The Tower

Five: Reed

Five: ReedAnytime I drank with Rowyn, it was a bit of a gamble. That might have been why I liked it. What I liked better was the fact that she'd taken the black hoodie I handed her out of my trunk and worn it without question. I hadn't intended to invite Jared and Rose along, but there was a sense of morbid curiosity running through me to see just how far Row would push this guy past his comfort zone before Rosalyn got mad enough to stop her.

Drinking Fat Tire through a straw was not the scene I'd pictured when I bribed my brother to buy me some beer, but I rolled with it. The ambience of Rowyn's backyard sort of made up for everything else. Mindless chatter found its way out of our mouths and up into the sky, no one quite invested appropriately. The thirty-two ounces of beer hit Rowyn and me at the same time- made apparent by her sudden interest in sitting on my lap, and my ability to let her do so without trying to put my lips to her neck. Her hair was soft, and it tickled my forearms while she made herself comfortable. I wrapped my arms around her in as platonic a way as possible, but it did not feel friendly.

“Sooooo, y'all aren't together, huh?” Jared asked again, his buzz apparently settling in as well. His arms were uncrossed, and if I wasn't mistaken, an actual smile was residing upon his face.

“Shut up, Todd-Jared,” Rowyn retorted without so much as glancing his direction.

“Rowyn's just afraid she won't be able to handle me,” I explained, fully anticipating being punched in the arm at least.

“Among other things,” Rose added, her rarely seen snarky side rising to the occasion. Rowyn bristled slightly at her words, but she apparently decided not to care. She sat up straight with renewed interest in her prey.

“So. Jared. Let's play twenty questions. You wanna go first? Or shall I?” She asked with a grin that should have concerned us all, but Rose looked almost as amused as I felt. I always thought she was secretly a little jealous of Rowyn, mostly because Row always said what everyone else was thinking. In a surprise move from the opposition, Jared leaned in and replied, “Me first.”

His sudden use of eye contact was shocking enough, but the guy's smirking expression was almost enough to make me wonder if we were wrong about his straight-laced nature.

“Okay then, color me interested,” she answered, grinning. Her energy was given a jolt at his forwardness, and I could feel the excitement of a challenge rolling off of her. Her whole face lit up with the smile. I could feel it, even if I couldn't see auras like she could. I put my hands on her waist, Jared's sudden change in behavior putting me on mild alert. Intellectually, I assumed he was harmless, but I also knew that when Rowyn drank, other people's energies affected her that much more, and she got careless about protecting herself. I slipped my Apache Tear bracelet off of my wrist and onto hers. Just in case. When she saw what I'd done, she shifted on my lap and shot me a confused look. I brushed her off; she knew exactly why I did it. “I should warn you, Todd, there are a few questions that annoy me. Just be prepared. Pace yourself.”

“Oh god, Row, not again with the-” Rosalyn began.

“Yes again with the F-U-Qs!” she exclaimed indignantly. The beer I had in my mouth threatened to come out of my nose at that.

“The what?” Jared and I asked simultaneously.

“Rowyn has her own witch version of 'Frequently Asked Questions,” Rose explained, laughing. “She's very passionate about them.”

“So what does FUQ stand for then?” Jared asked, still appearing relaxed and entertained with his arm around Rose.

“I'm so glad you asked, Todd-” I gripped her hand, really having no idea why she kept calling him Todd. I was sure there was a perfectly ridiculous reason behind it. “Sorry. Jared,” she got out, though the amount of apology in her voice was nil.

“I think we can all use our imagination, Row,” Rosalyn assured her. Rowyn leaned back and pressed her lips to my ear. “f*****g Unbelievable Questions,” she whispered before turning her attention back to whatever game she was playing.

“Fine. Here are a few FUQs just to get them out of the way. You know, so you're free to be more original,” she assured him. “One. 'Can you do a magic trick?' Answer is no. I'm not a magician. Two. 'Do you worship the devil?' Answer is no. We'd have to believe in the devil to worship him. Or her. Maybe both? Whatever. Three. 'Aren't you afraid of going to hell?' This one is super interesting since it usually goes along with the devil worship thing. If I worshipped him, why would I be afraid to go to his house? Anyway, answer is no. See previous reason. I think those are for sure the top three. You're up,” she directed to Jared. To his credit, he didn't seem deterred by her little introduction.

“Okay, then. Why do you call yourselves witches?”

“Why do you call yourself a semi-intelligent human being?” she shot back immediately, much to Rose's dismay.

“You can't answer a question with a question, and don't be a b***h,” Rose warned lightly. She never had to raise her voice; she just had that way about her. Moving Rowyn's hair to the side, I rested my chin on her shoulder, trying to calm her down. It was normal for her not to care what people thought, or at least she pretended really well. The problem became that when she drank, she didn't always give a s**t what Rose and I thought either. Those weren't fun nights.

“Okay,” she agreed through clenched teeth. “Why do we call ourselves witches? Because that's what we are. Not like we wiggle our noses and our will is done, but that we use energy to affect our surroundings or circumstances. We use the balance and power of the natural world to direct or control energy in the way that we want.”

“What do you mean, 'direct energy'?” he asked with a curious expression. It was almost time for me to shut this down. I met Rose's eyes through the dim glow; her frown let me know we were on the same page.

“I mean direct it. Focus it, wield it? I don't know any other synonyms. With our own power, or sometimes with a wand.”

“A wand?”

I interrupted him clearly, sort of done with Todd's condescending tone. “Yes, a wand, sometimes at least. Not always.” It did feel better to call him Todd. Weird.

“Okay,” he accepted. He looked hesitant to continue, but I knew he had something else to say. “How did you learn to do it? With the energy, or the wand. Any of it… if it's not like a…power? I guess.”

“The same way that your hair stands up when someone is watching you, or the way that when you were little you probably freaked out your parents by telling them you saw your great granddad even though he'd been dead fifteen years. Everyone has the ability to focus energy, connect with spirit guides, whatever. Some more naturally or better than others, but when you're taught that it's wrong, you lose it. We aren't taught that; we don't lose it. We strengthen it.” Todd's face looked contemplative rather than judgmental. Another surprise. “Anything else?”

“Ah, I don't know, I guess that's it.”

“If you want me to read your cards, you might be able to understand what I mean,” Rowyn offered with an uncharacteristically softened tone.

“What does that mean?” Jared asked, seeming relieved that some of the tension had passed.

“She's amazing, honestly,” Rosalyn bragged. “You should try it.” What is she playing at tonight?

“Sure, why not?” Jared agreed. What is he playing at tonight? What the hell is going on?

“I'll go grab your stuff, Row. I want some water anyway, anyone else?” I asked. There was a chorus of “yeah” all around. “Rose, come help me carry the glasses. She hopped up with far too much agility, being the only completely sober person there. I let us in the French doors that opened into the kitchen of the Blacks' house.

“You really think it's safe to leave the two of them alone out there?” Rose asked in a half-serious mood as I quietly reached for the glassware.

“Not entirely, but Jared Simpson's safety isn't really my concern. What are you doing with him? Honestly, he's like the most generic guy I've ever met. And you… you're anything but generic.” I heard her sigh and turned to find her blue eyes on me. Eyes that had become almost as familiar to me as my own. We'd all known each other since we were born. And though the fact was heavily contested, it was not a coincidence that all of our names began with “R.” It was ridiculous, or maybe not since it worked, but I think our parents had had a vision of us being the three musketeers. Or the three little pagans. “Spit it out.”

“For the exact same reason you find yourself in the backseat of Amy Stecker's car on such frequent occasions.”

“How the f-”

“Shhhh, shut up. Don't wake up the baby or we'll all be sorry.” I swallowed hard, fear rising in my chest. Amy was… a distraction? A distraction with potential to turn into a disaster if too many people found out.

“How do you know that?”

“What, you think she wants to keep her little rebellion a secret? I hear things,” she smiled ruefully. “Sometimes things I don't really wanna know, but please tell me you didn't think she'd keep quiet about hooking up with you?”

“I don't know, I sort of thought she wouldn't want people to know. s**t, I don't want people to know. Does Rowyn…” I couldn't even finish that thought, let alone the sentence. She might push me away at every opportunity, but it would not be good for her to know I'd… well, it would be bad for a lot of reasons.

“Girls like her always want the recognition, just not the consequences. Which there would be if her parents found out, you know that. And you actually think Rowyn would be all snuggly with you out there if she knew? Please. I have no intention of telling her, but-”

“I know, I know. I'll stop doing… whatever I'm doing with Amy. It just felt… I don't know, easy. Normal, or something.”

“And now you understand the why of Jared. I swear on the moon that if you ever tell Rowyn this, I will call you a liar, but sometimes a girl just wants to date the quarterback. Sue me. He's sweet and hot and a good kisser and he lets me wear his letterman jacket. I'm a shallow, shallow girl,” she concluded with a guilty grin. I laughed lightly, the anxiety that had built up finally dissipating.

“I'll keep your secret if you'll keep mine.”

“To the grave,” she joked, filling up the glasses. “I'm going to go back and referee.”

“I'll be right there,” I promised, looking for the silk bag where Rowyn kept her favorite deck.