Chapter 4.
"Hey Colt." Emily said entering the Douglas house after school; she has her own key that Mrs. Douglas agreed from Rockys convincing to give her. She rocked on her heals in place with her hands placed together in front of her looking at him as though she were waiting for a response and he just nodded to her and went back to his TV show.
"Is Rocky here?" She asked him. He raised an eye brow and took the straw from his drink once he was done with drinking out of it and chewed on it for a moment then looked at her. "I thought he was with you?" She shook her head saying, "No. He isn't with me, I saw him walking home after school- he was alone, but he was still walking home...wh- why did he say anything to you?"
Colt began to get restless with the twenty questions- not his favorite game- marathon so he let out a sigh to show his exasperation on the subject. "He said exactly, 'I am walking home with Emily.' That's it. If he ain't with you," He shifted positions on the couch and continued. "it's not my problem." He continued biting on the straw then changed the channel. She thought that over and let out a sigh of a- 'Sorry.' to have to bother him again.
"Well he's not with me, do you know where he might be?"
"I don't have a clue Em', maybe he went to get you a make up present, I don't know." She had a sudden smile on her face at the thought of that and she turned to leave the house with a smile on her face, but when she got to her front door she looked down saddening. She hated making Rocky feel this way- to have to get her gifts just so she can feel better for something that was actually her own fault. 'Don't worry Rocky,' She thought. 'this time...I'm gonna do something for you.'
* * *
Maria opened the door to her house and walked inside. Rocky lingered in the background not really sure he wanted to go in, but she turned and gave him a gaze that made him follow her in quickly- or else. When he went inside he felt the heat hit his skin instantly and wanted to go back outside.
She sensed the nervousness coming from him and turned around hugging him. "What ever are you afraid of?" She asked him, speaking into his chest. "The heat, it's too hot in here I won't be able to breathe..."
He answered almost automatically as if he'd been saying that his whole life, Rocky had developed a speck of asthma and too much heat drove his senses crazy, their mom almost made him stop doing ninja- something his dad would have easily backed up, but it wasn't that severe it was only when he was in the heat. She smiled at him and gave him a kiss on the cheek pulling herself away and patting his chest afterwards. "You're paranoid, it's not hot in here silly." She walked inside and gestured for him to come further in as well. "Come on."
He walked in and to Rockys surprise the heat did feel as though it were pushing itself away from him. The house was big and cozy looking. She strolled into the kitchen and to the fridge to get them a drink, Rocky sat on the couch and swallowed hard looking around the house for something- anything that would get him away from here. "I hope you like apple juice?" She said returning with two glasses of apple juice and placed one down on the table and handed the other to Rocky, who took it and stared down into the glass.
'The bathroom....' He thought and she frowned at him then smiled and said, "It's the first door one the right." He looked up at her with question. "Huh?" He asked and she smiled at him trying to think of a good explanation. "Well you were staring into your drink as though you had to go; sooo, the bathroom is the first door on the right.
"Oh, thank you, I'll be right back." He set his glass down and walked down the hall to the bathroom when he was inside he ran the water and splashed his face in the sink, sniffing some of the water up his nose. 'What is wrong with me? What am I doing here?' He thought looking around the bathroom, there was a picture of Maria in there, a medium sized painting to be exact. There was something off about the way she looked in it almost- evil.
Rocky reached over and flushed the unused toilet so he wouldn't seem suspicious when she didn't hear the flush. and he pretended to wash his hands and after that brief moment he opened the door and nearly smacked into her making him stagger backwards. "Ah. Maria what are you doing here, ha ha." She looked at him with a smile and he just moved her aside and let himself by her. "Are you making sure I didn't fall in? I didn't mean to take so long." He said trying to make light of the fact that he was actually getting very scared right now.
"What were you doing in there?" She asked and Rocky looked at her with a smile that girls couldn't resist. "I was just freshening up, like I said before I felt hot and I thought I was gonna sweat...I wouldn't wanna get that on your clean furniture, would I?"
She thought that over then smiled responding, "No, I guess not. My mom wouldn't like it that's for sure."
"Oh your mom?! What's she like? Is she as bad as my mom with over protection?" He asked her changing the subject. It was as if Rockys mind was cleared from the water and he was seeing things clearly now and he wanted out of there.
"Yes, she's very protective, especially because...of what happened to my brother Coren." She said walking by Rocky taking his wrist and guiding him to the couch again. "You have a brother?" He asked and she nodded sitting them down and shoving the glass in his hands. "Mmhm, yes. He's-....he's gone now though."
Rocky thought for a moment about what she could mean by gone and she cleared it up for him that when he turned back to face her with question. "He's been taken by my aunt Marissa, she said that this environment was too much for him he needed a quiet area to live in, she went to Connecticut with him." Rocky thought about that but decided not to ask the question that was forming in his mind. "I know what your thinking," she said with more truth than he knew. "He was a special boy, he needed to be where he couldn't hurt people....he was.....crazy- scary and crazy; our own family feared him and my aunt said that she could tame him but....." She trailed off and sipped her apple juice.
"This is good, huh?" She said obviously ready to change subjects; Rocky hadn't even touched the stuff yet but he brought the glass unwillingly to his lips and took a sip, she watched him the whole time with a smile on her face.
"This is really-...." Rocky held his throat and started coughing, he nearly doubled over on the table but she caught him with a hand on his chest and across his back and she started patting it. 'It'll only hurt for a minute Rocky just relax.' He heard her saying to him but even through the blur he could see that- she wasn't moving her mouth!
With this realization he stood up suddenly and ran to the door. "Where are you going?!" She called after him but he didn't stop even though his whole body hurt, he had to get away from her. "Come back here! Rocky don't leave me!......Rocky!?" He didn't stop running until he got home.