Sinners and Saints

Recording Session

"What time Wednesday?" was the immediate demand I got when I informed a very angry Leviticus that I was to start recording in the studios on Wednesday. I was lying through my teeth and I hated it, but he didn't seem any more suspicious than usual. I blanked on that question though because I had no idea.

"He just said Wednesday, and that he'd get ahold of me or you when he knew for sure. He said that you had given him my number when we first moved in." I say quickly. I prayed it was true, because otherwise my boldfaced lie was going to get me kicked. Instead he just nodded.

"I'll have to text him I suppose, and make sure he knows that you have a class that day." He's murmuring to himself, so I relax and begin to cook the chicken he had sat on the counter when he had gotten home. It was the day after my meeting with his twin, he'd gotten home and immediately stomped to his study, where he still was when I had gone to bed at 11, a new change for him. He was always in bed for his required 8 hours of sleep.

"Azarias. I'm going out of town for a week starting Friday. I want you to stay here, do you understand? Immediately home from practice, no studying with anyone. I mean it. If I found out that you were running around..." he trails off, but I don't need the end of that threat, I felt myself shudder anyway. I nod quickly, but then pause.

"What if the radio host calls me in again?" I ask softly. I want to flinch away when he reaches for me, but that would have gotten me hit. No I just grit my teeth and bare it as he brushes my long hair away from my face.

"IF they call, you let me know so I know where you are." He finally decides, moving out of the kitchen and signaling that we are done talking about it. I relax in relief. He's in his study now, but I still jump when my phone buzzes in my pocket.

My phone was a constant annoyance to him. My parents still payed for it, despite his protests. They insisted that I was still in school and that they needed to pay for it until we either got married or I got my own job, just in case something happened to the two of us, even though they didn't think anything would. So instead, I wasn't allowed to lock it, or change anything on it really. He couldn't go online and look at what I was sending, which infuriated him, but he could and did go through my phone almost every single night. And I'd never hidden anything from him before, knowing if something got out that he didn't like then I would get the brunt of the damage done. Which is why I still hadn't sent anything to his brother, despite him asking. So, I'm not surprised to see that it was Leviathan, with a simple "u ok?" on it. I delete it immediately, constantly checking to make sure that Leviticus was in his study with the door closed.

What time do I need to show up to the studio on Wednesday?

I send instead of replying. There was a long pause that I used to continue cooking before I got an answer.

Boss says any time after your class is fine. NO rush, just know that you're going to be recording alone. The rooms aren't that big so only one person can really fit at a time on the recording side and the soundboard side.

I feel myself relax in relief when he took the hint, and set my phone on the counter so that it's the first thing Leviticus sees when he comes out of the office ten minutes later.

"Who was you messaging?" he asks immediately, picking up the phone.

"Your brother. I figured he would have forgotten to ask by now, so I reminded him." I tell him. I feel myself lose all color in my face lying to him like that.

"I see that. Well that's good. I'll use that time to go shopping for you the week I'm away. Don't want you to over eat, you'll get sick again." He's murmuring to himself as he opens the fridge, so I don't comment on what he's saying. He seemed to believe that the reason I got sick so much when we first began dating was because I ate too much. Admittedly I was a lot heavier then, but I was sick because of the environment I was living in, with the dorms and my roommate making it a pig pen all the time.