True Light

by G. Bailey

  “What the effing fuck are you doing in my room, Maxx?” I demand, trying to calm down my beating heart. Maxx lazily looks up at me, lifting the sketchpad to show me an old drawing of him I did.

  “This is awesome, you make me look good, Freckles,” he says, not apologizing for being in my room and going through my things as he lies on my bed. I cross my arms and glare at him, waiting for a better response than that.

  “I came over to say sorry for earlier,” he eventually says, sitting up on my bed and pointing at my window seat. “I even went to the shops and got you those cupcakes you like to throw at me.”

  “Are you suggesting I throw one at you now to make myself feel better?” I ask, and he laughs as he runs a hand through his soft looking hair.

  “I thought you could eat them instead…” he suggests, and I sigh, walking in my room and pulling my blazer off, hanging it on the back of the door. Maxx isn’t a danger to me, even if he is weird. Part of me just knows that.

  “How did you get in here?” I ask, walking to my window seat and picking up a cupcake. I push the box to the side and sit on the seat.

  “The disappearing thing is useful for getting in places you don’t want to be seen,” he says, leaning back on my bed and watching me dip a finger into the icing, licking it off my finger. He clears his throat and closes my sketchpad, not looking my way.

  “Why were you looking at my drawings?” I ask him.

  “They were just there, and I got bored waiting for you to come home,” he admits. “Don’t worry, I didn’t look through any of your other stuff. Though I did notice the pink teddy bear I’m sitting next to,” he says, holding up my teddy before throwing it at me as I try not to be embarrassed that he now knows I sleep with my childhood teddy still. Way to be cool, Aura. I catch it and put it on the floor, hiding it from his sight.

  “And you claim I am the stalker?” I muse, and he sniggers.

  “Says the girl that has dozens of drawings of me in her room?” he asks, and my cheeks light up.

  “If this is your way of saying sorry for being a dickhead earlier, you suck at apologies,” I say, putting the cupcake wrapper down on top of the box after I finish eating it.

  “The cupcakes are to say sorry,” he says, shrugging. “You’re right, I’m not good at words and shit.”

  “Can I have my sketchbook back?” I ask, and he nods, handing it to me as he stands up. Maxx stretches as I put the sketchbook down, and my eyes get drawn to his stomach that I catch a glimpse of.

  “I can take my shirt off if you like,” Maxx suggests, and I glare at him.

  “No thanks,” I sarcastically reply.

  “Where did you learn to draw like that?” Maxx asks me as he leans against my wardrobe, and I wonder why he hasn’t left yet.

  “Practice. My dad said I got it from my grandmother as she used to draw like me,” I tell him.

  “Well, you shocked me. They look like a professional drew them,” he admits. “You can swim, do science, draw and you’re stunning. Is there anything you’re not good at?”

  “I-I suck at math,” I stammer, a little speechless that he just gave me a compliment.

  “Well, it’s good to know you aren’t completely perfect,” he says, and I tuck a bit of my hair behind my ear at his words. “Can we—”

  “Aura! You home?” Dad shouts, and I hear the door shutting a few seconds later and then the sound of Dad walking up the stairs. I stare wide-eyed at Maxx who winks at me before he glows brightly and disappears. Dad opens the door a second later, and I smile at him, feeling slightly relieved.

  “Did you just take a picture or something, there was this big flash,” Dad asks, searching around my room.

  “Oh, it’s the light. I think it might be broken or a dodgy wire,” I say, thinking on the spot.

  “Well, if it keeps doing it, let me know and I will fix it this weekend,” he says, looking at the light and then back to me. “I saw your bag downstairs and wondered if you were home or forgot it. Why did you leave school early?”

  “My art teacher wasn’t in,” I reply. “Why have you left work early?”

  “It’s my lunch. Do you want pasta for dinner tonight?” he asks.

  “I can make it if you want…” I suggest because the last time dad made pasta, he burned it so much that it stuck to the bottom of the saucepan.

  “No, I bought frozen meals, so it’s not too hard to cook it tonight,” he replies, and I sigh in relief.

  “Sounds perfect then,” I reply, and he walks out the room, shutting my door as he goes to get his lunch. I sit down on the window seat and pick up my sketchbook, scrolling through it to get to an empty page. I pause when I find a drawing that I haven’t done. It is of me, sitting on the steps just outside my house, looking up at something. I read the quick note scribbled at the bottom and I can’t help but smile.

  “Aura Scott, stalking me from her house from day one -Maxx.”

  Chapter Eighteen

  “So, the guy has to date his best friend’s girl, and make her hate him? So why is he dating this random girl now?” Landon asks, and I pause the movie for the third time in the first ten minutes to answer him. I go to reply as Maxx strolls into their living room, pauses a little when he sees me on the floor with Landon, the sofa cushions resting behind us against the coffee table as we are leaning on them. Maxx has on jeans and a tight black shirt, and he puts a baseball cap on top of the sofa that he must have been wearing.

  “How many times has he made you pause it?” Maxx asks with clear amusement.

  “Three in ten minutes,” I answer, and Maxx laughs, surprising me by sitting on the floor, with Landon in between us.

  “Stop asking questions, Land. This film is amazing,” Maxx says, surprising me once again as he reaches a hand into my popcorn and takes a handful before chucking one in his mouth. After his mood about the date earlier today, and everything that happened this morning, and the thing in my room, I didn’t expect him to be so relaxed now. I don’t even know why I am so comfortable being over here. I should be sitting in a corner, rocking myself to sleep instead of eating popcorn and watching movies. I still can’t believe what they said about my mum, and about me. I also know that Maxx and Landon are hiding more things from me. I’ve come to the conclusion that I need to figure out a way to get Maxx to talk to me about the crash. I remember a male voice calling me Freckles, and there is only one alien that does that. My light up, apparent soulmate.

  “One thing first,” Landon interrupts me before I can press play. “When are the guests coming over?” I don’t miss how Landon says ‘guests’ like a dirty word. I don’t know what to say about Landon being promised to their sister, but I need to wait for him to talk to me. I can’t push him into talking to me. I do want to learn more about what it means to be promised. I want to learn more about everything.

  “Sometime tonight. They had their sister in hiding about twenty miles away, so they have to get her first,” Maxx explains.

  “I’m sorry, Ura, I haven’t made the guest rooms up yet. You carry on watching the movie, and I will come back down soon,” Landon tells us and quickly gets up, practically running from the room as Maxx reaches for him to no avail. There’s an awkward silence after Landon shuts the lounge door, leaving Maxx and me in the dimly lit room.

  “I have a feeling my brother set this up,” Maxx says, and I smirk.

  “Oh no, you have to spend time with the person you hate the most,” I retort.

  “I don’t hate you, just mildly dislike you,” he jokes. “I think the soul shit is the only reason we can put up with each other.”

  “How charming,” I roll my eyes at him, and he chuckles lightly as I press play and put the remote down. I look over as Maxx slides into where Landon was sat, our bodies inches away from each other, and reaches a hand into my bowl of popcorn to steal some. I decide to let him because I have lots. But I keep an eye out in case he steals too much.

  “I didn’t have you down as liking a movie like th
is,” I whisper quietly after a while.

  “My mum loves these movies and had them on all the time as I grew up. Landon always hated them, but not me,” he explains.

  “My mum loved these movies too. Every week, she would bring a new one home on DVD, and we had a movie night for just us two,” I admit to him.

  “You miss her a lot, huh?” he asks, and I turn to face him, our faces inches apart.

  “Yes,” I whisper, watching how his eyes run over my face and stop on my lips. I don’t think as I lean closer and press my lips to his for a brief second, tasting the popcorn on his lips and feeling how soft they are. There is a moment of shock from us both, just before the familiar warm feeling starts to pull me to him. It takes everything in me not to close my eyes and just fall into it, until Maxx gently pushes me away and stands up.

  “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have done that,” I mutter, putting the popcorn down and standing up.

  “We can’t be together. Not ever, don’t you get that?” he asks in frustration.

  “No, I don’t because you don’t explain anything to me!” I shout back at him. “You act possessive around me, you are hot and cold with me all the time. You confuse me and tell me we are soulmates. What do you want me to do? If you don’t like me, you need to tell me, rather than messing around!”

  “You drain me of my light. Of the true light that keeps me alive. Every time you touch me, you drain me because of that darkness that is half of you. That’s what our kinds do to each other. We drain each other until the strongest wins, but in this case, I don’t want to hurt you, and you can’t control it,” he admits, shocking me into stepping back and freezing in silence.

  “What happens if I drain all of you?” I whisper.

  “Honestly? I would die, and the power would overwhelm your human side, and you would die. We might be soulmates, but the fucked-up universe has made sure we can never be together,” Maxx tells me and turns to walk out the room as I stand in shock. He pauses at the door, looking back at me. “We can’t ever be together, despite what we both want or feel.” With that he walks out, and I feel empty, cold and more lost than I’ve ever been.

  Chapter Nineteen

  “Ura!” Landon calls behind me, and I rush quicker down the corridor to get to my science class. “Aura Scott!” he shouts again, and this time he catches up to me and jumps in front of me, blocking my way. I have no idea how he managed to get this close so quickly. I did a good job of avoiding him all day. I even ate lunch outside, so he wouldn’t see me in the lunch hall.

  “Landon, I’m going to be late for class,” I say, as he crosses his arms and makes it clear he isn’t going to move as he glares down at me. I try to step to the side, but he mimics my action and when I try it again, he does the same. I sigh and finally look up at him, seeing how unimpressed he is.

  “Okay, what happened with you and Maxx?” he asks. “I’m not letting you run off until you tell me.”

  “Nothing,” I say, looking away from his knowing gaze which seems to have read my lie before I even said it. I tug on my bag strap, looking for a way to escape this and finding none.

  “We both know you can’t lie, Ura,” Landon says. “And both you and Maxx have been ignoring my messages and me since yesterday. I’ve literally looked for you all day, and now I’m annoyed.” I rub my forehead, knowing I need to talk to someone about it anyway, and I don’t want to upset Landon. He is truly my only friend. I haven’t been able to focus or shake this empty feeling since yesterday. I don’t think I slept for more than three hours last night because of the nightmares of blood all over the school corridors and a blue light disappearing no matter how much I chased it.

  “I kissed him, he rejected me. I’m embarrassed, okay? I also learnt that I steal his light, literally, and it kills me that I hurt him. What else do you want to know?” I ask, and Landon’s face drops.

  “Shit,” Landon says, placing a comforting hand on my shoulder. “If it helps, I met the girl I’m now promised to, and she is super nice. I don’t know how to tell her I will never like her that way.” I flash Landon a sad smile and step closer, wrapping my arms around him and he hugs me back. We are both messed up in the relationship department it seems. I pull away and look around, seeing that the teacher is late because she isn’t here, and all the students have already gone in.

  “Can we skip class and go eat ice cream at my house?” I ask, and he smirks, holding an elbow out for me. I know my dad will be mad at me, but I can’t deal with another lesson where I can hardly stay awake. Maxx isn’t in school today anyway, so we can’t work on the case study.

  “Sounds like the best plan I’ve heard in a while,” Landon says, and I hook my arm in his as we walk down the corridor. We don’t talk as we quickly make our way to his car, and we get in, both of us not wanting to get caught leaving by anyone. Once we are driving back, I remember seeing another car parked on the guys’ driveway. Austin and his sister must be living there now, and it makes me not want to go over at all. Thank god we are going back to mine, and I bet that Landon feels the same way. I don’t know how to ask him about being promised when he is clearly struggling with the promise he has made.

  “How are your new guests fitting in?” I say, not really wanting to bring it up but knowing I need too.

  “Austin is a dickhead that likes to wind Maxx up, and Aliana is a nice girl,” he says, “but I think she likes me, and it makes things super awkward.”

  “I think you might just have to sit down with her and explain how you feel,” I say gently.

  “I don’t want to upset her when she has only just gotten here,” he admits. “It’s not her fault I don’t fancy girls.”

  “I get that,” I reply. “You can’t help what you want.” My statement seems to bring about a long silence in the car that neither of us knows how to deal with. I’m sure Landon knows I am talking about his brother, as much as I know what he wants out of his life.

  “Now explain what happened with Maxx in more detail,” Landon says, just as we get onto our road. I’m thankful for the break in the awkward silence, but not so much about the subject. I guess I can’t avoid it forever.

  “I kissed him because I’m an idiot, what else is there to say?” I mutter, looking away out the window. “I don’t even remember why I kissed him, only that it happened before I could think it through.”

  “You’re not an idiot, Ura. Even the strongest person I know would have trouble resisting their soulmate,” he says firmly, and he sounds so confident that it relaxes me. “Our mum used to tell us it is like fighting a part of yourself if you resist the pull. That the true light always links those who are meant to be together.”

  “How are we meant to be together when I literally kill him, and if he lets me, I will die too. How can the true light—whatever that is—want that for us?”

  “I don’t have all the answers, and I don’t know enough about the true light to give them to you. I wish mum was here, she would know what to say, how to explain this better than I do,” Landon admits.

  “Landon…when does your mum come back?” I ask as he pulls the car into the driveway and pulls out the keys. He leans his head back, and sighs slowly before looking at me with pain-filled eyes.

  “She won’t be coming back, Ura. Our mum is gone,” he tells me, his voice a whisper which sounds louder than it should in the quiet car. I know from the pain in his eyes that something bad happened.

  “When did she die?” I whisper back.

  “She isn’t dead, but I am sure she wishes she were,” he mutters, and I stare wide-eyed at him. Why would he think his mum wishes she were dead? It doesn’t make any sense.

  “Why would she wish that Landon?” I ask, feeling frightened.

  “Did Maxx not tell you about the crash? About this?” Landon asks, and reaches over, pressing a finger to my forehead where my mark is. Him touching the mark, telling me he can see it, is so amazing when I’ve been told there is nothing there for so long.

  “N
o, he disappeared when I brought it up,” I admit.

  “I will get him to tell you, you need to know to understand what happened to our mum. You need to know to understand why Maxx pushes you away,” he says, lowering his hand. I assumed Maxx pushes me away because I drain him, but there must be more from what Landon is saying. I just don’t know what.

  “Landon…is my mum really an alien?” I ask.

  “Yes,” he says, and just hearing him say it seems to make me believe it more. Since Maxx told me, I keep searching through all my memories of my mum to see if there was ever anything out of the ordinary. If there were any signs my mum is who they say she is. Yet I don’t remember anything odd or weird about mum. No signs she was an alien at all. It makes me wonder how much she lied about, how many secrets there were that I don’t know about. I also wonder why she would leave me alone.

  “My mum was so normal. I can’t see her as an alien that hid so much. I never saw her as anything other than my mum that cooked all the time, stitched up my favorite dress when it got ripped. She was my kind mum that put plasters on my cuts when I used to fall over all the time as a kid,” I tell him. “The idea that she lied and left me without telling me who I am as well…it’s hard to cope with.”

  “Your mum was good at hiding who she is…I have to do the same,” he tells me. “Sometimes it is safer to lie and hide than to be the hero of the situation.”

  “Maxx told me that you are kinda like me, well, my non-human side, and that you don’t use your powers,” I say, and he nods. “Why don’t you use your powers?”

  “Right, well, I don’t know a thing about my biological parents, only that my mother asked my mum to look after me when I was a baby,” he sighs, jiggling his keys in his hands. “But mum, the clan and Maxx are all light. They didn’t know how to train me, and they got worried I would drain them by accident, so they taught me how to block my powers as that’s all they knew. Eventually it got to the point that I can’t use them anymore, and I don’t want to now because I could hurt the people I care about.”