Lavender

Collide

We sit at the booth, and I feel a little nervous. I felt good this morning, and so we spent the day together. But the instant I got into the restaurant, I felt like something bad was going to happen. An ominous cloud overtook everything. Adam put a hand on my shoulder. "Are you slipping back?"

I shake my head. "No, I just... I have a bad feeling."

He nods. "I'm sure that's normal. You're safe, everything's okay."

Adam continues speaking, but I don't hear him. Because I see him. A guy sits at a table ahead of us, to my left. He wears all black and has brown hair. He faces away from us, and looks completely normal. But when he plays with the knife at the table, spinning it around in his hand, I feel a deep, familiar, dread in my stomach. Am I going crazy?

I stare at him and watch him get up and head towards the bathroom, and I specifically watch his hands. He pulls his right sleeve slightly up, just enough so I can see the beginnings of a tattoo on his wrist. I can't quite make it out as he walks away, but I know what it says. It says, "Here Lies" as a reference to gravestones, with a subtext of who he is. The man with no name is here. And he let me know it. I tuned back in to my group. "Yeah, that does sound good. Maybe I'll get that." Adam says.

"I'm going to the bathroom." I state as I stand up.

They all look at me with slight confusion, but it doesn't stop me. I walk into the bathroom after the man. The door closes behind me and I immediately get pushed up against a wall. I smell alcohol as he breathes in my face. "Look at you, all grown up."

His brown eyes come into view as my eyes focus. I was right, it is him. "What do you need?" I ask him.

"Ah, come on, what's the rush? Let's catch up. Your face healed nicely."

I don't know this guys name. No one does. But he's been around for a while. Helped Dad start his operation and got a cut of the money. His specialty is knowledge. He always knows shit he's not supposed to. Long story short, I hate him. "Fuck off or tell me what you want."

He gets off of me and rolls his eyes. He plucks a burner phone from his pocket and calls someone. He hands me the phone. I hold it to my ear and hear ringing.

"Link?" Percy's voice comes through the phone.

"What do you want, Percy?" Mixed emotions slip through my voice.

"Where do you live?" He asks.

"Why?"

"Think, dumbass. We need a place to stay. I'm tired of shelters. Too dangerous. Where do you live?"

"You can't live with me." I say, close to panicking. I don't want to be the guy who lets the world know about the mansion.

"You little ungrateful-" Percy's voice cuts out and is replaced by Kellen's.

"Listen, Link. Can we meet up? Talk about this past week?"

I think for a second. "Fine. Where?"

The phone goes silent. The man grabs the phone from my hand. "Here's fine. They get to meet your boyfriends, too." He grins.

My eye twitches as I walk out of the bathroom to see Percy slide in next to Adam. I practically run over to the table and grab his collar. "Get your ass up, Percy."

He looks up at me and his face is a sad sight. Dark eye bags and hollow cheeks. He's sober, I can see the pain in his eyes. I study him. He smells. His clothes are dirty, including stains that could only be blood. "Hey, Little Link. Let's have a chat."

Percy drags our brothers and my boyfriends to the biggest table at the restaurant. Luther and Max look at me with wide eyes, and Adam has his protective look on his face. He grabs my hand and whispers, "What's the plan?"

"Hear them out. I owe them that." I whisper back.

We sit down and I look at the table. Kellen's shirt was covered in blood. Jack and Mario didn't have their usual swagger. Percy was sizing up the Lavenders. Adam sat next to me, creating a barrier between Percy and I. Luther sat on the very end, across from me, and Max sat between him and Mario.

My worlds have officially collided.