Relics and Runes Anthology

by Heather Marie Adkins

  11

  Seven years later.

  Andrea bangs away at the keyboard. She has bitten off more than she can chew with this writing career. “What am I thinking? This is insanity.”

  She backs away from the monitor. Runs her fingers through her hair. “Five years of writing books that was meant to be a one-time thing. Damn Wesley. And damn Jonathan. Some therapist he is.”

  Her room is full of books and piles of papers that are stained up and torn.

  She backspaces on a lot of the current paragraph. “Screw this. It isn’t helping anymore.”

  She scrolls through her contacts and presses Jonathan’s name. She texts him a few messages. She taps her fingers along the keyboard waiting for Jonathan to respond.

  Arms fall over her shoulders. She grabs the arms. “Can I take a peek?” Wesley asks.

  “I think you will criticize it a lot. It has a lot of flaws.”

  “I will be what I’ve always been; which is a good friend who keeps his opinions silent.”

  She continues typing. She suddenly gleams as her fingers lift from the keyboard. “There, done.”

  He peeks over. “You ended it with that? The readers are now meant to draw their own conclusions?”

  “Readers like that. I ended it like this, because I decided there is to be a sequel.”

  He sits down on the bed. She lays back against her pillow. “Why are you here? Bitter loneliness creeping up?”

  “I am powerless against you. I had to be near you.” He taps her nose. “Noah and Terry went into the city for a drinking contest. Terry will not out drink Noah. But that’s not much of a night for me. I decided to stay home.”

  “This isn’t your home.”

  “Close enough. Maybe you should let me move in. I’m here all the time anyway.”

  “No.”

  “Then you move in with me.”

  “What happens when you get a girlfriend and she sees me there?”

  “She’d get used to it or tough shit. I don’t think I’ll ever marry anyway, so why bother getting a girlfriend.”

  She starts printing off her manuscript.

  “Besides, our friendship is more tedious and exasperating than any relationship could be. It’s deeper than a marriage could be. Who needs that shit, when I have you? Seven long years of foreplay.”

  She turns to him, insulted to the core. “Thanks.”

  “What are we doing tonight?”

  “I am finishing printing this off and then I’m going to bed. I have to be in the city tomorrow early.”

  “For therapy or work?”

  “Both.”

  “Can I stay the night?”

  “Sure.”

  In the middle of the night, she creeps into his bedroom. He turns on the light before she makes it to his bed. “You had better be coming in here to either kill me or please me. I am not accepting anything else.”

  She gets into bed with him. “My sessions are getting complicated.”

  “Because your therapist wants to bang you?”

  She holds him close. In the seven years that he has remained by her side she has never given it much thought. But now she wonders, after giving up her fantasy, can she see Wesley in a different light.

  “You remember when my father said that he had a surprise waiting for me after we come back from Europe?”

  “But we never went.”

  “Why haven’t we gone to Europe?”

  Wesley shifts in his comfort. He puts his arm around her. “It’s better that we stay right here.”

  “Right here? Or right here?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “My parents never gave me that surprise.”

  He feels her conflict. He had to bear it as well when her parents told him about their decision to wait on taking Andrea back. “I am not going to fail in protecting you again.”

  She shifts to look at him straight in the eyes. He turns his head. She turns him back. “Don’t do that. You have been avoiding the issue for seven years.”

  “What am I avoiding?”

  “Us.”

  “Us?”

  He takes his arm off her, sits at the edge of the bed. She puts her arms around his chest. He wants to like the feeling of her wrapped around him but instead he gets up.

  “What are you doing, Andrea?”

  She walks over to him. Now that she is taller and he hasn’t grown anymore, she doesn’t have to pull herself up or pull him down. She gently puts her hand against his cheek. “I just want to give you a kiss.”

  “I am not your fantasy lover.” He walks away.

  “Cornelius was not my lover. Not for very long anyway. Why did I think about him just now?”

  Wesley turns right around. “You haven’t spoken his name in years. Why did you just now?”

  “I just suddenly remembered his name.”

  “Well, forget it. Cornelius is dead.” He gets back into bed. “Go to sleep, Andrea.” She moves to join him. “In your own bed.”

  She walks out of the room and slams the door. He sits up against the headboard and bangs his head slightly against it.

  Wesley pulls up to the publishing house. “See you later at the pub.”

  “See ya.” She gets out and goes inside.

  As soon as she enters the building, Jonathan Gorgon greets her. He knows he’s handsome and he tries to flaunt his good looks at everyone, even Andrea. “You got it?”

  “Right here.” She takes the manuscript out of her bag.

  “You cut it close.”

  “Jonathan, can this be the last one?”

  “No. Come up to my office.”

  He walks over to the elevators. She gets into an elevator with him.

  “You’re doing amazing work. Your stories are actually helping patients of mine.”

  “But I am wondering if it’s still helping me.”

  “Any more bad dreams? Or any thoughts about that imaginary place?”

  “No.”

  “Then it’s working.”

  “Then I don’t need our sessions.”

  “We can stop them.”

  The elevator door opens. They step out and go into his office. Gaudy all over the place. From the furniture to the paintings. Andrea gets nauseous every time she steps in here.

  “I want a break. I want to go home.”

  “Home? On the island or upstate?”

  “Upstate.”

  “Want to be up in God’s country?”

  “The air is fresh and soothing.”

  “Maybe I’ll come up for a vacation. I haven’t had one in a while.”

  “I wouldn’t have any time to hang out with you. Whenever I am not writing, I am with Wesley.”

  He moves a few papers around on his desk. “How is Wesley?” He flips through her manuscript.

  “He’s always around.”

  “Unfortunately. I did advise you that having him around was not healthy for you.”

  “Yes you did.”

  He closes the manuscript. “We will shoot for a spring release. I am trying to push this romance right now.”

  “I will be gone for a few months. If you do come up, please don’t start trouble with Wesley.”

  She walks out of the office.

  He slams the manuscript down on the table.

  Andrea walks into the pub Wesley texted her the directions to. Wesley and Noah are sitting at a table. Noah looks incredibly hung over. They have drinks lined up in front of them.

  “Are these drinks going to drink themselves?” Noah asks.

  Andrea sits down in between them. “Having fun?”

  “Hey,” they say and give her a kiss on both cheeks.

  “You’ve been nursing these drinks for how long?”

  “A while.”

  “Did Jonathan like your story?” Noah asks.

  “Of course he did. But not as much as he liked her breasts and ass.”

  “I am going home tomorrow. To my family’s house upstate.”


  “Sounds groovy,” Noah says as he sips his drink.

  “I guess you had a lot of fun on your night out with Terry.”

  “We had a blast. VIP lounge. Women galore.”

  “Should have took Wesley. He could have got laid.”

  Noah laughs into his drink.

  “Perhaps, when you stay over at my apartment tonight,” Wesley says.

  Noah’s eyes light up.

  “Only in your dreams, dear Wesley.”

  “You have no idea.”

  Wesley and Andrea look at each other like they are in lust for each other. Noah pushes his drink away. “Is there something going on here?”

  “What?” Wesley says.

  “Between the two of you.”

  “No,” she says.

  “You’re flirting.”

  “We will be all nasty to each other when she starts writing again.”

  “I’m not. I am giving it up.”

  Wesley is happy.

  “Someone buy me a drink.”

  “I got it.” Wesley heads to the bar.

  “You’re going to tell me that after all these years you two haven’t thought about sleeping together? Bull. I have had a lot of female friends and it all ended with having sex. If you two haven’t at least thought about it, I’d get your heads examined.”

  “What are you talking about?” Wesley asks. He hands Andrea a rum and Coke.

  “He wants to know why we haven’t had sex. And he thinks we think about having sex with each other.”

  “Wesley is one of the best looking guy’s I’ve ever seen. He’s helped me get girls just by them looking at him. If Wesley isn’t attracted to you, I will personally beat it into him. And if you aren’t attracted to him, I will personally pay for a shrink for you.”

  “Too late. Already have one.”

  She is able to unwind. Her publisher makes her so frustrated. He’s also her therapist. She’s been too cooped up between having her apartment in Manhattan and then travelling back to her small house on Long Island. Always the same scenery. And Wesley is always following her. If she moved to the Moon, he’d move there too. She hasn’t had a proper relationship with any man because of Wesley. They either assume that he is some jealous ex-boyfriend or that he is her boyfriend and she is just in denial. It’s what has brought her to the conclusion that if she wants a relationship it’ll have to be with Wesley. Every time she has hinted at it or tried to come onto him, he dismisses it as innocent flirting. Her sanity is being checked every day as Wesley keeps staying over at her place or she is tricked into staying over at his. Constantly around each other. She appreciates him wanting to be her protector but enough is enough. If she doesn’t make it happen between them, she has to end their friendship. She wonders how much he is suffering inside. He says he doesn’t want a girlfriend but she knows that is a lie. Everyone needs some kind of pleasure from another. And giving up her writing career will be a step in a new direction. She wrote the erotic story about her and Noah and he loved it. Wesley hated it. Really hated it. He almost ended his friendship with Noah because of it. He assumed Noah was trying to bed Andrea. It’s what made her consider Wesley as a romantic interest. She felt his protective vibe was cover for his real feelings.

  She looks at Noah. If Wesley will not desire her, she knows she can at least be desired by Noah.

  Wesley and Andrea walk into his apartment. “I should have let you walk here alone.”

  “I’m too drunk to walk home alone.”

  “You want me to stay?”

  “Whatever.” He crashes on the couch.

  She takes off her shoes and sits next to him. She turns on the TV.

  She fell asleep watching some bizarre monster movie. Wesley walks into the living room and puts a blanket over her. She wakes up. “Are you okay?”

  “Off to bed. Night.”

  “You sure you don’t want me in the bed?”

  “I am sure.” He goes into his bedroom.

  She fights the lingering sleep and walks into his bedroom. “We have slept in the same bed before.”

  “Don’t let Noah know that. He will never let us live it down. We sleep in the same bed and don’t have sex.”

  She gets into bed. Gets comfortable.

  He goes into the bathroom. He comes back out with just sweatpants on. “Is this going to be a problem? Me without a shirt.”

  She admires his physique for the first time. “You do have a nice body.”

  “Oh, God, don’t flatter me.”

  “I remember when we went skinny dipping at the beach.”

  “Yeah, that was some crazy night. Terry is probably still mad that he didn’t get to see you naked. Burying yourself in the sand was clever.”

  “Imagine if Noah knew about that? He missed an opportunity to see me naked.”

  “Noah likes you. I have been stopping you from dating. Where I will not be okay with you dating my best friend, I will be happy to know that it’s someone I can easily beat the crap out of.”

  “I like Noah but I’d rather not be some notch on his bedpost.”

  “Night.”

  She rolls over to one side. “Do you think we should just have sex and speed up the inevitable?”

  “Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad.”

  “What wouldn’t be so bad? Us having sex? Or us being together?”

  She rolls over to face him. He is already facing her. “It’s okay to admit but I don’t think we should.”

  “We can just have sex with each other in our dreams.”

  “Or your books. How come you never wrote an erotic story about me and you?”

  “Oh, come on, Wes.”

  “I’m serious.”

  “I have given you opportunities to do things with me and you never do. You get jealous, you want me to write an erotic book about us now, and you want me to believe that you don’t want us to be together. Not to mention all the subtle hints you give me.”

  “You want the truth? What stops me from being with you in that way is because you still want Cornelius. I know you fantasize that one day you’ll be back in the Vale and you’ll be his queen. Let me tell you, he will not be king. I am going to make sure of that. Screw all those rules. He’s going to be a normal person. And if you and I are to be together, he is not coming between us. I am getting rid of him for good.”

  She holds her head. “You’re giving me a massive headache. What are you talking about?”

  He holds her immediately. “I’m sorry. I got carried away.”

  “It’s okay to have feelings for your best friend.”

  “Of course it is.”

  She nuzzles with his neck. He doesn’t stop her. He lays her head on his chest.

  “If you have feelings you should act on them.”

  “One day, Andrea.”

  The morning dew still soaks the grass. It glistens like stars on the horizon. These stars are in reach. The grass is disturbed by Andrea running through. It clings to her dress. She runs down a hillside, down to a lake. A man with wings waits. She reaches out for him. He turns around and turns into a black shadow.

  Andrea wakes up. “Just a dream.”

  Morning comes and Andrea is busy making herself breakfast. Wesley comes out scratching his body.

  “Wesley, I had a dream.”

  “About us?” He goes to start the coffee pot.

  “Maybe we should spend time apart.”

  “You don’t want me to come up to the house with you? Look, Andrea, maybe we need to be in a relationship. You’re right. We need to meet someone and be with them. Our friendship is suffering because we can’t have that be our only emotional attachment. We need companions. We need lovers.”

  “I wish I could see your face.”

  “What?”

  “Nothing. Just daydreaming.”

  “I am going to go out of town for a few days. Terry is going to L.A. and I think me going there will be good.”

  “Don’t forget about me.”

  12
>
  Click. Clang. Click. Clang. Click. Clang. This little pest is formidable.

  Andrea wakes from a deep sleep. “It’s like having a clock bug or bell bug in your room. Where are you?” She looks around the room.

  She falls back into bed and right back to sleep.

  A bright light flutters up and down her bedroom window. Click. Clang. Click. Clang. She wakes. She looks at the window. She gets out of bed and feels the glass. There are cracks up and down. “How did that happen?”

  Andrea goes for a walk in the park. Her cell phone rings. “Hey. If you’re coming up then fine. You want to stay with me? Jonathan, Wesley will not like it. You know what, screw him. You can stay with me.” She hangs up.

  She watches kids playing baseball. Then out of the corner of her eye she sees the fountain. “No. No.” She looks again. It’s gone. She runs to her car.

  Andrea stands in her kitchen chopping up vegetables. She doesn’t want to believe that the fountain was there. A hand on her shoulder makes her scream.

  “Andrea.” Wesley hugs her. “I came back.”

  “Wesley! I saw it.”

  She cries onto his shoulder. He holds her.

  They sit on the couch and she snuggles with him.

  “Is he worth risking your life for?”

  “I have to go back.”

  “What is so special about him?”

  “You think I’m crazy. He’s real.”

  “You’re twenty-eight. You’re acting like a teenager in love.”

  “I am in love with him.”

  “He isn’t real.”

  She sits away from him.

  “Okay. We will go to your parents’ house.”

  The doorbell rings. She answers it. “Hey, Jonathan.”

  Jonathan comes into the kitchen.

  “Moving in?” Wesley asks.

  “Thought you were out of town.”

  “I came back. Are you staying here?”

  “Andrea asked me to. Wesley, you should be having your own life. Get a girlfriend.”

  “Yes. Get one.”

  “I can’t. Stop asking me to.” He glares at Jonathan. “You look familiar to me, doc.”

  “Can’t imagine why I wouldn’t. I have been Andrea’s therapist for a few years now.”