I pulled away from her, slowly, my fingers massaging in between her shoulder blades. She leaned into me, protesting softly. "No....not yet...."
My hands drifted down away from her to go behind me. "I have to go. I'm sorry. " She met my eyes. The brown of hers were filled with sadness. But she'd get over me in a day or two. A half clothed makeout session with a stranger sparks lust not love. Still I hated to see her so sad. I leaned and met my lips to hers one last time before sliding off the bed. I grabbed my jeans off the floor and headed to the bathroom, where'd we'd thrown my shirt and jacket. Too bad I was a stranger in her mind.
As soon as I had my band shirt back on I slipped down the stairs and out of the back door.
Dawn was just creeping over the horizon. Gold, red, and purple illuminated the wet street. I glanced back at the house after a minute of walking away from it. A pang of longing stabbed my stomach. "No. I need to leave. It's for her own good." Maybe I could come back. Face myself and tell her. But I couldn't let her get her hopes up.
A familiar, dark blue Pontiac passed, heading to where I'd just cone from. Her parents. I'd seen them around a couple of times before, around town. They were nice. Her dad, Rick, had worked with my dad before they'd left. He was burly looking, with dark eyes and hair. Tall, a good weight for 52. Kinder than most. I knew he'd be okay with me and Pheonix. Both of her parents would be. It hurt that our little happily ever after was so close. That only one thing stood between us. All I had to do was tell them...and hope they'd understand and accept it. Think of me the same way.
I turned the corner and the cozy blue house disappeared behind the rest of the old buildings. Beginning to run, I headed towards my house. The new, two bedroom apartment was so cold compared to her house, with its pictures on the walls and soft carpet. It came into view just the rain started to fall. I sped up, dashing to the cover of the porch. My hand fished around awkwardly in my pocket before I felt the cold metal of the key. I pulled them out and unlocked the door, going in and relocking it behind me.
The scene in front of me was so routine. Perfectly clean, the black pillows immpecibly placed on the gray leather couch. Stainless white carpet and walls. The tv was centered on the stand and the candle beside it was still brand new. I sighed and continued onto the kitchen. As soon as it was in my field of view I froze. Someone was sitting at the table. He looked straight at me, playing with a small metal chain. A pale purple gem hung off of it and I felt my eyes widen slightly. "What the fuck? Why are you here? And where'd you get that?"
He rolled his eyes, standing up. He towered over me and it took me a second to remember I hadn't changed back yet. Fuck it. I could stay a guy for a bit longer.
"Are you gonna tell her? Or just keep her ignorant?" Daniel inquired, gazing coolly at me. How on earth did he even get a key? I guess that's brothers for you. "I...I wanna tell her. But I don't want her to get hurt. They could go after her to get to me. Or to get information. Either way she'd be in trouble. Same thing with her parents. And she doesn't even know it'd been me leaving the notes or anything. If I left her be it'd just be a one night thing to her. She'd forget about me. I don't know if could really protect her if they got ahold of her. "
He pursed his lips before tossing the necklace to me. "She dropped it when you two were walking. And no I wasn't stalking you. I'd just gotten back into town and saw you. Was gonna say hi but then I saw you were with her so I left it be. She dropped it when you went around the corner to Rally avenue. " I nodded. "Ok. Thanks. I'll drop it off at her house later. You planning on staying here for a while?"
He shrugged, waltzing over to sit down on the couch. "Maybe. I'm considering moving back, actually." As he flicked on the tv, switching it to Netflix and searching around for a good enough show, I headed for my room.
Bright light enveloped me and I pulled the door closed behind me, going to stand in front of the full length mirror on the far wall. My eyes slipped closed and I tried to concentrate on morphing.
After a minute I felt my body start to change. My height was slowly decreasing and the odd sensation of my female body coming back washed over me. I slowly opened my eyes to see the short girl with the bright red hair once again standing as my reflection. I liked being a guy better but I still had girl days. They were less and less often but they were still there. I was grateful for my little changing power.
Grabbing a band shirt and some black jeans out of my pile, I got dressed and combed my hair out. "Oh. Shit. " I muttered, remembering that I actually had to put on a bra and some form of girl underwear. I grudgingly redressed; being a girl was so....ugh.
"Hey Imma go out for a bit. " Daniel yelled through my bedroom door. I jumped before going and pulling the door open. He'd thrown on a loose black jacket and an old pair of Nike's. He looked startled at first to see me as a girl. But he quickly recovered. "Nice." He complimented my appearance. "You wanna come with me?"
I nodded and he rose an eyebrow. "The Playstation broke. So I have nothing to do at home. " I explained. A look of understanding crossed his face and he chuckled, shuffling my hair. I ducked away. "Hey. Bad bro. " I joked, and dashed under him. He followed me when I escaped out the door, laughing wildly. We quickly locked the place up and headed towards the old arcade, joking and laughing the whole way.
Bang. Bang. Bang. Three distinct knocks sounded from the front door. I opened my eyes in a squint, the bright light and noise attacking my head fiercely. After a long second I forced my eyes open and rolled off of the couch. Every muscle ached and a terrible hangover kept stabbing the left side of my head. I groaned as I stumbled to the door. I guess the bar after the arcade hadn't been a very good idea after all...
The three articulate knocks came again. I winced and pulled open the front door. Two men in suits were standing there, police badges hanging off of their chests. Oh shit. Did I do something stupid last night? One cleared his throat loudly."Sorry to bother you, Sir. But we are looking for a suspect in a murder case nearby and were wondering if you've seen this man..." he pulled a sketch out of his notepad and held it up in front of me. I instantly shook my head, pursing my lips. "Sorry. No. But I'll keep a look out." I lied, taking a small step back from the door. They both sighed lightly before nodding and turning off of the front steps. I closed the door as soon as they turned, trying not to seem like I'd lied. The long blonde hair framing the angular face. Blue eyes, a little off of the actual color, sitting under a long thin scar on his forehead. It was barely noticeable, and invisible if he put a bit of makeup on it. I remembered, vividly , giving it to him.
"C'mon. Just tell me. If you tell me, this'll all be over." He layed a hand on my cheek. "Why does it even matter to you? You don't ever have to see any result of it. " I sneered, jerking away from his hand. "No. Not a fucking chance. I'm not helping you hurt anyone." He pursed his lips. A long moment passed. Suddenly, his hands shot to my shoulders, pushing me harshly up against the wall. "Really? " he asked softly, leaning into my ear. I tried to push him off of me in vain. He just pressed himself against me harder. "I think that'll change soon enough."
With the last word, he pulled a switchblade out of his belt. He placed it delicately at my neck, pressing it into the skin. I flinched at the cold. "If you don't tell me where it is, a lot more are going to die than just you. Your brother, your best friend, anyone who even calls you a friend. And you'll get to watch as I kill them. You'll get to see as the life leaves their eyes. Do you want that?"
