Fire and Ice

Denver

I waited outside Max’s door when I heard a crashing sound, indicating that she was home. I expected it to be just her, but it wasn’t. I was about to storm in when the boy walked out. He looked terrible, like he spent most of his time sleeping in mud piles and getting into fights. He turned to me and smiled, flipping his knotted hair back, and walked down the hallway to the bathroom to shower. Max walked out slowly after holding a flower in her hand. “Who’s that?” I asked getting her attention. “Oh, that’s Reuben. He’s the guy from my dreams. He had powers just like us.” I dropped my jaw, another one like us? “Are you sure? He could’ve been lying to you. What if he’s with the Takers?” Max rolled her eyes and put the flower in her hand into her hair. “He created this flower. He has the power of nature. It’s quite beautiful, actually.” I stared at Max, a grin coming across my face. “You like Reuben, don’t you?” Her eyes widened. “Oh no! Not at all! I just think he’s a nice guy, that’s all.” She twisted her hair like she always did when she became nervous. “You’re such a bad liar.” “I’m not lying!” She said shoving me a little. “Of course not.” I ruffled her hair and walked into the living room, leaving my “boy crushing” sister behind to swoon over Reuben.

Fifteen minutes later, Reuben walked out of the bathroom with new clothes on and his hair dripping wet. He looked much better, but he still had plenty of cuts and bruises. He nodded his head towards me and walked into Max’s room. I should probably tell you that I am very protective of Max. Before we went into hiding, Max had a boyfriend. His name was Adrian and I did not trust him. Long story short, he broke Max’s heart by running off with another girl. I promised her afterwards that no guy would ever hurt her ever again. But Reuben made Max happy, and I didn’t want to get in between that. I figured I could trust him. I thought that we could be good friends. I walked by Max’s door, listening in to her laughing as Reuben told corny jokes and made a fool of himself. All you need sometimes is a good laugh, something to get your mind off all the awful things going on outside. Max and Reuben came out a couple minutes later. They were still laughing; I noticed that Max was holding his hand. “Denver, can you help me heal Reuben’s cuts?” I nodded and headed into the kitchen, grabbing the small first aid kit from the cabinet, and pulled up a chair next to Reuben. “So Reuben,” I asked pouring medicine onto a towel, “where are you from?” I set the towel onto his arm, where the biggest gash was. “Just around town, ya know. I was hiding in an abandoned church with my sister, but the Takers found us and they took my sister. I managed to escape and hide in the woods but they found me after a couple of weeks. They beat me, trying to capture me. I ran farther into the woods. That’s when Max found me and saved me.” I saw Max blush a little. “So you’re sister’s gone?” I asked wrapping a bandage around his arm. “I wouldn’t say gone. She’s just, captured I guess you could say.” I cut the remaining bandage and closed the kit up. “You’re all set.” He stood up and nodded. “Thanks Denver.” He walked back towards his room, closing the door quietly. Max stood up and put the kit away. “Thanks for helping Reuben. It means a lot.” “I can’t just let those cuts get infected; I would’ve done it for anyone.” She pushed a stray piece of hair back and hugged me. “No, I really mean it. You’re an awesome brother.” I hugged her back. It was nice hearing that once in a while.