Eventide (Her Father, My Master) (4 page)

able to remain slim while Jess had gained weight. “You just need to remember to exercise at college.

Your university has a gym, right?”

“Oh yeah, it's huge,” Jess said as she stared at her stomach and poked her upper arms now. “I'm just

so busy with classes and everything.”

“Too busy for your health?” I said, then inwardly groaned. I sounded like her mother.

“You're right, you're right,” she conceded. “I suppose you work out?”

“Almost every day,” I said, sticking my tongue out at her. “Though, not lately,” I added. “What with

moving and work and all.”

“There, see!” Jess said as she triumphantly pointed at me. “It's hard to find time!”

“But if it's important, you will.”

“Oh, fine. Be that way.”

“What, responsible?”

“Shut up!” We both laughed and I ducked back into the dressing room to remove the top. “Are you

going to get it?” Jess asked me through the door.

I gave a small sigh and checked the price tag, then blanched at the numbers. It was in the triple digits.

“Probably not. It's a little out of my budget.”

“Oh come on, everyone should be able to splurge a little,” she now wheedled, sticking a hand under

the door and wiggling her fingers.

“Yeah, but not 180 dollar splurge!”

“Oh, I guess that is a bit expensive.” The hand stopped moving, then disappeared.

I threw my old t-shirt back on, and tossed the expensive top back on its hanger, leaving it in the

dressing room. “Come on, this place is too expensive. Let's get something to eat.”

Jess brightened at the mention of food. “Heck yeah!” We ducked our way through the packed clothes

racks of the dimly lit store, and made our way out into the more brightly lit mall thoroughfare. I breathed a sigh of relief at getting out of that store. It was too dark, and too loud, and too many people. Even now, I could still hear the pulsing of the bassy music from the trendy store.

I realized suddenly that I didn't belong there. Maybe I used to, but I didn't anymore.

In fact, I wondered whether I even belonged in this mall. It was a big one, two stories, and it

thrummed with people now. Jess' red head bobbed in the crowd like a buoy on the ocean, and I had

trouble keeping up with her. She seemed to slide effortlessly between the groups of shoppers, but I

couldn't find my way nearly as easily as her. I was out of my element.

At least I didn't have any bags with me, like Jess did. While she spent money with ease, I found

myself unable to do it. It was strange, but I didn't feel the need to buy much of anything, now. I certainly didn't need clothes. And everything else that I needed, my master provided.

But this wasn't like me. I just didn't feel like myself anymore. Was I changing? Was I really so

different from that girl in high school? Or was that girl a mask, and this the real me? Or was it the other way around? I shook my head in confusion, and concentrated on keeping at least somewhat near Jess.

“Oof!” I gasped as I collided with someone, the wind knocked out of me.

“Hey!” a guy gasped back. I didn't even notice him – how strange. I looked up at the person I ran into,

and my face sparked with recognition. It was Derrick.

“Hey,” he repeated in a more cordial tone. “Fancy meeting you here.”

“No kidding.” The mall wasn't exactly close to where I lived, and presumably Derrick lived at least

somewhat near me. “Why are you hear?” I asked, then mentally slapped myself. I sounded so short,

borderline accusatory.

Derrick smiled, either not noticing my shortness, or choosing to ignore it. “I just need to get a birthday

gift for my sister. I have no idea what she wants.” He rolled his eyes. “Shopping for girls, am I right or am I right?”

I snorted. “No way, we're easy. Shopping for presents for my dad is a nightmare. I just end up

getting him ties every damned year.”

“Point taken. Where are you headed?”

“The food court. Jess is hungry.” With a start, I realized I must have lost her with my slight delay. I

lifted my head and glance around. Not seeing her, I yelled. “Hey! Jess!”

Predictably, there wasn't much of an answer over the buzz of the crowd. I felt an irrational panic

begin to rise.

“It's okay,” Derrick said, placing a hand on my arm in a calming gesture. He seemed to realize that I

was experiencing the beginnings of a panic attack. A panic attack, in a mall. I'd never been so freaked

out by a mall before.

But his presence helped. I took a deep breath as I was pulled back into the here and now by Derrick's

comforting touch, and I forced that familiar calmness into my body.

“Let's just go find your friend, huh?” Derrick said soothingly. “At the food court, right? That's just a

few hundred feet down the way.”

I nodded, feeling stupid and helpless as Derrick took me by the hand and expertly steered me through

the crowd. Had I really gotten so out of touch with reality that I needed to be led around?

I sighed, almost wanting to pull my hand away at that moment, wanting to tell Derrick that I could find

my own way, thank you very much. But instead, I only gripped his hand more tightly, and followed his

lead. He was so there, so stable. He was something I needed right now. It was okay to admit that I

needed a little help, I decided.

Derrick squeezed my hand in return, and I realized with a blush that he might take this hand-holding to

mean something else entirely. He hadn't come onto me at all that I was aware of, though. But I had to

admit, I was rusty with flirting, and I wasn't sure if he had been flirting with me or not, in the past week of our working together.

“There we are,” he said, and I immediately noticed Jess' wild red hair. She was looking around, just

as confused as I was. I waved, and she saw me and waved back enthusiastically.

“Well, thanks for the help,” I said, detaching my hand from his and feeling more than a little awkward.

Derrick was oblivious to my social clumsiness. “Mind if I join you for lunch?” he asked.

“Um, sure, I guess.” I wasn't expecting that, and I wasn't really sure that it was all right. He and Jess

had never even met, for starters.

“It's okay, you can say no, you know.”

A flush rose in my cheeks, and not just because of what Derrick said. If it was one thing my master

taught me, it was that I could say no. I had the power to do so. “Gatling,” I murmured under my breath,

and then looked up at him brightly. “I know, and it's fine.” I smiled. I had to learn, or re-learn, how to be more social, and I had to make more friends. Derrick would be a good one to start with.

We made our way over to Jess, and she looked to Derrick, and then to me with a quizzical

expression. “Who's your friend?” she asked.

“Oh!” I blushed. I was supposed to introduce them. I was such a moron. “This is Derrick. He's a

co-worker at my job. Derrick, this is Jess.”

Introductions made, we tried to decide on food. I thought the Thai place looked good, but Derrick

wanted pizza.

“Look, let's split up,” Derrick offered. “Meet back here in ten minutes? After we have our food?”

I looked around. There wasn't any reason to not split up – the food court was just that – a big court of

central seating, surrounded by restaurants. Still, I felt leery about the possibility of losing everyone again.

“I'll get Thai too,” Jess stated, and I breathed a sigh of relief. I would be able to stick with her, at

least.

“Okay, back here in ten minutes. Or however long it takes us to get food,” I said, and we drifted off to

our preferred restaurants. Though they weren't really restaurants, they were more like fast food joints. I looked at the burger chain next to the Thai place. Okay, they were fast food joints.

Jess was all over me, once we got our place in line. “So, who is that?” she asked, staring at me

meaningfully.

“He's just a co-worker, I swear,” I said flatly, staring at the menu. The pad thai looked good.

“Really?” she asked. “What about Craig?”

“Craig?” I said dumbly, my mind blanking for a moment.

“You know, Craig, your boyfriend?” she replied incredulously.

“Oh!” That Craig, the manufactured college boy, the product of my master's imagination. “We broke

up a few weeks ago,” I said lamely, burning twin holes in the overhead menu now.

“So that leaves you free for Derrick?”

“What? No!” I glared at Jess now, and she stared back with impish green eyes. “What is it with you

and hooking people up?” She'd done it with my and Brad back in high school, and tried to do it to Sophie

and Tiffany countless times. She was such a meddler.

“Come on, he was all over you, I saw.”

“We were holding hands. Nothing else,” I said, hoping and praying that she would give up on this

particular topic.

“Guys don't just 'hold hands', Krys. He's obviously into you. Are you going to leave him hanging?”

I shook my head. “It's fine. We're not going to do anything.” We
couldn't
do anything, for reasons I couldn't even begin to explain to Jess. I had other obligations. To my master. I certainly couldn't go and have a proper boyfriend. He'd never understand. Mr. Hendricks wouldn't allow it. I wouldn't feel

comfortable in that kind of arrangement. And I was certain Derrick wouldn't like it either.

Jess rolled her eyes as we made our way to the head of the line. “Oh fine, be that way. You're going

to have to find another guy sooner or later.”

“I know,” I said, hoping my agreement would calm her down and get her thinking about other things.

“Besides,” I added, “Maddie works at the coffee shop too now. She'd just steal Derrick away from me.”

That did it. That changed the subject so fast Jess almost got whiplash, when she jolted around to stare

at me once again. “No!”

“Yes,” I said darkly.

“How could she do that? She had to know you work there.”

“She did. She wants to patch things up between us.”

Jess snorted. “Fat chance of that happening. You don't just go and fuck someone's boyfriend, and

expect everything to be sunshine and roses afterward.”

“I know. She's an idiot.”

“She is,” Jess agreed, and we ordered our food. I was just thankful that Jess seemed to have forgotten

all about Derrick now. “What do you think her real game is?” she asked as our order came up.

I shrugged. “I have no idea. For all I know, she's legit. Maybe she has some real regrets about what

happened.”

“Doubt it. Look, there's your boyfriend!”

I glared at the girl now. “Don't call him my boyfriend. Please.” I didn't want to give Derrick any

ideas, just in case he really was flirting with me, like Jess said. And the more I thought about it, the more I thought she was right. How could I be so stupid? Boys didn't just hold a girl's hand for no reason.

Luckily, Derrick had picked a table that seated four, and before Jess could get any ideas, I rushed over

to the white metal chair that was directly across from him. He was already busy chowing down on a slice

of pepperoni pizza, with another on his plate.

I slapped the pad thai down on the table and slumped into my seat. Jess sat far more gracefully next to

me. I wasn't out to impress this guy, but she was, apparently.

“So, how old are you, Derrick?” she asked as she flipped open the white styrofoam container. It was

filled with noodles, vegetables, and meat, far more than what I could eat in a sitting. I sighed quietly and followed suit. Jess always did this to new people. Having a first conversation with her was more like an

interrogation than anything.

“Um, I'm twenty,” he replied, looking slightly confused with a mouth full of pizza.

“Excellent. I like dating older boys.”

Derrick's eyes grew round now. “Wait, what? What did you tell her?” Derrick looked even more

confused now as he turned his bewildered stare in my direction.

“Ignore her,” I said in a short, clipped tone. I really wasn't in the mood to put up with Jess' idiocy

right now. I dug into my rice noodles with a plastic fork, and furiously chewed.

“Where did you go to high school?” Jess continued her line of questioning.

“Um. Stonewall.”

“Booo, hiss.”

“That was our rival,” I explained, interpreting Jess for Derrick's benefit.

Derrick lifted a finger, trying to gain the upper hand. “You do know we're out of high school now.

Presumably.” He glanced at Jess. “I don't know how old your friend is.”

“Oh, she's my age. She just enjoys acting like a five year old.”

“Krystal!”

“What? You are acting like a child,” I sniffed and ate another bite of food. Hopefully that little bit of

shaming would be enough to calm her down.

“Fine, fine. I'll act my age.” She turned to Derrick. “So, you want to get drunk and have sex?”

“What??” Derrick and I both cried in unison.

“That's my age, right?” Jess said with a smug grin.

“I'm going to kill you. I'm going to murder you in your sleep,” I said through gritted teeth. Derrick

simply looked utterly confused. He hastily finished his pizza, and stood up.

“Um, I've got to go. It was nice meeting you. I think.”

“Wait,” I stood up as well, dropping my fork and leaving my food. “Let me walk with you. I'll help

you pick out a gift.”

“What about me?” Jess whined.

“I'll meet up with you here in an hour, okay?” I sent a look at Jess which I wasn't sure was more

pleading or anger. I probably ended up just looking stupid.

She rolled her eyes. “Fine. I'll just sit here and rot.”