Impact
1638 Words
Percy
I am nervous. Sh*t. I have never admitted that outright. But I am. I think the last time I was this nervous before talking to someone was during the interview for my scholarship. I aced that.
‘You can do that again!’ I try to assure myself, but I’m not entirely delusional. Most people tend not to like me. And the more nervous or out of sorts I feel, the b*tchier I get.
Shaking my head at myself angrily, I get out of the car when Jordan holds the door for me. It’s still weird, even though he did it earlier, too. The ride was relatively quiet after turning the conversation deeper than I should have.
I know that the insinuation he would tell anybody about what we spoke about bothered Jordan. And for the second time since I met him, this feeling that he’s actually a good person bubbles up in my stomach. There is something so genuine under all the oil and silk shirts that more and more seem like a carefully curated facade.
He didn’t… he didn’t have to involve me in this. He could have just ignored the threats from ’Stiltzer’ against me. They weren’t really his problem. He feels responsible. I think if it weren’t for desperation, he would be one of THOSE people.
People that give just because it’s the right thing to do. Something they know won’t benefit them, but they do it anyway. I get almost angry when I think of my mom taking that from me. I used to be like that a long time ago.
I thought we were a team. I thought going out and winning all those pageants, doing all I could to dance better, walk prettier, smile wider… just be better was enough for her to keep looking at me like I was her whole world. It took me until I was 11 (yeah, I was that desperate) to see that she only looked at me as a cash cow. I have the face. I have the brain.
She just needed to play her cards right, and she would never have to live off unemployment checks again. She saw me as the next ‘Miss America,’ making her the country’s favorite mom. I finally saw her as the woman who had a child way too young and no desire to learn how to actually take care of herself or her kid and instead made it the child’s responsibility to do so.
I cooked, cleaned, went to rehearsals, and as soon as I was tall enough to look over the steering wheel, she let me drive us to the venues on weekends. Because that meant that she could drink. She loved that. Almost as much as she loved Jerry. Ugh, f*ck, Jerry. They are the reason I—-
“Persephone.”
“Huh?” I blink a few times and unfurl my balled-up fists. Didn’t even realize that we crossed the massive parking garage. Judging by the sheer extent of this one corridor, the building must be huge.
“Are you OK?” Jordan’s dark green eyes regard me for a moment, and I push the weird little flicker that causes in my stomach down. He looks worried. Outright concerned about me, and I want to laugh at him. He really takes this being my fake ‘boyfriend’ seriously, huh? Rubbing my hand subconsciously up my left forearm, I pull the sleeve down further and shrug.
“Never been better. Let’s get this over with.”
He doesn’t move for what feels like an eternity, and my answer doesn’t seem to satisfy him. On the contrary, he seems upset. Like it bothers him that I’m not happier to … meet his family?
‘Well, tough luck, that’s all you’ll get!’ I want to scream. But you don’t do that. Stop being a b*tch, Percy, for God’s sake. Bring out the few things still pageant queen about you. Now! Do it. Do it now.
So I put on my brightest smile and swear Jordan stumbles back, gulping for a second. “Shall we?” I nod toward the door he stopped in front of, and he finally jumps into action.
“Sure.” he rasps and clears his throat, his Adam’s apple bobbing nervously. Mmmh, he cut himself while shaving. My fingers itch to touch the tiny red blemish on the otherwise spotless perfection that is this ridiculously handsome man. But I don’t.
I’m in for a treat, though. Once I enter, Jordan holds yet another door open for me. I feel like someone is trying to set me up the second I let my gaze move around the conference table in front of me.
My jaw drops a little. I think I’m seeing triple—- No, make that quadruple.
“What the actual hell—- I murmur. I stop dead in my tracks, and Jordan gives me a slight push to the small of my back for me to enter. I’m still not saying anything when the door falls closed behind me.
“Hello.” The broody-looking clone of Jordan with the dress shirt he seems to hate wearing snaps interrupting my unusual stupor. “Normal people say, ‘Hello.’”
“Hello.”, I say reflexively, which has the one next to the 'broody dude' chuckle.
“Be nice to Jordan’s girlfriend, Luca.” Waggling his eyebrows, he turns to me. “You’re the first and last of your kind.” I snort.
“I’m neither. But he’s right. It was rude of me to just… stare. I’m not the most appropriate person, but even I can do better.”
Straightening, I turn to the couple to my left. I recognize them from the photos Lana showed me. My poor friend had a heart attack when I told her where I was going today.
Swallowing a little harder than usual, I try my pageant smile on them.
Jordan’s dad shoots me a warm look back, but his mom just regards me, her bicolored eyes scrutinizing every inch of my face. Suddenly, the slightest hint of a pleasant smile appears on hers. I stretch my hand out to both of them.
“Percy Lawson. It’s really nice to meet you.” The small woman’s smile widens, and something weird happens to my stomach. Where is this warmth coming from?
“I’m Maeve, and this is my husband, Nael. It’s nice to meet you too, love.” She grabs my hand with both of hers.
There is a whistle from across the table, and the younger-looking guy who winked at me earlier smirks to himself again. His eyes meet Jordan’s, glittering with amusement.
“So you found yourself someone with a more male-sounding name than yours? Well done, Jojo.”
Jordan just sighs, pulling out a chair for me while I scowl before taking a seat.
“Sure, Khai, that was the criteria I was going by.”
“I wouldn’t put it past you.”
“I think there are more pressing matters at hand. Like how we’re going to convince people that I’m really Jordan’s girlfriend.” I don’t know why, but his smart-mouthing Jordan irks me a little. Guess I see that as my task from now on.
“Jordan told us about that, yeah.”
The tiny woman looks serious again, and almost all the warmth from earlier is gone when her intent gaze meets mine. My spine stiffens at the ‘impact’.
“Are you sure you want to do this? It’s a lot of pressure with an image as public as Jordan’s, and as far as I can see, it would not necessarily be equally as beneficial for you.”
I roll out my shoulders before leaning back a little in the chair. “I think it would be. Having peace of mind concerning the almost threatening communication attempts from ’Stiltzer’ I had to ward off so far…”
Jordan stiffens beside me, and I see his hands on the table fist.
“I… that would already be a big step in the right direction.”
“And again, a tip you gave us.” The king shoots me a small, rather joyless smile.
“Anyone would have. It’s just not right.”
“Well, it’s very noble of you to see it that way, but apparently, not everyone agrees with you. Given that, someone got your boss to book them and tipped ‘Stiltzer’ off about your conversation… or at least about there being one.”
Mmh, so smart-mouthing people is not the only thing he can do. The man… Khai leans over, pushing what looks like a call log across the table. There are a few pages printed out.
“You are not the only one they have been calling, Percy. There has been a constant back and forth between the head of their research team and someone with a burner phone. The calls can’t really be traced to one person, but they regularly log into a cell tower here.” He pulls out a map and points at an all too familiar junction as well as buildings indicated close by.
“The campus!” Jordan and I say in unison.
“Great minds think alike.” Khai winks which gets him an eye roll from the icyly posed dude at the head of the table. Whatever the f*ck his problem is.
“So… it must be another student…?” I scratch my brow, fighting the urge to snap the elastic around my wrist. Don’t Percy. It’s fine. No one can do anything to you here. And you’re always so careful. They don’t know your address. Not even the school does. You have been lying low for years. YOU WILL BE FINE!
- Writer
