Being Invisible (19 page)

“Whatever it is, you need to tell
me, Colin. I want you to trust me enough to tell me things.”

Colin looks torn, but after a few
seconds he seems to lose the battle with himself.

“Do you remember the name Carl
Nagy?”

I think for a second before
answering. “Isn’t that the guy they call the Exterminator? The one at the
diner?”

“That’s the guy. Well, thanks to
you we know that he has the ability to make people sick. And I know you said
that he killed some plants, but we didn’t know how far he could go with humans.
Turns out, he can do anything from a slight headache all the way to cutting of
their ability to breathe.”

“So you want to find this guy
before he hurts anyone else?”

“It’s not that. Not that I want
anyone else to get hurt, but I meant what I said to you. I’m doing what I can
to make things right. But, Lucy, he knows about me. He doesn’t know who I am
when I’m not invisible, but he knows that I have been working on this
investigation, and he knows he can hurt me without even touching me. His goal
is to figure out where I’m at, then kill me.”

“Oh shit, Colin.” My heart has
dropped to my feet, and I feel like I am going to be sick. I didn’t think I
could feel worse than when Colin and I broke up, but this is so much worse. He
can’t die. I can’t lose him.

“They tried to get him that day
you saw him, but he’s too good. The local police tried to sneak up on him, but
he knocked them all out without even touching them. I have been working night
and day to find him. I don’t know what I would do if he somehow found out about
you. I need to get to him before that happens.”

“Me? He’s after you, Colin! Aren’t
you worried about you? He’s actually trying to kill you.”

“I can control what I do. I can’t
control you. Or what happens to you when I’m not around.”

“Like when you were furious with
me for showing up at the diner?”

“Yes. Like that.” He gives me his
‘I am so mad at you’ look at first, but then it softens. “Thank you by the way.
You actually kind of saved my life that day.” He sort of mumbles it while
looking down likes it’s really hard for him to admit.

“What was that, Colin? Didn’t
quite hear you. It sounded like you said thank you. But I know that couldn’t be
possible since you were
so
pissed at
me that day for ruining your sting operation.”

“I didn’t care about you ruining
the sting operation. I was worried about
you
.
I was so pissed at you for putting your life in danger. If anything ever
happened to you I would never forgive myself.”

“That’s not what you said then.”

“I think that we have already established
that everything I say comes out wrong. Why you listen to anything I say is
beyond me.”

“That’s true. I should have
learned by now.” I place my head on his chest and close my eyes, just wanting
to enjoy this moment with him. He puts his arm around me and kisses my head.

“This is why we still can’t be
together, Lucy. I don’t want you anywhere near me until this is over.”

“But I helped you before. Don’t
you think I could help you now?”

“I’m sure you could. But I am not
willing to take the chance. Please don’t argue this one with me, Luce. I can’t
have you be a part of this. I can’t.”

“Okay. I get it. But you have to
be careful too, Colin. The worry you feel about something happening to me? I
feel it about you too. I just don’t get to forbid you from doing anything.”

Colin chuckles and pulls me
closer. “Okay. I promise to be careful.”

He’s starting to feel warm again,
and I can tell this conversation has taken a lot out of him.

He leans back on the couch with
his eyes closed and lightly draws circles on my back with his fingers. I notice
he is becoming invisible again.

“How about if I make a deal with
you?” I pull myself up so that I can look Colin in the eyes.

Colin gives me a questioning look.
“What kind of a deal?”

“I promise to stay away from you
starting on Monday. No one will even think we know each other. If…” I pause for
a second to make sure he knows that I mean it. “You let me take care of you
this weekend. You can’t go out anyway being invisible and all.”

Colin looks down at himself,
noticing for the first time that he is turning invisible.

Colin cocks his eyebrow and bites
his lip, like he’s thinking about it. “That’s a tough deal, but I think I can
handle it.” As soon as he looks at me, he smirks.

“Good. And by the way, this deal
also means that for the rest of the weekend you have to do everything I say.” I
give him my most innocent smile.

“Fine. I have a feeling that I’m
gonna have to get used to doing everything you say anyway.”

I know it’s strange, but him
saying that makes me want to cry a little. I’m not going to, but I want to.
It’s just that I think I have felt almost every possible emotion today. I’m
worried, stressed, freaked-out and angry. But I’m also cautiously hopeful, and
beyond happy to see Colin. So when he says something that is suggestive of our
future together, I want to cry. Because that’s what all this emotion boils down
to. I love Colin, and I want my future to be with him.

I don’t want to leave him. After
spending all of Saturday and most of today with him, I don’t want to go. It’s
been so long since I have seen him, and it might be a long time before I can
see him again. And I’m afraid for him. I hope he lives up to his end of the
bargain and acts really freaking careful.

This weekend has been perfect. Colin
did everything I told him he had to do. He took his medicine, ate the dinner I
made, and let me change his sheets. He even agreed to take a long bath after I
finally agreed to crawl in with him and wash his back.

I wore one of his t-shirts and
slept beside him in his bed, making sure to snuggle close the whole night.

By Sunday morning, Colin was
feeling somewhat better. He was still turning invisible occasionally, so I told
him that he was not allowed to leave his apartment until he could keep himself
visible one hundred percent of the time.

After making his favorite
breakfast, we played video games and ate cereal out of the box for most of the
day. Being a superhero has really made him amazing at video games. It kinda
pissed me off. But it also reminded me that he could take care of himself.

What pissed me off even more was when
he decided he wasn’t going to kiss me.

“Come on Colin. You’re not going
to get me sick. You know me. I never get sick.”

“Never, Lucy? You sure about
that?” Colin tickled me to try to get me to back off.

“Okay, so I
almost
never get sick. Whatever. But I’m willing to take that
chance. That’s how much kissing you means to me.” I snuggle up next to him and
lay my head on his shoulder.

“Well I’m willing to give up
kissing you, which is one of my favorite things in the world to do, because
that’s what you mean to me.” Colin leaned over and kissed my forehead.

I smiled, but rolled my eyes at
the same time. “You missed me, didn’t you?” I leaned up and kissed his neck.

“Of course I missed you. I never
stopped thinking about…your… ah-“ Colin stopped short when I started rubbing
the inside of his leg.

“I missed you too Colin.” I
whispered in his ear while “accidentally” brushing my body against his. “And I
need you to kiss me.”

“Luce, I don’t think-“ My tongue
in his ear interrupted his thought. Even though he was still trying to say the
words, the way his hands slid around my waist and up under my shirt, I could
tell I almost had him. I climbed over him so that I was leaning on my knees, my
legs on either side of his.

“Please kiss me Colin. Please.” I
rubbed my hands through his hair then kissed him once on the lips. He kissed me
back but pulled away. His intense stare proved to me that he wasn’t unaffected.

I kissed him again, but this time
I pulled away, then I wrapped my arms around his neck and leaned my body into
his. “I’m begging you Colin,” I whispered. “Kiss me again. Please don’t stop.”

That was his breaking point. He
pulled me the rest of the way to him and kissed me deeply. When I wrapped my
legs around his waist, a moan escaped his lips.

Eventually, he flipped me over so
that I was underneath him, and we stayed that way for a couple hours, tangled
up in each other while we made up for lost time.

Once Colin started turning invisible,
I could tell that he wasn’t feeling well again. I left Colin to take a nap
while I made lasagna and garlic bread for dinner, and we ate together on the couch.

Now it’s 8:30pm, and we are
finished with dinner. I have cleaned his kitchen and made him lunch and dinner
for tomorrow. I even vacuumed his whole apartment for him. Everything I could
do to prolong our time together has been done. It’s time to say goodbye.

“I know I have already told you to
be careful, but I need to say it one more time in case you forget the last
twenty times I have told you.”

“I promise you, Lucy. I won’t take
any unnecessary chances. You have my word.”

“Seriously, Colin, anytime you
think of doing
anything
, picture me.
Watching you. And think to yourself, ‘is this going to piss Lucy off?’ If the
answer is yes, don’t do it.”

“Seriously, Lucy. I’ve got this.”
Colin tickles me to get me to loosen up.

“Okay, okay. I’ll get off your
back.” I jump into his arms and kiss him until we are both out of breath. Colin
pulls away and looks me in the eyes.

“I love you, Lucy.”

“I love you too, Colin.”

He gives me one more kiss. At
least this time it’s not a goodbye kiss. It’s an “I’m going to miss you so
much, and I love you, and I can’t wait to see you again” kiss. And I kiss him
right back.

He watches me from his doorway
until I pull away. I can see by his look that he is feeling the same way that I
am. Hopeful of the future, but terrified of the unknown. One thing I know for
sure: This time I’m not giving up.

Ever since Colin told me about Ex,
I have been more determined than ever to be able to kick ass, just in case. I
know there’s not much I can do about a guy who can kill me just by thinking
about it, but it couldn’t hurt to learn the best moves for taking down a
pathetic, spineless bully.

 
I put all of my frustration from not
seeing Colin into becoming a bad ass. If there’s a punching bag around, I’m
going to punch it. If there is a board, I’m going to kick it. I can duck every
punch, swing and kick that comes my way. And if you try to cut in front of me at
the grocery store, I...well I’ll probably give you a dirty look, because I am
just not in the mood.

Liz is doing it with me. She knows
how scary Ex is, and she wants to be able to help me if I need it.

Drew’s even getting in on the
action. We all practice together. And we did something we told Colin we would
never do. We bought guns. Whenever we have time, we go to the gun range to practice,
since we all suck at shooting. I want to drop the gun every time I shoot it.

As for Colin, we have no idea what’s
going on. He doesn’t even want Drew involved, so he’s been completely off the
grid. Every once in awhile, one of us will get a text saying ‘I’m okay,’ so
that we don’t freak out and call the police.

All of this has kept me so
preoccupied that I almost don’t hear Ruth when she tells me that she has some
“great news.” I finished my piece on a new educational program, so I have been
reading every article I can about drug busts in the area.

“Did you hear me, Lucy? I have
really great news!”

“Oh, sorry. I was really into what
I was reading. What’s up?”

 
“I know where Vapor is going to be. I got
a tip from a very anonymous, yet completely reliable source.”

I’ve heard about her reliable
sources before, so I’m reluctant to share her excitement.

“Where is he going to be?” I ask,
trying to show support. She’s been working on this for months after all, and
she’s the most tenacious person I know.

“Actually, it’s like a hour and a
half away. The only thing is that I might be showing up right in the middle of
something.
 
Luckily, my camera guy
is coming with me to tape the whole thing, and he use to be a bouncer, so I
think I’m good.”

“Uh huh. So where exactly are you
going?”

“It’s a cabin. Somewhere near
Logan. I guess he goes there sometimes when he needs to help the detectives.
Huge drug ring down there from what I hear.”

“Wait. What did you just say?”

“There’s a huge drug cartel down
there. Does that surprise you? I guess small town and all, maybe it’s because…”

I block out the rest of what she
says with the words, ‘oh shit!’, which are running on a continuous loop through
my head.

I sit there, speechless, for what
seems like forever, listening, or pretending to listen to her drone on about
the drug business in Southeastern Ohio. Finally, I get my bearings and interrupt
her mid sentence.

“Hey, Ruth, when are you going?”

“Jack, the camera guy, can’t go
until about six o’clock. So we won’t get there until close to eight, but that’s
okay. I’ve waited this long. Isn’t this great?”

“Yeah, uh great. I’m so happy for you.
Can’t wait to see you on the news.”
I
am a terrible actress. So not good at playing the part of a calm person.

“Thanks, Lucy. You’ve been so
supportive. You’re such a great friend.”

Thank God she is the most trusting person I have
ever met. I don’t think one other person on the planet would have believed me.

“Well, I have a doctor’s
appointment today, so I have to leave in about…” I look at my phone briefly
before looking back at Ruth. “Right now actually. Shoot. I wanted to talk to
you more about tonight.”

“That’s okay. I’ll fill you in
tomorrow.”

“Great, can’t wait.”

As soon as I walk out of the
office, I practically run to my car. The first thing I do is call my boss to
tell him I had to leave early. The second thing I do is call Colin and leave
him about ten voicemail messages in a row. Apparently he’s not listening to the
subliminal message I am sending him to pick up his damn phone.

I finally give up and call Liz,
who answers on the first ring. Why? Because she got my subliminal message.
That’s what girls do.

“Liz! I don’t know what to do. I’m
trying to get ahold of Colin. He’s not answering, and if he doesn’t pick up his
phone soon, it will be too late, and he’s going to be on the freaking news.”

“Okay.” I hear silence over the
phone for a brief moment followed by, “What?”

I take a deep breath, realizing
that I am going off the deep end. “Ruth knows where Colin is. She told me that
he’s at his cabin. I didn’t even know that. She’s going there tonight. If he
ends up on the news, Ex will know right where to find him. Then, he’ll kill
Colin.”

“Oh shit, Lucy.”

“That’s what I said.”

“Have you called Drew yet?”

“No. I called you first. He’s
next.”

“I’ll call Drew. You keep trying
Colin. Eventually he will look at his phone.”

I hang up the phone and call Colin
three more times before he finally picks up.

Thank you, God.

“What’s wrong? I just turned on my
phone and saw that you’ve been calling me non-stop. Are you okay?” Colin sounds
concerned.

“Uh, no. Not really. Are you at
your cabin?”

“I’m on my way back to it. Why?”

“Because Ruth knows that you’re
staying there, and after work she’s going there to hunt you down and force you
to let her interview you.”

“How did she find out?”

“Her ‘reliable source,’ who is
apparently much more reliable than I thought.”

“If her source knows where my
cabin is, what else do they know?”

“I don’t know. But you have to
come home. I don’t want you there anymore.”

“Okay. I’m coming back. I’ll be
there as soon as I can.”

“Can you get here any sooner than
that?”

“I’ll try.”

“Thanks for coming home.”

“There’s no way I wouldn’t. That
would be taking an unnecessary chance. And my girlfriend doesn’t like it when I
do that.”

“That’s right. Now be safe. But
drive fast.”

“Got it.” No sooner has he hung up
than Liz calls in.

“Liz?”

“Hey Lu. I talked to Drew and he’s
texting Colin. Meet us at Drew’s. We’ll wait for Colin there. Okay?”

“Okay.”

Ten minutes later, the three of us
are eating take out, and trying to figure this whole thing out.

“If she knows where he was going
to be tonight, she’ll figure out where he will be tomorrow. That girl doesn’t
quit. And now that I know she has the resources to back it up, I don’t think
Colin has a chance.” I am pacing, and talking, and the faster I talk, the
faster I pace.

“How do we stop her?” Liz is
tapping one of her chopsticks on the table and deep in thought.

“Can you get her fired?” Drew asks
with his mouth full of Kung Pao chicken.

I answer him by throwing one of
his pillows at his head. “I’m not going to get my friend fired.”

“Wouldn’t it be crazy if after all
this time someone scooped her?” Liz laughs at her own joke. “Months of tracking
him down to nothing but dead ends, then she finally finds him, then gets
scooped. Can you imagine?

“Holy shit, Liz, that’s it!” Liz
and I both look at Drew in confusion.

“Lucy has to scoop her.”

“I don’t think that’s…”

That’s a great idea!” Liz’s
completely interrupts my concerns, and jumps on the Drew bandwagon.

“Think about it. You are a
journalist. You work for the same TV show as Ruth. It’s perfect. You can ask
Colin any question you want anywhere you want. Ruth won’t snoop around anymore,
and you can throw off Ex.”

“But I don’t think I can…”

“Drew and I will start thinking up
questions. When Colin gets here, he can check over the list. Decide if he wants
to add anything.”

“Are you interested at all in how
I feel about this?” I don’t think she is, but I have to ask.

“No. I know you, Lucy. You are
going to freak out because you don’t want to hurt Ruth’s feelings. Then you are
going to freak out because you don’t want to be on camera. But in the end, you
are going to do it anyway because you would do anything in the world for him.
Including scooping your friend, and being on national TV.”

I pause, trying to come up with an
argument. “Damn it. You’re right.” I might as well face the inevitable. Of
course I’m doing it.

I try to help them come up with
some questions, but I am too anxious to think straight. I give up and start watching
Pawn Stars
 
until I hear the door
open.

As soon as I see Colin, I jump up
and run to him.

He immediately picks me up and
wraps my legs around him. After dropping me on the couch, he gently pulls my
hair, so that I’m looking straight at him. He gives me a brief smile before
leaning over me and kissing me passionately.

After a few minutes, he grabs me
around my waist and flips me over so that I am leaning over him. He immediately
returns his lips to mine, and we kiss like that from the end of
Pawn Stars
through the beginning of
Storage Wars
. Eventually Liz and Drew
get tired of waiting for us and start throwing things at our heads.

“You guys about finished, or would
you like to take this to the bedroom while Ruth exposes you to the world?” Drew
teases.

Colin sits up and takes me with
him, pulling me between his legs, my back to his front. “I’ve been racking my
brain the whole way here but I keep coming up empty.”

“We actually came up with a plan.
But it includes Lucy talking, and I’m not sure you can keep your tongue out of
her mouth long enough for that.” Liz rolls her eyes dramatically.

“Can you come up with a plan where
I get to keep my tongue in her mouth?” Colin winks at me, and I bury my face in
my hands to hide my embarrassment.

He just laughs when I smack him in
the arm. “So what’s this great idea that uses Lucy’s mouth? Wait, that didn’t
sound right.”

This time Drew laughs and Liz and
I both roll our eyes.

“So, we figured that if Lucy
scoops Ruth, then Ruth won’t have any reason to keep trying to hunt you down.
Plus, we can make sure she only asks questions that won’t give anything away.”

“And when Lucy said no, what did
you guys decide?”

“I didn’t say no.”

I can tell that Colin doesn’t
believe me. “You agreed to get in front of a camera and do an interview with
me?”

    
“Yes.”

“An interview that other people
will see? The same interview that you will be doing instead of Ruth? Your
friend?”

“Yes.”

Colin looks at Liz for
confirmation.

“Do you actually think she
wouldn’t do anything to save you? The girl loves you.”

Colin leans down and kisses the
back of my head. “Is that so?”

I turn as best I can to face him
and act like I am thinking about it. “Kinda.”

“I’ll take it.”

After finishing his dinner, Colin
takes a look at the questions Drew and Liz have come up with. We are sitting
around Drew’s kitchen table with our coffee, ready to get to business.

“Okay. First Question.
What do you do in your free time
?” Colin
glances at Drew, one eyebrow raised, and then looks back at the list.

“
What’s your favorite movie?
” This time Colin looks at me, one
eyebrow raised. I just shrug my shoulders.

“
If you could be one person from history, who would it be?”
Colin
puts down the list, and rubs his temples. “Okay. Guys, if Lucy reads these
questions she is going to lose her job. No one cares what my favorite movie
is.”

“We were trying to stay away from
loaded questions, dude. That’s all we could come up with,” Drew answers.

“What kind of questions do you
think she should ask?” Liz hands him a new piece of paper and a pen.

“I don’t think we should write any
questions down. I trust Lucy. She’s a great reporter. Why don’t we just talk
about what to steer clear of, and Lucy can come up with the rest on her own?”
Colin eyes me expectantly, gauging my reaction.

“I guess.
 
I mean...that might be okay. It
would
feel more natural like that. I’m just
afraid I might accidentally ask a question that will give something away.”

“If that happens, we can start
over and try something else. It’s not like we are broadcasting live.”