Plausibility (28 page)

“Tina was the one to find about the chattel industry. She took some pictures of me and sent the application in from a small village in Romania.”

“Are you Romanian?”

“I have no fucking clue. My grandmother is Mexican and who knows what my father is.”

“Sorry, finish,” Aquilla said, wanting the rest of the story.

“Finish the story about Lopez or getting into being a chattel for your father?”

“I want to hear about Lopez, but I have one more question about that.”

“Okay.”

“How did Agent Dick Face get in there to be the one to pick you up?”

“Tina.” Seri offered. “He just magically appeared on there to be the one to buy me for three months. Julius didn’t like it. He ran him through a million questions in your father’s office. He was pissed that your father let an outsider come to your house. Of course, we knew where your father was and he wasn’t taking any calls. We knew Julius wouldn’t be able to talk to him and ask him about the man that he had no clue was in his home.”

“Did you fuck Agent Dick Face too?”

“No way
, that’s fucking disgusting.”

Aquilla laughed. “So you were the pussy that was taken to Lopez’s that night?”

“Yes, that was the night it was all going to go down. Tina had traced the guy’s phone and Monica and I showed up at some nasty ass bar that afternoon. He thought he was going to get laid and then just about shit his pants when we flashed our fake FBI badges.”

Monica held him at gun point in a back room while I showed him the evidence of him being involved in the drug run. He was scared shitless. The guy even cried, telling us how disappointed his mama was going to be. We kept him in that room until it was time for Lopez’s pussy to arrive.”

“Which was going to be you?”

“Yup, but in the meantime, Tina had been working on a new wire device that was totally undetectable, something she found in China. Told you she was smart, anyway, I was wired the whole time I was talking to this loser and Tina had everything that was being said transmitted to my boss now, Houston.

We had no clue if it was going to work or not. He could have very well blown it off as some smart kids playing a sick joke. He knew that I would be in that apartment at seven o’clock that night. Whether he was going to show up with a team was the question.”

“Why didn’t you send it to the NYPD?”

“We were afraid they wouldn’t care. We had been to them several times. They wouldn’t help us, even after we discovered his drug cartel. They blew us off.”

“Okay, so you show up at his apartment with this thug.”

“Yes, Lopez buzzed us up and the guy turned and left. I was glad that he wanted me to come alone. I didn’t know if this guy would give me away. So, he left and I took the elevator to his floor. As soon as the doors were opened, I was met by two guys there to pat me down. I was fucking shitting my pants. I was terrified that they were going to find the wire hidden in a cheesy headband that I had worn. I didn’t have a gun, I knew better than that; it was the wire I was worried about.”

“You went in there without any protection? Weren’t you afraid of getting yourself killed?”

“I wasn’t afraid of that. I was willing to do what I had to do to get justice for Lakota. I had already accepted the fact that I may not come out alive.”

“Did you have to fuck him?”

Seri blew out a puff of air and shook her head. “Yeah, I did, Quill. I thought I was going to be sick. That was the worse fuck I have ever had in my life.”

“Have you fucked a lot?”

“Are we talking about my sex life or Lopez here?” Seri asked.

Aquilla laughed. “Sorry, were talking about Lopez.”

“By that time, I knew the feds weren’t coming. I wanted them to be there before I had to do that. Unbeknownst to me, they were there. Monica had talked them out of raiding the place just yet. She knew that I would get him talking. Don’t ask me how she knew that, I didn’t even know that.”

“How did she talk them out of raiding the place right then?”

Seri shrugged her shoulders. “Monica can talk a dog into fucking a cat.”

“Yeah, I get that. I swore I wasn’t talking to her and she had me talking about
feelings”

“You have those?” Seri teased.

“Fuck you. What happened next?”

“Luck
, we were in his room getting it on and he wanted me to bend over the back of a chair in his room when I saw the gun. He laughed and told me that it wasn’t loaded when I pointed it at his head. I was never so scared in my life. I stood naked in front of him shaking like a fucking earthquake.

I moved the gun and shot him in the foot. He dropped to the floor, giving me the opportunity check the chamber. I had three bullets, enough to make it out alive. That’s when I relaxed and remembered what I was there for. My nerves shifted gears and I was pissed, thinking about Lakota and what he put her through.

“Do you remember Lakota Strokes, you maggot?”

“Nope, don’t know any Lakota Strokes,” he smirked, holding his foot.

“Let me remind you,” Seri said, pointing the gun at his head.

He tried to
grab it and I kicked him in the face.

“You used her to pay off a debt. You watched while she was gang raped by nine men. You shot her in the head when they were done with her. Ring any bells, fucker?”

“Oh, yeah, I do remember her. Hmmm, fine piece of ass, she was. You didn’t want her back after that. She would have been too fucked up. She was better off. It makes my dick hard thinking about those scared fucking eyes, looking up, and begging me not to kill her.”

“Oh, my God, Quill. Hearing him say that was like watching a tsunami coming toward me with nowhere to go. The thought of her lying naked on that cold, concrete floor in that dark warehouse flooded me like a mother fucker. I started shaking again, and he knew I was breaking. Thank God Houston burst in with his men once he had heard the gunshot through my wire.

He took the gun from my shaking hands and someone covered me with a trench coat. I spent the next three days locked in a room while being interrogated by none other than Houston himself.”

“And let me guess. He was so impressed with your work, he wanted you?”

“Yes. That pretty much sums it up. They had been after this guy for three years straight, and one little 20 year old kid brought him down for vengeance. I’ve been chasing bad guys ever since. I never even finished my schooling.”

“Do you like what you do?”

“No. Not so much. This wasn’t what I had in mind. I wanted to work with kids who were trending down the wrong path and help steer them in a better direction. I wanted to be a juvenile probation officer.”

Aquilla lay down and Seri followed right behind her.

“Seri?” Aquilla quietly said in the dark.

“Yeah?”

“You’re going to leave me in one more day.”

“Yeah, but I’m always going to be your girl. You’re stuck with me for life now.”

Aquilla fell asleep with a smile and a new sense of respect for Seri. She wasn’t the spoiled little rich kid that she had presumed her to be. She had a rough life without a mother or a father. She lost her only sister to a horrific murderer. She was as fucked up as Quill.

“Either we finish reading
today or I am taking your computer home with me tomorrow,” Seri warned as they dressed for breakfast the next morning.

“Let’s take it down to the lake after we eat,” Aquilla offered.

Aquilla had breakfast with the entire family out on the deck. She didn’t realize that her aunt, uncle and two cousins would be joining them, along with her grandparents. She wanted to leave and go sit in the sun with Seri and Julius. She didn’t want to entertain.

As soon as the table was clear, Seri gave her a look and a nod. Aquilla got the laptop, Seri got the blanket.

“Hey, where you guys going?” Monica called, pouting because she wasn’t invited.

“To the lake,” Seri called without turning, and throwing her hand up.

Monica stood beside Liz watching the two of them walk to the lake and spread the blanket.

“Hang in there. She’s leaving tomorrow,” Monica assured her, rubbing circles on her back.

Liz smiled a sad smile, wishing Aquilla wanted to spend the time with her that she did Seri.

Aquilla inserted the two passwords and went to the bookmarked page. They read in silence, only speaking when Aquilla asked her if she was ready before turning the page. They read a lot about the real Aquilla, and his mother. They both sniffed more than once. They read about different times that Julius had taken care of her, like when she was nine and had to have her tonsils removed.

They read two whole pages about their sex together. Julius went into quite the detail, like he wanted her to remember it too.

“Jesus, Seri. I’m horny now,” Quill admitted.

Seri laughed. “Yeah, I could use that now too,” she agreed, reading the very explicit details of his and Quill’s sex life.

Aquilla sat up from her laying position when she started reading the last of Julius’s message to her.

“Quill, this is going to be as hard for me as it is you. I am presuming that if you are reading this, you are back in New York with your family. Quill, you belong there. I want you to promise me that you will make the best of your life there. Don’t spend your time trying to find me. I want you to find a man when you are ready that will always be there for you.

I need you to promise me, Quill. Don’t wait for me. I’m not looking for you. I’m letting you go. You deserve more than I am ever going to be able to give you. Be happy, Quill. Please, for me. I love you so much and you will always be my Quill, but I am done hurting you. I am done exposing you to the life that you don’t belong in.

I’ll never forget you, baby. Not as long as I live. You will always be my Quill. Please know that I am doing this for you. This is the single hardest thing I have ever done in my life. I love you, and I will never forget our time together. I will go to my grave loving you.

Goodbye, baby.

Aquilla hadn’t even realized that she was crying. He was letting her go? He wasn’t coming for her? He didn’t want her to find him? He said goodbye. Did he really just say goodbye to her? She suddenly felt like she had inherited her mother’s asthma. There was no air. She couldn’t breathe.

“Quill?” Seri tried, placing her hand between her shoulder blades.

Aquilla stood up and wiped her face with her shirt. “He doesn’t want me,” she sobbed.

“He didn’t say that. He wants you to have more.”

“Oh God, Seri
, now what? I can’t stay here.”

“Quill, sit down.”

“No! I don’t want to sit down. I want out of here!” Quill wailed, with her head back screaming to the top of her lungs.

“Quill, stop it. You’re going to have the whole place over here,” Seri tried, coming to her feet.

Aquilla dropped to her knees and cried. She couldn’t help it. Her whole reason for existing was gone.

“What the hell happened?” Monica yelled with Liz, Reese, and her Aunt Kerri right behind them.

“Julius, we were talking about Julius,” Seri lied.

“Why? You’re not supposed to be talking to her about that stuff,” Monica yelled.

“Don’t fucking touch me!” Aquilla screamed when her mother tried to comfort her. “I have to get out of here. Seri, get me the fuck out of here!!!!” she screamed. She was crazy. She was hysterical.

Seri didn’t have a choice. She had to calm her down. She took her to the ground with flailing arms and legs. Quill gave up after a few moments and sobbed into the freshly mowed grass with Seri’s elbow holding her head down. Seri eased up and held her as Aquilla threw herself in her arms and cried.

Aquilla stayed locked away in her room for the entire day. She wouldn’t eat, wouldn’t drink and did nothing but stare into space, wishing her life was over. She couldn’t comprehend what was happening. She couldn’t comprehend the fact that Julius didn’t want her.

Seri had to spend 20 minutes lying to Monica about their conversation. Monica was pissed. She felt that they had made a lot of progress and Seri had ruined it. She would be back at square one with her.

Seri showered just before nine and joined her in the now dark room. “Go take a shower, Quill.”

“No.”

“What are you going to do, Quill? Are you just going to turn into a cocoon and wither away?”

“I hope so,” Aquilla replied and turned away from her.

“Go take a shower and I will burn one with you.”

Aquilla opened her eyes.
Hmmm. She would like to do that. She sat up. “I don’t need a shower,” she said, but did want to smoke.

“Yes, you do. I’m not sleeping with you till you do. I’ll sleep on the couch, and I’m not smoking with you till you do. Go take a shower,” Seri demanded again.

“You’re such a bitch,” Aquilla blurted, grabbing clothes from her bag.

Seri was leaning against the headboard when Aquilla returned. She handed her the lighter and joint as she scooted beside her.

They never spoke while they passed the joint back and forth.

“What am I supposed to do, Seri?” Aquilla finally spoke after refusing the joint. She’d had enough.

“What do you want to do, Quill?”

“What I want doesn’t want me.”

“I don’t know how we read the same thing. That’s not what I heard at all. He’s letting you go because he loves you, Quill. He wants more for you,” Seri explained.

“Have you ever been in love, Seri?” Quill asked, turning to face her.

Seri thought for a second. “Nah, I don’t really do the love thing.”

“Why not?
Don’t you want to find that one special person that you can’t live without?”

“No. I’m good in the love department.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know, Quill. Monica says it’s a defense mechanism because I have lost so many people in my life that I loved. She says I have an array of shields covering me to keep from getting too close to anyone. I use men to my advantage.”

“For sex?”

“Yup,” Seri admitted. She knew she probably shouldn’t be disclosing this information to her. She needed guidance and direction.

“So you have sex on the first date?”

Seri snorted.

“What?”

“Nothing, Quill
, we were talking about you, not me.”

“No. I want to know. I tell you everything. I even let you read about the things that Julius and I did. You have to tell me, Seri.”

“I don’t date either,” Seri honestly told her mater-of-factly.

“You don’t date, but you have sex with men? I don’t get it.”

“Look, Quill, I wouldn’t call myself normal in that department. I don’t date because I don’t want to know men on a personal basis, hell, I don’t even want to know their name.”

“You just want to fuck?”

“Yes. And don’t you dare tell Monica I confessed that to you. She is already furious with me because of your little meltdown earlier.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Just stay strong, Quill, I’ve never met anyone like you. You’ve got a lot going for you. You’ll find that special someone that you speak of. It doesn’t have to be Julius.”

Aquilla took a deep breath. She didn’t need that special someone. She would take Julius to her grave too. She wouldn’t love anyone like that
, EVER. She’d be just like Seri. She would use them. That’s what she would do. Fuck…That would be her new love.

“What are you thinking about, Quill?”

“Nothing, you’re going to leave tomorrow.”

Seri smiled. “But I’m only a phone call away.”

“Are you still going to go after Julius?”

“I feel like Julius has somehow slipped through the cracks. He’s un-locatable.”

Aquilla laughed. “That is so not a word.”

“But it should be.

“Thanks, Seri, for everything. I can’t imagine going through this without you in my court. And even if I can be a bitch, I do appreciate all that you’ve done.”

“You’re welcome, Quill,” Seri smiled, sliding down into the covers. She hit Quill in the face with the extra pillow. “It was probably the orgasm, the fact that I brought you to your knees with a mind blowing orgasm,” she teased.

“Jesus, Seri. Stop doing that. You make me question my sexuality.”

Seri laughed as they both snuggled into bed.

<><><>

Seri got up and got the hell out of dodge before daylight. She couldn’t stand goodbyes. She would send her a text and tell her goodbye in a couple of hours.

Monica didn’t get that one last session she had wanted to get in with Quill because of her breakdown the day before, but told her she would see her three times the next week rather than the planned two. Aquilla was fine with it. She liked Monica.

Aquilla woke to the sound of a crow bellowing right outside her window. She grabbed Seri’s pillow and buried her head. She
rose up when she felt the paper in her hand.

“Quill, I hate mushy goodbyes. Call me later,” was the extent of the note.

Aquilla smiled. Seri was gone. She knew she would talk to her and hopefully still see her, but it still wasn’t the same. She was going to miss her like crazy.

She sat up when she heard the tap on her door.

Liz smiled at her and she smiled back. “You okay?” Liz asked, still worried about the day before.

“Yes. I’m fine.”

“Do you want something to eat? We have to get going. Reese and Lil have cheerleading practice.”

“Yeah, I’m starving.” She was starving. She had refused to eat lunch or dinner the night before.

Liz smiled as Quill slid off the bed, pulled on a pair of shorts and flipped her long hair into a messy bun on the back of her head.

Aquilla felt a little ashamed as she walked out to the deck with her mom. The whole family was there. They had all witnessed her little episode and she was a little embarrassed by it.
Nobody made her feel bad about it. They talked as if nothing had happened. Quill was glad, not that she thought any of them would have had the nerve to mention it, but still.

Quill ate two plates of the scrambled eggs and three slices of toast with her grandmother’s strawberry jam. It was delicious, either that or she was really that hungry.

Aquilla tried to get away without all the hugs. It didn’t work. They all went down the line and hugged her along with Reese and her mother. As soon as her Uncle Jake was finished, she jumped in the passenger seat. That was enough of that.

Aquilla was quiet all the way back to their house. She rolled her eyes more than once at the two giggly girls in the backseat. By the time the hour and half drive was over, she was ready to pull her hair out, or theirs. She and Seri did text back and forth several times, and she talked to her mother when she would ask a question, other than that, she stared blankly out the window.

<><><>

Aquilla settled in as much as she could. She spent most of her days alone in her room. She talked to Seri every single day, and met with Monica twice a week. Her mother asked her constantly to go places with them, practices, ball games, dinner, but she wasn’t interested. She wasn’t trying to be difficult, she just didn’t want to do the things with them that they wanted to do. She knew it wasn’t fair, and she was being unfairly angry at the wrong people. She just didn’t know who she should be angry at. Was it Julius for not wanting her? Was it her father for being involved in something that put them in danger? Was it Seri for bringing them down? Was it her mother for letting her be taken? She didn’t know. She was angry at so many people for uncontrollable reasons.

“You ready?” Liz asked, tapping on Quill’s bedroom door.

“I’m ready,” she said looking up from sliding on the new sneakers that she never asked for, “But I still think it’s stupid. I already graduated. I don’t need some aptitude test.”

“You did not graduate, Quill. We’ve talked about this. You have to graduate under Shelby Rimmer. Aquilla doesn’t exist here.”