The Limits of Forever

Chapter 26- Tattoo

I've been spinning around in my desk chair for the last hour. Lucia asked me to do a new piece and for the life of me I can't come up with a single idea. I'm going to get fired.

I think that maybe I'm the tiniest bit distracted by my thoughts, which keep, inconveniently, flicking to Sebastian. He's an absolute distraction.

I hear a deep voice laugh in the distance.

I peek my head around the desk. Axcel's leaning over one of my coworkers' desks. It looks as though he's flirting with her. Knowing Axcel, he probably is flirting with her.

I get up from my chair and walk over to him. I tap him on the shoulder and he turns his head.

When he sees me his face breaks out into a grin. 'Just the girl I was looking for.'

My coworker rolls her eyes and sneers at me before turning back to her computer screen.

'Why were you looking for me?'

'You and me got places to be.'

I raise my eyebrows. 'I'm working.'

'Is spinning around at your desk working?' He asks with a smirk.

I sigh and cross my arms. 'Why are you here? Did Sebastian send you?'

He scoffs. 'I am allowed to go places on my own accord. Sebastian doesn't own me.'

I give him a glare.

'Are you coming?'

It's not like I have much else to do.

'Fine.'

______________________________________________________

Axcel stops the car outside a tattoo parlour. I mean I only know it's a tattoo parlor because of the big red emblazoned letters over the front.

'Axcel, I don't want a tattoo.'

He sighs. 'You don't have a choice.'

'You can't force me to get a tattoo.'

He shifts in his seat and looks down at his hands. 'Alexis, Sebastian's been walking around and saying that he owns you, and there are people who would take anything Sebastian owns and make it theirs. And they can take you and Sebastian can't do much about it, because unless you have one of these,' He shows me the symbols on his forearm. 'Then you aren't part of Seb's mafia. So in their eyes he doesn't really own you.'

I look at him slightly confused. 'Stealing my personal information isn't owning me?'

He looks at me. 'Anyone could get their hands on your records given a chance.'

I roll my eyes. 'And what do you mean make me theirs?'

'I mean, give you a tattoo which makes you part of their mafia.' I can tell he's choosing his words carefully. 'I don't know Alexis, you're making Sebastian really fucking fickle. He wants you, but he doesn't want you involved in his life. So he'll keep pushing you away and then hurting you both. And I can't have that, because it's making him weak. So, I'm just going to do what he's too scared to do.'

I think it's suddenly dawning on me the consequences of being involved with Sebastian.

'Why don't you just make sure we never see each other again. That would work just as well.'

He laughs. 'You are the best thing to happen to Sebastian so far. There is no way, I'm getting rid of you.'

I scoff and raise my eyebrows. 'I much doubt that.'

Axcel shakes his head. 'You know, he's never been past the first date with anyone.'

I bite back a smile. 'Well, Sebastian and I have never actually been on a date. So...'

'Well, I suppose you and I will agree that the two of you move faster than most.'

My mind flicks back to my birthday. 'Hmm.'

I open the car door and he opens his. 'So will you get it. The tattoo?'

I nod. 'Yeah. Fine.'

We walk inside the parlor and Axcel whispers something to a lady who leads us through to a back room. She points a chair in the corner.

I take a seat. 'Am I going to get the same one as you?'

Axcel shakes his head. 'No. You get a special one.' He shrugs. 'One of my fathers rules.'

The lady wipes my arm with a sanitising wipe. I don't really feel like watching her stab tiny holes in my arm so I turn away.

'Is your father a dick like mine?'

I'm making the assumption that Sebastian told Axcel about dinner... I mean, maybe not what happened after but he probably did tell him about my disownment.

Axcel nods. 'Yeah. I mean, my father didn't cut us off but, yeah, he's a dick.'

I should probably have a word with Sebastian about keeping my private life private.

I take in a sharp deep breath as the lady begins her tattooing. 'From what Sebastian told me, he sounds like a dick.'

'Yeah.' Axcel shrugs. 'He fucked us up, he fucked up my relationship too but he's dead so... he can't ruin my life anymore.'

I raise my eyebrows. It's hard to believe that a man like Axcel could be in a relationship that means anything to him. 'Relationship?'

'That,' He points at me. 'Is a conversation for another time.'

I smile. Look down at my arm and back up at him. 'Sebastian's not going to be happy about this is he?'

'I much doubt that.' Axcel says.

I wince and glance at the lady, whose eyes are trained on my arm.

'But then again.' He continues. 'Sebastian's never happy about anything.'

'Well, I'm sure something makes him happy.'

'Other than you, everything makes him fret. That's why I call him an old lady.'

I laugh. Sebastian would attack Axcel if he knew that his brother said he frets.

'Couldn't you just say stresses him out?' I say

Axcel shakes his head. 'That just wouldn't cover it.' He says laughing.

The lady's grip on my arm loosens. I look down and see a familiar group of symbols tattooed on my forearm. Except that underneath them, the words lei è mia are written in cursive.

'What does that mean?' I ask, pointing at the words.

Axcel clears his throat and scratches the back of his neck. 'It translates to she is mine.'

'Possessive much.' I say

'It's a rule Alexis.'

'So what happens when I decide I don't want to be around him anymore.'

'Yeah... I wouldn't recommend that.'

Great so now I'm stuck to Sebastian forever. Just the thing I was trying to avoid.

I am failing so terribly at sticking to my morals right now.

The lady comes back and wraps my arm up. She points a finger in my face and says, 'Non toglierlo fino a domani.'

I look at Axcel confused.

'She says, don't take it off till tomorrow.'

'She can't say that in english.' I snap.

Pretty much as soon as I say it, I realise how rude it sounds.

Axcel laughs. 'You know, I see why Sebastian is head over heels for you.'