I pulled away involuntarily. Aaron’s glare made me a little uncomfortable. I moved slightly behind Corey as a defense mechanism. Put something between myself and the aggressor.
“Hey you two,” I heard Zak calling from the passenger side.
“Hey,” we said moving towards the van.
“Grams is waiting on you guys. She hasn’t shut up about seeing you since I told her you were coming!” Corey said smiling.
“Great! I hope she cooked because I’m starving!” Nick piped from the back seat.
I remained quiet throughout the conversation. I didn’t know Corey as well as the guys did and decided to keep my mouth shut.
“You two want a ride up there?” Aaron asked, never taking his eyes off of me.
“Sure,” Corey said as he grabbed my hand, pulling me to the door.
As we slid in the van Corey pulled me onto his lap. He whispered in my ear,
“What’s his problem?”
I hunched my shoulders up. I honestly didn’t know what Aaron’s problem was but I was going to get to the bottom of it.
“Hey, there shall be no whispering to where Billy can’t hear. The rest of the guys can not hear but I must hear,” Billy joked.
I laughed at him. His hellatious hairstyle and his quirky ways always brightened me up. He too had grown fond of me and considered me his little sister. I reached over and pinched his cheeks.
“OUCH!” he said pulling back.
We all had to laugh at that. Billy hates for his cheeks to be pinched. He was such a big kid! As we pulled up to the house Corey’s grandmother stepped out. Zak was first out of the truck, sweeping her off her feet and twirling her around.
“Agnes! It’s been too long!” he said kissing her cheek. The others had made their way to her and planted kisses on her cheeks and hugged her.
“Let’s feed you guys,” she said waving them inside.
I was about to follow when I felt something slick and liquidly slide down the side of my head. I looked up at the sky to see if rain had come at a moment’s notice. The sky was still a beautiful blue, the color of the heart of the ocean from Titanic. I placed a hand to the place I felt it and when I removed it, I came away with a red sticky substance-blood. I tried hard not to panic and was going to go to the bathroom when I was bombarded by Nick. Apparently he had turned around to come and get me.
I noticed that May didn’t follow us in the house. I turned around to go and chat with her quickly. That’s when I saw the blood on her head. I rushed toward her. She was like a daughter who was nearly my age.
“What happened?” I said rushing to her.
“I- I don’t know. I was getting ready to come in and I felt it but I thought it was rain but then I realized it was blood,” she said her sentences running together.
I grabbed her up bridal style and rushed her inside.
“Where is the bathroom?” I yelled, slightly frantic.
The guys pointed in a general direction and followed behind as I rushed towards it. Once inside, I grabbed a towel and wet it. I began wiping the blood from her face. That’s when I saw it. Her beautiful skin had a small knick on it. Almost as if someone had shot at her and the bullet had grazed her skin. I grabbed her into a hug. I didn’t want to tell her but asked Corey for gauzes and disinfectants. Luckily, he kept some around. After I had bandaged her, I gave her a loving kiss on the cheek.
“God, May! I went into mother mode,” I said trying to get a smile out of her. It worked.
She wrapped her arms around me and leaned on my chest. I heard her sobbing lightly. I hugged her back, rubbing her back in a gentle way. After a few moments someone spoke.
“Come on you guys, let’s go and eat,” Zak said.
We all left out, except Aaron and May. I gently closed the door and stood by it. I waved to the other guys to go ahead. I’d catch up with them in a few.
May looked as if she’d seen a ghost. I walked up to her and wrapped my arms around her. Reluctantly, she followed. I combed through her hair with my fingers. Her aroma of lavender and TRESemme enveloped my nose and I leaned her. Her hands tangled into the back of my shirt as savored her touch and smell. There was always something about her touch that sent me crazy. I couldn’t control myself. I felt the length of me harden and grow longer. I tried hard to think of ugly chicks and ceiling fans. It was working. I felt May shift in my arms and she looked up at me. Her eyes were a wonder to take in. They were brown, specked with gold and green. I had never seen eyes like hers. It felt as if she looked deep into my soul. I shuddered and closed my eyes. I couldn’t handle her intense stare.
“I’m sorry May,” I mumbled into her shoulder.
“For what?” she whispered, unsure of her voice.
“I fucked up big time,” I said.
I was referring to letting her go and getting back with Jennifer. I was slightly jealous that she and Corey was soon to be an item. I liked Corey, but I loved May. I wanted to be the one to hold her, whisper things to her, wipe her tears away.
“Please forgive me. I promise to make it right,” I said.
“I forgive you Aaron,” she said.
She pulled back and smiled up at me. My heart fluttered. I gave her one last squeeze and smiled at her. She pecked my lips gently, but, it still sent sparks through my body. We separated and I opened the door. I knew Nick would be close by. He was really protective of her, even though sometimes he tried not to show it. He nodded to me and took May’s hand. I chuckled at the fact that they really did look like Daddy and Daughter. We walked into the dining room. Agnes glared at May. May ignored her as she sat down. Corey rubbed her thigh and kissed her on the cheek. She gave him a light smile. Her plate was filled with foods. Ones she didn’t like. She stared down at her plate with disgust.
“Aren’t you going to eat?” Agnes asked, a little rough.
May stirred into the food. She filled her fork and sniffed at the food. I could tell it repulsed her. She eased the fork back down and sipped at the lemonade. She grimaced. Damn it May, now is not the time to be the food diva. She looked at Agnes and smiled.
“I’m sorry Ms. Marrow, my head aches and it affects my eating habit,” she said politely. “If I may be excused, I’d rather not eat.”
Agnes made a sound of disgust and disbelief, “I’ve slaved in the kitchen and you want even sample it?!”
Something wasn’t right. The other’s had stopped eating, accessing the situation. There was something in May’s face that didn’t quite seem right. She looked at Nick. He stood and came over to her side.
“What’s wrong,” he asked her.
“The shoes don’t seem to fit right. They are too tight,” she replied.
I saw Nick tense. Anger flared in him. Zak noticed it too. He stood, coming to Nick’s side. He placed a hand on Nick’s shoulder.
“Maybe, she lost too much blood early. We should take her to the emergency care,” He said. “Agnes, Corey, please excuse us.”
With that I stood and went to the door. Billy was on my heels in an instant. Nick held May in his arms protectively as we rushed towards the van. I rushed to the driver’s seat. I had to refrain from peeling out.
“Do you really think she was trying to poison you?” Zak asked.
“That lemonade was bitter, like almonds. The steak and pork chops were slightly green,” May said.
I saw her shiver. Nick hugged her closer.
“What happened to my head earlier Nick?” she asked him.
He weighed whether to tell her the truth or not.
“You were shot at. The bullet grazed your head,” he said squeezing her.
She nodded and slumped into his hug. Billy was busy on his laptop.
“Listen to this,” he said and then began reading aloud. “Agnes Marrow, widow of John Marrow, was cleared of all charges. Police suspected that she had poisoned her husband after the medical examiner found substantial amounts of cyanide in him. Mr. Marrow had been receiving dosages of cyanide for a few weeks before his death. Mrs. Marrow, claimed to have been out of town, the week of his death, visiting friends in Florida.”
Zak let out a curse and banged the dash.
“We’re supposed to be taking Gabrielle away from trouble and yet we’re bring her into mor-,” he cut himself short.
“John Marrow was the guy who had May’s father’s job before him. Right after he died, her father got the job,” Billy said. “They told us he died from a heart attack!”
“My father had him killed,” May said from the back seat. We all looked at her. I had to look back at the road before we wrecked.
“May, that may be true, but we can’t assume because of this article and a coincident,” Nick said.
“There is no assumption in my fact. I read it in his files,” she said and looked out the window.
“What?” We all asked.
“Another story for another day,” she said.
She looked out the window and that was the end of the conversation. The ride to emergency care was filled with silence.