MS - Rav's newest story

[Friðbjörn]

I'm glad this is picking up again, this has too interesting of a twist for me to want to leave it alone

[Ravynlee]

I'm glad this is picking up again, this has too interesting of a twist for me to want to leave it alone

Thanks!

[andrea]

Right now I have nothing to say expect that I'm shock and that I want to kick Mike's ass, lol. I'm just kidding. This is going to be good. Even thought I disgusted with what's going to happen to Rashell I can't wait for it to play out, .

 

The references to my favorite show made me laugh. Nice to see that in there.

[woodyloveslinkin]

backtracking story

 

Bobert

 

 

ahahahahahahahahaha! now i know he ain't just a stump no more he's a bobby pin.

 

:thumbsup: Keep it up woman. You're on a roll with the getting-off-your-ass-and-writing-something!

[Ravynlee]

Thanks guys

 

Rashell, I know this deviates from your original idea but I just came up with this today and it seemed to make some sense - at least I hope so. Hope it fits even a little of what you wanted ^^ Enjoy.

 

---

 

131 East 71st Street Upper East Side Manhattan was the new address Rashell was now to call her home.

Standing out on the curb with her head tilted back she stared upwards at the lifeless veneer of the brown and terracotta townhouse and felt her shoulders sag beneath her jacket. For some reason it looked a lot more appealing in the picture than it did in person as she pouted to herself dubiously.

The four bedrooms four-bathroom 5,400 square foot townhouse sprawled upwards from the curb for five stories, the wrought iron gates, the window trimmings, even the front doors of the main entrance all black demanded attention in a less than inviting fashion. Still, the neighbourhood was pretty enough, and the fact it was so close to both Park and Lexington Avenues made it an envious piece of property indeed. It must have cost a fortune, Rashell was sure she could almost taste the scent of money on the air when she breathed. Twisting topiaries in pots and small trees naked of foliage offered some relief from the building’s almost prison-like façade and though it was sandwiched between two taller structures it was what lay within that had really captivated the young woman’s attentions.

She felt like she had walked into a dream when she first stepped inside. The sound of her heels clicked sharply against the polished bamboo floors and echoed endlessly off the white walls and high modern ceilings. High-hatched windows let the natural light flood in from seemingly every vantage point in every room she entered. Everything was so white, so clean and crisp and clear giving off that new show-room feel that made Rashell stand back in awe rather than embrace it as her new homely environs. Built-in Miele appliances adorned the kitchen that opened up to a large formal dining area furnished still in that constant white and glass, a constant theme that carried on right throughout the rest of the enveloping rooms. Outside an established Japanese garden dominated the right of the terrace. To the left an in ground pool glittered in front of a nest of tropical foliage still struggling to brave colour despite the dismal midwinter conditions. At the rear of the kitchen grand curved stairs swept up to the second floor, featuring the grand library, the master bedroom, and the master bath along with a 12-foot walk in closet. Rashell had almost squealed with delight when she saw that - and the potential of what she could do with a space like that, God (and finances) willing. Beyond, finely matched marble and Dornbracht fixtures adorned the master bathroom complete with a steam shower and separate bowl like tub. The remaining floors contained the additional guest bedrooms, each with separate bathrooms and robes, with the fifth floor afforded it’s own additional terrace in the rear offering resplendent views over the grand garden of the famed Paul Mellon House on East 70th street. There was even a media room fully wired with a T-3 computer network and an iPod integrated sound system that could be accessed from any room of the house with the flick of a button. Mike would be in his element up there, she thought to herself, happy to dream that he would prefer this new luxury for working purposes rather than have to spend all his time at that damned club in the pits of Midtown now. And with that a shudder ripped through her. With a deft smile she was quick to push it from her mind. As she wandered she contemplated how much it would take to convert one of the upstairs rooms into a nursery for when the baby finally arrived. She told herself it probably wouldn’t take much to have an intercom system set up so she could be able to hear the baby no matter which part of the house she was in. Still it was an awfully big house for just the two of them, she thought, three once the baby - or babies - was born of course.

Standing there at the double wide back door looking out at the gardens she found herself gently stroking the stomach of her heavy winter coat and let out a small uneasy chuckle. She sounded nervous. Though it had only been a few weeks, and her baby was still not much larger than a bean-sized fetus at the moment, she still found the prospect of impending motherhood a strangely daunting and equally exciting time in her life. How she had been wanting and waiting for this to happen for so long - it was like one of the major missing pieces of her married life had finally fallen into place and she was already glowing with what the future was yet to hold. Still, the usual old fears and uncertainty still nagged away at her so. Logically and despite the initial sterility and unfamiliarity of her new abode she knew she just needed time to adjust and settle herself in before the baby came and things would keep falling into place as they had been - but part of her still doubted if even the five wood burning fireplaces scattered throughout and the central air would be enough to put her at completely at ease. Despite everything she couldn’t help but feel a sense of longing for the familiar now left behind on the other side of the city, and more than anything she missed her husband that had once again come up truant for this otherwise special occasion. Though this move was supposed to symbolize a new start together, just her and Mike, something that they could share in and relish and grow old together like any new investing couple should, it did come as a shock to her when he had sent one of his lackey’s in his stead with the usual excuse that something had come up at the last minute that was just unavoidable and promises of course to meet up with her when he got home - whenever that was supposed to be.

Though she had in part suspected it Rashell was finding it harder to accept his truancy lately, noting that things seemed to be cropping up altogether too much these days and had done since Christmas morning when she finally gave him the news that she had been bursting forever to confess. Though she didn’t want to admit it to herself Rashell was almost certain her husband was not as thrilled as he pretended to be on the news of his impending fatherhood. It was almost as if he was too scared to face her she pondered, but then she told herself with a reprimanding snort to stop jumping to otherwise unfounded conclusions. He was just busy and he was probably still a little in shock, lord knew she was still feeling a little rattled by it all too despite her several weeks grace. Still that feeling of unease wasn’t leaving her alone no matter what she said or did or told herself, and followed her from room to room now as she surveyed her new house like a second ominous shadow stalking her every move.

[Ravynlee]

The removalists seemed set to their agenda and were relatively easy to direct around the townhouse like pieces on a chessboard. Rashell wondered if it was just her good fortune to have un-surly cooperative removalists do her bidding or if the affluent neighbourhood here made them so agreeable, despite her occasional impulses to move things around to another position according to her shifting whims. Whether they were mad at her or not they didn’t show it, even as she tried to initiate loose impersonal conversation with one of them over the positioning of some cabinet he hefted in from the back of the truck. By this point and still scared at the prospect of being in this new big house surrounded by no one she knew and with nothing else to distract her in a home that seemed virtually set up from the get-go, she was desperate for company in an almost pathetic way. Time however moved agonisingly slow throughout the entire day as she sat, strolled and stared out one of the many ceiling high windows praying for her husband to come home and join her.

By late afternoon however the heavens had opened up and revealed another bitterly cold smattering of sleety snow.

Squeezing the heavy coat around her Rashell groaned in frustration as she withdrew the cell phone from her ear and snapped it shut with a sigh. She stared disappointedly out the window at the street hoping to catch sight of a familiar face but her grip only tightened its comforting stranglehold around her waist. Damn message bank. Where the hell was he? Surely he was okay wasn’t he? Why wasn’t he returning any of her calls? What on earth could have possibly been so important to keep him away from her for all this time without so much as a text message to let her know he was still thinking of her and would be home soon? Shaking her head Rashell turned her back to watch the removalists manoeuvre a box past the open doorway. Between his big beefy hands she read the word ‘Albums’ on the side written in thick black marker.

“Oh wait,” she called urgently. “Please, leave it here. Thanks.”

For the rest of the afternoon and well into the early evening she remained there kneeling on the living room floor sipping a hot cup of cocoa and staring at the pictures spilling from crowded folders and behind dusty frames with a smile coming and going distantly across her face.

There were pictures of her as a young girl in each usual successive milestone, and others of her parents that sent pangs of guilt and longing through her that she was quick to smother before moving on to something else. There was another of her in her Prom dress with some guy she had long since lost contact with, and others still of a past long since left to the ravages of time with the corners folded and aged and just like their accompanying memories torn and fading around the edges. In another pile she discovered a photograph of herself and Mike together posing around the side of a table at some a la carte café at night. It had been years ago and she didn’t remember exactly where it was taken or who had taken the picture but the sight of his black hair died red and meticulously spiked brought tears of delight to Rashell’s misting eyes.

They had barely been dating then, just two young college students looking forward to their planned futures like anyone else would, and in a sea of hundreds of thousands they both blended in generally unnoticed by one another for at least that first initial year of studying. But from the minute they passed on that grassy quad something about him had caught her eye and her fascination obviously left an indelible mark on him too as he grinned back at her. He was tall and quiet and kept to himself most of the time when she happened to catch a fleeting glimpse of him on their way to separate classes. She was studying the literary arts at the time and he was studying graphic art, differing branches of the same faculty, which meant they were usually in close proximity compared to the rest of the old brownstone campus. He was a born talent in almost every medium he set his mind to and even back then Rashell could remember reading his name on amateur exhibition flyers and marvelling to herself that he had an almost indomitable pull about him that left her wanting more. When he smiled he made everyone around him break out in unison too and when he was brooding people just knew to stay away - not that it happened that often. But even in those formative days Rashell just knew he was the one for her - even if at first the attention seemed to be all one-sided.

One of the fondest memories Rashell had of those early days was during one of his joint class exhibitions held off campus that she had attended purely in the hopes that he would see her and notice her and like one of her many fantasies come along and generally sweep her off of her feet. While she spent the first half of the night berating herself for thinking she even had a chance at someone like Mike Shinoda she had been caught completely off guard when she felt a big warm hand gently slip into hers and turned to find him smiling down at her appreciatively. He later admitted he’d been so nervous in the public eye that the minute he saw a familiar face that he walked up along side her and took her hand and had held on to it firmly for the rest of the night. He didn’t let go until his parting kiss on the cheek just outside her dormitory door after endless coffees and conversation early the next morning. They had been so young then, naïve in some ways; she too shy to do much but smile back at his winks and passing gestures with hot cheeks and wet eyes on the rare occasion they met, and he had always been too driven and focussed first-and-foremost on carving a niche for himself in college to really devote himself to anything else much less pursuing any kind of romantic courtship. It wasn’t until after they graduated that they met up again by chance years later at Jason’s orientation and the chance presented itself again. And predictably, as with everything else about their courtship thus far, it had been far from conventional, or for that matter easy.

Mike had taken her to dinner several times but always in far out of the way places that Rashell spent more time getting to than ever actually enjoying with him. At first she had put it down to his strange impulsive quirk that all artists were said to have, and it was actually romantic to think he seemed to go to so much trouble trying to woo her after she had spent much of her college years thinking so obsessively about him. Still, he needn’t have tried so hard for she was certain she fell for him the first time he had ever smiled at her, but there had always been an unsettling way Mike had pursued her right up until the day they were legally joined as husband and wife with an almost autonomous zeal - as though she were just another box for him to mark off on his life’s list of to-do’s to be considered a so-called success.

[Ravynlee]

What a silly thought that was, she snorted to herself sadly, and shaking her head gently laid the pictures aside along with all the others.

Sipping her drink she let her eyes wander up and around the new surroundings marvelling at the way the diffused light from the snowy sky and the street lamps painted the walls and ceilings with a child like wonderment. She had so much to be thankful for and so much still to look forward to that even thinking stupid thoughts about Mike or their past or any other apparent unsavoury dealings he undertook filled her up with guilt and remorse that hurt more than the thoughts themselves did. He was a good man and in her heart she still believed it, even if she couldn’t hide her disappointment that he seemed to be putting everything else in the way ahead of her now, not including the new life currently taking shape inside her glowing body. And as much as she hated the club and the wares and debauchery he peddled she had to accept it because it made him happy and that was what a good caring wife was supposed to do, or so she reminded herself with that same forcibly content smile. It sat as though it had been carved into her flesh with a knife.

This new alien emptiness had settled throughout the house once the removalists and company left, and left her completely and utterly alone to herald in her first night by herself in the new townhouse. It suffocated the noise, the life, and dissected her from the goings on of a bustling city happening right outside her very front door. But surrounded by such finery and grand open space and glittering gleaming smooth polished finery she knew she had no rights to complain. Still, she did find it ironic to marvel at the concept that the more money people had at their disposal the more space they seemed to culminate around them, almost like Mike had bought something so big now to fill the gap his constant absence left - but it did little to quash the feeling in her that they had both paid for it all not with cash but with their souls, and what was worse it was something they would never be able to undo. For better or worse she was here now, a willing servant locked in solitary confinement in a prison where there was only one bar set in silver and wrapped securely around her ring finger, Til death do us part, or so she had vowed.

Sadly Rashell cast her eyes once more down at the pictures stacked neatly beside her and wondered with her smile softening when the man she married was finally coming home to be with her. She missed him. Though the man she lay with at night wore his face and used his voice, he even smiled his same Cheshire-cat smile, in her heart Rashell knew in a way that words couldn’t say just how much he wasn’t who he appeared to be on the outside for the whole world to see. The light, that spark, the life she had fallen in love with in Mike’s eyes had gone out the night his brother had died and she hadn’t seen him since in a very, very long time.

 

 

 

---

 

Now bear in mind I haven't reread much of what I have already written months ago so arguably some things might not completely add up. I hope I'm wrong about that but really I'm just too lazy to go through it all to see if the pieces fit I WILL say though that if you need any such inconsistencies ironed out that we could just chalk it down to mere human error; even characters have differing points of view and their own version of events that took place in their (fictitious) pasts. Let's just say maybe that's what happened - if it happened, like I said I'm lazy. Sue me. Good luck getting anything other than words from me though, I spent the day writing this instead of studying so you won't get blood from a stone :-P

 

Well fingers crossed it all tied together coherently at least.

And Mike with Red hair - I couldn't help it! Early LP days! Ah god bless my old picture folders...

[crazy robster]

Oh wow I bet no one has ever done so much research just to describe a house in their story! Descriptions are your forte right my sweet? It certainly shows! Nice house mind you... Can I have one too? Poor Rashell though she's going to spend most of the time in there alone, thinking of Mike, who spends his time at the club conspiring and occasionally getting BJs from the dancers (sorry that scene has just stuck in my head, I can't help it). I feel sorry for her, I really do, she's so nice and Mike is so blinded by his power that he can't see anything or anyone else. Not even his wife and unborn child! You know my sweet, as a Greek, I have to inform you that in ancient Greek tragedies the main character was always too arrogant and ambitious and blinded by power which always and inevitably led to his/her doom. I don't think Mike will end up differently if he keeps up like this. He may be powerful but he's also human, he's not God Almighty! Get a grip Mike, get a grip! I loved it as always and I am impatient for the forthcoming Joel-Jojo scene oh I sooo wanna read that!! <3 Thanks for updating my belovedness, you know we all look forward to your updates more than a kid looks forward to Xmas!! *hugs*

[Ravynlee]

Aww you're too kind sis, bless your heart

 

Since you ask description IS my forte as much as it is my curse. I have some 50+ pages of extra stuff I have taken out of this story since it started that just ranted out of control. I do that too much. Luckily I'm studying to hone this skill to a manageable art but for now you'll have to deal with my long winded descriptions. Sorry, I just visualize and lose myself in it. It can be harder to sit back and let the reader just imagine all the finer points than it is actually writing it all in. It's a little egotistical of me to think no one could imagine things as succinctly as I pen them but then when it comes down to it that in itself is an impossible ask - no one sees what I see and nor should you. Its what you see that makes it real (in your imagination) for you. Kudos to the power of the imagination I say. here-here. *applauds* (<---see - rant-crazy :o)

 

As for Mike I'm sorry that admission you had there (BJ) made me laugh out aloud. Funny out of everything that happened you remember THAT most of all hahaha. Oh dear. Still laughing about it to myself. No matter, dare I be so brash to assume Mike the character obviously enjoyed himself too - or else he'd be home with his wife doing what he SHOULD be doing *shakes head* That's fiction for ya

 

The tragedy you refer to in mythology, yes I understand. Aren't most stories of so-called big-time crooks taken from such references? Mike and his empire is arguably doomed but having said that corruption in many facets really drive our modern society so really it's not a case of him inevitably collapsing beneath his own (ego) power. I am trying to steer towards a showdown between Chester and him and even now I have no idea what will come of it. I hope I can make it that far without losing faith or the plot (literally) in the meantime.

Fingers crossed it all works out in the end. If I get there. I get distracted far too...

 

lalala :lol:

 

Rashell is a character to counterbalance her husband. She's the face of tragedy to the tragedy that shaped the man she loves' past. Make sense? It's not that pretentious (or deliberate), I just wanted her to be the conscience that he's slowly losing as time goes on. She will eventually open her eyes and see what she has to do but for now she is enough just where she is. I relate to her pain as the writer and I hope that shows through when you read it. I'd hate to be in her shoes but then I think in her situation I don't think I would be doing any different - we'll never know I guess.

 

Now yes you and Joel (sis) are coming along soon enough. I couldn't rush into it without making you (as a character) look like a skank. So now you're figuratively clear to open yourself up to the love of a new man that you were lacking all this time previous in the story. Everything (mostly) happens for a reason (sort of) haha.

Hope when it comes it's not an anti-climax. That's a major fear for me you know (performance anxiety in literary form) Anyway see what develops.

 

Thanks again for the feedback. Means the world, you know it ^^

More soon.

[Friðbjörn]

such a sweet description of them passing and casting glances in collage. that awkward shy romance...really beautiful chapter

[andrea]

Aww poor Rashell indeed, lol. Actually your version of how Mike and Rashell meet was a lot better then the one I had in mind. I really like. Laughed a few times, including the red hair being mentioned. Can't wait for more to come.

[Ravynlee]

Thanks guys

 

And Mike's opinion on it all?

 

http://www.offtopic.forum/data/MetaMirrorCache/84f532b184b8e3577ad5c181e732cf1d.jpg

 

Haha - makes me laugh :rofl:

[Ravynlee]

Double post alert, yes I know 0_o

 

Okay, here's the rest of that chapter I was working on last night and never got around to finishing. Slowly tying the threads together now

 

Hope it makes sense as always - and enjoy

 

---

 

“So how long you sticking around for this time?”

“What? Can’t I just spend some quality time with my dear sweet baby sister and crew without needing an ulterior motive?”

“I know you Matt. I know how you operate. There’s always a catch. Last time-”

“Last time was in the past. I told you, I’m straight now. Sober. Look at me, I can even be seen out in public without making a spectacle of myself,” he declared with a goading grin.

Sarah blinked back impassively.

“What do you want?” Sarah grunted. She sat poking at her over-cooked and equally overpriced McDonalds meal with a less than enthused look on her face. Beside her Ava was hungrily gorging herself on cookies and ice cream beneath her mother’s beguiling gaze. Though Sarah didn’t approve of her daughter’s choice of food she was relieved at least she was eating it without fuss or tantrum, and the fact Matt had paid for it all was a once-in-a-lifetime miracle that was never likely to come their way again. Sweeping her hair out of her face Sarah nibbled on her fries as Matt devoured the last of his two burgers before he sat back and proudly expelled a loud satisfied belch towards the ceiling.

Sarah rolled her eyes while Ava giggled.

“Eat up,” she urged, in a ‘don’t encourage him’ tone of voice.

Stroking his stomach lost somewhere beneath his layers of baggy clothes Matt continued to grin at them both like the keeper of some grand universal secret.

“And where did you get the money from for this? You’ve never had money before. Is that what this is all about, extortion?”

“Jesus sis, lighten up.”

“I wish I could Matt, but past experience’s and all-”

Matt waved his hand in the air dismissively and rolled his eyes away. He watched a group of young girls pass with a sly grin spreading across his face. Lifting the coloured glasses from his eyes he chuckled, more than likely getting some perverse thrill out of his sister’s embarrassment across the other side of the table.

“God, the past, the past, what is it with you and that shit? Can’t you learn to move on? You need to let go of it sis. What crawled up your ass and died anyway?”

“Not in front of Ava.”

“Sorry, backside,” Matt corrected with a patronizing leer.

Ava continued to giggle at him like he was a constant source of amusement as Matt happily played along. Pulling faces and utilizing two straws to poke from his upper lip or behind his ears or even sticking out of them had the little girl lulling about in her seat in veritable stitches. More food began spilling from her mouth than went into it. Quickly exasperated by her brother’s childish antics Sarah shoved her chair back and quickly ended it with a curt goodbye.

“Come on, sweetheart,” she told her daughter as she urged her from her chair. “Mommy’s got to go to work-”

“Oh come on,” Matt cried. In typical Matt fashion it was too loud, too dramatic and too irritating to possibly be ignored. Feeling eyes on her from the other patrons streaming through the Mall with their offensive stares Sarah quickened her pace to get both herself and her daughter, who was now making something of a spectacle herself, as far away from the situation as she could without further embarrassment. As Ava stamped her feet and kicked off a shoe Sarah stared back at her brother waiting for her daughter to hurriedly put it back on. At last she could hold it in no longer, the look on his face (as ridiculous as it was behind those blue shaded lenses) and the patronising smirk he was now possessing finally sending her over the edge to stoop down across the table and glare back into his face.

“Are you dealing again?” she demanded hotly, trying to keep it as hushed as she could manage and failing miserably. “You know what I’m talking about Matt. Don’t look at me like that. I’ve seen enough of what you can do when you get half a mind to go partying or whatever you want to call it. I don’t want that around my daughter Matt, brother or not, god knows her father was-”

Snapping her mouth shut to keep the rest of her thoughts locked tightly where they belonged Sarah could only snort back at her brother before the silly smile he was still giving her forced her to push herself upright and begin to walk away from him.

“You’re being a drama queen,” he called out nonchalantly after her.

“Are you’re being a jackass!” Sarah snapped back.

Outside the restaurant now and hurrying towards the escalators dragging a whining Ava alongside Sarah wasn’t appeased - or surprised - when she heard the sound of footsteps rushing up behind her.

“Sarah, look-”

“I don’t want to hear it, Matt. I’m already going to be late as it is and if I don’t at least get Ava back in time for Jos to-”

“What’s the drama? Let me take her.”

[Ravynlee]

Sarah scoffed and glared at him suspiciously out if the corner of her eye. “You? Are you kidding me? I wouldn’t trust you with my TV let alone my daughter Matt, not even for five seconds-”

“Come on, I’ve been good, I’ve been better than good. Haven’t I behaved my self all over Christmas?”

“Christmas is when um Santa Claws comes,” Ava added with a smile.

Looking down at her Matt smiled and patted her head playfully. Ava giggled. Sarah folded her arms across her chest and looked away. She was trying for what it was worth to maintain her stubborn front but seemed insecure about her ability to keep it up faced with her brother’s painfully innocent façade.

“Well,” she muttered against her better judgement.

“And,” he interjected with an increasingly confident grin. “I have been out looking for work, just like I said I would. In fact I even have an interview later on this morning you know.”

“Is that so?”

“Way so,” Matt agreed.

“Doing what exactly? The only thing you’re qualified to do I can’t say aloud, little ears are present.”

“Sales.”

“Sales. My point exactly.”

“Cars.”

“Cars?”

“Can’t say I’m not qualified. I can talk my way out of anything as you so often remind me,” he said.

Watching Sarah’s tough act crumble enough to let a small laugh through he grinned back in triumph. Now on a roll and primed to completely win her over Matt was quick as ever to turn on the charm, promising his sister on pain of death that he would take the utmost care with his precious cargo and vowed that she was after all family. If she couldn’t trust family, he began to argue.

“Let’s not go there,” Sarah said, cutting him off with her smile wavering somewhere between amused and cautiously pessimistic.

With a burdened sigh, and a quick irritable glimpse at her watch she soon relented with a nod and bowed to kiss her little girl goodbye. After extracting promises from Ava that she be a good girl for her uncle (and more importantly not to do anything she knew she wasn’t supposed to regardless whether he said it was okay or not) Sarah stood up to face her brother with her list of demands ready to fire back at him poised upon her lips.

“Trust me, I got this,” Matt assured her with his hand raised in surrender. He looked like he was about to testify to the God’s honest truth in the venerable court of the Union City Mall. Pursing her lips Sarah smiled back gravely and held his eyes a moment to stress the gravity of the decision left to him. Matt was all smiles as he slid an arm around his niece and nursed her against his side as together they bid her a good day at work and watched Sarah quickly hurry away. Calling out declarations of love they waved until the young doctor disappeared down the sloping escalators before Matt finally turned to his niece and sighed.

“So what do you want to do today? You want to hang with me or go back home and wait for that lady to baby-sit you?” he asked her as if it were the child’s decision to make.

Ava shrugged as she scuffed a black sandshoe into the linoleum and nervously tucked a stray wisp of hair behind her ear.

“I dunno. Hang with you Uncle Matt. You’re funny.”

“You think so, huh? I’m glad at least someone in this family finally appreciates my sense of humour,” Matt confided quietly. “So you ready for an adventure? Got your hiking boots on?”

“Uh hu,” Ava nodded as she clasped his hand. “Where we going?”

“To see a friend.”

“What’s his name?”

“Yeah, what is his name, Party Boy?”

Hearing the sound of a third party interrupt at his back Matt rolled his eyes and stood upright, stiffening his shoulders like a man getting ready to fight despite the smile growing on his face.

Maintaining his grip on Ava’s little hand as she shrunk against his legs Matt slid his eyes aside watching the two men round on him. They were both shorter than him so it was no trouble to look each one in the eyes, but wary of people streaming past on all sides Matt kept up the impassive charade hoping he didn’t come across too patronising.

“Fancy seeing you here. I thought you’d crawled under a rock somewhere and died.”

“No. Very much alive,” Matt said tightly. The smile he wore did not match the look of disdain boring back from beneath the blue coloured lenses.

“We can fix that, homes.”

“Yeah, where’s our money dog?”

“I told you,” Matt said as patiently as he dared manage. “I don’t have it right now, I’m working on it.”

“Well howsabout we work on your pretty face, yo, or maybe your pretty little girl here?”

“Yo man, she yours? And ‘Zem told me you didn’t have a dick man, much less the balls to be a father.”

To the two men’s chiding laughter Matt slid his arm around his niece and hefted her up onto his waist. Warily Ava clung to him, cringing into his jacket as Matt muttered something discreet and comforting into her hair. As she burrowed her little face into his shoulder Matt looked at the other two with the first glimpse of smugness flashing on his face.

If you only knew who her father was you wouldn’t be saying that, he said with his eyes. The two men continued to laugh at him and circle him like jackals surveying a freshly slain carcass.

[Ravynlee]

They were challenging him getting in his face practically spitting at him as they enunciated their threats but Matt remained cool and calm and composed hugging his niece who was whimpering against him, as much as a shield as in consolation.

“Red wants her money, man.”

“You’d better pay up Party Boy. Queer Boy. We’ll break more than your pretty gay face if you don’t come up with goods, yo.”

“You’d better believe it.”

“Tell her I’ll have it-”

“Yo you can tell her yourself. You’ve got a week.”

“If you don’t man she’ll come collect herself-”

“And you don’t wanna piss off that home girl-”

“That bitch is crazy-”

“I said I’ll have it.”

“Yeah you will, bitch-”

“Or she’ll call collect on your punk ass-”

“Come on.”

Surveying the scene with wide cautious eyes one of the men grabbed the arm of his companion and began tugging his sleeve. With a sideways nod of the head, and a parting swipe that knocked Matt’s glasses to the floor with a clatter, the two of them scurried away with the squeaking of their shoes eventually swallowed up by the general hubbub of the shopping Mall.

Huffing to himself Matt reassured Ava who he could feel shaking against him and stooped down to snatch his glasses up. He groaned. Two more sets of shoes were steadily approaching him and came to a stop a few feet away. Matt groaned as he stood up and wiped the dirty lenses of his glasses on the leg of his jeans.

“What is it now?” he muttered irritably.

Whether he had been rattled at the confrontation or the fact the noticed the jagged crack that marred the thin blue glass he forced a awry smile as he cast his eyes in an opposing direction. He didn’t have to see their badges to know they were cops, despite the fact they were informally dressed and doing their best to look like anyone else meandering aimlessly in this place. There was something about two men, as stocky or as weedy and as stony faced as those two walking a crowded shopping complex without either shopping bags or any other guise for their apparent patrol that led Matt to the assumption that they had to in effect be homosexuals pretending not to be, or what was worse, cops. As it turned out he was right on the latter.

“Madden, Friðbjörn, NEU,” the stocky one with the shaved head and tattooed neck said.

“So?” Matt shrugged. He watch them discreetly flash badges beneath billfold and jacket before meeting their eyes again with a return to his usual cockiness. “Pretty. Buy them at a thrift shop? I was thinking of getting one too you know. Impress the ladies.”

The tattooed man s******ed while the other one, the pale dirty haired one looked around almost embarrassedly. Matt laughed. It was low brief and goading. ‘You can’t touch me’ it said to them.

Benji too surveyed the scene looking back in the direction the two thugs had just fled. It occurred to Matt to ask why they didn’t uphold their civil duty and give chase but fell uncharacteristically silent when he saw the way the other cop was suddenly studying his niece. Almost as if he knew her, Matt panicked. The possibility that they were here to steal her away and do god-knew-what to her just to stir their ongoing shit with her otherwise unawares father had Matt tighten his grip around the still cowering little girl. Damn pigs. Couldn’t they just leave everyone alone? She was a kid for god’s sake! If anything happened Sarah would-

“Friends of yours?” Benji had asked. He stood waiting for an answer with his brows raised. Matt shrugged with a pout and feigned ignorance.

“Never seen them before in my life.”

“I bet,” Benji smiled. He was obviously in a playful mood today which was good to see, considering he was short, stocky, and looked like he belonged more in a motorcycle gang than wielding a badge and handgun for a living. “So what, you into pushing kids now instead of rocks, is that it?”

“She’s my niece, dip shit.”

“Oh. My bad,” Benji chuckled without seeming to mean it. With a sly glimpse aside to his partner, that still was as yet to even so much as say a word, the cop took it upon himself to bow closer to the cowering child and ask her what her name was.

“None of your business,” Matt snapped taking a backwards step. He knew what they were up to, he knew that the observant one was taking mental notes, they were cops after all, playing good-cop bad-cop as all the sick fucks liked to do for their own sick enjoyment, but Matt didn’t want to play their game and especially not with a frightened four year old bearing silent witness. What if she dropped Chester’s name? Matt suddenly thought worriedly to himself, not giving pause to their actually being a reason for her to do so. What if they saw the resemblance? What if they put two-and-two together, what if, just what if? There went his bargaining chip with his old friend Chester C Bennington and any hope of cashing in on the grand rewards that would come his way when the besieged mogul finally won his reprieve from jail to start his old empire back up again. But they were talking to him again, first the thugs now them - Matt rolled his eyes with dramatic emphasis to show them he didn’t want to hear what they had to say. Pretending to focus on his broken glasses Matt listened to the barrage of predictable questions that followed. How long had he been back in town again? What was his business here? (As if they had any right at all to ask, bastards) How long was he staying? Was he still associating with the old crew and if he was had he caught up with any of them lately?

Yeah, sure, you just let two of them escape out the front doors you brainless morons, he wanted to say. Instead Matt limply shrugged and shook his head. They weren’t getting anything from him much less a friendly smile and a handshake.

“So you mean to tell me you’ve been back in the city all this time and you haven’t had anything at all to do with Fox or Chester’s old crew? Good old party boy like you?”

[Ravynlee]

Matt repressed the urge to give Benji the finger but let the sour look on his face say it instead. More than likely it was an indication they had been watching him for some time and had overheard the confrontation just now but in typical blue-blood fashion stayed back to let the elements play themselves out and come in at the end to report it.

“We can help you, you know. If you owe them money we can help.”

“Yeah, and get shot in the process. No thanks.”

“Better they shoot you than us,” Benji said as though it were nothing more than an amusing anecdote. Looking aside at his partner Benji’s playful demeanour fell away. His eyes refocussed on Matt but Matt for the moment preferred to stare at his sidekick rather than say anything that was likely to get him into any further trouble.

“You know you can’t keep playing this game, right? Sooner or later Chester’s girlfriend will fall and when she does she’s going to take all her old buddies down with her, you know that, don’t you?”

“I know this is called harassment. I know that much.”

“Look, Matt, I’m going to be straight with you-”

“I’d doubt that. You cops are trained to lie.”

Huffing out a sigh Benji briefly fell silent. It was obvious he was shifting tact like a gear stick in a laden semi-wheeler.

“Okay, if that’s the way you want to play it…”

“Think of your family,” the young cop to Benji’s right finally uttered. The sound, not so much the words, drew both men’s eyes upon him as the detective said it again. “Think of them.” He was looking at Ava again and her blue eyes stared back with as much fear as they had the thugs that absconded them.

Smart kid, Matt prided himself, Bennington all the way. Don’t trust anyone, especially not the feds. Chaz was going to adore this kid. When he ever met her. IF he ever met her. That was if the cops didn’t get to her first. Pigs.

“Look we’ve got to go,” Matt said, taking it as his cue to leave.

As it turned out both of the officers could only just watch with their expectantly brooding stare like chastising parents and didn’t stop him as he hurriedly made his way in the opposite direction. Escaping down the escalators and out into the frigid snow-kissed street he discarded his broken glasses in a patch of dirty brown snow on the sidewalk as he steered Ava reluctantly to her feet beside him.

“Where we going?” she asked with her voice still tight with residual fear. Plumes of steam caused by her breaths evaporated in front of her face. Ensuring the coat was tight and securely set close around the little girl’s face Matt smiled and told her not to worry as though she needed the reassurance. Content she was stealthily concealed from both the elements and prying eyes Matt told her to follow as they made their way across the street and down the nearest subway entrance.

“Uncle Matt needs his medicine, that’s all,” he said, hoping to stymie her attempts at further conversation. He needed to think and he couldn’t think too well without his medication. Soon though he would be able to think things clearly again. Soon.

Being rocked about as the train left the station Ava peered out the window and then up at her uncle’s face that was quiet and pale and faced towards the ceiling. She tugged on his sleeve to make sure she had his attention.

“Are you sick uncle Matt?” she wondered with her blue eyes gleaming.

In spite of recent developments Matt actually smiled to himself. He shook his head.

“No tyke, I’m not sick. You’re mom thinks so, the world thinks so, but they’re the ones who are sick. They just don’t know it yet. They will, when your papa gets out of the big house, they will.”

Ava frowned back and considered it a moment. Though her words were muffled behind the lining of her jacket collar she could still be heard mumbling the words ‘big house’ to herself and wondering innocently if she were ever going to be able to visit it.

“One day, kiddo. One day,” Matt said, turning his big secretive grin down upon her. “Trust me.”

“I do uncle Matt. Uncle Matt? I love you.”

“Love you too short stuff,” Matt echoed muzzling a quick kiss into the head of the child’s black jacket hood. Of course I love you, he thought to himself as he sat back up in his seat proudly. You’re my one big ticket out of here. What’s not to love about that?

 

 

---

[crazy robster]

Oh wow!! Sis you are the bestest!! This update made me grin so much, reading your description of Matt and his reactions and actually imagining him and I thought "gee, no one could give a more accurate description of Matt!!" And mind you sis, Matt is so crazy (I mean that in a cute benevolent way, no offence ok?) and unpredictable in his behaviour that a writer would rather analyse the Persian crisis in a 100-volume series of books than attempt a portrayal of Matty. Haha but you simply nailed it sis!! I enjoyed it so much!! Everything, the lingo, the gestures, the whole attitude... Great!! Simply great!! Hilarious update, although it contained scenes of foul language and threats and all that. I just worry about little Ava... I wonder what he's going to do now...Absolutely charmed by your skill my beloved!! Moooore pleeeease!! <3

[Friðbjörn]

ooh Im a dirty cop! haha

 

good chapter, keep it coming!

[Pheonix791989]

come on mum write more!! its really good.... you just gotta update.

[Ravynlee]

Hey Mel! Thought you'd dropped off the face of the planet or something... awww *hugs* wb

Thanks guys for the feedback *hugs there too* and thanks sis, wow you certainly know how to make a girl blush :o

 

As for update, I can't stop! It sounds like a good thing but I am regretfully neglecting study... am gonna be in so much trouble if I don't get this report done...

 

So for now I have quite a lengthy update in hopes that tides you over a few more days.

Hope it's all good - bear in mind I am too lazy to proofread. Feel free to pull me up on the wrong bits if they're there ^^

 

Enjoy and as usual any qualms, questions, suggestions let me know. Always helps to get some feedback to know what I'm doing wrong, or right as the case may be

 

---

 

 

The sound of laughter echoed throughout the quiet house. It was low and discreet but it was openly sincere. It had been a long time since Ravyn had heard it that at first she didn’t recognize it for what it was. Laying there alone in the dark with her face half buried amid the scrunched up sheets she frowned in concentration before she realized that the voice she now heard belonged to her sister. And she wasn’t alone.

It was night out. The depth of darkness was so absolute that Ravyn could scarcely see anything beyond the thin sliver of light peering in beneath her bedroom door. It was closed and it muffled much of what the two of them were saying, but the fact she even heard another voice with that unmistakable low male baritone, knowing full well it wasn’t Rob’s and was therefore unfamiliar, sent Ravyn’s body into a brief and spasmodic lockdown.

How long had she been laying there face down feeling the warm patch of drool pooling beneath her cheek while he sister sat out there alone with this other man, she wondered. Panic was quickly setting in but her head was groggy and every movement, at least upon waking, seemed exaggerated and delayed. It was an effort to push herself up into a slouched seated position bent wearily over her knees hanging over the edge of the bed. She groaned as she rubbed the sleep and the moisture from her eyes. She balked rubbing the dry tight film encrusted to her lids before rubbing it between her fingers. Had she been crying in her sleep? That was odd wasn’t it? The pills had done the trick, they always did, pushing her so far into unconsciousness that if she dreamed she never remembered any of it, but still it was somewhat unsettling to ponder as she sat there listening in the dark.

Haily had to be out there with them. Despite the frigid conditions outside she could hear enough familiar grunts and squeaks echoing back down the hall to indicate the infant was sitting in on her mother’s conversation.

Conversation? Right.

Shaking her head with a scoff Ravyn reached across and snapped the bedside light on. There was nothing lurking in the shadows here as far as she could ascertain with a quick search but logically she didn’t really expect there to be. The monsters that haunted her didn’t come out into the light. They stayed in the dark, unseen, as all nightmarish visions were renowned.

But there was one here right now wasn’t there, out there, in the next room, trying to put the moves on your baby sister? Why are you still sitting here?

Fisting her eyes that were still heavy despite the long deep sleep Ravyn waited until she was sure she was steady enough and made her way across the room towards the door. The light beyond it made her recoil back with a wince ever so slightly being brighter than the dusky bedside still on at her back. Logically Ravyn didn’t know what she was going to do if this Joel guy decided to take liberties upon himself but for the moment Ravyn was spurred on by the hopes that at least a witness might dissuade any potential problems. Visions of her sister out there bound and gagged flashed before her eyes but she consciously pushed them away. As it turned out she needn’t have concerned herself so much. The sight of her sister sitting there with her head and her leg and her hip all but pressed up against this guy made Ravyn come to an abrupt stop just inside the hallway door. They were still talking but it was low, discreet, and almost secretive, and she still couldn’t discern much of anything beyond the occasional word. Though it was warmer out here thanks to the gas heater tucked away on the other side of the living room Ravyn was struck by the sight of the young detective’s attire. It instantly made the knot in her stomach tighter. Clad in baggy black pants, black shoes and a black tank top with all his garish religious tattoos spilling out down his bare arms Joel sat nestled back lowly and comfortably against the cushions beside her sister. He looked like he’d been sitting there that way far too long, and had no intentions of getting up any time soon. Joanna wasn’t faring much better in her denim three quarter shorts and snug fit tee as she half sat half knelt on the cushion directly beside him. They were sharing a book of some sort held open across Joel’s lap as Joanna could be heard chuckling as she leant down and pointed to something - physically far too close to him. Ravyn stood there a moment just taking it all in, scowling at the way Joanna kept brushing at her hair or sweeping at her face flushed with colour too frequently. She was like a doe-eyed school girl flirting with the stereotypical bad boy of the block, and despite the fact she was the older caring inherently protective sister, Ravyn couldn’t have felt more maternal towards her sibling an that moment had she tried.

Clearing his throat it was Joel who noticed her first and drew Joanna’s attention with an almost coy and boyish smirk. The word ‘Orioles’ inscribed across the front of his Singlet in hot orange and white could have just as easily read ‘Player’ to Ravyn’s soulless stare - or worse ‘Rapist.’

[Ravynlee]

“Hey,” he said, his cheeks rosy too.

Joanna smiled at her sister and for a moment Ravyn remained motionless in the doorway. She was reading the look on her sister’s face and couldn’t tell whether Joanna was relieved to see her awake, thrilled to be showing off this new prized pet of hers, or if she really was mad for the intrusion and was keeping it locked away behind that beaming glowing smile.

“Have a good sleep?”

“We were starting to worry. You’d been out to it like all night.”

“And half the day.”

Like you really cared, Ravyn wanted to say, glimpsing at her sister. But it was to Joel she continued her death stare until the only male occupant in the room, indeed the entire house, dropped his eyes away uncomfortably.

The sofa springs creaked as Joanna shifted herself backwards a fraction underpinning the otherwise stiff lapse into silence. Using the moment to assess her daughter kicking and swinging her arms around at the bright padded jungle gym set above her Joanna eventually got to her feet and manoeuvred her way cross the room to meet her sister. She slid an arm around Ravyn and made her usual grinning squeaking noise she always did when she was happy. Blinking back out of the corner of her eye Ravyn forced a smile at her. It was tight, brief, and came out more like a spasm.

“Feeling better my sweet?”

Ravyn nodded as she looked at Joel.

I’d be much better if he wasn’t here, she thought to herself dourly.

“Are you hungry? We ordered pizza. We didn’t know what you’d want so we just ordered a little bit of everything, is that okay my beloved?”

We? As in plural? Already it had started. Passing off her disgruntled snort for a gesture of no, Ravyn watched as Joanna stroked her back a moment before she returned the way she had come, pausing briefly to stroke Haily’s bobbing little head.

“Oh hey, you lost this little buddy, there we go.”

Bending down Joel was quick to tuck the rattle that had fallen from the bouncer into the baby’s hand again. Pausing beside her seat Joanna was watching this all aglow and practically cooing herself. Ravyn scoffed and rolled her eyes away.

We, we, we. Jesus fucking Christ.

Joanna was looking at her and she could feel it as if to declare wordlessly ‘See sis? Didn’t I tell you he was adorable?’ But bowing her head Ravyn bit her lip as she retreated for the bathroom to rinse her hands and face of sleep.

When she returned they were looking at that book again and Ravyn soon learned it was predictably a family photo album.

What was it about revealing yourself and family and friends in the most candid of moments with relative strangers the first time they visited, she wondered as she sunk into an adjacent seat and half-heartedly watched on. Was it some kind of psychological test to see if they could endure the worst as an indicator of lasting friendship? Good, she could only hope this would scare him off. But as they sat there apparently now discussing a reception of all things, Ravyn sat studying Joel’s face for a reaction when the word ‘Rob’ inevitably cropped up.

“Wow, look at you,” Joel was saying with his usual quiet-boy act, “You look so pretty.”

Ravyn wanted to scream at him.

“Blue. Weird colour for a wedding dress isn’t it?”

Joanna giggled at him as she playfully pushed his arm.

“No, I was a bridesmaid there silly. That was my sister’s wedding. With Rob.”

“Oh.”

After a pause Joel turned a page and sat in silence before Joanna’s stirring chuckles had him talking again.

“What? No, I was just like, well how did that work? I mean first you’re married to him, then you’re married to him. You’ve got to admit, sounds kind of… weird doesn’t it?” he wanted to know, his usually quiet voice pinched for the first time with real genuine curiosity. Looking aside at Joanna then across at Ravyn, one smiling wistfully, the other stony faced, Joel gave off a nervous smile watching their expressions shifting.

“I’m sorry, I was just-”

“No, it’s okay,” Joanna said. It was the first, however brief semblance of sadness she’d shown on her face since her sister had entered the room that Ravyn could recognise. Seeing it Ravyn bowed her eyes to her lap following her sister’s lead. She knew what she was thinking without it having to be said because once upon a time she had been right where Joanna was too.

“Forget it. It was dumb,” Joel apologised as he quickly surveyed and turned another creaking page. Half way through explaining he hadn’t meant to pry he fell silent. Ravyn was speaking to him.

“It’s not dumb,” she said, trying to choose her words carefully beneath both his and Joanna’s cautiously curious stares. “I fell in love with him and… it didn’t work out. I never though my sister was stealing him from me; he’d already left so… I guess they comforted each other, one thing lead to another. The rest… you know.”

She looked aside at her sister to gauge Joanna’s reaction, but if there was any malice for the painfully over-simplified facts the young woman wasn’t showing it. Sitting there smiling back with that same kind of rueful reflective and nostalgic look on her face Joanna’s eyes appeared to be misting. Leaning forward in her seat Ravyn folded her arms across her lap, deflecting the sympathetic glance Joel gave her as much as it was a roadblock against Joanna’s intentions to get up and hug her. Ravyn didn’t like being touched and especially not with other people watching on and pretending not to. Besides, even before her attack she had always maintained acts of physical affection warranted a certain place and time; along with the words ‘I love you.’ Throwing them around for the sake of it lessened their intensity, or so she told herself, feeling a sharp pang of guilt and regret and a dry lump at the back of her throat from the force of her memories of a past too painful to address anymore. Maybe if she’d told Rob enough he would’ve stayed and he would’ve been there that night with their son and stopped him from wandering into that closet and-

“Who’s that?” Joel was asking.

He was pointing to a picture again and just like before Joanna leant too close to inspect it as if Ravyn wasn’t even in the room watching them. Sinking back into her seat Joanna let out a patient sigh.

“That’s Dave Farrell isn’t it? I thought he looked familiar. Rob’s old… partner.”

[Ravynlee]

Excusing herself Ravyn rose to fetch a drink listening to the two of them converse about the dead man grinning back from the picture with vague familiarity. She shook her head listening on and trying not to, burdened with more memories and the sound of laughter and chatter ringing in her ears. She could practically smell the scents of food frying on the Barbeque plate and feel the sun bake her skin as the rest of them mingled and talked and laughed out there in the peripheral vision of times past. Sculling down the water Ravyn sighed as she returned the bottle to the shelf and shoved the refrigerator door to a close. Turning her head she stared out at the blackness of night and her reflection on the frosty glass feeling a shudder rip through her. She couldn’t help but think she was looking at a ghost of herself in the past - or the future.

“What are you looking at?” Joanna asked her gaily on her way into the kitchen.

The overhead light snapped on and with it the ghost in the glass disappeared. Ravyn looked up then back at the glass with a frown steadily increasing.

“Nothing,” she muttered.

Rummaging around in the refrigerator Joanna was muttering something incoherent to herself. Shaking the pre-made bottle of formula in her fist she shoved it in the microwave with a quick sequence of buttons. As it whirred into life Joanna went to her sister with her irrepressible smile practically severing her face in half.

“So, what do you think?” she urged discreetly. Her dark eyes were sparkling, her cheeks rosy red. Scoffing to herself Ravyn folded her arms across her chest and shrugged back nonchalantly.

“He’s okay I guess.”

“Oh sis, he’s better than okay. He’s smart, he’s funny, he’s so sweet - you should see him with-”

“Already sounds like your mind is made up.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing. Just… I think you’re rushing into it a bit fast, don’t you? Rob hasn’t even been gone-”

Storming back to the microwave Joanna snatched out the bottle and closed the door with a slam. Out in the next room Haily was beginning to whine. Joel could be heard attempting to console her with a hushed voice and calm composure but his words were lost behind her steadily mounting cries. Turning to face her sister Joanna sighed and swept her hair back exasperatedly.

“Sis, please don’t ruin this for me,” she begged. She was practically pleading. “You know, I’d expect that kind of attitude from Rob but not you, you’re my sister, you’re meant to be looking out for me, for my best interests-”

“I am. What of this guy turns out to be some kind of psycho-?”

“Sis, I’m not doing this again. I’m not having this conversation with you. We’ve been through this at least a dozen times remember? Joel wouldn’t do that. I know he wouldn’t. I trust him.”

“But how? You barely even-”

Approaching her sister Joanna’s eyes were soft with sympathy but her face set with determination. With a lowered voice she said, “I know what you went through was bad, it was traumatic and yes I see where you’re coming from. But I can’t live my life not being able to trust anyone, always afraid and suspicious and jumping at shadows, I don’t want to. I don’t want to be alone, sis, don’t you understand that?”

Feeling Joanna’s hand wrap around her arm consolingly Ravyn slid her eyes aside, back out the window at the darkness and night and cold winter chill and pouted bitterly. She wanted to cry but didn’t, blinking furiously so her sister wouldn’t know how deeply her words had cut.

“Sis,” she began, but Ravyn strode away a step just to sever the contact. She sighed and bowed her head sadly.

“I wish there was some way I could make it all better for you, but I can’t. Only you can. The longer you stay here locked away hiding from the world the more you’re letting them win-”

“Them?”

“Them. You know, all those… you know what I mean.”

“It wasn’t a ‘them’,” Ravyn grunted towards the floor, “I know who it was. I know where he is. I just can’t-”

“Sis, did you ever stop to think maybe it wasn’t…?”

Raising her eyes sharply Ravyn glared at her sister. Joanna’s patient smile did nothing to detract from it.

“Are you kidding me?”

“I’m just saying, you know, I mean, we don’t have any proof and-”

“Did Joel tell you that?”

“What?”

“Joel! Fucking- super cop out there-”

“Sis!”

“No!” Ravyn snapped craning forward to get up into her sister’s face. With an open hand that was shaking she slapped it hard against her sternum with a clap. “I know who it was! I know! I was there! I lived it remember!”

“I know-”

“No you don’t know! None of you know! Stop treating me like I’m the crazy person here alright? I’m not crazy! I know it was him! It was Mike! And what shits me off more than anything else is that no one else seems to give a shit while he’s walking around out there and I’m stuck in here-”

“Sis, no one’s forcing-”

“The man tried to kill me and you want me to go back out there and pretend he didn’t?” Ravyn cried. She laughed. It was short sharp and bitter. Joanna was looking elsewhere obviously pained but not wanting to aggravate the situation further, or seeming to know anything she had to say was going to be shot down in the face of her sister’s outburst.

“The only reason he’s saying anything is because he knows the cops can’t touch him,” Ravyn said to Joel’s apparent opinion. She didn’t seem to care whether he was able to hear it sitting within earshot in the next room over Haily’s jerky sobs.

“The man has more money than God. Truth is sis they don’t want to touch him. They don’t want to get their hands dirty. Typical of the NYPD, corrupt to the core, every last one of them-”

“Sis, that is enough!” Joanna finally snapped. She was angry enough to articulate every word as clearly as if they were threats. The two women briefly stared at one another as a moment slipped by. Joanna was about to speak, her words poised on her lips, when Joel announced his arrival in the room nursing a squirming Haily in his arms. He cleared his throat, looking embarrassed about being there at all, but it wasn’t clear how long he had been standing there let alone exactly how much he had heard. Joanna apologized with her face a hot pink now as she offered him a smile as best she could manage. With the bottle clenched in her fist she glimpsed at the floor a moment to decide her best course of action.

[Ravynlee]

“Uh, maybe I should-?” he began, but Joanna shook her head and looked up. She glared, ever-so-briefly at her sister. Though she didn’t speak her eyes were pleading for compliance.

‘Please,’ she seemed to beg again wordlessly, ‘Let me be happy.’

With a sniff Ravyn dipped her eyes in defeat.

Joanna was rationalising their conversation to Joel as if it had been nothing more than a sisterly moment as she gave off a nervous chuckle. Patting her sister’s arm still folded tightly across her chest Joanna retreated to hand him the bottle. Between them they awkwardly manoeuvred the baby prepped for feeding without choking in the crook of Joel’s arm. Though he looked uncertain, but still chuffed with the responsibility beneath Joanna’s close and instructive gaze, Ravyn remained where she was unable to stop the dismal pout tugging on her lips.

When Joel looked up at her a moment later she tried to make it appear happy for her sister’s sake but didn’t know if it succeeded or not as he refocussed on Joanna. It was clear from that moment that he was going to be on the scenes whether Ravyn liked it or not, and it was something she was either going to have to adjust to or not. With a sigh she eventually pushed herself forward and joined them in the doorway. Reaching out she took her niece’s little hand between her fore finger and thumb. As she stroked the pale little fingers they curled automatically around her thumb. Ravyn resurrected her smile. Sweeping a hand across her sister’s back Joanna gave her a smile that said without the benefit of words, ‘Thank you.’ Ravyn echoed it back at her feeling the gesture eating like a cancer on the inside of her face. She wanted her sister to be happy too but the only way she was going to be able to manage that was to be happy herself. But there was no way she was going to be, not when she knew he was still out there, not when he could just as easily do this to someone else, not while he was still a threat to someone else just like her, or worse, to her sister or niece. With a dry throat and wet eyes as she stood there watching her niece Ravyn realised the only way she was going to get her life and her lost independence back was to free herself from the demons that dogged her, literally. She was going to have to hunt them down and make sure they couldn’t do what had been done to her, to anyone else. She had to make him pay for what he did.

Somehow, some way, she would have to confront Mike Shinoda.

She was going to have to kill him.

She just didn’t know how she was going to do that yet.

 

 

---

 

>:o

[Ravynlee]

---

 

“What are you looking at?”

Blinking up from the screen Frib watched Karl stride past to drop a stack of papers on his desk. The young officer smothered a yawn behind his fist. He stretched and rubbed his eyes. Karl had approached and was leaning down over his shoulder, one hand on the back of the chair and the other in a fist propped up on the edge of the desk. Frib watched him survey the screen with his ever-studious frown. Truth was Frib liked Karl, despite the fact they had been working together now for several months he still barely knew the tall brooding New Zealand native at all. He was quiet and no-nonsense and Frib appreciated his same sensed work ethic. He reminded him of Rob in a lot of ways, especially in the way they kept things to themselves and always appeared on the outside at least that things were perpetually serious but never overwhelmingly so. Blinking aside at the empty table across from him Frib chewed his lip in thought. Even if the official word around the department was that Rob was just taking some well-needed time off to get himself together again, word around the water cooler was less than flattering and Frib couldn’t help but worry about his former parter.

Reading the name aloud on the screen Karl sighed gravely.

“Matt Woodland. I know that name. Street name is Stenners.”

“Stenners?”

“Street he used to turn,” Karl said studying the mug shot in front of him. “Low time thief and pusher in Queens. Got done for doing over a pharmacy a few years back as a juvenile. Got a fine, slap on the wrist, same shit as always.”

“Benj said he had some affiliation with Bennington’s crew. You know anything about that?”

Karl stood upright. Pushing the pile of papers strewn about beside the computer tower he perched himself on the edge of the desk and folded his arms across his chest. He shrugged.

“Bennington had a lot of people under him. Was probably part of his undoing. These pushers get comfortable, living it up, enjoying the life. Fast cars, women, you’ve seen how it goes. The smart ones do anyway. Suddenly one person tells twenty and before you know it you have a plague on your hands, all scrambling over themselves to get a piece of the action, or to take his place. He just trusted the wrong people. More fool him I suppose.”

“So… This Stenners kid, he knew Chester, right?”

“Sure. I guess. Wouldn’t be many people on the west side who didn’t know who he was. Man made a killing pushing crack to anyone who would buy it. I couldn’t tell you what the secret of his success was but it wasn’t to last anyway. After the fall they all scattered. No honour among thieves.” He smiled as if sharing a joke but the moment passed too fast for Frib to acknowledge it.

“Why do you want to know?”

Frib shrugged and returned his focus back to the screen. The haggard bleary-eyed stare of the young man in front of him sent the wheels in the young detective’s head turning.

“We came across him the other day, some mall in Union City. He had a girl with him. Little, maybe four or five. She didn’t look like him.”

“So?”

“I don’t know,” Frib shrugged again. Sunk back in his seat again he wrestled to formulate his thoughts into words. “I felt like, this is going to sound stupid, but it felt like I’d seen her somewhere before. I mean she was familiar somehow-”

“Seen her where? Like on the back of a milk carton or something?”

“No, I just… Something didn’t seem right. He said she was his niece but something about it… I don’t know. It just didn’t feel right.”

He looked to Karl hoping he didn’t sound as crazy to Karl as he did to himself and watched for visual clues to see what the other man was thinking.

“He has a half sister out West. I’ve met her. She’s a doctor here in Manhattan. General though, not the type you’d expect for having a drug-runner for a brother I guess.”

Frib sighed remembering the first time he met the young trauma doctor not long after he had left the academy and how part of him, even briefly, had been attracted by her feisty independence. Not like he ever had a shot there, he told himself dismally, taking it as a kind of personal inflection despite the fact he had never considered her for a date before that moment. Shaking his head he returned to the screen and scrolled down the page rather than continue to indulge in his lonely thoughts. Clicking on several buttons he sat opening new pages for the both of them to peruse.

How could someone like Sarah have a brother that screwed up? He thought to himself impulsively. How on earth could they be related? She seemed so grounded, while her brother’s past was…

No one was ever what they seemed, were they? He thought to himself gravely. With a mounting frown he thought of Rob and almost reflexively reached up to press a hand against his chest. Beside him Karl was speaking.

“So did he say why he was back in town?”

Frib shook his head as he stared ahead intently.

“No. And most of what he did say I wouldn’t repeat anyway. Guy is certainly in love with himself, that’s for sure.”

Karl s******ed. He was holding one of the papers on Frib’s desk between his hands again but it didn’t hold his interest and he quickly returned it back atop the pile.

“He’s a little fish in a big ocean,” Karl replied. Reaching out he clapped the junior detective on the shoulder. Frib blinked up at him and nodded. He didn’t know if Karl had been referring to this Stenner’s guy or himself so chose instead to let it slide in silence.

“I wish I could tell you more but I can’t. The only guy who knew anything about that case isn’t here anymore,” he said. Together the two men looked at the empty desk again that seemed painfully poignant now more so than before. Karl sighed and clapped Frib’s shoulder again. He nodded and wished Frib luck on his endeavour before wandering away.

[Ravynlee]

“Don’t stay up too late. Need your rest. Wouldn’t want you burning out now, it’s still early days yet.”

“I won’t. Goodnight.”

“Night.”

Sunk back in his seat Frib interlaced fingers behind his head and let out a heavy soul-derived sigh. The same hot nagging sensation that had formed in his stomach since Frib discovered Mike Shinoda’s private number on Rob’s cell phone continued to churn worrisomely. Something wasn’t right here and Frib knew it but couldn’t put a finger on what it was let alone where he needed to start looking for answers, and the frustration was killing him. Faced with the prospect of another long sleepless night staring at the ceiling Frib pushed himself up and snapped off the computer. Daunted by a seemingly endless line of contacts, all of which would probably lead him on a merry chase for his tail he thought gruffly, he decided he was going to have to address this problem in a different fashion than the rest of his colleagues.

Grabbing up his coat and feeding his arms into the sleeves Frib couldn’t help but feel a little elated at the prospect of working alone in the mean streets of New York City. He had been in the ranks now for a few months and he thought he was ready to start putting some of the lessons he’d been taught into practice, even if the rest of his division all saw him as a promising rookie but a rookie none the less. He would show them, and he would prove himself, he thought with an element of pride. Only where to start? Flicking his eyes aside at the empty desk Frib stood thinking a moment, wondering where his wayward ex-partner would go. He wasn’t at the family home anymore and Frib had checked a few local refuge databases on the sly but all to no avail. The city was just too big to find one man who at this point probably didn’t want to be found, least of all by him. Staring down at the papers still scattered across his desk Frib considered his options a moment before casting his eyes out at the nearest window. The city that never slept continued to gleam and hurry along in its usual frenetic pace on the other side of the glass. At that the young detective’s shoulders rose and fell with another heavy sigh. It was obvious the place to start looking began with the one person in the whole of the city he least wanted to see.

He would have to go to Fort Minor and find out what Mike Shinoda really knew.

With his first clear objective in mind, Frib squared his shoulders, set a determined look on his face, and strode from the office. It wasn’t until he was outside beneath the frosty midnight air and the towering metropolis of skyscrapers and billboards that he began to doubt his plan of action but felt he had to go on. He didn’t really have a choice.

“Do you believe in fate, Kris?” Rob had asked him. That had been the day they had first met all those months ago and Frib had not been able to answer. Jerking up the collar of his jacket as a defence against the cold the young detective made his way to parking lot feeling the cold air stab at his lungs like shards of glass.

That question hadn’t made much sense to him at the time but slipping in behind the wheel of his car Frib closed himself inside and sat holding the steering wheel to consider it a moment. He didn’t like to think there was other forces at work controlling his every move but something else inside of him that kept churning away deep in his stomach seemed to be telling him another story. The engine came to life with throaty growl as he snapped on the headlights. Bright light sluiced the darkness in half and held it at bay as Frib ripped the car into gear. Tentatively and with mind and heart racing he rolled down and out onto the still bustling and traffic strewn street.

 

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Make sense? o_0