Chapter Twenty One.
Naomi P.O.V
"Sir, Miss. Please have a seat." The officer says, motioning over to the two chairs in front of his desk. Leroy and I had been trying to talk some sense into the man for over an hour now, he just wouldn't listen.
"No!" I say, refusing to sit. "We've given you the evidence that Kevin Tates has threatened us both! Twice! We gave you a note!"
He rolls his eyes rubbing a spot on his head, which had gone bald. He was a older man, who happened to be very tall. He wore a green polo shirt with a police jacket over, with black pants. He turns around, looking out the window, then back at us. I flinch, noticing his calm eyes were replaced by anger. He reminds me of someone, but I can't seem to think of who. I shake my head, pushing the thought away.
"Look. I've told you that Mr. Tates, has rejected sending you two any note."
"And you believe him?" I say, walking closer to his desk. Kevin had been the king of lying. He did it rather smoothly, too. I stopped falling for his lies after a while, though. He was an unconscionable liar, and I hated it. I remember once asking him did he eat the rest of my dinner, as he sat on the couch drinking a Coke.
"No." He'd said, angrily. I knew he was lying, no one else lived with me. "You're lying. No one else live's here. Try again. Did you eat the rest of my dinner?" After that, he'd gotten silent. I repeated the question, getting annoyed.
"Naomi. I have my own food. No need to eat yours." Kevin said, annoyed.
I'd glanced at my sink and frowned. "There's a plate in the sink with the sauce! The same sauce from my dinner! It's not mine! Are you seriously going to lie to me? Just tell the truth!" I yelled, slamming the fridge door. After that, we'd argued a lot. I should have broke up with him then and there.
"Yes. I do." The officer says, breaking me from my thoughts. I shake my head at him, standing right next to Leroy, who was equally annoyed with the situation. How can this officer be so blind? "Officer-"
"Bill. Call me Bill."
I give him a look and then shrug, saying his name. "Look, you told Leroy or one of your officers told Leroy, that he couldn't call until he got an actual threat. Well, this is an actual threat!" I say, finally sitting in one of the plastic chairs. I squirm uncomfortably noticing how hard the chair was. Leroy sits next to me, glaring at the officer, who was sending Leroy a glare right back. I shake my head, finger combing my hair.
"We don't know if it's Mr. Tate's handwriting, and-"
"It's his initials are at the bottom! How can you not see that! K.T!" Leroy says, clenching his teeth. I could tell he was getting more angry by the minute. A little vein on the left side of his head, was beginning to poke out. I bring my hand out and rest it on his, causing him to relax a little.
"Mr. and Mrs. Jones," The officer begins, causing Leroy and I to blush.
"We uh, aren't married." I say, blushing deeper and looking at my shoes. Leroy lets out a chuckle, before motioning with his hand for the officer to continue speaking.
"Well then! We could probably do some matching and see if the handwriting matches. Until then, I ask that you both be patient. I'm sure it's not even Mr. Tate's who sent you these."
"Aren't you going to send us protection?" I ask, my voice cracking a little.
"Of course not! We are not to do something like that at this time."
"Why not?!" Leroy and I ask in unison.
"Long story, new rules being made. Something happened a few months ago and..." The officer says, looking at us rather awkwardly. "I think we're done here."
"But." I start, but he cuts me off.
"Fine." I say, rising from my seat.
I walk over to his desk, once more, glaring at him.
"You should back up, Mrs.-"
"If one of us dies, it's on you." I say through clenched teeth.
He gives me a startled look before I walk out of his office, slamming the door behind me. It was kinda awkward because Leroy was right behind me, opening the door that I slammed. He gives me a concerned look and I give him a reassuring smile. "I'm fine, only annoyed. What's with them?" I say, walking towards the door.
Leroy shrugs. "They treat our situation as if it were trivial. It's not." He says, holding the door open for me. I walk through the door, covering my face from the cold and biting wind. I sigh, realizing Leroy and I were going to have to walk for a while; He'd parked his car all the way down because there wasn't anymore available spaces. We walk side by side, in silence as the wind blows. My hair blows in my face several times and I let out a loud sigh. "One day, I'm going to shave all of my hair off." I say, moving closer to the curb so a woman and her child could get by.
Leroy chuckles. "Why?"
"My hair's annoying." I say, brushing another strand behind my ear again.
"Mines too." Leroy says. I glance at him.
"You barely have any. It shouldn't be a problem." I say, chuckling.
"Rude."
"Kidding. You have a head full of hair."
We walk past a homeless man on the end of the street and my heart drops, just as it does any time I see a homeless person. He smiled sheepishly at me and raised his money can out. I dig in my pocket and pull out a twenty. Hopefully this can get him by this week. I think to myself. I place the money into the can and he smiles. He sets the can on the cold ground, pulling the twenty out, his eyes widening in surprise. "Oh! Thank you!" He says, his eyes filling with tears.
I sent him a toothy smile. "You're welcome." He rises from the wall and begins walking down the street, sending me one more smile before vanishing. I smile and turn back to Leroy, who was looking at me in awe. "What?" I say, continuing to walk.
"You are truly magnanimous, Naomi Adams." He says, stopping. I smile and glance behind him, realizing we were at the car, finally.
"Really?"
"Yes. That was amazing. I don't know anyone else who would do that. " I grin at him, as he opens the car door for me to get in. I slide in the car, my knee bumping against the glove department. "Ow!" I say, rubbing my knee.
"Apologize to my glove department." Leroy says, getting in and starting the car. I shake my head. "Your glove department needs to apologize to me."
"Not happening. It is a glove department, Naomi. Get your head out of the couch." He replies, backing up.
"First, it's 'get your head out of the clouds' secondly, you started it."
"No I didn't."
I sigh, leaning against the seat. "Whatever you say, Dear."
Leroy smiles as he drives, deep in thought I guess. Sometimes, I wonder about him. How he can put up with a girl like me. Almost every night I'd been as his place, my screams from nightmares would wake him. He'd run out of his room, sit on the couch, and comfort me. He'd talk to me and tell me things would be alright, that it was just a dream. It's not real. If only he knew, my nightmares are real. Not only did he talk to me, he'd sing to me. Sometimes back to sleep. Just a few nights ago, I was laying on the couch, sweating uncontrollably from the nightmare I'd just had, and Leroy came. We'd talked about random things, mostly to get my mind off of the nightmare.
Leroy had sat down on the couch, pulling me into his arms. I breathed heavily, trying to calm down, but it was impossible. Or so I thought. I'd layed in his arms for over an hour in complete silence. Slowly but surely, I began to calm down. I was almost asleep when Leroy had whispered something. "I wish I could make them stop." He'd whispered.
"Make what stop?"
He cleared his throat and I glanced at him, noticing he was staring at the wall. He glanced at me, a serious look on his face. "The nightmares. I wish I could make them stop. I hate seeing you like this."
I snuggled back into his chest, listening to his heartbeat. "I don't think they will ever go away."
He insisted that they would, one day. I told him I'd been going them since I was seven. I was stuck with them forever. He only sighed and pulled me closer. I knew he didn't know what to say. "You know why it's okay, though?" I asked.
He shifted uncomfortably on the couch and I'd asked him should I move. He told me no, of course not. "Why?" He asked, finally.
"As long as I'm here, I know you'll always comfort me right after." I said, slowly closing my eyes.
I couldn't see him, but I knew he was smiling. I smiled too.
He rose from the couch, holding me in his arms, and then setting me back down on the soft couch with a blanket wrapped around me. He'd kissed my forehead and whispered "You're right, Muffin. I'll always comfort you, right after." With that, he'd walked back into his room, shutting the door.
"Muffin, you okay?" Leroy asked, pulling me from the present memory.
I turned to him, amusement in his eyes. I was about to ask why, when I noticed I was smiling very wide. Oh.
"I, uh. I'm f-fine." I stuttered, causing him to chuckle.
"I see you were thinking of me again. Naomi, Naomi, Naomi." He says, causing me to blush and look down. The car had stopped, and I noticed we were already back at Leroy's home. I pull the handle of the car door, letting myself out. I slide my purple phone into my pocket and follow Leroy into the warm house.
"Do you have any books?" I asked, sitting in the plush chair.
Leroy smiled and nodded. "Yes. What type of books do you read?"
"All types. Pretty much."
"Well come on." He says, motioning to his room. I rise from the chair following him into his room. He led me to a small shelf in the corner of his room and told me to pick a book. I open the shelf and smile, realizing how many books in here that I'd read.
So, I had to choose between these books:
Pride And Prejudice
Divergent
Jane Eyre
and several others.
I chose Pride And Prejudice, of course. I noticed that there were two copies and grinned at Leroy. "Let's read." I say.
He nods. "Okay."
Leroy opens the book and begins reading, his face showing his focus. "Um, no." I say, chuckling.
"Huh? I thought you wanted to read."
"I do. But, let's read to each other."
He hesitates and then smiles at me. "OK. Who's starting first?"
I pause and then suggest the only way to solve this. Rock, paper, scissors. Leroy chuckles at the idea at first, then he realizes I was serious. "Fine." He says, sitting the book down. We close our right hands into tight fists and chant the words 'rock, paper, scissors.' We both got scissors and frowned, going again.
We did this several times before I finally won, causing Leroy to pout. "Not fair, you cheated." He says.
I shake my head. "I did not. Now read."
He sighs, picking up the book.
We read to each other for hours, and Leroy looked like he was really enjoying every bit of it. "Have you read this before?" I asked, turning the page. He turns his page, shaking his hand in a 'kinda' way.
"Not really. I read the beginning, but never got this far. I nod, smiling. "I know you've read this before." He says, smiling back at me.
"I have. I don't even know how many times I've read it. It's a lot."
He nods. "Well it's good enough to read again, let's finish."
As Leroy and I read to each other, I couldn't help but smile. I'd never met a guy before, who'd read with me! Read. With. Me. Me? I could never get Kevin to read with me. It was always 'I'm tired' or 'I want to watch TV.' So I'd always read alone, which is also fun. But, I enjoy reading with others too. Blame it on my mom.
~*♥ ♥ ♥*~
After a few more hours of reading Pride And Prejudice, we were done. Leroy looked extremely tired but happy at the same time. I laid my head against the wall at the top of the bed, staring out the window. The sky was a soft pink, while the sun began to go down. I smiled at the sight, remembering how many times my mother and I would watch the sun set.
Gosh I miss her..
I shake the sad feeling away and look at Leroy, who was looking right at me. "What are you looking at?" I ask, scooting back a bit. He shakes his head, sitting the book on the bed-side table.
"You okay?"
I nod. "I'm fine. I enjoyed reading with you. You're the only one, besides my mother, who'd read with me." He smiles, caressing my cheek. It seemed that every time he touched my cheek, my heart would flutter. I probably blush as well. I lay my head on his chest, setting my book down as well. "I'm glad you enjoyed it." He says, brushing my hair back with his fingers.
"I enjoyed it, too. Reading with you." He says.
I smile, glancing out the window again. The tree's leaves were swaying back and forth, as the wind blew them around. "Hold on." Leroy says, getting up. He rises from the bed, opening his windows on both sides. A light breeze crept it's way in the room, making me shiver but smile. He pulled the curtains back farther, revealing a better view of the sun and soft pink sky that held it.
I laid there in awe, watching the scene. I'd never seen the sky this beautiful before. Leroy sat back down on the bed, wrapping me in his arms. "This is such a beautiful view." I say, breathlessly.
"It is. That's another reason I love living here." He says, pushing my hair back behind my ear.
"What's the other reasons?" I ask, still watching the beautiful scene.
"Well, my mom and dad." I nod in understanding, letting him finish.
"And, well... You."
"Me?" I say, looking up at him. He smiles.
"I love living here because of you."
I blush, looking back down and biting my lip. Me?
"I'm not that special."
"You are. You're special, to me."
I blush, tears flooding my eyes. No one had ever said that to me. Ever!
"I-I'm special to you? Me?" Maybe Leroy was truly for me. No one had ever spoken to me this way. Made me feel this way. I blush again, wiping the tears so Leroy wouldn't noticed.
He nodded, pulling me even closer. "You are."
I continue looking down, biting my lip to prevent any further tears. I was about to speak, when the window slammed against the wall.
Leroy rose, pulling from the embrace and closing both windows. I hadn't even noticed that it was beginning to get dark and the wind was picking up.
"Looks like we're going to have a storm tonight." Leroy says, closing the other window.
As if on cue, a loud crack of thunder ricochets through the home, causing me to jump. I clench my teeth in annoyance, shaking my head. Thunder is so not cool.
Leroy chuckles at me, sitting back down on the bed. "We should probably get some candles out in case the lights go out."
I rise from the soft bed, following him into a closet filled with candles. Hundreds of different smells hit my nose all at once. Cherry, cinnamon, blackberry.. "Wow..um.."
"More house warming gifts." Leroy responds.
"From your mom?"
He nods, pulling three red candles from the top shelf. "Pick a color."
"Purple." I say, immediately. He pulls three purple candles, and a few others. Closing the closet door, he walks into the kitchen, grabbing a lighter from the drawer. I was about to ask where he got the lighter from but remembered his mother smoked. Well, at least did, until she has her baby. I'd prayed so many times that she'd stop the disgusting habit. I still do.
I follow Leroy, purple candles in hand, into the living room and sit, flicking on the TV.
The rain hits the windows loudly, also causing me to jump. Ugh.
Leroy sets a few of the candles down on the fireplace. He sits down on the couch, as I sit on the love-seat, listening to the rain. Then I remembered; What on earth had Leroy said to Melanie to let me off work for two days. I look at him and he smiles, causing to blush as always.
"What did you say to Melanie?" I ask.
"I told her the truth. I told her that we stayed up late watching movies."
I nod, motioning for him to continue.
"She was really angry at first, but then she calmed down."
I gasped. Melanie calm down?'
"She said she'd give you two days off and that's it. I hadn't even asked for the extra day. Weird."
I nod, waiting for Leroy to throw a 'Just Kidding' or a 'She's totally firing you' but it never happened. He was serious.
"Seriously? Melanie? Oh my gooosh." I say, surprised. Could Melanie be changing? Goodness that'd make me happy.
"Yup! Melanie." I nod, still surprised. Wow.
The thunder cracks, I flinch, Leroy laughs. I sigh, trying to relax. I'd always been jumpy, even as a child. "I'm going to go make us some dinner, what would you like?" Leroy asks.
I grin at him. "Pizza rolls would be nice." He smiles and nods, walking to the kitchen.
I smile as I watch him take the food from the freezer and set it on a plate. Leroy turns for a moment, catching me looking at him and blush, quickly looking at the TV. Some woman was arguing with a younger girl, over money. I sigh, flicking over to another channel. Cartoons it is. I think to myself.
I toss the remote back onto the couch and lean back, watching the old cartoons. Even though it was a thunderstorm, it felt like tonight would be a great night..