by Jason Letts
“What are you talking about?” Nathan spat, the sound of the eruption reducing his words to a whisper.
“It’s you, Nathan. You’re the one who brought the goddess to her knees, and now here I am, holding your essence and threading it through time until it finally snaps.”
Bewildered, Nathan wiped his sweaty face and stared blankly at the spirit who towered over him. She seemed different to him, but the knowledge that her behavior was more than just a change of mood, that she was much more vindictive and malicious than the one he had known before, was inaccessible to him.
The lava trickled down the mountainside, forming glowing red reservoirs and little rivulets among the dark rocks. The air became hazy as the spewing dust settled, making Nathan cough.
“We have to get out of here!” he demanded.
“I guess you’d better catch me then,” she said. “You can’t die yet.”
Eve took off to the left, running for a thin stream of lava flowing down the mountainside. She hopped and skipped, checking over her shoulder to see that Nathan pursued her. He did, though running anywhere but down the mountain seemed perfectly ridiculous. Still, she was the only sure chance of escape, and it was just a matter of how obnoxious she was going to be about it.
Leaping onto a rock jutting out from a glowing orange pool, she turned to Nathan who circled around the edge.
“This isn’t too hot for you, is it?” she asked, tugging on her top to tempt him with the skin of her waist.
“Come down from there,” Nathan ordered.
He blinked, she disappeared, and he spun around trying to find out where she’d gone. When he spotted her, she picked up a stone and threw it into a pool of lava, trying to get it to splash him as he came close. She didn’t seem to have any trouble breathing, even though Nathan was constantly out of breath and coughing.
“Come here!” he shouted as he made it to her side, but she jumped across again. He chased her back and forth up the river, slowly gaining on her. She raced away for a large pool of lava, heading straight for it. It was much too large to jump across, and yet from her direction she looked like she was determined to try.
Nathan, right on her heels, refused to blink and let her get away even though the dust irritated his eyes.
Right at the edge, Eve twisted around and tipped backward toward the lava. She was letting herself fall into the scorching liquid stone, extending her hand and begging for Nathan to join her.
Nathan leapt forward, wrapping his hands around her body just inches away from the surface. He closed his eyes, held his breath, and then felt something soft give against the weight of his arms.
They’d landed in his bed. Even though the room was dark, some of the orange glow still seemed visible in Eve’s otherwise blue eyes. He had his arms wrapped around her back, their bodies pressing together.
Her supple, pliant body waited beneath him, and the look in Eve’s eyes was one of passion and hunger. She clutched the front of his sweaty t-shirt to pull his lips to hers. The kisses were fast and wet, full of pent up aggression and venting anger.
The rest of the room was dark, and they couldn’t hear anything else but the hearts pounding in their chests and the drumbeat of desire echoing in their heads. Eve craned her neck, yearning for the taste of his lips, but Nathan brought them to her neck, making her moan.
Her eyes feasting on him, she slipped her hands underneath his moist shirt and ran her fingers over his abs to his chest. Brushing over his nipples, she lightly clawed his pectorals as she used her elbows to hike up his shirt. Soon it was gone, and she pulled him down to smother her.
Eve’s spandex suit was tight against her body, and Nathan had to jerk her around to pull it off of her. The fabric peeled away, slipping over her head. He brought his lips to her skin, pressing warmth into her as he used his hands to strip away her spandex pants.
Eve reached for the buckle of his pants and started to undo it. Nathan took a deep breath and blinked a few times as he realized what was happening.
“You said we can’t go all the way, right? You’re not ready,” he recalled. Eve rolled her eyes.
“Is that what I told you? What’s the good of waiting? This body’s only going to rot.”
Nathan hesitated, unsure of what to think. It was obvious he was getting what he wanted, but something was holding him back. Did she really just change her mind on this? Memories and images floated across his mind, and together they managed to irk him. Something was wrong, but it seemed like such a small voice amid so many screaming emotions.
“Look, you’re a man…and I’m not. Now take what’s yours and show me what you’ve got,” she pressed.
When they came together, the heat they created steamed up the windows. Their hearts pumped blood hotter than the lava, and they moved together with the direction and force of speeding cars. The surge of pleasure flushed their faces and made them cry out in the night.
After he collapsed at her side, just two bodies lying on a bed, she didn’t need to be held. Instead, Eve smirked and stared through the ceiling at the stars while Nathan drifted off to sleep.
“Somebody’s going to regret this later.”
Chapter 10
Cam sat at the kitchen table, trying to concentrate on the spoon and the cereal she slowly brought to her mouth. That was difficult though because of what was going on across from her. Eve sat sidesaddle on Nathan’s lap, and the two were engaged in some particularly heavy making out. Cam dropped the spoon and let it rattle around in the bowl.
“You two will be perfect if I ever need to lose weight,” she said, disgusted.
Surprised to find that she was even there, the two detached from each other and Eve got to her feet and sighed. She ran her hand through her hair and straightened out her work uniform.
“I’ve got to get going to work anyway or I’m going to be late for my shift,” Eve noted, glancing at the clock. “It’s ten o’clock in the morning…on a Friday…that isn’t a national holiday.”
She took another glance at the two siblings, who were now looking at each other, and her sneaky lips curled upward. Not wanting to spoil the mood, she grabbed her coat and left without another word.
“Cammie, why aren’t you at school?” Nathan asked, suddenly alarmed at the time. He looked exhausted to the point of swaying slightly and his eyelids drooped a bit.
“Cam,” she said.
“And what time did you get home last night?” he went on. “This is completely unacceptable behavior, and frankly I’m surprised you’ve been so irresponsible. What would…”
“Cam,” she repeated, finally forcing Nathan to break off his tirade.
“What?” he asked, squinting and leaning forward.
“It’s Cam. I want you to call me Cam now,” she said. For her part, Cam had smudged makeup smeared around her eyes. Without the glasses, it was easy to see the dark bags hanging under them too. Not to mention she was also wearing the same clothes from the night before.
Nathan peered at her as though she were very far away. He produced some sort of amused grunt and shook his head.
“I’m not going to call you that. You must be out of your mind!”
“But that’s my name!” she shot back, snarling. “This is way cooler, and Cammie is so juvenile anyway.”
“It’s not up for discussion. Now tell me why you aren’t at school!” Nathan demanded.
Resentful, Cam leaned back in her chair, crossed her arms, and glared at her brother.
“Why aren’t you at work? You don’t have the day off,” she said.
Nathan grimaced but didn’t shy away from the question. He chewed his tongue for a moment, staring her down, until he answered.
“I don’t have that long to live and I’m not going to spend what’s left of it slaving away at the factory.”
“I don’t have to go to school because nothing I make is ever going to be worth anything,” Cam said.
“That’s ridiculous! You have to go to school!” Nathan or
dered.
“And you should be at work! So why don’t you stop being such a hypocrite and mind your own business for a change,” Cam hissed.
Nathan gasped, his eyes flaring and his fists clenching. He pointed angrily at his sister.
“How can you even say that to me? You were the one who was all like, let’s save Nathan from Huntington’s! You should’ve just stopped wasting your time and let me live my life,” he seethed.
Cammie burst forward, leaning over her cereal and throwing her hands in the air.
“Are you kidding me? Yeah, don’t forget how upset you were when I was studying too hard, and now it looks like you’re upset when I don’t study so much too. Give me a break.”
“You’re skipping school!” he snapped, and Cam groaned.
“That reminds me. Garrett’s skipping too, and I’m supposed to go meet him in a little while.”
“Who’s that?”
“He’s my boyfriend.”
“No, who the heck is Garrett? I’ve never heard of him before,” Nathan interrogated.
“What happened to minding your own business? He’s nothing to you so you don’t have to worry about it,” Cam said.
“I’m not just going to let you run off with some kid I don’t know!” Nathan shouted.
“Newsflash, what you want doesn’t really matter that much!” Cam snarled.
The siblings glared at each other for a moment across the table. Mulling over what was said, each seemed to get surlier and more discontent by the second.
“Now it comes full circle,” Nathan observed, looking almost amused. “After all the time you spent stalking every single girl I ever went out with, now you see that I was right and you should’ve just let me choose what I wanted to do for myself.”
“Shut up,” Cam said, aggrieved. “I was doing you a favor because those girls were horrible and I thought they didn’t deserve you. Maybe I was wrong.”
“Do you remember when Eve came here last year the night of the winter ball? You went out on the porch and grilled her, threatening her. Did it ever once cross your mind that you were making a mistake?”
Cam shook her head.
“Sometimes you can be an awfully slow learner,” Nathan jabbed.
“No, I was trying to help you because you don’t seem to be able to make decisions for yourself! Whether it was letting idiot Sasha grind your face into the mud or Eve pushing you around, you just lap it up.”
Shocked, Nathan’s eye’s widened and his teeth chattered.
“I’m letting her push me around? Try looking in a mirror,” Nathan spat. “In what dumpster did you even find those clothes? Please do me a favor, would it be too much trouble if you could just look a little less like a whore?”
Cammie jumped to her feet, knocking over the chair, which smacked against the ground.
“I’m not a whore. I’m just pretending to be like this. But you’re being an asshole!”
“You’re pretending?” Nathan asked, keeping his cool. “If you pretend to be something long enough, it starts to stick. What’s happened to you lately, Cammie?” He looked at her for a moment and his smugness faded away until he appeared irrefutably saddened by what he saw. “You seem so different lately, and I miss the old you.”
“It’s Cam,” she countered, still standing, her arms crossed and refusing to yield. “Have I even changed at all, or am I just talking about different things? I’m tired of hiding in a book, and people like me if I…”
“Dress and act completely different than who you are?” Nathan interjected.
“I was going to say make an effort!” Cam snapped. “And what about you? All it took was a little bit of sex to get you skipping work.”
Nathan looked like a deer in headlights.
“Yeah, I heard you because I wasn’t even out that late. Also, you grunt like a monkey.”
Embarrassed, Nathan’s face turned a distinct shade of crimson. His eyes were unfocused and his mouth gaped open.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “Maybe I have changed.”
Of course, admitting defeat and apologizing is one of the best moves someone can make to win and argument, and Cam immediately scrambled to regain the advantage.
“Relax. At least grandma didn’t hear you. Her sleeping pills would let her sleep next to a jet engine,” she said, crossing her arms.
“Why did I even let her talk me into doing that?” he asked, chastising himself. Cam crossed her arms, disappointed in the direction their shouting match was taking.
“I’m guessing it wasn’t that hard,” Cam said, but her insult fell on deaf ears.
“Usually I’m more considerate than that, but she was just…just. Man, don’t you think she’s changed a lot lately?” he wondered.
Cammie pursed her lips and rubbed her eyes. She returned to her seat and picked up her spoon, using it to stir the warm cereal.
“You mean since she told us what her real name was?”
“Yeah, she’s become a lot more…pessimistic, hasn’t she?” Nathan mused.
“I would say she’s more realistic,” Cam objected. “I’m glad she’s done with all the cheesy hope stuff. There’s no use fighting if you have to turn a blind eye to what’s possible. I like her better now.”
Cringing, Nathan grabbed the box of cereal and stuck his hand in to eat some. He chewed slowly, setting the box down and putting his hands in his lap.
“I don’t know. I kind of miss that about her. She’s always had the same determination, but there’s a big difference between what she’s trying to drive home. She’s gotten too intense, merciless even.”
“Maybe you should talk to her about it,” Cam suggested, hardly paying attention anymore. A sour look formed on Nathan’s face.
“Ask Eve if she’s been feeling like herself lately? I bet that’ll turn out well, but it looks like I have no other choice.”
“Yeah, well, good luck with that,” Cam concluded, sticking out her tongue to show her displeasure with the situation. “I’ve got to go get ready to meet with Garrett.”
“Where are you going?” Nathan asked, but Cam was already ducking into the bathroom when she responded.
“I don’t know,” she called, reminding Nathan of his own words when Vince and Barb were questioning him. He bet his sister knew quite a lot but thought he’d be better off oblivious. It was the same reason why he wasn’t about to tell her that his bosses had been asking about her; the whole bonfire of a problem would fade away quicker if there was less fuel for it to burn.
The multitude of troubles besieging him, from his personal life to his family life to his work life, was getting overwhelming. Nothing he did seemed to do anything to solve any of them either. He’d almost gotten completely lost in them until he heard the sound of humming coming from the stairs.
Gladys descended wearing a light blue coat and carrying a leather pool cue case. She was humming an older tune from the fifties and seemed in a chipper mood. As she gingerly shuffled across the living room floor, she took a quick step back before continuing on as though she were dancing.
Her humming stopped abruptly when she spotted Nathan at the kitchen table.
“I didn’t think anyone was here,” she noted, taking a closer look at Nathan, whose furrowed brow and pinched cheeks aroused her concern.
“Heading out for a game of pool with the ladies?” Nathan asked, wilting under his grandmother’s scrutiny.
“My dear,” she said, coming closer to him. “What’s the matter? You look like someone ran over your dog.”
The sound of his sister turning on the shower caught his ears, making him release a stilted sigh. Gladys appeared so composed and wise to him then, and those were both qualities he felt he had plenty of reason to envy.
“You ever feel like everything’s just falling apart?” he asked, putting a few fingers to the bridge of his nose to support his head. He couldn’t even bring himself to look at her as he said it.
“Wait till you get to be my age!” she c
huckled, and the joke at her own expense did help Nathan feel like it could still be worse. “It’s too bad a body doesn’t come with any of that technical support.”
A grin dawned on Nathan’s face. Somehow Gladys always knew how to put him in a better mood.
“But you’re not that old at all,” Nathan observed. “At least you don’t act like it. I bet there are prom queens jealous of your social life.”
“I like to think you and Cammie keep me young. That and retirement,” she mused. “Nothing rolls back years off a person’s life like leaving behind a wretched job.”
Nathan shook his head, thinking of his own job and all the time he’d spent there. Now that Eve convinced him not to bother with his classes because of how little time he had left, all he’d ever be was a cement factory worker. And if he stopped going to work too he wouldn’t even be that.
“Yeah…” Nathan mumbled.
“Is that what’s bothering you?” Gladys asked. Nathan scratched his head.
“No, not really. Work is about the same as it’s always been. But the real problem has to do with my girlfriend.”
“Oh…girls,” Gladys cringed. “Life just wouldn’t be fun for us if we made it easy for the men in our lives all the time.”
“You’re telling me,” Nathan agreed. “Seems like as soon as I’ve got her figured out she goes and changes into something completely different. It’s a bummer, no doubt about it.”
Even though Nathan was clearly distressed, Gladys covered her mouth and giggled.
“They say youth is wasted on the young, but you sure can’t say the same about happiness.”
Nathan shook his head, unable to form much of a counter argument. It caught his attention when Gladys set her pool cue case down on the table.
“Don’t you need to get going?” he asked, but Gladys shook her head.
“The gals won’t mind it if I’m a little late,” she said, slowly dragging out a chair and settling down. “That’s another thing that comes with age, patience. I know things have been tough for you lately, but it’ll all work out as long as you believe it. They may not turn out just how you want, but you’ll get to a point where you just accept that this is where life’s taken you. You come to terms with it, and it becomes less about what you got and what happened and more about whether you made use of the time you have.”