Long Live the Queen

Three: Batman and Robin

HOBBES

It was the lips that drew me in. The way they moved so perfectly, how she spoke to me - it almost made me forget that if I was caught I would go to jail. But she told me we wouldn't get caught. She doesn't lie. She wouldn't do that to me, anyway, because she's told me she loves me. I trust her, and I mean, she wouldn't have asked me that night to come with her if she didn't trust me. That's just the way things work-people trust each other not to give up or to betray each other.

The laptop whirs in front of me, illuminating the dark warehouse on the outskirts of town that everyone thinks is haunted. It isn't a far walk from my house, actually, and images of dad's home-cooked meals invade my mind, but the longing for a warm meal is interrupted by the ding of the laptop. She bought this a few days after we camped out here. Along with our blankets and other important things that I haven't really touched, the laptop has been our connection to the world.

Mine, anyway. Maia doesn't really care about what's happening out there, she's driven by her feelings. She's persistent and determined and I think that's the factor that made everyone love her. And she's beautiful. My eyes barely flicker to the screen as her lips invade my mind and I feel myself sinking back into the depths of her loveliness.

It isn't until the bird that resides way up in the rafters gives a quick chirp that I snap the image of her body out of my mind and actually start working on what I need to. Maia, who said she needed to go get some more supplies from the neighbouring town's store, had given me explicit instructions to be finding out if they were on her trail yet. Even though I had told her that they thought she was dead (I had made sure of that when I actually thought she had died), she was too anxious about people finding out about us. The secret duo, ridding the world of the scums who hurt her, is unstoppable. Really, if people found out about us, I could imagine the headlines: 'Teen Lovers Fighting Evil'. We'd go down in history for being the pair that came back from the dead. Or, at least, Maia would be.

I'd be the dashing person who accompanied her. Like Batman and Robin. Ridding the world of evil. We weren't doing anything wrong, really, and I mean, even if we were, it was for the good of Maia. Everything was for her, she and I were loyal to each other.
I didn't necessarily like what she was planning, but who was I to argue? She'd enlisted me to help, and only me.

As my fingers click on the keyboard, opening a browser, I wonder how my dad's doing. I'd told him via a hasty note that I'd gone with mom, and while Maia had covered for it when he had called, I wondered what he was doing without me. It would probably be really silent. I knew my dad would be watching the news right now, but the sound of my video games wouldn't be drowning out the noise. Maybe he would be relishing the peace, not knowing I was with a previously dead girl doing probably semi-illegal things.

My dad was a lawyer, before he stayed at home after the divorce. He always told me, "Hobbes, the line between legal and illegal is how the opponent plays it. You could be facing up against a murderer and within a minute they could be discrediting your own defense. Within a minute, they could say the evidence was actually showing something else. It's the cards, Hobbes, and you've gotta know how to play them." At the moment, I think we would have a pretty strong defense, and Maia would gain sympathy. I know she's hurting and all, but she seems sane enough to be able to defend herself.

The internet boots up slowly, and I shake the mouse in frustration. The search bar finally loads, and I key in the query 'Maia DeRosa', and wait for Google to load. Reaching across the inflatable mattress, I snatch up a granola bar, opening the wrapper with my teeth as I lean back towards the screen. My jeans itch and scratch my legs as I cross them, but as the search results comes up, I ignore it. Nothing new, and nothing suspicious today. There's a new article about the amount of suicides that are actually murders around Erie, but the writer is one of those conspiracy theorists and details how the dead are actually Satanists trying to reach the aliens. I chuckle, the sound filling the empty place like a broken record, again and again and again, and I try to wave away the feeling of apprehension that has been building in my stomach for the last few days.

Maia should be back soon, she said we needed more supplies, even though we have plenty of food. She's been on edge recently, more fidgety. Ever since I had the luck of tutoring her for chemistry, I knew she always twirled her hair when she was nervous. I often stared at her fingers, twirling her hair around and around, wondering what it would be like for her to date me. My friends and I when we'd sit in Trevor's room would often share who was the hottest girl at the school, and the answer always rested on her. I don't think they'd believe me if I told them I was sleeping in the same room as her, but I let out a sigh of contentment as I light up a cigarette that rests beside me. God, she's perfect, and I'm living the dream.

Nothing could go wrong, and nothing has. Puffs of smoke silhouette the computer screen and I open up Facebook with a quick swipe of a tab. Still lots of condolences for Maia, and the recent 'suiciders'. Pictures from Tyler and the crew surrounded by hazy smoke. Calls for baseballs and football season. And then I see it. There's that girl Ingrid. It was her sister who was best friends with Maia, and her sister who nearly destroyed her. It isn't a surprise to see her on my Facebook page, but her post makes my blood run cold and for me to fear for Maia.

Ingrid McKay: She didn't commit suicide.

Now, her post probably didn't mean anything. Grief does crazy things to people like her. There's no probable cause to actually believe that this girl thinks her sister didn't commit suicide. Why would she? The stress of hiding out is really wearing on me and I hope Maia gets back soon so she can help. I shut the laptop, letting out a breath of air as I recline on the mattress, the cigarette still dangling from my lips as I grin. Maia DeRosa. My friends would be in disbelief.