by Alex Hayes
“It’s okay—”
“Seriously.” He hands me the cup.
I take a sip and return a smile. “It’s good.”
He grins. “Best thing on the menu.”
When we reach the Thorny Rose, I remember Idris’s phone and offer it back. “So, um, what did you look like before you…metamorphosed?”
27
Idris
What did I look like? …before the Green Goblin got me.
The question hits me way out of left field. How do I even answer?
Tall. Dark. Handsome. Ha!
I wonder why she’s asking. What’s made her curious all of a sudden. Guess I could show her a picture. I’ve got selfies going back a few years. When Rebecca and I were together, we took them all the time.
Christ! The picture on my iPhone. Rebecca. Shit. Shit. Shit.
Why didn’t I change it after she dumped me?
Because you didn’t want to let her go.
I pocket my phone and look at Cadi. “Five-eleven. A hundred-fifty pounds, give or take. Dark hair. Dark eyes. Darkish skin.”
We reach the back door of the Thorny Rose and I dig for the key. “Why do you ask?” …now.
She shrugs. “Just wondered.”
I follow her through the door, locking it behind us.
“She’s very pretty,” Cadi calls as she descends, and I almost trip down the stairs after her.
Gripping the handrail, I shake my head. An understatement because Rebecca is beautiful. But that doesn’t make her perfect. Not anymore.
I could let Cadi’s comment go, but something tells me that’s a bad idea. “Hey, we’re supposed to be sharing this drink.”
“That’s okay. I got it for you.”
She’s so determined, and I have to say, I like the push back. I pause to watch her pull off her coat and hook it over the back of a wheely chair, then I drop mine over the back of the chair next to hers.
“Rebecca and I aren’t together anymore.”
Cadi’s back is turned to me, so I can’t see her expression. And I really want to.
“She moved to NYC. Said a long distance relationship didn’t work for her.” Odd how I can be honest with Cadi, when telling Marek the truth seemed impossible.
She turns and looks me in the eye. “But you’re still in love with her.”
I shrug. “I’m not sure I ever was.” What am I saying? “I mean, I thought I was, but… She dumped me on New Year’s Eve for Christ’s sake. And I guess I’m not feeling as bad about it as I thought I would.”
“Was it…” She inhales sharply. “Was it because of how you look?” Her eyes seem angry and sad at the same time.
I shake my head. “Went deeper than that. She said I manipulated her. I didn’t understand what she meant at the time, but…”
My mind spins back to our last night together. The night we made love. Realization slaps me like a thunderclap. Rebecca seemed willing and interested, but is it possible I somehow manipulated her? A nauseas knot forms in my stomach.
“Idris?” Cadi’s eyes run zigzags across my face.
“Yeah.” I take a breath. “Guess the past is better left where it belongs.” I wish I could lock the rest away as neatly and close the door, but if what Rebecca said is true, I might be the biggest loser in the whole world.
At least I know Cadi’ll see through any tricks if I try them on her without realizing. I push my drink at her. She tilts her head, then takes a sip and hands it back.
After washing the insulated coffee mug in the sink, I rub the smooth scales at the back of my neck. A melody has been playing in an endless loop in my head and needs to be worked, and I’d rather think about that than the ramifications of whatever Rebecca was talking about when she dumped me.
“Mind if I play the guitar…out here?”
Cadi returns a why-are-you-even-asking look. “Of course, I don’t mind.”
I feel awkward sitting on the end of the couch, lizard green and scaly, with a worn guitar resting on my lap, and her watching.
She seems to sense my discomfort and pulls a dog-eared book out of her bag and bows her head.
Lizardy fingernails pluck at the strings and the world fades away. My mind slips into focus. Lyrics come easy when I’m in this place. I don’t sing them out loud, just think them.
You came at my darkest hour, made such a din… The portcullis lifted and let you in.
A smile twists my lips and I glance at Cadi immersed in her book.
I tried to frighten you, push you away…but you saw inside of me, and insisted that you stay.
Odd how a girl I haven’t known a full day should inspire me so much.
I hid myself from view, till you teased me out…You saw me as I was, knew what I was about.
Cadi’s eyes flutter and her teeth catch at her bottom lip. I can’t seem to stop looking at those rose-colored lips.
I tried to charm you with mesmerizing words…You smiled and shook your head, said they wouldn't work.
I relax as the lyrics roll through my head and wonder what she’d think if I sang them so she could hear.
Then you leaned a little bit closer…And my pulse took off like a roller coaster…I couldn’t let you leave my world.
The chorus pops into my head and I almost laugh when I realize where this song is going.
You found beauty in the Beast, a lost soul never missed…You found a broken heart and healed it with a kiss…
As the notes fade, I take a long indulgent look at Cadi, and say, “What’re you reading?”
Her head jolts. “I wasn’t. I mean, I started to, but I was listening to you play.” Her eyes glow with warmth in the table-lamp light. “Your music’s…almost hypnotic. But the book…” — She lifts the tattered paperback. — “is Pride and Prejudice. I found it on clearance at our local bookstore.”
“A classic, right? Is it good?”
“Don’t you have to read this at your school?” She seems surprised.
I shrug. Maybe it’s on the reading list. Not something I pay much attention to. English is not the highlight of my day.
She closes the book and sets it on her lap. “Once you get past all the bucolic details of British life in the nineteenth century, it’s not bad.”
“That’s the problem. I’d probably never get past those…bucolic details.” He shakes his head. “What does bucolic mean, anyway?”
Cadi laughs. “Pleasantly rustic. It’s a love story. I doubt many guys make it past the first couple of chapters.”
“You saying I’m not a romantic guy?” I poke.
She pinches back a grin. “You compose romantic sounding music, so I think you’d have to be. Still, I can’t see you liking this book.”
Her answer makes me happy because she’s right in both cases.
The thought of guys and romance pulls Marek back to the forefront. I wonder how things are going with him and Brianna.
Guilt descends over our not-so-friendly parting. He was right to be mad. I should have texted him by now, but it’s late and… Crap. He’s already back at school, like I should have been, but I can’t go looking like this. I’ll have to message him first thing tomorrow and straighten things out.
Man, I wonder what Dad said when the office reported my absence? What does he think has happened to me? Does he even care?
I lower my head and start picking away at the tune again, losing myself in a place that feels safe.
A hand touches my arm, feather light. “Idris? Are you okay?”
I look into her eyes. Concern engulfs them. We barely know each other, yet she seems connected to everything going on inside me, like somehow I’ve always known her.
Taking a deep breath, I shake the feeling away and straighten. “Have you ever been ice skating?”
She blinks, then frowns. “Well, no, actually.”
I nod as an idea forms in my head. “Skating’s fun. I’ll take you sometime.”
It isn’t until the moment Marek arrives that I put any
thought into the fact that he doesn’t know a thing about Cadi. Probably should’ve asked his permission to let her stick around.
She’s unpacking groceries, when my best friend shouts his arrival from upstairs. “Hey, bro, what’s with the skates?”
I’d texted earlier to ask him to grab mine off the back porch at my house and see if he had an extra pair lying around.
A loud thud tells me he found them. “Dug out an old pair of my sister’s collecting dust in the basement, and yours were where you said.”
His booted feet thud down the stairs. “What’s with the extra pair, anyway?“ His eyes fall on Cadi, who stares back like a startled doe while gripping a vacuum-sealed bag of fresh macaroni with both hands.
He swings round to face me with a WTF look.
I walk over and slap him on the arm. Nowhere near as hard as he does me. “Cadi, this is my best friend, Marek. Marek. Cadi.”
He doesn’t stop staring at me. I push at his shoulder, so he has to turn and be polite.
“Uh…nice to meet you.” An auto-response because I can tell by his demeanor that he’s feeling anything but nice. “Um, bro… Can I, like, talk to you for a second? Upstairs.”
I throw Cadi a wink, then nod at my friend and follow him up. We step outside, and I wish I’d put my coat on because it’s freaking cold.
Marek puts a hand on my shoulder and grips me hard. “Okay, what’s with the girl?”
“She’s just…visiting.” What a stupid answer.
He drops his hold on me. “So, this chick knocks at the door and you let her in. And you let her hang out?” His voice is rock hard.
“It’s more complicated than that.”
“No shit.”
“Mar… Hold the phone, would you? I tried to scare her away, but…she tossed me across the parking lot.”
Man, this is going from bad to worse.
I wave my hands, like that’s going to erase what I just said. “Look, relax. Give me a second to explain.” Though I think it’s going to take a lot more time than that.
Marek’s shoulders loosen an infinitesimal amount as he looks at me. He shakes his head. “I still can’t get over how you’ve…”
I cross my arms. “What?”
“Changed.”
“Yeah, well, get used to it. I don’t see this mug leaving any time soon.”
“Don’t talk like that, Id. You’ve gotta think positive.”
I blow out a steamy breath. “I’m trying, and Cadi’s helping.”
His frown returns. “You cannot be serious. What’s she helping you with? Getting used to being green?”
My jaw snaps. “Cut it out, Mar. She came looking for me, and I think…I dunno. But I think she can help with…whatever my problem is.”
He grunts. “A second ago, you were telling me to get used to you being green.”
“Okay, so maybe not fix the problem, but understand it better.”
His eyes narrow. “So, what’s she offering and why’d she come looking?”
My teeth start chattering as I run a hand over my head. “God, I wish you’d been here the past couple of days.”
I don’t really because the whole dynamic between Cadi and me would have changed. Oh, but if he could have been a speck on the wall, just observing. Seen her moving things with her mind. Seen me using sound waves to control water. Now it all seems too unbelievable to share.
Should I even share it? Not so much my shifting water, but Cadi’s abilities. She’s spent her whole life hiding them.
“You know how you called me Mr. Slick and Magneto?” I wish I could stop my teeth from banging together.
He nods.
“Well, there’s more to it than that. I can control sound waves.”
Marek’s eyebrows collide. “Is that what she told you?”
“She showed me.”
Then his brow hits the sky. A vertical take off. “I’ll bet she did.”
I roll my eyes and reach for the doorknob. “I’ve gotta go inside before I freeze to death.”
He snorts steam out of his nostrils like a bull.
As we head inside, I try to think how best to convince him that Cadi’s okay. “Look, maybe it’s because she’s an orphan. She’s been bounced from home to home. A foster kid. Never fitting in.”
If I hoped to peg Marek’s compassion button, I’m SOL.
“Foster kid? Foster kids are one step away from homeless people.”
“Hey!” I bark. “I was a foster kid.”
He shakes his head. “Effing hell.” His voice drops back to normal, then to a whisper. “What I mean is you don’t know where she came from.” He’s talking about Cadi like she’s a stray dog. “Just be careful, that’s all I’m saying.”
I lift my hand, thumb folded over my pinky. “Scout’s honor.”
“Okay. And remember what I told you about that second body.”
Like I could forget his text about that. Another homeless person found shriveled up like a California raisin.
My fingers start tapping out a tune against my arm. “Yeah, I remember.”
I haven’t mentioned anything to Marek about the mad old lady who slammed her fist through the front door window. The nightclub’s dark, so he won’t see the damage. Probably better to save that for another day.
“Okay,” he says. “Then we’re on the same page. Seems you’ve got her shopping for groceries. Is there anything else you need before I head out? I got homework.”
Speaking of. “How was school?”
“Not the same without you, bro. You think you could see yourself… Nah. Can’t see that lizard face of yours going down too well in gym.”
I chuckle and push up an eyebrow. “And how’re things with you and Brianna?”
Marek pulls at his chin, then his lips twist into a lopsided grin. “We’re meeting twice a week to work on our physics project.”
I can’t help smiling. “Good going, man. Treat her well.”
He slaps me again. Another hard one. “I will, bro. I sure will.”
I head downstairs after Marek leaves and find Cadi wearing her coat and closing her backpack. I stop short. “Where are you going?”
Her face flushes. “Back to the hotel. I should have left earlier…”
I cross my arms, ready to argue. “But you didn’t.”
Her eyes drop to the floor. “But I should have. It’s just that…”
“Just that what?”
One of her shoulders lifts into a half shrug, but her gaze stays glued to the carpet. “The crystal wants me to stay.”
This whole crystal thing baffles me, but I’m willing to go along with whatever it’s telling her if it means she’ll stick around. I stuff my hands in my pockets. “Well, maybe you need to listen then.”
She lets out a heavy sigh. “I should leave a note at the hotel for Victoria and check to see if Mama called the pawnshop about my phone at the very least.”
“Okay,” I say, though I don’t like the idea of her leaving. It’s not like the glowing-eyed old lady didn’t spot Cadi and follow her during the day. “But I think you should come back as soon as you’re done.”
“You think I’m safer here than at the hotel?” She looks surprised.
“I told you this place is built like a fortress, so yeah. And beside, I won’t get a wink of sleep worrying about you if you’re not here.”
Her face breaks into a shy smile that reaches deep into her eyes, and I know I’ve won.
Cadi returns just before dark. “I left a note at the hotel for Mama’s friend.” She unzips her coat. “And I talked to the guy at the pawnshop. Mama didn’t call him, so…no phone.”
I shake my head. I should have given her the hundred bucks to get her phone back. Why didn’t I think of that before she left? Well, there’s always tomorrow.
“Don’t get too comfortable,” I say, and grab a torn square of cardboard and a roll of duct tape off the conference table. “We’re heading out as soon as it’s dark.”
; Before she can ask any questions, I jog upstairs with my supplies. After checking the sky through the broken window pane in the front door, I patch the hole with the cardboard and duct tape.
By the time I’m done, it’s past twilight. Dark enough to head out. I trot down to the basement to get Cadi.
“Put on your warmest layers,” I tell her, tossing a scarf around my neck and pulling on ski gloves.
She’s wrapped up, warm as a polar bear, with a fuzzy white scarf and hat. She looks cute.
“Christmas gifts?” I ask as we head upstairs.
She dimples up and nods. “Where are we going?”
“To a hidden lake. A place Marek and I found a while back. Tourists don’t know it exists.”
I have Cadi try the skates Marek brought. They fit her fine with an extra pair of socks, so I hook both pairs over my shoulder.
“Let me take one of those,” she offers as she scrambles up the snowy bank at the edge of the parking lot and joins me among the trees. But I insist on carrying them both. I may be green, but I can still be a gentleman.
We walk through the forest, following a little used trail now blanketed with downy snow.
By the time we reach the lake, the moon hangs high in the sky, a fat crescent offering plenty of light that makes the wind-blown ice on the lake twinkle.
Cadi points across the moonlit expanse. “We’re going out there?” Anticipation laces her voice.
We stop at the snow-edged bank and put on our skates. Done first, I step down the shallow drop onto the ice. My first foot wobbles. I right myself and avoid falling on my ass and looking like an idiot.
Cadi straightens up. Cut deep in the snow, her blades are stable enough for her to stay balanced.
I offer a hand. Her fingers hook over mine, and with a giant step, she touches down beside me like she’s done this a hundred times before. Lifting her head, she smiles. Moonlight brushes her features, making her face as pale as oyster shell and her eyes glisten like black pearls.
I lead her further onto the ice and coach her into the correct stance. When she seems confident enough, I guide her forward. She totters once or twice, but doesn’t fall, even when I let go. Carefully, she inches forward on her own.
