Chapter 3
"Well? What does it say?" Taylor leans to me to read it but I snap my phone closed before she gets the chance.
I close my eyes and pick up my sandwich, "Nothing. Just a prank."
I bite into my sandwich as Daniel arrogantly chines in, "Told you." I give him a playful glare as I chew on my food, and I finish my sandwich. I sigh and drink the rest of my milk before throwing the carton onto my plate. I stand up, picking up my bag and resting its strap on my shoulder, and my friends look up at me.
"Going somewhere," Taylor asks, as I pick up my plate and step out of the table seat.
"Yeah, outside. I need to think." They only watch as I walk away, disposing of my plate in the trash can and exiting through a nearby door that leads to the schools backyard.
I walk past other students eating their lunch, chatting just outside of the building, and I walk several yards to sit underneath the shadow of a tree, away from everyone. I set my bag down beside me before I lean back against the large plant, furiously taking out my phone and hitting Reply to the text I received earlier. I began to type in,
Desmond? How on earth did you get my number?
I send the text message, and I lower my phone to look up at all of the students who were outside of the school building, and my eyes soften as I watch them talk happily with each other. After a minute or two, I hear a beep from my phone and I quickly flip it open to read the text message.
I have my ways :p
My right eyebrow twitches at how childish the text is and I type in quickly.
Are you stalking me?
I snap my phone closed and cross my arms, frowning at how mysterious Desmond is acting. I tense when I hear a beep, and I blink. That was fast...I open my phone, only to knit my eyebrows in confusion. I didn't get a message? Then where was that beep from?
"Hey, I'm not a stalker." I freeze at the familiar voice, and I look left and right for its owner. "Up here." I gasp, eyes widening, and I look up to see Desmond crouching on one of the tree's branches, several feet above me, smirking with his phone in his right hand. His form is darkened by the shade of the tree's leaves and branches, with only small blotches of light shining on him, giving him a heavenly glow.
I shake my head out of my reverie and I stutter, "D-D-Desmond? Why are you here?" I glance around nervously, hoping no one would see him. Luckily the tree's loaded with leaves, making him invisible to anyone else from far away. Desmond shrugs, and stuffs his phone in his right jeans pocket.
"Just wanted to check on you, make sure you're okay." I narrow my eyes as I stare ahead; if I look up at him the entire time, someone would notice and come over to see what's in the tree.
"I'm not a kid, Desmond."
He chuckles. "Sure you are. I'm 10 years your senior." I pout; he has a point. I sigh and after a few minutes of silence, Desmond asks, "Something happen?"
I stay silent before I nod, muttering, "Yeah, something weird..." I hear him shift in the tree, causing a few leaves to flutter down, one of them landing on my head.
He chuckles as he sees it and says, "Sorry..." We're silent for a few moments, until he asks softly, "You want to talk about it?" I gently take the leaf in my right hand and hold it in front of my face to stare at it.
I sigh. "It happened in Art class...Our assignment is to paint anything, whether it's something that symbolizes you, or it's your interests. When we began to draw, I guess...my hand got carried away."
"What do you mean?" asks Desmond, his tone sounding confused.
I lower my gaze. "I just stopped thinking and then my hand began to draw something on its own. Taylor says I looked like I was possessed."
Desmond hums in thought before he asks, "What did it draw?" I'm silent for a bit, flicking the leaf off my finger, before I look up at the sky, and I can see Desmond crouching in the tree.
"It looked like the Rialto Bridge...." I mutter.
"The what bridge?"
I smile at his confusion and I look entirely at him, "Rialto. It's the most famous bridge in Venice, Italy."
"Oh...You think it has something to do with your ancestry?" I sigh and look down.
"I really don't know...It's been on my mind all day." I hear Desmond exhale and I look up to see him leaning back against the tree, with his arms folded behind his head.
"Well, don't let it bother you. I wouldn't." I nod in agreement, and I suddenly smile as I look up at him.
"You're right. Thanks." He smiles back, looking down at me.
"No problem, Ren." I chuckle and look back ahead, leaning back against the tree and sighing in relaxation.
"Don't you have work?" I ask suddenly. I can sense Desmond raising his eyebrows and pouting.
"Who are you, my mother?"
I chuckle, and glance up at him. "Desmond, answer my question."
He sighs and replies, "Yeah I do, just not during the day."
I raise an eyebrow and look up at him. "Really? What's your job?"
He sighs and looks down at me. "Promise you won't laugh?" I nod and he closes his eyes. "I work as a bartender at Jonny's Inn."
I raise both eyebrows and ask, "Really? That one bar downtown?" He nods and I say, "I hear that place is popular." Desmond gives an amused chuckle.
"You should see it when there's Sunday night football on the T.V. That's when it gets really 'popular.' "
I laugh and reply, "I'll bet!" Desmond turns to look down at me, smirking.
"You should stop by for a while. I'll make you one of my special margaritas."
I stutter, flabbergasted, "D-Desmond! I'm 15!" He laughs as he leans back into the tree.
"I'm kidding, Ren, calm down. I would never give a minor alcohol." I sigh with a roll of my eyes before we both tune into a long silence, watching the sky as the wind blows softly past us. After a few minutes, I find myself staring at a ladybug that had crawled up onto my hand, and I watch as it flutters its wings.
I utter softly, "Maybe...this entire search for info on my ancestor really is just a waste of time." I hear Desmond shuffle in the tree again.
"What?" he asks in a soft surprised tone. I lift my hand slowly, being careful with the ladybug resting on it. It begins to patter across my knuckles, and I steadily extend my fingers, watching as the red bug travels across them.
"I mean, he was an assassin, right? What if I find out something terrible about him? Like how many people he killed? Or the names of his victims?...I don't think I would want to know that..." Desmond is silent, and I wonder if he's going to answer or not.
After a minute of silence, he asks, "But you still want to learn more about him, right?" I look up to see him gazing down at me with serious eyes.
I hesitate, before nodding with a meek, "Yes..." Desmond sighs and leans forward with his arms resting on his legs and his eyes closed, like a sage teaching a valuable lesson to his student.
"Look, the blood of an assassin is in your blood. You can't help but wonder what he was like, especially since he's a noble-turned-assassin. If you want to know about him, then just go for it." My eyes soften at his words, and I slowly nod in understanding. The school bell suddenly rings from the building, and I slightly jump in surprise with a gasp, feeling the ladybug take off of the tip of my index finger and fly off in an unknown direction. I watch as it disappears in the distance, before standing up, picking up my bag and resting its strap on my shoulder in the process.
"That's the bell," I sigh disappointedly. I turn to look up at Desmond. "I'll see you later." He says nothing, eyes still closed, and I shrug before turning to walk back to the school.
"Renia." I stop with a blink, and I turn my head to look over my shoulder at Desmond, who's staring at me with those serious eyes again. but this time, his voice is serious as well.
"You can't change the fact that you're a descendant of an assassin. Nothing can and nothing will. It's something you'll have to live with, and I want you to remember that, okay?" I gaze at him with slightly wide eyes, before giving him a steady nod and a weak smile.
"Okay. I'll remember that." I turn back around and break into a slight jog, looking behind me, waving, despite people would wonder why I'm waving at a tree. "Bye, Desmond!" I see the tree's leaves rustle a bit, and I try not to laugh when a hand sticks out and waves back. Now, with my depressed mood gone and a bright grin on my face, I run to Little Oak's back entrance, ready for the last half of the day.
2:30 p.m
"Class, remember to finish the rough draft of your essay. It's due Wednesday," my English teacher, Ms. Liams, announces before the bell rings, signaling the end of the day. Everyone gets up from their seats and pick up their bags, before filing out of the classroom through the door. I inwardly sigh from my spot, still in my seat with my notebook open in front of me and my pencil in hand. I haven't gotten that far in writing the essay. I still have four more paragraphs to write...I muse disappointedly. Ms. Liams notices I'm still seated, and says, "Renia, that was the bell." I look up and nod hesitantly.
"Uh...yeah, I should go." I close my notebook and place it in my bag before putting my pencil in one of its pockets. I stand and strap my messenger bag to my shoulder before walking towards the door. "Bye, Ms. Liams," I say, looking back at her as I begin to walk through the doorway. She only waves from her desk, jotting down something on a piece of paper.
"I'll see you Wednesday, dear." I slowly walk out of the room and into the busy hall of passing students. I squeeze between a couple making out against the wall and a group of boys, before I silently walk to main hall. I saunter over to one of the single door exits in the building and open it, prior to walking outside. I close my eyes for a moment to bask in the warm sun, giving a sigh of relief as I tilt my head upward. Smiling, I open my eyes look down to see students filing into one of the school buses parked beside the sidewalk. I spot Daniel standing beside the bus, waving me over. I begin to jog over to him, waving back happily. I stop before him, smiling as I ask,
"So, how was Math?" I chuckle when he groans as we line up at the bus door.
"Terrible. Mr. Gregory was practically killing me with the errors he was making in the problems."
As ironic as it sounds, Daniel is a mathematician at heart. When in doubt while doing math homework, Taylor and I always call him or ask him to tutor us. I just don't understand why he chooses to shrug off that talent and want to do other things. He has the talent but no drive. He's a great teacher, now that I think about it. I decide to note that to him as we ascend the steps of the bus and take our seats in the front, talking above the noise. I get a laugh as a response.
"Are you kidding me? There's no way I would teach adolescents for a living!"
I raise an eyebrow at him, replying dubiously, "You're an adolescent."
He shrugs and admits, "I am, but I understand how immature and crazy we can be, so when I'm an adult, I wouldn't want to stay in a classroom of them." I chuckle at him, leaning back into my seat as the bus door closes up ahead and the driver begins to accelerate the vehicle.
"Right," I drawl sarcastically with a smile. "You're all grown up and you perfectly understand the world of the adult." I look at him. "Congratulations!"
He frowns and leans toward me. "Hey!" I make a small yelp when my head is suddenly locked in his arm, causing me to lean toward him as he laughs at my situation. "Not so smart now, are ya?" I begin to laugh with him, struggling to escape his grasp.
"Gah," I bite out. "Danny!" I use his nickname before I laugh some more. "You better let go or you'll be sorry." He moves with my thrashing, his grasp not loosening.
"Yeah? Well I-"
"Hey, Dan!" We both stop at the call of his name and he lets go when we spot a blonde boy standing beside our seats, with two other boys standing behind him. The blonde's right eyebrow's raised, looking between me and him. He's probably confused to see Daniel with a loner, I suggest to myself sadly. My friend smiles and turns to the boy.
"Oh. Yo, Andrew, Nick, Jon. What's up?" Andrew looks at Daniel and rests his arm on the top of our seats. Annoyingly leaning over me, may I add, since I'm on the outer seat.
"We were wondering if you wanted to hang out later today at the skate park at Hudson River." Daniel blinks before he grins.
"Yeah, sure." Andrew grins back before leaning over me more and I frown, resisting the urge to push the blonde off. And not only does that annoy me...I think bitterly, as I wrinkle my nose in disgust. Andrew reeks of men cologne, as if he used an entire bar of it. He gives Daniel a playful punch on the shoulder.
"Great! We'll see ya there." Daniel laughs before the blonde leans back, and he walks to the back of the bus, with Nick and Jon following him. I give a loud exhale, since I've been holding my breath the entire time the blonde was leaning over me. I cross my arms, and stare at the back of the seat in front of Daniel and I. I sense Daniel watching me, and I refuse to make eye contact with him.
He leans toward me, muttering, "Sorry about that. He's really a nice guy, once you get to know him." I turn and give him an unsatisfied glare. He sighs and adds, "Look, I know that what he did was unacceptable, and-" I exhale exasperatedly, cutting him off, and I look forward again.
"Forget it, Dan. It wasn't your fault," I mutter. He stays silent and I can feel him watching me, before I feel the seat creak, indicating that he had leaned back. I notice that the bus had already reached the freeway, and we stay silent for a few minutes, watching as many cars, trees and buildings go by.
"...So, where did you go off to at lunch?" I curse inwardly at Dan's question. It didn't take much to figure out he doesn't like Desmond at all, and if he heard about me texting with Desmond...I opt to stay silent, before Daniel presses on, "Did it have something to do with that text?" I'm still quiet, and I hesitantly give him a slow nod. "Was it cyber-bullying?" I shake my head this time, and he groans in frustration. "Then what was it? C'mon, tell me." I look down, lowering my arms to rest them on my lap, silent for a minute.
"Fine." I glance up at him. "The text was from Desmond, so I went outside to text with him." I hold up my hands submissively. "There, now you know. Happy?" He seems shocked, which isn't that much of a surprise. He shakes his head, and starts gesturing wildly with his hands.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Back up." He turns to me, eyes wide. "You're telling me that you left Taylor and I, to go outside and have some text conversation with a guy you just met, what, two days ago?!" It wasn't only by text...I think to myself, and I choose not to say it aloud. I shake out of my thoughts and nod, grateful that everyone else in the bus is occupied with their own conversations.
"Yes." He leans back in surprise, raising an eyebrow quizzically at the same time.
"Why?" I sigh and stretch my arms up into the air, murmuring,
"Because Taylor would have pestered me and blabber some nonsense about me and him being in a forbidden secret relationship if I told her. And..." I lower my arms after my yawn and look at my friend. "You would have gotten angry or disappointed." Daniel makes a sound of disbelief.
"No I wouldn't!"
I close my eyes, retorting, "Yes, you would. And to prove it, I still have that note conversation we had earlier today in history class." I pat my messenger bag for emphasis, and Daniel's defeated face gives me enough reason to think I have just won this argument.
He frowns before he huffs in frustration and crosses his arms, looking out the window. "I just don't trust that guy..." Is that really the reason? I want to ask, flashing back to the conversation Rebecca and I had at lunch. My eyes soften as I watch him in the stillness between us, and I look down at my lap.
"...I understand." I utter softly. I sense Daniel turning his head to look at me, and I continue, "I know that you just want to protect me, like the best friend I know you are." I smile at this before I state further, "You may not trust him, Dan, but I do." I look up at him with my warm smile. "In time, I'm sure you will too." He blinks, before looking away from, only a bit swayed by my words. I push on, "You just need to give Desmond some time to prove that you can trust him. Even just a little." He keeps his gaze focused on the window, and I meekly ask, "Please?" Daniel's silent for quite a while, and I look down disappointedly, my hope of convincing him to think otherwise of Desmond shattered.
Suddenly, the bus slows to a stop, and Daniel voices bluntly, "Here's your stop." I blink and strain to look outside the window. I spot my home a few houses down the walkway the bus had parked beside.
I lean back, responding, "Yeah..." I stand up from my seat after letting some students from the back pass, picking up my bag during the action. I move to head down the passageway, but I stop to stare to Daniel, who's still looking out the window. "See you tomorrow." I follow the other disembarking students to the exit, and I step down the stairway. I'm the last student to get off the bus on this street, and all of the others already left to walk to their homes. Once my feet reach the cement of the sidewalk, I turn around and watch as the doors close with a hiss. I can see my own upset self staring back at me in the bus door's windows. I sigh and turn to walk to my house.
"Hey!" I turn at the shout, and I'm surprised to see Daniel with his window rolled down and the upper half of his body sticking out of it. His frustrated face has not faltered at all as he says with a sigh, "I'll think about it, okay?"
My sadness dissipates as I smile happily and I nod my head, replying with an excited tone in my voice, "Okay!" A small smile tugs at Daniel's lips and then an angered voice from within the bus shouts as it begins to move again.
"Hey! Keep heads, arms, and legs inside the vehicle!"
He looks back inside the bus to shout back, "Yeah, sorry, Mr. Woodburn!" I laugh as the bus wheels past me, and I watch as it gets farther and farther down the road, with Daniel still outside his window, waving at me. I wave back, and gaze at him as he retreats back into the bus. I grin to myself, as I continue my walk down the sidewalk. Maybe, just maybe, this will work! I think joyfully. If Daniel gets used to Desmond and think he's not the guy he thinks he is, then we can all hang out! I blink when I realize something, and I groan in exasperation. Now all I have to do is convince Taylor that Desmond and I are not in a relationship...That won't be easy.
After walking past four houses, I reach mine and turn to walk down the stone path in the front yard. As I reach the front door, I take out my copy of the house keys from my bag, and I insert them into the door's lock before twisting them to the right. After the click sound, I push the door open, walking inside and closing it behind me. I lock the door and turn around, immediately noticing that the phone, which is placed on a small table near the front door, has a voice message, indicated by its blinking red light. I walk over to the phone, pressing the voice mail button. There's a tone and the computerized voice is heard through speakerphone.
"You have one new message." I place my bag on the staircase as it continues, "First new message from today at 2:00 p.m." I walk over to the kitchen fridge, opening it and taking out a bottled soda as the message plays. It's my mother.
"Renia? Hopefully you found this," she mutters and I roll my eyes. "Listen dear, I'm not going to be home until late. Work has me booked up today, so I won't be home until around 8 or 9." I sigh to myself as I close the fridge door and open the soda, a little hiss sounding from the removal of the bottle cap.
Mom works for the town newspaper. In fact, she's known as Kelly from the Ask Kelly advice column. The worst thing is that when asked a question from her readers, if I'm somehow related to it, Mom will respond to the question with me as an example, whether it's about me in one of my embarrassing moments or about how I work in school. Anyone who reads Mom's archive will recognize my name and gush about whatever Mom had written about me.
I raise the soda to my mouth and take a drink, sighing in relief at the taste in my mouth. I stride over to the phone, listening as Mom goes on.
"So before I went to work, I made some spaghetti for you to have at dinnertime." I blink and look back at the fridge. "It's on the first shelf in the blue tupperware container." I look back to the phone as a voice is heard in the background and Mom says, "Got to go honey. I love you and don't let strangers in the house!" There's a click and the tone sounds again, indicating that the message is over.
The computerized woman's voice returns and says, "End of message. To delete this message, press-" She's cut off as I press the 7 button, deleting the message and the house is immediately silent. I stare at the phone before I saunter over to the staircase to pick up my bag, and ascend the stairs.
I open my bedroom door, leaving it open as I walk to my desk, which I cleaned and organized late last night, so it has enough room to work on. I drop my bag on my bed and open it, taking out my notes and history textbook. I set both items on my desk, before opening one of its drawers and taking out a pencil. I sit down on the desk chair, opening the textbook to read the pages I'm required to read for next History class, which is tomorrow morning.
The Crusades were a series of nine Christian military expeditions that took place during the end of the eleventh century and throughout the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. The stated goal of the Crusades was to recover from the Muslims the Holy Land of Palestine, where Jesus Christ (c. 6 b.c.-a.d. 30) lived. The word crusade comes from the Latin word crux meaning "cross," and Crusaders were said to have "taken up the cross."
The Crusades began with an impassioned sermon given by Pope Urban II (c. 1035- 1099) at Clermont, France, in November 1095. Earlier that year Byzantine emperor Alexius I Comnenus (1048-1118) had appealed to Urban for aid in fighting back the fierce Seljuk Turks. (The Seljuk Turks preceded the Ottoman Turks; the Seljuks were named for their traditional founder, Seljuq). Seeing the expansion of the Turks, who were Muslim, as a threat to Christianity, the Pope agreed to help. Not only did Urban rally support for the Byzantines in staving off the further advances of the Turks, he also advocated that the Holy Lands should be recovered from them. While the Arab Muslims who had previously controlled the Holy Land had allowed Christians to visit there, the Turks tolerated no such thing. Urban feared that if Palestine were not recovered, Christians would lose access to their holy places altogether.
But Urban also viewed-
I stop reading when my cell begins to ring, and I reach into my right jeans pocket to pull it out. Probably Taylor...I ponder. I am wrong when I see the caller I.D, which says Unknown Caller.
I blink and ask out loud, "Desmond?" I hesitantly flip open my phone and press it my ear. "Hello?"
"Hey, Renia. Look outside your window."
I make a note to add this 'Unknown Caller' to my contacts before I reply, "Desmond? I need to know. How did you get my number?" He replies with an urged tone.
"That question again? C'mon, Renia. Now look out your window, or I'll start using the 'throwing pebbles at the window' cliche."
I sigh and stand up to move over to my window, uttering, "Desmond, what are you talking abou-" I yelp, cutting off my sentence, when something suddenly hits my window as I stop to stand before it.
"Told you I would," Desmond remarks with a smug tone of voice as I gape at my window.
"What in the world?" I lower my phone as I open the window to peer into the front yard. I gawk when I spot Desmond Miles standing on the grass, smiling as he closes his phone, looking up at me. What is this? I merely blink before I shake my head and lean forward to shout, stammering like an idiot, "You-How did you-Where did you-Agh!" I shout in frustration. "Stay right there, I'll be right down!" I make a stay gesture with my hand, as if Desmond's a dog.
Said man's smile widens as he replies, "Don't worry, I'm not moving." He holds out his arms jokingly and I roll my eyes before shutting my window. I run out of my room, into the hall, and carefully trot down the stairs sideways. I jump over the last few steps and land with a soft thud. I take a breath before walking over to the door, opening it, and walking outside. I close the door behind me and spot Desmond walking over to me from his place in the grass.
"That was quick," he comments with a smirk. My shoulders tense, and I angrily begin to poke him in the chest.
"You! First, you somehow get my cellphone number!" I poke him at the word 'cellphone,' and he winces as I continue, "Next, you somehow obtain the address of where I live!" I poke him again, getting the same reaction as he backs up a bit. "What's next, my birthplace and date?" I stop my little poking assault and cross my arms. "It's either you're a stalker, or some CIA agent." He chuckles as he raises his hands defensively.
"Hey, hey, calm down." He sighs, lowering his hands as he looks down for a second before looking up at me with an earnest face. "Look, I know all of this is weird, and doesn't make sense, but you've got to trust me on this. I would never use any of this information to harm you in any way." I lower my arms, my eyes losing their angered look as he continues, "I can't tell you how I got your number and address." I notice that he's clenching his fists; is it this hard for him? "I'm afraid that if I do, I would lose the only friend I have." I fight back a gasp as he looks down with an inscrutable chuckle. "To be honest with you, Renia, I haven't talked to anyone as much as I have with you. So," he looks up at me with pleading eyes, "Can you trust me with the information I have?" I'm silent for a few minutes, and he asks again, "Can you, Renia?" I slowly nod with a smile, before I swiftly punch him in the shoulder, and he grunts, grasping his abused arm as I scolded,
"You could have asked me for my number!"
He hisses and replies in, dare I say it, a whiny voice, "I couldn't! It would have been weird, since we only met a few days ago." I raise an eyebrow.
"And just magically appearing with it isn't?" He smiles with a shrug before he stuffs his hands in his jean pockets.
"Okay, you win. I'm...an introvert, you could say." I blink. Introvert? He's been the total opposite around me! He chuckles, noticing my confusion as he places a hand on my head. "Doesn't make sense, huh? Let's just say that the day you bumped into you," he pauses, smirking, "I decided to take a leap of faith." I blink up at him, before I nod in understanding, and he stretches his arms. "Anyways, I came here to see if you wanted to go out."
I raise an eyebrow. "Where?"
He shrugs. "Don't know. I'll think about it after I get an answer." I think back to my homework and Mom. I could get the homework due tomorrow done later, and if I send Mom a text or something, she would know. I make my decision and begin to walk back to the front door, with Desmond watching me quizzically.
"The answer is yes. Wait here while I go get a few things." He nods before I enter the house, closing the door behind me. I walk up the stairs and to my room, picking up my copy of the house keys and wallet, just in case. I run back downstairs and open the door to see Desmond waiting at the sidewalk. I blink, before I close the door behind me and lock it. Desmond waves me over and as I jog to him, I notice he has something in his hands. Once I'm about 3 feet away from him, he suddenly tosses the object to me.
"Here. Safety first, right?" I clumsily catch the object, and I raise an eyebrow. A helmet? I look up to him, to see he has a helmet in his arms as well. He gestures down the sidewalk, behind the wooden fence that separates our house from the neighbor's. "C'mon. My ride's over here." He walks in that direction, disappearing around the corner of the fence, and I hesitantly follow. As I turn the corner, I stop in my tracks and slowly say,
"Oh, no..." I shake my head as I continue, "No, no, no, no, no." Desmond chuckles and puts a hand on his hip.
"Oh, yes."
I step back. "Ohh no. There's no way I'm getting on that." There, parked on our street beside the sidewalk, is a red motorcycle. He never told me that he drives a motorcycle! I think in surprise. I watch as Desmond walks up to me.
"What? You scared or something?"
I shake my head. "No. I just-"
"Then come on!" I'm not given the chance to finish my sentence when Desmond walks behind me and begins to move me forward by pushing against my back, my feet skidding against the ground as I try to stop.
"Hey!" Once he gets me next to the vehicle, he stops and mounts it, looking at me expectantly. I hesitate at the look he gives me, and look around for any bystanders, before I sigh in defeat, muttering, "Alright, fine." He grins and gestures for me to get on the space behind him on the seat, and I swing my leg over the other side, before sitting down. I put on the helmet Desmond had given me, and everything is darkened due to the eyeshield.
Desmond looks back at me as he sits up straight to put his helmet on as well, instructing me as he does so, "Just hang on to me so you won't fall off." I deadpan as I lean to the side to look at him.
"That's very reassuring," I reply sarcastically. He leans forward again, one hand grasping onto one handle while the other starts the ignition.
"You won't fall off," he says, as he turns his head sideways to glance back at me. "I'll make sure of it."
I stare at Desmond, before I nod, uttering as he leans forward to grab hold of the handles, "Okay, just make sure you don't go too-" The motorcycle suddenly revs to life as Desmond kicks up the brake and twists the right handle. I scream, instinctively grabbing onto Desmond's shoulders, as we speed down the street, "FAST!"