The Timber Effect

by Jacklyn Reynolds

  After school was over for the day, Timber would sit at a table in the middle of the courtyard and do her homework while basking in the warm serotinal sun. Unbeknownst to her, Henry would keep a watchful eye on her from his classroom window because she was alone. Then, an hour after school, Henry would meet her at the table and they would walk home together and talk about their day. Timber would tell him about her other teachers and funny things her friends said, and Henry would tell her about his students, without mentioning names of course.

  The fifth Friday afternoon of the school year, at the beginning of October, as Timber was arguing loudly with her math homework for her least favorite teacher under the sun, her sensitive ears picked up the sound of trouble. Under normal circumstances, Timber would let it be and not get involved but the girl who was shouting back at whoever she was arguing with was not even supposed to be on campus. Emily's tiny frame came into her view, followed by a guy who she knew was the junior named Josh that Emily had a crush on for a while. The problem was that Emily was not interested in a relationship; she wanted to admire from a distance.

  "Leave me alone! I do not want to go out with you," yelled Emily. "I'm in eighth grade! I don't even go to this school."

  "Come on Emily," begged Josh. "It's just a movie."

  "No," said Emily firmly.

  She saw Timber and waved as she tried to ignore the guy who was following her. Timber got to her feet and took a step towards her little cousin. Then Josh wrapped his arms around Emily and the panic on Emily's face infuriated Timber to the point of impulsiveness. She sprinted straight to Josh as fast as her legs would carry her. She darted up the steps but did not slow down until she was within arm's reach of him. Timber's right palm came in contact with the side of his face. The crack of skin contacting skin seemed to echo through the air. Vibrations of pain started in her palm and spread all the way to her fingertips. Her palm was bright red, the same red mark that matched the one on his face. Josh stared at Timber with his eyes wide as his hand made it to his red cheek. He let go of Emily and Timber pulled her away from him and put Emily protectively behind her.

  "Stay away from my cousin!" barked Timber. She should have felt some kind of remorse. But she didn't. Not one organ in her body could produce guilt for her actions.

  "Yeah, what are you going to do Timber?" mocked Josh. "You can't do anything. Everyone knows you don't fight."

  "Yeah? You're messing with my cousin. Try me."

  Josh swung at the left side of her face, but Timber was ready and dodged while pushing Emily out of the way. She was not ready for the second swing that followed. Timber had never been punched by anyone before, so she was incredibly surprised at the pain that blazed up through her as his fist connected with the side of her head. She went down but caught herself with her hands before her head hit the ground. She was dazed for a second but she got back up on her feet and continued to shield her cousin. She knew where the weak points on the body were so she shoved her fists into his lower ribs using her legs for momentum. He was forced back up a step as his breath was momentarily seized but he shook it off and advanced again. Suddenly she heard Emily shouting from behind her.

  "Henry! HELP!"

  She made the mistake of turning away from her opponent to see Henry sprinting through the hallway with a look of unmistakable fury on his usually mild face. Taking advantage of her lack of attention, Josh threw his body weight behind the fist that edged closer to her face. It hit her jaw with such force that blood pooled into her mouth. Pain erupted from the point of impact as she was sent spinning. The last thing she heard as she went down was Emily screaming hysterically. The side of her head smashed hard on the light gray concrete and Timber was half knocked out as her limp body tumbled down the steps.

  She woke up with a start in her living room when she heard the front door slam shut. Timber's eyes flew open and bright afternoon sun made her squint for a moment but her eyes were able to adjust. It took her a minute to realize that she was tucked under the light green patchwork throw blanket on the couch, but she didn't know how she got there. She could remember the feeling of being carried, and the sound of Emily squeaking but she could not figure out who carried her. Worried voices could be heard from the kitchen and it sounded as though Chad and Grace were both coming into the house.

  "We left as soon as you called Henry," said Grace frantically. "There's blood on your arm! Heavens! Are they alright?"

  "They're both fine," Henry reassured them. "I carried Timber home which is where the blood came from. Emily was badly shaken after seeing Timber get knocked out and fall down the steps but she fell asleep five minutes ago in the recliner. I hope you don't mind but I made her some lavender tea. Timber is on the couch. She's still out."

  "That's fine. Tea helps Emily to sleep. So what happened?" asked Chad.

  "Emily wanted to surprise Timber and pick her up and walk home with us but she ran into some boy named Josh. He wouldn't leave her alone and Timber got involved. She hit him and pulled Emily away. I ran out before she got knocked out. Timber technically started the fight but she was only trying to protect Emily."

  "What happened to that kid Josh?" asked Chad.

  "I just got off the phone with the school administrators about five minutes ago," explained Henry. "They suspended Josh for the rest of the week since this is his first offense and he was drinking. Unfortunately, Timber will have to be punished too because she was the one that technically started it. I was able to pull a few strings. Timber only swung once to protect her cousin so they gave her three days of after school detention. She'll spend them with me so it's not going to be much of a punishment since we spend time together anyway."

  "Thank you so much, Henry! I don't know how to thank you enough."

  Timber could tell that her aunt was going to become hysterical at any time. She thought it would be best to get up off of the couch and let them know she was awake. She threw the blanket off and sat up, and then she stood and wobbled a little. Her head was spinning so fast her vision went blurry. She tripped over her own foot when she tried to take a step and fell over to the floor with a dull thud. Chad, Grace, and Henry came running into the room to see the source of the noise and Grace hurried over to her when she saw Timber awake and laying on the floor.

  "You're up, thank goodness!" cried Grace. "Are you alright, Honey?" Grace helped Timber up to a sitting position.

  "I'm a little sore," said Timber, rubbing her face in the place where she was hit. "I got hit on the jaw. It still hurts. So does my head. My ears are ringing too."

  "Chad, can you please get my medical kit?" said Grace.

  "What for?" asked Timber.

  "I want to make sure your eardrum is fine," said Grace. "If you're talkin' without a lot of pain your jaw is alright but it looks like your ear was bleedin'. Are you feelin' nauseated at all?"

  "Not too much."

  Chad came back a few minutes later with a white box and gave it to Grace. She opened it and pulled out an otoscope. Timber took out her pearl studs and set them in her jeans pocket. Grace looked inside Timber's ear and muttered angrily to herself. Then she grabbed a cotton swab and cleared dry blood out of Timber's ear.

  "I don't see any damage to the eardrum," said Grace sounding relieved. Timber saw Henry's face mimic her aunt's tone of voice. "You've got a nasty cut on your head but it doesn't look too deep. I need to clean it and bandage it up for the night. You do have a mild concussion. You will be fine if you don't get up and walk for a few hours. I know you don't like it but to make it up to you, and Emily, you can have whatever fast food you want for dinner. Henry, would you like to join us?"

  "I don't have much money right now," said Henry hesitantly. "I'll eat at home."

  "Nonsense," said Grace. "We're buyin'."

  "You rescued our girls," said Chad. "Please let us buy you dinner."

  Henry sighed but grinned. "I can see I'm overruled. Alright, I'll stay."

  "Oh here, give me your shirt," said Grace. "The soon
er it gets washed the easier the blood will come out. You can borrow one of Chad's shirts in the meantime."

  Henry reluctantly unbuttoned his shirt, took it off, and put on the faded black t-shirt Grace had been kind enough to provide him with. He handed his shirt to Grace and she folded it over her arm and then walked over to Emily and kissed her nose. Emily stirred a little and opened her brown eyes. The first person she saw was Timber and her eyes got round with panic and excitement. She jumped up with a yell and threw herself at her cousin, sobbing profusely into Timber's shoulder.

  "Thank you. I'm so sorry! I didn't - I'm so happy you're okay! Henry was furious after you went down. He yelled at Josh like crazy until Josh started wailing like a baby! I thought Henry was going to hit him. Then he carried you all the way home and tucked you in on the couch. He was so worried about you I thought he was going to cry! He cleaned up the blood on your face from your ear and your head and your jaw...." Emily gasped. "Is it alright? Are you alright? Is anything broken? Do you need to go to the hospital?"

  "I'm fine, Em. Just a small concussion but Aunt Grace said I'm fine otherwise. I promise I am," said Timber, holding her cousin tightly. Then she looked up at Henry over Emily's shoulder. "You really did all of that for me?"

  "You're my best friend, Timber," said Henry gently. "I care about you."

  As Timber looked up into Henry's hazel eyes, something happened that made the room fall still and silent. For the first time in eight long years, Timber let her guard down and a single teardrop fell from her eyes and rolled slowly down her warm, flushed cheeks.

  Emily stared at her in complete shock and so did Chad and Grace, but Timber could only look at Henry's eyes. Timber felt his eyes burning into her with an expression she had never seen. It was piercing her soul with a warmth Timber had not felt before but she liked it. She got up and tried to walk over to him but she only managed to take a few shaky steps before she wobbled and fell. Henry lunged forward and caught her before she hit the ground too hard. Henry sat down and positioned her so his leg was resting under her knees. She looked up at him and at that moment, Timber forgot about everyone else in the room. She could only see the man in front of her and she did not want to look away.

  She bit her bottom lip to keep it from trembling. She was taking in everything from the way his long sandy colored hair was combed back, to his strong masculine scent. As his eyes locked on to hers, Timber lost all control over everything. Every guard she had, every wall she had built to protect herself crashed down around her like shattered glass. She flung her arms around his neck and let go of every emotion she had held on to and pushed down deep for eight years. She cried into his shoulder while he sat in shock looking at Emily for help. Emily got up from her seat on the couch and grabbed Henry's hands. She guided them so he had wrapped his arms around Timber and told him to hold her tightly. He pulled Timber in closer and rested his head in the crook of her neck. Emily smiled and then went upstairs. Chad went into the front room and Grace went to put Henry's shirt in the washing machine, leaving Timber alone with Henry.

  When Timber stopped crying, she remained still for a moment as she was overwhelmed with the feeling of warmth and security that Timber knew was a result of being held by Henry. After a moment, she looked up at Henry. She wiped her eyes and cheeks, and then looked at the floor.

  "I'm sorry, Henry," said Timber feeling ashamed of her outburst. "I don't know what happened. I - I don't cry. I don't."

  "Timber look at me," said Henry encouraging her to look up by putting his fingers under her chin and lifting her face until her eyes met his. "Don't ever apologize to me for showing your emotions. Do you remember what I told you during our first walk to school?"

  "Asking for help is not a weakness," said Timber, unsure of where he was going with this.

  "Showing emotions doesn't make you weak either," said Henry softly. "Don't be afraid to cry. If you don't feel like you can where you are, come and find me. I'll be there for you." Henry gently wiped her tears with his thumb but his eyes never left hers. "Your emotions are part of you and they're part of what makes you beautiful."

  "You - you think I'm b-beautiful?" stuttered Timber. She was very taken aback by his words. Other than Chad, not one man ever told her she was beautiful and the impact of his words was profound to Timber.

  "Yes, I do," said Henry. "I, like you, possess the inability to lie so I have to be honest with you. I've thought you were beautiful from the night I met you."

  "But - well, look at me," she said, gesturing to her larger figure. "I'm not exactly supermodel material here. But you... You're flat-out gorgeous." Then she smiled at him. "The woman who you marry will be very lucky."

  Henry's face fell a little.

  "Actually, I can't get married," said Henry, though he was clearly unhappy about it. "I have a - condition. It's rather serious and I cannot ask someone to go through that kind of life on my account."

  "I completely understand that," said Timber with a knowing smile. "I have my own problem. They will never admit it but it gave Aunt Grace and Uncle Chad quite a bit of grief in the past."

  Henry looked at her sadly but whatever his thought was, it was interrupted by the loud growl of Timber's stomach. Their eyes locked and they burst into sudden laughter. Grace came back into the room to find Timber still sitting comfortably in Henry's arms and the pair of them smiling at each other. Chad and Emily followed Grace into the room but neither Timber nor Henry noticed anyone else until Grace spoke.

  "Timber, Honey, was that your stomach?" asked Grace.

  "Yes, and it wants a cheeseburger," said Timber looking at Grace with a grin.

  "Well, Emily wants pizza from the Pizza Factory," said Grace. "Is that alright? I would rather not drive all over town."

  "Sounds good to me," said Timber. Henry let go of Timber and got to his feet and went to sit down in the recliner. Timber followed suit and wobbled over to the couch, collapsing into it with a heavy sigh. "Can you get the Timberwolf Special?"

  "Ok, who's going with me?" asked Grace. "I can't carry it all myself you know."

  "I'll go," said Timber.

  "Oh, no you're not," said Grace sternly. "You're stayin' here and restin' until you can walk without fallin' over."

  "I'll go with you, Mama," volunteered Emily.

  "Okay. We'll be back in about thirty minutes," said Grace.

  She and Emily walked out of the front door. A moment after they left Chad came into the living room looking serious and rather business-like. Timber had the feeling he had been deliberately waiting for his wife to leave.

  "Henry, I would like a word with you in the kitchen," he said.

  Looking confused, Henry got to his feet and followed Chad. Feeling curious about what her uncle wanted to talk to Henry about, Timber climbed on the couch, got into a better eavesdropping position and stayed still so she could hear better.

  "First, I want to thank you for saving my girls today," said Chad. "That being said, I want to talk to you about Timber. She's seventeen years old and she's never been in any sort of relationship with a boy before. I know I'm not her father but I love her like she's my daughter. I know you care about her and she obviously cares about you, but I want to make it clear that you are, under no circumstances, to enter into a relationship with Timber that is beyond what you have now."

  Timber heard him take a deep breath.

  "I don't see any harm in you walking her to school and walking her home and I don't mind you coming over every night. To be quite honest, I like having you here. But I do not want the two of you involved in a romantic relationship until Timber is eighteen. If you were closer to her age, I wouldn't mind so much but six years is a little much for me at this point and I know Grace feels the same. Have I made myself clear?"

  "Yes," said Henry.

  "I trust you, Henry," said Chad. "I'm asking you not to give me a reason to change my mind."

  "I understand," said Henry. "With all due respect, I have no intention of entering into
any sort of romantic relationship with Timber or anyone else at this point. I do care deeply about Timber and I do find her extremely beautiful, but I lack the ability to be in a proper relationship."

  "I like you, Henry," said Chad. "I appreciate your honesty. I am just trying to look out for Timber. Grace and I made a promise to her parents that we would look after her if something happened to them and I want to keep that promise."

  Timber heard them coming back and she began to look for the remote control for the television. She found it under her white bell sleeve just as Henry came back into the room. He sat back in the recliner and got comfortable. Chad stood there for a moment but then turned and headed upstairs.

  "What did my uncle want?" asked Timber. Of course, she heard the conversation but she wanted to hear it from Henry.

  "He wanted to make sure I won't hurt you," said Henry.

  "You won't, will you?" asked Timber.

  Henry looked her straight in the eyes and said, "No. I will never ever hurt you." Timber smiled broadly at him.

  "So what do you like to watch?" asked Timber.

  "I'm afraid I'm rather boring," said Henry. "I like documentaries and historically based movies."

  "Me too," said Timber with a smile. "I like history and nature documentaries; specifically documentaries on animals. Wolves are an animal I know a lot about."

  Henry choked a little but recovered quickly. "We can watch whatever you want."

  Timber scrolled through the channels and stopped when she found a documentary on the Legend of Haven. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Henry shift uncomfortably in his seat and stare determinedly at the screen. Half of Timber's suspicions were confirmed at that moment. Henry at least knew of Haven otherwise, he would not have had such an uneasy reaction. Not wanting to make him uncomfortable, Timber kept scrolling until she found a volcano documentary.