by JD MITCHELL
“How is this fine?” Ali pointed to the area where they beat the hell out of each other. “We’re supposed to be on the same side!”
Leigh closed his eyes. His breathing slowed. “He’s a prick.”
“That’s beside the point!” Ali yelled. “Bryan just died! How would you feel if Red died?”
Leigh sat up. A fine layer of dirt caked his back side and parts of his head. “That’s no excuse. He was a complete jackass toward you before that happened.”
Ali didn’t need Leigh using her as an excuse for his own behavior. “I can fight my own battles.”
Leigh rubbed his eyes, smudging dirt on his cheek. “Fine.”
Ali wasn’t done. It was her turn to yell. “And what is Nash talking about? What bar fight?”
Leigh shrugged. “Like I know.”
“You knew enough to punch him,” Ali accused.
“He insulted my family!” Leigh shot back.
Ali glowered. If Leigh didn’t want to tell her about this so-called bar fight that was fine but posting something like that on social media was stupid.
The wind left Ali’s sails.
Nash said both Leigh and Red were in a bar fight. They’re not irresponsible. Leigh was usually a voice of reason.
Hot cinnamon and a manic smile haunted her memory.
The gancanagh.
“Oh no,” Ali gasped.
She ran for the phone Leigh carried everywhere. It sat on a bench in the shade.
“What’s the password for Red’s phone?” Ali asked.
Leigh stood looking confused. “8888.”
Ali punched in the numbers, wondering why Red bothered to password protect the phone. She accepted the foreign internet charges and opened her social media account. There were multiple messages from Cheryl and Tommy which she ignored.
She didn’t have to scroll far before she found what she was looking for. A video of the gancanagh attacking her in the café.
Her heart sunk.
She hit play.
On the video, the gancanagh stumbled away from Ali’s outstretched hand like she’d shocked him. The next instant Leigh burst through the café’s door, leaped over Ali, and punched the gancanagh in the face. Red appeared behind Leigh shortly after and slammed the gancanagh into the floor by his shoulders, before punching him again.
“Holy schnikes!” Ali yelled.
“What?” Leigh asked. He closed the distance between them.
Ali thrust the phone into his face. She watched as his expression soured. He took the phone from her and flipped through the screens.
“Oh,” Leigh said after a moment.
“Yeah,” Ali said sarcastically. “We’re all over social media!”
Leigh narrowed his eyes, swiped the screen a few more times, then his eyes enlarged. “Oh-wow. We have over 800,000 hits on YouTube!”
“Noooo,” Ali groaned as she snatched the phone from him.
She looked at the screen. It was the same video as before with the caption: High school kid knocks the shit out of pervert.
Ali scanned the comments. Red and Leigh had a lot of supporters, but still, this wasn’t good. She watched the video again and realized this was the footage shot by that cowardly patron. Ali cursed herself.
“I could have stopped this,” Ali moaned.
She shoved the phone back in Leigh’s hands.
“How?”
Ali pointed toward the phone. “I remember some jack-hole whipping out his cell to film the gancanagh when he grabbed me. I just forgot.” Ali groaned again.
“This isn’t your fault,” Leigh said pointing to the phone. “That guy probably wasn’t the only person who filmed it.”
“Yeah well, I’m sure the school has seen this.” She paced for a moment. Her friends were likely freaked out.
Ali grabbed the phone from Leigh again and reopened her social media page.
“Hey!” Leigh protested.
“Just a minute.” Ali grumbled.
Between Cheryl and Tommy, she had about fifteen messages. She selected the most recent one from Cheryl.
A,
Please let me know you are okay! Tommy and I are worried AF. The whole school is freaking about the attack and how you and Leigh ran off together. Our principal insists you’re on a retreat, but Tommy and I don’t believe it for a second. I hope Jessica didn’t send you off to juvie, or a boarding school, or some insane place we can’t reach you. Tell us where you are and what happened!
-C
Ali opened the next few messages. They were all the same. She reopened the first message and typed what she hoped was a believable reply.
C,
Sorry I didn’t respond. I don’t have my phone, and the last week has been a whirlwind. That creepy pervert was stalking me, so when Leigh’s parents offered to let me tag along on a retreat, Jessica decided it was safer to send me away until that guy is caught.
I know this is weird, sorry I disappeared. I promise I’ll tell you everything when I get home.
-A
It was a wagonload of shit, but Ali didn’t know what else to do. She fired the message off into cyberspace and logged out of her account.
Ali held the phone out to Leigh.
He looked at it. “Are you done this time?”
“Yes, I’m done,” Ali said.
“Why don’t you hang onto it for a moment?” Leigh pointed toward the changing room. “I’ll shower, then I suppose we better show Jessica and Red.”
Ali’s shoulders slumped. Jessica wouldn’t be happy. It would be a tag-team-tell-off with Jessica and Red as the headliners. She watched as Leigh jogged toward the showers and disappeared.
Sawyer tugged on her sleeve. “Can I see?”
Ali sighed. “Sure, why not?”
***
Jessica wasn’t angry. At first the post bothered her, but after digging through the comments, she decided it might not be as bad as it looked.
“I mean, Red and Leigh stopped him from assaulting you, then left.” Jessica said after the video replayed for the tenth time. “No one from the Sheriff’s office has reached out to Red and if they did, I imagine Aengus can fix it.”
Leave it to Jessica to go the legal route. Ali’s concerns were; the entire school had seen the video and analyzed every second; she was liable to get questioned by the principal; and they needed to stay off the radar, not earning fifteen minutes of fame.
Across the room, Red, Leigh, and Sawyer huddled around Red’s phone. Ali watched as Leigh played the video. His left eye was swollen from where Nash’s fist connected with his face; however, it was no longer black, and the bruising was subsiding.
“Here I come, and… wham!” Leigh tapped Red’s shoulder. “You come flying in from off screen… now, then… slam! Right into the floor!”
Sawyer peeked over Leigh’s shoulder and pointed to the screen. “Play it again! I want to see Red body slam him.”
Ali scoffed. “How can they think this is cool?”
Jessica shrugged. “They’re boys.”
“Again! Again!” Sawyer said getting closer to the phone.
Ali grabbed the nearest pillow and hugged it. A twinge in her shoulder reminded her that while the speed gel had her almost back to normal, she was still healing.
Leaning her head against the back of the couch, she sighed. “The rumor mill at school will be out of control. I got a message from Cheryl that asked if Leigh and I ran off together. My own best friend! I’ll have to put up with so much bullshit when I return.”
“Language,” Jessica warned, then tossed a borrowed laptop onto a nearby cushion. “I don’t want to get all preachy on you, but what’s going on with that?”
Ali titled her head to the side. “What do you mean?”
“Leigh likes you. He seems nice, and he isn’t seeing anyone.” Jessica fidgeted with the sleeve of her shirt. “I totally understand the attraction to the bad boys, but I’m not a fan of Nash. Especially because you’re not a side piece, and I don�
��t think you want to be the other girl.”
Ali’s head buzzed. There was so much wrong with that information, Ali took a second to pick a starting point. “Nash has a girlfriend?”
Jessica’s face fell from the concerned parent, to oh crap, in a second flat.
Ali sat up and flung her pillow to the side, regretting the motion, but ignoring the dull ache. “How do you know he has a girlfriend?”
“Grace told me,” Jessica grimaced. “We were just making small talk. Obviously, I didn’t mention you hung out with Nash. I assumed this was a fleeting romance, so I minded my business.”
Ali glowered. “Was this before or after I paraded around in a dress?”
“After,” Jessica said. Her tone sharpened. “Wait, did something happen?”
This wasn’t the moment for that conversation. Ali buried her face into a new pillow and let out a muffled, “No.”
Jessica ripped the pillow away from her face. “Ali, what happened?”
“Nothing,” Ali said irritably, “I wish he’d been honest with me upfront, so I didn’t make a complete idiot of myself.”
“Good,” Jessica said eyeing her. “I’d have words with him if something happened.”
Ali snorted.
Jessica settled back into the couch. “Anyway, Nash would be lucky to have you. For starters, you’re not needy. That boy’s phone vibrates every thirty seconds. It would drive me insane if I was dating someone who constantly texted.”
The frequent texts.
Ali felt like a moron. She should have picked up on the girlfriend thing sooner.
“So…” Jessica prompted lowering her voice. “What about Leigh?”
“We’ve been over this, total friend-zone right here,” Ali pointed to herself. Although, things between her and Leigh were defiantly shifting. She just didn’t want to tell Jessica about her screw-ups over the last few days.
“Not according to Red,” Jessica grinned.
Ali’s cheeks heated. “What’d Red say?”
“Apparently Leigh was upset when you disappeared with Nash. Also, he won’t stop talking about you.”
Ali’s stomach fluttered.
Across the room Leigh laughed at something Red said. She hadn’t spoken with him about what happened in the closet or what it meant. Especially now. He stood up for her against Nash and she yelled at him for it.
“Leigh just really dislikes Nash. I mean they had an all-out brawl at training today,” Ali regretted the words as they left her lips, it felt like tattling.
“What?” Jessica asked.
Ali played it off. “Nash said something inappropriate about Leigh’s family and…”
“Leigh got a black eye and Nash has a busted lip,” Jessica finished for her.
“It was stupid,” Ali said glossing over the part about Leigh defending her. Hopefully Red wasn’t privy to that part or he might repeat it to Jessica. Then she’d have to come clean about her own stupidity and kiss with Nash.
Ali frowned. Red was a topic she needed to address.
“There’s something I should tell you,” Ali said twisting a pillow between her fingers.
A smile played at Jessica lips. “I like secrets.”
She wasn’t so sure Jessica would like this one. “Promise not to say anything to Red?”
Jessica’s smile faltered, but she nodded.
“I wouldn’t have said anything, but you’ve been flirty with Red and I’m worried you’ll get hurt,” Ali said.
Jessica’s frown deepened, and she sat up straighter.
Ali picked at the edge of the pillow, choosing her words with care. “Red has to marry another TDD.”
“Is he seeing someone?” Jessica asked quickly.
“No!” Ali said, then lowered her voice. She stole a glance over her shoulder in case they heard, but the guys were still engrossed in the video. “I discovered he ended your relationship because he was forced. It’s a rule I guess.”
A plethora of emotions played out on Jessica’s face. Confusion and hurt taking precedence until something resembling understanding took over. She nodded.
“I thought you should know,” Ali said trailing off.
Jessica stared at a fixed point in the distance before she spoke. “It’s all right. You don’t have to worry.”
“Jessica,” Ali breathed wondering if she made the right decision.
Sadness crept into Jessica’s eyes. She exhaled and gave Ali a meek smile. “It’s okay. He hasn’t… I mean… I wasn’t expecting anything. We’re just stuck together in a crazy situation.”
Ali wished she’d said nothing. But, maybe the sting of knowing now was better than finding out later.
Jessica looked up. “What does that mean for you? This rule?”
Ali snorted. “Please, like I’ll follow a stupid rule.”
Immediately Ali regretted her words. She was quick to fix the blunder. “I’m not TDD like Leigh and Red.”
Jessica pulled a loose thread and tossed it to the floor.
“Pardon my interruption.”
Ali and Jessica looked up to see Aengus standing behind them. The twinkle his eyes held before Leannan’s death seemed permanently gone, replaced now with dead stares and dark circles.
“Jessica, I wonder if I might implore you to handle a delicate situation for me,” Aengus said.
Ali couldn’t be happier at the interruption. Anything to get out of the foot in mouth situation she was in.
Jessica twisted to face him. “Absolutely, what do you need?”
With a glance at the boys, Aengus frowned. “I’m afraid we found Sawyer’s father.”
Ali’s heart stopped.
Aengus crouched behind the couch, lowering his voice. “I mean to say; the Fae discovered his remains. It looks like a pack of red caps were sent after him.”
Jessica didn’t press Aengus for details, and Ali was thankful. The less she knew, the better.
“I shouldn’t burden you with this,” Aengus said apologetically. “However, I thought Sawyer might find more comfort if this came from you. You’re–well–nurturing whereas I am not.”
Jessica drew a deep breath. Her eyes hardened. “I’ll tell him.”
On the other couch, Sawyer’s youthful laugh permeated the room. Ali couldn’t stand the thought of seeing the look on his face when he heard the news.
“Is there a private room I can take him?” Jessica asked. “I shouldn’t say this in front of everyone.”
“You might take him to the room across the hall. It’s unoccupied.”
Jessica looked the direction Aengus pointed. “Okay.”
“Thank you,” he said leaving the room as quickly as he appeared. Ali wished she could disappear with Aengus.
Standing, Jessica approached the boys. Ali’s own anxiety increasing with Jessica’s every step.
Red was the first to see her and dropped the phone. “What’s wrong?”
“I…um…need to speak to Sawyer,” Jessica said.
Sawyer tensed; his large eyes locked on Jessica.
Jessica teetered on her feet as a tear slipped down her face. “We should go to the other room.”
“It’s my dad,” Sawyer whispered. “Tell me.”
“I’m so sorry.” Jessica’s voice cracked. “He’s not coming back.”
Sawyer collapsed into Leigh’s shoulder and sobbed. Leigh wrapped an arm around him.
Ali felt so useless. There was nothing she could do. No magical words would ease the pain of the death of a parent. So, she sat and listened to Sawyer moan. Each cry worse than the previous. A few tears slipped down her cheek, remembering her own loss. After a while, Jessica reached for Sawyer. She convinced him to stand and cradled him under one arm as they left the room.
Ali wiped tears from her own face. If she could take on Sawyers burden, she would.
“What happens to him now?” Leigh asked no one in particular.
As if Ali didn’t feel bad enough for Sawyer, this realization was another blow.
“He doesn’t have other family,” Ali said remembering the conversation from their first day together.
Leigh nodded. “I think it was him and his dad.”
She wasn’t certain what guardianship looked like in Ireland, but if it was similar to the states, she’d help fight for him. Leaving Jessica was Ali’s greatest fear. Ali didn’t want that uncertainty for Sawyer.
“I’m sure the Tuatha de Danann will handle this,” Red said.
Leigh’s voice tightened. “If they can.”
Ali sunk into the couch. The day had been a rollercoaster of lows and lowers. She couldn’t take much more.
Twenty One
The afternoon sun had passed its zenith when Ali noticed Jessica standing under the practice area awning. Jessica clutched a book to her chest, most likely one of the many texts she’d referenced the past two days. The day prior, Jessica discovered a spell which might banish the Sons from Ireland. The incantation was impossible to confirm, but Aengus reasoned that as long as members from each of the four descendant lines completed the act, the spoken words were trivial.
As a descendant and per Aengus’s request, Ali had spent a considerable amount of time altering the translated words, so they flowed better in the English language. The tricky part was changing the actions behind the words. In its original form, the druidic spell said for as long as water surrounded Ireland. As that was now an issue, Ali searched for words to rectify the issue. However, Jessica was still uneasy and redoubled her research into the art of spoken spell casting. Ali hadn’t decided if Jessica was over-committed, or if this was an excuse to avoid Red. They’d barely occupied the same room since Jessica learned Red had to marry a Tuatha de Danann.
“What are you doing here?” Ali asked Jessica. She wiped sweat from her forehead and joined Jessica in the shade.
“Aengus called a meeting. I came to collect you and Leigh,” Jessica said. “Speaking of, where is he?”
Ali scanned the colored ocean of sparring Fae until she saw Leigh along the far wall. He dispatched multiple clay assailants in rapid succession using solas. Sparks flew in all directions, reminding Ali of a wayward roman candle. Around him the clay dolls crumbed.
