It Was Only Ever Erin

Chapter 17 - Colleagues

Erin’s P.O.V

“Okay, now that everyone’s calmed down… why don’t we start from the beginning?” the man called Andrew said. I didn’t know who he was talking about because I certainly wasn’t feeling calm.

One minute I’d been walking through my apartment door after girl’s night, the next I’d been hit on the head and knocked out only to find myself waking up bound and gagged in a dark room. Next thing I know, some guy drags me into a different room where I see my brother in floods of tears, Ollie looking like he’d seen a ghost and my boyfriend yelling and pointing a freakin’ gun at the man behind me. So no, even though Jase now had a protective death grip around me, I was not feeling calm.

“Let me see if I’ve got this straight, Erin is it?” Andrew continued and stepped forward to shake my hand. Jason instinctively stepped back and held me tighter as I redoubled my clutch on his shirt. “I’ll take that as a yes. So, not only are you this boy’s sister, but you are also… romantically involved with Jason?” I didn’t answer, I didn’t move, I had no idea what was going on or who this man was. “And Jason, by the look on your face, I’m guessing you didn’t know that your colleague here was your lady friend’s brother?” I felt like I’d just been doused in a bucked of ice water.

“Colleague?” I said, just above a whisper.

“He’s been one of our low-level dealers for the last month,” Ollie said, his face clearly showing that he too was trying to make sense of the situation. I turned back to Elliot and saw more tears falling from his eyes as he looked at me pleadingly.

“Erin… I’m sorry, I’m so so sorry.”

“Yes Erin, allow me to enlighten you as to your brother’s most recent exploits,” Andrew said loudly, taking command of the room once more. “Tonight your brother and his friend decided to illegally enter my establishment, partake in underage drinking and gambling and proceeded to try and con me out of a great deal of money. Then to top it all off, he tried to use his position as a dealer in your boyfriend’s organisation to try and excuse this spree of illegal activity. Now, as I was saying before you joined us,” he said as though I’d had a choice in the matter, “I have decided to let your brother see this as a learning opportunity, to amend his behavior in the future. However, if he chooses to repeat his actions, I believe I have given you both an adequate demonstration of what I am capable of doing.” I felt my insides shrivel and shrink to nothing as he gave me a cold, dead stare.

In a split second his face changed to one of good-natured humility as he turned and said “Terry, Jason, you have my sincere apologies for this little misunderstanding. I am gratified however, that this whole situation has allowed… well, various things to become… a little clearer, for everybody,” chuckled Andrew. I was half expecting him to say ‘group hug’.

“Indeed, it seems we’ll all have a lot to talk about when we get home,” the man called Terry said, looking round at all of us; eyes settling on Jason, clearly warning him not to do or say anything to rile up the situation further. Without another word he turned and made his way out of the door. Ollie strode towards Elliot, grabbed him by the back of the shirt and shoved him out after Terry and Jason pulled me along in their wake.

***************

The car journey had been spent in complete silence. Eventually we pulled up outside an expensive looking apartment building and made our way to the top floor. As we entered the enormous penthouse that put Dean’s place to shame, Terry finally said, “Ollie, take the kid and wait in my office.” I wanted to say no, to stop him and keep my brother exactly where I could see him but Terry, whoever he was, seemed like a big deal and not someone to disobey.

Ollie, still holding onto the scruff of his neck, dragged Elliot away round a corner. When we heard a door close Terry eventually turned, looked at me still held tightly against Jason’s chest and gave me a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes.

“It’s nice to finally meet you Erin. I’m Terry, Jason’s father.” He stepped forward, holding his hand out to me. This was Jason’s Dad?! I looked up at Jase whose face was set, then, not wanting to be rude or to piss off this very intimidating man, reached out and shook his hand. “I’m sorry it wasn’t in better circumstances.”

“You mean, bound and gagged isn’t how you usually meet Jason’s girlfriends?” I murmured, offering him a small smile and hoping he had a sense of humour. Fortunately, he did and he gave a loud laugh.

“Only once before and that was under very different circumstances,” he grinned, giving me a wink. I gave him a small chuckle in return and felt Jason tense, taking a deep breath. “I’m sorry you got caught up in all of this. Usually we take certain measures to ensure the safety of our own; however, that does rely on complete honesty and it seems your brother has been keeping more than a few things secret from all of us. It’s safe to say that after tonight he’ll no longer remain in my employ.”

“I’m sorry for any trouble he’s caused.”

“Don’t apologise Erin,” Jason snapped – he looked livid. “Come on, let’s get you cleaned up,” he added more gently and he led me away from his father and into a bathroom, sitting me on the edge of the tub. I watched as he took a washcloth out of a cabinet and ran it under warm water. He then sat opposite me on top of the closed toilet seat and started to wipe the blood off my face.

I watched his eyes as he worked, trying to figure out what was going through his head. Before I could ask however, there was a knock at the door and Ollie appeared and asked, “Hey Erin, Elliot’s wondering if he can have a word?”

Jason’s jaw clenched but I put a hand on his leg and replied, “Uh, yeah sure. Jason can you give us a minute?”

With obvious reluctance he got up, kissed my forehead and walked out, passing Elliot on the way and giving him a furious glance. Elliot closed the door and looked at me through watering eyes. I was briefly reminded of when he was 8 years old and had come to tell me he’d broken my bike. I kept my eyes on him as he sat opposite me, looked at the floor, gulped and then raised his head again.

“I’m so sorry Erin… I never wanted you to become a part of this” he said in a minute voice.

“How did you become a part of this?”

“I didn’t wanna be a screw up anymore. I thought if I could make some money, I could make you and Mom proud-”

“By selling drugs?”

“By being a provider, like Dad was. By making something for myself like he always said.” Elliot’s voice cracked as he broke down. “This just seemed like an easy way to do it, Aiden made it sound so easy. I never thought I’d be putting you in danger. I never thought-… I never thought.” He buried his face in his hands as he wept and I leant forwards, wrapping my arms around him. My baby brother. I held him until his sobs subsided.

“Will you let me help you now?” I asked as my own tears fell into his hair. With a loud sniff he looked back up at me and nodded.

“So how long have you been dating my boss?”

“Ex-boss,” I gave him a stern stare. “Just over a month.”

“Isn’t it a little hypocritical to tell me to stay away from them when you’re-”

“I’m his girlfriend Elliot, not one of his drug mules.” He chuckled and looked at his hands.

“He seems to care about you a lot.”

“Yeah he does.” Elliot gave me a long look.

“Be careful.”

“I will if you will,” I smiled back at him.

***************

Jason’s P.O.V

“Talk to me,” Ollie said, standing in front of me with his arms folded and looking at me with concern as I sat on the couch, staring blankly into space.

“I put her in danger.”

“No, her brother put her in danger,” he snapped back in a hard, unyielding tone. “You’d never have done something so stupid and if you had you would have made sure there were people protecting her.”

“Dad said something earlier that I can’t get out of my head… because I know it’s true.” Ollie stood silently, frowning at me. “He said that the reason I didn’t want him to meet her was because he broke the law, he was dangerous and a bad guy; but that every single one of those things could also be used to describe me too. He said I was scared she’d meet him and realise the kind of person she’s really dating. That I’d realise that I’m exactly the kind of person I wouldn’t want her to be with.” I finished as a single tear ran down my cheek.

“Well that’s bullshit” said Ollie as though he was stating something obvious. “Do you think Erin’s a f*****g moron? She’s known exactly who she’s dating from the very beginning. I made sure of that when I told her the reason we couldn’t take you to the hospital. I’m pretty she also figured out what that may involve when she saw the bullet hole in your shoulder. And yet knowing all of that she still decided she wants to be with you. And for the record, you are f**k all like Terry and you know it. The only thing you have in common is 50% of your DNA. The only reason you’re saying and thinking all of this is because you finally have someone you care about and you’re scared out of your f*****g mind that you’re gonna lose her.” I let all of this sink in.

“What if she gets hurt again?”

“I told you, that wasn’t your fault. If Elmo had told us who he was from the beginning and not acted like a moron, then none of this would have happened.” Ollie sat opposite me on the coffee table and grabbed the back of my neck so that I looked him in the eye. “None of us are gonna let anything happen to her, you understand me?”. Looking at him through wet eyes I nodded. I knew he was right – I was just so f*****g scared.

The door of the bathroom opened and Erin and Elliot came walking out looking tear stained and exhausted.

“I don’t suppose either of you would be able to drop us home?” Erin asked sheepishly.

“I’ll take Elliot, Jase will take you,” Ollie answered for me as he walked over to Erin, pulled her into a one-armed hug and planted a chaste kiss on the top of her head. “Don’t worry, I won’t beat him up too bad.” Erin back-handed him in the stomach as he smiled at her and walked out of the door, a nervous-looking Elmo in tow.