Ten.....storm

Please Lord, kill me now, she pleaded inwardly, crumpling under the pain of a migraine that was only intensified by the sounds of little boys screaming. As she came through the door she caught a glance of herself in the mirror and knew she probably couldn’t look any worse if tried.

Natalia’s furious outcries could be heard clearly from downstairs, and Alma was not without retaliation. And to add to the vocal chorus Marta was bawling uncontrollably, and without David’s music he must’ve been absent or asleep somehow.

Upstairs was a war-zone and Genny feared to tread, but everything she owned were up those stairs, plus she wanted nothing more than to relax in the bath to take her mind off Will, the Xomos and everything she’d just learnt. Also mid-terms were coming up and she knew she’d fail if she didn’t wrap her head around everything presently. She did not need this.

Bracing her tired body, she climbed the stairs. Alma was standing in her doorway while she argued with Natalia.

“No Alma, unacceptable, I will not stand for you getting kicked out of school for this!” Natalia screeched at her, which was a rare occurance, Alma was the kid parents love to show off, and no matter how hard the others worked, they would always look like mere mediocrities next to her.

“It’s not my fault!” she retorted, her arms spread in innocence, “It wasn’t my idea and I wasn’t the only one either, why are you the one who has to come into school?”

“I don’t care whose fault it is. I told you not to mix with the kids whose parents are the schools benefactors, they will always have a free pass to do whatever they want. You’re lower class and Latina Alma, when will you learn to-”

“Obey the white-man till I get to pass for one of them!” Alma exclaimed in disgust, caramel coloured hair swinging around her shoulders. It had always been much softer than her own, Genny thought, and her proportions had constantly been graceful and downright perfect.

Alma went to a prep school on scholarship for her pure genius, but always had this opinionated attitude and anger issues. She was always in trouble caused by her mouth but the school lover her because of her brain, what would make them want to kick her out?

“I did not say that Alma! Don’t you ever think that’s what I want for you-” Natalia replied with passion.

“What’s going on?” Genny finally said.

“You!” Natalia spun around on her, “You’re late, you missed dinner, no call, no texts! I thought I’d raised you with some degree of respect. Where the hell were you?”

That was more than she was expecting, but understood how her presence could only fuel Natalia’s rage further. However, in her sorrow over Will, she’d forgotten to prepare ‘the excuse’.

“We went to Paige’s to study, and I didn’t want to leave in the rain, but it wasn’t stopping so I eventually just left,” she lied fast, feeling the shudders in the walls from collisions happening beneath them, “I think Daniel and Vidal are fighting again,”

“Can’t you see I’m busy,” Natalia replied, not at all absorbing Genny’s words, “Do something about it!”

Though desperate to get out of the clothes she was in, Genny did as told. She’d been right, the kids were rolling around on the floor wrestling, a clay vase had been knocked to peices and yet they still continued. Groaning inwardly, she wished David had been there, they were the only one the boys listened to.

“Vidal! Daniel! Your mom is going to kill you! Or I might if you don’t stop fighting this minute,” she shouted before risking personal injury and breaking them up. Any other day she would’ve have tried to solve the problem, but that night she didn’t have the patience.

“Let me go Genny,” Vidal moaned. She had them both by their scruffs but was struggling to hold the two third graders apart.

“Puta!” Daniel said, Genny slapping him over the head in response.

“Who taught you that?” she demanded, not receiving a reply, “Never call me that again or,” she paused, needing to think, “or I won’t be your sister anymore,”

“We don’t care!” Vidal replied, suddenly on the same side as Daniel, she couldn’t help but feel a burst of hurt.

“Fine. You two are no longer mis hermanos anymore. I’m never taking you out for ice-cream, never buying you games or toys, no McDonalds, nothing,” she said, they looked a bit weary and stayed silent, allowing her to hear the unrelenting baby, “Now stand facing the walls until I come back, and if you dare move I’m taking away all of your video games, every single one,”

Letting go of them, she ran upstairs to find Marta in her cot crying. How on earth is Natalia tuning this out? She picked the baby girl and changed her practically dry nappy, but she cried on. Quickly she scanned the room for her bottle, and found it empty. Not I have to mix the formula, feed her, hope she stops crying, and discipline the boys while doing it, and all I want is a fricking bath. The pain in her head deepened.

“Natalia!” Genny screamed out every single syllable of her name with rage, “Be a mother for once and take care of you f*****g baby! Ugh!”

She was in the doorway of her room in less than a few seconds, a look in her eyes Genny had never seen before. Walking up to her, the back of her hand impacted on her face, the sound projecting over Marta’s crying which still hadn’t ceased.

“How dare you imply I’m not a mother to my children,” she said quietly.

She knew she shouldn’t say anything, she’d already hit her wear it hurts, and she was confident anything she said would only aggravate Natalia more, but somehow Genny couldn’t stop the words escaping. “Vidal and Daniel are tearing the house apart, you’re letting them, they’re learning new swearwords to call me, I guess you don’t care. You’re baby had been crying and you’re ignoring it. Why the hell am I doing your job? Why am I always doing your job? You always stop me going out and hanging out with my friends to babysit, but never David. And why doesn’t he have to hear you hurling abuse when he doesn’t turn up for dinner or church?”

She slapped her a second time, before whispering for her to get out. Carefully putting Marta down in her cot, Genny walked past Natalia into the hallway.

As she was going down, Alma was coming back up and bumped into her sister. “Watch where you’re going!” she bellowed. Genny didn’t even acknowledge her.

The boys were back to fighting it out but scrambled back to the wall when they heard footsteps.

“We’re still here Genny, please don’t take our videogames,” Vidal beseeched. She just looked at them.

Just as she came to the front door Jorge was coming inside, and she pushed past him into the street.

“An ‘excuse me’ would be nice young lady,” he said. She ignored. “Argent, apologise!” he said.

She kept on down the street, no coat, no bag, just an already soaking sweater and jeans. With no idea where she was going, she knew she just needed to go.

Her phone buzzed. Will. After ending the call she saw the seven missed calls from him, and the eleven texts, none of which she read.

The thunder storm was at its strongest now, with pond-sized puddles everywhere, and constant lighting flashing. She didn’t know if she was crying, and she didn’t know if it mattered because of the mildly acidic rainwater dripping off her face. Water bouncing off the ashphalt under the dim streetlamp light glittered hypnotically, watching it as she walked was almost soporific.

Her feet led her to the park for which her community was named. Sitting on the closest bench she let herself feel the rain on her skin; drops trickled refreshingly down her nose and her lips. Letting it flow through her hair and stream down her neck was invigorating. The cold dampness melted her rage, melted it into a fine nothingness. She could breathe.

After maybe twenty minutes, or more, or less, Genny didn’t know, she picked up the phone when Will called.

“Gen, you have to let me explain, you have to,” Will said as soon as she picked up.

“I don’t care Will,” she said, knowing that though she felt nothing then, she’d want an explanation eventually. Ultimately she would care again, and she hated that.

“You, you don’t?” he stammered.

As thunder crashed around her, she felt the primal urge just to stand up, throw her head back and scream in tune with the storm’s symphony.

“Wait, where are you?”

“Humboldt Park, north east corner, near the playground,” she replied.

“I’m coming,” he said before hanging up.

She wished he wouldn’t; she didn’t want to feel anything then, and when she was around him she always felt something.

Stimulated, she revelled in the sparkling silver thunderstorm a while longer before he showed up at the playground shouting her name.

“Gen! What the hell are you doing out here?” he called. She didn’t answer. “This isn’t about me and Lola is it?” he asked.

So her name is Lola, she thought to herself. “No Will, it’s not, the whole world does not revolve around you. God! Why is your ego so damn huge?”

“Gen, let’s get out of the rain,” he said, ignoring her comment, “c’mon,”

He wrapped his jacked around her and tried to get her to stand up.

“I like it here,” she said stubbornly but truthfully.

“No Gen, you’ll get sick or something,” he said.

“I’m not going anywhere,” she declared. Who is he to make me leave exactly where I want to-

Before she could do anything about it, he threw her over his shoulder and carried her away. She could smell his familiar scent, though it was drowned out by the rain.

“Let me go Will, put me down,” she said, weakly pounding his back and flailing her legs, but there was very little energy left in her.

He disregarded her demand and kept walking.

When he did put her down they were standing outside of an impressive red SUV, but she just stood there when Will opened the door.

“Get in,” he said when she didn’t move.

“I         don’t    want to!” she enunciated, “Why can’t I just do what I want?”

He sighed. “Please Gen, only for half an hour, then I’ll let you go wherever you want,” he was almost pleading.

Genny knew he was lying, but something made her get inside the truck. Inside it was bright and had beige seats with a wooden dashboard. It exuded flawless style.

“Gen, I have to apologise to you about earlier, but you have to understand, Lola kissed me, I’ve been tryna get rid of her all week,”

She said nothing to him, realising just how cold she really was.

“I mean, Landon had friends over, there were drinks and eventually it turned into a little party, but Lola would not leave me alone, so I went out for air and she said, ‘let me come with you’. When I told her I just didn’t like her, she kissed me,”

His ten minutes in the rain had soaked through his dark hair, which was sticking to his forehead, highlighting his slightly downturned, bright blue eyes. “Why are you telling me this?” she asked.

“Because,” he began, “You need to know that I feel nothing for her. She used to hook up with Chaice but Chaice is with Summer, so I guess she wants to even it out. But she’s just a huge s**t, and who wants that? It makes it even worse that you tell them you don’t like them and they jump on you, it means you don’t even have to pretend to like them to get them into bed, doing the opposite works better,” he paused, seeing the look on her face and realising to get back to the point, “So when she found out Chaice and Summer are official on Saturday, she hasn’t stopped bugging me, I guess she wants the same thing but that’s the last thing I want with her.”

Genny didn’t know what to feel anymore, she was tired of feeling hurt and angry. She didn’t fight back. “So you don’t like her at all?” she said, voice cracking.

“No Gen, not even a little, I like you. But to be fair you’ve been too busy for me all week,”

“I was lying to you,” she admitted, “Natalia kept lumping me with babysitting her love child, plus I had mid-terms and papers due, so much studying and performance pieces to practise. I couldn’t tell you or you’d think I was or nerd or something,”

His brow furrowed. “Definitely not Gen, how could I think that when you just want to pass high school?”

She shrugged, Will was Will; how could any girl admit to him they would rather hit the books than hang out with him. “It’s more than that I guess, I’ve throw my whole life into getting this scholarship, and keeping it, and following my stupid dreams, if I fell I’m left with nothing,”

Putting his arm around her shoulder, he pulled her toward him, and she rested her head on his shoulder, letting a few stray tears roll down her face.

“Please don’t cry,” he implored, she was almost certain that would be the last time she’d ever hear him say please.

“I just wanted a bath,” was what came out of her mouth, not exactly as intended.

“What?” he said to her.

“I just wanted to come home and take a nice warm bath, but instead my brothers call me a b***h and my adopted mother slaps me up a couple of times and kicks me out,” she said, sounding miserable, “my house is this war zone, where there’s noise, fighting and everyone only cares for themselves,”

“Tell me,” Will said the perfect words.

She explained to him everything that had happened that night; Alma’s recent rebel actions, David’s constant absence from her life, the boys’ continuous destruction, but Marta was a baby, you couldn’t blame her. She wanted to mention being chased through the streets by rotted soul-sucking monsters, but knew mentioning anything to with the Aphotians could endanger him �" that was if he believed her. Either way, she wasn’t about to put him a risk.

He held her for a few second before speaking again. “I didn’t know Natalia was you adopted mom?”

“Oh yeah, my real mom’s name was Adele, and my dad’s name was Nate. My mother disappeared when I was three, went on missing persons but she’s never been found, that was when we lived in England. Then my dad married Natalia, who had adopted her nephew David when his mother died. Natalia eventually had my half-brother Daniel. But Vidal, he was adopted from the Mexican immigrant she knew, when she was deported she begged Natalia to take Vidal, she wanted him to have a better life than any one she could give him. She was on dialysis too and could barely afford it in Mexico, it kept her in poverty, she died a year after we took in Vidal.

“My dad died when I was ten, asphyxia during a gas leak. Natalia loved me enough to adopt me, now she’s engaged to Jorge. My step-sister Alma is his daughter, apparently he got drunk in Vegas and married this woman, but they annulled in the morning, a year later she turned up on his doorstep and hands him a baby without so much as a name, so he called her Alma, though turns out the name on the birth certificate is Chloe. And in the middle of all their wedding planning, Natalia finds out she’s pregnant so they’ve postponed it, along came baby Marta,” she explained.

“So we’re both parentless,” he commented after a moment.

Of course, she already knew this, the Davenports had always been gossiped about, not just in school, but the in the media. She died in a fire, and he died hang gliding or rock-climbing or something abroad. The grandparents looked after the Davenport orphans.

After a few more moments she spoke again. “Will?”

“Yeah Gen,”

“I don’t want to go home, not tonight,”

“Okay,” was all he said.

Confident he wouldn’t drop her home, she sent a text to Jorge telling him she’d be home the next day, she was with a friend, and not to bother calling because she wouldn’t pick up. Instead she and Will fell asleep in the car beside each other.

When she regained consciousness the car was moving, she was alarmed for that millisecond before she remembered the events from that night before.

“Morning beautiful,” Will smiled wildly at her, “I’m taking you out for breakfast,”

Catching a glimpse of herself in the rear view mirror, she was a horror, a goofy, gawkly, gangly explosion. Her hair was straggle and knotted, her face had the remains of layers of once-wet make-up, her clothes looked awful after spending the night damp.

“No Will no, not like this, you have to take me home first,” she told him.

“No, um, I don’t think so,” he said, looking over at her.

“Will, don’t do this to me,” she replied.

“C’mon Gen, let’s do something spontaneous, we don’t give a damn about what others think,” he said, surprisingly spirited.

“You mean let’s go out looking like s**t?” she said.

He just looked at her, a mad look in his eyes. “I know this great place downtown, we’re going,”

She wanted to argue further, but quit seeing as he was driving the car. Car?

“Is this yours?” she said, “When did you get a car?”

“Sunday, on my actual birthday, from the grandparents. Summer got one too, a Porsche. It’s not exactly fair yet though, both of my brothers have two, even though Landon’s second car is a motorbike, but still. Passed the test earlier in the week,”

She resisted letting her jaw drop while remembering how loaded they were. “Perfect sweet sixteen present,”

He parked just outside a small down town cafe with a green neon sign above that read ‘Tiny’s Bagels’. Just as soon as he turned off the engine, Will leant over and pressed his lips to hers, her hand coming up to his cheek.

“Happy Valentine’s Day,” he said as he broke away.

“Ugh my mouth must taste atrocious and-” she stopped short, realising what he’d just said, “Oh my God, I can’t believe you have to see me like this on Valentines,”

The back of his hand met her cheek. “You’re full of more radiance than our metropolis at dawn,”

She rolled her eyes and got out of the car, wishing more than ever for a shower. Inside Will bought her the best bagels she’s probably ever tasted.

“Wow, these, this is amazing, how on earth do you find a place like this?” she said, wolfing it down, not having realised how hungry she was.

“Actually my parents met here, he made it famous when he discovered it, being so high profile and whatnot, she’d been coming here for years, then the rest is history,”

He’d devoured his bagel in second and was watching her eat. She felt herself blush at being scrutinized, but also at the fact that his parents met there and that’s where he chose to take her. Afterwards he dropped her home, promising he’d be back in a couple hours to drag her around for the rest of the day, as he so put it.

Upon entering the house the boys actually greeted Genny with a hug, the whole sister thing had worked.

“Argent,” Natalia said when seeing her out in the hallway, “I didn’t mean for you to leave the house, just my room, I would never kick you out,”

Soon she was locked in an embrace.

“I’m sorry mija, I should never have laid a hand on you,”

“It’s okay,” she replied.

“No it’s not,” she said, before launching into an explanation about how after her father’s stroke, it didn’t look like he had long to live. She’d gotten that news yesterday afternoon. Natalia apologised once more �" with Genny doing the same �" before went upstairs for her long-awaited shower.

As she came out, she saw Alma in her room with the door open.

“Alma, what was going on last night?

“Natalia and dad are getting called in to talk to my principle about my ‘future’ at the school. I think they might just kick me out. Justine had this idea to spray ‘fascist’ over Mr Rothman’s car, and they gave me the money to get the paint. We all did it, but somehow only my parents have to come in for a meeting,”

“Alma-” Genny began.

“I don’t care anyway, I don’t want to go to a fascist school, or a racist one, and if they kick me out they’ll be risking their reputation and furthering the ‘idea’ of their fascism,” she said, playing with the honey locks she was blessed with.

 

Hearing a car horn beep, she ran downstairs to peer out of the window, and right on cue was Will’s red Escalade.

“By Natalia!” she shouted at she hurried out the front door before she could ask too many questions, fortunately she was bathing Marta.

The rain had failed to cease from the night before, the world still painted with a glistening palette of silvers and greys.

Opening the door to Will’s car, he smiled at her with a half-evil look in his electric eyes. She wanted to melt into the fabric.

As she sat down he kissed her lightly on the lips. “Ready to go?”

“Yeah,” she said dreamily but without thinking. “Wait- where are we going?”

He didn’t reply, just took out a piece of black cloth from his jacket.

“What in the hell is that?” she said, worried it was what she thought it was.

“It’s a blindfold,” he replied.

Her jaw dropped. Genny looked at him for a few seconds not knowing what to think, his eyes bore into her. “Am I being kidnapped?”

“Yes,” he said, with that same devilish glint his eyes held, “And I don’t think you should fight back,”

Genny shook her head. “You’re absolutely crazy,”

“No I’m not,” he replied, “I’m fun and unpredictable and exciting, and you know it. And as much as I would hate this but if you don’t wear the blindfold I’ll have to end the day here, and you’ll always be left wondering, ‘what did Will have planned, what did I miss out on?’”

She sighed. “You’re right, I’m the crazy one, I’m out of my mind for saying go ahead Will, blindfold me,”

Turning slightly to the side, he tied it over her eyes and her whole world was plunged into darkness.

“Are you going to bound and gag me too?” she said sarcastically.

“Well now that you mention, I have got a few bondage items in the trunk, just in case you asked,”

Letting her hand blindly fly sideways, she hit him in the chest. She felt the car being to move forwards.

“Hit me again, I dare you,” he laughed.

“Why are you provoking me Will, you know I want to,” she said to him.

“Because it’s fun, really fun, I feed on it,” he replied, she could hear the smile in his voice.

It felt like a somewhat long drive, but that was probably because she couldn’t see where they were going, and Will refused to tell her the time. Either way she was pretty sure she knew where they were when she could smell the distinct scent of brine in the air.

“Will? We’re not at the harbour are we?” she asked; he didn’t reply.

The car quickly came to a halt and her hand came up to the blindfold, but Will’s promptly stopped her how.

“What do you think you’re doing?” he asked, “That doesn’t come off until I say so,”

“Will-” she began to say.

“No. Promise me you’ll leave in on?”

Though Genny wanted to argue more, a part of her was enjoying the excitement behind it; instead she thinks she started smiling. “If we’re getting out of the car don’t I at least get a seeing-eye dog or a stick or something?”

“No unfortunately you’ll just have to make do with me, I’m sorry I’m not as luxurious as a stick,” he said.

She laughed as she heard him get out and within seconds he was at the other side, helping her out. He led her across the harbour, holding an umbrella over both of them, and onto what she knew was a boat but he would neither admit it nor let her take the blindfold off for at least another 20 minutes.

She felt his hands on the back of her head, and heart raced with anticipation. Shoving her glasses on, the light was blinding at first, when she could see again the view was incredible. They were right in the middle of Lake Michigan, just cruising in a yacht. The deep blue water ran restlessly below them, reflecting the sky dappled in iron, charcoal and slate coloured clouds, a white sun peeking through at moments. Clear diamonds fell from the sky, each insignificant splash forever changing the waterscape and therefore the world. The all-natural raw sound of the silver storm, the reverberations of distant thunder and the hum of the glittering downpour carried on effervescently.

“I was really hoping the sun would shine today, just for us,” Will said, apologetically.

“What?” she said, turning away from the scene, “No, I love rain. I love this, thank you,”

His face looked incredulous as she stepped out from under the shaded area and felt the spray on her skin. Eventually he followed her to the bow, putting his hands around her waist.

Inside, the interior was beyond deluxe, with music playing from the speakers overhead.

“’Sugar we’re going down’?” she asked, instantly recognising the beat of the drums and crash of the guitars.

He nodded in reponse.

“This is so weird,” she said, putting her hand to her head, “You have this whole romantic caring side to you, like last night, who knew?”

“Caring?” he said, screwing up his face, “Not so much, I think I just care about you,”

Heat began to rise to her face, sent straight from his eyes.

“You should consider yourself lucky, most girls would, and most guys too I bet, I am quite the eligible bachelor,” he said.

Pushing him away playfully, she flopped down on one of the couches, him taking a seat beside her. They watched a selection of apocalyptic movies, even played cards and had dinner on the boat, celebrating �" what Genny thought to be �" the best Valentine’s in history.

 

However her day didn’t end, not that night nor the next, sleep just never came. She now knew what Ivory and Crizanto were talking about and it was extremely crushing. The first night she listened to music before plugging her headphones into her computer and watching movies to kill time. She expected to feel some sort of exhaustion or sleep-deprived delirium, but she fel nothing, it was the same day and night.

By the third night she needed something to do, it seemed like she was just living a really long day. She took off her charcoal bracelet and spoke their names.

Author's Note

is it too long?