The small bed creaks under my weight as I push myself into a sitting position. My back aches with every little movement as I struggle to sit upright.
I look around the room that I've called home for god knows how long now. It could be hours, it could be weeks. With no windows I dont have a clue what time of day it is.
It's a small room and theres barely enough space for the two skinny beds that have been crammed in. I try not to look at the other bed because I know what will be there.
A body.
A woman who looks like she was beaten to death was thrown in here a few hours ago. Her body landed awkwardly and I tried to reposition her to show her some sort of respect even in death but when I touched her still warm skin my stomach turned and I merely managed to roll her onto her side.
A deep wound at the top of her face seems to be the cause of death and the source of the majority of the blood covering her face.
No matter how much I try to distract myself, my attention keeps being drawn to her. Something feels off, she looks too familiar.
I gulp and brace myself. I need to get a good look at her face just to be sure that I dont know her. I push myself off the bed and ignore my aching spine as I lean towards her.
Her eyes snap open.
A low groan leaves her lips and her hand goes to her head, "What the fuck?" she snarls.
I scramble backwards and get back up onto my bed as the dead woman sits up and glares at the door.
"What the fuck?" She shouts at the door, "Petrov pieces of shit!"
She gets to her feet and walks over to the locked door. She kicks it hard and the whole thing shakes in its hinges but stays solid, "I dont know what game you're playing, but I'm fucking warning you, if you have hurt my family I'll make your worst nightmares look like fucking Disneyland!"
She punches the door and screams again before pacing back and sitting down on her bed. She looks at me and smiles before putting her hand out in an introduction, "Hey, we've met before, right? I'm Bella."
****
"What's for dinner tonight then, Paddy?" She asks as she dances into the kitchen. I dont know how she got out of the room again but they'll find her soon enough.
She bounces up onto the counter and uses the reflective surface on the pot lid to wipe the blood from her face with a dish cloth.
"Arribiata chicken," I tell her, "it was Quinn's favourite."
She smiles warmly and then crosses her legs and sighs, "That sounds like something Lisa would make. I cant cook for shit, I've never had to learn. Once I tried to make cookies but no one told me that Sean kept his cocaine stash in the flour pot. I bet you can work out how that went down."
She laughs and I nod along even though I dont have a clue what would happen if you made cookies with cocaine instead of flour. I dont have a clue about what she talks about most of the time to be perfectly honest.
Her smile fades and her head drops. She sniffs and then rubs her eyes harshly, "Thinking about Rya?" I ask her.
She nods and then laughs, "Its so stupid. I mean, you only said that this was Quinn's favourite food and then I was suddenly reminded that I'm such a shit mother that I dont even know what Rya's favourite food is."
I shake my head, "From what I've heard, everything you've done since you pushed her out has been to keep her safe. The odds have been against your family and yet you've stuck together."
She wipes the tears that have fallen off her cheeks, "I dont even know if they're safe. I feel sick at night because even when I was in prison, I knew where she was and that she was ok. That she was being raised by Alexander and he was doing an amazing job at it. Now I dont have a clue."
"If she's anything like you, she's going to be just fine," I tell her with a smile.
****
"PATRICK!" She yells from inside of the classroom.
I walk slowly into the room and the first thing I see is the body on the floor. After the past month, that doesnt actually shock me all that much.
When I see Bella back with her daughter, I know that everything's going to be just fine.
I hear a small voice and look to see my grandson staring at me wide eyed and my smile grows. She did it, she got us home.
****
"He's a piece of shit," Rya complains as she pours gravy across her toast potatoes. As she goes to place the gravy boat on the table again, it catches the edge and Quinn has to catch it before it hits the ground. "Oh fuck I'm sorry," she says and then puts it in the middle of the table, "Anyway, yeah, he's a narcissist and if I'm ever in the same room as him again I'm going to blow his fucking brains out."
"I thought we weren't doing work talk at the dinner table," Switch chuckles.
"This is fucking awesome," Bella laughs while stuffing her face with roast chicken, "I mean, Lisa, you're cooking is great but Patrick is otherworldly,"
"Please, can we minimize the swearing," Lisa comments as she eats more faintly than the younger woman beside me.
"Bitch. Shit. Fuck. Cunt. Twat. Dic-" Artie is cut off by a sharp kick from his mother under the table.
Quinn nudges me and smiles, "This Christmas is a little bit more entertaining than last year for me. What about you?"
I laugh and looks around at the family that seem to have adopted my grandson and I.
Despite their flaws, I couldn't be happier with anyone else.
YOU ARE READING
Guns and Roses
Action"I'm drawn to trouble" "So that's what you think I am?" **** Quinn Prescott is the new boy in town. After his mother leaves, he goes to live with his grandfather in his flower shop. One day, a series of strange people find their way in, bringing wi...
