Rich Man

“How did you know?” the voice rang out in the silence of the guest bedroom. The curtains were drawn, doors closed, engulfing everything in pitch black darkness so deep that one had to wonder if everything in the room had ever existed at all. Only now the door was wide open and the still dim light of the darkened hall poured into the atmosphere, cascading through the cracks of a bulky silhouette one could barely judge as humanly.

The air about him seemed hostile, only his curiosity overwhelmed the fact that he was fuming mad. Though slightly intimidated, (I’ll freely admit, as you would be too faced with a man of his size.) I did my best to keep a steady breath and pretend as though the ceiling held more importance than he could possibly amount to.

“It’s part of the job. Not to mention its written all over everything you do. You check your phone every minute, sometimes mess with the spot the ring used to be on because you forget it isn’t there… You refuse to look at other women that don't fit a certain description, even though you’re surrounded day-by-day-“

“How the hell do you know that?” There it was; the curiosity. It was beginning to eat away at him, to force him into action.

There was not a drop of surprise in my veins as he drew nearer with every word I spoke so nonchalantly. “Relax, Lucic. I got that little bit out of one of your worried friends. They told me about the ring and that you had a girl awhile ago when I asked about the tan too. I pieced the rest together.”

“Well none of it concerns you, y’know. You shouldn’t have crossed that line.”

“What are you going to do, Mr. Lucic?” I asked with an almost dauntingly smug tone. However, I stress that there was no immediate sign of my confidence as part of this question came from a general fear I hadn’t felt in ages. Part of me wanted an answer. The other part of me knew it. “So I was right. The code of silence is in the job description. I’ll take it with me to the grave if you’re so embarrassed by missing someone you love.”

And just like that, I was back to feeling strength.

Emotional power is something I obviously had and have a knack at controlling. Words are some of the most powerful weapons ever dawned by man, in any language. Touch and physical action is the next and finally brute force. Though it may be effective given the right circumstances, brute force amounts to nothing without intelligence. That being said, words were my obvious weapon. They were then and they always will be.

I had caught the man’s tongue for him and made him swallow whatever could be his oncoming words. After a moment of heavy breath, I felt the bed shift. There the man, no—the boy, sat with his back to me, head in his hands. There was rage in his mind and emotion in his heart that he couldn’t comprehend and control. And how could he? He didn’t know how to deal with losing her. This was new for him.

“When everything starts coming to you more easily than it did when you were younger, you lose sight of things like love and take it for granted. Your new standards hit the roof and as soon as one thing goes array, you find yourself crashing and burning. You don’t know how to deal with this,” I whispered, almost as though I was giving both of us some sort of deranged pep-talk. “And that’s where I suppose I can offer some help, if not solace. You don’t deserve a lick of the pain you’re going through. If you ever need someone to vent to or if you ever just need to be around someone, I know I’m a stranger, but you could take advantage of my being here for the time being.”

At that, he turned, passionate eyes bearing down onto my skull. So sullen by violence and anger, his gaze had easily found that skeptical, frustrated position. Only now he was struggling to look at me because of the odd feeling his skin had, forming that reluctant half smile. He didn’t want to believe me, but somehow he knew he could. And I knew it too, only because I was now sitting up and patting the spot beside me, examining him in the faint light.

“I don’t want to just bitch at you. That’s such a waste of time,” he murmured back, laying down and mirroring the position I had when he first entered.

“Well bitching at me or not, it feels good. That’s the whole point of venting anyway. You get angry, spill your angry guts out, and feel somewhat sadistic relief.”

“Why sadistic?”

“Well I’m pretty sure I put a dent in your day, calling you out like that. Go ahead and vent about me. Call me whatever you’d like. I can almost guarantee that not only will it be an awkward vent, but you will feel true sadistic relief after calling me out.”

There was a brief silence before he answered, clearly with a smile on his face. “You’re not serious.”

I replied in a sing-song voice and lied back, “Yes, yes I am. Come on, kid, before I change my mind and realize that sleep takes precedence over your petty needs.”

“Well, you’re –er- arrogant? Man, this shit is weird. Like I’ve heard of ranting, but never to the person it’s about.”

“Trust me and go with it. Just… Pretend I’m someone else.”

“Alright... Arrogance… Uh… Like, you said I was bad. Yeah, sorry, you’re Ms. Know-It-All. Not to mention you frustrate the hell out of me. Like I don’t even know why. You do just by being in the same room. I don’t get it. Do you find sick joy in making people feel inferior? ‘Cause that shit does not fly, especially with me. God, you have weird methods of therapy.”

Laughing, I looked over to my left at his smiling silhouette. For a second or two, I was tempted to reach out and trace my finger from his forehead to his chin like some kind of curious child. Only his voice is what snapped me out of my dumb stare. “Oh, and that annoying challenging voice you always have when anyone starts a slightly deep conversation. It’s got to be the most annoying way I’ve ever heard a person speak. And the worst part is that half the time, you’re not actually upstaging someone or something screwed up. It’s just how you talk.”

“So the basic synopsis is that my speaking skills need work and you and I are both arrogant assholes. Lovely.”

“Hey, you’re the one who-“

“I’ll accept it.”

His neck instantly snapped in my direction. “What?”

Shrugging, I gave him an honest glance that I was just about a hundred percent sure he couldn’t see. “I mean your little rant. I’ll take what you said and try to improve. Easy as that.”

“So… No wicked ridiculous response that’s going to piss me off for the week?”

“Well, gee, you sound like I just let you down.”

Chuckling, he responded, “No, no… It’s just-“

“That’s what you expected. Yeah… That’s kind of my problem.”

“Something tells me you need a shrink. I’m game.”

At this, I slightly furrowed my brow. Don’t say a damn word. You don’t want to give him the slightest hint you’re even capable of vulnerability. He may be calm now, but if he gets pissed at you in the future, whatever you say now could come back to hardcore bite you in the ass. Be careful. My mind made its small spiel, conscience scared out of it mind while the rest of my working brain tried to figure out what to say.

Might as well just be vague.

It was true; I did need to talk to someone. Little had I known that this guy was actually useful for such a thing. In fact, I was more than pleasantly surprised at his hidden intellectual capacity. In other words, the kid was a good at this kind of thing.

“Can you keep a secret?” I asked out of impulse, which made my stomach turn. I was about to venture into semi-uncharted territory.

“Code of silence, remember?”

A smile twitched against my lips as I inhaled deeply. “With my job, I can’t really have friends. I can’t just decide to take a day off and watch a movie because chances are, I’m going to get a call that someone needs me or something happened to one of my patients or something. I work six days a week, so yeah… My schedule is kind of crazy sometimes. And I see maybe eight people a day for about forty-five minutes to an hour depending on how much they need me. Hearing all these stories really makes me aware and seeing how people behave and having to study so closely so I can give decent replies and solutions just…” The lie had hitched in my throat, not allowing me to continue with that little spiel. “I never intentionally meant to be this way. It just sort of happened. I studied, got smart, went to school, got out early, and now I’m here. So maybe I’m a smart-ass and I’m frustrating, but I don’t know any other way to be.”

Milan’s eyes were burning a hole in the side of my head. Perplexed and yet somehow in slight awe of my words, he whispered, “Well you’re with people now who can break you into social stability. Wow, I think you rubbed off on me there.”He allowed the quiet of the room to fill the void between the two of us from there. We both laid side by side, completely still, staring at the ceiling. This was until a small yawn escaped my lips. The boy took that as his cue to sit up and hop of the side of the bed and make his exit.

“So you came here to confront me,” I murmured after him, right before he could securely get in the doorway.

Even though I couldn’t see it, he nodded. “I wanted answers, yeah.”

“Well thanks for playing shrink.”

“Yeah, you too.”

“I’ll see you bright and early then?”

“Mhmm. The crack of noon is pretty bright,” he mumbled, closing the door behind him.

-

Imagine my surprise when I realized that, at six AM, nearly two hours after I had spoken to Milan, my biological clock decides it’s time to wake up. I sat up with a groan, realizing that my entire body felt on fire, and dragged myself to the bathroom. A few Dixie cups of cold water and a splashed face later, I was cooled down to comfort. The living room became my sitting place for the next few hours. Out there it was cool and open, eliminating the slight cabin fever I was somehow experiencing.

“Wow, you’re awake early,” mumbled one groggy boy, emerging in nothing but a pair of unintentionally sagging sweats, from the hall. He gave me a slightly sideways look, eyebrow raised, and scratched the back of his head.

After yawning loudly, I was able to give him a steady look.

Oh shit, it’s Bergeron, my mind mentally snapped as our eyes locked. It was far too early for this. “Uh. Yeah, couldn’t go back to sleep.”

“You look like hell. Are you feeling alright?”

Gee, thanks. “Just a bit warm, but I’m fine.”

“I know the feeling. The guest room doesn’t have an efficient AC system yet.” It was then that his eyes lit up. “You can always sleep in my room. I like to keep the place like an igloo. There’s a heating blanket and everything too, so you’ll be comfortable.”

Obviously I was hesitant. Not only was I awaiting some form of torture from this man, but he was looking at me as though imagining me asleep in his bed. Either that, or just in his bed. The imp-like shimmer to his eyes was enough to cause great discomfort in my stomach and send me rocketing to a standing position. “Second door on the left?” Nodding, he grabbed the remote and a blanket and made himself comfortable.

If ever there was a person who could intimidate me on an intellectual level, it was that guy. As much as I despised acknowledging it, it was the truth. He gave me the creeps too. I guess I was so used to be the intimidator that it actually instilled fear in my heart when he could so calmly gaze at me as though I’m just another person. Hell, sometimes the unintentionally smug demeanor he held all too often made me feel inferior to him. I think I was just majorly redundant, but you get the point.

Slipping into the warmth of his sheets, I inhaled a scent all new to me. It was nothing husky, but sweet in a spicy sort of way. The almost tangible aroma of cinnamon born of after shaves clashing had what felt like a consoling effect on my tired body. I fell into a deep sleep only moments later.

-

Rolling over, a long yawn escaped my lips. Damn, my head is killing me. How long was I out? And there it was, big and glowing blue in my face: 12:52 PM. You’ve gotta be shitting me. It was very rare that I slept so late, but in the end it was no big deal. After a good shower, I was over my screwed up schedule and focused on the rest of the day.

“Oh, perfect, you’re done,” Lex grinned, flinging her purse over her right shoulder. The pink material seemed to smooth itself out against her side, arm pit engulfing the Juicy Couture emblem that made the thing worth so much money in the first place.

Smirking at the thought, I raised a brow. “What’s up?”

“We’re going to the mall while the guys are at practice. Thought you might want a shopping day?” Proposed Avery while straightening out a pair of large Dior sunglasses over her well-shadowed eyes.

“Yeah, sure. I’ll grab my purse and we can get out of here.”

About half a minute later, I emerged from my room with a black studded Guess purse under my arm. My hand probed the inside, checking for my zebra print wallet, cell and empty space. Check, check and check.

Have you ever felt awkward while shopping with an unfamiliar person? Have you ever been shopping with a person from school or something that you like never talk to? Well welcome to my world. Just because I was arrogant most of the time and thought highly of myself in the brains department did not mean I was all too confident in my looks. Yes, I had nice things, but I had never really been given an honest opinion about my own looks from an outsider to my life. And of course that isn’t to say I was unfortunate looking. In my opinion, I was pretty average.

“I haven’t been on a good no-list shopping day for years,” I observed. “Oh, this dress is cute.”

“Then how do you get your clothes,” questioned Avery, raising a perfect eyebrow. “You have some really cool stuff.”

Smiling, I pulled a short gunmetal halter-dress from its place among others of different colors. “I used to order stuff on the internet every now and then. The only really nice stuff I own is accessories. I need new play clothes bad.”

“Well you’re in the right place. That dress is hot.”

“Hey Ray, can I talk to you for a sec?” This came from Lex about fifteen feet over. She had been fingering through a rack of skirts when she looked up at me, appearing slightly perplexed. When I had joined her side, she gave me a slightly concerned look. “I would have asked earlier, but I don’t really want Avery to hear… Did you tell Milan I told you about his ex?”

“Nope. Just said one of the friends did. You scared he’s going to jump you or something?”

The woman gave a sigh of relief and soon after shot a me a skeptic’s look. “Wait, so how did talking to him go last night? Like, when did you talk to him? I didn’t see you guys by each other at all for the whole night.”

“Actually,” I explained while eyeing a ruffled black skirt, “he sort of came to me right after I went to my room. “

A twisted smile, the kind that screamed “dirty thoughts”, curled her lips.

“Nothing happened. Jeeze, are you used to him banging a girls he barely knows?”

With a saddened nod she replied, “Yeah, actually. He gets in girls’ pants really easy usually. It’s like he’s ‘no’-proof or something.”

“Well the kid’s officially met his maker with me. I might as well be wearing a chastity belt.”

“Good. He could use a wakeup call. Him and Patrice.”

Say what?

“Patrice? What does he have to do with Lucic’s issues?” Okay, so maybe I sounded too concerned, but can you blame me? I was desperate to find an upper hand on Bergeron. This could have very well been exactly what I wanted.

All at once her features fell. Guilt overtook her shocked eyes as if to put her proverbial foot in her mouth. Oh, this is rich. “I really shouldn’t say anything-“

“Code of silence. No worries.”

Okay, probably lies.

“Well um… Patrice has been on a quiet streak lately and all of us are kind of scared. The last time he did this, he and Blake got into a fist fight over this girl Patrice liked and ugh… It was horrible. Bad things always happen when he gets like this.”

“Wait, so what’s so dramatically different about him then? He isn’t that quiet.”

“Well no, but have you noticed his snappiness? He like gets defensive easy and doesn’t say a lot when he does talk.”

“He’s hiding something, then,” I stated with a shrug. “It’ll come out. Don’t worry.”