Product of the Broken

Ch.8


The floor beneath her feet was cold as ice, something to be thankful for she guessed because of the blistering heat that existed just feet away from them outside the outer walls of the house. Suburbia was just like hell really, only hotter. Staring blankly at the tile pattern she noticed one of her toe's was sticking promptly out of a hole that had begun digesting the top of her left sock. Time was standing still she declared. Craning her neck to the direction of the running shower she examined the outline of Nicolae's body through the frosted shower glass door. He'd been standing under the stream of warm water for an hour now and as the following fifteen minutes rolled around he sat tiredly at the bottom of the shower cabin leaning his head against the glass door. This was a common ritual he preformed every chance he got to take a shower for the longest amount of time possible. She'd learned quite early on in the very beginning that it was just useless to try and break him of this odd habit. It was all disturbingly graceful in it's own way as anything else Nicolae did. Standing with one arm to brace himself against the shower cabin, head slung low under the steady hot stream of mineral induced water beating down on his scalp, rinsing away the dirt that made it's home inside of his pores and inner self throughout the long day, shutting his eyes he eased into a state of mind couldn't be identified.
The slick water sliding down his backside and along his superbly jagged hips, most everything about him was very angular and rawboned, so it was rather fleeting to watch the water sheet off his arms and along his face. Kissing his eyelids with provoked heat and cruising down the outline of his parted lips in a gradually descending mannerism of imperceptibility. It pooled under the soft curve of his lower lip, before making it's never ending decent down into the drain. Cambria had lost track of her day dreaming and was briefly startled when she heard the hard clanking sound of the pipes turning off slowly with a counterclockwise motion. Standing up from sitting on the bathroom sink she popped her neck in a lady like fashion picking up the nearest cotton fresh towel. Nicolae watched her movement very carefully and took the towel from her and with an angelic "Thank you" and bow of his upper body, which was dripping water all over the smooth surface of which he stood on. Blinking his topaz eyes towards her he raised a brow at her puzzled expression at his method of drying his auburn hair. Which was simply a good tousle with the bath towel.
When he'd stepped inside the house it had appeared empty, the T.V wasn't even on. Rubbing his arms as he stood in the entrance way he glanced into the office briefly before moving onward down the hall. He knew he should be scared of Mitchell and the power he had over the individuals of his choice. But somehow Nicolae couldn't bring himself to fear people like Mitchell anymore. He'd been conceived and abused by a man a thousand times more frightening then Mitchell could ever hope to become in the eyes of those he preyed upon. Mitchell was a teddy bear compared the malicious, cruelty molded into flesh and bones that was his father. There wasn't really anything the rich man could do to him that his daddy dearest hadn't already. Of course he could be wrong and he prayed that he wasn't. Cambria had been at best nervous as hell to see him standing in the living room flipping through the T.V channels. When he'd seen her reflection in the glare of the screen of the T.V. set he'd turned down the volume and set the remote down. Turing his body half way around he watched her for a moment before saying "So, what's for lunch I'm starving." Walking past her and into the kitchen he opened the fridge. "Nicolae wait, I want to say I'm sorry." He stopped rooting through the fridge putting on a practiced smile "Cam it's fine, come on lets have lunch." It unnerved her to some extent that he brushed off her apology and acted as if the sky hadn't fallen. But if he wasn't willing to let the fight fester any longer then so be it, she wasn't going to argue with that. He'd been fairly silent at the table until she started a bit of conversation, as she watched his long hair fall into his eyes as he took a long drink of iced tea. "So, did you have fun with your friend?" Nicolae didn't really need to ask how she knew he stayed with a friend but she probably assumed it was Dane, whom of which he hadn't spoken to in several months and hadn't even seen around town. He'd pushed his guilt of not visiting the other man far inside of mind into a place he could easily ignore. "Yea Kimber and I had a lot of fun. He took me out to a club and we had drinks we didn't really do a whole lot but yea we enjoyed ourselves for the most part." He said setting down the glass carefully onto his napkin. Cambria nipped the inside of her lip. "Kimber? Another friend like that teacher?" Nicolae found himself laughing softly. "Oh no, no nothing like Dane at all Kimber's someone I went to school with." He knew better then to say anything really in depth about Kimber. Of course that doesn't stop women from asking about him. "You've known him for a long time then?" Picking up their empty plates he nodding "My whole life." She sensed his lack of interest in her questions and decided she should stop, he just got back there was no need to push his buttons.
So now here he was, standing with a towel draped across his hips, tucked in against the front of his stomach. He knew better then to do anything thoughtless at a time like this he only wanted to go take a nap maybe watch a movie before hand. Cambria seemed to be thinking around the same only she deemed it ultimately necessary that she kiss his cheek before he escaped into his room. Looking at her over his shoulder he was torn between telling her he wasn't in the mood or keeping his mouth shut and getting dressed. It was much easier said then done.
Pulling a silk t-shirt over his head he smoothed the front of it out with his palms and then slipped into a pair of black boxers and dark gray Dickies pants. He'd enjoyed the look of revulsion on Cambria's face when he insisted he wouldn't let her get him a tuxedo if she didn't buy him a pair of pants he'd actually heard of. Sitting down in the living room Nicolae found them a suitable movie it fit the day perfectly, some bloody European horror. He wedged himself into the corner of the couch and tucked his long legs underneath himself laying his head against the armrest. Cambria took up the rest of the couch with her tiny frame watching Nicolae more then the movie. Nicolae however seemed totally engrossed in the Zombies on the television screen ripping apart humans and burning down homes. "Nicolae, are you sure your okay?" She asked as amiably as possible. He glanced over at her "Yea I'm just peachy, for being harassed by your husband all morning can we just watch the movie Cam? No more questions for awhile please?" Her expression melted slightly and he turned his attention back towards the T.V. set.
For most people in this world dreams are a safe haven they visit as they sleep away the troubles of their every day lives. For people such as Kimber, there was no safe place, no haven to escape to once he shut his eyes and allowed his body to drift off into the darkness because it was never truly dark. Curling up into a fetal position Kimber sniffed loudly, trying his hardest not to cry. "It was just a dream you freaking pansy" Hugging his knee's. "She can't bloody hurt you anymore." His own words did nothing to calm his rattled nerves. Sucking in a deep breathe it hitched in his throat and caused him to cough harshly before he regained his composer and was able to sit up all the way in bed. Getting dressed seemed to take a painfully long time and Kimber knew it was probably late evening and a decent enough hour for him to go out and do something to keep himself occupied. Brushing his hair out with his fingers has he walked out the door, he took the stairs downward two at a time and stopped short before he missed the last step and cracked his skull. Laughing fretfully at his lack of balance he stood up and descended the last with more care. The clubs were excruciatingly full tonight a little more then his liking so he decided to go back to the gentlemen's club. It was a better place then any at this time of night and basically had the same thing going on. Deciding to spoil himself he sat down with Vodka martini and took delicate bites of the green olive that had been drowning at the bottom of his pretty drink. He was thankful beyond belief to see the Skeleton wasn't working tonight, he didn't know what he'd do if she were. He didn't have the stomach right now to deal with her pathetic antics.
No sooner had he finished his drink but another appeared at his table via the courtesy of a waitress. He stared at her "Eh as sweet as it is you bringin' me another drink I didn't exactly order it." The waitress gave him a not at all pleased look. "Your correct sir you didn't order another that man at the bar did." She said pointing towards the direction of the bar. Kimber craned his head backwards trying to see whom she was pointing at. His stomach did a back flip when his eyes rested on Alice, Ugh anyone but you he pleaded inside his mind. It wasn't more then two slow minutes later that Alice migrated towards his table and seated himself next to Kimber. "Hey Kim." Simple just like that your going to say hello to me like we're the best of friends Kimber thought. Playing with his drink and eating the olive he tried his best to ignore the fact Alice had said anything at all. When the older man just wouldn't leave him be Kimber gave loud sulking sigh. "Nicolae's staying at Mitchell's house Alice so please kindly explain to me why you're here talking to me, you know I don't like you." If it had been anyone but Alice he may have felt the situation called for pure sarcasm but Alice really only wanted to talk to him. " Because it isn't safe for me to be around him Kim and you know it besides I thought you might want some company I've kind of noticed you spend all your free time alone." Kimber tilted his head back against the top of his chair "Oh I wonder why, that is certainly a brain tickler if I ever heard one."
Fidgeting in his seat for a second he looked at Alice ""¦Your not joking are you? You honestly want to spend time with me of all people, I've never been nice to you I call you nasty names and I treat you like cat shit. What on earth has brought you to the conclusion I'm a good person to spend your time with." Kimber looked at him Skeptically as he spoke and then took a long sip of his drink. Alice took in his harsh way of showing his disbelief. "Well Nicolae's always thought very highly of you and you seem to take good care of him so I figured if Nicolae liked you and said you were a good person in his eyes then you can't be all that bad." Kimber narrowed his eyes at Alice. "You've got to be the saddest man I've ever had to sit and listen to, the level of mush coming out of your mouth is enough to fill a bleeding lake I honestly don't know how Nicolae could ever stand you." Kimber stood up and started to walk away from the table when Alice grabbed his arm "Wait Kim please I don't have anything to do this evening and neither do you we might as well go do something." Kimber shifted his weight around from each hip in an agitated manner. "I don't know Alice you make me nervous as hell, I really don't like the idea of going around with my best friends ex-boyfriend, besides your not very popular with Mitchell and I kind of like my life right now I don't need you screwing it up, your bad luck mate real bad stuff going on with you." Alice looked down at the floor a moment "Trust me Kim I wake up every day wishing I had never made any deals with that man but I did and I have to live with it if you can even call what I do living, but what I did to Nicolae I will always regret I can't change the past, but I can try like hell to change my future, you just have to give me a chance." Kimber scratched his chin "No Alice I don't have to give you anything, I actually pity you yea know. Feel right sorry for a poor bastard like you, but then I realize you chose this fate yourself and so you do deserve it and I don't feel so sorry for you anymore and I go on with my own life. And for the most part Alice you can get away from your past it's just a matter of what your willing to do to get out." Kimber said before pulling away and walking out of the gentlemen's club. Leaving Alice alone with his brutal words of wisdom.

Kimber felt as if the world around him were closing in, as if everything were folding up into tiny compact pieces and soon there would be no more ground in which to stand upon. Shaking his head he told himself not to feel like dirt for telling Alice off and leaving him to solve his own problems. "Then why do I want to turn around?" He asked himself aloud as he stood in the darkness of the empty sidewalk. For the first time in what seemed to be forever, Kimber was contemplating the reality of the consequences involved in saving someone he could otherwise let rot. Could he even help Alice? That was the real question. There was a high chance he'd be laying down inside his own coffin by helping this man, and worse yet sealing Nicolae's fate along with theirs. Nicolae was already condemning himself to a newfound hell by attaching himself to this woman. He didn't know who was more dangerous, his Nicolae or this woman who'd actually married a wickedly malicious tyrant like Mitchell. Kimber had been learning all he could about Mitchell and his company since the man began to show interest in him a week or so ago. A lot of things about the man didn't add up at all. He had a child but he never spoke of her to anyone. He seemingly hated his wife with a fiery passion and yet he stayed married to her for reasons that are totally unknown. In Kimber's opinion the whole family was only a front to cover up for what he was really doing with his inherited fortune. It's rather amusing to see what money can cause people to do, the rancid desire they feel to do everything humanly possible to never see a penny of it go away and yet spend every cent on things otherwise most common people never saw in their lifetimes. It appeared in Mitchell's world if you couldn't get what you wanted like a normal person you took it from everyone else. Kimber took a steady breath and touched his stomach gingerly with his fingertips. There's only one way to destroy an egotistical self-centered cocaine addicted spoiled corporate brat, is to obliterate everything from the inside out.
Alice was more then politely surprised when Kimber came back into the gentlemen's club, and he was quite blown away when Kimber told him he knew exactly how to devastate Mitchell's empire into ruins, but one wrong move and they were all in for a world of hurt. Looking at Alice as they sat inside his living room he noticed Alice staring at the chucks of sparkling blue and green glass scattered in thick piles on the kitchen floor. He made no comment and Kimber knew he was wondering why the glass was there but he wasn't in the mood to answer that question. "So how do you under Mitchell's addiction, I mean his company is filled with dealers I actually don't know any of them and I've only seen him snort once or twice." Kimber sat up more "Well when he's in the comfort of someone else's home he'll snort probably three lines in an hour and not even blink twice at the effects, it's crazy shit to watch kind of scares the hell out of you unless of course your used to seeing it." He said as he twisted around to pop his back. "And you're used to seeing this?" Alice questioned lightly. Kimber didn't seem out outwardly enjoy this question but he answered none the less. " When I was around like five or six years old my mother started popping pills. Of course no one knew because she looked like society's perfect soccer mom. What's scary as all hell is when your seven years old and your mom starts talking to shit that isn't there, and thinks Jesus is talking to her through the television set, because she's been snorting to much freebase and can't tell her foot from her ass let alone reality and the fact she was so high off her rocker on drugs she's going to give herself a heart attack or her nose will decay off her damn face." Alice only stared at him so he continued with his childhood tale of horror. " By the time I was ten she was so addicted to cocaine she started doing like small amounts of what's called speedball it's a combination of cocaine powder and heroin, now if that doesn't sound like the brightest idea in the universe I don't know what is. So for a few years it's okay but then she's stepping right off the bloody deep end every five seconds just off the wall crap, one minute she's cooking dinner the next she's throwing red hot frying pans at me and claiming Jesus told her through our television set that I was pure sin and I'd burn in hell if I lost my virginity, but it didn't matter none because I was doomed anyway." Kimber shook his head "Oh I was scared out of my mind of the nutty woman, no one believed me at school or around the neighborhood, thought I was a liar cause people would ask my mum and then she'd be all Mrs. Cleaver insane politeness to boot. No one's going to believe a woman who looks perfectly normal and keeps her house so clean you could eat off the damn toilet seat, that she's a crack addict and tries to poison her son with paint thinner and tranquilizer pills on a weekly basis. My mother never slept, she had mood swings the size of Jupiter, vicious irritability and constant paranoia, how she kept it all under the rug is beyond me I had to live in the same bloody house. The woman never beat me with her fists or nothing, that would have been better at least you can freaking see what's coming at you. Unless I opened a can of food or bought it myself and ate it immediately I didn't get no full meals I had to eat out of the trash can on the way to school I was so paranoid of my mums cooking"
Kimber licked his lips as he finished "So yeah I know a thing or two about crack addicts, magical little story isn't it?" Alice sat there momentarily stunned at Kimber's insight on how he knew so much about druggies. "That's absolutely horrible what she did to you, is that it she only tried to poison you?" Kimber cleared his throat "Alice honey what have I told you about getting mushy on me? Oh alright I'll might as well tell you the whole thing so were good and proper on each other and have that trust thing all worked out." Kimber began talking again as he unlaced his boots and took them off, setting them down gently in front of the coffee table. "My mum was the craziest woman on this planet as far as I'm concerned she ended up being one of those religious nut cases because my dad left her before I was born or some dumb shit so she didn't turn out to be the Martha Stuart of motherhood or anything as spectacular, however she could certainly have won a Grammy for putting on the worlds most impressive display of acting like it. Things got the most unpleasant when I was around thirteen she started spending all her time in front of the television set in the shut all the blinds and sit in the bloody dark for hours on end not moving, apparently that's when Jesus was talking to her and so she did whatever Mr. Jesus said and I mean everything. One day she buys ten of those porcelain china dolls and pretty soon she's buying one every time she sees it on the home shopping channel. By the time I'm fourteen she's developed the worst spending problem under the sun and she's pretty much pawned everything in my room save for my mattress and alarm clock and a few shirts and jeans, just to buy what Jesus told her she'd need survive the apocalypse. The batty woman hated me and I hated her for all the rotten things she'd done and I knew I wasn't a walking piece of sin, but it didn't change the fact my mum royally screwed my head up and trusting abilities with people and food. So when I turned fifteen Nicolae and I burned my mothers house down and I ran off, never lived in Downtown I stayed with friends on and off finally just stopped going to school all together and then figured myself a plan to keep from being homeless forever."
Kimber watched Alice swallow and rub the back of his neck. "Damn.and I thought I had it bad because my mother couldn't cook to save her life." Kimber surprised Alice by giggling at this comment. "Eh well we can't all have saints for mothers now can we?" Alice smiled dejectedly for an instant. "Okay then, now that were squared away with each other on information lets get down to business on this plan." Alice paused "Wait what about Nicolae he's living in Mitchell's and Mitchell isn't exactly in the mood to leave him alone." Kimber smiled now in a sweet sort of content way. "I took care of that he'll have instant nose bleeds every time he snorts even a line of what he believes to be his cocaine, so he'll be to busy thinking he's dieing to bother our Nicky to much." Alice only stared at him now "Um, okay if you say so." Kimber could only continue smiling but deep down he was scared he wouldn't be able to pull through with this plan he was forming inside of his mind. He could only hope it worked, although sometimes hope just wasn't enough he knew in the end hope was all they had.

He came forth from the bed looking doused in expensive gin, with the passionate demeanor of a graceless self dominate broken neck swan. Gravity drowning out his heavy fears, hoping things would turn around from the painful experiences of the past few days he wasn't sure how much more he could take, how many more false truths he could offer his blood to sustain for just awhile longer in order to keep everything in some resemblance of order. But turn it around to what he had to ask himself. She'd begun turning him into her own personal savior and yet they both believed in certain sense they could not escape from whatever it was they were running from, what she was running from to be more exact. Nicolae knew the answers to her troublingly soundless questions. He was her walking breathing piece of self-indulgence that she just kept returning to. She kept whispering to him late at night her breath tickling his ear the sensation of her moist lips against his cheek. "This place is safe, you're safe." She was trying to ease something that couldn't be soothed, couldn't be fixed. So this place was safe, how many times must she repeat those words before she herself finally believes them?
She seemed ready and willing to change anything in their surroundings to please his ever whim. She'd rip down it's walls and plaster the things that her husband had used to make I t his own personal holy place. All his remnants lay upon the marble tiling that littered the entire house; it's plush chairs and couches, the ceramic plates and cups in the kitchen cabinets. She'd shred and smashed it all just for the sake of him staying one more night. Just one more day her voice begged as it licked the corners of his lips cutting down into his fingertips. As his present day tears began to evaporate it came as no surprise to him as her echoing words caused him to shift gears and feel hi heart hitch a step backwards and lurch two steps forward. The memories of that morning panged the back of his skull like ball pin hammer, the imaginary raw pain like a nail into the eye socket, shocking and smooth. With his golden eye's closed his compromised visions turned back time.


Watching her once again set down her mug of French roast coffee that flourished with calloused steam. "So no more shrugging off your questions huh?" Since when had they become his questions? He'd nodded with dry self esteem crossing his arms over his lean chest, warm butter cream skin stuck to him like a priceless Rolex attach to the worlds wrong impression of prince charming. Nicolae pursed his lips having been trying to study her for a while now. Her hair was gently knocked in careless disarray. "Yea Cam, you could say I'm a tad sick of being shrugged off it's just sort of happened my whole life I think I've finally earned the right to put an end to it." The small of her back had leant against the countertop of the kitchen sink full of dirty dishes that lay in a heaping pile of wreckage both big and small. Her words had forced him to suck in an uneasy breath that started to unravel his pieces that had long since build him up to a stance of self importance growing with the ease of nothing having to ever change. But here she was like a juggernaut aimed for his face. "Nicolae you haven't earned a damn thing, I just don't need you telling me how to run my marriage. Does that answer your question why I keep avoiding your prodding I want this to be perfect for us it has nothing to do with him just us." Looking down Nicolae stood as still as stone mortar toe's wiggling warmly against the floor. "But he has everything to do with it Cambria." That was the final straw, the end of the line. He turned his face away from the force of the bitter disgrace that her palm left against his now reddening cheek. The numbness began along his right molar and raked up the side of his nose. "How can you look at your husband the man you vowed to love forever when you know he knows about us? When you know he snickers at the fact you sneak around as if you're stealing a snack before dinner. Your childish and he knows it he relishes on that fact, that you think your winning when you just ruining yourself for him! And for your information we will never be perfect, and you can't make me perfect either, can't freaking fix what's with me!" The second time she hit him surely didn't lack in it's previous bite. He thought his teeth were going to fall out of his mouth, such a petite gal she packed one hell of an angry punch. She's scared he tried to tell himself it's why she's doing this she'll get over it.
He found himself on his knee's to save his own face, ride it out he told himself finish what you started. "How can you stand to kiss him at night, to wake up t him when hours earlier you were kissing me, and he knows it. He can bloody well taste me on you, how can you turn the other cheek at the fact your husband doesn't even bat an eyelash at the fact your with another man." He held his arms up in front of his face as his voice rose to near yelling. " You act as if he doesn't exist and yet he's given you everything I can't! He controls your life and yet you ignore it, he sits in his freaking office snorting line after line of cocaine while your spending every waking moment of your life thinking I can give you everything he has, I don't give a freaking damn about any piece of furniture or clothing in this whole god forsaken place your loving husband hates my guts he wants to see me suffer and he doesn't give a rats ass about you, or your daughter. Haven't you figured that out! He loves his drugs not you, and I'm not sure I love you either.not anymore" The last part came out in a whisper he didn't care if she heard. She'd been slapping him the entire time demanding in a high pitched panicking voice that he shut the hell up that he was a lair. But the more she demanded the higher his voice had risen the more weak and helpless it had become. Crumbling as if she were made of cancerous molecules, her purposes of detachment falling away like burning ashes in the autumn sky. Her face was a ravaged display of violent distress splayed against his chest her clenched fist lying locked and loaded next to her sides. The coffee had spilled and stained the fabric of her nightgown like rich brown metallic blood it soaked into the fibers of Nicolae's Levis and black cotton shirt. The super sonically injected caffeine induced liquid product mixed wondrously with her tears. "He.He can't give me what you do Nicolae, it's taken me so long to realize it and twice as long to find it, you have to understand." She was balling like a baby now. Closing his eyes he tried in vain to count to twenty and pray things started over again. He cleared his throat. "What is it then, what the hell is it that I give you that he could never provide for you despite the fact he could fact less your alive, hmm indulge me a little sweetie, it must be pretty good because your husband seems to just constantly make me feel inadequate and extremely threatened by." Seemingly tongue tied and stuttering she flayed her head against his chest banging her up in the process. He wanted this moment to rewind and pause and replay in someone else's lifetime.
Pulling him out from the inside he folded his mind into tiny pieces squeezing all the faith he had in this so called relationship into a small place in his chest next to his heart for safe keeping. "Life, Nicolae you give me life meaning to wake up everyday, without you around it seems pointless to survive any longer, you must feel the same way Nicolae you must because otherwise why would you keep coming back?" Her voice was soft now like crushed feathers in a burlap sack. She was so terribly wrong he couldn't bear to tell her otherwise at the time, just couldn't bring himself to rain on her parade like so many other had done to him. Not yet anyway. He now looked up at himself in the reflection on the bathroom mirror, five o'clock shadow increasingly adding to his hardened appearance. Eyes darting to her form curled next to his left over warmth in the bed he noticed the way the linen sheets hugged her curves, the places he'd touched the night before, how they laced the silken dream landscape scrapes of flesh he'd kissed with such forced and practiced care, care that had been laced with false emotions and enjoyment. Blinking at himself once again he picked up Mitchell's soap and razor, carefully applying it to his skin and starting to shave away the remains of the past. Watching it slowly swirl down the white sink and settle at the rim of the stopper. He whipped his face evenly with a towel that hung against the shower door his fingers lingering on his lips rubbing away the feeling of moister hat clung to him with desperate need. Trying to keep himself from seeing double he sauntered through the doorway and sat on the side of the bed causing it to dip the spring mattress squeaking with protest as he curled on his side placing his face along the hollow of her throat feeling he pulse shake his common ground. He closed his eyes in a simple moan waiting for the sun to rise and a new day to begin. He didn't know if he could let this all shred him to pieces, wreck his airways, because it seemed she's always take what was left even if he didn't want her to.
He didn't love her he knew that much, he was only here for Alice. He was helping this woman ruin her life for the sake of saving Alice and cleaning away the past mistakes that held him from moving forward. He wondered if her crumbling composer and failing senses compared even slightly to the agony he felt when Alice had told him the dreaded words that broke his heart into a million pieces. He doubted that. This woman had a husband who didn't love her and she did nothing to get away, never raised her voice or fists to fight him. She'd dug her own grave with this man and Nicolae knew without batting an eyelash he was going to be the one to push the dirt over her coffin. He couldn't help it if she wasn't dead yet. Nicolae took a shuttering breath before sleep finally once again overtook his fatigued sense and his world collapsed into blissfully chaotic dreams.
It's probably for the best that dreams don't last forever. Feeling grateful he could not remember what it was that was causing him to feel such unease inside his brain cavity Kimber's eye lids fluttered open, chasing away he last stray pieces of sleep that clung to the top of his head and swayed along the edges of his vision. Those edges were pleasantly frayed like cashmere pillows trapped inside the garbage disposal. Arching his back, muscles inaudibly complained to him and brought his attention span snapping like a rubber band at the sudden feeling he wasn't alone.
No matter how many times you picture something inside of your mind, it never truly turns out the way you imagined. Most often or not you're going to learn that the hardest way imaginable. Kimber had been beaten up before by high school kids, punks who hated him for being who he was. He always had been able to get out with out more then a few bruises. But the people standing in his bedroom were hardly overly intoxicated jocks looking to talk smack. It was quite crystal clear nobody dressed in a designer Italian suit was in his bedroom to merely talk smack, and it was a far cry to think they were here to borrow a cup of sugar.
Sitting up in the bed Kimber ran a hand through his hair wincing at a large knot he caught with his fingers. "So gentlemen I assume you're not here to talk about the weather, can I take a wild guess and say Mitchell's a little upset with me?" Neither man spoke at first they only smiled to themselves. This made Kimber edgy and not very much ever made Kimber even flinch.Watching as the taller of the two men standing at the foot of his bed pulled out a large roll of duct tape from his coat's inner pocket. He'd known there would be consequences to his actions at Mitchell's company Alice had snuck him into. He'd destroyed probably a million or more dollars worth of stock information on their computers. It hadn't been very hard at all, hacking into the company's database and messing with the mainframe of the system until it might as well have been a trashcan of viruses. It' had been all for fun really merely the icing on the cake. Of course Kimber had never been very good at baking.
By the time the one man straddled his chest he'd thrashed around enough to break the other mans nose and get the wind knocked out of him. He could barely breath as the heavier mans weight was nearly crushing his chest. The tightening sensation of the duct tape wrapping around his ankles and binding his legs together was anything but comforting. His own teeth were coated in blood before another ten minutes could pass by, spitting mouthfuls of saliva and blood in the mans face he earned himself another punch in the mouth, he found himself pleasurably worried he might chip a tooth. At this point he wasn't feeling very modest and openly screamed when the man grabbed a fist full of his hair and violently wrenched him up so he could reach his arms. Shoving his knee into Kimber's throat as he maneuvered him around binding his hands with a few thousand layers of duct tape.
The feeling of bones beneath his skin and pain that began to etch itself into his memory was all Kimber knew by the time it had been an hour. For some reason he couldn't bring himself to shut his eye's as much as they watered and burned. His mouth felt as if it was on fire and he desperately wanted to squirm. He'd be pissing blood for a week and he'd be lucky as of now not to drown in his own blood and vomit. He'd thrown up out of frantic apprehension of the fact one of the men was holding his mouth shut to slide a thick layer of super glue along his mouth like a gooey application of lip gloss. His back had arched up, both legs pitifully kicking at once in thudding motions, his breathing ragged and terribly labored. He'd unwillingly swallowed a large mouthful of vomit mixed with putrid tasting blood, he knew he'd suffocate if he didn't his mouth was literally glued shut. He knew at best two of his fingers were broken. With snot running down his face he was left laying down on his side, his hair blotched with splatters of blood. For a moment all he could think of was the first time he realized his mother wanted him dead. She'd stood above her ten year old son and watched as he dry heaved for an hour due to the sickening effects that the small dose of nail polish remover had done after he'd drank a glass of chocolate milk she'd made. Luckily he'd thrown it up before his stomach fully digested it. As the two men walked out, Kimber realized as he fought the affects of the pure fatigue he was feeling that he'd never been so scared to fall asleep in his life.

Nicolae thought his heart would stop as he kneeled down and began to slowly unravel the layers of duct tape wrapped around Kimber's legs and hands. Kimber didn't even move. This frightened Nicolae beyond anything he'd ever felt. The stench in the room was almost unbearable, and nothing in the bedroom was really of any use now. The sheets on the bed would have to be burned they'd never be salvaged there was too much dried blood on it and other things Nicolae couldn't outwardly name. Caring little about his own attire he sat down on the floor and pulled Kimber into his lap, cringing at the sight of his hands and face. Getting the tape off Nicolae noticed what was on Kimber's mouth and why he was breathing so shallow through his nose that had dried blood around the nostrils. Picking him up with some difficulty he laid him on the bed before getting a washcloth and a bucket of hot water.
He imagined the feeling of the scalding water was anything but pleasant to his friend as he did his best to gently wash off all of the dried and caked blood on his face. He didn't want to have to worry about the super glue until everything else was taken care of. He left Kimber's two broken fingers alone, he was awake by the time he finished with his chest. He seemed utterly relieved to see Nicolae but at the same time more then his own share of ashamed at the state he was in. They both knew what was going to happen when he eased Kimber's lips apart, trying to soak the glue with the hot water it really only got Kimber soaking wet. So placing the cloth under his chin Nicolae took his index finger and thumb and started to ease the lips apart, blood immediately began to form along the large cracks. Nicolae had to ignore Kimber's muffled screams, as horrifyingly awful they were to listen to, like watching a crippled animal crawl on it's front legs down the highway. He knew he had to get it over with and there was no getting around watching or hearing Kimber's agony.
Pulling him off the bed he allowed Kimber to start sobbing he wouldn't have it any other way after what had happened to him. Getting him into the bathroom and into the bathtub took a bit of coaxing but the other boy finally gave in and allowed Nicolae to clean him up better and as he laid in the bath shivering out of the sheer pain he felt still he looked at Nicolae. "I want you to fix my fingers." Nicolae looked at him as if he'd grown a third eye. "What? No way I don't even know how to do it, you need to go to a hospital Kim." Kimber shook his head slowly. "No I wont go to any hospital, come on you have to do it for me, it's just like when your dad broke your nose when you were sixteen and you asked me to fix it, all you have to do is hold my hand and act like your going to pop my knuckles it's quick I swear." Nicolae still continued to give him a skeptical look. But he knew if he argued any more Kimber would only get more upset.
Holding his left hand in his own he took his ring finger and counted to three before yanking it over slightly and out. Kimber screamed so loud Nicolae thought his eardrums were going to bleed. But he didn't hesitate to do the other finger before Kimber could tell him otherwise. Lying quivering in the tub Kimber whimpered and laid his head against the rim his eye's fluttering open and shut. "What would I do without you Nicky?" He said in the tiniest voice. Nicolae only leaned his own head against the shower door his shirt soaked in diluted blood it appeared brown like spilled beef broth. Kimber began to mumble for a moment words Nicolae couldn't bear to understand right now before he grew quiet once again and Nicolae realized he'd fallen asleep. Pulling the plug from the tub the brownish red water drained away and Nicolae felt his sanity going with it. He needed to speak to Alice, he needed to find the exit to this insane game before it swallowed them all whole.

Mitchell Slater, realistic billionaire to an empire that had been steadily failing but with a few quick investments and couple unusual most suddenly acquired habits had been able to save and bring it to an even higher set of standards and social respect then his father could have ever imagined or in his opinion achieved. So why on earth was he feeling his blood boil? It was actually very simple. That pink haired whore he'd been messing around with so to speak had somehow gotten into his company building and filled it to the brim with viruses that did everything from overflow the filters with Spam, to stealing information and sending it to random email addresses on the web. He'd known the young man was trouble the moment he learned of who he was. Kimber had earned himself quite a reputation. He was an ultra cool heart breaker of the new era, when times became difficult Kimber disappeared and took every materialistic piece of baggage with him. He was extremely clever and kept his distance from women. He had no public records known today and had never graduated high school.
He was certainly viciously intelligent, had gothic super model beauty and with being a heart breaker to boot Kimber was a triple threat Mitchell could no longer afford. He'd turned off his cell phone tired of hearing the same thing over and over again from his secretary. They couldn't get any of the system back up and running correcting. The mainframes and programs kept crashing and now some of them wouldn't even reboot. Not to mention the fact his car suddenly wouldn't start. Spent enough to buy another house on the stupid thing and it won't even start! He could feel a monster of a headache coming on and the pounding was already becoming unbearable as it ticked away between his eyes, chiseling away at his brain.
Oh and Nicolae was surely the cause of this headache he was almost completely sure of it. This savagely outrageous young man was driving him insane. Though there were a few things he couldn't figure out about the boy, like Kimber he left countless people once things became too much only with Nicolae he took nothing with him material items were not important to him whatsoever, however astonishingly enough he left a gorier trail of broken relationships behind him a train wreck level of devastated individuals. And like Kimber he didn't finish high school, and yet he had the intelligence of a college student. He could play the piano as if Mozart himself had taught the boy and yet he couldn't read at a full adult level. The boy was far from stupid, in fact he was quite superior and this worried Mitchell more then he cared to admit to anyone not even himself.
He was also quiet, as death, never made a sound as he moved through the house, never even slammed a door. Like a beautiful ghost he did what he pleased whenever he pleased and showed no open fear towards him. He ignored him when he saw fit and fairly enough was beginning to do the same to his troublesome wife. He really wasn't sure whether or not he enjoyed Nicolae's abnormal torment. He didn't put up with her crap any longer it seemed and he wasn't about to be her lap dog. This was quite the social change to Mitchell because when he'd first met the young man he'd thought of him as a love sick puppy trailing after his wife every second of everyday. It was a completely different story now and for the most part he felt dissatisfied with it.
Something was going on under the covers and he couldn't put his finger on it. At the moment no one was home, the savage boy wasn't around thankfully but he hadn't left with his wife. She'd left probably two hours after he did, and he hadn't taken any of the cars either. He glanced towards the office clock and counted the hours that had passed and figured Cambria should be home soon. He could care less if a semi ran her over but if she came home before Nicolae it meant that he was up to something. Narrowing his eyes at his cell phone Mitchell made his way to the kitchen. Pulling out a black dinner plate he sat down at the kitchen table and dug through his pockets grinning delicately as he found what he'd been searching for. The sleek vial of pure cocaine was a sight for sore eyes to him and he'd been too busy lately to use any of it. Pouring it out gently with experienced caution he took a toothpick and filed the powder into four lines. Leaning down he took a deep breath and exhaled before taking another breath and snorting one line. Sniffing a couple times he shook his head before leaning back down and snorting the second line. Sniffing harder this time he paused as he noticed a drop of something dark on the black plate, it drifted against the dark surface and dribbled into one of his coke lines. A flash of red engulfed the powder line like spilled iodine in a pile of white sugar, ugly and innocent to a touchingly brutal degree.
Blinking idiotically at the sight Mitchell touched under his nose and wiped up. Looking at his fingers he saw a good amount of blood smeared on his hand. What the hell was happening, this has never happened before. He thought as he kept wiping at his nose until he was near panic-stricken and his hands were saturated in blood that just wouldn't stop flowing. Rushing to the bathroom he turned on the harsh florescent lighting he had to shut his eyes at the vile feeling of being blinded by the artificial lighting. When he opened his eyes he was smashed with the unsympathetic reality of his own reflection. His cheeks seemed appallingly hollow, tight and thin against the bones beneath. Touching his lips at first slowly trying to wipe away the blood that covered his face from the nose down like a small waterfall of bodily fluids it was a sickly wet sopping mess that clung to his skin in wet chunks. The slow cautious wipes soon became horrifyingly frantic scraping motions his nails digging into the live tissue and pulling it away.
Mitchell was beyond hysterical screaming, he was raving mad by this point, wiping his blood stained hands across the mirror trying to erase his own reflection. He'd pulled everything off the walls and thrown everything on the countertop into the glass shower door shattering it into huge hunks. His legs finally gave out from under him and he crashed down onto the glass-covered floor. Crying until he was dry heaving he laid down in the shattered glass and squirmed until he had cuts spreading all over his body thin as paper but as deadly a butchers knife. Mitchell Slater whimpered like an animal being prepared for the slaughter, the awful whining sound continued until an eerily detached silence filled the bathroom.

Kimber hadn't truly intended for the cocaine switch to have such dizzying effects. He'd contemplated the facts and risks that it might send Mitchell into false cocaine induced hallucination. After years of using cocaine or even a few times it can send people into brain fried permanent moments of hallucination. There stuck in a world where nothing is real and there is no exit it's an eternal place where nothing is as it seems and there is no end. He'd known that could have happened all along but considering the man's violent past and incapability to treat women or anyone on this earth with proper respect he didn't really care what happened to the man, and certainly after what Mitchell had done to him, he hoped, prayed and wished with all his might that it did. Good boys always get their wish.
Kimber laid in bed with Nicolae beside him he was loaded up on painkillers Nicolae had picked up for him at the pharmacy, they had moved his things into a place Alice had gotten them to stay in, some mangy hotel that none of Mitchell's people would search for them in due to it's lack of jet-set qualities. Alice hadn't come back yet since he dropped them off and so therefore he and Nicolae had had no time to catch up on old times. Kimber was lying with his head against Nicolae's stomach and he watched T.V occasionally flipping through channels when commercials came on. Nicolae raised his head as he heard Kimber whisper something "People like us Nicky we aren't ever lucky we never come out unscathed, we always have some split lip or black eye. I'd love to see a day when we only get into a verbal argument, and actually win." Nicolae had to laugh softly not wanting to jostle his friend. "Yea I know what you mean, but your wrong Kimber we are lucky sometimes, not always the big bad in every situation, plus we have each other when most people don't have anybody because their to damn selfish and all they want is a ton of money and an early grave, they're the unlucky one's Kim we might as well be kings compared to those pathetic people." Kimber smiled now setting the remote down. "So, I assume you aren't going back to Cam now." Nicolae gave a one shouldered shrugged "She's just like the others Kim, all she wants to do is fix what's wrong with me instead of accepting it. She lets people walk all over her and doesn't think for herself she may act like it but deep down she couldn't switch on a light without asking if it was okay first, so I suppose that means I won't but it won't change that she keeps following me, it'll tear her apart when she realizes why I stayed with her." For a moment the only sound that filled the room was the blaring noise from the T.V. " Alice has something he wants to tell you Nicolae, something very important but it's up to you whether you do it or not when he tells you about it. I can't let the kitty cat out of the bag because he swore me to secrecy. But he wanted you to be prepared for a very big question, it has nothing to do with Cam or any of that stupid shit." Nicolae raised an eyebrow but knew better then to attempt to pry any information from his best friend because Kimber never gave up good secrets, so he settled down and watched the movie Kimber had found trying not to get all worked up.

The motels bed was soft and scented with an unknown fabric softener that reminded Nicolae of clean pressed business shirts. Kimber had long since fallen asleep, leaving Nicolae to his own devices. The television no longer providing entertainment he shut it off with a press of a button, backing them both in semi darkness. Nicolae pressed his lips together until the color left them stark white, easing Kimber off of him and onto his own side of the bed he got up and made his way into the bathroom. Standing in front of the mirror he tentatively touched his bare belly, sliding his fingertips and the edge of his palm. Sliding his fingers along the contours, touching his collarbone he slowed as his fingers reached his throat, remaining for a moment at the fluttering stir of his pulse. Brushing the bottom of his thumb across his lower lip he leaned his hips softly against the edge of the counter, still wearing his gray Dickies pants they hung low across his hips the studded belt shimmering off the fragments of lights from the ceiling.
The courage he'd once felt to face the judgments against him seemed to wither away as he gazed at himself in the mirror. He felt as if an eternity of waiting was nearly over and yet it was all to good to be true. He'd promised himself he'd never fall again from hopes raised so high. But here he was teetering along the edge looking down at the ground beneath him. The countless woman he'd left behind who's names simply dissolved away as time wore on seemed like such far away things he could no longer remember any one particular sensation that had once brought him comfort those people no longer brought him any release from the everyday nightmares.
He'd let those people engulf him, take him in and turn him inside out. In his pursuit to find what he'd feared with every fiver of his being he'd lost forever from the only man in his whole life who had seemingly for a small time loved him in such an unconditionally beautiful way. That man hadn't wanted him to change, or fix what had been damaged. He'd only wanted him to heal, to learn and grow with life's mistakes, ad triumph over the moments when he'd nearly given up the fight. To fall apart along with him, to show him he wasn't alone those moments had made his soul feel as if it would swell and stretch, Nicolae wanted those sensations and fragments of time to return to him. He wanted to feel that love that had made everything all right. None of those people had ever given him a single taste or glimpse of those sweet memories. None of them could ever begin to fathom the meaning of the thing Alice had given him. The things he'd searched so hard for and only came out as empty handed as when he began.

So here he was again at the edge of reason, wondering softly to himself if Alice loved him anymore, and if he could ever forgive him for the people he'd crossed paths with. He knew deep down if Alice hated him once again, rejected him and took away any chance of ever feeling that glorious love that he'd been so viciously denied his entire life, he would not survive. There were only so many times you can pick up your pieces, Nicolae knew better then to ask for any more chances, because he didn't know how much more he could take. Pulling away from the counter with a jolt he fell back slightly into the shower, catching himself he slowly walked to the doorway seeing it was only Alice coming into the motel room. Shutting the door behind him and locking it Alice glanced towards the bed and seeing only Kimber he turned in a wild circle and stopped short when he saw Nicolae standing in the bathroom. Alice was dressed in civilian clothing now, a black t-shirt and blue jeans that were slightly baggy. He seemed so much more comfortable and Nicolae liked the way he looked now then he ever did when he was wearing the corporate threads.
The two of them said nothing to one another and finally Nicolae couldn't bear it any longer and stepped forward breaking the motionless silence. "Alice, we need to talk really bad." Alice found himself nodding and walking over to the tiny table in the room and sitting down. "Yeah talking is good, we need to do some of that." Nicolae sat at the edge of the bed. "I don't know how much talking your going to want to do with me by the time I'm finished telling you this." Alice stood up from his chair and kneeled down so he was eye level with the younger man who really didn't look so different from when he first met him. "I already know Nicolae, Mitchell kind of rubbed it all in my face but he didn't get the effect he wanted, He couldn't see why you were doing it because people like him don't feel anything." Nicolae was totally confused; it wasn't supposed to be this simple. "You know?" Alice kindly smirked "Yes I know about the women, I told you already Mitchell couldn't keep his mouth shut, I was angry at first but only because I was jealous and thought you didn't love me until I thought it over for a few days and figured out something wasn't right. I remembered you telling me you'd never dated a girl in your life let alone anyone else. So why go after married women, you hate huge crowds of people so why spend every day in the subway. You were punishing yourself because of how angry I was at you and at Julian. Most of my anger was directed towards him sweetie not you. I was so scared he'd hurt you I didn't know what I would do if I lost you and then everything was crashing down on me, and I did the most horrible thing I drove you away and I made you scared of me. I should be the one asking for forgiveness Nicolae not you, those women mean nothing to me because they meant nothing to you."
Nicolae sat there his upper body swaying very weakly as he soaked up this information. "I let those women take me home Alice, I let them use me to demolish their marriages and families that they weren't happy with. I was trying to find what you gave me, because nobody but Kimber has ever cared about me at all. Losing your love was the worst feeling in the world made me feel like royal shit like I hit rock bottom, felt worse then anything my father ever did to me. I never want to feel that way again, I've never had anyone care about me and then leave, they've always just left." Alice reached in and touched his face his rough hands felt good against his skin. "I'm not going to leave you like that ever again, you don't ever have to sit in that retched subway again, unless of course we need to get across town really fast." He said making Nicolae smile which was something he hadn't seen in years. Pulling Nicolae into a hug he took a moment to take in the boys' scent he smelled of honey and earth, the way the ground smells in the countryside when it rains.
Alice stroked Nicolae's back in slow soothing circles and felt his breath hitch in his throat. Alice stopped and tilted his head so he could whisper into his ear "What's wrong sunshine?" Nicolae pulled back enough to look at Alice's face his eyes were watering a little bit. "I'm not upset I'm just happy you're here, something bad is going to happen I just know it Alice happy endings don't just come all the time for people like us." About the time he said this they both heard a clashing in the hallway of the motel just outside their door. "Yea Alice I think Nicky's right they must have misplaced our happy ending with a bunch of shit head corporate suits, don't you just hate when that happens?" Nicolae cried out in frustration and helped Kimber out of bed. Alice watched as the two of them headed towards the sliding glass doors and onto the small balcony. "What do you two think your doing?" Kimber snorted at this. "Didn't you flipping see the group of corps walking up the stairs across the way? I sure did and we are so not sticking around but if you want to get shot up or maimed you can stay I'm sure the rides free but were hitting the road sugar." Nicolae slapped his arm and Kimber hissed several curse words under his breath. "He's coming with us you ninny, Alice just follow us okay?" Alice could only stare at him. "Follow you where?"
They're room was on the third floor and there wasn't exactly a ladder going down. But doing as he was told he followed them. He didn't even want to ask if Kimber was in pain. Pulling his weight up the balcony above them they climbed the rest of the way to the top of the motel. About the time Nicolae laid Kimber down on the gravel rooftop they heard the door to their room being kicked down. Kimber's chest was heaving with each breath and he was already worn out, Alice wondered how far he could go until they had to go to a plan B. Of course he didn't even know they had a plan A. Nicolae stood up and walked to the other side of the rooftop looking over the edge he bit his lip, walking back over to Kimber he helped him up and allowed him to lean against him. "I have to get Kim down the other side." Kimber buried his face into Nicolae's shirt "I absolutely hate heights Nicky do we have to climb down?" Nicolae sighed "Kimber I don't see any other way down but to climb down the fire escape come on it'll be a piece of cake." Kimber whined into his shoulder "But I hate cake." Nicolae didn't respond to this and went down the meta ladder first, before Kimber eased himself down and in a painfully slow pace made his way down, clinging to each metal step until his knuckles turned ash white. He could feel his legs about to give and he knew if he had to rely on his upper body strength for much of the journey down he'd fall to his death and possibly knock Nicolae off the ladder as well.
Kimber bit his lower lip until it stung. "Nicky, baby I can't do this much more.I'm going to bloody fall." Nicolae stared up at him in a panic. "No, no just wait hold on I'm going to help you down." Getting up right under him Nicolae took the minimal space provided on the ladder and got his body positioned so he was partially up against Kimber. "It's okay Kim, were going to go a step at a time I won't let you fall I promise." It felt like forever before Nicolae's feet touched the pavement beneath them. Helping Kimber break his death grip on the bars he helped his trembling friend walk down the alley. Alice should be right behind them but he wasn't sure what had happened to the other man, now really wasn't a time to wonder they needed to get out of here.
Nicolae shook his head to flip his hair out of his face. "Kimber where do we go?" Kimber didn't answer right away and this worried Nicolae more then anything. "I have no clue just walk." With their lack of directions they headed towards the open street way checking for corps they found none and continued along the sidewalk. "Kimber why are they coming after us?" Kimber shrugged a shoulder tiredly "I have no clue, maybe that crushed painkillers I put in his crack vial made him loony the guy's been doing coke since we were freaking freshmen in high school he's bound to have a few hallucinating episodes by now. Nose probably started gushing blood and he couldn't figure out how to stop it and wigged out. However they probably think you did it, you were living inside that mentally disturbed house." Nicolae frowned "Great we probably killed the guy not that anyone cares, but now we'll have corps searching for us day and night." Kimber smiled "Aren't they anyway?" Nicolae groaned, "Oh shut up."


Having Kimber sit outside of a gas station Nicolae ran inside and brought them both something to eat and Kimber some well needed items. Kneeling down in front of him Nicolae gently applied some lip balm to Kimber's extremely cracked lips. The super glue had been on long enough to do the damage of ripping the skin clean off. It had bled for a long time until about two hours later when it finally stopped and Kimber could take the hand towels away from his mouth. He was thankful for the lip balm it eased some of the unsympathetic stinging. As they walked sat there Nicolae broke off pieces of a candy bar and fed it in tiny chunks to Kimber who couldn't open his mouth all the way. Kimber allowed Nicolae to take care of him when for so many years of their lives it had been the other way around. Watching the cars go by he didn't recognize any of them and he relaxed a little comforted by the fact they didn't have to run a mile a minute.
He'd made Nicolae buy him a beanie hat so he could hide his pink hair standing out in a crowd right now was not what they need at all. He could tell Nicolae was babying him just a tiny bit and he couldn't blame him for trying to distract himself. He was worried about Alice and Kimber could understand now how the two of them needed one another to survive. Together they could manage and keep things going with little to no problems. Apart however they were reckless messes, living train wrecks. He wasn't much better himself but commitment wasn't really his thing at the moment. He finally batted Nicolae's hands away from his face and told him to leave him alone. Nicolae fussed at first but gave in and sat down on the bench next to him. "Do you think Alice made it out?" Kimber gave a one-shoulder shrug. "Hard telling, he didn't come down the way we did and there wasn't really another way down unless we missed it. He's a big boy Nicky he can make it on his own I'm sure don't worry about it. Us on the other hand I'm worried about. They know all our places we need a new place to go."
Rubbing lip balm onto his own lips Nicolae heaved a sigh "I don't know any other places to go Kimber none that Alice would know about to look for us in." Kimber stood up slowly. "I'm not trying to be a dick okay but if Alice knows about places we go to they might know about them as well we can't risk it baby okay we need to find a new place or at least a place so old they don't know about it." Nicolae didn't seem to agree with this master plan but he didn't complain about it either. Kimber made him get up and they both headed towards Downtown. As they started to get into more familiar territory Kimber began to talk quietly. "So Alice isn't mad at you about the girls? He seemed pretty cool about it all." Nicolae stared at the ground as they walked. "A little to cool if you ask me it was to easy he said he already knew and then he acted as if I'd done nothing and said he forgave me but I should be the one forgiving him, it was to easy Kim I think he's pissed off beyond belief not like the first time but close enough, he may say he doesn't care but I know he's thinking about it." Kimber had heard every word that had been spoken during their conversation in the motel room and he didn't really believe much of what Alice had said, the guy liked Nicolae to much to just not give a damn about the twenty or so people he'd been with in the past couple years without him.
Getting into the dirtier side of town the night sky was closing in on them. As they rounded a corner and red lights basked over them Kimber forced Nicolae to stop. "We're here." Nicolae hadn't remembered this part of town and he didn't really care for it either. "Where's here Kim?" Kimber hushed him with a finger to his lips and started towards a beat up door in the building in front of them as they stood in the red-lit alley. "We probably shouldn't be here but we don't have any other place to go and it's not like were very well liked around town anyway." Kimber mentally winced as he watched Nicolae's facial expression change. He knew exactly where they were now. "Kimber no, this is a doorway to the Underworld. Red light section, this is off limits to people like us Kim no way are we going in there." Kimber gave Nicolae a heated glower. "We have no choice, we screwed around for to long Nicky, we messed with to many marriages to many lives, yea following me on this? We really screwed up this time whether Mitchell was king of the assholes or not he was a drug lord and you don't mess with drug lords, we took a risk to keep him off your back and we lost okay. Chances are the things in the Underworld already know our mistakes and know we might come here I know this place makes you jumpy but they aren't going to hurt you." Kimber took Nicolae's face in his hands and stroked his cheeks with his fingers. "Just trust me okay?" Nicolae nodded mutely and began to rub his shoulders as Kimber pulled the door open, however Kimber suddenly stopped caused Nicolae to bump right into him and step backwards. "What's going on you dolt? I could have broken my neck." Nicolae complained lightly as he stood in place and unexpectedly let out a hoarse scream when someone grabbed him from behind by the hips and yanked him backwards and up against the other wall of the alley.


Alice hissed through clenched teeth as he watched Nicolae bump up against the wall, he took a moment to glance up at the rooftops to check for uninvited guests. "Sorry Nicolae I didn't mean to pull you so hard, you guys are really hard to catch up to I almost missed you." Kimber adjusted his beanie and said "You scared us for a minute we didn't know if you made it off the roof, plus we have a slight issue the Corps aren't letting up so it means I really must have messed Mitchell up, their all probably panicking and out of their minds cause their gracious leader is wounded." Alice listened carefully only to shake his head. "Actually we're good for the time being we just have to stay out of sight, the spot light isn't actually on us per say, they're actually looking for his wife Cambria she's gone missing the kid was left at day care and no one's seen her since, her closets cleaned out and the cars gone. They think she left sometime between when you found Kimber and when I took you guys to the motel." Nicolae muttered something under his breath as he rolled his eyes. "I knew she'd something stupid, she probably doesn't even know what happened to Mitchell." Alice held up his hands now. "Wait, wait ladies we don't even know for sure what happened to Mitchell okay for all we know he's watching Lord of the Rings on his big screen T.V while downing a few beers." Kimber shrugged "He does have a point Nicky, maybe we should swing by his place and pay him a cute little visit see how the bastards doing." Alice chewed on the inside of his cheek for a second not entirely sure this was a good idea but it would be the one place the Corps would not be looking for them in incase they decided Mitchell's wife's disappearance was connected with them.