by C. S Luis
I gazed up at him as he took a seat behind his desk again.
“You didn’t,” I said, shocked that he had brought it up but still more embarrassed for running away that night.
“Oh, I didn’t?” He answered grinning; okay perhaps he had, but I didn’t want him to know that. But I guess he already did.
“I was surprised, that’s all…surprised that someone other than my grandfather could do that,” I tried to say, feeling my face burning.
“Well, I myself can’t,” Dr. Black honestly admitted. “But I knew what you were trying to do.” He smiled and shook a finger, as if to say naughty, naughty. I tried not to be shocked. Was I that obvious?
“You did?” I simply said as he smiled back at me. “And you’re not weirded out by that? I mean, by what I can do?” I asked ridiculously. He almost seemed to laugh.
“Not at all; if anything, I’m fascinated.”
Fascinated! What an interesting choice of words. Most people would think I was strange and head for the hills, but he hadn’t. Instead, he found it fascinating. I smiled, feeling more comfortable about being around him. Perhaps I had underestimated some people. I always thought they would freak out.
“You continue to intrigue me, Miss Belle. You must of course learn to control your emotions. Isn’t that the key?” He strangely said, which made me blush again; it was the way his voice softened and became gentle, almost romantic, that seemed to cause heat to rise to my cheeks.
I guess it was the way he said my last name that fascinated me mostly. But how did he know that all I had to do is control my emotions? He seemed to know more than he let on. But I didn’t want to ask, of course. I was too embarrassed.
“I think now that we understand each other a little bit more; you can explain to me why you were on the roof. Was someone with you?” Dr. Black softly asked; he came forward on his desk.
“No! I wasn’t with anyone.” And I almost opened my mouth, but my lips froze, and the words never came out. I couldn’t betray Alex.
Dr. Black nodded. “Claudia, if we’re going to be friends we have to learn to trust each other. I know what you can do.” I nearly panicked. “And I know when you’re lying to me. You know it’s not very hard to know when someone is lying, right?”
Yes, I do, and just as he’d claimed, I was intriguing. It was he who I found interesting. He took a deep breath and gazed right at me with those deep green eyes. I wanted to trust him, but I was afraid.
“Now, you have to promise me you will never go up there again. And we have to be honest with each other from now on. Do you understand?”
I nodded with difficulty. Was he really letting me off this easily?
“Are you going to tell Michael?” I nervously asked. Dr. Black took a deep breath again and leaned back in his seat.
“No, I don’t see the need to. We can keep this as our little secret…but,” he said almost immediately, lifting a single finger. “I don’t want to see you in my office again. Unless of course you’re stopping by to say hello,” he joked, grinning slightly.
I tried to do the same, seeing as he was letting me slip on by with this.
“So, are we going to be friends?” He asked again, narrowing his green eyes at me, his lip curled slightly. He looked incredibly handsome wearing a dark blue suit and black tie. I nodded, trying not to turn tomato-red again in front of him.
“I’m glad,” Dr. Black said, folding his lip back, and I felt the stress drain from me.
But then, a knock at the door interrupted us. Dr. Black called for the intruder to enter. Michael appeared at the entrance and I had never been so unhappy to see him; it was obvious he knew what had happened, and I saw the disappointment in his eyes.
“Claudia, oh thank God! Mr. Thomas told me she was in your office, Dr. Black. I hope she hasn’t been a problem,” Michael said, entering and coming to stand beside me where I was seated.
“Oh, not at all Michael,” Dr. Black answered.
“Mr. Thomas said she was on the roof. What were you doing up on the roof?” Michael redirected the question while looking back at me.
“Who was the other person?” Michael asked Dr. Black, and Dr. Black looked puzzled, but Michael seemed to be ahead of him.
“Was it Alex Burton?” Michael suddenly asked.
“It’s alright, Michael. Claudia and I had a long discussion. She has made a promise she will not repeat today’s performance,” Dr. Black said, walking from around his desk over to Michael’s side. “Isn’t that right, my dear?” He humored with a smirk at me.
I nodded, but Michael narrowed his eyes at me. He already knew, and he spun his head around and said, “Alex Burton. I’m sure of it.”
Dr. Black seemed slightly disappointed that he couldn’t calm Michael’s anger. I wasn’t sure why.
“Yes,” Michael whispered, glancing back at me. “Isn’t that true, Claudia?”
I nodded with difficulty, realizing I was willing to get Alex in trouble to protect Quentin, and then I replied, “Yes it was Alex. But we weren’t doing anything wrong.” I tried to say this as innocently as possible
“That’s not the point,” Michael said. “You skipped class, and my god, what if something had happened to you? The roof is no place for children,” he said, and my heart sunk when he said that. I felt a glowing warmth on my cheeks; he was embarrassing me in front of Dr. Black. At once I rose from my seat and glared up at Michael angrily.
“Are you giving her detention?” Michael asked, gazing over at me in question.
“I don’t see any point; she has learned her lesson. Haven’t you, my dear?” Dr. Black asked while directing his eyes over at me. He was trying to soften the situation between Michael and I, but I didn’t say a word, knowing Michael didn’t like the idea of me avoiding detention or some form of punishment. It appeared he wanted to seem responsible or whatever. But I wasn’t a child. And I definitely wasn’t his child.
“Dr. Black, don’t you think it’s best she gets detention. I mean, I don’t want other students thinking that she’s getting special treatment because I’m her guardian.”
Dr. Black laughed slightly. “Nonsense, Michael. I’m quite sure she’s learned her lesson.”
But Michael would not have any of it.
“Very well, I apologize for the intrusion Dr. Black.”
With few words, he instructed me to the door but I was already walking away angrily as I turned and growled back at him, “I’m not a child!”
And then I rushed out of the office before he could respond.
“Claudia!” Michael called after me, turning to Dr. Black; I caught Dr. Black’s apologetic expression at the other end before Michael hurried, trying to catch up to me and finally doing so in the hallway. Perhaps because I’d stopped when he again called and came rushing out into the hallway to find me. He was ready to race up the stairwell after me.
Michael came to stand behind me. “Young lady,” he started to say but stopped when I faced him and stared up at him defiantly.
“I wish you hadn’t embarrassed me in front of Dr. Black,” I interrupted him.
“Embarrassed you? You managed to do that on your own,” he rudely redirected.
“I’m not a child!” I said to him again.
“Claudia, even though you’re eighteen, you’re still my responsibility,” he said to me very directly.
“I’m almost nineteen, and I’m not a child,” I snapped back.
“Well, you’re acting like one now. What were you doing up there in the first place?” Michael firmly asked.
“You wouldn’t understand,” I merely uttered, knowing it wasn’t an explanation.
I began to walk away, but Michael followed. He was disappointed, and I felt guilty for making him feel that way but far angrier with him for embarrassing me.
“Don’t think that you’re not going to be punished just because Dr. Black didn’t give you detention,” Michael finally said in the empty hall. I didn’t answer at first; just felt him beside me
as we walked down the hallway, leaving the principal’s office behind.
“You’re grounded,” he said again, and I looked up at him in disbelief but swallowed any words that tried escaping my lips.
“And that’s not all. I don’t want you hanging around Alex Burton anymore.”
“What!” I spun my head around. Now that was just going too far. “You can’t do that.”
“I’m your guardian, and I’m responsible if anything happens to you. I don’t want you talking to her again,” he firmly said; he sounded unreal, like he was trying really hard to make his voice sound strong and firm.
“But she’s my friend, and we have a party on Saturday. I’ve already made plans with her,” I responded, and I wished I hadn’t said a word about it. But it was too late.
“Well, then maybe you should have thought about that before you wandered off and skipped.”
He didn’t say it as firmly as the first time. I could sense the emotions inside him were swirling in different directions. He wanted to take it all back and apologize and just hold me. But he felt he had to say something; there was a voice inside telling him to be strict and firm or else I would walk all over him.
“That’s not fair,” I snapped, pulling away from him; he nearly gave in. I could feel it. I walked into the stairwell away from his side.
“Where are you going?” He asked. I turned to look at him angrily.
“To class! Now leave me alone!” I yelled back at him, hurrying away.
“Claudia, please. You must understand, I’m only trying to keep you safe,” Michael pleaded. I ignored him and headed up the stairs.
37
Alex
Alex sat in her rusted car. The parking lot was fairly quiet. She waited patiently as the last bell rang; even now the last of the buses were lining up one behind the other to shuttle students to their area homes. And soon, it would be time for her to wander into hers as well.
But she wasn’t looking forward to it.
She was more afraid now with everything that had happened. And she wondered why she had never noticed it before. But it was always that way. Dr. Edwards had always given her a bad vibe, but she had never suspected anything else. Only after had it all made sense. But she never made a connection; even visiting the grave was a hard thing to do.
The rusted gates of the old cemetery greeted her as she got out of her car the very same day she had heard the news of Quinn’s return from the old woman. She had bravely decided it was time to see his grave site, but she had never entered. Why had it taken her so long to do this? She kept her distance even after discovering who he really was.
It was for the best. Of course, she intended to one day reveal herself, but it had taken longer than she’d thought, and then, death had come and taken him as Quinn had once taken her a long time ago. She swallowed, watching her peers climbing into the yellow shuttles, waiting patiently as she saw Claudia emerge out of the entrance. Alex made a movement to greet her until Michael descended the stairs alongside her. She immediately ducked into the passenger door of her car and climbed into the driver’s seat.
“Shit.” she said; there was no way of reaching her and she really wanted to talk to her. There was something she had to share with her even though the crystal’s light had warned her it was a bad idea. She knew if she didn’t warn Claudia it would soon be too late, and she didn’t want the same thing that had happened to her to befall Claudia as well, but the whole thing sounded crazy, even to her, and she had actually lived it.
Michael and Claudia climbed into a Honda SUV and drove out of the parking lot as Alex ducked inside the car. When the coast was clear, she sat up, deciding on what to do next. She could easily seek Claudia out later at night, or perhaps she would wait for the time of the party and drag Claudia out of the house. They had to talk; it was important because she had sensed the danger long before and had failed to stop it only because she had to wait until it made the connection. That was the only way she knew who it wanted. And now that she knew, she had to stop it before it was too late for her as well.
She turned the key in the car ignition, but at first it failed until she put a palm over the dash, and immediately, the car came to life and roared as she pushed down on the gas pedal. She smiled now recalling Claudia’s confession. Claudia was indeed naïve and such an easy prey to evil; she had no idea what was now stalking her. It was time to tell her the truth about her grandfather, and she had to tell her soon. But first, she had to make a stop. It was time to go there, time to see him perhaps for the last time and do what she should have done a long time ago. She put the car in gear and drove out of the parking lot, speeding out and startling a couple on the sidewalk near the driveway.
When she arrived and turned off the car engine, she felt like fleeing; she hated cemeteries, always had. She hated them because of her fears of the Ink or death, as human beings better knew him. The well-dressed blond man in the black suit; Quinn had frightened her with all his stories, and she couldn’t bear to step a foot into a cemetery, but today she had to. There was no turning back. It had to be done.
She came out of the car carrying a rose and swallowing hard. She went in through the gates that were open. There was a funeral at the other side of the cemetery, and there were funeral cars and many people dressed in black. She’d fit right in. You’d think she’d like this kind of thing, but she didn't.
She feared cemeteries and more so the buried and the reaper who sometimes paid them a visit. He was always looking for them, the beings and their counterparts, ones like her. What did he want? Were there things Quinn had not shared with her? He was a secretive monster; they all were. They wanted control.
She hurried on finding it without difficulty and came to stand before it, already crying before she knelt in front of the tombstone. She pulled out the black pouch she had taken from her locker. She wiped her eyes and put a rose in the vase sitting near the stone.
"I met her,” she began. “She's so beautiful and so much stronger than I expected.” She opened the pouch and pulled out a long tube-like crystal.
"She’s in danger, but I think you probably already knew that." Alex held the crystal; it had stopped glowing, “Why didn't you give her this? I’m sure you meant to. But don't worry. I'm not going to let anything happen to her. She won't suffer as we have." She took a deep breath. “I’m going to stop him.” She ran her fingers over the words on the stone, putting the crystal back into the pouch.
"I miss you so much... I never stopped hoping that one day we would find each other again." She sobbed harder, and the mascara was smearing her dark eyes as the white makeup felt hard on her face.
"Okay, I have to go now.” She slowly turned away but spun around and put a kiss on the hard stone, feeling over the name imprinted name:
Neil Edwards, beloved grandfather and devoted educator.
“I'm sorry I wasn't there, my son."
And with that, she turned away and rushed out, looking back at the trees behind her when there was movement.
Startled, Alex spun her head, and there, among the stones behind a tree, a bony hand crept on the bark and a head poked out in greeting.
“Maya, come here!” His voice hissed, and the blond-haired man gleamed. She knew he couldn’t touch her as much as he wanted to take her; he couldn’t as he was bonded by the rules. But he loved to toy with her and to frighten her.
She hurried away as his laughter filled the silent night, and frightened, she began to sob, stumbling out of the cemetery and hurrying to get away. In the distance, they were burying someone else, and she hurried out, racing to her car and closing the door. She glanced down at her bracelet; it was a pale white, and she sighed in relief.
The car started at the first turn of the key, and she sped away. The night was falling now, and it was dark by the time she reached the old woman’s house. She would have to leave soon as she had often run since she had returned to this world. And yet, she hadn’t aged at all, so it was easy to search the scho
ols for the one she was looking for. But Quinn was never far behind, and she knew she was running out of time.
When she arrived at home, she made sandwiches and served the old woman her tea and joined her by the TV to watch The Bachelor, the old woman’s favorite show. The old woman talked about the women on the show, and she told Alex she should get into a reality show. By nine at night, the old woman was falling asleep on the couch and Alex knew it was time to take her to bed.
Alex helped her up the stairs and into the first bedroom. Tucking her into the large bed, she closed the door behind her and moved across the hallway; the floor creaked under her steps, and she stopped to hear the wind outside. The house seemed to come alive.
Alex began to walk towards her room. She picked that room because it was the only one that was not painted a pastel color and not cluttered with things. Although, a few boxes did clutter the closet, it was better than nothing, and it beat sleeping in abandoned buildings.
A shadow moved across the floor, and she froze, finding the stairs but a distance away. She wanted to run but she worried about the old woman, and she didn’t want to leave. Instead, she stood at the entrance of her room; it was dark, but the moonlight entering through the open window lit the way somewhat. She slowly pushed open the door, and it cracked as she did.
"Maya, Maya, what am I going to do with you?” A voice softly hissed from somewhere inside.
She moved her hand over the light switch, but it didn’t work, so she reached for the nearest lamp. As the light came on, she found his figure seated on the ledge of the window looking back at her. There was an eerie grimace on his pale, youthful handsome face.
“Quinn!” Alex screamed.
“The one and only. Who else would travel the regions of the universe to come find you, my love? I missed you,” his voice replied. “I missed your touch and your smell; you intoxicate me. Why do you do this? Why do you run from me?” The young man hissed; his hair was dark as the night and his skin the color of milk. But he was beautiful, especially his eyes. After all, it had been his purple crystal eyes that had drawn her in, in the first place. He wore the same clothing as always: a scaly leather jumpsuit with a patch of color of their choosing; his was a fiery red. Quinn’s favorite color was red.