by L. L. Ash
“Not freaking helping your case,” I glared at him. “You better not have been wooing or bedding anyone in the past month or I swear I’ll...”
“Never,” he breathed, his expression suddenly serious and innocent. “Not anyone but you.”
“Fine,” I huffed, the fight flooding out of me. “So can we please go back to normal? I miss you, Clee. I want you in my life, and I want to be a part of yours.”
He scooted off the chair and landed on his knees in front of me with absolute grace.
“If you will have me, I would want it no other way. Though I still don’t understand why you would want me.”
“Well it’s not ONLY because of your sweet ass.”
He grinned.
“That’s what Genie calls it, by the way. Your butt has its own name.”
He chuckled and took my hands, kissing the backs of them.
“I don’t care what you call me or my backside, as long as you love me.”
“Of course I do. Would a girl as hot as me have waited for you if I didn’t?”
It had been a joke, but his face sobered instantly.
“I suppose not. I’m an extremely fortunate man.”
“It was a joke.”
“It was the truth,” he insisted.
We waited there in silence until I could come up with some subject to change the direction of conversation.
“I’ve been needing to ask you something, Clee,” I whispered, my throat feeling extra thick for some reason.
“Anything, my Darling. Ask and it is yours.”
“My mom asked us to go to Tucson for Thanksgiving break. That starts tomorrow. Will you go with me?”
Silence greeted me.
“You know I cannot eat?” he seemed hesitant.
“Of course I do.”
“Thanksgiving is a holiday of feasting, is it not?”
He had a point.
“So, I told her you’re excessively religious. I’ll just tell her you… you’re on a special liquid diet or something. That would work, right?”
He seemed sceptical but eventually shrugged.
“I suppose, if your mother would believe it.”
“I think we could probably blame a lot of the strange stuff about you on religion. The old man speech, the strange diet. She’ll believe it.”
“So be it,” he nodded, squeezing my hand.
“You’ll come with me?” I almost jumped up to do a dance of excitement.
“If it is your wish, I will. I cannot stay for too long though. I get weak without proper temperatures.”
“You can sleep with the window open. It gets cold-ish in the winter.”
He nodded again in acceptance.
“So we’ll leave tomorrow then!”
“I’ll be here at dawn,” he agreed and stood.
Watching him leave after that was difficult, but I knew I’d see him plenty in the days to come and we’d heal the rift that had gotten wider over the weeks of his absence.
“Hey Mom!” I said as soon as I heard a voice answer.
“It’s Aunt Cindy, Sweety,” came the not-quite-my-mom’s voice from the other end of the line.
“Hi Aunt Cindy, can I talk to Mom please? I’ve got good news!”
“I’m sorry, Honey, but your mom’s not doing well enough to talk on the phone right now.”
“What do you mean?” my heart sank.
“She’s been struggling a bit lately. The doctor said he expected her to get a little worse before beginning to recover. She’s bed-bound at the moment but her hopes are still good and we’re fighting. I’ll tell her you called when she’s awake though.”
Tears pricked at my eyes.
“Mom asked me to bring Clarence to Thanksgiving tomorrow...”
“Oh, Honey you can’t. Your mom would hate to have you see her like this. Let’s do Christmas instead. You’ll have a whole week and you can spend the holiday with us here. I’ll even make some room in my craft room for your boyfriend to sleep. You’re not sharing a room, you know.”
I let a small smile tilt my lips.
“Ok. I guess I better tell Clarence to call off the road trip. I was really looking forward to it.”
“Christmas is a month away. It’s not too long in the grand scheme, but it will do a world of good for you mom. Just give her a little time to recover.”
“Yeah, sure. Ok. Thanks Aunt Cindy.”
“No problem. I’ll have her call you when she’s feeling up to it, alright?”
“Great. Thanks. Bye.”
I sighed as I pushed the red button to end the call. That quick, our road trip plans had started and ended.
Picking up the white handkerchief, I hung it back in the window.
It took some time, but by the time 9:30 hit, Clarence was tapping on the window again.
“You called?” he asked as I opened it for him to enter.
“I called Mom,” I told him as he took a seat in his regular spot. “Aunt Cindy answered and told me Mom’s not doing very well and that we shouldn’t visit. At least, not now.”
He blew out a breath of what I might have imagined to be relief before his eyes narrowed in sympathy.
“Did she tell you why she is too sick for visitors? For her own daughter?”
“She just said the doctor said that they expect Mom to get worse before she gets better. I don’t know more than that. So the trip has been postponed to Christmas.”
He nodded faintly before I started brushing my withheld tears out of my eyes.
I’d avoided crying, because no good came out of it, but now, with his look of sympathy, I couldn’t keep them in anymore. They squeezed out of my eyes unwillingly until there was a torrent flowing down my cheeks.
Clarence swept me into his arms within moments, pressing my face to his chest as he hushed sweet, gentle and hopeful words into my ear. His body was cold, but he made me feel warm all over. His arms were still strong, protective and made me feel safe. Some things changed, but some stayed absolutely the same.
Eventually he laid me down and I snuggled my nose into the front of his long sleeved flannel shirt. It smelled strongly of him, and just his presence and the feeling of his hands and arms comforted me in a way I hadn’t felt since I was last held by Mom.
Instead of the maternal comfort, I sought another sort. I eventually dug my face out of his chest and the bridge of my nose touched his chin, covered in stubble.
“Kiss me,” I whispered so quietly I wasn’t sure any words even came out.
He’d heard me though, with those extra sensitive ears of his. His face moved until we were nose to nose, eyes to eyes.
“I don’t think that’s...”
I didn’t give him a chance to finish denying me.
Taking his neck in my hand, I pulled his head to mine and pressed my lips to his. My salty tears mingled on his cheeks now, and my kiss was quickly accepted. When he tried to pull away though, I did the last thing I thought I ever would. I begged.
“Please,” I asked in my tear-shorn voice. “I need your comfort, Clee.”
His brows were pressed together in worry, but he didn’t fight me. Cool fingers brushed my cheek and his gentle mouth pressed kisses down my face.
“I know you’re in pain,” he told me, his voice scratchy too. “Let me take your pain, Love.”
Pressing his lips into my hair, his hand slid ever so lightly down the curves of my body. Everything sparked alive despite the anxiety and fear I felt at Mom’s illness. But soon the thoughts of worry fluttered away as my mind focused on the present. His fingers brushing over my hip. His lips drawing down my neck, nipping here and there. His arm wrapping around me, and his phallic organ pressing into my belly.
He knew exactly what I needed, and he wasn’t going to fight me this time about giving it to me.
Gently he undressed me, taking his sweet time. The distraction was thorough, and as I laid there, his body hovering over mine and his coolness mingling with my heat, I thought of nothing
other than his possession of me, his thrusts and the feeling of his skin against my skin.
Afterwards, we laid naked together, the darkness and mild moonlight glowing through my window. He had taken my pain, and finally, again I felt hope.
Christmas it would be. Maybe by then I could come up with a better excuse for Clarence not eating.
Clarence was always gone the next morning. He’d visit occasionally in my bedroom, and even more occasionally he’d remind me with action instead of words that he loved me. We would lie naked together until I fell asleep, and at some point between when I slept and when I woke, he would leave me and I’d wake up alone.
Aunt Cindy had called a couple more times and said Mom wasn’t doing much better, but the plan to visit at Christmas was still on, whether she was well or not. I needed to see my mom, and Mom had made it clear she wanted to meet the man that meant so much to me.
3 days before Christmas break started, I got a phone call. Looking and seeing Mom’s number, I got instantly excited.
“Mom!” I answered cheerily.
Sobbing met my ears.
“Mom? Are you ok?”
Panic sprang through me.
“It’s… it’s not your mom. It’s Aunt Cindy.”
Fear like nothing I’d ever known speared through me.
“What’s going on? What’s the matter?”
“I need you to come as soon as you can, Sweetheart,” she told me. “The doctor said today that she won’t last much longer. A couple weeks at most.”
My heart flew into my throat and I choked.
“I don’t mean to scare you, Addie, but she’s not going to get better. All the medicine and treatments had started to work, but in the last couple months they started becoming useless and the cancer is spreading. Your mom didn’t want me to tell you, but I feel like I have to. I know you’ll want to spend what time you can with her, even though she’s insisting you don’t miss school. I think she’s in denial. So come up. Dave will make sure the school understands. They’ll give you a couple weeks, I’m sure. We’ll work it out. But leave in the morning. I’ll see you when you get here.”
“I’m going to book the first flight out there,” I finally managed to get words out of my mouth.
“No. Take Clarence, have him drive. You’ll need the time to adjust, and to mourn before you get here. She’ll be angry that I told you, but you need to make sure you’ve gotten to an ok place before you get here. You need to be strong for her, and I’m sure you need Clarence to support you through this.”
Swallowing the giant lump in my throat, I croaked out, “Fine, I’m leaving tonight.”
“Don’t...”
I hung up before she finished her sentence.
I put up the white handkerchief and threw my bedroom door open before almost falling down the stairs. Dad was in his chair, sleeping in front of the TV. I called him and woke him up.
“I have to leave,” I told him in a panic. “Aunt Cindy said Mom’s… Mom’s...” I started sobbing all over the place while Dad jumped up from his seat and came to me, wrapping his arms around me.
“What’s going on?” he demanded gently, hugging me tightly.
“Aunt Cindy said Mom’s dying,” I wailed.
Dad held me fiercer.
“You need to call the school and make sure they...”
“I’ll take care of that,” Dad waved his hand. “Do you want me to drive you up there? I can probably afford a plane ticket...”
“Clarence is taking me,” I told him, shaking my head. “But you need to call the school. I don’t know how long I’ll be.”
“Yeah, sure. Of course.”
“I’m leaving tonight,” I told him, panicking that I still had to pack a bag before I could go to Mom.
He nodded and I tore away from him to head upstairs again.
“What can I do?” Dad called up after me.
“Pray,” was all I managed to choke out.
When I opened my door Clarence was there, pacing my room like a caged animal.
“What’s wrong?” was the first words out of his mouth, his eyes wild with worry.
“Aunt Cindy called,” I told him, trying to suck back my hysteria. “Mom’s dying Clarence. I need to go to her.”
He froze in place.
“Will you take me?”
“Of course I will,” he said quickly.
“We need to leave tonight. Can you be ready in 20 minutes?”
“I can be here for you in 1o,” he said, backing toward the window.
I nodded.
He was gone instantaneously.
I turned toward my closet and started to pack. Blindly throwing things into my suitcase, I took everything I had originally brought to stay with Dad. I wasn’t sure when I’d come back, or if I even would. Something in my gut told me that Grayland Washington was suddenly in my past, and I didn’t bother to look in the rearview mirror to say goodbye.
Clarence was outside the house within 7 minutes. A white Corvette sat in the gravel driveway and he stood with Dad in the living room, waiting anxiously for me. When I started down the stairs with my two big bags, Clarence bounded up, two at a time until he took the bags from me. We all headed outside as the sun was setting and I stood, embraced by Dad again as Clarence put my bags into the car.
“We’ll work everything out, Sweetie,” Dad told me, kissing me on the forehead before letting me go. “For now, just be with your mom. Don’t worry about anything else.”
I nodded silently and he walked me to the passenger seat. Dad looked over the car and seemed displeased, but he didn’t say anything about the absurd fact that my boyfriend was driving me to see my dying mother.
“Stay safe,” he said finally, hugging me again. “I love you.”
“I love you too, Dad. I’ll talk to you later.”
He nodded and watched Clarence open my door for me and take my hand as I sank into the seat.
The door closed and I heard Dad faintly say to Clarence when he probably thought I couldn’t, “Take care of her. Or else.”
Clarence gave him a simple nod, his face grim as he rounded around the car.
“Your daughter could not be more well protected then she is with me,” Clarence said finally before opening his door and getting in.
He turned the key in the ignition of the old muscle car and it roared to life. Backing out of the driveway, we were heading east, and then south, down to Tucson.
Clarence drove through the night, not taking breaks to sleep, and only once drinking from a concealed canister of blood in the glove box. We stopped for gas and snacks again somewhere between Sacramento and LA, and that was when Clarence started to fidget.
He kept looking in the rear view mirror, and it took me a good 2 hours of watching him do that before I realized that something wasn’t right. The ride had been generally quiet, with a few words of hope and sympathy from him, but now his hands clutched the wheel and his entire body radiated tension.
“What is it?” I demanded as his eyes flicked over his shoulder again.
“That black truck,” Clarence said in a low voice. “They’ve been following us since Portland. When they stopped where we stopped… It’s just suspicious.”
I threw my head over my shoulder and looked back at the tinted windows of the truck.
“What do we do?”
“Nothing. I might just be seeing something that’s not there,” he said in a tight voice.
Clarence sped up and the truck backed away in the distance.
Sirens.
Clarence growled as he pulled over to the side of the road, red and blue sirens wailing behind us. We waited in silence until the officer eventually decided to exit their car and swagger up to Clarence’s door.
Meanwhile, we watched the black truck fly by on the freeway.
He seemed to decompress after that, and sat back in his seat until the officer made it to the window. Clarence rolled it down to peek up at the officer.
“You know ho
w fast you were going, Kid?” the officer asked in a gruff voice.
Clarence calmly removed his wide, expensive sunglasses before looking up at the officer.
“I’m sorry, I believe I was going the speed limit. There is no reason for you to pull me over.”
Seconds. Multiple extremely tense moments passed before the officer grinned and said, “Seems there was a mistake! You enjoy your day, Sir!”
With that the officer walked back to his patrol car and sped away. Clarence waited a second on the side of the road, silently, before looking at me.
“How the hell did you do that?” I asked, my curiosity completely getting the better of me.
“Charm,” was his single word response.
So that was how it worked… The idea that a human could be controlled so easily was like throwing rocks into my belly. Sure, using charm to get out of a speeding ticket was one thing, but how many people had gotten charmed and lost their lives or their will without even knowing it? It made me sick to consider.
Slipping his sunglasses back over his nose, he rolled the window back up and turned the A/C higher to contemplate for the hot air blowing in his opened window before he flipped his blinker back on and swung back onto the freeway.
We were silent as I considered the implications of the charm and how lucky I was to be immuned, that I didn’t even notice the black truck until it was beside us on a narrow, empty stretch of road on a high bluff. Clarence’s hands flexed around the wheel and tightened as the truck suddenly swerved next to us and slammed into our side.
The entire car jerked toward the railing, desert and rocks below us made a really scary sight as we almost skimmed the paint on the aluminum and wood rail.
Clarence gritted his teeth and pressed his foot down onto the gas. The car leapt forward but the truck was fast too. Despite its size, it kept pace for long enough to send us crashing again toward the rail. Clarence swerved enough that we grazed the rail, sending a gut rending screech through the car, but we went no further. Expletives dripped from his lips as he tried to see into the tinted windows of the truck.
Within a moment of time, the passenger window rolled down and a woman appeared, a sinister grin on her face as she blew us a kiss.
I heard Clarence mutter, “FUCK,” before the truck rammed us against a sharp curve in the road and the Corvette took flight.