by Noah Harris
“Well, Mr. Finley,” the doctor began. “We have the results of your x-rays.” He popped them up, with a swift click, into the backlit display board and started pointing, “Here is where the emergency room said your major break was, and this was the minor one.” He switched out the x-ray films and continued. “But by my reading, this break is really just a hairline fracture and already healing very well at that, and this side doesn’t even look broken, just inflamed.”
“So, no surgery?” Jared beseeched.
“No, no surgery. In fact, I think you can put weight on it next week, and, if it continues to heal this well, be dancing again in three. Just stay off of it, rest up be sure to eat right and stay really well hydrated. Don’t try to get back to dancing too soon, or you’ll start the whole thing over from the beginning,” the doctor warned.
Jared was elated, beaming and shaking the doctor’s hand. He hugged Nick before turning back, just as the doctor was leaving.
“Thank you, doctor. Thank you so much… this is really amazing,” Jared gushed.
“It really is,” smiled the doctor, before he was gone in a flash and on to the next patient. Nick hoped he might twist that mustache once before leaving, but no such luck. He turned his attention back to Jared.
“I am so happy for you!”
“For once,” Jared said, “things went right. I can’t even believe it. Just this once, I’d hoped and here it is—my chance isn’t gone after all. I can’t tell you how relieved I am.” They sat in a happy embrace for a few moments, before the nurse came in and they shuffled out.
9
Michael shared Nick’s decision with Isda and Gideon, and told them about the healing. He would have preferred not to, but knew they would find out anyway.
“Michael, Nick doesn’t know who Jared is,” Isda warned. “You have to tell him.” She knew better than anyone that if Michael told Nick later rather than sooner, he might feel betrayed, or tricked into joining the pack.
“I will, in time,” Michael confirmed. The three of them approached the grand hall, where their pack met with the rest of the Wisdom. It was filling fast, and they spotted a few rows, where members of their own pack were seated, about a third of the way back on the right hand side. It would be a few moments before the meeting proceeded, and Gideon rushed ahead to meet the others. Isda, however, stayed with Michael and kept on with the topic of conversation.
“If he continues down the path with this human, and you haven’t told him everything there is to know, how is he going to perform the test? If he’s placed his own vapor in the human to heal him, it will create a shimmering anyway, so there’ll be no way for him to tell whether the man is friend or foe.”
Michael did not look sympathetic. “Then maybe he will learn not to have human toys.”
They reached the rest of their pack, and Michael took the front aisle seat of their rows, indicating he was the leader, which was really unnecessary. Everyone knew who Michael was anyway; he had a somewhat famous, or perhaps illustrious, history. Isda sat to his right, as she was his second and that, right there, was the main reason he was so concerned with getting Nick to join them. Isda and Gideon had amazing strengths, but neither of them really even wanted to be a leader, much less possessed the right temperament for it. Someday, perhaps not too many years from now, Michael’s age would likely catch up with him. He knew he needed to groom a leader with the innate strength and good judgment to lead the pack. Until recently, he felt certain that was Nick. That is why he had followed him since he was twelve, testing him, watching him, and guiding him from behind the scenes, when he could. Now, Nick’s obsession with the human seemed, to Michael, to cast all of that into doubt. Having served under Michael for so long, Isda could almost read his thoughts. She leaned over and continued.
“Michael, it was just a year ago he still thought he actually was human. He wasn’t raised like you. He’s adjusted tremendously in a very short time, but you have to remember where he came from. Since he was raised not knowing he was a shifter, he may never fully identify with us.” Michael nodded, knowing this was true. He looked back at the seven rows of his own pack behind him, thinking for the thousandth time—which of these could lead when I am gone? He came up with the same answer he always did. In his heart, he didn’t think any of them could really do it justice. The more modern Wisdoms were stealing some of the best new talent. Face it, basically, he really did have to trick Nick into joining them—the traditionalists—but he owed it to his pack to ensure there was a future, no matter the cost. Nick would have to step up, learn faster, and acclimate his mind to the fact that he was a shifter, not a human. What better way than for him to see their true nature? Michael thought strategically. It was regrettable, but necessary. Ironically, Nick had already demonstrated his own ability to see just that. He pushed up the timetable for joining the pack because it served his purpose, and was on that path anyway. Similarly, Michael thought that Nick would become disenchanted with humans in time; he was just helping the process along. Nick didn’t need to lead right away, but he had to at least start moving in that direction, for within five years, this pack would have a new leader, and if Michael had his way, that leader’s name would be Nick. He leaned back to Isda.
“I am going to bring him here for the next gathering and at that time, he will have to win over the rest of the pack.”
10
Nick’s training continued with Michael, Isda, and Gideon. It was a busy time for him and for Jared as well, since there were extra rehearsals to make up for the time lost due to his injury. Though they had seen each other, they were both disappointed they couldn’t manage more uninterrupted time together. This was how it came to be that Jared invited Nick to his home for the weekend. Jared’s father was on a business trip, but would join them for dinner on Sunday before they returned to school.
It was clear upon their initial entrance into the grand hall that Jared came from wealth. It was to his credit that he didn’t wear it on his sleeve like so many others. Nick looked over at him, and the corners of his mouth lifted in a smile, for the more he got to know Jared, the more he saw a quality person of character. Jared casually dropped his keys into an ivory china bowl with gold trim that rested on the circular entryway table. He flipped off his shoes onto the navy blue and gold Persian rug under the same table and with just his socks on, slid his way further into the room across the marble floor. A childhood ritual, no doubt. He turned to face Nick with a huge grin on his face.
“Hungry?” he inquired.
“Not really,” Nick responded. “Not yet, anyway.”
“Okay, I’ll have Forrester make us something later. Follow me.”
Jared began ascending one of two long, sweeping staircases, motioning that Nick should join him. Closer to the one on the right, Nick set a foot on the first step and giving Jared a mischievous smile, began to run up the stairs. Catching on, and now slightly behind on the staircase parallel to Nicks, Jared began skipping steps by twos on the flight to the left, until they both met in the center at the top, laughing.
“C’mon, your room’s down here,” Jared relayed, as he led Nick down a long, ornate hallway with curved railings. As they passed painting after painting, a small camera tracked them as they walked, the internal machinery whirring gently as it did so. Nick eyed the camera, and stood up a little straighter. Reaching the end of the formal hallway with beige carpet, the two passed through a set of double doors into a separate area of more modern décor. Walking across the white hexagonal floor tiles, and passing a bar of grey quartz, Nick noticed a central living area with two sofas providing a view of a floor to ceiling picture window, and two bedrooms, one to the left and one to the right. In the corner of the mini-suite was a door to a half bath, though each of the bedrooms also had their own full bath. Jared closed the double entry doors to the suite and turned to Nick.
“This is my own apartment. Oh, and the cameras stop at the front door, just so you know.”
Walking casually to
a fridge behind the bar, he removed a lemonade, holding one up to Nick to offer the same. Waving the beverage away, Nick stood with his suitcase resting next to his foot and stared out at the picturesque view of a small grove of trees which led down to a creek in the distance, not too far from the house.
“Wow, this must be torture to come home to every day,” Nick teased and Jared shrugged.
“I love this view. It’s so tranquil; sometimes I feel I could stay secluded here forever. Also, I have a dance studio downstairs where the hours I keep won’t disturb any of the staff, or my father. Still, it has its pros and cons.”
“Cons? Like what?” Nick gestured widely with his arms at the luxury of the space.
“Freedom,” Jared said, a little too quietly, casting his eyes downward for a moment before resuming his usual demeanor. He grabbed the handle of Nick’s suitcase and wheeled it toward the bedroom on the right. Walking in, he flipped the wall switch to illuminate a light fixture filled with Edison bulbs and revealing a modern and comfortable room in navy and white with a reclaimed wood wall behind the headboard. The room included a sliding glass door, which led to a long patio with another sliding glass door at the far end, about 30 feet away.
“That’s to my room,” Jared explained as he walked to the center of the patio, where the narrow portion expanded out into a large, central deck. “But, this is my favorite part.” Jared walked to the corner of the large deck, where a zip-line was firmly attached. Following it with his eyes, Nick saw the line go out of sight and guessed it would end up right about at the creek, maybe just beyond it. The terminus of the line was out of view due to the thick foliage of the trees.
“Wanna try it?” he asked. Nick nodded enthusiastically, and Jared grabbed a second handle from a small, plastic box made of the same color so as to blend in with the deck. “Okay. Have you done this before?”
“Yeah, in Colorado. I spent a whole summer there a couple years ago,” Nick replied.
“Great. No training required. It just tends to have a strong kick at the last moment, so pull your feet up a bit more if you don’t want them to get wet,” Jared instructed.
“You want to go first?” Nick asked. Jared waved the extra handle he had gotten from the box at him.
“Nope, I’ll clip on once you’re there. I’m right behind you.” Nick observed how much more relaxed Jared was in his own environment, away from the pressures of the dance world. His hair was a bit tumbled and glinted in the sunlight, and his eyes crinkled just a bit more at the edges. Nick grabbed the bar with both hands and shoved himself forcefully off the corner of the deck. Soaring through the air, he barely noticed the occasional small twig or branch that struck his shoulders as he flew across the property. Well within the trees now, Nick could still see the creek at a fair distance in front of him, so he glanced slightly left and right to see a high, stone wall on each side with black metal caging at the top and robust sets of cameras. He also noticed passing at least three stationary cameras rising up from the dirt floor beneath him. As he approached the creek, he dutifully pulled his feet up slightly, which was a good thing, because the apparatus did enjoy a large bounce near the end, just as Jared had advised, and his legs almost went into the water, even though he’d pulled them up. He set down on the opposite side of the creek by mere feet, and turned on the ground covered with leaves to see the blue sky peeking through the tree canopy above. He could now see the elusive third side to the stone wall, which was still at least one hundred yards further beyond the creek. Turning back, he could also see Jared approaching on the zip line. His muscled arms hung on with ease, and his dancer’s body was long and lithe as he gracefully pulled his own feet up. Nick thought he landed almost the way birds do, as if seamlessly beginning a dance with the ground. Using his remaining kinetic energy, he bounded right into a hug with Nick. Nick touched his hair, but after a moment became self-conscious and took a step back.
“What’s wrong?” Jared asked, confused. Nick looked around them, assessing the area.
“All these cameras! I mean, who’s watching, anyway?” Nick inquired. Jared breathed out a heavy sigh in response, acknowledging the heavy burden of living under so much security.
“My father’s security team. There’s usually three or four of them around. Plus, sometimes, my father himself,” Jared responded. Nick reflexively took another step back. Laughing, Jared walked up to him, pointedly grabbed his hand and held it up, interlacing their fingers.
“But, I have a secret,” he announced, motioning toward some flowers about twenty feet away. “This here, from the creek to the flowers, is a camera free zone. About twenty, well, maybe thirty feet.” He began walking along the creek, swinging Nick’s hand in his own.
“Not that I mind being seen with you,” Nick quickly added. “It’s just, no one likes to have parents observing, ya know?”
“Boy, do I ever know,” Jared laughed. “No offense taken. See, the back wall has cameras and the side walls too and there are the stand alones on stakes along the way, all with motion sensors, but they found that having those too near the creek somehow gave them a shorter shelf life. So, since no one can even get to this small, dead zone area without passing through the other cameras, they figured it would be minimal risk. Plus, they don’t think anyone knows about it, so they think criminals wouldn’t be able to use it to their advantage.”
“So, this is all because your dad is worried the place will get robbed?” Nick queried.
“A little, I guess, but more so because of my father’s job. He’s an executive at a large company and business makes enemies, I guess, because they’ve had death threats before, on him and on me.”
“Oh man, I’m sorry,” Nick squeezed his hand in support. “That really sucks. So all this must not always be as fun as it looks.” Jared jovially brushed it off, letting go of Nick’s hand to pick up a small pebble and fling it into the creek.
“I hardly ever think about it,” Jared lied, and Nick could tell right away because something in his manner shifted slightly. Nick was beginning to see what he had suspected from the beginning—that there was much more to Jared and, though extroverted and fun, he was not as simple to get to know as Nick originally thought.
When they returned to Jared’s apartment, it was near dinner time and they quickly took showers to wash the grime of the outdoors away. Emerging in the central area, it was as if magic elves had quietly come in and cooked a meal for them. Dinner was completely prepared and laid out on the table, with a few dessert choices placed on the sleek bar nearby. After dinner, they watched a movie and talked until, in the middle of a sentence, Nick trailed off and his heavy eyes fell shut as he rested his head against Jared’s which was already sleeping against his shoulder. They remained like that until morning, when the twinkle of sunlight, framed by a swaying tree outside, fell on their faces in an on and off pattern sufficient enough to wake them both. Nick stretched and felt the crick in his neck and pain from an arm which was fully asleep in a way that can only result from having the weight of another person pressing on it for hours. He removed his arm stiffly from behind Jared and moved his neck around in a circular motion, and then he had to bang on his shoulder with the opposing fist in an attempt to wake it up.
“I can’t believe we fell asleep,” Jared mumbled sleepily and Nick nodded.
“Me either.” It was then that they noticed the time.
“9:45!” exclaimed Jared,” Our ride will be here in fifteen minutes! We’d better get to moving.”
“Ride? Where to?” Nick asked.
“It’s a surprise,” Jared responded.
“We can’t drive ourselves?” Nick was confused.
“Just get dressed, come on. All will be revealed in due time,” Jared confirmed, handing Nick a banana and a granola bar apologetically.
Fifteen minutes later, the two sat on velvet, tufted benches in a marbled, gilded, and fully camera-obsessed part of the foyer, while finishing off the granola bars. A friendly beep-beep could be heard
outside, so they rose and departed to where a black town car waited for them outside. In another twenty minutes they arrived at a marina, where the car left them.
“My car doesn’t have a parking decal for the marina, and it’s a recipe for disaster for me to take my father’s, so this was just easier.”
The boat was named ‘Lola’ and had a large deck with a few pieces of furniture arranged in a semi-circle just in the center. Motoring around for the afternoon provided a wonderful mixture of sun, water and down time and they ended up anchoring within sight of shore. Nick had fallen asleep with a pile of clothes beside him, his cell phone sitting on top. Jared sat in the chaise lounge next to him, reading the first book he’d touched, unrelated to academic studies, in quite some time. Nick’s cell phone rang, and Jared continued reading his book. The familiar ding of a message being left sang forth. Less than ten seconds later, it rang again, and though Nick did not stir, out of reflex Jared glanced at the screen to see who was calling, mostly to be sure it wasn’t an emergency. ‘Michael’ appeared on the screen, and when, a few moments later, this occurred again, Nick finally stirred to Jared’s silent raising of an eyebrow.
“Sounds like it might be important,” he conveyed. “It’s rung like three or four times.”
Nick picked up the phone, holding his hand over his eyebrows in visor fashion to shield it from the sun, and squinted at the screen to see ‘Michael’ again. He tapped it to go to voicemail, switched the phone to silent mode, and plopped it back down in his pile of clothes from whence it came, without a second thought.
“That can wait,” he said, earnestly.
Shortly thereafter, they reluctantly headed back to clean up for dinner. Nick was a little nervous, and, after seeing that Jared wore one, added a light sport coat, though he was baffled by the formality.