Saphora: vol.1 Retention (The Athena Universe)

by Jaz Johnson

  “I just, uh … After talking to you like that. I thought, maybe-“

  “I didn’t mind it,” he interrupted, shrugging his shoulders. A bit dumbfounded, all Saphora could think to say in response was,

  “What?”

  Maverick chucked, moving past her to set the glasses of water down on the table of the booth. She watched as he did, wondering why he was. Maybe they were too cold for his hands for the amount of time he was holding them. They had ice in them, after all. She nodded to herself at the logic. But when he sat down at the booth, across from where she had been sitting, she was lost once again. Her brows scrunched, and she looked around the café, to see if she was the only one who was confused. A couple of people at tables around the room were looking at them. But more at Maverick, observing what he was doing. Some looked fearful, as if they were worried about what Saphora would do to him. The staff looked like children peeking behind the counter, spying on their parents, or eavesdropping on someone’s conversation.

  “Are you going to sit down?” he asked, the voice piercing through her thoughts. She turned back around to look at him, and then back down at the glasses that were beginning to drip their condensation down onto the table. Her eyes slowly made their way to his.

  “What?” she asked again, not really sure where her mind was. His actions had thrown her off. She thought that he had felt threatened, but here he was, sitting down at her booth.

  “Stay? I just asked my manager if I could take my break.”

  “Okay …?” she murmured, her brain slowly working up to a reasonable function. Maverick stared at her, reading her confusion and lowering his head as he chuckled. With a shrug, and a fold of his hands on top of the table, their gazes met again.

  “I thought maybe I’d use it to talk to you. You look like you need to someone to talk to.”

  Saphora sighed, her shoulders slumping as she realized what was happening – pity. She looked away from him and raised her hand to place on her forehead as her head shook. Maverick watched her in anticipation. The faint smile that he held turning into a subtle frown at her reaction.

  “Okay. I see. Look, that’s nice of you. Really. But I don’t want pity, alright? I’m not – I don’t need someone to talk to. I don’t – There’s no one to talk to about this. Okay?”

  Maverick tilted his head, his expression calm yet stern.

  “Well. I’m sitting here,” he said, with a motion of his shoulders. The way he did it, and the upturn in his voice suggested that he may have been offended.

  But Saphora laughed at the offer. Of talking to him. This guy. He obviously wanted something from Saphora. Something that she was not willing to give. And she wasn’t about to lead him on to think that the option was even remotely possible. She shook her head, and raised her hand but Maverick interjected again.

  “Okay, look. You don’t have to talk about whatever it is. I saw that you were doing plenty of thinking about it as it is. So just-“

  “Saw – what? You were watching me?” she asked, lowering her hand. Maverick fumbled over his next words.

  “Well no, I mean … I was – am waiting your table so I had to keep an eye out in case you wanted something. I just, you seemed to be thinking really hard about something. I just guessed it was whatever’s bothering you.” Saphora nodded slowly.

  “Right …”

  “Please? Will you just pity me and sit down? We can talk about something else. Anything else.”

  Saphora sighed, looking up and away from him in a mixture of frustration and guilt. She wanted to leave. But to where, she didn’t know. She had nowhere else to hide that she was comfortable with. She just wanted to think without being pestered. But then again, she could use some kind of venting after what she had experienced. And since she didn’t have anything else to help her calm her mind, she actually started to consider sitting down with the stranger who offered to talk to her. He watched her in anticipation, wanting for the response he desired. To have her sit with him. And after some time of awkward silence and considerate thoughts, Saphora huffed a soft groan and sat back down. Maverick smiled, letting her sit down. He refolded his hands on the table and looked over at her. And if possible, things got even more awkward. Saphora sat very still, her hands in her lap and her eyes on the glass of water in front of her. Almost five minutes went by before either of them said anything else. It was Maverick who finally broke the ice.

  “So, I have a question.”

  Saphora looked up at him, giving an expression that gave him the signal that he could continue. He leaned back against the booth, crossing his arms against his black, short sleeve shirt.

  “You … You’re hair. And your eyes. Well, has anyone every told you that you look like an anime character?”

  Saphora’s expression flattened at the question, and she made eye contact with him for the first time in the five minutes. And as soon as she did, Maverick realized the mistake in his choice of words. His mouth fell open to try to correct what he had said, but her mind had changed. Maybe she couldn’t talk to this guy. Not if he was going to point out every odd thing about her. She moved to stand up from the booth. She wasn’t about to be analyzed by strangers. She already had to figure out things about herself that she didn’t understand. She didn’t have time to explain trivial things to some guy. Maverick stood up with her, a frown on his face.

  “Wait, wait-“ he started, reaching a hand out. It was a harmless gesture, but one that still made Saphora take a step back. She put her hand out low, gesturing for him to stop, which he did. She sighed shaking her head.

  “I’m sorry. I just … really want to be alone right now. Okay?” she said, turning to walk away. But Maverick spoke up in a surge of frustration and desperation.

  “So why come to a café? With people?” he argued, stepping somewhat in front of her. “If you wanted to be alone.” Saphora’s eyes narrowed, as she turned slowly to look at the man who had suddenly become an enemy in her eyes. To have the nerve to question her current situation, rebuilt the one row of her wall she had allowed to come down.

  “Excuse me?”

  Maverick immediately regretted what he said, and sought for a way to correct it. He didn’t mean to offend her, he just didn’t want her to leave without having his chance. At what, he didn’t know. He shook his head, trying to settle his frustration, not thinking that hers would continue to escalate. But it did. She retook the step she had retreated, making him straighten up and suddenly remember his fear of a woman’s wrath.

  “I don’t have to tell you anything, okay – just because you come over here and – and bring me water …” she said, her throat constricting with the building rage. “I … You …” she strained, raising her balled hand and pointed index finger. Maverick looked down at the finger with raised brows. The atmosphere in the café changed considerably. Conversations had stopped, people had grown quiet, and the machinery purred to stop, as if to listen. It made Saphora stop her oncoming rage, and reconsider what she was about to do. She glanced around the room, seeing that she was now being watched, and lowered her hand. She didn’t want to cause a commotion, no matter the emotions she wanted to release. She looked back at Maverick with an expression that made him grimace. And without another word, she shook her head, turned on her heel, and walked away – straight out of the café.

  Maverick, not able to do much else, watched as she walked out of the café. His shoulders slumped and the hope of getting her to stay left him. He sighed, looked back at the two full glasses of water on the table and shook his head. Not even a name, he thought, as he heard the chuckle from one of his coworkers.

  “Nice going,” he chuckled with a shake of his head as he went back to operating one of the coffee machines. Maverick glared in his direction, picking up the two glasses and making his way behind the front counter with him. “This all part of your elaborate plan to get in her pants? Because if you ask me, I think you could afford to skip part one and two. Maybe even-“

  “Shut it, Ja
red,” Maverick spat to his friend as he dumped the water in a nearby sink and sighed, turning around to lean on it once he had set the two glasses on the counter. Jared laughed and shrugged.

  “Whatever you say. I would have at least gotten her name or something,” he said, finishing his maintenance with the machine and turning around to speak to Maverick. Maverick crossed his arms defensively.

  “Well it’s not like she gave me much of a chance, man. She obviously wasn’t in a good mood.”

  “And yet you still went over to talk to her. You must have it bad,” Jared chuckled, giving another shake of his head. Maverick rolled his eyes.

  “I do not.”

  “Yeah,” A woman’s voice said from the hole in the wall above the sink that gave view into the kitchen on the other side. Both Jared and Maverick turned their attention to the blue-eyed beauty that had chimed in. Saphora’s previous waitress. “Maverick was just making sure she wasn’t crazy,” she said, looking up at him from beneath her blonde lashes. Maverick felt his body tense from her gaze. “Right?” she questioned. But Maverick shook his head, causing her to frown.

  “She’s not crazy. I just-“

  “She sure looked crazy to me,” Jared argued. “I mean, who walks around in a night gown and converse? And did you see her eyes? They’re red! And not even like, bloodshot red. They’re just plain red. That ain’t normal,” he went on, crossing his own arms. The blonde nodded in agreement. Maverick shook his head, looking back and forth from the two in slight annoyance. Maybe it was because he had chosen to go out of his way to talk to this girl that he found attractive, and they were putting her down. Or maybe he thought they were questioning him. Wondering why he would even attempt to talk to such a person. Whatever it was, it was getting to him. And he leapt to defend her.

  “You’ve obviously never been to a comic con. There are plenty of people that buy contacts. Ever thought that she might be into cosplay?”

  “Well she could certainly pull it off. I mean, she looks enough like an anime character.”

  “But why would she be walking around like that? It’s not like its Halloween,” the girl said. Maverick turned to look at her.

  “Yeah, well. Why do you wear a fox hat all the time? It’s not like you’re a fox, Liz,” he said. Liz moved her head back, caught off guard by the sudden attack. She looked at Jared, who shrugged with raised eyebrows, and then back at Maverick.

  “Christ, Maverick. Why are you defending her? You don’t think she looked crazy at all?” she said, getting a bit loud in her frustration.

  “I don’t know. Everyone has their off days.”

  “Yeah, Liz.” Jared joined. “Have you ever woken up next to yourself? It’s not a pretty sight,” the boys chuckled and Liz scoffed in offense. She threw the rag down that she had been holding into the sink and spun around to go back to work in the kitchen.

  “Saphora?” Fran called out, hearing the front door click shut. She had finally come home after a day of avoiding Fran. Avoiding conversation in general, really. She had gone through parks, stores, and shops before slowly taking the long walk home. It was nearly seven in the evening by the time she got home. Fran had called her about fifty more times, and was an absolute wreck. She had been worried sick, wondering where she could have gone. She had checked the abandoned house and the zoo. She had even gone so far as to check Dr. Lupin’s office. After failing to find her at any of the locations, she returned home, and waited impatiently. That was about all she could do since she had not answered any of her calls. Saphora had wanted to use the time to think about the incidents that had occurred. But instead she kept being distracted by the comment the man at the café had said. And the fact that she didn’t properly have a chance to defend herself. That wasn’t like Saphora. She was the kind of person who spoke her mind. Unless on behalf of Fran, when she wanted her to hold her tongue. Like the conversation with Dr. Lupin.

  Fran rushed around the corner of the upstairs hallway, stopping at the railing that went along it, and looked down at the exhausted Saphora. She closed the door behind her, and reluctantly looked up to meet Fran’s gaze. She knew she was going to be scolded. But she couldn’t just not come home. She wouldn’t worry Fran to that extent. But instead of the immediate yelling that Saphora expected, Fran began frantically coming down the stairs. Saphora waited for the bear hug that was going to take place, but to her dismay, Fran never got that far. In her haste to get down the stairs, Fran tripped over her own feet and flung her arms out as she started to tumble down the stairs. Saphora’s eyes went wide as she watched Fran fly forward off the stairs.

  “Ah!” she cried, reaching her own arms out, in attempt to stop Fran from falling. And to her surprise, her wish was granted. She watched as Fran remained suspended in midair above the last step. Saphora stared in shock as Fran floated in a seemingly zero gravity state. If she had not experienced something somewhat similar in the woods with Tebias, she would have been in utter horror. Fran’s eyes were tightly shut, her arms wrapped around her face to prepare for the impact. Her body tensed, and her frame was shaking. But the fall never came. Slowly, Fran’s eyes squinted open, and then widened when seeing what was happening. Her limbs flailed about as she started to panic.

  “What – Ah!” Fran shrieked. Saphora flinched when she screamed, and moved away from Fran with worry. Fran looked up at Saphora with fear in her eyes. She looked around the room, and even above her to find some sort of answers to the questions that were appearing.

  “S-Saphora? Is … Is this you?” she asked. Saphora backed up against the closed front door, scared to have Fran fall on her if the magic were to suddenly dispel. She nodded slowly, which soon changed into a shrug.

  “I … I think so.”

  “Oh. Well. Uhm, thank you. But. Do you think you could put me down now?” Fran asked, trying to be grateful that Saphora had stopped her from completing what was sure to be an awful fall.

  Saphora groaned in hesitation, not actually knowing how to put her down. Not wanting to stop whatever it was that she was doing, she stepped forward, and reached her hands up to grab a hold of Fran, to pull her down until she was able to stand.

  After much hesitation, she was able to get Fran securely onto the floor. She gripped onto Saphora, just to be sure that she wouldn’t start floating again. Trembling just a bit, she let out a breath once she was sure everything was back to normal. As normal as things got with Saphora.

  “And how long have you been doing that?” she asked, a bit of her Scottish accent breaking through with her nerves. Saphora shrugged her shoulders, looking up sheepishly at her.

  “Yesterday?”

  Fran’s eyes that once held a grateful gaze, soon turned to a worried realization. She backed away from Saphora’s grasp, and shook her head, almost not wanting to talk about the day that had past.

  “Yesterday?” Fran sighed, bringing her hand to her temple and closing her eyes. At the mentioning of the day, she remembered what she was going to say to Saphora before falling. “Saphora why did you leave the house? I looked all over for you, and you didn’t answer any of my calls. Do you know how worried I was? I thought I was going to have to call the police.” Saphora frowned, taking her own step away from Fran as her brows pulled together.

  “The police. What for?” she asked, remembering the conversation with Dr. Lupin. Fran lifted her arms before settling her hands on her hips.

  “Because you went missing, Saphora!” she shouted, shaking her hands at her. Saphora’s stance eased up and she lowered her eyes with guilt.

  “Oh …” she mumbled. Fran groaned and turned away from her, shaking her head. Saphora looked up and frowned, feeling the need to defend herself against the woman she thought she’d never have to.

  “Well – Well what was I supposed to do, Fran? Sit there and wait for you to come back and tell me I was wrong? To tell me I was crazy?” she said, her voice giving way and making Fran turn around. The sound of her baby’s voice cracking pulled out the mother in her, ev
en more so than it had already been out. Fran’s eyes saddened as she looked at Saphora. She had been thinking about that the entire time she was gone. How she didn’t stand up to defend her. She regretted it. And there were many messages on Saphora’s phone that expressed that.

  “Honey, I’m-“

  “You didn’t even defend me when he said it! You wouldn’t even-“

  “Saphora, please!” Fran said over her increasing volume. Saphora stopped, frozen in a look of anguish, which was mimicked by Fran as she walked closer. Her hand reached out to touch Saphora’s shoulder. Reluctantly, she stayed where she was, and allowed Fran to come closer, despite her feelings towards her. Again, she took Fran’s feelings first into consideration before making her next move. “I’m sorry, honey. I should have said something. I was just so nervous. Dr. Lupin had been talking all night, and I guess I had just gotten scared.”

  “Scared of what?”

  Fran sighed.

  “Of it being true.”

  “That I killed that man?” Saphora argued, making moves to take a step away. “That I’m crazy?” Fran’s grip on Saphora’s shoulder tightened.

  “I know you didn’t kill him, Saphora. But … You don’t think it’s possible that you hit your head during the fall from God knows how high? And that maybe it triggered something?” Fran said, trying to push some reasoning onto the situation. “Not even a little bit?” Saphora’s eyes lowered and she groaned in frustration. She had thought about that as well during her time away from the house. And she reluctantly agreed that while she was eager to write off what she saw as fact, the doctor’s theory did make a lot of sense. That maybe in her desperation to learn more about the man from her past, the trauma of the fall may have caused hallucinations based on recent thoughts. But she didn’t want to believe it. Yesterday … It felt so real. How could it possibly have been a hallucination? And what about that horrid noise? Saphora’s eyes widened, having remembered the noise that had caused her to fall. She looked up at Fran, who responded, ready to hear what she had to say.