Changing Affection

Chapter Six

Jearon rode in the backseat of the black-out car the next morning. He smiled excitedly at the thought of having the girl with him. He didn't like that Ezra was able to see her every day and every hour. Ezra could be touching her body and Jearon would never know. He wanted to be the only one who got to touch her. He had even thought about raising the price of money her father was supposed to pay just to get more time with her.

Her father had already pleaded with Jearon about letting her go back home, but each time he refused. He still wanted the money. He still needed the money. Bringing guns into the city was expensive. Paying off the officers was starting to get out of hand and costing him more money than he thought he would have to pay. If he wasn't able to pay them, he wouldn't be able to have them do whatever he wanted them to do. 

They pulled into Ezra's driveway and parked the car. Jearon looked at his goon next to him – he never bothered to learn his name – and walked up to the door. He knocked twice and rang the doorbell. He waited patiently for a few seconds, but after a while of no one answering the door, he became impatient. He turned to the man beside him, "Get us in." He stepped aside and watched as the man took out his lock picking tools and started to work on the lock. 

Jearon shook his head and crossed his arms. He hoped that Ezra not answering the door just meant that he was asleep. He was not going to take kindly if he found out his best friend that had promised him his loyalty ran away with the girl that he wanted. If he did, Jearon was going to find him and bring him back. He was going to make sure that Ezra understood that no one was safe from his wrath. It didn't matter that they had grown up together and he was his best friend, he was still going to make sure that he paid. 

"The door is open, boss," the man called to him.

Jearon pushed past the man and walked into the house. He looked around and noticed how the house was in the same order it had been a few days ago. But Jearon still felt uneasy as he searched the rest of the house. It was too quiet. He came to the bedroom and found that Ezra – or the girl – wasn't there. He growled as he opened the drawers and closet to find them both empty. 

"That fucking idiot!" he yelled. He slammed his fist into a wall creating a fist-sized hole. No doubt his hand was going to hurt later, but now he was so full of adrenaline that he couldn't feel a thing. He stormed out of the room and into the living room where the man that came with him was standing. "Check the kitchen! If they left, they had to take food with them!"

Jearon watched as the man hustled to the kitchen. He paced back and forth thinking of all the reasons why Ezra would want to do this. He was jeopardizing their decade of friendship. How could Ezra do that? What had Jearon done to him that made him do this? All Jearon could think about was that girl. Ezra wanted her and he knew that Jearon wanted her. The only way that Ezra could have her is if he ran away and took her with him. That girl has come between them. Once he got his hands on her she was going to feel his wrath and he was going to make sure that Ezra watched. 

"There's no food in the kitchen, boss," the man told him as he walked back into the living room. The man's eyes held fear in them. 

Jearon didn't turn around to look at him. He just kept pacing back and forth. "How could he do this to me? He's jeopardizing everything that he had ever worked for! Our friendship, his morals, being second in command of my gang! How could he give any of that up? I was his only family. I was the only one who would be friends with him. I made him into the man he is today! He couldn't have done any of this without me!" Jearon stopped and looked up at the man. "I'm going to find him and show him what kind of mistake he made."

-----

Ezra slowly opened his eyes. The sunlight streaming through the window momentarily blinded him. Once his eyes were adjusted to the light, he looked around the hunting cabin. It was then that he realized there was a space next to him. He sat up in bed. His heart hammered in his chest. He looked around and sighed with relief when he spotted Aubrey by the cabinets. She was wearing one of his hoodies that fell to the middle of her thighs. He wondered to himself when she had changed and also what she was wearing underneath. 

She looked up at him and smiled. "What's wrong?" She cocked her head to one side. There was a playfulness look on her face that wasn't there before.

She knows what she's doing to me, he thought. "Nothing," he shook his head as he got out of bed and walked to her. 

"Did you think I ran away?" she asked him casually.

Ezra shrugged. "Maybe." He had thought that Jearon had come and taken her. 

"I already told you that I feel safer with you." She turned around and faced him. "If I can't go home, I would rather be here with you."

Ezra smiled down at her. "Jearon probably has already been by the house and found out that we aren't there."

"Is he going to come here?" Aubrey hugged herself.

Ezra reached out and grabbed her shoulders. "He's not going to come here. He doesn't know that I have this cabin. I've also turned off the tracking device on my phone so he can't follow that." He bent down so he could look straight into her eyes to make sure she was listening. "I promise that he won't get you. He'll have to go through me to get to you. I promise."

Aubrey relaxed and looked at him relieved. "So," she started as she looked around the cabin. "What do you suggest we do while we're here."

Ezra looked behind him and first noticed the TV. "We could watch movies. Who knows how long we'll have to be here? There are DVDs on the bedside table." He motioned her to the bed. "Sit. I'll fix you some breakfast." He walked over to the cabinets and pulled out two cereal boxes. He held them up and turned towards Aubrey who was halfway to the bed. "Captain Crunch or Frosted Flakes?"

"Um," she turned around and paused. "Frosted Flakes"

Ezra nodded as he turned back around and found a bowl. He poured some Frosted Flakes into the bowl and bend down to look around the mini-fridge for some milk, but couldn't find any. "Aubrey, did you forget to pack the milk?" He looked over to the bed and saw her looking down at her lap. "You did, didn't you?" he chuckled. 

"I might have," she answered slowly. 

"Good thing cereal tastes just as good without milk." He walked over to the bed and handed her the bowl with a spoon. He walked back to the kitchen area and fixed himself a bowl. Walking back to the bed, he grabbed the remote before climbing beside her. He turned on the TV. He flipped through the channels until he came to the sports station. They were replaying an old basketball game.

Both sat on the bed talking and watching the game. Ezra was enjoying this time with her, but he knew that he wouldn't have this forever. He knew that Jearon wouldn't stop looking for them. He knew that he would find them eventually and when he did, Ezra would have to make a decision. Fight for forgiveness from the family who took him in, or fight for the girl who brought a new feeling into his life? He didn't know which one he was going to do, but he had a feeling he would make the right decision. 

If the circumstance was different, he would have already asked her out. He would have already kissed her. But he did kidnap her. He did take her away from her home. He did cause fear in her that she had probably never felt before. For that, he wouldn't forgive himself.