My Soul to Keep

CHAPTER 13



Alone, and somewhat confused and depressed, I walked home instead of flying. Saturday night and not a damn thing to do. Immersing myself in some video games and avoiding the rest of the world sounded like a good plan. I hoped to whoever was listening it would be enough to take my mind off of Clarisse’s reaction to what had happened. I wanted to ask her why she freaked out and what I did wrong. I doubted I would have the guts to ask the next time I saw her. Clarisse scared me.

The walk took less time than I expected and I quickly ended up in front of my door. I went inside expecting Mom and Dad to be home, but the house sat empty and quiet. I didn’t expect Caelyn to be home, so that wasn’t a shock. When was the last time Mom and Dad went out on a Saturday night? I drew a blank.

Shutting the door behind me I made my way upstairs into the safety and solitude of my cave. I flipped on the TV and launched myself on my bed, landing expertly on my back. I closed my eyes and my thoughts drifted to Jessie. I looked over at the phone sitting there in its cradle. Taking one long deep breath I reached over and picked it up and dialed the number I'd attempted to call fifteen million times. This time instead of hanging up I let it ring and ring and ring. She finally answered.

“Hello?”

“Jessie?”

“Connor! It’s about time you called. Is it still okay if I come over tomorrow?”

“Absolutely. Do you need a ride? I can have my parents come get you….”

“Nope, my dad will drop me off. What time should I be there?”

“Anytime you like.”

“I’ll be there about noon. What are you doing now?”

"Shaving kittens and plucking a chicken for this ritual I found on a cereal box."

"Huh?"

"Just kidding. I'm lying in bed talking to you."

"Hahaha. You're very strange. Have I mentioned how much I like that in a guy?"

My heart skipped a beat. "I…I…"

"I'll see you tomorrow, Connor. Sweet dreams."

Click. Smiling, I set the phone back in its cradle and put my arms behind my head.

Unfortunately my mind drifted from blissful nothing to thoughts of Clarisse. I needed to talk to her before Jessie came over tomorrow. I had to tell her I couldn’t take her to the stupid Halloween dance so I could ask Jessie.

Now I had the added bonus of explaining everything to my mother. “Sorry, Mom, I know you like Claire, but she’s a soul stealing demon. I’m dumping her and going to the dance with somebody else.” It probably wouldn't go well.

The odds of Clarisse showing up at my doorstep were about the same as my sister earning a community service award. That left only one option, finding her. I picked myself up off my bed and made my way outside. I didn't have a clue where Clarisse lived, where she hung out, or where to start looking. My only shot would be the mall. My stomach growled and sealed my decision. I truly didn’t feel like walking though.

I owned a bicycle, but that is almost as much work as walking. It wasn't fair. Clarisse could pull whatever she needed out of thin air. Then I remembered my swords. I'd done it, too. I figured, “Why not? If she could do it so could I."

The problem was I had little to no experience driving a vehicle and a fifteen year old driving down the road might cause a little too much suspicion. Motorcycles were out, too. Road rash probably wouldn’t look too good on me and might hurt like a son of a bitch. Immediately my mind said, “Scooter.” It would be perfect. You don’t need a license to drive one, and if I made it look crappy enough, I could tell my parents I'd been saving money and bought it myself. I walked down the steps and concentrated.

I knew what a scooter looked like, but the only brand name I could come up with was Vespa. They seemed to be in every movie I've ever seen. I concentrated on the image of one as hard as I could. I pictured a dull red one complete with dents on the sides and scratches. I pictured missing chrome trim and lots of dirt. I pictured a barely working model and pulled with my mind like I'd done with the swords. I opened my eyes and there sat a scooter.

A brand new, straight off the showroom floor, shiny, perfect Vespa scooter.

“Crap,” I said to no one.

“Where the hell did you get that?”

I spun around and found my sister standing there in her cheerleading outfit with her hands on her hips. She looked furious. I’m sure I looked like an idiot. I stammered and tried to come up with an excuse. Words failed me. I meant to say, “What scooter,” but what came out was, “Clarisse bought it for me.”

“Who’s Clarisse?”

“Claire,” I said quickly.

“Claire?”

“Awl? She’s a senior…”

“Oh, my God. Does Mom know?” My sister looked like she might pop at any moment. I wouldn’t mind, but I wouldn’t be cleaning the mess up. I might hose the pieces off the driveway, but that’s it. Seeing her standing there pissed off six ways from Sunday started to make me feel a little better.

“She met Claire this morning.”

“I’m talking about the scooter, assclown.”

“I don’t know, I just got home and found it here. Claire said she left a present for me, but I wasn’t expecting this,” I said with the biggest grin I could manage.

“Argh!” She literally stamped her foot and then went inside.

My work here was done.

I hopped on the new scooter, satisfied with my cover story, and turned the key. It roared (okay, coughed) to life, I hit the throttle and shot down the driveway faster than I expected and hit the road. I almost hit the curb before remembering to turn. With one last glance over my shoulder, I sped down the street, toward the mall.

* * *

She wasn’t at the food court. I knew without a doubt she was at the mall, I just couldn't tell where. I closed my eyes and thought of Clarisse. I tried to picture her smiling, but it just didn’t work. I pictured her with a wicked gleam in her eye and immediately her face came into focus. She was working. Clarisse had a job at the one place no teenage boy would be caught dead going into. She worked at the lingerie store.

“Hahaha!”

Everybody in the food court turned to stare at the crazy boy laughing for no reason in front of Burrito Bob’s. With a blush I started heading toward the far end of the mall. I concentrated very hard on my feet and the tile below them.

I stood by the bench outside of Angelique’s Closet. I could see Clarisse ringing up underwear and other things for a hefty middle-aged woman. She spotted me standing there staring at her through the half-inch thick glass with a goofy smirk on my face. I tried very hard not to laugh out loud again when she saw me. I'd never seen Clarisse blush before. It made her look a lot more human.

She finished ringing the woman’s items up, swiped her card, shoved everything in a bag with a big swirly "A" on it and said something to one of the other sales girls on duty. Whatever she said, the girl didn’t look happy, but nodded and stepped behind the register. I could almost smell smoke as Clarisse walked through the entrance of the store and made her way over to where I stood.

“What are you doing here, worm?” Wow, did she sound pissed.

“I needed to talk to you, and I had to do it tonight.”

“Well, I don’t have time for this, I’m working.”

“Since when do you have a job?”

“Since before you were born, dumbass,” she said and motioned me to follow her. I guess she didn’t want to have a conversation within earshot of the store.

She headed back to the food court with me in tow and got on line at Papa Luigi’s. The pizza smelled pretty damn good. I hadn’t been eating much lately.

“Clarisse,” I started, but she held up her hand.

“Wait until we sit down, worm. I’m starving. Do you want anything?”

“I’ll have a slice and a coke,” I said, figuring she’d pay. Okay, I hoped she would pay.

"Want to rethink your order?"

"Huh?"

"Cheese. Don't forget you're lactose intolerant. Very."

"Crap."

"They don’t serve that here, but you can eat it."

"Har har. What are you having?"

"Pasta," she said with an evil grin.

I sighed and gave her a quick, "I'll have the same, please."

She placed her order and mine and handed the greasy looking teen a twenty dollar bill. I smiled at the free food and offered to carry the tray. We found a secluded table pretty far away from anybody else in the somewhat deserted food court.

Without speaking she dug in and started chewing. Clarisse looked everywhere but at me. I started to get a little worried. “Why are you so mad at me?”

“I’m not mad, worm. Eat.”

“Then why aren’t you talking to me?”

“I’m talking to you. Eat.”

“Clarisse…”

“Connor, eat your food and then we’ll talk.”

I gave up and tore into it. I hadn’t realized how badly I wanted something to eat. By the time I finished, I’m sure I had tomato sauce from ear to ear. I probably got some on the ceiling, the floor, and quite possibly the windows of the stores around the corner. Clarisse’s face confirmed it, I was a pig.

“Hungry?”

“A little, sorry.”

“Worm, I can’t even begin to tell you how much energy your body burns. Eat more before you eat somebody.”

“Very funny, Clarisse.”

“I’m not kidding.”

I looked at her face expecting her to start laughing. She didn’t. I felt the spaghetti coming back up. What the hell did I get myself into? I concentrated on the condensation forming on the side of my Coke. “Okay, then. Clarisse, what is going on? Ever since the swords–"

Her hand shot across the table and covered my mouth. Her eyes started glowing and she leaned closer very slowly. “I told you, it never happened. Forget about it. If you ever draw them again I will kill you myself. Do you understand me?”

I shook my head.

“You don’t understand or you don’t agree. Tell me now, because one way or another, this discussion is over.”

I reached up and grabbed her wrist, squeezed as hard as I could, and pulled it slowly from my mouth. The look of surprise on her face made me feel a little better about the whole situation. “Clarisse, you told me to do something and I did it. Now you say it was completely wrong and won’t tell me why. If you give me a reason, I might consider it, but until then my answer is no.”

She sighed and sat back in her chair. She brought her fingers up to her face and covered her mouth with them. “Connor, I can’t. I really need you to trust me with this one, okay? We are forbidden to talk about it. Just don’t ever bring them back.”

It was her use of my name that made me believe her. I nodded and she smiled. “By the way, if anybody asks, you bought me a scooter.”

“Huh?”