molly

It started Tuesday morning with a text message from Chloe:  he's driving me fucking crazy!!!

After being friends with Izaak for six years, I know he can be a handful, so I invited her to meet me at my Manhattan office during her lunch break.  I'd just gotten in for the day, was organizing my calendar and "meditating" (AKA vaping).  My first patient wasn't for three hours, so I had time to listen to my new friend vent.

"There's no privacy.  He's on my ass about everything.  I'm so tired of working out... my whole body hurts!  You don't understand... it's awful, Molly.  I can't even fucking smoke to calm myself down and sometimes I'm tempted to just punch him in the face."

izaak's day

it's hard to sleep, thinking about what was going on with Chloe and those guys.

violet had said "you saved my life"... what did that mean?

It must have been something to do with those guys, and the gun.  I'll check it out tomorrow and see what happens.

---

I didn't sleep well, abstract dreams that I don't remember.  Like clockwork, I woke up at normal time, 5:45am.  I already had a message from Toby that he wouldn't make running group, and though I hate backing out on commitments, there's other stuff I need to take care of.

Rolling out of bed I went to make breakfast, then lift weights, then shower.  After getting dressed, I made breakfast for Chloe, going to wake her up since she didn't set an alarm last night.

She looks so peaceful while sleeping, a purely innocent angel.  No regrets covering her ass so much, but extremely ready to spank her for last night.  But first I need to figure out exactly what happened, and knowing Chloe, she won't tell me straight up.

I wake her up and give her breakfast, probing her for an answer, and as expected, she offers nothing.

I am really annoyed when I leave.  Today I drive into work since I'll be in the field.  First stop — local precinct to see what came of the arrest with those guys.

izaak's 4 hours

now is the time that usually chloe and i are 'discussing' the day.  I should be giving her swats for all those cigarettes she smoked — what a horrible habit.  what is she doing still out this late?  

Well, she's still young, still at the party age.  Hopefully strong enough to fend off violet's bad influence.  

Men will be flirting with her.  maybe she decided to go home with one of them? is that why she's ignoring my calls?

*trying to call her again but still straight to voicemail*

I don't want to be the crazy over-protective guy, but she's making this hard.  If she'd just answer her phone.

*distracts self for a little while*

Chloe's still not home?  What could she be doing?  

Remembering her past, how she fucked all of those guys, but all for good reason.  But if she's out now with violet who knows the kind of men she's flirting with?

violet's crowd isn't the same as chloe's though.  right?

*back to distracting self*

text message from molly — still nothing?

checking messages again, then responding to molly:  no.

*more distractions*

It's way too late for a young woman to be out by herself in the middle of the night.  Where is she even at anyway?  *researching dominics* what the hell?  that's the middle of a gang area!  *wastes time researching statistics about that neighborhood, getting more worked up* 

what izaak was doing

4:30pm — chloe left

4:30-5pm — izaak, toby, vanessa, and molly are still at paintball.  toby and vanessa are fighting now, molly's trying to calm them down, though she's a little worried about violet, izaak convinces the ref to let them continue playing.

5-5:30pm — more paintball, blowing off steam

5:30-6:30pm — in the car.  molly is teary-eyed but trying to stay optimistic.  lots of tension.  molly tries to play mediator but they aren't having it.  vanessa is being over dramatic and everyone notices it.  izaak stays out of it.  molly turns on music to drown out the awkwardness

6:30-7pm — vanessa asks izaak to drop her off at the train station, so he does that on the way to molly's house.  when they get there, they decide to have dinner at the paraguayan restaurant.  izaak parks the car and they go.

7-8pm — dinner, discussion of violet and what to do.  izaak weighs in that someone needs to intervene because he thinks she's doing coke, toby slightly agrees, though molly is still hesitant with fear that it'll make things worse and maybe also she's in denial.

8-8:30 — takes them back to molly's house, drives home

8:30-9:30 — shower, groom, get everything ready for tomorrow

convo between molly, toby, chloe, izaak

"So?  How bad is it?" Molly asked, eyes watery and bloodshot.

The three sets of eyes stared at me, causing my heart to pound against my ribcage.  "I... don't know.  She owes a guy money and he seemed really upset about it..."

"He's a gangbanger," said Izaak, shaking his head.  "A Central American gang.  I recognize the tattoos.  I saw that one putting his gun away when I drove up."

Molly gasped.  "Shit, she must be hanging out with Andy again."

"Yeah, I think that was his name."

"He's such a deadbeat.  Last I heard he is really in a gang now."

I shrugged.

"Did they say how much she owes?  Or what it's for?" Toby asked.

"No, but he was asking her about it all night."

"It's coke, isn't it?" Molly asked.

I didn't want to answer, glancing at Toby so that he would save me from having to rat Violet out.  "Of course it's coke," he responded.  "It always fucking is.  And probably gambling, too."  He looked up at me for confirmation then muttered something under his breath, shaking his head.  

"It's the same shit that happened before," Molly cried.  "I should've been there for her more, should've called Gabe sooner or something..."

"Hey, stop," Izaak said.  "That's not helpful.  You've done more than enough.  She's made her choices and now has to deal with the consequences."  His eyes were kind and Molly melted at his words.  Clearly it was what she needed to hear.  

"Did it seem like she owes anyone else?" Toby asked.

"I'm not sure."  

"What are we gonna do with her?" Molly asked, taking a puff off her vape pen.

Toby responded.  "It's time to call Gabe.  He's the only one who can handle her when she gets this way."

Molly nodded somberly.

gabe + chloe convo

"Chloe, my office, now!" Gabe's sharp voice didn't hide his annoyance through the intercom on my phone.  

My heart skipped a beat as I hurried to his office, closing the door behind me and bracing myself to get yelled at.  After being late and fucking up so much, I deserved it.  The lack of sleep had me struggling more than normal.

"Have a seat," my boss commanded, closing his laptop and sitting up straight, sizing me up.  I did as told, not breaking eye contact.  Gabe looked more amused than angry, half-smile with humor in his eyes.  "The next time you come in hungover, I'll have to get my rattan cane after you," he warned in a neutral tone, making it hard to decipher how serious he was.  "What's the story with Winters?"

I froze for half a second.  "It's been difficult getting in touch with him..."

better ch6 ending

We fell into our new routine:  Running each morning at sunrise with Toby and others, back-to-back showers, silent commutes together to work, then meeting again in the evening for dinner and discussion of our day.  My smoking ceased after a while, but often we found some little infraction for him to spank me over.  Then we cuddled and watched tv until it was "bedtime" and Izaak tucked me in with a kiss on the forehead.  

It was overwhelming to live the "little" fantasy that I'd idealized in my mind for so long.  Almost too good to be true.  I'd always wanted a guardian who would lead by example and enforce healthy habits.  Izaak easily slipped into that role for me.  Staying on the straight and narrow was boring but so far had kept me out of trouble.  Just a tiny part of me was starting to feel rebellious, ready to be on my own again.

Work became monotonous.  Gabe was strict but fair.  I got used to being yelled at (because I really wasn't that great at my job) and he gave me credit when it was due.  At least my past work in the service industry helped me keep my boss pleased.  I dressed as sexy as our formal office environment allowed, brought him coffee when he needed, sweet talked to angry clients until they calmed down, and weaseled our way into important events.  I'm sure that's the only reason he didn't fire me from the beginning.

saving each other (molly pov)

It was after 2am when my phone started buzzing at my side, Violet's name flashing on the screen.  My body shook with a giggle as swiped the phone on.  

"Broooooo, Mollyyyyy, I need youuuu!" 

"Of course you do.  What's up?  How can I help?"

"I need you to come pick me and Tiffany up."

With a sigh I pushed myself up from the bed, body heavy from the amount of weed I'd smoked.  "Sure, where ya at?  Did something happen?"  I had already flipped the bedroom light on and looking for sweat pants and a jacket.

"Long Island.  Andy's punk ass abandoned us out here and a cab home is too much... we blew through all the money.  But Tiffany said you can borrow her bro's car and come get us.  He wouldn't mind."

Somehow I doubted that.  "What the fuck, seriously?  I'm in no condition to drive."

"C'mon, you're fine.  It's late, there's not going to be much traffic.  What's the worst that could happen?"

"Well I could die..."

"That was a rhetorical question!  Nothing will happen!  Please, bro.  You're the only person I trust."

"What about Victor?  Or Toby?  Or literally anyone who is not high as fuck right now?"

"Fuck Toby, we're done.  And you do everything high and have years of experience driving.  Please?"  Tiffany also pleaded in the background.

ch4 insert

I grumbled at Izaak’s giddiness, but followed the next few blocks until we reached Astoria Park. I'd assumed the torture was over and we were there to enjoy the view, but much to my displeasure, my roommate led me to a handful of runners stretching in a circle. As we approached they smiled, a few of them stopping to give a fist bump or high five.  

Most of the group appeared closer to Izaak’s age than mine, a mixture of men and women, mostly middle-class boring-looking white people.  Only one stood out to me — He wore a backward baseball cap with a sticker that said, Hello, my name is:  TOBY.  In all caps and underlined, like he expects you to remember it, and he's too unconventional or conceited to write like a normal person.  He wore dark shorts and a blue zipped-up off-brand hoodie, equipped with nearly-white running shoes.  His gaze was mildly curious, somewhat judgmental and scrutinizing.  

Probably a doctor.  

“I’d like to introduce you to my flatmate.”  Izaak stepped aside and presented me to everyone.

My cheeks reddened with embarrassment. What a horrible moment to meet a half dozen strangers! My hair was a frizzy wet mess and I smelled like garlic-y onions. All I wanted was a cigarette, shower, and nap, in that order.  But I shyly waved back at the enthusiastic crowd.

chloe's first impression of toby

He wore a baseball cap with a sticker that says:  Hello, my name is:  TOBY.  In all caps, like he expects you to remember it, or he's too lazy and unconventional to write like a normal person.  He wore long dark shorts and had hairy legs, but the latest stylish running shoes and a zipped-up black Nike hoodie.  He looked at me mildly curious, somewhat judgmental, like scrutinizing.  When he got a good look at me, his gaze turned more primal, licking his lips and eyeing Izaak as if giving him a high five at scoring a hott chick.  But he kept it subtle, and when he noticed me looking at him, went serious again.

izaak/molly

My deep sleep was interrupted by a loud pounding on the front door that I tried to ignore.  "Open up!" called the familiar voice.  The buzzer sounded next, causing me to groan and push myself up from the bed.  I glanced at my phone:  9:41am.  Ugh, only 4 hours of sleep.  Why the fuck was Izaak waking me up?

Rubbing my eyes, I stumbled to the front door and swung it open, still half asleep.  Izaak stood there in a suit, much more bright-eyed and bushy-tailed than me, leaning against the door frame.  His expression was serious as he flipped out his wallet and flashed the badge.  "FBI, can I come in?"

"Really," I muttered, stepping to the side so he could pass.  "Why is the FBI visiting me so early."

Izaak tucked his wallet back inside the jacket pocket, strolling past me as I closed the door and locked the dead bolt.  "You were with Chloe last night?" he asked, turning towards me and eyebrows raising.

"You know I was, we talked about it yesterday."  I yawned and stumbled back to my room, plopping back on my bed.

He pulled out something else from his pocket which I immediately recognized as the vape pen I'd given to Chloe last night.  My eyes widened and heart skipped a beat.  All of a sudden I felt awake.

"Does this belong to you?"

"Yeah, ha, I was wondering where that went," I said, reaching for it.

"No you weren't," he replied, holding it up out of my reach.  

I plopped back down onto the bed, looking up at him with puppy eyes that I knew wouldn't work.