garrettkelton:
Did you do something to it?
Garrett supposed he could’ve phrased what he had said better. It had been quite awhile since he had been as vulnerable as she was currently. It was pretty careless of him. There was a flash of worry in her eyes, those big green eyes that belayed her innocence.
“No, no, aside from putting a little soy sauce in it.” He explained with an attempt at a smile, not quite sure how the friendliness might be received - the last thing he needed was for this kid to freak out and set his apartment on fire in the fear that he was going to drug her or something.
Her hunger seemed to urge her to ignore the possible danger, because before long, the little kitten was back to finishing off what was left of the egg roll. Garrett was smothering a laugh as she animatedly shoved a carton of food towards him with a grimace, at least now he knew there was something she didn’t like.
He was happy to trade the carton she offered for more of the sweet barbecue spare ribs she seemed to enjoy. Accepting the white, grease-stained box, Garrett stilled at the sound of his phone ringing. For a moment they sat on his couch, frozen still at the continuous digital tone rising up from the device. Placing the carton down, he beckoned his phone into his hand with a flick of finger.
Glancing down at the familiar phone number flashing across the screen, Garrett let out a sigh, this was a work thing, which unfortunately took precedence over his current company and his lunch.
“Just a sec.” He explained quickly to Amanda before walking the short distance to the hallway to answer the call.
“Yeah?” Garrett answered, unsurprised by the voice that responded, the same low level drug pusher that Marcus was connected with.
“Hey, man,” came the weaselly voice of the man on the other end of the line, “I heard you’re looking for someone to move some product…”
Garrett gave a small exhale, “I am.” He said simply, awaiting more fumbling on the other end of the line.
“Well, you know me, you know I’m good to move whatever you need… for a price.”
Garrett mulled over the idea, he’d never been particularly fond of the man, but still, he had always been true to his word, kept his head down and made them money, and was happy with his cut. But Marcus was dead now, and Garrett was calling the shots.
“Yeah, I do know you…Alright, you wanna talk numbers? Meet me outside of Marcus’ old club in 1 hour.” Garrett said simply before ending the call, he’d be there and if this guy was serious about working for him, he would be there too. Tucking his phone in his pocket, the telekinetic walked back over to where his shy little alley cat was.
“Hey, kitten, I’ve got some errands to run, so, I gotta head out.” Garrett explained, reaching to finish off what was left of his beer. Staring back at the little heater, her pale skin, and bulging cheeks filled with food, those wide eyes glued to him. She probably thought he was going to give her the boot, and he probably should’ve, but for some reason he couldn’t put his finger on, he didn’t have the heart to kick her out.
“You can stay put,” Garrett said with a small encouraging nod, “I’ll be out for a little while, but uh, help yourself to the food and uh-” scrounging around the coffee table, Garrett was pleased to have found the tv remote. Pressing the power button, he handed off the remote to the girl when the screen turned on.
“Watch some tv, I’ll be back later.”
Grabbing his keys where he had abandoned them on the kitchen counter, Garrett recalled he hid a piece in the glove compartment of his car for emergencies, meaning there wasn’t much of a reason for him to linger. They were just talking numbers, he wasn’t planning on showing off any of the product yet.
Pausing as he stood at the front door, Garrett turned on his heel back to his guest, a shadow of smile on lips, “Oh, kid?” He said, smiling and she turned to look his way from her spot on the couch, “Don’t burn the house down.” He said with a playful wink before heading off.
Amanda froze at the trill of the static-y musical chime. What the hell? Her heart slowed to a more reasonable as she watched him use his powers to float his cellphone over to him. A cellphone. Just a cellphone. Right.
“Showoff,” She teased good-naturedly, “Must be nice to have a useful power.”
The brunette nodded rather unnecessarily; he was already walking off to tale to whomever had called. Once she was sure that she wasn’t being observed anymore, Amanda dropped all socially acceptable practices of eating and just started digging in with utter abandon. She shoved food into her gob until there was no more room before she started chewing. There was no doubt that she was about to be tossed out on her ass; Amanda had to fill her belly before that happened.
Garrett returned when she mid-chew, which meant she looked like a gross chipmunk, and Amanda quickly struggled to swallow the mass of food. When he said he had to go, the younger woman nodded dully, “Yeah, okay, no problem.” She stood from the couch, hastily tugging down the borrowed shirt, “If you could just point me towards my clothes…”
Amanda was surprised, however, when he offered to let her stay in his apartment. Alone. Was he crazy? He barely knew her. She could steal all his stuff and sell it. She could burn down the apartment if she felt like it. Why would he let her stay? It was stupidly foolheartedly of him. It wasn’t her job to be his Jiminy Cricket and tell him he was taking risks. If he wanted to let her stay, she wasn’t going to talk him out of it. The apartment was warm, dry, and there was a plethora of food; she would stay until he kicked her out.
Accepting the remote that he proffered, she stared a bit dumbly at the television screen. It had been years since she’d watched a whole episode of any show. She wasn’t quite sure where to even begin with that. Putting the remote down on the couch cushion beside her bare thigh, Amanda offered him a sardonic smile as he requested that she not ‘burn the house down.’
“I make no promises,” Amanda quipped back, waving him a weak goodbye as he left. Well, now what?
Garrett sighed as he pulled his car up to curb, around the corner from his apartment building. It was dark out and the afternoon and evening had since come and gone since he had left earlier to deal with work. The meeting outside of Marcus’ old club had gone about as well as could've been expected, it was a marvel he didn’t get stuck in the web of yellow tape, the police had condemned the area since Marcus’ death. Being back there had brought back memories he hadn’t thought of in quite some time...memories of Marcus, other memories too.
15 years ago...
There was a hot shower of rain that stuck to his skin, the asphalt was slick beneath his feet as he followed after her. Her short dirty blonde hair was damp from summer rain, the dainty silver ring that clung to her bottom lip glinted enticingly with a bead of water. The material of her tank top was nearly sheer where she stood before him, the white fabric clinging to every hard line of her body.
“Come with me.” It was plea as it fell from her lips, there was terribly hopeful crease of her brows as she stared back at him - hope that he knew he could never be deserving of.
“I can’t...you know I can’t.” Garrett uttered demurely, almost hoping if he denied her quietly, she wouldn’t have to endure the pain of his rejection. Then came the icy scoff, the wounded sound dripping from her lips as she put distance between them, desperate to evade the source of her pain. He wouldn’t blame her; he couldn’t.
She smudged the heavy-handed eyeliner that circled her tired green eyes with a back of her hand, the weak sniffle the followed nearly broke his crumbling resolve. Her smile followed, bitter and despondent, disguising the wobble of her chin. He had always hated seeing her cry.
“I-” His voice failed him as it turned soft with emotion he didn’t want to acknowledge. They were two powered kids...in a world that hated people like them, it wouldn’t be long until they were either dead or behind bars. They didn’t get a happy ending. She should’ve known better.
“Have a good life, Garrett.” She said finally, the words that unforgivingly chipped away blood red chunks of his heart like a sculptor’s chisel.
Shaking his head in an attempt to banish the foul memory, Garrett swallowed thickly, grimacing at the uncomfortable lump in his throat. Being even outside the club poked at old wounds, some ancient and scarred over, others still fresh and weeping. Marcus had been an asshole, yet still a part of him mourned the loss of the closest thing to a constant in his life. Garrett owed a lot to Marcus. Regardless of his memories apparently eager to haunt him, the meeting went well enough, he was just glad to be home. Exiting his car, Garrett rounded the corner to the his apartment building.
He briefly thought back on his little alley cat likely awaiting him upstairs, her little stomach probably full to the point of aching. Peeking into the laundry room, Garrett was pleased to pull Amanda’s clothes, still warm from the drier, he had chucked them in before heading out earlier. The litany of stains discoloring the clothes told him they could probably use another cycle through the washing machine, but as things were, it was obvious their owner was just eager to have her clothes back. Tucking the bundle under his arm, Garrett made the short trip up the stairs to his apartment.
Jimmying the key in the lock, the telekinetic lazily pushed the door open with a inclination of his power. Stepping through the threshold, he eased the door shut behind him, turning the lock out of habit with his mind. The gentle chatter of some cartoon playing on the television caught his attention as he slunk over towards the couch, finding the young heater he had taken in curled into a ball on the cushions. It was clear she had fallen asleep, chuckling softly at her choice of program playing on the screen, Garrett figured he very well couldn’t keep her on the couch. Which meant there was only one other spot he could leave her...his bedroom. In any other circumstance, he figured it might have been suspicious, him carrying a girl to his bed, but in this case, he didn’t mean her any harm.
The telekinetic let out a sigh, quietly praying she wouldn't freak out come morning. Bending over with a groan, he ignored the ache in his lower back as he swept the sleeping weight of the young woman into his arms. Carrying her the distance towards his bedroom, he was sure to keep his hand tucked beneath the back of her knees, despite the way his borrowed shirt rode up revealing more surprisingly soft skin than he was expecting. And damn it if it wasn't distracting watching as his denim shirt inched up higher and higher to expose her pale legs. Shaking off the admittedly foul thought that floated through his mind, Garrett shimmied open his bedroom door. Tugging back the comforter and loose sheet covering his bed, he was quick to slip her diminutive frame beneath the blankets.
She looked quite small in his bed, he thought, pretty cute too. Abandoning her pile of clothes on the other side of the bed, he figured he had done as much as he could to make her comfortable for the night. Pausing in the doorway, it occurred to him how fucking creepy it was for him to be watching a barely legal girl sleeping in his bed, yet still he couldn’t quite help the sudden and unexplainable fondness he felt for her. Easing the door nearly closed, he figured the least he could do was give her some privacy.
Stalking off back into the living room, Garrett sank into the couch with a groan that belayed his age. Kicking his feet up on the coffee table despite the array of take out boxes that littered the surface. Plucking the television remote from between the crevice of two couch cushions, he figured it was late, he was tired, and he could use a little distraction.