?" She asked again. "Was he a patron or there or business?" Cain shrugged.
"Does it matter? When I was a Tin Man in Central City we were always heading out to the seedy parts of town and into places like that looking for a good time." DG looked up over at him. "And by we I mean them, not me." Cain turned to her, pointing with the spatula. DG grinned.
"Did he say anything to you?" She asked. She watched as Cain turned back around. Even through the material of his shirt she could see his muscles tense. "What did you do now?" she sighed.
"All I can say is, you should be careful who you tell your secrets to." he placed a piece of cheese between to slices of bread and threw it onto the hot pan. DG looked over at him from the counter, her eyes burning holes in the back of his head. He sighed and turned around. "Seems to me your friend Billy is quite a talker." DG shook her head.
"No he promised he wouldn't say anything to anyone. He practically swore." She looked over at Cain, her eyes filled with confusion. Cain gave her a skeptical look.
"Yeah and I swore I'd never get romantically involved with you and look where that ended. Even the most noble of men slip up." He turned back to the pan, flipping over the sandwich. It sizzled in the hot pan. As if on cue, Raw sniffed into the room, sitting at the table.
"Food smell good." His mouth watered at the smell.
"My advise would be to spend a little less time thinking about Billy and a little more time thinking about how to get us all home. It's about time we thought about getting back. " He platted the sandwich and handed it over to DG. He watched as DG passed the plate onto Raw.
" What the- I made that for you." He sighed. DG shrugged.
"Raw looks hungrier." Cain rolled his eyes and pulled out two more slices of bread. DG looked down at her hands and she frowned. How could Billy do something like that? Why would be blab such an important. She hopped off of the counter and onto the floor. Cain looked over.
"What are you doing?" He asked. She grabbed her keys to her bike and walked towards the front door. "Where are you going?" He yelled. He threw down the spatula and followed her to the front door. By the time he reached the door she was already out the door and running towards the bike. He sighed and let her go. He was beginning to see his influence on her everyday.
DG found Billy's truck outside of the Hilltop Café. She drove her bike onto the side of the building. She pushed herself off the bike and sat her helmet down on the seat. Spinning the keys around on her fingers, she made her way towards the front entrance. The lunch crowd had begun to disperse, so DG was able to spot Billy quite easily. She took a deep breath and walked over, holding her head high.
"DG? What are you doing here?" Billy asked, looking up from his group. She watched them laugh at her from behind Billy.
"Well Billy, it seems to me someone can't keep their mouth closed." DG said through clinched teeth. "Care to share?"
"I just told Burke," Billy whispered. "He may have told his wife."
"Who has the capability of gossiping all over town. Damn it Billy." Billy looked down at his scuffed shoes and kicked a french fry away.
"Oh Oh, DG." DG looked over at Sam Banks. He was the class clown in high school and she knew he just couldn't wait to get his 2 cents in. "Do we call you Princess DG or Her royal highness?" DG rolled her eyes and just shook her head. She could hear the table errupt in laughs. "When can we see this zipper head freak and the walking hair beast?" More laughs spread across to the neighboring table. She looked over at Billy, he looked ashamed.
"I'm not sorry about this," She said. She pulled back her fist and slugged Sam across the face. The blow forced him back into the booth, his arm knocking over everything on the table. DG turned to leave.
"DG wait." Billy called after her. DG ignored his pleas, and kept walking out of the restaurant. DG raced down the road back to the house, the rain beating down on her helmet. She arrived at home, throwing her hat down on the bike as she got off. She ran across the yard, onto the porch and into the house. Cain looked up when he heard the door open, but DG ignored him and ran up into her room. She stomped up the stairs, her feet shaking the floor. Azkedillia looked up, startled by the intrusion. She sat down the book she was reading and looked over at her sister. She started to speak but DG held up a hand.
"Listen I don't care what in the hell happened to you. I don't care you got possessed by a witch and tried to take over the kingdom, killing innocent people. Get over it, life is shitty. You're going to be queen someday. People will look up to you, whether they like you or not. It's up to you to change how they view you.
"You can sit inside, sulking and wining that no one likes you and no on will go out with you but then how can they when you are stuck inside. I don't care if you are jealous and hurt that I found the love of my life and am happy now. I went 10 years feeling like I never belonged only to find out my sister killed me and I got shipped to another world. However, I'm not hiding out and getting pissed at everyone.
"Now I want you to get up, grow up and move on." DG spun around, and ran down the stairs. She passed Cain as she walked through the living room. "How's that for handling the situation?" She said as she walked into the kitchen, slamming the back door shut on her way out.
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