Chapter 10: and the Heart Thief (Part I)

I don't like sharing you, especially with my psychotic cousin.

“The first show back home in a long time folks "that’s make it count!” Rafe parading around; poor innocent and defenceless to a real man is Betty hugged tight under his arm. I look around at the guys who have done a great job with pitching most of the seats up already. I enter the ring, sand in my toes -how annoying. Wailer, Zen and Veronica climb poles as they set up the trapeze. They are crazy them three.So are the rest of our acrobats, with no nets, no harnesses. With Lacy gone I don’t know who will parade the horses, Willow is far too young.
Sometimes I wish I didn’t have the devil’s tongue. Rafe now with two girls under his wing talks to Willow crouched down to her level.I bet he is filling her head with nonsense and empty promises. I refuse to care; it’s not good on me. Slade enters the ring and stands beside me.
     “Brother, we need to talk.” I twirl the rod in my left hand and flip the one in my right. I breathe fire into the sky above me and Zen howls.
     “Try not to set the tent on fire hot stuff.” She says flipping off her swinging trapeze and landing like a feather on the ground; even though she had to have been more than ten feet above the ground a second ago. I see the way Slade looks at her and I smile smugly. The boy can’t give me advice -any would be rich with irony.
     “I’ll let you two, catch up.” I walk away to practice in peace. I twist and pull apart the poles; a chain runs between each one like a pair of numchucks. Fire ripples down my arms and sets the poles ablaze in my hand. I laugh in victory and dance around in sheer happiness.However, it doesn’t last long. Guilt slips back into play as I think of Holly and my mistreatment of her.More than that, the fact I’m just about to let Rafe push Willow into leading the horses-a task with any animals is always dangerous and she is just a kid. How could I ever have thought otherwise? I can see the argument now. Rafe disgusted at my lack of authority, acting more like our fathers then my cousin. ‘The show must go on’ he would say, ‘everyone has a job to do here. No exceptions’. He’d bring Holly into it somehow; I can see he despises her and her lack of awareness of social hierarchy and discipline"not to mention the voice of authority.