The 18th of January
(Elijah's pov)
I silently walked out of my apartment. The dull craving for a cigarette gnawing in the back of my mind, she hated whenever I smoked one of them.
Strolling through the small section of hallway between my apartment and the stairwell was enough time to decide on where I was going.
Jogging down the stairs , I stopped on the ground floor. I lazily pulled out my phone and called him, my uncle.
It took him about 3 seconds for him to answer
"Howdy son !" he greeted in his lazily southern drawl "why haven't you been visiting y'know, Marie has been worried sick 'bout you ?" He asked genuine worry, lacing his voice.
"Sorry old man, I've been busy with school and other shit." I genuinely apologise.
"I ain't old " he chuckled. I didn't consider him old, I just like teasing him.
"Arthur, you've been a cop for almost as long as I've been alive !" I continue to tease.
"Speaking of age , you didn't spend your 23rd birthday up here, Marie probably is gonna lecture you on that" he chuckled softly, probably imagining the scolding I was probably going to receive.
"Arthur, I know." I grumbled , exasperation bleeding through my voice.
"Right, whatcha need son,you don't usually call me while I'm working, is there something wrong with your apartment, is it damn AC again ?" He asked, seriously for a hint of exasperation because he owned the building I was currently standing in the stairwell of .
"Nah, nah. Nothing Like that." I started hesitantly
"Alrighty, what's up son ?" he asked with curiosity oozing from his voice.
"I'm heading up to Prinnston." I said , a hint of finality
" Alright I'll ring Marie and let her know you're gonna swing by." He started excitedly
"No, don't." I interrupted him before he could hang up
"Are you not swinging by ?" He asked, " Ya know the kids would be disappointed when they find that out !" He added as an after thought
"No I am, I just wanna surprise aunt Marie and the kids" I chuckled softly.
"Tsk. Eli, ya better bring them a piece offering" he grumbled, reminding me to grab a bag.
"Yeah, yeah. I know aunt Marie hates surprises." I said rolling my eyes
" Right I gotta go, be safe son i'll cya in a bit Elijah." he said he tumbled dissatisfaction drowning his voice
" Cya Arthur you too ." I said slightly disappointed
Hanging up before swiftly pocketing my phone I jogged back up to the stairs.
I reached my apartment, grabbed a bag and my wallet before hurrying down to the underground parking.
Turning right I walked over to an old supply room me and Arthur had repurposed to be a private garage and workshop for me around 2 years ago
Swiftly unlocking then pulling the garage door up.
I chuckled at the memory of the installers , they were a bunch of goofballs, one of them tried to propose to Aunt Marie right in front of Arthur, when she brought them down some lemonade .
I flicked the light switch there she was, my pride and joy. A Honda CBR 600 rr,when I had gotten it, it was practically falling apart. I had it repaired then modded it .
A handle bar mount.
The air intake had been made larger alongside the air filter being swapped for high air flow filters. The air-fuel ratio had been tuned.
The suspension had been tweaked, the brakes replaced then the brake system had been optimized.
Along with those I replaced some heavy parts for lighter ones .
I was still waiting for a new exhaust and engine.
The fairing was replaced for aesthetics .
I mentally recalled as I emptied the contents of the bag onto a desk before slinging the backpack over my shoulders.
Swiftly wheeling the bike outside I turned off the light and then locked up the garage.
Hopping onto the bike , I started it with a practiced ease and rolled off.
I had to pick things up at 3 places, a liquor shop, the bakery and the mechanic I work at.
I decided to head to the bakery first, getting an assortment of pastries, cakes and 2 apple pies, which I delicately packed into my bag .
Next I went to the liquor store grabbing a bottle of Rosé and a bottle of Scotch.
Finally I made it to the garage, which was finished in no time , kicking down the kickstand I hopped off the bike.
"I knew that was you from a mile away, that damn bike of yours sounds too distinctive." My boss said while he walked over to me.
"Hey drew, how ya doing boss" I greeted
"James is freaking out. Something 'bout you and you breaking up with that Claire girl " he grumbled
"That…" I said plainly " tell him I'll explain what happened tomorrow" I continued, the exhaustion I felt definitely escaping through my false bravado.
"If ya need something you know where to find me lad." He patted my shoulder gently. "Why ya here drop by ?" He asked why walking into the workshop
I followed him "I just came to grab my old helmet, planning to give it to my cousin." I explained lazily.
" The helmet that saved your ass in that crash awhile back ?" He questioned .
The hazy memories of that crash flashed through my mind " Yeah, she wants a motorbike. that helmet, it's a good lesson in why practicing riding safely. " I managed to say
"Sorry from being that up lad. Well it's in your office." he said softly
" It's all good boss , it's all good!" I chuckled strolling over to my office
The office was controlled chaos , documents and blueprints were scattered over my desk, the mini fridge in the corner, its contents: an unorganised mess of energy drinks, water bottles and sodas.
Above the mini fridge sat a shelf that held the prize to this hunt.
Quickly reaching up I grabbed the helmet and held it for a moment to admire the beating it took to save my life, the most noticeable bit of damage was a long gash bisected the visor and parts of the helmet where my left eye would be.
Swiftly putting my bag down on the mini fridge, and placing the helmet into it then I grabbed a bottle of water.
Quickly hurrying out of my office, the workshop had fallen into a comfortable silence which I decisively broke. "Right, I'm going for a ride up to Prinnston, cya later boss." I said pushing off the bench.
"Cya 'round kid " he muttered while head deep in a car's schematics
Swiftly pulling out of the parking lot of the garage, I swiftly drifted into contemplation.
After leaving I went to find a gas station to fill up on gas and to grab a couple of snacks, which was pretty easy.
Running on autopilot, I continue down the old "New California Revolution" posters and graffiti ridden streets with a familiar ease, the soft rumble of the bike underneath me .
Being taken out of my thoughts just as the traffic light went red by the ringing of my phone, it was Claire , answering it almost instantly I asked
"What's up ?" The mental exhaustion I felt bleeding through my voice.
"Elijah, I left a couple things in your apartment, when could I come and pick them up ?" She asked . I didn't expect to miss the way she said "Eli".
I let out a soft hum while thinking "I'm going for a long ride, up to Prinnston, I won't be back until about 11 or 12 tonight" I explained lazily
"so you could ask James to let you get your stuff when he gets back from work or wait till Tomorrow" I offered tiredly she paused for a moment genuinely thinking about it
"What time tomorrow ?" she asked a tremor of hesitation in her voice,
Mentally recalling what she had going on tomorrow so I asked ,"Are you free around 1, 2 pm ?" In return, I knew she was free from 1pm to 3pm tomorrow .
"Sounds good to me." she answered before hanging up, realising I had been sitting outside of her apartment I drove off letting my mind wander yet again.
Falling back into awareness, I found myself at the entrance ramp to the Freeway , entering the actual freeway. I cruised down it for a half an hour.
Going down the exit I turned left down a largely forgotten road, I started shifting into second gear and began speeding up from 70 mph (120 kph) to just over 100 mph (170 kph) .
Was it hypocritical for me to speed down a road, after preaching about being safe on a motorcycle, definitely, did I care, not at all.
My phone decided to ring just as the fun began to ring, slowing to a halt and answered it .
What ?" I snapped.
" Awww, Eli you're just adorable when you're angr-." he said in his attempt of an innocent voice.
"Get to the damn POINT" I interrupted him.
"You're awfully snappy for someone I could ruin…" he said in a sickly sweet voice.
I didn't respond to that. I couldn't care less at that moment.
"Sooooo, there's a change In plans, meet the Factories on Sunday night at the same time as I said earlier. " He said
" Got it" I grunted before I hung up, in my eyes he was just giving me more time to plan .
I paused for a moment, grabbed the water from my bag and let my mind relax and unwind for a moment. Being in a bad headspace and speeding down a deserted road was a recipe for disaster.
Throwing my water bottle back into the bag, I leaned into the bike, gripping the handle bars and continued my journey to the place I considered home.
The journey to Prinnston remains silent for the rest of the ride.
The first place I went was to the local floristry, I bought a small mixed bouquet of Roses lilies and Chrysanthemums, then I headed to the graveyard
I walked until I reached a specific grave. I placed the bouquets in a vase I had next to it all those 8 years ago. I read the epitaph even though I had it ingrained in my head.
'Layna Watson 2004 - 2020 daughter, sister , friend and role model'
"Hey sis , it's been a while, sorry about that " I started. "The girl I talked about so many times. Claire I broke up with her" I paused for a moment, " you would probably scold me for doing something so stupid, but I'm afraid of the past catching up to me" I continued.
"a-and it has, someone found out about what happened." My voice broke " I am so, so scared of what will happen when the past comes out and I don't know, if I should do what I plan to do and everything is just so, fucked" I rambled, letting all my woes out Infront of the grave of my sister. I fell silent for a couple minutes and just stood.
The sounds of someone walking towards me broke the silence, "Howdy son , I knew you'd come here." It was Arthur .
" Hey Arthur" I greeted in return, not raising my head from the picture of her engraved on the tombstone, her messy black slightly curly hair was similar to my own, hers were only slightly more curly than my own, we had almost been identical at that time .
I raised my head to look up at the sky
"Do ya want me to give you a minute ?" the soft rumble of Arthur's voice breaking my wandering thoughts
"Nah let's go home" I said , turning my head and walking back to my bike .