Born to Fight

Chapter 5

Celeste

I was with Jamie in my room packing my things when Josh walked in to join us. Freeze was laying in the middle of my bed, totally at ease and making himself at home.  I found his behavior amusing. Like Loki, Freeze was obviously quite the character too. As we were packing my belongings, I couldn’t help but notice the odd looks Josh kept giving me. Whenever I would look at him, he would quickly look away. There was something strange about his behavior and if I was being honest, it was starting to make me nervous. Had I done something to annoy him? I would have to talk to Jamie about it later.

We finished packing up everything that I would be needing for now and headed back downstairs. Josh and Jamie helped me to carry my bags out to Jamie’s truck. After we had finished loading my bags into the back of the truck, we left Josh to load Freeze into the truck while Jamie and I went back inside to get Loki's things. I grabbed a backpack and loaded everything I would need for Loki into it while I was at Jamie's house. Jamie went into the pantry and grabbed Loki’s dog food. When Josh came inside, Jamie handed the large bag of dry dog food to Josh to take out to the truck. When Josh had left to carry the bag of dog food out to the truck, Jamie went back into the pantry to grab the box of tinned dog food out. As soon as Josh came back into the kitchen, without a word Jamie handed him the box of tinned dog food to carry out to the truck as well. I felt bad. Poor Josh was being put to work and I didn't even know if the guy liked me.

When Josh had left for the second time, Jamie came over to the table to where I was just finishing up packing the backpack. After I had finished filling the backpack with everything that I would need for Loki, I zipped the bag up and handed it to Jamie. I made my way over to the phone that was located in the kitchen on the bench. Beside the phone was a German shepherd figured metal key hook hanger. Reaching out I grabbed my mother's keys off the hook, then making my way back towards the back door I grabbed Loki’s leash off the hook that hung on the wall behind the back door before heading out into the back yard to fetch Loki.

Loki was on edge from the events of the night. The high volume of traffic throughout the house had Loki so on edge, that the moment that I walked out the back door, Loki was on me like a cat on a mouse. The moment that Loki noticed Jamie, he let out a light growl. I lightly chastised him for it, letting him know that Jamie was a friend. Or, at least I hoped that he was. It would suck, if, after everything that I had already been through, Jamie turned out to be some kind of psycho. Hooking Loki onto his leash, Jamie and I quietly led him around the side of the house. Making our way through the side gate, we walked across the lawn and over to where Jamie's truck was parked. When we reached the truck, Jamie put Loki into the backseat and tied his leash through the seat belt, effectively restraining Loki. Freeze was in a custom-built canine cage which was in the bed of the truck. Once Loki was tied up and all of my belongings were secured in the cargo storage lock box in the truck bed, we all got into the truck and began to head out of town.

We were making our way to Jamie and Josh’s house that they shared which was on acreage on the outskirts of town. When we arrived at the house the faint light of dawn was just making an appearance. The sun would soon be starting to rise. When I saw the house, I had to admit that I was surprised. The house was a nice two story home, situated on fourteen acres. When we first arrived, the boys gave me a walk through of the house. They had an in-ground pool out the back with a huge undercover entertainment area. In the entertainment area, there was a billiard table and a wet bar. Inside the house was nicely decorated. If I was being honest, the house didn't look like a bachelor pad. These guys kept their home nice and tidy!

Downstairs there was the dining room and kitchen, lounge, laundry with extra-large linen and storage closets and the main bathroom. The kitchen had beautiful marble benches with solid timber cabinetry and stainless - steel appliances. The living room had a beautiful solid timber dining setting. In the lounge room, they had a gunmetal grey modular sofa with the right terminal, which looked extremely comfortable. Upstairs there were five bedrooms, each with its own ensuite bathroom.

I was shown to a bedroom which was right across the hallway from Jamie’s bedroom. The boys knew that I was unsettled and scared after what had happened to my mother, so they were nice enough to allow me to have Loki inside, for which I was extremely grateful. Loki was a comforting presence to me and he was now the only link I had left to my mother.

The room that I was staying in had a solid timber queen-sized bed with a matching tallboy, bedside tables, and a dressing table with a winged mirror. Situated in the far corner of the room, there was a comfortable blue recliner that I knew I would make use of for reading. Overall I had to admit that the room was lovely and comfortable.

After I had put my belongings in the bedroom that I would be staying in, I went into the bathroom and washed up before getting ready for bed. Once I had finished my nighttime routine, I turned out the light before I climbed into bed. Loki jumped up onto the end of the bed, making himself comfortable. The heavy curtains in the windows made the room dark. Loki was a warm and comforting presence in the darkness. I lay awake in the dark thinking about everything that had happened. It still felt like a dream. A horrible and surreal dream. My life had changed forever in a split second. Now I was living with someone I had only ever spoken to online and another person that I had no connection to at all.

I felt the tears begin to gather in my eyes before they slowly began to fall. I missed my mom, and truth be told, I was scared out of my mind. I didn’t know who had killed my mom or why. All I knew was that it was something to do with someone named Billy. I was scared that the people who had killed my mom would come after me and hurt me, or worse.

Jamie

Josh and I had gotten Celeste packed up and back to our house without incident. We had gotten her settled into one of the spare bedrooms with her beloved Loki. We were hoping that she would feel safe in our home. After everything that had happened, she was bound to be scared. Josh and I were both worried that word might get out that Celeste had seen the men who had been responsible for killing her mother, and that she might become a target because of it. We didn’t want to voice our thoughts about this concern we both shared simply because we didn’t want to frighten her.

I made my way out to the entertainment area to where Josh was shooting some pool. When I walked out the back door, I saw that Freeze was laying on the outdoor table, casually watching Josh as he continued to sink shots. Josh had just taken a shot and was reaching for his beer when I walked outside. I made my way over to the bar fridge and got myself a beer. Sitting on one of the bar stools I watched as Josh made numerous shots continuously sinking billiard balls.

“So, do you want to discuss what you were telling me earlier at Celeste's house?” I asked.

“I have been thinking about that. I think I need to talk to my dad. I need to see how he wants to handle things with Celeste. I mean, when you think about it, we are the only family she has left now,” Josh replied, glancing over at me.

“I think that’s a good idea. You should talk to him, and find out where he stands with all of this and go from there. Just don’t mention this to your sister before you talk to your dad though, okay? God only knows what she will do. Plus Celeste has been through enough without having additional drama piled onto her by Lilly,” I told him, suppressing a mental shudder at the mere thought of Lilly pestering Celeste after everything she had already been through tonight.