KISS (8 page)

Iris stood at the formidable mountain.
Its jagged cliff sides seemed imposing and dared her to take a step
closer. She moved to take a step, suddenly loose boulders came down
the mountain bringing her to a halt. She swallowed her nervousness
and screeched when a hand fell on her shoulder.

“
What are you doing
here?”

“
Axel,” she whispered
looking into those blue eyes. Today they seemed darker and much
more imposing. Why was she here? She held her breath as he circled
her reminding her of a predator right before it pounced tearing
into the flesh of its prey. “What are you doing her little
swan?”

She looked on bewildered that was a
new name, one he’d never used before. She chewed her lip nervously.
She was standing trial, those who judged sat at tall and
threatening podiums watching her squirm like a worm from a
bird.

“
Homework?” she continued
to watch him as he circled her. Why did he pace around like the
wild things of the amazon. She gulped nervously. This wasn’t the
same shy boy from before. She watched as indecision flickered
behind his eyes, he grabbed her hand and she followed him into the
unknown.

She watched Axel as he stretched out
on the bench in the empty park. The sun would be setting soon and
she knew she was going to have a lot of answering to do once she
made it home. For some strange reason she couldn’t shake Axel, he
fascinated her. His hair was unkempt on his head, he wore a dark
leather jacket, jeans and boots. It was a complete different look
than what she was accustomed to seeing. He had the whole rebel
thing going on.

“
So are you going to just
stand there and look at my pretty face all day?” Iris didn’t like
him when he was this way, it reminded her of a certain someone who
couldn’t keep his hands to himself.

“
Who said anything about
your face being pretty?” She huffed out crossing her arms. He
turned on his side facing her. “Hmm, this is new. You don’t think
I’m attractive?”

Iris stared into his beautiful blue
eyes but a pair of violet ones flashed in her mind. “I’ve seen
better, I was just here to check on you. You missed class today.”
She said turning on her heel. She really needed to get back. The
moment she turned her back, she became the lamb exposing her
vulnerability to the wicked wolf who was waiting to devour
her.

She inhaled sharply as he wrapped his
arms around her and pulled her back into his chest.

“
I like you. You’re
something else, something different, and something new.” Iris
turned his arms and gently shoved his chest. “What’s with you? I
never know what I’m getting.” She said frustrated. She watched
confused as he gave her a devious smirk. “I’ll let you in on a
little secret.”

Iris held her breath. She wanted to
know.

“
They call me Jay.” Was
that it? What was so secretive about that? It was nothing but a
nickname. It didn’t seem like anything special. She shrugged her
shoulders at him.

“
Look I’ve got to go. I
just wanted to make sure you were okay.” He took her by surprise
when he grabbed her hand and pulled her towards him. His lips were
on hers and when he bit down on her bottom lip she snatched her
face away.

“
What the hell do you think
you’re doing?” It didn’t matter whether or not she liked that kiss.
It didn’t belong to him.

“
I just thought I should
satisfy that burning curiosity of yours.”

“
You are such a bastard,”
she said storming away from him. She heard his dark chuckle behind
her. What was wrong with him?

Iris climbed into the car.

“
I’m sorry for keeping you
waiting Ryan. I didn’t think I would be long.”

“
You be careful miss. I
didn’t like the look of his character.”

“
He’s as harmless as a fly.
Nothing is wrong with him.” She said reassuring Ryan. She didn’t
know if she was doing for his sake or for her own. She smiled and
finally got out of the car glad to be home. She raced into the
house. “I’m home!”

She looked at the note on the fridge
from her parents. They’d gone to some formal dinner party. Yes! She
was glad she wasn’t stuck attending. She left everything in the
family room and rushed to see her horse before the sun completely
set.

“
Don’t worry Blitz, Iri
will be here in a minute and then we’ll both be happy.”

Iris watched as he brushed her horse
and tended to him. She giggled when he ate the apple greedily that
Chester offered him.

“
Hey, how long have you
been there?” Chester asked. He hoped she hadn’t heard all his
secrets he’d been pouring out to the horse. It was enough to make
him want to flee.

“
Not long,” she said
running into his open arms. She sank into his embrace and took a
whiff of him.

“
Are you smelling me?” he
asked. Iris looked up into his smiling face and her face combusted.
She broke away from his arms. “No!” She shouted embarrassed.
Chester chuckled at the flaming red girl. He smiled as she backed
away from him.

“
Where are you running to,
little Iri?” he whispered. He watched as she bit her lip and shook
her head from side to side. Why did she have to be so
cute?

“
Eep!” she squeal before
taking off. “Not so fast!” Chester shouted running after her. Her
laughter floated behind her and spurred him on. He felt so carefree
when he was with her. They raced through the house and he finally
cornered her in the studio.

“
Cheese, I’m tired.” She
puffed out. Chester snickered, he wasn’t going to let her get away
so easy. “Nope. You owe me.”

“
Fine. You get one
request.” Chester grinned at her as he followed her to the kitchen.
He already knew what he wanted. He would be patient for
now.

He had a brandy and coke while he
waited for the pizza to arrive.

“
You know you’re not
supposed to be drinking,” she chastised him. “Those rules don’t
apply to the rich and famous; I’m sure you’ve had a couple of
drinks before. If I remember correctly you enjoy champagne, but
your favorite is vodka.”

She bit her lip. He had her there.
“But there was always adult supervision.”

“
Well you know, I’m
eighteen now and according to state law I’m an adult.”

“
But you’re still in
school.”

“
Currently no.”

“
Why not?” she exclaimed
looking at him with wide eyes. Chester didn’t want to go back to
school he was tired of people trying to use him to gain popularity.
He was on break from his latest tour but not for very long. His
manager had committed to some dates and he was going to have to
leave soon. He wanted to spend as much time with her before he had
to leave. Unfortunately for him, he was still stuck at best friend
status.

“
It’s complicated,” he
started when the doorbell rang. Chester was glad for the reprieve.
He’d have to come clean sooner or later.

10

Torn

He hated this place. The pendulum
swung repetitiously drawing his attention reminding him of the ever
presence of Lisa Covington. He disliked everything she stood for.
How could she be so tranquil when he was raging on the inside?
Yesterday had felt so different. He felt free and in control. Here
he was merely an exhibit to gawk and poke at. There was no helping
him. He learned early on to bury his desires.

“
Axel, do you know why
you’re here?” she asked looking at him from under her specs. She
would be hot if she’d loosen up, but she was ever the professional.
Why bothered with the façade? He knew she was there for him just
like she knew that he didn’t care what she had to say.

“
Why bother. You’re just
going to tell me anyway,” he said finally flopping onto the chaise.
What she needed in this office was a dart board. It was a great
stress reliever. He wondered if the poor doctor even knew the truth
probably not. Did he dare tell her? His mother’s face flashed in
his mind and discarded the thought. He wouldn’t do anything to hurt
her.

“
Axel Rotterdam, are you
listening.”

“
Hmm?” he looked at her
surprise. It was the first time he felt comfortable in her office
to lose focus. “What’s on your mind?” she asked tentatively. He
wished his swan was here she wouldn’t be so timid. She called him a
bastard and stormed away from him like a mad woman, the kiss they
shared kept him up all night long. He couldn’t wait to see her
again. He wondered what she’d do next. His phone rang interrupting
their little meeting. He answered.

“
I need you at home.” No
hello, how’s everything going? It was always the same. He sighed
exhausted. He couldn’t understand why he felt so defeated. He
smiled sadly at the doctor. “Everything you think you know is a
complete lie.” He wiped the single tear that fell from his eye and
turned away from the doctor who at a loss for words.

“
Axel?”

“
I’m sorry doctor, mommy
needs me right now. I got to go. Bye!”

Psychiatrist Lisa Covington stared
after her latest patient. There was something fishy going on in the
home and she was going to get to the bottom of it, that boy needed
her help more than ever.

***

He entered his home and avoid making
eye contact with anybody. He quickly went to his room and sat his
things down. He needed to talk to his father to see where mother
was.

“
Glad your finally hope
boy. How’d it go?” his father asked him while having a glass of
whiskey.

“
I didn’t finish because
mommy needed me.” He watched his father slam his glass down on the
counter.

“
It’s you! Speak up!” He
rolled his neck to get rid of the confusion.

“
You know how it is dad. I
just sit and listen while she talks. I rather be at football
practice.”

“
We can get you into a good
school. You just keep it up. The scouts will be out soon. You’ve
already made a name for yourself. No distractions and one day you
could be playing in the national football league son.”

“
That’s the
goal.”

“
Good. Now I’m going out. I
need you to keep an eye on your mother and your bother. I have no
idea what he’s been up to. There may be a doctor who can help your
mother, but she’s costly. We might have to hold off for a while. I
have to make sure we have your college tuition covered.”

“
Yes sir.”

“
Good boy. See you later
son.”

“
Bye dad.” Axel watched his
father leave. He was just glad he was in a good mood. All he had to
do was follow the plan and everything would be okay.

“
Hey what are you doing?”
Axel jumped when he heard James. His nine year old brother looked
at him with hard eyes.

“
Nothing, I’m going to
check on mom.”

“
Oh, it’s
you
,” he sneered. Axel
glanced at his little brother. He had sapphire eyes and raven
colored hair. They were very similar in appearances except for the
eyes, Axel had a lighter color.

“
What’s that supposed to
mean?” He watched his brother frown. “Are you going to help him
kill her too?” What kind of question was that? He would never do
such a thing. It was insane. He shook his head to clear his mind as
things blurred for a second.

“
Look kid. Don’t worry
about things, that’s my job.” He smiled when James launched himself
into his arms. “Wipe those tears, everything is going to be fine. I
got a plan.”

“
But Jay, what are we going
to do. I don’t think we can afford college and mom’s medical bills.
I heard dad talking and things are apparently worse than what they
seem. He was talking about life insurance policies and
stuff.”

Life insurance? Why would dad be
talking about that? “You don’t worry. I told you I got it covered.
Now I have to go check on mom.”

“
Alright
doofus.”

***

Iris was early to class and no, she
was not sitting here thinking about Axel or waiting for him to show
up. She just wanted to have a good lesson today.

“
So how did it go with Axel
yesterday?” Natasha asked her. Iris didn’t know how much she should
tell Natasha. She didn’t need a lecture and was tired of everyone
telling her how dangerous he was. He had a little rebellion going
on, but it was nothing out of hand.

“
It was cool. I was just
trying to get some clarification about what happen with Brad. I
keep forgetting to give him my number.”

“
Smooth,” Natasha chuckled.
“How do you know him anyway?”

Natasha blanched but it was briefly.
“My mom is a doctor.”

“
I didn’t know that,” Iris
exclaimed, maybe she could tell Natasha about her life. “I know
Axel’s mom is really sick.”