Chapter Thirteen

“You’re quiet.”

“I’m getting my affairs in order. I have an order for a gown to be worn on the red carpet by an up-and-coming actress. I would like to finish it before I die. Someone else will have to make it, but at least the design will be finished if she decides to wear it.”

She was sitting on the couch in his living room. There were things she’d like to change, but she wouldn’t be here long enough for that. She got up and went to the room that would be her studio.

“I need the easel and chair from my office.”

“Can we get you new ones? I’d like to have everything in your apartment destroyed to make sure we don’t miss any alien bugs.”

“I want three things from my place. There are pictures of Piper and me on the walls, I want those. In my closet is a purple evening gown.” She held up her phone and showed him a picture of it. “On my dresser is a small gold locket. In it is a picture of my mother and one of me. Do whatever you have to with everything else; I'll be leaving it all behind anyway.”

“Do you want to come?”

She shook her head. The last thing she needed to see was her possessions go up in smoke. “I’ll stay here if it’s not a problem.”

“This is your home now.”

She nodded and walked into the den. Should she go back to him and assure him everything was right in her world? Sure, she should, but she couldn’t. Her life was ending, and it wouldn’t be in a bed surrounded by her family.

Her body would still be young and wanting to live life when the end came for her. So, he’d have to give her some breathing room because she needed to mourn.

“Explore, all I ask is that you stay away from the other wing of the house until you're invited over.”

“I will.”

He left leaving her alone with her thoughts. Sad laughter filled the room. She was alone the very thing she asked for and the last thing she wanted. Fie came in and jumped into her arms snuggling against her neck.

“I’m a mass of contradictions. I don’t know what I want.” She held him close for a long time before she put him down and stood up. “I’m becoming fond of the old saying; I can rest when I’m dead.”

She went into the bedroom and found a pair of tennis shoes and a sweater with big pockets.

“I need to buy an easel and a chair.” Her cat meowed at her. “I can’t do that Fie stores frown upon it.”

Did she really care? What would they do, send her to jail? Maybe… Did the send the dying to jail?

“Okay, you win.” He jumped up in her arms.

They went to find the steps. Right next to them was a small bend.

“Let’s see what’s in the corner.” Her mouth hung open when she saw the elevator. “I wonder why he didn’t tell me about this?”

She shook her head. He still wasn’t convinced she was dying. Hell, that hurt. Not because he didn’t want her to die but because his pain would be greater when she did.

“He doesn’t want to lose me Fie. I am both humbled and grateful.” She pushed the button getting on when it arrived.

The dials read 3, 2, 1, M, B, C.

“What do you think C means?” He purred at her. “Yeah, I don’t know either.” She pushed the button and laughed. It was funny, but she really thought she could understand her cat.

“I’m going crazy Fie.” He rubbed against her with a deep purr. “No, really I am. I keep thinking you’re talking to me. It has to be a side effect of this alien disease killing me.”

The doors opened, and she found herself pressed against the wall of the elevator. She needed to ground herself to believe what she was seeing.

“Please tell me you see this?” She walked out of the elevators into a garage filled with cars. “There have to be around fifty vehicles here. And that doesn’t count the ones they have sitting outside. How many cars do six brothers and one female need?”

Quinn had a truck. A brand new one, she said her older one got into an accident.

Fie rubbed against her neck. “That’s a bad idea. We should call an Uber. They might be upset if we take a car. True, we could take one of the least expensive ones. Is that an Alfa Romeo?”

It was jet black. She could see herself on the highway, windows open braids blowing in the breeze. Damn, just thinking about it made her horny. It had to be the sickness, right? The thought of driving fast and free then pulling over and devouring Jabari didn’t make sense, did it? Her body was buzzing from the thought.

“We stay away from the little, fast cars. We have to be practical Fie.” That’s how she’d lived her life. It got her nowhere. Still, she didn’t want to be in a car that close to the ground. Not by herself anyway.

They took their time walking through the cars. When you were in a showroom with this many different cars, you should appreciate it.

“What about this one?” She opened the door to find the keys in the ignition. It was a two-door infinity, bronze with cream-colored interior. She could take an Uber, but this was her upgrade car.

They got in and wondered how they were supposed to get out of here. There were cars parked all around her. She wasn’t driving out. She turned on the ignition to hear it purr when the platform she was on started rising.

“Did I ever mention I was scared of heights?” The platform came to a stop, then turned around connecting to a different floor. She drove off hoping there were no sudden drops. It led her to the exit of the garage. All right that was the coolest thing she’d seen. Nope, take that back. She’d seen too many unexplained things lately.

“Looks like we’re going to buy an easel. You can’t let anyone know you’re in my pocket when we get to the mall.”

She turned on the radio, found her favorite station, then opened the window letting her hair blow in the breeze. This was the life. She would have spent all her time in college studying if not for Piper. All she ever thought of was proving to everyone she was more than the words they called her.

Piper, on the other hand, believed they should live. Piper’s life hadn’t been easy either, and she wouldn’t let her hide away from the world. So, there were parties and dances and just crazy fun with her BFF. They graduated seventh and eighth in their class that was good enough for her.

The mall was a busy place, and she was sad to have gotten there. The ride was fun, and she felt alive.

“What do you think Fie? Should we get the supplies and head home, or should we eat some of those fries first? Good idea let’s eat fries.”

They walked to the food court to find that half of it was blocked off. The under-construction sign upset her. The other half was full, but it was lunchtime. She got in line for her fries wondering where they would sit.

When she got to the counter, she ordered large fries with cheese and a drink. Because, why not? She took her order and started looking for a table to sit.

Off in the corner were three women who were waving at her. They didn’t know her. She looked around, but there was no one else by her.

“Yes, you.” One of the women shouted.

She knew better, but she couldn’t help herself. What did they want? Maybe they were the ones trying to kill her. Good going, Brandi. Walk into a death trap.

“Hi Brandi, have a seat.” She backed up a few steps.

“Don’t worry, Dante told us about you.” Her brow furrowed.

“I don’t think she knows who he is, yet.”

“Let’s try this again. I’m Rena. This is Dee, and that’s Lorali. We’re no threat to you. Have a seat.”

They were reading low to non-existent on her threat meter. After all she had gone through, her meter was calibrated to respond to any signs of a threat. She slid into the open chair, and Fie peeked his head out of her pocket.

“Oh, he’s adorable. He is a he, right?”

“Yes, he is.”

“Can I hold him?”

“Fie can she hold you?” He purred and nodded. She handed him over to Dee.

“Dee loves cats and alien cats are the best.”

“Rena!” She hit her in her arm.

Brandi smiled, that was something she and Piper would do.

“Who told you my name?”

“Dante,” Lorali told her. “You’re the reason we came to the mall. He said you needed some friends.”

She had friends, Piper and Quinn. True, she could use more, but she was dying, she shouldn’t make any more friends.

“That’s nice of him, I guess. But I don’t know a Dante.”

“Not trying to scare you, but I think he knows everyone,” Rena told her and then stole one of her fries.

“What is he a warlock?”

“My best guess is a genie,” Dee told her. “Do you want an onion ring? Can your cat eat table food? By the way, what planet did he come from?”

Lorali spoke before she could respond. “We have burgers.” They were cut into fours. “We also have chicken and grabbed a few things from that middle eastern restaurant. Dig in.”

She was sitting at a table with three women she didn’t know sharing food and laughing. The only way it could be better was if Piper was here. At least, the universe was taking time to show her the world was a much nicer place than she thought.

“How do you know each other?”

“Rena and I have been best friends for what feels like forever. Now we are also sisters by marriage.” Dee told her.

“I’m their sister by marriage also, but we are all friends.”

“You married three brothers, and like each other, that’s pretty cool.”

“It is, there are actually six brothers.”

“Six? That’s a coincidence. My guy…” So, she was claiming him as hers now. Well, he had been all up in her mouth. Heat bloomed on her cheeks, and she acted like it wasn’t there.

“My guy has five brothers.”

“I’m betting your guy is created. As far as we know all created have five brothers.”

Her voice dropped. “You know about them?”

“We married into a family of them.”

“Do they um suck your blood or try to eat you?” She flushed again. She wasn’t talking about in a sexy way. She was living with Jabari, but there was still a little doubt in the back of her mind. Like he was conning her, and she was so gullible she was playing right into his hand.

“I don’t know who your guy is, but I know he would hurt himself before he hurt you,” Rena told her.

“Sometimes we think we don’t deserve love, but they see us differently,” Dee reassured her with a smile.

“I was scared that I was not acting appropriately.”

“What do you mean?”

“I thought I should freak out more and run down the street screaming fire.”

“How did you find out?”

“There was this firebird. It looked like a dragon to me, trying to kill me. Jabari turned into this huge creature and started fighting it.”

“You’re lucky. Some of us hid in the bathroom closet when we found out.”

“Oh, I’ve got to hear this.”

They laughed and talked for hours. She was still dying, but if she focused on today, she could forget about it for a while. It was more than she thought she would get this late in her life.

“I want to say, thank you. You all made it a fun day. I need to go get my art supplies.”

“We’re going shopping. Take my number. If you feel like shopping call me. We’ll still be in the store.”

“Don’t do it.” Rena and Lorali told her laughing. She joined in and gave Dee her number. Fie went back into her pocket, and she turned one last time to wave at her new friends before she left the food court.

*~*~*~*

“Where have you been?” Rena asked.

“Shopping.”

“You shop?” Dee asked.

“What did you think of Brandi?”

“I like her.”

“Me too.” Dee and Lorali chimed in.

“Then let’s make sure she leaves the mall alive.”