JACK WAS OVER EVERYDAY since Mother came home. He would help me with taking care of her, never putting up a fight, and he helped keep me sane. He brought over a movie or two everyday and I quickly became well acquainted with all the classics and even some obscure, indie movies. We even watched all movies based on a book series about teenage vampires.
He bonded well with Mother and I could tell she took an immediate liking to him. Almost every night after he left, if she was still awake, she would question me about him. Then tell me how good he was for me.
"He's bringing light back into you, Violet. It's all I've ever wanted for you." She said that one night before her medicine knocked her out.
Mother was holding on everyday. She hadn't gotten any better, but she hadn't gotten any worse. It had been a week since she returned home and I knew that the clock was running out, but these days were so much better than when it was just the two of us that I didn't want to let them go.
Jack had brought something into our home that hadn't been there since Father passed on. He helped me with dinners, dishes, cleaning the house. He was a miracle in human form.
He was everything I never knew I needed until now.
Only now did I realize how empty and dull my life had been before. Everyday doing the same mundane tasks and never bothering to try and change it. Now, I didn't want anything to change. Life seemed like a tragic kind of perfect.
Jack was over at the house and we were curled up on the couch, watching one of his many movies. The only sound besides the movie was the steady beat of the machine hooked up to Mother. My head was resting on his shoulder. We had grown closer the more time we spent together. Closer than I thought we would in such a short amount of time.
We talked once or twice so late that it was almost morning and I insisted that he stay. He slept in the guest room on those nights, but I could always tell that he was just down the hall from me and that made me nervous. I was dressing like I cared now. I had changed some.
I confided so much in Jack and he had told me so much about himself. Where he went to college, how he grew up in Eleanor and wanted to move away but ended up right back, how he wanted to move out of town to somewhere more exciting. He even told me I should come with him. No matter how appealing the offer sounded, I knew that this small town was the safest place for someone like me.
In a large city, people would take notice of my abnormalities. How things seemed to move around more often now wouldn't be hidden elsewhere. I hadn't even told Jack about me and everything that made me, well, abnormal.
He never asked about my eyes. He never went into any subjects that made me uncomfortable. He was very aware of how I felt about certain topics and he was always so good at talking about the right things at the right time. We talked about political issues, the upcoming elections, and even cat videos on the internet.
He showed me how to use social media platforms that I had never even tried to use before. He showed me what is called an Instagram and the pictures of him and his family on there. He has a sister who is older than him. She lives in New York and she is pursuing her dream to be an artist. I enjoyed listening to him talk about his family. His parents lived here but that was his only connection here. He wanted to get out of this small town and go live somewhere else more exciting. Colorado, he once said, or Washington. Anywhere but here.
He never pushed the issue of an "us" since he made that comment to Mother that first day. Which I was thankful for. I wasn't sure if I could be in a relationship. If I was in a relationship, I would have to come clean about myself and I didn't want to scare him off. I needed him more than he knew.
His shoulder and arms were strong. He had muscles but not so much they were intimidating. I wondered what his chest and torso felt like if his arms were this firm. There had only been one incident where I had seen his chest. He was taking off his shirt before he was going to bed one night. I was walking to the bathroom to brush my teeth and I caught sight of him changing. He didn't see me, but I scurried and shut the door before he could see. My heart raced after that and it was hard to forget about it. He had a sculpted chest with clearly defined muscles. I shook off those thoughts before I washed my face with cold water.
My eyes were drooping closed and I fought the afternoon nap my body wanted. I hadn't made a pot of coffee that morning and it was something I was desperately craving.
I nudged his arm and he moved his head to look down at me. "Will you go get some coffee?"
"Alone?" he asked.
I nodded.
"Why don't you come with me?" He reached for the remote and paused the movie.
I wanted to get out of the house. I hadn't left the property in over a week. "I can't leave Mother..."
He looked at me and with one eyebrow arched. "She'll be okay for a few minutes, Vi."
I was unsure. "We'll see if she thinks she'll be okay on her own." I hopped up from the couch and pulled him up with me.
We walked down the hallway and opened the door to her room. She was sleeping with the television on. We moved the one from the den into her room since she was stuck in her bed almost permanently.
"See," he whispered. "She's sleeping. She'll be okay. Besides the nurses will be here in an hour so someone will be here soon."
I couldn't fight the feeling of unease in my stomach. It didn't feel right leaving her alone when she was so sick. She couldn't die alone.
Jack pulled me out of the room and pulled the door shut until it clicked. "It is going to be a quick trip, Violet. You need to get out of this house. You haven't left it in too long of a time."
He was right. But that did not make leaving her any easier. I reluctantly went up to my room and changed into jeans, a t-shirt, and a zip up hoodie. I threw on a pair of Converse sneakers before jogging down the stairs.
Jack waited in the entry way with his car keys in hand. He took hold of my hand and led me out to the car. He had gotten touchier as we grew closer. But not in a bad way. He never touched anything other than my hands, face, and occasionally my knee. He had gotten into the habit of holding my hand any chance he got. While it sent flames to my cheeks, it seemed like the most natural thing in the world to him.
I climbed into his car and after he put the key in the ignition, the car roaring to life, I changed it to the indie radio station. By luck, one of my favorite songs was on. Jack had spent enough time with me that I felt comfortable enough to sing. No matter how horribly.
He pulled up to the locally owned coffee shop and killed the engine. It wasn't very busy when we walked in. There were a few patrons outside on the patio in black suits talking quietly amongst themselves. Inside there was only a couple people that were dotting the couches and tables.
Jack ordered and paid for both of us. I tried to pay for my own, but he refused. I said a quiet thank you and stepped to where we waited for the drinks. I tried to avoid the curious stare of the barista and looked down at my shoes.
A few minutes later we were handed our coffees and were walking out to his car when we were stopped.
"Violet Callow," a deep voice called that wasn't Jack's.
I stopped and turned around in the direction of the voice.
The voice belonged to one of the suited man. He had sunglasses on and a Bluetooth earpiece in. He was bald and the sun reflected off of his head. He stood a few feet away from me, cautious for an unknown reason.
"Yes?" The unease that was already there grew in my stomach.
"We need you to come with us." The other man behind him stood up and walked towards us.
Instinctively, I took a step back and ended up flush to Jack's front. He moved a hand to my upper arm as if to say I'm here.
"Why?" These men either could be really dangerous or, well, I guess suits, menacing looks, and demands to go with them never could be good.
"We know about you. We can help you. More importantly, you can help us."
The words sent a shiver down my spine. What did they know? "Know what about me?" I was not about to give them anything that said that I knew what they were talking about. Let them believe they had the wrong person.
"Your mutation."
Jack stilled behind me. Blood ran cold through my spine.
"What mutation?"
He stared at me through the sunglasses. "You know what you are capable of, Violet Callow."
I still refused to give them the satisfaction of agreement. "I do not know what you are talking about."
My eyes darted around nervously. No one else was outside except us four. I didn't know how we would escape. These men said danger. My instincts said to get in Jack's car and get home. Now. His car was only a few feet away.
"Don't play dumb, Violet Callow. It will be better for you and your boyfriend if you come with us compliantly. We do not want to use force." His words dripped with unsaid threats.
I didn't want to find out what they were capable of but I also did not want to go with them. "I'm not playing dumb."
"You are very," he searched for the right word, "special. Surely you know this."
"There is nothing unusual or special about me." The lie felt so weird coming off my tongue. I knew that I was different. And I wanted to believe the words I spoke more than ever now.
"Have you ever noticed any weird incidents lately?" He took a step closer.
I wanted to put distance between myself and him but Jack was a statue behind me. "No," I lied, thinking about all the times things were in different places than they had been before, the broken dishes, the Oreos, the fear that came with the coincidences. Only now I was unsure that they were coincidences.
"Liar," he spat. "I'll give you one more chance to come with us, euyun arjuania."
My only hope at the moment was that Jack was having the same train of thought that I was. We needed to make a beeline for the car right now.
I made the slightest of motions and tapped his leg, hoping that he would follow my lead. He seemed to melt behind me and I took that moment to dash to the car.
The doors were still unlocked, thankfully, and I yanked it open and slammed it shut behind me. The second Jack made it in the car, I slammed my hand down on the lock button. He turned the car on with ease and pulled out of the parking spot.
The two men reached into their suit coats and pulled out a small gun. The bald one pointed the gun at the car. At Jack. I screamed as I imagined what would happen if that bullet went where it was aimed. I reached across the car and shoved on the steering wheel, sending the car sideways in the parking lot.
"What the fu–" Jack started. He was cut off by the sound of a bullet lodging itself into the side of his car. "Holy shit," he said.
"I know. We need to get out of here now!"
He didn't hesitate to pull the sedan into oncoming traffic. We both knew that the two men back there were more dangerous with their weapons than a couple cars speeding in our direction. It didn't stop the squeal that came out of my mouth as he did so. Luckily, the drivers were paying attention and they were forced to slam on their brakes.
"What the hell was that back there?" Jack asked.
"I have no freaking clue."
"What were they talking about a mutation?" His blue eyes were frantic and searched mine.
"I don't know. I really don't." All I knew was we needed to get to my house whatever happened after that was unknown. Except one thing. "When we get back to the house, I need to get out of here."
"I'll come with you," he said without hesitation.
"No," I said. "I need you to stay at my house with Mother. She can't be alone when she passes. I'll call you when I'm somewhere safe. I need you to be safe, too." Something told me that he would be safer if he wasn't with me.
He nodded. "Come back as soon as you can, okay?"
I agreed but I didn't know if I would. I didn't know what we were facing and I didn't know what the bald man called me. I needed to find answers before I could return home.
He pulled up to the house and I was out of the car before he came to a complete stop. It took no stretch of imagination to think that those men followed us. If they did, then I needed to get out of here as quickly as possible.
When I got into the house I could immediately tell that something was wrong. Fear spread in all of my limbs and threatened to choke me. The usually steady beeping that came from Mother's room was no longer there. Instead, there was a flat lining beep.
Tears welled up in my eyes and impaired my vision. "No," I screamed as I ran down the hallway.
I made it to her door and I saw my worst nightmare come to fruition. Mother was still laying in the bed in the same position I had left her in earlier. Only now there was no life left in her body.
My legs gave out before I even made it to the bed. My world had been splintering for weeks and now its shattered I couldn't even find big enough pieces to build anything. The tears and cries threatened to rip apart my body from the inside out.
"Violet?" Jack called.
I heard footsteps but I couldn't tell if it really was feet or if it was just my heart thundering. I held onto her cold hand. The beep seemed to grow louder and louder and drove me crazy. I wanted to rip the machine off the stand. I wanted to smash it against the wall. I wanted scream. So I did.
"Violet!" Jack yelled at me when he came in the room.
I had my hands wrapped around the monitor. I was about to forcibly remove it and chunk it against the ground.
Two strong arms wrapped around me and kept my hands still. "Stop," Jack said. His voice was firm.
"No. No. No," I kept muttering the words like an idiot and melted into a puddle of tears.
"She's gone," he whispered, gentler now.
"Sh-She can't be." I couldn't believe it. This wasn't happening. She had died alone and I had chosen to leave. I shouldn't have left the house then I wouldn't be in this position. I wouldn't be running and having to leave to avoid the dangerous men that were most likely on their way to my house. I would be making funeral arrangements instead. I couldn't even give her a funeral.
The tears took over my ability to breathe. I gasped for breath but it was near impossible. The pain was suffocating me from the inside. From a place I couldn't cut the noose.
Jack grabbed my hands and spun me to face him. He gripped me tight but I didn't feel any pain. "You need to get out of here. And I'm coming with you."
The pain that was excruciating before morphed into something else. Calm. Ease. With robotic movements I stood to my feet and walked upstairs. I went to my room and threw clothes and necessary toiletries into a duffel bag I hadn't touched in years. I snagged the money I had been saving up for years in a small box and shoved it on top.
When I came back downstairs Jack was where he stood thirty minutes before even with the keys in his hands.
The calm was losing its grip on me. I didn't know where it came from but I wasn't ready to face the onslaught of sorrow I would feel again when this faded.
"What about the nurses? They'll think that I left her dead and I did it."
He shook his head and took the bag from my hands. "No, they won't. I left a note. They'll think that you left and they'll realize what happened. She passed while you were gone. No questions asked."
I nodded and let him lead the way to the car. Only then did it register what he said earlier. "No, you can't come with me."
He stopped and looked back at me. "I'm coming with you," he insisted.
"No. You'll get hurt. Probably. I'm not even sure what the hell is going on. But if those guys had guns, it probably isn't going to get any better."
He gripped my shoulders and leaned down to look at me. "I told you I'm not leaving you alone. I meant it, Violet."
Tears welled back up in my eyes. "I can't ask you to do this. To leave your family. Your life. I don't know when or if I'm coming back."
"You're not asking. I'm doing this whether or not you like it. My parents will take care of my apartment. Besides, I've always wanted to get the hell out of this town."
I was still unsure but I knew we had little time. There was almost no time before those men showed up or before the nurses came and saw me running away. More importantly, I was quickly losing my hold on this calm that hovered in me like a cloud.
I nodded and sat down in the car. We stopped at his house and then hit the road with no destination.
Not even fifteen minutes after home disappearedin the rearview mirror, the pain of losing Mother crashed down on me and I lostmy hold on everything. Then everything went black.