Author's Preface
While Eli and Octavia made their way back to the elevator, she explained to him the reason her online community was called the ETC—and that her original name for it was something she never thought she could use until now.
When they returned to the enormous suite, Mohinder, Samuel, and Hailey were all seated on the biggest of the leather couches and trading conversation about how their lives had been going since the last time they’d seen one another.
“Ehem… by the way,” Eli announced himself, sauntering toward them with his cane thumping lightly along the floor beside him. “Y’all are free to stay in here tonight. There’s plenty of space to sleep, whether you wanna pass out on a couch or on a big-ass bed around the corner. I myself might make my way back home tonight, but that’s mainly because my mother expects me there, not because I don’t wanna engage further in your company… and if you wanna join me there, then you can do that, too. It’s whatever you wanna do.”
The three on the couch exchanged glances, Octavia biting her lip and glancing down at the floor, deep in thought.
“I wanna go with you!” Hailey beamed, leaping up from the couch and hopping excitedly in place. “Ohmigod—are you serious about us living there? Are you seriously super sure?”
“I wouldn’t offer if I didn’t mean it, Lee-Lee,” Eli told her.
“Saaam!” Hailey squealed, jumping over to her brother and yanking him up from the couch. “We have to goo!”
“P’fuck… who’re you telling?!” Samuel laughed. “I am damn sure gonna go. Are you kidding me?”
Hailey giggled and swiped her bangs to the side, wheeling around to Mohinder. “You’re gonna come too, right?”
Suddenly, everyone’s eyes were on him.
Mohinder stared back at them all, his mouth drifting agape, and after a moment of thought, he made a shrug and a nod.
“I suppose so… yeah,” he agreed. “Better than going home…”
“Good. Y’all can have a chance to get a feel for the place… and decide if you wanna stay long-term or not,” Eli determined, turning and perking his brow at Octavia. “And… I don’t think I have to ask what you wanna do.”
Octavia blinked and tore her gaze from the floor, suddenly snapping out of her thoughts. “What? No… I’m going.”
Eli nodded and pulled out his phone. “All right… let’s all get each other’s numbers, and I’ll text y’all the address… but this is something that I never tell people, and I never show people. My real home address is something I don’t want to leave this room, so just… keep it to yourselves, if you would.”
Everybody agreed, and they spent the next few minutes exchanging phone numbers. When they were done, Eli sent his home address to each one of them before pocketing his phone.
“I, um… I’ll meet you guys there,” Octavia said, taking a step toward the double-doors. “I have to go walk my dog, and then… I’ll right drive on over.”
“Be safe,” Mohinder said with a wave.
Octavia smiled and nodded at him, then turned and left the room, pushing the doors open and thumping down the dimly-lit stairwell. She moved closer and closer to the party noises downstairs, eventually emerging in the blasting noise and the neon lights, and she maneuvered past the crowds before making it out the front doors.
While the others made their brief goodbyes and began to leave the suite to seek out their own vehicles—Samuel to his van, Hailey following her brother, and Mohinder crossing the street to get his car from the apartment complex—Octavia was behind the Endzone building, standing beside her isolated KIA Soul on the patch of grass afar, allowing the tiny little MiMi to scamper through the grass and play before squatting and tinkling upon it.
She stood there for a long while, gazing vacantly down at the puppy, blind to the chatter of a group of nightclub attendees in the distance, standing around one their cars in the rear parking lot, talking and laughing loudly as they passed a joint around. The muffled booming of the music inside the club was almost inaudible out here, and the night breeze was just a bit chillier now as the later hours crept near.
Still—Octavia was hardly aware of her surroundings, simply staring down at MiMi as her mind worked up a storm.
Suddenly, out of nowhere, her solo life path of activism, vagrancy, and working as a PCA was on an entirely new path now; friends from a time far gone had returned to her inner circle out of the blue, and not only that, but one of them was on the same page as her with nearly every worldly priority. Eli wanted to plan and prepare for things that most others usually never bothered to see or care about—things that Octavia had always cared about all on her own, without anyone close to her who understood—and she felt as if she was living in a bizarre twilight zone version of her regular everyday life now.
It was strange; she felt a fire inside igniting back to life, the same passion she’d felt for it all in high school, passion that she never quite knew how to aim or utilize before. Now, however—she knew far more than she did as a teenager, and she was much more involved than she’d been in the past. Partnered with Eli Riley, who had all the means and money in Wallace—she couldn’t help but feel inspired at the idea of embarking on a new era of her activist journey, because now, all of a sudden, it seemed that journey could finally really accomplish something.
“MiMi… you done, sweety?” Octavia asked, only just realizing that Mimi was simply staring up at her now. “Okay, c’mon.”
She opened the back door and placed the pup into the car, then closed it and moved to the back, opening the trunk and lifting its hatch above her head.
Inside her small trunk was a stack of bottled waters, canned foods, and other random supplies to the left, the right side covered with towels and her laundry bag. She lifted the towels and folded them back, examining the small gun cases under them and allowing her mind to wander into impossible realms… curious as to how likely it was that they’d face a genuine apocalypse in their lifetime…
“God… dayumn ,” Eli said from behind her—making her gasp and clasp her chest.
Octavia wheeled around, only just noticing him standing directly behind her. Eli was peering into the trunk with a wrinkled brow, pressing a fist to his mouth.
“The hell are you gonna do with all those?” he asked her. “Fight the Army?”
Octavia sighed and shook her head. “No… they wouldn’t use the Army. They’d use the National Guard.”
“Ah-huh,” Eli mumbled, giving her a perplexed sort of stare.
Octavia readjusted her towels and laundry bag before swinging the trunk closed again. Then, she turned to him and squinted questioningly at him.
“Ah… what’re you… doing?” she asked, peeking behind him and seeing no other vehicles parked nearby hers. “Did you lose track of your car, or what…?”
“No… I just came over here to harass you,” Eli replied with a smirk. “And… also because… I might’ve forgot that I gave my regular driver the weekend off. So, ah… I can either call an Uber… or I can just ride with you.”
Octavia’s mouth drifted open, and she felt a touch of nervousness inside, glancing at her car. Many of her windows were still covered up, and she hadn’t yet packed away her makeshift plywood desk in the back, nor her laptop. Not to mention, the passenger seat was occupied by her cooler.
“Ah… okay… hold on,” Octavia said, raising a finger and stepping over to her car. “I need to move a couple things…”
She opened the driver door and crawled inside, rushing to remove the bungee cords and plywood from their suspended position in the back seat. She stuffed the plywood behind the passenger seat, slid the laptop and its accessories beside it, then grabbed her cooler from the front and placed it in the back, hurriedly yanking the t-shirts and sheet segments from the windows before shoving them down in the floorboards, quick to make the car look as least lived-in as possible.
Eli stood outside just behind her, bending down slightly and examining the inside of the car. He watched her move, hide, and reposition several things before she finally turned around and plopped down in the driver seat.
“Oh’kay…” Octavia breathed. “You can get in now. There might be a couple things in the floor, though.”
Eli nodded, walking around the car and opening the passenger door. He sank into the seat, pulled the door closed, and turned halfway around, moving to place his cane in the back—but he stopped when MiMi hopped onto the center console, her tail wagging rapidly as she fought to climb aboard Eli and lick him.
“Hey, lil’ baby, hey,” Eli said softly, petting the pup on the head and scratching along her ears. “Can I put this back there? You gonna let me put this back there…?”
He continued petting her with one hand, using the other to lean into the back and place the cane onto the seat. Then, he faced forward again, allowing the puppy to scramble into his lap.
“Sorry… she doesn’t get to meet new people very much,” Octavia remarked, inserting her keys. “So she’s kinda gonna be overexcited for a few minutes…”
“Aw… yeah,” Eli said, lifting the puppy close to his face and letting her vigorously lick his chin. “You just a little lover girl, aintchu? Yeeeah, you are…”
Octavia opened Google Maps on her phone, entered the address, and placed the phone on her dash stand, perfectly in her view. Then, she started the car, backed off the grass, and rolled across the parking lot, cruising between other people’s vehicles before driving steadily onto Williams Street.
Eyeing the navigation on her phone, she found herself driving further south, away from everything that she recognized well. In fact, she could hardly tell that she was still on Williams Street; all the buildings on either side vanished, and nothing was along either side of the street except trees, streetlights, and darkness.
Octavia squinted at the phone, then gave Eli an odd look.
“We’re goin’ the right way,” he assured. “I wanted it to be in town, but… also remote.”
Octavia made a slow nod, facing forward and driving onward.
Eventually, she approached a curve in the road—and directly in front of her was a long, wide driveway that stretched up a hill into darkness, a black metal fence with thin bars wrapping around the property, though the gate in front of the driveway stood open, a tiny round light on either side of it.
Eli gestured to it, motioning for her to pull into this mysterious driveway, and Octavia sighed before doing so.
“If you were anybody else,” she mumbled. “I would seriously think I’m getting led into a trap or something…”
Eli chuckled. “If I was anybody else, I would hope you wouldn’t just let me into your damn car.”
Octavia scoffed out a laugh.
Her car rolled up the driveway, a driveway that felt like a small road of its own, the property looking more vast and expansive the farther she drove. Despite it being nighttime, it was visibly clear that this property was quite spacious, the front yard endless, all of it surrounded by trees along the farthest edges where the fence resided—and directly ahead, she spotted a huge, magnificent house, only a few of its windows lit, and the driveway led to a rounded stop right beside it, just beside two garage doors.
“Just park on the edge… in front of that one,” Eli suggested, pointing at the farther of the two garage doors. “Leave everybody else some room…”
Octavia nodded and brought the car into a rounded turn, parking along the edge of the driveway, her headlights casting bright beams against the second garage door until she powered off the engine.
Then, they sat in silence, glancing over at the driveway and waiting for the others.
“You care if I have a smoke in here?” Eli asked, reaching into his coat.
“No… go ahead,” Octavia replied.
He pulled out his cigarettes and Zippo, lighting one before stuffing the pack away again, rolling the window down and holding the lit cigarette outside along the window frame.
They were both quiet for a few moments, Octavia glancing out her window and feeling a bit awkward. She wasn’t sure what to say, and her mind was racing between several topics, how she would make herself feel comfortable in such a nice, expensive place, and what kind of plans and provisions she should come up with here…
“I wanna know why you’re livin’ out of your car,” Eli said, exhaling a smoke cloud out the window.
Octavia glimpsed over at him, her stomach tightening, and she took a deep breath. She shouldn’t have been surprised; it was rather easy to figure it out, judging by everything that was in her vehicle, including her own pet and a water bowl for it.
“Well… because,” she muttered. “You can’t get buried in bills if you don’t have bills… and I like being allowed to buy food and gas and stuff. Do you know how high rent is now?”
“Mmm… no,” Eli mumbled, flicking his ashes outside. “Can’t say that I do.”
Octavia choked out a laugh and rolled her eyes. “Yeah… well, normal people do, and it sucks. It’s not even worth it anymore. The only way I could afford to live somewhere was by doing a roommate deal, and apparently I can’t trust anybody enough to do that without getting kicked out, so… fuck it. I’d rather be in my car. At least I can’t be kicked out of that. It’s mine.”
Eli nodded mildly, taking another drag and blowing the smoke out of the car.
“Well… I get that, but it ain’t exactly smart or safe for a female to be sleepin’ in their car alone all the time,” he remarked.
Octavia stared at him, choking out a noise and reaching into the front pocket of her slender leather jacket. She pulled out her tiny silver .25, holding it upright and giving him a curt look.
Eli glanced at it, then at her, his expression unreadable.
“You think that’s always gonna solve your problems?” he asked her.
“It always has,” Octavia replied ominously.
Eli tilted his head at her. “How many times have you actually had to pull that on a motherfucker? And how many times have you had to pull the trigger?”
“Tch… what’re you, a cop?” Octavia laughed, slipping the small gun back into her pocket. “It ain’t nothing to me. You should know that.”
“Mmm… no… I know you’re adapted to that,” Eli said perceptively. “But I don’t think it’s nothing to you. I think you’d get eat the fuck up if you ever had to shoot somebody.”
“Doesn’t matter,” Octavia murmured.
MiMi crawled into her lap, and she looked down and petted her, giving her hugs and scratches, all while Eli observed her.
And, the longer he stared, the more he began to remember something that put peculiar questions in his mind; he vaguely recalled Octavia showing this kind of behavior long before she was an adult in vagrancy, long before she’d ever lived in situations that made such things necessary, at least to the best of his knowledge.
“Lemme ask you something,” Eli said, eyeing her curiously. “Where did you live before you lived with your mom?”
Octavia placed MiMi in the back, then turned to him, staring at him expressionlessly.
Eli gazed at her intently and insistently, waiting for an answer.
Octavia hesitated, sighing and thumping her head back against the driver seat.
“My dad’s side of the family,” she said softly. “And it was a lot different. Everything was a lot more chaotic, and it was… it was a lot like… Sam’s family. Just crazy and dysfunctional as hell… and every other day, there’s a fight kicking off, someone’s hitting you and throwing shit at you for no reason, or someone’s showing up at the house to start something… so… y’know. You just get used to scaring off threats at the door.”
Eli made a slow, understanding nod, inhaling another puff and flicking ashes outside again.
“Mhm,” he mumbled. “Okay. Lotta things about you make more sense now…”
“Well… that’s why I hated seeing all the shit you guys went through,” Octavia told him. “You, and Sam, and Hailey were always going through some psycho shit that reminded me of…”
She trailed off, sighing again and shaking her head.
“Whatever,” she murmured.
There was another pause, Eli inhaling a longer drag and releasing the smoke cloud out the window.
“Yeah… I’m glad I ran into you,” Eli determined. “You don’t need to be livin’ the way you are.”
Octavia turned and narrowed her eyes at him.
Eli caught her glare and let out a laugh. “You can give me evil looks all you want… you still don’t need to be livin’ in your car and pullin’ guns on motherfuckers.”
“I don’t see why not,” she said defensively, feeling a bit offended. “It’s a lot more peaceful and reliable than trying to live with people anymore.”
“No… see, that, right there… that’s where you’re wrong,” Eli said knowingly, raising his cigarette-wielding hand and gesturing at her with it. “Because them people you lived with before weren’t people , OC. Real people don’t just throw their friends out on the streets, because real people have humanity, at least some of the goddamn time.”
“Yeah… I used to think that too,” Octavia grumbled, folding her arms and glaring forward. “Then I left high school and saw what the world’s actually full of… and it’s none of that. I got pretty damn used to never expecting loyalty and compassion the same way I give it out. I got used to that a long time ago. You just get tired of being hurt and disappointed. Eventually, you just don’t care anymore… and that’s just… the way it is.”
“Well… you’re gonna have to rewire your brain, then, because you got all the real people back in your life now,” Eli stated, jabbing the cigarette at her. “And lemme tell you something. You can get mad all you want… but I’m gonna tell you right now… I don’t want you livin’ this way anymore. Even if you decide you don’t wanna be here, I’ll just set you up elsewhere. But you ain’t living in your car anymore.”
Octavia stared at him incredulously. “Who the fuck do you think you are , dude? You can’t tell me what to do.”
“Ah… I think I just did,” Eli snarked, cocking his head and flashing a snide smirk at her. “All I’m saying is… you’re gonna accept some goddamn help from me one way or another, because that’s exactly what you made me do. If I can send money to my ex-wife for her seven damn kids, and support my mother, and keep my businesses running, and still throw some out to charity every once in a blue moon… and not have any of that even making a dent on my lifestyle… then I’m pretty sure I can do whatever I want for you, too. It ain’t nothing to me.”
Octavia fell silent, sighing heavily and staring down. Then, she made a face and turned to him again.
“Who’s your ex-wife?” she thought to ask.
Eli opened his mouth, then snickered.
“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you,” he uttered.
Octavia raised her brows, leaning closer and giving him a look.
“You didn’t fucking marry Tanya , did you?” she breathed.
“Oh… Lawd have mercy, no,” Eli replied with disdain, making a shiver and shaking his head. “Shit, girl… if I was suicidal, there’re a lot faster ways of killing my goddamn self than letting a vampire suck my fuckin’ soul out over the course of ten or twenty years. Fuck… that .”
Octavia sputtered out a laugh.
“No… I, ah… I ran into Shanice again about four years after we all graduated,” Eli informed. “You remember me tellin’ you about her?”
“Oh yeah,” Octavia nodded.
“Mm-mm-mm,” Eli hummed, smiling at the thought of her. “ Damn , she was fine… and she was a single mom when I ran into her again, just got divorced, had a bunch of kids… so… y’know. I ended up just taking on the payments. Took me way too damn long to realize she didn’t actually feel any loyalty to me like I did her, though. I was just a means of supporting her kids… and I still love them kids, too. Still send ‘em money, even now. But… I don’t like being used. Or cheated on. So… y’know… that shit had to end.”
Octavia nodded quietly.
“Then there was… Latisha, and Monique, and… ah… shit, what the fuck was her name…?” Eli pondered, leaning back and tapping his fingers to his mouth. “There was another one… can’t remember her name for the fuckin’ life of me…”
“You lied to me,” Octavia said in amusement. “You are a pimp in real life, aren’t you?”
Eli dropped his hand to his lap and gave her a dramatically offended look, making her choke out several breathless laughs.
“Girl… I’m allowed to have a dating history,” he quipped in response. “What about you? I know you haven’t just been a damn nun since you got outta school.”
“Nope. I actually dated one of those guys from the community center,” Octavia told him. “But he took everybody else’s side and wanted to kick me out, so… screw him. There was also this guy from the bar… Chris… but that didn’t last long, because he had a serious pride problem, and he liked to argue about literally everything. There was also Alan, but… he moved.”
Eli perked his brow at her. “Never been with a black guy?”
Octavia responded with a snarky look. “You freaking horn dog. Don’t look at me like that.”
“ What? ” Eli barked, his voice hitting such a high note, Octavia exploded into giggles. “Girl—I am not a horn dog. I’m just a man , and this is what men do . You wanna see a horn dog? Ask Sam what the fuck he was gettin’ up to when we was in school—because I guarantee you, he wasn’t telling his sister nothing about that shit. She woulda beat his muddafuckin’ ass.”
Octavia busted with laughter, Eli chuckling and flicking ashes out the window once more.
“I honestly didn’t think your dating record would be all… white,” Eli commented, exhaling a puff of smoke. “I kinda figured you had a thing for the darker-skinded.”
Octavia raised her eyebrows again, staring at him incredibly.
Eli glanced at her expression and snickered at her. “Dontchu look at me like that. You know what I’m talkin’ about.”
“Um. No ,” Octavia corrected. “I don’t know what you think I’m looking for, but it has very little to do with race , sir. I like guys who are just decent and loyal. That’s about it.”
“Mhm,” Eli mumbled. “Well, that explains it…”
Octavia shot him a double-take. “That explains what …?”
Eli faced her, giving her a coy sort of stare.
“Who you kiddin’ right now?” he said teasingly. “You know damn well who you were after.”
Octavia reeled slightly back, and it took her a moment to realize what he was talking about. Then, she sighed loudly, flumping back against her seat and running her hands down her face as she did.
“I don’t know why I ever told you that,” she grumped. “Fuck, I can’t believe you remember that…”
“Hey… we all had high school crushes,” Eli chuckled. “Ain’t nothing to be ashamed of. Mohinder would probably take that as a compliment now.”
“Don’t… you fucking dare,” Octavia threatened, thrusting a finger at him. “Don’t you tell him a goddamn thing. It was a million years ago, and it was barely even a crush. So shuddup.”
Eli laughed again.
Then, they both glanced to the side, seeing twin pairs of headlights approaching from the far end of the driveway.
“Hey.”
Eli reached over, planting a hand on her arm and giving her a deep, firm stare.
“I ain’t bullshittin’,” he told her flatly. “You need anything… or any place … then you better tell me.”
Octavia returned his gaze, feeling a flutter inside, swallowing and saying nothing.
“And it ain’t about owing anybody anything, either, so get that outta your head,” Eli added. “Same as it was with you… it’s just about knowing you’re okay. That’s it. And that does matter to some people, other than just you.”
Then, he let go of her, collected his cane from the back, and popped the door open, stepping out of the car.
Octavia stared after him for a moment before doing the same.
They stood beside the KIA Soul and watched as a dark four-door Sedan and a rusty black Chevy van rolled toward them and pulled to a stop in the rounded parking area, the Sedan parked neatly beside the KIA, and the van stopping crookedly behind them both. Mohinder stepped out of the Sedan, Samuel and Hailey climbing out of the Chevy, and they all swung their doors shut and grouped up together, taking turns glancing at one another and ogling the gigantic house beside them.
“All right. The offer is suddenly making a lot more sense now,” Mohinder remarked, gazing up at the enormous home. “Looks like you have room for twenty in there.”
“Yeah… that’s how I always wanted it if I ever had a family, or… ran into some old friends,” Eli replied. “Plus… y’know… Momma’s comfortable in a nice big house. I always told her I’d get her one somehow or another. She likes hosting for holidays, so… good to have a place that actually can house twenty…”
“Um… we’re not gonna wake your mom up, are we?” Hailey asked. “It’s kinda late.”
Eli breathed out a laugh. “Oh, she ain’t asleep.”
“Really?” Samuel uttered. “This time of night…?”
“Yeah, well… I haven’t called, texted, or told her anything about what’s been goin’ on tonight,” Eli explained. “So I know she ain’t asleep. She got no idea where I’ve been, or why I haven’t come home yet.”
“Aw… Eliii,” Hailey groaned, smacking him on the arm. “You shouldn’t worry your mom like that.”
Eli smacked his lips and shot her a look. “Girl… I am a grown-ass man. I don’t need permission to be out late.”
“It’s not about permission… it’s about peace of mind , you big freaking meanie,” Hailey told him. “You know what? I’m telling your momma on you.”
She turned and began speed-walking over to the concrete path leading toward the front door.
“Girl… dontchu go runnin’ up in my house tryinna start shit!” Eli called after her, breaking into a jog. “You don’t even know where the fuck you goin’… hey! Slow up! ”
Mohinder, Octavia, and Samuel traded glances and laughed, then began walking off to follow Eli and Hailey.
Hailey reached the front door, pulled the screen one open, and grabbed the doorknob—just when Eli appeared beside her and nudged her over with his shoulder.
“Girl… you betta chill ,” he said, shooting her a snarky smirk and pulling out his keys. “You play too much.”
He unlocked the front door and pushed it open, leading everyone inside.
The five wandered into the house, Eli easing the front door shut with his cane—and the other four were momentarily frozen, glancing around with impressed looks strewn across their faces.
The first room of the home wasn’t a living room; it looked more like a small lobby, with a single rounded stairway along the wall to the right, branching up to another floor and leading to a visible segment of the second-floor hallway, aligned by the same stylish mahogany railing that ran alongside the stairs themselves. The center of the open, spotless, and white-tiled floor was covered by a large, ovular rug of a deep cerulean color, and much of the color scheme of the inside was comprised of either more shades of blue or a brightly contrasting white, the walls covered with paintings and portraits of landscapes and Eli’s family members, as well as a few images of Jesus and a big, decorative cross. To the immediate right was an open doorway leading off to parts unknown, and to the farther left was another hall, beneath the second floor hallway being a fairly wide doorway that led into a living room area directly across from the front door. A large, elegant chandelier hung from above, brightening the room, and just beside the front door was a coat rack, a mail table, and a shoe stand with a few expensive pairs of Nike’s on it, as well as a pair of tan boots and his mother’s shiny black church shoes.
“Okay. Huh. I don’t know what I was expecting,” Samuel muttered, glimpsing around. “This is… wow…”
“It’s homey , isn’t it?” Hailey commented. “It’s a lot more comfy than I thought it would be…”
“Well… this isn’t the Endzone,” Mohinder shrugged, pocketing his hands. “It’s his actual home.”
“Yes… and my mother lives here,” Eli reminded them all. “I ain’t about to bring all that wild abrasive shit back home with me in any form or fashion. My momma’s a God-fearing woman, and I’m a God fearing man. I am at least afraid enough of God not to bring insanity and debauchery into the home base. Even I can only tempt fate so much…”
“How is your mom now?” Octavia wondered. “Is she doing good? Like… health-wise, and everything…?”
“She hasn’t had any more heart attacks, if that’s what you’re curious about,” Eli told her. “No… we ended up with some more refined tastes and a better diet somewhere along the lines. I think me making bank had something to do with that. Heh. But… she’s good, she’s just… y’know… getting older now, and refusing to fucking accept it. She thinks she can still just do any damn thing, and she doesn’t seem to realize she can die just from trippin’ on that last stair right over there…”
“Maybe she needs a PCA,” Octavia mumbled thoughtlessly.
Eli turned and narrowed his eyes at her. “Hm. Good idea.”
“Oh God,” Hailey murmured, glancing between Samuel and Mohinder. “When was the last time any of us saw Mrs. Riley? I’m kinda nervous…”
“You ain’t gotta be nervous,” Eli laughed. “She loved the hell outta all of y’all. You know that. Just don’t be offended if she plays favorites now… ‘cause she very well might, and she has a pretty damn good reason to.”
He placed his hat and his overcoat on the coat rack, set his cane against the wall, and marched toward the doorway under the second floor, leading the others deeper into the house.
Mohinder, Samuel, and Hailey all exchanged confused looks with each other. Octavia simply bit her lip and looked down at her feet while they walked.
Eli led them all beneath the second floor hallway, entering the living room area, which was fairly dimly-lit compared to the chandelier room.
There was a long, black couch in the shape of an L against the wall, a window with the curtains drawn just behind it, and across from it was a huge flat-screen TV, which was currently playing a movie on Netflix, the volume rather low, and the television currently being the main source of light in the living room. Next to the big L-shaped couch was a side table, a small reading lamp standing on it and powered on, and the coffee table was a long wooden one, complete with an ashtray, a glass of water, and a bottle of prescription pills. Off to the side of the couch was a matching black recliner—and on the couch, right beside the reading lamp, was an older woman with the same cocoa complexion as Eli, wearing a baggy salmon shirt and a pair of white pajama pants, her black hairs filled with streaks of gray and silver now, and tied back in a low, thick ponytail, her physique much less plump than it once was, a tiny pair of reading glasses sitting low on her nose, and an open book held in her lap.
Georgia Riley glanced up from her book, spotting the five people who had just entered the room, and she gave them a long, silent stare, her face fairly unreadable.
Eli—without his hat, cane, or overcoat—looked far more like the way he had twenty years ago, hardly any signs of aging on him yet. He simply smiled, shifting his hairs aside and giving his mother a meager little wave.
“Ah… you remember the homies,” he said, motioning to the people on either side of him. “Right?”
Georgia eyed him, slowly closing her book and placing it to the side. Then, she huffed out a breath and stared at him again, this time with a harder sort of glare.
“You s’posed to tell me when you’re getting home late,” she said sharply. “Not have me sittin’ here worryin’ half to death and praying nothing bad happened to you.”
Eli slipped his hands into the pockets of his nice black pants, and he let out a sigh.
“Had to take care of some things tonight,” he told her.
Georgia cocked her head at him, then planted her hand on the arm of the couch and began pushing herself to her feet.
Eli broke into movement and approached her, reaching out to help, but she managed to stand on her own, just before meeting his eyes and smacking him hard on the arm.
“I don’t care what you had to take care of… you still coulda called me,” she snapped. “It don’t take but two minutes to make a damn phone call.”
“Ma… where is your damn cane? ” Eli asked, ignoring her angry remarks and glimpsing around in search of her medical cane. “Why you always gotta leave it somewhere that ain’t anywhere near where you are…?”
“Don’t change the subject,” Georgia replied. “Why couldn’t you just call me and tell me what was goin’ on?”
“Ahm… I’m afraid that’s my fault, actually,” Mohinder chimed in, raising a finger and stepping forward. “There was a bit of an emergency situation at my apartments, right across from the Endzone… and… Eli got a bit caught up in helping with that whole thing, Mrs. Riley. My apologies.”
Georgia made a slow, thoughtful nod, squinting interestingly at Mohinder, a glint of recognition in her eyes. “Ohhh… I remember you. You’re the polite one. I always liked you.”
“Oh… well, thank you,” Mohinder replied kindly, offering his hand. “Pleasure to see you again.”
Georgia took his hand, but instead of a handshake, she pulled him into a hug and patted him on the back. Then, she turned to Samuel and Hailey, scanning them up and down.
“Ooo… and you got the redneck wonder twins here,” Georgia grinned, draping her arms around both of them and hugging them tightly. “Awww… I missed you lil’ babies. Good to see y’all are alive and well. How have you been?”
“Good!” Hailey beamed.
“A lot better than before, for sure,” Samuel laughed.
Georgia chuckled and nodded at them—and then, her eyes landed on Octavia.
There was a long, quiet pause.
Georgia’s hands traveled up to her face, clasping together over her mouth, a warm, wonderful smile spreading across her face.
“Oh… my goodness,” she breathed, stepping forward and wrapping her arms around Octavia in a motherly embrace.
Octavia returned the hug, feeling a bit flustered, Georgia’s fingers curling around the tiny folds of the leather jacket, clutching onto her and giving her a gentle little shake.
“My angel,” Georgia exhaled, sealing her eyes shut and holding onto her like a long lost daughter.
The mother hugged her for a quiet, tender moment before finally leaning back, and when she did, her eyes were shiny with tears, her smile wider than ever. She gently cupped Octavia’s face, stroking along her cheeks with her thumbs.
Eli stood with pocketed hands, smirking and lowering his head. Mohinder, Samuel, and Hailey merely watched, all looking a bit lost, and slowly beginning to understand that something was underway which none of them were privy to.
“Oh… I was hoping, and wishing, and praying we’d get to see you again someday,” Georgia proclaimed, still grinning with delight at Octavia. “When Eli told me what you did… oh, Lord , child… I wanted to walk straight outta that hospital and go right to you. I would’ve done everything under the sun for you if I could have. I’ve been praying for God to look after you, child… and I bet you he has been, ‘cause you’re one of his angels.”
Octavia smiled back at her, feeling emotions beginning to well up inside, but she forced it down best she could.
“Thank you,” she managed, swallowing the urge to cry.
“No… thank you ,” Georgia replied insistently. “Thank you for lookin’ after my son… especially since his stubborn ass didn’t go to the hospital when he should have .”
She turned back around and shot Eli a glare.
“Damn, Ma… that was twenty years ago,” Eli mumbled.
“I don’t care,” Georgia shot back. “Don’t stand there and play like you wouldn’t do the same damn thing now.”
Eli opened his mouth, then laughed and chose not to reply.
“Okay… um… what happened, now?” Samuel inquired, raising a hand and glimpsing between them in confusion.
Georgia gaped at him for a second, then looked to her son. “Do they not know…?”
“Ah… no,” Elu muttered, scratching his eyebrow.
“Oh… well, around Christmas time, right after y’all gradated… we were coming back from a wedding, and… I had a heart attack,” Georgia explained. “Eli called 911… and after they took me off to the hospital… the little hood rats from across the street decided to walk over and stab my son in the gut.”
Hailey let out a faint little gasp and covered her mouth, Samuel and Mohinder staring at Eli’s mother with raised eyebrows, both of them ogling her in surprise.
“And… instead of going to the hospital … my son took it upon himself to dodge another medical bill by avoiding the damn hospital,” Georgia continued. “So… he went to her.”
She placed a hand on Octavia’s shoulder.
“And she…” Georgia said, smiling again and tilting her head at her. “She patched him up all by herself… and she kept him there at her place for a good long while so he didn’t have to go back to Vernon Avenue on his own.”
There was another silence, Octavia blushing and looking down, everyone else staring at her.
“She’s the one who gave me the gold watch, too,” Eli told them, motioning to the house all around him. “And… that’s how all this got to happen. I’m pretty damn proud of snowballing all this into being… but it’s because of her. It couldn’t have happened without her.”
There was another pause, Mohinder, Samuel, and Hailey all gazing over at Octavia as if they’d never seen anything quite like her before.
“Holy sh…” Samuel sputtered, glancing at Georgia and catching himself. “Ahhh… holy… crap. Man… Octavia… that’s amazing, and you’re incredible, don’t get me wrong… but what the hell were we doing?! You could’ve called us too, Eli. We would’ve helped you all we could.”
“She said the Christmas after graduation, Sam,” Mohinder mumbled gravely to him.
Samuel stopped for a second, looking down and piecing everything together. Then, he sighed and grimaced.
“Oh… yeah… if you tried to call me at a certain time, then I… probably wasn’t answering,” Samuel recalled. “I remember now… yeah, that… that wasn’t a good week for anyone…”
“Ma,” Eli said, giving his mother a serious look. “I told them they could stay here.”
Georgia turned and stared at him questioningly.
Eli took a breath and explained everything that had happened throughout the course of the night, and Samuel chimed in to add details, as Mohinder didn’t seem to want to recant them himself.
When they were finished, Georgia was glancing between them all, sighing and flashing a saddened sort of smile.
“Well… sounds to me like you all need a little bit of a fresh start,” the mother remarked. “Y’all know you’re family. You’re always welcome here… long as you don’t mess up my garden.”
“Oh yeah,” Eli nodded. “Yeah, there’s a big-ass garden out back… but there’s a fence around it, so… the pup shouldn’t be gettin’ into it none…”
“There’s a puppy …?” Georgia gasped.
“Oh… yeah… I’m sorry, I hope you don’t mind,” Octavia said. “She’s my little girl, MiMi. She’s out in the car right now. I wasn’t gonna bring her in until I knew for sure it was okay…”
“Well, go ahead!” Georgia urged, ushering her toward the exit. “Go bring that sweet lil’ thing in here!”
“Okay,” Octavia laughed, turning and marching out of the living room.
Everybody watched her go, and none of them spoke until they heard the front door open and close in the distance.
“She, ahm…” Eli mumbled, scratching his nose once and trading glimpses between his mother and his friends. “I’unno if she really wants me telling everyone, but… she’s living out of her car, and I’m trying to get her not to anymore, especially considerin’ some of the things she’s gettin’ involved with now. I don’t want nobody comin’ up on her at night…”
“Oh,” Georgia breathed, placing a hand over her heart. “Ohhh… bless her, Lord…”
“Wait a minute,” Mohinder said, raising a hand and giving Eli an inquisitive stare. “Why is she living that way? And what exactly is she getting involved with? What do you mean?”
“She pretty much strong-armed her way into making an opening for herself on the board of commissioners,” Eli told him. “And that don’t sound like a big deal, but… one of the people she plans to vote against is a damn snake, and I know good and damn well he’s gonna turn out to have some kind of fed connections. He wouldn’t be pulling all the manipulative shit he’s doing to get another data center built if he wasn’t suckin’ the dick of the federal government.”
“ Eli ,” Georgia breathed, swatting his arm.
Eli smacked his lips and rolled his eyes.
“But why is she homeless?” Hailey asked.
“She can’t afford to live anywhere,” Eli shrugged.
Samuel and Hailey traded grave looks, both of them understanding this plight fairly well.
“Well… she can’t be doing that shit anymore,” Samuel stated, looking briefly at Georgia. “Pardon my French, Ma’am… but we can’t let her do that. That’s just not an option.”
“Yeah… well… I’m trying,” Eli told them. “I’m trying to get her to stay stay here, but she’s still… I’unno… she seems like she’s still a little on the fence.”
“She’ll stay if we all stay,” Hailey suspected.
Everybody turned to her.
“Well… that’s what she wanted in the first place, right?” Hailey explained. “That was what we all planned to do twenty years ago, and it just never ended up happening… but she wanted it more than anybody. I feel like she’d definitely stay here if we all decided to…”
“Then we will,” Mohinder muttered, staring down at the floor.
The others all faced him.
Mohinder looked up, meeting their gazes. “Being entirely realistic… we all need that right now, and she does too, whether she wants to think so or not. This just seems like the right course of action all around… for all of us.”
Eli stared at him intently, Samuel nodding at the floor, and Hailey revealing a faint little smile.
Moments later, they all heard the front door open and close again, and Octavia walked back into the room with a very excited MiMi squirming around in her hands. Georgia grinned and melted at the sight of her, taking the puppy and showering it with love and affection.
“All right… now, here’s the thing about this place,” Eli said to everyone. “We had this place built less than a year ago, so some of the rooms are, uh… still empty. We can work on getting some actual furnishings in some bedrooms here soon… but for tonight, y’all are just gonna have to crash on the couches, or in the little hangout den I made in the basement.”
“Ooo… a basement,” Samuel smirked.
“C’mon… lemme show y’all where that is,” Eli said, waving his finger and gesturing for them to follow him. “That’s gonna be where we all end up hangin’ out all the time, anyway. I can give y’all a better tour tomorrow… but it’s late…”
Everyone said their goodnights to Georgia, and the mother handed the puppy back to Octavia before giving her one more hug. Then, they followed Eli out of the room, and they turned right and found themselves walking down a dark hallway, approaching the final door at the end.
Eli pushed it open, and the inside was much darker, a set of narrow stairs leading down to the basement. The others cautiously followed him down the stairs—and he flipped a light switch on the wall halfway down, illuminating the basement, a larger one than they were expecting to see.
This room had the very same leather couch and recliner as the living room—but it also had a big loveseat, and the walls were of an older style, wood-paneled and dark. A TV stood on a small table across from the seating area, and a coffee table was in between them, a few game systems hooked into the TV, and unlike upstairs, this coffee table was covered with things, including an overfilling ashtray, a few books and magazines, and a bong, a distinct odor lingering in the air.
“Ah-huh,” Samuel nodded, giving Eli a look. “I getcha. This is your room for doing whatever your momma don’t approve of.”
“You damn right,” Eli replied unabashedly, sauntering over to the couches. “The couch is big enough for two to sleep on, and that big-ass loveseat is good for one. Somebody can sleep on that recliner too, if they wanna. It pops out pretty good.”
He plopped down, turned the TV on, and started playing a COPS video on YouTube before grabbing the bong and pulling out a lighter. Sam sat closely beside him, and the two of them took turns inhaling from it while Mohinder and Hailey sat quietly on either of their sides, Octavia sinking into the loveseat and letting MiMi run and bounce around on the squishy leather.
They all watched the video, which showed footage from a rather ridiculous incident—a drug dealer calling the police on a customer who refused to pay him for the cocaine that he had delivered—and Samuel and Eli instantly began to chuckle, shaking their heads and trading remarks about how stupid this person evidently was. Hailey giggled and planted her face in her palm, Mohinder giving the TV a bemused look, scoffing out a laugh as he did.
As the minutes passed, and as they sat around and traded jokes and laughs, the smoke of marijuana hovering in the atmosphere, Octavia stared over at them, feeling the strangest, yet most comfortable sort of deja-vu she ever had.
This was how it always used to be; they’d always meet up at someone’s house, usually Mohinder’s, and they’d isolate themselves in the basement of his suburban home, watching similar shows to this one, but on basic cable rather than YouTube. They always swapped snide jokes about the idiotic people on the show, and they always got a good laugh out of it. Samuel and Eli were always smoking pot, and it never changed.
Now—somehow—they all simply sank back into the routine, doing just what they had twenty years ago without missing a single beat, as if no time had passed by at all.
“You know who this reminds me of?” Eli laughed, leaning back with a freshly-lit cigarette and waving it at the TV. “Y’all remember Perry?”
Samuel let out a yelping sort of laugh, clapping and nodding at him. “Yes! Holy shit…”
“Who’s Perry?” Hailey asked.
“Perry… was a dumb motherfucker,” Eli stated flatly. “That retarded bastard got his weed stolen outta his locker… and he went straight to the principal’s office and snitched on his own ass. Motherfucker actually thought he was gonna get his weed back. Ain’t that aboutta bitch.”
Everybody roared with laughter, Mohinder chuckling, pinching the bridge of his nose and shaking his head down at his lap.
“Oh… oooh, wait, I remember him!” Hailey exclaimed. “He talked to me at the prom.”
Samuel looked at her. “None of us went to the prom. We couldn’t afford to get in… remember?”
“Yeah, but he was… in the parking lot,” Hailey murmured, glimpsing down and twirling her hairs. “And he wanted to fool around and stuff…”
“ What …?” Samuel barked.
“O-hoh shit,” Eli breathed.
“I didn’t do it,” Hailey said defensively. “He ended up running off with that cheerleader girl, and they were fooling around in his car… and I’m pretty sure that’s why we found that gigantic pink bra out by the curb…”
Samuel and Eli instantly faced each other and exploded into laughs again, both of them remembering when they’d found the bra and decided to scale the school building, just to hogtie the bra onto the American flag that was posted above the doors.
Mohinder—who remembered this clearly as well—was staring over at them with a smile, shaking his head again. “You two were amazing just for never getting arrested.”
“Yes… and that is why you love us,” Samuel declared, leaning back with an arm behind his head. “’Cause we break you the fuck outta your preppy-ass comfort zone. So you’re welcome.”
“Awww… c’mon now, Hindy-boy,” Eli smirked, exhaling a smoke cloud. “Lotta that was victimless shit… like jumping on other people’s trampolines when they weren’t home.”
“Ohmigod—that was so fun!” Hailey exclaimed.
“Ughk… Hindy-boy,” Mohinder muttered, making a face and a mild shudder. “That nickname’s lost its appeal.”
“What?” Eli said. “Why?”
Mohinder opened his mouth and hesitated for a second, sighing and making a sideways nod. “Well, just… my… my girlfriend calls me Hindy. I never asked her to, she just started doing it…”
“And that’s bad because…?” Samuel inquired.
Mohinder paused, staring downward in thought for a second.
“I dunno,” he admitted. “I just don’t like it anymore… not since she started saying it. I never really thought about it before now, though… not sure why…”
“Hm. Well. Then lemme ask you a question.” Samuel leaned closer, planted a hand on his leg, and gave Mohinder a deep, fixed, and almost invasive stare. “Is—she—a bitch? ”
“ Sam …!” Hailey gasped, smacking his arm.
Eli choked out a laugh and quickly silenced himself. Everyone then looked to Mohinder, expecting him to protest or say no, but he surprisingly did neither, merely staring down at the coffee table thoughtfully again.
“The fact that you’re not saying anything means she’s a bitch,” Samuel told him.
“She’s exhausting and high-maintenance,” Mohinder remarked. “I thought I could deal with that, but… honestly… she showed a pretty cold side of herself when she called earlier. I explained to her everything that happened tonight, and she didn’t seem to care. Didn’t ask me how I was. Didn’t show the slightest hint of compassion. Oh, and she accused me of trying to cheat on her.”
Everybody in the room fell silent, all of them exchanging tense, knowing glances with one another.
“So… yes,” Samuel affirmed. “She is… indeed… a bitch.”
“Oh my God… dump that stupid cunt,” Hailey snapped.
Everyone fell silent and stared at her in surprise.
Hailey swallowed, glimpsing around and only just realizing what she’d said, frowning remorsefully and slowly covering her mouth. “I’m sorry… I’m so sorry, Mohinder… I don’t know where that came from…”
“Y’all better cover that up,” Eli chuckled, motioning between Samuel and Hailey. “All that psycho white trash trailer park shit is startin’ to come outta you two…”
“Oh… why… because we don’t like abusive cunts? Oh well,” Samuel chided. “Fuck them people six ways to Tuesday.”
“You’re gonna have to say that again in a different language,” Eli laughed. “’Cause I don’t speak redneck, and I don’t know what the fuck you just said.”
“Okay… fuck them niggas because I hate them,” Samuel said in a loud, clear voice.
Everything fell deathly silent all the sudden, everybody staring at him as if he had just transformed into an alien species.
Eli was glaring at him with a stoic, unreadable visage, looking grave and almost unmistakably angry.
Samuel read his face, his smile slowly fading.
“Oh… do I not have my N-word card anymore?” he uttered.
Eli’s expression suddenly fractured, no longer able to keep a straight face, and he began chuckling again. “Nah, I’m just fuckin’ with you. That was your card renewal , my friend. Just bear in mind the disclaimer… that card don’t cover public places or random strangers… and using the N-word around them might result in an ass-beating.”
“Oh… pffft… well yeah, no fucking shit,” Samuel snickered, lighting himself a cigarette and leaning back again. “Yeah… I’m totally just gonna run up in Wal-Mart and start screaming the N-word at random black people. Yes, I am a vicious racist. Oh, how well you know me…”
He took a drag while everyone else sniggered.
Octavia yawned, stretching across the loveseat as she listened to them banter with one another, feeling strangely right at home all of a sudden.
Faster than she ever did in her KIA Soul—she drifted into a deep, comfortable sleep.