The Consequence of loving without…

Chapter Eight, short chapter.

Chapter Eight: The Consequence of loving without…

(Chapter Eight will begin with a preface, think of this as the end of chapter Seven.)

Preface

Cellophane sat in the park resting his head on his bike and looking up at the night’s sky, after a few minutes he could hear Sepia pull up, followed by the low rumble of Diamond ’s truck. He thought about driving off again, but he had taken so many pain killers he could barely stand.  Sepia sat to his left, and Diamond  sat to his right, they both laid their heads on his shoulders.

                “So, how many did you take?” asked Sepia realizing he had not moved and inch.

His voice was scratchy from the cold autumn air as he replied lifting an empty pill bottle saying,

                “However many where in there when I got here… I think five… not sure.” His arm then dropped as if he was out of energy completely. Diamond  took the bottle out of his hand saying,

                “You have several refills left, be sure to call in for one before you go to work tomorrow.”

Cell quickly replied,

                “I am not going back there… I can’t… did Sepia tell you?”

Diamond  answered in a laugh,

                “About Throttle? Trust me, nobody needed to tell me about that it was very obvious.”

                “Not to me…” Sepia scoffed patting Cellophane’s knee.

 

This moment reminded Cellophane of before his family members died, he and the girls would get together every once in a while and just sit around talking. The euphoria of the multiple pain killers made it easier for him to forget about the previous night’s events; and for a moment he felt at peace. Like the good old days.

 

 

The Consequence of loving without…

 

Part 1 whatever happens, happens

 

Diamond  leaned back in Lithium’s recliner as they spoke. His face was devoid of color and he was in complete shock from what he had just been told. He brushed his sandy blond hair out of his face as he said,

                “How is he taking it all? Cell has always been a fighter… but he would get on a soap box every time you or I would talk about hunting… have the police gotten involved?”

Diamond  shook her head,

                “No, from what Cell told us the police will be kept at bay by the club as long as he does not go to them himself.” She then stretched in the chair.

Lithium was still in awe from what she had told him, not that he thought she was lying, though he wished she was. He stood and grabbed his keys,

                “I should go talk to him. He can’t just bury this; it will catch up to him!” He declared walking toward the door; Diamond  grabbed him by his jacket collar and said,

                “No! No! No!  Don’t do that!!” Lithium jerked himself away from her in confusion,

                “Sepia and I arranged it to where he and Throttle would be alone for a few hours. We are hoping he will tell her everything and get it off his chest.” She explained walking back to her chair.

Lithium laughed setting his keys down on a table saying,

                “Well last thing I’d want to be is a c**k-block.”

Diamond  narrowed her eyes and quickly shouted,

                “That is SO not what is happening! He won’t open up to either of us; he just tells us the basic, but never in detail. Throttle has a way of getting to him. He is not going to do that to her and vice versa…” 

Lithium laughed again as he recognized the lack of sureness in her voice. He sat back down thinking,

                ‘He has been head over heels for her for quite a while, with all of this stress there is no way he is going to keep a secret from Throttle. They really just did not think this one through…’

Diamond  was half asleep as she asked,

                “Do you think we should just tell him to tell her?”

Lithium didn’t quite know how to answer it without calling her overbearing or stupid, so he just dove right in saying,

                “You and Sepia do not control Throttle, and you do not control Cell either. Whatever is going to happen, or not happen between those two, is completely out of our hands without us becoming obvious blockades in both of their lives. I do not know Throttle well enough to say whether or not she and Cell would be a good match or even if she would be interested in him that way. But I know Cell, and I know he does truly love her unconditionally. The same way he loves both you and Sepia, though to a different extent. I am not sure if that made any sense at all.”

Diamond  nodded in agreement and drifted off into thought.

                ‘I wonder what he is doing right now…”

 

Part 2 He is in…

 

He dipped the Q-tip into the water, and gently wiped the blade down. Drops of red tinted water would drop off of the tip into the bowl of water. The blade was completely encrusted with blood. The locks where sticking together and the blade would stop halfway during a fold out. Cellophane carefully cleaned the blades, both where precious to him and he commonly referred to them as his ‘babies’.

After every sign of blood was removed from every inch of the visible blade and handle, Cellophane took the blade and handle apart to clean the blood that was messing with the locks and washers meant to open the blade quickly and keep it open. He had cleaned the blade like this many times before, but only one other time for something like this. Soon the blades where both spotless and clean, almost as if they were new. 

                Now it was time for Cellophane to sharpen the blades. He had learned from his grandfather back when he was very young and it was a process he never forgot. He slid the cold grey whet stone against the grain of the blade; a smooth constant sound could be heard. The occasional crunch of a knick in the blades edge could be heard but after several dozen motions with the stone the blade was soon even across and razor sharp. A couple of motions with a ceramic sharpener perfected the shine and edge of the blade. It was as if they were never covered in blood.

Cellophanes’ new pill bottle sat unopened on his dresser above him. He sat on the floor with a white towel in front of him, while he was done cleaning his knives, he began to clean and sharpen on of his favorite swords. Since he was a young man he had collected bladed weapons of all kinds and attempted to learn how to use them but only his knives where useful in a fight. He very well could not ever carry a sword down the street with him; but he cared about the blades he owned. They were all Carbon Steel of high grade, costing allot of money and taking allot of care. He oiled them, sharpened them and checked them commonly to ensure there was no rusting or damage.  As he dragged the sharpener against the grain of the large Dao blade a loud metal sound could be heard emanating from the blade itself, a sign he felt, of good craftsmanship.

                The blade had been a gift from his mother for his eighteenth birthday, five months before they had died. The events of the past few days made him regress to remembering the events surrounding their deaths. Running, hiding, feeling safe and then the explosion. A Christmas explosion in their dining room. Cellophane only survived because he had snuck out with B***h Bot to have dinner with her family.

As the memory of his parents’ death filled his mind he slipped on the blade and nicked his thumb, just as that happened his bedroom door opened and Throttle walked in. She sat down next to him and looked at the blade, she had never been into the whole weapon collection craze, that was Sepia and Diamond s domain, but she always liked to watch Cellophane focus and perfect his sharpening skills.

                “Your bleeding.” She said with a smile pointing out he messed up.

He chuckled a bit and put pressure on his thumb with his pointer finger, then began to sharpen again asking,

                “So, what brings you to my humble workshop today?”

She ignored his sarcastic question and picked up one of the two knives he had just cleaned. She opened it and studied it, holding it as if it were a delicate bomb that would explode at any moment.  Cellophane felt a pit in his stomach as she did this, the person he cherished most; holding the item that at the moment gave him memories of something he would dread for the remainder of his life.

                “Tony came here last night, Juicy and I were home and he said to tell you he was looking for you.” She said handing him the knife.

As he set the sword down and took the knife from her he closed it saying,

                “Did he say what he wanted? Did he tell you what happened?”

She shook her head,

                “No, Sepia did. She said that was why she made me go hang out with Juicy, she didn’t want me pestering you with questions about it. That’s bad luck by the way…”

                “Killing people?” Cellophane replied,

                “No you goof, closing a knife that you did not open. Remember? You taught me Dime and Sepia about that back when we first met.” She answered smiling.

Cellophane studied her face, her eyes her lips her cheeks. A part of him wanted so desperately to confess everything he felt and hoped to ridiculous ends that she might provide some small amount of light in such a dark time in his life.

                “Cell, I know you and I are not as close as you and Sepia, or Dime. But you know that you can always talk to me… I know I am younger that they are and you see me as a little kid but…”

                “I don’t.” Cellophane added quickly before she could finish her sentence.

She paused for a moment, and Cellophane continued.

                “You are not a little kid. You stopped being that a long time ago. You are a young woman and I respect you the same as I respect both Sepia and Diamond . You are compassionate and truthful and the only reason I do not burden you with these things is because; I am in…”Just before he could confess he could hear Hundun and Sawdust barking at someone at the door. He quickly stood and darted out of the room to answer it.  Throttle slowly followed, clueless to his true intention behind the words and accepting them as an oversized compliment.

Tony’s silhouette could be seen through the glass and Cellophane quickly opened the door. Tony jumped in surprise from seeing him. Cellophane quickly invited him in. as they walked into the living room Cellophane could see the nervous expression on Throttle’s face.

                “Cell, we need to talk about the events of two nights ago… you may want her to leave the room.” Tony spoke quietly.

                “She already knows about the shooting… and what I did, so does Sepia and Diamond . I don’t keep secrets from them…” as he spoke he felt like a horrible person realizing what an outrageous lie that was.

Tony cleared his throat and said, now in a more demanding voice,

                “Well, it would make me feel better if she left the room.” 

With a huff Throttle left the living room and went upstairs; as her door closed Tony began to speak,

                “Listen Cell… some things have come to the attention of the club and… basically we need to ensure that you can be trusted. That you have all of your loyalties to this club. My uncle wants you to become a North Texas beast Cell… and he won’t take no for an answer.”

Tony smiled as he spoke hoping to entice Cellophane to join their gang. Cellophane stared at him for a bit, and then laughed lightly shaking his head.

                “Tony, I don’t know why it is you and Mendez, and even Mario all think I am this stone cold gang banger but, that is just not who I am.  Everything that happened the other night was all impulse and luck.”  

Tony waved his hand and shook his head,

                “Cell, I am begging you. Join our club. We need you, just as much as you need us.”

Cellophane stood and said in an irritated tone,

                “What makes you think I need your club? I only took the job because it was offered, I never applied I just took it. Thanks, but no thanks. Please leave.” 

As he spoke, Tony rose from his seat, he was looking to the ground as if he where ashamed of something as he said,

                “That’s too bad Cell… Cellophane debe morir, y aquellos que lo vengaría. Or alternativamente Se convierte en uno de nosotros, y todo está bien. Si no es así, tu familia tus amigos y todos aquellos tu han tocado, morirá...”  

Before Cellophane could ask for a translation, Tony charged at him and stabbed him in the stomach with a large bowie knife. Eye’s widened in shock, Cellophane fell to the ground. Gasping for air he shouted,

                “THROTTLE! RUN!”

His eyesight then faded to black…

Author's Note

A day meant for confessing and happiness turns into a day of pain and horror.
Next chapter,
Chapter Nine: The consequence of a Kiss