Blackness Takes Over & Blackness Awaits (10 page)

I’m racking my brain right now. Mr. Kellerman died of a heart attack two years ago and I know there was mention of his son, but I can’t remember a name or a picture. I’d remember this fucking face. I couldn’t go to Mr. Kellerman’s funeral because me and the boys (all nine) were in Europe vacationing. Huh?

“Do you have some ID?” Finn asks from behind me. I love Finn, he knows what I’m thinking before I do. Dylan laughs and reaches into his back pocket for his wallet. He flips it open and hands the whole thing to me. I grab it and don’t even look when I pass it to Finn who is intensely gripping my hip. I slide my hand onto his and squeeze it, he lets up a little.

“Dylan Kellerman. Seattle?” Finn’s tone questions as he reads Dylan’s driver’s license.

“Yeah. I moved out there about six years ago I guess. I fish, so it’s a good home base. I just got here last night.” He shrugs at us and sits back down in the chair watching Mia. I look at Finn and he gives me that “what do you think?” look. I shrug, barely lifting my shoulders. I don’t know what to think. Attorney time.

“Mr. Kellerman, my name is Shannon Kelly. I’m Mia’s guardian ad litem.” I shove my out stretched hand to him and he grasps it looking into my eyes with his jeweled eyes staring intensely. His hand is so rough, it doesn’t feel like a hand, it feels like an old worn baseball mitt. I glance down at the feel.

“Sorry Mrs. Kelly, fisherman’s hands. It’s nice to meet you. I heard a lot about you from my dad.” He smiles genuinely at me, making his eyes crinkle just a little. He’s trouble no doubt and uh, Mrs.?

“Please call me Kellerman, Keller, Kel, Dylan, or anything else you like. Just not Mr. Kellerman.” He let’s go of my hand as I smile, another guy who goes by his last name or some version thereof. What am I some kind of magnet?! Funny, I can’t do to his name what I do to the other boys’, he’d be Kelly and that would be fucking weird…or hot. Nope not going there.

“Kellerman, please call me Shannon. And this is Finn Callaghan,” I nod in his direction. “He’s the head of our private investigation team at my law firm.” I lean into Finn a little to let him mark me as his, dangerous after today, but necessary in this situation. This Kellerman guy may be hot, but I know that looks can be deceiving…Liam was hot. That one thought and my pulse is normal and the flutters in my tummy abate. Finn reaches his hand out to Kellerman. I’m still in between them which is awkward, especially because Kellerman is standing up now. I’m in a hottie sandwich. I quickly move away and go to Mia. Let them do the male pissing contest on their own.

I sit down on Mia’s bed and start pulling out magazines and a hair brush from my bag. This is what we do together: I read her magazines and do her hair. She’s a fourteen-year-old young woman now, that’s what she would do if she weren’t trapped in this body. I was never that girl when I was fourteen. I wasn’t a tomboy per se, but I wasn’t a girl either. I didn’t have female friends (still don’t), I did get along with my teammates, but that was only surrounding volleyball. I pretty much stuck to myself (bit of a loner). I just focused on getting out of high school and starting my life. So I didn’t do the “typical” teenage thing and neither can Mia right now. I give what I can, even if it’s a stretch for me. Robert Pattinson’s love life is a fucking stretch to say the least, but that’s on the cover of our first magazine so here we go. Suck it up, Kelly.

“Apparently R-Patz has found new love, Mia. Can you believe that?” I sound snarky but amused. “That whole cheating scandal is still all over the news, you’d think they’d move on by now.” I flip open the magazine and describe the fashion and makeup ads to her. I read the “article” about R-Patz and one about Channing Tatum. When I finish, I look up at the clock and realize an hour has passed since we got here. I close the magazine and look down to the foot of the bed. Finn and Kellerman are staring at me like I have two heads (maybe two vaginas).

“What?” I glare at Finn. I turn back around and grab Mia’s brush without waiting for a response. I had my hair stylist come and cut Mia’s hair into a bob. She looks great, and it’s easier to care for now. Her hair is raven black and she has chestnut eyes that are almost always closed. Her cheek bones are high and her lips are filling out. This girl will be a stunner! I just need her to wake up.

“You’re amazing, Kid,” Finn mumbles. I turn back to him and raise my brow.

“Huh?” I mutter.

Kellerman is staring at him too. Finn is processing.

“I…uh…well, Kid…it’s just,” he stumbles.

“Very articulate Finn,” I smirk at him, “thanks for clearin’ that up.” He drops his head in his hands and props his elbows on his knees. He’s smiling behind there. I glance at Kellerman who has a corner of his mouth turned up at me. I shrug at him.

I brush Mia’s hair and talk to her about what’s going on with me (work, the boys, her haircut, her visitor). I feel someone next to me when I get to that last point. I look up and Kellerman is next to me, looking right at Mia. Finn clears his throat behind me and I whip my head to him. He indicates with his head that I move out of the way. I get up from the bed and go sit in Kellerman’s vacated seat.

Finn leans over to me and whispers in my ear, “I gotta go make a call. I’ll be back in a few. You good?” I nod and pull out my BlackBerry to check my emails. He pats my thigh and stands up to leave the room. He watches the back of Kellerman for a moment, then moves out the door.

I put my BlackBerry away after I go through my emails (never ending) and watch Kellerman. He’s talking to Mia, but I can’t hear him. I feel like I’m intruding on a personal moment watching his body language. Maybe I should give them a minute alone. I reach over to the windowsill to grab my bag when Kellerman stands up and comes to take Finn’s seat. He’s staring at the ground. This is awkward.

“I remember when Mia was born.” He’s still looking at the floor and his voice is barely over a whisper. “Her yard was covered in pink balloons and signs that said it’s a girl. I was sixteen and unimpressed, but I remember it. My dad loved Kathy. He was like a dad to her. She didn’t have anyone but Butch, so Dad helped her out as much as he could. He watched Mia on Saturdays in the beginning, when Kathy had her shifts at the diner. Then he started watchin’ her on Sundays too, so Kathy could get some sleep after her Saturday doubles. I was around as much as a sixteen-year-old is on a weekend. I was scared of Mia. She was so little, so I kept my distance at first. The more she was around, the less freaked I got. I would hold her and feed her sometimes. She always smiled at me. She was such a serious baby, but she would always smile at me.” He looks up at me and smiles with his eyes glistening.

“That became our life, Mia at our place on the weekends and some weeknights. We went to birthday parties for her and sometimes we went to barbeques Butch and Kathy would have. We were like a family, I guess. Dad loved Mia so fuckin’ much. He was always buyin’ dolls and shit for her,” he chuckles at that memory. I’m silently listening to this story. I had heard a lot of this from Mr. Kellerman, but anything I can hear about Mia is always special.

“I knew Butch was a sketchy character. I heard shit around the neighborhood, and from my dad about Butch bein’ a drug dealer. He always seemed to love the girls so much that I never thought anything of his lifestyle. I thought he kept it away from them, so it was no biggie. Shit started gettin’ weird though. Mia was at our house more and more and Butch was gone all the time. Kathy was alone and working her ass off at that shitty waitressing job.” He shakes his head and blows out a breath.

“She asked me to look out for Mia one day. I asked her if something was wrong, and she said no, that she just liked knowin’ that someone else was lookin’ out for her. I agreed, but brushed it off. I had just gotten my first job and was leaving soon, so I didn’t really have the ability to look out for her. Kathy knew I was leaving. Why would she ask me that?” He wasn’t asking me. He was looking at Mia now.

“Anyway, I told my dad and he played it off like no big deal. We always looked out for Mia, nothing would change. I had a huge going away party that night. My dad came to the dinner but headed back home while the rest of us headed out to the bars. The way Dad told me, when he pulled in the driveway he could tell something was off. He heard yelling when he got outta the car. They fought a lot at the end and Dad didn’t think anything of it until he heard Kathy screamin’. He called the cops and ran inside to get his hunting rifle. Dad bought a gun safe once Mia could walk. He was always protectin’ her, he loved her so much.” A tear just leaked from his eye. He lets it fall.

“He told me he was panicking and couldn’t get the safe open. Once he did, he loaded the rifle and took off out our door just when the cops busted in theirs. Dad was never the same after that. Never.” He looks back up at me with a single tear stain on his cheek. I don’t know what the fuck to do. I turn the corners of my mouth up slightly and nod trying to encourage him to keep talking.

“He called me, and I raced home. I watched that body bag roll out of their house. I can’t bear to watch any of those ‘crime’ shows now. After the cops were done with dad we raced here and sat in the waiting room for what felt like days. I was sure Mia wouldn’t make it but Dad said she would, that Mia was a fighter. He was right. Once I knew Mia was in a coma but stable I hopped on the first flight outta here. I turned down the job I was supposed to start and ran to the Bering Sea.” I furrow my brow at that last statement.

“I hated myself,” he sighs, looking at Mia again. “Kathy asked me to watch out for her. I failed. She was only eight years old and I didn’t keep her safe.” He sounds like Kavy and it breaks my heart. Is this how Kavy feels about me? The guilt Kellerman feels is weighing this whole hospital down. I can’t imagine bearing that every day.

“When I heard Butch got a new trial, I had to come back. I’m not that scared kid anymore. I won’t fail Mia or Kathy again.” Okay. That was a lot to take in.

“She’s gonna wake up,” I say confidently. Why the fuck is that my response to his story?

“I know,” he replies just as confidently. “Dad was right, Mia’s a fighter.” Finn walks back in the room, stopping our conversation. He walks over to Mia without looking at Kellerman or me and sits down on her bed. Finn did a shitload of background work for me on Mia’s case. He comes to visit her often, but usually on his own. He leans over and kisses her cheek and then rubs it with the back of his fingers. I have a lump in my throat the size of a boulder. He picks up Mia’s hand and starts talking to her.

I can’t make out everything he’s saying but something about, “Making it right,” and “Better than anyone.” I have no clue.

Kellerman is watching this interaction intently. I’m guessing he feels a little vulnerable after the emotional release he just had with me. Finn’s not talking anymore; he’s just sitting with Mia holding her hand. There’s a comfortable silence in the room. I let out a sigh and close my eyes.

Next thing I know, there’s pressure on the top of my head. My eyes flutter open.

“You nodded off, Kid,” Finn murmurs, as he has his lips pressed against my hair.

“Sorry Finn. Kavy’s early morning wakeup call must still be hittin’ me. What time is it?” I sit forward and stretch my arms above my head, throwing my chest forward. Kellerman is staring at my boobs. I smile and shake my head. What is it with men and boobs?

“Five thirty. We should get goin’ so we can get ready for our little soirée tonight.” He smiles down at me with a shit eating grin. “You moaned in your sleep.” What. The. Fuck?

“How old are you Finn, twelve?” I flip him off. He laughs a full belly laugh and claps me on the back. “That sound made me feel like a twelve-year-old watching his first porno.” He wiggles his eyebrows at me à la Callaghan style. I roll my eyes at him and turn toward Kellerman who is now snickering.

“Do you have any plans tonight?” I ask Kellerman. “We do this pub quiz once a month at Flannery’s in Westport, and tonight we’re hittin’ a club afterwards.” I do a shimmy and a fist pump.

He laughs at me and shakes his head, “Nah, I don’t have plans tonight. I figured I’d stay with Mia until the end of visiting hours. Then just head to Dad’s house and crash before I come back here tomorrow.”

“You should come, man,” Finn says in a shockingly friendly tone. “It’s always a good time and you can skip out early if you need to. Any friend of Mia’s is a friend of ours.” Finn slides his hand down my back. That was a marking his territory move. I stand up and grab my coat.

“I understand if you don’t want to,” I say honestly. Hanging out with a bunch of people you don’t know doesn’t sound appealing to me either. “But if you want to join us we’ll be there around eight. It was nice to meet you, and I’m sure I’ll see you around.” I hand him my card. “If you need anything while you’re in town, let me know.” He takes the card and looks it over before shifting his gaze up at me. He stands up, putting my card in his wallet and extends his hand out to me. I take it in mine.

“The pleasure was all mine, Shannon.” His smile touches his eyes. He lets go of my hand and reaches it to Finn.

“Thanks again for the coffee, man. It was nice talkin’ with ya,” he says sincerely to Finn.

“You too, man,” Finn responds. “Hope you change your mind about tonight.” He let’s go of Kel’s hand and puts it in the small of my back to lead me to Mia. I lean down to kiss her forehead, and tell her I’ll see her next week. Finn squeezes her hand and tells her she looks more beautiful every time he sees her, and he’ll be back soon. I wave at Kellerman over my shoulder and we leave the room.

Finn puts me in his Mercedes and walks around to get in. We need to talk our shit out, now. He gets in and starts the car. Once we’re out on the street I start in.

“Finn, we need to talk.” He nods but doesn’t look at me or say anything. “Okay, I’ll start then. What the fuck was that today? You know I heard you when I was in the bathroom. What’s up?” That was blunt and to the point. I don’t really do subtlety all that well.

“I don’t know, Kid.” He shakes his head and his tone is somber. “I love you, you know. I know how fuckin’ amazing you are and I just…shit I don’t know.” He runs his hand through his hair, pulling on it a little.