Human Blend (16 page)

Chapter Seven-- Fun

Julie woke slowly the next morning. She
remembered it was Friday, her first day off. Normally, she did not
relish days off. She was not one to sleep in, but found herself
luxuriating in it this morning. If she were normal, she would have
assumed that she was getting sick; the extreme tiredness still
plagued her. Julie wondered,
could I be losing my ability to
heal?
She had no real idea how she came about it.
Maybe it
could go away at some point
. She contemplated, as she forced
herself out of bed.

Walking into the living room, she saw a note
on the counter addressed to her. It read:

Julie,

There are eggs and bacon in the refrigerator,
along with fresh milk and orange juice. A loaf of fresh bread is on
the counter. Do not forget to eat. Enjoy your day off.

Eli

P.S. Do not come to the hospital. I will
update you on Michele if there are any significant
developments.

Julie smiled at the post script. “He knows me
already,” she laughed.

She decided to shower before breakfast.

As soon as she was dressed, she heard a knock
at the door. “Who is it?” she asked.

“It's Mrs. Gosley. The delivery man is here
with your television and stereo. He wants to know where you want it
set up?” came the reply.

Julie opened the door. “I didn't order a
television or stereo,” Julie said.

“Well, somebody did, so come on,” Mrs. Gosley
ordered, heading next door into Julie's apartment.

Julie followed her in. “Excuse me,” she said
to the man unpacking a huge flat screen television. “I didn't order
this,” she said to him.

The man stopped his unpacking to look at his
paperwork. “You Julie Miller?” he asked.

“Yes,” she replied.

“Then it's yours,” he said.

“Does it say who paid for it?” she
questioned.

“Nope,” he said and went back to
unpacking.

“Take it back. I don't want it,” Julie
ordered.

“Oh, c'mon Jules. You can't return a house
warming present,” a familiar voice said.

Julie turned around and glared at Austin. “I
want to talk to you right now,” Julie said angrily. She marched out
of her apartment and back into Eli's.

Austin gave a signal to the delivery man to
keep unpacking before following Julie. Mrs. Gosley just rolled her
eyes. “It's starting already... knew she'd be trouble,” she said,
walking back to her apartment.

Austin shut the door to Eli's apartment,
knowing Julie was going to give him a hard time. He was, however,
unable to hide his smile.

“Austin Dorsett, wipe that smile off your
face and make that man take everything back,” Julie seethed.

“Julie, just hear me out, okay?” Austin
asked.

“No, Austin. You do not get a say in this,”
Julie told.

“Can't you let me explain my side of things?
It's only fair,” Austin pleaded.

“You don't have a side. Now march back in
there right now and...”

Julie's rant was cut short as Austin put a
finger to her lips. “Just listen. If you still feel the same after
I've said my piece, I promise that I'll tell him to take it back,”
he said. He was taking a gamble that he could change her mind.

“You've got two minutes,” Julie growled.

“Okay. Can we... can we sit down?” Austin
asked.

“One minute, fifty five seconds,” Julie
replied.

Austin blew out a puff of air, as he
contemplated how to convince Julie to keep the stuff. “Let's
compromise,” he suggested. “Keep the television and I'll even watch
a chick flick, or whatever you want,” Austin tried.

Julie just folded her arms and glared at
him.

He walked over to her and touched her arms.
“Julie. I wanna do this for you... for us. If I am going over the
top, it's just because I've never felt this way about anyone. I
feel alive when I'm with you. Before you came along, I was just
going through the motions. My life was being decided for me,
whether I liked it or not,” Austin realized he was voicing his
feelings for the first time. “I actually stood up to my mom last
night,” he laughed. “I told her I was gonna go to college and get
my teaching degree,” he admitted. “She was pissed, but it felt like
I was finally standing up for what I wanted,” he said. “It's
because of you I was able to do that. Your strength in trying to
make it on your own showed me that I have the ability to do the
same thing,” Austin said.

As Austin spoke, Julie felt her resolve
melting. She relaxed her arms and sighed. “Austin. I'm proud of you
for standing up for what you want, but that came from inside you. I
really had nothing to do with it,” she said. “The television and
stereo are too extravagant. I can't accept them. Besides, you are
gonna need that money for college,” she countered.

“Actually, I won't” Austin smiled. “My Uncle
Gordi sent me a letter for my graduation. He told me that he will
pay for my college tuition,” he admitted. Julie tried to voice
another objection, but Austin interrupted. “Do me a favor? Think of
it as mine. You are holding it for me, here, at your place... just
until I get settled. I mean, I got this stuff on sale; it won't be
this cheap when I need to buy it for my place,” he said with a big
grin.

Julie shook her head, “Why am I falling for
this?” she grumbled.

Austin hugged her and spun her around. He
gave her a quick kiss and pulled her toward the door. “C'mon, come
show me where you want it,” he said.

“If I catch you gloating, the deal's off,”
she said, letting herself be pulled along.

The smile on Austin's face was infectious. By
the time everything was done being set up, Julie had a hard time
hiding her smile as well. Her smile, though, was more for Austin's
reaction than her own.

“I gotta go, Jules. Even though my mom and I
aren't on the best of terms right now, I promised to work my shift
today,” Austin explained.

“Of course,” Julie said, accepting his quick
kiss goodbye.

“Remember: picking you up at five,” he
reminded.

“Oh, right. Carnival,” she recalled.

Left alone, she turned off the television and
enjoyed the silence while she got used to her new place. She had
brought over her bag and actually started unpacking it in her new
bedroom. She had to fight the nervousness she felt. It was a
strange feeling, unpacking, hanging stuff up in the closet, and
putting clothes in dresser drawers. She knew it was going to take
some getting used to. In the back of her mind, fear of being found
by them still loomed. “I'll always have to live with that fear,”
she said aloud, as she laid down on her bed. She closed her eyes as
another memory found its way into her consciousness.

In this memory, she saw herself made up to
look much older than her youthful appearance would suggest.

A smaller woman was fussing with her brown
hair as it cascaded in curls down her back. The make-up had been
applied to make her look more mature. The dress she wore made her
feel very uncomfortable. It was low-cut and revealed more skin than
anything she had ever worn before. Her feet were already killing
her in the three inch heels she had been forced to put on.

The man she remembered as Luke entered the
room and whistled.

She shuddered along with her memory.

“
Boss is going to be real pleased,” Luke
said. “Gena, you finished?” he asked the smaller woman. She nodded
yes. “Then get out of here,” he ordered. She nodded again and left
quickly. Laney envied her escape.

She kept staring into the mirror as Luke
walked around her. He stopped and folded his arms in front of her.
“You make me look bad tonight, and something nasty is gonna happen.
You got me?” he asked.

Laney looked at him, “I got you,” she said
with a sneer. She hated this man. He was evil down to the core.

He grabbed her by the chin and squeezed her
face. “Don't be a smart ass. I'll make your life here even more
miserable than it already is,” he threatened, letting go of her
face.

“
Let's go over your role tonight, shall
we?” Luke commanded.

Laney sighed and closed her eyes briefly. “I
whisper the numbers into his ear at the tables and never leave his
side,” she recited. “What if I have to go to the bathroom?” Laney
asked.

“
Hold it,” he answered. “You just decorate
his arm and do your job. Got it?” he reiterated.

He reached for her and pulled her against
him. “Make me proud and I may be nice to you tonight,” he taunted,
crushing his lips against hers. Laney pushed back, trying to escape
the torment. His kiss was not one of passion, but of insult. He
pushed her away and smiled. He called out for Gena, who quickly
reentered the room. “You need to fix her lipstick,” he told, wiping
the color from his own lips with a triumphant grin. Laney felt sick
from the encounter.

Julie fought back the bile that was amassing
in her throat from just reliving it.

The memory jumped to later on that evening.
She saw herself on another man's arm. They were at a casino. She
didn't know what the pecking order was, but she knew this was
someone Luke answered to. She did not know his name as she was
ordered to never speak unless spoken to.

Laney felt all eyes on her and the man who
escorted her. They walked slowly around the casino floor until the
man found a table to his liking. The man sat at an open chair and
Laney stood beside him, his arm around her waist. He would give her
a squeeze indicating that he was ready for her input.

Julie again saw the numbers as clear as they
were to her on that day.

The man placed a hundred dollar chip on the
number she had whispered, and the table congratulated him on his
win when the number hit. This scenario repeated itself several more
times before the man gathered the winnings and moved on to another
table.

As the night wore on, the man was joined by
two others who addressed him as 'Boss'. They alerted him to the
fact that casino security was taking an interest in his winning
streak. The man purposely placed smaller bets on numbers other than
the ones she had whispered to him. The man then walked with Laney
and the two other men over to the cashier's window to cash in.

Julie remembered how she had hoped that meant
the night was coming to a close. Unfortunately, Las Vegas had many
casinos.

The memory jumped again to the early morning
hours of that same night.

They had just returned when Luke made his
reappearance and questioned the Boss on Laney's behavior and
performance. “How'd my girl do?” Luke asked him.

“
Very well, Lucas. She followed your
instructions to the letter,” the man said, giving Laney a smile.
“We'll incorporate this routine once every two weeks for the next
few months then expand to other locations,” the man
instructed.

“
Not a problem,” Luke responded.

The men left; Luke and Laney were left alone.
“Can I go to sleep now?” Laney asked.

Luke gave a quick laugh and wrapped his arm
around her waist. “You're not done yet,” he said, taking her back
out the door. “You have another job to do.”

Luke drove up to a modest house and parked in
the driveway. Laney knew better than to ask questions. She followed
him out of the vehicle and to the front door.

Julie's breathing became labored as she
remembered the events that took place that morning.

Luke had taken the gun out from his jacket
pocket. He kicked in the front door, setting off an alarm. “Type in
the code,” he ordered Laney. She did as she was told, the disarming
code dancing in front of her eyes. Laney stood still as she heard
screams and then gunshots before running toward the sound. She
stared in horror as Luke pumped two more rounds into the bodies on
the bed. Her instinct to run over and help the victims was about to
kick in when she heard a sound behind her.

Standing in the hallway was a small child.
She was rubbing her eyes. “Mommy,” she said, sleepily. Laney
scooped the child up and quickly went down the hall with her. She
didn't want her to see the carnage Luke had created.

Tears streamed down Laney's face as she put
the child back in her bed. “Shh. It's okay little one. Go back to
sleep,” Laney consoled.

“
I want Mommy,” the little girl said, but
turned over and drifted back to sleep. Laney's hands were shaking
as she covered the little girl before closing her door.

Luke was standing in front of her. “Why did
you do that?” Laney whispered. “What did these people do to you?”
she cried.

“
They pissed me off. Bad things happen
when you piss me off,” Luke answered. “Now move out of the way,” he
ordered.

“
You are not going to hurt that child,”
Laney blocked the door to the little girl's room. Luke pushed Laney
against the wall.

“
You don't get to tell me what I can and
can't do,” he seethed. He reached for the doorknob.

“
Luke, please... don't. She's just a
little girl. Please, I'll do anything,” Laney pleaded.

“
You already do anything I ask,” Luke
grinned.

“
What if I told you something you didn't
know.” Laney tried to think of something that would prevent Luke
from harming the child.

Luke narrowed his eyes. “Let's hear it,” he
ordered.

“
There's a safe... in the bedroom... I saw
the numbers,” she confessed.

Luke smiled and gestured toward the bedroom.
“Well, let's go then,” he said. Laney kept her eyes on him as they
walked back to the bedroom.

The memory began to fade then and Julie
opened her eyes. Her face was wet from freshly shed tears.

“Julie!” she heard Eli's voice in the other
room calling out to her. She sat up on her bed a bit dazed as Eli
came into the bedroom. “Julie, I got concerned. I knocked and
called out to you, but you didn't answer,” he said.