Revelations (The End 5)

“Aaliyah! Looking good, girl- pale but good. Come on in,” she said as she opened the door wider.

“Mia!” Aaliyah said as she entered the house with Joel. “I love the mascara. It’s darker. Did you get a new one?”

“You know me. The guys and I robbed one of those stores downtown and found all types of expensive cosmetics. I look like the devil’s wife,” Mia said as she laughed. She was dressed as a dominatrix, and she held a bottle of beer in one hand.

The house was crowded with boys and girls just like her: dressed in black with black make-up, holding bottles of alcohol, and playing dirty. Some were smoking cigarettes. Since there were no stereos to play music, a rock band played loud music in a corner. It was a full-on party.

“These are your friends, Aaliyah? I’d ground you for a millennium if I were your dad,” Joel whispered in her ears once Mia’s back was turned.

Aaliyah chuckled, but Joel could see beyond it. Something about his joke had saddened her.

“You’ve not seen anything yet. Wait until they get drunk,” she whispered back. The place reeked of smoke and alcohol.

“How did they even get all this alcohol? I thought there was a scarcity?” Joel asked. Before he could get an answer, a guy came over and took Aaliyah’s hand.

“Aaliyah! Where have you been all this time, sexy?” he said as he landed a full kiss on her lips. Joel watched Aaliyah return the kiss. It was either she was enjoying it, or she was a good actress.

“Come on, Doug. How is she going to reply if you kiss her that way?” Mia asked as she slapped the boy’s shoulder. He pulled away from Aaliyah as he laughed.

“Don’t be jealous, Mia. I kiss you like that all the time,” he said. Turning to Aaliyah, he said, “I see you brought your old man along. I hope he likes to party.”

Aaliyah laughed as she took the bottle of beer out of Doug’s hand.

“He needed to go on a stroll. He has arthritis. We were passing this way, and so, I decided to stop by,” she said.

Joel got the clue.

“Aaliyah, I think I need to sit down. My knees are about to kill me,” he said.

Aaliyah rolled her eyes.

“Come on, dad. I told you not to bring that up here. Go find yourself a seat,” she said.

“You’re grounded once we arrive at Spain,” he said as he went and found himself a seat.

Aaliyah laughed at him and turned back to her friends. “He’s so unbelievable. Hey, there was something I really needed to tell you guys. It’s out of this world; you guys won’t believe it.”

“Really?” Mia said. “You know I love gossip.”

“Hey, how about we head to my couch,” Doug said. “I’m sure the other guys will love to hear it.”

Aaliyah smiled.

Of course. They’ll love to

???

2nd December 2021

2:26 pm

Fort Hamilton Military Base, Brooklyn, New York.

USA.

Stephen and Bucky stood some distance from the military base and watched. It looked calm. Nothing unusual went on in it. It was hard to believe there were enemies in there.

They had stopped some distance from the barracks. Stephen bent down and ruffled the hair on Tanner’s head. The dog barked at him and wagged his tail.