A large slam on her shoulder hit her from behind, and she yelled, "AHH! I'm gonna kill you! You know I hate that!"
"Sorry," a strong male voice said in a humorous tone. Jeremy had finally shown up.
Spooked twice in one day! She blasted mentally. She rubbed the spot that stung worse than the prickling in her fingers. "That's gonna bruise."
Jeremy jumped out of the way as his sister swung at him. "Seriously, Elena why so dramatic these days? I didn't tap you that hard." Jeremy's voice cut through the wind and eased her racing heart.
She replied slowly, "Someone hit me earlier. A mac truck to be precise." At least it was him, finally. "Don't do that!" Damn him! She sighed and reigned in her temper. He knew she hated being spooked, but it was just too easy when she zoned out. "I was about to break out the clicking and go home myself. I nearly froze out here."
Like most brothers, he hounded her often. It was a gift he was unnaturally good at, in her opinion. She'd yelled at him anyway as he laughed it off. Still, he noticed how uptight she'd seemed & even more distant than usual; unlike her to be moody and even downright annoying as of late.
"Channel that energy someplace else. No click clack, or whatever it is you call that 'whatever' thing you do to detect things around you." He waved his hand around as he spoke, then frowned, and shrugged. Doing that was pointless, he thought.
"Do you even speak proper English? And 'why' you asked? Because I'm good at it and could make it home just fine without you?" She put two hands on her hips and waited for his response.
In feigned surprise he said, "Verbal Nazi." And then made his next point, "You can go, but it won't feel good."
"Oh shove it." She uncrossed her arms over her chest. She detested when he was right. When she couldn't come back to that, she crossed her arms again.
He stopped, looked her over, and grimaced. Poor girl nearly froze out here, he thought. A finger tapped on her arm where her hand rested so he knew she wasn't done with him yet. He looked back to a paper in his hand and crumpled it up. There was time to think about what was on it later. He knew he'd been slipping up when it came to her, but it was hard to juggle everything.
He finished his discussion from earlier, "Cause it freaks me out you could, not that you would. You're all I got, kid. No one ought to be that good at getting around being blind. Really, what's wrong with you?"
She blasted him, "Want a scroll?"
His face pinched, "What the hell do I want with a scroll?"
Deadpanned she replied, "Really? I got more than a 'list' of reasons with what's wrong here. One- for you leaving me out here, buddy. Two-"
"OK, I get it."
"No, no I don't think you do." She huffed at him and added, "It's called clicking. And why? You didn't come when you said you would. It's like you…I don't know."
"I'm not arguing this again. Having a tantrum on a street corner isn't earning you any props here. Look," he began annoyed that she'd assumed he wanted to leave her. Making money took time, and he hated being overly belittled. "I said I'm sorry, what more do you want? You need me and I need you. I don't have enough cheese for your endless supply of whine." He looked around as he finished his speech. The pavement had cooled and a dense fog was forming.
Jeremy took note of the way her features displayed everything she felt and he detected something else there tonight. He felt that subtle drop in his stomach he knew was fear.
I'm losing her trust, he thought surprised. He'd never been bad enough for that before, but he could see it all over her face. Soon he'd have to tell her worse news.
She'd been blind since the age of three, but that never mattered to him. He remembered one of his earliest memories; it was on the church piano and he'd come up to sit with her amazed at how she pulled tunes from empty air and could make you feel things with sound. Being near Elena, as he named her, was like being basked in light and harmony. If magic took its cue from something, it was from her. It was the epitome of her names' meaning.
Beauty was created from this one little child. It felt like he'd robbed her of that life, however, there was the problem of proximity to deal with. In her life, he had no place. So instead, he selfishly took her into his. Maybe when he could get her citizenship the right way, it wouldn't be so bad. Still, she'd see it as abandonment, and he understood that pain all too well. And now she believes it, he thought with a deep sadness.
I won't leave you kid, he thought to her. If only she knew how important she was to him.
The nun Ana called Elena a music prodigy, and tried educate her while teaching him how to fight. For someone without visual abilities she was extremely fast at picking things up, but she lacked tact when dealing with others. I know I was there, he thought, but the memory was so vague I still can't place it. I can't even remember life before her. He yearned to give her the answers she sought. Like who her mother was, where she'd come from, and why no one claimed her. Despite seeming ok with it, he knew she wasn't any more ok with it than he was. In this one shared thing they were able to emotionally connect on. Many people felt that these days.
Even as his eyes roamed over her slim form, he felt guilt weigh on him further. I should be making more money for her to eat-the poor thing is too slim. Jeremy had made her suffer in the cold while he was warm hooking up a stupid gig for money to do just that. Like other times, he mentally scolded himself for being so careless. She'd seen so much pain for someone so young, he didn't need to add to it. If he were good and any one thing, it was protecting her. It was the one thing that made him proud.
He was tall with an unknown heritage, had great charisma, and brown-black hair. He fought like a beast, almost ruthlessly and calculated. The loved girls maybe a little too much. They always told him he had soulful eyes. Eyes, chicks dig eyes, he thought to himself. He had a nervous tick of bouncing his leg, or flicking it with his hand. The last week had him on edge more than normal, and he'd wondered if she picked up on it.
"Sorry kid, I'm a little uneasy with being short for rent."
"Ok," she said unconvinced.
It was weird to feel so 'fatherly' towards her. Well, protective, he reconsidered. He didn't care about much else in life. If it weren't for her, he'd be adrift someplace. Somehow, Elena managed to keep him focused and grounded. He never forgot how pretty, quirky, or innocent she was. It hadn't escaped his notice how her emotions were all over the place recently. Maybe Elena thought he'd just drop her when she was older, or maybe into foster care, but he wouldn't dream of it. He'd never taken her for a typical teenage girl, but maybe his fortune was ending. Jeremy smirked, I am doomed, he thought as amusement crept over his face. It will be ok.
Today sucked, he thought to himself, and tomorrow is her birthday. It was once again Halloween, and a job had finally come up. No more starving and living on the fringes, he thought almost pleased. He was a new player in town, and earning trust of these people seemed to have taken forever. The benefit was that his old boss gave him props when he was sent here. This new boss was a little too cautious for his taste. He'd heard the pay was load better though.
Florida was a place of high rollers, even with the weather changes. Sure the coastal areas had begun to flood, but that only pushed the illegal action deeper inside the state. Being a teapot of various races and colors, it was the best place to blend in for him and his sister. It was the very reason he opted to come here in the first place.
How else would I explain my decent and her appearance? He thought it was a wild explanation he'd never have gotten away with. Her features didn't look like his even with the skin differences. This is what is best for us now, he reminded himself. Jeremy knew Elena wouldn't approve of him putting them in danger this way. Carefully, he hugged her close and offered her some warmth after the brief fight. Reluctant to the core, she finally gave in.
He remembered her as a waif child, all pale skin, with near white hair and eyelashes. She had some pigment in her skin and eyes, and could have passed for someone maybe Norwegian if not for the European blend to her. There'd been a time she'd had vision even if it hadn't been well. That all changed when she'd been attacked.
Elena looked like a perfect beautiful mix of stunning and ethereal. Most people didn't see it as she hid behind large cloths and hats. They'd even dyed her hair a few times. Her eyes were the thing that screamed out to people as they were unusual, like a cerulean blue that exuded life itself. When she was younger they were a brownish color, but time had lightened them to blue. It was like she could see through a person, regardless of being blind. There was an acceptance, a strength, and a willfulness about her that few others processed. The way she usually saw the world kept him in positive spirits most days. Jeremy wondered, how could anyone be so secure and sure after what happened to them?
And she packed a punch that could land someone on the floor. Who could guess she'd be able to fight? He'd taught her. For a small thing, she was strong and pretty adaptive. There was an area of space around her that she could detect things with fine acuteness. Right now, she was probably starving. After warming up, he decided to chance talking again.
Elena paused at Jeremy's silence and heard his arm extend, the soft way the fabric of his shirt moved, and reached out as he pulled away from the hug. She asked, "You ok?"
She felt him jump, "Man," he groaned. "How do you do that? I was just about to speak."
Elena smiled and slapped the top of his head for added measure. He ducked too late and she got him. Nitwit she thought, "I may be blind, but I ain't stupid. That big noggin is easy to find in the dark."
He sputtered, "Yeah, right. You got to be the only blind person who is more accurate than people who actually see." His unease permeated the space between them. Ok, the thought trying to devise a plan for food, what can I do here?
On the plus side, she heard him crinkle a paper into his pocket signaling it was time to go. "Time to eat?"
"I-ah, sure," he returned unsteadily. She was too happy to notice the change in his tone.
Yes, she thought with happiness. We were moving. It took all of ten steps before she knew they were at the diner she'd been waiting at for him. Wow I'd fallen further than I thought, she mused. "I wish I wasn't blind," she started somberly. "I really want to help out instead of being the ball and chain."
He goofed at her choice of words, "That's a term for married people."
He carefully held the door open for her and led her through the diner. People covered up as a gust of wind blasted through the diner at their entrance. Once through, the door screeched shut and he rubbed his hands and blew his warm breath.
Elena mimicked the action though she couldn't see him do it, feeling welcoming warmth fill her limbs. Next, he led her to a chair where they could wait for a seat. He ushered her into said seat and sat next to her. The seat had holes, was slightly uncomfortable, but it would do as they waited. She felt the hairs on her neck rise again.
Each year it was like some invisible thing was pulling her to an unknown destination.
"You ok?" he asked her again when Elena stiffened.
"Yeah," she replied when she blinked several times. After, she rubbed her hands together, and said, "Lost in thought is all. I feel like I am being watched. Not the usual B.S. but like watched-watched. See anyone?"
He looked around. "Mm, no sorry. Its birthday week and I know how that goes. I didn't forget how you get all weird on me." He turned toward her and leaned down with his elbows on his knees, "you don't have to-you know- cover for it. After all these years I know you well enough to sense the incoming moodiness." Oh, how he loved to bait her.
Jeremy knew Elena became irritable each year on her birthday, but she never disclosed the reasons why. She had many, no need to remind her.
Tilting her head daringly she said, "Didn't want to worry you." What is he talking about? She wondered. I'd better pay way more attention. Have I always been moody on my birthday? I wonder if what I feel is what I am showing. "No need to worry or twist your panties in a bunch. I'm fine."
He snorted, "Thaaaat's right. You worry enough for both if us. MOM." He loved their playful banter.
Her fingers splayed out indicating her thoughts as logical when she told him how it was, "You pick bad work. Sorry, just telling it as it is, Daddy dear. You are the only provider it just makes sense not to do these things. And I know," she waved him off before he'd start, "that we need to eat and this is how we get by. All I am saying is I wish it wasn't so."
"Of course I'm gonna complain," he returned in a hushed tone and she turned away. "Not this again," he mumbled as the playfulness dissipated and was replaced with the elephant in the room. "We have to eat by any means necessary. If I stuffed you in a closet, people might think I had more skeletons in it than we both already do." She heard the crackle of plastic.
Is he really gonna try and smoke here? Elena made a face and said, "Hardy har har." She waved him off, "alright, alright. No smoking in this state and we are going to eat I hope?"
He cursed annoyed again, "Yeah when a booth opens. It's pretty full in here." There was a brief pause, & Jeremy leaned in, "Why so prickly this week. I thought the last times were bad but this is worse. Is it…you know?" He pulled the cigarette he was going to smoke out of his mouth and looked at it with contempt. He kept forgetting this state didn't allow for it.
Ugh, shoot me now. There isn't enough beer or cigs in the world to get through this, he moaned inwardly. When he looked at Elena, he saw how her face burned red with anger. Here we go again, he thought and visibly sagged. He waved a hand around in a quick circle as she laid into him. "You look like a poster for valentine's day. I'll let you know when you're pissed enough to hit the shade of purple, right."
Ignoring that comment she said, "Do I know?"
Uh oh, he thought when she'd ignored his insult.
Why men couldn't just enunciate the word 'period' when it pertained to a woman's 'period'? It is beyond me, she thought as disgust and disappointment lined her features. And why was it always used in conjunction with her mood? Can't I just be in a crappy mood?
Elena baited him further yet with a quieted tone. "You-"
"But I'm sure you're gonna tell me why," he sneered bitterly. "Oh God, just get it over. G'on now." He thought to himself, why did women always have to explain 'why'? Just shut up, cause it ain't over till the woman doth spoken. Hurrah, the rolodex of complaints here we go!
"C'mon, you're a grown man," she quipped. She raised her chin in a mocking manner, "You can say the words that will get you smacked by every female in here-and maybe outside. Here, allow me to self-insult myself better than you can. Don't mind me or my mistreated gender. I mean, we can't possibly be moody for any reason but that."
"Mistreated?!" He struggled for words and tried desperately to avoid a heated argument. "Dammit to hell." He fumed at leaned back in his chair, "Lucky you are frail and cute. You cannot speak for the world of females at this moment. I simply asked you about your mood." He cursed several sentences worth before waiting.
"NO," she insisted, "you think my mood is related to my period." She paused for effect. "You know," she whispered, "the flood." She snickered, "It couldn't possibly be anything else right?"
Jeremy gagged and then moaned loudly, "Stop it."
"The red sea," she kept going and lifted her hand as if holding a serving tray. "No? High tide, then."
"Ok now," he said and tapped his feet. "Seriously. Stop, we are in public." His hand flicked his knee, he noticed it and stopped.
"Seriously, wow! Great observation genius. And tapping the ol' knee eh? As I was saying: leak week, code red, and girl flu are pretty popular. Nah, doesn't do it for ya." She shook her head no. "There's the old aunt flo, or red river?"
"Just stop," he grated and used both hands to cover his face embarrassed, leaned forward and buried his face.
She wasn't finished and people near them looked on in amusement, "Red dot special, red moon rising, riding the ol' cotton pony? How about the…curse. Any of these speaking to you? I could go on."
"Please don't," Jeremy sighed almost emotionally drained. "Where do you learn that crap from?" Then he thought better of it, "Never mind." He waved her off. "Let's go." A booth opened and they stood. He took her elbow and led her to the table.