by Joshua Laack
Chapter 23
After Jason, Mikayla and Andrew devoured the Chinese food they ordered, Johari pulled out a deck of cards. They discussed games to play for a minute and decided on B.S.
The game was the most fun Andrew had ever had with Jason before. Every time that either he or Mikayla lied about their cards, their hearts accelerated a little bit. Johari could hear the change and her lip would curl into just a little bit of a smile. Andrew let some of Mikayla's slide, but he didn't let Jason get away with it once. After a few games, he grumbled about it.
“How are you catching me every time? Do I have some kind of tell that I don't know about? What is it?” Andrew just shrugged.
“I can't tell you that or I wouldn't be able to tell anymore.” Then he grinned at his friend.
Andrew also managed to trick Johari, which was not easy considering her built in lie detector. Andrew lay down a pair of cards which he was telling the truth about, but as he did, he imagined how it felt when they kissed. The swirls of light within him twisted with the thought and Andrew's heart rate accelerated.
Since he had been calling all of Jason's lies, she called this one on Andrew right away. The expression on her face when Andrew turned the cards over to show the right ones was priceless.
“How in the world? I could have sworn you were lying.” He grinned as she picked up the pile of cards and added them to her own.
“I guess you can't read me as well as you thought.” She frowned at him, still confused.
The afternoon passed into evening as they went from cards to watching a comedy movie on the big flat screen in the living room. Before the movie started, she pressed some button on the wall and all the windows darkened to limit the setting sun in the room.
Andrew sort of saw the movie, but was more focused on the cool form that was fitted to his side the entire time. Jason kept glancing at the space between him and Mikayla on the couch. When he glanced up, Andrew lifted his own arm that was around Johari and nodded at his friend. Jason hesitated for a moment and then slipped his arm around Mikayla to rest his hand on her shoulder. She looked at him as if surprised, but slid over and pulled his arm around to hold her even closer. Andrew saw her glance his way and then she mouthed, thank you, at him. He smiled at her and then went back to being lost in his own world that sat beside him.
Before they knew it, the movie was done. As it came to a close, Andrew pulled out his phone to check the time. It was just after ten. Normally that wouldn't even phase him, but they all had school in the morning and he was still hoping for a little more alone time with Johari. He was about to put his phone away when it buzzed in his hand and made him jump. The screen said home.
“Hello?”
“Hey Andy.”
“Oh, hey mom. What's going on?”
“Just wondering where you are. You usually don't go anywhere on Sundays.” Andrew smiled. That was true. He never felt the need to go out much on weekends before Johari.
“Sorry, I should have let you guys know. Jason, Josefina, Mikayla and I are hanging out. Just playing some cards and watching a movie. I will be home after not too long.” His mom's voice sounded pleased that he was still showing interest in Josefina and being active with friends and even life in general. Andrew had a sudden picture of telling his parents the truth about his new life and seeing how excited they were then. It was a struggle not to laugh.
“No rush sweetheart. Whenever you come home is fine.”
“Okay. Thanks mom. Talk to you later.” Andrew hung up the phone and slipped it back into his pocket. Johari was grinning. Andrew knew that she had heard the excitement in his mom's voice.
All four chatted for a little while longer and then Jason, Mikayla and Andrew got up to head out. Andrew still had to drop off Jason and Mikayla at her house where he had picked them up after church.
“Let me know anytime and we can probably drive the car again or hang out here if you guys want,” said Johari as she stood just inside the doorway. Andrew gave her a hug. More than that and he knew he would have had a hard time controlling himself in front of Jason and Mikayla. They smiled and waved from the front porch.
“Thanks Josefina. I had a great time today,” said Mikayla.
“Yeah, I appreciate you sharing your good fortune with us,” added Jason. Johari smiled at them.
“No problem guys. See you in school tomorrow.” They both nodded at her and then the doors closed as they got into Andrew's car and drove away. We were in the car for about a minute when Jason let loose.
“Wow! I mean seriously... Wow! How did she manage all of this? No one with that kind of money just lets others use it like that.” Andrew shrugged and smiled at his friends.
“I don't have all the answers to these questions yet. It still surprises me too, but I'm just glad to have her in my life.”
“I'm happy for you guys,” Jason said with a smile. He grinned at the girl who he had chosen to sit with in the backseat. “It sure is great to have the right person in your life.” Mikayla smiled back at him, then looked at Andrew.
“I'm happy for you too. I hope that you guys stay together for a long time. Andrew agreed with her, but deep down, he was wishing that the long time could be much longer than either of the other two knew was possible. Andrew wondered what it would be like to spend the next eight hundred years at her side. It was a beautiful thought, though scary as well. It was hard to imagine being with someone for even the normal length of a human life. Andrew believed that he would remain happy with her no matter how long they were together, but he knew he would never have the chance to find out.
By this point, they were in front of Mikayla's house.They said good night and hopped out of the car as Andrew headed off for home, and hopefully to see Johari for a bit before he slept. As he drove, Andrew hoped that his friend would take the courage to kiss Mikayla good night. From her words earlier, it was evident that she was feeling a bit insecure that Jason hadn't made an attempt yet. It seemed that no matter who people were, they all needed to feel the desire and connection of others. They needed to know that someone cared about them. This extended beyond mere mortals and into the realm of eternity where Johari resided. Even after so much time on this earth, she still needed to feel the love of another.
Andrew parked and walked up to his house. Inside, his parents were waiting with another steady stream of questions for him. Were they dating yet or still just friends? How much did he like her? Would she want to come to church again? Did she have a lot of family in the area? The stream of questions went on without Andrew even being able to say anything.
He stood there for several minutes under the barrage before he held up his hands.
“Hold it. How can I answer any questions if you don't let me get a word in edgewise?” Both of their mouths snapped shut at the same time. “Now, I am still not sure about the dating seriously, but I do like her quite a bit. I think she feels the same way, but only time will tell. I haven't met any of her family and I honestly don't know if she has any at all in the area. I am sure that she would like to come with us to church again. She enjoyed the service.”
The next half hour or so was filled with Andrew struggling to answer questions he didn't know the answers to or couldn't answer honestly. When his dad asked how old she was, Andrew almost choked.
“Okay guys. You are asking far too many questions and a lot of them, I don't even know the answers. Why don't we postpone this interrogation until I know a bit more about her, or at least until we are dating.” They seemed disappointed, but allowed their son to escape to his room.
She was laying on the bed and when he walked in, she was grinning up at him.
“You handled the interrogation well.” She laughed at the expression on Andrew's face.
“I didn't think they were ever going to stop.” He lay down on the bed beside her. “I get the feeling they approve of you though.” Andrew rolled his head to look at Johari. She smiled and then leaned in and kissed him. Andrew reached out and pulled her to hi
mself. She pulled back though. “What's wrong,” Andrew asked quietly, uncertain why she would pull away? She looked embarrassed, despite the fact that she didn't blush.
“I hate to say this, but your breath is terrible.” Andrew quickly leaned back.
“Sorry. I know my food is gross to you.” He jumped up. “Hold on, I will be right back.”
Andrew ran to the bathroom and reached for the mouthwash. He was about to leave it at that, but then shrugged and grabbed the toothbrush too.
He took his time scrubbing out his entire mouth. When he was done with that, he even gurgled water in case the toothpaste or mouthwash wasn't pleasant to her either. He felt better having the remnants of the food gone from his mouth. He had been hungry so he had eaten just as much as Jason and Mikayla, but the after taste when he had finished just wasn't as good as he recalled.
As Andrew walked back into the room, he stood there for a long moment, just looking at her laying there. She was staring back up at him with the small half smile on her face. Andrew tried to saunter over to the bed, but he knew it didn't turn out the way it was in his mind when she burst into quiet laughter at the attempt. Andrew was about to be embarrassed about it, but she didn't give him time. Her strong arms pulled him into the bed and her lips pressed into his. He could think of nothing else.
Some time later, after he had to stop for a real air break, not just a quick breath, Andrew lay on his bed, content with her cool form fitted against him. Life wasn't meant to be this good, was it? He sighed. He knew that it would fade someday and she would leave. How could she stay when he grew too old to be of interest to her anymore? She would find some new exploit that was more interesting. Someone who had a more exciting life or grand future.
“Why so great a sigh,” she asked, her hand tracing the contours of Andrew's chest through his shirt?
“Just thinking about the future, and it is not as pleasant as I would like.” She smacked him on the chest.
“Hey now! A future with me will not be depressing.” Andrew smiled a half smile at her, though there was sarcasm in the gesture.
“Of course not, but how long can you stay with me? Soon, I will be old and gray and I know that I won't be exciting anymore long before that point comes. Will you want to stay with me through all of that?” Her hand moved up to caress his face.
“Of course I will. I will always stay with you, no matter what.” The spark of our touch made Andrew lose concentration for a moment, but he struggled and refocused on the issue that was bothering him so much.
“But I will be old and slow, while you would still be young and as lithe as ever.” She sighed.
“It doesn't matter to me.”
“You say that now, but it will seem different when it comes.” Andrew paused before trying one last time. “It doesn't have to be that way you know.” He left the thought hanging there.
“Absolutely not! I am not going to risk your life, trying to turn you.” Her voice dropped to a whisper. “What if it didn't work? What if you died for real? I couldn't bear that.” The sadness in her quiet voice was so deep and profound. Andrew smiled at her with the biggest and happiest smile he could manage through the disappointment swirling through him.
“It's alright. We don't need to worry about it now. I am still young yet.” She nodded, but her face was still sad, lost in the past. He knew then that she had attempted it before. “Who was it?” She looked up at his face, snorted and shook her head.
“For a human, you read immortals a little too well.” Andrew grinned at her.
“Just you that we know of. I've never met any other except for your friend.” Her face became more serious.
“You are right, I did get permission to turn someone once before. It wasn't a boy though. About seventy five years ago, I befriended a young girl over in London. She was a bright girl, though she was not appreciated for that. Her family abandoned her and she lived on the streets. I took her into my house and we became the best of friends. She had so many of the qualities that we look for in members of the blood. And she was dying. She didn't even know it yet, but she had picked up a disease from her time on the streets and I could smell her body beginning to decay from it.” A tear formed in the corner of Johari's eye, but she dashed it away before it could fall. “I approached the council and asked to change her. They evaluated the information that I shared and agreed to let me try. I tried so hard to do it right, but she never woke up.” She paused for a long time. “That was the only time I ever tried and I will never do it again, unless that is the only option left.” Andrew nodded as his thoughts of changing her mind faded away. So much for him becoming blood. He took just a moment to absorb that before turning back to her.
“I'm sorry. That must have been so hard for you.” She didn't say anything, but her eyes were distant as she managed to wiggle a little bit closer to him. They just lay there for a long time in silence, which didn't bother either of them. Andrew went back to contemplating the future and she, to the past.
A knock on the door jolted both out of their reverie.
“Good night,” said my dad from the other side?
“Night.” Andrew called back. He smiled at Johari as his father's footsteps faded away down the hall. “That surprised me a little bit.” She laughed.
“Me too.”
“I need to shower. Will you be here when I get done?” She nodded and raised her head so Andrew could pull out his arm and escape the embrace. He knew it was temporary, but it felt empty not having her in his arms.
He took a change of clothes and slipped off to the bathroom. The warm water felt nice and Andrew took a moment to feel more of his darkness wash away. The more he thought about it, the more a soft tingle spread through him. When he turned off the water, he felt more clean than he ever had in his life. He smiled to himself as he pulled on his tee shirt and shorts to sleep in.
When Andrew returned to his room, Johari was still lying in the exact same place where she had been when he left. Of course she could have been doing anything though, right up to the moment that he opened the door and still have moved to that spot before he got inside. Loving an immortal with such amazing abilities did have some quirks that Andrew would have to get accustomed to. He smiled at her there. It didn't matter. He would adjust to just about anything to be with her. She sat up and patted the bed. He moved to sit down beside her, smile on his face.
“Thanks for going to church with me today. I know you don't believe yet, but it gives me hope that you are willing to try.”
“I didn't mind as much as I thought I might. It was a nice service and the people were amazing. I think a lot of my fear and aversion came from the demon within me. I still don't know how accurate the bible is, but I am willing to give it a chance.” Johari smiled at him, then her face became a little more serious.
“I can clarify that for you. The bible is a real account. Above and beyond that, I am positive that there is a Jesus of Nazareth who did all the things that the bible claims.”
“How can you possibly know that for sure,” Andrew asked, confused by her certainty?
“Simple. I know Blood who knew Him. In fact, He was fairly involved in the start of our kind. He is the creator that I mentioned when we first started talking about the origin of the Blood.” Andrew's mouth opened and closed a few times. From the moment he first knew what she was, he never in his life would have guessed that she was a Christian, nor that the Jesus in the bible was so involved in her past.
“Wow. That is a lot to take in,” Andrew finally said. Johari chuckled at him.
“You believe in humans becoming Blood and living for centuries, but the idea of a being who created us is beyond you?” She shook her head. “Don't worry about it. I have plenty of time to show you the truth.” And that was the end of their faith discussion, for the time being anyway.
They chatted a for a while about little things, but Andrew was soon struggling to keep his eyes open. He also needed to sleep so that he could function at sc
hool in the morning. He was looking forward to it a great deal. That thought made him smile. The thing that he had dreaded each morning for years was now something that he was excited for. It was amazing what his life had become in such a short time.