A poetic death threat, written in bold, sloppy letters.
MaXiT's TiME tO FAcE ThE faCtS
We'RE WATCHING YOu AnD hOw YOu ACt
iF yoU gIVe ThE BAT SiGHT
ANd HeLP HIM FIGHT
We wILL sUrElY TAKE YOUR LIFE
My body stiffened, my mouth hung open.
Blood. It was written in...blood.
All I could do was stand, shivering in the frigid bathroom. Apparently, the only thing that had been touched was the mirror. All else was the same as I had left it. But then, I hadn't been in the bathroom earlier when Terry was there. Obviously, he hadn't been in there either after I had gone to bed.
TAP TAP TAP
I jumped at the sound, turning to look up and down the dark hallway. It came from my room.
Gathering my blanket back up, I moved into my bedroom, taking cautious steps.
A dark shadow crouched on the small landing outside of the window. I almost screamed, until I saw the pointy ears.
Terry!
A heavy sigh of relief escaped me as I quickly opened the window to let him in.
"Hey, sorry I--" Terry paused as he climbed inside, then stopped in mid-sentence upon noticing my jitters. "What's wrong?" He laid his hands on my shoulders.
I started to open my mouth to reply, but no words escaped.
"Here, sit down," Terry guided me to the swivel chair at my desk.
I slowly sat down, my knees shaking.
Removing his mask, his eyes roamed suspiciously about the room.
"Tell me what happened," Terry prodded gently.
Just as the account came to my shocked brain in a logical format, all at once, I reconsidered it. Would it really be a good idea to tell him what happened? Terry was the most overprotective person I knew--when it came to myself. He had enough worries on his plate with Batman...
I scratched my head, attempting to ignore my nerves.
"Yeah, um...it was a...a nightmare."
Terry gave a worried frown, standing with his arms folded.
I shrugged with a deep breath.
"I just--you scared me when you tapped on the window...woke me up from the dream."
But Terry wasn't buying.
"That's all?"
I fiddled with the lever which adjusted the height of the chair, nodding my head.
Terry was silent for a long time, obviously weighing his words before he spoke them.
"Max," he began quietly, "you're the bravest person I know...but something's wrong and you need to tell me what it is."
"Terry, I said it's just a--"
"Maxine Gibson."
Holding my head back with a lengthy sigh, I finally stood up.
"Okay, just...promise me you won't make a big deal outta' this, McGinnis."
Terry shook his head as I reluctantly led him to the "crime scene."
"The only thing I'm promising is to fix whatever's wrong," contested Terry.
The bathroom light was still on as I had left it, so all I had to do was step out of the way for him to enter and survey.
I didn't watch his reaction; my head was in my hands as I chided myself for allowing him to get the truth out of me.
"When'd you find this?"
His voice was very soft. This meant he was angry. Way to keep him from getting upset, Max.
"Just now." I mumbled.
"Before I came 'just now' or...?"
"Yeah, just...right before you came."
Terry's blue eyes were scanning the message, darting back and forth, brow deeply furrowed, as though he would find something new if he read it enough times.
I cleared my throat.
"Um, I personally think it might be a friend of mine playing a prank or somethin'--"
"What friend would play a prank like this and know that you're helping Batman, at that?" Terry turned to face me.
I swallowed, wishing I could believe my farfetched words myself.
"I dunno', Ter!" I practically whined, frantically dragging my fingers through my hair as I officially began to worry. "I-I mean, it could always be a prank. You know how you and me used to do stupid stuff to Nelson and the freshman back in the day. Maybe it's some kind of payback…"
Terry slowly shook his head, removing a microscope slide from his utility belt.
"It just doesn't line up, Max. You know I hate to say this, but this is serious. You don't have any friends who'd give you a death threat for fun. You don't even have those kinds of enemies."
This is what I was bad at: acknowledging the gravity of anything that could be dangerous to me. I was self-sufficient, lived by myself, hard-working, bold. If something was a threat to me, all I knew to do was eliminate it as quickly as possible, all by myself. Every "threat" I had faced so far was something miniscule, such as academic competition, which I had overcome through simply working harder. But this was out of my hands. I couldn't see my enemy, couldn't fight them. This kind of problem was one I wished I could sweep under the rug, but I knew that it would haunt me until it eventually claimed me as the threat promised...
I shook the thought, feeling a wave of exhaustion from fear. I hated being afraid. It required too much energy.
"Terry, I don't know what do," I admitted, leaning in the doorframe and rubbing my eyes (partly from weariness, but also to keep from crying).
"I do," Terry replied gently, "and that's going back to sleep while I take some samples of whatever this is written in so I can get to the bottom of this and have Batman punch the idiot's lights out."
I opened my eyes with a frown, throwing up my hands.
"But see, Ter, that's exactly why I didn't wanna' tell you!" I paced the floor. "You're gonna' get all into this and worry and eventually get into some kind of fight and possibly get hurt and all because I couldn't take care of myself or made an enemy somewhere along the way and I don't wanna' look back on this and think that I could've--"
"Max, listen to me," Terry interrupted my ramble, placing his hands atop my shoulders. "This is not your fault. And we need to get another thing straight. If I get involved in this--which I most definitely will--it's gonna' be because I want to. And last time I checked, I can do whatever I want..." he searched my face for a moment, then smiled ever so slightly, glancing down at his batsuit, "because I'm Batman."
An appreciative smile gradually lit my face, much to my surprise. Only Terry could make me smile when life was crashing around me.
"Gimme' a hug and go to bed," Terry pulled me into a hug. "I need you awake in math tomorrow so I can copy your notes,"
I rolled my eyes with a chuckle.
"Didn't you know I always intentionally get the wrong answers 'cause I know you're watching?"
Terry playfully shoved me off.
"Some friend you are! See if I help you in physics again!"
"You unintentionally give me the wrong answers in physics, Ter, so that ain't what I'd call 'help.' "
"Yeah, whatever--goodnight," Terry rolled his eyes as well, preparing some slides for the samples.
I paused in the doorway, turning with a slight frown.
"How long's that gonna' take you?"
Terry lifted his shoulders in a shrug.
"Dunno', maybe a few minutes."
"And then you're going back to patrolling, right?"
Terry didn't reply, keeping his eyes on his work.
"Terry," I sighed. "Please don't tell me you're gonna' lose more sleep than usual over this by keeping watch in my living room. You know what happened the last time you did that--you almost got expelled! And it wasn't even over anything important--"
"I'd call a dangerous stalker you kicked to the curb 'important,' wouldn't you?"
"Okay, whatever," I shook my head, feeling a yawn coming on. "I don't feel like arguing with you at four in the morning."
"Good, 'cause you'd lose anyway."
"Shut up," I started to leave, then turned and gave Terry another quick hug out of gratitude.
I dreamed of my father that night. I was running through a dark forest, and death threats written in blood smeared each tree. My dad ran away from me yards ahead. No matter how loud I cried for him to stop and wait for me, he kept running, faster and faster. And then, he was gone.
I thought about him often those days. Something about approaching my graduation from high school and beginning of life as an adult made me wonder what he was doing, what he thought about. I prayed a prayer for him every morning while getting ready, for Mom and Alicia as well. Dad had walked out on us when I started high school, and Mom soon set out for a better paying job with a jewelry headquarters in New York. Alicia, the over-achiever, got hooked on drugs right after graduating from high school and ended up in rehab. With Mom away, I was left to hold things together at the apartment, paying for whatever bills or necessities her weekly checks couldn't completely cover. Only Dana, Terry and Chelsea knew about Alicia's addiction. Everyone else, I lied to.
"Hi Mrs. McGinnis,"
"Good morning, Max. Terry's in his room," Terry's mom smiled warmly. "How are you doing?"
I shrugged with a polite smile in return.
"Oh, just ready for school to be out," I stepped inside the apartment, my nose greeted with the sweet aroma of pancakes.(Mrs. McGinnis's pancakes were to die for.)
"I'm sure," Mrs. McGinnis closed the door, wiping her hands with a kitchen towel. "Have you decided which of your many admiring colleges you're willing to grant your presence to?"
I laughed, setting my backpack down near the coat rack.
"Actually, I haven't sent any applications yet."
"Really?" stated Mrs. McGinnis in surprise. "Well, just let me know how that goes. I'm sure you'll have no problem getting a full scholarship," she chuckled while heading back to the kitchen. "Now, as for Terry, we'll have to do some strategizing."
I laughed.
"Thanks Mrs. M,"
"I'll call you when breakfast is ready,"
Terry's door was cracked, and the retro sound of Linkin Park flooded out to the hallway. The volume escalated a few decibels just as I opened the door.
Terry was standing in front of his dresser mirror, attempting to sing along with the song as he smothered his hair in gel. He was dressed in a Superman (go figure) logo shirt and jeans, his leather watch on his wrist. His backpack had been abandoned on the messy bed, probably not having been touched since he brought it home the day before. Math homework scattered the floor and pillows.
I shook my head in disapproval, entering unnoticed by my self-absorbed friend. Knowing I shouldn't be picking up behind him, (but wanting to get to school on time just the same) I started to stuff the homework into his backpack, pausing to raise an eyebrow in amusement every now and then at the blatant errors in his work.
Terry still hadn't seen me, and I continued with the packing.
"Hey!" Terry finally jumped after the track ended. "You could knock, y'know!"
I snickered.
"Have I ever knocked over the past 10 years, Ter?"
"Well, no, but I could've been dressing or something'!" Terry whined. "Plus, you always make me knock at your place!"
"That's because I'm a girl."
"And guys can't have their space too?"
"It's not as important," I waved a hand, then frowned at a particularly axed math problem. "McGinnis, since when has log sub 1 of 1 equaled 5.7?"
Terry sighed, unplugging his iPod from the speakers.
"Since I said it did,"
I rolled my eyes.
"Well, good luck convincing Watson of that."
"Easily," Terry gave a sly grin, wiping the gel from his hands on his jeans (I cringed), "she wants me."
"Yuck," I tossed him his backpack, hoping he dropped it for saying such a thing. "She's, like, a lot older than you--"
"And sexy too. 27 minus 17 is only 10, so she's not that much older."
"Only 10," I repeated in disgust. "This convo is officially getting gross,"
"C'mon Max. You're just jealous like all the other girls because the pre-calc teacher's a fox--" he halted, a thought occurring to him. "But then, I'm not the one drooling all over the substitute anatomy teacher--oh Mr. Landry, please oh please can you show us one more time what the abdomen looks like; perhaps you could remove your shirt?"
I watched Terry double over with laughter for a moment, calmly rolling my tongue along my teeth.
"For your information, McGinnis, it was Blade who asked him to take his shirt off, and I only--"
"Asked for a private demonstration after class."
No he didn't!
"You. Are. Dead!!"
I swiftly hurled a pillow at the cackling Terry's face, but unfortunately, he was good at recovering from laughter in order to defend himself. He quickly caught the pillow and threw it back, then grabbed another to use for hand-to-hand combat. But I was ready with my own pillow and attacked him head on. It wasn't long before the pillow fight turned into a wrestling match, with one attempting to pin the other.
"You throw like a girl, Max," Terry grunted, struggling to get an arm free of where I had it pinned behind his back.
"Thank you! I try," I shot the insult down, but Terry managed to break free.
Two minutes later, and after much effort, I managed to pin Terry on the floor, my pillow raised high, when Matt arrived in the doorway.
"Breakfast is rea--" he stopped in mid-sentence at the sight. "Mom, Terry and Max are fighting again!"
"Well, of course they are, Matt, they're teenagers," returned Mrs. McGinnis calmly. "Now come on and eat your pancakes."
"You heard her," grumbled Terry, struggling under my weight as I laughed in triumph. "Now beat it, twip!"
"I pinned Batman," I chuckled as Matt darted off. "Wait'll I tell everyone at school that Batman got pinned by a gir--hey!"
"Wait'll you tell 'em what?" quizzed Terry, who had finally broken free. "That Batman almost got pinned by the most ticklish girl on the planet, I think you mean."
I hastily scooted back, shaking my head with an apologetic smile.
"Okay, I'll keep quiet. No big deal, right?"
Terry slowly shook his head.
"Too late!"
Shrieking, I was up and out of the room in no time, sliding into my seat at the breakfast table as though nothing had happened.
"Terry! Your food's getting cold. Now stop goofing around and leave Max alone," chided Mrs. McGinnis, who was calmly reading the news on her laptop while sipping from a coffee mug at the same time.
"But I didn't--"
"Terry McGinnis."
Terry crossed his arms with a sigh, then attempted to shove Matt out of the seat next to mine.
"Max told me to sit by her today," Matt defended, sticking his tongue out.
Terry grumbled under his breath.
"I'm sure."
I grinned at Terry to rub it in, then dug into my pancakes.
Okay, now we're picking up the pace a bit. Thank you for the reviews and support! I would have updated yesterday, but it was my birthday weekend and things got crazy.
