Live By The Gun Chapter II

For the Longest Time

Simon was happy, truly happy. They changed the band name to The Barons. Technically Raven was a baroness, but no one really cared. The band had played a few more gigs and the fame had spread. Everyone knew who they were, their faces were plastered everywhere, their first album about to drop in a few weeks. Everything was looking up. Well, almost everything.  Simon was a little scared that having all this fame would help people connect the dots between Simon Verta and Simon Veltar. Another thing that bothered him was Stain, or Brian or whatever the hell he was calling himself. He was a con man to the core, and Simon was scared that he may take vengeance in some way, shape, or form. But that was shy in comparison for his newfound love, Raven. She was gorgeous, from head to toe. She had an amazing laugh, and her eyes sparkled with a cluster of sweet bliss, oh he was mad for her. She loved to play with his beard, he found it a bit odd, but he was happy. Even when the waiter got his order mixed up with someone else's he didn't mind. He just told the waiter his mistake and got his food, safe and sound. It was chicken strips and honey mustard, Raven was eating the steakburger. The food was amazing, it was their first real date, in the three months they had been together. 

"That was really mature of you Simon." Said, Raven, as she cut into your steakburger.

"Thanks, but for how renown this place is, you'd think the service would be better." Simon took a bite. 

"I'm sure it was an isolated event." She dipped her steak in a sauce before taking a bite. 

"Yeah, probably." They continued to eat.

"So Simon?"

"Yes?"

"We have all this money, and aside from dinner, you've yet to buy anything."

"I've just been waiting for something worth my time to come along." 

In truth, Simon just didn't want to spend it. He made a lot of money working for DeLuca and after he enacted some good old fashioned justice, it all kinda just disappeared. Medical bills with doctors who don't ask questions, guns, gas, he was just a little paranoid that the money would stop coming, and he didn't want his ass hanging in the wind once it did.

"I've never seen a man so patient with money." She sipped some of her drink.

"It's a gift."

Simon had sat on several scores before, letting the heat die down before buying things. At this point, the urge to spend money had been suppressed he never bought anything out of boredom. 

"Well, I'm glad you're responsible." 

"Me too."

They continued to eat and banter on before Simon took her home to the hotel. They shared a bedroom and a night of passion ensued. In the morning Simon turned to see her beautiful face. Her hair felt soft as he petted her. Simon hadn't felt happy in a long time. Three months of bliss, love. He kissed her before rising for the day, he walked into the kitchen and began mixing the pancake batter. He then poured it into the clean pan. It was kinda funny, usually, in Simon's life, this was the point someone fucked everything up for him. As he flipped the pancake his mind raced to Adria. When the bullet pierced her skull, the way her teeth and eyes exploded all over the windshield and dashboard. The terror on Vinny's face as he saw it unfold, the pain as he was launched from the car into a window, the fear as he crawled into the gutter choking on his blood. 

Fuck! He nearly burnt the fucking pancake. He slid the pancake onto the plate and began to make another one. Raven walked into the kitchen, her eyes droopy from lack of sleep. He placed the pancake and syrup in front of her before going back to the oven.

"Jeeze, babe. You don't ever sleep do you?" She tried to get up for a fork but Simon was too fast getting it for her before she could even get out of the chair.