Months

16

Lavender paces. She never feels nervous. So why is she so nervous now? What's more is Kenton's never seen her like this, so he's extra on edge too, which is making her more aggravated, and so on. It's a clusterfuck of nerves.

She still hasn't told him what's happening. Didn't seem like it would do any good. That doesn't mean he won't stop asking.

"What aren't you telling me?" His demand is less compelling when his voice shakes like that. There's something Lavender can do about it. She grabs a cloth and tilts Kenton's bruised chin upwards with her fist. His eyes widen and he thrashes against his bonds.

"No, you can't make me-"

Lavender sucker punches him in the gut and shoves the cloth between his teeth. She ties it off while he's still coughing. That'll make things easier.

As if on cue, the garage door rumbles like an earthquake and Kenton jumps at the sound. It slowly dawns on him. He tries to stay calm, but Lavender can clearly see the terror creep into his face.

A car in the garage locks with a chipper beep, and Mateo's footsteps pace just beyond the hallway door. Another moment and he steps through the door, a duffel slung over his shoulder.

"Good to see this place hasn't burnt to the ground!" he guffaws, and lumbers towards the two of them. Lavender tilts her head and crosses her arms. Mateo just smirks and drops the duffel bag on the floor. Kenton snaps out of his terrified daze and starts sobbing and yelling, just as Lavender expected. She pays no mind.

"How was your vacation?" Lavender asks. He claps her on the shoulder.

"Like you care!" He laughs fiercely. Lavender snickers.

"Thanks for your help. I'll call you later."

She looks at him and squints. That's it? Mateo's already moving past it all. He grabs Kenton's chin in his hand, turning his face so he can get a better look at his boy. There's some cuts and bruises that still haven't healed. Kenton whimpers and tries to jerk away. Mateo chuckles.

"Damn, chica. What did you do?"

"My job." She flexes her hand. Maybe a little extra.

"You really did a number on him."

Lavender grunts.

"Okay, you can leave now."

She doesn't move. "So... you expect me to just fuck off? Like this never happened?"

"If the cops ask, then yeah, this never happened." Mateo doesn't even look at her when he answers. He's preoccupied with making up for lost time. She peers around Mateo's shoulder. She can see Kenton, crumpled on the ground, looking like a broken doll. His eyes meet hers. He shakes his head, desperately begging her with just a pitiful look. Lavender looks back at Mateo. He's already starting to feel Kenton up. His hands creep under his shirt, skimming his fingers along his skin. Kenton starts hyperventilating and Mateo grins. Lavender doesn't want to see any more of this shit. So she goes to leave. She picks up the few things she brought with her and sticks her hands in her pockets. Kenton breaks out of Mateo's grasp for a moment.

"Nhh, NHH!" He's on the brink of a breakdown. Mateo laughs in surprise.

"Looks like Kenny wants you to stay. What else did you do to him, huh?"

Lavender grumbles. She turns away. She's done. Her obligation to Mateo is over. Kenton yells and fights, but she's out the door.

She can still hear them through the walls. The low rumble of Mateo's voice makes it hard to tell what he's saying, but Kenton starts screaming. His hysterical sobs are unmistakable.

Since Mateo's busy, she'll have to bike back to her place. That'll take some time.