Reflections of Me

by Yumoyori Wilson

  I returned my attention forward as we reached the nurse's office, Kage waiting for the two of us. Must be my imagination. I seriously need to sleep. I think I'll do just that.

  At least I avoided a bit of danger.

  "Kage!" I waved my right arm in greeting. Kage lifted his gaze from his phone and turned it in my direction; those blue eyes widened as his jaw went slack.

  I looked both ways before I crossed the busy streets of Natala, walking over to where Kage leaned against a bright yellow car.

  He wore a navy-blue golf shirt, the sleeves and neck outlined in light blue. He sported white jeans and blue Nike's, and his tinted blue shades rested on his head. His blue hair was gelled back neatly and fit his overall casual yet classy look.

  My outfit was an off-the-shoulder dress. It was tight at the waist and made my breasts pop out with a little cleavage exposure while the bottom half flared out. The white dress had navy blue lines running down it, and I matched it with wedges; the heels had the same striped pattern as my dress.

  My makeup was simple—red lipstick with a hint of magic gloss to keep it as it was regardless if I ended up kissing Kage on our date and silver eyeshadow to make my red eyes pop out. I loved the dress because it showed my flower tattoos that I always enjoyed having on display, but when I was a guy with our usually short-sleeved, long-sleeved, or blazer attire, the tattoo I had on my arm never showed.

  I added simple gold jewelry pieces to my wrists and gold earrings that were visible thanks to my new hairdo.

  Four weeks had flown by, and we were enjoying a three day weekend thanks to the holiday. I couldn't believe how fast time had breezed by us, and I was taking this opportunity to have a date with Kage.

  I hadn't had too many incidents after my confrontation with Will and his friends since Braxton and the others took turns walking with me to class. It was a weird thing to do as a guy, but I sucked up my male pride and accepted that it was safer, and it relieved the stress of me being jumped.

  Zane had been hanging at home a lot more than previously. Maximus explained that he used to stay out at other friend’s places. Most of those friends either failed the first semester or were expelled due to being involved with the tower incident. Whoever was left didn't want anything to do with Zane, which proved to me that not everyone is in your life for friendship. Clearly, those guys were there to get some type of benefit or leverage in their goal to be a part of the cool kids and have the "easier" life.

  As for the tension in the group, it was healing slowly. Kage and Zane could actually stay in the same room for longer than an hour, but Kage was still sleeping in my room.

  Now that we were going out today, I could maybe find out what was going on with him and why he'd been what Logan called 'moody.'

  There must have been a reason for Kage's random mood swings, and I vowed to figure out what it was. I'd also noticed Braxton leaving campus a few times last week, but whenever I asked, he said everything was fine.

  Once I figured out what was going on with Kage, I'd check in with Braxton. He wasn't hard to talk with, but it was a bit of a hassle to get him to open up when he wanted to carry his burdens on his own rather than rely on others.

  Logan decided to go home and check on his parents. Surprisingly, he took Nixon with him, saying that if he left him, he'd probably nap all day long which I knew was true. Zane was struggling with a few subjects, so Maximus was spending the day helping him out, and Braxton said he'd go home and check on his parents.

  Kage still had a shocked expression on his face when I reached him, his eyes lingering on my short brown locks.

  "You cut your hair?" he asked in astonishment.

  I gave him a nervous smile. "Ya. Actually, did it thirty minutes ago at that hair salon," I confessed, turning around to point at the hair salon front with the blinking sign.

  "Did you book an appointment?" Kage inquired.

  "Nope. I came a bit early because I didn't want you waiting too long since you were coming from your parents, and when I saw they were doing a sale today, I decided I'd take the chance. Does it look bad?" I asked, biting my lip as I waited for his answer.

  He blinked a few times, and his cheeks tinted a rosy red before he replied. "No, it looks really good...and you look super-hot, Jewel."

  I blushed at his compliment, not expecting him to be so honest. "T-thanks," I stuttered, feeling a bit awkward. It was the first time for us to be enjoying some alone time outside of school, which ignited the first date nerves.

  Kage smiled and took a step forward, closing the distance between us. He raised his hand to brush against my left cheek as his expression softened.

  "Seriously, Jewel. You really look mesmerizing." He hummed and gave me a soft kiss. "And don't be nervous," he added with a seductive grin that made my stomach flip. Well damn. Car sex? No, wait! I can't just think of car sex when he just kissed me. Maybe it’s that sexy voice of his? Yes, the sexy voice. That's the reason for my body wanting to have sex this instant.

  "Thanks, Kage," I squeaked, taking a few seconds to push my horny thoughts into the corner. I glanced at the yellow car we were standing in front of before my curiosity kicked in.

  "Kage, you drive?" I asked, a little intrigued. I knew that Braxton and Maximus could drive, but I hadn't asked the others.

  As people who could use magic, there were various ways of traveling from one place to another. Logan could teleport, but he preferred to drive unless it was important. I'd have to ask Nixon and Zane if they knew how to drive, but now I was intrigued as to where we were going.

  "Yup. Brax taught me last year, and I got my license before we came to Brighten." Kage slid his hand in mine before we moved to the passenger side of the sleek sports car. He opened the door and gestured for me to enter.

  I thanked him and began to put on my seatbelt while he closed the door and walked to the driver side. The interior was super clean and cloaked in black leather, and I noticed the little keychain that hung from the rear-view mirror.

  I reached out to look at the gold medal, noticing the Brighten symbol on it. "You have a Brighten keychain on your rear-view mirror?" I asked, turning my head to see Kage blush.

  "When we all got in, my mom became obsessed and went to the school and bought everything you could think of that had Brighten on it. She even bought Brighten underwear." He sighed, looking embarrassed.

  "I'd rather have that in the car than avoid her three-hour lecture of how she survived to raise three boys which ended up being four with Maximus and all the trouble we caused. Brax got the lecture though, since there was no way he was going to deal with that." Kage chuckled at the last part, and I joined in.

  "I can imagine Brax being the typical ‘my car is my life’ guy," I replied.

  "Yup. He loves his car. I almost thought he'd never get a girlfriend because he was more obsessed with his car. Guess that was proven wrong." He winked, and I blushed.

  Kage put his seat belt on, and his smile grew sad as he looked at the metal. "I won't have this car for long though."

  "Why? It's so nice," I pointed out. Kage grinned and shrugged, turning the car on and signaling to enter the street.

  "Complicated. Guess there’s no point in having a nice car when you’re not using it. The money could go to something else," he replied.

  I wanted to push the topic, but I decided to wait until later. Ruining the mood of our date was not something I was willing to do. Kage looked back at me with a small smile.

  "Ready for our date?" he asked.

  I nodded quickly. "Definitely!"

  "Ice cream was made by the devil." I licked my lips, enjoying the mocha, cookie crumble ice cream that was layered with chocolate sauce, brownies, and caramel bits.

  "Uh-huh. Did he invent chocolate too?" Kage asked, appearing immensely amused by my comment.

  "Oh yes, that too. Sinful combination of utter delight," I moaned, and he laughed.

  We were sitting on top of the hood of his car, enjoying the cool evening on th
e cliffside of Natala.

  Today was amazing, relieving me from some of the stress I had thanks to our crazy classes. Kage had taken us to the beach, both of us enjoying the shore and clear blue waves before we got to try out a well-known seafood place that served the best lobster I'd ever had.

  After lunch, we'd spent time at an art gallery and then shopped along the busy streets in the middle of town. We saw many students from Brighten, a few recognizing Kage and greeting him. Kage was rather popular at Brighten, and that was something I hadn’t realized.

  Many of them complimented him for his help with assignments and questions, as well as his strength both in spellcasting classes and familiar-based training sessions.

  Our classes were a lot different from last semester. The majority of them focused on our own magic abilities, which gave Alice and Koa tons of free time.

  Neither of them seemed to mind, enjoying their time together. Now that they could change into humans, it let them have more freedom to explore Brighten or anywhere else they wanted.

  Kage had explained to me that any familiar with a strong relationship with their Master or Mistress could change into a human for as long as their Master or Mistress had a good amount of mana. He'd been testing it out with Koa, and Alice got excited and wanted to try too. He didn't think it would work, and that was when Brax's familiar notified Koa to tell Kage that I needed to go to the nurse's office.

  Since then, Alice and Koa had been testing out the human thing on and off. They tried to do it on weekends, knowing we wouldn't be using our magic, but still stayed conscious of how long they stayed in their forms to not drain us.

  We also talked about the decline of bullying and the calmer atmosphere that lingered in the school. There had been a few more incidents, but they were resolved very quickly with the new security enforcement.

  I'd made sure to take this weekend to read all the letters people had sent when I'd been recovering, and the new bunch sent to me after it was revealed at the assembly.

  I'd never imagined so many individuals were being bullied daily. It was performed by students you never expected would feel threatened by people who weren't up to their level of ''class."

  Once we had finished shopping, we'd eaten at a family restaurant. One of the parents who was working stated his son looked up to Kage and was trying to make his bond with his own familiar stronger so he could be like him.

  It was rather sweet to see how happy the mother looked, and it was adorable how Kage got all shy and embarrassed at her praise. We'd gotten dinner for free, but I made sure to leave a big tip, wanting the family to receive something for their kindness.

  Kage had asked if I wanted to go home yet, but the night was still young, and the idea of enjoying the sunset with him was too appealing. He'd decided to take me to a cliffside that was, thankfully, empty and walked over to the nearby ice cream parlor to get us dessert.

  "The way to win a woman's heart is through ice cream and chocolate," Kage confirmed.

  "I approve," I mumbled as I chewed on the rich brownie. "Soo good."

  He looked pleased with my enjoyment, and we focused on finishing our dessert before we laid back to watch the stars that began to appear in the dark blue sky.

  His hand was in mine, and I listened to the crickets and other night wildlife coming out to play while we stared at the beautiful lights of the town, with Brighten further away.

  "Kage?" I asked.

  "Yes, Jewel?" Kage replied.

  "What's going on?" I asked, turning my head to the right to stare at him. He was quiet, keeping his gaze on the sky.

  "Nothing."

  "You know I can tell when you're lying," I whispered. "Look me in the eye and tell me everything’s okay."

  He didn't budge. I was still able to get a glimpse of his face, and I could see the conflict in his expression. My eyes lowered to his neck as I watched him swallow, his Adam's apple moving up and then down before he finally turned his head to meet my gaze.

  My eyes widened to see the tears in his blue orbs. "Kage..." I trailed off, immediately raising my arm and reaching out to wipe the tear that began to roll down his right cheek with my thumb.

  "Everything's not okay...but I don't know how to fix it," he confessed, more tears rolling down his cheeks. He sat up and I followed, turning my body to face him before I continued to help wipe away his tears.

  "What's happening, Kage? Can't you tell me? Maybe I can help," I suggested, my stomach sinking at the sight of Kage crying. He was always so quiet and even with his mood changes of late, I'd never seen him shedding tears like this.

  The expression he wore was as if someone had died, or he'd lost something dear to him. The thought alone made me frightened to know what the truth was.

  He tried to speak but sobs escaped him, and I couldn't help but pull him into my arms. "Everything’s just getting out of control. Fucking Zane...he should have just asked for help if those bastards threatened to hurt you. But no, he wanted to be a man and take the burden. Now everything’s fucked up." Kage’s tone was laced with frustration, his hands clenching my dress as he held me tightly against him.

  "I'm trying not to explode. Trying to let Brax handle it, but it's so unfair. So fucking unfair. Brax does everything for us. He sacrificed so much to make us happy. To keep us safe. The abuse he took from our biological Dad. The multiple jobs he took so we could eat well and go to a decent school. Fuck, he paused his opportunity to go to Brighten years ago for us! He could be a Mage Warrior by now, enjoying what he dreamed of becoming, but no! He's here still taking care of us," Kage confessed.

  I allowed him to sob in my shoulder, rubbing his back as he let the tears fall. I didn't want to rush him to go into more detail, knowing right at this moment, he needed my comfort and support.

  "It's okay, Kage. I'm here to listen," I whispered, pressing my lips lightly to his neck and holding him tightly. He needed to know I was right there and wouldn't leave him over his honesty.

  For a man to cry the way he was, told me he'd piled up his worry, fear, anger, and other emotions, until there was no space left and he needed an outlet. All I did was trigger the feeling that begged for an escape, and now he was finally able to let it all out.

  It took him a while to calm down, but once he did, he pulled back and hung his head like he'd committed a shameful act. "Sorry, Jewel. I shouldn't have-" he began, but I shook my head, putting my arms up into an X sign.

  "Oh, no you don't," I huffed, and he looked at me like I'd lost it.

  "Just because you're a guy, doesn't mean you can't cry or express your feelings. I learned that after the assembly. You guys didn't let me apologize for holding you up because I was crying and Brax was comforting me. I won't let you apologize for being human, Kage."

  "But-"

  "Nope!'

  "Our date-"

  "Was a wonderful day filled with laughter, fun, and moan-worthy ice cream," I replied. He smirked at my comment and sighed.

  "My mom has cancer."

  I opened my mouth to speak, but his words hit me like a brick. What...?

  "I didn't know about it until after the tower incident. Braxton had gotten a call when you were recovering, but he was distraught about what happened and was trying to make sure we were okay. It wasn't until you woke up and were recovering before he went down to see our Mom and Dad."

  He took a deep breath, looking up at the sky. "My mom told him she was diagnosed after she'd passed out from having a headache. She has a tumor...on her brain. I don't know what it's called or the fancy medical terms for it, but it's at stage four? My father immediately asked to start treatment, but...it's expensive. My parents used to be rich, but after my biological dad left, my mom had to work twice as hard to save enough money for all of us to attend school, as well as covering for Maximus until he was settled."

  Kage closed his eyes and sighed. "I never concerned myself with money or thought about it. I thought we were okay. My car was a gift from my parents. Same with Brax's. Beca
use we both waited for Zane to get into Brighten, we didn't have much else to do, so our parents gifted us those cars so we could basically live and enjoy getting to wherever we needed to go. I never thought they used a bunch of their savings to buy them before purchasing the extra supplies we needed for Brighten that weren’t covered by our scholarships."

  "Essentially, my mom ran out of money. Our stepdad is working hard to compensate, but the treatment is expensive, and magic can't really help," Kage whispered.

  He lowered his gaze to meet my sad eyes. "You notice how Brax has been a little absent lately?"

  I nodded. "Ya. He says he's going out, but he doesn't come back until really late. Sometimes in the early morning."

  I'd noticed his early morning entries because he was still sleeping in our room. The last time he'd come in at four in the morning, he had slid into his side of the bed with Maximus and me. I tried to ask him, but I was half asleep, and I couldn't even remember his reply before he kissed me goodnight.

  "Brax's been taking jobs in town. Some magic ones outside of town. He's been helping around the school as well. He's doing it to make more money for Mom's treatment."

  "Brax...why didn't he say anything?" I asked.

  "Because it's Braxton. The one thing he sucks at is relying on people. If he could shoulder the damn world, he would. It wasn't supposed to be like that. My mother, she was really active in the community, and they had raised money for her when they found out what happened...but then..." he trailed off and lowered his head to stare at his hands.

  "What?" I asked.

  "Someone began spreading rumors about the tower incident."

  "Wait, what?! What did they say?!" I exclaimed, anger beginning to boil inside me.

  "Instead of saying that Zane had helped catch the bullies, they flipped his role and stated he was the one who pushed you off the tower," Kage whispered.

  "WHAT! That's not what happened!" I snapped. Kage gave me a sympathetic smile.