"The Russian girl who stole her cousin’s boyfriend at the party." I heard them say. I knew what they meant. Everything about me that day must have been broadcast faster than birds chirping gossips from tree to tree.
I watched the students leaving the campus until the lot was nearly empty. Yet there was no Allecra. The mackerel sky began to darken. The evening air grew rough and chilly, and I wondered why I was still waiting.
She promised.
That was all it took to keep me there and nurse my hope. She would come eventually. The wind ruffled the blades of green grass on the hill, swirling dead leaves about my feet. The trees swayed, making a dry rustling sound. I hugged myself and hunched my shoulders as my hair was swept by a gust of wind.
Then I heard the crispy noises of dry leaves under someone's footfalls. A smile tugged on my lips. I turned around excitedly. To my utter shock, it wasn't the person I had been expecting.
"Hello, Russian girl."
My breath hitched in my throat. Terrors shot thought me. It was the same bulky man from the party. His nose had an ugly gauze on it. But his bruised face spotted a wicked look. It was enough to set my adrenaline in motion, except this time it wasn't to fight but to take flight.
I turned on my heels sharply and dashed out of there. My feet sprinted through the too quiet lot. I felt my heart thumping inside my chest. It was like a fire alarm to warn me to go faster, but I wasn't fast enough. A strong hand grabbed my shoulder and turned me around. The guy pushed me against the side of a nearby car.
"You think you can get away from me? Do you see this thing you put on my face?!" The man sneered, pointing to his broken nose. One of his hands clasped over my mouth. I clutched his big wrist, trying to pry his iron grip off, but he was way stronger than me. I stared into his furious eyes. They were the color of a gray storm. My mind tried to think of ways to escape from this beast of a man, but nothing came. I couldn't scream or bite him with his hand on my face like that.
I was doomed.
But then she was there.
I didn't even see her coming. She was simply there. Allecra grabbed the man by the back of his neck and tore him away from me before smashing his face onto the hood of the car. Then she did it again harder. The loud crushing made me jump and step away in shock and confusion. Allecra's eyes blazed like blue-green fire.
I stood there watching her pinning the guy's head against the car. A small dent on the metal hood was evident under the pressure. With all the screaming I heard, I was afraid the guy's head might burst like a watermelon.
Gosh, she was strong!
"What the hell!" The bulky man seemed powerless against her hold. His protest was futile. He swung his arms helplessly like a blind crab. I started to fear for his life.
"Which of his hands touched you, Nina?" Allecra said to me through her clenched jaw. Her face bore the most murderous expression I had never seen. She was terrifying this way, but strangely, I felt protected.
"Allecra—" I stuttered in alarm, sensing the violence raging through her system.
"Which hand?!" she growled again, making me gasped sharply. Yet I couldn't speak. Allecra spun the man around and reached for his right hand. A piercing, almost girly scream, echoed through the darkened sky. Allecra was gripping his hand in an odd angle. He cried and dropped to his knees in front of her. All he could do was pleading for her mercy. His head had a red swelling bump the size of tennis ball. His already broken nose now oozed fresh blood.
"Allecra, please! He didn't harm me. Just let him go!" I cried.
"I need him to apologize!" Allecra hissed and tightened her grip even more. It caused the crying guy to yelp and nodded in acceptance.
"I'm ssss—so sorry. I didn't know...Aaaaahhhh! Oh god...my hand!"
I went over to tug at Allecra's arm and gently pulled her away from him. I was amazed at the strength that existed in the blonde's elegant figure. It was like pulling on a marble statue that wouldn't budge.
But after a moment, her tensed posture began to loosen up at last. Then without another word, Allecra released him. I watched the poor dude put his injured hand to his chest. He rolled over and sobbed on the ground.
Allecra turned to me and hastily pulled me along by the elbow. She walked me away from the scene without looking back.
"What did you do to him?" I asked, peering over my shoulder to the bulky guy.
"Don't worry, he still has the use of his limb," she muttered back, almost sounding disappointed. In front of us parked her black car. The door was lifted open for me, and Allecra herded me into the Lambo. Her blazing turquoise eyes had softened a little, but her smooth face was stone-like. She still bore that dangerous look when she got into the car. The tires squealed and swerved out of the campus. As the car raced forward, all my shock and choking fear soon vanished. Now they were replaced by deep concerns for the girl next to me. Allecra whizzed around other vehicles, going too fast on the highway street.
"Allecra..." I said. My lips went dry.
My voice came out in a plea, but she didn't respond. Her white knuckles held firm on the steering wheel. I decided to reach out and stroke her arm. The gesture seemed to relax her a little. Allecra let out a long heavy sigh.
"Was he the one at the party that you told me about?" she asked. Her tone was calculating as if she was planning something I wouldn't want to know.
"Y-yes—but—" I stammered.
"Tomorrow, he's dead," she declared.
"No!" I cried. "Allecra, don't do anything stupid!"
"You may have to excuse me for that. I don't have that much self-control," she said, turning briefly to look at me. "I was made to protect my—"
She didn't finish her sentence and looked straight ahead.
"Please," I said again, "just leave it. I beg you."
Allecra took a deep breath to ease her temper. Her face turned to me again, noticing my concerned look. She exhaled.
"Fine," she said at last. I was finally able to sigh in relief.
"I hope I don't get to see that again," I murmured to myself.
"I'm sorry to have you witnessed it," she said. "Did I scare you?"
I shook my head to reassure her.
"Not really," I lied in hope that it might cheer her up a bit. "I was just glad to see you there."
She looked at me and a tiny smile curved up at the corners of her lips. We then came to the traffic light and slowed down. I noticed Allecra was wearing a black blazer over a white blouse. Both sleeves rolled up stylishly, exposing her beautiful tattoos.
"I'm sorry I made you wait," Allecra spoke in a soft quiet voice. "I didn't think you would stay."
"Of course, I would stay," I said. "You promised me."
Allecra didn't say anything. The light turned green and the car rolled forward again.
"Are you hungry?" she asked instead as if to avoid talking about it. I had to think for a moment to answer her new question.
"I don't know," I said honestly.
"You don't know?" Allecra said in a mocking surprise.
"I just don't feel like eating, okay?"
"But I do," she said. "I'm so hungry, I could eat you."
I glared at her. But it only caused the tiny smile on her lips to grow wider.
~*~
Allecra took me to a fancy French restaurant on a quiet block. A young valet was almost too eager to take the Lambo after Allecra and I stepped out. We walked through the carved marble entrance together. She gave her name at the door and they ushered us to a secluded private room. On the walls of the small quiet place was hung only a painting of the unspoiled countryside landscape. That was a relief.
We took a seat at a silk-clothed table. The waiter couldn't stop gawking at us as he took our orders. Allecra asked for hors d'oeuvres, shrimps, some French soup and beef steak, and a bottle of red wine. Then the waiter left, not bothering about asking for our age. I figured they must know Allecra.
"You come here often?" I asked her just to break the heavy silence.
<
br /> "Sometimes," she said. I was secretly relieved that she seemed to be back to her normal mood again.
"It's an expensive place," I noted.
"I assumed you might like it better," Allecra said. I blushed at the memory of the Japanese restaurant and the heated moment we shared together.
"You don't have to do that." I averted my eyes away to hide my embarrassment. "I'm just a simple girl."
"Not to me," she said in a matter of fact way. I looked back at her. How Allecra could drop words like that and expect my heart not to flutter.
"Do you always treat girls to a snooty place like this?"
"Whyever not?" she said. The thought of her bringing anyone else other than me made my chest tightened a little. What made me think I was any more special? I just nodded and didn't say anything.
The drinks arrived first. The waiter poured the wine into two glasses and then left again. I watched Allecra taking a swig of her wine. Her luscious lips pressed against the crystal glass. Those beautiful pools of stirring galaxies flashed like gems in the dark.
"They serve great wine here," she said. "Why don't you try it?"
"You drive, Allecra," I reminded her but she just giggled back.
"I almost killed a man with my bare hands," she said. "And you think a few drinks would do so much as to blur my supervision?"
"Oh."
"I guess you have been waiting for this moment to ask me," she said, putting her glass down and resting her elbows on the table. Her eyes fell on me again.
"Yes, I do have so many questions," I admitted.
"If you think you're ready to ask, then ask."
"Well, where were you this evening?" I started with a light one. "I didn't mean to blame anything on you. I was just curious."
"I was debating with myself whether to come or not," Allecra answered much to my surprise.
"But why?" I asked. "You promised me..."
"I know," she cut me off and turned to swirl the wine in her glass without looking at me. "I was just—scared."
"What?"
"Please ask me something else," Allecra said. My face fell a bit. Why would she avoid answering me this?
"Okay...so tell me about yourself. Do you have any parent?"
"No," she said. There was no emotion or hidden sadness in her tone unlike those who lost their parents would. Certainly, not the way I would tell people about my mother.
"And what's your real name?" I asked.
"Allecra," she answered quickly.
"Knight is your real name, too?"
"No," she admitted. "Triton picked it for us when he was reading a book about King Arthur, and we just went with it."
"Oh." I nodded in amusement. "So how old are you now?"
"Eighteen," she said then her eyebrows furrowed, as if she was suddenly curious about the age, too. "You?"
"Seventeen," I told her. “Eighteen in May."
"Three more months," she mused to herself.
"Does age matter to you?" I asked.
"Sometimes."
Allecra downed her wine in one gulp and refilled the glass again. Just the sound of her swallowing was loud enough in an all too quiet room, but it felt oddly intimate. It was insane how everything she did fascinated me. It almost became a dangerous addiction to my emotional health.
The food arrived at a leisure pace. I could smell the delicious aroma from across the room. We started to eat in a serene atmosphere.
"My turn." Allecra leaned over the table again.
"I'm not done with my questions yet," I told her.
"Remember the first time I kissed you?" she asked anyway. My heart skipped at the mention of our first kiss.
"I did," I said with a blush. "You said something crazy. You told me I wasn't ready."
"And you're still not," she whispered.
"How?" I said as our gaze entwined. A small part of me wished there would be another episode of our intimacy in this room. But Allecra leaned back into her seat again. She picked a small pea from her plate and stared at it like it was the most interesting thing in the world. I kind of envied the pea for that much attention.
"You haven't completely adapted to me yet," she said. "That's why I still hesitate."
"I'm uncomfortable not only with you, Allecra. I'm always like that. I have never been close to anybody like this before. Maybe, I've been living inside an acorn for too long," I said. The metaphor made Allecra look up at me and then a slow brilliant smile followed. She remembered reading my writing.
"So that's why you were too stiff when I touched you," she said.
"I won't flinch if you do it again," I told her, but it sounded more like a dare. Then I dropped my gaze as I could see her plump pink lips turned up into a smirk again. I didn't know why I said that.
Then her gentle fingers came to wrap around my wrist. Allecra coaxed me from my chair. I got up and gingerly walked over to her. She wrapped her arm around my waist, pulling me to sit on her lap. My heart drummed so loud against my rib cage, and I wondered if she could hear it. By the look on her face, she probably could.
I watched Allecra’s perfect lips pressed together as if to restrain herself. She put a careful hand on the small of my back, and I was instantaneously delirious. I felt her other hand on my bare thigh, going up slightly beneath my plaid skirt. I willed myself to breathe and stay calm.
"I can see the improvement," she noted, but her bright eyes gleamed with a slight wickedness.
"I told you," I said. "You can't make me flinch anymore."
"Oh, don't get your hope up yet." She smiled. "I can still make you flinch —just not from pain."
My ears and cheeks felt too hot all of a sudden.
"Do you really want me?" I asked her in a whisper.
"What if I say 'yes'?" she challenged.
"Then I guess I don't mind."
"You don't mind?” she said. “Even if I'm not normal? Even if I could hurt you?"
My thoughts raced a million miles per second, flying through logical reasons and rational answers, debating and discussing. But at the end, they all disappeared from my mind because I knew that my heart would win.
My heart wanted her.
I lost track of time as I stared back into those hypnotic eyes. The taste could be sweet or it could be sour. The only way to know is to drink it.
"No, I don't mind even if you could hurt me," I decided. "Even if I remember everything.” She knew that I knew what she did with her sister that day.
“The memory has come back to you.” She nodded. "I already figured that out when I saw you this morning."
We kept staring at each other in silence. Allecra reached out to stroke my cheek with those long delicate fingers.
"Why did you do that?" I asked, unable to suppress my hurt that was now crawling its way to the surface. I remembered what she did with her sister, and I wished I could unsee it.
Allecra's eyes seemed to darken in color as she looked at me.
"Which part? The part where I screwed my sister or the part where I forced you to forget?" she asked in a bleak sadistic tone.
In a matter of seconds, Allecra could be so cold and mean. It almost shocked me. My tears already threatened to burn in the back of my head.
"Both," I said in a small trembling voice.
"You already knew the answer, Nina."
I turned away from her gaze. I didn't know why I couldn't bear to look at that beautiful face in that moment. Maybe that was what she kept warning me about, that she could truly hurt me, emotionally or maybe physically too. I honestly didn't know.
"Do you hate me because of what I did?" she asked again.
"I don't even know how to feel about it."
"Fair enough." Allecra nodded. "You're not afraid of the things you know now, are you? That's why you're still here with me."
"No," I said. "I'm not afraid of you, Allecra."
She looked dissatisfied with my quick answer.
"Maybe not yet," she decided for me. I frowned back
, noticing her change in demeanor.
"What are you exactly, Allecra?"
"You already figured that part out."
"I want you to tell me," I insisted. "I know you're not human, and you have that—that thing."
Allecra became rigid under me. There was no way she could deny what I saw that day. Her glowing neon-like tattoos and turquoise eyes were enough proof, not to mention what was hiding inside her pants.
"Right, I'm not human," she said at last. "But there is something else about me."
I nodded and took a deep breath, trying to let the truth set in slowly.
"So based on your confirmation, are you an alien transgender?" I asked.
Allecra's eyes widened at me for a moment and then she threw her head back and laughed. Her whole body shook. I felt so embarrassed. I didn't know what was so funny.
"You're not an alien trans?" I asked again.
"Oh, Nina," Allecra giggled some more. "You are way too imaginative for your own good."
"What? I'm wrong?"
"No no, you are right about the alien part," she said and stopped herself from laughing. "But Nina, where did the trans part come from?"
"You're an alien and—and—you have a boy's thing," I said to clarify my point. "What else could you be?"
"Really?" she said. "An alien transgender?"
"Then tell me!" I insisted.
"Alright," she said with a sniff. "Just so you know, I was born like this. All natural. No transition. And you missed my girl's part."
"You have both!?" I gasped in disbelief. "Oh my goodness, Allecra, then you are a hermaphrodite!"
"The Japanese would call that, 'Futanari'," she told me with an amused smile. I stared at her long and hard, trying not to remind myself that I was still sitting on her lap—close to that thing.
"Okay." I cleared my throat. "Then do you identify yourself as a boy or a girl?"
"I identify myself as me." Allecra frowned. "You can't define me based on my sex."
"Or sexes," I murmured.
"You don't seem that surprised that I have two sex organs?" Allecra said, sounding uncertain, yet I could also hear a slight edge of relief in her voice. I guessed the dreams might have helped to prepare me for what was coming my way after all.
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