Plausibility (16 page)

“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.

“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.

<><><>

Aquilla never spoke one word. She stared out the small plane window and said nothing. Seri tried to offer her something to drink, something to eat, her iPad, but nothing. All she did was stare quietly.

What the hell did Seri think she was going to do? Did she really think she was going to act like they were going on vacation? She didn’t want to live in the United States. She didn’t want to go to fucking Bridgeport
, Connecticut. She didn’t want to live with a family that she didn’t know. Nobody was giving her a choice in any of this fucked up mess. She wanted to cry. She wanted to scream and jump off the small plane.

She wasn’t staying. As soon as Seri left her, she was out of there.
With the envelope of money she stowed away, she was sure that she had plenty of money. How much she had, she wasn’t sure she hadn’t had the opportunity she needed to count it yet. It was currently stuffed in a jacket pocket buried in her suitcase, but she was sure it was enough to get her the hell out of there.

<>

“Jesus, Conner, its 6:30, Get up, Reese is going to catch you here,” Liz yelled, grabbing clothes and throwing them on. She knew she shouldn’t have let him stay. He could never get up and get out of her house. It was always the same thing, every freaking time. This man was worse than trying to wake Reese. She shouldn’t have let him stay. She should have just stayed awake, worrying the entire night. BUT NOOOO. She just had to fall for the whole distraction thing. It worked…for a while.

“I don’t know why you think we have to keep our relationship a secret from Reese,” Conner complained, getting dressed. “
We don’t have a reason to hide, nobody cares, and Reese is not a child,” he assured her. Half the faculty knew about them anyways.

“Can we maybe talk about this later?” They were not in a relationship. They were in a sexship. She didn’t have time for this. Reese needed to be up in ten minutes
. Shelby would be there in four hours, and her ex-husband was arriving sometime. Shit, she forgot to call him last night.

Conner kissed her at the door. “Call me later, and let me know how things go.”

“I will, don’t be mad at me,” she begged. She knew she was being obstinate about the whole hiding thing. There was no reason for it. It was her insecurities, not his.

Liz opened the door to her ex-husband with his finger an inch from the doorbell.

Damnit.

“Um, good morning,” Emmanuel said from the door, looking from one to the other.

“I’ll see ya later,” Liz said, rushing Conner out the door. She didn’t even introduce the two men. She didn’t feel the need to introduce her...her…whatever he was to her ex-husband.

“Well, that’s sweet. You’re kidnapped daughter is coming home after 14 years and you’re entertaining
a guest,” Emmanuel started as soon as he was in the door.

“Don’t Manny,” she warned, tightening her robe. “What are you doing here already? She’s not going to be here for four more hours.”

“I thought maybe you would want talk about things. I was unaware of your other obligations.”

“You know what
, Manny? You have no room to stand there and judge me for a Goddamn thing. You’re the one that___.”

“STOP!”
Reese yelled from the stairs right before she turned and ran back up. She didn’t even remember her parents being married, and this is still how they acted around each other. Even when her dad came to pick her up for the weekend they couldn’t go without a screaming match. He wasn’t about to stay in the car and wait for her to come out. No, he had to use the bathroom,  get a drink, or ask her mom about something. He just needed the five minutes to fight with her. She swore they both secretly had an addiction to their fighting.

“Happy?” Liz
said, turning to Manny.

“Me? I didn’t start that
, you did.”

“Manny, let’s stop this. Our daughter is coming home today,” she reminded him as it sank in again. “Do you want coffee?”

“Yes, but I’m going to go drive Reese to school first. I’m sorry, no fighting for the next few days, deal?”

“Days?
Are you staying here tonight?”

“I was planning on it. I took three days off. Cody can handle things. Is that okay with you?”

“Um, yeah, it’s fine. Go take Reese to school.”

Shit
, this was just great, like she didn’t have enough to deal with, without throwing Manny on the pile.

<>

Conner nodded to Emmanuel as he walked past his car and into the school.

“Who is that guy, Reese?” he asked, pulling to the walkway.

“Mr. Sheffield. He’s my math teacher, and yes, mom is doing him.”

“Oh, that’s just great. I’m glad you have such a great role model in your life. Maybe we should enter her in like some sort of mother of the year
contest or something,” Emmanuel angrily spoke about his ex-wife and Reese’s mother.

“I’ve got to go
, I’ll see you later.” Why did she have to say that? Now he was going to go right back to the house and start all over. Her parents were exasperating. Thank God he lived almost two hours away.

<>

“I hope you showered before you dressed. My daughter just told me that you were doing her teacher. Really Liz? Do you think maybe you could abstain from bringing guys home when my daughter is here?” Of course they were going to do this. Why would she expect anything less? It wasn’t like they were about to see their daughter for the first time in 14 years. This made more sense.

Let’s fight about things that are none of your business. “Maybe if you had YOUR daughter every other weekend like you are
suppose to, you wouldn’t have to worry about that.”

“Some of us a
ctually have to work a real job,” he disputed.

Great
, of all times for the flood gate to be lifted, it had to be now, with him.

“Jesus, Liz. I’m
sorry, I didn’t mean to make you cry.”

Liz wiped the uninvited tears with the back or her hand an
d shoved his hands away from, trying to caress her arms. “Don’t flatter yourself. You didn’t make me cry. You don’t hold that power over me anymore. My daughter is coming home. I am scared to death of who she is. I am scared to death that she’s not going to be able to handle everything that has gone on in her life. I don’t know her. Oh God, Why?! Why did this happen?” she wailed and then sucked in unavailable air.

Emmanuel made her sit down and take slow breaths. He poured them both a cup of coffee while she tried to calm her asthma
, it wasn’t working.

“I need my inhaler,” she requested, holding her heavy chest.

“Where is it?”

“On my night stand.”

Emmanuel took the stairs two at a time and grabbed the nebulizer, right next to the empty condom wrapper. It was all he could do to keep his mouth shut.

Liz breathed in her medicine, immediately feeling relief.

“Can you still get pregnant?” he asked.

“What?” Now what the hell?

“I was just wondering why you were using condoms. I figured you would have taken care of that by now.”

Liz rolled her eyes and sipped her coffee. It was no wonder she divorced this man. “I’m not talking to you about my sex life. We’re supposed to be discussing Shelby. Why do you give a shit whether or not I can get pregnant?”

“I’m just curious, can you?”

“Oh my God, Manny
, yes, yes, I can still get pregnant.”

“Don’t you think you’re a little old to be taking that chance?”

Liz dropped her head as it shook back and forth. Her head hurt; he made her head hurt. He needed to get out of her house before she stabbed him in his throat… 20 times.

“Okay, okay, I’m sorry. Let’s talk about Shelby,” he offered. He knew Liz pretty well. He knew when he was about to get bitch slapped. “Tell me what you know.”

Liz told him everything that she knew, which wasn’t enough. She explained about the agent staying at her house, the therapy that they wanted her in,  the fact that she didn’t want to be called Shelby, how she loved the man that she was raised to believe was her dad, and about what a sheltered life she had lived. They actually talked over three cups of coffee without raising their voices, not once.

<>

Liz was beside herself. Emmanuel had to make a drugstore run for another inhaler. He was starting to worry about her. He had never seen her asthma act up this much. She usually had it under control.

Liz called her parents, breaking the news. They wanted to come
, but she denied them their request. Before she started tossing family members her way, she needed some time with her first and get a feel for what she was up against. Having an agent stay with her, was frustrating enough already. How was she supposed to get to know her daughter with her there?

“Jesus, Liz
, sit down, you’re wearing a path in the carpet,” Emmanuel warned.

“I can’t Manny
, how can you be so calm? I am jumping out of my skin here,” she described, looking out the window for 100
th
time. She wasn’t sure why. Shelby wasn’t scheduled to arrive for another hour.

“It’s going to be fine, Liz. Everything will work out
, I promise. Now sit down.”

“Um….Manny?”
Liz said, looking out the window again. Shit. Who called the press? Everything wasn’t going to be okay. She didn’t want them there.

Manny got up to see the white van with WKTV printed on the side. It only took a minute for
the crew to be out of the van and starting on the news story right away. They had nerve, Liz couldn’t believe their audacity. The female reporter walked right to the door and rang the doorbell.

“You need to leave!” Emmanuel demanded, opening the door. He didn’t want them there either. It brought back too many memories. The press drove them crazy 14 years ago w
hen Shelby had been taken. Liz actually stopped living; she wouldn’t go out of their town house, she lost her job, and he had to hire someone to take care of Reese. She wouldn’t even do that. That’s when the fighting began. That’s when their little family had been torn apart all because some savaged demon took their baby girl.

“Mr. Rimmer, how emotional is this for your family?” the reporter asked the stupid, ridiculous question, ignoring his request as she held the microphone out for a reply.

“Just close the door, Manny,” Liz commanded. This was absurd, were they really going to have to deal with the media? How did they find out so quickly? They had just found out themselves.

<><><>

“Seri, I’m going to be sick,” Aquilla warned ten minutes into their forty-five minute drive.

Seri pulled off the side of the road and Aquilla heaved her shrimp over the guardrail.

“Please, let’s get a hotel room tonight, I’m not ready for this,” Aquilla begged. She didn’t want to be in Nowhere, Connecticut. She wanted to be home, in her own bed, with Julius and her father. She couldn’t do it, she couldn’t.

“Come on
, Quill, we’re doing this. I’m going to be right there with you,” Seri assured her, trying to coax her away from the grip she had on the guardrail.

Aquilla looked
up, she could jump the guardrail and run. She could go somewhere, anywhere. Wait. Her money was in the car. FUCK. She didn’t want this family. She had a family. The Feds took them from her.

“Don’t even think about it
, get in the car, Quill,” Seri warned, sensing her sudden plan to run.

Aquilla stared out the window as they drove. This was definitely a different planet. The road that they traveled was mostly country with fields, livestock
, and trees. The houses and farms were spread out unlike the close proximity of the buildings she was used to, of course she did live on a small island. There was no room for remoteness between houses and buildings. Their house was one of the few elaborates with that luxury.

Seri tried to talk to her about different things that they passed. Aquilla wasn’t interested. She just wanted to curl up and die.
With her heart beating a million miles a minute and the anxiety of the unknown, it was almost bad enough to send her into a full blown panic attack.