Part 13
~A Distraction~
When Morrison left, I faked a smile and waved good bye. My mother left to take a shower. I glared at the TV. I wasn't even paying attention. I was so pissed off at Morrison.
I jumped when someone wiped something off of my cheek. It had been Phil. I didn't notice him switch places.
"What's wrong?" he asked and there was actual concern in his face.
I moved just an inch away from him, and that was enough not to be too suspicious. I didn't know I had been crying. It was angry tears towards Morrison, but they were also sad ones.
"Um, it's nothing," I said and wiped the rest of my tears.
"You can tell me anything, Ava," he spoke softly, and in a very understanding tone.
"It's just…" but then I stopped.
"Ava," he placed his hand on my knee cap, "it's all right."
I took in a small breath. "I had a fight with my boyfriend about something."
"What is it? Maybe I can give you a guy-point-of-view?" he smiled. It wasn't a smirk or a grin, it was a smile.
"Well, he thinks we're too different, and… he's afraid of us being together."
"Why would he be afraid? You're wonderful."
"Thank you."
"It's true."
I smiled at him. The first sincere smile I gave him. His hand removed from my knee.
"That boy is a fool if he let's you go. You're very smart, beautiful, and outgoing," the way he looked at me. It's hard to describe. It wasn't love, and it wasn't lust either. I don't know what it was, but it wasn't a good thing either.
He leaned away and placed a lot of space between us.
"Your mother is out, aren't you going next?" he asked.
I didn't get what he said until after a while. The water had stopped, but I didn't even hear it over the TV. Phil had good ears. I really needed to remember that. I got up and just took a glance back, but he was changing the channel of the TV.
My mom walked out of the bathroom and she gave me a smile. I returned it. I went inside of the bathroom, locked the door behind me, and turned on the water. I stripped down and got inside of the shower.
I was done in fifteen minutes, well ten, but the last five I spent it thinking. I turned off the water and grabbed a towel and wrapped it around myself.
I checked the hallway before coming out. It was clear.
I quickly went to my bedroom. I locked the door.
I changed into my pajamas and by then I heard the water running which meant it was Phil taking a shower.
I thought about Morrison and his words. I really wanted to be with him, but I wasn't going to beg. If he wanted me, then he wanted me, but he thought I was better off without him. I was worse without him.
He filled my thoughts for a very long time. I even cried. Not exactly because of the break up, but because life always seemed to strip me from the good things.
It was one in the morning when I was done. I walked out of the bedroom and went to the kitchen. I searched for any kind of alcohol.
I knew my mom had a stash, but what if she removed all of the alcohol? I cursed when I searched all of the kitchen and found nothing.
The kitchen light went on. I stood up straight and saw Phil standing there on the door frame. His brow furrowed as his eyes scanned me.
"What are you doing?"
"I… I…" I stumbled with my words. I don't know, but something inside of me just told me to tell him. "I need a drink… badly."
He walked over to me. "Just for tonight?"
"Yes."
"Get dressed."
I gave him a confused look.
"There's not a single drop of alcohol here, unless you want to drink some of the rub alcohol," he smirked.
I chuckled. "Uh, no."
"Then I'll take you out. It'll be good for us to… bond," he grinned.
"What should I wear?"
"Anything looks good on you."
I didn't read much into the details of how he said that. I guess my brain didn't want to think bad of it because then I would back down. I went back to my bedroom and found a pair of jeans, a laced tube tunic, a beaded back vest, and I put on some high knee boots.
I walked out of the bedroom and went to the foyer. He got dressed too. He wore a black dress shirt with the first three buttons opened, his chest tattoos visible. He had dark grey jeans, and black boots. I stared at the boots a little longer than I should have.
They looked oddly familiar.
I looked back at him when I saw the boots move. I straightened up.
"You look good," he smiled. He didn't smirk or grin. Again he just smiled.
I smiled right back. "Thanks."
He stopped the SUV in front of Johnny's Bar and Grill. I got out of the SUV and waited for Phil. It wouldn't be hard to go in there. It wasn't a really bad reminder. It was where I met Morrison, sort of.
Phil and I walked inside of the bar. The smoke and alcohol immediately hit my nostrils. Suddenly, I felt like I was sixteen again, all soaking wet, and lost. Phil's hand on my back--mid-back--brought me back to reality. He led us to an empty table.
People around us only glanced at us. No one actually looked long enough. They feared him. They feared Phil. It was one of the perks of being a drug lord.
"Ava," he called for my attention, I had been looking around the bar and making observations as I always did. I turned to him.
"Yeah?"
"I want to apologize for what happened the other day," he said as he looked at me straight in the eyes. "I shouldn't have been so harsh. I care about your mother."
I finally got what he was talking about. The time he threatened me… kind of.
"It's okay… I was being… a bit rude, anyway."
"But you were right. You and your mother have issues that you need to solve, and I'm not going to get in between," he flashed me a grin.
"Thank you for understanding, Phil. I can see you do care about my mom… that's nice. It's never happened before."
"You've had a rough life," he spoke like he knew exactly what my life had been, and in the world we lived in, I wasn't the only girl with a bad parent.
I nodded in response to his statement.
"Morrison stop!" There was a very loud giggle.
It was from behind Phil. I leaned forward a little to look into a booth that had Morrison with a big boob bimbo on his lap, and his lips were latched to her neck. There were several beers on the table and even a Jack Daniel's on the table.
Jealousy burned through me very quickly. I masked it with an expressionless look.
"Hey, Morrison!" Phil called out.
My heart sped up. No! No! No!
I should've left. I should've made an excuse to leave, but it was too late. My eyes made contact with his. His eyes widened, and I saw guilt in his eyes. I saw shame in them too. I shifted in my seat uncomfortably.
"Come and join us," Phil said like the other times before; his words were never a suggestion. They were orders, and they were meant to be followed.
With a bit of hesitation, Morrison told theslut girl to get up. Two chairs were pulled up. Morrison was on Phil's side and the girl was on my side.
She was pretty. She had a curvy figure, but she had a lot of make up. She also wore very high heels to hide her shortness. She was shorter than Morrison by 1 foot 7 inches; I calculated that in my head. I was taller than her by three inches. Morrison was only taller than me by 1 foot
Phil patted his back in a very friendly manner.
"What brings you guys here?" Morrison asked.
"Ava here wanted a drink," Phil winked over to me. "So, let me get those drinks."
"I have to go to the bathroom real quick," the girl said as she stood up and headed for the bathrooms.
Phil headed for the bar.
I leaned back on my chair and crossed my arms across my chest. I avoided Morrison's stare I knew he was looking at me because my body always heated up when he did, weird right? . I heard him drum his finger on the table very slowly and it quickly became annoying.
I shifted in my seat hoping to let go of the annoyance of the drumming, but it only irritated me more.
"Stop it!" I hissed.
His brown eyes glared at me. "What are you doing here, Ava?"
I narrowed my eyes at him. "You really have no right to ask me anything."
"Damn it, Ava!" He cursed, frustrated. "I don't want to drag you into my world!"
"For your information we live in the same world!" I spat back at him. "You can't protect me, Morrison. I already know what happens where I live."
"You only see half of it," he said in a very cold tone.
"Does it matter? You got yourself a new girlfriend already."
"She's not my girlfriend," he stated quickly.
"Oh, I'm sorry, I just assumed that when you were sucking her neck!"
"She's just…" he had raised his voice, but then he lowered it. "She's just a distraction… from you."
I went soft for half a second, and then went back to cold. "Oh, that makes it so much better."
He opened his mouth, but he closed it when Phil got back with drinks. Almost immediately the girl came back and sat down.
"You two make such a cute couple," the girl gestured to Phil and I.
Bile raised from the back of my throat. Me and Phil? Never crossed my mind!
"He's not--"
"We're flattered," Phil grinned at the girl.
I looked over to Phil in shock. Did he just say we're a couple?
