Rouge

by Isabella Modra

  “What kind of fool do you take me for Hunter? I know you’ve been going to school. In fact, I’ve been emailing your teachers. You’re attendance record has been spotless since February.”

  Hunter sighed. Of course he knows. What else was I supposed to do, quit my senior year completely just as a precaution?

  “After everything I’ve done for you,” he seethed. “I spend every waking moment when I’m not teaching a class planning our training sessions, researching your symptoms, bringing you out of your depression since the alleyway accident and this…” His jaw was clenched so tightly, it locked when he shut it. “This is how you repay me? By sneaking off to school behind my back, by lying to me for months? I thought you were better than that.”

  She stayed well away from him, hoping he wouldn’t pick up the knife and throw it at her like she was imagining. “Joshua, let me explain-”

  “And you’ve been spending time with Eli as well, I presume?”

  “Yes,” she replied. “And there have been no accidents at all. I’ve been dating him for a while. I don’t know why you were so worried about me, I haven’t set anyone on fire. I’m glad I went to school. It’s better than sitting around here all day because now I know that I can control myself around people. Joshua, I did it!”

  She took a deep breath, feeling a heavy weight lift off her shoulders. Finally she could stop lying to Joshua. They could both stop worrying about Hunter exposing her powers or hurting anyone. Surely he’d feel pride in knowing that his training had worked, that she could control herself now. That the fire no longer overcame her emotions.

  But Joshua wasn’t happy at all. In fact, she’d never seen him so disappointed and fuming with rage. And it frightened her. The color of his eyes was like the last splashes of sky-blue before the iron-gray storm clouds arrived. They shot icicles at her, making her remember horrible dreams she’d had as a child.

  “Say something,” she spat out.

  But he didn’t. He simply walked around the kitchen bench in a mechanical motion, took his lab key from the key-card bowl and left the apartment quietly. The silence was deafening.

  Hunter had to get away. Unlike the last time they argued in the apartment - which was also the first time she used her powers unintentionally - they had shouted and screamed at each other and it ended in chaos. Somehow, this was worse.

  Without thinking, she hurried to her bedroom, changed into comfortable clothes and fled out the door. She knew exactly where to go, and the thought of seeing him again brought the fire to life as if lit by a match.

  Eli lived in the upper-east side of New York in a timeless mansion built to look solid, yet with certain elegance. The taxi dropped Hunter at the bottom of the staircase leading up to the huge double front door painted pearly white with an oversized black knocker. Hunter stood back for a moment and waited for words to come to her, but Joshua’s piercing eyes were all she could think about. She should have been worried about the possibility of meeting Eli’s father and girlfriend for the first time, or that she had surprised Eli and interrupted his studies, or even that it was rude to show up at someone’s house unannounced and uninvited. But the fire was calm, and that was Hunter’s topmost priority. So long as she was controlled, everything would work out fine.

  The quiet New York street whispered gently to her in the cool spring wind, the last remnants of the day clinging to the falling sunlight, and Hunter felt as if time were flying as she tried to banish all thought of Joshua from her mind. It was then that a sleek limousine pulled gracefully aside the curb, directly in front of the house. Hunter turned slowly with her bag slipping off her shoulder. The driver ran around to the passenger door and waited as a pair of strip-club-worthy, knee-high black boots swung out of the interior. A woman in her early thirties appeared in a stunning red dress covered by the fluffiest black coat she’d ever seen. Dark glasses hid most of her face and rich brown hair fell like melted chocolate down her back. She carried a channel bag the size of Hunter’s school backpack and three Macy’s bags on her other arm. As she removed the glasses and stepped off the path, her black eyes fell upon Hunter.

  “Are you selling something?” she asked. Her voice was breathy and irritating.

  This has to be the misses then, Hunter sighed. “No, I-”

  The woman ignored her and strode directly to the door.

  Hunter smiled, unwilling to believe this was the woman Eli’s father had married. I thought bitches like this only existed on Gossip Girl. She followed her up the stairs.

  “I’m actually looking for Eli, I’m his-” Hunter bit her lip. “His friend from school.”

  The woman turned at the door with her hand inside her bag and laid her eyes upon Hunter as if she were street filth begging for money. “I wouldn’t know,” she replied, fishing for her keys. “I’ve been out shopping all afternoon. Besides, I have better things to do than pay attention to what Eli does in his day.”

  “What, like polish your credit card?” said Hunter.

  Melissa’s face reddened and Hunter immediately regretted opening her mouth. “Look, Little Mermaid–”

  Hunter scoffed, but it was ignored.

  “–I’m sure if Eli were home he would have answered the door when you knocked, so clearly he’s either not home or doesn’t go for the outdated trash with the fake hair color. Goodbye.” And with that, the woman turned on her eleven inch heels, threw open the door and stomped inside. Hunter was so furious and taken aback at the same time she didn’t have the voice to shout or the energy to follow. Her hands warmed up significantly fast, catching her even more off guard. She shut her eyes immediately - thankful Mr. Akerman’s girlfriend wasn’t watching - and counted to three before she was sure the fire had vanished. When she opened them, the door flew open again and this time, Eli stood in the doorway.

  “Hunter!” he exclaimed with a grin bedazzling enough to calm her inner flame and Hunter nearly slipped on the marble doorstep in surprise.

  “Eli,” she breathed. “Hi.”

  “Come in,” he said kindly and stepped aside.

  Hunter entered the house. The hallway opened up to a beautiful living area with scattered couches, televisions and a kitchen bar the length of the wall on the right hand side. From what she could see, the French doors at the end of the room led to a backyard with a pool and spa surrounded by beautiful water features.

  Eli leaned down to kiss her on the cheek. The simple gesture soothed her like the warmth of a hot chocolate. “I’m sorry about Melissa,” he said, “she’s a bitch, I don’t know what Dad sees in her.”

  “How do you live with that?”

  “I try to ignore it.” He led her into the living room. “Did you want something to drink?”

  “Uh, sure.”

  She stood in awe of the house. They passed a staircase that obviously led to the second floor. The white walls and dark red features were striking in contrast with the coffee couches and classic designs of the furniture.

  “You have an amazing home,” she said as she sat down on one of the couches and took the drink Eli had poured her.

  “Thank you. We moved here a few years after Mom left, and Dad met Melissa not long after that. She was actually the realtor that sold us the house.”

  “So they’ve been dating for quite a while then,” she noted, staring at the beautiful art on the walls.

  “Unfortunately,” he replied with a sigh. He watched her drink, giving Hunter the distinct impression he was dying to say something.

  “What?”

  “I just wondered... why the surprise visit? Is everything okay with Joshua?”

  Damn him, she thought and looked away from his gaze that was only caring, but made her feel horrible - as always - about lying. Am I that easy to read, or do I just spend a lot of time with him?

  “Everything’s fine, I just... can’t get enough of you.”

  Eli laughed, bent his head towards her and pressed his lips against hers. She wanted to wrap her arms around him and kiss f
orever, but the fire was growling hungrily and she worried. Their first kiss was spontaneous, under the shelter of Raoul’s restaurant, the rain diminishing the fire. Here, Hunter had nothing to sizzle down with.

  She reached up and caressed his cheek with her hand, gazing into the depths of his beautiful green-brown eyes. Eli gleamed whenever he was around her. She thought of the way everyone at school stared at her after she returned, how they were no longer stares of disgust but of hunger. Something had changed in her appearance, even Joshua noticed it. So was Eli under the same sort of spell, or did he really care for her?

  Of course he did. For one thing, they’d met before everything changed. He still looked at her in exactly the same kind, innocent manner.

  “Do you want to watch something?” he asked. “I’ll get us some snacks if you have a look through that cupboard down there.”

  She nodded and drew her attention to the giant plasma screen and the white-paned cupboard with foggy glass doors underneath. Kicking off her shoes, she knelt in front of it on the bouncy carpet and began searching through the movies as Eli went to the kitchen for food.

  After she picked an old action thriller, the two of them curled up on the velvet three-seater couch and the opening credits rolled across the screen. Eli handed her the bowl of chocolates and pulled a soft throw from the arm of the chair, draping it over their legs.

  As the movie started, Hunter wriggled in closer and let her head fall on Eli’s shoulder.

  Hunter had never had a boyfriend like Eli. She’d always been attracted to the bad-boy stereotype, or guys who just wouldn’t leave her alone. Eli was kind and simple. There were no strings attached. It was a relationship Hunter didn’t see herself running away from anytime soon.

  And yet despite all this, the fire chastised her. It asked her why she was doing this to a guy so perfect. When was she going to tell Eli what she was, what she could do? How would he take the news that she was a freak? Would he be afraid?

  Hunter glanced up into his face and smiled. He smelled of books and fresh cologne. Her head sat perfectly in the crook of his neck, the rise and fall of his chest like a peaceful melody, his arm wrapped underneath her, his lean fingers curled in hers. Fingers that played the violin.

  Hunter told herself to forget her problems. For now, she needed to be with him. Only him.

  twenty- One

  The vibration in her jeans pocket made Hunter jump as gunfire erupted unexpectedly from the television screen. Eli snickered at the fright it had given her and she elbowed him playfully, pulling out her phone.

  “Joshua’s calling,” she explained, regretfully sliding out of his embrace and stepping into the kitchen. She feigned annoyance, but as soon as she was out of earshot, she turned her back on the television and pressed the phone to her ear.

  “Hello?”

  “It’s Joshua.”

  She resisted the urge to snap back sarcastically. “What?”

  “Where are you?”

  “At Eli’s. Why?”

  His tone was completely emotionless, and it scared her that she couldn’t see what look was in his eyes. Lately, Joshua’s behavior had become unpredictable. He was a naturally strange and awkward man, ever the independent scientist, but his personality had become almost bi-polar; he over-reacted or sometimes didn’t react at all. Tonight was one of those nights where he pretended nothing was wrong, but inside his head a war was raging.

  “I want you to come home,” he said coolly. “Now.”

  “Why, so we can train some more? So I can go crazy from boredom and isolation from people I actually care about?” ‘Person’ was more the appropriate word, but she didn’t tell him that. “Joshua, I’m far more capable than you think I am at being around people now, and I don’t know what it will take for me to prove that to you, but I’m right here with Eli and he’s not on fire, so I think I’ll hang around for a while, okay?”

  She paused, playing with a fork on the cookies-and-cream flecked marble kitchen top, waiting for an outburst. But then the tone beeped, signaling the end of Joshua’s line.

  Frustrated, Hunter slouched back into the living room where Eli sat waiting for her. The fire flickered angrily at Joshua’s unreasonable argument, but it didn’t want to get out just yet.

  “Did he want you home?” Eli asked, lifting his arm and curling it around her as she snuggled into him again.

  “Just wondering. Don’t,” she said, resting a hand over his as he made to increase the volume. “I’m not really thinking about Harrison Ford anymore.”

  Eli’s eyebrows shot up. “Are you sure the two of you are alright?”

  “We’re... going through some stuff. I don’t know if it’s because I’ve been seeing a lot of you or because he’s lonely, but Joshua’s become way more protective over me than he usually is. And he’s usually pretty protective.”

  “It’s probably a parental issue.”

  “No, I think it’s just a Joshua issue,” she sighed and fiddled with a tassel on the throw wrapped around her thighs. “He’s always been like that.”

  She waited for Eli to ask more questions about the mystery that is Joshua, but instead a grin broke out on his face. “Are you hungry?”

  She nodded, grateful for the subject change. Eli snatched her hand and dragged her back into the kitchen where he threw open the fridge dramatically and Hunter jumped up onto the bench, laughing.

  “You know,” said Eli, glancing over his shoulder slyly. “I’ve always wanted to be a secret agent.”

  Hunter raised an eyebrow. “Is that what you fantasize about at night, Mr. Bond?”

  Eli pulled a plate of leftover casserole out of the fridge and stuck it in the microwave. “Oh it’s not a fantasy.” He spun like a cowboy with his hands pointed straight at her. “Pow! Pow!”

  Hunter burst out laughing. Eli crossed the space between them and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her off the bench and swinging her around in circles. She screamed playfully and slapped him until he let her gently to the floor and brought her into a kiss not unlike the one they shared under the shelter of Raoul’s restaurant weeks ago. One thing Hunter had learned about spending more and more time with Eli was that she could be herself – aside from the minute detail of having ‘special abilities’ – in a way that meant she wasn’t herself. Eli gently curled a hand around the back of her neck and drew her closer to him, surprising her with a kiss that sent her head spinning. She ran her hand up his back, feeling the soft texture of his T-shirt and the fit contours of his hip and shoulder blades. The fire responded hungrily inside her, begging her to get closer and release the passion from the core of her body where it hid away. She was losing herself in the moment again, as she so often did when she was around Eli. The only thing that would ever break them out of the embrace would be if-

  “Ahem.”

  Someone standing in the kitchen entryway cleared their throat and Eli and Hunter tore apart as if an invisible force had exploded between them.

  “Dad,” said Eli awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck and staring at the floor. “I er, I didn’t think you’d be home until later tonight.”

  Mr. Akerman tapped his shiny black shoes against the marble floor and glared at the two of them, his dark brown eyes fierce. Hunter had never known such a stern man before in her life and she glanced at Eli, who had sweat gathering on his brow. How completely different they were to each other, Hunter couldn’t explain in words.

  “The meeting with the board of directors went surprisingly well, so I finished earlier than expected,” he said arrogantly, the slightest glimmer of glee in his eyes. “I would have liked the privacy of my own home, however...”

  Eli hung his head, and Hunter looked from Eli back to Mr. Akerman incredulously. Usually, when meeting the parent for the first time, it would be rude to mouth off like Hunter so desperately longed to. So she held her tongue and tried at false courteousness.

  “Mr. Akerman,” she said, holding out her hand confidently for him to shake. �
��We met at the university benefit for Colombia, I’m Hunter Harrison.”

  He looked down at her hand but did not shake it. “Yes, you’re the daughter of that absurdly awkward man - Jonathon, was it?”

  “Joshua,” she corrected icily.

  “Yes. I remember you.” His eyes ran up her body like a paintbrush on a canvas. “I suppose I should thank you for taking my son from a very important function on a wild goose chase around a dangerous city without my permission. I must say Miss Harrison, I very much appreciate it.”

  Hunter’s mouth fell open and she let her hand drop to her side. Shooting a desperate look at Eli for some sort of support, she crossed her arms uncomfortably and swallowed. Does Eli really belong to this family of rude, inconsiderate snobs? Mr. Akerman began rummaging in the fridge as he loosened his tie and neither of them moved. Surely he has a stick up his ass or he wouldn’t be such a downright prick.

  “Dad you could be a little nicer, Hunter and I are seeing each other now,” Eli said, still not looking at his father. Hunter was so furious that she even missed Eli’s public announcement of their relationship status. What had Mr. Akerman done in his life to make Eli so afraid of him?

  “Oh you’re seeing each other?” he nodded, his hawk-eyes wide and amused. “Well I apologize for my bluntness. Carry on.”

  “Look,” said Hunter, courage seizing her. She didn’t consider that perhaps it was the fire that forced her to say what she said, nor did she acknowledge the hand Eli gripped around her arm, begging her not to speak. But she couldn’t resist. He was just too horrid, and she was just too tempted. “I’m sorry you had to see that, but I really think you’re being unreasonable. It’s not like I threw Eli in a taxi and forced him to have a better time than what he was having at that god-awful university benefit-”

  “Hunter,” Eli warned through his teeth. She yanked her hand away from him and turned back to Mr. Akerman, whose face had fallen, his jaw set hard. She was about to continue when she felt it; the tingling through her veins. The fire was sneaking up on her, and she knew that if she said one more spiteful word at Eli’s father, her hands would burst into flames.