Alright folks. I'm gonna ease back into the book with a flashback. This is part 1 of 2, and the last two flashbacks of this book.
I need at least two more New Orleans chapters (maybe 3) to finish the book.
I thought about this book daily even when things got dark and ugly for a while. Every time I was pulled back to write, I felt run down. BUT I love this book and I adore and am so grateful to all the wonderful people reading this.
Let's ease back with a flashback. We go from early SIAS to late SIAS. This chapter follows the scene in "But I haven't stopped loving you once" for those wanting to read the Kid and Darla part <3
Part 2 this weekend.
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Hell's Kitchen, New York
Kid's apartment near Pier 81, 12th avenue
Late Spring, 1990
It's been over two years since he heard her voice. He stood still holding the receiver up to his warm ear.
"Kid? You there?"
"Yeah–" He caught himself breathlessly speaking. He cleared his throat. "Yes, I'm still here."
"So...do you want to? Meet me...for a coffee?"
"You're...here?" He couldn't think straight. "When did you get back?" He asked knowing there were a billion more questions he wanted to ask her and have been wanting to ask her.
He can hear her stumbling on her own words. He knew she probably struggled to initiate this call to begin with. "I'm–actually in the airport. I just got in."
I'm her first call. Kid pressed his lips into a smile. There was that warmth again, he thought to himself, feeling her presence in his chest.
"Ray is picking me up–I'm staying with him." Darla continued over the phone.
His brows shot up as he felt an instant knot in his stomach. "Ray? So you're–you'll be a few blocks from me."
"Yeah–Never thought I'd see the day he'd ever leave the village for your neck of the woods ." She scoffed a dry laugh. She teased him to lighten the mood, "...the neighbourhood is filled with criminals and biker bandits you know."
Kid couldn't believe how easily he could fall back into banter as if the last two years without her didn't happen. "Ouch–" He let out a little chuckle. "Weren't you the one who told me to find beauty and joy in the worn out ruins?"
"You remember that?"
"I remember everything." He responded without hesitation. Darla sensed the pain in his voice and he was thankful she didn't press on and question the child proof caps he put back on his answers.
She quickly jumped in, unsure how much she can truly fall back on their usual back and forth either. "I mean not all of Hell's Kitchen is bad. Some parts were great....if memory serves me right." She spoke recalling their home over Pappy and Harriett's garage. "...or am I off?" She looked for reassurance.
Of all the memories she had locked away behind a secret door in her mind, an unexpected one broke through. It wasn't one of the man roadtrips they would take in one of the cars in the garage's lot, where she would pretend to fall asleep on the way back just to watch his soulful eyes taking in their surroundings. It wasn't a memory of one of the many times she would gleefully scream holding onto him as he rode his motorbike across the city, burning rubber down Queens Boulevard.
No, it was of the lingering scent of blueberry pancakes, the only meal he knew how to make. She could smell it.
Oblivious to her memory, Kid scratched his nose suddenly smelling their shared nostalgia. It took him by surprise.
Darla repeated, "there were great times shared in that neighbourhood." She thought of their home.
Kid spoke too honestly as a smile sadly pulled at him. "More than great doll." He swallowed sharply feeling the lump in his throat. He can sense her breath and knew he caught her off guard.
Doll, she never truly appreciated the hold it had on her.
And there it was. Their first dreaded awkward pause after two and a half years of not speaking. Kid looked up to the window as the curtain danced with the Spring breeze. He can smell the water by the pier. Everything around him slowed down as a familiar tune played from a nearby shop. His supernatural hearing could make out every word.
The instrumental opening tugged on his heart as if there was something up with the wiring, as if he were a puppet on the other end.
This song was released two years ago, right when Darla left his world. He couldn't escape its truth as the words played through him. The motion of the curtains slowed. Everything around him moved slowly.
See the stone set in your eyes
See the thorn twist in your side
I'll wait for you
Darla stood outside the airport, in a queue of payphone booths, she felt the breeze. Later that night the moon would be full and bright, signaling a new cycle. They didn't say a word but felt their bond grow stronger with the body of water surrounding the city. One of the taxis parked close by tuned into the station. It landed on that painful tune.
Sleight of hand and twist of fate
On a bed of nails, she makes me wait
And I wait without you
For a moment both their guards were down. Darla recalled a memory of him sitting by the pier a year after he kept waiting for her, holding onto hope. His eyes were red behind his loose curl. He was crying in silence, swallowing back his shaky breaths. She channeled herself from Edinburgh to look after him whenever she was close to the water. Darla wasn't sure if he felt her presence.
With or without you
With or without you
He did. And as much as he wanted to speak to her, he never wanted her to stop visiting him. He held onto it. And she never stopped. She always checked in.
Through the storm, we reach the shore
You give it all but I want more
And I'm waiting for you
Darla felt the breeze play through her hair as she held onto the payphone receiver, she shut her eyes momentarily, allowing herself to get swept in this feeling. Her guard was down and Kid was able to hear her fighting the urge to jump into his arms and kiss him.
With or without you
With or without you, ah, ah
I can't live
With or without you
It took him by surprise. However the image was too painful for him to linger in its casted shadows. He let out a faint and inaudible gasp to himself, snapping back to reality. The music faded.
"Darla?"
Darla watched as the taxi drove off with a passenger. "Yes?"
".....When do you wanna meet?"
She smiled and waved as Ray pulled up into the arrival lot. Her coin purse fell out of her leather jacket. She leaned over and pulled at the chain of keys attached to the coin purse. Turning to the receiver she felt lightheaded realizing the weight of this reunion. She nervously twirled the keys and charms. Her thumb caressed a piece of plastic with a jagged edge. She looked down at the orange ring Kid won at the carnival on Coney Island.
It was an eye sore but she held onto it like a prized medal. In this case the metal, she thought shaking her head at the piece of supposed diamond in the middle. She needed to step up, to put this to the test, see if there was a chance for them to be friends. Timing wise, it was probably the best she can wish for.
"Ray told me he's two blocks away from our—" Darla's face crinkled with the slip of her tongue. Kid caught it but let her continue, "-your apartment. So...I can—we can–want to get a coffee? In...an hour? Make it two." She thought of New York traffic.
"Yeah–" he grimaced at his lazy nonchalant response. "There's a new place that opened by the pier, we can grab a coffee and sit out there a while." He looked at the sunny rays tracing the apartment floor, glimmering through his window. He felt the cool Spring breeze on his skin.
"Sounds good."
"Yeah?" He lifted his brows.
"Yeah." She smiled dropping her chin to gaze at her awkward stance. Kid smiled to himself dropping his chin to stare at the floor.
After hanging up, Kid stood in silence. He looked around his place as if it were the first time he'd actually seen it. Everything looked better.
The one bedroom apartment looked brighter, the smell of morning coffee filled the space around him signalling a fresh start to the day. He thought, aside from the clothes piled onto that chair, and that bottle of bourbon I drank last night, it's okay around here.
His mind began to process reality. She's been gone, for two and a half years, without a call, a letter, a postcard. Kid scratched at his neck, Ah, but she checked on me daily.
He can smell the liquor on his breath still. Luckily, as a werewolf, his metabolism would require him to drink at least a handful more of those bottles to feel a buzz.
Why now? Why is she back?
Kid, she called you the moment she landed. He sighed loudly looking up to the ceiling and decided to stop self sabotaging. Turning back towards the bathroom he caught a glimpse of the pictures he never took down from the fridge.
Are you dragging out a long goodbye doll? He felt himself spiraling. A knock at the door caught him by surprise. His mind was so focused on his past, his animal senses were compromised.
"Just a second!" He rushed to hide the bottles from her.
"I can hear you running around in there." She shook her head outside picturing him stumbling around tidying up his place.
Kid opened the door moving his fingers through his shaggy hair to reveal his soft eyes. Harriet was taken back by his appearance and the dark circles under his eyes. She pressed her lips into a smile. "....you smell like my medicine cabinet."
Kid dropped his head in defeat. He let out a sigh shaking his head. "Can't get anything past you."
"You're my family. A mother always knows." Harriet went in for a hug. Kid kissed her cheek and brought her in for a hug. He shut his eyes tightly, feeling her frail figure. Time was not kind to humans.
"Did you take the underground here?" Kid felt her move out of the hug to walk into his place. Her shut the door and followed her in. "You know I don't like you taking it here. I can come visit you."
She walked towards the table where his bottles were a few seconds ago. Kid watched her pick up a bottle cap off the table. She turned facing him as he rubbed the back of his neck.
"I had....a few guys from work over." He lied.
"Bullshit." Harriet spoke gently. Her forced tight lipped smile bordered on concern. She knew he was hurting after the breakup.
Kid wished he could explain everything.
Kid sighed tilting his head to look her over. "Darla—Darla is back."
"Christ....are you smoking funny cigarettes?"
Kid chuckled boyishly, his shaggy hair moved down over his lashes. He ran his fingers through the front of his hair moving it away. "She's back Harriet and I'm meeting her soon."
Harriet stepped closer to speak. She held back and Kid read her mind. She was worried recalling the many times she caught him holding back his pain whenever the subject of Darla came up. Hearing her thoughts deduce those memories, Kid couldn't believe how much he let Harriet in. She was truly the mother he always wished for. He knew to trust her enough with his heart, but he promised to never expose her to the dark creature within him.
He can hear her. She didn't want him to get hurt again, yet a part of her was rummaging through bridal magazines to help Darla plan the wedding. He smiled to himself hearing Harriet fight her own thoughts.
Her excitement won over. "How soon are you meeting?"
"Um...two hours?"
"Good. Let's go get you a haircut." She beamed at him.
He watched the wrinkles pull against her kind eyes. She placed her palm up to his cheek. Her fingers trembled, a side effect from the various medications she's been on since Pappy passed away. Aware of her condition she pulled away.
Kid held his hand over hers to keep it in place. For a moment, a memory of his mother's burned hands flashed before his eyes. Harriet watched his expression fall. He read her mind knowing she would divert from the subject of her health. She smiled.
"I knew she'd come back for you sweetie." Her trembling fingers moved away.
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A few hours later, Kid was making his way down 11th avenue to meet Darla. It was a cooler Spring day. He popped the collar on his black leather jacket to warm his face. He felt more exposed with his fresh haircut. Kid walked by a glass building and caught a glimpse of his reflection. His lip curled to the side recalling Darla's reaction the first time he cut it.
His greaser style haircut made him look boyish but it also brought back painful memories of his past. Every time he felt a break in his pattern coming through, and every time he dabbed a patch over his wounds concealing them like varnish over a surface, his past would scratch right back through.
He looked over his white t-shirt tucked under his black leather jacket. His jeans and motorcycle black boots polished off the look she loved. He felt a twist in his side. What if you fall short of the mark? His mind deceived him of what awaited. He tried to focus on her return. Not to overthink it.
Just a block away, he tried to shut off his inner dialogue. Kid brushed it off and walked closer to Ray's place. He smiled to himself agreeing with what Darla said. Ray didn't fit into the Hell's Kitchen crowd, but Carlos did, Ray's boyfriend. After Darla broke up with Kid, Ray checked in on him daily and during one of his many visits, he met Carlos who brought his car in for an oil change.
Kid smiled as he walked remembering Ray claiming it was destiny.
Destiny. Kid thought of his and Darla's. His nerves got the best of him and decided to stop by a stand to buy a pack of cigarettes. He waited for the clerk to finish with a customer. Turning around, he could see the edge of their apartment. Kid sighed feeling the tension.
He didn't realize Darla was feeling it too. The strength of the approaching full moon and their proximity to the pier, heightened their connection.
Kid's internal dialogue was interrupted by the radio playing in the stand. The host's voice echoed through: "Coming in from Seattle, a band who we just can't stop playing can we Sam? Rumor is they're working on a new record but in the mean time, here's Nirvana's About a Girl"
I need an easy friend
I do, with an ear to lend
I do think you fit this shoe
I do, but you have a clue
Kid tapped his cigarette back before opening it. A scowl played on his brows as he focused on pulling a cigarette out. Placing it in his mouth, he reached for his back pocket pulling out a lighter. He sparked the end of his cigarette and inhaled lightly. With his cigarette hanging off his lips, he placed his pack into his back pocket.
I'll take advantage while
You hang me out to dry
But I can't see you every night
Free (I do, I do)
He pulled his cigarette away and exhaled shutting his eyes momentarily. He never stopped thinking about their reunion, and now that it was here, he was speechless.
I'm standing in your line
I do hope you have the time
I do pick a number too
I do keep a date with you
Are you mine? He thought of her seconds away now.
I'll take advantage while
You hang me out to dry
But I can't see you every night
Free
Is this a good idea? Kid thought taking a deep breath now facing the intercom outside the building. I wouldn't do it if it wasn't one. He reminded himself of how calculated and careful he was with his heart.
I need an easy friend
I do, with an ear to lend
I do think you fit this shoe
I do, but you have a clue
Kid smoothed both his palms over his hair on either side. He shrugged his shoulders back.
I'll take advantage while
You hang me out to dry
But I can't see you every night
No, I can't see you every night
Free
He reached for the buzzer.
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(part 2 coming this weekend)
Songs playing: