Beast, Part Two (The Church #5)

Clothes

chapter Nine

Summer

“ It looks good,” Doc says, reapplying the dressing on my shoulder.

Maksim gives me a thumbs up over his head as if I’m doing something spectacular. This was my first time meeting the short man with the bald spot they call Doc. All my other interactions with him I’ve either been sleeping, or too drugged up to remember.

You’d think I’d be a little more concerned about how my healing is going but I can’t seem to focus on anything except my exchange with Gabriel this morning.

This morning, like every morning since I let him in my room that night, I woke up with him in the corner of my room.

I rolled out of bed and ignored him, even though his presence always makes me giddy. Walking into the bathroom, I switched on the light to do my morning routine. After washing my face and brushing my teeth, I look up to find him in the mirror watching me intently.

His gaze roamed over my bare legs causing an ache to form in the pit of my stomach. Even with an injury I miss the feeling of him pressed against my body. I’m pretty sure if he hadn’t broken up with me, I would be riding his face right now, arm bandaged up and all.

“Whose shirt are you wearing?” his deep voice brought me out of my naughty thoughts.

Glaring at his reflection in the mirror, I roll my eyes. He asked me this same question three days ago.

“I thought we already discussed that. What I do or who I do, doesn’t concern you.”

Obviously, I was being a bitch, because there was no one in this house that I would be sleeping with. But Gabriel doesn’t get to break up with me and then still act like a jealous lover.

He steps into the bathroom, his arms falling from across his chest down to his side. He stops himself, shutting his eyes, he shook his head as if he was trying to force something out of it.

He takes a few deep breaths before opening his eyes and staring at me.

“Please answer my question.”

Even though I still want to be mad and refuse him this one little request, I give in. It’s something about the desperate look on his face and him pleading for a response.

Sighing, I turn to face him, leaning my ass against the sink.

“It’s Sim’s, alright.”

His gaze narrows and his head cocks to the side. If I didn’t know any better, I would say his eyes darkened.

“It’s not his fault,” I find myself saying. “When I was brought here, I didn’t actually get a chance to pack clothes. And although I am very thankful someone purchased clothes for Gabe, I don’t feel right asking anyone to order me something. I also don’t have my debit card to order my own. So, Sim’s shirts have to do.”

All the women in the house offered to loan me clothes and they did give me bottoms, but all their shirts are a bit too snug to comfortably fit my injured arm.

He remains silent, staring at me blankly. He then turns and walks out of the bathroom and out of my room. That was four hours ago, and I haven’t seen him since.

“All done,” Doc says as he finishes replacing the bandage on my shoulder successfully pulling me out of my memory.

“How long before I can really shower?” I ask.

Although I’ve been making the quick showers and sink baths work for me since I woke up from the meds, it’s definitely time to get a thorough clean in.

Doc takes off his gloves and tosses them in the trash bin in the corner of the room.

“You are free to shower like normal.”

Feeling giddy, I do a little shimmy in celebration.

“But you still want to be careful with your movements though.”

Admittedly, it’s hard to reach certain areas with a busted shoulder, but thankfully the bullet hit my left side and not my dominate right one.

“And how long before I should be completely healed?”

Doc comes back over to the bed. He pulls three packages of gauze and a tube of ointment out of his black bag and places them down beside me.

“You have about four more weeks before you can move that arm freely again.”

Nodding, I don’t comment. Four weeks feels like a long time away, but when I realize I could have died, limited mobility is nothing.

“Do you need any more pain meds?”

I shake my head before he can finish his sentence. “No. I’m good.”

“Well, alright. I’ll see you in about two weeks. Take care, Summer.”

Doc walks out of the room leaving me and Maksim alone.

“You’ll be back to normal in no time,” Sim says, walking over to the bed.

He picks up the t-shirt I had on earlier. I continue to hold the towel up to my chest with my right arm. Carefully, Sim slides my injured arm into the sleeve of my borrowed shirt and works it over my shoulder and head before I stick my other hand into the last sleeve.

Once my shirt is back on and covering my breasts, I pull the towel out and toss it to the bed.

“Good news, right?”

“Yeah. I guess.”

He steps back, narrowing his eyes, he looks me over.

“You’ve complained for a week about needing to shower and now you don’t seem as happy?”

Being around Maksim has even further shown me how toxic my relationship with my sister is. Although he’s Gabriel’s brother, I swear he feels more like mine. He’s truly become a friend since I’ve met him. He starts every day knocking at my door to see if I need help with anything. If something is going on in the house, he always makes sure I’m included in the details. I like the women I’ve met here. They are all really nice, but Maksim is who I talk to most.

“Did Gabriel say anything to you today?”

Maksim shakes his head. “No. He stormed out the house early this morning and hasn’t been back yet. Priest asked him where he was going but he simply told him ‘Out’.”

He holds out a hand to help me down from the bed.

“I thought we couldn’t leave?”

“ You can’t leave,” he laughs. “You and all the other women. Until we figure out who is behind the excommunication order and get a hold of Corbyn, it isn’t safe for you all to be out roaming freely. From my understanding, the Church has no idea any of you exist. Except for the female that Priest is with and her twin sister. But you’re different. Corbyn knows you, so you definitely can’t leave. We should all be keeping a low profile, but Beastie, well, he seems to do what he wants.”

I kind of figured that. Most of the women here are terrified of him with the exception of Fem. However, even she is giving him a wide berth lately. Especially after that situation in the kitchen the other day. Something is off with him. I’ve seen him go dark before. There is a look in his eyes when his mother takes over. But that day the look felt different, darker, more vacant. Even his movements when he walked over to me were different. Gabriel has always been stealth and quick, but it was like he was on autopilot walking over to me.

“Can I give you some advice, big brother to little sister?” Maksim asks.

I smile and nod. He walks over to the door and holds it open for me. I make my way over to him but stop in front of him.

“Give him some time and space. I know his decision to call off the relationship hurts, but I think he needs it.”

I’m all for giving Gabriel his space, but I will never give up on him. It may make me sound crazy, but I know him. The more I back down from fighting for us the more reason he will believe that his decision was the right one. But more importantly, he needs to know he is worth the fight. Between his mother and his psycho biological father, he needs to know that I will have his back. There is nothing he can do that will make me walk away. Even though that’s what he believes.

However, I don’t tell Maksim this.

“Fine,” I say, rolling my eyes with a smile. “I’ll give him his space.”

“Good.” We walk out of the bedroom side by side.

“You know, you’re doing good at this self-appointed big brother role.”

He chuckles. “You’re a lot easier to deal with than my other siblings.”

We part ways in the hallway. Maksim heads to the gym in the basement. I head into the heart of the home. The kitchen is the hot spot for the house. There is always someone in there.

Today, Malia is here with her boyfriend with the glasses. I think his name is Lucien. Apparently, my friend is dating twin brothers. And as fine as they both are, I don’t blame her. However, I do notice that I never see them together. Usually if Lucien is with Malia, the other is nowhere in sight.

“Hey, Summer. What did the doc say?” Malia asks.

“Everything looks good.”

“That’s great,” she says. “I got grazed by a bullet a little over three months ago. I can’t imagine what it feels like to actually get shot.”

She comes over to the sink and washes her hands. I take a seat at the island.

“It’s not great, I can tell you that.”

“Fuck,” her boyfriend growls before going back to doing something on the computer.

“Is everything alright?” I ask Malia as she places ingredients down on the island to make a sandwich.

She looks over at him then back at me.

“Lucien’s frustrated because he can’t crack some type of code,” she whispers.

“Your whispering skills are very questionable, baby,” Lucien says without glancing up from his computer. “And it’s not a code, it’s an encrypted hard drive.”

When I look back at Malia she shakes her head. I’m guessing she’s as confused as I am about his explanation.

Taking the top off my water bottle, I take a sip.

“Brook, you need to lie down.” I turn to the entrance of the kitchen as Brooklyn and Hawk walk into the room.

Of all the women in the house, Brooklyn has to be the funniest. I swear whatever comes to her head comes out of her mouth. And the jabs between her and Priest have me in stitches.

Brook wobbles over to the bar stool beside me. Her round belly is poking out beneath her tank top. She’s only five months, but her stomach is more pronounced than mine was at that stage. Gabe was huge, but he was by himself in my belly, unlike Brooklyn’s situation.

“Walker, if you tell me to lay down one more time, I’m going to legit leave your ass.”

He walks up behind her and helps her climb onto the barstool. He is the most attentive man I have ever met. He’s constantly helping Brooklyn and making sure she’s safe and comfortable.

“You said your back was hurting. Something could be wrong,” he says rubbing her belly.

She rolls her eyes. “My back is hurting because you fucked me up against the washing machine ten minutes ago.”

I nearly spit out the water I just took a sip of. Malia tosses her head back and laughs. Hawk’s face turns bright red.

“No matter how grown you are, I’ll never get used to you talking about sex around me.”

Fem walks into the kitchen and marches over to the fridge. Even though she and I have known each other for five years, the woman still scares the shit out of me.

“Don’t act like the weird shit you and Priest do down in that sex room is easy to digest,” Brooklyn says to her sister.

“Wait, there’s a sex room?” I whisper to Malia. It’s the first I’ve heard of it.

“Not for you,” Priest says walking into the kitchen.

Does everyone have bionic ears in this damn family.

He goes straight to the table with Lucien and takes a seat.

“I thought you were watching The Avengers with the kids?” Fem asks leaning against the island with a water bottle in her hands.

“I was until twiddle dee and twiddle dumb walked in asking stupid ass questions.”

I’m finding out that twiddle dee and twiddle dumb are Ari and Many. Although Ari seems harmless, her boyfriend is a bit odd with that whole three voice thing. Fem says that he’s harmless. Brooklyn says he’s crazy and nobody wants to take her concerns seriously.

“About that,” I announce to the room. “Sorry about my son forcing you guys to watch Marvel all day. He kind of gets fixated on things.”

“Don’t apologize for that,” Priest says sternly.

“What grumpy father time means,” Brooklyn says getting my attention. “Is that we don’t mind watching those movies with Gabe. It beats the hell out of the shit Ari had us watching.”

“Please don’t mention it,” Malia says holding up a hand. “I’m still traumatized.” Brooklyn, Fem, and I chuckle at the face Malia makes.

“You know it’s really hard for me to focus when all of you are talking?” Lucien says glaring at all of us.

“Still no luck on Pope’s encryption,” Priest asks.

Lucien takes off his glasses and rubs his eyes. “No.”

Malia plates the sandwich she just made and takes it over to Lucien. She moves the laptop from in front of him to the side before placing the sandwich down in its place.

“Babe, I have to work,” he complains.

“Eat first. That file can wait a few minutes.”

She turns to walk away but he wraps an arm around her and pulls her into his lap. She giggles as he places kisses all over her neck and face. I smile at the interaction as I turn away.

Although my love life is in shambles, I enjoyed watching people love each other. However, being surrounded by so many loving couples does sting a little right now.

My thoughts go back to Gabriel. The look on his face this morning when I told him I was wearing Sim’s shirts stood out to me. Even though I’m mad and hurt by his decision to call it off between the two of us, I didn’t like the idea of him being upset.

Malia comes back over to the island to clean up the mess she made with the sandwich. Ms. Reese walks into the kitchen with Charlie on her hip.

“Malia, let Seth know I placed that order for him,” Ms. Reese says handing Charlie over to Fem.

“I’ll let him know,” Malia hums.

“Can ask you a question?” I lower my voice in hopes only Malia can hear.

“Sure,” she says as she reties the bread bag.

“Do Lucien and Seth get along?”

Malia quirks a brow at me.

I rush out my next words, not wanting to offend her. “I’m just asking because I never see them with you at the same time.”

She tosses her head back and laughs. I notice the others at the island join her.

“What am I missing?” I ask glancing around at their amused faces.

“Sweetie, Beast didn’t tell you? Lucien and Seth are the same person.” Brooklyn chuckles.

My jaw damn near unhinges, it opens so wide. A feather could knock me on my ass. I would have never guessed that. I mean, they are identical, but they give off two completely different vibes. Not to mention one wears glasses and the other doesn’t. Plus, the tattoos are different.

“Lucien has a split personality disorder,” Malia explains pushing her hair behind her ear. “But I assure you he’s safe and will cause no harm to you or Gabe.”

I wave off her concerns. Has she met my child’s father?

“No, no need to explain. I’m just….” I pause trying to find the right words to express my shock. “So, it’s like a two for one special?”

This time Brooklyn, Malia, and Ms. Reese howl in laughter.

“I guess I never thought about it that way,” Malia laughs.

“If you think that’s crazy, wait until you figure out Hawk’s superpower,” Brooklyn jokes.

Twenty minutes later we are all caught up in our own conversations. Ms. Reese, Malia, Brooklyn, and I are discussing their pregnancies so far. Hawk, Priest, and Fem are talking about their former Pope. Lucien interjects every now and again before going back to his laptop.

However, all conversations stop when a looming shadow falls over me. Brooklyn’s eyes widen when she looks up over my head.

“Beast, son, are you alright?” I turn around at Priest’s words and gasp.

Gabriel is covered in blood. It’s in his hair, smeared on his shirt, and on his face. My gaze rakes over his body trying to see where the blood is coming from. However, there isn’t a mark on him.

Immediately, he’s surrounded by Priest, Hawk, and Lucien. However, he's too focused on me to notice them as he stands over me.

“Gabriel, baby, where is this blood coming from?” I reach out to touch him, but he leans back. It’s then that I notice the shopping bags in his hands. There are four bags total from one of those well-known retail stores that sell everything.

He drops the bags at his feet. “Change clothes.”

“You’re bleeding. You need to—"

“Summer,” he growls my name in a way that has my heart stuttering in my chest. “Go take off his shirt.”

Before I could open my mouth, Priest spoke.

“Fem, take Summer into her room and help her change out of those clothes.”

“But—”

“It’s not his blood, Summer,” Priest reassures me.

Fem comes up beside me. “Let’s go, Summer.”

I hesitate to stand from my chair. I can't take my eyes off Gabriel, and he's staring right at me. The man is confusing. One minute you’re telling me you don’t want to be together and then the next you go out of your way to bring me clothes just so I can’t wear another man’s shirt.

I guess this shouldn’t be too unusual. He did spend five years in lock down without communication with me, but still paid every bill in my house. I think it’s just second nature for him to take care of me.

Finally, I allow Fem’s incessant tug of my arm to get me out of my seat.

“I’ll help,” Brooklyn volunteers.

“Malia, you go too,” Lucien says.

“I’ll take Charlie and put him down for his nap,” Ms. Reese adds.

Malia and Brooklyn grab the bags at my feet and carry them out of the kitchen.

As soon as we step out into the hallway, I hear Priest ask?

“Who’s blood?”

“Disciples,” Gabriel says. “Two of them. They tried to attack me after I left the store. I need you to wipe the cameras at the back of the building.”

I don’t get to hear the rest of what he says because Fem drags me back to my bedroom. Although I allowed her to lead me away, I can’t help the nagging feeling in my soul that something is wrong with Gabriel.

As soon as we enter the room, Malia lays my clothes out on the bed.

“Something is wrong with him,” I tell Fem as soon as she shuts the door.

“No shit,” Brooklyn says rubbing her belly. “He is like fucking Micheal Myers.”

“Brook,” Fem warns before turning back to me. “I think your near-death experience triggered something in him. Priest says he’s not hearing his mother’s voice anymore.”

“Wait, that should be good,” I explain as I lift Maksim’s shirt up and slide my good arm out of the arm hole. “His mother tells him to kill.”

Fem shakes her head. “No, his mother is who Beast allows to guide him while in that dark place. Notice I said guide.” She helps me pull my injured arm out of the arm hole before tossing the shirt on the bed.

“He has always had control over his mother in his head,” she goes on to explain.

Malia holds out a large black t-shirt with a well-known rock band printed on it. Fem takes the shirt from her.

“I still don’t see how her being gone is a problem.”

I’ve seen how bad it could get when Gabriel’s mother took over. I’ve witnessed it firsthand. Could there be anything worse than her?

“Priest thinks someone else is taking her place.”

“Someone like who?” The memory of the other day in the kitchen flashes back in my head. There was something different about him that day. The way he stood over me and seemed to move across the kitchen without even realizing he was moving.

“We don’t know,” Fem says helping me put my injured arm in my shirt before sliding it over my head. “But whatever it is, Beast is struggling to control it.”

Placing my good arm into the other sleeve, I was unsure how to take this information. I don’t think I’ve ever doubted his ability to fight through his mother’s voice. Even on that first night we met. Maybe that makes me na?ve. But I truly believed that he could conquer anything.

“So, you mean to tell me we’re locked in this house with a real-life jigsaw who at any moment could lose his shit and kill all of us?” Brook asks, placing her hands on her hips. “No offense, Summer. I know that’s your man and all.”

I don’t take offense to Brooklyn’s words. She doesn’t know Gabriel like I do. He would never hurt us.

“He wouldn’t do that,” I argue. “I know he looks menacing on the outside and is capable of things you couldn’t imagine. But that man is the kindest, gentlest, most loving and thoughtful man I’ve ever met.” My throat clogs up with tears just thinking about the man I’ve grown to know and love.

To some, Gabriel would be too hard around the edges. The way he communicates would drive others crazy. Not to mention his many quirks and brooding presence. To anyone else he may be too imperfect to be considered worthy, but to me he is perfection.

“Aww, baby,” Malia says walking up to me and giving me a hug. “I can tell you love him.”

I wipe my eyes as she lets me go. “I understand how you feel. Seth’s a little different. He’s more volatile and rougher around the edges than Lucien. He’s an acquired taste.”

“You got that right,” Brooklyn mumbles.

Malia only playfully rolls her eyes at her before turning back to me. “But I know the kind, loving, and protective side of Seth. I know that he adores his brothers and Priest and wouldn’t do anything to hurt them or us.”

I nod. She’s right. That’s exactly how Gabriel is. No one is calling my man a saint, but he is a good person.

“Look,” Brooklyn says coming up beside me. “I’ll just take your word for it. But if he goes all Jason Vorhees on us, I’m using you as a shield.”

Despite the topic and my tears, I laugh at her joke. At least I think it’s a joke.

“We will all be alright. There’s nothing to worry about.” Even though Fem said the words, she didn’t sound the least bit confident. But that’s okay. I had enough faith in my man for everybody.