The Fire In My Eyes

by Christopher Nelson

  He flicked the phone closed and I scooped up the pair of five dollar bills. “So sorry, Drew, but your drinking money is now my drinking money.”

  Drew groaned. “I'll just get Max to buy me a beer. He owes me now.”

  “Like hell. You'll owe me a drink every night we go out,” Max said, burying his face in his hands. “I hope you two appreciate what I'm going to go through for this. I just walked into a trap.”

  “What do you mean?” I asked.

  “My mom said she has some young ladies she wants to introduce me to.” He groaned. “She picks these girls based on how much of a scheming bitch they are, with added points for being drop dead gorgeous. You guys don't know pain until you go to dinner with a girl who looks like a model, but has ice water instead of blood. No, shut up, Drew. Just shut up.”

  “I wasn't going to say anything.”

  “Like hell. I saw the look on your face.”

  “Look on the bright side,” I said. “Maybe your mom will hook you up with the opposite type this time. Sweet, innocent, intelligent girls, as ugly as the day is long.”

  “Your bright side is damned dark, Kev,” he said. Drew chuckled.

  “Are you sure your parents are going to let the girls stay too?” I asked.

  He shrugged. “Why not? It'll throw them off, surprise them. It'll keep them off balance, which makes me happy, plus having those two around will be fun, which also makes me happy. Win-win situation.” I figured that he just wanted Jess around. From the expression on Drew's face, he was thinking the same thing.

  Before either of us could voice our thoughts, Andreas burst into the room. His face was red and his breathing was ragged. Neither Drew nor Max seemed too surprised at his entrance, so I relaxed.

  Andreas looked as if he had just run from campus to the dorm, his normally neat appearance disheveled, tie askew. His voice was slightly hoarse. “I need to drink. You are going to assist me.”

  “Don't need to tell me twice,” Drew said. “Where? Your room? Downtown? Call it.”

  Max and I didn't move. “Why?” Max asked.

  Andreas took a deep breath and exhaled very slowly. “Kaitlyn.”

  I jumped to my feet. “Yeah, that's a good reason.” Max followed suit.

  “Shot down again?” Drew asked.

  “She did not even give me a chance,” Andreas said. “One moment we were having dinner, and the next, she was gone. Hanging on the arm of someone else. Did not even look at me. Drinking. I need to drink now. My room.”

  Chapter Eight

  The rest of the trimester passed without further incident. My head still felt off-balance, tilted in a direction that only existed in my mind, but I got used to it within a few days. The dorm quieted down during the last weeks of March as people studied for finals.

  I tried to avoid Nikki. Every time she tried to talk to me, I walked away. She was persistent. I was stubborn. Even so, I found my eyes drifting toward her while we were in class, or whenever I saw her on campus. She was still pretty, still interesting, and I still wanted to be around her. I knew I was being irrational, that what I had done was accidental, but every time I looked at her, all I could see was her face in the moments just before she flew through the air. Remorse. Guilt and remorse.

  Finals were over sooner than expected. After the last day of tests, we celebrated with Andreas, watching movies and playing video games all night. Lisa and Jess showed up in the middle of the gaming session and Jess proceeded to thrash all of us in turn. Even with a drink or two in her, her skills were superior. A year ago, things would have been different, but I was out of practice.

  I woke up late and slightly hung over. Max's parents had sent a driver with an enormous SUV to bring us to his place. The driver referred to Max as “Master Maximillian”, which made Jess and Lisa giggle. It took us a half hour to load the SUV and pick our seats. Max took shotgun, Jess and Drew took the two middle seats, leaving Lisa and I in the back. Drew shot me a slightly annoyed look. Lisa looked pleased. Jess seemed amused, or maybe she was just sneering. The girl was hard to read.

  I didn't know exactly where Max lived, just somewhere downstate. We drove south, skirted New York City, then crossed a bridge to Long Island and headed east. When we drove through Hampton Bays without stopping, I began to wonder just how affluent Max's family had to be. We finally left the highway a few miles away from East Hampton. When we pulled up to the Pendleton house, I found myself at a loss for words. Judging from the silence of the rest of my fellow passengers, I was not alone.

  “Home sweet home,” Max said.

  “I'll take care of the luggage, Master Max,” the driver said. Max had spent most of the ride negotiating a compromise with the man on his form of address, and that was the best he had been able to get.

  “Sweet mercy,” Lisa said, her voice trembling. “How much land is this on?”

  “About an acre? We have a landscaper on staff to take care of it.”

  “How many rooms?” Jess asked.

  “Too damn many,” Max said. “I sometimes got lost when I was a kid.”

  “I feel small,” Lisa said. “I feel really small.”

  “You are really small,” Drew said over his shoulder. Lisa bent forward and smacked him in the side of the head. None of us had made a single move to get out of the SUV yet. The house was intimidating.

  Max jumped out first, finally getting us moving. “Are there any other guests? Father's partners? Ari's fiancé? Mother's knitting club?”

  “None at the moment,” the driver said as we all spilled out. “Do you have particular rooms in mind for your guests?”

  “No, I just wanted to know if we needed to double up. If the guest rooms are all free, use your best judgment on who goes where.” Max took a walk around the SUV and shivered. “It's freezing. It's not supposed to be this cold in April. Must be because my mom's here.”

  “Very good, Master Max. May I recommend calling upon your mother before you do anything else?”

  Max grinned and put a cigarette to his lips. “I was planning on it.”

  He led us into the house, throwing the door open and kicking his shoes off near the front door. We all took our shoes off as well, Lisa lining the shoes up with several other pairs that were already there. The furnishings looked expensive. The shoes looked expensive. The house looked like it had barely been lived in, as if it was cleaned obsessively, leaving not a trace of the inhabitants behind when they left a room.

  No one spoke as Max led us through the house. Lisa grabbed Drew's arm as we walked, her head turning this way and that. Drew's normal air of confidence was subdued and I saw him looking down at Lisa from time to time. Jess stalked alongside Max, and when she looked over her shoulder at the rest of us, her face was thin-lipped and drawn. Max smirked, but didn't make any of his normal banter. I trailed behind the group. An ornate floor-length mirror caught my attention and I slowed down to take a closer look.

  A quick throb of pain struck me in the temples and my vision blurred. For a moment, I thought I saw Shade standing behind me, but the image vanished as soon as my vision cleared. It couldn't be. He was back in Troy, and besides, my powers were impaired. I didn't have to worry about having any accidents until I got back to school. This was a vacation, not only from school, but also from the oddities at school. Still, I had recognized him in that split second, and my head had throbbed. It was the same sort of pain as whenever my powers had gone out of control. Thankfully, the throbbing vanished as quickly as it had come.

  I walked away from the mirror, heart suddenly racing, catching up with the group just as they entered one of the living rooms. An enormous television showing a major news channel dominated one of the walls. An older woman was sitting straight-backed in a chair, a phone pressed to her ear. She looked up as we entered the room and her eyes narrowed. “Your brother and his guests have arrived, Ariel. Please come home to meet them as soon as you can. We'll discuss this topic at length later.” She placed the phone down and rose to her feet
. She wasn't dressed formally, but the dress she wore was tailored perfectly. “Maximillian. So good of you to come home and visit, for once.”

  “It's so nice to be home, Mother,” Max replied. His tone was slightly mocking, but outwardly respectful.

  His mother didn't smile or show any affection that I could see. She and her son remained at arm's length on opposite sides of a low coffee table. “These are your friends?”

  “These are my roommates, Andrew Grant and Kevin Parker,” Max said, pointing us out. “And these are friends from our dorm, Lisa Chen and Jessica Kelton.”

  “Friends,” his mother repeated. “I was unaware you had female friends.”

  I held back a laugh. Drew didn't, earning himself glares from everyone in the room, including Mrs. Pendleton. Max shrugged and spread his hands wide. “I thought I'd surprise you, Mother. I know you love surprises.”

  “Ah, yes,” she said. “Our family just adores surprises. Including you, isn't that right, Maximillian? Your sister just revealed a rather large surprise of her own.”

  “Is that right? Did she get knocked up?” Max grinned widely.

  His mother's lips thinned and her eyes narrowed even more. “Quite the opposite. She has broken her engagement with Jonathon.”

  “Doesn't mean she didn't get knocked up. But, she didn't seem too taken with him last time I saw them together. I'm surprised that you're surprised.”

  “I'm surprised that you're not surprised,” his mother replied. “Perhaps you are more observant than we thought. Excellent. A good omen for the future.”

  If I hadn't been looking at Max at that moment, I would have missed the sudden tension in his jaw. “A good omen. Right. Where's Father?” he asked.

  “Germany. He will not be back until late summer, and so I am maintaining the business in his absence. Ariel is assisting me.” She smiled for the first time. “I would appreciate your assistance in certain matters while you are home. As part of our agreement.”

  Max sighed. “As we agreed, yes.”

  “Good, then I shall ask you to-” The phone rang. “Excuse me. We will discuss this topic later, when your sister gets home. Your guests are all welcome here. Please, feel at home here for the duration of your stay. Our staff will be happy to assist you if there is anything you need.” She picked the phone up and turned slightly away from us.

  Max turned and shooed us all out of the room. “That's my mom,” he said when we were safely out of earshot. “Queen of the castle. But yeah, like she said, my home is your home. We have plenty of things to do around here, or plenty of nothing if you just want to relax. The recreation room has a full home theater setup, sound and projector. And yes, Jess, it's got computer connections.”

  “What, you're telling me I can play games on a projector? Why would I want to do that?” she demanded.

  “Because it's a twelve foot screen and a full HD projector?” Max said. “Up to you.”

  “Twelve foot screen.” Jess sounded skeptical. “I'm not sure I believe you. I want to see this. Let's go.” She seized Max's arm and started pulling him away.

  “Hold on. First of all, it's in the other direction.” Jess immediately reversed direction and spun Max around. “Guest rooms are upstairs. Doors will be open, go ahead and settle in, I'll find you guys once I've got this crazy nerd plugged in. Would you relax? It's not going anywhere!” Jess ignored his protests and dragged him off, leaving me with Drew and Lisa. I was tempted to follow, but I was sure I'd see the place soon enough.

  “I guess we should go up and find our rooms, right?” Drew said, scratching the back of his head. Lisa was still clutching his arm. “Man, this place is something. I met his parents when they came to see the school last year, but man, I never knew about this. He plays it off so cool.”

  “I really wish he hadn't left us like that,” Lisa said. “His mom is scary. And they have staff? They have people?”

  “They're just people,” I said.

  “Very rich and powerful people,” Drew added.

  “They could buy me!” Lisa moaned. “Buy me and sell me and everything!”

  We walked upstairs and checked out rooms along the hallway until we found a guest room. The room was about the size of our dorm room, but that much space for one person made it seem far larger. Drew pulled free of Lisa's grip and threw himself on the bed. “Score,” he said. “This is so comfortable. Much softer than the slabs at school. Man, this feels so good.”

  I chuckled. Lisa sat on the edge of the bed. “Oh, wow, this really is soft,” she said.

  “I think I'm going to take a nap,” Drew said.

  “Didn't sleep well last night?” I asked.

  “Are you kidding? I barely slept, and then I had a headache all morning from all that drinking we did last night.” Drew covered his mouth as he yawned. “Totally naptime.”

  Lisa poked Drew in the ribs. “Move over. I'm tired too.”

  Drew grumbled but shuffled over. Lisa curled up next to him, almost, but not quite, touching him. I took a step back and bumped into the doorframe. “Well, this is awkward, so I'll leave you guys alone now,” I said.

  “You do that,” Lisa said, then yawned. Drew said nothing. Maybe he was already asleep. I fled the room. For a brief moment, I wished that Nikki had come with us. Lisa and Drew were pairing off and being around them was going to be awkward. Being a third wheel was not fun. I had experienced enough of that in the past.

  I put that feeling aside and explored the house, avoiding the room where Max's mother had been. There was another large living room with another huge television, and I checked out two dining rooms, one formal and one informal. When I peeked into the kitchen next to the formal dining room, the cook gave me an odd look. Guests didn't usually end up there, it seemed. I got directions on how to get to the recreation room from him and headed there.

  My initial impressions were confirmed as I walked through the house. Nothing looked used or lived in. It was a sterile place, oozing serenity and boredom in equal proportions. I could see another reason why Max was so reluctant to come back here. This was just a house, not a home.

  The recreation room was actually a finished basement. As I walked down the broad stone steps, I could hear voices from below. “I'm impressed. This is a lot more detailed than you made it sound.”

  “You know me, I'm an impressive sort of guy,” Max replied.

  “Sometimes you manage to surprise me,” Jess said. “But only sometimes.”

  I paused on the stairwell. I didn't want to walk into another awkward situation. “Well, I hope that you'll let me surprise you more often. Maybe even impress you from time to time,” Max said.

  Jess laughed. It wasn't her normal sort of laugh, when she was laughing at someone. “Maybe,” she said.

  I walked back upstairs. I didn't want to step into the middle of that either.

  My concerns seemed unfounded at first. We went on day trips to the city several times, either to shop or to see shows or just to play tourist. Max's family footed the bill for almost everything, leaving us only paying for incidentals. We spent evenings watching movies or TV, sometimes playing games, sometimes drinking. There was a bar in the rec room and no one seemed to notice if the bottles mysteriously emptied.

  Max's sister, Ariel, was almost his complete opposite. Where Max was sarcastic and laid back, she was as serious as a heart attack. Her smile was rare and she often looked sad, especially when Drew and Lisa were flirting. Heartbroken, maybe. Max seemed to notice after a couple of days. Instead of needling her and giving her shit, he just left her alone.

  The situation between Lisa and Drew became complex. The flirting became more and more outrageous, until they stopped speaking to each other one day, then started over from scratch the next. Occasionally, Lisa would corner me and drag me around with her. I caught Drew flirting with Max's sister from time to time as well, drawing a smile and a couple of laughs from her. I wondered who was winning their little game.

  All of my speculation be
came moot one night halfway through the month when I left my room late one night to use the bathroom, just in time to see someone scurrying down the hall into Drew's room. The list of suspects was rather short, as was the suspect herself. I went back to bed with a grin.

  Three weeks into the vacation, the weather had started to get warmer, letting us spend time outside without worrying about hypothermia. “Man, I'll be glad when all this is over,” Max said, looking down at his watch. He was wearing a business suit, reminding me of Andreas, but with a little less assurance. “I've got another event to go to tonight, another mystery bitch to hang on my arm. Hopefully she'll be better than the last one.”

  “You didn't seem to mind the last one too much,” Jess said. “She was damn hot, and that's coming from a girl, you know.”

  “Which makes it twice as hot,” Drew said, then yelped as Lisa kicked him under the table.

  “Well, she was pretty,” Max admitted.

  I sat silently and sipped my water. The byplay between all my friends was starting to grate on me. Lisa and Drew made me uncomfortable with their lavish displays of affection, and the tension between Jess and Max was growing daily. Every day I found myself wishing for a friendly face. Ariel didn't care to talk with me much, I didn't want to get between Max and Jess, and the estate staff was usually too busy to chat. I had taken to spending some quality time in the Pendleton family library just to stay out of the way.

  “What was so wrong with her?” Drew asked. “She had a killer body, from what I could see from the window.”

  “You know what she talked about all night?” Max asked. “She talked about politics. All about politics. When she started getting onto the topic of gay marriage, I had to fake being sick. I got back here and that's when we mysteriously ran out of scotch. My dad's going to shit a brick when he gets back. One of those bottles was his special stash.”

  Drew guffawed. He was laughing a lot more than usual. Of course he'd be happy these days. I would be too in his situation. Lisa grabbed his ear and pulled him over, whispering something in his ear. Jess crossed her arms and glared at the both of them. Was she getting jealous of her roommate? Was there something deeper going on there? I finished my water and kept my thoughts to myself. I didn't want to get myself into the middle of any drama.