PANDORA

by Rebecca Hamilton

  “Eh, my idea was more fun,” he shrugs a shoulder and smiles. “What do you want to talk about?”

  “I want to get to know you, the real you. So, everything I guess,” I shrug.

  “Alright, why don’t we do a twenty-question thing? I ask a question, you ask a question. I have nothing to hide from you, so don’t hesitate with anything,” he suggests.

  I chuckle. “I guess. But only if I can go first.”

  He grins. “Go for it.”

  I think about what I want to ask. I have so many questions for him, about him, that I don’t really know where to start.

  “What did you and Sam talk about after I left to talk to Henry?” Good a place as any to start I suppose.

  He raises an eyebrow. “Well . . . We talked about you and me for the most part,” he shrugs. “He’s worried that we’re moving too fast in our relationship. He knows that my protectiveness is coming out full-blown and way early, but it’s to be expected with this situation.” He smirks then gives me a tender smile. “He said that you seem to be taking everything fairly well.”

  “Hah! I fainted maybe twenty minutes after I met him because of the shifters, and I feel like I’m mental because of these attacks! How is that taking it well?”

  “Babe, this is new for you,” he lifts a shoulder. “You thought all this stuff was only in movies and books until a few days ago. I was shocked you didn’t faint on Sunday when I was telling you all of this, or issue a restraining order,” he smiles. “You’re trying to get to know everyone, and trying to be happy, regardless of what Derik is putting you through,” he kisses my temple.

  I smile. “Thanks. It’s your question by the way,” I whisper.

  “When’s your birthday?”

  I grimace, “April twenty second, it’s next Saturday.” I’m not really looking forward to my birthday this year. My dad and sister aren’t here, and who knows if my mom will be home.

  “That gives me enough time to plan something for you,” he says in amusement.

  “Ugh,” I groan. “Just to let you know, if you want to plan a surprise party or something, don’t tell Leland any details. He’s as terrible as my mom at hiding that sort of thing,” I tell him, remembering that I have yet to have a successful surprise anything that has involved my mom or uncle.

  “Do you not like surprises?” he asks.

  “That’s not it. I love surprises. It’s just, I’ve never had a successful surprise party. My mom was always involved, along with my uncle, and they’re terrible at that. They’re the most amazing secret keepers, until it comes to a surprise of any kind. They’re too obvious,” I laugh.

  “Maybe I’ll be able to remedy that one day,” he smiles, tilts my head back and gives me a sweet peck on the lips.

  I trace shapes onto his chest and trace the patterns of his abs absent mindedly while I think of a question.

  He stills my hand and crushes his mouth to mine for a steamy kiss.

  “That wasn’t very nice, Jazzy,” he says breathlessly, as he trails kisses down my neck.

  “I’m sorry . . . Uh . . . ” Wow, think! “Okay, I, uh, have my question now,” I stutter. He smiles against my neck.

  “Ask away,” he mutters around kisses.

  “What’s the most embarrassing thing that’s ever happened to you?” I rush to ask.

  He groans into my shoulder. “Aren’t you tired?” he asks as he rolls to his back.

  “Oh, come on.” I pout.

  “Fine,” he says. “I won’t bother asking you not to laugh, I know you will,” he smirks. “When I was in the fifth grade, I got bored in class one day and thought it would be brilliant to glue my eraser in the braid of the girl that sat in front of me. As revenge, she thought it would be brilliant to pants me,” he grimaces. “It wouldn’t have been too bad, if I hadn’t been wearing my favorite underwear that day,” he sighs dramatically. “Tighty whities, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. They were kinda old and looked like it, and there was this hole,” he pauses. “In a really bad spot. I was ‘Tiny Turtle’ until Stephan O’Hare pushed Madeline Lurz off the monkey bars,” he mumbles, and I burst out laughing.

  “Tiny Turtle, really?” I laugh until I snort.

  “Okay, yes it was funny,” he groans. “My turn, what’s your favorite flower?” he smiles at me and intertwines our fingers.

  I work on controlling my breathing and squelching my giggles. “Lilies,” I answer. “Any kind of lily,” I blow out a breath. “What’s your favorite snack?”

  “French fries dipped in a chocolate milkshake,” he says without hesitation. I laugh again. “Don’t knock it ‘til you try it!” he protests.

  “I have, I just didn’t think that would’ve been your answer.”

  “What’s your favorite childhood memory?” he whispers.

  “Probably every Christmas Eve night until I was nine, we always waited up for Santa, and watched as he placed our presents under the tree around midnight,” I smile remembering how we would sneak around at the top of the stairs and wait. “We never knew it was Dad until I was nine, when I saw the Santa suit in the closet. You should’ve seen my dad trying to stutter his way out of that one.” My heart clenches and I feel a tremor of grief and pain course through me. “What do you want to do when you get out of school?” I ask hoping to take the focus off.

  “I’ve always wanted to be a lawyer, fight for justice and help people who need help,” he shrugs, and I can tell he’s embarrassed, without even checking his emotions.

  I prop my elbows on his chest and lean on them so I can look in his eyes. “That’s admirable,” I smile. “The world needs more people who aren’t just in it to make money,” I shrug.

  He smiles, with a hint of a blush. I haven’t seen him like this. It makes him more attractive.

  He raises a brow. “I think we need to get some sleep,” he says.

  I nod. “G’nite.”

  “Night, sleep well,” he whispers.

  I snuggle closer to him and rest my head on his chest, so I can hear his heartbeat. My eyelids get heavier as his heart sings me a lullaby, and he runs his fingers through my hair.

  I feel at peace, comfortable, and relaxed. Three things I truly haven’t experienced for a while now, in fact, I’m not sure that I’ve ever felt just like this.

  As I start to drift off, I think I hear him whisper something, but I’m too far gone to focus on anything but the vibrations in his chest.

  My final thought before sleep wraps around me like a snuggie, is falling asleep in his arms is my new favorite feeling.

  ***

  As I get dressed, the scent of brewing coffee filters up the stairs, forcing me to hurry and drags me down to the kitchen.

  “Good morning, Beautiful!” Henry greets me with a bagel slathered in cream cheese.

  I greedily accept and walk over to the coffee pot. “Hey, Stud! How’d you sleep?” Leland comes over and steals a bite of my bagel. I smack at him, and he winks.

  “Pretty poorly but don’t worry, I’m on my second pot of coffee. Barry, too.” Henry laughs.

  “It’s a half day today. Does Miss Jaynie need to show?” Leland asks, sounding sleepy.

  “I have a date with Seth after school,” I say, and can’t stop the goofy grin that splits across my face.

  Henry glares at me for a second before responding to Leland. “Barry and I will be here right after school, so we can watch him.”

  Barry puts his phone down on the table. “Athan said not to worry about the classes you share with Derik.”

  “It’s just art and lunch. You all are with me at lunch so it doesn’t matter, and Skeeter is with me in Art,” I remind him.

  “Yes, Skeeter is Amaranthine. But she’s not sixteen yet,” he retorts. I hadn’t thought about that. “Sam will be attending your art class for a few weeks. If he has to, he said he can drag it out ‘til the end of the school year. Don’t let anyone know that you know him or recognize him,” Henry laughs at the face I make, and Barry ignores it com
pletely. How am I supposed to pull off not knowing who he is? “What are you and Pretty Boy up to this afternoon?”

  “You know, I think you can start using his name now. I know he’s pretty, well, hot, but I’m beginning to think, you think he’s pretty. I don’t want to be a jealous girlfriend or anything . . . ” I leave my comment hanging as Henry chokes on his cereal.

  “Fine,” Barry grumbles. “What do you and Seth have planned?”

  “Hmmm . . . who is asking, the protector wolf, the body guard, the friend, or my brother’s jerk friend?”

  Barry shrugs. “A little of each I guess. Honestly Jaz, just put me and my wolf at ease and give me a location,” he says in annoyance.

  “Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania,” I say without missing a beat.

  Barry throws a crumpled napkin at me. “Not funny.”

  “Oh, fine. We’re gonna stop some place for lunch, then go to the Carnegie Museum of Art. I should be home before dinner,” I smile.

  Barry blows out a breath and grins. “Thanks,” he says, and ruffles my hair.

  I growl at him as he laughs and jogs out of the room.

  ***

  “So, where would you like to eat?” Seth asks while we walk to his car.

  “Since we’re going to the Carnegie, why don’t we eat at Apollo’s?” I suggest.

  “Sounds good,” he says with a smile. “How did Sam do today? He didn’t out you, did he?”

  I laugh. “No, he didn’t out me. He gained a few admirers, which Skeeter pretended to be one.” I giggle, thinking of her pissing off the other girls by batting her lashes and keeping him near our table with all her fake questions. “She’s really good at pretending to not know him.”

  Seth nods as we climb into his car. “She likes to try to embarrass him.”

  I figure I may as well start up our little question game. “Do you have any crazy ex-girlfriends I should know about?” I know we’re young, but we are in high school, and he’s gorgeous.

  “No, I’ve had a crush on a girl before and girls have made it known they are interested in me, but I never dated anyone,” he says.

  I wonder who his first kiss was, but it’s not my turn. So I just smile and wait for him to ask me a question.

  He taps the steering while he asks, “What are some of your favorite things?”

  “Uh . . . ” I mumble as my mind turns in circles. I tell him as many favorites I can think of - coffee, summer rain, reading, and fleece blankets in the winter. We continue asking each other questions along the way.

  It’s nice getting to know him like this. He had a good idea with this version of twenty questions. If I were to try to tell him about myself, it would be like grasping for straws. Some of the questions he asked me, I actually had to think hard about.

  After a delicious lunch at Apollo’s, we head to the museum.

  As soon as we walk through the door, I feel like I’ve walked into heaven. This place is one of my favorite places.

  “I can see your work being in here one day,” Seth whispers, as we pass some paintings.

  “I wish,” I mumble.

  I let my imagination run a bit wild, despite my doubts. To have my artwork loved and cherished enough to have any of it in here, or another museum for that matter, would be an amazing accomplishment.

  We pass an oddly shaped sculpture and I stop to examine and admire it. It almost reminds me of an angel’s wings shielding a child. But it’s all lines and angles. It could be a strange design for an elevator for all I know.

  I’ll stick with the protection idea.

  Protection.

  Maybe I don’t give Barry and the guys enough credit. They are protecting me. I don’t have to like everything they say or do, but I suppose I should give them all the same chance.

  “What are you thinking about?” Seth asks, interrupting my epiphany.

  “That I need to thank a few people,” I answer shyly.

  He releases my hand to put his arm around my shoulders and pulls me close to his side. I lean into him and put my arm around his waist.

  We continue walking through the museum, and pass an elderly couple holding hands, and looking happy to be in each other’s company. They smile to us as we cross their path, and the old man winks. I blush and drop my hand from Seth’s waist, embarrassed. Seth looks down to me and smiles, before picking up my hand and lacing our fingers.

  Sooner than I wanted, we are exiting the museum and slowly walking to the car.

  “What was your favorite piece?”

  “I really love that sculpture of the angel, but I enjoyed the Egyptian sculpture, too. Oh, and that painting of the fall trees, too,” I giggle. “I could go on and on. It was perfect Seth.”

  “I . . . ” he starts but hesitates. “Thank you for making this a special experience for me. It was my first time here.”

  My jaw drops. After a second, I swallow my surprise. “If I would’ve known it was your first time, I would’ve insisted we take the tour. I love this place.” I smile up to him and look into his eyes.

  “Next time,” he says. “I enjoyed watching your amazement,” he whispers and pulls me into his embrace.

  He gives me a quick peck that leaves me pouting and opens my door. By the time we get back on the interstate, we pick up the questioning. I had just asked him about the places he’s lived and visited, when my phone starts ringing.

  I glance to the screen and see it’s my brother. “One sec,” I say to Seth, and answer my phone. “Hey, Stud!”

  Henry laughs. “Hey, Beautiful! Where you guys at?”

  “On our way back, why?” I answer.

  “Skeeter and the guys are here, and we wanted to know if Seth wanted to hang out, instead of just dropping you off. He’s gonna be comin’ back anyway. We’re gonna watch a movie or something, and Barry ordered a couple pizzas.”

  I can see how his logic makes sense, so I relay the message to Seth.

  “Sure, we’ll swing by my house real quick. Tell him we should be there in about twenty minutes,” Seth says with a smile.

  I nod to Seth. “Sure Henry. We’ll see you in about twenty.”

  “’K. Love ya.”

  “Love you, too,” I say, and I put my phone back in my pocket.

  Seth chuckles.

  “What?” I ask him.

  “You and Henry are so weird,” he says through his laughter.

  Those words put a dose of ice through my veins. Psycho Sammy, Alex’s mom, used those words to describe my mom and uncle. My foot starts shaking as I bite my tongue, in an attempt to quash the growing unpleasant feelings.

  “Where I’ve visited and lived,” he says, reminding me of my question before Henry called. “You already know I’ve been to Greece.” He looks at me sideways before continuing. “My family vacations mostly along the East Coast. We went to Colorado before, but Mom wasn’t real thrilled about being in the middle of nowhere for long. We lived in New York when I was little, and before we moved here, we lived in Virginia.” I just nod. I don’t really trust my voice at the moment. “Do you go to all of your uncle’s games?”

  “Just home games, mostly,” I say flatly.

  I’m trying desperately to curb my emotions, but I’m certain it’s a failed attempt.

  We pull into the driveway of a brick rancher. “Do you want to come in and say hi? I just need a few things,” Seth says quietly.

  “No thanks,” I say, without looking at him.

  I can feel him hesitate, but after a bit he gives up and walks into the house, leaving me with my grim thoughts.

  Chapter 14

  Seriously?

  I punch my thigh in frustration.

  I know Henry and I are weird. It’s just how we are, who we are.

  Why am I acting like a brat towards Seth, just because he said we’re weird?

  I’m pretty sure he didn’t mean anything other than simply, we are weird. We just are who we are.

  He hasn’t tried, or asked me, to change anything.

 
I groan and slam my head backwards into the headrest. I’m just going to ignore that moment of stupidity. I need to talk to him as soon as he comes out.

  I stare at the door and wish I would’ve just gone in with him.

  The door pulls inward and Seth emerges with a duffle bag in hand. He jogs to the car and turns the radio on after depositing his bag on the backseat.

  The music isn’t so loud it hurts your head, but it’s loud enough to indicate there will be no talking.

  We arrive at my house quick enough and walk silently to the porch. Just before the porch steps, he drops our bags on the ground, grabs my hand and tugs me around the side of the house. We walk down to the lake and sit on the bank, silently.

  I’m ashamed with myself. I did this. My stupid brain creates messes on its own. I keep my eyes fixated on the water and wait.

  After a few minutes, he sighs. “Jazzy, look at me,” he pleads. I raise my eyes to meet his. “Are you mad at me?” he asks, and scrutinizes my face.

  I shake my head, “No.”

  “Did I do something wrong?”

  I slouch and let my shoulders sag. “No,” I answer honestly. By the look on his face, my reaction earlier affected him. I miss seeing his confident smile.

  “What happened? You’re trying to shut me out,” He shakes his head.

  I open and shut my mouth a few times, unsure of how to start. “It was stupid,” I shift my gaze back to the water. “It was something you said, and I got lost in my head for a bit,” I chew my bottom lip.

  “What was it? What did I say?”

  I sigh. “You said Henry and I are weird,” I whisper.

  He snorts. “It’s the truth,” I glance at him and see he looks confused. As soon as I notice his confusion, he suddenly has that light-bulb look. “You do know that even though I think you guys are weird, I wouldn’t want you to change your relationship with him. Is that what you’re worried about?”

  I look down at our linked hands, ashamed. “I know it’s stupid, but in my defense, while you were in your house, at I made the decision to forget about it.” I glance towards his eyes again. “At first, I thought about how Leland’s ex said that about him and Mom,” I look out over the water with a scowl. “But the more I thought about it, the stupider I felt,” I shake my head and gaze into his crystal green eyes. “You’re not nasty, and you haven’t said anything that would make me think you wanted to distance Henry and me.” I try to form an apology, but words fail me. I didn’t mean to lump him with my uncle’s ex. Just, his words brought back the anger she evoked.