When With You

29

Elliot Jacob Fernández always entered a room with an overwhelming presence. Whether he has his bodyguards or not, the 6-foot man raised your nerves to such a level that the only thing keeping you steady is the fact that you wouldn't want to embarrass yourself in front of him.

When he first approached me at the park, I thought he'd take me into his car and drop my lifeless body in the middle of nowhere. Instead, he sat down beside me, appealed to my struggles as a Longwood and offered me a job.

He was nice, in a scary way. Like you could go up to him and hug him but you couldn't steal food from his plate and expect him to understand it as a joke. He was funny too, very funny. Funny in the sense that if you didn't laugh at his joke he was guaranteed to shoot you in the foot.

I liked him though. If it wasn't for him I'd be under a mountain of debt, and for that I'm grateful. I try to prove it to him by staying out of his way and never bothering him.

Well, until today. Clearly, with his piercing eyes still trained on me, he was bothered by me. I mean, after all, I didn't inform him that I and his daughter have gotten so close to the point that I'm seeking shelter in her safe house.

All I've told him is that she was at her safe house, by herself.

Michael leans forward, to get a better look at the man standing in front of us, "Isn't that Elliot Fernández? The mafia boss?"

He looks at me to answer him but I open the door instead, "I'll see what he wants. Divine, keep the doors locked until I say otherwise."

"You want me to stay in the car because of my father?" Her warm eyes widen in disbelief but I knew she understood why.

If one of us-- mainly Michael to be honest-- said something to piss him off, well, he'd have a head pinned on his wall.

"Your father?! How is he your father? And why is my brother getting out of the car into his death?" Mickey grabs my forearm in urgency, "Mason, get in the car."

I pull my arm away from him and try to smile. It's not like I'm going to die. "I'll be right back. Stay here." As I get out and shut the door, the atmosphere thickens.

I look at Tim and Drake, his regular bodyguards that stood a head taller than me and a shoulder wider too. Their presence made my throat dry, especially since they didn't have their easy-going smiles that usually appeared when I'm near.

Just cold stares and scowls.

Elliot spreads his chubby arms open for me, "Masey. Come, come."

Swallowing my nerves, I walk up to the rage-filled man I call my boss and let his arms engulf me in a hug.

He laughs, false delight laced in his voice. "Don't be so afraid, son. I'm only here to offer my condolences." He looks back at the car, a gleam in his iced eyes, "And well, to get back my daughter."

I step away from him, "I told you everything I could. She just--"

"Yes yes, she just needs a little time to come to terms with the marriage." He waves me away dismissively, "I know. I know I can trust you, my boy, you've told me everything. You've done your job so well too. Even if you lied to me about who she was staying with."

Guilt eats at my stomach and I turn my head away, his smile was so misleading. He isn't pleased with me not telling him that Pete and I were staying with Dee. But he'll forgive it, he'll see it as a little lie.

However, my guilt and shame stem from the fact that Divine put her sacred trust in me to not report her movements to her father but... I need this job. And frankly, I'm more afraid of her dad than I am of her.