by Taryn Eason
"I'll try to reason with them. I'll put you up in your own place wherever you want if I need to. Your dad is more of an immediate threat right now than they are."
It still freaked me out that an actual gang wanted to kill me. I had fire, but they had bullets and numbers. I couldn't compete. "Are you sure this is okay?"
"Yeah. Plus I wouldn't mind the company. Maybe a woman's touch is what the place needs. How are you at decorating?"
"Absolutely awful." I admitted before yawning. I was starting to realize how sleepy I was. Tonight had definitely taken a lot out of me. I thanked Lye for letting me stay as I made my way to the guest bedroom. "Good night!" I called.
"Good night fire princess!" He smiled.
I laughed at the nickname and settled into bed, sleeping so much nicer knowing that I was away from the stress of my family.
Chapter 17
I sighed nervously as we pulled up into my driveway. I had no idea how I could face my parents after last night. They had to know that it was me who burned down Winona's greenhouse. I only hoped they had too much pride to turn me in. After all, a daughter in jail would be too much of an embarrassment for them.
I was thankful that Lye insisted on following me inside. As soon as I entered the room I could feel the tension between us and my parents.
"What are you doing here?" My father said, leaning up in his recliner.
"What, am I not allowed in my own house?" I replied.
"I thought I told you last night you weren't welcome here anymore."
I looked at my mom, who was looking at me silently from the couch. "You gonna defend me or not?" She didn't say anything. "Didn't think so."
I started to make my way towards the stairs to my room. Delilah was whispering in my father’s ear and seemed to be reasoning with him.
"Alright, you can get your stuff, but he has to stay outside." My father said.
"No. If she goes, I go." Lye responded.
My father thought for a second, most likely weighing his options (and feeling the pain in his broken nose) before responding "Fine."
I grabbed my largest suitcase and began working on haphazardly throwing my clothes into it as quickly as possible. I was so ready to be done with this family. Lye watched quietly from his seat on my bed. He knew better than to talk while I was focusing.
I heard a knock at the door. My mother entered the room.
"Sweetie, can I speak to you alone for a second?"
Lye looked at me for approval. I nodded so he stood and stepped outside.
"I know it seems like I'm the bad guy right now, but I really hope one day you'll see my side of things." She said.
I looked at her. Her dark hair was pulled back in a ponytail and she wore a yellow sundress with wooden wedges. She was the perfect housewife and mother. She had never done anything wrong to me. She was there for every parent teacher conference and every visit to the principal's office. No matter what I had done wrong, she would always be there to tell me "Don't worry, you'll just know what not to do next time."
Except now. Had I finally made her snap?
"What's your side of things? Why are you kicking me out?"
"You scared me last night, Belle. I don't know what you were, but you weren't my daughter."
"Mom, it's the Reeki. It's actually real. Delilah and I both have it. Isn't that cool?"
"Maybelle, please don't compare yourself to Delilah. Her healing powers are a gift from God and you know it."
"But don't you remember the old legends? Aunt Winona had the Reeki too."
"You know Winona wasn't right. I don’t know what she told you, but she had brain cancer and was probably delusional."
"Then how do you explain me? What do you think about this?" I lit my hand and held it out.
She was unfazed. "Belle, you're very sick. I sincerely believe you're possessed by an unholy spirit. I've seen the trouble you've always gotten yourself into, but I never wanted to believe it until I saw it with my own eyes. I do want to help you, but I'm afraid of you being in my own home."
My eyes filled with tears. Did my mother really believe what she was saying? "Mom, I'm not possessed. I'm me. I've always been me. Please believe that."
"Stories of the Reeki were fairy tales that we heard as children. They're not real. That's why I never raised you two on them. I tried to raise you two in church, and I always prayed you would do well. I love you Maybelle. You're going to get better and you're going to come home, but for now, I'm sorry, but you can't be here." She touched my face.
I heated up and she recoiled, clutching her hand. "You don't love me. You don't even know how. Do you know how hard it is to be a normal human being with a family like this?"
"Look at your car! You have it good! I'll have you know I was raised on the reservation being half whi-"
I scoffed, cutting her off. "Of course you don't."
She started to speak again. "Just go." I commanded.
She sighed and left, tears in her eyes. I finished packing silently and threw the suitcase in Lye's car, while putting the smaller stuff into mine. We left together and headed back to his house.
As I was driving back, I got a text from Tyler.
Hey, what are you doing today? Let's hang out.
I sighed. Oh, you know, just moving in with a guy who isn't you. How would I explain this?
Now's not the best time...
What's wrong?
I thought for a second. If I didn't tell him now, he might come to my parents house looking for me and I had no idea what they would tell him.
I'm moving out of my parents' house and in with a friend.
I pulled into Lye's driveway and we began unpacking. He helped me hang up my clothes and tidy up my room.
Then Tyler called.
He was asking why I moved out and who I was with. He seemed genuinely concerned when I told him I had a fight with my parents.
Lye was sitting on the other side of my bed helping me organize and he could hear the conversation coming from my phone.
"Who is that?" He asked.
"My boyfriend." I whispered back.
"You have a boyfriend? Oh, this is going to be hilarious to explain. Go ahead, invite him over to our house." He joked.
I shook my head at him, glaring.
"No, I'm still getting settled in. You can come see me when I'm finished." I said.
"But I want to bring you a present and meet your roommate. What's she like? Is she nice?" Tyler asked.
Lye was listening in and trying not to laugh.
"Yeah..." I replied, motioning for Lye to be quiet. "Really nice."
"Alright, I'll come see you sometime soon. I'm glad you're where you're happy."
I told him goodbye and hung up.
"So, how long has he been around?" Lye asked.
"Not long. He's a really good guy, though and I don't want to mess anything up." I replied.
"How is he a good guy?"
"He takes me out on dates and texts me to make sure I'm alright. I feel like he actually cares about me."
"Maybelle, that's literally the bare minimum. I mean, it's good that he treats you right, but, for future reference, that's literally the bare minimum that you should expect from anybody."
I half smiled at his fatherly advice. Having a male figure on my side of the ring had begun to do wonders for my self esteem. It was strange how I realized that I wanted for Lye to approve of Tyler, even though my own father’s opinion meant nothing to me. "I've never had that before though. I don't want it to go away."
"I understand. I guess I'll get to meet him soon, right?" He laughed.
I knew Lye would approve of Tyler. There was nothing not to like about him. But convincing Tyler that I am platonically living with my large tattooed male friend was going to be a huge challenge. "Do you have any idea how I'm going to explain this whole living situation? I haven't even told him about my powers!"
He made a motion with his hands. "I guess you just rip it off quick
like a band aid. And, you know, I wouldn't tell him about the powers thing just yet. That's kind of a fifth date topic."
"You're right. He knows about Delilah's though."
"Everyone knows about Delilah's powers. She's on every channel you turn to. Have you seen her Subaru commercial yet?"
"Don't remind me." I had been trying to ignore my sister's success. I was so over getting the daily text from an old acquaintance to get in contact with her please. She was making a good effort to be home, but she still spent over half of her time away with various good will missions and filming product endorsement ads. "I'm still getting messages from people who recognized me from when I flew to New York two weeks ago to do that interview with her about how 'I always knew my sister was special' and stuff."
"Did you at least get paid for it?" He replied.
"She had already told the news station to donate our pay to charity."
"Your sister’s definitely the next Mother Theresa."
"At least you're not calling her 'the New Jesus.'"
We finished sorting everything out and Lye left to go check on the shop. Apparently he went over even on his days off to make sure everything was running smoothly. I was laying on my bed and I decided to text Tyler. It had been three days since I had seen him last, and I was missing him badly.
I changed my mind. Come over and let's go out.
Sounds good :) Text me your new address and I'll be there soon
Chapter 18
His Range Rover pulled up and I almost laughed at the stark contrast between our cars and the neighborhood.
I met him outside since I didn't know when Lye would return. I wasn't looking forward to that conversation.
"You look gorgeous." He said.
I blushed and thanked him as he opened the passenger door for me.
"Are you sure this is a safe place for you?" He asked.
"What do you mean?" I replied.
"This isn't a good neighborhood. Aren't you afraid someone will steal your rims or break in or something?"
I thought about Lye's reputation. Anyone would have to be an idiot to even try anything at his house.
"I'm fine here. It's safe."
"I just, I don't know. It seems like it would have a leaky roof or something. How many bedrooms does it have?"
"It's a two bedroom-two bath."
"That's so tiny though. Isn't that cramped for you?"
I remembered that Tyler grew up in the same environment that I did. The only difference was that he only stuck around people like us. In my past, I went wherever the party was and that led me to some sketchy areas at times. Tyler had most likely never been inside a house that didn't have at least a three bedrooms.
"It's not too bad. It's cozy." I replied.
"Whatever. As long as you like it. Just say the words and I'll get you a place in Goldenforest so you can be near me." He reached over and squeezed my hand.
There was no way I'd let him buy me a house, especially not in the subdivision he lived in. My goal in life was to be self-sufficient and not to have to rely on anyone else. So far, I've failed miserably, but hey, I was still young.
He came inside and asked where my roommate was.
"Oh they're out now running some errands, so I guess we're all alone for at least a few hours." I attempted to coax his mind away from the subject, but he was stuck on my safety.
"Is that why you asked me to come? Because you're alone? I know you want to have your own space but I don't think a house of two girls in this area is very safe." He looked around, his glasses glinting from the yellow ceiling lights.
"Do you really have to worry about me all the time?" I asked, putting a hand on his waist. "I can promise you, I'm not as harmless as you assume I am."
"Please, what can you do? You're like a little kitten who thinks she's a lion." He smiled.
I kissed him lightly. "I'm the most fearsome lion you've ever met."
He pulled me towards himself and kissed me longer. I was concentrating on not heating myself and burning him. Physical contact with other people wasn't something I was used to, even before the powers.
I ran my hands up his back and breathed in, relaxing myself.
Then I heard a car door shut.
I jerked away from Tyler and he gave me a confused look. "What's wrong?"
"Oh nothing." I lied. "Are you ready to meet my roommate?"
We heard the lock on the door begin to turn.
"Is that her?"
I sighed. "Something like that."
Lye entered the room and immediately locked eyes with Tyler.
Lye ignored Tyler's body language and walked over to extend his hand. "Hey, you must be Tyler. I'm Lye, nice to meet you."
He glared at his ink-covered hand, his grip on my waist tightening. "Maybelle, is this degenerate your roommate?"
"Don't talk about him that way." My temper flared.
"But he's a drug dealer!" He yelled, stepping away from me as he spoke.
"Tyler, you don't have to admit that you know me. I'm willing to ignore that fact because Maybelle likes you. You should do the same for her." Lye warned evenly, his hand still extended.
"No! What kind of guy would let his girlfriend live with a drug dealer?!"
"First of all, you can't let me do anything. I do what I want and you can either accept it or go home." I spat.
"He's a junkie! Why would I be okay with this? What is wrong with you?!" He stared at me, anger bursting from his eyes.
Lye noticed his body language and stepped in between us instinctively. "You should calm down, Tyler. Maybelle doesn't need to know how we know each other because then she'll find out how much you love your Adderall. Your prescriptions were never enough to get you through college, right? I remember how you knew the exact day I stopped selling because you were pissed you had to find another dealer. So be careful who you call 'junkie' cause I know way too much about you for you to piss me off."
Tyler stiffened and looked at me fearfully. “It's not like that, Maybelle. This loser is trying to make me look bad so he can get rid of me.”
I scoffed. Was anyone ever who they say they are? "I don't care about the Adderall, Tyler, but I can't have you disrespecting Lye after everything he’s done for me.”
"But Belle, it's just-" He started shouting, immediately making me shut down.
"Please leave." I said coldly.
He sighed and lowered his head as he walked to the door submissively. "Text me later or something? Let's talk about this."
Tears were already starting to brew and I felt myself heating up. "No." I said sternly.
I took a deep breath and attempted to calm myself, but to no avail. I headed for Lye's back door before I began to melt his floor.
He followed me outside as I was shedding my shirt and pants, preparing for the inevitable.
"Maybelle, that was a bit much. You liked him didn't you?" He seemed unusually upset.
I didn't want to talk. I was at at the point where smoke sizzled from my mouth at every word I spoke. I looked like a monster and that fueled my sadness even more. "Yeah, but how he was acting wasn't alright and I just really don't want to talk about it right now."
Lye crouched down in front of me, leading me to look at him directly. "I'm not that important, okay? I have an awful past and an awful reputation and I've done nothing to get past it. He was right to be upset. I'm not going to let you take the fall for defending me."
"Lye, I'm bad at everything." I sniffled. "I'm literally an awful person. You've been nicer to me than anyone ever has in my entire life. And I'm so bad at everything, but I'd like to at least be good at loyalty for once."
Lye thought and silently nodded. He walked back inside as I fell to the ground and began to weep, upset at the end of my first real relationship.
He waited quite a few minutes before returning with a lawn chair. He unfolded it and sat down behind me.
It angered me that he was planning on sitting here and watching me cry. “W
hat are you doing?”
“Trying to be supportive” he said, taking a sip of a beer. “Am I bothering you?” He joked.
“Yes.” I said, agitated. “Now please leave.”
“You mean I can't roast marshmallows on you or anything? It's been twenty minutes. Maybelle, this isn't healthy.”
“I just broke up with my boyfriend. Let me cry.”
“You know what I like to do after a breakup?” He asked.
I shifted my position to face him with my legs crossed in front of me. The grass sizzled as I folded my arms. “What?”
“Get wasted and forget I was sad.”
I scoffed. “And you think crying is unhealthy. You're not supposed to drink when you're sad.”
“Oh well. I have a $500 bottle of wine I've been saving for a while and I need an excuse to drink it. Let's get your mind off this thing.”
I was distracted by that price. “Why would you spend $500 on wine? How can it be that good?”
He shrugged and smiled. “Want to find out?”
I sighed, standing up and brushing myself off. I knew Lye had covertly changed the subject to take my mind off of things and cool me down. I sat on his couch as he returned with the bottle and an opener. He twisted the cork off and there was a tiny pop when it came out.
He poured our glasses and handed me mine. It tasted wonderful, but after being content with whatever box wine I could get my hands on, I’d be impressed by anything.
“So, why do you want to get me drunk tonight?” I said.
“Honestly, I know it's normal for you to cry, but I couldn't stand seeing you so upset over something that was my fault, so I took a few shots and realized I didn't want to drink alone. Thankfully, you’re here now so I don't have to.” I could definitely tell he was buzzed.
“I miss the days where I had to sneak out to get alcohol and my biggest problems were which party to go to that weekend.” I admitted.
“I miss being a teenager before my brother died. My biggest fear was my parents catching me smoking weed or seeing me drunk. I can't even imagine how they would treat me if they knew what all I've done.”