“You growing up, is what’s happening so fast!” Cymone continues. “One minute you’re this kind of timid person, and then all of a sudden, when three fine ass new kids show up, you’re getting your back blown out and having sex in the girls bathroom. AT SCHOOL, MIGHT I ADD!”
“That’s not what happened! He made out with me and I didn’t lose my virginity! I was just kidding!”
She grinds to a halt, gazing up at me with her piercing green eyes. “What do you mean you were just kidding?! Losing your virginity isn’t anything to joke about!”
“I know, I know. I’m sorry. I was going to tell you when you barricaded me in the bathroom, but Titus came along and interrupted all of that.”
“Speaking of…” she trails off, clearly wanting me to tell her all of the details. But how do I tell my best-friend that one of the hottest guys I’ve ever laid eyes on, was under a magical thrall created by a living entity that resides inside of me and takes control of my body from time to time? And the effects made him want to dominate my body in every single way imaginable and I was happy to let it happen until I realized I was in my school's bathroom?
“He and I were flirting in first period.” I swear her jaw just unhinged because I have never seen someone’s mouth drop open with such speed. “Or, at least, my version of flirting. I didn’t think anything of it. I didn’t think that something was going to breed from a compliment or two. Next thing I know, there I am, getting down and dirty in the girl’s bathroom.”
“At school,” she adds.
“Yes, at school,” I agree.
“In the middle of the day,” she continues.
“Yes…?”
“So if you weren’t in the girl’s bathroom at school in the middle of the day, would you have gone the whole way?” she finally asks the question I know she wanted to ask. By now we’ve reached our cars, always parked side by side in the same two spots. I lean against my Nissan, rubbing my hand across the grey hood.
“Yes,” I whisper. “I think if the situation was a little better, I would have done it.”
“Wow,” she says, almost as quietly as me. “So, what are you going to do? Don’t you think it’s a little too soon to be wanting to lose your virginity to a guy you barely know?”
“It’s not like it was planned, Cymone! In that moment, I felt things I never felt before. I felt alive for the first time in my life.”
“Wow. You felt all of that from a quick make-out session?” she questions. I can tell from the look in her eyes that she isn’t buying any of this at all.
“Yeah, I know. It’s not making any sense to me either. But I’m telling you what I felt! Something is different about him. About all of them.”
“Besides the fact that they’re fine as hell?”
“Yes, besides that! Something’s off. But maybe it’s just my newfound libido speaking for me.”
“Definitely your libido.”
“Well, no matter what it is. I have your back. If you want to turn into a super sex charged teenager who wants to conquer her new targets, I’m with it. As long as you give me all of the details,” she says, with a sly smirk on her face.
“Do you really mean that?” I ask.
“Of course I do. You’re my best friend. If you want to explore this new part of yourself, go for it. Just promise me one thing...”
“What is it?”
“Just protect yourself,” she says, all humor erased from her features.
“I promise.” And I mean it.
7
Renee
The drive back to the house is silent, aside from my churning thoughts. I don’t know which shocks me more: Sheya taking over for such a long period of time and using their power to control multiple people, or Titus kissing me in a way that I could never have dreamed of.
I pull into my driveway, sadly noticing that my mom’s car isn’t there. The nights where she’s home are becoming more and more infrequent. I know that she’s working hard at the hospital, but maybe she should take a break every now and then. It would be great to have her to talk to about all of this. Well, not everything.
“I’d love to see you explain me.”
“You can’t even explain you.”
“What can I say? I’m a phenomenon.”
“No, you’re a pain in my ass.”
I tune Sheya’s response out, not really having the mental fortitude to keep going back and forth with them tonight. I walk into the empty house, hoping that Mom would walk in later tonight. I really want to talk to someone about what I’m going through, but there’s no one.
“You can talk to me.”
“That’ll be counterproductive since I’m talking about you.”
“That makes me the perfect candidate.”
I walk to the kitchen, in search of something to eat. Thanks to Titus’ little display, I wasn’t able to eat lunch, and now I’m starving. I find a container of spaghetti from earlier this week that Mom made, and decide that this will just have to do. I toss the Tupperware in the microwave and whip out my phone to shoot a quick text to my dad. I would much rather call him, but I don't want to give away the fact that I’m ditching school.
Me: Hey Dad
He responds back almost immediately, almost as if he was holding his phone, waiting for my text.
Dad: Hey Princess. I miss you.
Me: I miss you, too. When are you coming home?
Dad: Not for another week or so, I’m afraid. Business is taking longer than usual to wrap up.
I try to squash the disappointment that’s trying to rise in me, but it’s almost impossible. I don’t get to see either of my parents as much as I want to, and I can't help but feel the affects their absence is having on me.
Me: That sucks. I was hoping that me, you and Mom would be able to hang out together soon. I’ve missed you both.
Dad: What do you mean, ‘you miss us both’? Have you not been seeing your mom?
Me: No. She’s been pulling some crazy hours at the hospital. I haven’t seen her in the last few days.
I take the spaghetti out of the microwave, mouth watering just a little bit at the aroma it’s giving off. Dad is taking a little longer to respond to my latest message, so I grab my food and head into the living room. It’s a large spacious area with high ceilings and warm color tones. The soft, beige couch is my favorite thing in the whole room. I flop down on the couch, tossing my feet on the coffee table that’s right in front of it. Usually I'm not allowed to do this, but with both of my parents gone, who’s here to stop me?
“Oh wow, you’re such a rebel.”
“Shut up.”
“It’s quite sad that this is your form of rebelling when some of the more popular kids would use this as a chance to party.”
“Yeah, well too bad they’re not the one that’s stuck with you, huh?”
“Stuck with? Sweetheart, you should consider me a blessing.”
“More like a curse.”
“Perspective.”
I pick up the remote to the TV , mindlessly turning it on and flicking through the channels until I land on a drama of some sort. I scoop up a giant forkful of my mom’s infamous spaghetti and shovel it all in my mouth. As soon as the robust flavors of the spaghetti sauce hit my tongue, I realize that I forgot the most important ingredient of all to tie this whole thing together. I hop up from my spot and jog into the kitchen to grab the sugar from the pantry. With my prize in my hand, I all but skip back to my hot bowl of food.
“That’s absolutely disgusting.”
“Says who?”
“Says the entire world. Sugar does not go on spaghetti.”
“It does if you put it on there.”
“No, that’s you trying to force a pairing that should never happen.”
“Yeah, well I know one pairing that should never happen. And yet, here we are.”
“Well, I hate to break it to you, but we were destined to happen.”
“How can you be so sure?”
; “I don’t know, but I have this weird feeling that that new boyfriend of yours would have all of the answers.”
“He’s not my boyfriend.”
“Yeah, well, he might as well be after that little display in the girl’s bathroom.”
My phone buzzes, which stops me from responding to the foolishness that Sheya has just spouted, which is a good thing, because I don’t have anything nice to say back. I look down at my phone, expecting to see a message from my dad, instead, there’s a message from an unknown number.
Unknown: Renee, we need to talk.
Um. Definitely not what I was expecting to see, especially from someone I don’t even know.
Me: Who is this?
I place my phone down, hoping to get a few more bites into my meal before I have to continue with this weird conversation, but I get no such luck. My phone vibrates almost immediately, but I still steal a few more bites before picking it back up. I moan at the deliciousness of the tangy tomato sauce paired with the sweetness of my added sugar. I don’t care what the critics have to say, this is the best thing invented since sliced bread.
Unknown: This is Caylen. Can I call?
My heart immediately goes into overdrive. There’s only one thing he could possibly want to talk about, and I’m sure it’s not all of the schoolwork that I missed out on today. I take my time answering him, because I know that I will say yes, but I want to finish my food first before I have to get into anymore embarrassing talk about how I allowed his brother to toss me up against the bathroom walls and ravish my mouth.
“He did all of that, huh?”
“Shut up, you were there.”
“But ravish? Hell, I must’ve spaced out for that part.”
I quickly finish my meal, hating the fact that I don’t have the time to enjoy it the way that it deserves. But, you know what they say. When duty asks you to call, you don’t turn it down.
“Who the fuck says that?” Sheya says.
“They.”
“Clever.”
After inhaling my meal like a starving dog, I pick up my phone and tell Caylen that he could call me now. My heart is beating like a drum line in the middle of a battle, and the seconds tick by so slow, I almost feel as if it’s hours instead of minutes before he calls. But then he does.
“Hello?” I answer, a little too quickly.
“Hey, Ren,” his smooth voice says from the other line, and I almost drop my phone. There’s no way in hell a person should sound as good as he does. It’s almost as if his voice reached through the phone and caressed me in places his brother had only began to reach.
“First of all, his voice isn’t all of that. Secondly, someone’s becoming insatiable.”
“I have yet to be satiated.”
“Touché.”
“Ren?” he asks. Dammit, he must’ve been talking while I was distracted, once again, by Sheya. I have to master multitasking or my life is going to be a continuous loop of people repeating themselves and me apologizing.
“Hey, yeah, sorry. What did you say again?”
His chuckle seeps through the phone and I can’t help but clench my thighs at the sound. “I said that I didn’t see you at lunch and throughout the rest of the day, I was wondering if you’re ok?”
“Um, yeah. I wasn’t feeling too well and I thought that it would be best for me if I just went home.”
“Hmm. You weren’t feeling too well? Were you overheated? Over stimulated? Or just flat out over it?”
“Uh… what… I mean… Huh?” I eloquently stutter out, not making a lick of sense.
“Look, Ren, Titus told us what happened. We’re brothers and we don’t keep any secrets from each other. I didn’t think it was a big deal until we noticed that you bailed and left school. He’s a little worried that he hurt you or made you feel uncomfortable to the point that you needed to leave.”
“Oh! No, that’s not it at all. I was just… caught off guard by the whole thing. I didn’t expect him to do that and before he did that, he…” I trail off, not really knowing how to say what I need to say without coming off as crazy as Titus did.
“What did he say?” Caylen prompts.
“He said ‘what did you do to me?’ but the thing is, I didn’t do a damn thing to him.”
“Hmmm, that is a little strange. My brother has been acting a little odd since this morning. Actually, after first period. Did he seem different to you? I know you guys share that class together.”
“I don’t like the way this conversation is going,” Sheya says.
“Why do you say that?”
“It’s like he’s fishing for information that he already has?”
“Do you think he’s on to us?”
“I have no clue. Tread carefully.”
“I wouldn’t know what ‘different’ would look like since I met you guys just yesterday.”
“Ah, you’re right. There’s no way for you to know seeing as we don’t really know each other.”
“Speaking of,” I say, realizing something a little late. “How did you get my number?”
“Oh, that was easy. I bribed your friend Cymone for it.”
“What could you have possibly bribed her with that would be worth my wrath?”
“I offered her cash,” he says casually, and I can almost see the shrug that he pairs with it.
“Oh wow, you could’ve just given me the money and I would have given you my number just the same.”
“Now I feel a little bad,” he teases. “How about I make it up to you?”
“Yeah?” I say. “And what do you propose you do?”
“Well, I overheard someone say that there’s a party happening this weekend. Do you want to come with us?”
“Us?” I ask, even though I already know the answer.
“Yeah, me and my brothers and some of the guys from the basketball team?”
“Basketball team? How did you three get mixed up with them?”
“Well,” he chuckles. “We kind of joined the team?”
“What?” I exclaim. “When did this happen?”
“Today,” he says. “Right after school. You would’ve known if you stayed.”
Shit. I’m going to have to get a doctor’s note for coach. I completely forgot about conditioning today when I decided to go home.
“Well, congratulations! I’m on the basketball team, too, even though it’s volleyball season right now,” I say.
“Yeah, I know. That’s one of the main reasons why I convinced my brothers that it would be a good thing for us if we joined.”
Silence.
I don’t know what I should say to a confession like that. He persuaded them to join the team simply because I played? I don’t know whether or not I should feel flattered, nervous or a little worried that he’d do all of that while only knowing me for two days. And not even two full days, since I didn’t even see him today.
“Renee?”
“Hey, yeah, I’m still here. Just trying to decide how I should take that news.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, it’s a little weird for you to go through all of this effort when we don’t even know each other.”
“Did you ever think that I’m going through all of this effort because I want to get to know you?” he counters.
“Why? You know what happened between Titus and I.”
“That doesn’t matter to me, if it doesn’t matter to you.”
“What the hell?”
“Come again?” I ask.
“Look, my brothers and I have always only had each other. We’re honest and there aren’t any secrets between us. So, as I’ve said, it’s not a problem with me if it isn’t a problem with you.”
My mouth dries out at what he isn’t saying. So they’re willing to share. Me? Do I want to be shared?
“Hell yeah you do.”
“But do I really?”
“We both know you do.”
“I don’t know if that’s something that I shou
ld even be thinking about right now. As I’ve said, I don’t really know you guys and that thing with Titus was a fluke and it won’t be happening again anytime soon.”
“Fair enough,” he says easily. “So I’ll be seeing you the party this weekend?”
“Um, I’ll have to ask my mom, but if she says yes, I’ll see you there.”
“Ok, good. And, Ren?” he asks.
“Yeah?”
“I really wish I could’ve been in that bathroom, too.” Click.
Did he really just fucking hang up right after he said something like that?! My pulse is racing through my veins as I visualize the scene that he so carelessly created. I thought having Titus’ strong arms braced against me, warm mouth pressed against mine, and hard body aligned with my own was more than enough for me. But now with the thought of Caylen joining in, I can only imagine how amazing it would feel to have two mouths on my body, four hands exploring, and two body’s for the taking.
“What the hell did he do to you?”
“I don’t know. But now I want more.”
“We don’t even know them.”
“Yeah, so what? Aren’t you the one that said I need to live a little?”
“Well, maybe, for the first time in my existence, I may have been wrong.”
“What’s wrong with you? You’ve never been this cautious before?”
“I don’t know, but something isn’t sitting right with me.”
“Well, until you give me a good reason, we’re doing this my way.”
“Why do I have a feeling that your way is going to get us killed?”
That’s not something I want to hear, but Sheya has never been a huge fan of any of my plans. I rush upstairs, excited for the weekend and already planning outfits in my head. I quickly shower for bed, checking the time to see that it’s only five o’clock. It’s extremely early for me to go to bed, but I don’t want to give Sheya another chance to take over due to me being weak.
The Inner Self: The Prophecy Page 5