Demonspawn (27 page)

We went straight to the backyard. The cars
were a little deceiving. There were only about twenty people there.
Cindy's father was leaning over the grill. Her mother and Grandma
were laying in lawn chairs by the pool talking to each other. I saw
Cindy's aunt and uncle near the back patio. Alicia was in the
in-ground pool playing with some younger kids, but I didn't see any
guy with her. I only recognized a few other people from Cindy's
work.

“Alex! Cindy!” Mister Marshall called. His
voice boomed over the other conversations and the music. He gave us
a wave.

Grandma heard our names and looked at us.
“You two get over here and give me a hug!”

She looked great. She was close to eighty,
and got along very well. She was about Cindy's height, and squeezed
the hell out of me.

“Man, Grandma,” I said. “Go easy on the
steroids.”

“Steroids? This is all home grown
muscle.”

I laughed. Everyone got hugs. Mrs. Marshall
stood up and gave out the hugs too. Alicia waved at us from the
pool. Cindy started talking with her mom and Grandma while I leaned
down near my sister.

“What? You didn't bring Red Hot?” she
asked.

I rolled my eyes. Now Cindy had everyone
using the nickname for Victoria. “Nothing happened, Alicia. And
Cindy told me you were bringing a dude? Where is he so I can tell
him to get out while he can?”

Alicia hesitated for a second, and that told
me all I needed to know. “He had something else to do. Not really
too sure.” She tried to hide her tone. But I knew better. She was
upset. She flashed that smile of hers. “You getting in?”

“I will later, after I eat something.”

A new voice behind me. “Oh really?”

Someone grabbed my shirt and nearly threw me
into the pool. He held back, though. He only wanted to give me a
scare. I turned around to see Mister Marshall laughing.

“Ah I scared you there didn't I? You're lucky
I'm a nice guy.”

“You wouldn't do that, Mister Marshall.
You're afraid of me.”

He traded a look with his wife. “Alex, if I
have to tell you one more time to call us Larry and Chandra, you
will
take a dive in that pool.”

As the ladies talked only a few feet away,
out of the corner of my eye I saw Cindy remove her shorts and
shirt. Larry was saying something, but to be honest I have no idea
what it was. It took the willpower of the gods to keep my eyes
locked on his face. I think Cindy hesitated and looked at me before
diving in the pool. I relaxed a little now that she was behind me
swimming. The last thing I needed was for her father to catch me
staring at her.

Grandma cut between us to get to the patio. I
should have seen it coming. She
accidentally
threw her body
into me, and into the pool I went. As I got my bearings under water
and stood up, the first thing I heard was the laughter. Larry,
Chandra, Grandma, everyone on the patio and in the pool, all eyes
were on me. Grandma had a fake look of surprise on her face.

“I'm so sorry, Alex,” she said. “It must have
slipped.”

I laughed too and pointed at her. “I'll
remember that, Grandma.”

Larry laughed so hard he leaned on his knees.
“She got you good!”

I froze when a familiar pair of arms circled
around me. I felt a warm body press against my back. A head leaned
on my shoulder next to mine.

“You just got your ass whipped by my
Grandma,” Cindy said. “I wish I had a camera.”

I was so tense. I wanted her to let go and
not at the same time.

“You'd better be careful or you'll be after
her.”

“I'll be waiting,” she said, then laughed and
swam away.

I watched as she hit the other side of the
pool. I kept my eyes on her even as I pulled off my wet shirt.

Then my eyes fell on Alicia.

She mouthed something without talking. I
could read her lips.

Tell her
.

Yeah. Easy for her to say.

It was a great time. Good food, great
company. Larry filled me in on everything that was happening at the
firm, including how well Cindy was doing. I filled them in on how
my mother was doing. Cindy's cousins all had a good time, playing
in the pool. It was the most fun I had in quite a while.

After a few hours people started to leave. I
was talking with Larry while he made one last batch of burgers when
I saw Alicia sitting on the edge of the pool by herself. She had
her feet dipped in the water, staring at the surface. I walked over
and sat next to her.

“So when are you gonna tell her how you
feel?” was the first thing she said.

“Never.”

“Chicken shit.”

“Alicia, give me a break. She doesn't feel
that way. The last thing I need is for her to find out, then not
want to hang out with me anymore.”

She shook her head. “You're both so
stupid.”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“Nothing. Just forget it.”

“Yeah, forget it. Enough about me, anyway.
Where's this guy you were supposed to bring? Who is he?”

She lowered her head. “Nobody. Well, I
thought he was somebody. But he called right before he was supposed
to come get me and let me know how it all is.”

Alicia never had a problem with guys. I'd
never really seen her get too attached to anyone. And plenty of
guys showered her with attention. So I wasn't sure where she was
coming from.

“Are you okay? What's on your mind?”

She shrugged, a sure sign she wasn't fine. “I
don't know.”

I know how to deal with my sister. Just had
to gently but firmly press on.

“Come on. I know something's bothering
you.”

She sighed. “I'm lonely. I'll be graduating
this year. And I've never really had a boyfriend.”

“You've dated plenty of guys.”

“Yeah. Dated. But I don't really stand out.
No one in school ever really looks at me for more than a week at a
time.”

I couldn't believe my ears. Blond hair, blue
eyes, very pretty, very sweet, and she didn't stand out? Was she on
drugs?

“Are you kidding me? You worry too much, sis.
You can have any guy in school you want. Look, don't stress about
it. Hell, I'm twenty-three, and can't find a woman.”

“You've got one right there,” she said, and
pointed at Cindy on the patio.

“Don't point at her. Look, all I can tell you
is you'll be fine. You'll find your guy. Now it might not be in
high school, but you will.”

She smirked. “Spoken like a true older
brother.”

“Hey. What would you do without me?”

“I don't know. I'm glad you're here,
though.”

I gave her a smile and nod before someone
dove head first into the water not too far from us. Cindy stood up
and slicked her hair back.

“Hey guys! Come on in! Everyone's heading
inside to watch a movie. We've got the pool to ourselves.”

She went under the water. Alicia smiled and
looked at me. “I'm gonna head home. You know, you're eventually
gonna have to tell her.”

“Maybe. Not today, though.”

She shook her head and stood up. Cindy broke
the surface on the other side.

“Cindy, I'm outta here. Getting tired. I'll
call you tomorrow.”

“Aw. Okay, Leese. See ya.”

Alicia disappeared around the side of the
house. I made a mental note to call her tomorrow. I'd never seen
her down like that before.

“Alex, get in here with me.”

I dropped from the side into the water. I
still wore my shorts, while my swimming trunks were ten feet away.
No sense in changing now.

Cindy started swimming toward me. Before I
could figure out what she was doing she leaped up and dunked me
under. I swallowed a nice mouthful of water. I came up to hear her
laughing.

“When was the last time it was just me and
you in the pool?”

I had to think. “Man, eighth grade?”

“Remember Rob, my ex-boyfriend? He used to
hate it that you and I swam together all the time.”

“Can you blame him? I mean, look at this,” I
said, teasing while flexing my arms.

“I can't argue that.”

I gave her a look. That caught me off
guard.

I wanted to believe she found me attractive.
But I was afraid to. I don't know why.

“So, what's up with you and Red Hot?” she
asked. “She's not gonna freak out that we're friends, is she?”

I shook my head. “There's nothing going on,
Cindy. It's a long story, but me leaving the club last night had
nothing to do with gettin' it on.”

“What was it then?”

I lowered my voice. “More demon stuff. I'll
tell you later. I've got a question for you.”

“What's that?”

“Why have you been single since college?”

She shrugged. “You know why, Alex. I don't
keep anything from you.”

“Yeah. I know you wanted to focus on school.
But that's done now. So what's up?”

“I just can't find my guy.”

“And who's that exactly?”

She paused, and gave me a bright smile. “Are
you auditioning?”

I tried to search her face. Was she serious?
Joking?

“What would I have to do?”

“Stand up straight.”

I hesitated, then did so. The water came up
to about my chest. She made her way over and looked me up and down.
She circled around me, like she was evaluating me. She stood behind
me and gently grabbed my shoulders. Then she jumped up and dunked
me again.

“Damn. You keep falling for it,” she said
through fits of laughter.

“Hey! What are you kids doing out there?”

It was Grandma, shouting from the patio. I
pointed at Cindy. “She started it!”

“I did not, Grandma!”

“Don't make me separate you two! I can still
do it!”

“Don't worry. I'll keep her in line.”

“What!”

Cindy tried to dunk me again. This time I
managed to turn around and wrap my arms around her waist to stop
her, creating an awkward, and nice, moment. I quickly got my
revenge by dunking her.

It was nighttime when we decided to leave.
Grandma, Larry, and Chandra were inside watching a movie. We gave
everyone hugs goodbye.

“I love seeing you again,” Grandma told me.
“Stop by more often. And take care of my granddaughter for me.”

“Please,” Cindy said. “It's more like me
taking care of him.”

“Cindy, you're lucky to have Alex here.”

She gave me a playful punch in the shoulder.
“Oh I know.”

“You drive home safe,” Chandra said.

“We will. Thanks for having me over.”

“You're family. You know that.”

It was a quick drive home. As we got near our
apartment doors Cindy stopped near hers.

“You want to watch a movie?” she asked.

I actually didn't. I wanted to get to the
woods behind the apartment and practice with my wings. “I don't
know. You haven't had enough of me for one day?”

“Who can ever get enough of you? What if I
look all pretty and say please?”

“Give it a shot.”

She leaned her back against the door and
stretched an arm over her head, like a model pose. Then she curled
a leg and rubbed it against the other.

Damn
.

“Please?”

The wings could wait.

“I guess so.”

She smiled and straightened up. “Great. Your
apartment. I'll make popcorn.”

It was a fun end to the night. We put on
Resident Evil
and munched on some snacks. Cindy curled her
legs under her on the couch, my kryptonite. So I know I missed half
the movie. She still wore her shorts that she had on earlier. I was
half tempted to ask her to wear sweatpants, but didn't want to seem
too obvious as to how much she distracted me. Not to mention, it
was indeed a nice distraction.

She sat on the other end of the couch,
towards the TV. So I could look at her without her knowing. As I
watched her I kept wondering. What if? I knew what made her sad. I
knew what made her happy. I knew when she needed a hug. I knew when
I needed to give her space. Hell, with my demonic senses, I knew
when she was in trouble.

Could I be a good boyfriend for her?

We both fell asleep somewhere in the middle
of the movie. When I woke up, the DVD had already stopped. Cindy
was leaning back on the couch. It had to be sometime after
midnight.

I smiled. She was beautiful when she slept.
She was beautiful all the time.

I got up, stretched, and went to the hall
closet. I grabbed her favorite blanket and pillow. I scooped her up
easily in my arms. I laid her out on the couch and covered her up.
I stayed there for a moment, just staring at her face. I brushed a
loose strand of hair from her eyes, and my finger lingered on her
cheek.

“Love sucks,” I said.

She moaned quietly and spoke from deep within
her dream. “Yeah. Tell me about it.”

I laughed and turned the lamp off above her.
Darkness filled the room, but only for a moment for me, as my night
vision took over. Strange, as I hadn't practiced using it. I could
already control it easily. I hoped it was like that with my
wings.

I fell into bed. I thought I'd sleep soundly,
since I was still going off of a few hours sleep. I was wrong this
time, too.

A bathroom trip woke me up. I didn't have any
hand towels, so I had to use paper towels from the kitchen.

I walked down the hall and was ready to turn
by the fridge when I stopped.

Cindy and I weren't alone.

I turned the light on next to the
weight-bench to see someone standing over Cindy. I had to rub my
eyes for a second, but recognized who it was.

“Grandma?”

She looked up at me. I was confused. She was
wearing a pink nightgown, and ran a hand through Cindy's hair. She
looked surprised to see me, when I was the one who should have been
surprised. I didn't hear her knock on the door or anything. And why
did she drive over in a pink nightgown?

“What's going on?” I asked her. “Everything
okay?”