Unveiled: The Chronicles of Luxor Everstone

by Jacklyn Daher

  Luxor wanted to be alone but in a twist of irony Meredith was constantly at her side at the precise time she needed space. If she had to hear, "Are you okay?" every five minutes again she would scream. What was with Meredith's sudden change? She hadn’t been around when Luxor was on her deathbed, with a war-torn fractured body with oxygen as her main source for a life, machines beeping, and tubes hooked up to every available vein, so why now?

  There was only one logical reason. Aliens. Meredith had been injected with an empathy serum which turned her into a loving mother. Or there was the logical explanation. Meredith was trying to save her own reputation. Losing her social standing was equivalent to death. Here in Nowheresville there was no reputation to hold but it didn’t mean she wasn’t creating one.

  “Luxor darling, do you need anything? I need to go do grocery shopping. Will you be okay by yourself?" Meredith asked, although she already had her purse in hand.

  “No, No. It’s okay. Go, I’m going to lay down and read,” she said and picked up a grocery catalogue and waved it about.

  Read? I never read. She’s never going to believe that.

  “Umm, okay. Well call if you need anything. I just want to make sure you’re okay.” Meredith smiled meekly, grabbed her handbag and left with a backwards glance. "I'll be back shortly. Don't leave the house," she warned, and slammed the door behind her.

  Where am I supposed to go?

  Luxor waited for the sickly sound of the car engine before she headed towards the stairs. In the bathroom she turned on the taps in the shower and removed her clothes, staring down at her shorts and jacket pooled at her feet. Her sports clothes. She wondered how come she was still in them. Luxor shuddered at the germs that possibly contaminated her. Steam rapidly filled the room, and underneath the tap the scorching water trailed over her body and soothed her tense muscles. Frothing up the shampoo and conditioner she vigorously washed her hair. The loofah scrubbed the blue liquid off as well as her dirty feet and legs with vanilla body wash.

  Once she had used all of the hot water, she slipped on a pair of pyjama shorts and singlet, but reinserted her contacts and a robe since she had no intention of heading outside.

  Two fans spun at a rapid rate, one in the kitchen the other in the lounge room but it circulated the humid air from the outside, enveloping The Chalet. If Luxor had her way, she’d ditch the extra layer and contacts she was forced to wear. Brighton Falls had proved the residents had no boundaries, and anybody could turn up unannounced.

  Luxor headed into the lounge-room to stick in a DVD on from her limited list. Meredith refused to back down on her Netflix stance because it needed internet, and internet meant extra expenses they couldn’t afford.

  As she flicked through the stack, a rat-a-tat sounded on the kitchen door. Kitty jumped and she skittered back upstairs. At first it crossed her mind that it was Meredith, but quickly she dismissed the notion, why would she be knocking?

  Not expecting visitors, but not surprised, she was alarmed. Maybe it was Evie who would be there to cheer her up, and talk about random nonsensical topics, right now that would divert her mind of other things.

  Luxor never felt the heat as everybody else did. Her body remained cold, as if ice resided in her core, so even if she sweated it didn't affect her.

  Apart from making her feel dirty.

  A gust of hot wind blasted her in the face when she opened the door an inch, her eyes widened at the sight in front of her.

  "Hi." In a pair of shorts and a crumpled Henley T-shirt, Jake outstretched his arms which held a bouquet of sunflowers.

  Luxor leaned against the door frame, her body the only thing keeping it open. She furrowed her forehead, ignoring the flowers. "What are you doing here?" Luxor asked, trying to keep her voice neutral. She knew it wasn't Jake's fault what happened to her, but he was guilty by association. Anybody in Scarlett's group were just as bad as the next person. And considering Jake was Scarlett's boyfriend that made it much worse.

  Jake's face twisted in remorse, his chocolate eyes usually bright, were dull and lifeless. He was a shadow of his average self, the image of the golden boy athlete gone. "I wanted to see how you are. And to say I'm sorry." His voice was strained, his shoulders slumped in defeat.

  "Why, you didn't do anything wrong." She didn't want to voice her true thoughts.

  "I'm speaking on behalf of Scarlett, she's grounded and can't be here to apologise."

  So, there it was, she was making somebody else do her dirty work. Even if Scarlett wasn’t grounded, the probability of her apologising was slim to none. Scarlett would need to come and kiss her ass for her to accept it. Okay scrap that, that was a horrible image. Truthfully nothing Scarlett said, or did would make Luxor forgive her. From first glance, she was hell bent on a mission on bringing her down. But why?

  "It's honourable you are apologising on your girlfriend’s behalf, but doesn't mean anything."

  Now he has said his piece, hopefully he will go.

  "She's not my girlfriend," Jake stated quickly, scratching his wrist.

  "Well friend. A person should own up to their actions," Luxor said firmly.

  He nodded in agreement. "She's not my friend."

  “What?" Luxor was confused, they were always together.

  "Scarlett isn't any of those, but that's beside the point." He waved his hand about and blinked repeatedly. His eyes had puffed up and taken on a pink-ish hue. "Then if she's not your girlfriend, or friend, then what is she?"

  "Truthfully I don't know why I'm here, I wanted to see you." Jake shuffled his feet and bowed his head to the ground, the baseball cap helping to avert his gaze.

  Oh, God no!

  Jake let out a string of sneezes into his elbow. He tucked the sunflowers under his arm and itched his now red raw eyes, a couple of tears trailing down his cheek.

  Luxor peered down to the direction where he continued to scratch. She tugged him inside by his bicep to avoid his inflamed wrists, swiftly retrieved the flowers, and placed them on the kitchen table. "Jake, why are you holding flowers that you're allergic too?"

  "Only flowers I could find." He cleared his throat. "And you can't say sorry without flowers."

  "Next time try chocolates,” she quipped.

  Not that I could eat them.

  Luxor lowered Jake down into a seat with the tips of her fingers, by his shoulders, and turned her attention to help. She turned around, and lowered down on her knees. She rifled through the cleaning sprays and sponges, searching under the kitchen sink for the first aid kit, until she found it right at the end. Popping the kit on the bench and flipping the lid, she rummaged around for the antihistamine.

  "It's just mild hay fever." He sneezed.

  It was worse than mild, his hands were covered in spotted, pink discolouration, and were painful. Just the agonising expression verified it. Luxor raised an eyebrow at him giving him an "are you serious look?"

  She opened up the multiple drawers and searching the entire freezer she finally recovered a blue rectangular ice pack from the freezer. She juggled the block from the coldness and wrapped it in the tea towel.

  Behind her Jake shuffled around, scraping his chair back against the wooden floorboards. Keys jingled against each other, and he was at the door, on his way out before Luxor could stop him.

  Luxor sharply turned around. "Wait, where are you go—"

  "I really am sorry, for everything,” Jake apologised again backtracking towards the door. "And for anything she might do in the future."

  The future?

  Luxor stepped toward him to see him off, but he abruptly backed away and briskly fled down the paddock and out of sight. Luxor slammed the door. She wouldn’t waste any brain cells trying to figure out Jake's hasty departure.

  Beyond starving now, Luxor retrieved the fruit salad and a fork, and laid it on the lounge room table. Going to and fro she filled up a tall vase with water from the kitchen, spread the sunflowers in it, and placed them near the television. She had
all intentions of watching a movie but that never happened.

  In her hands, she weighed up her three options. A soppy love story, but that made her think of all the nights she would spend with Verity bingeing on them A high schooled based movies with a bunch of mean girls bullying their classmates made her think of Scarlett. In the end Luxor chose a dystopian movie which from the sheer absurdity of the plot she knew it would keep her mind off reality for a few hours.

  Outside a full throttle rev of an engine roared its way up the drive, stopping short of the porch. A loud forceful knock followed, and there was one guess who it was.

  Luxor cursed and opened the door wide. Just like Jake, Hunter was an unwelcome visitor. Again. But unlike Jake, she had to admit Hunter had her mind and her body shooting sparks from all directions.

  Hunter slung his fingers deep into his pocket and lazily leaned against the doorway. His black V-neck top was snug against his body, and a blush crept up on her cheeks. Swift fingers moved his glistening damp hair out of his eyes, still wet from the shower. Her own personal antagonise looked her up and down at her naked legs and he gifted her with a lopsided grin.

  Why does he have to look so damn hot?

  An eruption of butterflies fluttered wildly as if they were injected with espresso shots.

  “What do you want?” she said trying to show no emotion.

  Epic Fail!

  "I’ve missed you, and I’m willing to bet the feeling is mutual,” he drawled.

  “Yeah as much as I miss a needle to the ass.”

  “Now that’s a visual I’m loving, I bet its firm.” He smirked and cocked his head to the side.

  “Ugh. You’re unbelievable.” She thrust her hands up in the air. “If you’ve come to see if I’m okay, well ta-da all fixed up.”

  “Yes, I see that. It’s a miracle,” he said looking above her head. “Aren’t you going to invite me in?”

  “No,” she said immediately. Hopefully straight to the point would get the point across.

  “Rude much?” he said, but amusement laced his tone. “I’ll only be a minute.”

  “I bet you will,” she smiled, his innuendo rubbing off on her.

  Hunter chuckled and raised an eyebrow.

  It didn't matter what she said, the stubborn boy in front of her would be coming in, she was weak, so why fight it? Luxor swung her hand forward and silently gave him a non-verbal invitation, and made her way further in. When she couldn't feel his all too familiar presence, she halted. Hunter hadn't moved an inch, still leaning against the door frame.

  "What are you waiting for?"

  "You didn't invite me in," he replied, a ghost of a smile adorning his face.

  "Oh my god, what are you a vampire?" When he didn't move, he unwilling forced her to say the words. "Come in."

  "Was that so hard?" The taunting was there and she wanted to smack him. But he would probably enjoy it.

  "Keep pushing it and I'll revoke my invitation," she threatened over her shoulder.

  Hunter chuckled, crossed the threshold, and followed her through to the lounge room. "FYI in The Vampire Diaries you cannot be uninvited," he informed her.

  Luxor halted to look at him. "Should I be concerned you’re a fan? Like seriously I can’t believe you’re into those freaky monsters. What’s next? angels and demons?”

  He scoffed and rolled his eyes. "Maybe, who can rule them out? And just so you know, it’s also in Buffy the Vampire Slayer and True Blood that you can revoke an invitation."

  "Hello, we live in reality," she replied, not believing she was having this conversation and implied she could revoke her invitation at any time.

  Reality and fantasy. Sometimes it appeared to merge together with the unexplained, and every day became one big blob of a mess called her life. If she was honest, fantasy would be easier to deal with. In fantasy, anything could happen, and everybody would be impartial to it because it was the norm. Unlike her reality where being different was a curse.

  With Hunter being in her home, he inched into her personal space, and witnessed her life behind the scenes. It was bad enough she had to spend time with him in the classroom, but this was her only sanctuary.

  "I bought you toffees." He jiggled a clear bag before lobbing it in her direction.

  "Toffees?" She subtlety licked her lips, and couldn't wait until he left to demolish the packet.

  "Don't you really like toffee?" He chuckled. "I mean they are sweet."

  What the hell is he going on about? Duh of course toffee is sweet! Such an idiot.

  It was so random that Luxor had trouble deciphering what he meant.

  Hunter made himself at home and plopped himself on the edge of the couch, his legs extended and crossed at the ankles. He tilted his head to the side, his forehead creased. Toffee eyes, more enticing than the ones he provided, bore into Luxor's. Deep and concentrated, as if trying to work out an equation. For a while there was blissful silence.

  His mouth open and closed multiple times. "Aren't you going to offer me a drink? It's social protocol after all."

  She sighed in frustration, and rubbed her forehead. "Hunter no offence but I'm having a crappy day, just say what you have to say, and I'll see you on Monday."

  "But I'm thirsty." He mock whined and coughed. "So, so thirsty."

  Luxor huffed and indulged his whim by grabbing him a bottle of water from the fridge. He was off in his own world, his palm rubbing away at the minor bags present under his eyes, sleep being something he must have lacked last night. His fingers thread through his hair and ruffled his already mussed up hair, a nervous habit Luxor observed.

  "Who are the flowers from?" Hunter asked, jutting his chin forward in the direction of the television.

  He placed the bowl of fruit on her lap and picking out mainly her favourites; strawberries and green grapes, and leisurely munched away. Luxor didn't have the patience or energy to argue with him, she would have to get him back by stealing his Skittles.

  "Jake, he came to apologise," she replied.

  "Why didn't you just slam the door in his face?" He swallowed a big piece of pineapple, and coughed. When he recovered, there was a hard edge in his tone. He certainly blamed Jake as well.

  Like I should do to you.

  Hunter glared at her, seemingly picking up on her thoughts. "Regardless of what I do, or what I say, I've never hurt you. I will never hurt you, just remember that."

  "That is," Luxor leaned forward and plucked a tissue from the box, and proceeded to dab at her eyes. "The sweetest thing you've ever said to me," she sniffled, and held the tissue to her chest.

  Hunter rolled his eyes. "You can be a real bitch, you know that?"

  "Aw thank you!" Luxor let out an exaggerated squeal and clapped. If the aim was to irritate him, she was on her way.

  "Are you on drugs? I insult you and you thank me, like what the hell?" He raised his voice.

  "Why would I take an offence? A bitch is a dog, dogs bark, bark is off trees, trees are Mother Nature, and nature is beautiful. So, thank you." She blew a kiss to him, reciting the remark she used when Verity called her a bitch.

  Hunter shook his head, her eyebrows furrowed. "You're a certifiably crazy, is that a compliment too?"

  Luxor thought for a moment, her eyes tilting to the ceiling. "Well, although Harley Quinn was psychotic, but she was highly intelligent being a psychiatrist and all. And she had killer fashion sense. Shiny red and blue hot pants, matching jacket, and a baseball bat ready to snap anybody in half who peeved her off. So, I'd say hell yeah!"

  "And she also wears fishnet stockings, a dirty shirt full of holes emblazoned with Daddy's Lil Monster, and stilettoed ankle boots. So, if hooker couture is your thing, then fashion away!"

  Luxor tried for a witty comeback but came up blank. Why was it every time she had the last word, Hunter would come back at her? Did he have an encyclopaedia of jerky retorts, or was it second nature? Luxor was betting on the latter.

  The couch dipped as Hunter sat beside
her. "How do you feel?" It was beginning to be one a question she despised.

  "Fine," she replied only for him to arch an eyebrow. "I'm serious. It's an honest fine, and not one of those fake ones."

  "What do you remember of yesterday?" he asked, his voice unusually soft.

  Instead of relaying the information Meredith had told her, she told her version. Yes, it was a hallucination. But was it really? But why would Meredith lie about something as serious as this? She was conflicted, utterly dazed and confused with no idea of how to understand what was going on. If anybody could confirm it, it would be him.

  Luxor angled her body close, needing to be close, but still at a respectable distance and subconsciously rubbed her knee. "Scarlett threw a baton at my knee, I remember the pain was so excruciating I screamed. My knee bulged out from its socket. You took me to the infirmary. Principal Wright gave me pain relief, and well there's not much from there," she blurted out in quickly.

  "That's it?"

  That's it? Was he saying that's the truth? Wait no, it can't be, my knee was in an untouched perfect condition.

  He was most likely humouring her and indulging in her hallucinations. Wasn't that his M.O.? To mess with her mind?

  She nodded. "Well Meredith gave me pain killers I guess that's why I woke up groggy and blah. Although I do feel bad for Meredith though."

  Hunter tensed. "Why?" his tone turned rough.

  Luxor realised her error when she said Meredith and not mum, and hoped Hunter wouldn't pick up on it. But with her luck Mr. Perceptive would.

  "She's run down. I can tell by her appearance. I guess picking me up from school, and travelling up those stairs, and tucking me in bed would have been hard. It's not like she could carry me up." For once Luxor was grateful Meredith was there. Maybe this would be the belated fresh start.

  "I guess not. You're lucky to have such a compassionate aunt," Hunter enunciated the last word with force.

  Luxor tried to disregard and ignore his comment, adamant not to dwell on it. But it was too late. She analysed his words to attempt to digest the true meaning.

  She brought her right leg up bending it to rest her ankle on her knee, unclipping the pin which fastened the bandage. Round and round she unravelled the beige cloth until her naked foot was exposed. She was aware she was in her pyjamas but she didn't care, the bandages irritated her. And besides it wasn't like he had seen her in them. She wriggled her toes to release the tension.