by Nicole Thorn
“Zander,” she cooed. “Hello. How are you?”
He smiled falsely. “I’m great. What about you? I heard about your run in with shrubbery.”
She sighed. “Yeah, scary stuff. The police think that some kind of chemical got into the earth and it did something wiggy with the place. No harm done.” She paused. “Um, you gonna let me in?”
“I don’t know if I can. The owners are unable to come out and play.”
She sneered. “Well, where’s Jasper?”
I smiled as I walked up to her. “He’s in bed. Sleeping the day off. I was just up with him. He won’t wanna come down.”
She looked me up and down. “Yeah, always tough getting him to sleep. I had a little trick I used for that. Always got him down.”
And my chest tightened. I felt… rotten. That was her goal, of course. I knew what this was. She wanted to play a game with me. Good thing I’m not a better person than I am.
“He didn’t struggle,” I said. “I just put him in bed and he fell right asleep.”
“Hmm.” She smiled wider, showing her teeth. “I’m so glad you’re good at putting him to sleep. When he was with me he was just always so awake and alive.”
Zander’s eyes changed and he was getting ready to bite back. But this was between The Swamp Thing and me.
I took a step. “I’m sure Jasper will be just… so, so upset to have missed you. I’ll tell him you came by.”
She didn’t move. “I can wait. I’m sure he doesn’t have much to sleep off.”
Oh, I have to ruin her. “You’d be surprised.”
Zander was now just watching our bitch fight happen. He seemed interested in who would come out the winner. Only problem is that Cruella over here didn’t have a soul, so I was at a disadvantage.
“Maybe I should check on him,” the crocodile said. “I know just how he likes to sleep. He gets all cranky if he doesn’t rest like he should.”
Okay, the game was over and I was done. “As much of an expert at lying on your back as you are, don’t go bother him. I’m taking care of Jasper now. You broke up with him. You’re done.”
She smirked at me, unmoved. “I think I know when I’m done.”
I let all my coldness show through my eyes. “No, I don’t think you do. You don’t know a damn thing about me, but I know all about people like you. You know Jasper is kind and gentle and you think that you can come and go as you please. He won’t tell you to get lost, because he’s too nice for that. But I’m not.”
She laughed. “Okay, I can see you’re having some issues. S’alright. I get kinda bitchy too that time of the month. So I forgive you. I’ll just come by later to check up on Jasper. Bye, sweetie.” She turned on her heel and started walking.
So she was going to pretend we didn’t hate each other. That this wasn’t a little war. Fine, I’d keep playing her game. And I would win.
I watched her move her bike from its spot against my car and hop on. Well, I think I earned some fun here. I focused on growing out some vines from the gutter beside her. They were longer than could be seen without looking into the sewer and that was just what I needed.
The vine wrapped around the middle of the bike as she was righting herself. When she took off, the vine followed her. There was enough slack that she would get a good distance away from it before the magic would happen.
Fifteen feet went by when the vine pulled the bike to a stop. Celeste fell hard onto the ground. She screamed, loudly. Much louder than she needed to. It was a couple scratches on knees that were probably already bruised. She landed on her hands and knees and I felt very happy about that. Then I closed the door.
Ψ
Jasper didn’t wake up early enough for me to make him dinner. It was late and I needed to sleep. If he woke up and I heard, I’d come out for him. I doubted that would happen.
I finished sorting through all the new clothes I had. It would seem that more appeared when I wasn’t looking. And some disappeared altogether…thanks Aphrodite. Still, I had some comfy looking pajamas that would work for a while.
Juniper gave me a hamper for my dirty clothes and I tossed my old ones in. I put my new clothes on the bed when I was undressing. I stared at them because it took me a few minutes to decide if I could wear them in this house. The shorts were very short and the top was short sleeved. I decided to risk it.
I was tying my hair into what turned out to be a messy ponytail when the door opened. It happened so fast that I couldn’t react before Jasper was walking in. He stopped when he saw me. Stopped everything. Walking, breathing, functioning like a human being.
I literally squeaked in surprise when I saw him. He was looking at me. And I was completely naked. As in, not dressed. Not covered. Naked. In front of Jasper.
I grabbed a pillow and held it against me as he was shutting his eyes. “I’m so, so, so sorry, Kezia,” he said, frantically. “I just got up for water and I picked the wrong door. I’m still half asleep…” he rambled on and I started breathing again.
“Can you let me get dressed, please?” I asked in a shaky voice.
He said sorry a few more times before he closed the door after him.
This was it. Zander was right. Too much. Something that was too much happened and now I could feel it coming. Panic. My safe place was slipping away from me. I should have known better. Nothing is safe. Now Jasper is never going to look at me again and that was one more person that I had to hide from.
I pulled on clothes as fast as I could. My stupid pajamas that I wished I’d been wearing a minute sooner. So I was dressed, but I was still shaking.
It felt like the world was spinning. Things were too new and fragile with Jasper for something like this. He was in the exclusive club of people who’ve seen me naked. The only other two people were now very, very dead. I didn’t want that fate for Jasper. It was an accident. He wasn’t coming in to hurt me, or punishing me after he caught me being hurt. He just made a mistake.
I couldn’t sleep alone tonight. I needed Zander. He would be so sad when he found me in bed with him in the morning. One step forward, two steps back.
I stepped out of the room and Jasper was just standing there. Waiting for me. He saw me and stopped pacing. “Kezia, I’m really sorry. I just wasn’t paying attention.”
I crossed my arms and wished I had a bra on. “It’s fine,” I said, trying to actually be fine. “I know you didn’t mean any harm.”
He hung his head and rubbed his eyes. “I don’t know how to fix this.”
“Well, I don’t think you can undo it.”
“I really wish I didn’t see you. Like that. Not that you didn’t look good. You did. Very… dammit.”
I patted his arm. “It’s fine,” I said again. “I’m sure it was traumatic for you.”
He looked up and he seemed confused. “Huh? No. I just want to run into a wall a few times. But that also won’t fix anything.”
“Nope.”
“Are you, are you really okay?”
I crossed my arms again. “I don’t know.” He still felt like a safe place, somehow. And I needed comfort. He was the only one here to give it to me. So I took a step forward and hugged him without asking. My arms went around his neck and he didn’t even ask why I needed a hug after something so stupid. It happened to people all the time and I was freaking out about it.
I stopped hugging him but my arms stayed around his neck as I looked up. “Can I make you something to eat?”
He smiled. “If I say no are you going to do it anyway?”
I nodded.
“Then yes.”
I led him downstairs to the dark kitchen and he sat at the table while I made something quick for him. It was just a sandwich and chips. I got him a drink and set it on the table beside him before I sat down.
It was quiet and I was nervous. I thought about a million things, but one of the louder thoughts was kind of distracting me. He said I looked good and that seemed to make this almost a little better. I didn�
��t quite get why that was a factor. He’s said I was pretty before. I guess this wasn’t really the same. It hardly mattered. He wouldn’t ever see me naked again. No one would ever see me naked again. I decided that a long time ago. Kind of hard to want sex when you associate that kind of stuff with being severely beaten.
Jasper cleared his throat and decided to talk. “I could let you see me naked, if you think that would help. It would at least give you something to laugh at.”
I did laugh, but not at him. “I’m sure you look lovely naked, sweetheart, but I feel like that would make this a little weirder.”
“Weirder than you making me dinner after I ogled you?”
“Ogling implies you actually had a desire to see me naked.”
He took another bite of his sandwich and stared at the table. He did not look back up.
I stood when I decided it was time for bed. I said an awkward goodnight to Jasper before leaving him to finish his food in peace. With any luck, he’d forget what I looked like entirely. He said he was half asleep anyway. And he had no reason to preserve the picture. My odds might be okay.
When I got up to Zander’s room, it was dark. He was passed out on his back and he was singing in his sleep. A habit he’s had since I could remember. It wasn’t real singing, more like quiet mumbling. It was comforting when trying to fall asleep.
I snuck in and closed his door so that he wouldn’t be woken up by outside noises. I wanted to put off him knowing I was here for as long as I could. He would be so, so sad. He was always sad for me when I showed up.
I got into bed next to him and his eyes opened up halfway. It was just one word that he said, but it made it clear he knew why I was here. It was sad, unsurprised, worried and comforting.
“Kizzy…”
15: All Dolled Up and No Place to Go
Jasper
If I could be a good person and get the image of Kezia naked out of my head, I probably would. Unfortunately, there it was… every time I closed my eyes. It didn’t help that her naked was glorious. I’m not sure anyone would be able to get the image out of their head, because Kezia was just that gorgeous.
The clothes she chose didn’t do her justice. She was all smooth skin, just this side of pale. The swells of her breasts practically begged to be touched. Her hips wanted to be grabbed, her waist slender. Every curve and dip was evidence of her mother’s heritage. Every inch of skin pure goddess.
And naturally, I had to go and screw it up. I had been so tired. I had gotten up, thinking I could work on some stuff in my studio, but had been weaving on my feet, so instead decided to grab something to drink and head upstairs again. Practically sleep walking. Then I opened the door and what do you know. Not so tired anymore.
We were both really lucky the pants I was wearing were baggy. I didn’t want to freak her out more than I already had.
After the vision I got yesterday, I knew there was no way she wasn’t freaked out and I couldn’t blame her. I don’t know how long that went on, or why she didn’t tell Zander sooner, other than that irrational feeling of guilt. What I did know was that she still hadn’t begun to heal and what happened last night could only have panicked her more.
I’m surprised she could be around me at all. The least I could do was try to make her comfortable. The best way to do that, would be to leave her alone, I figured. I wouldn’t go out of my way to avoid her, because I didn’t want her thinking our friendship was somehow damaged. Instead, I would just stay in my studio and let Zander distract her. I’m sure he would do a lovely job of it.
I was in the middle of a project anyway. It was a little village made of clay. Because I was bored. Currently, I was in the middle of making little trees to put up. They weren’t difficult, but they were intricate. I was splitting the clay into branches and then taking one of the smaller tools and imprinting leaves and lines. To make it look more realistic. I had been at it for nearly an hour before the garage door opened.
Over the years, I’ve learned that I can get seriously into whatever I’m doing and because of that I’d adjusted everything in my studio, so that it faced the garage door. That way, when people walked in, I was aware of it. I looked up and saw Jasmine and Juniper. I yanked my headphones out, dulling the noise of Pop Evil in my ears. “Hey,” I said.
Jasmine grabbed an extra stool and perched on it, while Juniper tried to clear a clean spot on another. Finally, she gave up and just sat on the rag. She almost never came in here, just like she almost never went into Jasmine’s room. They were chaotic and messy and she couldn’t handle it in large doses.
“What’s up?” I asked. After our vision last night, I hadn’t really seen either of my sisters. When they woke up, Zander had whisked them off to the kitchen. Jasmine had barely been able to stand, which was par for the course. Something we had managed to keep from the demigods. I didn’t think they would be very forgiving to our father if they learned he had us do that regularly, considering how badly they freaked out yesterday.
I wasn’t even sure how to explain what happened. It was the power we were feeding to each other. It made the visions much stronger, until we got the whole image, the past, present and future. That’s why we reacted so violently while doing it. If they had let us finish, we would have been exhausted, but fine.
“The demigods are still sleeping,” Juniper said. “Jazz said they’re sharing a room right now.”
I nodded, not all that shocked. If Zander was the only thing that made her feel safe, then after last night she definitely would have fled.
“I figured, considering how they reacted yesterday, it would be best to discuss our vision without them present,” Juniper said. “I mean, I got a stern lecture on precisely why we are never to do that again, from Zander of all people.”
Jasmine nodded. “He was pretty adamant. When I tried to talk to him about it, he just put me in bed and left the room.” She shrugged. “I was pretty tired, so I went to sleep, but I still think they overreacted. And so does Juni.”
“I do too, actually,” I said. “They’re just not used to seeing it. Either way, it might be best if we don’t do that in front of them again.”
My sisters nodded.
“All right,” I said. “Well, I saw pretty much what you’d think I’d see. It was a lot of death, but I got some of the Furies’ emotions too. They know they have to die, but don’t want to,” I explained. “They think the pain and suffering makes them real. I guess they worry they won’t be real anymore if they die and come back.”
Juniper blinked. “That’s messed up,” she said. “Also, it’s a little ironic. That these justice bringers are tearing through humanity for almost no reason, because they’re scared of death. Not even permanent death, but the kind where you wake up again almost immediately.”
I shrugged. “They’re insane right now. Somehow, I doubt insane people appreciate irony.”
“That’s sad,” Jasmine said. “I’m nutty, but I can appreciate irony just fine.” She smoothed down her skirt and looked primly at us. “What about you, Juni? Did you see anything that might be useful?”
“Not really,” Juniper said. “I saw pretty much what Jasper saw. A lot of death and destruction. A lot of insanity. They were tearing up some warehouse. I don’t even know if they were still in Seattle. They were chasing down these men and shredding them to pieces, dropping the spare parts down on other people. I can look it up later and see if I can’t find where they were, but the demigods pulled us apart before I could really pin down the location. Considering the nature of the attack, I’m thinking that’s not a terrible thing.”
“Did they say why the people were being targeted?” I asked. They didn’t have much of a reason to go after Zander and Kezia, as far as I could tell. They hadn’t done anything wrong and they were children of the gods the Furies were supposed to serve. At the same time, I guess they didn’t need much of a reason. They were the Furies.
Juniper shook her head. “If the victims were informed of why they were
becoming victims, it was done before I plugged in. Mostly, the only things said were prayers and not to the right gods either.” She shrugged. “They had no clue what was going on. I’m just hoping there’s no video of it floating around on the internet.”
I winced, imagining the commentary. Most people would think it was fake, of course. And the police would pull it down almost instantly, because of the graphic nature. At the same time, there’s a good chance that gods will feel the need to do some smiting for cleanup.
“I’m afraid I’m not much help either,” Jasmine said. “The Furies’ future was pretty much the same as it is now. I must not have gone very far. Oh and Zander and Kezia are still slated to die. Just not the same way they were going to die before. I saw Kezia severed in half and Zander’s head got turned into pulp.” She looked vaguely sick, like she wouldn’t mind hunching over and vomiting everywhere. “I don’t want that for them…”
I rubbed my eyes. None of us wanted that for them. “We changed the first outcome, so we can change this one too, if we try hard enough,” I said. “So let’s keep trying. Was there anything else you saw? After they broke our connection?”
Juniper sighed, “That wasn’t pleasant. Having the Furies get interrupted to watch two different perspectives of us flailing around on the floor. I’ll skip that next time around, if I may.”
I smirked. And kept what I had seen to myself. It wasn’t even mine to see. Just because it was an accident didn’t excuse the fact that I did, in fact, see it. If Kezia knew, she would be devastated and I would feel like shit. Then our friendship really would be damaged and no amount of avoiding each other will fix it.
Jasmine frowned. “I saw something, but it was really weird. And I don’t know how far into the future it could possibly be, since I also watched both of them die.” She bit her lip. “Violently.”