Ren shoved her other foot in his face, almost kicking him square in the nose. “See! No cuts!” she insisted.
Patrick pinched his nose. “No cuts, but a lot of smell!”
That warranted a giggle from Ren, and she began brushing the hair from her face.
“Stay here while I clean this up,” Patrick said. “I’ll grab you a wet paper towel.”
Ren gave him an exaggerated nod and a thumbs-up. Patrick chuckled again as he stood.
He walked to the kitchen and tore a paper towel from the roll hanging next to the sink. He ran it under the water and squeezed out the excess liquid. “So, what happened?” he asked Ren over his shoulder. He walked over next to the trash can and grabbed the broom and dustpan.
“I was making a new Christmas ornament. It was made from this clay that took all night to make hard. But then I dropped it and it exploded everywhere!” Ren said, getting more and more animated as the story went on.
Patrick handed her the paper towel, and she wiped the tears and snot from her face.
“Where’s Mom and Dad?” Patrick asked as he began sweeping up the remnants of Ren’s ornament.
“Mom went to the store, and Dad was supposed to be watching me, but he went outside to mow.”
“Why did Dad leave you in here all alone?” Patrick said, more thinking out loud then asking. He brushed the ornament up into the dustpan.
“I’m a big girl! I can take care of myself!” Ren said.
Patrick smiled as he ruffled her hair. “Of course you are.” He threw the contents of the dustpan into the trash. “You can get up now,” he told her.
“’Bye, ornament,” she said, waving at the trash can.
“Why were you making an ornament, anyways? It’s May. We’ve got a while until it’s Christmas.”
Ren put her hands together and pressed them against her shoulder. “I just love Christmas,” she said in a soft voice.
Patrick smiled and nodded. “I love Christmas too.”
Ren looked at the spot where her ornament had taken its fall, her eyes sad.
“Hey, wanna go outside and play hide and seek?” Patrick asked before she had the chance to get sad again.
“Yes!” she shouted. “Let’s go!”
Bodyguard
Ren touched the large tree at the edge of their front yard. “Base!” she shouted.
Patrick ran up to her and leaned onto his knees, faking being out of breath. “Wow, you’re too good.”
Ren smiled and nodded. “I’m the best!”
“You’re right about that,” he said.
“You guys playing hide and seek?” a voice said from behind them.
Patrick turned and saw his dad walking up to them. His pants legs were covered in bits of the grass he’d just cut.
“Yeah, Daddy! Wanna play?” Ren asked.
“Sure, I’ll do a round,” he said.
“Alright, you can be it, then. I gotta warn you, she’s a fast one,” Patrick said, pointing at Ren.
“Oh, we’ll see about that,” their father said as he walked over to the tree. He leaned up against it, shut his eyes, and began counting.
Ren ran around to the side of the house to hide behind the air conditioning unit, the same place she hid every single time. Patrick was searching for a place to hide when he heard a horn honk. He turned and saw his neighbor from across the street, Victoria Kilmer, sitting in her idling SUV in front of Patrick’s house.
Patrick jogged over to her, feeling a bit flustered. Victoria was the same age he was, and he thought she was one of the prettiest girls he’d ever seen. Her eyes were like a hazel kaleidoscope, and her hair hung in messy waves. They were close friends, and had even gone as each other’s date to various school dances. But their relationship had never evolved into more than that, and Patrick wasn’t sure why. There was no rhyme or reason to it; it just hadn’t.
“Where’ve you been, Patrick? I didn’t think I’d see you again until graduation. I’ve been texting you all morning,” she said once Patrick got close.
Patrick put his hand up and leaned against her car. “Yeah, I kinda got mugged last night,” he said.
Victoria eyes went wide. “Shit, are you kidding? Are you okay?”
“No, I’m doing terrible. The doctors say I probably won’t make it,” he said with a wry smile.
“Come on. This isn’t something to joke about! Did you tell the police?” Victoria asked.
Patrick shrugged. “Haven’t really told anybody yet. I’ll go down to the station later, though, and report it.”
“Later? No, you gotta do this now. Hop in. I’ll go with you,” she said, the end of her sentence punctuated by the clunking sound of her doors unlocking.
“Really? It’s no big deal. I was going to swing by later today, after I got lunch,” Patrick said.
“If we go to the station first, I’ll buy you lunch afterwards,” Victoria said, already smiling in victory.
Patrick turned. “Dad, I’m going to hang out with Victoria!” he shouted.
His dad turned and saw the two of them. He waved, and Victoria waved back.
Patrick walked around the front of the car and got into the passenger seat. “Alright, I’m starving,” he said as he buckled his seat belt.
Victoria shook her head as she began driving. “I don’t think so. Police station first. Are you sure we shouldn’t go to the hospital too? Did they hit you?”
Patrick laughed. “You sound like my mom.”
Victoria glared at him, waiting for him to answer her question.
“Alright, they hit me once before they ran away,” Patrick said, giving in.
“Patrick!” Victoria shouted, and she began examining his face for any damage.
“Eyes on the road, Victoria!” he insisted, pointing at the road. “It’s fine. There’s no damage. Not even a bruise. It’s pretty crazy.”
“Seriously? Not even a scratch?”
“I’m dead serious. I’m fine, Victoria. Promise. I’ve got a really tough face,” Patrick said, smiling.
Victoria sighed. “Fine. No hospital, just police station.”
“Sounds good to me.”
PATRICK TOOK A BITE from his hamburger with Victoria watching him like a hawk, looking for any signs of pain or discomfort.
“I’m fine,” he said with a mouthful of food.
Victoria sighed and picked up her burger and took a bite.
“Are you going to Samson’s party tonight?” he asked. “I heard there’s going to be a huge bonfire.”
Victoria shook her head. “No. Mom’s going to be back in town from one of her business trips, so the two of us are going to have a movie night. I was on my way to get some stuff for it when you decided to drop the whole ‘mugged’ bombshell.”
Patrick stopped chewing and swallowed hard. “Do you need to leave and go get the stuff? I didn’t mean to derail your day.”
“No, this was pretty important, I’d say. You probably never would’ve gone to the police station if I hadn’t dragged you there.”
Patrick rolled his eyes exaggeratedly. “Yeah, whatever. Don’t give yourself too much credit.”
“But anyways,” Victoria said, bringing the conversation back around. “I’m not going, but Ben is.”
Patrick gave her a sideways look. Ben was Victoria’s younger brother, a freshman in high school. He was just beginning to hit his rebellious streak, which would explain why he’d be going to a party in the woods instead of spending time with his mother after not seeing her for a couple of weeks. “How did Ben get invited to the party? He’s a freshman.”
Victoria shrugged as she swallowed another bite of food. Her eyes wandered to the corner of the room, and she was clearly thinking about Ben. “I have no idea. I’m worried about him, though. He doesn’t need to be hanging out with the seniors. He thinks he can hold his own, but I really don’t think he can handle himself.”
Patrick could see where the conversation was going, and decided to beat her there. �
�I’ll keep an eye on him if you want me to.”
Victoria sat back in her chair, relieved. “Thank you so much, Patrick. Although I’m not sure you should even be going,” she said with a smile, knowing she was getting under his skin.
Patrick sighed. “Trust me, it’ll be fine. It’ll probably end up being boring and I’ll just leave early.”
Victoria laughed and shook her head. “That’ll be the day.”
Everything Surreal
“Ah, shit,” Ben said as he stopped to look at his shoe.
Patrick stopped walking down the trail in the woods and turned to see what was wrong with Ben.
“I kicked a rock and scuffed my new shoes,” Ben said as he tried to wipe the white mark off.
Patrick looked around while Ben fixed his shoes. They were deep into the woods, much deeper than he thought they’d have to be. He felt worry and fear tickling inside of him. He didn’t know what he was going to do if he was lost. He didn’t have any cell service, and he wasn’t one hundred percent sure how to get back to his car. He’d parked it next to a bunch of other cars, but he was beginning to worry that maybe those cars were all there for something else.
The wind blew through the trees, creating a whispering sound that Patrick found unsettling. The smell of pine needles wafted up his nostrils, and while normally that would be a comforting smell, it only reminded Patrick that he was in the middle of the woods—possibly lost—which only worried him more.
“Alright, ready to go?” Ben asked as he stood. He brushed some dirt off his khaki pants and straightened his blue gingham shirt.
Patrick nodded. “I think it’s this way,” he said, taking his best guess. He really wished he’d paid more attention when his friend Wendy had invited him. All he knew was that no matter what, he couldn’t not show up. This was going to be a huge party, one that people would talk about at every class reunion. Victoria was taking a huge hit by not showing up. Although, if he was being honest, it really didn’t matter. They were in the two weeks of purgatory between school getting out and graduation, and there wasn’t much Victoria would be able to do to hurt her reputation. Which also meant that there wasn’t much Patrick could do to help his.
Going to the party isn’t going to hurt it, at least, he thought. He gave a sideways glance to Ben. He knew he was going to have to ditch him as soon as he got to the party. He couldn’t be seen walking up with a freshman, no matter how much the seniors liked him.
“So, who invited you to the party?” he asked, trying his best to not sound accusatory.
“Some of the guys on the football team did,” Ben replied. “They said it was going to be an awesome one. They’ve got a lot of stuff planned.”
Patrick didn’t like the sound of that. “Did they mention what kind of things?”
“They didn’t say, just that I wouldn’t want to miss it.”
Patrick felt his heartbeat pick up speed. “Was one of those things a church service?” he asked with a nervous chuckle.
Ben looked over at him, confused.
Patrick looked him up and down. “Your clothes. Is there a wedding planned or something?”
Ben laughed and shook his head. “Nah, just trying to look nice. You know, wanna impress the ladies.”
“Any lady in particular?” Patrick asked, teasing.
“Wendy Simmons,” Ben said with confidence.
Patrick fought hard the urge to laugh. “You know, I’m good friends with Wendy.”
Ben looked at him, his eyes wide. “No shit? Are you serious right now?”
Patrick nodded. “Yep. She’s the one who invited me to this party, actually.”
Ben let out a nervous sigh and began straightening his already straight collar. “Damn, Patrick, how’d you become friends with her? She’s way too popular for you.”
Patrick shrugged as he scoured the tree line for any sign that they were going in the right direction. “We’ve just always been friends. She’s really nice, if a bit...”
“Slutty?”
“Well, that’s no way to talk about the girl you have a crush on. But, yeah, she can be a little promiscuous.”
“Has she ever—”
“Let’s not, okay?” Patrick said, getting short with Ben.
They continued walking in silence, having lost the trail they’d been walking on a long time ago. The sun was almost finished setting, and it got darker and darker with every minute that passed. Now they were simply wandering in the woods, although Patrick supposed Ben had every right to believe he knew where he was going.
Just as Patrick was about to tell Ben that they were lost, the sound of lots of teenagers whooping and hollering reached his ears.
Breathing a quiet sigh of relief, he pointed to where the sound was coming from. “It’s this way,” he said.
Ben clapped his hands together, his nerves visibly setting in.
“Don’t worry,” Patrick told him. “This is going to be fun.”
Ben nodded, and the two of them walked toward the party, aching for a good time.
IT WASN’T VERY HARD for Patrick to lose Ben. All he had to do was walk up to where Wendy was standing, sipping on her drink, and Ben ran away on his own.
“I’m so glad you made it!” she said as she threw her arms around his neck. Her shirt was low-cut, and her blonde hair was pulled back into a tight ponytail. She was wearing black leggings and a pair of sneakers, both of which had spots of dirt on them.
Patrick hugged back and then pulled away. “Yep, got just a little bit lost in the woods, but we made it,” he said. The partying mood began to set in as the stress of being lost began to fade away.
“We?” she asked, raising her eyebrows.
Patrick shook his head and chuckled. “No, I didn’t bring a girl with me,” he said, knowing that was what she was insinuating. “It’s actually Victoria’s little brother, Ben. He’s a freshman, and she just wanted to make sure he got here safely.”
“So, let me get this straight,” she said as she took another swig from her cup. “Instead of bringing the love of your life, you brought her little brother?”
Patrick nodded. “When you put it that way,” he said with a shrug.
“Ouch. Babysitter-zoned.”
“It’s not that!”
“It’s exactly that.”
“Whatever. I need a drink,” he said. He scanned the area, looking for the keg.
“Get me one,” she said, handing her cup to him over his shoulder. “It’s on the other side of the fire, in the back of Joshua’s truck.”
The fire was roaring high into the sky, emitting an intense heat. Patrick had no idea why everybody always had such a hard-on for bonfires, especially at the beginning of summer. There was just something about the majesty of it all, attracting people to its heat. Still, he’d much rather be chilling in somebody’s basement than standing around a hot, dangerous fire.
He reached the back of Joshua’s white pickup truck and pulled a red cup off the stack. He filled his up, and then Wendy’s.
“Thanks, bro,” somebody said as they took his beer from his hand.
Patrick turned and saw Joshua standing there, chugging Patrick’s beer. He wanted to say something, but gritted his teeth instead. Calm down, Patrick, he thought to himself. Just chill. He knew there was nothing he could do about the situation, at least nothing that wouldn’t end in something painful or humiliating. Or both, even. He turned and made his way back over to Wendy, not daring to pour himself another beer while Joshua was standing there.
More people had shown up in the time Patrick was getting his drinks, so he had to push his way toward where Wendy had been standing. Loud music began to play through the stereo system of someone’s truck. The party was really getting started.
Patrick saw Wendy, but stopped when he saw her talking to Kevin Lee. He wasn’t about to make himself look like a fool trying to give her another drink, especially not in front of Kevin. Instead, he walked to the edge of the party and began drinking the be
er he’d gotten for Wendy.
He stood back, scanning the faces in the crowd, looking for someone he could hang out with. Specifically, he was looking for Steven Morris, one of his good friends. It was a long shot that Steven would be here though, since he wasn’t one for parties. Still, this was supposed to be one of the biggest and best parties of the year. There was a chance Steven would show up for one final hurrah.
Patrick instinctively reached for his phone to send Steven a text before remembering that he didn’t have his phone. He grumbled a curse under his breath as he took another sip, the memory of being mugged not doing much to help his mood. He chugged the rest of his beer and eyed the keg. He looked around for Joshua and saw that he was a good ways away, talking to Savannah Weatherly.
Perfect, he thought as he made his way to the keg, ready for another drink.
PATRICK STOOD ON HIS own, sipping on his third beer. He’d begun to feel uncomfortable, like everyone was staring at him. The party wasn’t going at all how he’d expected. Just like in school, everyone was ignoring him, too busy with their own friends. Friends they’d had for years. Patrick had let the friends boat pass him by early on in his high school career, and as he stood there all alone at his very last high school party, he had plenty of time to think about that.
His only real friends were Victoria and Patrick, and neither one of them was there. He considered Wendy a close friend, but only when she wasn’t around anybody else and didn’t have her popular girl persona on. And of course, at the biggest party of the year, that persona was out in full swing.
If only he had his phone on him to give him something to do. But of course he didn’t, so he just drank another beer, trying to figure out how long he had to stay there before it’d be okay to leave.
HIS VISION SWAM. HIS spine tingled. His hands shook.
Everything swirled. Everything became surreal.
Everything changed.
The First Superhero Books 0-3 Box Set Page 51