Leticia (7 page)

“Do they know you
’
r
e
here?”

“No, if I’d told them they would have wanted to come
.
You
looked rather un-easy with us all around you befo
re, so I thought if I came solo
you might relax a little
.
”

“Oh
.
”

“Would you prefer Nancy to come?” he asked,
looking away from
me
.

“I don’t know
.
I don’t know what to do about any of this
,
” I sighed
.

“You need to stay for starters, and you need to fight
.
Y
ou also need to let us help you
.
”

I didn’t respond
.
I just stared at him for a moment.

“
There are
a lot of them you know
,
” he added
.
“I saw three of them off before I even got to your driveway
.
”

“What!”

“They were
up to
something, I don’t know what, but they were definitely scoping the place out
.
”

“What do you mean saw them off?”

“This kinda scares people away
.
”
He
said as he stood up, reached around his back and brought forward a gun
.
“I don’t think they wanted to die tonight.” He placed the gun on the table and turned his attention back to me.

“Where did you get that?”

“I’ve had it a while, we all have them, I have three and they’re just the ones in easy reach
.
”

“Easy reach?” I asked
.

He rolled the bottom of his jeans up a second to show me one by his ankle, then reached into the inside pocke
t
of
his
jacket and pulled out another.

             
“Here
,
” he said, passing me the one from his pocket
.
“
Keep
this with you, I have others at home
.
”

“What am I supposed to do with this?”

“
Point
, aim, shoot
.
”
H
e looked at me like I was stupid
.

“I know that, idiot, but why would I want a gun
?
I don’t want to shoot people
.
”

“It’s not just normal people you’d be shooting Leticia
.
It’s
people who want to kill you
.
That’s
different. Just keep it with you, if you can avoid using it then great, but it’s there just in case
.
”

“Yeah OK
,
” I nodded
.
“
Thanks.
”

“
It’s
fully
loaded;
just remember to take the safety off
.
”

“O
K
.
”

“
O
K
, I’ll leave you to it
.
If
I’m gone too long they will question me like mad when I get home
.
”

“You can tell them
where
you’ve been
.
It’s
too late for them to come with you now
.
”

“Not worth the hassle
,
” he smirked
.
“Do me a
favor
, just call Nancy, let her know
you’re
OK
? She’s
desperate to get to know
you;
it’s been a long time since she’s had a
girlfriend
.
I know she has me and Tristan, but everyone needs a friend too. It might do
you
good too, you always seem to be on your own,
and you
might like the company
.
”

“It’s safer for people, and me, if I’m alone
.
”

“Now you’ve met others similar
to
you though, think about it
.
If
you call her, don’t tell her you’ve seen me, I’ll tell her tomorrow
,
” he said rolling his eyes
.

“
OK
,
” I laughed, walking him to the
door.

“See you again
.
”

He seemed to scope the place out before walking out of sight
.
I shut the door and locked it, then grabbed my mobile before sitting back in front of the fire. I’d saved Nancy’s number just in case I mislaid the paper she had given me. Jackson had been nice enough to come and see me and leave me a weapon, the least I could do was phone his sister like he’d asked.

“Hello
,
” she answered
.

“
Hi Nancy, it’s...”

“Hey Leticia, oh I’m so glad you’ve called, are you
OK
?”

“Yeah, yeah I’m good, I just wanted to say sorry for before
.
”

“
Don’t worry
we understand, oh, have you seen Jackson
?
”

“
No
,
” I said after a
moment’s
hesitation
.
“
N
ot since I left your
house
before, why?”

“He’s a pain in the
ass
;
he’s gone out without saying a word to anyone
.
”

“I’m sure he’ll be fine, he can look after himself
.
”

“Yeah I know, too well sometimes
,
” she sighed
.

“How can you look after yourself
too
well
?”

“He’s hits first, thinks about it later. Anyway, am I gonna see you again?”

“I don’t know Nancy, I’m still thinking about moving
.
”

“Well that sucks
,
” she almost snapped
.

I didn’t respond
.
The
last thing I wanted was an argument with her.

“Can I come
by
?”

“When?”

“
Now
.
”

“Erm
...
”

“I’ll be there in about fifteen minutes
.
”

“No, look, can we do this another time
?
”

“No, see you soon
.
”
I didn’t get to respond, she hung up. I tried to call her back but she kept rejecting my calls.

I’d just finished washing my pots when the doorbell rang and I heard Nancy shouting that it was only her. I opened the back door and shouted for her to come around.

“Hey
,
” she said as she walked in, closing and locking the door behind her.

“Hi
.
”

“We need to talk, I know w
e haven’t known each other long
but you can trust me, and I hope I can trust you
.
”

I nodded and led her into the living room, I offered her a drink, but she already had a can of Pepsi in her hand. She took her coat off and sat on the sofa, folding it neatly and placing it beside her.

“Look
,
” she started
.
“I need a friend, a
girlie
friend, someone like me
...
different. I can’t be friendly with normal human beings, I don’t age for starters and that raises questions. If I get close to them I have to leave them in the end and that hurts, I’m on my own again then. And, to be honest, I think
you
need a friend, so here I am
.
” She seemed genuinely upset about having nobody with
her;
you could tell how much she
did
want a friend. “I know I have Jackson, and Tristan, but it’s not the same as having a
girl
friend.
It
gets
lonely;
do you know what I mean?”

“Yeah
,
” I nodded
.
“Yeah I do
.
”

“So please Leticia, will you be my friend
?
”

“Yes
,
” I felt so sorry for her, and she was right, I
did
need a friend too. Her whole body seemed to relax more when I said yes, and she got a massive smile on her face.

“Does that mean you
’
r
e
gonna stay then?” she asked
.

“Yes, you
’
r
e
right, you all are, why should I have to leave again
?
”

“Exactly
.
”

“
OK
, well, I suppose I better tell you a few things
.
”

“Start by telling me why you spent so much time alone, and where you spent it
.
”

“That’s a long
story;
I won’t get through all of it tonight
.
”

“We have all the time in the world
,
” she smiled, getting more comfortable.

January
12
th
200
1

“Leticia, sweetheart, this last twelve months have been the best of my life
,
” Luke said to me
.
“I never thought I would find a woman who would make me so happy. I love you
.
”

“Luke you’re a softie, but I like it
,
” I smiled, just before kissing him
.

“Shall we go in?”

“Yes
.
”

He held my hand and led me into the restaurant
.
He
opened the door for me and bowed slightly as I entered.

“What a gentleman
,
” I laughed
.

“Always
.
”

The waiter led us to our table and presented us with the menus. We ordered the best wine on the list and the some of the most expensive meals they had available.

“It’s so nice to be able to do this
,
” he said between
sips of
his wine
.

“I told you it was a good idea, I told you if you only believed in yourself you could open this company, you could manage it well and make something of yourself. And guess what, I was right, as always
,
” I giggled
.

“I can’t believe I didn’t do it sooner
.
I have a fast growing client list, some great cases, money flowing in, staff who actually like me and look up to me. Oh, and let’s not forget the most beautiful woman to ever walk the earth on my arm
.
”

“Very smooth Luke, very smooth
.
”

“It’s not smooth at all it’s the truth
.
”

“Yeah
OK
, if you say so
,
” I smiled
.

“I do
.
”

The waiter brought the first of our three courses over and set them in front of us. I
stared
at Luke for a moment. He was baby faced, with big grey eyes and short dark blonde hair, such a cutie. We had been together a year today, and he had brought me out to celebrate in style, sparing no expense since his new solicitors firm had really taken off. I sat there smiling to myself
.
He
was lovely, a real gentleman, so kind and caring, I
cared for him deeply
and I knew he loved me, I just hoped that when I came to tell him what I really was, he would
still
love me.