Oranges & Roses

Pickup Lines

Unedited.

Chapter Thirty-Five 

When we got ready to leave, the building was quiet. Everyone who wasn’t working the evening and night shift, or just plan not working late, had gone home and left the place eerily silent.

We were in a black, nondescript car with the windows rolled all the way down. There was an equally nondescript black SUV following behind us, their headlights lighting up the interior of the car we were in. Rey hadn’t said a word to me since we got into the car other than to buckle up. I rolled my eyes, buckled the seat belt, and passed out ten minutes later to avoid talking to him.

I dreamed of shadows, of spotlights and blood. Of whispered words with no sound and brown eyes that saw down to my very soul. I dreamed of an empty future, like I was cast afloat on calm seas. There was no way of telling where I was or where I was headed.

Just an open expanse of time and space.

When I woke up, there was sun trying to stream through the darkly tinted windows, the vehicle was stopped. I wiped the drool off my cheek and the portion of the door it had pooled on. The car was empty other than me, even the two packed bags that were in the back seat were gone. I looked out the windshield and found that the car was parked on a street of a working class neighborhood. There was no sign of life anywhere but when I looked out the passenger window…

There was a little face on the other side of the glass. My whole body jerked away from the door, making the car shake. I blinked a couple of times to make sure I was seeing things right and on the last blink, another face joined the first one. They were attempting to look in at me but because the tint was darker than normal, they probably didn’t see anything more than a silhouette. Both of their faces rested on their fingers and their eyes darted from one point of the window to the other. The first one I saw was a boy and he appeared to be younger than the other which was a girl.

“Uncle Rey said when you wake up we’re supposed to bring you inside.”

I stared at the little boy like he was nuts. The little girl acted like she could really see me and smiled. It was one of those sweet smiles that just had you smiling back no matter how much you tried to resist.

“He says you’re pretty but he locked the door so we wouldn’t bother you.”

Why the hell didn’t he just take me inside with him? Stupid bastard.

But their words brought a larger smile to my face and I tried not to laugh. “Who are you?”

They both started to vibrate with excitement. It reminded me of Michelle’s half brother and sisters. Her brother, the one that came to pick her up, was the oldest. Their dad got remarried and had more kids after her brother. It was confusing but they would invite my brother and I over for family barbeques every once in a while and the kids would do exactly what these two were doing now. Fresh faces were always exciting.

It was strange how her family never looked down on my brother or me. That had me wondering how this visit would go, if Rey’s idea of a fresh perspective would be as unbiased.

I unlocked the door and very carefully got out. Both kids backed away from the door and looked up at me in wonder, their eyes lit up like I was Christmas morning or something.

“Did it hurt?” the boy suddenly asked.

I was worried there were still signs of the bruise Marco had given me on my cheek. The possibility of domestic assault was the last thing they needed to be exposed to. Last time I checked though, the bruise was almost faded, leaving behind just a little yellowish tint. So I was a tad confused as to what he could be talking about. Did I have sleep lines on my face? “Did what hurt?”