Beautiful Entourage (21 page)

“That’s dedication,” she said.

I shrugged. “I can’t be an escort unless I’m in great shape.”

“I could never do what you do. I haven’t stepped foot inside a gym since…” She thought for a moment. “I can’t even remember.”

“I would never suspect that by looking at you.” She already knew I thought she had a nice body so I didn’t see the point in hiding it.

“I jog. That saves me.”

I finished my plate then ate a piece of garlic bread.

“Can I ask you something else?”

I nodded.

“Why don’t you live with your brother? Wouldn’t that be easier?”

I shook my head immediately. “I refuse to live in the dark like he does—literally. When I go to his apartment, I can only hang around for a few hours because my eyes start to hurt. Plus, I need my own space. This phobia of his is something he makes up so I refuse to sacrifice my life to wait on him hand and foot. He needs to be independent and understand I’m not always around to help him.”

She nodded. “That’s understandable.”

“I love my brother but I couldn’t live with him.”

“He doesn’t work?”

“He does but doesn’t make enough to support himself.”

“You’re a good brother,” she said quietly.

“At the end of the day, we always have each other,” I said.

“Yeah,” she agreed. She cleared her throat and chose her next words carefully. “Have you ever…sought professional help?”

I would never forget the attempt. “It was a disaster.”

She stopped eating and gave me her full attention.

“I admitted him into a therapy ward for psychoanalysis. The doctors were supposed to help him overcome his fears until they disappeared altogether but…Chase didn’t make any progress. He cowered into a ball and screamed indefinitely. He didn’t eat or sleep for seven days straight because he was so scared. Doctors feared he would die if he went a few more days without food. So I took him home.”

“Why didn’t they give him a sedative?”

“I told them they couldn’t give him drugs. He just needed someone to talk to. It was painful to watch him go through that and I haven’t taken him back since. His illness reduces his quality of life but...it’s better than going through that again.”

She nodded. “I can imagine…”

“I don’t think he’ll ever get over it, unfortunately.” I tried not to let Chase’s situation weigh me down. But sometimes it made me sad. “But he seems happy. He gets laid whenever he wants, he has friends, and he does what he wants—for the most part.”

“He gets laid?” she asked in surprise.

“Oh yeah,” I said with a laugh. “The girls like him. They think he’s eccentric.” I shrugged.

She smiled. “Go, Chase.”

“He has more game than I do.”

“I find that hard to believe,” she blurted. She seemed to realize her mistake because she didn’t look at me. “I got something that might help. I hope it doesn’t offend you.”

“You could never offend me, Aspen.”

She picked up a bag that had the Target logo on it. Then she pulled out a plastic sword. The blade was yellow, and the rest of the pieces were black. “I think the best thing for Chase is to eradicate the problem altogether so he can live a normal life. But since you’ve already tried that…this might help.”

“What are you thinking?” I asked.

“He thinks he’s safe with your invisible Shadow Sword but he won’t take it from you. So, what if we left this on his doorstep? Like someone put it there? Then we’ll tell him it’s another Shadow Sword. He can wear it when he goes out, in the daylight or at night, and he won’t be afraid. It doesn’t remove the phobia altogether but at least he can live a normal life. It glows in the dark too.”

I eyed the sword on the table then picked it up. I examined it and felt its lightness in my hand. “I’ve never thought of that…”

She shrugged. “It might work. It’s worth a shot, right?”

“Yeah.” I turned it over and saw the engraving on the side.
Shadow Sword
. “This is a great idea.”

She smiled. “People might think it’s weird if he carries a plastic sword everywhere he goes but it’s the lesser evil.”

“It is.” I felt the sword in my hand then placed it on the table. “Want to head over there now?”

Her eyes lit up. “Okay.”

***

We set the sword on his doorstep with the
Shadow Sword
engraving on the surface. I knocked then we quickly ran down the hall and hid behind the corner. We listened as we heard the door crack.

I knew Chase would look through the peephole first then spot the sword on the ground. He would be too intrigued not to open the door. Wearing his blanket made of foil, he emerged then grabbed the sword.

Aspen and I peered around the corner and watched him.

He held the sword by the hilt then touched the yellow blade. His fingers rubbed against the engraving then he spun it around his wrist. His body relaxed and the foil blanket fell away slightly.

“I think it’s working,” I whispered.

Chase spun it in his fingers again then walked back into his apartment.

I turned to Aspen. “He took it. That’s a good sign.”

“He let the blanket fall,” she said. “I think he feels safe with it.”

My phone rang. When I pulled it out of my pocket, I saw Chase’s name on the screen. “It’s him.”

“Answer it,” she said quickly. She moved next to the phone so she could listen to him on the other line.

“Hey, Chase,” I said casually.

“Dude, you’ll never guess what happened.”

“You finally learned how to not pee all over the toilet seat?” I teased.

“No.” He didn’t bother insulting me back. “Someone left a Shadow Sword on my doorstep.”

Chase was incredibly intelligent and quick witted. The fact he reverted to childhood mentality when it came to this subject was difficult for me to understand. Perhaps the trauma of my parents' death affected him so deeply this was the only way he could cope. I refused to judge him for that. “Really?”

“Yeah,” he said. “It’s even engraved. And it glows in the dark.”

“Wow,” I said. “Now the shadows can’t hurt you either. That’s great.”

“Yeah…” He was quiet for a while. “This is incredible.”

“Now you can go out in the daylight freely,” I said.

“Well, I haven’t tried it out…”

“Then take it for a spin.”

“I’m not going to do that by myself,” he said immediately. “Can you come over?”

“Sure. Aspen and I just left that Chinese place we like. We’ll be there in five minutes.”

“Okay,” he said. “She’s cute so bring her. She’s single, right?”

I rolled my eyes. “I don’t think she’s into guys who are afraid of the dark.”

“It’s shadows,” he said. “And I may not be anymore.”

“We’ll be there in a few minutes.” I hung up.

Aspen smiled in excitement. “This might actually work.”

“I know.” It was hard to believe. My brother was so close to having a normal life. And that was because of Aspen.

After we waited ten minutes, we knocked on his door.

It cracked like he’d been expecting us.

“Turn off the lights,” he said.

“You have the sword. You’ll be fine,” I said.

“Okay,” he said. “I’m coming out without my blanket.”

“Okay.” I tried not to laugh because this fear was so ridiculous.

He stepped out with the sword tied to his belt. He looked around like something might get him any second. His eyes were wide and his body was rigid.

“The sword works,” I said in excitement. “This is great.”

“Wait,” Chase said. “You have your sword. What if that’s why they aren’t attacking?”

“I’ll take it off in your apartment,” I said. “Then we’ll see.”

Chase looked terrified. “Uh…”

“It’ll be fine,” I said. “Worse comes to worse, I’ll run in and grab it.”

He swallowed the lump in his throat. “Okay.”

I walked into his apartment, pretended to remove a fake sword, and then walked back into the hallway. “It’s gone.”

Chase gripped the sword and looked around, waiting for something to happen.

I crossed my arms over my chest and tried not to laugh.

Aspen looked around, like she was searching for the shadows Chase swore existed. “That’s a powerful sword,” she said. “They won’t even come near us.”

“Yeah,” I added. “That sword is stronger than mine.”

Chase seemed to relax. “They aren’t coming…”

“It’s because of the sword,” I said. “It’s undefeatable.”

“Yeah,” Chase agreed. “I think so…” He walked down the hallway and looked around. Then he came back to me. “Now they’re scared of me.”

“They should be,” I said seriously.

“Now I know how you feel,” Chase said. “Nothing can hurt you.”

“Exactly,” he said.

He released the hilt then crossed his arms over his chest. “Wow…I need to redo my apartment.”

I tried not to laugh. “Yeah…get some lights or something.”

“I can’t wait until the sun rises,” Chase said. “I’m going to go to Starbucks and see what all the fuss is about.”

His words made me sad. He missed out on such simple things because of this phobia. It just made me appreciate his change all the more. “Yeah…”

“And I’m going to jog in the park,” he said excitedly. “I’ve always wanted to do that.”

“Yeah.” I took a deep breath and tried not to get emotional.

“Hey,” Chase said with wide eyes. “You want to get breakfast tomorrow?”

I took a deep breath and tried not to cry. “I’d love to, man.”

“Then we can walk through the park.” He paced the hallway excitedly. “Then we have to go to Little Italy.”

“Whatever you want.” I tried to keep my emotion in check.

“Sweet,” Chase said. “I can pick up girls in the daylight now.”

“Yeah,” I agreed.

“I’m going to go inside and start looking for a new job,” he said. “Preferably something with a window.”

“There’s no rush,” I said.

“I wonder who left the sword,” he said.

I shrugged. “I have no idea.”

“Well, I’ll see you tomorrow.” He spun his sword around like he was about to fight someone. Then he walked into his apartment and shut the door.

I closed my eyes and rubbed my temples, unable to believe that really just happened.

Aspen touched my shoulder gently. “You okay?”

My eyes burned with tears. “I…I never thought this would happen.”

Her eyes matched mine. “I’m happy for you.”

“Thank you so much.” I lowered my hand and looked at her. “This is all because of you. You’ve given me my brother back.”

She rubbed me for a moment before dropping her hand. “It’s because of both of us.”

The door opened again and Chase look panicked. “Dude, you forgot your sword.”

I forgot that I left the imaginary weapon in his apartment.

“You need it otherwise they’ll get you.”

“No, they won’t,” I said quietly. I looked at my brother, finally seeing him in a different way. I imagined us walking together in the park, acting like normal people on our day off. We’d get breakfast together then discuss sports and music. The world offered endless possibilities and we could experience all of them. “Because I have you.”

***

Aspen and I sat on my couch and watched SpongeBob SquarePants.

“You like this show?” I asked.

“Yeah. It’s funny.” She sat beside me with her knees pulled to her chest. I noticed she always sat that way when we were alone together. It was like she was restraining herself.

“I’ve never met a girl who likes cartoons.”

“I love cartoons,” she said. “Sometimes you just need something mindless to recharge your brain.”

“I guess that makes sense.”

“My job can be really stressful, and if I make a mistake, it affects thousands of people. When I get home, it’s nice to be entertained by something that doesn’t require any thought.”

“I don’t think it’s mindless,” I said with a grin. “I think it’s inspirational, intelligent, and engaging.”

“Oh yeah?” she asked playfully.

“Yep. This guy lives in a pineapple under the sea. The symbolism of that is astounding. It represents the middle class of the American people, having houses so perishable while they drown under the weight of the high cost of living, taxes, and healthcare they can’t afford.”

She turned to me, a slight smirk on her lips. “That got dark real quick…”

I laughed then sank back into the couch. “It did, huh?”

“Let’s just enjoy the show superficially and let it be mindless.”

“That does sound better.” Feeling buoyant from my brother’s new life, and sharing endless laughs with Aspen, I put my arm around her shoulders. The courage stemmed from deep within, and I didn’t think about my actions until they were completed.