The Light Tamer (5 page)

“Amber, I need your help down here,” the voice said.

“On my way,” Amber said. She let out an audible sigh of disgust and rolled her eyes, “I’ll be back in a minute.”

She slams the door on her way out of the room. “What the hell do you need now?” She yells down the stairs.

Caleb turns to face me, “You doing okay?” he asks.

“Yeah, I’m good. She doesn’t seem so bad after a few minutes of talking. How long have you two been friends?” I was trying my best not to breathe cookie breath all over him.

“We met right after the school year started last year. She’s really a softie, once you break through her barriers and believe me, there are plenty. I think you’ll like her. We’re all going into eleventh grade this year; you’re going to be a junior right?”

“Yeah, I’m usually one of the youngest in my class. I turn sixteen August thirty-first, usually that is the cutoff date.” I shook my head realizing something. “You already knew that didn’t you?”

He shook his head no. “Just because I got all of your memories doesn’t mean I remember them all. I knew your birthday was in the summer but I didn’t know the date. I’m a guy, remember? We suffer from bad cases of C R S,” Caleb said with a laugh.

“C R S, what is that?”

“Can’t remember shit.”

“Oh, yeah, my dad has a bad case of it. So, what do you know about me, or remember?”

“I know that you love the smell of cucumber melon candles and hate the smell of bacon. Your cat died when you were twelve and you pray for him every night. You had a fish named Puck because you watched hockey with your dad. Your favorite subject in school is English and you hate math. You know how to speak Italian, which I think is very cool. You want me to go on?”

I sit there trying to hide the fact I’m stunned and slightly freaked out. Does he know things like when I started my period, or the time I called my mom a bitch to her face and got slapped? If he did, he didn’t bring it up. “No, we’re good; I’m convinced that my life is an opened book to you. Do you think we should go? She’s been gone a while, I don’t want to get her in trouble or anything. I mean, well we’re a guy and a girl in a bedroom with the door closed.”

“Don’t worry about
that
, her dad had cameras installed in all of the rooms upstairs so he can see everything on his laptop. He didn’t like that he couldn’t get up the stairs to check up on everyone.”

“She has siblings?” I asked, not hearing the door open.

“Yes, I have siblings,” Amber said haughtily. “I have a little sister Jasmine and I
had
a brother Mark. He fuggin died last year trying to save our dad. He drowned because his dumb butt snuck a bottle of vodka in his backpack and was drunk at the beach. Now I have to live every stinking day of my life with a man that is pissed off at the world for taking his legs and making himself piss through a catheter since he can’t feel his junk anymore. He blames himself every day for his son’s death and every day I blame my brother for ruining our family. So, in answer to your question is yes, I have a sibling, a dumb sister that is in denial that our family is jacked up,” Amber fumed.

I mentally beat myself up for asking. I didn’t hear the door open, and now I brought up a sore subject. “I’m sorry,” I said.

“Sorry for what? You didn’t do anything. I’m so sick and tired of everyone being sorry. I wish someone could tell me why, why was my brother drinking? Why did my dad have to be paralyzed and why does my mom cry herself to sleep every night? I’m the one that’s sorry, I’m stuck in this messed up family and now I’m living on borrowed time until I find my person. I hope it’s a hot guy like you got with Caleb. With my luck, I’ll end up with some asshat.”

I didn’t know what to say in response, there really was nothing I could say. Nothing I would say could bring her brother back or give her father feeling in his legs again. No, but I’ve learned that people like her need extra love and extra caring. Living with a father that fought unknown demons and washed away his problems with a bottle of Jack taught me how to deal with shit.

“Hey Amber, we’re going to go. I promised her mom that I’d have her back in time for dinner. Are you busy on Wednesday? If Jessie and you want to go to the library, we can see if there is anything out about tamers there. You said before, that Wednesdays are good for you, are they good for you Jessie?” Caleb asked. We hadn’t told my mom that we’d be back at any certain time. I knew he was being nice so Amber could grieve alone.

“I think so, as long as they haven’t planned anything for me. I’ll text you and tell you. Amber?”

“What?”

“Um, well…can I get your number? Maybe we can hang out or something,” I said.

Amber threw her head back and cackled like a hyena, well, what I thought a hyena would sound like. “You’re shittin’ me, you’re not scared off? You’re alright kid, give me your phone.” She grabs my phone and enters her cell number in it. “Don’t text me before ten in the morning; I’m not a morning person.”

Caleb and I let ourselves out and head to the car. He holds the car door open for me but before I can get in, he pulls slightly on my arm. “Come here,” he says pulling me to him. “You okay?” He bends down so he can look me in the eyes.

“Yeah, I’m fine. She needs a little working on, but I think I can tame her,” I laugh at my joke.

Before I could prepare, he is kissing me. Wave after wave of emotions ripple through me. My head is swimming, my heart is pounding, my thoughts are flowing. I absolutely love the feeling of his body close to me; it makes me weak in the knees.

“Get a room!” We look up and see Amber’s head hanging out of her bedroom window, waving to us. I sheepishly put my forehead on his shoulder in embarrassment.

“Bye Amber!” Caleb yells up to her.

On the way back into town he asks me if I am ready to go home or if I’d like to stop for coffee.
I’d stop and do jumping jacks topless if he wanted me to.
I think to myself.

“Good to know,” he says and gives me a wink.

Ugh, I really have to figure out how to keep my thoughts private. “Yes, I’d love to have coffee. I saw a little place downtown, can we go there?” I asked.

“Oh yeah, I forgot about that place. I’ll get you a gritty kitty, it’s a chocolate shake with ground up espresso beans, it’s really good,” he said and turned onto the next street.

Downtown New Bern is a historical tourist attraction. I remember when my grandma and I would come down and I’d play on the playground of the three hundred year old Episcopal Church. The town prides itself on being the first capital of North Carolina and the second oldest town of the state. People come from everywhere to tour the Tryon Palace and ogle at the people dressed up like the old days. I’d never imagined that one day I’d be walking around with a gorgeous guy that happened to be interested in me.

“When did you start working out? You must go to the gym all of the time,” I said as I slid my straw up and down in my cup.

“I’d started before my mom died but after she died I threw myself into it. I’m on the schools weightlifting team this year. You should join us.”

Oh great, he thinks I’m fat.

“I don’t think you’re fat. I thought it would be a way for us to spend more time together. There are competitions all over the country, so we’d get to travel too,” he took my hand in his.

The way we walk and talk, it’s as if we’d been together for years. His easy way of talking, and his sense of humor made me feel comfortable to be with him.
Is every time I’m with him going to be this special? Is the way I feel real?

“I hope so,” Caleb said. His big dimple melts away my aggravation at his admittance of him hearing my thoughts.

Later on the ride home, strange to think of it as home but I guess it is. I’d sent a text to my mom letting her know that I’d be home after dinner but I feel nervous going home after dark. Caleb and I sit in his car talking about the shadows. We’d held hands all afternoon, my heart still flutters when I think about it. “Sit right there,” he says and gets out of the car. He comes over to my side and opens the door. I reach up and take the hand he is holding out for me. His touch feels like a lifeline being extended to me. At the front door I’m acting jumpy, hoping mom isn’t spying on me through the curtains.

“I don’t know if I said this today or not, but you look really nice. Your long legs have driven me crazy all day,” he said.

I could feel my cheeks blush a bright red crimson. “Thank you, I had fun today. Who would have thought it would be a twelve hour date,” I said. I dug around in my purse for my keys until I finally found them.

He checks at his watch and smiles. “It was twelve hours wasn’t it? It didn’t feel that long. Jessie?”

I peered up into his deep brown eyes.

“Be careful okay? Keep your flashlight with you. Now that you know, I’m not sure if they will bother you or not.” He reaches in his pocket and hands me extra batteries. How sweet is that? I wonder how many girls get batteries on their first date. Not many I bet. He puts his arms around me and gives me a big hug.

“Don’t worry, I’ll be fine. I’ll be online if you want to I M me.” I said. “I had a really good time today, I even liked meeting Amber. She’s nuts, but I like her.”

“We have an audience; I’m not going to kiss you in front of them. I don’t want to come across too fast or anything,” Caleb said and starts to open the screen door for me.

I grab his hand and he turns to face me. I put my hands on his neck and pulled him down to me… and I kissed him. I teeter forward as I stand on my toes. My hands go around his neck and I feel his arms go around my waist. His tongue, warm and velvety feels amazing as it explores my mouth. “You’re bad, and I like it,” he teased. “Can I see you tomorrow?”

“I’d like that,” I said taking my finger and wipe it across my lips. “Text me. I better get inside before my mom comes out here and goes all parental on me.” I turn around and touch his face once more before I went inside. “Thank you for today.”

“No, thank
you
.”

~~~~~~~~~~

Over the next twenty minutes of my life, I hear lines like “when I was your age, I wouldn’t have dreamt of kissing a boy on the first date.” There was the “you know what boys say about girls that are fast, don’t you?” My answer, “damn girl, look at you go.” Apparently my mom didn’t appreciate my answer. I love my mom, but she’s a buzz kill for sure. Thankfully grandma saved me by reminding my mom she was working in the morning. I gave grandma a knowing gaze and mouthed ‘thank you’ to her. She grinned and winked at me.

Mom went to bed and grandma and I sat on the back porch with our sweet tea and she asked me how my date
really
went. Looking around, I’d never noticed the odd looking light bulbs in the ceiling fan. I’d never even paid attention to the nightlight in every room of the house. My grandma is so cool.

“You knew didn’t you?” I ask.

“Knew what, sweetie?” She swivels her chair around to face me.

“That he and I are bonded. Why didn’t you tell me?” I wasn’t mad; I wanted to know how long she knew about the
Light Tamers
.

Tapping her manicured index finger on her glass she looked pensive. “I’m not really sure when I knew for sure, but I remember suspecting it about you. I’ve known about the
Light Tamers
since I was a girl. My brother Tom was one. Mama and I did everything in our power to help him keep the light from going out. Let me tell you, it wasn’t easy. It was the sixties, we didn’t have l.e.d. lights, but we had flashlights. They sucked of course, but we had batteries and batteries and more batteries,” she said laughing quietly. “My brother was a pain in the ass though. He hated the lights always being on and he hated even more wearing a mask to bed. We all wore those masks; you know the ones that keep out the lights. I bet the neighbors thought we were all scared of the dark. Papa had installed spotlights in our yard, he had worked at the ball park and when they replaced their lighting system, he decided they would light up our yard nicely. I bet Neil Armstrong saw our yard when he walked on the moon. I kid-you-not, we had the brightest yard in the neighborhood.”

“They didn’t complain?” I try to imagine what it was like back then. “Didn’t it draw attention to you guys though?”

“Yeah, well, we didn’t realize how much attention it would draw. The
Dark Ones
started stalking all of us, waiting for a moment when Tom would be in the dark. He became more and more paranoid, and mama was obsessed with helping him. Mama did some genealogy on daddy’s family to find out who in the family was a
Light Tamer
. She couldn’t believe it when she traced the family all the way back to the eighteen hundreds before she finally found one. Of course there weren’t as many back then, for obvious reasons. That is when she decided to check her side of the family, and we found Uncle Edward was one. His boys are all tamers too. We started looking for other tamers in town and found a few. We didn’t have the internet to blab about every skeleton in our closet, we had to hang out where the gossip was. Hold on, I need to run to the bathroom, you need anything?”