Have a hold on you

I was sitting on the sofa in an uncomfortable position with my hand supporting my head which slipped and woke me up. I then stood up, stretched my sore back, and walked to the kitchen, setting my mind on preparing a hot cup of coffee. Looking at the clock on the wall, I exhaled. It was already noon. The time zone bullshit was killing my routine.

I finished preparing coffee and tea, bringing them to the living room. Roy was already sitting there, massaging his forehead and cursing in a low voice."I'm glad I'm not the only one who had a shitty night." I mumbled to myself, placing the kettle and cups down.

"Shut up," he answered back, hearing me somehow. "I hate traveling."

"Don't we all? " I said with amusement, filling his cup with tea.

He looked up then down at his cup. "I'm impressed. You remembered I don't drink coffee."

"I have a good memory." I simply answered, filling my own cup with coffee, and sat down.

As on cue, the second bedroom's door flung open, hitting the wall loudly and both Roy and I looked at the one responsible with surprise."WHY DID NONE OF YOU FUCKING WAKE ME UP?!" She roared, pointing at us.

"Good morning to you too." greeted Roy with a monotone voice, bringing the cup to his lips.

"One more person who hadn't slept well." I joked doing the same.

"Answer my damn question!" She snarled.

"Why would anyone want to wake you up? You sleep like a bear... and you wake up like one," answered Roy.

"Fuck you all!" She cursed, going straight to the bathroom and I waited for her to close the door before whispering "what's up with her? She seemed fine when she went to bed."

"You're the psychologist and you're questioning me why a crazy person is acting crazy? Just ignore her as I've always done."

"I don't know. She looks upset about something."

"Don't analyze her and finish your coffee," he ordered.

We sat in silence, enjoying what was left of our calm morning - if we can call it a morning - when the bathroom door opened and Ezra stepped out fully dressed; light ripped jeans, the same white hoody, and hair loose. She went to the main door in order to leave. "Care to tell me where you're going?" asked the old man.

"None of your business." She retorted, opening the door.

"It is my business because each time you leave like this, I end up with three or four bodies to take care of." She didn't answer and only glared at him before leaving, slamming the door on her way out. "That's not going to end well," he mumbled.

"Should we go after her?" I proposed.

"Do you want to be one of those bodies I will have to take care of later?" I shook my head lightly and drank my cup, my mind still wondering about Ezra. What happened to her? She didn't look angry. She looked...sad.

"Anyway...I'm going to keep working on finding the whereabouts of those names you guys got," he announced getting back to his room.

Great. What should I do now? Just sit around? My eyes scanned the room trying to find something to do when a phone placed on a small table close to the TV caught my attention. Right...I should call my parents. What the hell should I tell them? I stood up and paced in the room, trying to make up my mind. Taking my courage in both hands, I pressed my parents' house number on the keypad and waited until I heard a click. My mother's voice resonated in my ears "Hello?"

Hearing my mother's voice, I couldn't bring myself to speak and stayed silent. "Hello?... Who's there? Is this a prank call? Hello?" She was about to hang up when I answered her. "Hey...mom."

There was a moment of silence before hearing my mother sobbing "A-Alex?... Oh my God...sniff...honey where are you?...I-I thought...we thought you were dead somewhere...sniff...sniff" she began to cry uncontrollably and I barely held myself together without joining her.

"Mom. Stop crying. I'm fine. I really am. Don't worry."

"Alex...w-what happened?...sniff...the police said you played a part in the prison-breaking...b-but I know they're lying!!!... Fucking liars!!! Those criminals kidnapped you, didn't they? Did they hurt you, baby?... Do they want money? How much? I will send it right away...sniff..."

"Mom...mom please calm down. They don't want money and I'm not kidnapped...I mean, I was but...not anymore. It's complicated."

"W-what do you mean?" she asked confused.

"That's not important right now. All I need you to know is that I'm doing fine. You don't need to worry about me."

"You...you're not coming back?"

"Of course I am mom...but not now..."

"B-but why?! If you're worried about those assholes putting you in jail, over my dead body! I'm an attorney, remember? I already sued them for badmouthing you on the media and I won't let them take you away for something you haven't done!!! Please come back..."

I got to appreciate my mother's willingness to fight for me. "Thank you mom, I know you will but...I still have some things I need to do before coming back. Okay? Tell father that I'm fine and that...I'm sorry for disappointing him. I have to go now. Bye." I hung up before she had the chance to answer back and I felt my eyes burning, tears beginning to roll down my cheeks, and I was suffocating. "Shit...what have I done?" I whispered.

"Hah...Indeed." Interjected a feminine voice and I turned around quickly to face Ezra who was standing behind me, her arms crossed.

"Since when were you standing here?!"

"Umm...for a minute or so."

"You really are a killer. I didn't even hear you sneaking up on me." I praised her, half smiling, trying to get away from her.

"Were you talking to your mother?" She asked the question I was trying to avoid and I nodded and of course, that psycho didn't get the message that I don't want to talk about it. "Okay... are you going back? She sounded like she wanted you to and that she was willing to help you."

"How the hell did you hear all this?" I asked and she shrugged "No. I'm not going back now."

"Why?"

"Because I feel like it, okay?! Why do you care?"

"I don't," She answered calmly, giving up and sitting on the sofa "Since you're not going anywhere anytime soon, care to tag along?"

"Where to? Burry your victims?" I joked, sitting next to her.

"Argghh. I don't know what Roy made you believe but this happened only once... I mean twice... and they were scumbags!" She complained. "Anyway, I found out where Anya Salvotski is."

"Wait, you mean the little girl? I thought you didn't care about her."

"I still don't care. But... you looked so miserable and boring. It wasn't fun. Now you can sleep soundly knowing that her mother got married and took her out of Romania a week ago. Luckily for us, that poor fatty didn't know about it or your plan wouldn't have worked."

"Really? That's a relief. I'm happy to hear that." I breathed out. "Did you leave like this because you wanted to find her?"

"Of course not!!! I just had a fucked up dream and was angry about it. I thought I would ask about this girl while I was out. That's all." she brushed me off.

"Thank you, Ezra. Really. You don't know how much it means to me." I thanked her, smiling. "I'm going to take a shower now. I fell asleep yesterday before I got the chance to." I told her, getting up and walking to the closet where my new clothes were. I took what I needed and then strolled back to the bathroom.

***********************************

Meanwhile...

Roy got out of his room, announcing "I got you all the information you need about those men. Try not to create a mess." he handed her a piece of paper and she took it, folded it, then put it in her pocket without looking at it.

"What's wrong with you today, sweetheart?" asked Roy, sitting next to her.

"Nothing. I just had a bad night and..." Ezra stopped talking and looked toward the bathroom door.

"...And?...what? Did you kill the prime minister?!"

She looked back at him with disbelief. "What?! No!"

"His son then?"

"No!!! I killed no one. It's just that I got some disappointing news." She started and Roy nodded, waiting for the rest. "That little girl...Salvotski's girl. I was walking down the street when I saw on TV that a woman with an eight-year-old girl died this morning in a car explosion...a few hours after Salvotski's death."

"Shit. Poor thing. They must have wanted to get rid of the woman too because she knew something. So how did your handsome doctor take the news?"

She sighed deeply and scratched her head. "I didn't tell him the truth. I told him they fled the country."

"You lied to him?" he questioned, crooking an eyebrow.

"I had no other choice. Did you see how miserable he was? Don't worry, things like this happen all the time around here. The news will die out in a few hours and he will never know."

"I'm not worried about him. I'm worried about you. Since when do you care how others feel?"

"I...I...I don't care...it's just-" she stumbled on her words.

"Ezra, I know you are a big girl and you can make your own decisions, but you shouldn't get too attached to that man."

"I'm not!!!"

"Don't try to deny it. Since I met that guy, I remarked that you treat him differently. He has a strong hold on you and the fact that he's still alive is the biggest proof. When you tried to jump on him with a knife that day and I grabbed you, I noticed that you weren't using your full strength or you would have broken free easily. You may have wanted to hurt him but you wouldn't have killed him. Now you're protecting his feelings. What do you call this?" she didn't answer and looked at the floor, frowning.

"Listen. I understand that you're still human and a woman at that. You have feelings too but you know what happens when you get too carried away in our field of work-"

"Oh shut up!!!" she interrupted "It's not what you think it is. I don't have feelings for anyone or anything!!! And since when do you care about the men I hang around with?!"

"I wouldn't have cared if it was just hanging around. I don't give a crap about the men you want to fuck. You can do the hell you want but what I'm seeing is not just about sexual attraction. You care about that guy."

"I-I don't know. He is different. Since the moment I met him, I felt like he was not like everyone. There is something intriguing about him."

"Yes. He is crazy." mocked Roy. "What a beautiful love story: the psychopath and the crazy psychologist."

"Stop the bullshit. It's nothing like this!!" She yelled, turning to face him with a furious expression.

"I'm just saying this because you already aren't mentally stable. I don't want the company of that guy to fuck you up more."

"It won't!!! Don't you have anything else to do than annoy me?!"

"Fortunately I do," he said getting up "be careful. Okay?"

"Whatever. Just fuck off." Roy shook his head in disbelief and left the apartment.

*************************************************************

Finishing my quick shower, I got out of the bathroom to see Ezra laying on the carpet, looking at the ceiling."Are you okay?" I asked, taking a seat.

"No. I'm having a shitty day."

"Can I help you with anything?" I asked.

"Yes...I need some action. Roy gave me the information about those names. One of them is still here in Romania, let's go say hi." She ordered, getting up.

"Hey!! Can't we wait for a few minutes? I'm still wet and you didn't tell me where we are going."

"Don't worry, princess. You'll dry up while walking and I never tell you where we're going. Come on. Move it." She demanded, smiling devilishly and opening the door.

We took a cab and Ezra gave him instructions for our destination. "Go to the Romanian Athenaeum."

"Isn't that a performing arts theatre?" I asked, turning to face Ezra who was chewing on a chocolate bar, no idea where she got it from.

"Wow...your intellect is surprising me." She answered with sarcasm.

"Don't tell me our next guy is a fan of art."

"Surprisingly, yes. There is an opera at the theatre in less than half an hour and he is going to be there."

"Wait... Does this mean we are going to interrogate him publically?! We are either going to get caught or get killed!!!"

"We don't have much of a choice. He is leaving the country afterward and it won't be easy to find him again, so it's the theatre or never."

"We're going to die," I whispered to myself.

A few minutes passed before Ezra asked the taxi driver to stop in front of a huge mall "așteptați aici (wait here)." She demanded in his mother tongue and stepped out of the vehicle. I followed her. "Are we going shopping?"

"Of course we are. We can't go to a place packed with European aristocrats dressed like peasants without raising suspicions." I nodded and we went into a fancy store. There, we were greeted and offered to be helped in picking our clothes, but Ezra refused and proceeded to wander around.

"Go and try those." She ordered, handing me some articles of clothing, and taking them, I noticed the price tags. "Twelve thousand dollars for a simple jacket?!?"

"Yeah...it's Prada. That's a pretty good deal." she remarked confidently.

"No, it's not. It's worth more than my monthly salary." I answered, reading the tag again. "Do you always buy clothes that expensive?"

"Alright. I'm going to feed your ego. Yes, I am a spoiled child from a very high and wealthy family. I never valued money. You were right. Happy now?" she spoke with anger, pushing the clothes harder into my chest and walking away.

"I didn't mean to offend you..." I whispered but she was already too far to hear me.

I entered the changing room and tried the clothes on. The black pants and shoes were a perfect fit and I admired this woman's sharp eyes. However, the shirt was a big challenge; It was a very fitted kind of shirt and with my manly broad fingers buttoning it, it was impossible."Obviously, it's not made for big guys like me," I mumbled, fighting with the shirt.

I gave up, afraid of ripping expensive clothing and I was about to take it off when I heard Ezra's voice calling me from behind the small room's door "Are you finished yet?"

"No. I wasn't able to button the shirt you gave me. It's too tight. I'm going to trade it for a larger one-" before I had the chance to finish my sentence, the changing room's door opened. The crazy woman shamelessly stepped in and closed the door behind her.

"W-what the hell happened to our past conversation about privacy?!? You can't just barge in like that. What if I was naked?!" I whispered-shouted at her.

"Why the hell would you be naked? It's not like you're trying underwear on." She said, laughing loudly. "Anyway, let me help you with this." reaching for the first button, she suddenly frowned and exposed my right shoulder.

"Hey!!" I objected.

"What the hell is this?" She asked while gently caressing the large scar on my right shoulder.

Feeling waves of shock through my body due to the sudden physical contact, I answered "Umm...I had this scar for most of my life. I don't remember how I ended up with it, but my parents told me I got it after falling off my bicycle when I was a kid."

"Hah...your parents have been fooling you, cupcake. It's obvious that this scar was made with a sharp tool." She announced, still caressing and investigating the same area with attention.

"It's not the fall itself that caused this. A piece of the bicycle broke and penetrated my shoulder when I fell." I clarified.

She looked up into my eyes and time stopped for a minute. Her face was a few inches away from mine and I could feel her warm breath on my lips. Her hand was still on my naked shoulder and for the first time in my life, a feeling I never had before submerged me. I've never been so scared and so attracted to a person like this. This woman had a very strong hold on me. I want to stay as far away from her as possible but also as close as I could be. I'm never myself around her. Why?

I was so absorbed by the closeness of Ezra that I didn't notice when she finished fixing my clothes and moved away, opening the door. "Your turn to help me with my clothes, handsome." She said, grinning, regaining my full focus.