ODDILY (18 page)

“
Please stop crying,” he brushed his lips against the back of her hands.

Oddily stiffened like a statue at his touch.

Maxim tried to lighten the mood “Let me taste your lips to find out if they still taste like tangerines?”

When Oddily didn’t remove her hands from her face, Maxim got to his feet and sauntered over to the other side of the room.
Nexa, where are you?

* * * * * *

By the time Nexa drove into the parking lot of the lodge where she had suggested Maxim take Oddily, she felt relief when she spotted her brother’s empty car. That meant he listened to her, and their private world was still safe for the time being.

Nexa found their bungalow and without knocking, opened the front door.
How is she doing?
She asked while gliding over to Maxim.

Oddily took one peek at the spiritual beauty of pale hair with forget-me-not eyes and went into a new frenzy of tears.

“
It’s nice to see you, too!” Nexa began to listen in on Oddily’s pitiful thoughts.

Look at them, a perfect couple made from heaven! Where does that leave me? Am I destined to live my love life only in my dreams?

“
Okay, that is enough!”  Nexa marched over to Oddily, shocking the girl out of her moment of self-pity.

What happened?
Maxim was also startled by his sister’s sudden annoyance.

Introduce us, Maxim.

But…

Nexa gave him a harsh stare.

Okay, okay,
Maxim’s bewilderment showed in his voice as he introduced them.
“
Oddily, this is Nexa.”

Oddily cried out with fresh tears. “Even your name is beautiful!”

“
Stop your blubbering and look at us!” Nexa walked gracefully back to her brother’s side.
“
I’m his twin sister!”

“
You’re related?” Oddily lowered her hands and compared the two. Something was strangely familiar about seeing them together, like one of those déjà vu moments. Why hadn’t she noticed their resemblance before, during the dance? Maybe they were too far away, or too much was going on in her head at the time to think with a clear mind. Whatever the reason, it didn’t matter now. This angelic creature was nothing more to Maxim than a family member.

Oddily smiled. She couldn’t help herself because her tortured heart was momentarily relieved from its painful place of humiliation. Suddenly, there was a promising sense of possibilities for Maxim and her. But as fast as the hopeful thought came, she chided herself for her childish fantasizing. Someone like him would never have her as a partner in life. Oddily couldn’t take the depressing thoughts anymore. She needed to escape by going into one of her dream sprees where everything was beautiful.

“
I’m tired,” Oddily’s pain returned to devour her.

Maxim and Nexa glanced at each other, but said nothing as they stared at Oddily while she slid off the couch and disappeared into a coat closet. To their surprise, the fragile girl didn’t come back out.

Are you going to get her or do you want me to?
Nexa asked.

“
Oddily,” Maxim called out, knowing she must be embarrassed.

“
I thought this was the bedroom.” Her sweet, soft, voice came from beyond the door.

“
Nexa and I are going out on the porch for awhile, so you can have some time for yourself.”

“
Okay.”

After the front door opened and closed, Oddily hurried out of the closet and found the bedroom.

Stupid, stupid, stupid! She chided herself for opening the wrong door. She knew in a flash that it didn’t lead to the bedroom but stupidly, she had to go in anyway, hoping for what…that they wouldn’t notice what she had done?

With clothes still on, Oddily climbed into bed and threw the blankets over her head. She forced her imagination to create the sweetest dream spree she could imagine.  She started off imagining herself to be Nexa with her angelic face and perfect shaped boobs. She danced with her new boyfriend, a tall, dark haired, exquisite looking guy who swirled her around the dance floor while all eyes were on them. She felt beautiful and feminine in her gray satin gown as she lovingly glanced up into her boyfriends deep brown eyes—no, wait a minute! His eyes were sky blue.

“
I requested brown eyes,” Oddily spoke to her imaginary creation, but the blue eyes remained. In fact, her dark featured Knight in Shinning Armor turned into Maxim with his blonde hair, chiseled face and full lips.

Oddily’s heart danced in her chest at the sight of him and couldn’t fight the reaction. She was afraid of him—reluctant to let what she was beginning to feel for him grow. She believed that he would end up breaking her heart, but tonight she wouldn’t resist, so she let him hold her close while they moved around the dance floor just like in romantic fairytales. How could someone appear to be so right and yet she still knew by instinct, that he was so wrong for her? Fortunately, she remembered to remind herself that this wasn’t real and decided to enjoy the unimaginable.

Oddily rested her head on his chest and listened to his heart beat so strong and steady—a heart belonging to her for this brief moment. He pressed her closer and closer against his body, and she savored every moment wrapped in his arms until she heard a familiar horsy laugh. Her head shot up and stared, wide eyed, into the menacing gray eyes of her worst nightmare, Kip.

Oddily screamed and tried to break his hold on her and at first he wouldn’t let her go. He laughed harder as she struggled against him until the perfect moment came and he released her, causing her to fall backwards into Paul’s arms.

“
I’m sorry. I’m so sorry!” Paul whispered over and over again in her ear.

Oddily pushed Paul away and spun around, staring at students pointing their finger at her and laughing. She glanced down at herself and her beautiful gray evening dress disappeared, leaving her with nothing but her underpants and high-heel shoes. Oddily tossed and turned as she continued to relive the devastating night.

24

Outside on the porch, Maxim raked a hand tensely through his blonde hair.
I want to talk with you, sis
.

Nexa showed concern as she took a seat next to him.
You haven’t been your usual self since this whole ordeal with Oddily began.

Maxim nodded.

Listen to me, dear brother. You must admit that Oddily’s life, and mankind in general, is our enemy. If we’re not careful, our way of life will be destroyed─ then what?

Now you sound like father.
Maxim smirked.

Well, what he said is true. We were careless tonight, drawing way too much attention to ourselves—the exact thing father warned us against.

Hey, no one asked you to come,
Maxim snapped.

Nexa sighed.
I’m glad I did because now I’m happy that we stayed secluded.  After what I witnessed tonight, this is one crazy world.

Listen, I understand the risk I took, but what I feel for Oddily is too overpowering. My mind says to walk away and yet my heart can’t seem to resist her. Could you leave her if you were in my shoes?

Yes, if you asked me to.

I can’t, sis! I won’t leave her.

Of course you won’t, not until you bone her.

What do you mean?

I’m speaking a slang phrase I heard at the dance. It means to engage in sex.

Maxim jumped to his feet.
I’m not going to take part in this conversation.

Fine, but you need to stop walking around with a banana in your pants—it’s annoying.

Maxim started to walk away.

Come back here—I’ll behave!

Maxim returned but remained standing.

Now what do we do
?
Nexa unconsciously braced herself for his answer.

I want you to enroll at Forest Ridge High on, Monday, so you can keep an eye on Oddily for a few weeks.

Nexa let her jaw drop open in surprise.
You sound ridiculous!

What if I do your homework?
He stared at her in earnest.

She became angry
. The answer is no!

If you don’t, I’ll enroll myself;
he
fixed his eyes on the ground.

Why must you be so stubborn?!
Nexa rolled her eyes in exasperation.

Please, sis.

Oh my God—like I seriously wanna go to Forest Ridge High. The school is sooo cool!

Maxim couldn’t help but laugh at his sister’s poor imitation of the way some of the girls spoke.

All right—two weeks darn it, and not one more day.

He gave her a thank you smile, but Nexa didn’t miss the fact he still appeared to be troubled.

Now what’s wrong?

It’s about tonight. Something happened to me.
Maxim sat back down and glanced up at the canopy of twinkling stars.

Go ahead, I’m listening.

Back at the dance, when I ran out of the gymnasium chasing after Oddily, I could tell I was too far away to save her from the oncoming motorcycle. I don’t understand. Something inside me snapped and all of a sudden everything blurred and I was knocking her out of the way. Sis, I can’t remember how I got to her in time.

Try to reflect on what you think happened, Maxim? This is important.

I’m not sure, but I think I experienced a time slip.

The same as father did with us?

Yes, remember how he would tease us by flaunting chocolate in front of us and instantly, the same candy bars were in our hands?

Yes, we had fun. He made time speed up so fast we didn’t catch him in the act of giving us the treat. Oh my—do you think that’s what happened to you?

Maxim nodded.

And yet, father’s not here.

You’re right.
Maxim frowned at the mention of their father.

Then this means…

It means I did it,
he finished her thought.

Nexa blissfully sighed,
finally!

What do you mean?
Maxim was caught off guard by his sister’s sublime reaction and became suspicious. Y
ou’ve been holding out on me, haven’t you?

She smiled
and nodded.

And?
Maxim waited for her to explain herself.

I’ve been dabbling with time for awhile now, and the occurrences are a staggering experience.

Are you talking about time slips?
He was stunned and yet intrigued.

Nexa hesitated for a moment before fully opening her mind to him.

Maxim was stunned by what she revealed.
You traveled into the past!

She began to grin, relieved that her brother finally knew her secret.

Nexa, why didn’t you tell me?

You have no idea how badly I wanted to, but when the same changes weren’t happening to you, I didn’t want your fear to try and stop me.

You’re right, I would have.
Maxim still reeled from her confession.
Now what?

I’m clueless, Max. I guess we’ll be a support system for each other while we finish turning into someone like father.

You and I are to become ‘Time Travelers’!

That’s my understanding, especially after what happened to you tonight. Truthfully, I thought for sure I was going to be the only one to follow in father’s footsteps, but now I’m so relieved we’re in this together. I have so much I want to share with you.

I’d rather you didn’t right now.
Maxim’s mood became dark and ominous as he continued to gaze at the night sky. He didn’t want his sister to know how frightened he was of becoming something different from whom he was now. He reflected on the moment when his father had departed five years prior, and how unnerving it was to witness him disappear before his eyes.

You’re thinking of father.

No…yes, I’ll admit it!

You’re still angry with him.

Five years have gone by, Nexa. He said he would return soon.