Page 10 of Liberty
“You’ll laugh, so let’s skip it.”
“Hell no, I won’t laugh. Astronomy is like my most favorite science!”
Shrugging, she leaned back some more and said, “I wanted to be an astronaut.”
I bit at my lip to keep my chuckle in. It came out as a snort.
“You’re laughing!” Belle exclaimed. “I knew it. You are such a liar!”
“No, no!” I then laughed loudly. “Ok, yes, yes.” I burst into a fit of laughter.
Huffing, she crossed her arms over her chest. “You are such an asshole!”
I slowed my laughing. “I’m sorry. I mean I just pictured you in the whole space suit and helmet thing. And I have never met a girl who wanted to be an astronaut,” I admitted.
“See? Like stereotyping. Just cause I’m a female. That doesn’t mean I can’t be one.”
“I agree,” I replied. “I truly never met a woman who wanted to be one is all. Or a female who seemed even halfway interested in star gazing. Except for my sis Glory and that is because all of us were taught about constellations and such by our dad.”
“Well, I sure as hell didn’t get the idea from my dad,” she grumbled.
I slowly shook my head. Yes, it had been well established about her father being an addict.
“I got it as an escape,” she whispered. “I literally escaped my life and went to the stars. It saved my sanity and one time it even saved my life.”
I felt sorry now that this all even came up, but I did feel curious, so I asked, “Saved your life?”
“Yes, one of my dad’s dealers came to the house one night and my mom was at work. He tore the place apart, but I was safe upon the roof, looking at my stars.”
“Wow,” I said softly. “You just don’t seem like the kind of person who had it rough. I mean you're so confident and tough, ya know?”
“What am I supposed to do? Plead for pity? Blame my father for any failings I might have? No, I decided a long time ago that most people would not care nor would they understand what my life was like. So, I ceased to discuss it or share it. My coworkers and bosses know nothing about it. And I planned on keeping it like that too.” She stood from the steps. “Except now, I probably lost my job. It took me years to get it. Good ole Deacon just had to play his fucking game on me, didn’t he? Now, I will have to start all over again. If anyone will hire me. So, no Liberty, no pity parties here.” Stomping up the steps, Belle stalked back indoors.
I sat there, stunned. So, what I had perceived as uppity and uptight was her defense line against pity or allowing anyone to know of her painful childhood. What I thought was her arrogance was not ego, it was strength to stand on her own.
The fuck did I do?
Maybe I got this chick all wrong.
Chapter Four:The Plot Thickens
Belle
Never had a man rubbed me the wrong way like this guy did. For a few minutes there, I almost believed we were getting along. Like we had something in common finally. Then he set me off again. How did he even do that? For several years, I’d prided myself on self control. I ran an office for lawyers and we often got emotional visitors. Some cases involved messy divorces or child custody and things would get heated. I’d learned how to handle people without getting upset myself.
Not with this guy though. He got under my skin immediately whenever he simply opened his mouth. Maybe this time it wasn’t his fault? After all, I was the one yelling at him just now, right? I realized what I had been yelling about. I was about to lose my job. I loved that job. I had worked there for three years and I became a paralegal while working there as a legal secretary. I felt some sort of accomplishment in my life, finally.
Then Talon and Justice declared that my mother and I wouldn’t be safe in town anymore. I happened to disagree with that. Deacon had more important things to do than to kidnap me. No, I wasn’t still defending the guy. I knew better now. But I really didn’t think his new plans, if he had any, would involve me. Then there was my neighbor, she had been watching my apartment and we sort of shared the custody of a dog. It was a long story as to the dog, but I worried about what she thought when I just did not come back. I hadn’t been able to call her since one: they took my phone and two: Talon said no calls to town or to anyone whom Deacon could approach to find our location.
As I headed to the kitchen, I made a decision. I currently had a leave of absence due to a family emergency. They’d hired a temp agency worker to fill in for me. I wanted to go back to work and back to my life. First, I needed to do my part for my sister's wedding. The only person who knew how long until the wedding would be was Justice.
I went into the kitchen to see if he or Scarlet were there. They loved visiting Ma, as they all called her. I didn’t see anyone there. So maybe they were in one of the three living room slash recreation areas they head here at Connor House? I headed back the other way then pulled up short.
There stood Liberty in front of me. He raised his hands up at me and said, “I’m not here to argue.”
I rolled my eyes. “No, maybe not and I don’t want to do that either, but guess what? We will end up doing just that. So how about we just go our separate ways and call it a day, so to speak. Forget it and move on.”
Liberty slowly shook his head. “No.”
