Chapter 4: Lets Go Fishing!
*Chapter contains minimal cursing and iggly squiggly worms*
The birds sung their melody outside the thin pane of the window, waking me from my slumber. It was most likely six and everything hurt like a bitch. I went to get up, practically dragging my limbs when a grip pulled me back down to the floor. Last nights events came swimming back into my thoughts. Blue coming in drunk. His outburst and trying to choke me. Avery getting him off me. Him sobbing about someone leaving him. I rolled over, scanning over his face. The tear tracks were completely dry and hidden from his flawless skin. His light brown strands scattered among the pillow or standing straight up. Even with bed head, he looked attractive.
"Blue," I whispered. He groaned, clutching me tighter and inhaled slightly. He sighed contently, drifting back into dream world. I used all the strength I had, prying out of his talon grip. The floorboards creaked rather loudly under each step towards the bathroom and I mentally cursed at myself. I did not want to wake him up, especially knowing how bad of a hangover he will have or how bad his reaction will be.
The bathroom was small with faded sandy tiles and a peeling sky blue wall paper with a dirt encrusted sand bottom border. The circular mirror was split from the top right hand corner reaching almost half way on a diagonal on the mirror. Everything was a white porcelain color that lined with dirt and dust from the years of neglect. I gasped, noticing a rather large bruise encasing my neck with a thick purple and blue scarf. Off to the side imprinted his fingers that snaked towards the back of my head.
'Looks like I will have to wear something to cover that up.' The yellow digital clock on the sink held a few battle scars as well; however, the time remained accurate. It was six forty five, a normal time for a wake up call but today I wish I could have slept in a little bit. Running on about four hours of sleep will be the death of me today. I peaked into the room, Blue's light snores filling the empty space. Avery was asleep on his little bed as well, breathing heavily, whimpering and pedaling his feet like in his dream. I peaked out from behind the door, sneaking to the dresser for some clothes. Avery yawned, wagging his tail happily as he saw that I was awake and well as well.
"Avery shush." The pup continued to wag his tail, the thumping noise growing louder and louder as if it were a game.
"Jinx?" A gurgled voice mumbled across the room. I mentally cursed at the puppy with my eyes, although Avery seemed not affected by it. Blue sat up, his cap falling gracefully off his head and into the pillow. Spikes shot up everywhere as if someone had a forest on their head bear of any leaves. His eyes were drooped into thick purple blankets and a red canvas behind his colored irises. Overall, he looked like a bus went to Kentucky hit a few people playing Saints Row the Third and threw the dead bodies into the zombie infestation site.
"B..Blue. I ah... I did not know you were up." Instinctively my hand brushed the nest that was called my hair around my neck, hiding what he had done. Blue noticed, standing up slightly only to wince and sink back down to the floor.
"Why is it so bright in here?" He mumbled, clutching his head in agony. "And why are you in my house?"
'So he did not remember anything.' I breathed a sigh of relief, walking slowly to the windows and shutting all the blinds. Blue sighed contently, throwing his head back into the pillow. He winced as it made contact, but made no move to sit back up again, pulling the covers until most of his head was covered.
"Do you need some aspirin Blue? It might ease off the pain a little." The curls of his hair sticking out wiggled a little in protest while the bulge of the sheet moved side to side carefully.
"Then I am heading off to work now. There is food in the fridge if you get hungry and the bathroom is at the end of the room." He lightly nodded, soon after his snores echoed throughout the small house. I sighed in relief, quietly making my way towards the dresser, throwing on the first things my hands could grab. A pair of ripped dark blue skinny jeans and a horizontally blue, a white stripped shirt with an attached hood, and baby blue spring scarf replaced my pajamas. I called for Avery, watching the smug pup slowly walk by the sleeping Blue in a smirk victory.
"Stop that," I scolded the puppy who looked up at me with innocently large brown orbs. As we walked out into the sunny Spring day, I took one last glance at the ball curled up in the middle of my living room. It shielded away from the light slightly, whimpering slightly. The door was silently shut behind me. Avery ran away to play with the animals in the field, often rolling over onto his back to absorb the sun's rays. Despite it being a beautiful spring day, my mind continued to wander to Blue who remained in my house since the crack of dawn.
"Just focus," I sighed. "Get your work done and then you can see him." I looked up, shielding my eyes from the sun slightly with my hand. An overcast of clouds were on the rampage in the distance, meaning storm weather or a possible downpour of rain in the near future. A cloud began forming what appeared to be a person, staring back at me with a cold, deadly gaze.
"They cannot find you here." I shivered, feeling cold despite the sun's rays directly piercing my skin. "He cannot find you here." I preformed my ritual as I do every morning, but with a quickened pace. It felt as though a pair of eyes were watching my every movement, staring and lingering where the scarf lay. As soon as I left the farm, the stares stopped and I breathed a sigh of relief. Horn Ranch was open today, so I figured to tell the family where their missing brother...son... person was. Animals bleated in the field next to Horn Ranch, walking around or lazing about the lush grass that grew around them. A few chickens wandered about too, not caring much for their larger counterparts. As I pushed the door open, the slight jingle alerted the people in the store all while a burst of air conditioning blew down from the frame. The room seemed slightly small compared to how it looked outside, but I quickly realized it was because their house was in teh back of this small output of a store. Various animal care products laid about the store, some sitting on the register counter and others sitting pilled up in the corner (usually how the food is done).
"Hey Jinx!" Ellen's voice rang cheerfully through the still air. Her porcelain face held a huge grin, but under that, there were deep purple circles and streaks of dried tears down her face. When she opened her eyes, I nearly gasped. They were pure red around the iris, pronouncing her bruise like markings under her eyes.
"Hey Ellen, are you okay?" She looked at me curiously, plastering a fake smile up front to hide.
"Of course I am okay Jinx! Why would you say that?" I looked at her sadly, crossing my arms as I stared dead into her copper brown eyes.
"Is it about Blue?" Her smile faltered for a second, and then fully falling into a frown within a few minutes. She sighed sadly, a short piece of her hair flying up in the wisp of the breeze.
"Yes...it is." Her eyes scanned the room, looking for something to maintain a focus on, anything except me. "He said he was going to hang out at the bar since it was his day off and Hank told him to be back before dark. Well..." She choked on her words, a shrill whimper escaping the back of her throat. I walked over, wrapping my arm around her shoulder. They trembled slightly under the touch and her head now played a staring game with the floor.
"I waited up for him, worried that the little bastard would be in great trouble if Hank found out. Time and time passed and before I knew it, it was midnight." She started hyperventilating, her whole frame shaking as she gasped out for breath. No words could be uttered as her sobs echoed throughout the small shop house. I felt bad for Ellen, she really was a truly caring sibling who just wanted a good life for her younger brother.
"He barged in, staggering with a bottle in his hand, swinging it as he staggered forward. When I had asked why he was out so late and why he drank so much, he exploded in my face saying that I had no means to run his life. Then he barged out without another word." More tears fell to the floor as her voice wavered from her strangled cry to a reasonable sounding voice. I blew a breath, slightly waving the hair out of my face.
"If it makes you feel any better, he is at my house right now." I did not mention the details of the night, she did not need the extra stress on her shoulders right now.
"How did he get there?" She mumbled, wiping her tear stained face with her free hand.
"He just appeared at my door in the night and passed out of the floor." Everything became calmly still, no noise could be heard except for the bleating of the animals. Ellen nodded, excusing herself to take over Blue's chores for the day. I gave her a sympathetic pat after we departed from the door. I sighed, running a frustrated hand through my hair.
'This is going to be a loooooong week.' The wind picked up, tossing the grass into a symphony of dance to its soundless tune. I followed the path that became worn down as it proceeded towards the base of what appeared to be a mountain. Although the top was not visible, the sound of running water could be heard rushing down it. The slopes were decently angled to give a great cardio workout as well as provide a home for the inhabitants in case of a flood or something such as that. The ground crunched under my foot, making some sort of noise in the silence. A few mountain dwelling animals noticed my presence and quickly scampered off, most likely in fear that I would cause them harm. As I approached the top, my jaw dropped, awing at nature's splendor. A small ocean blue waterfall fell over light honey brown rocks into a small lake which proceeded over the cliff into the below river. The field was a bright green color, waving various shades of color on flowers. A few colored herbs laid around, soaking in the sun's rays with the flowers while the bees hummed happily from their nest in different trees. Across the small stream from the lake stood a worn down dark brown bridge that led to yet another gorgeous patch of grass and trees. There appeared to be a dark cave, completely out of place at the end of the other field, but with my luck, it would be a bear's den.
"Hey!" someone shouted, startling me out of the spell. I spun on my heels, meeting face to face with a grinning Joe. He wore the same attire as he does everyday, but today he held a beige looking box and two long fishing poles.
"Shit dude you scared me!" I held a hand on my heart, feeling it beat erratically. Joe chuckled, nervously shifting around his weight since he could not rub his hand behind his head as per usual.
"Sorry about that. Normally no one is up here, so sometimes Ray and I go fishing. Lately it is more of just me, but luckily I brought a spare rod. Want to fish with me?" I glanced up at the sky for a minute, watching the dark clouds slowly make their way towards us. It would take, if my calculations were correct, about three hours to get here.
"Sure." His face lit up like a little kid getting the most awesome christmas present ever. Joe sat at the side of the lake, propping the gear against a near by tree. When he lifted the lid of the container, I wiggled a little bit, seeing the live worms wriggle in his hands.
"Okay so first, you have to have bait. Naturally fish love worms and there are a lot in the dirt." He proved his point by digging up a patch of dirt and ripping out a random worm.
"Next, you take the worm," he grabbed his fishing pole, bringing the hook closer to the worm. "and jab it through the hook like this." The worm was then impaled on the sharpened silver hook, stopping instantly for a moment as it pierced through its tiny body, then continued to wiggle impatiently. I could feel my face pale and the contents of my stomach dance unhappily inside.
"Then you throw it in the water and then you're done! Simple right?" He grinned a cute boyish grin and I fought to place one on my face.
"Yeah," I gulped, walking to sit next to him. "No problem." The bucket laughed mockingly at me, knowing what kind of cruel, inhumane fate the worms were about to have. My stomach lurched more, swinging around in protest of what I was about to do.
'I can do this.' I mentally chanted, picking up the spare fishing pole and the 'gulp!' worm. It squiggled and wiggled around in between my fore fingers and it took everything I had not to scream and throw the abomination in my hand.
"Please forgive me Mr. Worm." I mumbled, closing my eyes as the worm was impaled onto the hook. The slicing of the skin echoed throughout my ears, its tiny worm cries squeaking out in protest against the cold metal.
"Now throw it in the water," Joe encouraged, his eyes breaking contact with the water for just a second. The worm wiggled in my face on the hook, facing directly at the slow moving stream of water. I closed my eyes, swinging the hook back and chucking it forward with all my might. A silent 'plip' sound filled my ears as the rope hung on an angle, the worm submerged into the water.
"Now we wait." Joe and I talked briefly, throwing in random conversations about life around here, some gossip about people who just recently moved in, and even about Kurt, which was kind of weird. As Joe was telling a story about when Kurt thought that parents grew on trees, my line tugged violently. I yelped, nearly letting the line go into the water.
"Whoa there! Hold onto that Jinx!" He climbed behind me, latching his legs around my waist and his hands on top of mine. A huge bright blush encased my face as his head lightly brushed up against my cheek.
"Now the trick here is to give it a little slack then reel it closer okay?" I nodded, not trusting my voice completely with simple words. We yanked and reeled, feeling the fish tug harder and harder as it came closer to the land. With a big yank, we pulled the fish out of the water and fell back onto the dirt. My landing was much softer seeing as I was laying on Joe, but I am sure his was not so great.
"That was awesome!" I shouted, sparkles dancing in my eyes. Joe laughed, brushing the dirt off his close to examine our catch.
"It appears to be a rainbow trout about five inches. That is not that bad for a beginner." The colorful fish flopped around on land, the sun illuminating the various scales into a rainbow of colors. Joe picked it up, placing it on the inside of a hidden container filled with what looked like water. A roll of thunder alerted my senses to the on coming rain in the distance soon closing in. A low whistle and shuffling of gear told me Joe was getting ready to leave before the down pour began.
"Come by my house later for your fish alright? I will have it cleaned and ready to be cooked." I waved off, watching the clouds slightly hover over head. A drop of water hit the bulls eye that must of been painted on my forehead. More danced down from their home in the dark clouds. Lightning lit up the sky and its parter soon sounded the drum. The curtain of rain cascaded over the whole valley in a sheet of gray, occasionally lighting up a duller version of their colors from the lightning. I glanced at the cave, deciding now that it was my best bet to wait in there until the rain departs. My feet practically ran through the mud, the wet canvas drenching everything to the core with uncomfortableness.
"Hello?" I whispered into the cave. A faint green glow lit a pathway into the cave at the sound of my voice, tunneling into the darkness.
'This is creepy.' Although the rain was loud outside, in here, only the sound of my sloshing sneakers against the sandy gravel could be heard.
"Please," whispered a voice from somewhere in the cave. "Save her."
"But she is not like the other," another voice whispered. "But maybe she can help."
"She can! She can!" cried a third voice. "Can't you feel the aura?" The voices faded into a mumbled jargon of voices. I halted from the center of the cave, feeling the energy practically draining from every pore. The rain hummed outside and it appeared that it would not let up soon.
'Well...it should be okay to take a nap in here...Only until the rain lets up.' I slid to the floor, resting my head up against the cool cave wall. Surprisingly the floor was comfortable and I found myself drifting off to sleep quicker than one could think.