The Patron Saint of Monsters

Chapter Four Part One

Rebecca gasped as she flinched backwards, away from Trent reaching out to grasp the hands of the girls next to her. The girls all followed her lead and used their hands to form a circle with Trent in the center. He was hesitant to commit to his corporeal form so his appearance flickered in and out of visibility, much like an image on a static antenna television. Rebecca mistook this for weakness, shouting “Go away!” The others all began to shout along until Trent stopped flickering back into sight.

“I think we really are witches.” Rebecca said with a smirk, “we’ve got powers, I’m telling you. I mean look at that we just saved ourselves.”

“Fuck yeah.” Trina responded with a smile that lit up her green eyes in a most uncharacteristic manner.

“Actually you’re not, and you don’t and you didn’t save yourselves from anything.” Trent said popping back into vision.

Oleander opened her mouth to scream but luckily, Trent realized the unintendedly ominous subtext to his words and quickly added, “because you aren’t in any danger.”

“Then what are we in?” Oleander asked.

“My old room.” Trent answered with a shrug and an ending inflection that made his response sound like a question. He hadn’t been sure how to answer, he was excited to have revealed himself to Oleander, yet he was also full with a nervous dread; he did not believe that he could handle her rejecting and shunning him once more yet it felt like an inevitability.  He sat crossed legged on the floor directly in front of Oleander, he kept his dark brown eyes down, staring at the frayed edges of his jeans that he was currently picking at absentmindly.

“Is that why you’re here?” questioned Valerie, elaborating with “because Ole disturbed your room?”

Trent scoffed “No,” as if it was the most obvious certainty in the entire universe, looking up at Oleander’s beautiful face with his eyes boring into hers and darkly burning with passionate sincerity, “I am bound to you.”

Oleander shivered and looked away, whispering ‘What does that even mean?’ with a curious head shake.

“I am yours, and you are mine.” he replied intensely slow, he realized how bizarre that sounded so he tacked on, “I am your protector, you are my watch.”

“What are you supposed to protect her from?” Trina asked, suddenly afraid to look over her shoulder.

“Sadness.” Was his simple response.

“Why?” Oleander asked.

Trent stopped and thought before inhaling a deep breath, “I killed myself, and I guess saving you from a similar fate would help me repent.”

“No,” Oleander fiercely said, “You’re absolved, you don’t have to do anything. I understand why you thought it would help but I promise I don’t need to be protected.”

“Yes,” he argued, “I didn’t just decide to protect you, after I died I went to Heaven and the Angels sent me back and said that I had to save you from sadness. It is my job.”

“You can’t protect me from much under my bed.” She hissed scathingly.

“I’m not bound to under your bed, I’m bound to you, I follow you everywhere. Always watching out for you. I’ve saved you more times than you could possibly realize. ” Trent said urgently, compelling her to understand.

“That doesn’t make any sense. Shouldn’t you have just let her die accidentally, that would have ensured her happiness and then you would have been relieved of your duty earlier.” Trina pointed out.

“I could never sit by and watch as anything bad happened to Oleander, I adore her.” Trent answered.

Oleander blushed and rolled her eyes she opened her mouth to say something but then quickly clamped it shut. Blushing harder she asked “Wait, are you always around?”

“Yes.”

“Oh god, did you hear us talking about you?” Valerie asked.

“Yes.”

“Do you watch when I shower and change? Do you, do you watch me Jill?” Oleander whispered before covering her face in mortification.

Rebecca cackled and Trent’s brow furrowed, “Jill?”

“Jilling is the girl equivalent of Jacking.” Rebecca informed him.

Trent blushed and ducked his head, “I don’t watch you shower, I stand outside the door. I turn around when you change.” His lips curved into a half smile, “when you Jill I go under your bed.”

“Why don’t you just leave the room?” Trina interrogated judgmentally.

“I just can’t bear to be too far away from her.” He answered, gazing at the still embarrassed Oleander with blatant adoration but she was too busy hiding her face to see.