03| Dingle Bats

LACY

I scanned the small room. A double bed sat in the middle of the room with an oak headboard and pedestals. The bed was dressed neatly with a black and gold duvet but no throw pillows. He had floor to ceiling built in cupboards and even those were black with gold trimming. Dark black curtains hung over the windows stopping the harsh rays of the sun from protruding in. The floor boards were shinned till it could show someone's reflection but even those too were black.

Was everything in this dark stranger's life black?

He had a picture frame on the left hand side pedestal. I propped myself up on my elbows and analysed the picture.

It was him, in his black attire, with a girl. A small girl around the age of five or six. He was carrying her on his back. The girl missed two front teeth which made her smile the most angelic thing I had ever seen, paired with the deep dimples on her chubby cheeks.

Lucifer looked happy in that picture. His smile was near perfection. He just had that one tooth that seemed to slightly overlap the other but it was barely even noticeable.

I sat myself up on the bed and grabbed the picture frame gently in my hand. Without him noticing I snapped a picture of the frame with my phone. It might have been out of line considering I didn't know him but that was exactly why I took the picture. I knew someone who could get all the information I needed about him and for some reason I wanted to know every detail that made up the dark stranger that reminded me of Lucifer. Clearly, he wasn't going to answer any of my questions so I had to do a little research of my own.

It wasn't stalking, just research!

After successfully hiding my phone back into my jeans pocket I cleared my throat before I asked, "You haven't really answered any of my questions but I have one more. Who is this innocently adorable little angel?"

He turned around, his features visibly softened as he glared at the picture. The coldness in his eyes turned to warmth for a split second. He tore his gaze off the photo and placed it on me. The coldness was back. As if he were trying to shut me out. I couldn't blame him. I was a complete stranger whom he met barely an hour ago.

He shut his eyes and took in a deep breath before exhaling as slow as possible as if he had been compiling his thoughts. "She's my kid sister," he briskly replied as he took long strides toward me.

His long legs made him stand tall, intimidating and for some reason that looked sexy as hell. It was sinful, the thoughts that seemed to run through my head about a perfect stranger. I couldn't help but think of whether similar thoughts of me ran through his mind.

This boy, this man, had my brain on overdrive and just like a computer with too many apps running I was about to crash if my thoughts didn't slow down.

Gently, he gripped the frame in his hand urging me with his bottle green eyes to let go. Once again his eyes lit up with a certain kind of warmth. He smiled at the picture probably recalling the incidents that took place that day. A good memory. By the looks of things, I could tell he hardly had much of those. His large hand hovered over the frame and then with his long, slender fingers he grazed over the little girl's face.

My phone ringing disturbed the comfortable silence that Lucifer and I had just settled ourselves into. I let out a soft groan, swiping the screen to answer.

"Hey Lacy, mom said that you should stay the night at our place," my wonderful cousin said in a worrying tone.

"But why?" I had a strange feeling that I knew the reason for this sudden decision but I just couldn't figure it out.

"I'll explain when you get here." With that, the call abruptly ended.

I tucked my phone away safely and brought my attention back to Lucifer.

"You should leave," he said as he placed the frame back onto the pedestal.

"Yeah, I should. See you around Lucifer!"

I had to call up a cab because my cousin, Macy Smith, stayed all the way across town in a quiet suburban area. The drive to Macy's house gave me time to daydream about the tall, dark and handsome man I had just met.

Yes, our names rhyme. Lacy and Macy. As kids we were inseparable. Our mothers are twins and inseparable themselves. They also have rhyming names, Caroline and Coralline.

Caroline is my mother. She fell pregnant first and a month later her sister, Coralline fell pregnant. When the two of them found out that they were both expecting girls and neither of them were expecting twins they felt a bit disappointed but that was short lived when my uncle and father agreed that Macy and I could have similar names.

Both my aunt and mother did not expect to have any more kids after Macy and I. Every time we got together we were hatching some kind of mischievous plan.

My aunt really didn't have kids after that. I think Macy and I scared the need for more children right out of her. My mother, on the other hand, went ahead and had two little demon boys.

Sean and Dean. Sean being pronounced as Shawn and not Seen! People always mispronounced it and it got on Sean's last nerve. He was a bit of a temperamental maniac at times. I loved them but they were first class extortionists. Always conning me out of my last dollar.

"Did you hear what I said?" Macy snapped her fingers in front of me to gain my attention. When I arrived at her house we made ourselves comfortable on the couch as she rambled on about things that went through one ear and came out the other.

"Uh yeah, every word," what a liar I was. The only thing I've been doing was imaging Lucifer's sinfully gorgeous body shirtless.

"Oh really? What did I say?" Macy quirked a perfectly arched eyebrow at me.

A sheepishly shameful smile spread across my face and with that popcorn was flung at me for my ignorance.

"You know I'm proud of you for finally dumping Brian fucking Larson on his non existent behind. How's a guy going to walk around all pride and prejudice with no damn ass. It's not even flat! The damn thing caves inwards. I didn't even think that was possible!"

Leave it to Macy to turn this into a joke. She wasn't wrong though. Even us girls love a man with ass. Not too much ass but ass nonetheless.

"He's almost like this annoying Mr. Darcy but at least Mr. Darcy got the girl. You feel me?" Macy's eyes remained glued to the television as she kept ranting on.

Maybe it was a bad idea for us to watch Pride and Prejudice for the thousandth time. It wasn't my cup of tea but Macy seemed to enjoy it.

"Why is it that I had to stay here again?" I asked as I pulled a loose strand off blonde hair that escaped from the messy bird's nest that sat on top of her head.

"If you were listening I wouldn't have to explain this again," she grumbled. She turned to face me cross legged, placing her elbows on her knees and the palms of her hands on her cheeks.

She looked like a little innocent kid drowning in her over sized, fluffy pink pajamas and her pink and white puppy bedroom slippers.

"When Mr. I'm prudish but got no ass left you at the park he called uncle J to tell him that you called off the wedding. Uncle J is really pissed off at you so aunt Carol decided it would be best you stayed away from home."

"That dickless fool did what?" I yelled as I stood up from the couch. I had to admit, I saw something like this coming. Men like Brian never fought their own battles.

Macy brought her index finger to her lips and furrowed her perfectly arched eyebrows, "Cool it would you and sit down. Damn girl, I didn't even pour you a shot yet and you already seem so fired up."

Did I forget to mention that my mischievous cousin loved to drink her sorrows away and if she didn't have any then she would drink mine away for me? Any excuse to open up the liquor cabinet that stocked her father's most prized vintage alcohol collection.

Uncle J would be my father. Jackson Black. He made his mountain of money by becoming the best real estate agent in Cali. He was also a part time author or at least that's what he wanted people to believe.

"I'm not marrying him. Father cannot force me too. Status and wealth aren't as important as my happiness so I'm going to do what makes me happy and I could give two dingle bats what anyone has to say about it!" I protested irritatedly.

How dare Brian go running to father? Dickless fool.

"Dingle bats huh? I'm curious?" Macy wiggled her brows as her perfect lips twitched into a grin, her teeth so white that it was almost blinding with its perfection.

"It sounded good in my head, okay!" I threw the scatter cushion at her and it landed dead in her face.

She grabbed another cushion with a deadpan expression as she squinted her glistening grey eyes at me.

She took her aim. She fired. She missed.

I fell down to the floor laughing as she tackled me. She straddled my waist while repeatedly plunging the cushion into my face until all that remained were just feathers.

~~~

"Dinner was splendid dear," uncle B said wrapping his arm around his wife's waist while leaning in to kiss her on the cheek.

She flushed at his kind gesture. Her neck turned red as she batted her eyelashes, turning away from him in shame, in embarrassment.

That was what I would call pure bliss, happiness, and love. They have been married for almost twenty five years and yet the love looked as fresh as a newlywed couple. It was cute. Someday I wanted that. All I ever wanted was to be with someone who loved me for me. For someone to support me and care for me, to be loyal.

To be everything Brian wasn't.

Uncle B stood for uncle Brandon. Brandon Smith. When Macy and I were kids we were pretty lazy to call father and uncle B by their names so we stuck with the initial of their first name and the trend stuck with us ever since.

Uncle B and aunt Coral settled onto the couch. It was delightful to watch the fairly old couple act like a couple of teenagers. Aunt Coral placed her head onto her husband's chest, nuzzling into his warmth and taking in his scent.

Uncle B always smelt off old spice and I wasn't a big fan of that but if his wife loved it, and I could tell she did, then why would he care.

"Romantic, isn't it?" Macy whispered into my ear nearly startling me to death.

"Fishing dingle bats! Are you trying to kill me?"

"Yeah," she nodded placing her hands on her waist.

Shit just got serious.

"If you don't shut the fuck up about dingle bats I'm going to dig a hole in my back yard and bury you inside. Then I'm going to make my mother plant a lovely bed of blood red roses on top of your stupid decomposing body. You would make good plant food," she huffed cocking her head to the side in dismay.

I held my hand up in a surrendering motion before backing up really slow. Then I made a run for it with her hot on my heels.

"Uncle B save me, your daughter wants to kill me before I can see my twenty third birthday," I squealed.

Macy held her hands out ready to wring my neck.

"And this, ladies, is why we never had children after Macy," aunt Coral giggled with a roll of her eyes.

Macy had gotten her grey eyes from her dad. They were dark but in the light, they illuminated like a disco ball in the middle of the dance floor.

"She started it," Macy and I chimed in unison.

"Speaking of your twenty third birthday, Lacy. What do you girls plan on doing?" Uncle B asked trying to defuse our already lit bombs.

Macy and I were always ready for war. We fought, damn, we fought. But we loved each other and would fight for each other. Even if it meant giving up our life for one another.

Although aunt Coral fell pregnant a month after mother, Macy and I were born on the same day just a few hours apart. She was born a month premature but a healthy little fighter.

Apparently seeing mother in so much pain stressed aunt Coral and stress is never good for a pregnant woman. That stress induced her labour.

I was born early hours of the morning, natural birth. Mother went through eighteen hours of labour. While Macy was born around three hours later. It was an emergency surgery that had to be performed because her umbilical had been tangled around her. 

Even in her mother's womb, she was a little fighter.

I always teased her that she couldn't live without me that's why she had to be born with me. She always denied it but she knew it were true.

"Dad, do you have plans for us on that day?" Macy asked curiously.

"Why would you want to spend the day with your old man?" Uncle B asked Macy with a gleeful tone. His breathy chuckle filled the room and I heard aunt Coral sigh in appreciation.

"Because it would be far better than spending it with my old man," I breathed after a moment since Macy only rolled her eyes at the question.

He let out a deep laugh, "That would be painfully true but he wasn't always this way."

Ignoring his response I settled into the couch and got ready to watch a movie. Tonight was the Smith's family movie night and I was their special guest thanks to some special circumstances by the name of Brian Larson.

Aunt Coral and Macy fell asleep during the movie. It was the norm for them during movie night. I had actually spent most of my life in the Smith household rather than my own once I hit my teens.

The house was a small two story home with a classic white picket fence. It had three bedrooms. The master bedroom which obviously belonged to aunt Coral and uncle B which was silver and white. Macy's bedroom which happened to be too pink for my liking. It was her favorite colour after all. And lastly, the guest room which was a classic cream and white.

The house had two bathrooms. Both had a shower but only the master bathroom had a bath tub. Looking at how loving my uncle and aunt were I wouldn't be surprised if they still got it on in that tub.

They had a big kitchen downstairs, dining room and a lounge with the most comfortable recliner couch my butt had ever had the pleasure of embracing.

Aunt Coral loved to garden so they had a beautiful and big back yard full of blood red roses, orchids, and my personal favourite, Daisies.

This house was small but it was home. It felt more like home than my actual home did because the people here made me feel loved, wanted and appreciated.

"I'll carry Coral up to our room and then take Macy to hers," uncle B whispered so that he wouldn't awaken the two ladies.

If only my father was half the man uncle B were. Maybe I wouldn't resent him so much. Maybe he would off been more understanding.

"Do you want to sleep in the guest room or with Macy?" Uncle B asked pulling me out of my thoughts.

"Macy kicks like a donkey on steroids in her sleep." I couldn't help but snicker. I was afraid that one day she might just kick me into oblivion in her sleep.

Uncle B stifled down his own laugh as he said, "She got that from her mother."

Just then I remembered something important, something that only Uncle B could help me out with, "Uncle B could I discuss something with you before you go to bed, I kind of need a favour."