Love Struck Eternal
Chapter 12 - A mother's pain.
Zeta's POV, Iraq desert, Ten miles outside city limits.
It's been years since I've felt this bad. Sitting atop a hill the size of my house just staring out at the endless desert beyond. I was trying to think about what to do about Samantha. I needed closure and I prayed she would get my message and text me something back. All I could do was assume the situation and I hated doing that.
As the morning was rising over the horizon, I suddenly felt my phone vibrate on my lap. When I looked back down at it I saw it was a message from Sam. My hands almost couldn't make themselves grab it. I was scared to read her response after all this time. I don't think I'm mentally strong enough right now to take anything negative from her, but I had no other choice since this is what I was hoping would happen. So once I had my feelings together, I opened up the message and read to myself what she said.
"I love you too mom. I just don't know what to really tell you after all this. I left for a number of reasons. The first of which was dad. I don't want to get into it right now, just know it's not your fault. It never was and I know you tried your hardest to make things better, but it just wasn't what I wanted."
My eyes were tearing up and a smile came to my face as I read on.
"The other reason I left is because I want to pursue my scholarship. It was not dad's place to withhold my future and I don't regret what I did to get it back. I also don't regret running away and I know that's probably not what you want to hear right now, but it's the truth. Now that I'm here, I plan to go to school and figure out my life from there. It'll take a lot of time of course, but I'm going to figure it out. I'll do my best to keep you in the loop, but I can't promise I'll remember all the time. This environment is completely different to me and as you know I'm not the best at being social, but hopefully I'll have some new friends before long. Can you do me a favor and talk to Teddy and his parents when you get the chance? They deserve to know what happened."
I replied back that I would and shortly after she said.
"Thank you."
Just off instinct now; I asked her a moment after I had wiped my eyes.
"How is your venom? Is it under control?"
Now it took her a few minutes, but after that she replied.
"For right now it is, but that's not thanks to the pills Zandro gave me."
Now confused I wondered.
"What do you mean? Are you still taking them?"
A moment later she replied.
"No. I stopped taking them a while ago. It wasn't worth the pain I was going through. The pills are flawed and I couldn't take them just off principle. If I was given the choice I would have honestly wanted the surgery. Not these stupid pills."
I was so focused on talking to her now that I had the chance, I didn't even bother questioning her because I knew exactly how she felt. It was sad, but I agree with her. I told Raptor to give her the choice, but he was so scared she'd die on the table he couldn't allow himself to do that.
"Mocha is fine by the way." Sam added as she then sent me a photo where I could see Mocha sleeping on a floor next to what I guess was a bed she was in. I just smiled and felt better as I texted back.
"Good. Please take good care of her."
"I will." She replied as I then had to ask her.
"Where are you by the way over there? Do you know what state?"
"California." She replied as I then wondered.
"Are you going to stay there for now? Or are you looking to move?"
"I'm probably gonna stay for now, I wanna look at some schools around the area and see if there is one I like. Worst comes to worst, I'll have to look elsewhere, but I'm crossing my fingers I'll be able to find a place here that has what I'm looking for. Don't worry about it though mom, I'm gonna keep you updated once I know what I'm doing. I promise."
"Thank you. I love you." I replied.
"Love you too. I'm gonna try and get some sleep. Okay?" She asked me back as I smiled and replied.
"That's a good idea. Rest up baby. But remember what I said, if you need anything, just call me. I'll do what I can and if you want I'll keep this to us and not tell your father."
"Thank you mom. Good night."
"Night." I replied as the conversation ended after that.
Putting my phone down, I let out a sigh of relief and refocused on the sunrise. Not a moment later did I feel my phone go off again on my lap. This time however it was my sister who asked.
"Where are you?"
Taking my time, I replied to her.
"Just out clearing my head. Why?"
Seconds later, she stated back to me.
"Because I'm at the house with Raptor and Cody. You said you'd be here last we talked. Are you okay?"
Now just lost in the moment, I put down my phone and put my focus on just relaxing. She texted me a few more times after that. Up until she called. Again I ignored her. I just wasn't in the mood for a full family conversation.
An hour later.
A storm had rolled in maybe thirty minutes ago. No rain or anything, just high winds. Yet I didn't move from my spot on the hill as I watched what to me looked like the end of the world.
The wind had enough force behind it to nearly knock me over from time to time, but after thirty minutes my body had adjusted to the power and I was now capable of just sitting here without the fear of tilting.
Yet I was expecting to have to go soon. I knew my sister and without a doubt I….?
I was processing my thoughts when all the sudden I felt a hand grab me from behind. When I turned I found Pepper standing a foot behind me with her hair swinging wildly behind her head from the wind. She knew she had to speak loud if I wanted to hear her and once our eyes had locked she said to me.
"You know I'm getting too old for this shit, right?!"
Looking back out to the desert, I just kept silent as she took her time to sit down next to me. Once placed alongside my right side, Pepper did her best to understand my emotion. After a few minutes she asked me.
"What are you doing out here?! You know Raptor is worried right?!"
"So?!" I questioned as she quickly fired back.
"So you should come back home for the night! The storm is gonna get worse!"
"I don't care!" I replied as she then had to say to me.
"I know about Sam! Raptor and I talked about it!"
Again I didn't care. Pepper sensed that and asked me.
"Are you mad at him for what he did!?"
Nodding my head once I replied.
"None of this would have happened if he would have just stopped! He had no right to hit her! So yes! I'm mad at him! My daughter was so scared and confused enough by it to leave home! To run away because she feels she had no other choice!"
"Did you talk to her?!" Pepper asked next as I lowered my head to reply.
"I tried! She didn't want to talk to anyone after it happened! I can't blame her!"
"Have you talked to her since she left I mean!?" Pepper wondered as she reached over to place a hand on my leg. Looking over at her eyes I replied.
"We were just texting!"
From there Pepper grabbed my phone to confirm my response. I just allowed her to do what she wanted because I knew I had no other option. She'd do whatever she wanted if it meant I didn't have to talk about it.
Reading over our conversation; she handed me back my phone and begged me.
"Let's go back to the city! We can't just stay here!"
Shaking my head I replied.
"I can! And I will! If I go back to that house I'm gonna beat that hedgehog back into the hole his ancestors crawled out of!"
Pepper attempted to laugh, but the sand cut her short and instantly after gagging on it she begged me.
"Fuck! I get it, but right now please come back with me! You can't just stay here! You'll get buried!"
"I don't care Pep! I'm serious, I'll fucking kill him!"
My sister gave me a very upset look as she heard my response, but she knew I was serious and took her time to come up with her next sentence. I was relieved when she leaned in close to tell me.
Fine! I'll let you do whatever you think you have to do to keep Raptor alive! But promise me you'll come back when the storm ends!
I just nodded and replied while looking back at the dunes.
I'll text you!
Giving me a quick nod my sister gave me a heavy hug and got back on her feet. Before she got moving she looked back down at me to shout.
"I'll do what I can to settle him down when he finds out you're not with me, but I can't stop him from doing his thing if he decides to ignore me and just comes out here to get you himself!"
"He does that and he's gonna be the one buried!" I informed her as she just chuckled and took her first step back down the dune. Once she was gone, I let out a sigh and closed my eyes. I knew my fate now, I just had to calm down and meditation would hopefully provide just that.
An hour later.
I was completely covered in sand. I hadn't moved an inch since Pepper left. My phone went off a few times but I could guess why that happened. However, despite that I was starting to regain some composure and just when I thought I was drifting back into a daze, I felt a tap on my right shoulder. I jumped in place from the sudden interaction and looked to my side to find a very old and very familiar face sitting down next to me. A fox so dark he was easily lost among any shadow. With two green eyes staring back at me, I dropped my guard to question.
"What are you doing here?!"
The man sitting alongside me was Marcus. The god of death himself and a god I haven't seen for nearly ten years. I knew he sometimes visited Raptor, but never once was he dropping in to see me.
Without giving me a smile, he replied.
"I was in the neighborhood!"
His answer made me give off a slight chuckle. At which point I looked back towards the dunes to wonder out loud.
"Are you here to see that stupid hedgehog!?"
Marcus now smiled and with his eyes looking out to where mine were; he replied back not soon after hearing my clear tone of disgust.
"No! Believe it or not Zeta, I was just checking up on things! Not really here to barge in on whatever it is he has going on! I just so happened to sense you out here all by your lonesome in a storm that has everyone back in the city cowering indoors! What's wrong with you!? Why are you out here!? What did that stupid hedgehog do this time!?"
I took more than a few seconds to answer him. In fact I didn't say a word back to him. Instead I thought about it. I knew he could read my mind and would understand right away about why I was pissed off. A few seconds after my thoughts had aired, he asked.
"Where is she now?!"
"The states!" I replied as he gave me a slight sigh and went back to thinking.
It took a lot for me not to look at him, but I did and when I did I asked him.
"Where have you been?! It's been years since I've seen you personally!"
Nodding his head, he replied while scooting a few inches closer to me.
"I've been everywhere! I still have a job to do and ever since things over here had calmed down; I've had time to get myself back on track!"
Thinking back to what I knew about Marcus before this very moment, I recalled Raptor telling me about a time where this god had gotten himself involved with another mortal. One which I never met. So I had to bring it up.
"I heard you met yourself a nice girl!"
Marcus instantly began to chuckle. He knew where I was heading; so quickly informed me.
"I did!"
"You still seeing her!? Does she know what you are!?"
Looking over into my eyes he replied.
"I see her from time to time! And to answer your question, no! She doesn't! She doesn't have too!? We aren't dating or anything! It's just a casual fling from time to time!"
"Oh so you're just sleeping with her then from time to time, is that it!?"
Now he broke eye contact before replying.
"Something like that!"
Now that I had some answers and the conversation was warmed up enough, I had to ask him.
"You plan to settle down!? I'm sure she likes you enough if you're still fucking her! What kind of story did you make up?!"
Marcus ignored my questions. His eyes were staring off into the distance and I think I knew why. It's not like we were ever close. He was more of a friend to Raptor then to me, but that didn't mean I couldn't try and get to that same level someday. With seconds passing us both by, I began to think about Sam again. Marcus who was still looking off into the distance stopped to ask me.
"Do you want me to check up on her once in a while?!"
Widening my eyes I questioned back.
"What?!"
Looking back over into my eyes he replied.
"Sam! I can keep tabs on her if you want! It's not hard for me to do! If I wanted to I could be right where she is right now! It only takes a second and I know you can't just leave the country to go be her mother!"
I lost my tongue as he reached over to put his left hand on my right knee. My eyes looked to his hand for a second before I looked back at him. Once I did, he went on to say.
"You need to be here! Raptor needs you and I'm sure if I know the man at all; he's probably coming up with some scheme to watch over her himself!"
Now I got a little hot and fired back at the fox.
"Fuck whatever he's up to! He's an asshole and he never should have raised a hand on Samantha! If anything, he's just trying to find a way to make up with me because he knows how upset I am about this whole situation!"
"I can tell! You wanna kill him!?" Marcus asked me with a small smile as I seriously contemplated that course. Squeezing down on my knee he urged me.
"You're better than that! You know that right?!"
It was quite a shock to hear that come from him. I would have never expected it if it didn't just happen. Sensing my reaction and just letting it be, Marcus went on to ask me.
"So what do you say then!? You want my help!?"
I gave the fox a very loud chuckle which got him to widen his eyes in confusion. From there I very gently took the hand that was on my knee and held it from the backside of his palm. His eyes took a quick check to see what I was doing, but quickly came back to mine where I proceeded to inform him.
"Last time I checked Marcus, Raptor needed your help and you gave it to him! But! It cost him his life! His sanity! And the deaths of hundreds of his friends and fellow comrades! Including my best friend!"
The fox was now suddenly super focused on listening to me. The noise from the storm seemed to have died down at that very moment. His face grew a little red from the direct contact I was giving him and without a doubt I knew his game and I wasn't falling for it like Raptor did years back. So gently moving his hand back to his lap, I slowly released my grip and leaned in close to his face to reply to his question.
"The only thing I have left in this life is my daughter…..and when it comes to that I could care less about my own sanity or pleasure. Sam is what became of my past and she is my future. I will die for her on any notice. No offense to you, but I don't require your kind of help. I'll keep in touch with her in my own way and I trust you can understand why I'm saying this."
I was within maybe three inches from the fox. I watched as he gulped nervously, but I gave him the time he needed to say something back. The whole time I just stared at him with this serious looking set of eyes. I knew he would be worried about looking away.
"Zeta….I'm not…..I'm not….?"
"Hmmmm?" I mumbled back as he was struggling to say what was on his mind.
"I'm not asking for you to give me anything in return. I'm…..I'm just offering you this because….because I…...I owe Raptor some favors and I know…..I know what I did to him wasn't right all that time ago. I'm not looking for a repeat. If I wanted your soul I would have already taken it from you."
His words for some reason got me going. A feeling I haven't felt for a few years now. It's not like Raptor. It's different and with my eyes going red, I asked him with a feverish growl.
"Oh? Is that a fact?"
Now the fox lost every bit of his voice as I leaned in with my right hand till it had connected to the base of his neck. The second I grabbed him; I felt my hand getting colder by the second, but I didn't care. I just squeezed and went on to say.
"You know Marcus I always wondered if you had a heart."
"I do." He replied in fear as I looked him over very closely. With a few seconds passing, I sniffed his neck and slowly brought my eyes back to meet his. Without warning I squeezed him harder and asked him.
"What does it take to make you twitch?"
I felt his neck throb as he gulped. Then all the sudden I felt his hands reach up to grab my arm. He was trying to push me off, but I wouldn't let go so he began to turn his body towards me in hopes he could yank himself free. During his struggle, I said to him with a smile.
"If you were really wanting out of this situation Marcus we both know you could just….poof!"
That's when he stopped struggling and just stopped to stare back at me. With his voice coming back he questioned.
"What are you doing?"
At this point I just wanted to make a point. I wanted to kill Raptor so badly for what he did it only felt right. But I knew Marcus had a point. I couldn't just do that. So I'd settle with something a bit more….unorthodox. But fuck if it didn't feel fun doing this to someone who clearly was not used to a commanding counterpart. Very softly, I proceeded to ease up on my choke hold and just ran that hand under his chin. By this point Marcus was nearly on his back with me on top of him. Giving him another wicked grin, I replied to his concern.
"I wanna see who's about to take who's soul. Now…...Marcus?"
"Yeah?" He whispered as I leaned in close to his lips to order.
"Just shut up."
Even with pounds of sand being tossed over us I still managed to get his lips perfectly unscathed. The moment I felt them; my mouth felt like it got hit with a snowball and his mouth struggled to move from the sudden interaction.
In time, he let himself go and he began to kiss me back. During which I had taken him down completely onto the top of the sandy dune. His hands put themselves on hips as I brought up my other hand to push his hair out from the front of his eyes. From there I just held his head straight and took control by being the aggressive kisser I knew I could be. Enough so, that he had no other choice but to defend his lips as I gently shifted my gear by nibbling on his lower lip for a second. With our lips disconnected for a moment, the fox whispered in stunned passion.
"This isn't supposed to be happening. This isn't right."
"It's not about what's right. This is about the moment and I'm in my right mind at this moment. I'm pissed off and I want to prove a point."
"Point proved." He informed me with a small chuckle as I kept my venom on for display.
Marcus kept his hands on my hips as I sat up to mount his lap. Without even thinking about it, I asked him as he laid there with an innocent look about him.
"Can I ask you a serious question?"
"This isn't serious enough already?" He replied as I rolled my eyes and brought my hands down to grab my shirt. The fox widened his eyes as I pulled it up and over my chest. With my tits out for him to see, I asked him while reaching for his right hand.
"What's this about?"
Taking his hand, I brought it up to where my heart would be and placed his hand directly on my left breast. For a second he held it there speechless, but in time he questioned.
"What?"
Retaking his hand, I used his first two fingers to find the mark he left on me years prior without my approval. He then realized what was going on and drew a short breath as I stated.
"You gave this to me a very long time ago. For reasons I was never told. Raptor doesn't even know it's there because he never took the time to notice, but I did. So…...what did you do to me? Is this a brand like you gave him? You made me your slave without telling me? Explain yourself before I really decide to choke you."
Marcus's response came with some small laughter. However he recovered himself to respond nicely enough after being threatened.
"You know what that is. How couldn't you? After all…...you're displaying it now."
I had my suspicions and thankfully that was enough to confirm it. The fox then took his hand off my breast. Giving him a small but playful growl, I said to him nicely enough back.
"You can keep it up you know?"
With his hands back on my hips, he replied.
"Oh I know I could Zeta, but….regardless this still isn't right. You're Raptor's."
Instantly I slammed my right hand down on the top of his chest. Enough so that he coughed up on his own lungs as I proceeded to ask him.
"Do you see a ring? I may be the mother of his child, but I'm not his property."
"I'm sure he thinks differently."
"Oh I'm sure he would, but he can go fuck himself for the time being." I informed him as I took my time now to think of my next move. During which Marcus wondered.
"You know you can't hide something like this from him. He's my demi and with that he has my powers. He'll know what happened the moment you think about it. What then?"
With my hands on his chest I replied.
"You can make me forget right?"
The fox took a moment to look back at my breasts. I saw where his eyes were heading as he very slowly moved his own hands to the back of my pants. As he felt me up, I pushed even more by asking him.
"You may be a god, but you're still underdeveloped. You don't have much when it comes to taking the lead huh? What's stopping you?"
With his eyes looking down at my crotch, he replied honestly.
"Right now? A pair of jeans and a whole lot of sand. Not to mention my demi."
Giving him another smile I questioned.
"Are you scared of Raptor?"
Now looking back up at me he replied.
"Not scared. I'm just not comfortable with the idea that you of all people are interested in something so…..selfish."
Taking a moment to look down at his stomach, I reached downward between my legs to feel his crotch. Marcus jumped slightly as I informed him shortly after.
"We don't have to do anything if you don't want to. Truth be told you're not my type. I'm just being…...selfish right now out of spite. And you can't lie to me about how you feel. After all you seem to be….standing at attention."
"I can't deny the truth Zeta. You're a very appealing cohort." He stated which got me to let go of his crotch and refocus on his face. Reaching over for my shirt, I went on to chuckle.
"Fancy way of saying you find me attractive. So?"
With my question back out there; Marcus looked me over for more than a few seconds. With his hands running along my firm butt, I waited patiently. After some time he looked back at my eyes to reply.
"I don't think we should. It's nothing against you. I'm just not completely convinced this is safe and for Raptor's sake; I think you two can work this out. You guys always have before and out of respect for what he's done for me, I can't bring myself to sleep with his….girlfriend?"
I just nodded with a happy smile and got back on my shirt. When I did he asked me again.
"So…...ahhhh….do you want my help with Sam? Or…...or should I just forget I even offered?"
Leaning down, I pressed my lips to his. Marcus didn't fight me this time, he just kissed back and once I had my fill of his cold tongue I replied.
"For now just forget this even happened between us. I know I will. If I ever need it I'll be sure to let you know."
Marcus couldn't help but feel my ass one more time as I shot him a playful venom filled smile. After which I stood up and offered him my hand. He took it and once standing a few inches under my height he muttered through the storm overhead.
"Given the right amount of pressure you might have had me. I can't pretend like I'll forget. It's not everyday I get put in that kind of spot."
With my venom turning off, I looked over the fox one last time before replying back.
"I'm sure. You seemed like you enjoyed a little rebellious play coming from someone bigger than you."
With his face still red, Marcus informed me carefully.
"You're bigger in all the right parts. You're not scary by any means. Surely you're fierce and…...well you're quite the seducer, but in reality Zeta; if that were ever to really happen I don't think you could go back to Raptor."
"I can be scary if you want." I told him with a small smile which made him instantly start to chuckle. Afterwards he urged me.
"Maybe some other time. For now I respect your decision, but do me a favor and when Raptor asks, you better tell the truth. I didn't ask for what just went down."
Nodding my head I replied back.
"I don't lie nor do I plan to lie to him. He's lucky you said no. If you would have said yes right there on the sand? I would have taken you for all you're worth and he'd have no place to tell me otherwise. Not after hitting my daughter. So let's just get this straight right now Marcus, if and when he asks; you'll have nothing to worry about. Leave it to me."
"Okay." He replied as he took a step back to tell me.
"I'm gonna get out of here. See you around?"
"That depends. It took you ten years to get to this point."
Now letting out another red blush and a faint laugh, Marcus replied.
"Fair enough. I'll make it a habit then. Goodbye Zeta."
"Goodbye Marcus." I said back as he disappeared from thin air.
Now letting out a heavy sigh, I wiped my face and looked down to fix my shirt. Once I was ready, I went back to where I left the car to find it buried in sand. I knew I wasn't going to drive back with the storm so heavy, so muscling my way into the backseat, I shut myself inside the car and laid back to rest my eyes.
Pepper's POV, A few hours later.
I was getting so sleepy sitting here on this fucking couch waiting for my sister to stumble in through the door. I knew she was coming. I was texting her for the last hour or so. The storm had died off and she said she would be on her way back to the house. God only knows if that's the case when it comes to her though.
Cody and Raptor were together downstairs and for the last hour or so Cody was trying his best to talk to him about the situation. Raptor was okay. He was doing better and thankfully was thinking for once. He asked Peek to go visit Sam just to check up on her and we all agreed that was a good call. However the issue was now between the mother and father. Zeta was pissed and I already beat Raptor into the ground when I first found out he hit my niece. He got the point and I'm sure he was expecting to fight Zeta next. I begged her not to come back here and start throwing hands and she promised me she wouldn't. Raptor was in a good place and he was ready to just talk this through with her.
Sam is arguably in the safest spot in the world. She's smart and thanks to me seeing her messages; he was a lot more relaxed knowing she was inside for the night. I don't know how much money Sam left with, but Raptor wanted to make sure she was taken care of if she planned to stay overseas. We were gonna talk about it. I'm sure Zeta wants her to be well off too.
As my thoughts went on, I widened my eyes when I heard the front door open. In walked my sister who was no surprise still covered in a fair amount of sand. Enough that she needed a shower, but I doubt she really cared right now. She had a look on her face that made me question her thoughts. She was focused and very calm. Standing up from the couch, I asked her carefully.
"Do you feel better?"
Letting out a sigh, she replied while heading for the stairs.
"Yeah I'm okay. I'm gonna hop in the shower. Where's Raptor and Cody?"
"Basement." I replied as I did my best to follow after her. During my climb she then asked.
"How is he?"
"Cody or the dumb fuck?"
Chuckling she replied.
"Dumb fuck."
By this point she was in the bathroom and I was standing outside the door. God was she drenched now that I had her under some direct light. Watching as she looked at herself in the mirror, I replied to her question.
"He's doing better. We talked. Well…...Cody talked."
"You say anything? Do anything?" She asked me as she took off her shirt.
Giving her a playful smile I replied.
"Not really. I just threw a few hooks and told him he should have never touched my niece. He knows better."
Zeta just fell silent and went to turn on the shower. With the water running, she asked me calmly.
"Can you wait for me downstairs? I'll be down as soon as I clean up."
"You plan to talk to him?" I wondered back as she nodded her head and replied.
"Yeah."
"Okay." I said softly as I slowly left the bathroom. When I shut the door I heard from downstairs.
"Pep?"
Cody's voice called to me and without missing a beat I jogged over to the top of the stairs to see him looking up at me with a small smile.
Cody was my boyfriend. A tall gray fox with a solid swirl of gold going around his entire body. He was also Irish and he wore his accent well. Always a happy man and never in my life have I seen something make him go off the rails. He's funny and probably the main reason I haven't killed him. However that doesn't look good considering we were getting married next month. Never dreamed I'd be with a fox, but I guess life has it's strange turns. With our eyes locked he asked me.
"Is that Zeta?"
Nodding my head and heading down to greet him, I replied.
"Yeah. She's getting a shower and then she'll be down to talk to him. How is he?"
Smiling he replied.
"A lot better than before we got here. I had him laughing believe it or not."
"Good. It should go smooth then." I informed him as he put his arm around my back to gently guide me back over to the couch. During which he urged me.
"Keep chilling up here. Just bring her down to the basement when she's done. I'll keep him smiling till then."
Giving me a quick kiss on the lips, I smiled wide at the fox to reply.
"You can count on me. I'm not going anywhere any time soon."
"That's the spirit." He chuckled as I watched him go back down to the basement. Once he was gone, I looked back at the stairs and let out another sigh. Crossing my fingers I readied myself for what would happen over the next hour. Please let this go well.
Zeta's POV, Twenty minutes later.
When I got downstairs I found my sister getting up off the couch. With a serious but supporting look on her face, she asked me.
"You ready?"
I just nodded and took the lead to go to the basement stairs. From there I went down with her at my heels. Together we found Raptor and Cody sitting on the couch. The fox got up to greet me with a small hug. At the same time asking me.
"Hey Zeta. How are you?"
"I'm good Cody. Nice to see you again."
My eyes then crossed Raptor's. He had a sad look on his face and without warning I began to think to myself. Cody and Pepper were unaware of what was going on. To them it must have looked like we were struggling to start our conversation about Sam. But I knew better and so did he. Once I put what happened out there for him to read, I watched as his sad look had left his face and what replaced it resembled utter and instant anger. I just nodded my head now that I knew he heard me and without wasting time I asked him like a smart ass.
"How are you?"
I knew he was beyond upset with me now. However he didn't mention it when I asked him the question. Instead his angry look turned back into a more normal one. I was somewhat surprised he didn't blow up just then. Made me question if he really read my mind. With his tone then matching his face, I listened close as he replied.
"I'm fine. You?"
His tone was indeed calm and again I wasn't sure how to take it. I fully expected him to growl and yell at me from this point on. So unsure now; I said back to him as my sister came right up to my side to listen.
"Better. I had time to cool off."
"I bet." He muttered back almost instantly which reinforced my belief that he absolutely knew. Thankfully Pepper jumped in at this point to wonder.
"Can we all just sit down and talk about this? Like the adults we know we are; our focus needs to be about Sam. Right?"
Cody nodded his head and retook his seat next to Raptor to add.
"You're right. She's safe right Raptor?"
His question made my boyfriend stand up and reply while heading for the bar.
"As far as I know, but I've only been to the states a handful of times. I don't know what it's like to live over there. My biggest concern for my daughter is knowing she's alone and in a place where she has no help at her side. She's forced herself into potentially something she wasn't ready for. Moving out is one thing. Moving to a new country? I can't help but worry."
"We're all worried." I informed him as he sat down at the bar with his back towards us. With my eyes going back to my sister, I asked her.
"Peek is going to check on her right? Do you have any idea when?"
Looking to Cody, the fox replied confidently.
"He's gonna go see her as soon as he can break away from the kids. Might be a day or two, but he promised to keep us in touch with every move he makes. You know him, he won't let you down."
Cody always had a way to make me feel comfortable. With the fox looking over my shoulder; a few seconds later he asked Raptor directly.
"Raptor? You have money set aside for something like this right? If you do brother, I'd urge you to help her out. She's gonna need a solid apartment, food, clothes, shit for Mocha, and everything else man."
Looking back at Raptor now for myself, I took the time to tell everyone who didn't know.
"Raptor and I have been saving money for years. It's in a private savings account and we planned to help her settle down over here, but you're right Cody. Now is the time."
Raptor turned back now to inform us.
"We aren't giving her access to it Zeta. She'll waste it in less then a year or she'll splurge on something stupid and I'm not letting that happen."
"You know she isn't that kind of girl Raptor. Stop assuming her maturity. Sam wouldn't waste a single dime given to her if it came from us and you know it."
Raptor was quick enough to fire back at my response to his reaction.
"I don't know anything anymore Zeta. I had no idea any of this would happen."
"You hit her." Pepper stated which got the two of us to stop and look at her as she went on to ask Raptor who was clearly now the target.
"You hit her like she was one of your men from back in the day. What the fuck did you think would happen after that Raptor? Were you expecting her to just cower in a corner and listen to you after that? Sam may be a quiet kid, but she's grown up enough to know that parents shouldn't be beating their kids."
"I didn't beat her." Raptor's statement got me going; so without regret I questioned.
"You didn't? What the fuck was that you did then? Is that some form of parenting I don't know about? Did your father beat your ass when you spoke out of line?"
Jumping out of his seat Raptor replied in clear rage.
"My father never touched me! When I was Sam's age; I made it clear to him not to fuck with me! If he did, he knew he would regret it!"
"What makes this any different?" My sister then asked him which got him to shut back up. Pushing Raptor a bit further, I asked him.
"Do you have any idea what you've done to our daughter? Do you? I told you a hundred times after it happened to go apologize and what did you do instead? You stayed down here in this fucking ancient nightmare drinking your problems away."
"How could I just apologize after something like that? I didn't know what to do Zeta."
Shaking my head out of sheer disappointment, I replied.
"You ran the middle east as it's first president and changed the world doing so. You led an army through a war you had no business winning. You're a demigod and your biggest blunder is your very own child. Don't give me excuses. I warned you something like this could happen if you didn't square things away. Now my baby is on the other side of the fucking planet and you're content being this idiot. And I know you'll hate me for even saying this, but Phil was right with what he said to you. If she meant the world to you like you claimed; you could have made a fucking effort."
My sister and Cody were both now silent and to be honest kinda shocked with what they just heard. Raptor on the other hand stared at me for a handful of moments with a look of pure anger on his face. However in no less than a few seconds after; did he snap and break into tears. Sitting back on the chair that was in front of the bar, Raptor put his head in his hands and just focused on letting out his emotion. During which, I now felt bad. I didn't know what else to say or do at this very moment now that I knew I smashed what remained of his heart.
Sam's POV, A few days later.
I held my breath as I took another dose of venom to my arm. After which I dropped the now empty needle and picked up my pencil and waited as the results came through. From there I wrote down my findings and as expected I was making progress on my goal. I was in perfect control over my own set of problems. I had an easy time keeping myself together anytime I had to use my venom and if I was learning something by this point; I knew I was almost on the verge of a breakthrough. It just needed a few more tweaks and I think I'd have a proper first prototype to use. Then it just became a matter of finding someone to try it on.
Rosco and I had found a pretty reasonable place to move into and despite my worries the Bengal tiger was a pretty solid roommate. He was respectful even though he's called me dumb a countless number of times by this point. Beyond that he was my friend regardless of the name calling and that was something I needed now more than ever with Teddy on the other side of the planet.
Rosco was also taking charge by actually getting a job. He was working for some construction company and he was making decent money for it only being a few days since he joined up and on top of that; he was home in time to keep me company. I was actually expecting him back by now, but it was pouring so bad outside I'd assume the traffic had him at a loss.
Mocha thankfully was here and just sitting on my bed looking out a small window that faced the street. She loved watching the rain and for what I noticed it put her to sleep listening to it. One of the few good things I had in my life right now. My family was a whole other story. My mom kept up with me each passing day and my father still hasn't tried anything. I thought for sure he'd have called me, but to no avail.
Finishing up my notes, I got right to work on making a new dose which would only take a few minutes thanks to the amount of practice I had. I was nearly through a quarter of the supplies and somehow further ahead then Zandro's men. Knowing that made me want this more. I had to prove a point to everyone that I wasn't just some dumb kid. I could figure this out and despite what Rosco keeps telling me, I don't care about the outcome revolving around my well being.
I might become a target to some, but so long as I keep the secrets to myself and make the right moves, I can't be killed. The result for whoever takes me in will be easily outdone. The only way I could see someone coming after my life would be if a major party got together and said collectively that this couldn't be allowed to happen, but it would have to be G.U.N pulling the trigger. They would be in a spot to lose a lot, but so long as I can keep myself together and my priorities straight; they should be allies. Since they are in the most danger, they'd also be the most willing to pay me in full. Now I didn't know what my price would be or even what I would want if this all worked out, but I knew for a fact I just wanted to make a name for myself now that I was out here on my own.
With my mind settling down, I sat back in my chair and shifted my thoughts toward something more current. I had to set up a new bank account sooner or later. I didn't want to carry all this money around or keep it in the apartment. Rosco wouldn't be home till later so I might as well do this before then so at the very least I can tell him I did something other than this all day.
Letting out a heavy sigh, I got Mocha's attention and she watched as I stood up from the chair.
"Braf!" She barked as I smiled and urged her.
"Just relax baby. I'm gonna go out for a little. Stay here. I'll be back."
She laid back down a moment later and with that command obeyed; I grabbed onto one of the two duffel bags I left Iraq with. Inside was all my money. I had enough to be worried about, so with that in mind, I went into my nearby backpack and pulled out my gun. At first I just stared at it and questioned my sanity for even thinking I needed this and thank god I did, because I remembered what Rosco said to me about taking this out in public and decided it was best to just leave it in the bag.
After I put it back, I just put the duffel behind me and began to head for the exit. In due time I'd get my life together. I was just trying my best not to lose myself in this new environment.
mT Shadow