A Matter of Trust
By the time they reached Howie’s house, Nick had fallen asleep in the back seat and Ariana could barely resist the urge to take out a gun, shoot her husband and drive away with the boy. It didn’t seem fair how many times she has been put in this position; with all that she needed no more than an arm’s length away, but yet it was always too soon to do anything. At least that’s what he always told her. “Not yet my love, it’s still too soon. When the time is right we’ll just know.”
Sometimes she felt like that time was never going to come. Maybe he was just telling her that just so she would stop asking. It made sense she wouldn’t trust him completely because after all it’s not like anyone should really trust her. That thought brought about a smile to her face as Howie gently stirred the boy awake to bring him inside.
“Nicky…we’re here.”
“Just a few more minutes.”
“The days of me being able to carry you are long over. You need to wake up…”
The boy rubbed at his eyes and for a few seconds, he was that child again, so innocent and young. He was the one that Howie remembered so well, the one that would sing at the drop of a hat just for a piece of candy and would hug a total stranger without hesitation. He was sad to see how much Nicky changed after his mother’s death. It seemed so unfair that this boy who used to be so affectionate and loving towards everyone had taken such a hard turn.
He slowly made his way out of the car and staggered up the porch steps and into Howie’s house. The agent tried his best to hide the smile that was forming on his lips at the sight. Once inside, Ariana led Nick to a couch and covered him with a blanket.
“My goodness he is wiped out. Do you think the boy gets any sleep at home?”
“I have a feeling it has to do with the fight.”
“Are you going to call his dad?”
Howie thought about this for a second, and shook his head, “No, I’m going to call AJ like he asked me too.”
“But don’t you think his dad should be the one to handle this?”
“Riri, I want him to trust me. I don’t think the kid feels like there’s anyone out there he can trust.” She nodded and gently placed her hand on her husband’s face.
“I love you Howard.” She said pulling him close and giving him a kiss.
“I love you more.” He answered, grabbing the phone and calling AJ.
“Honey…where’s the bubble bath?” Stacey yelled from inside the bathroom as the fireman tried his best to prepare a romantic dinner for two.
“I don’t know…try under the sink.”
“It’s not there.”
“Then maybe I don’t have any.”
She walked out in her bathrobe with her hair up in a towel. “What do you mean you don’t have any?”
“I don’t have any.”
“But I always take a bubble bath after a long shift. It relaxes me.”
“How about I relax you instead?” He asked walking behind her and messaging her neck.
“Now, that sounds like a great idea,” She answered, closing her eyes and letting his hands calm her down. “What is that smell?” She asked after a few seconds.
“Oh, that my darling is dinner. I’m cooking chicken parmesan.”
“It smells like its burning.” A few seconds later the fire alarm went off which made his girlfriend laugh hysterically as AJ rushed to pull the chicken off of the burner.
“Damn!” He hissed as he threw the frying pan into the sink and then jumped up, trying to hit the button to silence the fire alarm. When he couldn’t get the button he managed to knock the entire thing off the ceiling.
“Isn’t that illegal?” Stacey asked, highly amused by the scene she just witnessed. “I mean you are a fireman what kind of example are you setting? And what kind of fireman doesn’t know how to cook?”
“You think this is all really funny don’t you?”
“A bit.” She said moving in closer to her boyfriend as he did the same.
“Well, we’ll see who has the last laugh…” He was just about to reach down and kiss her lips when the phone rang.
“Let it ring…” She insisted as her hands slowly moved up to his neck, ready to pull him close.
“Okay…” He kissed her just as Howie’s voice came blaring onto his answering machine.
“Uh…hey AJ, it’s me Howie. I’m really sorry to bother you but…um…we have a situation here. Nicky is here and he told me to call you…” At the mention of his little brother’s name he ran to pick up the phone.
“Howie?” Stacey sat at the table and listened as AJ talked to the friend of the family.
“He what?-is he okay? –why on earth…okay I’ll be right there…thanks for calling…bye.”
AJ turned to his girlfriend and bit on his bottom lip which had Stacey smile at him, “I take it you have to go?”
“Yeah…I’m sorry…it’s Nicky. He managed to get himself into trouble again. I swear that child is single handedly trying to ruin my sex life!”
She stood up and walked over to her boyfriend, “That’s okay…you go rescue your little brother, when you get back I’ll be here…trying to salvage dinner.”
“I love you Stace.”
“Bring me back some bubble bath!” She yelled to him as he walked out the door sighing…
Kevin and Brian got back to their apartment building shortly after AJ left. Both exhausted and annoyed about their dead end. Kevin especially was hoping to be able to talk to Anita since he really had to get up the courage to go in and talk to her in the first place.
“You don’t think Anita could be directly involved do you Kev?”
“I don’t know Brian…I would hope not but it’s weird that she was connected to both victims.”
“But it wasn’t really her it was John.”
“John’s been dead for a long time. Those phone records were fairly recent. It had to have been Anita…or Patty.”
“Unless, she is living with someone else, I mean it’s possible she could be seeing someone or even be remarried by now.”
Kevin nodded, “That’s true. I guess it’ll have to remain a mystery at least until morning.”
“Kev…”
“Yeah?”
“Thanks for bringing me along. I know you don’t want me on this case.”
“It’s not that I don’t want you on the case Brian, it’s just that I don’t want you in danger.”
“That was nice and a little gay.” Kevin laughed at that. He knew his little brother appreciated his over protectiveness even though he would never dare say it. Truth was Kevin was equally grateful to have family on the case with him. He wasn’t sure how he would handle it otherwise.
“You want to come in and watch the game with me?” He looked over at his brother and shook his head, “Nah, not tonight buddy. I think I’m just going to hit the hay early. Probably call dad to make sure the little one made his way home.”
“Yeah…okay well, if you change your mind you know where to find me.” Brian said hopping out of the car as Kevin followed. They were both unaware of the person watching their every move, sitting in the car right across from where they were, taking notes.
Nick sat at the table, pushing some left over pot roast that Ariana had made for dinner the night before around on his plate, “Aren’t you hungry?” She asked the boy, taking a seat next to him with a glass of wine. He shrugged at her and sipped on his Coke and she couldn’t help but become aroused by that. He was an adorable little boy, true it was wrong of her to have a little crush but ever since he was a small child, she knew if he grew to look anything like his older brothers, she’d want to do him one day.
“Do you remember when you were a little boy, how you used to come in and sing songs for me?”
He acted like he didn’t hear her, she could tell he was uncomfortable and secretly that made her happy. So, she moved in and brushed the hair out of his eyes. “You were such a ham Nickolas…all the agents would come in and laugh and clap…”
“I’m older now, that was some dumb kid stuff.”
“I miss that dumb kid stuff.” He looked up at her then and she smiled a warm, gentle smile.
“AJ is on his way…” Howie said, walking in and ruining her moment.
“Did you tell him what happened?”
“No Nicky, I didn’t because I’m still not even sure myself what happened.”
“Nothing…really.”
“Well, it sure doesn’t look like nothing. How’s the food?”
“Good.”
“My wife is a great cook isn’t she?” He asked walking over and kissing her on the cheek. Nick just smiled and nodded, his eyes never reaching Ariana’s. Maybe he had a crush too, she thought, which made her smile even wider.
“You guys should have just let me sleep.”
“I know, but AJ will be here any minute.”
“He’s going to take me back to my dad’s.”
“Maybe not buddy.” Howie reached over and tousled Nick’s hair to which the boy recoiled in embarrassment. “I think you should press charges on that kid Nicky, he needs to be taught it’s not nice to steal.”
“He didn’t steal it, I let him borrow it.”
“So he can break it?”
Nick shrugged once more just as the doorbell rang. Once Howie left to answer the door, Ariana made her way behind Nick and gently messaged his shoulder’s. “You are too tense for being so young…I’ll wrap up the pot roast for you to take home.” She winked at him and grabbed the plate as soon as she saw AJ enter the kitchen.
“Why do you keep doing this to me? Do you not want me to have sex?”
“AJ!” Howie scolded, which made Nick laugh.
“Sorry D, it’s not like he has never heard the S-E-X word before.” He took a seat next to his little brother and took in his appearance. The kid looked like crap; he had dark circles under his eyes and under his chin was a bit bruised. “What happened kiddo?”
“Nothing, I was walking down the street and some kid asked to borrow my skate board.”
“Nick, I’m not dad or Kevin…please give me the crap free version. What the hell really happened?”
“Fine…it was the kid I punched.”
“The one who was talking shit about mom?” Nick nodded, no longer making eye contact with his brother but now with the table.
“He did this to you?” AJ asked, gently taking his brother’s chin and looking at the bruise forming underneath it.
“He also hurt his side AND he was limping.” Howie added now sitting across from the brothers.
“That son of a bitch…he better hope I never come into contact with him.” AJ sneered as he gently lifted Nick’s shirt to look at the bruises forming on his side.
Nick put his hand on his older brother’s shoulder, “Relax, it’s not a big deal…I just don’t want dad to find out.”
“And how are you going to cover that up?”
“I was hoping I could stay with you tonight?” His eyes grew wide and hopeful and it broke AJ’s heart. “Buddy…you can’t keep running to us to avoid dad.”
“Why?”
“Because you can’t.” AJ went to give him a small hug but Nick pushed him away.
“I knew you’d do that. Forget I even asked. I’m just going to go stay with friends.”
“No you aren’t Nick. I’m taking you home. I’ll go with you squirt, and I’ll even explain what happened. But home is where you need to be.”
“It’s only because you want to get laid!” Nick said, rolling his eyes at his brother.
“Okay that’s part of it maybe.” He was hoping that would make the kid smile and he was right, “But truthfully it’s because you can’t always run away.”
Nick nodded which brought a smile to both AJ and Howie’s faces. “So you ready to go home?”
“I guess.”
“Did you thank Howie and Ariana?”
“Not yet…” Nick walked over and gave Howie a huge hug, “Thanks for coming to my rescue Howie.”
“Anytime kiddo…I just hope I don’t have to do that anymore.”
“Where is your beautiful wife?” AJ looked around the room as if she would magically appear out of nowhere.
“I have no idea; she’s probably upstairs getting ready for a shower.”
“Tell her we said thanks for everything.” AJ said as he placed his hand on Nick’s shoulder and walked him out the door.
When Ariana heard the door close she moved back to the phone, “They’re gone so he’ll be coming up here any minute. I have to go.”
“Aww baby but we were just getting to the good part…” She smiled at the phone.
“When I see you I’ll do it in person…now I gotta go! By the way did you talk to that kid? Is everything in place?”
“I’m working on that right now…”
“Okay good! Gotta go, here he comes…” She hung up the phone just as her husband walked into the bedroom.
“Did they leave?” She asked innocently as she removed her shirt.
“Yeah, they just did. Nicky says thanks for everything.”
“Well, I hope he took that pot roast.”
“I think he left it here…I’m sorry baby.”
“That’s okay. I hope he manages to work everything out with his dad.”
“Yeah, me too.”
“He seems like such a troubled kid.”
“I know.”
“Maybe we should offer to take him for a weekend or something. Go camping or take him to an amusement park. He seems to get along really well with you.”
That made Howie smile, “I love him as if he was my own brother. That sounds like a great idea actually.”
She turned around, bare-chested and hugged her husband. Thinking about the phone sex she had moments earlier with her true love.
“So, you are sure everything is set then? I don’t want any screw ups at all!” Ariana’s lover said to the young man standing before him. He seemed too young for the job but this was the kid who supposedly would get it done.
He looked around nervously rubbing his neck as he did so. “Yeah, I am sure.”
“Because if something goes wrong, I’m coming after you and your family.”
Now the kid’s demeanor changed, “Nothing is going to go wrong. I know exactly what I’m doing.”
“You better; I’m paying you enough money for it.”
The kid moved backwards now and brushed his hands through his hair. “Dude, it’s on….you just tell me when and I’ll be there with my guys.”
“Are your ‘guys’ as young as you are?” The man asked with an amused look on his face.
“Age doesn’t matter dude…” The kid said with a smile before walking out the door. Once outside, he allowed his fear to take over and fell to his knees, wanting to vomit, terrified about what he was getting himself into. It was too late to back out now though. There was too much riding on this.
“You okay Charlie?” One of his gang asked him. He quickly shed his scared face and stood up.
“Yeah I just tripped on a fucking rock or something.”
“So? What are we going to do about that punk ass Richardson?”
Charlie took a deep breath, “We aren’t going to worry about him just yet, we have something more important to do first. Something that will make us a ton of money. Are you guys in?”
The other boys looked at each other and nodded… “We’re in.”
That being said, they all walked off not realizing they had made a deal with the devil…
Have a great weekend! I'm not sure about this friday guys but I will try!
