The Center (Houdini and Nurse_K)

She extended her arms and wrapped them around him slowly. She squeezed him gently, resting her face on his chest for a moment. It felt so nice to be next to his body. It felt so nice to be against him again. And then she heard Gui fussing. She let go of him in and instant and ran over to the crib. She picked him up and cooed at him, hugging him close to her chest. Within moments he was silent and sleeping against her. She turned back to Brendan and smiled. "Sorry. He always seems to know when my attention isn't on him, even when he's sleeping." she went over to the chair and sat down in it, the baby snoozing on her. "You can come in, but you really can't stay long."
 
Brendan took a deep breath when Elsa embraced him, unable to help feeling that it just seemed right to be holding her. Then, he was about to ask if he could Gui, when he fell right asleep against Elsa. "That's amazing," he whispered as she worked her magic on her infant son. He glanced over and took a seat on the end of the sofa, next to Elsa's chair. "It's okay, I won't stay long. I'm just really glad to see you," he explained. He looked at her with a little disapproval as he saw the mark on her face from the morning before, no longer covered with makeup. "Why, does he usually come home at a certain time?"
 
She shook her head and leaned back against the chair, her hand stroking up and down Gui's back rhythmically. "No, he comes back whenever he feels like it. It's a different time every day. He could be home at any moment." she looked towards the door fearfully. She had never realized that her life ebbed and flowed depending on when Carlos came home. That everything depended on him, absolutely everything. When she ate, when she went out. She closed her eyes for a moment and heaved a sigh, "Wow. He's really got a tight grip in me, doesn't he?"
 
Brendan moved over and turned to face sideways on the edge of the couch, placing a hand softly on her knee. "I just want you to be happy," he confessed. "I just remember when you had your own place, your own job, when we walked home together. At least to me, you seemed happy then. Happy with yourself, not just happy with a relationship." He searched her eyes for some emotion, some hint at how she was really feeling. To be honest, she didn't seem as miserable as he thought she might be, although he was doing his best to help her open her eyes to the way he saw things. "I just don't know if you could ever be in a place like that again... while you're here. What do you think?"
 
"I know I can't, Bren." she said resignedly, turning her head to look at him. He looked exhausted. Apparently this was taking a toll on him too. She hadn't thought about how difficult this could be for him to live with every day. "But it's not like I can just leave. He's going to try to find me if I leave without his permission. And he's not going to give me permission. You know that." she felt tears welling up in her eyes and shook her head a little to try to get them to go away. "Maybe you should go."
 
Brendan nodded sadly, knowing every word she'd said was true. He didn't want to emotionally tax her, which he knew a long argument or discussion about this would do, especially since she hadn't even been expecting to see him today. "Okay," he agreed, standing up from the sofa. "I don't want to go, but I don't want there to be a problem either," Brendan acknowledged. He rubbed her shoulder, motioning for her to stay seated so she didn't wake Gui. "I really want to think about this problem, though. There has to be some way. Do you think he'd let you go back to your apartment?"
 
She shrugged, "I don't know. I can try to talk to him about it when he comes home." she sat up slowly, shifting Gui so that he stayed asleep. She looked up at him and gave him a soft smile, "I'll call you tomorrow, okay? From my cell. I don't know when I'll be able to...but I will." it was almost funny how this was the opposite of how her life used to be. Living with Brendan or him being her man and Carlos calling her. Now she was living with Carlos and calling Brendan. "Bye," she said gently, using her unoccupied hand to touch his gently.
 
Brendan reached out and touched her hand, savoring the little gesture of affection for the few seconds it lasted. He wondered if she really wanted to move back to her apartment or if she felt some measure of safety here. She was obviously conflicted, that much was clear. "I'll see you Els. Don't forget to call this time," he reminded her with a playful smile. As he went out the door, he wondered what he would have done if Carlos had shown up. Probably gotten killed, he figured. He really wasn't prepared for that possibility. He'd have to be more prepared, he thought, if he came back again.

Carlos, meanwhile, stayed out well into the night. There were some representatives from a group in Columbia in town, and an important "import-export" deal had to be worked out, which ended up taking a long time and involved escalating tempers. When he finally showed up a little after midnight, he was exhausted, expecting to find his 'family' long since asleep.
 
Elsa spent the rest of the day thinking. The more she thought about it the more she wanted to go back to her own place. The more she wanted to be able to make decisions freely. But she was going to need money to do that and she couldn't work until Gui was old enough for day care, which wouldn't be for a long time. She had no one to help her. Living with Carlos was working out for her because he paid for everything. It was really starting to stress her out. She and the baby fell asleep pretty early, having nothing to do. Gui was upstairs in the crib and Elsa was asleep on the bed, on top of the covers. She was wearing her black tank top and panties, nothing else.
 
Carlos watched TV for an hour or so before finally coming up to bed when he was tired enough to sleep, the worries of the day sufficiently behind him to turn in for the night. He crept in the bedroom and stripped down to his boxers, sliding under the sheets and pulling the top sheet over Elsa as well. "Goodnight, sugar," he whispered, rubbing her thigh, but decided not to say anything Elsa when she stayed asleep.

The next morning, he woke first for once. He vaguely thought that Elsa had been up for some time in the middle of the night, so maybe that was why she was still sleeping. "Hey baby," he whispered after stretching out a little, the morning light dancing across the sheets and their bodies. He rubbed her back through the tank top. "I had some late business last night, mama," he whispered. "I tried to get home an' see you, but it just didn't happen."
 
Gui woke up at about 3 in the morning crying. Elsa rolled out of the bed and took care of him. He wanted to be fed again so she leaned against the door frame and held him tightly until he was finished. She changed his diaper after that and then set him back in the crib. She rolled back into the bed and was actually surprised to see Carlos' body there, fast asleep. She touched his arm lightly, feeling even more conflicted now than she had earlier.

She fell asleep again and only woke up when she heard Carlos' voice and felt him rubbing her back. Her eyes fluttered open and she gave him a half-smile. "It's okay," she whispered softly, rolling over onto her back as she tried to think of how to bridge this with him. "Carlos..." she started, staring up at the ceiling, "I don't like being alone all day. I have Gui, but I don't feel like I belong here. In your neighborhood. I don't know anyone."
 
Carlos thought about this unexpected morning topic. He liked her living with him, that much was certain. He couldn't really think of a good solution for what she was saying. "Come on, sugar," he said dismissively, running his hand along the back of her knee and thigh, and planting a kiss on the back of her neck. "What you want to do?" he asked. "I give you everything you need. A house for you and your baby, food to eat, a good time once in a while,” he added, humping up against her playfully for emphasis as he said the last part. “I hear you didn't know no one in the other neighborhood neither," he countered, not caring if she knew to what extent he had her followed around. She knew about it already, anyway. "If you don't like it here so much, what you want to be doin' all day?"
 
She huffed at him when he brought up that she didn't know anyone in her old neighborhood either. "I want to have friends," she whined, almost childishly. He was doing a lot to make her feel badly about wanting to leave him. He was right. He provided everything for her. She didn't have to worry about anything with him. She just had to screw him every once in awhile and he gave her the rest. "I want to be able to go shopping. I want to go out and grocery shop with Gui. I hate being stuck at home, but I can't go anywhere without you. I don't have a car, and I don't even know where we live."
 
It didn't make sense in the least to Carlos why she wanted to go somewhere else. The way he figured, she had it made with him. "I tried to introduce you to some of my friends at the club, but you didn't seem that interested," he reminded Elsa when she talked about friends. But what about her other requests? A lot of girls in the neighborhood walked their babies in strollers down to the store, or to the bus stop, but that was because they couldn't afford anything else. Carlos could afford it, but he didn't know if he wanted to get her a car. He didn't want her taking the bus around, either, though. "Maybe we'll get you a car sometime," he mused, more to placate her than anything else. "But 'til then, why don't we go out this morning, and I'll show you 'round the neighborhood," he offered. "Maybe then you might like it more over here after that."
 
"No, Carlos." she insisted, finally sitting up and moving away from him. "I don't speak Spanish very well. I'm the only white person in the entire neighborhood. People might be nice to me just because I'm with you, but that doesn't mean they like me. I don't belong here." she started to get visibly upset and that wasn't what she wanted. She didn't want to get hysterical or cry. She heaved a sigh and flopped back down on the bed but curled over onto her side. "Maybe I should just go back to my old apartment."
 
Carlos had been trying to be nice, but now she was just being unappreciative. "Listen," he said, his voice starting to rise a little bit. "I got to stay here. This is where my work is," he insisted. "That's how I give you and Gui what you need." He turned sideways and hopped up from the bed. "I know I told you that you could go back to your place after a while, but I don't think it would be showin' me too much thanks an' respect," he grumbled. He thought about how tough it would be to have access to regular sex with her if she lived separately, too. That was no good, he liked sex with Elsa. "I'm goin' out to see someone for a minute. Just think about it. You gonna change your mind," he concluded as he left the room.

Without getting a shower first, he pulled on a pair of long jean shorts and a white sleeveless shirt, and headed out for his errand. On the way to his car, he was waved over by a middle-aged man who lived across the street, the kind of guy who wasn't in with Carlos and his crew, but always wanted to be a bad-ass. Carlos walked over and talked to the man for a couple of minutes, becoming angrier and angrier as they kept talking. Forgetting about his errand all together, he stormed back into the house, slamming the door behind him. "Hey! Get down here," he yelled up the steps. "Leave the baby. I wanna talk to you."
 
As soon as Carlos had left the house Elsa got up and went to her phone. She dialed Brendan and listened to it ring a couple of times. Then she heard Carlos slam the front door and yell. She clicked the 'end' button just as she heard Brendan pick up, hoping that he didn't hear Carlos yelling. She stood up and left the room, walking to the top of the stairs. What was wrong with him? If he'd come up stairs he could've caught her calling Brendan, but he couldn't possibly know that she was doing that.

"What?" she asked, half concern and half irritation in her voice. She walked down the stairs slowly, seeing that he was boiling mad.
 
Brendan was at work when Elsa called, but he had his phone at the ready. He was expecting Elsa's call, and eagerly dropped what he was doing when it rang. But then nothing was there on the other end. He wondered what could have happened. (Calls didn't get dropped often in the 22nd Century). He immediately called back, but she didn't pick up.

Carlos, meanwhile, was seething by the time Elsa got down the steps. "Did you have any visitors yesterday in my house?" he shouted across the room at her once she appeared. He began approaching her ominously as he glared at her, waiting for an answer.
 
All of the color drained from Elsa's face when Carlos asked her that question. She stopped on the bottom step and gripped the railing tightly. How could he possibly know? How? She knew she shouldn't have let Brendan come over yesterday. She knew it. Carlos always found out everything. "I...I..." she stammered, swallowing hard, "Y...may...I..." she tripped over what she was trying to say, unsure of what to tell him. Should she lie? He obviously already knew. She couldn't lie. "Y-yes,"
 
Carlos growled as she stumbled over her words, knowing immediately it was true before she even finished admitting it. He took a fast step towards her, raising his hand up, before drawing it back down. Maybe it was all that asshole's fault and not Elsa's, he thought to himself. "Tell me what happened," he demanded, still angrily, but in control of his emotions somewhat. "Did he just show up? He try to force anything on you?" It looked like fire was about to start coming from his nostrils, he was fuming so badly. "Or did you invite him over to fuck him in my house?" he sneered, the fire in his eyes indicating how badly things would go for her if she dared admit that was the truth.
 
Elsa flinched visibly and closed her eyes when he raised his hand, expecting him to slap her across the face that he did sometimes. But a second passed and he didn't hit her. She opened her eyes tentatively and saw that he'd moved his hand. She nodded, "Y-yes, he just...he just showed up," this was a lie, but she knew that if she told him that Elsa herself had invited him over and told him the street address that that would make him a million times angrier. "He didn't try to force anything," she stammered, her eyes going wide when he accused her of inviting him over to fuck. "Of course not!" she yelled, "He was here for five minutes! He just wanted to talk. I told him he had to leave."
 
Carlos nodded as Elsa told him what happened, staring her right in her nervous eyes. He believed her, but he was still really angry. He couldn't wrap his mind around the fact that Brendan, Elsa's ex, had dared to show up at his house. "I'ma kill him," Carlos spat, balling his fists up tightly, before looking up at Elsa, still on the bottom step. "I believe you," he told her, his voice calmer, before taking her by surprise and slapping her hard across the cheek. "And that's why that's all you got," he growled, turning away from her. "Cause you should'a told me. If I didn't believe you, it would'a been a lot worse," he growled. "Now if he survives past today, an' you see him 'round again, you gonna tell me, right?"
 
Elsa was taken off guard by the hard slap across her cheek. Her neck twisted painfully to the side and she felt tears well up in her eyes. She wiped the tears away quickly and righted her head. "Please don't hurt him, Carlos." she begged him, not even answering his question. She didn't know if she would tell him. She didn't want him to know. She didn't want him to hurt Brendan, either. It was going to be her fault if something happened to him. Yes, Brendan had instigated coming here but she had told him the address. "Please, please!" she reached her hand out to Carlos and stepped down to ground level, "He...he was just checking on me. He didn't mean anything bad by it."
 
Carlos slapped Elsa's hand away as she tried to plead with him. He didn't want to hear any excuses. However it had transpired, they both should have known it was wrong. "He should'a known better than to come over here," Carlos lectured Elsa. He began pacing back and forth in the living room, clenching up his fists again as he furrowed his brow in thought. "So yesterday, he sneaks over here, today you wanna move back to your apartment," he said in an accusatory tone after connecting some dots in his head. Pacing back over to Elsa, he grabbed her by the wrist and twisted it around painfully, turning her whole body around. "Tell me the truth," he sneered. "There a connection between those two?"
 
Elsa cried out in pain when he twisted her wrist, stumbling around as he turned her. She whimpered and tried to pull her wrist away from him but all he had to do was yank her a bit and he could probably break her wrist. Fuck. Fuck. Carlos was figuring everything out. Anyone who said Carlos was stupid was dead wrong. Carlos was incredibly crafty, intuitive, and intelligent. "He...he just said..." she closed her eyes as she tried to deal with the immense pain he was giving her, "that maybe...I should try to be more independent."
 
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