Hellcat

Chapter 4

Abraham Bennett

I'm not sure what to say to Josh now that I have finally had him cornered. He seems a bit uncomfortable in my presence. His posture is hunched and his eyes are darting all around the hallway. From where I am leaning on a random person's locker, I can see him wringing his hands behind his back. That's Josh's tell for nerves.

"You wanted to talk, " Of course he spoke first. Josh is not the type of person to appreciate reflective silence. That's probably one of the main reasons he left our father's church. 

"That stunt you pulled with Eli today at lunch, " I begin, speaking slowly so he can hear every word I have to say. "What was that all about?"

Josh scratches his ear. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Come on, Josh. You cannot honestly expect me to believe that your decision to invite Eli to our table today has nothing to do with the fact that I ditched you this morning."

"I had to ride in mom's Sedan! Christine Mitchell saw me."

"So it was about revenge, " the answer does not surprise me but only adds to my disappointment. When will Josh learn that taking such drastic measures to deal with minor situations will only further complicate things? He does not realise that by involving Eli in our matters, he has inevitably imposed the burden of choice on her. This is the exact same thing he did with Quinn Duckworth in elementary school. 

"Don't flatter yourself, Abe. Not everything is about you. Eli is a pretty cool girl. I enjoy her company. It's an added bonus that you two are supposed to work together."

"Speaking of which, " I glance at the leather watch on the inside of my right wrist. I wear it like the marines, it was my dad who taught me and the habit just stuck. "Do you know where she might be right now?"

"Why? You made plans for a steamy lover's rendezvous."

I chuckle mirthlessly. "Don't kid yourself, Joshua. Eli and I have a garden to build. If she slacks off, it affects me too."

"Oh, " Josh chews on his lower lip, contemplating something. "You're in luck. It just so happens that she told me she has an American Literature class that usually extends after school is supposed to be over."

"Teachers actually do that?" I have heard of teachers who force their students to stay in after the bell has rung to extend their teaching hours but I always thought it was a myth, like a boogieman.

"You'll be surprised, " Josh says. 

I push my body off the locker and stride towards him. A heavy hand falls on his shoulder. I squeeze tightly. "Now, we are even."

However, when we get to Ms Verne's class, most of them have emptied out and only a handful of students remain.

"Stay here, " I say to Josh, before walking into the class. I'm an adult type of guy so it only takes a few words for me to get the information I came for. Ms Verne discloses that Eli fell asleep in class and went to the sickbay.

"She's at the sickbay, " I say to Josh when I step out of the class.

He opens his mouth to speak but I raise a hand to silence him. 

"Don't ask."

And so we walk to the sickbay together. After knocking at the door several times and receiving no reply from the nurse, I decide it's time to take drastic measures. 

Josh starts making karate noises, suggesting that we kick the door down so we look like badasses starring in an action movie. 

It appears my few months on Josh give me an intellectual advantage over him which is why I am the wise guy to suggest simply trying to open the door with our hands, the way normal people do it. 

Josh does not hide his defeat when the door opens easily, it is not locked. 

A quick sweep of the room reveals that the school nurse has left the sickbay. The curtains around one bed are draped, that must be where Eli is lying.

"Should we?"

"Of course."

"What if she's..."

"She's...?" Josh impatience surfaces in his tone.

I don't think he realises that by pulling the curtain, we are somehow invading Eli's privacy. I've seen the tattoos crawling up her arms, I don't doubt she won't take kindly to our invasion of her privacy.

"You sure we can't wait till the nurse gets back?"

Josh huffs, rolling his eyes at me. He is a world-class champion at eye-rolling. "Are you afraid of Eli? A.. girl?" he gasps at the end, laughing quietly.

"No!" I feel warmth rush to my cheeks and judging by Josh's smirk, they are red too. "Fine, do it yourself then. Don't say I didn't warn you."

"b***h, it was all your idea. I'm just the beefy accomplice," Josh sasses, sidestepping me to the cubicle where Eli must sleeping. "I'm doing it," he says, hands shaking as he begins reaching.

"Wait!" I cry out when he is almost done. "If someone is going to risk their life, it might as well be me."

"Oh thank God," Josh sighs, walking away. "I thought I was actually going to have to do it."

"Didn't you say you weren't scared of her?"

"I've seen that girl with a flick knife in her pocket. I don't know about you but I like my face just the way it is,"

I gulp. "Why don't we just wait for her to wake up?"

Josh looks at me incredulously. "Eli is my friend. She won't stab me, right? Right? Tell me I'm right Abe and I'm not about to risk my beautiful face for nothing."

"Let's do it together then."

"No way, man. You are the one who needs her. If you need me I'll be standing at a safe distance in that corner."

"Cowering like the coward you are," I mutter under my breath before going to where she was resting. I pull the curtains.

Josh let's out a breath. "Is it?"

"It's her," I say, hovering over her form. She's covered to the neck with a white cloth, almost as if she's dead. But I know she's not because there is slight colouring in her cheeks and her chest is rising and falling steadily with the beat of an active mammalian heart. I've never seen Wilder look this peaceful. Her features were much softer in sleep, the lines that usually creased her brow replaced by the youthful appearance that matched those of others our age.

I shook her shoulder gently at first, but she remained unflinching, almost as if her sleep was chemical-induced or permanent like a coma.

"Careful you might break her!" Josh hisses when I add more vigour to my shakes.

"Shut up," I snap.

Eli makes a sound in her sleep and I look down at her. Her eyebrows are ruffled and she's gripping the sheets around her neck. She blinks repeatedly, brown eyes meeting my blue ones.

"Abe?"

...

"So this is where you work?" Josh asks when I pull over in front of the Happy Sunny building.

"Remind me why he's here again?" Eli asks, jumping out of the car without waiting for either of us.

I lock the doors. "I'm his babysitter."

"I'm sixteen, I don't need a babysitter."

"Wow, you're so young," she looks genuinely surprised. "I honestly thought you guys could pass off for twins."

"Yeah, I'm ten months older," I snort.

"Ten months you never stop reminding me of," Josh sighs with another eye roll. "And anyway, Eli, what do you guys even do here?"

"I've told you a million times Josh," I say, walking slightly behind the two of them.

"I know," he turns his head to smirk at me. "I just want to hear Eli say it."

"Oh look, we're here," Eli says deadpan, pushing the wooden door that leads to the gardens. The Happy Sunny Charity has been building a lot of community gardens all over New Jersey, the one Eli and I have been assigned to is one of their newest projects, which is why they needed the volunteers, willing or not.

"You sure we're in the right place?" Josh asks, looking around. "This place is a dump."

"Not for long," a man says. The three of us turn in the direction of the voice. It's the guy who showed us around on the first day. Mr Sweets. "It's good to see you Abe, Ms Sanchez," he tips his hat Eli's way. She looks at him as if he's off his head and shakes her head, murmuring something under her breath.

"Hello, Mr Sweets," I smile. "I hope we're not late."

"Oh not at all. Just go to the main hall and log into the entrance book. Then you can grab your tools from the shed in the back and get to work."

"You got it," Josh answers although I'm pretty sure Mr Sweets was not speaking to him.

"I'm sorry, who are you again?"

"I'm Josh. Abe's brother."

"So you're not a part of the program?" Mr Sweets asks, looking at my little brother in a funny way.

"Nope," he answers. "Just here to accompany my big bro."

"I'm terribly sorry Josh. But I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to leave."

"What? Why? But I didn't do anything yet."

"The garden is not open to the public till it is complete," Mr Sweets explains. "Abe please escort your brother off the compound. Good day, Ms Sanchez," he nods at Eli and walks away.

"Well that's a bummer," Surprisingly enough, Wilder is the first to comment.

"I know right," Josh whines, throwing his hands up in the air. "To think I cancelled my booty call with China for this."

"Who's China?" Eli asks before swiftly shaking her head. "You know what? Don't answer that."

"Alright, Josh you heard what Mr Sweets said, you need to leave. You can wait in the car if you want."

"Nah, I'm okay." Something about the casualness in his voice scares me.

"Josh," warning tone not amiss.

"I'm not a baby Abe. Go turn this dump into a vegetative paradise with Eli. I'll be waiting in the car."

"If you say so," I sigh reluctantly, praying to God that I will not regret trusting Josh so easily. Something tells me I will.

He closes the gate behind him, leaving me with Eli.

"Shall we go?" I ask, only to realise she has already left. Shaking my head, I joke over to where she is. Her short legs make it easy for me to catch up with the distance she has already crossed.

"What was that all about?" I ask, after thanking the volunteer who gave me the gloves.

"What was what?" she asks, brisk-walking ahead of me while pulling on her gloves.

"You left me with Josh without a word."

"You guys seemed to be in the middle of some familial conversation. I did not want to be privy to that."

"Why? Don't you have a family?" I've never been this brash to anyone and I actually flinch in regret the minute the words come out. "I am so sorry Eli. I didn't mean that." I try touching her shoulder, she shifts away.

When she raises her head from the watering can she is holding to glare at me, I feel my skin prick with nerves. "It's fine."

"Except it's not fine. I can see you are clearly upset,"

"Just let it go, Bennett," she snaps.

Because I'm a teenage boy who has been raised to care about other people's feelings I feel it is my duty to make amends. My comment may have been inappropriate and downright disrespectful, but I sense there's an underlying source of her anger. And so to feed my curiosity I ask, "What's wrong?"

My attempts to be nice are rewarded with an ice-cold glare that could freeze over hell. "Last I checked you're not a licensed therapist, Abraham. Quit trying to help me and let's just do what we came here to do."

My face crumples.

Eli's stern glare wavers. For a micro-second, I see a flash of regret and... pity? But it fades too quickly for me to interpret.

"Okay," my voice is hollow. "Can you hand me that hoe, I need to pull out some weeds?"

Wordlessly, she lifts the farm tool from where it rests on the bare soil and gives it to me. She is careful not to let our fingers graze. I sigh, going to the edge of our plot so I can begin plucking out the weeds that ave grown at the edge. Before we started, the previous group of volunteers had done all the hard work, they turned the soil, levelled the ground and cleared most of the debris, but some still remained and that's what I focus on getting rid off for the next half hour.

Every few minutes I glance at Eli. She is completely absorbed in her work. There are earbuds in her ears; the music helps keep her in her own bubble. She does not notice my staring. I'm not sure how I would explain it if she caught me.

I'm done with the weeds and am ready to spread the mulch over the ground when I hear a loud crashing sound. It appears most of the other volunteers have heard it too because everyone seems to have momentarily stopped working.

"Hey! I'm over here!" It's easy to see the boy standing on top of a firetruck flailing his hands like a wounded hen trying to fly away while yelling into a public address system he no doubt stole from the vehicle he is atop of. "I thought you guys might need a little motivational music. So here goes nothing."

"BE AGGRESSIVE! BE-E AGGRESSIVE! BE-E-A-G-G-A-R-E-E-S-S-I-V-E!" Josh sings horribly into the PA system which echoes the sound all over the garden. Josh is an untrained tenor with little pitch but incredible volume, and the complaints came fast and furious when he started singing.

"What the.." her words fall when she notices him. I guess standing on top of a giant red truck and crooning terribly is what it took to get her attention.

She removes the earbuds and looks at me. Then at Josh. "You sure you guys are related?"

"I don't know," I answer honestly. Josh is my brother. We have the same blue eyes, same brown hair and same smile. We walk the same, talk the same and I've been told we even laugh the same. And yet despite all of these similarities, there are moments such as the one I am experiencing right now in which I question where he is in need a person from my bloodline. I can't imagine myself stealing a firetruck and climbing on top of it to sing to a bunch of random people.

"Abraham," Mr Sweets hollers while brisk walking towards us.

"Busted," Eli whispers childishly at my side.

It's my turn to roll my eyes. "Oh don't be silly." I have my doubts.

Up close, I notice how much like a tomato Mr Sweets looks. His cheeks are chubby and bright red, his nose bulbous and hair is only in a few wisps like the stalk of a tomato fruit. I glance briefly at Eli, wondering if she is thinking the same thing.

"I thought I told you to ask your brother to leave."

"I did."

"Well clearly, he had other plans. This is a very dignified and peaceful establishment. This kind of commotion will not be tolerated." He sounds like he is reciting something he has been told repeatedly.

"What are you going to do?" Eli asks.

Mr Sweets glances at her. He looks as if he's about to say something cheeky, notices her clenched fists and thinks otherwise. "I called the police, they'll be arriving in a few minutes."

"You called the cops?" I gasp. "Was that really necessary?"

"If your brother is so determined to get himself in trouble I might as well facilitate it," Mr Sweets says. "Please do not forget to log out when you are leaving. I bid you adieu."

"Bollocks!" I sigh, kicking dirt. First I was arrested now it looked like Josh was about to meet the same fate. I looked at Eli but she was busy texting someone. "What are you doing?" I ask, walking towards her.

"Texting."

"I can see that," I scrunch up my face then release it to calm down. Getting annoyed with Eli will do little good to help my brother. "Texting who?"

"Josh. I'm warning him."

"Oh," I'm impressed. "I don't know why I didn't think of that."

"Because you are driven by your emotions. Come on, he's escaping. Let's finish so we can leave. I promised him ice cream."

"He's paying?"

She smirks, the closest hint of a smile I've seen on her face. "I wouldn't have it any other way."

Wilder Sanchez

"Why do I have to pay?" This is the sixth time Josh has asked this question since Abe parked in front of Ice Loop.

Josh and I are seated in the backseat. He called shotgun but Abe wouldn't let him as punishment for nearly getting arrested. And I didn't want to sit next to Abe in the front seat because I did not want him to see who I was texting. Nor did I want to be seen in his car. Abe is a good kid, hanging out with the likes of him could really damage my street cred. It's bad enough I had to quit the knives business but if people find out I'm friends with the prince of goodness, they'll think I'm a joke. I didn't work my butt off for eight months to build a name only for some cute guy to ruin it all for me.

"We've talked about it."

I honestly don't know why Abe bothers to reply to Josh.

"But Eli," Josh whines.

"Shut up," I unlock the door and step out. Abe follows me. Josh reluctantly leaves the car when he realises we're not taking no for an answer.

I push open the front door and walk over to the counter where there is a short line growing.

"What will you have?" Josh asks, standing next to me while peering at the menus draw on a chalkboard above the counter.

"Chocolate," I answer without thinking. Lucas and I used to have chocolate ice cream every day when he'd pick me up from school. That all stopped when he met his girlfriend turned wife.

"Yuck," Josh wrinkles his nose.

His reaction surprises me. I've never met someone who doesn't like chocolate. What kind of monster have I befriended? "Chocolate is the god of all food."

"You're wrong. Everyone knows ketchup is the king."

"So you're going to have ketchup ice cream?" I ask incredulously.

"I wish. They have not yet developed that flavour of ice cream. But I know when they do, ketchup ice cream will be the greatest discovery of the century."

I look at Abe. He shrugs both shoulders. "Don't look at me, you're the one who proposed ice cream."

"What flavour do you want?" I ask Abe.

"No one's ever asked me that." Mock appreciation. "I guess I'd go for strawberry."

"LAME! L-L-AAA-AME!" Josh says in a sing-song voice. "Chocolate and strawberry? You guys are so lame."

Abe and I exchange eye contact. "What would you suggest?"

"Vanilla, duh," he says as if it's the most common fact that even a newborn baby would comprehend.

I whine. "I can't believe it. I never would have guessed you'd be that person."

Josh chuckles. "Everyone knows vanilla is the best type of ice cream that exists. I can drizzle it with all the ketchup I want."

"You make me sick," I wrinkle my nose. I turn to look at Abe. "Can you believe this guy?"

"I live with this guy."

"Good point."

At last, it's our turn. I'm the first to order my ice cream and I pick a booth in the back with an excellent view of the front door so I can bail if necessary.

 Josh plops in the seat next to me and casually places his hand behind my shoulder before staring at me with that dazzling smirk. He is waiting for a reaction.  There was that confidence I always see in him. It was swimming in those charming blue eyes of his.

"I think you've misplaced your arm. Would you like it back detached?"

He shrugs, seeming more than comfortable.

"You know your nose turns pink when you're upset?"

I narrow my eyes at him, not seeing how that is relevant. His smirk just seems to grow, just like my annoyance.

"What does that matter?" I asked rudely. "Just move your arm."

"Tell me why first."

"I'm not answering that."

"Wow. You must really like my arm then." He laughs. However, he removed it before I asked again. It has me wondering whether I actually liked having his hand around me. Hmm.

"Eli," Abe's voice is quiet yet brings me out of my thoughts. "Your ice cream is dripping."

"Oh crap," I cuss, staring at a giant dollop of melted ice cream on the sleeve of my mom's hoodie. That's what I get for getting lost in my thoughts with a spoon of ice cream mind journey to my mouth. I can't even remember what I was thinking about.

Abe offers me a napkin, smiling slightly as he wipes the stain from the sleeve. "When you get home rub it with liquid laundry detergent and use slightly warmed water to rinse it after thirty minutes. That'll get the stain out nice and easy."

"Thanks," I fight off a smile successfully. Most people are not this nice to me. Most people don't even want to talk to me. They think my scary scowl and even scarier tattoos make me an intimidating creature. My five feet four frame does not deceive them. But why is that the case for Abe? He's such a nice guy. Almost too nice. If there ever was such a thing.

"Earth to Wilder," Josh snaps his fingers in my face. "I footed the bill just this once but next time, I can promise you this miser is not parting with a single dime."

"You just called yourself a miser," I say. "And what makes you so sure there will be a next time?"

Josh smirks easily. "Because I'm irresistible, baby."