Page 25 of Alamort

Not good enough. He should’ve told me the second she left his office. I jiggle the knife in his hand to let him know he’s pissing me off. Clenching my jaw, looking away from his face before I put my fucking fist into it.

“I will fucking kill you, Brian. We had an agreement. First, you allow River Walton to change her schedule and now?” Letting out a humorless laugh. “I’m barely able to keep Ben and Malice from having a go at you. They want you fucking gone. I’m half tempted to let go of their leashes. I am the only reason you’re fucking breathing right now.” I’m not going to give my hand away and let him know I have a deal with his wife. Nor that he will probably be dead by the end of all of this. Having someone higher up that was easy to control from the sidelines was supposed to be the simple part. We’re doing this for Ty. Hewas going to be someone. He was owed that much. We are in debt to him and his father.

“Here’s what you’re going to do, Brian. You are going to stick me into one of her classes since you can’t manage the one, simple job you were given.” I sneer. His name leaves a nasty taste in my mouth. He nods vigorously.

“Yes, of course, Crew.” Brian gasps in between his pained panting. His face pales. Good boy, I pat his cheek. Finished with this conversation, I rip my knife from his hand and wipe it on his loose towel.

“Get a hold of Lisa. If she’s even left.”

The cool air washes over my face, doing nothing to stem the anger that holds a permanent residence in my heart. We need a job, and soon. I’m reaching a breaking point that I don’t want to cross. The guys are probably as twitchy as I am to get back to work. I thought avenging Tyson would distract us, but it seems to be making everything worse. Pulling out my phone, I shoot off a text.

Any jobs?

That bad, huh?

Rolling my eyes at his response, he always has to read into everything. Leave it to Elijah Cox to over examine a simple text message. He may not be my birth father, but he’s more than a father than that deadbeat ever would be to us. Unfortunately, he isn’t wrong. Regardless of what I show the world, he’s alwaysbeen able to see through it. Sometimes more than Bennett. The feeling that we aren’t as close as we should be overwhelms me with regret.

I debate on lying to him, but then he’ll just call.

Yes, it’s that bad.

Martin Pierce, 0000 River Road, Saint George, ME. He’s hiding out on a lot. I’ll send his crimes.

That’s enough for me. I’ll let the guys know when I’m done downstairs at the gym. We will get it set up. It’s something we can get done this weekend. My phone dings with another text message.

Love you, Crew

I look at it, shutting the screen off. I haven’t been able to bring myself to say it. But he knows. He has to.Ding.Jesus Christ, should I just say it?

How to Save a Life - The Fray

This morning, I asked River for a little time by myself. She was disappointed, but relented. There was no coffee first thing. No one sitting in a chair by the window scrolling through their phone waiting for my alarm to go off.

The room feels emptier without her. She brings life into a room without trying. I find myself missing the sunshine in the form of River. Her presence makes me less alone. I’ve been here exactly seven days, including the start of class and so far, things have been progressing smoothly. I’m up to speed on all the curriculum, thanks to my last school. The real reason I needed this morning to myself was to send a text to Addi. Since I’ve been here, I have mainly been limited to “I miss you”, and “I love you” messages. Pulling out my phone, I update my sister on my life.

Cingulomania; a strong desire to hold someone in your arms. I believe I relate to that. I don’t mean to send short messages. The school load was more than I thought it would be.

Things that are new lately. I almost punched that one Leticia bitch in the face. She was recording me when I came out of the bathroom, after someone shredded my clothes. She has some weird obsession with Bennett Demonio, he’s cute enough. But not enough to risk my freedom.

I still haven’t heard from mom or dad, but maybe that’s for the best. River should be here soon, Iloveyou. Talk to you soon. -Firefly

Within the next hour, River promptly knocks on the door. A puzzled look on her face, a black envelope in hand.

“Where did you get that?” My pulse rises rapidly. I caught her red-handed!

She side-eyes me, “It was taped to your door. I pulled it off when you opened the door. What is it?” I’m unsure how to answer because I don’t quite know either. This is the second one I’ve gotten. Grabbing it from her hands, I rip it open.

I watch you when you sleep. I haunt you during the day. You stare at me and see nothing but darkness. What am I?

River’s head rests on my shoulder looking at the black paper matching the one in the bottom of my nightstand. She jumps back, “It’s a riddle!” She says excitedly. I furrow my brows. A riddle?

“Yeah, I’ve seen these before. My brother and I used to read them all the time when we were younger.”

“Where?” Thinking the envelopes are a normal occurrence and I’m overreacting.

“Online, duh. Or a book.” she laughs.

“Not the envelope attached to the door?”

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