The shower was hot, almost scalding, and even after scrubbing myself down, the sll of gunsmoke lingered just a little. It was possible it was just my imagination.
I settled down to get sleepy on the bed, alternating between scrolling on my phone and nervously checking the window, hoping Alisha would get back soon.
When the headlights finally appeared and cast long blocks of light across the ceiling and walls of the bedroom, I got up to greet her at the door.
Matteo had driven her ho, Lili shadowing him, as always now. She was completely exhausted, enough that she wasn’t able to fully hide it. Even under makeup, her eyes were darkened, the dark circles undeniable, and she hadn’t fixed the part of her hair for long enough, a long, flowing strand was out of place.
I gave Matteo and Lili a soft smile and polite nod, and let them go as Alisha wandered deeper into the house. She didn’t get very far before simply kneeling on the floor and leaning her shoulder against the wall.
She was still silent as I approached and kneeled next to her.
“Alisha,” I said softly. “Let's get you in bed,” I offered.
She responded with a simple, “mm,” and an exhausted sigh as she slowly blinked her eyes open, trying to focus on that simple task.
I held out my hands, which she took and I pulled her back to her feet, before bending over to pull her heels off. They were tight, and deep lines were impressed into her skin beneath them. Surely, they had been hurting her feet all day.
She still moved a bit zombie-like up the stairs as I followed behind her, worried about her falling.
“Sit,” I told her, gesturing to the bed.
She did so, her head lolling a little in her exhaustion. I fetched a washcloth from her bathroom, put so makeup remover on it and ca back out to find her half asleep already, slowly leaning to one side. My hand guided her back upright before my other wiped away as much of the make up as I could before hurriedly fetching her tooth brush and a glass and scrubbing her teeth the best I could, which wasn’t great because her face kept moving languidly, and then prompted her to spit into the glass, which she did very unenthusiastically.
Then, finally, I let her slump back onto the bed. By the ti I went into the bathroom again to rinse her toothbrush and glass and ca back, she was out cold. She was still fully dressed, but at least her teeth wouldn’t rot in her sleep.
I got ready for bed, then laid next to her and pulled her close. She still slled like herself, but with a tinge of fear underneath. Fear was a different sll than BO. It was more acrid and sharp and it didn’t simply wash off. I knew from experience. How much soap or what kind of soap didn’t matter, there was always a lingering odor.
My breathing slowed, intentionally and I buried my face against her back to sleep, knowing that at least for now, she was safe.
I woke when Alisha did, her phone ringing incessantly and her mumbled grogginess before she answered with a clear, though sowhat gravelly, “yes?”
The voice on the other side was unfamiliar and my brain was still processing the trauma of waking up so early.
Alisha got up slowly, still listening to whatever was being said on the other side. Then she turned to , gave a small kiss and whispered, “go back to sleep sweetie.” And slid out of the bed the rest of the way.
I fought the sleepiness, trying to get up and make sure Alisha at least got so coffee before she went back out into the chaos, but my body refused and I slipped under again. The next ti I woke up, there was sunlight and I squinted in it and pushed myself upright. Alisha was gone and I was alone in the big bed. The sheets were still soft and silky, the comforter still radiating my warmth, but it felt cold.
Once out of bed, I took another shower, trying to warm up. Then I went downstairs for coffee, falling into the familiar routine. Matteo and Lili had already gotten here at so point and were running drills in the workout room.
THe coffee maker complained steamily about having to work, but in the end i got my coffee and sat at the table to drink it in peace and loneliness.
I hadn’t seen much of Alisha since that night she had a phone call with whoever was running the Costello operation. Only enough to know she was completely exhausted and running on fus that were quickly petering out.
Halfway through my coffee, I felt Matteo’s shadow in the doorway and looked up.
“Alisha’s going to be busy today but we need to pick up the vehicles,” he explained. “So let us know when you’re ready to go.”
I nodded, “of course,” I agreed.
The vehicles were ready, which ant I would now have a car of my own. Even if I didn’t use it very often, that was still exciting.
I finished my coffee and went about getting ready, brushing my hair, then my teeth, did my makeup and gave my nails a quick trim to make sure they were even.
Matteo and Lili led outside as soon as I ca back down. We took the Audrix, they sat in the front and as usual I took the back seat to myself, staring out the window until Matteo brought us to stop outside that familiar, over stocked garage.
The sa salesman was waiting for us, hands folded behind his back. He frowned upon seeing the three of us.
“Ms Takeno?” he asked.
“She’s otherwise occupied,” Matteo explained, his voice dropping an octave lower into his ‘don’t ask questions’ tone.
It was enough the salesman accepted the explanation and led us into the garage.
Matteo folded his arms as the salesman explained in detail the custom work they’d done on the two cars.
The Escapade looked identical to the one that’d been trashed except the headlights and taillights were a slightly different design. And then there was the Cruise.
It felt small next to the Escapade, but as I approached, it was still a car. The paint was a flawless pearlescent pink tinged white that shimred in the light. It looked nice from the outside but the salesman insisted on opening the door for and sitting inside.
I did so, sowhat reluctantly, careful with my shoes that could track dirt into it.
The new car sll was pervasive, but that would fade over ti. I sank against the seat. It was cool black leather, soft and almost silky to the touch. I hadn’t asked for it, but Alisha or the salesman had simply decided to add all the bells and whistles to it. There were seat warrs, a steering wheel heater, the radio had a satellite subscription, the seat adjustnt was motorized so I didn’t even have to push or pull to adjust it, and there was a backup cara. I’d never driven with a backup cara.
“What’d’ya think?” the salesman asked.
I nodded. “Its great,” I told him. There was plenty of uncertainty swirling around in my head aimlessly.
Matteo looked at and decided: “you’ll drive it back.”
“Huh?” escaped before I did the math. We had three vehicles that needed to get back to Alisha’s and there were three of us.
He directed Lili to drive the Audrix as the salesman presented with the key, still with a dealer tag on it, and Matteo climbed himself into the Escapade.
We ford a caravan, Matteo in the lead, following in the Cruise, feeling it respond eagerly to any bit of input, and Lili trailed behind in the Audrix.
It was a calm experience, for once. My heart was fluttering because this car was mine, and it was nice, and every ti I even thought about touching the gas pedal it lurched hungrily. It would take so getting used to, like the rcai. If I ever drove a normal car again I’d probably struggle to calibrate back to normal horsepower and torque.
Matteo parked the Escapade in its old place in the first garage and the second opened soon after. He directed to park the Cruise in the pri spot, closest to the door, and his Audrix slid in neatly next to it. Lined up the collection of cars looked a lot like an ad targeting the widest range of people possible. The elite, the practical, the sophisticated commoner, and the bro that would like a car like the Audrix.
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