Lilah was back in class by Monday and she ran up to my desk, frantically asking me about Meet Me in St. Louis. Unfortunately, since I had spent a majority of my night cleaning up the murder of my landlord, I was not in the mood to discuss it. "Miss Andi!" she exclaimed, tiptoeing to the edge of my desk. I hadn't realized that I dozed off until her voice was in my ear. I jumped up and once I saw her, I calmed down. "Hey there, sweet pea, you feeling good?" I asked her.
"I threw up once but my mom let me watch TV so it's okay! Did you watch the movie?" she asked and I nodded. "I did and I loved it! Did you like it?" Lilah smiled wide and I noticed her front teeth were missing. "My, my! Did the tooth fairy pay you a visit this weekend?" I asked her and Lilah dug into her pockets to show me two dollar bills. "You're growing so quick already, I'm so proud!" I grinned and stood up from my desk to help the other kids with book bags.
It was when the Pledge of Allegiance ended that the phone rang for the second time. "You have to be kidding me," I scowled towards my desk and picked it up, "I'm in the middle of class!" "Miss Andi, is everything alright?" Jerome asked me and I nodded, putting a finger to my lips as I walked out of the classroom. I went into Katy's and motioned for her to bring her high school tutor. "Hi, can you watch my kids while I take this?" I asked the student and pointed to my classroom before returning to the call.
"I'm sorry, Reese, but you're on my time," Tom said, "Would you rather me visit your class?" "Depends on if you can behave yourself," I cringed, trying to turn off my teacher voice, but at this point it was routine. "During your lunch break or naptime or whatever the fuck you teachers do, meet with Harrison outside the school," Tom said, "See? I'm waiting until your break. I'm not that mean." And with that, he hung up.
I returned to my class and thanked the high school student for watching over them. "Miss Andi, was that your boyfriend?" Jerome asked and the rest of the kids burst into a fit of giggles. Not exactly, I thought, more like the guy who holds my life tighter in his hands than he holds his dick. "No, but it is a friend that is a boy, which brings me to a lesson: friendships," I sat down in the rocking chair near the chalkboard and grabbed the copy of Charlotte's Web that I had been reading them.
During lunch I asked Katy to watch over my kids for the rest of the day. "Were there no subs available?" she asked. I shook my head, "This literally just came up or I would've scheduled this off. I'm so sorry to do this to you. I owe you big time." "You do and don't think I'll forget about it," Katy joked before waving goodbye as I left the teacher's lounge.
Outside the school, a black Sedan was parked near the school's entrance. I figured that this would be the exact car that Tom would send for me, so I opened a back door and was about to get in when Harrison turned around and said, "There's no one up here." Reluctantly, I closed the door and slid into the passenger side next to him. "Good afternoon, Miss Andi. I'm Harrison, your driver for the evening," he introduced himself as he pulled out of the school and onto the highway. "No black bag? I'm surprised?" I commented and Harrison chuckled. "Not today. Surprisingly, you're a favorite of Tom's," he replied as he sped up to pass a semi. I snorted at his comment, a favorite. Why would I be a favorite of his? And weirder yet, why was I flattered by it?
"Is it forbidden information to know where you're taking me?" I asked after ten minutes of listening to the radio. "To put it in your words, the home base," he answered. "Is it your life's mission to mimic everything I do or are you just being a jackass?" "Reminder, Miss Andi, this jackass has a loaded gun in every crevice of this car, so watch what you say to me," Harrison shifted in his seat to reveal the gun resting on his hip. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes and leant away from him, and instead looked out the window for the duration of the ride.
Harrison turned into the "home base" and pulled into a garage that had more floors underground. There had to be at least over 200 black Sedans all parked, waiting to be driven. Harrison drove to the bottom floor and parked. He left the car and opened my door for me, helping me out. I thanked him quietly as he lead me to a staircase nearby. I followed him down for what seemed like ever. "Jesus, how far underground is this place?" I muttered as we reached the bottom. "As far as Tom needs it to be. He has an international organization to run, Reese, it requires a lot of space," he said as he opened a door and led me to what seemed like a different place altogether. There were miniature chandeliers that hung from the ceiling, illuminating the navy blue walls that seemed fitting for the dark. Men in suits that were similar to Harrison's roamed around, eyeing me as they walked past, but said nothing.
"Go into the room at the end on your left," Harrison said, "I have some work to do, so unfortunately we shall be separated." I put my hands over my heart and pretended be heartbroken, "You really hurt my feelings, knowing I'll be without your presence." Harrison cracked a smile before lifting his jacket to show off the gun again. I reciprocated the grin, "At least I know when we hug, you're not excited to see me." I turned around and followed the directions he gave me.
The door to the room was closed and I was debating on knocking or just walking in when it opened and the man from the night previous answered. "Tom ask for you?" he asked and I nodded. He murmured something that I didn't comprehend before opening the door all the way, revealing Tom sat behind a desk, focused on papers. I walked in and took notice of his attire. He didn't have a jacket on like the others, but he did have a dress shirt on that matched the color of the walls and it was rolled up to his elbows, giving me an excellent view of his forearms. A cigar hung loosely from his lips, puffing smoke every few seconds and he had a gun holster strapped onto his shoulders.
"I don't have preference on whether you sit or stand, but if you keep staring at me the way you are, I'm going to have to ask Jacob here to leave and keep watch," he looked up from the papers and took the cigar from his mouth and blew the smoke at my face. "Boyish, but I like the effort," I commented before I sat down, crossing my legs as I did so, "Now what is so important that you had to take me from my class?"
"That's not the correct question to ask, Reese," he said, taking another puff from his cigar, "The right question to ask is what is so unimportant that I allowed you to delay your arrival in order to have some time with your class?" "Doesn't matter how you ask it if it leads you to the same answer," I quipped back. Tom said nothing at first, he leant back in his chair and focused on his cigar. I was beginning to grow sick of the smell, but it wasn't my place to complain about the odor.
"You did a good job with the scene, might I say," he broke the silence and focused on the papers again, grabbing a pen and jotting words down on dotted lines. I nodded and kept up my awkward silence. Tom started digging in his paper pile before finding a photo and handing it to me. "This is a bar in a city about an hour from here. The owner owes me money, but he's holding back because of taxes. You, Harrison, and Jacob here are going to get me the money," he explained as I examined the photo. The owner was behind the bar, wearing a purple and white striped apron, cleaning the inside of a glass with a rag. He was an old man, no younger than seventy, with a contagious smile plastered on his face.
"You're seriously not suggesting robbery, right?" I asked whilst nervously laughing. Tom mimicked me and leant forward. "Of course I'm not suggesting robbery," he said, "I'm demanding it." "What if we get caught?" I was starting to ramble, he seriously couldn't put me up to this job, "What happens to me then? Are you kidding me? I can't do this!" "You can and you will do it," Tom said harshly, "If you don't or you decide to run, you'll be facing worse punishment than witnessing some murder on the streets. Get out of here and bring me my money." Jacob tapped my shoulder and helped me up. The two of us left the office and were greeted by Harrison, who held ski masks in his hands. "At least you can see in this black bag," he said as he handed me a mask.
"So you teach kindergarten?" Jacob asked me as we drove to the bar. He took shotgun while I sat in the back, swimming in a plethora of thoughts. I nodded, "It's my second year." "Why kindergarten, aren't they little shits?" he asked and I smiled. It felt comforting to have a normal conversation that wasn't about murder or threatening my life. "They are, but they're little shits that haven't heard of sarcasm yet," I said, "So I can still maintain my power over them without being laughed at." Harrison piped up at this moment, "What's better, adults or kids?" "Considering the only adults I've been around recently are you guys, I'm going to have to say kids," I answered, relishing in the offended faces I received.
"I hope you know, Reese, that outside of the mafia I am a wonderful person," Harrison argued, "I like to jet ski, karaoke, and all that fun shit." "Oh I'm sure," I said, "We should just have a big work retreat at the lake to show how fun we are." "Hey we're coming up to the place," Jacob butted in, "Reese, there's a pistol in the crevice next to you, that's yours for today. Do you know how to use a gun?" I dug my hand into the crevice until I felt the cold metal of the handle around the palm of my hand. I pulled it out and placed it on my lap. I faced Jacob, who was waiting for my answer and shook my head. "I figured as much. Just pretend like you do for now, Harrison and I got you for today," he turned his back to me as Harrison pulled into a parking lot near the bar.
As we put our masks on, I felt the anxiety seep in. My legs were shaking and I wasn't sure that I could even stand without wobbling. I lifted my hand and saw how violently it trembled. I was about fucking rob someone and I had no say in it at all. It was either threaten this man's life or lose my own. Harrison and Jacob were already out of the car, their weapons tucked into their pants. They looked at me, nothing but their eyes and mouths covered by the ski masks. I looked like them, a criminal, a robber, a mobster. Harrison opened my door, "Are you coming or what?" I nodded, my breath shaky as I tried to speak. "It's going to be fine, Reese," Harrison tried to reassure me, "All you're doing is taking the money." He held his hand out and I took it, squeezing it like a stress ball as I leapt out of the car.
I followed Harrison into the restaurant, my mind racing as I watched everything go down. It was happening so quickly: Jacob kicking the door open, the both of them aiming their guns are the crowd and the bartenders, and screaming at them to show their hands. "Where's Clyde?" Jacob yelled at the bartenders, who stared at him with their eyes wide and faces pale. They didn't move or say anything, so Jacob shot the ceiling and asked them again. The one on the left pointed to a closed door about five feet from the bar, and Jacob motioned for Harrison to go into the room.
"Now, my friend here has a bag that needs to be filled with all the cash you have in that register. Do so kindly or I won't be so kind," Jacob walked with me to the register and motioned for one of the bartenders to go to the register with his gun. One of them dropped their glass and rushed to the register and opened it. Hurriedly and with his hands shaking almost as bad as mine, he threw the cash in my bag. Some bills dropped to the floor and he looked at Jacob. "Do I pick them up?" he asked, stuttering with every word. "If it's cash it goes in the bag, fuckwad," Jacob said and watched as he stumbled to the floor, fumbling for each bill that missed the bag.
By now, Harrison left the owner's office with the gun pressed against the back of the owner's head. "Get down," he kicked the back of knees, forcing him to collapse, "Where's the rest of the money? We need $10,000, Clyde." "I told you I would have it after taxes, but you sons of bitches never listen do you?" Clyde looked straight at me and I felt a stab in my heart. His head was bleeding and it reminded me of my own injury. I was in the same position Clyde was in, but somehow I got a better deal.
"Oh, we listened. We waited for a month and a half and it's still not here," Harrison chided, "So we're here. I'm going to ask this one more time, where's the fucking money?" He must've pressed the gun harder against Clyde's head, judging by his wince. "There's a safe behind the painting. Combination's 46-26-44," he confessed and Harrison released the gun from his head and a wave of relief washed over him and me.
Harrison motioned for me, "Get that money in the bag." I rushed into the room and looked for a painting. I unhooked it and saw the indent in the wall and the safe. As I did the combination, my hand shook horribly and I messed up a lot. "Come on, Andi," I whispered to myself, about to cry from frustration, "Come on." After one more failed attempt, I opened it and stuffed all the money I could see in the bag as fast as I could. I wanted out of here and I didn't give two shits about getting the right amount. Unfortunately, Tom cared so I swallowed the bile that was rising in my throat and kept grabbing the cash.
I left the office once I was done and nodded at Harrison and Jacob. "Pleasure doing business with you, Clyde," Harrison said and helped him up, "See you at Thackary." We ran out of the bar, Harrison laughing as Clyde yelled, "Fuck you!"
"So you didn't run?" Tom watched me as Jacob and Harrison counted money in the back, joking as they did so. "I thought you didn't want me to," I shrugged, looking down at my lap, twiddling my thumbs. "I didn't peg you as obedient," Tom said, "I'm impressed." "Impressed that I'm following orders so I can keep living?" I asked, still very interested in the dexterity of my fingers.
"If you're going to question my authority, have the decency to look me in the eyes while doing so," Tom ordered and reluctantly, I met his eyes. I didn't want to read them as I usually did, but I felt a tug in my gut. They held his normal disposition of authority and psychopathy, but there something laced in there, concern, maybe? Whatever it was, I didn't care for it. I just wanted to go home.
Tom nodded, "That's better. Now, as I was saying, the only reason you're still alive is because you intrigue me. You're afraid, but your fear keeps you talking and I like what you say." "At least someone appreciates my one liners," I started to look down again when Tom clicked his tongue. "I'm sorry, as much as I want to be showered with compliments because I didn't run or whatever you wanted me to do, I just want to go home," I sighed, feeling my hand start to shake again.
As usual, he didn't say anything. Instead we maintained eye contact for what might have been five minutes. I kept my eyes on his so I wouldn't get yelled at for my act of submission again and he kept his on mine for God knows what. Harrison and Jacob took notice of this and stopped counting to watch what he would do. Finally, he stood up and brushed off his clothing. "Alright," he said, "Allow me to take you."
Harrison, Jacob, and I all exchanged quizzical glances before turning to Tom. "Why not let Harrison take me?" I asked, "Since he's basically my chauffeur anyway." "Not now, Reese, you have the honor of me as your driver. Now, either you stand up and come with me or you'll stay here," Tom walked out of his office and like one of my kindergartners, I followed.
As we walked up the floors in the garage, Tom lit another cigar, the single flame from his lighter being the only source of light around. Though it was the end of April, it was still quite cold in the evenings and I couldn't help but hold my arms together and try to keep warm. "I quite like the view of the night," Tom spoke, "I didn't get to see it a lot in London because of the smog." I looked out one of the open spaces in the garage and saw that it was indeed night. The half-moon was out, supervising the stars that shone in a mix of dull and iridescent. If I were anywhere else with anyone else, I would be at ease.
On the top floor of the garage, there was a black lamborghini. Tom pulled keys out of his pocket and pressed a button, unlocking the car. He opened the passenger side door and helped me in. I quietly thanked him and said nothing as he started the car. "My car's at the school," I told him but he waved it off. "While you were out of town, I had one of my men take it to your place," he said. "Oh," I was out of words, "Thank you."
The radio was turned off and as much as i wanted it on, I kept my hands still, not wanting them to leave my personal bubble. Neither of us spoke, but we shared the awkward silence; at least, the silence was awkward for me. I started twiddling my thumbs again, thinking about the day's events. I had been part of a robbery, I committed a crime. I could go to jail, I could lose my teaching license and never see Lilah or my brother again. Tom really had me on a leash; if I disobeyed or didn't pick up a call, he could destroy me with one phone call to the police. Javi was right: I either live a life free from Tom or I die working for him. It seems my fate's the latter.
"Are you going to call tomorrow?" I broke the silence between us. "If you want to hear my voice more, all you have to do is say it," Tom deadpanned and I shook my head. "If you're going to call, I'm going to call a sub for my class instead of improvising like I did today," my voice took a sharp turn, like I was scolding him. Maybe I was. "Then no. You deserve a day off," he said, his eyes still on the road. "You care about my mental health? How sweet," I rolled my eyes and shifted my position to get comfortable. From my peripheral vision, I noticed Tom glance at my legs and I felt the need to hide them.
"Don't be too flattered, Reese. The next job is lengthy, you'll have to call off for it," he put his turn signal on and stopped at the red light before facing me. Once again, he looked me up and down before saying, "You'll also need a gown for this one." "Is this about Thackary?" I asked him, "I've heard the name thrown around a few times. It seems like a big deal."
The light turned green and Tom returned his eyes to the road and turned. He placed his hand on my thigh and grasped it tightly before his thumb started rubbing the skin in circles. He looked down at my leg and then back to my eyes, "I love these skirts you wear, Reese. Very sexy." I looked down at his hand, a familiar feeling washing over me. I wanted his hand to go farther up, but my mind was screaming no on loop.
His hand moved up higher and he hitched my skirt up slightly, massaging more of my thigh. My breath was short and my mind was melting. I didn't know why my body was reacting the way it was, but I was torn between hating it and loving it. "Maybe I should call you just so I could see you in these," he said, moving his hand higher.
Before anything else could happen, he pulled up to my building and stopped. His hand lingered on my thigh before he took it off and leant in to open my door. "I'll see you soon, Reese," he smirked as I closed the door. Once I made it to the building doors, he sped off and I was on my own again, this time mad at myself for even being remotely attracted to him.
I have no idea but I'm like so fucking inspired to write this that like once I'm done with one chapter I'm like let's do another fuck yeah. So boom, here's some content straight off the press.
Don't forget to vote, comment, and that good stuff
~Not edited~