Mr. Winston

Chapter Three

I glanced at my phone. We had been talking for over a minute. I could trust her but this line of communication would soon be closed.

"Call you back in an hour with details."

I shut the phone and placed my bags down on the kitchen island.

After settling in, I decided to give the phone number a call back. My first thought was I needed a friend but at the end of that, I decided giving an old chapter of my life some clarity was all I really needed.

"I'm settling down in the middle of nowhere and nobody knows me, Dee. Sorry to disappoint you but I can't return to a life behind walls."

"Understandable," she spoke as if her mouth was filled with food.

"Are you eating?"

"Yep. Made some pasta while I waited for your call. Almost gave up hope."

"Thought you were trying to track me down," I said straight up. I hated having to read between the lines so I kept it completely honest and clear with everyone I spoke to.

"Nope. My dad already told me what's going on and I don't want to spoil this opportunity for you. You are, after all, my best friend, Alanna."

I rolled my eyes. That never stopped her from snitching when we were younger. I always had to remind myself some things were easier to get away with when Delilah was not around. She could never keep secrets from her Dad who would give my own Dad a heads up about everything.

"I met a guy..."

"Bitch, I'm all ears!"

The first weeks of being my new identity of Raquel Tillbury were awkward but eventually I flowed into the new life I had given myself. I loved my new casual yet sometimes dressy wardrobe which was much different from my clean-cut chic and overly girly attire with high heels and matching purses to extravagant hairstyles and classy makeup.

I got at least 5 girls to sign up for classes at my new business within the first three days after advertising at this local bakery. My prices were pretty reasonable at $250 every two weeks and an additional $50 per costume. I needed at least 5 more girls to break even and make a decent profit monthly.

And with more clientele, I'd need more help with everything from dance recitals to different class levels.

My home was pretty nice, too. I decorated it with cream and a pastel pink with little accents of white and gold. I made it cozy, and it just welcomed me every day.

"What are you doing here?", I grumbled after opening the door to reveal a grinning Delilah and a Boxer puppy in hand. "I thought you didn't track me."

"I didn't give your location to your Dad. But me, oh, I kept the location."

I rolled my eyes and took the Boxer puppy into my arms with a soft coo at how cute he appeared to be. He had a ribbon on his neck so I assumed he was my housewarming gift. I used to love animals and my father even got me a lion cub to raise when I was 7 years old. Eventually we released him into the wild, but I had horses, turtles, bunnies, peacocks, and a shit ton of animals to keep me entertained until I turned 16.

"Thanks for the puppy."

"His name is Haven."

"Cute..."

"You don't look like Alanna Garza. There's less pink in this outfit and your hair is in a style you never liked. What's up?", Delilah wondered as she stepped into my home and got a better view of how I was living.

Pretty well, might I add.

"It's a disguise plus I only wanted those things because my Dad wanted me to want those things. Everything you see now is a piece of the me I had to keep hidden. You know I had people to bathe me, dress me, comb my hair, drive me around, cook my food, and do practically everything but breathe for me."

"Well once you spell it out like that, your life was pretty sheltered and controlled. Um, how has it been?", the redhead sat on the couch after placing down the bottle of wine she had also brought as a gift for me judging from the red bow.

"Normal, I guess."

We decided to let Haven get accustomed to the new space while we drank wine and chatted about the new things going on in our lives. Delilah decided to join a division of the CIA that dealt with bioweapons and security. I gave her a breakdown of my daily schedule which seemed pretty mundane once I spoke it out loud.

"It's new so I like it."

"Good. I'm glad you get to finally be happy. I just wish you had someone to share it with."

I nodded as I sipped my wine oblivious to the smirk growing on her face.

When I did glance over at her, she was giving me this creepy smile. I raised a brow at the sudden change. She looked like the cat that ate the canary and I wanted to know what it was that was making her go on like this.

"What's up?"

"I have a file on one Harry aka Opie Winston."

"And? That's an invasion of privacy, Dee. But if you must..."

I hid my smile as she started running off details about Opie that I wouldn't have found out unless we met again and discussed his life. The small details weren't very many but the last thing she told me kind of hit hard. He had recently lost his wife to some sort of drive-by and he not only had a daughter but a son as well.

"Damn."

"Yeah, he's a jailbird anyways, Lanna. You can't seriously have wanted to have a relationship with him," Dee held a sympathetic look in her eyes but I could tell she thought everything she just said washed him from my mind.

She was so used to me being around rich boys always flashing their cars and money or their latest model girlfriend. I hated the boys who reminded me of my father. Those who claimed money and power were their best personality traits. Well, I hated it all.

"A friendship, maybe?", I mumbled. "I never had any other friends besides you and Lexi."

"I loved Lexi. She was the sweet mother that we never had," Dee laughed and I began to think of all the times when my own mother was nowhere to be found. We both had that same love for Lexi because even at 19, she showed us exactly what real love was.

Until she passed away from Leukemia, Lexi never showed us anything more than love, hard work, and determination. She encouraged me to be the best version of myself despite all the rules and everything placed upon me. I didn't even know she was within her last years of living when she came to work for us but I hated my father for not trying to help the teen girl as she suffered.

"Yeah."

I ended the conversation on that and closed my eyes to clear away the image of Lexi standing over by the door with that warm smile she always wore.

"Maybe I'll stay awhile. I don't have any assignments. I can watch over you for awhile," Delilah spoke up breaking me from my thoughts.

I nodded as I leaned forward to collect my glass of wine to finish it off. I poured another glass and smiled over to her as she laid her head on my shoulder. It had been a while since we were reunited and I was grateful for the company as well as my new friend, Haven.