Page 50 of Pain and Possession

"Marie lock the door and turn on his music. Make sure the volume is up." I order her, unsure of where the words came from as I stand. Music has always been a safe place for Blake and I hope it protects him from this too. Tom tries to slam the door shut but he's nowhere near fast enough, only a second passes before Noè grips the fabric of his stained shirt tossing him back into the hall, stalking towards him like a predator circling his prey.

"Olive come on!" Blake cries out, struggling in his moms arms.

I give him a small smile, "I'll be over in a minute. Everything will be okay.” He doesn't get a chance to respond before Marie slams the door shut, the sound of heavy locks sliding into place mix with the sound of Tom's weak justifications. Noè reaches down grabbing a fistful of his greasy dark hair before slamming his boot into his face. I should be shocked by everything that follows; I should try to stop him as he beats the defenseless man. Punching him until his teeth are loose in his gums and he sputters on his own blood.

It's only after his moans fall silent that I reach out my hand gripping the fabric of Noè's blood-stained shirt, "Noè…" He doesn't stop, only grunts with effort as he continues beating on him. Mumbling things in Italian that I don't understand.

"Noè enough!" I yell, shoving at him hard. Tom's face looks like a garbled mess of what it once was, there's no way he's… alive. A feeling of vindication shocks me from my silence as the horror in front of me continues. I fling myself onto Noè, wrapping my arms tightly around him from behind as his chest heaves, "Please Noè, enough. Come back."

As I grip him harder, my eye presses painfully into his back. I wish I could say that was what brought new tears to my eyes as his punches cease. I wish it had nothing to do with the touch of his skin, or the smell of his cologne. The fact that my touch… my words reached him. Noè let's himself fall back from where he was straddling the lifeless man, letting me take some of his weight as he pants. My breath catches in my throat as he leans his head back letting it rest on my shoulder, his eyes cold and filled with napalm rage. He stays there nestled between my legs his back pressed into my chest as they heave in tune with one another. I allow my eyes to slide to Tom, but only briefly when I take in the true extent of damage he did to the man.

Number three. That’s three lives he’s taken for me.

His sculpted face is splattered in blood as he flexes his fists. I can tell there's cuts on them, some look deep. It's impossible to tell one smear of blood from the next. I raise my hand gently trailing it down his arm, before running my fingers through the blood on his fist. Over the new wounds there. He sucks in a sharp breath, his jaw clenching and unclenching as I inspect the damage. Burying my nose in his thick black hair, my putrid soul mingles with his.

"You left me." The accusation in his tone catches me off guard, snapping me back to reality. "Why did you leave? Take off walking down a dark road in the middle of the night?"

That’s all you care about right now?

I quickly jerk away, moving from him as if he's made from acid. I'm half surprised when he let's me up. His dark hazel eyes burning into me as he removes his phone from his pocket calling someone.

"I need a fixer at Olives. Tell them it's urgent, Hock, I want you to oversee this one. Yes, we’re fine. Thank you."

I turn from him knocking lightly on the door, "Marie it's Olive." I listen as the locks slide out of place, Blake's small body barreling into me seconds later. I pivot us, making sure his back is to the body as I tug him back into the apartment. Marie is sat whimpering on the couch as he clings to me.

"Olive I'm sorry, I'm so sorry I got you hurt." My heart shatters as I squat down pulling him into a tight hug. "You have nothing to be sorry for. Don't do that okay? I wanted to help you; it was my choice."

Marie finally speaks up, "Olive is he-“

I don't meet her eyes when I nod. All my attention on the boy in front of me, "Listen to me Blake, are you okay here? With her?" I don't bother keeping my voice low, Marie doesn't object. Either too broken to, or just understands the question is justified. Her inaction and constant excuses for his behavior brought us here. To this exact moment. It put the angry swollen mark on her son's face.

He nods, "As long as he doesn't come back." I give him a small smile, "I promise that won't happen."

"Can I… meet your boyfriend again?"

I almost laugh as Noè steps through the doorway his men walking around behind him no doubt dealing with the body.

How did they even get here so fast?

When he closes the door behind him a spark of anxiety floods through me. His stony expression softens when he kneels by us, his dress shirt removed along with most of the blood on him. Meaning he's been inside my apartment.

"I'm Noè, it's nice to meet you again."

Blake shoots me a strange look before turning back to Noè crossing his arms over his chest, "I'm Blake, your girlfriend's best friend." The proud warm smile that spreads over Noè's face, makes my chest tighten.

"I am not his girlfriend." They both ignore me, much to my annoyance.

I am not his girlfriend.

"Are you a gangster?"

"Blake!" Marie gawks, lurching up from the couch before Noè chuckles. "No, I'm not a gangster. I'm a family head. I just boss people around all day and do paperwork." He sits down letting his back rest against the wall, still breathing heavier than normal. His knuckles loosely wrapped with gauze.

"That sounds kinda boring." Blake says as he pulls from my arms, mimicking the relaxed way Noè sits on the floor. Excellent choice in role model.

Noè nods, "It was incredibly boring until I met Olive. She makes everything more interesting." Blake pauses as if he's considering his words. "Yeah, Olive is pretty cool. I was just thinking maybe I could come work for you."

"Blake…" I breathe out, my heart sinking

---