At first, Iris thought it was the community watch patrol car, but it stopped, and the engine was turned off. The door opened, and Calhoun climbed out of the vehicle. He wore a royal purple bulletproof vest with a 9mm Glock in a holster. His green eyes looked concerned, and a hand was on his weapon. Splashes of colour were barely discernable in the dark on his arms. “Is there something that I need to be concerned about?” Cal asked as he looked at the two men standing in her driveway and at Iris, swaying a little where she stood. The world was still somewhat of a blur, and Cal looked at her with concern shining in his eyes. Iris felt confident, but the world spun too much for her. The three men seemed to be waiting for something to happen. Her skin itched, and Iris’s hand tightened at her sides into fists. She wanted to scream at them to fuck off and leave her alone. She was not a piece of carrion for Brendon and Wynne to fight over as she belonged to them. Cal started to walk towards her as the world spun even more fiercely, and she started to feel nauseous.”I want Wynne to leave. He wants a perfect little babymaker, and I don’t even think I want to be a mom. Everything I do is wrong to him; everything I am is wrong for his family.” She whispered as Calhoun caught her.
Wynne looked shocked, and there was a little hurt on his face as she was scooped into Cal’s strong arms. He held her bridal style, and she snuggled into his chest with relief. “You heard, Wynne. She said she didn’t want you here.” Brendon said as he walked to open the gate for Calhoun. The gate slid open with a rattle, and they all heard Cocopops barking in the house. “If I can’t stay, then why are you?” “I have a set of keys, dumbfuck, and she offered me a place to stay.” Brendon retorted as he followed Cal into the yard. He turned around, gave Wynne a cocky grin and flipped him the bird. The gate was slammed shut, and Brendon could almost imagine with no small amount of glee the look of pure rage that had filtered onto Wynne’s face. Brendon heard Cal snicker as he walked down the path to the house.
Calhoun stood on the small patio with Iris in his arms, waiting for Brendon to unlock the house. “Brace yourself.” was the only warning he got from a nearly unconscious Iris as Brendon unlocked the door to have a huge brown pitbull the colour of chocolate barreling out of the house to greet her mistress. Cocopops jumped over Calhoun as he tried to edge himself into the house, almost knocking Iris from his arms. Brendon smacked his thigh twice, and Cocopops stopped and turned to go into the house where Brendon had walked in after opening the door. He motioned Calhoun to follow him up the steps and into Iris’s bedroom. Cal walked carefully, feeling every step before he stepped. The silence echoed in the house, and Brendon opened the door to let Cal in. Iris was put gently on her unmade bed and covered with a light grey fleecy blanket. Brendon finally made himself somewhat useful, removed her shoes, and looked to Cal. “I’m guessing you are on patrol?” He asked with a slight nod to the Glock at Cal’s waist. “Pretty much, I was coming past to check on Iris anyway when I saw the truck. Decided to stick around and see what happens.” Cal looked down at Iris, turned, and left the room. “You want a coffee?” “Sounds great, to be honest, but I don’t have long.”
Brendon chuckled and walked back down the steps, with Cal following closely. Brendon busied himself around the kitchen, filling the black kettle with water and switching it on. The sound of rapidly boiling water filled the kitchen, along with the clinking of teaspoons and mugs against the wooden counter. Calhoun watched Brendon closely, and both men wondered what relationship the other had with the sleeping Iris upstairs. The kettle whistled for a moment and switched off. Brendon was the first to move. He filled the mugs with boiling water and spooned sugar into them with some milk. They each took their respective mugs and stood staring at each other. Silence reigned over the entire house, and they heard owls hooting in a tree outside.
The air was pregnant with so many possibilities. Calhoun was reluctant to leave Iris with Brendon even though the other man seemed comfortable in the house and knew where everything was. He walked into the lounge, holding onto his coffee mug. He looked to the almost white nicotine-stained walls where family photos crowded the walls. Cal looked at the history of a family spanning generations. He saw Iris as a small child with her grandfather swimming in the pool in the backyard. He saw photos of her at a school dance dressed in a black ball gown and looking regal, standing next to Wynne. “It’s almost like she lives in the past.” Cal turned to see Brendon with a bottle of what looked like water in his hand. “It’s water. For some strange reason, Iris uses empty vodka bottles as water bottles.” Cal looked him up and down.
“She’s quite the character; all I see from these photos is how much she loves her family. She spent hours in my chair and rarely spoke about her life. She used to sit and watch movies on her tablet or read.” Brendon laughed and nodded. “Sounds just like her. Anything she could do to not talk about much, she will do it.” They laughed together, and Cal put his cup down. His hand had finally left his gun, and he felt more relaxed than he had when he had happened on the two men and Iris in the road. Brendon watched Cal when he walked to the stairs and went to his best friend’s room.
Seven steps felt like an eternity to Cal. He looked down, and the tiles were dusty in the corner. He turned the corner past the bathroom and saw her bedroom door, painted in an icy blue that almost matched her eyes. He opened the door and looked down at a sleeping Iris. Her hair was spread out like a beautiful purple halo around her head. Cal forced himself not to reach out his hand to brush a few strands of stay hair from her face; looking around, he found a piece of paper to tell her that Brendon was in the house and Wynne had left. He could imagine her being cocky even with a hangover in the morning. He promised to text her in the morning to check up on her. Brendon nodded to him as descended the stairs. “I’ll text Iris in the morning to ensure she is OK.” “No problem, I’ll make sure she is OK.” Cal gave the other man a slight smile and walked through the kitchen to the front door.
Brendon heard the door open and close, and he sighed in relief. He clenched his fists in anger and wanted to shake Iris awake but thought better. He yawned and shivered slightly even though the air was warm. He locked the front door and put fresh food and water in for Cocopops. He looked at the couch as he walked out of the kitchen. Sleep called him. Without hesitation, he slept on the old faded blue couch.