The Sweetest Thing (Book 1) ✓

04 - Check

Dax

Well, that went well. I wasn't sure how she'd react to the news, that the nurses were updating me on her condition, but I guess she didn't mind it that much...or she was exhausted. Maybe the latest. She looked ready to fall asleep on the spot.

"Umm, do you think we could stop at a pharmacy to take my pills?"

"Yeah, sure. Do you have your prescription?" She started fumbling with the papers in her hands.

"Yes. It's somewhere here. Hey, how do you know where to drive to? I don't remember telling you my address." Shit! I guess I should've asked her, now I have to tell her that I'm using my job as a source of information.

"Don't be too mad at me, please." I dared a look at her. She was looking at me with squished eyes. "I checked you in the system."

"Excuse me?"

"I... sorry?" I tried to sound apologetic, but I guess I failed. I really didn't feel like doing it because, that way, I found some things about her that she probably would never tell me. Like, that was her 10th place to live in. She doesn't have a car, the previous places where she lived were as shady as her current one. Well, maybe now she's living in a little bit better place. She started working legally at the age of 17 and was changing work places like her home. She worked at a gas station, a restaurant, a book store, and the last known place was a little restaurant serving breakfast food throughout the day.

"And why, may I ask, you checked me?" Surprisingly, she didn't sound mad, so I looked at her. Yup, she wasn't trying to kill me with her eyes. I guess she wasn't too pissed. Or just wanted me to drive her to her place.

"I... don't have a legitimate reason. Just wanted to check if there was a reason for you helping us with the bank."

"Hmm. And did you find something interesting? I really don't know what you guys have on me. Do I have a juvenile record?"

"Do you have a reason to have one?"

"Well, not exactly..."

"What did you do?" She started blushing, and I knew that this was going to be something good.

"I might or might not set someone's house on fire when I was 14 years old."

"You what?" I was shocked. And she was getting more and more red with every second. "What did he do?"

"How did you know it was a 'he'? And that I didn't do it just because?"

"You don't look like the violent type. So, I'm guessing some douchebag tried to do something that you did not agree with."

"Damn, I guess you are very good at your job, huh?"

"At least I try to be." I smiled at her foolishly, and she smiled back. "So, what happened back then?"

"Just... the wrong group of people, I guess. Back then, my mom was still alive, but honestly, I didn't see the difference between then and when she died. She was caring just for herself, so I had to find a way to care for myself. I met a group of teenagers who were like seasonal workers on a farm. They took me with them and accepted me in their group. Most of them were older than me, but they looked pretty cool, and I was happy to be among the cool kids. One day, after we finished working for the day, we all went and party in the house where a lot of the kids were living. It was all fun and stuff until one of the boys drank too much and decided that I had to sleep with him, because I had a job thanks to him." - Fuck! I really didn't like where this story was going. "I tried to dodge him for a while, no one was coming to help me and I knew that I needed to do something big, so he'd stop chasing me. So... I punched him in the balls and set his house on fire. And ran away." What? I... I wasn't sure what I heard. Is she for real?

"You did what?" She looked at me and repeated her last sentence.

"You mean kick him in the balls."

"No. I mean I punched him in the balls. With my fist." Just hearing about that, made my balls come closer to my body and I shuddered at the thought of the pain.

"And what do you mean you set his house on fire and ran away?"

"Well..." her cheeks became even more red than before. "... I'm not very proud of this part of my life... I turned on the gas in the kitchen...it was just to spook him, to stay away from me. Found a lighter close to me and told him that I was going to use it before I let him close to me. He stopped chasing me, but...you need to know that at these parties there was a lot of alcohol...and drugs. So, one dude came into the kitchen. I'm sure he didn't even see us there. He decided that this was the perfect time to light his joint and, before we managed to stop him, he was using his lighter and...yeah...fortunately, there was little gas in the room so we didn't just blow everything in the air, but the fire was started. And I used that distraction to run away. Unfortunately, there were a lot of things that burned easily and the alcohol that was everywhere...the house was gone very quickly. No one was seriously injured. When the police were asking the guys about the day, someone must have told them that I was in the house too. So, the next day there were police officers at my door...and I wasn't very truthful with them..."

"You denied being there?" I really didn't care that she lied in this situation. She was way too young and on her own, so I'm secretly glad that she didn't admit it.

"Yeah. I...I told them that I was there, but left early in the night. I was 14, so I managed to use the 'I wasn't allowed to be out late at night, so I came home early', and they couldn't prove that I was there at all. Everyone in the house was drunk and very high, so they weren't good witnesses. The only one that said that I was there the whole time was the one that tried to force himself on me, and he was also pretty drunk, so it was his drunk words against my sweet baby-face. The police decided that it was just an accident and closed the case."

There was a long pause while I tried to understand what she had just told me. When I looked at her, she was very nervous and wouldn't look my way. I know that it wasn't very good to confess your participation in a crime to a police officer, but I wasn't going to turn her in. It wasn't her fault that the house burned down.

"You know that I won't tell anyone about your unbelievable crime, right?"

"You won't?" She sounded shocked.

"Of course not. You are not the one who started the fire in the first place. The whole situation is one big clusterfuck."

"Oh, thanks."

"You really thought that I was going to report it?"

"Well, yeah... I mean... I lied to the police."

"People lie to us all the time! Honestly, it's refreshing when someone tells the truth. Don't make it a bigger thing than it is. And it's in the past. No one was hurt. The case is closed, and I'm sure that the detectives won't reopen it if I tell them your real story. So, take a deep breath. No one's going to arrest you for this."

"Are you sure? Don't you have a mic here? Someone might hear my confection and..."

"You watch too much television. Believe me, you are safe."

"If you say so." I...really don't know why she didn't want to believe me, but whatever. There were way more serious criminals out there for someone to start investigating her. I made a quick stop to take her meds, and then I took her to her place.

She was living in a not so good part of the town. There were a lot of criminal cases around here. Many stolen cars, drug deals, some gang-related stuff. I was wondering why the hell she was living here, but from the things I knew about her so far, I guess she just couldn't afford something more... safe. I quickly released Ace, who was sleeping peacefully this whole trip, then went to help her get out of the car. She was struggling a lot but managed to do it on her own.

"Where is your place?" I looked around and saw a lot of people looking through their windows at me. I guess it wasn't common for the police to just come here without arresting or chasing someone.

"Over there. I can do it from here. Thank you for the ride, I..."

"Bullshit, I'm taking you to your apartment, I won't let you here injured on your own."

"But..."

"It's not negotiable. Which floor?"

"Third."

"Okay, where's the elevator?"

"There isn't one."

"What? How the hell were you going to go up then?"

"Umm, stairs?" She looked way too exhausted. I didn't think that she was able to do it, but she started walking before I said something. I locked the doors to my cruiser, and with Ace next to me, I followed her slow form. When we reached the stairs, sweat was forming on her forehead.

"Okay, that's it. I can't watch you struggle anymore. You made your point; you can walk on your own."

"But I can..."

"I know you can, but it'd be a lot quicker if I helped you. Now, where was the wound? Up, down, or in the middle?"

"I'll say middle."

"Well, in that case, there aren't a lot of options to carry you except face to face."

"Umm, what?" Before I let her disagree, I was in front of her, putting her hands on my shoulders and reaching for her tights.

"What are you..." I picked her up, and she instinctively locked her legs around me. I looked at her shocked face, which was staring to blush.

"Dax, put me down, you can't carry me, I'm too heav..."

"If you say 'heavy,' you'll make me run the stairs just to show you that you are not. Now shush it." I kept my left hand on the back of her tight, the other one put around her back and started climbing the stairs without letting her come up with a new excuse to put her down. She gave up after the first floor and relaxed in my hands. She put her chin on my right shoulder, hugging me tightly. I'll be damned, but this felt so right. Soon, I was on her floor with Ace walking behind us.

"Um, Dax?"

"What's up?"

"Ace sat in front of that door."

"What?" - I turned around, and yes, Ace was sitting and looking at the door. - "Shit! C'mon boy, get over here."

I quickly unlocked her apartment and got us all in, and looked one more time at the door of her neighbors.

"Fuck!" - I closed the door and put Lily on the couch in her living room.

"Dax, what's going on?"

"Do you know who lives there?"

"Umm, I'm not sure. There are a lot of people coming and going in there."

"Fuck!" - I took my phone and dialed Max. - "Hey, boss. I've got a little problem here. I'm in Lily's apartment with Ace and...well, he signalizes for drugs in one of the apartments, and Lily says that there are a lot of people moving in and out of it. Yeah, I think it's a lab or at least there's a dealer in there. Ace wouldn't have stopped just for a small amount in someone's pocket in there. Yeah, I think we'll need a team here."

***Good job, Ace, good job! Can he get an encouraging vote?