Page 86 of Black
CHAPTER 15
Lake Union
Cia
Our first night in Gabriel’s apartment I spent on the couch. In my twenty-one years of living, I had only shared a bed with one other person: Gabriel. And now that I was back to being alone, I missed his warmth and closeness.
Gabriel was out with friends while I was lying alone in the apartment, looking out on the idyllic view of Lake Union with the pretty lights from the restaurants and houseboats.
My thoughts where occupied with the people I knew and how they would react to my being Cia, compared to Black. I gave a small snicker at the thought that they might not even recognize me without my piercings and black armor. I could suit up and go find them since I had my black outfit in a bag, but surprising them with my new look might be more fun. I was pretty sure that Daniel, at least, would be shocked to see me like this.
Daniel and I used to date… or date is maybe not the right word for two people like us, but Daniel was the first to break down my wall and become my friend. He was also the first guy to ever kiss me and hold my hand.
He’s older than me by fifteen years and I met him when he stayed at The Inn for a few months four years ago. Back then, I was a junior in high school and he had just retired from the army, but he was determined to get to know me and volunteered to keep an eye out for the cops when I did my street art. The thing I love about Daniel is that he’s got a great sense of humor and he takes me for who I am.
The problem with Daniel is that he’s got a temper and suffers from severe PTSD. He’s been kicked out of four apartments in the time I’ve known him because he gets in trouble with neighbors all the time. Still, he’s a good guy, and I would call Daniel right now, if I had a phone.
A quick gaze at the microwave in the kitchen told me it was already a quarter past eleven. If I wanted to find Daniel, I would have to go search his usual hangouts, which weren’t the nicest parts of the city. Good thing I wasn’t a scaredy-cat.
?∞?
The realization that things were different creeped up on me slowly, and by the time I reached the Pike Place Market area I really missed my black armor.
When I dressed as a Goth, most people wouldn’t give me much attention. Some would even cross the street. Now, wearing my white outfit and blond hair I received too much unwanted attention. Creepy guys would whistle and catcall at me. One even sniffed at me and called me his flower.
These weremystreets, god damn it. I knew this area like my own back pocket – the best places to attract customers, escape routes if the police showed. As Black, I had walked here fearlessly. As Cia, I was constantly on alert.
Daniel wasn’t in any of the three first places I searched and when I finally found him, he was down by the pier hanging out with a bunch of people that were for most parts as troubled as us.
I leaned up against a lamppost and waited for him to spot me. Several of the people in the group shot me quick looks and frowns and even Daniel glanced over a few times. None of them recognized me as their friend.
I stepped closer and stood only a few feet from them when they all turned their heads.
“Hey, lady, something we can help you with?” one of them said with a bit of hostility.
“Don’t give me that tone, Boots. I’m here to see Daniel.”
Boots narrowed his eyes and Daniel pushed up from the bench he’d been sitting on. “What the fuck?”
I stood still as he stepped closer to me. “Black?” he asked and took me in with an incredulous stare.
I grinned. “Hey, D… did you miss me?”
Normally Daniel would have hugged me. He was one of the few I allowed to touch me, but he looked uncertain about how to greet me. “What happened to you? Did you join a cult or something?”
My grin widened. “You could say that. I got busted for a visit to Bartell’s and got taken by the cops.”
He nodded. “I figured it was something like that. So is this a disguise to hide from the police?” He pointed up and down my body.
“Nahh… I’ve got my first court hearing in ten days, and since I stole meds the judge and my lawyer advised me to go into rehab before the hearing.”
“Ohh… so that’s why you look like an angel all dressed in white. Did they make you meditate for a few weeks to find your inner peace and shit like that?” he said with sympathy.
“Not exactly, but I’ve got good news.”
Daniel and I took a walk and I told him about Gabriel and the camp. Several times he was bending over laughing so hard that he cried.
“I don’t think you appreciate how traumatic it was to hear a woman dressed as a child ask me if I wanted to go play in the woods with her daddy.”
