Where do you recommend?
Take her to the River Lodge. It’s not too far from here, and the place has private bungalows.
Our lives are going to be forever changed, sis.
Does this mean you plan to share all of our secrets with her?
You know I wouldn’t do that.
Do I, Maxim? You need to give me some time to let this sink into my head. We can figure out this whole assorted mess later when you’re thinking rationally again. I’ll join you soon.
CHAPTER 22
Nexa kept her pale hair hidden under a beanie while she wandered among the crowd of rowdy students hanging out at the after party. Smoking, gossiping, and drinking were going on, including laughter about what happened to Oddily with snide remarks concerning her body.
Nexa strolled over to the two girls who laughed the loudest, piercing their minds with sad thoughts, and their annoying laughter turned into one large crying fest. The two females looked startled when they couldn’t stop.
Then a few guys gathered around vying for the blonde’s attention, making innuendos and even blatant invitations thinly veiled as jokes. Nexa ignored them all until a friendly voice asked, “Who are you, you sweet looking thing?”
A cute guy eyed Nexa up and down. She searched his memory and discovered he was Frankie, Kip’s older brother, who had been trying to get her attention since she arrived.
“You’re so damn hot!” He started a hospitable conversation, but wasn’t able to strike the spark that would lead to further advances.
“Can I get you a drink?” Frankie attempted to get Nexa drunk, and then try again.
“No, thank you. Where’s your brother?”
Her question took Frankie by surprise. She didn’t give him the response he desired.
“He’s probably in the backyard tinkering with the sound equipment. We’re getting ready to jam.”
Nexa silently stared at Frankie while listening in on his dirty thoughts until her scrutiny made him uncomfortable.
“Come with me and I’ll take you to him.” Frankie went to put his arm around her waist, but Nexa dodged his attempt.
“Please keep your hands off me.”
Frankie raised his arms in surrender and led Nexa outside to the front of a makeshift stage. She sat in the front row of chairs all the while eyeing Oddily’s tormenter, who was too busy with the sound equipment to know of her presence.
Frankie started to jump onto the stage, but Nexa stopped him. “Don’t tell Kip I’m here yet. I want him to be surprised.”
“Fine with me,” he shrugged with an edge of sarcasm in his tone.
Nexa kept her head down with the collar of her sweater bunched up around her neck and waited while the party-goers gathered around the stage. She didn’t glance up until she heard the band start up with Kip belting out the first song. Her pulse began to throb and leap to the rhythm of the loud music. The sound was unusual and certainly, no Beethoven! Her instincts were to place her fingers in her ears to muffle the loudness, but she decided to grin and bear it.
As Nexa listened, her keen hearing detected Starla’s shrill voice cut through the music and drunken chatter. Her head tilted in the direction of annoyance and she knew Starla was headed her way. Nexa readied herself until Starla was almost in front of her, and then stuck out her leg. Starla came down with a thud.
“Oh my God,” Kendall yelled. She’d been walking close to Starla when she fell.
Nexa jumped up and pretended to help Starla to her feet while, at the same time, making sure her high-heeled shoe pressed against the hem of Starla’s dress. It worked! Starla’s shiny bodice dropped down off of her breasts. Starla gave out a mortified gasp when her falsies popped out. Girls began to point and laugh while the guys started to hoot and holler. A student from the football team snatched up one of the oval shaped sponges and started to toss it around like a football. Even the band stopped to join in on the fun.
Nexa retreated into the background and watched from afar as Starla pulled up her dress and spun around to see who had tripped her. She accused everyone in the immediate area, including Kendall.
“You bitch!” Starla shouted at her best friend.
“I didn’t do it, you dumb-ass blonde!”
Nexa smirked in satisfaction.
“Hey, where’s the music?” Some of the kids shouted at the band.
Kip and his band mates started up again, only this time they were pumped with adrenaline from all the excitement.
It’s your turn, punk! Nexa penetrated Kip’s mind and waited for the real fun to begin.
Kip sang into the microphone when all of a sudden his perfectly tuned voice sounded like he couldn’t sing his way out of a paper bag. Surprisingly, he didn’t stop right away, but his eyes grew wide with disbelief while he listened to the strange off key notes flying from his mouth.
“Boo! Get off the stage!” The audience started to heckle him until he stopped.
Kip’s brother Frankie began to argue with him while nuts and chips were tossed at them. Nexa had a semblance of vindication over the atrocity done towards Oddily while she zeroed in on her last victim. She found him off in a corner, gawking at all the chaos.
Paul, who reminded her of an obedient puppy when dealing with his obnoxious friends, turned his head and stared directly at her. Did he realize she was the one responsible for the silly antics going on tonight? Nexa penetrated his mind and found him to be too busy chastising himself for him to pay any attention to what she had done. He went over the events of the evening in his mind and became angry with himself for not helping Oddily. He also felt like a complete jerk for being a part of the mean group that tormented her. Nexa changed her mind about him and decided to leave him alone—for now.
Where are you, sis?
Nexa froze when Maxim’s voice entered her head.
I’ll be there in a few minutes.
What are you up to?
Nexa cringed. Don’t ask unless you want me to lie to you.
Please hurry, I need help with Oddily.
With one last glimpse of satisfaction and a twitch of a smile, Nexa returned her victims back to their hateful right minds and glided out the side yard gate. She knew she did wrong by using her powers, but it seemed so natural and right.
CHAPTER 23
All was quiet in Maxim’s car except for the faint, humiliated sounds of Oddily’s sufferings. Giants sobs racked her petite body as she gulped and sputtered, trying to breathe. Tears slid down Maxim’s cheeks as well.
He felt like a failure; angry at himself for not keeping Oddily safe. No matter how hard he tried to help her, to protect her, a dark cloud always seemed to follow her around. He now knew the name of this dreariness—Kip Bellini.
Another burst of raw emotion threatened to overwhelm him as he thought of Oddily’s tormentor. His eyes became hooded and unwavering, wanting to go back and find him. Instead, he pulled in front of the impressive River Lodge. The lodge resembled an English tavern. It was built in the early nineteenth century when two eccentric sisters desired to create a bit of paradise. Nexa was right; this place was perfect. The main lodge appeared to be surrounded by private, rustic bungalows set along cobblestone paths, each cabin secluded amidst a canopy of trees.
His first priority continued to be Oddily, so he pulled up in front of the old lodge and climbed out. “I’m getting us a bungalow. I’ll be right back.”
For a moment, Oddily’s mind focused. One word stood out among her tortured thoughts. Did Maxim say he was getting a room for…us? No, she must have misunderstood him. Who would ever want to be in the same room with her?
Oddily had never experienced this level of tiredness in her life. Was this to be her existence forever? She hadn’t thought about the future much. There was no future to consider…only the strange present. Another giant sob escaped as the agonizing pain of memories from the dance returned, engulfing her into a renewed, deeper level of despair.
Maxim returned. The passenger d
oor opened and Oddily was lifted out of the car. She stared at the night sky until the ceiling of a room came into view.
Maxim placed her on a soft couch and knelt down to check her for injuries again. “Your wounds are superficial,” he poked a small scratch near her elbow, but she pulled her arm away from him.
“Leave me alone,” she moaned.
“Look at me!” He leaned forward, his face only a few inches from hers—his breath touching the back of her hands that covered her face.
“No, I can’t,” she sobbed with renewed suffering.
“Yes, you can.”
“Please, go away!” Tears dripped between Oddily’s delicate fingers. “Don’t ever lay your eyes on me again.”
“Stop it,” his voice became thick with emotion. “I’m not leaving you.”
Oddily shook her head in disbelief and whimpered, “Why are you doing this?”
“I can’t imagine life without you now that you’ve entered my world.”
“No, you’re lying! Who would want me when I don’t have all my body parts?”
“Body parts,” Maxim repeated. “I don’t understand.”
“Yes you do,” she started to weep harder than ever.
“I’m sorry; I honestly don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Boobs!”
Maxim sat back on his haunches and went red in the face. He didn’t know what to do for her, except ask, “Why does it matter what size your breasts are?”
“Boobs are everything! Guys love them—big ones.”
Maxim’s brows knitted together distorting his handsome face. How could he explain that what he felt towards her was beyond appearance? How could he tell her how strongly his reactions to her were becoming every time they touched, or the emotions running through him when she smiled up at him with that crooked grin of hers? He barely understood these new feelings himself let alone could he explain them to her. And the more their lives entwined the stronger the feelings.
“Please stop crying,” he brushed his lips against the back of her hands.
Oddily stiffened like a statue at his touch.
Maxim tried to lighten the mood “Let me taste your lips to find out if they still taste like tangerines?”
When Oddily didn’t remove her hands from her face, Maxim got to his feet and sauntered over to the other side of the room. Nexa, where are you?
* * * * * *
By the time Nexa drove into the parking lot of the lodge where she had suggested Maxim take Oddily, she felt relief when she spotted her brother’s empty car. That meant he listened to her, and their private world was still safe for the time being.
Nexa found their bungalow and without knocking, opened the front door. How is she doing? She asked while gliding over to Maxim.
Oddily took one peek at the spiritual beauty of pale hair with forget-me-not eyes and went into a new frenzy of tears.
“It’s nice to see you, too!” Nexa began to listen in on Oddily’s pitiful thoughts.
Look at them, a perfect couple made from heaven! Where does that leave me? Am I destined to live my love life only in my dreams?
“Okay, that is enough!” Nexa marched over to Oddily, shocking the girl out of her moment of self-pity.
What happened? Maxim was also startled by his sister’s sudden annoyance.
Introduce us, Maxim.
But…
Nexa gave him a harsh stare.
Okay, okay, Maxim’s bewilderment showed in his voice as he introduced them. “Oddily, this is Nexa.”
Oddily cried out with fresh tears. “Even your name is beautiful!”
“Stop your blubbering and look at us!” Nexa walked gracefully back to her brother’s side. “I’m his twin sister!”
“You’re related?” Oddily lowered her hands and compared the two. Something was strangely familiar about seeing them together, like one of those déjà vu moments. Why hadn’t she noticed their resemblance before, during the dance? Maybe they were too far away, or too much was going on in her head at the time to think with a clear mind. Whatever the reason, it didn’t matter now. This angelic creature was nothing more to Maxim than a family member.
Oddily smiled. She couldn’t help herself because her tortured heart was momentarily relieved from its painful place of humiliation. Suddenly, there was a promising sense of possibilities for Maxim and her. But as fast as the hopeful thought came, she chided herself for her childish fantasizing. Someone like him would never have her as a partner in life. Oddily couldn’t take the depressing thoughts anymore. She needed to escape by going into one of her dream sprees where everything was beautiful.
“I’m tired,” Oddily’s pain returned to devour her.
Maxim and Nexa glanced at each other, but said nothing as they stared at Oddily while she slid off the couch and disappeared into a coat closet. To their surprise, the fragile girl didn’t come back out.
Are you going to get her or do you want me to? Nexa asked.
“Oddily,” Maxim called out, knowing she must be embarrassed.
“I thought this was the bedroom.” Her sweet, soft, voice came from beyond the door.
“Nexa and I are going out on the porch for awhile, so you can have some time for yourself.”
“Okay.”
After the front door opened and closed, Oddily hurried out of the closet and found the bedroom.
Stupid, stupid, stupid! She chided herself for opening the wrong door. She knew in a flash that it didn’t lead to the bedroom but stupidly, she had to go in anyway, hoping for what…that they wouldn’t notice what she had done?
With clothes still on, Oddily climbed into bed and threw the blankets over her head. She forced her imagination to create the sweetest dream spree she could imagine. She started off imagining herself to be Nexa with her angelic face and perfect shaped boobs. She danced with her new boyfriend, a tall, dark haired, exquisite looking guy who swirled her around the dance floor while all eyes were on them. She felt beautiful and feminine in her gray satin gown as she lovingly glanced up into her boyfriend’s deep brown eyes—no, wait a minute! His eyes were sky blue.
“I requested brown eyes,” Oddily spoke to her imaginary creation, but the blue eyes remained. In fact, her dark featured Knight in Shinning Armor turned into Maxim with his blonde hair, chiseled face and full lips.
Oddily’s heart danced in her chest at the sight of him and couldn’t fight the reaction. She was afraid of him—reluctant to let what she was beginning to feel for him grow. She believed that he would end up breaking her heart, but tonight she wouldn’t resist, so she let him hold her close while they moved around the dance floor just like in romantic fairytales. How could someone appear to be so right and yet she still knew by instinct, that he was so wrong for her? Fortunately, she remembered to remind herself that this wasn’t real and decided to enjoy the unimaginable.
Oddily rested her head on his chest and listened to his heart beat so strong and steady—a heart belonging to her for this brief moment. He pressed her closer and closer against his body, and she savored every moment wrapped in his arms until she heard a familiar horsy laugh. Her head shot up and stared, wide eyed, into the menacing gray eyes of her worst nightmare, Kip.
Oddily screamed and tried to break his hold on her and at first he wouldn’t let her go. He laughed harder as she struggled against him until the perfect moment came and he released her, causing her to fall backwards into Paul’s arms.
“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry!” Paul whispered over and over again in her ear.
Oddily pushed Paul away and spun around, staring at students pointing their finger at her and laughing. She glanced down at herself and her beautiful gray evening dress disappeared, leaving her with nothing but her underpants and high-heel shoes. Oddily tossed and turned as she continued to relive the devastating night.
CHAPTER 24
Outside on the porch, Maxim raked a hand tensely through his blonde hair. I want to talk with you, sis.
&nbs
p; Nexa showed concern as she took a seat next to him. You haven’t been your usual self since this whole ordeal with Oddily began.
Maxim nodded.
Listen to me, dear brother. You must admit that Oddily’s life, and mankind in general, is our enemy. If we’re not careful, our way of life will be destroyed─ then what?
Now you sound like father. Maxim smirked.
Well, what he said is true. We were careless tonight, drawing way too much attention to ourselves—the exact thing father warned us against.
Hey, no one asked you to come, Maxim snapped.
Nexa sighed. I’m glad I did because now I’m happy that we stayed secluded. After what I witnessed tonight, this is one crazy world.
Listen, I understand the risk I took, but what I feel for Oddily is too overpowering. My mind says to walk away and yet my heart can’t seem to resist her. Could you leave her if you were in my shoes?
Yes, if you asked me to.
I can’t, sis! I won’t leave her.
Of course you won’t, not until you bone her.
What do you mean?
I’m speaking a slang phrase I heard at the dance. It means to engage in sex.
Maxim jumped to his feet. I’m not going to take part in this conversation.
Fine, but you need to stop walking around with a banana in your pants—it’s annoying.
Maxim started to walk away.
Come back here—I’ll behave!
Maxim returned but remained standing.
Now what do we do? Nexa unconsciously braced herself for his answer.
I want you to enroll at Forest Ridge High on, Monday, so you can keep an eye on Oddily for a few weeks.
Nexa let her jaw drop open in surprise. You sound ridiculous!
What if I do your homework? He stared at her in earnest.
She became angry. The answer is no!
If you don’t, I’ll enroll myself; he fixed his eyes on the ground.
Why must you be so stubborn?! Nexa rolled her eyes in exasperation.
Please, sis.
Oh my God—like I seriously wanna go to Forest Ridge High. The school is sooo cool!