by C. A. Saari
Go figure.
The next week my stitches dissolved, Maria was pleased with my recovery. Apparently my blue light special –which was what we were calling my exploding light trick, sorry Kmart, I’m sure the guys don’t mean to infringe- had no ill effects on me whatsoever; it only damaged demons. My stab wounds were healing nicely, I was left with two pink scars, and the muscle under it was still tight and I still felt twinges if I worked out too hard, but I still pushed myself as far and as hard as Maria and Jake would allow me to. I was even allowed to join one of the hunts over the next weekend, of course with the caveat that if I had to do more than shoot, we would pull out of the fight. There was no more than shooting. We’d spied maybe ten of them total. And by Monday Jake and I were back in school. Everything was the way we left it, we got a little good natured teasing from Jake’s friends –I would always consider them his friends, even though they had decided that I was worthy of them now. Gag- even a few teachers gave us a little bit of razzing.
By lunch life seemed to flow right back into its routine. I had excused myself from our table to use the restroom, on my way back my old buddy Ben stopped me in the hall. He’d grabbed my hand like a friend and pulled me around the corner, pushed me against a wall and planted his hands on each side of my head to trap me there –or at least he thought I was trapped. Poor silly little boy.
“Hi.” He said, taking a deep breath of me. I hoped I smelled like Jake today. I raised my eyebrows at him, but said nothing. “So, I was just wondering what it is about you that’s got Wagner all wrapped up nice and neat around that finger of yours.”
I still said nothing. Ben grabbed my face in his hand; his fingers pinching one side of my chin, his thumb the other, and tried to kiss me. I shoved him away. He was surprised, momentarily, at my strength, then he chuckled like this was a game and came at me again. I popped him in the nose. Just one quick jab. Perfectly placed. And he went down like a sack of rocks, blood spurted from his nose. He sat on the floor and held his hand to it, swore at me a few times. I knelt down next to him and got right in his face.
“You want to know what’s so special about me?” I smiled kindly when he only glared. “I guess that’s a question you’d have to ask Jake.” Then I matched his glare. “Touch me again, and next time I won’t waste my time, I’ll send Jake after you.” I stood to leave, but then turned back to him, cocked my head. “Just out of curiosity; how did you think this was going to end? Did you think I’d enjoy your kiss so much that I’d leave Jake for you? Did you think I wouldn’t tell Jake and he wouldn’t come after you with the full fury of hell? Or did you think I would tell Jake, but that he wouldn’t believe me because you play football with him?”
Ben didn’t answer me, but I didn’t really need him to. I just wanted to make it clear to him who the stupid one in this situation really was. I think he got the message, so I left him there and returned to my table. Of course I’d tell Jake about it, but not until later. Funny though, he brought up the very subject on our drive home after practices that day. Apparently Ben had to sit out of football practice today because of a broken nose, which Jake found curious because Ben hadn’t come to school with a broken nose, and Jake had not heard of a fight during the day.
I bit my lip for a bit before finally speaking.
“You didn’t hear about the fight because there were only two people involved.” I said. Jake glanced at me curiously before he turned his attention back to the road.
“Then how do you know about it?” He asked.
“Because…” I cleared my throat. “I was the second person.”
Jake slammed on the brakes, luckily the car behind us was just far enough back to be able to swerve without hitting us. The man behind the wheel honked and flipped Jake off, but Jake didn’t notice, he was too busy looking at me.
“What? What are you talking about?”
I told him the story –as we sat idling in the middle of the street- and afterwards Jake sat silently for a moment, his knuckles white on the steering wheel.
“Why didn’t you come to me?” He asked through his teeth.
“Well, what was I supposed to do, run away screaming for you?”
“Yes.”
I laughed softly at that. Seriously?
“Jake, thanks to you I was perfectly capable of handling the situation on my own.”
“I don’t want you to handle these situations on your own.” He spat. My eyes narrowed, anger suddenly built inside me. When was he going to realize that I was not some helpless little twit that he needed to take care of? His next words had my anger fading fast though. “I want to be able to do these things for you.” I realized then that he didn’t think I couldn’t handle myself, he simply wanted to be the one I came to when I had a problem. He wanted to take care of me, it wasn’t that he thought he had to. I smiled and reached out to cup his cheek.
“Jake, I love that you want to be my superhero. I do. And I want you to be. And I will come to you whenever I can’t solve a problem, and even sometimes when I can but I just want you, but, there are times that I just really need to do things for myself too. And situations like this; it reminds me of my…Bob, and I like that I can defend myself.”
He sighed, turned his face to kiss my palm. Ego mollified.
“Alright. But I’m still going to pummel the douche bag extra hard at practice tomorrow.”
“Goody!” I laughed, the heavy mood dissipated and Jake pushed the gas again. “I get to be there to see it!”
As we sparred that afternoon before dinner, Jake seemed to be taking it extra easy on me. Jabbing or kicking out at me without ever making contact, side swiping my own jabs without making contact, and I wasn’t sure if it was my reminder about my abusive father that had him backing off, or if he still wasn’t convinced I was entirely healed. Either way, it was irritating me.
“Come on Wagner,” Ryan called from where he watched at the side of the mats. “Man up. This is truly pathetic.”
“Yeah, Wagner.” I taunted. “If I wanted to hang out with a girl I’d call Kendra.”
He raised his eyebrows at me and didn’t immediately come at me, so I went for him, his defense was weak as if he didn’t really think I could get to him. My fist landed a quick jab on his chin, his head jerked and he popped his jaw, rotated it a couple times as Ryan howled from the sidelines.
“I’m telling everyone how you’re getting your ass handed to you by a girl.” Ryan hooted.
Jake shot him a sneer slash amused look and finally came at me properly, he threw quick jabs that I was barely able to deflect, while trying to keep an eye out for his feet that came at my ankles to knock me off balance. I was able to throw a couple of my own jabs –which he easily deflected- but he continued to rain down on me until he had brought himself close enough to me where he could reach out, hook his arm around my neck and drop me on my back to the mat. The breath came out of me in a whoosh and for a moment he looked horrified at himself for what he’d just done. It gave me the smallest window of opportunity to throw my legs up around his own neck and flip him over onto his back. I straddled him, my knees on either side of his chest and I grabbed his wrists and pinned his arms to the mat on either side of his head.
Ryan gave a shout of laughter; but when Jake easily sat up –I was stronger than I’d ever been, but I wasn’t delusional enough to think that’d I’d actually had him trapped or pinned in any way- and glanced down at my chest as it heaved in front of him, a sly smiled creeping across his face, Ryan groaned and walked away, muttering something about sparring being serious, not effin foreplay. I’d slid down from his chest as he sat up and was now straddling his lap. Jake grabbed my hips and ground me down over him, I saw that jaw of his working and I smiled, cupped his face in my hands and leaned in.
“How many damn times do I have to tell you two, not in here?” Quinn yelled at us. Jake laughed and fell back on the mat. I stood and held my hand out to him, a gesture meant to offer him help up.
“Race you to the shower?”
I said. He smiled and reached for my hand, I slapped his and yelled “Psych!” and ran for the door. I heard him shout out a laugh and then a moment later his feet were pounding after me.
I woke up during the night, Jake was snoring softly next to me. I smiled sleepily and grabbed his t-shirt from the footboard and pulled it down over my head. It would cover anything necessary if anyone should be up while I made my way down to the kitchen for water. I plodded along, my eyes barely open and was halfway down the hall to the kitchen when I heard the noise. A slight rustle in the living room. My heart leapt into my throat. Oh no, were they in the house again? I grabbed a vase off a wall side table next to me and crept back down the way I’d come. I took a deep silent calming breath through my mouth then reached out and snapped on the living room light, the vase poised above my head, ready for attack.
I let out a shriek and turned away quickly.
“Oh my God! I’m so sorry!” I cried. Ana and Ryan were scrambling to grab their clothes around the couch. Ryan swore several times.
“Remi!” Jake yelled taking the stairs down two at a time. I looked up at him with wide eyes, he was still pulling on a pair of boxers. I laughed and held my hands out to him.
“It’s okay. Don’t come down here.”
“What’s going on?” He asked, coming down anyway, looking dangerous but so deliciously sleep disheveled as well.
“Nothing. It’s fine. Let’s just go back up.” I tried to grab his arm to lead him away, but I’d have better luck moving this house. He pushed around me and his eyes widened when he saw Ryan desperately still trying to cover up, Ana had taken his boxers and was holding the only throw from the back of the couch over her chest.
“Oh, shit!” Jake’s dangerous face melted to one of laughter. “Dude!” He turned away, shaking with his laughter. “Not on the damn couch! I watch TV in there!”
“Oh go to hell Wagner! You think I didn’t see you and Rem on one of the bench presses a couple days ago? I didn’t alert the damn neighborhood.”
Oh come on! I covered my face with my hands and Jake only laughed harder.
“Carry on then.” Jake grabbed my shoulders and steered me back towards the stairs. I set the vase on the landing and let him guide me. We tried to laugh quietly as we crawled back into bed.
“Wait.” I whispered. “I didn’t get my water.”
That sent Jake into another round of laughs.
I was dying for more information on Ana and Ryan, but it wasn’t until the next afternoon that I got any, and that was by happenstance. I was about to swing through the door to the kitchen when I heard Jake’s voice on the other side. Normally I went to his voice, but it’s what he said that stopped me.
“So, you and Ana, huh?”
Obviously he was talking to Ryan.
“No man. There’s no me and Ana, we just hook up from time to time.”
“How often is time to time?”
“Couple times a week. Unlike you, not everyone believes they have to have a relationship to have the sex. Besides, I don’t want to play second fiddle to you.”
“Okay, A; I don’t think everyone has to be in a relationship to have the sex, just so happens I found the girl that I want both with, and B; from what I saw last night, you’re not a second fiddle. She didn’t look one bit embarrassed at being caught with you by me.”
I heard Ryan sigh roughly.
“I don’t know. She’s complicated. How do you do it with Remi? You make it look too easy.”
“Oh-ho! You cannot base anything you do off Remi and me. We are pure undiluted chemistry, my friend. Well, that and there’s my irresistible sex appeal.”
Ryan snorted out a laugh.
“You mean, her irresistible sex appeal?”
“Hey, now. I am one sexy guy.” Jake admonished, both boys chuckled. “I don’t know dude. Remi is Remi. She’s amazing. She doesn’t talk much, so when she does, you really listen, because every time she opens that mouth, she’s interesting. She’s intelligent, and funny. Ohhh, and she’s mean. I find that so freakin’ hot.” I found myself really appreciating this conversation. “There is a thousand different things I love about Remi that I could tell you about, like for example, there is this mole-“
“Okay!” Ryan shouted. “Let’s go ahead and keep that a secret between you and her.” Jake laughed and behind the door I blushed. I knew what mole he was talking about. “Actually, I think I’d kinda like to hear about her mole.”
There was laughing and scuffling until Ryan yelled uncle.
Jake continued.
“She has such an open mind. I mean, look how quickly she took to demons and hunting. Remember when we found you? You’d been fighting them for several years on your own and you still thought we were all bat shit crazy.”
Now Ryan laughed.
“I still do. But, you’re right, she doesn’t freak out very easily, does she?”
“No. She amazing. And we fight too. A lot. But it’s part of it all, part of me, part of Remi. I think most people find her overwhelming. Even her silence can be intimidating. But it’s good for me, it’s like that’s exactly what I need, you know? I’m built for it. For her. She fits me. And that’s what you need to find. You need to find that space where you and Ana fit.”
“Sounds like a lot of work, brother. I think maybe I’ll just stick to sex.”
“Oh come on, if we all stuck to easy then we’d been eaten by demons years ago.”
They laughed and I heard their voices move off as they went out the back door. I stood where I was for a time, basking in everything that Jake had just said.
I wondered when he planned on telling me how he felt about me.
Or when would I finally tell him?
I was pondering that later as I sat at the back bench in the shed cleaning my guns –yes, my coolness transformation was so complete that I could now take apart, clean and put back together five different types of guns- when Jake strode in through the big sliding door. I smiled at his cocky swagger, watched with amusement as he approached Ryan, who was busy putting weights on a bar for bench pressing, and pants him.
“Damn it Wagner!” Ryan yelled, unable to retaliate, with the weight in his hands and his shorts around his ankles.
I cracked up laughing. Jake was chuckling when he took the stool next to me.
“You’re terrible.” I giggled. Jake shrugged.
“And you love it. So, hey. Have you given any thought to Dane’s Halloween party this weekend?” Jake began to take apart his own gun.
I wrinkled my nose.
“I don’t know. Do we have to dress up?”
“No, we don’t have to, but don’t you think it would be fun?”
“What would I go as? I don’t want to be slutty!” I warned him as he opened his mouth to respond. He snapped it shut and chuckled again.
“Well, you could be sexy.” He suggested.
“What’s the difference?”
“There’s a huge difference, you are sexy.”
Awww, wasn’t he sweet?
“Give me some suggestions.”
“Victoria’s Secret model.” He said immediately.
“That falls under the slutty category.” I warned him. He pouted, so I tipped my head in his direction and whispered conspiratorially “Though…we could save that idea for later.” I suggested. Jake looked at me adoringly then clutched at his chest and fell from his stool.
“You are so sexy it’s killing me.” He gasped from where he lay on the floor. I giggled.
“Did you finally finish him off?” Ryan asked from where he was finally bench pressing. I looked down at Jake then to Ryan.
“No, he’s still breathing.”
“You really have to work on your follow through, Rem.” Ryan grunted.
“What’s wrong buddy?” Jake said pulling himself back up to his stool. “Are you sexually frustrated today? Did you not get to finish last night?”
“I knew it!” Ana cried from where she’d been jogging sile
ntly on her treadmill. “I knew you weren’t going to let it go!” Her water bottle zipped across the room and thudded against Jake’s shoulder.
“OW!” He laughed, rubbing his palm over the spot.
“How’s that for follow through?” Ana asked Ryan, her eyes lit with a smile that she tried to keep under control.
“Nice!” Ryan called.
Our laughter died as Mr. Wagner came through the large door, he looked neither angry, nor worried, or even upset, but there was something about his thoughtfulness that caught our attention, it had Jake standing from his stool, but he didn’t leave my side.
“What’s going on, dad?”
Mr. Wagner approached the bench where Jake and I were working on our guns, Ana abandoned her treadmill and Ryan set up his bar to join us.
“I’ve been doing some research for the past couple weeks.” He looked mostly at me as he spoke, and I felt a slight leap in excitement. Would I be getting some answers? “Granted I’ve had to be very discreet, I did not want to alert anyone to even the possibility that you might be here.” I knew he meant here in the all-encompassing sense and not just “here in my home”. “We still don’t know what the outcome of anyone knowing about you will be yet; but my vague questions were met with vague answers. So I’ve come up with educated theories.”
I was waiting on baited breath.
“So, let’s hear them.” Apparently Jake was too, he crossed his arms over his chest, his eyes were riveted on his father’s face.
“I’m still not clear on how you became, or were chosen to be, the one. I’ve gotten no answers there. But as far as your abilities, I believe that we can channel that light that came from you into a more centralized area, like your hands for example. They could in themselves become a weapon.”
“How would I do that? I haven’t been able to recreate what happened. I don’t know how to bring it back.”
“I’m trying to figure that out. In theory you should be able to tap into it and harness it with practice, but I understand the problem is finding it again. I’m afraid that brings me to my second theory.”