Fire and Djinn

Big Betty

I was about to open my mouth when we stumbled upon Lisa and the cashier leaning up against the back of the store, with tear-stained faces.

“Oh my god Elena! Are you okay?” Lisa ran and slammed into me, squeezing me hard. “Rebecca said you were shot, and then with the explosion, I didn’t think you survived!” Great, I thought to myself. Now Bo knows for sure that I was lying.

“I am fine.” I said to her hugging her back. I didn’t know how to tell my best friend that I may or may not be human and that I have no real answers. I can’t be like 'oh yes I got shot, check out the bullet holes in my shirt, but I don’t have any bullet wounds.’ That wouldn’t freak anybody out at all. I need to change my shirt.

“Rebecca, is it?” Bo asked as he held out his hand to the cashier.

“Yes.” She said as she her hand to shake his hand. Then I noticed Bo’s hands glowing a little blue. What the heck is going on here?

“Rebecca, when the shots went off, they missed Elena, in fact she was never here. You don’t remember who was behind a robber, but they tased the robber from behind, and with the gasoline on his shirt, it lit him on fire. Do you understand?” Bo’s hands quit glowing and Rebecca repeated back everything Bo told her. Holy crap. Bo was altering her memories. Bo isn’t human.

“What is going on here?!” Lisa yelled the same thought I was thinking.

“Leave” Bo ordered Rebecca, and she did so without question.

Bo looked at Lisa and then at me. Did I want Lisa’s memories to be altered? Sure, I would like to leave her out of this as much as possible, but honestly, she’s going to find out eventually.

“She will have to know eventually.” I told Bo. He looked skeptically at me and then at Lisa.

“She’s my best friend, her parents aren’t super strict, her mother isn’t around much, and she spends most of her time at my house. She’s going to figure it out eventually.” I tried to persuade him.

“My main concern is to leave no witnesses as to what you are. If anyone knows, they can be forced to tell what they know. You are the last of your kind, Elena.” Bo countered.

“And what am I exactly?” I challenged him.

“I can’t tell this one.” he said gesturing to Lisa.

“Guys, what in the hell is going on? And isn’t this the hot guy from earlier, the one with the car?” she asked. Bo’s lips twitched into a slight smile as his eyes flickered towards mine. For a second, I felt like I was going to blush, and I looked away from his piercing green eyes.

“Lisa, I can’t die. Also, I heal very quickly, and apparently, I can also catch people on fire by touching them. That’s all I’ve figured so far.” I said to Lisa. She looked shocked and lost in thought.

“That’s all you know?” Bo asked me curiously.

“Is there more?” I asked him.

“We have a lot to discuss.” Bo said. “But for now, we must get out of here. You’re not safe here.” He spoke.

“What about Lisa?” I asked him.

“I can drop her off at her house, but she can’t come with us.”

“Wait, you're not taking me home?” I asked. Bo shook his head.

“I’m not going anywhere with you. Just who in the hell do you think you are? What are you and how can I even trust you? Do you think you can just show up and take me away from my family? Sure, this is a s**t show and a half, but the best place for me is home. I have parents, you know.” I ranted till I imagined I was red in the face.

“Elena, we really must go, the authorities will be here any minute and I respect that you have questions, but for now, they are going to have to wait.” Bo said as he had begun to get impatient.

“Fine.” I said as I stomped off dragging Lisa with me.

“Elena.” Bo called.

“What!” I was frustrated.

“My car is that way.” Bo said pointing the opposite way I was going. I looked back at him to see that his slight smirk was back on his face.

“Freakin’ t**t waffles.” I whispered under my breath as I stomped past him. Which apparently, he heard because he tried to stifle a laugh. I acted like I didn’t hear him, and I kept walking.

“I would like to go home.” Lisa said quietly. Oh God, I broke her. Up until this point she had been completely silent. She is in shock.

“Lisa, everything is fine. I know it’s a lot to take in, but everything I’ve said is true and I hope with time you can come to terms with it.”

Suddenly I felt like maybe I didn’t make the right decision after all. What if she can’t handle what I am? She’s already got more than enough problems between her absent mom and borderline drunk of a dad. I spotted Bo’s car behind the dumpsters, out of sight.

Lisa and I got to the car, and when I turned around to see how far behind Bo was, he was right on our heels. He walked around to the passenger side and opened the door for us to get in, then flipped the lever to move the back of the seat forwards so we could get in.

“Elena, if you want, you can sit upfront.” Bo said.

“I think Lisa should sit upfront since she’s getting out first.” Bo nodded and acted like it didn’t faze him one way or another, and that suited me just fine. At least that’s what I told myself.

I climbed into the back and put on my seatbelt while Bo leaned down slightly to lift the seat back into position. Lisa got in without a word and put on her seat belt as well. Bo walked around to the front of the car, opened the door, and climbed in. Putting his keys into the ignition, he started the car and it roared to life. I smiled at the purr of the engine vibrating my seat and I took this opportunity to check out the interior of the car. It was exceptionally clean, and there was no visible dirt. It looked brand new.

“Did you just get this?” I asked him.

“No, I bought it new in 2020. I just recently had it detailed though.” He said as he shifted the car into drive.

“So, you don’t let anyone else drive it then?” I asked him, although I’m fairly sure I already knew the answer.

“And risk damaging Big Betty? Not a chance.” He said with a mock look of horror.

“I thought as much. And you really couldn’t do better than Big Betty?”

“Hey, it just came to me.” He defended.

“Sure, it did.” I smiled with mock sarcasm. “Cute name by the way.”

“You wound me, Elena.” He laughed.

“But I thought you said I couldn’t hurt you?” I jabbed back playfully. He let out a hearty laugh.

“I did, didn’t I?” he said as he glanced at me in his rear-view mirror. I suddenly felt like blushing, and I looked away. I then realized what had just happened. I had been flirting, and I hadn’t realized it. Kill me now.