Deviants

Chapter 44

Kate

The door opens to reveal a beautiful woman in her late thirties smiling at me. I run my hand through my hair as I smile back, feeling my cheeks go warm. I don't usually feel nervous about meeting new people, but Johnny's aunt as me having to take deep breaths to be sure my ability doesn't go out of control. I can tell it's been getting easy to control though.

"Hello, Aunt Jane," Johnny says, letting my hand go to hug his aunt. She is a taller woman, with hair slightly lighter than Johnny's.

"Is this Kate?" She asks, motioning to me. I meet Johnny's eyes as he looks at me with a look that makes my cheeks go even warmer, a small smile on his face.

"Yes," he says. Jane pulls me into a hug, and I accept it wholeheartedly.

"It's so nice to meet you! I've heard so much about you I feel as if I've known you for years," she says. I smile and glance at Johnny before looking back at Jane.

"I've heard a lot about you too. Johnny is always talking up his aunt," I say. I see her cheeks go pink, clearly flattered.

"Well, come in!" I walk into the small, but cozy apartment. Johnny closes the door behind me and pulls my jacket from my shoulders. "Would you like a glass of wine during the tour?" She says and I nod my head. Johnny leads me towards the bar that separates the kitchen from the living room as his aunt takes out three wine glasses and pour the wine.

"I'm really sorry my husband couldn't make it. Something went wrong at the shop and I can tell it's been so hectic for him," Jane says, passing me a glass.

"Uncle David is the one that got me the job at the mechanic shop," Johnny says. My heart skips a beat at the sound of the name.

"D-David? Your uncle's name is David?" I ask. He nods his head, obviously not realizing how much meaning that name is to me.

"Oh, he and Devin would spend hours talking about vehicles," Jane says. Now I knew that Devin was Johnny's dad. "It's no wonder that Johnny was so into vehicles when he was younger." She suddenly laughs and leans on the countertop. "I remember when Johnny was about seven-years-old he was telling this older man that had to be at least forty what was wrong with his vehicle." Both Jane and I laugh while Johnny rolls his eyes and takes a sip of his wine. "It was the cutest thing. I bet his Dad would've been shocked that he went to college to study computer programming." Johnny shrugs his shoulders.

"Why study something I already know everything about? Not mention, the internet is the new age. There's more art in computer programming than people think. When you create something, you create it for the whole world to see. Also, it helps to know things when Aunt Jane calls me to ask her how to run a blog," he says, and I laugh.

"Hardy-har," Jane says before sipping at her wine. She waves at us as she steps from the kitchen. "Our apartment isn't very big at all, but it's home. The bathroom is right here," she opens a door to our right as she leads us down the hall. She moves onto a barn door, only giving it a quick touch, confirming it as the washer and dryer closet, then moves to the first and only door on the left wall. "This is Johnny's old room. We never got to rearranging it after he decided to live on campus." She leans closer to me. "We are trying to give him the hint to just move back in," she whispers. I smile and look up at Johnny who pretends he didn't hear her. I glance into the room to see a neatly made twin bed on the far wall with a bookcase next to it, a desk placed under the only window, and a closet on the wall behind the door. It isn't quite the young boy room I was thinking it would be. The bedspread is a dark blue as are the curtains, the rug is a circular one with different dull shades through it and nothing hangs on the walls aside from an old calendar with pictures of older vehicles. On the headboard of the bed is a collection of small Hot Wheel vehicles, all of which probably aren't past the late '70's.