Chapter 23: Chapter 21

The remainder of the school day dragged on slower than a goldfish flopping a mile on dry land. Jessica and Courtney returned to class after lunch but Remi remained uncharacteristically absent. Whatever cease fire agreement the non-demon girls around him had before now appeared to be completely void. Jessica took every opportunity to put her hands on Jason. While that wasn’t completely different from behavior before now, she seemed to make a point of glancing towards Courtney with an extremely smug expression whenever the silver haired athlete made a move. 

What scared Jason even more than Jessica’s open aggression was Courtney’s reaction to it. She smiled. Each and every time Jessica openly flirted with Jason with the secondary objective of aggravating her, Courtney took it with a wide smile that never reached her eyes. Courtney’s normally vibrant and mischievous amber eyes remained creepily vacant of emotion. The only time the empty void left her gaze is when she looked at Jason. That’s the only time Jason saw a bit of Courtney’s usual personality return to the surface, but the second she looked at Jessica the vacant expression returned. The longer this went on, the colder Jason’s body felt in that heated classroom. He’d seen that same expression once before. On a girl he once knew.

The bell finally rang, ending Jason’s ever building torment. Though he wanted to sprint from the room and go immediately home, the two girls around him had other plans.

“I’ll walk home with you Jason.” Jessica latched onto Jason’s arm the moment he stood from his desk.

Considering how hard Jessica works out to stay fit, the level of heavy breathing she was giving off just standing next to him troubled Jason greatly.

“Oh…” Jason was about to come up with a suitable excuse to put a bit of distance between himself and the new hyper aggressive Jessica.

“Now, now.” A hollow chuckle sounded next to the pair as Courtney stepped forward. “I think you’ll remember that I was elected to give Jason a ride home from school. A car ride will be much faster and safer.”

Courtney fixed onto Jessica with a half smile and empty gaze. “Or have you forgotten?”

Jessica frowned. Jason swallowed hard.

Hayden. Jason’s head snapped towards the front of the room.

If there was one person he could hope to deliver a much needed rescue, it was from his best friend. Jason’s initial relief dried up when he spotted his friend quietly packing up his bag with his head down. Hayden looked… 

Distressed? Jason's mouth dried up.

Now that he thought back, after they had arrived at school, Hayden had completely kept to himself. Jason didn’t even remember the blond haired boy react at all to Jessica’s outburst earlier.

What is going on with him? Jason wondered. Did my situation prove too extreme for him and now he’s trying to distance himself?

The thought pained Jason to his core. He wanted to rush over to Hayden and try to work things out between them. Jason had been selfish to dump so much onto Hayden over the last few days. Truthfully Jason wouldn’t be surprised if he no longer wanted to be friends, that’s one of the main reasons he didn’t want to tell Hayden about his curse in the first place.

“Okay. I’ll allow him to ride home with you.” Jessica’s voice brought Jason’s attention back to his immediate surroundings.

“You’ll ‘allow’ him?” Courtney’s voice didn’t change from its empty tone, but she did tilt her head at an odd angle.

Jason felt a shiver run its course down his spine. Jessica didn’t even flinch from the other girl’s chilling behavior.

“Yes.” Jessica stepped away from Jason.

Though she was acting aloof, Jason could tell from the way her arms held each other that letting Jason go was an intense struggle for her internally.

Courtney turned to face Jason, her empty eyes filling with a bit of light.

“Just you and me…?” She asked with a small smile playing on her lips.

Jason hesitated. He knew Courtney was in an extremely fragile state of mind. If he wasn’t careful, she could shatter and her mind would be left adrift in a deep ocean of insanity.

“It looks that way.” He finally responded. “We haven’t really had a chance to talk with one another so this should be fun.”

All Jason could do was hope that neither girl could detect the fear creeping into his voice. Jessica’s expression soured at his words but they had their desired effect on his current obstacle.

“Really?” Courtney’s face brightened considerably. “Yes, I want to talk with you too!”

It was as if Jason were locked in a science lab with two untempered glasses of boiling water on an open stove. If he lowers the temperature on one, the other glass boils hotter and vice-versa. Right now he just had to make sure the most unstable of the two was brought back down to a safe level, even if that meant raising the temperature elsewhere.

“My driver should be waiting just outside.” Courtney’s hands latched onto Jason’s arm like a steel vice and she began to pull him towards the door.

Jason was still scared of Courtney doing something drastic, but the fact that her eyes had regained much of their former personality did ease his worries a little.

“Don’t forget. Kirsten will be watching.” Jessica called after Jason and Courtney as they departed.

Courtney scowled but didn’t look back. Jason wasn’t quite sure what Jessica meant by her statement, but if Kirsten was monitoring them somehow that should at least ensure that Courtney wouldn’t hurt him or attempt to drag him away. Courtney was oblivious to the numerous turned heads and stares that they received as she dragged Jason out of the school and towards the black luxury vehicle parked along the nearest street. A pair of large, extremely muscular men sat in the front seats. Though they were wearing sunglasses, Jason could feel the heat of their scrutinizing glares as they looked him up and down. Courtney opened the back door and practically shoved Jason inside.

“We’re taking Jason home. I’m not in a rush. Eyes open and drive.” Courtney barked at the men as she climbed in after Jason.

The car door slammed shut and the vehicle quietly pulled out into the heavy traffic surrounding the school. No one said a word as the school slowly disappeared in the rear view mirror. Jason had expected Courtney to sit right next to him on the slightly raised middle seat, but the red-highlighted girl kept herself to the far seat with her head down. Jason clasped his hands in his lap and gazed out at the city around them. It wasn’t until soft sniffles started coming from the seat across from him that Jason looked back at Courtney.

Alarm bells rang in his head when he witnessed real tears falling from Courtney’s nose. Her shoulders shook gently and her hands were shaking uncontrollably. Jason had thought about what to do in many different situations he might find himself in during this car ride, Courtney breaking down into quiet tears had not been one of them. Though the girl had a notable history in emotional manipulation, Jason eventually caved in and took the risk of treating this as a legitimate cry.

“Are you all right?” Jason reached over a worried hand and placed it on her shoulder.

He still had on his white gloves, but even then Courtney still shuddered slightly at his touch.

“Jason.” Courtney spoke without lifting her head. “Do you hate me?”

He could feel the poor girl trembling with fear as she waited for him to respond. There was really only one answer he could give to a question like this.

“No. Of course I don’t.” Jason assured her.

“You don’t? You really don’t hate me?” Courtney lifted up a shaky hand and placed it over Jason’s own on her shoulder.

Jason nodded. “I actually really admire you. You’re fearless and can read a social situation faster than almost anyone I’ve met before.”

Courtney’s sobs stopped and she looked up with wide amber eyes. “You do? You really think that?”

“Then why?” She lunged forward and grabbed the front of Jason’s shirt. “Why do you let her keep coming between us? She doesn’t share the connection that we do.”

Courtney wasn’t angry. She was vulnerable and wanted assurance of what she was feeling. Jason could tell she desperately wanted confirmation that Jason felt the same.

“No one is getting between anyone.” Jason said, carefully attempting to sidestep landmines as he went. “I meant what I said before, we really don’t know much about each other. What’s your favorite food?”

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“I’m… not sure.” Courtney sniffed and wiped her eyes. “I’ve always liked sashimi. My father only ate out if he had business deals and I was never allowed to go with him.”

“So you ate a lot from home?” Jason prompted.

Courtney nodded. “I didn’t ever ask for much. So most of the food I was fed was pretty plain. I’m sure my father would have bought me any food I wanted but it was never really important to me.”

“What was important to you growing up?”

“Before you?” Courtney blushed.

She was still clinging to the front of Jason’s shirt but she had pulled the rest of her body closer to him so she was no longer sprawled across the seats. Courtney leaned into Jason and let out a content sigh before continuing.

“To be honest with you there was nothing in life I really looked forward to.” Courtney’s eyes got a far away look in them. “It was just kind of… grey. I suppose that’s the main reason food didn’t really matter either. That’s what happens when a little girl watches her mom get shot in a drive-by I guess.”

Jason was shocked at how casually Courtney threw out that devastating piece of information. Jason didn’t feel it was wise to ask about Courtney’s mother further. He could already guess from her wealth, the scary guys in the front of the car that were still eying him, and from rumors he had heard around school that Courtney’s father was a criminal boss of some kind. Jason decided it was best to steer the conversation down a more mundane line of questioning.

“All of it was grey. Is that why you added the red highlights to your hair?”

Courtney stiffened slightly and lifted a hand up to the streaks of color in her dark hair.

“Do they bother you?” She asked.

“They look great.” Jason smiled. “I was just curious. That’s all.”

Courtney sighed and returned the smile. “Oh good. You’re right though. Everything in the world was so dull and grey. Red was the only thing that stood out against the boring background. I really like how red looks…”

Jason fought the urge to recoil at the passion in Courtney’s voice. It wasn’t a natural appreciation for the color. It honestly sounded like Courtney found no other joy in life than seeing the color red before she met Jason.

This might prove a bit more difficult than I anticipated. Jason grimaced.

Despite his misgivings, Jason found the entire situation entirely manageable once he turned the conversation towards himself. Courtney’s life was a mess but it was honestly sweet how determined she was at learning everything she could about his own. Anytime Jason talked about a particular subject he was passionate about, Courtney would pull out her phone and take notes. He could tell that she had been sheltered for a vast portion of her childhood. Courtney had a lot of questions about trips and activities that would seem standard to most other kids. There was no manipulation, no craziness, just a nice conversation that left both parties smiling. Though she had leaned against him for the duration of the car ride, Courtney didn’t try anything further than simply holding Jason’s arm. She caressed it gently and lovingly in a way that didn’t make Jason uncomfortable.

The drive took around an hour. Jason knew that even with traffic the drive between his house and the school didn’t take that long. Courtney’s statement about ‘not being in a rush’ must have been instructions to take a longer route. Truth be told, by the end of the drive, Jason didn’t mind.

“Here we are ma’am.” The driver called back to the pair as they pulled up to Jason’s house.

“Oh.” Courtney deflated against Jason.

Jason smiled but still reached for the door handle.

“Thank you for the ride home. That was nice.” Jason stated honestly.

Courtney gave him a sad smile and released his captured arm.

“See you later then.” Her amber eyes wavered as Jason opened the door and stepped out.

Jason wanted to give her a hug but didn’t want to press his luck.

“See you tomorrow.” Jason assured her with a wide smile.

After a short wave between them, Jason shut the car door and watched it drive slowly away.

“Excuse me!” A polite voice called out to Jason from across the street.

Jason turned and spotted a middle aged woman and a portly man in his thirties jogging over to him. Behind them was a white van with a television logo painted on the side.

A news crew? Jason thought as the pair approached him.

“Sorry to bother you but are you Jason Simmons?” The woman asked him.

“I am.” Jason felt his heart rate increasing.

“I’m Candice Bode with Channel Seven News, this is my camera man Harry O’Mere.”

They each offered Jason a hand and he proceeded to shake them one after the other.

“What’s this about?” He asked with growing apprehension.

“I know this has to be an extremely trying time for you.” Candice said with a pained expression. “I realize that the official story hasn’t been released yet but we were wondering if you would be willing to provide a statement about the situation we could run when it goes public. Maybe something that people can use to protect their own loved ones from facing a similar situation.”

A hole tore open in Jason’s chest. She could only be talking about one thing.

“She’s dead?” Jason gasped. “Aunt Shannon is gone?’

Candice went white. “You didn’t… but my source in the department said the lead detective had…”

Jason’s knees gave way.

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Kirsten watched the GPS signal on her phone screen with blinking attention. Ever since she had received a message from Jessica warning her that Courtney may try something during Jason’s ride home with her, Kirsten had sat in an empty classroom at school and refused to move. She watched every turn both Courtney and Jason’s signal’s made, ready for the first sign of trouble.

Kirsten finally let out a long held breath when Jason’s signal was safely deposited on the front curb of his home. The detective’s signal wasn’t there but Kirsten figured Jason would be safe enough until she got home. Kirsten placed her phone in her pocket and began her long walk back home.