Black & White & Red All Over Ch. 02

Rory and Vanessa both nodded. I continued.

"That ties in to control. Who decides? No just one of us; not just two of us; we need consensus. Which means we need to talk about everything that affects us, all decisions and objections and shit like that. We've got to be careful about what secrets we each keep." I took a breath.

"Those are the basics. We got lots of problems about stability. Our early lives were fucked and our backgrounds were totally different. We ain't been together a lot, except for the years you cared for Vanessa," I said, nodding at Rory, "so we're low on long-term intimacy. Supportive family and friends? HA! Ain't got none." I was on a roll now.

"What we GOT is identity. We're all one flesh, one team, just like Mister Obvious said. That, and dedication, and love, these are our glue. No matter where we are, we can stay together, so long as we WANT to. It's like any kind of change: 'Ya gotta really wanna, cause if ya don't, ya ain't gonna,' as one of the sisters said."

"So what happens next?" Rory asked.

"I'll be moved in pretty soon," I said. "I'll keep on working - hey, it's just down the street, even closer than I got to walk now - and I'll keep on with my online classes. I'll get my degree by the end of next year."

"Rory and I make enough money to live comfortably," Vanessa said. "If you quit the job and went to school full-time, how long till you finish?"

"Next semester, for sure. That what you're thinking of? I'll be your kept girl as long as I keep my grades up?" I smirked.

Rory and Vanessa looked at each other, then turned and leered at me. "Yes, dear, that's exactly right," Vanessa oozed, squeezing my dark exposed thigh. Rory sat beside me and stroked my other leg, then reached under my skirt and pulled aside my rosy thong. Vanessa's fingers circled and teased my labia, then slipped into my wet-so-fast pussy. Ahhh...

We did not talk much after that, except to assign positions. Our clothes landed on the couch. Our bodies landed on a king bed - Vanessa's, if I remember right. I landed on my back with Rory's sweet cock inside me and Vanessa's pussy riding my busy tongue. Then, Vanessa was on her back being fucked by Rory and eating me senseless. Then, I was 69ing Rory while Vanessa helped me slurp his cock and balls. Then we daisy-chained, and then switched around, and then did other stuff. Fun stuff. You should be jealous.

*****

I had not moved in yet, not completely, not till the end of the month, and I kept my job for the time being. No need to quit till I head to school full-time after the quarter break.

So I was behind the counter doing the usual when Jayden, an old boyfriend, sauntered in. He was tall and thin and arrogant and had symbols cut into his scalp-hugging wiry black hair. I did not trust him at ALL any more, not since that time... well, I tried to ignore that. And him. No luck.

"Hey there, 'dorable Dora, where you been, where you now?" he crooned. "I hear you been moving around, hanging with some white guy and his crazy old auntie in her funky house, kinda giving up on the 'hood. That so?" He looked at his over-slick reflection is a beer mirror and smoothed his hair. Damn, he was nearly as bad as Lucinda. And what he was saying, he could only have got from Luci. That bitch! BFF no more, as of instantly!

"What you hear about me, and who you hear it from, means less than dogshit to me. YOU don't mean much to me now, either. You buying something, or are you just loitering?" If I'd had a rolling pin or iron pan like Grandma's, I would be swinging it right now, just a little warning.

"Hey now, don't get like that on me. I'm just offering a little connection, y'know, get back into your community. You really think you can be happy out there in the cold, away from your people? I just want you happy, Dora."

I cupped my hand to my ear. "Oooh, I hear something in the wind. Sounds like... sounds like a dog farting. Not a bull, an elephant, a grey whale, nothing big like that. Just some little dog, think's he's a dire wolf or something. No, sounds like a Chihuahua fart. Got that one-of-a-kind Taco Bell smell, too."

Jayden laughed. "You still pretty funny, girl. You pretty smart, too, smart enough to know where your best interests lie, I hope. Yeah, sure, you'll see which way the winds blow, how things go down around here. You're smart." He stopped laughing; his eyes became flinty, cold, hard. "You better stay smart. Sticking with me would be smart, real smart. And me? Just gimmee a handful of Lotto tickets. Gotta win someday."

"Day you win, Orange County will sink into the sea and Disneyland will float away towards Catalina Island. It'll happen someday, sure. I can wait." I took his money and stared his back out the door.

Jayden did not sound like he was just spewing. That was a warning.

How seriously should I take it? I took that question to Rory and Vanessa.

We finished dinner and cleanup that night, and drank some wine, and crawled into bed, and fucked like weasels - well, maybe we took a little longer than weasels usually do, but we were right up there with them. I was laying between Rory and Vanessa afterward, holding them both, when I told them.

"What's your feeling about whether he meant anything?" Vanessa asked. She still did not talk much, but what she said was usually worth listening to.

I snuggled into my mother. "Don't know for sure. He's usually full of shit. Usually, but not always. And he gets crazy jealous. I sure did NOT feel good about what he was saying. And I know he's been with Lucinda so I can't trust she'll keep quiet about anything I told her. I mean, I was careful, but still... she knows a lot about both of you now, about all of us."

"Let's figure he's serious," Rory said, shifting his crotch against my butt. "Take him at face value. Then look at what he has to gain or lose. What, he thinks he'll get you back, Dora? Or does he just want to hurt you, punish you for rejecting him? Would that be worth him facing jail time, or worse?"

I shrugged. He pressed closer.

"What could he do that wouldn't cost him hard time? Petty crap, like nails in my tires, maybe? No, he'd have to do more - or hire somebody to do more. Is he tight with street punks?"

"He's in with all sorts of losers. He could probably buy us some pain."

"So let's assume that he wants to hurt me or Vanessa, at least scare me off, or scare you off from me, and he maybe won't hesitate to hurt you too, especially if he sees you as only a toy. Does he play games like that?" Rory stroked my sides.

I nodded in the near darkness. "Ultimate bullshit, that's where he is. Whatever he thinks he can get away with. He won't know hurt till somebody shoots him or something."

"That won't be me, but maybe he can be dissuaded. Dora, talk to your cop pal Sergeant Teddy, see if he'll keep an eye on Jayden. I think all of us are in danger. We should think of how else to prevent trouble. Physical security will only go so far. Do we scare him away? Or go away ourselves?"

Vanessa's voice was firm. "I don't want to leave my home. You know that." My arms circled her belly. I squeezed her. Rory squeezed me.

"We'll see if he gives us a choice. Dora, maybe you should quit your job now. You don't NEED to be there. Vanessa and I make decent money."

"If he can't find me at the store, won't he come looking for me here? Won't that be more dangerous for you?" I asked, pulling Vanessa to me. "And I don't want the shiz to scare me indoors. I ain't such a pussy." I was getting mad.

"I guess it comes down to: just how dangerous is Jayden? I can handle physical security here, better than trying to keep you safe to and from and at the store," Rory insisted. "Being brave isn't a great idea, not if it gets you hurt."

"Tell you what," I said, "I'll call some of the sisters, see if there's any word going around about Jayden. That's what you'd call 'threat assessment', right, white boy?" I twisted my head and sent him a crooked smile.

Vanessa nodded agreement. "You should stay safe now. Talk to Sergeant Teddy. Talk to your friends. Be careful; don't take chances you don't need to. Look, tomorrow is Saturday. You can both go to the store; Rory, you'll be protecting Isadora - and take your netbook to stay occupied. But that way," she said, brushing her face against mine, "you won't be there alone, if Jayden or his friends show up." She kissed me.

Rory held us both. I felt his erection slide between my cheeks. I shifted my leg; my brother entered me from behind. Oh fuck, fuck... Vanessa kissed my mouth, my breasts, with more than a mother's kisses, oh fuck... I felt the physical love, the spiritual love, the emotional love, all the love...

*****

I called around in the morning. My GFs said Jayden WAS snaking something together, but they did not know what. Sergeant Teddy said he could not do much without more information, but he'd push harder on the street, squeeze people. And Rory DID spend the day with me at the store. When I had customers, he worked on his engineering shit. When I was free, we went over my class work.

I was in my dull work uniform, of course. Rory wore dressy black sneakers, new black jeans, a wheat shirt, and a light blazer, very engineer-corporate. That dog won't change his spots, never.

Teddy's cruiser rolled up. The short Hmong sergeant and a taller Latino patrolman pushed through the store door. I tossed Teddy a pack of Camels, unfiltered. "Thanks, Dora, you're the best!" He saw Rory. "Mister VanOwen, you got a minute? We need to talk. C'mon with me." He led Rory outside, calling over his shoulder, "Leave me some donuts, Lopez."

Lopez leaned against a cooler beside the front door. "Braden's after you, huh Dora? He's got some nasty buds now. You were with that scum?" His eyes flicked from me, around the store, out the windows, and back to my face.

"Long time ago," I sighed. "Ancient history - it's come back to life, a zombi in my closet. I don't need this shit."

"Nobody needs shit, but it's all we got, isn't it?" Lopez eyes flicked around again; surveillance mode. "Wasn't for that, I'd have to get an honest job. If turds like Braden didn't exist, we'd have to invent them. Maybe we do anyway."

I visualized what could happen, and told myself to relax. Myself did not listen. My adrenaline flowed. My teeth clenched. Calm down, I told myself. Nothing's going to happen.

"You look stressed." Lopez was so fucking observant! "Want to talk about it?" Sure, might as well, I thought.

"Stress? It's my life story, amigo. Stress and distress. I was raised by my grandparents in Hoboken. Grandma said I was born down South, and that my Momma was a bad woman who brought death and destruction to everyone near her, so she had gone away. Grandma was active in the Free Baptist Church, of course, and Grandpa wasn't, but they raised me good, as good as they could."

I went to the fountain and shot myself a big cup of soda water. I gave Lopez a cola. He nodded his thanks.

"But y'know how young girls are, going wild and everything. I went wild, sure. I left Hoboken when I was seventeen. Told myself I was looking for my Momma. Really, I was just looking for myself, and not much liking who I found. I went hitchhiking around, to Baltimore and Savannah and Dallas and Denver and Seattle and eventually here to Long Beach. I hooked up with Jayden, among others. But he was the..." I took a breath and shook my head.

"I thought life with Jayden would be all party time, just what I was looking for, other than looking for my Momma, of course. HA! Naw, I only looked for fun. Guess I thought my Momma had fun too, so why shouldn't I? Then I saw that Jayden's fun wasn't so great for me, not after he wanted me to... aw shit, I'm not gonna talk about that. I'll just say, it was sick."

I was not going to tell any cop, even a good one, about Jayden having me pull tricks and trains, and otherwise 'sharing' me around, usually after getting me royally loaded - fucked in the head, then fucked everywhere else. And he filmed it all.

How did I feel about that? Like the lowest level of dogshit. I knew what he was doing to me, and I knew I wanted to live, and that if I stayed with him, I'd be dead soon. I was not yet ready to die.

"So we had this little falling-out, and I sort of messed with some of his plans" (by zapping his computer drive and melting all his DVDs) "and we've not exactly been on good terms since then. I got this job, and school, and an apartment, and I'm living on my own, at least until recently."

Lopez finished his cola and leaned against the other cooler. "And now you're cohabiting with this VanOwen guy and his old Tia Vanessa down the street, right? And the Braden asshole doesn't much like this, right? Thinks he owns you or something? You give him any encouragement lately?"

I snorted. "I ain't encouraged the shithead in a long, long time. Ain't even talked to him, not till he came in the other day. Yeah, I'm moving along. I'm sort of part-time caretaker for Vanessa, and Rory and I *do* get along well. Feels like family now." I focused on a mental image of us, the Black and White and Red, all family, closer than Lopez could imagine.

Rory and Teddy came back inside the store. "Let me check," Rory said. He poked at his netbook behind the counter. "Okay, I see your access point. I'll hook the house system in there. Where are your protocols?"

Teddy pointed a finger at the little screen. "Just follow that link. The password today is DEMENTIA99, all caps. Yeah, I know it's weak, but that's how we work here." The sergeant shook his head. "Some of the brass are morons... er, I mean, a bit behind the times. They'll learn - the hard way, probably. Or their replacements will."

Rory nodded. "Tell me about it. Okay, thanks for this. I'll set up the system as soon as we're done here. Another two hours, right, Dora?"

"End of shift, that's it," I agreed.

Back to work. The cops left. Rory resumed his position. The usual customers slithered in to buy more of the usual crap - killing themselves slowly, but who's in a hurry?

And then the boss showed up. Stomped in, actually.

Marut Krishnamurthy ('Mack' to his friends, if any) scowled, as usual. "Why do you have cops here all the time, Dora? Something wrong that you didn't tell me about? Hey you, Dora's friend, what the hell are you doing behind the counter? You think you own the place or something? Why don't you answer me, Dora? You think you don't need this job any more? I can take care of that, no problem, and don't your forget it..." and on and on.

He ranted, and waved his stubby index finger, and pointed his bulging nose, and flopped his potbelly around inside his cheap, not-too-well-tailored suit. Rory and I exchanged glances. I nodded, sat on my stool, and pulled off my thick-soled sneakers. Rory closed his netbook.

"What are you doing, Dora? What..." He sputtered when I started unbuttoning my uniform shirt. I wadded it on the counter and then unbuckled and dropped my uniform trousers. He literally drooled when he saw me wearing only my silvery sports bra and bikini bottoms. A slow string of saliva trickled down his double chin.

"You're absolutely right, boss; I do NOT need this job now. I'll be back tomorrow for my last paycheck. You know where the keys are. Hope you find a replacement soon - customers get nasty when nobody's here."

I pulled my sneakers back on. Rory took my elbow and escorted me past my quivering, sweating ex-employer. My butt is too big; my boobs are too small; my thighs are too thick. But he still dribbled all over himself as I pushed my shoulders back and strutted out the door, across the asphalt to Rory's very used Volvo sedan.

Good thing he drove us in today, huh?

We both howled with laughter when the car doors closed on us. Rory hugged me tight, as tight as possible in bucket seats with a console in between.

"Great exit, Dora! Damn, you're beautiful and sexy! He'll probably jerk-off to the surveillance tapes for years!" He kissed me hard. "And the rest of Long Beach will slobber over you too if you stay dressed like that." He reached into the back seat. "Here, you'd better put this poncho on."

"He'll never forget me, that's for damn sure," I giggled. I slipped the light sky-blue nylon rain poncho over my head and shoulders. "Yeah Rory, we don't want to give'em a free show."

He started the engine. We drove the short way to Vanessa's (OUR!) house and pulled up in front. Rory whipped around to open my door like the gent he is. We went through the gates and the front-door entry ritual and stepped into the quiet home.

I walked in first. I had only taken a couple steps inside when Rory held my shoulder to stop me. "Shhhh," he whispered. We both stood silently. I heard Rory inhale through his nose. I sniffed also, and smelled... I dunno, decay? Dead air? I dunno, but it was not like the house's usually scent.

"Don't move," he murmured, and tiptoed down the hallway. That fella sure can walk quiet when he tries! He looked through the open utility-room door and stopped. "Oh shit," he said, not quietly, and ran toward Vanessa's room.

I skipped forward and peered into the utility room. The 2x3-foot grate over the house's subfloor space was pushed open and lying on the floor, with dirt and mud and... blood? around it. I ran after Rory.

Vanessa's bed was made, and empty. Rory quickly ran to all the other rooms in the house. I followed. All were empty.

Vanessa was gone.

*****

NEXT: What happened to Vanessa? Will we hear her story? Stay tuned! (And vote, to encourage the author to write the thrilling conclusion.)

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