Misreckon

Chapter 6 - Hiding

Racing, my heart was aiming to get out of my chest the moment I heard the screaming and shouting. I groggily turned to my left and looked at my digital clock, the white illumination of the numbers allowed me to read the time in the dark - 11:34pm. I paused momentarily, trying to make sense of the topic of the argument. 

"You ruined my life ever since you came into it!" I heard my mother sob with anger. 

"Leave me then. This was your choice!" My father pointed out, his raised voice sending me chills. 

"I hate you Eric, I hate you. How could you b****y do this to me ?" My mother screeched. 

"One minute you hate me, the next you can't keep away from me and follow me like a lost puppy. Just f*****g choose one." He ordered, probably slamming his fist on the table as a similar sound could be heard. 

"You got yourself into this mess. You chose to stay with me when you found out so don't blame me for this." He continued yelling. 

Cora finally had enough, she put in her earphones and turning them on full blast in attempt to block out the arguing. She was not only physically tired but mentally, their relationship was draining and seemed as though she was an additional problem. She felt like she was just there, an inconvenience to them. 

Her eyes stopped opening and she fell back into a deep sleep with the sound of heavy rap music drowning out the sounds of the arguing. Her blonde hair was sprawled along her light grey pillows and she groped her quilt against her body for comfort. A single tear could be found on her cheek, she was holding it in throughout her awake so when she was fully relaxed before falling asleep, the tear fell from her eye. 

"I've told you, don't fill it above that point. I'm trying to make a profit here Cora." Richard sighed with frustration, I was still adhering to the rules of the measurements but his tense nature today had caused his snappy comments to come about. 

"It wont happen again." I assured him, placing a piece of my blonde hair behind my ears. 

"Good." He spat. 

"And when Vincent and Dean come, make sure the largest reserved table is free for them. Also, don't ask them for money it's on my tab." He explained plainly. 

"Largest ? Just for the two of them ?" I questioned with a baffled expression. 

"Yes. Stop asking questions Cora, just do as you're told." He shook his head and left me behind the bar. 

I wasn't usually emotional but a mix of my parents arguing last night, my lack of sleep and Richard's short temper had caused me to feel frustrated. Luckily, being at work was my escape so I took the cleaning equipment and began mopping the floor. 

I watched as the black tiles began to gleam with each scrub, both disturbed and oddly satisfied. 

"Hey gorgeous. One rum and coke please." An older woman said, she had a thick Australian accent and her compliment caused a smile to make its way onto my face. 

"One second, i'll just sanitise my hands since i've been cleaning." I flashed her a smile, placing the mop back in the mop-bucket. 

"Thanks dear." She thanked me and then held up her pointer finger when she heard her phone ring as though to say 'one moment'. I resumed to sanitising my hands as she answered her phone. 

"Yeah Johnny I just got here." She sighed into the phone.

"Yeah." She smiled. I began pouring her drink to the correct measurements as Richard previously showed me. 

"No they're not here. " She stated and passed me the money. 

"He's called Dean, he's Vincent's boy. He got away from our guys the other night, I recognised his face from our CCTV and I remembered seeing him here once." My eyes widened upon hearing Deans name get mention. 

"Oh don't worry, i'll make sure I deal with them both properly." She assured with a devious smile. 

"Honey, a little more ice please." She waved me the glass, which I took from her. 

"Johnny I will do it all tonight, after that we won't have to worry about them crossing our path ever again." She played with her deep red manicured nails until I put her drink down beside her, she thanked me and walked away. I tried to remind myself of her appearance so I could warn Dean and Vincent: she had a grey pixie cut, red blouse, black skirt and black heels whilst carrying a large tote bag. 

My heart began to race, Richard wasn't in my sight and I was told not to leave the bar unattended. I could message him instead and hopefully he would text Vincent about it. 

Laughter entered the bar. I hastily turned to see the rowdy customers: it was Dean and Vincent. My heart began beating hysterically and my eyes darted to find the woman. I looked around for something, I didn't know what. 

Luckily, I recalled that I had a pen and notepad and began writing frantically about what I had just heard before the pair approached. 

"Good evening."Vincent greeted me.  

"Hi. Can you both read this, and when you do please don't make a big scene." I ordered with worry in my voice. 

Vincents eyebrow rose as I passed him the paper. Dean's gaze was permanently trapped onto the paper as he read it intently. 

"I - I wasn't sure what I should do. I was about to text Richard so he could tell you over the phone but you came here just as I was about to, so I feel like i've put you in a dangerous situation and I don't even know what she meant but she looked devilish and the way she spoke about handling you both just, just -" I stammered, Vincent reached over the counter and placed his hand on my own. 

"No dear, you did well. Now are you sure this is the exact description of the woman ?" He questioned me to which I nodded. He scratched his prickly jaw and turned to Dean. 

Dean shook his head, as though he knew what he was about to say. 

"Cora, you're leaving work and coming with us, just in case." Vincent stated. I looked between the pair. 

Within a mere second, the trio left the bar and got into Vincents car. They both seemed calm and collected whilst Cora felt the pulsing in her head grow and grow. She looked back at the establishment before they drove off, checking that the Australian woman hadn't followed them. 

Heavy arguments erupted in the car between the father and son until it was decided: Dean and Cora would stay in a hotel outside of town whilst Vincent would meet with his friends to discuss and prepare. Cora was given no explanation as the argument was full of cautious points, making it clear that they were hiding things from her. 

"Given the fact were in a hotel, hiding away from society I'm going to guess that the woman's threats were serious ?" I asked Dean who was sat on his double bed typing on his phone. 

He looked up and rolled his eyes at me. 

"But why did I have to come too? She won't know I said anything." I announced, sitting on my double bed with my feet facing his. 

He shook his head, turned off his phone and placed it onto the bed. 

"Think about it Cora, you were the last and first person we talked to. If she really wanted us that bad she could've interrogated you or gone to extreme measures to get information out of you. That woman is violent and merciless so trust me being trapped in a hotel with me isn't the worst scenario right now." He explained in a serious manner, his dark hair appeared disheveled from his constant tousling with his hands. I was still shocked by his scars and bruising that appeared to do the opposite of heal. 

"How would I even explain this to my parents ?" I questioned both him and myself. 

"Just message them saying you're sleeping over at your friends house after work, that it was a spur of the moment decision and they don't need to worry." Dean quickly composed the lie, I began typing the message. 

When I finished typing it, I sighed and laid my back on the bed. 

"You seem quite relaxed about the whole thing." Dean blurted, I continued staring at the ceiling. 

"I do ?" I chuckled. 

"Yeah and you're not even asking questions, which I would definitely be doing." He truthfully stated. 

I wanted to tell him right there and then about my father and how I was almost accustomed to such situations, there were many times when we had spur of the moment holidays somewhere far so that my father was safe. But many things could go badly. Especially since he was the son of my fathers friend, he would surely tell Vincent and then my father would find out. Not to mention my mothers scolding for betraying her rule. Again, the web of lies had spun around my mouth preventing me from speaking. 

"Well then -" I paused and sat back up, our bodies were now staring at each others. 

"- would you even answer my questions?" I looked at him curiously. 

"Depends on what you ask." He stated. 

I looked back up at the ceiling and attempted to think of a question. 

"The woman said you got away from her men the other night. Did they give you all that ?" I asked, waving my hand around my face, referring to his own bruises. 

"Yes, not all of it though." He answered emotionlessly. 

"Why did they do that to you ?" I queried. 

"I did something they didn't like." He stated, tightening his jaw. He seemed to shift between sarcasm, anger and seriousness and I truly never knew when the change would occur. 

The hotel room was modern, the house style was white and navy. The two double beds were almost fully white aside from the small blue cushions that were dusted amongst the large white pillows. Between the beds was a small bedside table with a plant, Cora stared at it longingly as it reminded her of the plants in the rural village she and her parents visited on holiday one year - it was exotic and had this lush yet light smell to it. The essentials found within most hotels could also be found, but there was also a single shower that the pair would have to take in turns. 

Cora stood from the bed whilst the silence was deafening between the two and made her way towards the floor length window: they were in the outskirts of town so all she could see was a quiet road covered by the rays of gleaming light from the amber sunset.

"You both must've done something really bad if there are people trying to kill you both." I blurted out whilst tracing my fingers along the window pane. 

"Mhm." He agreed. 

"Based on the woman's extreme consequences for both your actions, i'm assuming its an eye-for-an-eye situation?" I turned to look at him, to see his response. 

"Ding, Ding, Ding." He applauded mockingly. I couldn't comprehend it for a moment but coming to my senses, I knew then and there that he had killed someone. He was a murderer who seemed as though he had no remorse or guilt, his lack of a serious response worried me. 

"You or your father ?" I asked with my arms folded, staring deeply at him, searching between his eyes. 

"Both. And do you know how I know you won't tell anyone about it -" He paused, standing up from the bed. I watched as his figure grew in height until the moment he was close to me, simply towering over my body in hopes of intimidating. He was, in fact, intimidating me very much, it was clear that his quiet-school-boy-who-doesn't-fight-back-act was all fake. From his broad shoulders to his muscular forearms, there was no denying that the man in front of me had the power to kill. 

"- because we could ruin your entire life. My father knows your family secret Cora and if you don't keep your little mouth shut then were just going to have to tell the world." He inched closer, his words were almost a whisper and his hand was creeping eerily close to my neck. 

"Be a good girl and just do as we tell you, it'll be a lot easier that way." He lightly brushed his hand upon my cheek causing me to turn away from him. 

The burning sensation of his touch lingered. 

"Don't touch me." I swayed my hand against his to remove it from my cheek, barging past him, I hurried into the bathroom. 

Cora had a burning pit of stress and anxiousness brimming in her stomach. She paced around the modest bathroom thinking of various ways in which she could possibly make things better. She decided it be best if she was obedient, hopefully if she were to please Vincent and Dean then she would be in their good books. 

She stood, with her palms rested on the sink whilst staring deeply at herself in the mirror and wondered how this would all turn out. She feared to step out into the bedroom, to sleep beside a murderer.