Page 32 of Bazooka

A (Not So) Divine Intervention

Luz

I looked at the military base in the distance, whining internally.

Why, oh, why did I agree to this? Why did I agree to visit my ex-family home when I swore to myself that I would never go back again?

Because my father said the magic word, the only word in the world that would make me change my mind.

How did it happen? I answered a phone call from an unknown number because I was an idiot. Also, I hoped it was a call from Bazooka.

“Hello?”

A moment of hesitation on the other side told me I was going to regret this.

“Hello, son.”

I was about to hang up when he said the magic word.

“This is about Detective Bradley.”

I returned the phone to my ear.

“You have ten seconds to explain.”

“I would love to, but I can’t do it over the phone. It needs to be done in person. If you care about him, you will listen to what I have to say.”

Goddamn him.

“Is he in trouble?” I said, biting on my nail.

“I hope not. Look, I can send a chauffeur to your place. He will give you a ride here and back, but it needs to happen now.”

“Where is here?”

“Your home.”

“The place where you live is not my home.”

“Please, son. Your mother would like to see you. Do it for her at least.”

“If this is some kind of ploy—” I threatened when he cut in.

“It’s not. If you care about Detective Bradley, please come.”

I didn’t trust a word coming out of his lying mouth, but I had no other choice but to go. It was how I found myself on a dusty road that led to the Zablonsky family house, feeling like a lamb led to the slaughter.

The house was situated on the northern side of the Fort Smitsville military base, surrounded by meadows and lakes.

It came with a lovely backyard, a luscious garden, an outdoor pool, and a guest house.

It would have been a comfortable place to live if it weren’t for my father.

And my brothers. And on occasion, my mother.

As soon as I got out of the car, the front door opened, revealing a man dressed in uniform. I rolled my eyes. Of course, the soldier would be here to welcome me instead of my father. Then I saw my mother hurrying toward me with tears in her eyes.

“Mikolaj,” she said, throwing herself into my arms. “I missed you so much.”

I hugged her, reminding myself that she wasn’t all that bad. She just couldn’t stand up to my father, not that I could blame her for that. Not many people dared to contradict him, unlike yours truly.

“ Cze??, mamo ,” I murmured as she hugged me tight.

She felt small in my arms, much smaller than I could remember. She still smelled like apple pie, reminding me of my childhood—the happy parts of it that were few and far between.

“Look at you,” she said, pulling away and wiping away her tears. “You grew up. You’re not my little boy anymore.”

She changed too. I hadn’t seen her in years, and she got visibly older in the meantime. Her blond hair turned grey, but her eyes were as blue as I remembered them.

“Come with me,” she said, taking my hand in hers. “Your father is waiting for you.”

She led me into the dining room, where my father was standing by the window.

When I came in, he turned and nodded at me.

He looked different, too. He was still an intimidating man, but there was melancholy on his face I’d never seen before.

His eyes, the same color as mine, weren’t as stern as I remembered them.

Then, a movement in the corner of the room caught my eye, and I realized someone else was there.

The person in question stood up, and steely gray eyes met mine.

I tripped over a carpet, and only my mother’s hand helped me remain on my feet. Bazooka looked equally surprised to see me, so no wonder we both looked in my father’s direction.

“I apologize for misleading you both,” my father said in a solemn voice. “I knew you wouldn’t have come if I’d told you the truth.”

No shit.

“I feel responsible for the rift between you two, so I wanted to clear the air. I owe you an explanation, Mikolaj, and I wanted to do it in front of Detective Bradley. I can’t, in all conscience, let this quarrel between you go on without trying to repair the damage I’d done.”

“Conscience,” I snorted.

My father was undeterred by my comment, to little or no surprise.

“Mikolaj, I want you to know that Detective Bradley didn’t want to lie to you or keep secrets from you. He entered our agreement reluctantly, and only after I told him it was for your own safety.”

I frowned in confusion. “My safety?”

Then I heard the rest of it. The death threats he has been receiving, and how he found out that Bazooka saved me in that parking lot. How it made him realize Bazooka was the only man capable of protecting me.

When my father stopped talking, I glanced at Bazooka, who was gazing into the distance. As if he could feel my eyes on him, he looked at me, and my heart jumped to my throat. Was he even glad to see me? His face was unreadable as always, but his eyes… they kept taking me in.

“Is that all?” I said when I got no reaction out of him. “Can I go now?”

“Mikolaj, please stay for lunch,” my mother begged, taking my hand in hers. “Your friend will join us, yes?”

“ Mamo, prosz? ,” I murmured, feeling uncomfortable. “Please don’t. He doesn’t want to stay.”

My mother looked at Bazooka pleadingly.

“Please, Detective Bradley. You two can’t leave on empty stomachs after such a long drive.”

“I would be honored if you both stayed,” my father added. “I won’t join you for lunch if you don’t want me to, Mikolaj. I have some work to do, anyway. But please stay if you can, for your mother at least. Detective Bradley, can I persuade you to stay?”

Bazooka cleared his throat. “Yeah, erm… I can stay. Thank you.”

I looked at the bruised cuticle on my hand, feeling cornered. I was sure Bazooka did it out of a sense of obligation… could I not do the same?

“Okay, I’ll stay,” I grumbled finally. “We can all have lunch together. I can be civil for one meal, if everyone else can.”

And so it came to pass that Bazooka and I had lunch with my parents one hot summer day in my ex-family home.

The meal passed in silence, except for the occasional comment from my mother, who was trying to liven up the mood.

Bazooka complimented her on the food, but other than that, he remained silent.

He was sitting next to me, so I could smell him, that goddamn vanilla scent that was driving me crazy even in his absence.

I could feel his body heat despite the AC being turned on, but I wouldn’t look at him.

I was sure I would fall apart if I tried.

After lunch, we had coffee. Everyone seemed more relaxed now, as if we’d passed a test of some kind. My father and Bazooka chatted about their jobs, while my mother asked me about my friends and hobbies.

“My Mikolaj,” she said, brushing away a strand of hair from my forehead. “You have such beautiful hair, even more beautiful than when you were a boy.”

I blushed, squirming in my seat.

“Mom, don’t,” I muttered, feeling self-conscious. I glanced at Bazooka to see if he’d noticed her coddling me, only to see him suppressing a grin. The fucker.

When a young woman entered the room, all eyes turned to her. She was petite, blonde, and she had a welcoming smile on her face.

“Mikolaj, this is your brother Nolan’s fiancée, Rose.” My father made the introductions. “She’s staying with us for the summer. Rose, this is our youngest son, Mikolaj. Nolan’s baby brother.”

I tensed up because my brothers hated me. Did she hate me, too?

“Nolan and Mal couldn’t make it,” my mother said, feeling my discomfort. “They’re at combat training or whatever it’s called.”

I stood up and extended my arm for a handshake. “It’s nice to meet you, Rose.”

“Same here,” Rose said, shaking my hand energetically. “I heard so much about you.”

So, not a bigot?

“And this is…?” she said, looking at Bazooka.

“He’s my boyfriend,” I replied.

I looked at my father, daring him to speak. I said it only to provoke him and make him stop pretending to be a good father. Bazooka was silent, letting it play out. My mother bowed her head, probably because she didn’t dare say anything for fear of my father.

“My son was absent from home for far too long,” my father said, clearing his throat. “But I’m glad he’s here now with his partner.”

I blinked in shock. What? Surely, I heard him wrong, but the silence in the room said otherwise.

No, this was some kind of ploy of his. I couldn’t figure out what game he was playing, but I wanted no part of it.

This day turned out to be nothing like I expected, and I needed time to figure things out.

I stood up abruptly, needing to get out of there.

“I think it’s time for me to go,” I muttered. “Erm… thanks for the food.”

“I’ll call for the chauffeur,” my father said, glancing at Bazooka. “Or perhaps you wish to return together?”

I whined internally. Why would he say something like that?

Bazooka stood up. “Of course. I mean, if it’s okay with Luz, I’ll drive him back.”

I couldn’t refuse. I wanted to, but I couldn’t do it. Wild horses wouldn’t drag me into refusing it. So, I relented.

“Mikolaj, please come back soon,” my mother said, hugging me tight. “You will visit me again, won’t you?”

I said nothing while she gave me too many kisses before both my parents walked us to the door. Awkward goodbyes were exchanged after which Bazooka and I were on our merry way.

We drove for a while in silence, but staying silent wasn’t my strongest suit. Did I even have one?

“I didn’t mean what I said back there,” I finally blurted out.

“What?” Bazooka said without taking his eyes from the road.

“That boyfriend thing. I said it only to piss off my father.”

“I know.”

“In fact, I met someone.”

He stiffened in his seat but remained silent. I was biting my tongue to stop myself from talking when Bazooka spoke.

“I would like to apologize for keeping things from you. I would never have done it if it weren’t in your best interest. To tell you the truth, Luz, I would do it again if it kept you safe. For that, I’m not sorry.”

I kept my eyes on my lap, staring at my ruined cuticle. He wasn’t even jealous.

“I was never paid, and I would never take payment for something like that,” Bazooka added. “I think you know me well enough to believe me. I did it only because I care about you… in my own way.”

I rolled my eyes. Of course, he had to ruin it.

“Fine,” I grumbled without looking at him. “We don’t have to talk about it anymore.”

The rest of our drive passed by in silence until the bright lights of Smitsville appeared in the distance.

“So,” Bazooka drawled. “Who are you seeing?”

I frowned in confusion. “What?”

“You said you are seeing someone.”

I gulped. I didn’t want to lie. I also didn’t want to tell him I’d been crying myself to sleep since he threw me out of his apartment.

“Um, someone I met… recently,” I mumbled. “Jordan said I was spending too much time in my room, so he made me go to this bar where I met this… guy.”

Half of it was true, at least. Jordan almost made me go.

“Does this guy have a name?” Bazooka said.

He sounded strange. Maybe he was jealous. No way. A little, maybe?

“Guy,” I replied without thinking.

He gave me an incredulous look. “Your guy’s name is Guy?”

“Mm-hmm,” I hummed, looking out the window.

Idiot. I was an idiot.

Thank God, our drive was over. When Bazooka parked in front of Jordan’s building, I swallowed with difficulty. Leaving him was… God, I couldn’t make myself move. But I had to. I had to.

“Um… thanks for the ride,” I said finally. “It’s been… convenient.”

“You’re welcome.”

I felt him glancing at me, but I didn’t dare look in his direction. He didn’t seem to be in a hurry to leave either, which got me even more confused.

“Your parents seem nice,” Bazooka said. “I don’t know them well, but—”

“My father is an ass,” I cut in, feeling frustrated.

I didn’t want to talk about that. I wanted to make out.

No! Fucking stop! But he smelled good, and I kept inhaling too hard, so it was no wonder I was dizzy.

No wonder I couldn’t think. It crossed my mind to invite him to my tiny room in Jordan’s apartment.

I couldn’t do that, could I? He would never accept, anyway.

But the possibilities. He and I… in my little room.

“Do you want to come up?” I blurted out just as he said, “You can visit me sometime, if you wish.”

Wide-eyed, I looked at him, but he seemed equally confused.

“Yeah, um, okay, bye,” I mumbled, opening the door because what else was I supposed to do?

Bazooka started the car, muttering. “Yeah.”

I scrambled out of the car, and then he was gone.