Juanty's Hope

by T C Underwood

  She rushed inside and hurried to her bedroom where she found Johnathon recuperating in her bed. She didn’t touch him, but pulled up a chair and sat next to him. She nestled a sleeping Olivia between his arm and side and stared at the two of them in awe. This was her family.

  ***

  “Juanty, you have to eat.” Ayanna stood next to her friend with a plate of raw deer chunks. Since Juanty had been refusing to leave Johnathon’s side, except to relieve herself and take care of Olivia, her roommates had been bringing home food for her to eat. She looked at the tray and shook her head.

  “I can’t eat right now. Why hasn’t he woken up yet? It’s been four days. I’m really beginning to worry. What if it didn’t work and he dies.” She held Johnathon’s hand in hers. Her foot tapped rapidly against the hardwood floors.

  She was so grateful to have both Johnathon and Olivia in her life, and she understood that if she had to, she would raise Olivia alone and make sure she grew up to be a beautiful young woman, but she didn’t want that to be the case. She wanted her love by her side. She wanted to share her life with him. Ayanna sighed and sat the tray down on the nightstand next to the bed in her room.

  “If she won’t eat, she could at least shower,” Pearl interrupted. “I mean, I can smell your funky ass all the way in my room.” Juanty never took her eyes off her man.

  “Come on, Jay. That was a good one. You were supposed to laugh. You know I’m funny as hell.”

  “You’re corny,” Juanty responded without looking up.

  “Livy thinks I’m funny. She laughs at all my shit.”

  “Yeah, that’s because you curse all the time and, for some reason, that keeps her in stitches. She’s already trying to say fuck. You need to stop before that baby picks up your bad habits. Johnathon will kill me if he wakes up and realizes his daughter is a thug.” The three laughed hysterically. Juanty stood up, walked over to the nightstand, and picked up a chunk of deer meat. Pearl followed and popped one of the savory pieces onto her palate. Her sisters were always there and knew how to make her feel better.

  “Stop eating that. It’s for Juanty. You know she already won’t eat.”

  “She won’t shower either, and the funk is making my stomach turn.” Pearl grabbed her stomach with one hand and swatted at the air with the other.

  Juanty twisted her lips. “You guys know I can hear you, right?”

  “So can I. Can you hold it down, please? I’m trying to sleep here,” Johnathon mumbled with slurred speech. The three turned at the same time towards the deep voice that made the declaration.

  “Oh my God! You are finally awake.” Juanty dropped his hand and grabbed him around his neck.

  “What happened?”

  “Sye stabbed you. You don’t remember that? I mean, she twisted the knife all the way in. It was a hot mess.”

  “Pearl, oh my God. Shut up! He does not need to relive the moment. Ayanna, please go get Zaire and take crazy here with you.”

  “Of course. I am glad you are up. Juanty has been worried sick about you. She hasn’t left your side in four days. You are very lucky to have her.” Ayanna grabbed Pearl’s hand and yanked her out the door.

  “Four days? I’ve been sleeping for four days?” Johnathon tried to sit up, but he was dizzy. Juanty helped him back down on the pillow. “What the…Where is Olivia?” His voice was desperate, and Juanty could not help but notice the déjà vu moment she was experiencing. The memory was still vivid in her mind when she laid in bed, begging for her own child through a haze of confusion and anger. She understood exactly what he felt, and her heart ached for him.

  “Baby, Livy is fine. She is napping now. As soon as she wakes, I will bring her to you. For now, you need to rest. She is going to need you to be strong and healthy for her. She has been asking for you.”

  “Oh, wow. I haven’t spoken with my mom or Bryant. I know they are worried sick. My job, I don’t have a clue what’s going on, and I need to—”

  Juanty stopped his concerns by putting her lips to his. She licked his lips, and he instantly calmed down. She looked into his worried eyes with compassion and calm, and that assured him everything was fine.

  “I love you, baby. I have taken care of everything. Once you have gotten the appropriate rest and Zaire has checked you out, then we can discuss all that is going on in your world.”

  “Speaking of my world, why am I not in the hospital? According to Pearl, Sye’s crazy ass really got me good.” Johnathon reached for his stomach to assess the damages. He felt for stitches or some proof that he was injured, but there was nothing.

  “What you are looking for is no longer there. You are perfectly fine. Zaire healed your wounds.”

  “What? How? What the hell is going on?” Memories of what had happened came flooding back to him all at once. Juanty was a giant black cat. He tried to get away from her and ran into Sye’s psychotic ass. Now that he thought about it, she was one of them, too. Everything after that was a blur. Am I the only normal person in this lion’s den?

  Johnathon rubbed his waves and pulled the covers back. “I want to see my baby. We are getting out of here. I can’t have my baby around all of this.” He swung his legs over the side of the bed. He felt the same dizzy feeling as before but shook it off. Once he was ready, he stood to his feet and took in a deep breath. He did not feel like he had just been in a fight with a mad woman. In fact, he felt damn good. Better than he had felt in a long time. Or maybe ever.

  “Please get back into bed. I will bring her to you, and we can talk. There is so much I need to tell you. Please, baby.” She reached for his hand, but he snatched away. Immediately, he regretted the disconnection. If he hadn’t already loved her so deeply, it would be much easier to hate her for completely rearranging his life and having him doubt everything he thought he knew about the world he lived in. These people, including her, were not even human. How did he get caught up in all of this madness? Yes, he needed to get his baby and run for the hills before he turned into one of them.

  “Damn, Jay. I see why you sprung. Your man is hung like a bat.”

  Johnathon looked down. “Fuck.” He was hard as steel. He tried to cover up before embarrassing himself any further. He was so caught up in Juanty and everything going on around him, he had not noticed he was naked. Damnit, she had that effect on him.

  “Pearl, get out!” Juanty jumped in front of Johnathon, trying to leave him with at least a shred of dignity. Johnathon eased his way back to bed and sat, covering himself with the sheet, and putting his face in the palms of his hands.

  “Where are my damn clothes? I need to get out of here and to the nearest psych ward. I must be losing my mind.” Johnathon was becoming impatient.

  Juanty tried to stay calm. There was no way she was just going to just let this man walk out of her life. She needed them like she needed air, and she knew they were meant to be together. If she could just get him alone to explain, she was sure he would reason with her.

  Zaire walked in, holding a jovial Olivia. She cooed and patted Ziare’s cheeks with her small hands. “No need to yell and alarm the whole neighborhood. I brought you someone who has been waiting very patiently like a big girl to see you.” Zaire walked over to Johnathon and placed the happy baby in his arms. Johnathon felt a sense of calm, took his daughter, and held her tightly before releasing her to check her from head to toe.

  “Hey there, angel. Daddy is so happy to see you.” He kissed Olivia’s cheek and hugged her again. “She looks so much better. She was so sick before. She looks like she has even gained a few pounds.” She dribbled and reached for his face with her two little palms. She kissed him repeatedly, leaving her sweet saliva juice all over his face, then plopped down on his lap. He kissed the top of her head and laughed.

  “Juanty took such good care of her while you were recovering. She saved her life. She really does love you, Johnathon. She hasn’t eaten. She has been worried sick about you.” Zaire spoke with sincerity and wished she could make eve
rything perfect for her little sister, but she knew Juanty had to work this out on her own. “Pearl, let’s give these three sometime alone. Pearl, for the first time in her life, simply walked out of a room without her mouth leading the way.

  Juanty waited for the door to close, before speaking. “I know all of this is a lot for you to take in, and I want to explain everything. I just need you to keep an open mind. Can you do that for me?”

  She was met with a long silence. He stared at Olivia. Juanty figured he had questions and she almost bit two of her fingernails down to the nub, waiting for him to spit it out.

  “Uh, Jay?”

  “Huh?”

  “Why does my child, who was born with brown eyes, now have gray eyes? You did not turn her into a bird or grasshopper or anything, did you?” His stomach did a series of gold medal, award-winning summersaults. He took steadying breaths to stay calm.

  Juanty looked up towards the ceiling, then down at her feet. She hoped the question would just go away, but no such luck. “Damn, that’s a good question, baby. One that I’m sure deserves a good and honest answer. Why don’t I just start at the beginning?”

  “Uh huh. I think that’s a great place to start, Juanty.”

  She shifted anxiously in the chair that sat directly across from him. “After you got stabbed, Sye ran off with Olivia and took her to Elizabeth. That’s the woman that wanted me dead.”

  “I know who she is, Juanty. What did she do to my baby, is what I want to know.”

  “She threw her over a cliff.”

  Johnathon looked horrified. “Threw her over a cliff! A cliff, Juanty?” His angry voice startled Olivia, and she curled her lips into a frown, then let out a wail.

  “Shah, baby. Daddy is sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you.” Despite his apology, she did not let up crying and reached for Juanty, who immediately and naturally reached for his little girl. He started to protest, but Olivia wrapped her arms around Juanty’s neck and laid her head on her shoulder. Juanty gently bounced her up and down, and Olivia quieted. She rubbed the baby’s back and continued talking as though all of this was second nature to her.

  “I thought she was gone, too, but a miracle happened. She is completely human and healthy.”

  Johnathon searched Juanty’s eyes for the truth and found no lies there.

  “And Elizabeth?”

  “She is no longer a threat to us. She is dead. Sye and I made sure of it.”

  “Sye? Why would she help? She tried to kill me and my baby. Why would you trust someone like that?” Johnathon felt a headache coming on, and he was getting angry all over again, but for the sake of hearing what happened with his daughter, he was willing to hear her out.

  “Sye is not all bad, she was just hurt. All of this affected her life as well. When she was turned, she did not have the love and support she needed. She was vulnerable and had no choice but to trust the very person out to hurt us all. She was in love with you and scared of losing you because of what she has become. She is here now and getting the help she needs. Hopefully, one day, we can forgive her together.”

  “She tried to kill me and my baby. I won’t forgive her.” Johnathon looked away from Juanty with defiance.

  “Baby?”

  The corners of his mouth turned up slightly. He couldn’t help but smile at the beautiful woman who had gone through such lengths to save him and his daughter. “What, Juanty?”

  “There is something else.” She knew that now was the time to get everything out in the open. If he were going to be with her, he would have to know the truth. The whole truth. He would have to accept his new life and how it had come to pass.

  “Is this going to be any worse than what you have already told me? You aren’t a vampire, too, are you?” Juanty let out a nervous laugh and bit her bottom lip.

  “Are you?” Johnathon jumped up, ready to bolt.

  “No, baby. Sit back down. I am not a vampire, although they do exist.”

  “Baby, you are not making this any easier. Just tell me what’s going on.”

  Olivia squirmed her way out of Juanty’s arms and onto the hardwood floor. She reached for a tiny piece of thread and pinched it with her thumb and index fingers. She tried to put it in her mouth. Juanty reached down, pulling the string from her hand, replacing it with a teething toy she had retrieved from her pocket. Johnathon observed how comfortable Juanty was with not just any child, but his child. He began to wonder if she was dangerous at all. He was petrified of her panther side, but Olivia seemed to love everything about her, just as he did. She was so gentle. Even as a panther, she never tried to eat him. Maybe he could keep an open mind after all.

  Juanty continued. “Remember when I mentioned that a miracle happened?”

  Johnathon raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms. “Yes. What kind of miracle are we talking about?”

  Juanty took his hands and held them. “We are fated to be together. That is why we have such an impassioned connection. It is why your heart is beating in sync with mine right now. Just holding your hands causes my heart rate to increase. The ancestors have shown favor on us. I told you before; I had a baby girl that Elizabeth took away from me.”

  Johnathon rubbed his hands across his waves and nodded yes.

  “She has been watching over me my entire life. When I was on the waterfall with Elizabeth, my daughter was there protecting not only me but Olivia as well. She did not survive the fall. My daughter, Hope, saved your little girl. She gave Olivia a chance to live, but in order to do that, she had to give Olivia her spirit. My daughter had gray eyes.”

  Johnathon looked confused. “You mean your daughter is now inside mine?” He looked down at Olivia, who hung onto his leg, trying to pull up to a stand.

  “Just a small piece of her, but there is one more thing.”

  Johnathon threw his hands up in resignation. “Great. Bring it on.”

  Juanty swallowed her saliva that had become thick in her mouth, and she felt her stomach clench. She forced down the chunks of deer that were trying to rush back up.

  “Johnathon, when you were stabbed, you lost a lot of blood. You were in bad shape. I didn’t know what to do, but I knew I could not let you die. So, with Ziare’s help, I turned you.”

  “Turned me into what!”

  “An Ilumu panther.”

  BRRRRRAAP!

  “Johnathon, did you just fart?”

  “Well, what do you expect, Juanty? I think you just told me I am a goddamn shapeshifter now. Like, I am a for real animal. I am not even human anymore. Is this what you are trying to get me to understand?”

  “It’s not as bad as you think. It can be wonderful and freeing.” Juanty picked up Olivia. She wasn’t sure how he would react and didn’t want him to accidentally harm her.

  “I’m a wild animal! How can it not be freeing! I can’t believe this shit, Jay.” He stood up and started pacing back and forth. “What am I? Juanty, I better not be something crazy like a mongoose or that baboon from the Lion King!” He stopped in his tracks and looked down at his body, feeling every inch. “Why do I feel human?”

  “Because you are just as much human as you are Ilumu and we won’t know what your animal looks like until you shift for the first time.” Juanty bit her bottom lip.

  “Would you have rather have died? What about your baby? She already lost her mother. Did you want her to lose her father, too?”

  Johnathon froze. He watched his little muffin playing with her chew toy. Suddenly, he felt dizzy, and the room was spinning.

  “Juanty.” She rushed to his side with concern.

  “Are you OK?”

  “No. I am not OK. I think I’m about to faint.”

  ***

  Juanty held Olivia in her arms and gently rocked back and forth. She was drinking milk and fighting some much-needed sleep by playing with her toes. Her lids were heavy, and she was just beginning to drift off. Juanty smiled down at her, kissed her forehead, and settled back into her thoughts. Johnathon. Her t
houghts always went right back to him. He was her safe place, and she was so afraid of losing him. After their conversation today, and his reaction to it, she decided she did not want to hurt him anymore than she already had and would accept whatever decision he made about them. She would be there for him in whatever way he needed, and would obviously help him learn how to handle his beast side so he would not hurt Olivia, although she could not imagine him ever putting her in harm’s way. Still, male cats were aggressive, and she would not want to take that risk.

  Hearing a noise, she turned, and her stomach dropped to her knees when she saw her man slowly walking down the stairs. He had on a pair of gray sweat pants and no shirt. Clearly, he wore no underwear because his thick print was evident as he strolled down the staircase. That familiar warmth settled between her legs, and she wondered if he knew what he was doing to her body right now.

  “Are you feeling better?” she asked.

  “Where is everybody?” He looked around, but the house was still and dark. It was late. Candles illuminated the large living area, and Jill Scott played softly through her Bluetooth speaker.

  “They are out hunting. They figured you should be starving by now.” She watched as he moved with sheer fluid motion. He reached the bottom stair and stopped.

  In a very calm voice, he asked, “What do large cats eat, Juanty?”

  God, this man was sexy. His large, dark frame, killer body and handsome features had her waters flowing like a waterfall. Her throat became dry, and as much as she wanted to respond, she was afraid she would sound like a babbling idiot. He moved closer until he found himself towering over her. She leaned back to take him in.

  “Um, we eat pretty much anything, but mostly meat.”

  “Good. That’s my second favorite.” He kneeled down in front of her, and she thought she would be the one to pass out this time.

  “What’s your first favorite?” She laid her head back on the sofa. Her head was spinning but in a good way. Her thoughts now racing. Johnathon put his hands on her smooth thighs and moved them up her legs until he met the shorts that held the answer for his hard-on. He grabbed the waistband on her boy shorts, and on cue, she lifted from the couch so he could gain access. He slid them down her thighs and pulled until they were over her feet.