Sinners & Saints (Sinners & Saints #1) (27 page)

“Thank God, I thought I was the only
one,” Jordana says.

“I see more than stars. I see the
future…” We snicker at Poppy’s vision.

“And what does the future behold,
Poppy?” Jordana asks amused.

“Hearts are breaking… They’re breaking
all over.” We all are quiet and I don’t know about them, but I’m noticing the
seriousness in her voice. “All over hearts will break… They are already
breaking now, but soon there will be nothing left. I see love too. It’s at
reach… but like we can’t really see it or maybe we do and I see truth. Truth
needs to be told. It does or… or we’re gonna die guys.”

Silence is among us and I feel a chill
coming across me.

“Obviously Poppy smoked too much,” Hugo
finally says, but he’s probably as creeped out as us.

“Poppy,” I say, wondering.

“Yeah?”

“Do you mean the people in the world?”

“No… I mean us.”

“Okay, that’s enough of psychic
hotline,” Jordana says sitting up.

“I-I see mazes,” August says,
squinting.

“August didn’t smoke, did he?” Cody
asks nervously.

“No, you dumbass,” Hugo answers.

I sit up and fold my arms over my
knees. “August sees mazes all the time, isn’t that right?”

“Yeah.” He smiles to himself still
staring at the sky. “Everyone is connected on an intricate path. The more life
they go through, the more intricate it gets. I-I-it’s the basics of life, I
think. God made it that way. He made it intricate. He makes everything. Just
like he made me be born backwards.” He sits up and looks my way, but no eye
contact. “I was born backwards, you know?”

“Nothing wrong with that,” I tell him.

“I know. I’ve come to be alright with
the way I am. The way I am does not define the man I am. The man we are, right
Hugo?”

Hugo looks my way before answering.
“Yes.”

“I got a secret for August,” I say. “I
think a lot of us were born backwards.”

“I so agree with that,” says Jordana.

Everyone sits up now. Ms. Eleanor takes
a hit of the hookah. She exhales and looks at all of us. “I would like to tell
you children a story.”

“I love your stories!” Poppy claps and
crosses her legs facing her.

We all do. August rocks back and forth
with his legs crossed picking at the rug. I smile and without thinking rub his
head. He pauses and I can see Hugo’s eyes go from nervous to shock and I wonder
why. Oh, that’s why. I guess August doesn’t have a problem with me combing my
fingers through his hair because he continues going back to what he was doing.
I pull my hand away, but he grabs it and places it back on top of his head. I
smile to myself as he lays his head on my lap and I continue. I look at Hugo
who seems annoyed by this. Shocker there.

“I have not been at my best today,
children,” she says standing up and laying on the lounge chair. “Today marks
the anniversary.”

“Of what?” Cody asks.

“The night I met the only person I’ve
ever truly loved.”

“What about the six husbands?”

“I cared deeply, but never have I ever
been able to relive the spark I had with Lorenzo.”

“Let me guess… he was Spanish,” Jordana
says before taking a hit of the hookah.

Ms. Eleanor smiled to herself. “He was
from a beautiful city in Spain. A Coruna, it was called. I was twenty-two and
engaged to my first husband. I did not love him, but my mother insisted. She
groomed me to find a suitable wealthy gentleman. We were poor. I was depended
on to give us a better life. I did not love John Morrow. He was a sweetheart to
bring me to Spain, but as he conducted business, I fell in love with Lorenzo
who was twenty-four at the time. A fisherman he was. He worked for his father
on this boat that barely stayed afloat, but it was enough for him. Everything
was enough for him
—
even I. A
young naïve girl who dreamed of colorful things. Two weeks of sex, passion, and
love. I loved him with everything I had. He wanted me to stay with him.”

“Why didn’t you?” I ask.

“Why don’t we ever choose the ones we
love, my dear?” she sadly smiles. “Fear. It doesn’t matter what it is. Fear
always has something to do with it. We are afraid to love so strongly because
we can be broken so easily. We do not want to get hurt; that is the human way.
Some are afraid of just being loved. Some afraid of trusting others. Some
afraid of standing up to their parents. That was me. I was afraid to stand up
to my mother. She wanted the rich and I suppose deep down so did I at one
point, but Lorenzo would’ve been worth it. I, on the other hand, just did not
have the clout. Clout is the word my mother always used to refer to what women
had. Never using the term power, just clout. She wanted to be unique.”

“What happened to him?” Poppy asks.

Ms. Eleanor’s eyes begin to swell. She
covers her trembling mouth with her hand before answering. “After my second
marriage, I went back to Spain to that same city in hopes of finding him.”

“Did you?” I ask as she lets her hand
fall to her chest.

“Yes, I did.” She sadly smiles. “He was
married with two beautiful children. They were sailing and I was on the dock
watching. I saw how happy he was and I envied that happiness. It could have
been me. He saw me, I think. I couldn’t stay to see if so because I knew I had to
leave. I was too late.”

“Well, that’s a sad story,” Poppy says
wiping away her tears.

Ms. Eleanor reaches for Poppy and
caresses a cheek. “Don’t cry, child. A story is only as good as the middle.
Never the ending. But I do suggest you all learn from it.”

“What?” Hugo, of course. “That we
should marry poor fishermen instead of getting sucked into loveless marriages?
Too late for most of us,” he deadpans.

Ms. Eleanor’s smile grows wide. “No… to
not let fear oppress. Even the ones that think they are free of it… still get
sucked in by it.”

I look at Hugo who is looking down now.
Ms. Eleanor takes another hit. Hell, we all do.

“Let us now continue staring at the
stars.” She says and we lay back down in our rightful places. I continue
brushing August’s hair as he lays beside me and I can’t help but to look over
his head and into Hugo’s eyes. Eyes that are staring back at me. High as I am,
I believe I truly see the ocean now in them.

HUGO

I wake up the same time she does. Her
blue eyes drive me wild with passion and most wouldn’t know of that feeling. I
have never known this feeling. We all passed out. It’s still dark outside and
my brother is sleeping between us in the fetal position. Her lips curl up.
Careful not to wake the rest, she quietly sits up and heads inside. I don’t
even wait to talk myself out of it. I stand up and follow her.

“Where are you going?” I ask once in
the stairway.

“My room. I want to sleep in my own
bed,” she says still walking and I still follow her. “You’re following me.”

“I am,” I say flatly.

“You’re high.”

“I am. So are you.”

“Massively.”

We get to her room and she faces me as
she stands close to her bed.

“We’re not shagging,” she says smiling,
her eyes hazy.

I close the door behind me. “I know.”

“Then why did you just close my door?”

I don’t answer until I’m within reach
of her. “I want to fuck you.”

Her eyes broaden and she starts to
laugh hysterically. “Well, I am pretty fuckable.” She shakes her head. “Why did
you just say that?”

“Substances usually increase our hunger
for things… no matter what the consequences.”

“Only you would still keep this sullen
attitude even when you’re high. Nevertheless, you are correct. So… you want to
fuck me, not a shocker there and… what else?”

“You annoy me.”

“You are so fucked up.”

“Yes, I am and you annoy me, but it’s
time for me to get my revenge.”

She crosses her arms, still smiling.
“And how are you going to do that?”

“And when you’re alone… there’s a very
good chance you’ll meet things that scare you right out of your pants. There
are some, down the road between hither and yon, that can scare you so much you
won’t want to go on.”

She narrows her eyes and points her
index finger at me. She opens her mouth then closes it back up. “Wa- Wait. Was
that… a quote? Who the bloody hell is that? I should… I should know that. No,”
she starts to laugh.

I wait a moment before answering. “Dr.
Seuss.”

Her eyes broaden. “You bloody bastard!
I
should know Dr. Suess.” She stomps her
foot still smiling, but feeling painfully defeated. “How come I don’t know him?
I love Dr. Suess.”

“Hell if I know, but it was either him
or Tupac and something tells me you know a lot of Tupac too.”

“Oh definitely, Tupac was a genius.
Have you ever read the book about him? It was so good. You think they’ll ever
do a film?”

“Juliet…Shut up,” I say adamantly. “I
believe I am owed your submission.”

I step closer and she steps back. “Hold
on, Mr. Grey.”

“Oh God, please don’t tell me you’re a
fan of that atrocity.”

“Those books are very entertaining.
People have their heads so far up their arses they can’t enjoy something fun.
No they’re not masterful literature, but who cares? Problem with the world is
that we take ourselves too seriously. ”

“Anyway… Lie down on the floor.”

She looks around. “This floor?” she
points down. “Why not the bed?”

I shrug. “No special reason. I just
want you to lie on the floor.”

She grinds her teeth frowning.
“Remember no sex, not even oral. Don’t even think about it.”

“You mean no oral for me or no oral for
you?”

She arches her brow, smirking.
“Definitely none for you, but feel free to explore.”

“I plan on it. Now floor.”

She bites her lip, trying not to smile.
She’s trying to hold back her excitement. She does what I say, lying on the floor.
She has on a long polka dotted skirt, which works for me. I get on my knees
beside her. I lower myself and rest on my arm. Taking my other hand, I trail my
fingers across her bottom lip. Then across her jaw line. Then her neck and
cleavage. I trail them over her crop top until they get to her bare stomach.
She snickers.

“It tickled,” she says trying to keep a
straight face.

“Close your eyes,” I whisper. Her skirt
buttons in the front. I unbutton the top three. Slowly as I slide my fingers
down, her breathing increases. I pause just to tease her. She licks her lips,
her eyes still closed shut. I run my fingers across her panties. She lets out a
light gasp.

I’m going to gain back the upper hand.
Everyone tells me I like her and that I’m acting different. I can’t have that,
so why not make her go crazy over me?

I slip my hand under her panties and
begin gently rubbing. “Open your eyes,” I command. She does slowly. I reach
farther and her lips part, staring at me. A light gasp exhales out of her
mouth. She licks her lips as I sink deep inside her with one finger then after
the first moan, two. I watch as her eyes broaden and her mouth is wide. She
stares into my eyes with wonder and hunger. Her eyes so blue. She moans louder
as I go deeper and begin rubbing her gently with my thumb. She holds tight to
my arm, still staring at me, refusing to close her eyes or even look away. I
think I made a mistake. I think I made a
huge
mistake. I keep going and she slides her fingers up and combs through my hair,
holding on to the back of my head. She pulls me down, pressing my forehead
against hers. My breathing is going rapid. I go faster. This has
fucking
backfired on me. She’s supposed
to go crazy, but I’m the one. I’m the one going crazy watching her. I like to
watch her… a lot. My heart feels like it’s going to bust and I can’t breathe. I
should stop this, but I don’t want to. I want her to come. I want her to come
to a blink of existence. I want to be her oblivion and in return she would be
mine and that is the problem. She comes and never once does she look away or
even blinks. She digs her fingers into my scalp as she comes hard. Still
doesn’t close her eyes as I slowly remove my hand. I don’t look away. I keep
looking into her eyes.

Stop Hugo
.
Look away
.

I can’t. I press my hand on her cheek
as she smiles at me.

“Was it as good for you as it was for
me?” she asks, smirking.

She has no idea. Then again, maybe she
does. I start to frown. I’m angry at her for doing this to me. I’m so
infuriated. She stops smiling and her eyes seem apologetic. She knows exactly
what she has done. I’m so hard. I’m so pissed. I’m so… I want her so bad. She
leans up and presses her lips on mine. I try to pull away, but she pulls me
back until I give in. My tongue dives into her mouth and my hand seeps through
her shirt, grabbing hold of her breast. I feel her hand rub against my behind.
I completely cover her with my body and start to kiss down her neck and the top
of her breasts. I hike up her skirt and place my hands on the waist of her
underwear.