Quill kissed her cheek. “Thanks, I needed that,” she said, slipping around her. She avoided eye contact with her father as he walked from the master suit.
“You smell like weed,” Manny accused, walking behind Seri and wrapping his arms around her.
“Hmmm, you smell good enough to eat,” she countered.
“And I really wish you wouldn’t smoke that stuff with my daughter,” Manny busted.
Shit…
“I’m sorry, that girl is evil. I had to,” Seri apologized, hoping he wasn’t mad.
Manny laughed. Phew….
Quill showered and climbed into the bed with Reese. At least it was a king sized bed. She wouldn’t have to sleep close to her. Reese hung up with Lil and turned the magazine she had been flipping through.
“Look at this guy, Quill,” Reese said, turning the page toward her to see the most ridiculous, skinny guy, wearing purple pants she’d ever seen.
Quill burst out laughing. She laughed so hard she was moving from the bed and sitting on the floor. That, in turn, made Reese laugh and she too was doubled over in pain.
Seri rolled her eyes as her and Manny went to the master suite. That girl couldn’t hold her weed to save her ass.
Aquilla and Reese spent the next day at the pool while Manny went to his office. Seri was with them briefly but had to go when she got a tip on whatever it was she was working on.
Manny took them all to the New York Symphony that night. Aquilla loved it. She had emotions being pulled that she never knew existed. She could tell that the rest of her party was bored and wasn’t being drawn by the music the way she was. She didn’t care. She ignored them and was amazed by the sound radiating from the dome. The sound of 18 flutes engaged together created a sound like no other.
She couldn’t stop talking about it as they walked down the city-lit sidewalk.
“We should go to a concert,” Reese decided. She would much rather be banging her head to some rock music.
“Have you ever been to a concert, Quill?” Manny asked, looking back at her trailing behind checking out the storefront windows.
“What do you think?” she sarcastically replied.
“Quill, stop it. How’s he supposed to know how you were raised,” Seri chastised her attitude.
“No, Manny, I’ve never been to a concert. Will you please take me?” Quill retorted with the fakest smile she could muster.
Manny laughed. “I would love to take you girls to a concert. Find something going on, Reese,” he beckoned.
Reese was already on her phone, looking for an upcoming concert. “Lady Ga Ga is playing Friday night,” she announced.
“Count me out,” Seri assured.
“Oh My God! Katy Perry’s playing Thursday. Can we go, dad?” she asked, excited. “Never mind…sold out,” she added, disappointed. “There’s nothing this week.”
“Well, find something coming up. We’ll plan it in a couple of weeks.”
“We start school in two weeks,” she reminded him.
“You’re only an hour and a half away, Reese. Find something on a weekend,” Manny explained.
“Are you working tomorrow, Seri?” Quill asked, still trailing behind.
“Nope, spending the whole day with you two. What do you want to do?”
“SHOP!!” Reese yelled.
“Quill?” Seri asked, needing her input.
“Yeah, we can shop. I kind of wanted to go in that store back there,” she said, pointing with her thumb.
“That Gothic store?” Manny asked.
“I don’t know what it is. I just saw a really cool studded belt that I liked.”
“We might need your credit card,” Seri smiled up at him.
Manny smiled back. He loved having Seri on his right arm. Her arm looped through his was a perfect fit. “You’re going to have to earn it,” he quietly spoke where only she could hear.
“I’ll show you earn it,” she threatened.
The girls got a late start on their shopping journey. Neither Quill nor Reese would get out of bed. They stayed up late watching movies together in the shared bed. Seri was starving and was tired of waiting. By the time they got started, it was after lunch. She protested when Reese wanted to go in a store right off the bat.
“No way, not until we eat,” Seri demanded. “We’ll hit it on the way back.”
Reese had a giant slice of pizza and Seri and Quill both had salads. Reese gave them both a hard time as she stretched the cheese from her pizza, telling them they were idiots and didn’t know what they were missing.
They came out empty handed in the first two stores and then Quill bought the $92.00 belt. Manny was going to kill Seri. She was sure of it, but damn. She couldn’t tell the girl no. She was just getting ready to text him and ask what her limit should be, when she felt the sharp object prodding her back. She froze and looked up to see Quill and Reese a couple of feet in front of her.
“Did you really think you were going to send me to jail? You dumb little cunt,” the voice growled in her ear. “Tell your little girlfriends there to walk in this store, and I promise not to hurt them,” he demanded, holding her to him by her hair with what she knew was a gun in her back.
“Quill, walk in this store,” Seri said with a shaken voice.
Quill looked back. She knew what was going on. She sensed it. Reese had no clue. She was looking in the storefront, gazing at a display full of really cool Jewelry.
“Why would we want to go into a harmonica store?” Reese questioned, looking up at the sign that Seri was demanding they enter.
“Go, Quill,” Seri demanded, reading the look on her face.
Reese looked too, sensing something wasn’t right when she saw the guy behind Seri.
“Come on, Reese,” Quill demanded, walking back toward Seri. The guy looked dead in her eyes as she turned her back to enter the store. He had no idea where the hell she came from or how the hell she got to him that quick. It was like a flash of light, and then he felt it when she jumped in the air and her foot came right down on the side of his leg. The breaking sound was horrific, but not as horrifying as the sound of the gun. Quill saw the blood before Seri even hit the sidewalk.
Seri felt nothing for a few seconds. She thought maybe it had missed her at first, but then quickly changed her mind. The blood on her hand, the sudden pressure and then the excruciating pain that followed was unbearable. It felt like she was being branded by a hot poker.
Aquilla knew there were screams and people running, but it all happened so quickly that she couldn’t really comprehend what was going on. Seri hit the ground at precisely the same moment as the guy holding the gun and his leg in agony. He screamed in pain with a look that Quill will never forget. He was hurt, yet pissed. He aimed the gun right at her head, but again she was quicker and kicked it out of his hand, sending it sliding into the street of stopped traffic.
“Reese, call dad,” she demanded, going to Seri’s side.
“Fuck, Quill,” Seri yelled, holding her back. Quill moved her a little, to see where it had gone in. There was so much blood, and although it was to the right side, she was terrified that the bullet had hit an artery.
“You’re going to be okay, Seri,” Quill promised as she removed her t-shirt and applied pressure to her back. She didn’t even care that she was knelt beside her wearing nothing but her bra. It seemed like forever before they heard sirens, and they still seemed to be so far away.
“Quill,” Seri whimpered, letting her head drop.
Quill screamed at her. “Open your eyes, Seri!!! Open your fucking eyes!!!” She hadn’t even realized she had tears that were streaming down her face. Seri couldn’t die. She just couldn’t. She would have nobody without Seri.