“Is that close to Aquilla’s room?”
Her name is not Aquilla!!!! “It’s downstairs from where her room will be.”
“Maybe I can have a cot brought in or something. I need to stay with her.”
“Are you afraid she’ll run away?”
“I am afraid of that.”
Liz didn’t want her to share a room with Shelby. She wanted to bunk with her. She wanted to talk for hours into the night about mother daughter things. Her happy reunion was turning into something frightening.
Seri sat in a corner chair, staring out to the ocean. Aquilla sat on her bed, staring blankly at nothing. Where was Julius? How could he just leave her to deal with this on her own?
“Seri?” she spoke.
“Hmm?” she responded, turning to her.
“I need to go into my father’s office.”
“They kind of have it as a crime scene, Quill. We can’t disturb anything in there.”
“Who’s here?”
“Just Agent Dick Face now, everyone else left for the night.”
Aquilla smiled as much as she could.
“They won’t know. There’s something that I really would like to have from there.”
Seri took a deep breath. “Come on, but no funny business.”
“I promise.”
The two girls quietly made their way down the stairs, careful not to let Malone hear them. Aquilla opened the door and Seri closed it behind them. Seri watched as she moved the filing cabinet, shushing her as it screeched across the hardwood floor.
She lifted the vent and pushed a hidden button. Seri shook her head. Not one of the guys would have been able to locate that. Aquilla moved to the corner of the room where a small door on the floor had just been revealed.
“What’s in there, Quill?” Seri whispered.
“Mostly pictures of me growing up. I always had them taken, but my father would never put them out. He didn’t want them to get messed up,” she smiled a crooked grin, knowing her father was afraid of someone recognizing her.
Aquilla picked up the thick book of portraits, a manila folder and the envelope full of cash.
“I need to see that, Quill,” Seri couldn’t help it. She didn’t trust her.
Aquilla handed her the book, but held the folder in her hand. It only took her a second when Seri placed the book on the desk to stuff the money in the back of her shorts.
Seri flipped through the album with a smile. He did take many pictures of her. “Your mother would love to see these.”
“She can have them,” Aquilla assured her. It wasn’t the pictures she was after.
“What’s that?” she asked, nodding toward the folder.
“My milestone record.”
“UH?”
“You know, a record of everything I have ever done in my life. First lost tooth, first day with no training wheels, first report card, first skinned knee, just stuff like that.”
“Are you done in here? We need to get out of here.”
Aquilla sadly looked at the brown leather desk chair. She would never see her father sitting there again, ever. He was dead. They killed him. “Yeah,” she offered with a deep breath.
“I have a king sized bed. You don’t have to sleep in the chair,” Aquilla offered, pulling down her covers for the very last time.
“Promise me you’ll keep your hands to yourself?” she teased.
“Yeah, I promise,” she chuckled. “Do you want something more comfortable to sleep in?”
“No, it wouldn’t matter anyway. I haven’t had a shower in two days.”
“Yuck, go take a shower. I’ll get you some clothes.”
“I’m not about to go in that bathroom and shower while you escape into the night.”
“Where would I escape to, Seri? We’re on a 32 mile island. How far do you think I am going to go?”
“A shower does sound awesome.”
Aquilla got up and opened her drawer. She tossed her a pair of neon green thongs that her and her friends had ordered from Victoria Secret, unbeknownst to her father, of course.
“Really Quill?”
She laughed a little. “I figured that was what you were used to,” she teased, tossing her a pair that would cover her ass. “Do you want pajama pants or a sexy nighty?”
“You’re asking for it, pajama pants, and you’re coming with me.”
“In the shower?”
“In the bathroom.”
Aquilla sat on the toilet, flipping through the photo album while Seri showered.
“Still there?” she called for the fifth time from the running water.
“Shut the hell up you’re getting on my nerves.”
“As long as your nerves didn’t run away, I’m good with that.”
Aquilla had to close the album. She couldn’t stand the nostalgia. She missed her father and Julius. Why did the stupid FBI have to go and mess everything up? She wanted to hate Seri, but she really couldn’t. She knew that it would have happened whether she was involved or not, and she kind of felt like she needed Seri right now. It was probably stupid, but she felt like Seri understood her.
“Are you married, Seri?” Aquilla asked in the dark, lying on the other side of her bed.
“No, I hate men.”
“So you are a lesbian,” she stated the fact more than asked.
“No, I am not a lesbian. I like sex with men, I just don’t like them enough to marry them.”
“I’m going to marry Julius.”
“You’re not marrying Julius, Quill. You’re going home to the states and going to find a man that loves you and gets up and goes to work like a normal human being, not one that trains women and runs drugs for a living.”
“Julius does love me. He’ll find me, you watch. I know he will.”
Seri didn’t reply. Julius was not going to find her. Julius was going to hide out like a coward.
“How long are you going to stay with me?”
“I don’t know, until the psychologist tells me I am free to go, I guess.”
“That’s so stupid. I’m not talking to some stupid bitch psychologist. She will get pretty bored wasting her hour staring at my pissed off face.”
“Be open about it, Quill. You’ll love Monica, she’s a good friend of mine. Let her help you.”
“I don’t need help. There’s nothing wrong with me. Did you lick Monica’s pussy too?”
“That’s it,” Seri sat up and snapped on the lamp. “You’re not allowed to ever mention that again. Do you understand me?”
Aquilla laughed. She couldn’t help it. She needed to laugh. She laughed until she didn’t know why she was laughing and her hysteria turned to tears.
Fuck. “Okay, you can mention it one more time, but that’s it,” Seri teased, trying to calm her sobs.
She did laugh between sobs…a little.
“You’re going to be okay, Quill. I promise,” Seri assured her, rubbing her heaving back. She knew she shouldn’t be making promises she wasn’t sure were even possible. She was worried about her. She may as well be going to another planet. It wasn’t going to be any different for her.
Chapter 9
“I’m scared Seri,” Aquilla admitted as she gathered her things and looked around her room for the last time.
“I know you are, Quill. I’m scared for you. I don’t know what to say or do to make this easier for you.”
“Say you’ll stay with me. Don’t just leave me,” she begged. What the hell was wrong with her? She wasn’t some weak damsel. She was a Chavez. Where the hell was Julius? She wanted to yell at him and tell him how pissed off she was for leaving her there. She just wanted Julius. Why wasn’t he there for her? Why was he letting this happening to her?”
“I’m going to stay with you until Monica tells me that it’s okay to leave. You’ll be okay, Quill.” How the fuck did she end up being the security blanket? Getting involved in cases wasn’t her thing, then again, she had never found a kidnapped girl either.