The Crazy Kind

Chapter 3: Iris

It had been an hour, maybe two, since Levi had left in a rather hurried, not to mention rude, manner. I mean, come on! Not even a goodbye? Thinking about it, he had seemed a little unnerved the whole time we were talking. The real question was, what was it that really set him off? My hand? Did I have grimy hands or something? What a way to chase off a perfectly good customer, huh? Honestly, I shouldn't have concerned myself about it. We didn't even know each other. Of course he'd be okay with an exit like that.

Jumping at the deafening boom of something breaking down in the back room, I stumble back, over the very same cable I had tripped on earlier, landing flat on my bottom with a panicked yelp. The door swung open just enough for Caleb to pop his head, black with soot, through amidst the escaping smoke.

"Iris, get everyone out of here! We're closed!" He managed through fits of coughing before disappearing back into the room. To this day, my beloved boss has yet to disclose the details of what exactly happened back there, but we can still come up with theories.

I'm generally not that great with people, so I was pretty glad when most of the customers had taken the emerging fumes and noise as a cue to evacuate. I say most because there was still one person sitting calmly and, lord knows how, undisturbed. It was a man, balding, at least double my age by the looks of it and blind if his dull eyes were to be trusted. Guess I still had a job to do, eh?

"Hey, mister? I'm sorry but we're closing," I tried to no response. "That means you have to go." Nothing. For a few seconds anyway, until a rough, unsteady hand reached out and grabbed my wrist. I jump back and the sudden intrusion of my personal space and blurted out, "What do you think you're-"

"No, Iris. You have to go," the old man croaked out, not even turning to look at me. Then again I suppose a to a blind man, it wouldn't have made a difference. How the hell did he know my name? For all I knew, he could have been some kind of stalker, or worse. That being said, I'm still not one to take that s**t from some stranger. You can't just grab me and try to kick me out of the place where I work, dammit!

"No. I work here. You, on the other hand, are a customer who acts like he has the power to chase out an employee. Please leave," I retorted.

"Please, for your own sake, don't waste any more time. Get as far away from here as you can. If they find the tattoo... no, you're better off not knowing." He sounded geniunely concerned and desperate now. I'm not too sure why but it the feeling was almost infectious, spreading to me like some virus, and it was extremely unsettling. There had to be some way to get him out of here. Maybe if I just humored him and left, he'd leave too? I might have tried that but I was a little intrigued. If who found the tattoo? Also, what tattoo? I only had one tattoo and I didn't see why anyone would think much of it. A few questions couldn't hurt, right?

"Alright, fine, but I at least want to know who you think is going to find me."

"You spoke to one of them earlier, my dear. He may be handsome on the outside, but deep down... Well... Let's just say I wasn't always blind." He made a slicing motion down over his eye and I noticed that there was, in fact, some faded scarring, not too noticable if you weren't looking for it. Levi did this? It was so hard to believe but there was nobody else this stranger could have been talking about. Scanning his face for any sign whatsoever that he was lying, I found none. He wasn't faking it. As I said before, I really didn't know much about Levi, but being a criminal on the run would definitely justify his twitchy behavior. Whatever it was, I wouldn't be waiting around to find out. I made a break for the exit, hastily grabbing my bags and tearing across the sidewalk like a bat out of hell. If there was one place far enough to be safe, it was my home, all the way across town.

It felt like I didn't slow down at all, I was that panicked. I didn't care how many people gave me weird looks as I raced through the streets. The only time I stopped was at a bus stop, around half a mile from my workplace. Even there, I carefully scoured the crowd for any sign of Levi. The worst thing that could have happened was that I got stuck on a bus with him. Nowhere to run, no way off until the next stop. Praise whoever was watching, he wasn't there. That stop was approximately twenty minutes from where I lived. I could only hope they didn't take the time to search that far in a radius.

The journey felt like it was over in a heartbeat, but I suppose that's what happens when you have more adrenaline than blood flowing through your body. Now though, seeing as there was no need for me to run while on a bus, the effects of such a rush were starting to take hold. With an exhausted sigh, I crashed down onto one of the worn down old seats, sweating and gasping for air. For some reason, probably because of the sudden lack of activity, everything I saw as the bus drove past seemed to pop out in much more detail than usual. It was honestly pretty saddening to be able to notice just how much those decrepit streets had decayed over the years. Cracks lining the sidewalks, graffiti splattered over itself on every other wall like some amalgamation of ideas, and so much more I could never fully list out.

The strangest part was that in fact, the city used to prosper, and there was no sign of that changing, then out of nowhere, the people maintaining such perfection started disappearing. Everyone has their different opinions on the matter, but the most widespread have always been kidnapping and assassination. Really extreme if you ask me, but then, that's just another opinion amidst a vast sea of others.

The bus finally came to a halt. The stop just happened to be right outside my house, fortunately. As my feet touched the ground, I glanced up at the massive mansion before me. This was the only thing my father left behind when he deserted us. To this day, I still have trouble comprehending it. What sort of man could just abandon his own wife and daughter like it was nothing. The weren't even any hints of regret or doubt. He just left us the house and a note to my mother, who never got the chance to tell me about it before passing away shortly after. All she left me were some overly fancy, albeit old, dresses and assessories. Now, I lived alone. Sure, it hurt to lose my family all within a few months, but I eventually managed to push it aside and move forward. After all, isn't that what life was all about? We can't move on until we learn to let go and accept loss.

Anyway, that's enough of my rambling. Walking on unsteady feet through the wood and glass doors, I scanned the area one last time to make sure I hadn't been followed. If anyone found me here, there would be nowhere else for me to hide, and considering what Levi had apparently done to that old man, that's exactly what I wanted to do. Seeing nobody, I slammed the door shut and made straight for my room to grab the roll of black paper I had in my drawers. All the windows and doors had to be covered. I would not allow myself to be caught out in my own home.

My room was far bigger than it had any right to be. I cannot think of a single person I know who would ever need a room as big as this. They may want one, but there was no way they could have needed it. The same could be said for the entire mansion. The truth was, I hated it all. I hated all the empty space, and I hated the presumed status that came with it. All I wanted was for someone to see it and not immediately start thinking that I was just some spoiled rich girl just like the rest. I wasn't. In fact, apart from outfits, I was dirt poor in all other aspects of my life, trying to spend as little as possible, just lucky that Caleb needed someone with my skills. There was already another figure present in the room. Said figure was a blonde girl in a matching red parka and beanie resting comfortably on my bed, too engrossed in her social media to notice me. Typical.

That's the thing about best friends, isn't it? You never know when they're gonna show up out of nowhere and invade your living space. After a while, you get used to s**t like this, and besides, having someone else here made the house feel like less of a giant mess of unneeded space. I crept up to her and tapped her on the shoulder, finally snapping her out of her trance. Did you expect any amount of shock or surprise? No. This b***h hardly ever got surprised. Either that or she just didn't give a damn. All that happened was that her crimson red lips curled up into a smile as she rolled herself into a sitting position, flowing golden locks falling just perfectly.

"Hey, Iris. Been a while, hasn't it?" The Australian accent rang out in a way that harmonized impeccably with her tone. Not even going to deny that I sometimes got jealous of her. She had the brains, the attitude, and the looks that just drove people nuts. She was everything I wished I could have been. She was perfect. Too perfect. I couldn't hate her though. She was still my friend, and through it all she still stood by my side, supportive and reassuring. That's how I dealt with it. I told myself that the true beauty was who you were, not what you looked like.

"It's been a day and a half, Jenessa," I counter, revelling in the way her face scrunched up upon hearing her own name. I was one of the few people who knew the one thing that drew a real reaction out of her. "Oh, I'm sorry I mean Jen. Forgot you think Jenessa sounds like your parents' failed attempt to brand you as something unique."

Was it true, though? Not really. In fact, it was more like her parents' attempt at remembrance. Nobody else had been deemed trustworthy enough to know the truth, in her eyes. She was actually named after a combination of her deceased grandmother Jennifer and stillborn twin Vanessa. Jenessa herself was effectively a walking memorial for family long gone, and that sat well with me. She alone would be the messenger of their legacy long after even her parents had passed.

"Whatever, Purple." I tensed up when I heard her speak the nickname she had picked out for me. She was the only one that knew, so it shocked me whenever someone referenced my condition.

"I told you not to call me that," I whisper out in a daze, unresponsive as Jen pulled me down next to her.

"Why shouldn't I? In the end, that's who you are... Just take them off. To hell with what the world thinks!" She was right. It was who I was, and I could never change that. Then why was I so scared? I shouldn't have been. After all, why should I hide it all just because someone out there thinks it's weird? I just didn't have my best friend's openness or that overpowering confidence she exuded wherever she went.

"Just not ready, I guess." My voice trembled as the words left me. She didn't show it, but I knew that Jen was more than capable of picking up on the little things that betrayed my pain when discussing the matter.

"Alright, that's cool too." The conversation stopped short for a few minutes, much like it always did whenever Jenessa tried to call me 'Purple'. Both of us hated the silence, but we understood when one of us needed some time. We did nothing but lounge around in the comfort of my room until she piped up again. "So, who was the hottie at the coffee shop and more importantly, why didn't I see him coming home with you?"

Oh s**t! Levi! I had completely forgotten about the potential criminal who could have been tracking me down at that very moment. I hadn't considered the idea that I would not have been alone. How could I know if Levi had truly given up? I couldn't. She had to get out of here.

"Jenessa." I grabbed her by the shoulders and looked her in the eyes. "You have to leave."

"Jeez, Iris? Is this because I brought up 'Purple'? I'm sorry and you know it," she pouted, pulling her own slightly freaky version of puppy dog eyes. I could only imagine why she would even need such a face on her list of go to expressions.

"I'll explain later, I promise, but please. For your own sake." I was begging by then. Jenessa was the closest thing I had to family, and I'd lost too much of that already to be able to watch anything happen to her because of my forgetfulness.

"Are you in trouble? I'll help you if you need it." She actually looked worried. It was a rare and pleasant sight to behold when Jenessa wore actual feeling on her sleeves. I don't mean something like a smile or frown or whatever, none of the plain facial expression. I mean the emotion behind it, not noticeable to a relative stranger but all too obvious to a best friend. It pained me to have to chase her off like this, but it was for her own good, even if she couldn't see it.

"Just go!"

"Alright, alright, I'm going. Sheesh." she said as she opened the door, giving me a friendly but obviously confused wave as she left. I watched from the window as she left, past the doors and past the driveway. The conversation did hit me right in the heart, though, especially the part about being who I was. I paced toward the ornate mirror hanging in the corner amongst its peers as the tears start forming.

Tears. It's almost funny how they can singlehandedly destroy all your lies. For some, maybe the emotion just came out at a bad time and alerted people to the truth. In my case, they destroyed the lie I held dearest. Standing before the wall of reflective glass, I look deep into the gray eyes gazing back, subtly blank and unfeeling. The fluids pouring out of my eyes had already started to upset the deceitful orbs from where they sat in my head. Bringing my hands up, I tenderly pull the sheets of plastic free, staring at the contacts in my palm one last time before bringing my attention back to the mirror. The color had changed it all. The eyes staring back felt almost alien. No. Not the eyes. The irises, in their natural design. Bright amethyst. Purple.