by Jaden Wilkes
“Oh my god, that sucks! I guess you didn’t tell him about Adam,” Naomi teased. “My dad was just drunk the entire time. And we were watching the news one night about some bill in the U.S. being passed, allowing gay marriage. I thought my dad was going to pop a vein in his head he’s so against it.”
“Oh geeze, I’m sorry Naomi. I forget about that sometimes, it must be so hard to keep your mouth shut.”
“I felt like jumping onto the couch and yelling ‘Hey dad, I’m one of those freaks you’re talking about, and guess what? My girlfriend loves me and respects me, so fuck you!’, but I won’t,” she sighed and looked out the window. “I don’t know if I can come back again, I just don’t fit in anymore.”
Sarah grabbed her friend’s hand and held it tight. “I don’t blame you if you didn’t Naomi, I don’t think I could if I had that much to hide.”
Naomi laid her head on Sarah’s shoulder and drifted into sleep. The lights from the passing cars illuminated Naomi’s face from time to time, her stress easing as she entered a deep sleep. Sarah was overcome with an urge to protect Naomi from those who would hurt her. She finally understood those motherly looks Naomi had been giving her over the years. Now that Sarah had awakened to the reality of their culture, their world, she understood the pain it could cause.
*****
They arrived at the bus station at three in the morning. They waited until the bus driver unloaded their packs, and went out to the front of the station to find a cab. Sarah heard a shout, looked to her right and saw Tyr waving at them. Unlike the first time she saw him waving, she knew this was for her. Her heart soared and she walked towards him on a cloud, like she was ten feet off the ground.
“How did you know?” she asked as they reached him.
“Naomi texted me. At least one of you remembered how to use her phone when she was in cowboy country,” he looked down at her with one brow raised.
“The phone works both ways,” she said and rushed him for a hug. He wrapped his muscular arms around her and lifted her off the ground, planting a big smacking kiss on her cheek.
“I’m glad you’re home safe,” he said, then set her down. He looked at Naomi, “Both of you.”
“Whoa, back off there big guy. I don’t need a hug, I don’t want Nic to kick your ass!” Naomi laughed.
“Speaking of which, she’s in the Jeep. I asked her to keep the motor running in the loading zone over there,” he gestured twenty feet down the parking lot. “This isn’t the safest area in town, which is why I’m happy Naomi asked me to pick you up.”
Naomi skipped towards the Jeep and Nic jumped out, the two girls hugged each other tight and Naomi covered Nic’s face with kisses. As Tyr and Sarah approached, they broke apart but still held hands.
“You don’t know how good it is to see you babe,” Naomi told her girlfriend. “I thought I was going to go crazy in church country.”
“Right back at ya! I’ve been driving Tyr nuts talking about you. It’s pathetic really, but I don’t care. He bugs me right back talking about Sarah,” Nic looked at Tyr with a smug look. He talks about me? Sarah thought. I wonder what he talks about. He talks about me!
“Come on, you know that’s a lie,” Tyr protested, his hands in the air in surrender. “Ok, I might talk about you a little bit, church girl, but just to make fun of you.” He winked at Sarah, she blushed and they all got into the Jeep. Sarah turned up the music when she got in and everything felt back to normal.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Her phone buzzed, she ignored it, and it buzzed again. She opened one eye wondering what time it was. She grabbed the phone and read seven in the morning. Who could be bothering her at seven in the morning on New Year’s Eve day? It was Eric.
“Happy new year. I’ll be working tonight out of range and wanted to wish you well.”
“Awe, that’s sweet. Thanks and you too.”
“Are you going out tonight?”
“Just a small party with friends, nothing major.”
“Do I have a reason to be jealous? :)” Uh, why? We don’t even know each other.
“No, not at all.”
“Sorry, I don’t mean to sound possessive, I am just starting to care about you.”
“It’s ok, it just seemed out of place,” she wrote back. Care about me? Oh lord, this might be weirder than she thought. They’d never ever talked on the phone.
“I really want to talk soon, but for now I have to run. Take care Sarah, xoxo.”
“Talk to you next year. :)”
Sarah clicked the phone off, plugged it back in to charge, and went back to sleep.
She woke again close to eleven. She heard the sound of voices in the living room, so she stretched and reached for her phone. She pulled on some clothes and went out to see who was talking.
Naomi and Nic were busy arguing about tonight’s plans, they still hadn’t decided exactly what to do.
“Naomi wants to go to a restaurant on Commercial Drive, but I want to go to a house party, my friend’s place on Cambie. What do you feel like?” Nic asked the moment they spotted Sarah. Anywhere Tyr is going to be, she thought, as long as Tiff is vacant.
“It doesn’t matter to me, you know I just tag along wherever you two take me,” she smiled and poured herself some orange juice and popped a couple slices of bread in the toaster.
“You must have an opinion, live DJ or house party?” Naomi persisted. Where is Tyr going to be? she thought again.
“Honestly, I’m going to stay out of this one,” she laughed and grabbed the butter, waiting for her toast to pop.
“Come on Sarah, you know you’d prefer a house party,” Nic whined, “besides, Tyr will be there.”
Sarah tried to hide her reaction, kept her face neutral and put the toast on the plate, applied the butter and sat down at the kitchen table. Both girls were watching her, waiting for her answer.
“I don’t really care where Tyr is going to be, but a house party might be nice, a little more casual than a restaurant,” she replied, taking a bite of her breakfast.
“Cheater!” Naomi yelled at Nic, laughing. “You just had to pull the Tyr card!”
“Hey, I’ll do whatever it takes to get my way,” Nic replied, hugging Naomi. “Thanks Sarah, and I’ll make sure to tell Tyr you most definitely don’t care where he’ll be.” Both girls laughed when Sarah’s cheeks went red.
*****
The party was in full swing when the girls showed up at ten. They had spent the day at the mall shopping and picking up drinks for the night. Sarah opted for gin and tonic, she thought it sounded sophisticated, like she knew what she was doing. They had done a couple shots of tequila before they left, and she was already feeling flushed and giggly.
Sarah walked through the crowded front room into the kitchen, found an empty spot on the counter and mixed her first drink. It was stronger than she had anticipated, but she knew from experience that the taste would lessen as she drank. There were several people she didn’t know and she ended up getting into a long discussion about the merits of music festivals over traditional concerts. She hadn’t been to either, but bobbed her head in agreement whenever somebody made a strong statement. She wandered through the crowded living room, paused at the back of the couch and watched people dance. This isn’t actually that much fun, she thought, and where’s Tyr?
“Whatchya drinking?” a voice came from behind her.
She turned around with a small jump and replied “Gin and tonic” to the guy asking.
“Oh, panty remover, I like,” he smirked and stuck out his hand, “my name’s Tono, what’s yours?”
She grabbed his hand and shook it weakly, “Sarah,” she replied, looking over his shoulder for an escape. He was cute, maybe an inch taller than her, and had wild curly hair and hazel eyes. If she didn’t have a head full of Tyr, he might even be kissable, but Sarah wanted to find her obsession.
“Who did you come with?”
“Nic and Naomi, I’m Naomi’s roommate.”<
br />
“Cool, cool, I know Naomi. She’s friends with my roommate, I live here.”
“Oh, great party. I love the house, it’s quite old isn’t it?”
“Yeah, it’s on the heritage registry so we try not to completely trash it every time we have a get together. Do you want a tour?”
She drained her cup and said “Let me get another drink, and then sure, I’d love to see the rest of it.”
Once she had filled her cup, he grabbed her hand and said “Follow me m’lady”.
They started on the ground level and eventually made their way to the third floor. She was impressed, it could have been an elegant home if it weren’t stuffed to the hilt with messy students, but she could see the potential.
“And finally last but not least, my room,” Tono pulled at her hand, trying to get her inside.
She pulled back shook her glass and said “I need another refill, and I should get back to the party. Naomi will wonder what happened to me.”
“I just want to show you my book of sketches. I think you’ll be interested in one I did of Naomi,” he smiled and put his hands up,” I swear, nothing weird.”
Sarah sighed and said “Ok, but just for a second.”
Once inside, he shut the door and rummaged through his messy bedside table for a large sketch book. He sat on the bed, patted the mattress next to him and said “Come, sit.”
“Yeah, I don’t think that’s a good idea. Bring it over here,” she replied and edged towards the door, opening it slightly.
Tono rolled his eyes dramatically and said “You women’s studies types, you all think we’re going to rape you or something.” He got up and brought the book with him. He flipped through page after page of nude women, some splayed apart like Playboy models, some in what looked like handcuffs and ropes. She was fascinated and disgusted, she wondered if these were all from his imagination or real life. “Where’s Naomi’s picture?” she asked finally.
“Oh shoot, it must be in the book on campus, sorry. Honest mistake,” he said, tossing the book onto the bed. Sarah turned and opened the door wider as Tono grabbed her wrist and pulled her towards him. She struggled to get free, alarmed at the strength in his grip. She dropped her glass and tried to pry his fingers off. He grabbed a handful of her hair and dragged her face towards him, wanting to kiss her. She pulled back even harder and said “What the fuck is your problem?”
“I just want a little kiss, no big deal,” he breathed into her face, his breath sour and coming fast.
“Get your hands off me, let me go!” she yelled, wondering if anyone could hear her. The music downstairs was thumping loudly and the sounds of the party drowned out anything she yelled.
“Come on, you knew what was going to happen when you came up here. Don’t worry, I’ve got condoms.”
“Fuck you, fucking let me go!” She screamed it now, struggling even harder. He grabbed her and started to push her back into the bedroom. She had a surge of adrenaline and managed to push back hard enough that he made no progress. Sometimes it was good to be a farm girl, she was strong for her size. She closed her eyes and gave one last shove and miraculously felt him let go and fall away. She opened her eyes and saw Tyr there, his face a mask of rage. He had Tono by the collar, the smaller guy cowering in front of him. Sarah felt relief rush through her body and felt like she was going to throw up. Her stomach flopped and her eyes felt swollen with tears.
“Who the fuck are you?” Tono squeaked, his voice betraying his fear.
“I’m with her, who the fuck are you?” Tyr replied, his voice low and angry. He still had Tono by the collar, but his free hand had relaxed, it was no longer in a fist.
“Don’t freak out on me man, your girlfriend is the one that was begging for it,” Tono sneered, straightening up and brushing the front of his shirt.
“I was not, you fucking weirdo, you tried to drag me in with you!” Sarah yelled. Girlfriend? And Tyr didn’t deny it, she noted.
“I don’t care if she was begging for it, you don’t push a woman around like that,” Tyr replied, his voice still low.
“I didn’t know she was into fucking Indians anyways,” Tono spat as he backed away, “If I hadda know she liked native dick I wouldn’t have bothered.”
Try lunged forward and grabbed Tono’s collar again, the shorter guy squeaked as Tyr pulled his hand back and smashed his fist into Tono’s face. Sarah saw it all as if it was in slow motion, she heard Tono’s nose break and saw the blood spurt down the front of Tyr’s t shirt. “Tyr, don’t!” Sarah screamed when she saw him pull his fist back again. His face was unrecognizable, his rage had taken over and the Tyr she knew didn’t exist at the moment. She rushed to him and grabbed his arm, he pushed her aside and she fell to the ground.
“Tyr, he’s bleeding, stop it already,” she cried from the floor.
Tono pulled away and screamed “You’re fucking crazy, get out of here before I call the cops!” and ran down the stairs holding his face in his hands, blood streaming through his fingers.
Tyr paused for a moment, and then visibly relaxed. Sarah stayed on the floor, she didn’t know if it was her fear or the drink that kept her down. She watched Tyr as he transformed back into her friend, his face full of concern and he reached for her. “Oh my god Sarah, I am so sorry. I don’t know what came over me, I saw red and wanted to punch him until it went away.” He pulled her up gently and she started crying and shaking, the emotions of the event catching up to her. She was certain Tono had planned to force himself on her, and if Tyr hadn’t shown up she didn’t want to think about what would have happened.
“You saved me Tyr, there’s nothing to apologize for,” she replied, smiling through her tears. He pulled her into his embrace and she laid her head on his chest, her tears slowing as he stroked her hair. He is pretty hot when he’s protecting me, she thought, and his arms feel so perfect wrapped around me. For some reason the tattoos made her feel safer, as though they carried some kind of magic, a familiar and yet exotic magic.
After a few moments he released her, looked at her and said “We should go. I’ll take you home.”
“I need a tissue or something, I must look like a mess,” Sarah replied, “and I need to find Naomi to let her know I’m leaving.”
“Ok, let’s get you cleaned up, we can watch the ball drop on TV at your place,” Tyr smiled and brushed a stray hair off her face. She wondered where Tiff was tonight, but didn’t want to break the spell. She decided she didn’t care.
He held her hand as they went down the stairs to look for Naomi. Sarah scooped up her gin from the kitchen, found Naomi and Nic on the back porch. They were huddled together with a small group, smoke was wafting up from the centre. Sarah smelled a pungent odour, it was earthy and sharp, like dense underbrush in a forest gulley.
“What are you guys doing?” she asked the girls. They looked up, guilty, and Naomi said “Just a little puff, why?”
Nic held out a small pipe with a glowing ember in the bowl. Sarah’s grandfather used to smoke a pipe, but his was full of fragrant tobacco and billowed with white smoke that settled around his head. Sarah reached for it, this must be weed what do I do with it? she thought, but Tyr grabbed it first and handed it back to Nic.
“She doesn’t need this shit, ok? Neither do you two,” his voice was angry again.
“Come on, it’s New Years, it’s not like we’re chronics sucking on bongs and watching Spongebob,” Nic laughed. “You need to lighten up.”
“It’s ok you guys, I don’t know what to do with it anyhow,” Sarah intervened. “Tyr is taking me home actually. Are you guys ok? Do you want to come with us?”
“Yeah, we’re fine. Why are you leaving?” Naomi asked, concerned. She took the pipe from Nic, sucked the pungent smoke into her lungs and exhaled slowly. She handed the pipe to the guy next to her and laughed. Sarah was conflicted, she didn’t like how drowsy it made her friends look, but she didn’t want them to think she was a total priss. Should I try it? One look at T
yr’s face answered her question. If she wanted a ride home, she wasn’t going to do anything to piss him off even more...and he looked pissed off and disgusted as it was.
“I’m tired, I just need to crawl into bed and wake up next year,” she said, hugged the girls and left with Tyr.
He was silent almost the entire drive back. The streets were empty though, it was almost midnight so everyone must be inside waiting. At the apartment he jumped out and opened her door for her. She was still tipsy and gripped her purse and the bottle of gin with one hand, and steadied herself on Tyr’s arm with the other. My god he’s strong, she thought, his arms are like steel they’re so hard. She wanted to see him naked, she needed to see him naked. She imagined herself wiggling underneath his powerful body, she wanted to be his and have him care for her.
They got inside just before midnight, she turned the TV on and found a countdown on a station. She asked Tyr “Do you want a drink? Should I pour us something?”
“Just pop for me, I’m driving remember,” he held up his keys.
“You can stay a little while, but I’ll see what we’ve got.” She found a couple of 7-ups in the fridge, handed him one and poured some of the other into a glass, she then topped it up with what remained of her gin. I don’t remember drinking this much, she was surprised by the speed she went through her alcohol.
She took a drink and smiled at Tyr. “Seriously, take your shoes and jacket off, let’s ring in the New Year in style!” Take your shirt and pants off while you’re at it, she was feeling the gin and her lust now.
He obliged with just the shoes and jacket, they sat on the couch, watching the TV. The countdown began, they held up their drinks and yelled out with the announcer. On “One!” they toasted with their drinks, laughing as the New Year began. The entire neighborhood erupted with cheering, and somebody started setting off fireworks in the courtyard below. Sarah ran to turn off the lights and the two of them watched from the balcony. Sarah snuck a peek at Tyr, the lights illuminated his face, making him noble and stunning, highlighting his cheekbones and elegant forehead. Her breath caught in her throat and she sighed, wanting him with every cell in her body. He turned to her, as if in slow motion, and caught her gaze. Their eyes locked in the flashing lights and he moved towards her, setting his drink down on the edge of the balcony and taking her from her, setting it next to his. They didn’t speak, she didn’t think she could, she was frozen with longing. He reached out, stroked her hair, and pulled her in towards him. What about Tiff? Is this cheating? she thought. She decided that was his choice, not hers and as long as he didn’t mention the other girl, she wasn’t going to. I’ve become so cutthroat when it comes to this man, but I can’t seem to help myself.