Poison

by Dejana Vuletic

  “What are you doing tomorrow?” he asked curiously.

  I looked at him with longing in my eyes. “I have to work.”

  “How long?” he asked, still unperturbed.

  “Nine to three,” I said dismally. “Then I have homework waiting for me.”

  “I see,” he said, rubbing his hands together. “Would you want me to help you with that homework?”

  I laughed. “No, it’s okay. Unless you . . . want to . . . that is . . .” I trailed off awkwardly, looking at him through my lashes. His eyes emitted their beautiful shine through the night, lighting the radius around us with a lovely blue glow.

  “I’ll help you, then,” he affirmed. “When will you be home?”

  “That depends,” I said, furrowing my eyebrows. “I mean, I won’t have the car tomorrow because both my parents are working. Ricky’s taking me up, but he won’t get back until late. So I’ll either need to find a ride or I’ll walk.”

  His eyes lit up. “I’ll come get you.” He didn’t need a flashlight to see the hope glowing in my eyes at his proposal. “We can go to my . . . um . . . place and work on our homework together there. Then I’ll drive you home. How’s that?”

  I smiled. “That would be lovely,” I replied, moving my hand toward him. He clasped my fingers in his for a moment and brought my hand to his mouth. His handsome lips curved around my knuckles and kissed them tenderly, leaving a blissful wound in their place.

  “Then I’ll see you tomorrow,” he said as he turned away. I watched him as he went, the blue glow in his eyes slowly fading away as he moved further away from me. He turned around when he reached the intersection and waved at me. The moment he looked at me, the glow in his eyes returned.

  Like he had said . . . they only glowed when he was around “others like him” . . .

  He turned away and the shine was extinguished. I watched until his shadowy figure was swallowed by the darkness, and then turned to walk in the opposite direction, toward the desolate, empty house that waited for me. But then I remembered my Ricky, and the darkness didn’t seem so lonely anymore.

  I walked through the door of my house, expecting a light to be on—some sign that Ricky was here waiting—but I was greeted instead by the loneliness.

  Perhaps he had just fallen asleep.

  I trudged into the kitchen with dragging feet, my eyes momentarily blinded when the light flipped on. I struck a ninja pose and pulled out my calculator, the only remotely harmful thing on my person.

  After a moment, my eyes adjusted and I saw Ricky standing there with his hand on the light switch on the opposite wall, his kind brown eyes looking out through a mess of light brown hair. He stood with his one arm leaning against the wall, his body angling out perfectly.

  “Hey, Ricky,” I said happily, skipping over to his arms. He took me in his arms and held me against his massive chest, burying me in a well of warmth and love. I only pushed away because I needed to breathe.

  “Hey, Dess,” he said just as enthusiastically as he pushed me gently away to arm’s length. “I saw you at the game tonight. You did an awesome job out there, you know,” he replied, standing up straight. “That’s the finest band Hopewell’s had in a while.” I smiled at his praise and squeezed his hands in mine.

  “Thanks,” I answered as my cheeks burned. “I saw you, too. You were sitting with Pa.”

  He laughed. “You should’ve heard her, Dess,” he said. “Hilarious, I tell ya! Her boyfriend doesn’t really like me, though.”

  I smiled. I knew how Ricky felt about Pa. But unlike most guys, he kept his head about things like this. He still does it seems, but in a much different way.

  “Who was that new guy?” Ricky asked suddenly, moving away from the wall to sit in one of the dining chairs. I sat across from him almost immediately, my actions a reflex dependent on his.

  I sighed. I didn’t want to think about Chris right now. His blue eyes already filled most of my mind and drowned out all hopes of concentration on anything else. Why, Ricky?

  “He’s . . . uh . . . yeah, the new Drum Major,” I said awkwardly, if it was at all possible for any conversation with my older brother to be awkward.

  “Aha!” Ricky shouted triumphantly, but then his face fell. “I don’t get it.”

  “Don’t get what?” I asked stupidly, trying to hide a smile.

  “How is he that good?”

  “Oh,” I said with a chuckle. “He was Drum Major back at his old school in Phoenix. But I know what you mean; he has a lot of skill.”

  Ricky’s eyebrows furrowed in thought. “Eh, I wouldn’t worry too much about it, sis. If he's got anything he wants to tell you, he’ll tell you soon enough.”

  I pondered that for a moment, standing up to walk over to the refrigerator. I opened the door mechanically and allowed my eyes to peruse for something to eat, but I closed it a few seconds later.

  “Yeah, I guess you’re right,” I said mechanically.

  “You okay, Dess?” he asked cautiously. “You don’t seem like yourself.”

  I waved him off as I fell back down into my chair again. “I’m just tired,” I said, my words slurring from the drowsiness.

  “Yeah, I’d say so,” he remarked with a chuckle, putting his arms around my shoulders. I smiled as the warmth of his hold soaked into my skin. My eyelids started to close, bringing a warm blanket of security over my eyes.

  “I wanted to talk with you, Ricky . . .” I said sleepily.

  “Tomorrow,” he promised with a chuckle as I heard us moving up the stairs. The door to my room opened and the light burned red under my closed lids until he had me safely in bed. My eyes opened as the red light faded to black.

  Ricky was standing by my door, his amazing smile still upon his face. It looked like it did when he was younger—when the two of us were still in diapers in the play pen: true, genuine, and everlasting.

  “Ricky,” I said with a smile, reaching out my hand for him from under the quilt. He walked slowly over to sit by my side on the edge of the bed, his hands resting on mine.

  “I’ll be here in the morning, Dess,” he promised, and a feeling of warmth flooded through me.

  “But I have to work,” I objected.

  “I’ll drive you in my car on my way to class,” he said. “We’ll have the car ride to talk. I promise, Dess. I’ll find time to be with you. You’re my little sis, and I’m not about to ignore you.”

  He bent down and touched his lips to my forehead gently.

  “See you in the morning, then?” he asked, raising his eyebrows.

  “Yeah,” I murmured. He was about to get up, but I held on to his hand, afraid to feel the cold that would come in his absence. “Don’t go yet,” I protested as my eyes started to close again. I fought to keep them open and sighed when I felt him sit down again beside me.

  “I’ll stay right here,” he said softly; he clasped my tiny hands in just one of his, the other overlapping them. I sighed in contentment and closed my eyes, letting my mind drift away to a place of rest. I slept the entire night dreamlessly, with Ricky’s hands around mine.

  I opened my eyes to a beautiful day; the rays of sunlight painted strips on my oaken floor and a soft breeze blew in from my open window. I smiled as I remembered my dream from the night before. Chris and I had been talking by the shore of a lake, and he asked me to swim in the water with him. When I entered the beautiful lake and swam toward him, he laughed, making fun of me. He had said I was “as graceful as a water buffalo” when I swam. It was a nice, peaceful, funny dream, and I actually wished I could fall back asleep and dream it all over again.

  I took a deep breath and realized it was getting hard to breathe; when I looked on my bed, I understood why.

  Ricky was lying on top of me, his hands still clutching mine, his little smile still upon his lips.

  I felt slightly guilty for making him stay, but I felt loved even more so. He’d told the truth. Not like the parents who say they’ll stay, but then decide to leave
when you’re asleep. Ricky had kept his promise and stayed with me, even if he lost sleep over it.

  “Ricky,” I said softly, gently shaking his shoulder. He moved to the side enough for me to squirm out from under him, but didn’t wake.

  I got up and started looking for my work clothes. I had a part-time job with a pizza place called Antonio’s Pizzeria down in the Beaver Valley Mall, so I got to cook pizza all day. I loved my job, but sometimes when business was slow it just got annoying.

  I located my shirt, which I had found buried under my pile of homework. The red polo shirt sported Antonio’s—my boss’s—logo on the right breast pocket and matched perfectly with the pair of khaki pants I was forced to wear.

  Ricky was still asleep, so I slid into the bathroom, completely undetected by “Sleeping Beauty.”

  I turned on the hot water, waiting for the steam to permeate the room and warm me to the core. The water felt nice as it massaged my muscles, but my mind was busy with other thoughts.

  How could I tell Ricky about Chris? How could I bring him up into the conversation so it wouldn’t seem too obvious?

  I needed to find out Chris’ secrets. He wasn’t telling me something, and I needed to figure out what that was. There was definitely something more going on. Maybe this was just me, but ordinary people’s eyes didn’t glow . . .

  And that questioned my own sanity in itself.

  If my eyes were glowing, then what did that say about me?

  I turned off the hot water after all the soap had been washed off me and just stood there motionless for a few moments, letting the quiet embrace me. The chill of the room was beginning to creep onto my skin, raising goose bumps on my legs and arms. I just took in everything around me through closed lids.

  The beautiful sunlight reflecting throughout the little washroom, the blue of the sky shining like a sapphire, the soft breeze of morning creeping in through the vent . . .

  It was a perfect morning. And I didn’t want to waste it in a pizzeria. Not to mention the fact that it was a Saturday . . .

  I groaned as I dried myself off and put on my work clothes, taking care to douse them in at least a half-gallon of vanilla body spray. It was better than smelling like an old mattress, anyway.

  I walked back into my room and Ricky was just sitting up, his eyes only half opened as he looked at me.

  “Whoops,” he said with a chuckle. “Guess I fell asleep in the wrong room,” he joked. “What time do you need to be on the road?”

  I looked at the clock. “We actually have about a half hour left until we have to leave,” I told him, walking over to him. He opened his arms and I hugged him. “Sorry if I’m bony.”

  He laughed. “You make quite a comfortable pillow, Dess,” he contradicted.

  I smiled and hugged him again. “So what else are you going to do today?” I asked.

  He shrugged. “I only have one class today, so once that’s done I’m probably going to go out with some buddies. How about you? Do you have a ride home?”

  I nodded.

  “Oh?” Ricky countered in surprise. I felt the blood returning to my cheeks at his next question. “Who?”

  I swallowed slowly and turned away from him, jamming my hands into my pockets. He chuckled, walking around to stand in front of me, but I turned my back on him again. I stood there for a few moments, staring through a rose-red face at the floor, until I felt Ricky’s strong hands on my shoulders.

  “Are you . . . afraid to tell me?” he asked, and I could hear the hurting in his voice as it broke mid-sentence. I turned around to look at him, but my eyes couldn’t meet his. The kind color of the earth reflected through them and made them unutterably gorgeous.

  “I’m not afraid,” I corrected him gently, putting my hand on his chest. “I’m just . . . ashamed, I suppose. I don’t know.”

  He chuckled again. “You can tell me anything,” he replied softly. “You know that.”

  I smiled. “Yeah, I know.” I paused, biting my lip. “Chris. He volunteered to drive me home. I told him I had a ton of homework and he asked if he could help me. So I’m going over to his place after work. That’s why I don’t need you to trouble yourself.” I looked down, but his fingers caught my chin and brought it up again.

  “See?” he asked. “That wasn’t so bad, was it? I’m not mad at you. I’m sure this Chris kid’s a nice guy, so just be careful and keep your head, okay?”

  I nodded, grabbing my bag. “You ready, then?” I asked. “I don’t want you to be late . . .”

  “Relax, Dess,” he said with a scoff. “I’ll be fine.” He grabbed the keys and walked down the stairs. I followed him out and he locked the door behind us, locking that conversation into that house. No one but the two of us would ever know about it. Except Pa . . . Ricky was bound to tell her. But I couldn’t blame him for that; he loved her . . . or at least he seemed to.

  I opened the Pontiac’s passenger door and slid inside, adeptly tossing my things into the back seat while simultaneously buckling my seatbelt. Yeah, I know. I’m a ninja.

  Ricky climbed in and turned the key in the ignition, starting up his favorite band CD, Nickel Creek. I leaned back and stared at the car’s carpeted ceiling, listening to the music as the car coasted out of the driveway.

  “So, Ricky,” I said as he took a right turn, “What about Pa?” I asked. “Is she doing anything today? Maybe you could spend some time with her.” He glanced at me questioningly, surprised by the suspicious tone in my voice.

  “I don’t know,” he answered awkwardly.

  “Well, you should,” I said matter-of-factly. “She enjoys spending time with you, you know.”

  He shrugged. “She has her fiancé,” he said in a rush. “She doesn’t need me around to make her happy.”

  “Sure she does,” I said optimistically. “That Skylar guy doesn’t even seem to care. He just sits there and doesn’t even pay attention to her.”

  “Well, Dessa,” Ricky said slowly, “I can’t intervene in stuff like this. You know that. Pa’s life is her life. I’m not going to bust in like I own her.”

  “But you do, Ricky,” I protested, but he didn’t hear me.

  The rest of the twenty-odd minute drive was spent in silence. I stared at the dashboard with angry eyes, my insides fighting against themselves to punch Ricky in the mouth for what he had said.

  He continued to drive like he hadn’t said anything, his eyes trained on the road. After we got to the pizzeria, I hopped out of the car and ran over to his window. He rolled it down with a half-hearted chuckle.

  “See ya tonight, kiddo,” he whispered, leaning his head out the window. I pressed my lips to his forehead and he leaned back into the car.

  “Bye, Ricky,” I said as he started rolling up the window. “I love you.” He smiled again and revved the car’s engine, letting it jerk forward with amazing speed out into the street. I stood out in the parking lot for a moment, watching as the Pontiac coasted away.

  With a sigh of defeat, I walked into the Pizzeria, dragging my feet as I went. Antonio, my boss, was already inside turning on the neon lights that decorated the display cases. He saw me and smiled, holding the door as I somehow managed to get in without dropping everything I was holding.

  “Morning, Dessa,” he said cordially, and I couldn’t help but smile. Antonio had his moments, but he was a great guy in that respect. He knew how to make working fun. “Rough day, yesterday?” he guessed as he passed me by.

  “Yeah,” I muttered as I walked toward the bathroom. He pressed no further, so I darted in and washed my hands quickly before proceeding to the kitchen. He met me there with a smile again. “Who else is working today?” I asked curiously.

  “John and Maria should be here soon, I think. Teresa called off because she was sick. So just the four of us today,” he finished, still unbelievably optimistic.

  “Cool,” I murmured. He smiled again and walked away, leaving me there at the register. John and Teresa usually crafted the pizzas with Ant
onio, so Maria and I were the waitresses-slash-cashiers.

  Work went by slowly until around lunch-time, when the majority of our customers decided to come buy pizzas. During the rush, I saw Pa come up to my register.

  “Dessa!” she said happily, reaching over the counter to hug me. “I didn’t know you would be here!”

  “Bull,” I muttered with a stubborn smile. “Ricky told you. Didn’t he?”

  She smiled sheepishly. “Don’t hate me,” she murmured in her baby voice. Her vibrant emerald eyes gazed through a waterfall of gorgeous black hair, locks of onyx caught in the light of the sun.

  I laughed. “That’s physically and emotionally impossible for me, sweetheart,” I said, hugging her again.

  “Awe,” she murmured in affection. “Do you mind if I stay awhile?” she added with a quick look around. “I want to talk to you . . . but not until after the rush.” She smiled grimly and I groaned.

  “Yes, please,” I begged. “I’ll be so glad for your company; it’s not even funny.”

  Despite my comment, she started to laugh, letting her hair fall into her jade eyes. I could see why Ricky loved her . . . She was beautiful. She was perfect.

  A free spirit, at liberty and at peace with the world around her . . . A spirit wild as the roughest winds, yet calm as the most relaxing breeze . . .

  Pa sat at one of the tables in the corner, waiting for the crowd to gradually fade away. After about a half hour, Pa and I were alone out in the dining area, while Maria, John, and Antonio were all spending their lunch break in the kitchen.

  I walked over to where she sat patiently, her hands folded in her lap. She looked up with a smile as she saw me approach.

  “Busy today, aren’t we, D?” she asked with a giggle.

  I laughed. “Yeah, but not until you got here,” I added with furrowed eyebrows. She laughed and patted the seat beside her. I sat down with a thump of exhaustion, causing the chair to slide a few inches closer to her.

  “I meant to tell you,” she said conversationally, “that you did excellent yesterday. Did you see me?” she asked suddenly, hopefully.