Set Me Free

Chapter Twelve

Another week flew by, entering into the long nights of December. No peculiar events happened again, nothing new with the creeper who broke into the house. Everything has been eerily quiet and eventually Juno put it all behind her. Nix has been a constant companion by her side. Staying at the house until the early mornings when he’d head into work. Nix was still being his distant self, avoiding anything too personal, distracing Juno with steaming nights of s****l bouts. 

He would flaunt himself and just like that she’d be permanently sidetracked. He’d saunter out of the hot shower, steam billowing off of him in waves. His body hard like stone, flexing with every movement he makes, making other parts of him bulge. Watching him was literally the highlights of her days. He was like a masterpiece, built to perfection from the ground up, every woman's wet dream and wildest fantasies.  That wasn’t all, at nights she’d lie awake next to Nix in her tiny bed, his legs stretching far off, that she always laughed at him for being a giant. At nights when he finally falls asleep, that night at the supermarket comes rearing its head. Juno kept flipping the woman's words in her head over and over. She kept telling herself to let it go, not to bother with it, but that’s the thing. She ‘IS’ bothered by it, probably more so for the fact she doesn’t understand and she needs answers. 

It’s marking the first friday of december and It’s been a few days since Nix touched her intimately. Juno was beginning to wonder if maybe she did something or if this was the phase where he distanced himself fully, removing himself from her life. She knew better, but still, that tiny, evil voice still echoed it’s opinion. Distracting her from calling Nix today, she brought her paint out to the garage. She morphed the detached garage into her own personal studio. Insulated with windows letting in the natural light. The walls were white, perfect for it’s reflective properties. Setting up her easel, tying her hair into a ponytail she went to work. 

Losing herself into the fluid colors as they merged. Pain dripped down the canvas like an afternoon shower. She let the paint flow down, and with a sweep of the brush cut them off before they pooled in the small tray.

Juno’s phone buzzed on the nearby table. Putting her brush down she stood up wiping her hands on a washcloth she had stationed nearby. 

“Good morning, handsome.” She greeted, excited to hear his voice. 

“Morning, Love. Did you like the present?” The present he’s referring to was a stack of pancakes and eggs, along with a fresh batch of coffee. It was honestly a very good present. She loves food after all, and the thoughtfulness was the perfect wrapping. Only her sisters made breakfast for her, Kevin’s idea of romance was, ‘who needs words when I’ve got this’ he’d then motion towards his not very impressive c**k.

To him words didn’t matter. To Juno, words did, but also action and meaning behind those actions. Which is why she’s found herself struggling with the secrets Nix still kept hidden.

Smiling into the receiver, she bent down and grabbed the can of pain and placed it on the table. Trapping the phone between her shoulder and ear, she tossed the cloth over the lid of the paint and hammered the lid back one. Carefully avoiding any paint splashes. Pulling a box out from beneath the table she searched for a bright color. 

The garage was her sanctuary, it’s stocked with various paints and oils. In the corner behind a curtain she even has her photography gear. “Loved it! Thank you so much! The fact that you learned how to make pancakes, I’m still surprised by that.” She laughs at the memory of waking up to Nix creating a mess in the kitchen, his attempts to make breakfast ending in piles of gooey pancakes and burnt eggs.

“Sorry, I had to come into the club and check on a few things. Anything weird or strange, happened at all?” He’s also become beyond protective, that it’s borderline absurd. He refuses to back down on the subject when it comes to her safety. And true to your request he installed a security system in place. Juno felt much better knowing that she has precautions in place.

“I’m just asking. I know how you hate the questions, but Juno, I care about you. I just don’t want whoever that was coming around again. I’m worried.” 

“Everythings fine.” She says it but she could still feel the marker on her shoulder almost like it was a branding. Ignoring the feeling, she put her easel in the corner and pulled out the photography equipment.

“Everything is fine. I’m in my garage now getting ready for the Jones’ to come by. Juno opens the garage door, revealing an ocean of yellow and oranges, catching the rising sun’s beautiful palette. Grabbing her camera she attached it to the tripod and set it in the center of the garage.

“Ok, I’ve got a few things to finish up still. I’m going to cut out early. What would you say if I asked you out to the local town fair.” With a huge grin, her heart somersaulted.

“That sounds like it would be fun. I’d love to!” 

“I hope you don’t mind but I’ve also taken the liberty of inviting your sisters. Hope that’s ok?” Slight sad that it wouldn’t just be her and Nix, but that was overrun with his thoughtfulness. Despite what Callie has been saying, Nix has been proving to be the opposite. He’s even going so far as to invite her sisters, and one of them doesn’t think he’s a good fit for her long term wise. Something tells Juno that it's going to be an interesting night. Just shows Nix knew how much her sisters meant to Juno. 

With the coming client and a date in town with her hunk, she was over the moon happy. Filled with joy she said goodbyes to Nix and finished setting up. Out of the corner of her eyes she spotted a white envelope hanging between the door. With the garage door open she looked around the corner on the outside and saw nobody. With a shrug to her shoulders she grabbed the envelope, her fingers moving over the crisp white paper. 

“How did you get here and who dropped you off?” Juno’s phone chirped from her pocket with an incoming call. Flipping the envelope over she saw no return address and no name on the front. It was all blank. Juno answered her phone, preoccupied by the mysterious letter.

“Hello” Juno sits at the small table. A voice she thought she’d never hear again had the letter slip from her hands. 

“Hi, listen...Don’t hang up, Please.” Sighing, she picked the letter up and put down on the table before moving her attention to Kevin. She wasn’t sure how to react. She wasn’t expecting him to call her, she thought she made it pretty clear that she’d didn’t want to see or hear him again. Still, she couldn’t muster the need to be rude either. Choosing instead for some civility.

“Hi, Kevin. Didn’t expect to hear from you.”

“Maybe you shouldn’t have---” Already Kevin was getting irritated and trying to defend himself by making it seem like Juno’s fault.

“Kevin.” Juno said sternly. She was not about to waste her time talking to him if he can’t stay civil without tossing accusations at her.

Kevin backpedals, getting himself back on track. “Sorry. I’ve just been under alot of stress. I didn’t mean to take it out on you.”

“Why are you calling?” Leaning back in the chair, Juno crossed her legs, her foot bouncing on the floor,a nervous tick she’s developed the past few weeks. Switching hands, her fingers tapping along the arm of the chair impatiently.

“Nothing. I feel bad for everything. Do you think we can sit down and talk?” Her fingers stopped their repetitive tapping, restless energy coursed through her. The restless energy still found an outlet in her hyperactive foot.

“I--- don’t”

“Juno, we’ve been together for a year. Don’t you think I at least deserve the opportunity?”

Against her better judgement, Juno a part of her that felt somewhat bad for Kevin. “Fine. I have an appointment soon. We can talk after. Just to talk, nothing else. I swear Kevin on all that is holy, nothing else.” A moment of silence followed before he responded with a little too much glee.

“Perfect! Thank you, you won’t regret it! I’ll send you the location for where we can meet.”

Kevin said goodbye, Juno hung up without caring. A car entered her field of vision as it came snaking down the driveway. A beautiful brunette with caramel locks had a bounce in her step, The man who Juno can only assume was her husband, was tall and pale skinned, his face was serene as he gathered his wife in his arms. The woman grabs the small bundle of joy from the back seat. The husband took the car seat and they came towards Juno. Juno approached them and waved with a smile.

“Welcome!” She said in her most professional, friendly tone. 

“Thank you so much! We are so happy to have found you. My wife couldn’t be happier.”

On cue his wife comes up pulling her jacket tighter around her. Her eyes sparkled in the sunlight.

“Hi, I’m Linda. Just as my husband said, I’m so excited. We just had our son last month and we’ve been fighting to find a photographer. Finding you was like finding a hidden jewel. Thank you!”

The baby's plump cheeks were tinged with red, his pudgy hands and little feet dangled in her harness. 

Juno directs them inside. Thankful for having the building installed with heating and heated floors. Being detached it can get quite cold but with the modifications it’s very cozy. With how bad the winters can be it’s been one of the greatest, expensive costs she’s endured.

“You all look so lovely. Please come in and make yourself at home. I have snacks and drinks in the mini fridge over there by the table. And believe it or not some baby toys if we needed them. And don’t worry they’ve all been thoroughly sanitized.”

“Oh thank goodness. We were running late and I forgot to pack some of her toys, even her precious lizzie, the orange elephant.”

A lightbulb flipped in Juno’s head. Moving to the basket of toys she found exactly that, an elephant, not orange of course, this one was purple and it shrieks like when Juno  squeezes  the foot. Grabbing the purple elephant, Juno came back over dancing the stuffed animal for the baby. The baby’s eyes light up, the little infant's hands immediately stretching for it.

Juno looks at Linda to see if it was ok to hand it to her baby boy. Linda nodded that it was ok. As soon as the child took the stuff animal she was out in an instant, her cheeks squished against the side of the car seat, the animal hugged tightly in his tiny arms.

“Well, since she’s asleep now, why don’t we get started and then proceed from there. I’m thinking since he’s asleep, why don’t I get photos of him taken and then we can do some family group photos.” She suggested. It’s nice to take photos when the baby’s are awake and many times the clients prefer that. Then you have the other side of the coin where it’s just so much simpler to handle a sleeping baby, the problem is it’s like handling dynamite. It can go off at any moment.

Linda’s husband Brent came up to Juno while Linda got the baby out of the car seat. “Sounds great. Thank you again for this. We’ve been wanting to add to the photo collection, it’s just that time of season and seems everyone's booking photos.” He laughs.

“Then we saw your work and we were blown away! You have a true gift and I’m thankful that you’re doing this for us. I love your paintings too. One of these days i’ll have to talk to you about that and see what sort of paintings you do.” Linda chimed in, laying on the compliments rather heavy, it made Juno blush scarlet. It’s not often she hears praise from her clients directly, it’s usually always comments on her website or emails, but never verbal compliments. Juno’s cheeks started to ache. She was smiling so much. This is why she does this, she mused. Hearing them makes it all worthwhile, through the dry spells where it’s hard to get work to these. 

“Thank you so much!” She said. Quickly she grabbed little Charlie and set him in a basket with a fur rug underneath, and then the photos commenced.

 Before long she was done, snapping the last photo of them all. Charlie woke up near the end of his own solo photo op but he just cooed and smiled for the camera, a natural heartbreak that one will be, she joked.

With final goodbyes, Juno waved as the couples car headed down the driveway and out of sight. Turning back to the garage she quickly cleaned up and put her equipment away.  Grabbing her phone from the counter she checked to see if Kevin sent the directions. The white envelope still sat on the table, laying there unopened. 

“Hmm, that’s strange. Whose number is this.” Juno read off the number that texted her.

“Hi, It’s Kevin. I got a new phone, here are the directions. It’s a small coffee shop in town. I’ll see you there at 3. See you soon.”

“Why did I agree to this again? I should check to see when Nixx was coming.” Calling Nix she got the voicemail right away. Clucking her tongue in irritation, she quickly sent a message. She waited a minute but no reply.  Well, if he isn’t going to answer she can’t necessarily sit around all day and way. Beside’s, checking her phone it’s almost 3 now.  She’ll have enough time to see what Kevin wanted and be back to meet with Nix for tonight's festivities. Festivities she can’t wait for, time to spend with Nix and her sisters, for them to finally get to know him better. She couldn't ask for anything better.

“What could possibly go wrong” Hopping into her small Mazda she left to meet Kevin.