Hard Time

by Chloe Fischer

  He didn’t see her immediately and felt his heart sink as he walked into the summer heat.

  She left me. She finally realized what she had taken on by helping me, he thought morosely, recalling how upset she had appeared when she believed he and Sasha were involved.

  Maybe she’s toying with me?

  Since hearing the name Oculus, Xave had been filled with a sense of trepidation. He didn’t know exactly why, but he knew Oculus was dangerous. And he couldn’t understand how Danica could be connected to a group from his past. What were the chances?

  If that memory was even real, he warned himself. You don’t know if you dreamed up the entire thing. Don’t you have enough problems without making up more in your mind?

  Again, he glanced about, trying to tell himself that he didn’t really care that she had left. Then his eyes landed on Danica, slumped against a pine tree, her olive complexion waxen as she stared at the phone in her hand.

  “I thought you left,” he said dryly, trying to mask the relief he was feeling as he stared at her.

  Oddly, he felt his heart twinge in a way that he had never before as he watched her.

  She’s hauntingly beautiful, he thought, looking at her profile. Almost ethereal.

  Her ashy irises met his and she shook her head, unsmiling.

  “We have to get back to my place,” she murmured, fear choking her tone. “Twila is in trouble.”

  Xave stared at her, his head cocked slightly to the side, measuring her seriousness.

  Fuck. She’s not kidding, he realized, and again he wondered what kind of mess they had gotten themselves into.

  “What happened?” he asked. “What kind of trouble?”

  The last thing that Xavier could afford to do was spend the night listening to Danica’s roommate cry about boy problems.

  Besides, his plans for the night involved getting Danica naked and bringing her to several screaming orgasms before he took his own release. His cock got hard as steel just at the thought of sinking into her warmth again.

  But as he studied her face more, he could see that Danica was truly scared.

  “We have to go!” she insisted, grabbing his arm and dragging him forward. Xave nodded.

  “We’ll find a cab,” he said, wondering if he had enough cash on him to cover the fare.

  They didn’t speak on the way back although Xave was filled with a million questions.

  It was not until they pulled onto South Mirror that the gravity of the situation hit him full force.

  The street was blocked off but even from where they sat in the back of the cab, they could see the intensity of the blaze.

  “I can’t go up there,” the cabbie grumbled. “I’ll go around.”

  “No,” Danica breathed as emergency vehicles squealed through. “Oh God – no!” she moaned. She squeezed his hand so hard, he felt the bones rub together.

  “Just drive,” Xave told the cabbie.

  That had been ten hours earlier and the taxi had eventually brought them to the bus depot in Lubbock, eighty-four dollars later.

  “I don’t have the cash to cover this ride,” Xave muttered in humiliation. The last thing Danica needed to hear after losing her house and livelihood was that she was paying for the fare.

  “We’re going to have to run,” she mumbled back. “I left my purse at home.”

  At first he thought she was kidding but the expression on her face belied that thought. Her expression was the same as when they had driven away from the home she had created for herself and her best friend. Shock and desolation.

  “It’s okay,” he assured her quietly. “I’ve got this.”

  “How?” she hissed. “You just said – “

  “Don’t worry,” he said, putting his hand on her arm as the driver stared at them suspiciously.

  “Did you say you ain’t got money?” he called and Xave scoffed.

  “Are you trying to listen in on our conversation?” he snapped.

  “I better get paid!” the cabbie retorted, pulling over to the curb, just outside the bus station. “You owe me almost a hundred bucks!”

  Suddenly, a pistol appeared and Danica cursed under her breath.

  She tried to smile alluringly.

  “Hey! There’s no need for that,” she said coyly. “We’ve got your money, don’t we, Johnny?”

  But the driver was unmoved by her sensual look, cocking the gun with a loud click.

  Xave closed his eyes, freezing the moment. When he opened them again, he opened his door, throwing himself out and pulling a silent Danica with him.

  Xave ran, carrying the dark-haired vixen in his arms in the opposite direction of the depot.

  He knew that the police would be looking for them there and he needed to be far away before anyone saw them.

  As the time hold wore off, he placed Danica on her feet, breathing quickly as they waited in an alleyway.

  She stared at him, her face not immediately registering there had been a change, her eyes wide with fear. Slowly, she took in her surroundings, a small gasp escaping her lips.

  Xave turned to her.

  “Are you okay?” he asked, knowing that she was, of course.

  “Yes! I – what – I…” she trailed off, uncomprehendingly. “Did we run?”

  Xave nodded, shifting his eyes away.

  “Yes of course we ran,” he said curtly. “What else could we do?”

  Danica fell against the brick wall at her back, trying to make sense of how she had gotten from the cab to the alleyway.

  For the first time since he could remember, Xave felt guilty.

  What do you feel guilty about? Are you going to tell her that you have the power to stop time?

  He scoffed aloud and Danica peered at him.

  “We have to find somewhere out of view,” she told him. “How the hell are we going to do that without any money?”

  Xave cringed because he knew she was right. They were possibly wanted in more ways than one now.

  “We’ll lay low here for a few hours and get out of the state.”

  She looked at him as if he was daft.

  “You think there is anywhere we can go that Oculus won’t find us?” she demanded, pacing around the seedy area. “We’re basically dead anyway. We may as well go to sleep and wait for the inevitable.”

  Xave noticed that they were leaning against the exterior wall of a motel. Doors to the seemingly empty rooms were calling to him on both stories of the structure. “Wait here,” he ordered Danica. “I’ll be back before you know it.” With that, he took off towards the check in office. Almost before he had disappeared around the corner of the building, he was returning. He grabbed her hand and tugged her towards the stairs. “Come with me.”

  “Where are we going?” she demanded, starting to dig in her heels as they neared the stairs to the second level of the seedy motel.

  “We’re taking a room until we figure out our next move.”

  “How are we going to pay for the room?” she demanded. She continued to sputter as he inserted the room key into the lock and tugged her inside, closing the door quickly behind them.

  “Are you crazy,” she accused. “We need to either go back and fight Oculus, or run faster and farther than they can ever reach.”

  He stared at her, marveling at her fire, despite their increasingly dire circumstance.

  Suddenly she spun and peered at him suspiciously.

  “How did you manage to get us a room here?” she demanded. “And why can’t I remember leaving the cab?”

  Xave shrugged nonchalantly.

  “Sometimes in situations of stress – “

  “Don’t placate me, Xave. What is going on?”

  Xave stared at her, debating whether or not to expose his secret. He wanted to tell her everything. Never had he felt more connected to another person but not once had he shared his most intimate secret with anyone. Ever.

  How do I know if I can trust her? He thought. I don’t know her. For all I
know, this could be a set up.

  But Xave knew in his heart that that wasn’t the case, that somehow, they had been drawn together by an inexplicable force and were trapped in this mess together.

  “You should try to call Twila,” he muttered, averting his sea green eyes. “You have no guarantee that she hasn’t run also.”

  “She’s dead,” Danica said flatly. “Trust me. After she sent me that text message warning me to run, she may as well have set herself on fire in the house. Anyway, I tossed the cell afterward. We have no money, no clothes, no cell phone, and nowhere to go. We’re royally screwed.”

  Xave was painfully aware of how few resources they had at their disposal, but he didn’t want Danica to see his mounting concern.

  They had to do something for money first, and then get out of Texas.

  “What do they want?” Xave heard himself ask. “I thought you worked for these guys? Why did they turn on you?”

  “I can only assume it has something to do with you,” Danica sighed. “What is your connection to Oculus? You were asking a lot of questions about them.”

  It was then that Xave realized that she was wary of him also.

  Oh, we’re a fine pair, he thought grimly. Each of us suspicious of the other. We have to trust one another or we’re going to wind up dead.

  “Shit! Someone’s coming!” Danica gasped, jumping back from the window. “We’re dead, Xave!”

  The panic in her voice stabbed Xave in the heart.

  They stood, paralyzed as headlights beamed up into the shoddy room and suddenly went dead.

  He drew Danica closer to him, tucking her behind his big body. Her took her hand and squeezed it gently.

  He knew he could stop time long enough to escape, provided whoever was out there did not enter with guns blazing, but how far could they get in two-minute intervals?

  There has to be a way I can increase the time pause…

  Danica returned his nervous gesture, her hand shaking slightly in his.

  Yet no one materialized after a minute had passed.

  “Are they watching to see if we run?” Danica whispered. “Why haven’t they come in?”

  “Maybe it isn’t them,” he murmured hopefully, but he could see she didn’t believe it. When another minute went by, Xave gritted his teeth. He knew what he had to do but he was exhausted.

  He had never been forced to use his ability so many times in such a short period. The lack of sleep, the stress and the overwhelming strain of using his talent was proving to be devastating on his body.

  One more time, he told himself. One more time to look for Danica. We can’t go out there blind if they’re waiting for us.

  Sighing, he shut his eyes, forcing time to stop and glanced around.

  Danica stared at him imploringly but unmoving and he removed his hand from hers, prying the door open to peer into the night.

  A beat-up Chevy pick-up was parked directly below their room, a young man and an even younger woman were half naked and in the process of pawing at each other, frozen in mid-grope.

  He exhaled the breath he had not realized he was holding and returned to Danica.

  Unable to stop himself, he leaned in and kissed her lips softly, watching as her grey eyes slowly returned to reality.

  She blinked, staring at him in surprise.

  “What the hell are you doing?” she hissed, pulling back. “We’re about to be ambushed and you want to make out?”

  Xave swallowed a smile and shook his head.

  “There’s just a couple of horny teens out there,” he assured her. “Come and lie down. You’re exhausted. I’ll stay up and keep watch.”

  She stared at him dubiously.

  “How do you know that?” she demanded. “Can you see through walls?”

  He returned her gaze for a long moment.

  “In a way,” he said slowly, wondering why he had changed his mind. He felt like he needed to be honest with Danica. After all, they only had each other now.

  She snorted.

  “Great, now you’re lying to me, on top of everything else.”

  “Watch,” he told her quietly. “When you see me next, I will be in the bathroom.”

  She watched him in disbelief as he closed his eyes. Certain that she was paused, he wandered off to the washroom and waited for the inevitable gasp to escape her lips.

  “What the hell?” she cried. “How did you do that?”

  He poked his head out of the bathroom but suddenly dizziness overwhelmed him.

  Xave dropped to his knees, watching as Danica’s face scrunched up in worry.

  “What’s wrong?” she cried, rushing toward him. He opened his mouth to answer but no words came out.

  He had pushed himself past his breaking point.

  “Xave!” Danica said urgently. “Are you okay?!”

  Any attempt to lift his head was deterred by the fatigue seizing his body.

  Spots danced before his eyes and he fell forward.

  Just as the world went dark, he heard Danica sob.

  “No! Xave, don’t! You’re all I have!”

  But there was nothing he could do to stop the blackness from falling.

  Chapter Eleven

  Danica Cortez had endured a lot in her life and stress often rolled off her slender shoulders with ease, but this was something unlike anything she had encountered previously.

  As she stared at Xave’s pale face, his breathing shallow, her heart was pounding out of her chest.

  Who is this guy? She wondered. Danica had barely managed to pull him onto the uncomfortable mattress, using every ounce of her strength. Nothing could revive Xave from wherever he had fallen.

  She lay at his side, stroking his black hair, silently praying for him to wake up.

  “Come on, Xave,” she whispered. “You can’t fail me now. We have to keep moving.”

  But one hour passed and then a second, Danica’s anxiety growing to epic proportions.

  She rose, beginning to pace the room.

  I could run, she thought suddenly but she knew the thought was ridiculous. Something had led her to Xavier. Or was it the other way around? Anyway, she was as good as dead without Xave. They needed each other to escape whatever mess they had found themselves in.

  What could Oculus possibly want with him? Did the group somehow know that Xave and I would meet one day?

  The idea was farfetched but suddenly Danica didn’t know what to believe.

  Laying a few feet away from her was a man who could stop time with his mind. And she had helped him bury a body. And now her best friend was dead. Oh my god, what the hell is happening?

  Nothing made sense anymore.

  It was surreal and for a few moments, Danica entertained the thought that she was in a dream.

  It would certainly make more sense if I was in a dream, she reasoned, slipping back into the bed with Xave. If I was in a dream, Twila would still be alive.

  She felt a stabbing pierce of pain in her heart.

  “Come on, Xave,” she begged him. “Wake up. We’re sitting ducks. I feel like they’ve already found us.”

  Still, there was no response and Danica flopped back against the flat pillows, wondering why she had been so drawn to this mysterious man from the first time she had laid eyes on him.

  Think, Danica, think. You have to find a way to get him out of here without calling attention to yourselves.

  The problem was, she had no idea how serious Xave’s ailment was. She had no sense for how long he would be out or if he would ever recover.

  The thought that he would not snap out of whatever state he was in filled her with terror. Swallowing, Danica knew that there was nothing else she could do but wait.

  But wait for what, was the question.

  The television was on low but the news broadcast was alive with reports about the missing NBA star.

  Danica glanced at Xave as if she expected him to bolt awake by the mention of Clark Jameson, but of course he didn’t stir.


  “…has been missing from his Austin, Texas home since Tuesday night. His credit cards have not been used according to authorities and his friends and family are assuming the worst. Several women have come forward in the days following his disappearance to accuse the celebrity of sexual misconduct. The police have not confirmed or denied if foul play is suspected in Mr. Jameson’s abrupt disappearance.”

  Danica’s brow furrowed.

  The guy was a pig, she thought, chewing on the insides of her cheeks. Did Xave know that about him before he agreed to get rid of the body?

  Suddenly, she thought she might see an entirely different side of the stranger lying beside her. If Jameson was as much of a monster as the women were accusing him of being, then maybe the world was a better place without him. Had Xave known what kind of person Jameson was? Maybe Xave wasn’t as cold as he seemed. The fact that he hadn’t shown any remorse for what had happened had bothered Danica a bit. She didn’t feel threatened herself, but someone had died, and if it was a tragic thing, then she would expect the people who knew to show at least signs of sadness. Maybe Xave had known what kind of person Jameson was all along.

  She wondered if maybe it was true that he had a generous, protective heart which had been scarred badly somewhere down the line.

  We’re all victims of our circumstances, she thought ruefully. Even the toughest of us.

  Danica hit the mute button on the television and curled her frame into Xave’s, wanting to be as close to him as she could.

  Her lips grazed the soft pulse of this throat and she inhaled his scent deeply, wondering how much longer they had to be with one another.

  Tears welled in her eyes and she silently willed him to wake up, her mouth kissing against him lightly, covering his cheeks and neck softly.

  She wanted the emotion she felt for him to rouse him from sleep. Her mouth grew warmer as if her caresses would be the kiss of life she needed to revive him.

  Come back to me, she called to him. Stay with me. I need you.

  He stirred slightly and her heart leapt. It’s working! Her mouth traveled lower, pulling his black t-shirt from his lean but muscular frame.