The Reluctant Messenger

The Reluctant Messenger Part III

Sorry I haven't uploaded in a while, I've been real busy. This part isn't as eventful as i'm just setting you up for a big turn in the story which will at best be up in a few hours :) loro

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They covered my whole back, I couldn’t believe how intricate they were and how fast Lesha was able to tattoo them. Lesha coming and bandaging up my back snapped me back to reality and I felt a little embarrassed to be standing topless in front of Nathaniel and Isofiel. I pulled on my shirt and hissed a little as the tight skin of my back moved.

“How much do I owe you Lesh?” I asked as I pulled the messy wad of notes from my back pocket.

“Uhmmm, I’m not sure...”

“Zophiel, just go, its fine, you don’t need to pay her, the tattoo’s on us.” Nathaniel said as he wrote a cheque out for Lesha which he tucked into the pocket of her jacket.

“But-“ I started.

“No buts Zo, we have to open up shop in a while and you guys should get out of here, Nathaniel and I will clean up, then we have some stuff to do and Michael will be coming in soon.” Isofiel said  as she shooed us out the door and into the overcast street.

‘Rain. Just great,’ I thought as I groaned. The smell of rainclouds and the cool breeze on my skin made me shiver. “Where we off to?” I asked Lesha.

“Your car? Just round the back where you left it a couple of days ago, then we’ll go get breakfast at maccas or something.” she smiled. I couldn’t believe I had forgotten about my car, my baby, the navy blue, white racing striped ’66 Mustang GT I’d helped dad build from when I was  ten.

We reached and Lesh giggled at me sticking my P plates back onto the front and back windows, I felt like an absolute tool with them stuck there and I always took them down when I was out. We hopped in and drove to the nearest drive-thru and then climbed into the back seat to eat in the carpark.

“So kid, hows school and home?” She asked through mouthfuls of her Bacon and egg mcmuffin.

“School....Hmm...I’m just staying for the art. I have no idea what I’m going to do when I finish even though I’m doing pretty well with everything despite the whole mum thing...” I trailed off, Mum acted like she hated me all the time, I just didn't understand how a woman could hate their own child the way she did. But I continued “Dad and I are okay, he’s away a lot though. Sammy’s alright, year 4 isn’t too hard and he’s got good teachers...”

The conversation kept going like this for hours until I saw little bobbing heads of a group of kids each carrying a pumpkin from the supermarket followed by a woman awkwardly carrying armfuls of candy. Was it really that day?

“Lesha, what day’s it?” I asked shocked.

“October 31st, Halloween!” she said with a smile. “Are we going out or what!?”

“Let me just go home and see Sammy quick, then we can go.” I started the car and we drove through the city until we reached my house. I unlocked the door and Lesha followed. Sammy was sitting on a beanbag drawing on the coffee table in the lounge room and I came and picked him up.

“Where’s dad Sammy?” I asked the seven year old.

“Gone.” was all he said.  I walked into the kitchen and on the bench was a note from dad.

“Zoph, if you come home and I’m not here I’m not out for long, Sammy’s  a smart kid and he’s alright on his own for a couple of hours while I visit a few people high up in the company. I’ll be home soon, hopefully, but if you’ve gone out its ok.

Love Dad.”

“Shit,” I said as I covered Sammy's ears. “Hey Lesh, we’re going to have to fix up Sam a little costume and take him over to Beth’s for the night, that alright?” I asked.

“Yeah, sure thing.” she said with a smile. “Can I dress him as the joker? With scars and all, like a really creepy mini-joker?” She asked pulling face paints and Halloween gear from a box on the floor near the door.

“Go crazy, watch out, he squirms.” I laughed as I passed Sammy to Lesha for his transformation. I then walked upstairs going through my draws to find a costume that I could wear tonight. Then, beside my bed I found two boxes with a note that simply said “<3 dad” I actually fell on the floor laughing when I looked inside. There was a pirate costume and a embroidered sombrero and Mexican gear. One large and one small, looked like I knew what Lesha and I were going as. I called Lesha upstairs and she brought with her my little brother looking as creepy as hell.

“Sammy I’ll leave you with Zoph and she can choose you some clothes okay, I’m just going to have a shower and-“ I threw the little Mexican do at Lesh “Ahahaha, weeew!” She ran into the bathroom, closed the door and stated showering.

“C’mon kid, let’s find you some joker clothes.” I said as I grabbed him and ran into his room. He opened up his cupboard and pulled out a vest, a shirt, a coat and some pants.

“ta-da” he smiled.

“You don’t even need my help! put it on and then I’ll help you with the buttons okay” I packed my bag with all the stuff I might need for the next few days, wrote a note to dad telling him where Sammy was and then came back into Sammy’s room only to see him struggling with lining up the buttons. I quickly buttoned his shirt up and pulled his vest and coat on.

“Oi! Zoph, your go in the shower!” Lesha called from my room.

“Go play COD with Lesh for a while okay? Beat her.” I winked at Sammy.

“Yesss,” he replied with a grin as he skipped over to the sombrero clad Lesha pulling her by the arm towards the games room.

I quickly showered and pulled on my costume. I wrapped a headscarf around my head and applied some smudgy eyeliner. “Done.” I said to myself as I grabbed my bag and walked downstairs to see my brother owning at COD.

“C’mon kiddies, we’re off.” I said opening the door and watching as my little best friend and brother hopped into my car. I locked up and then we were off. We dropped Sammy off and then were off to the club. We waited in line for about ten minutes and then were let in.

“Zoph, I can’t believe that you can actually get in everywhere with that thing.” Lesha laughed at my fake I.D. Lesha grabbed my hand and pulled me towards the bar. The fumbled in her bag and then looked at me with wide eyes as she opened the envelope that contained the cheque from Isofiel and Nathaniel. Inside was a cheque for ten thousand dollars and a wad of hundred dollar bills.

“Wow.” was all that I could say.”