Reverence

Chapter 2

After about a 30 minute drive, the mystery woman had managed to stop the bleeding but the bullet was still lodged inside. In a panic, Bruno drove as quick as he could, from the directions given by the mystery woman. They eventually drove upon a large house, surrounded by large trees, and gates. It was from there, Bruno, the artist, learns the fate he will encounter.

She walked inside the house stumbling and sat on the couch. "Bruno, fetch me the first aid kit in the bathroom. Second door on the right." I ran as quick as I could and grabbed it for her. "I think you need a professional to do that for you." I said. "You really talk too much. Please, be quiet." She set up a  mirror, with a light surrounding it. She laid out tweezers, hydrogen peroxide, stitches and thread, gauze, and a hand towel. She rolled the towel and bit down hard on it, where poured the peroxide directly on the wound. She screamed so loud and hard, the veins in her neck and head protruded out. "Grab a glass of water." She grunted. "Make yourself at home. Put on the basketball game, don't mind me." She had that sense of sarcasm that made me more intrigued about everything going on right now.

She took the tweezer and dug for the bullet, pulling it out, and dumping it on the table. "Fucking hell. Shit is the worst." She said calmly.  She looked at the wound, now that it was cleaned, "It doesn't need to be stitched. Just wrapped and tended to." She found a way to put her hair into a pony tail, and put the everything away. "You're not going to throw the bullet away?" I asked. "You never throw evidence away."

She came back over and said, "Tea or coffee? Since you didn't want water." I looked back at her, unbelievably. "You look like a coffee person. Me too. I like coffee. I'll brew some right now." Glasses still amongst her face, hiding her expressions, she brewed a cup of coffee for her and I.

She set the mug on the table and took a sip of hers. "Don't let that coffee waste. It's my favorite." She said. "Who the fuck are you? Why the fuck am I here? Who the fuck were those people shooting at us? At you?"

She cleared her throat, and pulled off her wig, exposing her jet black long hair, with tight coiled curls at the roots and straighter towards the end of the length. She then slowly removed her dark glasses, exposing her dark brown eyes, almost black. "My name is Ray." She said. She turned into a new woman, now that I saw the new her. The real woman named Ray.

"Well, Ray. Want to explain to me, how the fuck you know me?" She took a deep breath.

Flashback
Ray's POV

"Babe, I can't believe you're working while we're on vacation. You promised me we wouldn't do this in front of Penelope." I said to my husband. "Bryan! Are you listening to me?" Bryan prepared the little bag of cocaine. "I know. I know we promised each other that we would stop this once Penelope was born, but this buyer has the money. So much, we could pay off the house. Heard he's famous too. I won't give him too much to kill him. He could be useful." Penelope sat in the back seat, cooing and kicking her legs. I tickled her fat little feet and she laughed. "After this, we're done. Okay? I don't want to live this lifestyle anymore." Bryan held my hand, and kissed it, and then kissed my lips. "Last time. I promise. I'm going to give you and Penelope everything. The whole world." He smiled.

"He's here." Bryan said. He got out of the car, where I stayed with a loaded gun on my lap, cocked back and ready to fire. I saw the man through the glass and he was young, someone who looked so innocent. He looked like a first timer, perhaps he had already sniffed a few lines. For the first time, I felt guilty. This was the first customer we encountered since having Penelope. I couldn't imagine a person handing my daughter of bag of cocaine to snort.
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"Bryan, what was that guys name?" I asked. "Bruno. Dude is some singer or some shit." I sigh. "Turns out, he's staying in this hotel too. One of the reasons why I agreed to give him some." I couldn't fathom what happened. What happened in front of my daughter. "I need to get some air." I grabbed my phone and walked out of the room, leaving behind my daughter and husband.