Dictator s Daughter (6 page)

“Well, sure. I mean, it has its own flaws,
but for the most part it’s a good system.”

“I have studied your government for some time
now. It’s very intriguing to me that your people have a say and can
voice their opinions without fearing for their lives.”

“Yeah, I can’t imagine what it would be like
to live under a dictatorship. It must be awful.”

“You have no idea.”

“No, I don’t suppose I do.” Sean figured the
conversation would be over because this was about as far as any of
their conversations had gone.

He was pleasantly surprised when Eli
continued.

“Well, imagine only having a couple of
choices of beverages only because Victor Rawlings doesn’t like the
others. Basically, we’re forced to like the same things as him. The
news reports are approved by him, the television shows are chosen
by him, even the radio songs are picked by him. No one can voice
their opinion without the danger of disappearing the next day. But
I think the worst part about living under an iron thumb is having
friends and family members disappear, never to be seen again. It’s
one thing to know for certain they are dead, but when they only
disappear it’s harder to cope with. That’s why I wondered who you
have helped; maybe it’s someone I know. It would be wonderful to
discover they’re alive.” Eli turned his head forward again and
looked at the ceiling and Sean lay stunned.

“As much as I would like to tell you about
crossers I’ve met, I cannot. You should understand this better than
anyone. Crossers usually use a false name to protect their
identity. Sometimes they wear disguises to alter their looks, but
all the same, it’s in an effort to escape their former lives and
stay alive.”

“You think I am doing that?”

“It wouldn’t matter to me if you were, but
that’s not the point. The point is, I could tell you about our
crossers, but you probably wouldn’t even recognize anyone because
the person I was presented with doesn’t exist. I deal with fake
names and altered physical appearances. The real person underneath
is someone I never get to know.”
Like you,
he thought.

“I guess I knew that already. It was silly of
me to ask.”

“Well, Eli, would you want me telling future
crossers about you?”

“No, I wouldn’t. But then again, I won’t give
you anything to tell,”

“Just like everyone else, and that’s OK. My
role here isn’t to be angry you have deceived me, but to help you
make a transition into a new life. If you feel like you need to
hide everything about yourself in a self-preservation effort, I
will help you.”

“That’s what I pay you for.”

“But don’t think for a second I don’t wonder
about your life or about your family you left, or why there was an
order to have you killed,”

“There wasn’t an order to have me killed,”
Eli interrupted.

Sean was shocked to hear this surprising
revelation. “There wasn’t?”

“No.”

“Usually, crossers have a death order out on
them.”

“Well, I’m not your usual crosser.”

“Yeah, I’m beginning to realize that. Let’s
get some shut-eye.”

Sean rolled on his side so his back faced
Eli. He wasn’t tired at all, instead, he was in utter disbelief
about what Eli had just revealed. Never had they housed a crosser
who didn’t have a death warrant. What could this mean? What made
Eli so ‘hot’? Maybe he’s a spy. Probably not, but all the same,
Sean would be watching him closely for the next little while. And
to think as Sean was making his way up to bed a little earlier, he
was worried how to handle the earlier incident of Eli staring at
him out the window.

Eliwese rolled over and lay staring at Sean’s
back. Their conversation had gone a lot further than she’d wanted
it to. Talking to Sean had such a fluid feel, it made it hard to
stop; plus he was so easy on the eyes. Even though he was a mere
shadowed silhouette, she envisioned his muscular body and had the
overwhelming urge to reach out to him. She was glad he didn’t bring
up her gawking from earlier in the day.

The next morning after Eli was situated
following breakfast, Sean slipped into his surveillance room just
off his bedroom. Both he and Lyndee had full length mirrors on
their walls which were actually two-way viewers similar to an
interrogation room at a police department. On the other side of the
mirror was a small space with monitors, recording devices and a
computer. Access to Sean’s dark room was obtained through the linen
closet near his door.

As Sean observed Eli, he also perused the
daily newspaper for clues; once again, nothing worthy of noting.
Eli’s questions from the night before and the lack of attention to
his disappearance almost cemented Sean’s spy theory, but not
quite.

Sara entered the dark room and whispered to
Sean, “Are you going to do errands today or shall I get Ryan to do
them?”

“Better ask Ryan. I need to watch Eli
today.”

“How come?”

“I don’t know. My gut says to. There are
some...wait,” Sean had a thought, “what do you know about Eli,
Mom”

“Not as much as you think I do. Your father
is quite tight-lipped about this one.”

“Can you tell me anything?”

“No, I’m afraid not, son. Follow your
instincts.”

Sean nodded feeling a little disappointed she
couldn’t or possibly wouldn’t tell him anything more.

Hours went by of watching Eli basically do
nothing. Around lunch time Ryan came into the dark room. “So,
what’s the story with your crosser?” he asked in a low voice.

“I don’t know, get out,” Sean answered.

“What do you mean you don’t know? You always
get to the bottom of these things. So, why do you think Eli ran?”
Ryan asked with a wicked kind of smile across his face.

“You know, there is a reason you aren’t privy
to sensitive information.”

“Oh come on, I can keep a secret.”

“Even if I knew, I wouldn’t tell you.”

“Why not?”

“What do you care, anyway? I thought you
hated everything about this family business.”

“I do, but a good mystery is always
stimulating. This is the first time we’ve taken in a new crosser
without P.I.’s combing the neighborhood.”

“Get out, Ryan, and go do your job. Find Eli
a name and a home.”

“Who says I haven’t already?”

All Sean had to do was tilt his head slightly
to the side and throw a nasty glare in Ryan’s direction. Ryan knew
he wasn’t going to be fooling his older brother, so he got up and
headed to the door grunting obscenities.

Everything seemed to quiet down over the next
few days. Sean hadn’t had any more strange moments with either
Chandra or Eli; nothing to make him feel wary or nervous. He had
even spent the whole evening in Chandra’s company deciding on the
mundane wedding details only a woman could possibly care about. If
Sean had his way, they’d elope.

He went back in the house after walking her
to her car and entered the kitchen. His mother was stirring some
hot cocoa by the sink.

“How was your evening with Chandra?”

“Fine.”

“She seemed a little out of sorts tonight,
don’t you think?”

“Oh, I don’t know. I didn’t notice
anything.”

“Well, this cocoa is for Eli. Will you take
it up to her?” Sara asked Sean.

“Him,” he corrected her.

“What?”

“You said ‘her’; Eli’s a 'him'.”

“Did I say that? Oh, I must have still been
thinking about Chandra,” Sara stumbled over her words.

Sean made himself a cup also and took the two
up to his room. He found Eli sitting on the couch with a light
blanket wrapped around his shoulders and leaning back, all
comfortable-like. When Sean entered the room, Eli sat upright
quickly.

“Oh, I thought your mother was bringing the
cocoa,” Eli said.

“Sorry, would you rather have her do it?”

“No, of course not, I figured you were still
with your fiancée.”

Sean handed him the cup and he sat down at
the table with his. Sean’s mind wandered to Chandra and the
wedding. He wasn’t crazy about all the details like she was. He
sipped his hot drink for a little while and then Eli spoke up.

“It’s nice of Chandra to let you feel a part
of the decision making process for your wedding.”

“What do you mean?”

“From what I heard, she made sure you felt
like you were a part of it all, even though she basically made all
those decisions herself.”

“We made those decisions together. How do you
know, anyway? Were you spying on us?”

“I didn’t need to; her voice could permeate a
solid lead wall.”

“I don’t know what you are talking about, and
what do you mean she made me feel I was a part of it?”

Eli did his best impression of Chandra which,
Sean thought, was pretty darn good for a boy, and at the same time,
insanely disturbing. “Sean, honey, are you sure we want daisies?
Wouldn’t you think roses would be more appropriate for a wedding? A
rose symbolizes love, and aren’t we in love?” Eli’s voice turned
into Sean’s.
“Well, I guess roses would be better, but I really
like daisies.”
“But daisies are so...so... childish.”
“Childish? I think they are simplistic in nature and I would
think the fact they are white would make them ideal for a
wedding.”
“Oh Sean honey, you misunderstood me. Daisies are
adorable. If you really want the color white, we’ll get white roses
for the main bouquets and daisies for the flower girls.”
“Well,
alright.”

Eli went back to his normal voice. “Don’t you
see what she did? She manipulated you into thinking she
compromised. She wanted roses and she got roses. Your daisies will
be there too, but, at the most, maybe ten flowers.”

“So what?! So she got her way, it’s her
wedding. Guys don’t really care about these things.” Sean brought
his cocoa mug down to the table top abruptly causing the liquid to
splash out.

“Well, it seemed to me you really cared about
having daisies, and by the way, it’s your wedding also.”

“I don’t think...why do you...you know what,
I’m going to take a shower. Do you need anything before I do?” Sean
asked gruffly.

Eli shook his head.

Sean got up and went into the bathroom and
closed the door. Once he’d climbed in the shower and had water
sprinkling over his head, he thought about the daisies. He decided
he would put his foot down and demand an even amount of roses and
daisies, which would be a real compromise. His thoughts turned to
Eli. What was his deal? Why did he even care if Chandra manipulated
him? How did a young man understand so much about relationships and
compromise?

He finished his shower and dried off with a
towel. He wrapped it around his waist and walked out into the
bedroom, quietly. Eli was lying on his back, asleep on the bed.
Sean walked over to his dresser to get a pair of boxers and tank
top. He dropped his towel and stepped into his boxers and put on
his top. As he turned to pick up his towel, he thought he saw Eli
close his eyes. Sean walked back into the bathroom, thinking to
himself,
was Eli just watching me change?
It hit Sean like a
ton of bricks;
Eli must be gay.

Sean’s state of mind demanded he get to the
bottom of this right now. He walked over to the bed and sat down
cross legged, facing Eli. The room was dark, but Sean could see Eli
enough to know his eyes were open.

“Eli, I need to ask you something.”

Eli didn’t say anything.

“Are you…do you…I mean…are you,” Oh, this was
not going well. “Do you prefer men?” Sean spit it out quickly.

“Are you asking me if I’m gay?”

“Well, yes, I am.”

Eli chuckled but reassured Sean, “I’m not
gay.”

“Why is this funny to you?”

“I never thought I would be asked that
question.”

“Well, I don’t know how to explain your
behavior in any other way.”

“What behavior do you mean?” Eli asked
innocently.

“Well, you look at my body and that’s a
little weird for me. You have an incredible amount of interest in
my personal life with Chandra, and you are quick to give me tidbits
of advice I didn’t ask for.”

“Well, somebody needs to.”

“Why do you feel that way?”

“She treats you like crap.” Eli got up from
the bed and started limping toward the bathroom.

“Why would you care how anyone treats
me?”

Eli turned around, stopping dead in his
tracks. He opened his mouth, but no words came out. He started
pacing back and forth in the bedroom and took a deep breath, “No
one in a serious relationship should ever be treated like a
doormat. No person should feel like they have the right to belittle
the person they supposedly love, or elevate themselves above the
other. When Chandra says,
‘Oh sweetie you misunderstood me,
’
what she’s actually thinking is,
‘oops, I pushed you too far
that time. I haven’t beaten down your self-esteem enough yet.’
She proceeds to rephrase her otherwise rude comment to be that of
sweetness and gentleness. She plays with your mind until you don’t
know which way is up, and then she makes you feel like an idiot for
ever thinking she was being rude. And you sucker for it, every
time, and apologize to
her
.” Eli stopped pacing and looked
at Sean who was looking directly at him.

Eli was out of breath and probably red in the
face, but it was too dark for Sean to see. “Eli... wow... I don’t
know what to say.” He didn’t know what to think. He paused for a
moment looking back at Eli, and added, “You didn’t answer my
question.”

“What question?”

“Why would you care about how anyone treats
me?”

Eli looked away from Sean and walked over to
the window. Without looking at Sean, Eli said quietly, “Because you
are a good person and you deserve better.”