Grandpa's Mirror - 10 - Like all stories, this is fictional. All characters are fictional. Nothing is real. Thank You for reading.
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Grandpa seems pissed. I don't care. I love him. He should be pissed at me. Furious and Angry. The mirror is broken. I broke it. I threw the phone. The mirror resisted, but couldn't because the real world is real and it isn't. But now the mirror is gone. Gone. Forever. It was so much fun. Now it's never going to be fun again.
I replay the the phone throw in my head. I shouldn't have done that. I can't go back and undo it. The real world physics persisted and met the other side's reality. Nothing is real. The two collided and it became an explosion of epic proportions.
The ringing in my ears slowly ebbs away.
I am in Grandma and Grandpas livingroom in the main house. I am wrapped in an old blanket. Grandma made us tea, but Grandpa isn't touching his. Grandma has Hudson in the kitchen. His version of the story is being given. I can barely make a few words over the ring of my own ears. How much to tell Grandpa and how much to hold back is a war. Once you ring the bell, you can't unring it. I love Grandpa and I trust him. I decide to tell him more than he wants to hear, but not enough to make him truly hate me.
I force the words out, "The mirror is a magic one. It sounds stupid. I would stand in front of it and it's like I left this world. The other side has all kinds of magical creatures, flying horses and stuff like that." Grandpa says nothing and sits back. He nods his head, so I continue, "I didn't really go anywhere. When I took Bogata over, I came back early and he was just standing there. It's magic. I don't understand any of it."
"And Hudson?" Grandpa prods me.
"Hudson convinced me to take him over too. I did."
"So what happened to the mirror? How did it get broken?"
"I broke it. I am so sorry Grandpa." My tears aren't being held back very well and a little sob escapes.
"How?"
"I threw my phone at Hudson."
"Why?"
I inhale. I don't want to tell him. The words come on their own, "He was going to give me a beating."
"Why was he going to beat you, Carter?"
"I wouldn't do what he wanted." I still resist. He's my Grandpa and still my words won't come.
"What did he want?"
Now it comes to this. This thing. This thing where I have sucked dick before, and it was okay, and now it isn't because of, why? Why is my stomach still in knots? Why is it so bad? What is going on? I could keep on guessing and asking myself stupid questions and finally stop hesitating, "He wanted me to suck his dick and I didn't want to. He was going to beat the shit out of me if I didn't."
Grandpa is silent for a little bit and leans back in his seat. He sips his tea. I expect him to fly into a rage. I expect him to be gravely disappointed in me. I expect him to be ashamed of me. I expect him to disown me or something. All my emotions told me that this was going to be bad.
Finally he says, "Carter. I am so disappointed." I think my fears are grounded. He keeps going, "You could have told me this before. You can trust me. Hudson has crossed some serious territory here. Forcing someone to have sex is," He pauses and I wait, "Wrong. Carter. It's really wrong. You are a victim here and I hope that you can tell me stuff like this. I am so sorry."
I cry.
I look up through my tears and blury Grandpa is crying. Somewhere some tissue shows up and I feel my emotions slowly subside. Grandpa waits for a little bit. The kitchen is really quiet. Grandpa gets up and goes to the kitchen. I sit in the living room. The door open. People make noise leaving.
I go to the kitchen. Grandma looks up from her tea, "Frank is taking Hudson to the airport. I have to make some phone calls. You can take a broom up and go clean up the guest room. Please? We are going to get a window to put back in and fix it back up, if we can."
I go out and sweep the little empty building out. The oval sits in the corner as if nothing had happened, except the mirror glass is gone. The mirror is naked. Plim and Pim stood as they always had, nude and always ready. The shards of the mirror, the glass, are embedded into every crevice of the little house. I run my hands over my body. There wasn't any glass in me. There was no trace of anything on my body. I sweep up the glass. Some glass had blown so hard it is sand.
What a fucking day.
I do a terrible job of cleaning. The couch is shredded. The bed is shredded. The furniture is all blasted by glass. The room appears completely destroyed. I leave it. I go to the big house and Grandma is on the phone and hangs it up as I walk in the kitchen.
Mom picks me up a couple hours later. The farm house vanishes in the car mirrors and Grandpa's words echo in my head. The whole weekend was a disaster. At least Hudson never got a chance to beat me to shit. That is a bonus.
My old life resumed as if the farm and Hudson's threats never happened. A couple weeks later my phone buzzes in my pocket. It isn't stopping. It's a phone call. My phone appears in my hand. Bogie.
"Hey." I answer
"Heard about Hudson. What a little shit. I tried to stop him from coming out there." Bogey sounds pissed.
"Not your fault."
"I feel bad. Sorry man. So you know, your Grandpa raised almighty hell with my Dad. Dad took it. He gave almight hell to Hudson. He's grounded till the end of Christmas. He can only read books."
I snicker a litte, "Well, I guess that's something."
"Hey bro. We've been through some shit together. You've had my back all the time and my fucktard brother is a shit. So, I have a thing coming up, but it's going to take a bit to put together."
"That means nothing. You've said words, none of them mean anything." I laugh.
He laughs, "Yeah. I guess. I have a special weekend baking."
"Okay."
"Your name came up."
"Okay?"
"So I will make the arrangements."
Bogey is silent. I wait. I am silent. The long absence of words continues long past sanity.
I finally break, "Bo-gey." I sound like a whining child.
"You doing okay?" He changes the subject.
I think and reply, "Yeah. I guess. Mom and Dad are really freaked. They barely let me out of their sight now. Lucas came to the city a couple times and Mom and Dad kept way too close of an eye on us. I managed to get out to his house once and we had a nice time. And I talked to them last weekend. They sold the mirror."
The last bit surprises Bogie, "What?"
"Yeah. The pornographic magic mirror. The glass busted out of it and they replaced it, then took it to an antique dealer. He gave them a pretty hefty chunk of money."
"Well, pornographic magic mirrors are pretty hard to find." Bogie says, "No more trips to the other side for you. To be fair, I wouldn't go through again anyway."
"Yeah." I manage, "I get it. I am not sure about it either.
Bogie must have told my parents a bunch of stuff, because one day Mom says, "Ok. I got you a new overnight bag. You are going to be picked up Friday after school, so come straight home."
"Where am I going?" I ask. My new mission; find out what the surprise weekend was all about.
"It's a surprise. Bogota was pretty thorough arranging everything."
"So where was that now?"
"Carter! What part of surprise do you not get?"
My mind churns. I pester Mom and Dad to find out more. I text Bogie. I ask around and no one is telling me anything. I even call Grandma and Grandpa and they are both in on the surprise day, but no one is telling me anything.
Friday is always a magical day. The day where we are sent home from school and get to have two days of crazy adventures of fooling around, playing and running amok. I love Fridays. The school part is super long, as usual and the afternoon bell finally rings. I bolt. I run passed the mirrored windows.
I can't seem to grow up fast enough. My smooth skin is flawless, my long hair might need a huge trim, and my hair products didn't hold up. My blue eyes sparkle. I'm going on some surprise trip. I'm going to see Bogie. It's all a new adventure and it promises to be epic. I don't think it could top the journeys I took in the mirror, the broken mirror that Grandma and Grandpa squirreled away, the mirror that is sold and is gone forever. But, that's how adventures go. You never really know if they are going to be good endings or bad.
I can't help myself. I run home. I am going to be sweaty and gross, but I can't stop my feet from going faster. I wheeze. I sweat. I run.
There is a strange car sitting in the driveway. It's expensive. I run in and grab my suitcase. Mom says good bye and I run out to the car. The driver smiles, calls me 'Mr. McCoy' and takes my bags and puts them in the trunk.
He opens the back door for me. My eyebrows go down.
"What?" I ask.
The man smiles and laughs, "You have never been a VIP before?"
"What?"
"You, sir, Mister Carter McCoy, are a very important person. VIP."
"I am?"
"Sit in the back, enjoy the ride. We are going to pamper you."
"Cool. Where am I going?"
The driver smiles, "It's a surprise sir."
The man puts the car in gear and the air conditioning kicks in. I shouldn't have run. I am wet from sweat. The AC takes the edge off of me. We drive. The city streets pass and it soon becomes clear, we are going to the airport.
I'm not surprised.
But I am surprised when we take a random turn. This part of the airport isn't bustling with people. There is a large empty building. The car pulls into the huge door and a fancy private jet sits there. My eyes bulge.
"Surprise sir." The driver opens my door.
I am at a loss as to what to do. The driver gets my luggage out of the trunk and I hesitate to walk up the stairs to the private jet. The pilot materializes onto the steps of the expensive shiny jet.
"Carter McCoy. Please." He motions me on to the plane, "The flight should be pleasant, I hope."
The flight is short. I peppers the pilot and co-pilot with questions. I am sent to sit back to buckle up for the landing. We land and stop. I am told to sit and wait for a bit. The door is opened and a young man with high cheek bones and a turned up nose walks onto the plane.
"Carter McCoy, let me introduce myself. I am Yani. I am a personal assistant and am here to assist you with anything that will arise." His voice is high pitched, but he seems nice.
I extend my hand, "I'm Carter. Carter McCoy. Nice to meet you."
Yani's hand is warm and he smiles. "We will have to wait for our late guests. Not to worry, though, this happens all the time. Have a seat or, if you want to walk around the plane, and stretch your legs, we could do that."
We sit in the opulent jet. I pestered the pilot with more questions about the jet and general aviation questions which he patiently answered.
I try prying more out of Yani and all my questions were met with smiles and excuses as to where we are going and what the plan is. A shadow darkens the door and I look up.
Bogota walks in the plane with a shit eating grin. A beautiful girl follows him in. I try to pull her name from my memory.
"Pretty dope, yah?" Bogey hugs me and lifts me off the floor. Samantha. Her name is Sam.
"Bogey!" I laugh.
"I just finished a gig so Max sent the plane to give me a ride and you just happened to be in it." Bogey adds, "And you met Sam over Video."
"Sam. You are more pretty in real life. Bogey, You can lie out your ass all you want. I'm just glad to see you. Who is Max?"
"Please fasten your seatbelts as we taxi for take off." The pilot's voice interupts. Bogey smiles a funny smile and we sit in the deep leather chairs and seat belt ourselves in.
The plane takes off.
We visit. Bogey talks about the broncs, the rivals and friends he made through the season and his victory. Sam met Bogey at an event and they became an item. He sits close to her and his hand is always sneaking off to pet her harm, her leg. He loves her. He smiles at me and quizes me about my mundane life.
The plane lands. We walk down the stairs and a large van is parked. Yani bustles and get's our baggage loaded. The van is a lounge on wheels, with dark smokey mirrors and dim lighting. After Yani is done outside, he climbs into the van.
We drive off.
Bogey sits beside me as I think about drinking some booze that's staring at me in a cabinet. He puts his arm around me and I drink in his simple touch. I get a glass and pour some golden liquor into it.
Sam says, "Woah. Little dude. You can't drink that much this early." She takes my glass and Yani takes it from hers. He pours some out and hands the little bit back to me. There is little less than a swallow left. I sip it. It's strong and reminds me of that kids piss back behind the mirror.
"You stink." Bogey says.
"What?" I don't think he's trying to be mean. It's Bogey.
Yani nods his head, "We can get you showered. We will need to rush as we have a bit tight of a schedule, so don't worry." I shoot Bogey a look. I manage to hold back the dams of curiosity and keep my questions to myself. I trust Bogey and everything so far has been surprisingly wonderful. The rolling lounge pulls up to a tall hotel. We get out. Some guys in suits show up and helps Yani unload our luggage.
A guy dressed as a cartoon character with strange pants and a large hat opens the door for us. We go to the front desk where Yani grabs a card and we hit the elevator.
The doors close and Bogey gives a big smile, "It's a party. An all expense weekend for me, the champion and a few people. Surprise."
"A party?" I ask.
"Yeah. Movie stars, rich people, booze and dancing. Stay out of the drugs though. I promised your Mom."
Yani adds, "All costs are covered. All of you will pay for nothing. My employer is quite generous. I will do my best to make your weekend comfortable. The first order of business is to shine you country bumkins up to meet A listers and very powerful influential people. To do that, we must first address the odor of the regular life, a make over and a pre-party supper."
We stop at a high floor and walk a little way to a big set of doors. The card is swiped green and the doors open. A huge livingroom opens up, complete with a wrap around couch and the biggest of TV's known to man.
"Run to the shower. Our bags will be here in a bit." Yani says, "And pick a room. They are all big."
I find a room. I find the main bathroom with a huge shower with a clear glass door. I shuck my clothes. Getting naked in a strange place seemed sort of familiar. I feel like I am holding everyone up, so I work the shower for water to come out and found some shampoo. I rinse the shampoo and see Sam standing there looking at my naked body.
"Hullo?" I say.
"Nice." She smiles, grabs my clothes and leaves the bathroom. Okay, whatever. I finish in a flash, step out and find a monster white fluffy towel to dry off.
Bogey appears and hands me my best clothes, "Here's your clothes. We gotta go in five."
I pull on fresh clothes and walk out, my blond hair matting to my skull as we make our way back down the elevator and out the front door. The Beefeater, the cartoon dressed guy, opens the door for us again, that's what they are called, the doormen who wear bright red and white gloves with a big hat. The limo that was more a lounge pulled up and the doors open.
"So just be yourselves." Yani's voice nearly sounds bored, "It's just a party. The people, well, don't tell them where you've seen them, what movie or what news story. They already know. And whatever you do, Don't ask anyone for selfies. That's totally against etiquitte. Be sure to talk about yourself, even if you think you aren't very interesting."
The limo stops and the doors open. We have to walk down the street. Yani navigates our group down the street and into a set of doors. It's a blank room. Yani walks to a door, looks into a door security camera and says, "McCoy and party for our appointment." The door buzzes and Yani opens it.
Inside is row of salon chairs. We are ushered into chairs. A team of hair dressers appeared and in record time they cut my hair. They didn't even ask me how I want it. They dust the cut hair onto the floor. I stand up. Bogey is done and he looks good. I check out the mirror. My hair never looked so good.
A team of three people are fussing over Sam's hair and two people are looking at her nails. Yani's voice cuts over the chatter in the room, "Boys. Sam is going to be a little while. Step this way please."
We follow Yani to a room lined with hangers and cupboards. Yani stops us and turns to us, "Now this is the private measuring and fitting room. It has been booked for you two and we won't be interupted by other guests. We need you both to look like the upper class boys you really are. So the team of professionals will be trying to make you look the best you can, if you let them. Please take off those rags, as much as you are comfortable with." Yani looks at us expectantly.
My mind works through what he just said. I come to the conclussion that we should be naked. I flash back to the other world. We weren't really given a choice and I spent hours, or days, or weeks nude and so did Bogey. I look at him. He looks at me.
We start.
We finish wearing our birthday suits. Yani does a good job at not looking at our nude bodies. Bogey is sculpted muscle and I am youth with a small bush above the party package.
"This way." Yani's voice is even, but the excitement leaks through. We walk into the next room.
A very large feminine man flourishes up to us, "My name is Rex. You two wonderful boys have courage and are a bit of rarity. I swear most of these so called stars would have more balls to bare more. But, you've made the best choice by coming here and showing us everything. You won't be disappointed. This way for your foundation please." Rex flourished his arms wildly. We walked a few paces.
Never in my life have I ever seen so many different kinds of underwear. Before I could start looking at the different styles Rex had a measuring tape wrapped around my waist. And then he measured my thigh. I'm sure he took the opportunity to gawk at my junk.
"This row. Pick anything you would like, from the G string to assless jock strap and everything in between. It will all fit. If you try it on, don't put it back, simply set it off here." Rex set off to look for Bogey. I pick through some of the underwear. Purple, pink, red, printed with parrots, plain black, and all colors between. The cuts go from sporty long legged pedal bike style to floppy boxers. There are even a pair of tighty whiteys. I find a slinky one that had elephant ears and the penis became an elephant trunk. The string rides up the crack of my butt. I can't resist. I try them on. I go find Bogey. He's climbing into a crazy looking carbon fibre style silk ones that looked really expensive, "Hey Bogie." I call out. Bogie looks at my elephant and laughs.
I put the elephant ones into the spot I was shown. I pick up some that look like tuxedo style, I put it on and look in the mirror. It looks good, but the string in my butt is uncomfortable. I put them in the pile. I finally settle on flaming hot pink with a red Ferrari car that wraps around. The cut squeezes me all over, but they feel nice and look nice.
Bogey is dressed in charcoal boxers that look almost like a kilt or a dress. We look at each other and tease each other about our crazy selections.
We are ushured into a room filled with suits, ties. I look at the racks and am instantly intimidated. Everything looks identical and I hope they don't ask me to rifle through them and make a selection.
"You look overwhelmed sir." A well dressed man appeared from nowhere.
"Yeah, you could say that." I reply.
"What would you like your suit to say?" He asks. Bogey is off looking at a rack and a different man is helping him.
I think for a bit and say, "I would like my suit to say that I am young. I am a hot young stud and I can do shit, even if I don't know what that shit is."
The man smiles at me and winks, "Well said sir. Many people could not define themselves so succinctly. I know exactly what to get you. It will require trust, sir."
"Of course. It's not my thing."
"Very good sir." The man says and disappears down an aisle. He appears behind me carrying a suit. I look at Bogey. He is pulling on a traditional tuxedo with what seems a regular everything. His body underneath can make that look fantastic. The man pulls the pants off the hanger and hands them to me. I pull them on. They seem regular black suit pants. He hands me a white shirt. I slide on the dress coat and check the mirror. The coat has one coat tail and the other is missing. The whole coat is slanted one way and the black material has a shash of different material going in the opposite direction. It's as if I am wearing a big 'X' on, but it is so not subtle. I smile. I like it.
"Very good sir." The man has the same funny little smile I do. The coat matches my slanted hair cut.
Yani appears, "Boys. You look marvelous. Accessories are the grand finale. You can walk this way. Keep in mind that you can choose anything your imagination desires. This way."
The room is filled with top hats, canes, shoes, rings, other things I have no idea what they are. I try some hats on and grab a cane. It has a stupid button on it. I push it and a handle pops out. I pull. It's a sword. It's a cane. It is a sword cane. I laugh and put it to the side.
There are cufflinks. I take some diamond looking ones and try to put them in. I have no idea that they are a thing and a man comes out and helps me with them. I pick out a nice looking watch and put it on. Black shoes that are partially black and then partially black mismatch that matches the outfit finish it off.
I stand and look at the finished product in full length mirror. I look fabulous. I look rich. I look like a movie star.
"Something is missing." Yani appears beside me.
"What? What's missing?" I ask because honestly, I have never looked as good as I did today, right now.
"Diamond. Only one." Yani is looking at my reflection in the full length mirror like he is concentrating.
"I don't get it."
"A diamond single spot, not big enough to be garish, on your left ear. It will set off everything."
"Okay."
"Okay?"
"Sure. Diamond to the ear. Do it."
"This way sir." Yani opens a door in the corner. I go in. A jeweler finds a stone. They sit me down. The swab my ear with alcohol and load an ear ring into a gun. The jeweler snaps the trigger and the shooting pain runs through my ear. I nearly yelp, but stifle it.
Yani has a look of awe in his eye, "Under three quarters of a carat, perfect clarity with a few inclusions that are far too small to notice, you stand as a god! See for your self."
Whatever he said sounded expensive, but I don't question him. He's right. I look really awesome. I touch the diamond. It looks real. I go back to the main room. Bogey catches my eye and his mouth drops as he sees me.
"Well?" I ask and spin.
"You are a movie star." Bogie says. The diamond in my ear shines and sparkles. Everything just drops away from it. I look really different. I guess I feel confident.
"Do we have time for drinks?" I ask.
Yani laughs, "And you play the part too. Yes. Drinks, as Samantha is delayed as women can be with extra hair and more curves. This way please."
The bar is dark and Bogey and I are seated. A waiter brings us a list of drinks. I don't know any of the names, so I ask for a shot of the finest rye that they have, Bogey orders a beer. As the bartender gets our drinks, a piano sounds off in the corner. Bogey and I talk about our crazy make over and how weird it all is.
I recognize some movie stars. Yani hadn't lied. They are important people that are in big films. I don't smile at them, but just let them pass by. A couple sit beside us in a table beside us. I look over and do a double take.
I can't stop myself, "Royce!" I exclaim. He jumps a little. He squints over at us and looks at me.
Finally the recognition of my face hits his mind as his face lights up, "Carter? Carter Carter McCoy? Are you fucking kidding me? You are here?"
"Yeah. It's me." I say, "And you remember Bogata, my coursin."
"Wow. I never thought I would see you again. The last time was quite a memory. It's so good to bump into you again."
"And how is life after..." I almost slip about the mirror and just let the question hang.
"Really good. I came out to family and friends as bi. Where are my manners? This young lady is Melanie."
"I've seen you someplace, but can't place where." I extend my hand.
"I have been in a commercial here and there and then some secondary characters in some big films. I am still waiting for my big break." Her face reddens a little.
"Awesome." I manage, "Bogey, err, Bogata is a world bronc busting champion and I came in second place in our highschool soccer tournament." The contrast makes us all giggle. The drinks magically appear before us and I sip my whiskey. We chit chat and order some finger food careful not to get anything on our new clothes. Sam joins us. She looks as much a movie star as me, and with her hanging off of Bogey's arm makes him look him better too.
Yani appears and whispers to Bogey. With a look he gives us, it's time to get to the party. We get back into the limo bus. A short ride later we arrive at a nondescript warehouse. The a large door is open. Inside is a few tough looking guys who obviously are security. Yani talks to one and we walk past.
Yani leads us past some shelves and into a large empty room. The lights are lower and dull music barely plays.
"Wow. What a party." My voice is flat and dripping with sarcascm.
Yani smiles, "We are a few minutes early. Give it five."
We find a bar. I order a rye. Music starts and isn't half bad. People begin showing up through various entrances. In the matter of minutes there are people mingling. It takes me a moment to realize I recognize over half of them. I see movie stars from some of my fav shows and rock stars from different bands. The other people I don't recognize are dripping in diamonds and wearing fancy clothes.
People start dancing. Bogey and Sam go out to a groovy song and hold each other dancing. They hold each other and touch other as there are alone. A few people notice them dancing and everyone gives them space as they kiss and move their hands over each other. I find a table and sit down. A girl walks by. She is a 10 out of 10. Her dress is black sequins. She stops and looks at me. I can only smile.
She looks at me and sits down and asks, "What show were you in? You look so familiar."
"Now Emelia," I reply, my memory I can only pull out her first name.
"Emily."
"Yes. Emily." I am pulling it all out of my ass, "You know it's rude to ask such things. I will forgive you this time, but won't answer your question. I'll just let you figure it out." I give her a wicked smile.
"Oh my." Her surprise lights up. Her deep blue eyes have a smile to them. She recovers and asks me, "Would you like to dance? Maybe I can figure it out if I get a few moves out." Without waiting for an answer, she grabs my hand. I fly off the chair and the dance floor lights up below us. The primal beat moves my limbs for me and her body writhes under the dress. Her smile brightens my heart. Her eyes burn into my soul. I forget everything but her. The music changes beats and we slow dance and then speeds up again.
"Let's go get some drinks and talk!" She yells over the music.
I feel powerless to say anything but, "YES!"
She grabs my hand and we make our way off the dance floor. We find drinks in a random bar that dotted the warehouse. We walk around some shelves. Comfy couches randomly pop up, leather ones, comfy ones, stiff ones with people She has a fruity sweet vodka drink and I have another rye. I don't know why I love that kid's piss so much. We walk past some shelves and alcoves of various entertainments. Emily finds an empty love seat. The lighting is a little too bight, but we sit anyway.
"You aren't a movie star." She says.
"Yet." I reply.
"Tell me, what's the craziest thing you've ever done." She prods me.
"I'm Bi sexual." I blurt out, "I had sex with all my boyhood friends. Pretty much."
"Nice!" Her reaction isn't what I expected, "How did you... what did you do to find out?"
The boy piss is in my veins and my tongue is loose. I start talking and tell her about my sexcapades in real life and then I tell her about the mirror. She is captivated with my story, though I can tell she doesn't quite believe me.
Something out of the corner of my eye makes me flinch. I don't flinch enough. I am ripped up out of the loveseat. I let go of Emily's hand. I hadn't realized I was holding it. I am looking at a little Bogey.
"Oh shit." I curse as the obvious realization hits me that it is really Hudson.
"You stupid Fuck!" Hudson yells, "You made me grounded for months. I am missing my tournaments because of you! You should have just kept your fucking mouth shut."
Emily doesn't know who has attacked me and grabs Hudson to pull him off. He pushes her. She stumbles backwards. He lets go of me for a second, spins and kicks her square in her chest. She flies backwards and before she lands on the floor he turns back to me.
My alcohol addled mind tries it's best. I swing at Bogey with a fist. He lifts an elbow and blocks it. The next thing I feel is a flash of pain on my face and I see a flash of light inside of my head. My head snaps back and I feel myself laying on the floor.
A weight is pressing my chest. My vision blurs. Something bars my throat. My lungs burn. Hudson is yelling something. He's blaming me for something.
I can't breathe.
The image tries to clear, but the smears of color get dimmer and everything gets further away.
Then the weight is gone.
I fill my lungs with fresh clean crisp air. I cough a couple times. My throat hurts. My eye hurts more and I feel like there is something very wrong with my face. I touch my eye and it instantly tells me not to do that. It hurts. Stings. I blink. My one eye is dimming and I can feel the swelling now. With dimmed vision and gasping breath I look for Hudson.
He's a half step in front of me, his back is turned to me. I notice his feet don't quite touch the ground. I blink a couple times to remove the blur. A huge figure stands. Water is running out of my eye.
There is something familiar about the new large figure. He is a large man, cut of muscle and yet his movements speak as if I met him before, as if I know him. I can't see and he is moving.
His deep voice booms, "You little shit. You don't come to my house and start shit and you sure as shit don't come uninvited and beat the shit out of my guests." He thows Hudson off to the side where the kid lands hard on his back, "They are protected."
My spine shivers. The voice is so familiar and I can't place it. I heard it before. I know it. The big mans face starts to come to focus. He is not a handsome man. He has a melted ear and some of the scarring melts down the side of his face. His other ear sticks straight out. His tuxedo tries to hide his muscular physique.
"Max." I find myself whispering. "Max Stavros. Minotaur.
"Carter? Carter McCoy?" Max booms. Emily is leaning over me holding my hand and looking at me with a worried face.
"That's me." I hold my eye.
"I am sorry. This riff raff--"
"His name is Hudson."
"Bogata's brother. He looks the same, but smaller. That could explain how he got in here."
"You know Bogey?"
"Don't get up. Just lay there. We need ice." Emily fusses over me. I lay on the floor holding my eye. It feels bigger by the second. I can only lay there for so long, before I slowly sit up. I feel my fingers and toes and all things in between. I have some extra bruises and the eye is a big concern, but everything seems okay. I get my feet under me, only to find the floor wobbles, so I flop down onto the couch.
A small crowd is gathering around. Bogey materializes from nowhere. His face is rage. He looks at Dawson and picks him up roughly. He marches him off to a few paces where I hear him talking with anger and an occasional word floating back to my ears. 'Fucking' and 'Fuck' are words I hear a lot. Bogey raises his hand and slaps his little brother on the head a couple of times.
Emily presses a cold cloth onto my eye and I jump a little. The initial shock morphs into soothing welcome cold. My eye is swollen so much I give up keeping it open. She kisses me on the cheek. My heart skips a beat and the eye seems not very important right now.
"So," Max voice is still loud over the somewhat muted music on the dance floor, "You've probably put together a lot. We met before. True. I am Bogata's boss. True. I paid for your night. True. But my guess is that you haven't figured out any of the why."
I study him. He's serious. He's as big here as he was on the other side of the mirror, but not the same way. Still, power eminates off him like the scent from a rose. Something in his eyes is, kindness? I'm guessing. And yeah, why is he being so kind to me?
Bogey is now talking to someone, probably security, maybe the police. He's still sounds pissed and his still trying to slap Hudson.
The big bull of a man, Max, his voice softens, "When we met, I felt a power from you, one that you don't know is there. I know our encounter was more erotic than anything, but I tasted your soul. You have a fighters soul, a warriors soul. You faced me as a friend, though I outpowered you a hunded times and you felt no fear. You knew I was a friend before I entered that glade. The little shit who gave you the black eye, well, for all his training, he is the opposite. Regardless, I found out you were Bogata's coursin. I own the company that hosts all of the bronc busting venues. I own a whole bunch of companies including the MMA's public bouts. And yeah, Hudson, after he gets out of jail, his MMA days are finished. I will call some freinds. Oh yeah, and I own parts of movie studios and know some important people. So I gave you the VIP treatment and here you are."
I laugh. I find my feet and wobble a bit. I pull the ice pack from my swollen eye and flourish it like a hat and bow deeply, "Here I am."
Max let's out a belly laugh, "Exactly what I mean. So you have Yani's card. If you decide to try act in movies, learn self defence, Karate, JuJitsu, a physics degree, whatever. Call him when you need anything, Carter Carter McCoy."
"What?" I am confused.
"Thanks for coming and not dissapointing me. I'll find you again in a few years. In the mean time, live life." Max stops talking, gives a little bow and leaves.
Emily whispers in my ear, "Who was that?"
"He was a fling I had once." I smile as I lose myself in her deep blue eyes.
The End
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Writers note:
Thank you for reading.