A/N This is my first story for The Host. I was extremely excited when I found out they put a spot on ff for it! I hope that it's not too bad.
I was torn between two ideas for a fanfic. I was either going to do The Host in Ian's POV, or continue on the book from Wanda's POV. It was a hard decision, but I just decided to roll with it. I'm not going to put a full summary in here, because I don't think that it's needed. But if anyone else thinks differently, then please tell me and I'll write one. Just a quick note—this story starts just before the invasion. Onward!
Disclaimer: I do not own The Host or its characters. Just the plot. But I do own a copy of the book that I bought at Barns and Noble!
Ian's POV
"Ouch! Damn it, Ian! Stop that!"
"Then admit it," I taunted, "and I'll stop."
"I'll never admit anything. I wasn't wrong!" Kyle protested. I rolled my eyes.
"Course you weren't," I muttered, raising an eyebrow.
"Will you two just give it up?" Jodi cried, waving her arms, as if trying to show that she were still here. "Even if Kyle was wrong, he'll never admit it," she told me. As if I didn't already know that. But I smiled.
"True," I agreed with a chuckle.
Kyle looked like he was about to comment on that, but before he could voice his thoughts, Jodi asked, "What were you two fighting over, anyway?"
Kyle stood from his awkward position and went over to Jodi, wrapping his arms around her waist. She blushed, but looked at me expectantly. I fought a smile.
"Who was the better wrestler," I explained. I grinned. "And I obviously won."
She laughed in understanding. "Ahh. No wonder Kyle wouldn't admit that he lost," she said, turning to him. He pursed his lips, then smiled. He had probably decided that he couldn't be mad at her. Then, with a gentleness that couldn't have belonged to my obnoxious brother, he leaned his face down and kissed Jodi lightly. I looked away.
"So," I mumbled after a moment.
"Sorry," Jodi apologized, flushing again.
"No problem. What's on the agenda for today?" I asked. I wouldn't have usually asked them this, but Jodi always insisted that we all spend time together. She didn't like the fact that she felt she was taking my brother away from me. Of course, I fervently told her I didn't mind in the least—I wasn't one for spending "quality time" with Kyle. She just smiled and told me that she felt very at home hearing our constant bickering. I felt bad for her—she had lost her whole family to a house fire. Well, almost her whole family—her mother made it out alive. Her little brother, about eight years old, had been watching something on the stove for her mother when Jodi left to get rice for dinner that night. When she came back, her entire house was engulfed in flames. She lost her father, two little brothers, and baby sister. It was very, very devastating for her. That's why when her and Kyle got engaged, she came to live with us. We do our best to keep her happy and at home.
"Hmm…not sure," she responded, looking at Kyle. "Any ideas?'
"I don't really care. As long as you're with me, I'll do anything." He looked at her seriously, but she just rolled her eyes.
"How about a movie?" she suggested.
"Sounds good," Kyle and I both said at the same time. Jodi laughed.
After the movie, we all went back to my place. It wasn't exactly big—it was just an apartment—but it was preferable to our mother's house. She was always lingering around, trying to be a good "host" for us. I shook my head at the thought. One time, Kyle, Jodi and I were watching a scary movie on TV, and our mom popped in. She sat next to Kyle on the couch, and started asking thousands of questions. It drove us all insane. Which comes to the reason for me buying my own apartment. I smiled.
"What did you think of the movie?" Kyle asked Jodi.
"It was…um…" she looked for the right words.
Kyle just laughed. "How much of the movie did you watch?"
"Not much," she admitted. "I was mostly distracted by a very handsome man."
"Who?" he asked, eyebrows furrowed in obvious worry. The imbecile, I thought to myself, rolling my eyes.
"You, silly!" she exclaimed, kissing his cheek.
"Oh," he said, relief coloring his tone. "Right."
Jodi pulled herself from his embrace, and went to lie down on the couch. She lay on her stomach, pulling a pillow under her head. "I'm bushed," she said, yawning.
Kyle walked over to her, brushing his fingers across her cheek. "Of course. Go to sleep, honey. You need your rest." His tone held no opening for discussion. She nodded, closing her eyes.
He turned to me. "I'm going to move her to the bed when she's deeper asleep," he told me, and I nodded. I had two extra mattresses, because Kyle had always insisted on her having the bed. I agreed. It didn't really matter where I slept, as long as I wasn't on a hard wood floor. Actually, I probably wouldn't even mind that. I was used to the hard floor from our family's years of camping in the middle of nowhere.
Actually, the apartment was really for the three of us. I paid the rent, and they lived here. I didn't mind. Neither Kyle nor Jodi had a job, and I wasn't about to be the one who made them. Anyway, something…odd was happening. The rent was going down more every month. I wasn't about to complain, but…the landlord was usually a very mean and self-absorbed person. It made me curious.
I had given him a phone call one day, and asked to see him. His name was Lloyd. Lloyd said it was fine—another odd thing. So I rode over to his house and knocked on the door. He answered, smiling. My eyebrows pulled down in confusion. I had never once seen him smile, nonetheless to me. I shrugged it off and went inside. He offered me a seat on his couch, and I sat down warily. There were no bright lights on, which shocked me, but I didn't question it.
"One moment, please," he had requested, and turned to leave the room.
I gasped when I saw the back of his neck. There was a faint, pink line running vertically from his hairline down roughly about four inches. "Lloyd?" I asked.
"Yes?" he asked politely.
"What happened to your neck?" I cocked my head to the side. I hoped I hadn't offended him.
"Oh, that thing?" He laughed. "That was just me being careless. I got in a very stupid car accident a few weeks ago," he said, waving it off with the flick of his hand. I nodded, not quite sure if I believed him. But I let it go, and left quickly.
I blinked, and I was suddenly in the present again. It took my eyes a moment to adjust. Where had the dawn gone? It was pitch-black outside now. I rolled my neck, laid down on the lumpy old mattress I used, and pulled the blanket around me, hoping for sleep.
"Ian," someone called to me. "Ian!"
I moaned and turned over, pulling the blanket over my head.
"Go away," I mumbled incoherently.
She laughed. "Come on, sleepyhead. It's time for work!" Jodi exclaimed with false enthusiasm. I moaned again, sitting up.
I opened my eyes and hissed as the light demanded to blind me. I opened them again, slower this time, and yawned. I stretched my arms out in front of me. "Morning already?" I asked, clearer this time.
"Yep," she said cheerfully.
Another thing Jodi enjoyed was waking me up each morning for work. It was a routine that she had had with her father, and she couldn't seem to break the habit. I didn't complain—before she moved in with us, I had been late more often than I had been on time.
I inhaled the sweet smell wafting from the kitchen. I felt my expression light up. "Food!" I exclaimed. I grinned at her. "You're too good to us."
"Nah," she said, blushing a bit. "Now go and eat before it gets cold!" she ordered, pushing me into the kitchen.
I laughed, and pulled up a tiny folding chair. I licked my lips, and dug into the plate she set out for me. I started with the three eggs. When I finished those, I devoured the sausage, hash browns, bacon, and toast quickly. I sighed in content.
"Thanks again, Jodes," I said.
"It was nothing. After all, you've given me a place to live. The least I could do was repay the gesture with some breakfast," she said, winking at me. I smiled.
Kyle walked in, rubbing his eyes. "Mmm…Jodi, have you been cooking again?" he asked sleepily.
"Guilty," she laughed.
We spent the night lounging around the apartment after I got home from work. I didn't have any desire to know what the two lovebirds were doing while I was gone; I tried to block hideous images out of my head.
Under Jodi's request, we played silly games such as Twister and Trouble and even Truth or Dare. We fell asleep sometime around two in the morning.
-:-:-:-:-:-
One day, Jodi went missing.
"No!" Kyle shouted. "No! It's not possible!"
I ground my teeth together in fury. How had this happened?
Four days ago, Jodi went to go visit her mother. She lived out of state, and had insisted that she wanted to see her mother alone. Kyle agreed after a heated argument—he didn't like not being able to be around her. But she told him that this was what she wanted, and his will crumpled. We went to the airport with her, and watched her plane fly away. Kyle hid his pain well until she was gone. His eyes held agony, and his expression was full of sorrow. I hadn't seen him this down since the last time Jodi went to visit her mother alone, about a year ago.
He was starting to become downright unbearable by that night. He just sat on her bed—which, according to him, still smelled like her—and stared at her picture. She would call when she got the chance, I reminded him. He nodded slightly and pouted some more.
Then, this morning, there was a call coming from Jodi's mother's house. Kyle dove for it, exasperated and worried. Then, slowly, his eyes got bigger and wider with alarm. Anger flashed upon his face in tidal waves. "God damn it!" he roared, throwing the phone against the wall. He was suddenly on his feet, shaking.
"What happened?" I demanded, surprised by his outburst.
"Jodi's gone missing!" he yelled, throwing his arms in the air. My breathing stopped.
"Missing?" I whispered. "How do you know?"
"Her mom told me that she went out for a walk yesterday, and she didn't come back. She tried calling Jodi's cell phone, but the line said it was disconnected. She called the police, terrified, and they put out over the news that she went missing. A bystander apparently saw her on the street the night before, running in terror. He reported to the police the next morning when he saw that she went missing," he explained, face red with hot fury.
I was frozen. I couldn't move, couldn't breathe. Jodi was…gone?
"I can't believe…" I mumbled.
"Neither can I!" he yelled. "We have to go look for her. There's no other way. I don't trust those dimwitted cops to find her," he growled. I nodded in agreement.
We took the next plane there.
-:-:-:-:-:-
Jodi was nowhere to be found. Despite our days of effort of looking for her, the poor, sweet girl was not to be found. Kyle had gone from furious to desperate to devastated. He slumped in his seat. We were on a plane, going back home. He buried his face in his hands and let the sorrow consume him. He wept until the plane landed.
I put my hand on his shoulder, a comforting gesture. "Kyle…I'm so sorry…" I was choking back tears of my own. I had always cared for Jodi like a sister. This was very hard on me, too. But someone had to be strong.
He nodded, sniffling. I could see the worst was over…for now.
All I could do now was pray that she wasn't harmed. I leaned my head back on the seat, closed my eyes, and willed the pain to stop.
-:-:-:-:-:-
Two days ago, Kyle and I were on the plane home from searching for Jodi. Today she has been declared dead. No girl would last this long, the news has said. Especially when that bystander said she was running for her life.
This put me and Kyle in a depression that was unspeakable. We didn't talk; we just sat on Jodi's bed and cried. We couldn't live through this. Not at the rate we were healing…which wasn't at all.
Why is the world so cruel as to take away Kyle's love and the girl that's always felt like my sister?
A/N I feel really bad about what I had to do to Jodi…but I couldn't see any other way for me to make her go missing without having Kyle at her side. I hope it was good…even if it was terrible, please tell me. I am deprived of motivation to write when I don't get any reviews!
Please review!!