To Meet a Giant

Chapter 12

Trent didn't have to open his eyes to know he wasn't in his apartment. This time he knew what the plush mattress signified. He squinted his eyes hard as if it would help keep him from opening them.

He had laid down on his dumpy mattress and passed out, but he couldn't detect a hint of the hangover that should, by all rights, be pounding his head to pieces. Yet, he felt that his memories were completely wrong as to what he had done before falling asleep.

A part of his mind tried to tell him that it was early morning, after a wonderful night. Why it was wonderful, he didn't have a clue, but he couldn't get away from the nagging suspicion that he hadn't been drinking.

He opened his eyes slowly, and his blood turned to ice.

Filling his vision was a face he had never expected to see again, and it was sharing a pillow with him in the big, white bed he remembered so well. Were she to open her eyes, Trent would see the deep brown eyes he knew so well. He couldn't frame a single thought that made sense, and tried to still his heart through sheer will.

She couldn't be real. It was impossible. His life and hers had been separated for far too long for him to hope, or wish, for anything more. If he lifted a hand, would his fingers touch the black curls spread on the pillow around her? Or would they simply pass through the apparition that was too good to be true?

'Amber', he mouthed while struggling not to blink. She was sound asleep, and couldn't have any idea he was there. The two of them hadn't seen each other in six years, since the night Trent left college without a backward glance.

Once again his memories didn't seem to want to agree with him. Trent tried to tell his brain the story of how he had left, but the little voice in his head argued all the while that he was wrong.

The internal dialogue didn't go on for long, though, not with her so close to him. Amber Easton was the only girl he ever fell in love with. And now, after so long without her, after years spent refusing to even think of her, she was sleeping only inches away. It was a dream, a nightmare, and soon he would wake from it.

His hand crept toward her of its own volition. It wouldn't stop moving no matter how he silently screamed at it. He didn't notice the lack of scars slashing their pale lines across his knuckles. All he saw were the tips of his fingers trailing across the cheek of the woman he loved. Still loved, considering the way he looked at her.

His mind stopped looking for a way to wake up. If he could stay with Amber then nothing could ever be wrong with the world again.

Amber shifted a little beneath his fingers, but she sighed and settled back to sleep. It was probably for the best. What was he supposed to say if she woke up: Nice to wake up next to you after six years? Sorry? I'm an idiot? There was nothing to say, when it came down to it. You can't apologize for six years of pain, or wipe it away in a moment.

He swiftly drew his hand back in fear, then watched as it crept back toward her. This time it fell on the curls spread across the pillow, and he felt a true smile spread across his face. Not the pinched look he was used to, but a simple, gentle smile. Six years was a long time to go without smiling, but it didn't feel strange with her beside him.

He felt as if waking her would be as simple as breathing. To hear her say his name and look at him with the love he had once earned, and summarily lost.

The quiet slap of feet running in the hallway outside broke the silence, and his smile disappeared. He heard the doorknob turn, and feet whispered over the plush carpet of the bedroom.

Trent shut his eyes hurriedly, unsure what kind of reaction his presence would bring. His heart told him that he belonged nowhere else, but that didn't mean he belonged there. A small hand grabbed at his shoulder from the edge of the bed.

“Get up,” a small, high-pitched voice said. “Get up,” the little hand tried to shake a little harder, and Trent found himself smiling wider at the plaintive tone. “You said we'd play this morning.”

He rolled over and looked in to eyes that would haunt him long beyond waking. Too big eyes in a boy's face that perfectly matched the ones Trent saw every time he looked in the mirror.

The little face broke into a triumphant smile. “Come on, you said you would.” He shook a little harder when Trent didn't move. Apparently the kid knew how to wake someone with Trent's sleeping habits.

Trent tensed. What if Amber woke up? Would he have to watch this strange dream come to a horrific close? It would be horrific even if it ended happily, because he would have to go back to his life.

The little boy continued his shaking and pleading, and Trent squeezed his eyes shut at the sight of his pale blue eyes staring at him from a child's face.

The kid shook him hard. Harder than a child should be able to shake a grown man.

“HEEYYY!!” Trent flinched at the scream.

“WAKE UP! TRENT! WAKE UP!” His eyes flew open, and it was Bailey blearily sweating his life away inches from Trent's face.

“GET THE HELL OUTTA MY FACE!!” Trent screamed, enraged beyond even how he had felt fighting with Erin. His mind tried to cope with the fact that the kid with his eyes had transformed into the repugnant character breathing on him. “What the HELL are you doin' in my room, Bailey!?!” The dream had ended worse than he expected. The shot of battle-ready adrenaline surged through his veins, spurred on quicker and quicker by a heartbeat racing like a vandal from the cops.

Bailey obliviously stumbled back to the door of Trent's bedroom and swung it open. Trent's heart jumped a fence. A wall of sound rushed from the living room and slammed through his formerly peaceful redoubt.

The party was in full swing. Trent watched as Bailey bowled through the few people visible from his wide open door, then rolled out of bed to shut it before anyone thought to intrude. He slammed the fragile barrier shut in the faces of two kids right outside and sagged against it.

Strange dreams, and now Amber was in them. Apparently he wanted to torture himself; that was all thoughts of her did to him. There weren't any memories to make him feel better, so he did his best not to travel back in time.

His eyes found the bag of weed sitting on the mirror next to his bed. Joining the party required a pick-me-up. Smoke rose into the air, and the noise from the living room seemed to drop below a hundred decibels. He wondered how it had failed to wake him. The noise hadn't registered until his door opened, but the walls were so thin the door didn't hold stop the sound of a mouse fart from traveling through. Sleeping that deep probably wasn't all that safe a habit for someone who left their doors unlocked.

“Gotta face the music sometime,” he mumbled. He couldn't just sit in his room. It wouldn't be right to skip his own party.

He shuffled to the door, but didn't hesitate to swing it open, step in to the throng, and slam it shut behind him. His party was already out of control. There was hardly room to move, and the air was so thick with smoke and heat that it could have been canned and used as tear gas. Luckily, the front door was open, even though it could only do so much to ventilate the place. It was a nice touch, though, probably something Lex had thought up.

Dave, Bobby, and California all sat around the busted TV with a few complete strangers. Someone had cleaned up the glass on the floor; Trent wondered who stepped on it.

His eyes searched the little room, trying to spot Lex through the bodies. There were only about twenty-five people, but that was fifteen too many for the tiny space. His eyes were drawn to an enormous shape near the front door before he could find Lex. He thought it was a man, but one pulled straight out of a horror movie.

The guy was easily six and a half feet tall, and his arms were thicker than the legs of anyone else in the room. His chest strained the fabric of a black t-shirt that Trent could have used as a tent, and his short blonde hair was so light it would have been invisible if you stood right next to him.

The blank look on the guy's face was focused on a girl in front of him. She looked eager to get away, but couldn't convince herself to sprint past the man looming before her. Her eyes darted constantly, looking for an escape, or someone foolish enough to rescue her. Trent shook his head and looked away before the girl thought he could help. The giant wasn't anyone that had been to Trent's parties before.

Bailey's high, obnoxious laugh rose over the noise, and Trent grimaced at the noise. Lex was hiding in a corner whispering with two girls. Trent glanced toward his friends around the TV, and Bailey's head popped up from the floor. Apparently the businessman was lying down, hoping someone would bestow another joint on him. If Bailey acted the same way every time he got high, Trent would stop selling to him.

It wasn't strange for Lex to be found off to the side of the action, speaking quietly to a woman. Or two women, as the case was. Lex was nothing if not a lady's man, and Trent would have been disappointed if his friend hadn't been playing the part.

“Trent, this is Amanda,” Lex had to yell over the chatter, and put his arm around a brunette that was already molded to him. “And this is Sandy.” His voice changed slightly, signifying that the short girl with the kinky blonde hair was open to approach.

Trent said hello without paying attention, then did a double-take toward the blond girl. She was wearing a light hoody and jeans, but neither could hide her obvious curves. Trent found it hard to only look into the light green eyes set in a heart shaped face.

He was hooked, but tried to play if off. He looked back to Lex as if he had important business to be about, and nothing was going to distract him, but he didn't pull off the act very well.

“So, d'you figure out anything on what we talked about?” He asked cryptically. His eyes slid to Sandy before he could stop them, then shot away before he saw the little smile that touched her lips.

“Who do you think the guy by the door is? He came with me, and we're sposed to make a call later.” The girls looked at them as if they were being vague for no reason but to leave them in the dark.

“Well,” Trent's eyes slid back to Sandy, who shot him a glorious smile. Trent didn't bother hiding his interest, and smiled back before continuing his conversation with Lex, “I guess we should talk to him, and we can get this phone call outta the way.” Trent looked away from Sandy to the brunette who stared at Lex worshipfully. Nothing strange there; most women looked at Lex like that. “Once we get the business taken care of, we can try and find something a little more exciting to do.”

Lex nodded back slowly, knowing full well that Trent was talking about the ravishing blond. Had he misunderstood Lex's tone when he introduced Sandy? His friend pulled the brunette away, and Trent shot a frown after him.

He shrugged and turned toward the gorgeous girl standing closer than he remembered and looked down at her. She was beautiful, which made Trent wonder why she was smiling at him.

“Well,” she said coyly, “What's up?”

“Not much, just got this s**t to take care of.” He couldn't have thought of something more stupid to say if he tried. “Then, if ya want, I'll come back and we can talk for a bit.”

“Talk? That's what you wanna do? That's 'something more exciting'?” She sounded sarcastic.

Trent blinked in surprise. That was not what he had been expecting. He stuttered his way through a string of nonsense, and Sandy put a hand on his chest to stop him.

“Look, Trent.” She had his undivided attention. “You don't have to bullshit me. I've played this game enough to know what you want. You're not smooth enough to beat me at it, so just admit that I'm gonna win.” She grinned at the disappointed look on his face, and brought her hand up to his cheek. “But you'll like the way I win. So, come back when you're done with your business, and I'll be here.”

She stood on tiptoes to brush her lips across his, and then she was gone. Trent watched her sway through the people standing around, and couldn't help but admire the way she walked.

“Hell was that about?” Suddenly Lex was standing next to him.

“I ain't got a clue, man. But I think it went well...Let's talk to this guy and see what Crazy Pete's gotta say.”

Lex opened his mouth to presumably list the number of reasons he thought it was a bad idea, but his intended victim turned his back and walked through the crowd to where the giant still stood by the front door. The girl next to the big man hadn't found a way out of his reach yet. Her eyes still darted wildly, but her shoulders had slumped in defeat.

“How are ya, friend?” He stepped right up to the enormous blond man. The giant looked down at the grungy looking fellow in front of him in surprise. Trent figured people interested in continuing to breathe didn't interrupt him often. “I ain't seen ya before, but from what I hear you and I need to talk.”

Trent literally felt the girl vacate the space beside him and fought the urge to smile. Unfortunately, the muscle-bound giant gazed after her, then scowled viciously at Trent for giving her the chance to run. He nearly took a step back, but it would look bad if he backed in to Lex. He didn't know Lex had backed up nervously even though the look wasn't directed at him.

“Whoa! I'm sure she's comin' back. It'll give us time to get business taken care of before the fun starts.” Trent held out a hand, then lifted it about a foot so the other man could reach it. “I'm Trent.”

“Oh!” Finally, a look of recognition bloomed in the blond man's eyes. He reached out and took Trent's hand. His meaty palm crushed Trent's entire hand and part of his wrist without effort, but he let go before Trent screamed for help. “Boss told me I was here to talk to ya. I'm Kevin.” Kevin looked behind Trent and nodded, “Sup, Lex?”

Trent cut in before the two of them could get into a conversation that had nothing to do with the job at hand. “Why don't we head to my room? It's quieter. Not by much, but at least a little.” Trent turned and headed straight across the living room.

He wanted another joint, anyway, and he wasn't stupid enough to break out his weed in the middle of the pack of drug addicts that had taken up residence in his living room. Trent assumed the other two had followed him by the way people glanced behind Trent and scrambled out of his way so fast that they backed into the people behind them. This guy Kevin could end up being fairly useful, even if he wasn't all there in the brains department.

Trent opened the door to his room and left it open behind him. Lex knew the drill, he would shut it before anyone could sneak inside. When he reached his bed he thought about sitting down, but couldn't see himself putting a kink in his neck to see Kevin's face. So, he just turned and craned it slightly, instead.

“So, what's the plan? And what's Crazy Pete thinkin'?” Lex closed the door and wondered where his friend had gotten such a stupid idea.

Reviews

[Xavier Lee]

I am captivated by the disorienting shift between Trent's dreams and reality. And it has me utterly curious. As before you have given us an excellent chapter that I thoroughly enjoyed.
Despite that, I did notice a few grammatical errors. The only notable ones being repeated words, i.e. "so well" in paragraph five.
and later "the little hand tried to shake a little harder". You could replace the first with 'small' or the second with 'bit'.
"Come to a horrific close? It would be horrific."
Other than that excellent work and I can't wait to find out what happens next.