Runaway mummy

Paloma Williams.

"I love you," mom had told me when I was six. "And because I love you, our love will never let us be apart."

I'd held on to those words, those few glimpses of happiness that I'd gotten from what was otherwise a trying childhood, a time before he'd upped and left, before she had decided to sacrifice me for her pills and before I had decided to devote myself with the faintest of hopes that she might one remember how much she cared for me.

Those moments had faded away, nothing more than a disillusioned memory of a wonky child and as The detective's questions came, I found myself wondering if it could have happened differently.

"Paloma Williams,” detective Jim Burnes calls in his strong voice. "I assure you we'll find your mother, thank you for your co-operation."

In that moment, Sal burst through the door, it had been quite a few hours since I'd informed him about my mother's call and he looked like he'd driven all the way here.

"Sal." I say eyeing his haggard look once over. "You look like crap."

He looked worse than crap, his hair sas matted and uncombed, his eyes had dark circles underneath them and there was an unruly stubble jutting out of his chin, his demeanor radiated tiredness but I guess it came with the job of caring for her.

"I feel like crap." He groans. "What the hell are they saying Oma, has she been found?"

"No." I reply. "Give it a rest Sal, you look broken."

He begins to cry, his head placed on my shoulders as he sobs, muttering unintelligible words, I make a call to Casey and send Sal to the apartment.

"Please if anything comes up." I tell the detective. "No matter how minute please give me a call."

He nods sympathetically and I'm just about to leave when the door swings open and Orion comes breezing through.

"Paloma!" He calls and his eyes lands on me, he looks me once over and heaves a sigh of relief. "Someone posted about you being arrested, I had to come and check."

"I'm fine." I tell him. "Go home."

"You don't look fine." He says. "Were you mugged, are you ok?"

Of all the crap I had to deal with, this one had my gears spinning.

"Can I crash at your place tonight?" I ask. "I know it's not ideal since we don't really like each other but just for tonight."

He seems taken aback by the suddenness of it all.

"You know just forget I asked." I begin to rescind my words. "it's-"

"It's fine." He says. "You are my girlfriend after all."

I don't know if it's the tiredness or stress causing lack of proper brain function but I swear I almost smile at his remark.

"Come on." he leads me on out to his sleek black Cadillac. "let's go."

The drive was eerily silent and I could feel the gnawing of discomfort right up my spine as he continued to take sneaky glances at me.

"Are you going to pry or are just going to continue staring at me?"

"Would you give an appropriate answer to my questions?" He retorts.

"If it would keep the creepy stares off of me then maybe I would." I tell him.

"Fine." he says. "What were you doing at the cops."

"Why?" I ask. "Do you have a thing for Cops are you parr of some secret crime syndicate?"

I laughed at my own jokes and his eyebrows furrow in annoyance.

"Don't evade Paloma." he says. "Just answer me."

"Whatever I was doing was personal and none of your business." I reply curtly.

"Yeah" he says deflated "I knew that's what you were gonna go with."

He exhaled a silent breath and we continue the rest of the drive to his place in complete silence, he didn't even bother to look at me anymore, which I founder slightly more irritating.

I'd expected less of a home and more of a soccer themed pig sty, but I was taken aback by his apartment, I didn't really think that I'd get over how clean and proper it looked, he must have had maids doing his stuff and chores for him.

"My home is your home." He says to me. "At least for tonight, snacks are in the fridge and there's a spare room you can crash in."

"Yeah no problem." I say. "Thanks for this"

There's a hint of smile on his lips as we part ways and part of me wonders what it was all about, but I'm too exhausted to look for anything rather than a warm plush bed.

I awoke late at night, just a little after midnight to the sounds of muffled conversation and loud cries, my first thought spun towards a criminal upon investigating with a bat I found laying around I discover the noise is coming from His room.

I creak his door to see him thrashing and yelling and even though his eyes are shut tightly there are teardrops cascading down the side of his face.

"No!" He yells. "Please I'm begging you, let her go, let her go!"

His body spasms and he lets out a guttural cry just as my hands wrap around him.

"It's ok." I tell him, "shh, shh, it's nothing but a nightmare."

I reach out to touch his face just as his eyes spring open, he grabs my hands reflexively and stares deeply into my eyes.

"Y-you w-were h-having a nightmare." I stutter "I-I just wanted to help, I should go."

I felt myself turn red as I realized that there was a very semi naked Orion pressed to me, I made an attempt to extricate myself from him but his hands held me firmly in place.

"Stay." he says in a hoarse voice "I'm not doing anything, buy just please stay."

"Orion." I begin.

"Please Paloma." He says. "Just stay."

It was craziness what he expected of me, it was even crazier of me to oblige his request, his arms slowly curled around me and our bodies and heat synced together as we fell asleep in each other arms.

I awoke again, this time to sunlight streaming down my face, and something hard digging into my back and as the realization of where I was and what was actually digging into my body all semblance of sleep vanished from my body.

"Oh my God." I yell and leap out of the bed

Orion's eyes open drowsily, he seemed disoriented for awhile but as the situation dawned on him, discomfort aligns all over his features.

"We should-" he began

"Never talk about this again!" I finish for him.

He nods awkwardly and I back out of his room, I'm much in a hurry after that and although it was rude I leave without saying goodbye, I couldn't bare to face him just yet.

I am disoriented and slightly dazed, but I still managed to meet up with Casey at the Cafe and I recount all the activities of the last night to her between the sips of piping hot coffee.

I leave out the parts of Orion and the nightmare but Casey still has that look on her face.

"What?" I ask a bit confused

"I don't like this," she says "the thought of you crashing at his place, I'd have gone out to a friend of mine, you really-"

"You'd think I'd sleep well knowing that I'd kicked you out of your apartment." I say hiking my brows up, "you do enough as it is, besides I'm fine, he'd be having his eggs for breakfast if he'd pulled any stunt."

"But still-" she says, her face clearly showing that she didn't buy into my ideas

"I'm fine." I reassure her. "I'm good."

Her reply is caught in her throat and her looks reflect annoyance, she gives a lazy eye roll.

"Speak of the devil." she says simply.

I turn so loudly I almost pop an artery and there he was walking towards me looking a bit dishevelled than usual.

"I'll see what he wants." I say to Casey.

"Hey." he says to me as we meet halfway. "I came to say sorry for last night, i didn't mean to-"

"Its fine." I reply

"No it's not" he says looking uncomfortable, "and I owe you one, I'm-"

He's cut off by the ringing of my phone.

"Hello." the detective's voice comes blasting through despite the annoying music in the background.

"Oma we've found her, your mother's here with us."

I'm writing down details in a flash and I hurry back to Casey and ask that she gives this to Sal at my behest, I take a look at Orion and the plan clicks in my head.

"You just said you owe me one?" I ask. "Ready to pay it back?"

"Yeah,” he says.

"Good then get your car we're going on a little trip."