AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I share her grin. “He has a really beautiful black and gray eagle one covering his chest and shoulder. The feathers seem so real, and I always want to touch them.”
“Does he have scary tattoos?”
“Yes. Some are of skulls. On his back, there’s one of a grave. It could be so maudlin, but it’s actually beautiful. He got it after his mom died. I can tell he loved her very much.”
“Don’t all people love their mothers?”
“My mother let me down. Yours was a monster. Eagle’s mom treated him in a way he misses.”
Fiona holds my hand and sighs. “I’ll be brave, so you can enjoy this time with Eagle.”
“Thank you. I’ll be sure to hire someone good. If she upsets you, we’ll slash her tires.”
“What?”
“It’s something Eagle told me about the club president. Well, actually, it was Ruin’s sister and his wife along with her sister and a few other people. I got a little confused on who everyone was. But these women got upset with some other women. I didn’t understand what all that was about. But Ruin’s sister and the women slashed the tires of the women they were fighting with. I’d never heard of such a thing before, but Eagle made that wild behavior sound rather normal.”
A confused Fiona asks, “And you would slash the tires of the caretaker if she was mean to me?”
“Sure.”
“But how does that punish her?”
“Tires cost money, and caretakers don’t make a lot.”
Imagining the tire revenge, Fiona smiles for a long minute. Suddenly, she loses her amusement and grips my hand in both of hers.
“You can’t leave me for Eagle. I’m not ready to be alone in the dark. I don’t know where anything is. The house is strange. I’m scared.”
Stroking her cheek, I file away her reaction for later when I might get the urge to share about the baby. Fiona is my only friend, but she’s essentially a child. She can’t be happy for me like an adult friend would be. A baby means change and competition for my attention. No doubt, she’ll fear I’ll abandon her.
“Eagle and I are just dating,” I explain as my thoughts return to how he trapped my body against his as if me leaving was too much to bear. “We’re at the very beginning of our relationship. We might not last a week.”
“No, I suspect he’s smart enough to understand your worth. I imagine he’ll want to keep you.”
“Well, we’re not to that point yet. For decades, Eagle and his friends have enjoyed a party lifestyle. He won’t jump into anything.”
Fiona nods. “Make him wait for a while. I can get better. I won’t be afraid. Then, you can be happy with him. Just not yet.”
Just like I did on the first day we met, I promise, “I won’t leave you, Fiona.”
“I trust you,” she whispers before falling silent.
I think of what Fiona might be capable of in life. When she was a child, her mother showed her vile horror movies like “I Spit on Your Grave” and “The Last House on the Left” to scare the child and convince her the world was a violent place. Fiona believed stepping outside her home could lead to her doom.
Meanwhile, she was homeschooled with the best tutors her father’s money could provide. A bright girl, Fiona might have been anything if only she left her house.
She told me how she tried to overcome her agoraphobia when she was around sixteen. After meeting a few local kids online, she worked up the nerve to sneak out and meet them at a party.
“They weren’t my friends,” she explained. “They hurt me just like girls got hurt in the movies that Mother showed me. Then, those kids threw me out of their car in front of the house.”
I’ve always assumed Zaja or one of the bitch’s leeches devised the attack. Their ploy to smother the lonely girl’s curiosity worked, too. However, I suspect Fiona got up the nerve to try leaving years later. Her bravery likely led to Zaja pushing her off the third-story walkway.
All these years later, I sense the same curious girl lives deep inside this broken woman and wants to break free. That’s what will give her the strength to deal with my new life.
I just need to be patient. Keep my cool. Don’t blurt out anything about the pregnancy. Let this new life unfold naturally.
Now, if only Eagle can be as patient.
