Rose Writes Prose

Obviously Not the End

​

     Body spinning parallel to the reflective surface, hand brushing the shaved ice, and hair sweeping the lustrous arena, Tessa was locked in a death spin her hand, the only connection to the pivoting Mason, sweating. It was that last Monday before Christmas break, the air was crisp and bright filtering into the dark rink from frosted windows above creating an indoor winter wonderland. As always, Tessa begrudgingly left the ice in the quaint town of Amesbron, New York who’s harbor to Lake Champagne overlooked the Vermont coast. Walking home from figure skating practice and eating a gyro, she was passed by a guy who had her ex-boyfriend, Cade’s, square jaw.

 

     Three days later, she was walking home after skating practice again albeit with a gaggle of girls in spandex and leg-warmers. Tessa stood out in her crimson overcoat walking arm in arm with her two best friends, Cassie and Mason. On one arm was Cassie complaining about how she did on her first semester finals while playing with her silver braid. On Tessa’s other arm was her skating partner, Mason, cleaning his glasses while wisps of blonde hair eeked out from a green beanie.

 

   The three of them, Tessa, Cassie, and Mason, had been skating in the cozy town of Amesbron since they were five. The first time Tessa had met Cassie, they collided head on in the rink, but now Cassie was skating in the Junior Nationals. To be honest, half the time Cassie was a third wheel with the duo of Tessa and Mason.  

 

     “Tessa, what’s wrong?” asked Mason putting his glasses on.

​

     “Yeah, Tessa,” said Cassie rifling through her pink backpack, “what’s up with you? The whole drool and smeared mascara look isn’t working.”

 

     “Not to mention you had the coordination of a donkey in roller blades during warmups. As your figure skating partner,” he said thrusting an index finger in the air, “I insist on knowing.”
 

     “I was trying something new. It’s called the flopping jel…”
 

     A group of people passed. For a moment Tessa recognized the broad shoulders and golden-brown hair for a third time.
 

     “Tessa?”
 

     “Cassie, do you remember that guy I dated last year?”
 

     “The Canadian hockey player or the creepy fedora?”
 

     “Fedora boy.” said Tessa swallowing a lump in her throat.
 

     “What about him?”
 

     She stopped, pulling Mason and Cassie back bumping into the girls behind them. “I think he’s following me or I’m just loosing it.”
 

     “I thought he moved to China.” said Mason rubbing the back of his neck, “You were probably just freaked about finals.”

 

     “Seriously, Mason?” snapped Cassie, “Tessa, what makes you think that guy’s following you?”
 

     “I,” Tessa bit her lip, I’m going to sound insane.The green-eyed reflection watching her study edged its way back into her mind, “I saw him outside my window last night.”
 

     “Isn’t your bedroom on the second floor?” questioned Mason.
 

     “That’s why I didn’t sleep at all last night!”

 

     “Oh, honey,” said Cassie pouting, “Did you tell someone?”

 

     “I’m telling you guys. Could at least one of you please spend the night?”
 

     “Tessa, if you’re that scared,” Mason said putting his hands on her shoulders, “you need to tell your parents.”

 

     “Their lives are too busy for my problems. Just for tonight, and if I see him again after I get back from my grandparents’, then I’ll

tell my parents. Please guys?”
 

     “Of course, Tessa! And Mason?”

 

     He kicked a snow drift, “Fine, let’s pop over to my house first.”
 

     When Tessa finally got home, Cassie and Tessa threw half of Tessa’s closet and bathroom at Mason who neatly packed her suitcase for a Christmas vacation at her grandparent’s house in Michigan. The three of them talked for hours, the topics ranging from their biology teacher to existential life crisis, when Tessa should have been in bed immediately after dinner. Leaving Tessa lying awake and wondering if Mason had fallen asleep in the window bay, Cassie stole all of the covers once she fell asleep. Tessa’s neck tingled even with Cassie next to her and Mason guarding the window. Her gut was telling her that Cade was probably out there watching her.

 

     Cade’s real name was not Cade. In fact, his preferred name was Aiden Bowman, but even that wasn’t the name he was born with. Dangling outside Tessa’s window, he was breaking the cardinal rule of espionage: never visit an old job.

​

    It wasn’t his fault. Unlike Tessa, whose finals were taken in classrooms, Aiden’s semester final was a sort of ‘group project’ that required skills he learned in all his classes, and his partners, Spencer and Ceilí, thought that going after the number one threat to the United States Witness Protection Program, WITSEC, would ensure an A+. That threat also happened to prefer doing business in a small town in New York that he had in his pocket called Amesbron where a short boat ride could take the fugitive across state lines within minutes. Tessa, Aiden’s ex-girlfriend, also happened to live there.

 

     Aiden reminded them that was where he spent his freshman year, but Ceilí just told him to stay away from Tessa. He obviously did not stay away. It might seem extremely creepy that Aiden had been following Tessa’s warm scent everywhere, but he was just trying to find the opportune moment to give her a note. He fingered the crumpled piece of paper that read simply: Sorry, Cade.

 

      Is it really that good of an idea to give it to her? It had been a year since Aiden had broken up with Tessa at the end of his assignment, yet the image of her crying in the middle of a crowded hallway still haunted his dreams. On the other hand, actually providing proof that he was there would get him thrown out of school. Not to mention, Ceilí was going to kill him.

​

     Tessa was fast asleep. Her slender frame rose and fell under the covers. Aiden couldn’t help smiling a little; the way her long dark brown hair fell across her lush lips reminded him of a normal suburban year when he parted them with a thumb and could deliver a kiss. Hands trembling, palms sweating, fingers numb, Aiden quickly slipped the note under the old window and sighed. Leaving Tessa’s house by jumping to the neighbor’s snow-covered roof, he snuck back to the musty motel room where his two other group partners slept. Stumbling about the room, stubbing his toe, and realizing there was no room for himself, Aiden found that the floor was very comfortable and almost didn’t bother taking off his white snowsuit.

 

      On the other side of town, Tessa was ice skating in a dream. The ice shimmered like glass and, although the air was frosty, Tessa's cheeks  were burning. Cade was there, his forest green eyes twinkling and laughter rolling.  He wobbled about the ice like a newborn calf clinging to Tessa's hand as she glided across the ice like a bar of soap.
 

     “Watch this.” she whispered in Cade’s ear letting go of his hand. She sped away like a rocket gathering up speed. Coming to the corner, she lept into the air, a spinning top. Weightless, Tessa flew across the ice before landing on one foot backwards.
 

     A slow clap echoed throughout the rink as Tessa turned to find Cade inches from her face. His eyes were so cold that they sent shivers down Tessa’s spine. It wasn’t right. Wasn’t this the part where he pressed his warm, tender lips against hers and told her that she was amazing?
 

     Instead, Cade’s fingers dug into Tessa’s arms as he shoved her back against the wall surrounding the rink. Her head bounced off the plastic barrier and Cade’s snarl blurred in and out of her focus. Tessa froze, her heart racing trying to escape.
 

     “This is why I left you.”
 

     “What? Cade, please, let go.”
 

     “Ice skating 24/7 with that guy, Mason,”
 

     “You’re hurting me!”
 

     “It’s disgusting.” He threw her onto the hard ice. “I don’t matter, skating does!”
 

     “That’s not…” She blinked and the ice rink was gone.
 

     “Tessa, wake up!” said Cassie pulling Tessa out of bed.

 

     Taking a crumpled piece of paper from the window sill, Mason threw it in the trash.  

 

     “What was that?” asked Tessa getting out of bed.

 

     He shrugged his shoulders, “Nothing.”

 

     Tessa didn’t think much of it, because Cassie was shoving her into the bathroom. Handing her a straightener and locking Mason out of the bathroom, Cassie put on the one blush-colored shirt Tessa had.

 

     “Do you know, Tessa,” Cassie whispered, “that every guy in the school thinks Mason and you are dating?”

 

     “What? How do you know that?”

 

     “I’ve had three guys come up to me and ask if you guys are. That’s how!”

 

     “Are any of them cute?”

 

     “One of them was! I told him that I was going to the Leaning Pine Cafe after practice with you and that he could join us if he brought a friend.”

 

     “We never made plans to go downtown and why the Leaning Pine?” said Tessa curling her brown hair into long, soft ringlets out of her face.
 

     “This guy lives on that side of town. Now,do you want to be single forever or do you want to get over that asshole Cade?”
 

     Tessa slammed her straightener on the counter, “Don’t even go there.”
 

     “So, it’s settled, you, me, and two hot guys in the Leaning Pine at six!”
 

     “Cassie, I’ve got be on a plane to Michigan at nine. There’s no way I’m going to get to my house on time to catch my parents’ ride to the airport.”

 

     “Perfect, I’ll borrow the car, bring your suitcase, and I’ll drive you to the airport.”

 

     “He better be pretty damn normal, Cass.”

 

     While Tessa was at school, Aiden was sitting on the passenger side of a cop car eating a doughnut topped with fruit-loops. Spencer, one of Aiden’s group partners, sat in the driver’s seat, his oak-colored fingers flying across a keyboard in his lap. Aiden did a double-take; he still wasn’t used to Spencer’s change from an afro to a buzz-cut. Not to mention, a police uniform on a lanky sixteen year old just looked wrong.

​

     Ceilí was across the street from them freezing on a motorcycle. Her long red hair damp from the snowfall peeked out from under her helmet while her brown eyes flicked about making her freckles dance. Her job was to receive the list while Spencer monitored the comms and Aiden made the arrest.

 

     At Aiden’s school, each semester ended with a single group project that counted for 40% of their grade in every lass. Unlike most schools, their group projects could be classified as covert operations. For this semester’s final, Aiden and Spencer’s duo became a trio with the addition of Ceili. Together Spencer and Ceilí ignored Aiden’s objections and chose a mark who stole a list of the names and locations of hundreds of people in WITSEC. Aiden wanted to avoid old scars, but Ceilí and Spencer wanted a guaranteed A+.

 

     The plan was simple enough. Ceili would pose as a buyer and after the mark gave her the list Aiden and Spencer would make the arrest. Somehow Spencer had hacked his way into getting a police department to give two teenage boys a squad car. Across the street from the car, Ceili got a phone call.

 

     “I’m not waiting in this cold anymore.” Said Ceilí pulling off her helmet.

 

     “Are you insane?” whispered a hoarse voice on the other end of the line. “I’m not handing you this information within a cop’s sight!”

 

     “The doughnut patrol wouldn’t notice if we did the exchange in their backseat.”

 

     “I’m calling it off.”

 

     Ceilí ran a hand through her soaked ginger tresses, “Let’s not get haisty.”

 

     “I’ve got other buyers, but I’ll give it to you if you sit in the front of the Leaning Pine Cafe at six.”

​

Skates and Coffee

​

     This time Aiden’s team were going to be more inconspicuous and they weren’t going to scare the mark with a police presence again. Ceilí arrived at the Leaning Pine Cafe at 5:30 taking off her leather jacket. The little cafe had an overwhelming warm smell of ground coffee beans that reminded her of the common room back at school. Passing the serving counter, Ceilí sat in the front section of the cafe, as instructed, which was comprised of both short and tall round tables.

 

     Parked five blocks away, Spencer was in the squad car ready to swoop in if the mark made the exchange before Aiden arrived. Speaking of Aiden, he was back in the motel room putting a gun-holster and police badge on under a parka. His green eyes were the only part of him visible once Aiden stepped out into the full blown snowstorm. Also, he was supposed to walk to the whole way to the Leaning Pine Cafe.

 

     Since Cassie’s car refused to start in the cold, Tessa and Cassie begrudgingly shuffled into Mason’s truck after figure skating practice. During the whole drive Tessa’s suitcase rattled in the back. Buzzing with anticipation, Tessa couldn’t wait to be at her grandparent’s lakehouse in Michigan.

 

     For the last several years, Christmas at her grandparents’ had been the only time that Tessa’s parents ever paid attention to her. Of course, being a public defense lawyer didn’t give Tessa’s father any spare time and her mother trained ‘professional’ figure skaters spending weeks abroad. Although they still found ways to keep working, at the very least Christmas day meant no phones or laptops, just family, but Tessa didn’t just wait around for her parents. Instead, Tessa skated on the lake in front of her grandparents’ house, a change from the dingy ice rink.

 

     When Tessa and Cassie entered the Leaning Pine, it was full of musty bodies making it hard for them to spot the two guys. Sliding into the booth Tessa’s skates clattered and the guy across from her grinned. Her ears burned as her brain tried to find something witty to say, but ended up mumbling something about Christmas vacation.

 

     Tessa took a deep breath; she had this. Sure, it had been half a year since she was dumped, but guys were people, too. Right? Besides Cassie was prepared to dig Tessa out of what ever hole her stupid mouth dug her in.

 

     “Hi.” he said turning Tessa into a pool of molten butter.

 

     Shit. Tessa’s hands trembled as Cassie handed her a cup of coffee. This guy apparently was one of a small group of guys who have the same effect as a snort of cocaine. Not like it was his fault that he was born with soft black curls grazing a defined jaw leading down to a rather large adam’s apple. Then Tessa remembered to say ‘hi’ back and the door to the little cafe swung open sending a cold breeze to the booth where Tessa and her double-date were sitting.

 

     Aiden shook the layer of snow off his parka ordering a cup of coffee and situating himself at the far end of the room. Of course he kept a visual on Ceilí who was busy chatting away with a guy whose glasses and curly blonde hair seemed vaguely familiar.

 

     Unzipping his coat, Aiden tugged at his collar trying to get his shirt to uncling from his skin, sweat trickling down his back. He moved to take it off, but stopped when his fingers brushed the gun holstered beneath. Resolving to instead take off his snow cap, Aiden’s sticky scalp froze exposed to air.

 

     “Anything yet?” Aiden whispered to the comms unit in his ear.

 

     “Sorry, mate,” said Spencer from the squad car, “nothing yet.”

 

     “Good, I didn’t want to miss all the fun. What’s the code-word for the arrest?”

 

     “Schnitzel,”

 

     “Really, Ceilí picked schnitzel? Like to see how she works that in.”

 

     Little did Aiden realize, but at that moment Tessa was sitting in the booth behind him talking to her date.

 

     “I see your point, but I don’t see myself dating a football player they’re just kinda ‘special’.”

 

     “I play football.” said her date.

​

     Cassie glared at Tessa, “What she means is that football players are amazing athletes, like you. Aren’t you on the varsity team?”

 

     “Yeah,” he said we both are.”

 

     A half hour passed with Aiden progressing from a slightly iffy smell to a full on musk. He sat and watched as half a dozen people came and went from the Leaning Pine Cafe although it was snowing like they were in Russia. None of them made contact with Ceilí, who was finding ways to either tap her ‘date’s’ arm or lean in closer to him.

Tessa was trying to sneak in the question of having another date when Cassie, who had just got back from getting everyone refills, whispered to her.

 

     “Tessa, that fucking stalker of yours is here!”

 

    “Cade?” she said searching the room, “Where?”

 

     He was right behind her leering at Mason and the redhead he’d probably hit it off with. Fear clutched her lungs tension building in her chest. Cade dumped her and now he was back stalking not only her but Mason. Tessa grabbed her skates and sprang up from her seat running to his table. Thrusting her ice skates at him, the cold, serrated pick tickled his throat as Tessa backed him into a corner.

 

     “Cade,” said Tessa shaking trying to keep herself from ramming her skates through his throat, “I will fucking kill you with theses skates if you don’t stop stalking me!”

 

     “Aiden,” Said Spencer his voice cracking over the comms, “don’t tell me that’s your ex-girlfriend.”

 

     “Tessa,” said Aiden, “I said I was sorry.”

 

     “I don’t need an apology; I need you to stay out of my life!”

 

     Half of Aiden wanted to wrap his arms around Tessa and comfort her. The whole room focused on a pair of teenagers in a corner as the air held its breath.  Cassie sat with her mouth a gape with Tessa’s date staring at her with eyes wide. Then the silence was broken by a crash as a coffee mug met the floor.

 

     “Schnitzel!” Ceilí said into the comms.

 

     The other half of Aiden grabbed Tessa’s arms picking her up and moving her out of his way. “Now, if you don’t mind, I have a job to do.”

 

     A caucasian male walking to the rear exit of the Leaning Pine ditched a green apron in a booth. His arms and head had the same circumference while his thighs looked like they could crush a watermelon.  Questioning whether he was going to be able to arrest this guy, Aiden followed him out the back.

 

     Outside, Aiden could hear the blood pumping in his head. The air stung his cheeks and lungs as he pulled a pair of handcuffs out of his coat. Light barely penetrated the dark curtain of snow, a fuzzy shape moving to the end. Aiden took in a deep breath; he was steady, calm from years of experience. He rushed at the man throwing all his weight at the man’s legs.

 

     Crashing to the ground, Aiden clamped one handcuff on digging his knee into the guy’s burly back. An elbow smashed into Aiden’s face as the mark wriggled out from under him. Stars flashed in Aiden’s eyes as he ignored the blood pouring from his nose that he could see crooked the wrong way in his peripheral vision.

 

     Scrambling to his feet, Aiden lunged bringing the massive guy down. After smashing the guy’s face into the ground to return the nose-job, Aiden got the guy handcuffed just as red and blue strobe lights filled the alley.

​

Who the Hell is Cade?

​

     Here’s the thing that made Aiden’s stomach mush and skin crawl: a phone call from Tessa. Before the call, Aiden, Spencer, and Ceilí were sitting in the rather urine smelling police station of Amesbron, NY. The first two were gleefully filling out reports on their arrest of a felon who attempted to sell the names and locations of several people in the Witness Protection System while Ceilí was on her phone stalking the guy she’d hooked up with while exchanging said information.

 

     Speaking of that guy, Mason stood outside the Leaning Pine holding Tessa’s shaking body. After Aiden ditched her silly death threat, the whole cafe burst into laughter including the booth containing Tessa’s double date. Yes, she looked crazy, overreacting Aiden’s presence there, but he broke her heart and stalked her causing the failure of her finals. Paying the bill, Cassie wasn’t comforting Tessa (if Mason’s attempt to smother Tessa’s heaving sobs can be called comforting), so as she turned to help Mason, Cassie watched, her mouth a gape, frozen in horror.

 

     The van swerved wildly down the road, its black shell coming out of the storm. Then hurtling to a stop, the side door slid open. Cassie ran to the door of the cafe her heart racing. A hand ripped Tessa from Mason’s embrace, tears and snot covered her face. Grabbing Tessa’s free hand, Mason strained to keep her from being dragged into the van. Bang, Tessa’s ears rung as Mason’s hand fell limply out of hers.

 

     Dark blood pooled out from the hole in Mason’s forehead staining the snow, his dirty-blonde curls red. That’s all Tessa could see although she was enclosed in a musty black van careening downtown. A part of her registered that a man in all black had his knee crushing her chest as he played with his phone, but the world was mostly just a blur of fear that Tessa was trying to not throw up.

 

     “Can you get me Aiden Bowman ma’am?” the man said into his phone, “I’m sure he’s there filling out a report, ma’am. Oh thank you so much.” The man slapped the phone against Tessa’s cheek while ramming a gun under her throat.

 

     “Hello?” said Aiden drumming his pen on his report while trying to keep the gauze up his nose that Ceilí had just straightened.

 

     “C...Cade?”

 

     Aiden’s pen paused in mid-air, “Tessa? How did…”

 

     “They killed Mason, and if you don’t come to the parking lot of the train station alone a minute after I hang up, they’ll, I’ll…”

 

     Aiden’s heart stopped, his hand clenching Tessa’s life-line. His mind raced a thousand miles a minute. There were half a dozen people who wanted him alive or dead and that was a conservative estimate. Besides the criminal he’d just arrested, Aiden had also been involved in several covert operations with Bisque that may have ended with a dictator of Oceania slightly dead, not to mention Aiden’s family. None of that mattered, really. Getting one of her best friends dead by mere association, Aiden put Tessa in danger just by knowing him.

 

     “Tessa, I’ll be there.”

 

     Snatching the car keys from Spencer, still filling out paperwork with a smile, Aiden ran for the squad car parked in front of the Amesbron Police Department. Siren blaring and lights strobing, Aiden stomped the gas pedal down to the floor plowing through the slush.

 

     “What are doing, mate?” said Spencer through the earpiece.

 

     “Nothing that I can’t handle,” said Aiden going through a stop light.

 

     “Aiden,” whispered Ceilí, “what the fuck did you do?”

 

      “I’ve got to make a kidnapping exchange, so I’ll be a little late for our flight.” The squad car flew over the sidewalk as Aiden screeched into the parking lot.

 

     “Aiden, wait we’ll back you up.” said Ceilí.

 

     “No time.” Pulling the comms unit out of his ear, Aiden exited the squad car.

Aiden’s boots sent puffs of white snow up with every step as he felt for the gun holstered under his parka. The parking lot was deserted, save for the black van at the other end of it with only a few street lights and a looming clock to shed light. A black figure with Kevlar vest came out of the driver’s seat a ski mask hiding his face.

 

     “Strip!”

 

     Aiden paused wondering if the mask had distorted what he heard.

 

      “All your clothes off, now!”

 

     Aiden started fumbling with his jacket and then dropped his hands to his sides, “Not until I see she’s alive.”

 

     “Not until we know for sure that you’re unarmed!”

 

     As if that’ll help. The coat was easy to take off along with his gun and shirt. “Let me see her.”

 

     “Not until…”

 

     “It’s fucking freezing out here!” The man pulled out a gun moving toward the van.

 

     “Wait!”

 

     Then, Aiden took off his boots the snow quickly melting, soaking his feet. Tossing his pants aside, Aiden stood in the middle of a parking lot with only his boxer-briefs and socks covering his goose-pimpled body.

 

     Finally sliding the van door open, another man in black carried a limp figure in a red coat out. Dropping her on the ground, the man kicked her over sprawling out her unresponsive frame.

 

     “No!”

 

    Red hot tears clouded his vision as he cursed himself for ruining Tessa’s life. Running to that small body with long brown hair strewn across the snow and blue puffy eyes staring up, Aiden felt for a pulse. It was slower than his own that was beating in his head as a shaky sigh of relief escaped him.

 

     Tessa couldn’t believe how wide Aiden’s green eyes or how cold his hands were. His trembling hands slowly laid Tessa back on the ground, his teeth chattering. She wanted to reach up and hug him, but her mind seemed to have drifted from her body like someone at the theatre, able to watch and unable to move.

 

     Aiden jumped up uppercutting one of the kidnappers. Slamming Bad Guy No 2’s head into the van as Bad Guy No 1 fell to the ground, Aiden was pretty sure his bare feet were freezing to the asphalt. A massive weight crashed into Aiden sending him onto the snow, throwing the powder at the bad guys. Kicking one of their knees with a crunch, sending Bad Guy No 2 to join him on the ground, grabbing a hold of No 2’s gun, Aiden shot No 1 in both of his kneecaps as two people on a motorcycle burst into the parking lot.

 

     Both of the kidnappers crawled as fast as they could to the van while the motorcycle people took off their helmets revealing Ceilí and Spencer. Aiden joined them, shivering, with both his socks and underwear soaked, all three of them looming over Tessa.

 

     “I’m so sorry,” said Ceilí as Aiden knelt down slipping one arm behind her knees and the other around her waist.

 

     With her warm head on his frozen chest, Aiden stood up with Tessa in his arms the scent of toasted cinnamon rising from her soft hair. After that, Aiden thought about what Ceilí said.

 

     “You know she’s not dead right?”

 

     “Well,” she said picking up his pile of clothes, “in that case let’s get the hell out of here before they come back with their friends.”

 

    “Plane’s leaving in five minutes!” shouted Spencer as he ran to the squad car. “And you know Mr. Falk doesn’t wait!”

​

     Within 30 seconds Aiden had put Tessa in the back seat and Ceilí tossed his clothes at him. Throwing his coat over Tessa, Aiden whipped his dripping boxer-briefs and socks off and pulled his pants on. When the minute it took for them to get to the police station was over, Aiden was fully dressed save for his underwear and socks that were in the pocks of his parka. With 3 minutes and 30 seconds to go before their ride home was taxiing down the runway, Spencer hailed a cab and made the driver sit on the passenger side, while Aiden wished he had put a seat belt on as he gripped Tessa with one hand and a handle on the ceiling with the other.

 

     Although it is completely mental for someone to drive right onto the tarmac, Spencer had been calling himself that since he and Aiden were in 7th grade. As they skidded to a stop in front of the little single turboprop, the impassive Mr. Everill, scratching the scar that ran from his eyebrow down to an eye,was pulling up the stairs. Flying out of the cab with Tessa thrown over one shoulder, Aiden jerked the stairs down while Spencer tossed the cabbie a wad of cash that was probably worth more than a trip from the small town of Amesbron, New York to Jersey.

 

     “Thanks for waiting for us Ceilí,” snapped Aiden to the redhead.

 

     “You’re the one who fucked up! Besides Sèamus is coming home for Christmas this year and I wasn't going to chance it all on the luck of the Irish.”

 

     Tessa was buckled in a seat of the small plane by Aiden who took off his parka so he’d stop sticking his hands in the pockets holding his wet undergarments.

 

    Being unable to move even a finger, she examined the plane, as far as Tessa could tell there were about five other passengers not including herself, Cade, the Ginger, and Black Guy (as she knew them). Two of those five wore mostly black and leather (also black) like the Ginger, but the two were guys. In fact, she and the Ginger were the only girls on the plane. The other three looked as follows: a med student who needs his coffee, a drug addict who needs his hit, and a mister. (How many guys wear black silk robes while trying to pick a pink handcuff of his wrist?)

 

     Right now, Tessa should have been sitting in economy class going to her grandparents’ house, not on a private jet to the unknown. Tessa was going to wake up in Michigan the next morning with a lake waiting for her to shovel off and skate on, but missing her parents ignoring everyone was ok. Then there was what got her onto this plane in the first place. Every time Tessa closed her eyes to fall asleep, Mason’s lifeless brown eyes stared back at her. She could still feel the man pulling, dragging her into the van as she kicked and screamed.

 

     Tessa’s left arm was still sore from the injection that had reduced her to just a brain disconnected from its body. As she sat there motionless, the bruises on her arms started turning into purple fingerprints and the blood on her busted lip started coagulating into a painful mass. Certain things she could remember crystal clear, but others, like the moment when she chomped on her lower lip, just weren’t there.

 

     The speed and agility that Aiden had fought with disturbed her almost as much as how easily he blew off a kidnapper’s knee caps. That was clear. What wasn’t clear was the origin of such training. When did this guy who was sitting across from Tessa learn to fight like James Bond?

 

     Then he leaned over, “Blink twice if you can hear and understand me.”

 

     Tessa moved her lashes up and down, up and down.

 

     Aiden swallowed the lump in his throat and whispered in her ear, “Last year, well, last school year, I kinda lied about who I was. You see my name isn’t Cade. Most call me Aiden Bowman.”

​

      Taking a deep breath, Aiden gauged Tessa’s furrowed brow and glaring blue eyes. “I’m sorry I broke up with you.” He reached for her hand,

and Tessa couldn’t pull it away. “At the beginning of freshman year, I just dated you so that I could integrate myself into the society of Lake Champagne High under an assumed alias for my year abroad.”

 

     It sounded so horribly fake that Tessa wanted to push Aiden out of the plane. Come on, aliases and integrating into another society sounded like the bad beginning of a soviet spy novel, yet espionage certainly would make both the night and other passengers more sane.

   

      Aiden continued, “I shouldn’t have followed you, Tessa, but I just had to let you know that I felt awful for dumping you at the end of the year. It’s probably the whole reason you’re now involved in my screwed up life.” with that Aiden pulled out a ball-point pen.

 

     Sure, the guy across the aisle had the same physical features as Tessa’s Cade albeit a little broader in the shoulders. This stranger, Aiden, sat different than her Cade, frantically writing on his forearm instead of curling up with a French edition of The Three Musketeers. To her Aiden was Cade, a guy wearing an XXL button-up (although he was a toothpick) and sunglasses that were black and round with gold rims.

 

     Slowly, Tessa drifted to sleep remembering a time when Cade’s retainer-induced lisp said, “I love you,” at an ice rink and “I hate you,” in a crowded hallway. Flashes of Mason’s limp figure and Aiden’s trigger finger ravaged her dreams as Tessa flew along with Aiden away from the small town of Amesbron, NY.