House of Cards

Foxy sits in the living room, scrolling through tv channels and eating a bowl of soup. A large doberman lays beside her resting its head on her lap. Suddenly, his ears perk up and his head snaps towards the front door, as he begins to growl. Foxy sets down her bowl and mutes the television. "Lb? What is it boy?" The sound of glass shattering outside causes Foxy to jump and Lb to bark. She walks over to the front door, flipping on the light switch before peeking out the window. She then grabs a bat from the umbrella barrel and slowly opens the door. The smell of falling rain fills her nose. Foxy takes a deep breath and cautiously looks out the door and around the porch, where she see's a broken flower pot. Foxy lowers the bat with a sigh of relief and walks towards the broken porcelain pieces. As she approaches, she see's what looks like a light trail of blood leading to the other side of the porch. She stops in her tracks, frozen in fear. She flinches when she hears Lb whining and scratching at the door. Foxy raises the bat once more and walks around the porch, following the trail until she see's a man, not much older than her, sitting on the ground clutching his side. She scans the man, not knowing what to do. He looks up at her with piercing, but gentle, magenta eyes before coughing, blood shoots out of his mouth and onto the ground. Foxy immediately drops the bat and runs to his side. "Oh my god! Are you okay?" she exclaims. The man ignores her and she pulls out her phone dialing 911. He then grabs her hand before she can press the call button, "Please.. no police." he breaths out heavily. "But.. but you're hurt," Foxy says confused. "I'm fine. I just.. I need to rest for a moment." he replies. Foxy bites her lip, thinking for a moment. "Don't do it. He could be a serial killer for all you know. You help him and next thing you know, you're waking up in a casket." Foxy looks at the man for a second, "But he doesn't look dangerous..” Foxy takes a deep breath, already regretting the words that haven't yet left her mouth. "W-why don't you come inside?" the man looks at her confused. "I mean, it's raining pretty hard, and you're probably cold. Being sick and wounded isn't healthy, I'm sure," she says with a nervous chuckle, "Plus I-I'm pretty good with a needle and thread.. I can help you if your wounds are serious?" The man looks at her, thinking over her offer before slowly nodding his head, "I would appreciate that." "Great." Foxy stands up and helps the man to his feet then leads him inside. When they walk in, the man tenses when he see's the large dog growling at him. Foxy quickly shoos him away. "Uh, just wait right here a moment while I grab a couple of things." He nods, leaning against the wall as she walks out of the living room. Lb returns and sits at the bottom of the staircase, not taking his eyes off the stranger. Moments later, Foxy returns caring a couple towels, a bowl of hot water and a first aid kit. She sets everything down on the in table and lays a couple towels on the couch. She then approaches the man and helps him sit down, which he does with a grunt. He watches her curiously as she puts on a pair of gloves and opens the medical kit. "Why are you helping me?" he asks. "Huh?" she says, not even bothering to look up as she prepares everything she thinks she'll need. "I said, why are you helping me? You don't even know me. I could be a serial killer and you not even know it." Foxy gives a light chuckle, "Believe me, that's the first thing that ran through my head, but..." she begins to trail off. "But?" the man tilts his head at her. Foxy sits up and looks into his eyes, "Your eyes told me that you weren't." "My.. eyes?" he says, confused. "That's right. Eyes are the windows to the soul." They stare each other in the eyes for a few moments, neither knowing what to say. Foxy clears her throat and tucks a strand of hair behind her ear, "Maybe we should start, yeah?" "Right.." "So uh, you can either take your shirt off or you can just lift it up for me? I see you're bleeding quite a bit under there." The guys smirks, "We've only known each other 5 minutes and you're already trying to get my clothes off?" Foxy rolls her eyes, "It's not even like that and you know it. How can you make jokes at a time like this?" He laughs and begins to take off his shirt, wincing as his arms raise above his head. Foxy's eyes widen as she takes in his god like figure. She didn't want to admit that he was handsome but his body just confirmed it. "Like what you see?" Foxy's eyes snap to his face where she see's a small grin on his lips. She bites her lip and looks away, "Sorry," she blushes. "Don't be. I worked hard for this body. I'm just glad someone beautiful is appreciating it as well." He says with a wink. "Right.. could you lean back please? Just so that I can get a better view of you wound." "Sure." He does as he's told and leans back into the couch. Foxy grabs a pair of long tweezers and adjusts it over his wound. "This is going to hurt, sorry in advance." she says quietly. "Don't worry about it." he replies. Foxy begins to dig around inside his flesh, searching for the bullet. The guys hisses as she moves the tweezers around, she gives him an apologetic smile. "Found it!" she exclaims after a few moments, pulling out the bloody bullet. She sets the tweezers down and dips a wash cloth in the warm water. As she cleans the blood off of him and sews his wound shut, the man watches her, staring at her face. She had light tan skin, full lips, freckles and a beauty mark under her right eye. Not to mention her bright amber eyes and beautiful curly hair. He couldn't help but admire how gorgeous she was. "My name is Alexei by the way." Foxy looks at him surprised, "Oh uh, I'm Foxy." Juzo smiles, "It's perfect, matches your ginger hair." "I-It's just a nickname." Foxy blushes and attempts to tuck away a strand of loose hair, but stops, remembering the blood on her hands. Alexei chuckles and tucks the hair behind her ear for her. "I like it," he smiles. Her cheeks only redden as she turns away, trying to hide her embarrassment. She clears her throat, "So.. if you don't mind me asking, how did this happen?" "Are you sure you want to know?" he questions. Foxy nods her head as she bandages his now sewn wound. "Alright, well.. I was around some bad people who wanted me to join their 'association' but I refused. The guy in charge doesn't like to be told no so he tried to have me killed. His guys suck though because here I am, still kicking. They have horrible aim too, missed all the vital organs," he says with a small laugh. "He'll probably come for me sooner or later." The smile on his face immediately disappears when he see's the fear on Foxy's. "Are you okay?" he asks. "You.. associate with the mafia?" "..yeah." he replies. "I-I'm sorry but you have to leave." "What?" "I don't want to be involved in whatever you have going on. If he's still after you then he'll come after me thinking I know you. I don't want to be put in danger just because I helped some stranger recover." she says a little too harshly. Alexei nods his head, "I understand." He pulls his shirt back over his head and weakly stands up. That's when Foxy notices the bullet wound on his leg as well, she grabs him by the arm, stopping him before he can take any more steps. "Let me sew your leg before you go? I would hate for you to get an infection." she says. He shakes his head, "I think it's best if I just leave now." "Please? I insist." Alexei looks down at Foxy and see's the plea in her eyes, he sits back down with a sigh, "Fine." "Thank you," she lets out a sigh of relief. "take your pants off." Alexei looks at her, "Your joking?" "How else am I supposed to do this?" she questions. Alexei takes a deep breath before struggling to pull his pants off. "Need help?" Foxy tries to assist him but he sticks his hands up, stopping her before she can touch him. Foxy proceeds to clean out his wound and sews it shut before bandaging him up and sending him out the door. She then cleans up the mess in the living room, throwing away trash and anything covered in blood. Once she is done, she washes her hands and sits at the bar in the kitchen with her head on the counter. Lb walks into the kitchen and sits down beside her, placing his head in her lap. She looks down at him not lifting her head off the countertop. "Don't look at me like that, I did everything I could." She says. Lb whines. "Well what was I supposed to do? Let him stay here?" Lb just stares at her for a moment. She sighs, sitting up straight, "You're right. He was injured and I just kicked him out. What would my mother say.." She narrows her eyes at Lb, who stands up, "Curse you for making me realize my mistake." Lb barks happily as they walk to the front door. Foxy throws on a pair of boots and a rain coat before grabbing the dog leash and putting it on Lb. "Alright, let's go find him, yeah?" He barks and she opens the front door, letting her dog lead the way. After about 10 minutes, they make it into town. Lb sniffs around, but the heavy rain has washed away the strangers scent. Foxy squats down next to him and pats his head softly. "It's okay buddy, I’m sure he’s fine." The sound of a gun going off startles the two of them. Foxy stands up and turns to the direction of the noise, fear rising in her chest. "Oh God!" She begins to run, following the echo. She comes around a corner and stops, seeing Alexei on the ground clutching his left shoulder, blood streaming down his arm mixing in with the rain. There is a man standing a few feet away, pointing a gun at him. They speak in a language Foxy can't understand. "Russian?" The wind blows past her, pulling the hood off her head. Alexei notices her and his eyes widen with fear. The man notices Alexei's eyes shift and turns around. Before he can say anything, Lb lunges at him, viciously attaching his canines to the mans arm, causing him to drop his gun. He yells out in pain as Lb thrashes his head around, the mans arm held tightly in his grasp. Foxy quickly runs around them to Alexei, she falls to her knees, examining him. "What the hell are you doing here?" he demands. "I felt guilty, so I had to come find you. Thank goodness I'm not too late." "Yeah but now what are you going to do?" "I-I don't know." Foxy says, pulling her wet hair away from her face. "f*****g mut!" the man yells as he kicks Lb in the ribs, causing him to loosen his grip and whimper. He grabs Lb by the throat and throws him aside. He looks over at Foxy with a menacing look in his eyes, "You little b***h!" he spits at her. "Foxy grab the gun!" Alexei says. "What gu-" she stops, noticing the mans gun a few inches away from her. She quickly stumbles for it, standing up once she has it in her grasp. She points the gun at the man as he storms towards them. "Stop right there!" she shouts. He does, but not before letting out a humorous laugh. "Come on Alexei. You need a little girl to protect you now? What, you think I won't kill her too?" Alexei scowls at him, "She has nothing to do with this! Leave her alone, this is between you and me!" "On the contrary old friend, her dog attacked me, now I must return the favor by slicing her throat." he smiles pulling out a knife. Foxy gasps, which only causes the mans smile to grow wider. He takes a step closer to her, "I said don't move! I will shoot you!" she squeaks out. The man ignores her, continuing to approach them. "Please, you probably don't even know how to use it." he laughs. Foxy c***s the gun, causing the man and Alexei to both look at her surprised. "Try me," she says. The man lunges at Foxy but before he can get any closer, she pulls the trigger. His body drops to the ground limp, blood pooling out of his forehead. Alexei looks at the dead body, his jaw dropped in shock. Foxy drops the gun and quickly helps Alexei to his feet. "Come on we have to get out of here. I don't want to go to jail!" she whines. "Don't forget the gun," is all Alexei manages to say, still shocked by the turn of events. Foxy quickly picks the gun back up and hands it to Alexei. "You carry it! Lb, lets go!" Lb follows behind them. "I thought you didn't want to get involved?" Alexei asks, looking at her. "Well I have such a good heart that I couldn't just let you wander off and had to come save you," she replies. Alexei smiles down at her, "I'll say." Foxy quickly throws open the front door before slamming it shut again. "I'll be right back." she says as she leaves the living room, Lb follows behind her. Moments later she returns with a towel around her head, a change of clothes and an extra towel for Alexei. "What's this?" he asks. "A change of clothes? Unless you want to stay in your wet ones?" she says raising an eyebrow. "No, thank you." Foxy smiles and nods, "I'll give you a minute to change. Those belong to my brother, you two look about the same size so it shouldn't be too uncomfortable. I'll go get what I need to help you with.. that." She points at his bloody shoulder, he nods. Foxy heads into the bathroom and gets the first aid kit back out and a pair of latex gloves. She dries off her hair and changes clothes before returning to the living room, relieved to see Alexei sitting on the couch, drying his hair with his right hand. Foxy sits down next to him and gives him a small smile, "May I?" Alexei looks at her and nods. She grabs the towel and dries his hair for him. She then puts on the gloves and begins to wipe the wound with a disinfectant. Alexei hisses at the pain. "Sorry," she whispers. As she begins to sew his shoulder, he just watches her, with his free hand on the towel covering his semi-dry hair. "So you're Russian huh?" she asks. "You couldn't tell by the accent?" "I wasn't exactly sure where to place it, but hearing you talk to that big guy made it clear." "Is that right?" Foxy nods, Alexei looks down at her curiously, “Aren’t you handling this a little too well?” “I’m absolutely shaken to my core if I’m going to be honest. But I need to have a clear head in order to do this properly.” "And how exactly do you know how to do this?" he asks. "My mom, she was a doctor." She let's out a sigh before continuing, "My dad would always come home with a few deep wounds every now and again. I used to watch her sew him up. They always looked at each other with so much love, even when he was bleeding profusely." Foxy chuckles lightly, grabbing the bandage wrap. "You're speaking in past tense." Alexei says, not wanting to pry but very curious. "Yeah.. they both died a couple years ago. Horrible accident. Now it's just my brother, Grams and I. And my cousin." "I'm sorry to hear that." he says softly. "All done, you can put your shirt on now." Foxy says, taking the gloves off and setting them on the table. Alexei grabs the shirt she gave him and throws it on, wincing as he lifts his left arm. Foxy watches him, "What about your parents?" "They may as well be dead. I don't talk to them anymore and they don't try to talk to me." "Is there a story behind that?" Foxy says curiously. "Lets just say I'm the problem child. They couldn't handle my behavior and kicked me out. Practically disowning me." "Hmm. Why is that so easy to believe?" Foxy laughs, followed by Alexei. "That hurt a little." "I'm sure you're used to it." Alexei looks at Foxy with a smile, he glances down at her lips before licking his own. Foxy bites her lip and looks away. "How old are you?" Alexei asks. "16, you?" "I'm 19." Foxy nods, "Good to know." "How do you know how to shoot a gun? Were you aiming for his head or did you just get lucky?" he asks her. "What is this, 21 questions?" Alexei shrugs, "Just curious." Foxy looks down, "My dad was a police officer. He used to take my brother and I to the shooting range. We still go sometimes." "I wish I could thank him. Both your parents actually." Alexei says, leaning back. Foxy looks at him confused, "What do you mean?" "Thanks to what they've taught you, you’ve not only saved my life once, but twice. I'm sure they'd be proud." Foxy bites her lip as tears threaten to spill from her eyes, "Thank you," she says. "No, thank you. I really owe you one. Well two." Foxy chuckles and looks at Alexei, they stare into each others eyes. Alexei sits up and leans so close to her that their noses are almost touching. He glances down at her lips before looking back into her golden yellow eyes. "Your eyes remind me of yellow roses. Warm and alluring." The feel of his breath against her skin makes her shutter. Alexei lifts her chin so that her lips are lined perfectly with his own. She closes her eyes wanting to go with the flow. Before their lips can connect, Lb barks, causing Foxy to open her eyes and pull away, realizing the situation. "I.. I should probably get to bed. It's late and I have school in the morning." Alexei backs away, a little disappointed that he didn't get to feel her lips against his. "Of course." Foxy stands up and throws her curly hair over her shoulder, "You can sleep here tonight. There are extra blankets in the closet if you get a little cold, help yourself to any one of them." "Thanks." Foxy bites her lip, "Goodnight." Alexei grins, noticing the red tint on her cheeks, “Wait, what’s your real name?" “..Jasmine.” “Sweet dreams Jasmine.” Foxy nods and walks up the stairs to her bedroom. “I killed someone.." she whispers to herself, disbelief evident in her voice. The next morning Foxy sits up in her bed and stretches, exhausted from a nearly sleepless night. She gets dressed and makes her way downstairs for breakfast. She peeks in the living room and sighs when she see's that Alexei is no longer there. She makes her way into the kitchen, seeing her grandmother standing over the stove, cooking pancakes. Foxy hugs her from the back before making herself a plate. "Good morning dear." her grandmother says with a smile. "Morning Grams." "You seem to be in a great mood today. Did something happen?" "No nothing." Foxy begins to pour syrup on her pancakes as Grams sets a cup of orange juice in front of her. "Your friend left a couple of hours ago." Foxy looks up from her plate, "You seen him?" "Sure did. Very handsome and quite the charmer. Why didn't you tell me you had a boyfriend?" she teases. Foxy chokes on her pancake, causing her grandmother to laugh. "He's not my boyfriend. I don't even-" a knock on the door interrupts them. Foxy gets up from the table and walks into the living room towards the front door. She opens it only to be greeted by a bouquet of yellow roses. "What the-" A man peeks from behind the flowers, "Delivery for Jasmine." "But I didn't order any-" "Of course not ma'am, they were ordered by someone else. I am under strick orders to deliver them to you." "What?" The man hands Foxy the flowers and walks away. Her eyes follow him to his truck and widen when she see's the number or roses he has with him. He begins to carry the vases to the porch and arranges them neatly. Foxy just stands there in shock looking at all the different color roses. "Whose at the.. door?" her grams says from behind her. "Where we expecting a flower delivery?" "Not at all.." Foxy mumbles. "Oh look there's a card." Foxy grabs the card and opens it, "Everytime I see a rose I will be reminded of your gorgeous golden eyes. I just hope everytime you step outside, you will be reminded of mine as well, haha." Foxy rolls her eyes and smiles. "I hope we can meet again. Maybe under better circumstances? See you around little fox. - Alexei"