Underneath the clouds

XVII

She made sure she brought an umbrella with her on the rainy day. The air was cool, with the sweet smell of spring rain. Jolin found it relaxing, compared to some others. When she went out the door she didn't bother with rain boots, the only footwear she had on was some simple shoes. Knowing that they weren't water resistant though, she skipped every puddle, trying to deny the urge to jump and splash around like a small child would. Up above was a black sky, with only a few exceptions.
Some patches were grey, and others were black. All were filled with rain, from the river about 12 miles away. Now, the scattered pitter-patter was coming down at full force, and all she could hear was the pounding of the rain atop her umbrella. Although it was an hour walk with no company, her thoughts kept her occupied. Random thoughts that were invalid before the incident.
But now a days she doesn't mind the constant silent conversations that go around in her head like a vicious hurricane. She eventually found comfort in them. Dressed in typical rain weather attire, but with no raincoat, and no rain boots she ended up just wearing a sweater, some jeans and her shoes.
Jolin constantly reminded herself that she was only going because of Miss Brown, not because she wanted more of what Mark wanted. No, what she wanted more than anything was to cut him up, and lay him out on a train track, and watch his body become morbid evenly severed pieces. Well, not evenly. Sometimes Jolin felt like he had turned her into something else. That he had created an unfeeling monster, and she hated him for that. Above all, he had took away her innocence.
She was getting angry just thinking about it. Cutting the lifeline of the conversation, she found herself on his street. A brisk walk along the water filled road, hearing the loud drips that went into the sewer, the drip soothed her, and calmed her already racing mind. A deep rumble in the distance caught her attention, which made her look to a far away part of the sky. She couldn't see lightning, not yet at least. Now it was a slight jog, down the sidewalk, and onto his property. Jolin followed the little rock path up to the porch, and soon was underneath the overhang. Water dripped off and onto the dry cement as soon as she started to put the umbrella down.
How did he dispose of the evidence?
The thought was random, but proved a good point. How did he? She stopped, trying to think of possible ways. If he was smart he'd get rid of it by burning it, but he couldn't do it if it was wet.
How about we ask him?
She liked the idea, and smiled putting the umbrella down. Now she needed to knock. Getting closer to the door, she raised her fist to knock smelling the cinnamon smell inside.
Jolin knocked, loudly. Within a matter of seconds, his mother came to the door. She smiled, noticing she had a new clean apron on. Miss Brown looked confused, and was about to close the door, until Jolin scraped the hood of off her head. "Hello Miss Brown? It's me." A warm fuzzy feeling erupted inside when she saw Miss Brown's sweet smile. "Hello honey! Would you like to come in?" She stepped out of the way, allowing Jolin to come in.
Now she was in the home of her attacker. "What brings you back over?"
"Oh nothing, I just..." she paused.
Think of a lie.
"I just wanted to come over." Miss Brown seemed happy with that answer. "Aww! Well you're welcome over here whenever you want dear." Jolin shifting uncomfortably in front of the door, hands in her sweater pockets. "Would you like to sit down?"
"Yes please." Jolin smiled, following her to the dining room. "You know... I never got your name."
"It's Jolin... Jolin Martin." She sat down, intertwining her finger as her hands rested on the wooden table. "Very lovely name." Miss Brown's blue eyes reminded her of the ocean, well... the ocean a few years ago. They continued to make small talk, until Jolin heard a bedroom door close. "Mom who's here?" Mark loudly asked.
Don't flinch.
"Just your friend!" She called up.
Don't react.
Jolin kept her eyes down, as she heard the stairs creak. Black socks, black basketball shorts, and a black sweater, he practically slid into the dining room.
Look up.
Reluctantly, she listened bringing her head up to his eyes. No longer did she find comfort in his grey eyes. She found herself staring back, like a reflection in the mirror... she only saw herself. "Oh hey Jolin." He smiled, sitting down next to her.
1
What was this new feeling? Fear? No. She felt no fear.
2
Anger? No...
3
Jolin tried to analyze, failing every time she tried to identify. His arm laced around her shoulder, and he squeezed her right shoulder. Whatever that was, she felt it. Couldn't describe it, couldn't identify it. A foreign feeling. "How has your weekend been?" He asked.
"Really good."
"That's good." Mark continued to smile. Miss Brown looked at the two, a smile still present. Standing up, a slight high hit her. Over the few months, had her brain been rewired? Is this why she was feeling like this? No longer did she possess a little empathy. Not towards him anyways. Suddenly the feeling was gone, and the fear was back. Keeping the breathing under control, she thanked Miss Brown for letting her in, and started towards the front door. "Thank you for coming over dear!" Without answering, she pulled her hood over her head, and opened the door. "I'll show her out." Mark rushed towards the door, opening it for her, pushing her out and following. "I don't need you to guide me out."
"Yeah I know but I insist."
"I insist you shut the fuck up." Jolin yanked her umbrella out of the corner.
Ask him.
His fingers creeped onto her hips, as he rubbed them. "Did you come back for more?" Mark grinned. "Did you come back for more?" Jolin mocked. "No you fucking idiot. I came to see your mother." Undoing the Velcro to the umbrella, Jolin felt her lip curling. "Pfft, why?"
Her mind spit all of the insults she wanted to say, running a mile per second, but she still managed to pull her weight in this mental storm. "Because... she's a nice lady."
"And...?" Mark started to move his fingers down to her waist. "And... you're stupid. Especially when you thought I came back to see you."
Mark exaggerated like he was hurt, putting a hand over his chest. "Oh c'mon... you liked it didn't you, and that's why you came back." The rain had not slowed, and she was looking forward to walking home in the weather.
Better hurry.
Jolin pushed him away, smacking his hands away from her bottom and going on her way. He called after to her but to no use. The rain was causing too much noise as it pounded on her umbrella.
You should have told his mom...

"Hopefully I don't get sick..." Jolin quietly sung, putting her clothes away. Her father was spending a lot of time in the garage lately, and she knew that he was done with the serum, so why did he need to make more? Curiosity, it was something that could help you learn new things, but it could also get you killed. Walking down the stairs, tracking the light through the window, she rubbed her arms. Goosebumps littered her entire body. It was especially cold today in the house. Opening the door, Jolin saw the scattered papers, and the pie chart was still there. Her father, was hunched over, watching intently as let a couple drops ripple into the serum. The cold air was more out here, especially since Riverside had just had a storm, the garage seemed to trap everything inside. Jolin decided to knock, just so she didn't scare him. The fluids shook a little when he turned around, bags underneath his eyes. "Oh... hey sugar cube."
"Hey dad... why are you up so late?"
"I have to finish this." Confusion invaded her mind. "Why...? I thought you already finished the serum."
"I did... I just need to make a second one. And it's just taking a little bit." Her face scrunched up in curiosity. "How long does it take to make... GMH-2, was it?" Jeffery nodded, writing the time down in his notebook. "About twenty three hours and thirty minutes." Her eyes widened as she heard the numbers. "Jesus, that's a long time."
"And! You have to precise about it. Like, if you even cook it over five minutes, it might turn into an acid..." her brown eyes stared at the yellow liquid. Bubbles floating around aimlessly inside, almost like a lava lamp. "Really?!"
"I dunno. I've never tried it." Red started to flash, and now she needed to know something else. "And... how do you know that the actual serum will work? Have you tested it?" Jeffery strained, making random noises as he bobble his head back and forth. "So... you're making a serum that might be deadly, but you don't know because you've never tested it?!" Jeffery shrugged, nodding his head.
"Dad... that's one of the main rules of creating something in science... you need to test it out!"
"What am I supposed to test it on?" A slight moment of silence fell between them. "I can't test it on you because what if it is deadly? Then I accidentally kill you?" Jolin found her face scrunched up with confusion, and a little bit of annoyance. "No. I'm not going to do that."
"So you're just shooting with no aim and hoping to hit a bullseye?" Jeffery fell silent. She already knew what the answer was, and started to walk away. Once she was inside the house, she ran her fingers through her cold hair. The bitter truth hit her, and although it didn't hurt her personally she knew it would hurt him. He's not a real scientist. And to be honest, Jolin didn't think he'd ever be one.