by Hayden, Sean
“She started it…”
* * *
The clouds had rolled in, darkening the bright morning light. A solitary break let the sun stream through in a cone of brilliant hues that sparkled in the lonely rows of trees. A shaft of light illuminated a solitary tree, somewhat separated from the others. It was as if the heavens themselves had picked the Sullivan Family Christmas tree.
“How about that one?” Dad sounded almost reverent as he spotted the beauty before us.
“Perfect,” Mom echoed behind him.
Dad hefted the axe the farmer had loaned him, and strode forward, leaving the rest of us behind. He spit into his gloves, grabbed the handle, and whacked it good about eight inches from the base of the tree. The axe bounced off after making a small dent in the bark.
“We’re gonna be here a while,” I said with a little laugh.
Mom walked over to Dad. “Is it sharp enough?”
“Yeah. I checked it before we left. It’s just a tough tree.”
“Let’s pick another one then.”
“Hell no. It’s this one.”
She sighed, rolled her eyes, stepped back, and let him have at it. Thirty minutes later, he was only a quarter of the way through it.
“Why don’t you give your dad a hand, Connor,” Clarisse whispered next to me.
I nodded, the novelty of standing in the middle of a freezing forest having worn off long ago. “Take a break, Dad,” I said and grabbed the axe in his hand.
“No way, kiddo. This sucker is tough. You’ll chop your foot off or something.”
I rolled my eyes and pulled on the handle anyway. “Just a small one. I’ll be careful and you need a break. Go warm up.”
He let go reluctantly. “Chop on an angle. Watch for bounce-backs, and keep an eye on your shins.”
“Yes, Father,” I said and waited for him to join the others. I gripped the axe in both hands, settling the blade in the groove he had made in the trunk. Slowly, I pulled back until the axe was behind me. I swung with everything I had.
“Connor!” I could hear the panic in Dad’s voice as the axe swung in a perfect arc toward the trunk.
The axe head hit the trunk, exploding it into shards of wood and bark as it continued travelling through and embedding itself in the dirt to the left of the tree. The tree dropped back onto the stump and toppled over, nearly landing on me in the process.
Everyone behind me began clapping in anticipation of going home. I turned and saw my mom and dad standing there with a look of utter confusion and awe on their faces. I shrugged my shoulders and hefted the axe over my shoulder.
“Jesus, Connor.”
“Lucky hit, Dad. You loosened it up for me. Thanks.”
“No problem, son.
Chapter 16
We pulled into the parking lot of the family diner with the tree–that was way larger than it looked while standing upright in the forest–strapped firmly to the roof of the minivan. We drew a few looks from the people getting in and out of their cars, but it was worth it. I was still feeling pretty good about myself for felling it with one stroke of my axe. I sort of felt like Paul Bunyon. Without the ox.
We walked inside and the place smelled awesome. Greasy, but awesome. The smell of bacon permeated the restaurant like a heaven-scented air-freshener. “Mornin’. How many?”
I looked up at the ancient waitress in her pink uniform and smiled. She even had a nametag that read Flo. That earned a giggle. The place was my new favorite restaurant. “Seven,” I replied for Dad, who was still trying to get inside the door.
“Follow me, hon.”
“Thanks.” I took Jess’ hand and followed. She had to be in her late sixties, but she sashayed with the best of them. Jess smiled and buried her face in my arm.
She led us to a large round table in the corner. We sat and she handed us each a sticky laminated, single-sheet menu. “The Porksplosion is the special for today. Holler at me when you’re ready to order.”
She sauntered off, refilling coffees and taking more orders. I looked around. The place wasn’t that small, yet she seemed to be the only waitress in the place. “Wow. She must be good.”
“Huh?”
I looked over at Jess. I hadn’t realized I had been thinking out loud. “She must be good. She’s the only waitress in the place.”
“Oh.” She looked around, and shrugged, seemingly unimpressed.
I looked at the menu and my eyes found the Porksplosion, which was a combination of three eggs, toast, hash browns, bacon, ham, and sausage. “Nom noms.”
“What is?”
“The Porksplosion. I’m starving.”
Her eyes widened at the description. She looked over at me, down at my belly, and back up to my face. “You’re gonna get fat. I’ll still love you, but you’re gonna get fat.”
I touched my belly, which was harder and flatter than ever. There was one good side to being a demon, unlimited caloric intake. I could eat with the best of them and not worry about ending up on an eating intervention show.
“Everybody ready?” We all nodded at Dad and he waved Flo over to take our order. Everyone ordered smallish breakfasts, except for Dad, Clarisse, and me. We all went for the gold and ordered the Porksplosion. We all grinned at each other after Flo left. The rest of them rolled their eyes.
Caelyn even said, “Men!”
Clarisse laughed. “Lightweight.”
“I don’t want to look like a bloated tick.”
“Not like you ever would…” She trailed off, remembering Mom and Dad sitting at the table. At least she didn’t make any blood-sucker jokes.
I glanced over at Jess, who was staring down at the white Formica-covered tabletop, not really paying attention. I nudged her, gently. “You okay, baby?”
She seemed to snap out of it. “Yeah. Just feeling a little weird.”
“You getting sick?”
“No. I don’t think so.”
“Good. I don’t like it when you’re not feeling good,” I said and leaned in for a kiss. She pecked my lips and sat back in the chair.
The sound of glass breaking drew everyone’s attention. Somebody knocked a glass onto the floor at the table next to ours. Everyone in the restaurant started clapping, drawing laughter from all of us. Except for Jess. She sat there with her hands covering her ears and grimacing in pain. I touched her arm gently.
She glanced up at me, tears rimming her eyes. Her eyes began darting around the restaurant. The moved from an elderly gentleman tapping his glass with his fork to a trucker who was repeatedly rapping is knuckles against the countertop in the front. I could see the panic on her face. I gently grabbed her arm and helped her to her feet, leading her out of the diner and into the relative quietness of the outdoors.
She calmed as she closed her eyes. The only sounds around us were a few birds in the trees and the distant sounds of cars cruising down the highway. “You okay?”
She nodded. “Must be a migraine coming on. It was too noisy in there.” She closed the distance between us and rested her face against my chest. I wrapped her in my arms and kissed her head, slowly swaying in an effort to calm her.
“I think Mom has some aspirin in her purse. We’ll get you some in a minute.”
She nodded, not looking up. Clarisse came outside to check on us. “All good?”
“Yeah. She’s getting a migraine and the noise of the diner was getting to her.”
Clarisse opened her mouth to speak and quickly shut it, shooting me a worried glance. I scrunched my eyes at her in confusion, raising one eyebrow. She looked around before bringing her hands up to her shoulders and making flappy gestures.
“Oh,” I mouthed silently.
She nodded at my comprehension, bringing two finger tips to her eyes and then using them to point to Jess. The universal sign for, “Watch her and make sure she’s not turning into a Chosen.”
I gulped silently. Jess looked up at me, and then turned around to see Clarisse re-enter the diner. “I see wh
y you two are friends.”
“Huh?”
“You’re very much alike.”
I smiled down at her, actually taking that as a compliment. “Told you she’s not that bad once you get to know her.”
“I didn’t say I like her. I just said you were a lot alike.”
“But…”
“It’s got nothing to do with her, sweetie. She’s a girl, she’s disgustingly pretty, and she’s not related to you. There’s a jealousy issue. It can’t be helped,” she said and gave me a feeble apologetic smile. “Sorry.”
“Don’t tell anyone, but it’s kind of hot when you get jealous,” I replied with a wink, kissing her lips softly.
“You’re strange.”
“But you love me.”
“Most of the time.” She pulled back a little and smiled, letting me know she was teasing. “I’m better. Ready to go back in?”
“Hell yeah. I have a Porksplosion waiting for me.
“I’m telling you… Fat.”
“That’s one thing I can promise you will never happen.”
“So he says now. I’m not buying you new belts though.”
* * *
After shaving about three feet off the bottom of the tree, Dad finally got it into the stand without it hitting the ceiling. There still wasn’t any room for the star, but he said he had a plan. Mom rolled her eyes and grabbed the girls to help her pull the decorations out of the basement.
“Everything okay with you and Jess?”
I looked up at my father in confusion. “Yeah. Why? Doesn’t it seem okay?”
“Yes. I don’t know why I asked that. Maybe just making small talk with my son?”
“Jeez, Dad. Pick a different subject next time. You’re gonna give me a heart attack.”
He had the decency to look apologetic before he started trimming stray branches and shaping the tree. I flipped on the television and switched to the Sounds of the Seasons on the music channels. There was something important about listening to Christmas music while decorating the tree. Without it, it was like decaffeinated coffee. Or turkey bacon.
“Here’s the lights, hon,” Mom said as she deposited a box on the floor next to Dad before turning around and heading back downstairs.
“Come on. Help me check these.”
Thus began my hour of hell. I silently vowed to myself to buy new Christmas lights every year when I was older. It just wasn’t worth it. If I weren’t a Fallen, my fingers would have had blisters from pulling the little green thingies out of the green pluggy things. I was about three seconds away from snapping. Miraculously, the last strand Dad and I were working on flickered to life. I sighed and stood. The lights went out.
“I quit!” I left amid a chorus of giggles where the girls were sorting through the boxes of Christmas cheer. I felt like stomping on an ornament. “I’m taking a break. Want to go outside, Jess?”
She looked over at my mom, who nodded. “Go ahead, sweetie. Maybe you can put him in a better mood.”
“Sure,” Jess said and grabbed my hand. I pulled her to her feet and headed toward the back door through the kitchen.
The cold air helped my mood a bit. Jessie in my arms helped a lot more.
“So… How are you liking your first Sullivan Family Christmas?”
“You have no idea how perfect you have it, do you?” She looked up at me solemnly, a tear forming in the corner of her eye.
“Excuse me?”
“It’s been just me and Dad for so long, I forgot how holidays were meant to be spent. Be very thankful.”
“I am. But I’m more thankful that you’re here to spend it with me, too.”
“You’re a suck.”
“Is that a bad thing?”
“Never. Just don’t stop.”
I leaned in and gave her a quick kiss. “Ready to go decorate a tree?”
“Yep.”
Chapter 17
The door to the school opened and I could smell Monday wash over me like a bad bean burrito fart. I groaned as I passed through the entrance and into the halls of monotony. Even the sight of Jessie, waiting for me by her locker, couldn’t brighten my outlook of another week of school. I didn’t think I could handle the two weeks we had left until winter break.
“Hey, handsome.”
“Hi, beautiful. Happy Monday.”
“It’ll go quick. Just stay out of trouble,” she said with a wink and a smile.
“Did you just meet Connor?” My sister’s voice echoed from behind us. I turned in time to see her roll her eyes as she passed us on her way to class.
“Not my fault it finds me,” I called after her.
“Come on. We’re gonna be late,” Jess said and pulled me by my hand toward homeroom.
All in all, the morning passed rather quickly with a minimal amount of suckage. If only the day had stayed that way.
Sure, I was looking forward to having lunch with my beautiful girlfriend, and lunch started normally enough with us getting into line, ordering our usual salad and lunch with meat-like products for me. It was hamburger day, which are slightly less dangerous than sloppy-joe days.
We had just sat down and started eating when the unthinkable happened. By unthinkable, I mean the worst possible thing in the universe that could have happened, happened. No, the sun didn’t go supernova turning the earth into a fiery ball of destruction and killing all life on earth. My girlfriend did.
Shannon had exited the lunch line and deposited her tray and drink at her table a few rows away. Picking up her banana, she glanced at it, made a face, and decided it wasn’t worthy of her consumption. She headed toward the garbage can which was inconveniently located on the opposite side of our lunch table.
Jess tensed as she approached. I gently reached over and placed my hand on her knee and as she turned to look at me, I gave her a little smile. At the same exact moment, Shannon walked past, running her fingertips over my shoulders seductively.
The color drained from my face as I watched Jess’ anxiety turn to anger and then morph into fury. I think I whispered, “Oh shit,” as Jess stood violently. I heard the crunching of plastic and looked down to see the bench she had been sitting on shatter as her knees drove it backwards when she stood.
I was going to have to take one for the team.
In an effort to avoid a full-scale massacre in the James Underwood High School cafeteria, I stood, wrapped Jess in my arms, and practically dragged her through the maze of tables and out the door into the courtyard outside.
“Don’t you dare stop me!” Her voice echoed between the buildings and I’m sure was cutoff mid-sentence as the doors leading inside closed behind us.
I pushed Jess back to arm’s length and looked into her beautiful green eyes. I could see nothing but hatred. Hopefully it wasn’t focused at me. “Do you really think she’s worth it? Think about it. If you hurt her, you’re going to get into serious trouble. Do you know what your dad would do to you? Do you have any idea how long you’d be grounded for?”
“I don’t care! And I don’t understand why you’re stopping me! What? Did you like it?”
Uh-oh. The conversation turned in a direction I hadn’t even considered. “Are you crazy? I love you. Why the hell would I want her to touch me?”
“Did you just call me crazy?”
“No. I asked if you were. Big difference. But the way you’re acting, I’m starting to…”
Yeah… Not my crowning academic achievement. I might have mentioned in the past that I wasn’t the brightest bulb on the strand. I didn’t even get to finish my sentence when her knee shot out and found a new home, nestled snuggly at the juncture of my legs, displacing my small family of two. My girlfriend had just kneed me in the nads. My world collapsed inwardly as did my intestines and other organs as the wave of pain swept upward.
Apparently, even the Fallen weren’t immune to a well-placed nut-shot.
I dropped to my knees as my eyes closed and a song of anguish escaped my lips, filling the cou
rtyard with its forlorn melody of despair.
“Asshole,” she said and took off toward the cafeteria.
“Jess. Wait!” It took everything I had to get the words out. It didn’t help. I watched her back as she threw the door open and walked inside, leaving a small trail of white feathers in her wake…
Things went from worse to abysmally horrid in the blink of an eye. I sucked it up and stood, a little wobbly I admit, but at least I was on two feet. I hurried after her, expecting a war of cataclysmic proportions on the other side of the ancient glass door.
What I got was Jessie standing in front of Shannon, visibly shaking and shouting the words, “If you want him, you can have him!” She stormed off and headed back toward the classrooms.
The students in the lunchroom, who had completely given up on eating to watch the drama unfold, visibly shrank as Jess walked by their tables.
I, on the other hand, could feel my heart breaking as I watched her walk away. I sank back to my knees, not caring that my jeans were touching the floor of the lunchroom, the floor that probably carried every bacteria known to man in one convenient linoleum covered petri dish. I forgot about the pain in my nuts as the pain in my heart became the new center of my universe.
I don’t know how long I stayed there either. Eventually, I felt a pair of hands grip under my arms and lift me to my feet. Feminine arms embraced me as I felt someone’s breath on the back of my neck. I started to spin furiously, fully expecting Shannon to have mistakenly claimed her prize, when Clarisse’s voice whispered softly into my ear.
“If you don’t want to make the biggest mistake of your life…go after her.”
And with those subtle words of wisdom, she let me go.
* * *
My sneakers squeaked through the hallway sounding like a basketball game as I raced after my girlfriend. At least I hoped she was my girlfriend. I had never seen her that angry. I hoped to the Creator that I never saw her that angry again. Ever.
I saw a flash of red head up the stairwell to the second floor. Since Jess was the only girl in the school with that exact shade of hair, I gave a full fledge burst of Fallen speed and made it to the stairs within moments. Footfalls echoed on the flight above me. For a nanosecond, I debated calling my wings and jumping. Then common sense took over. Landing next to Jess with glowing eyes and leathery wings probably wouldn’t be a good idea.