Mind Games.

chapter 20: Wishy washy.

The horizon line over the houses started to blend in with the sky. Everything was a beautiful shade of Orange. I couldn't tell where heaven stopped and the earth began. In that moment of pure wonder, I thought about my parents. I thought of what was.
And I thought...of what might have been. If I had only fought harder to be with them. If I had never been born. If only....
Mr. Marsh stepped out of his house in a white t-shirt and a pair of black basketball shorts. I could see the muscles on his tan arms.
He smiled and handed me an oversized white t-shirt.
"Here, you can put this on." He smiled and set down two buckets of soap and water. I nodded and peeled off my sweatshirt, leaving me in my blue tank top. My cheeks got redder when I saw Mr. Marsh looking at me out of the corner of his eye, smiling. I pulled the t-shirt over my head and let it hang down over my knees. I loved the little breeze it provided.
Mr. Marsh smiled and handed me a bucket and a large, yellow sponge.
"Well, let's do the back window first, sound good?" He asked. I smiled and shrugged.
"Sure." He stood on the right side while I stood on the left and we started soaking the sponges. I let mine drip in the bucket for a few seconds before I plopped it on the window and started scrubbing. Mr. Marsh turned to me and asked,
"So...how are you going to get him back this time?" He continued scrubbing the window. I smiled and replied,
"I'm not exactly sure. I just don't know how I can top this." I knitted my eyebrows together. He smiled and shrugged.
"It's easy, so long as you try to keep it mental."
"What do you mean by that?" I inquired.
"I mean think of what is not acceptable in regular society, and apply it to him. Make other people distrust him. It will give you a great edge." He smiled and erased a few mini hearts. I bit my lip and thought for a minute.
"Like...the klu Klux clan?" He frowned and shook his head.
"No, you don't want people to kill him. Just hate him." He bent down to get more water from the bucket. I thought for another few moments.
"Hmm...what about...anti-homosexualism?" I asked. A smile krept across his face as he nodded.
"Yes. If you could make him seem homophobic, I think that could definitely give you an edge." He nodded again and smiled. I shook my head.
"You must've had smart parents, Mr. Marsh, because you're brilliant." I said, but my heart fell a little when his face went blank. I frowned and said, "I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean to offend you-"
"No, you didn't offend me, Alice," he interrupted. I bit my lip and looked down.
"What's the matter, then?" I asked, looking up at him. He chewed on the inside of his cheek and sighed.
"My little brother died when he was five, and it tore my parents apart. My father left when I was ten, and my mother was never really the same person..." He trailed off, a single tear leaving his eye. I felt absolutely terrible. Way to go, genious. You of all people should know the sensitivity of a parent child relationship...
I of all people.
I set a hand gently on his shoulder and said,
"I didn't mean to bring the subject up, Mr. Marsh." I looked up at him. He smiled to himself and wiped the tear away, shaking his head.
"No, it's not your fault, Alice. Let's just...talk about something else for now." He smiled and started wiping the window again. I nodded and shrugged.
"Ok...why don't you ever drive the Yukon?" I asked, trying to keep the conversation going instead of falling into an akward silence. He frowned at the odd question, but he smiled and replied,
"I do, just not to school."
"Well, where do you drive it, then?" I questioned, smirking. He shrugged and bent down to wipe off the bumper.
"I go to my favorite place every weekend. It requires taking a ton of dirt roads, so that's when I drive the Yukon." He explained, standing up once more. I looked down at my sponge, only to realize that it was dry. I blushed and set it in the bucket.
"But, wasn't the Yukon expensive?" I inquired. He nodded.
"Yes, it was. Your point?" He asked. I shrugged and finished off the last bit of the back window.
"Well, why would you risk getting it stuck in the mud?" I asked, looking at him. He smiled and looked down at me with his beautiful, sparkling, ocean eyes.
"Because money is of no issue for me. I have tons of it, and no one to share it with." He looked at the now clean window and sighed.
"Shall we do the hood now?" He started walking towards it before I had a chance to respond. Why did he say that? 'No one to share it with?' I wondered as I followed him to the front.
We remained silent for a few minutes, until I looked over at Mr. Marsh to see him smirking at me. I frowned and shrugged.
"What?" I didn't have time to react. He had soaked the sponge in his hand and squeezed it while flinging the water that came out at me. The front of my t-shirt became splattered with a little bit of warm, soapy water. I gasped in the fresh air while he laughed and ran around to the other side of the car. I smiled and soaked my sponge. We'll just see about that! I giggled and started chasing him around the car. I flung some water over the hood, getting his hair a little wet. He yelled and ran around the car, holding the sponge over my head and squeezing it, drenching my hair. I shouted my revenge plots while I climbed on top of the car, throwing my sponge at him. It landed smack dab in the middle of his shirt, making a big wet spot. He smirked and tried climbing up after me, but we heard a car horn honk and I turned to see a familiar face.
Mr. Marsh didn't recognize Oliver, although I'm pretty sure Oliver knew who he was. Oliver gestured for me to get in Libby's car and follow him. Mr. Marsh frowned and turned to me.
"Friend of yours?"
"A friend of the family. I have to go, here's your t-shirt." I peeled it off and handed it to him, walking towards Libby's car with my sweatshirt and book bags in hand. He waved the shirt in his hand and called after me,
"I'll see you tomorrow!" I nodded and sat in Libby's car, following Oliver down the street. After we had reached the campus and Libby's car was parked, Oliver got out and smiled at me, leaning up against his car.
"So...what's up with Blondie?"
"He's my psychology professor." I stated, frowning and walking to him. "I thought you already knew that?"
"I do, kiddio. I meant, why were you at his house?" He questioned, standing so his back was straight and he was away from the car. I bit my lip and crossed my arms.
"He's going to be taking care of Dixie for me, so there's no chance of me being expelled." I explained to him. He nodded, then looked at me.
"Let me know if he tries anything, ok?" This made me frown.
"Like what?" I asked. He shook his head.
"Nothing."
"No, really. What's he going to try?" I questioned, confused. He sighed and rubbed his eyes.
"Nothing. Just remember that he's an average guy...with average needs, ok?" He smiled at me. Trust me, Oliver. Mr. Marsh is anything but average.
"Ok, I will, Oliver." I replied, smiling back. He nodded and took in a deep breath.
"Good."
"Now, why did you come and get me?" I asked him. Oliver smiled and said,
"Terence said he wanted our help with something."
"What?" I questioned. He shrugged his shoulders while raising his eyebrows at the same time.
"I don't know, but he said to come to Jenkins Park ASAP." He smiled and hopped in the car. I sighed and crawled in the front seat, clipping the seat belt across my chest. Once we were both strapped in, he started the ignition and we started towards the park. The radio started playing 'Sabatoge.' Oliver twiddled his fingers on the steering wheel and turned into a small road that led us to the edge of the park. Once we had parked the car on the edge of the dirt road, we took a step out of the car and stared into the night. All I could see were a couple of trees, but the rest was only shadows. We heard some birds chirping and squawking as they flew south for our upcoming winter.
Terence stepped out of the darkness, a frantic expression played out on his face.
"What's going on?" Oliver questioned, taking a step towards Terence. Terence looked at us and said,
"I can't find Agent." We stood there silently for a moment before Oliver crossed his arms and said,
"Really? That's why you called us here?"
"Shut up, Oliver. This is a very emotional time for me, right now." Terence stated, turning to me. I looked at Oliver, then turned to Terence and nodded encouragingly.
"Don't worry, Terence. We're going to find him, alright?" It was silent for a moment. Then, Terence nodded and smiled at me.
"Thank you, Alice." Oliver sighed and shook his head as he trailed behind Terence and I. We walked straight into darkness and called out,
"Agent!?"
"Here, Agent!" We cupped our hands around our mouths and called out, listening for a response. Oliver just shook his head at us as we tried to find him.
"You should have brought a flashlight, Terence. He's a black dog in the middle of the night." Terence ignored Oliver's voice and continued to call out to him. We came around the corner and saw a homeless man sitting on a bench, laying next to a black object; Agent. He was laying down on his side next to the man, eyes wide open. The homelss man was just murmering to Agent and petting him continuously on the back. Terence walked up with a relieved/concerned look on his face.
"Hello, sir. Thank you for finding my dog."
"Your dog?" The man asked in a high pitch scratchy voice. His eyes were blood shot. Oliver stood next to me while Terence nodded.
"Yes, he belongs to me. His name is Agent, May I have him back please?" He smiled and held out a hand for the man to give Agent to him. The man shook his head violently and said,
"No way, man. This dog knows the winning lottery ticket numbers. He's gonna make me rich!" The man picked Agent up and held him tight against his chest. Agent whined and tried scrambling away. Terence stepped forward and said,
"Sir, you're drunk. Give me my dog, please."
"Fuck you!" He got up in one swift movement and took off into the darkness of the park. Terence and Oliver started running off after him, but I got a better idea. I sprinted back to the car and started the engine, turning on the headlights and taking off into the park.
I drove in the direction of the homeless man and found him running in front of a brush of bushes. I veered off the dirt road and chased him into the brush. He kept looking back at the car with a horrified expression. But he didn't see the tree coming, so he ran directly into one. I stopped the car and got out, running to where I had seen him fall. Agent had scurried towards Terence, who had showed up and happily scooped him up, hugging him.
"Oh, did that scary man hurt you? Don't worry, daddy's here." Oliver showed up shortly after Terence, breathing extremely hard.
"Woo, I'm outta shape." I nodded and walked over to the homeless man. He was knocked out and snoring. I looked back up at them and asked,
"What should we do with him?"
"Leave him, we have better things to do than arrest him." Oliver stated, getting in the car. I sighed and nodded, climbing in the back. Terence sat in the front, turning to me and smiling.
"Thank you, Alice."
"You're welcome, Terence." Agent barked and wagged his tail. Terence smiled and said,
"Agent says thank you too." I giggled and leaned forward, petting him behind the ears.
"You're welcome, Agent."

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Hope you liked it, enjoy the next one, bye! C: