The Faerie Slayer
Chapter 11

Abby's Pov

When Caleb eventually returned to the table later that night, he'd asked if I wanted to join him for a smoke. I'd never even held a cigarette before and immediately my stomach had sank at the thought of it. I was feeling dizzy and uncomfortably tipsy from the brown liquor I had consumed on his behalf. The last thing I wanted to do was to add another milestone to my night, like smoking my first cigarette. I recalled Ben staring at me with judgment in his eyes, awaiting an answer that he'd pre-predicted and concluded an opinion on. I debated declining, I debated fabricating something along the lines of," ' I forgot my pack at home, can I have one of yours?'

At the end I figured I'd stick to the truth as much as I could if I wanted to ever progress into something serious with Caleb and so I settled for," yes! I'm not going to smoke, but I could keep you company."

Ben had frowned at that, clearly I'd surprised him and went against his judgment.

I followed Caleb out by the entrance of the bar and watched as he lit a smoke with little to no effort. In the moonlight, his eyes seemed to glow. His pointy ears were sharper then usual and I suddenly wondered if he wore a costume or fabricated the appearance some how. I reached to touch them and he flinched.

"Sorry," I mumbled," your ears, are they real?"

"What? What do you mean?"

"They're so pointy today. I'm sure they weren't like that the last time I saw you, and your tongue, it's forked-I would have noticed."

My inquiry seemed to both puzzle and alert him. He touched his own ear and said," sometimes they get like that."

I nodded. I guessed I'd have to settle for an answer as vague as another. I wished he'd just admit to me that he'd made them to be that way instead of lying. The tips of his hair glowed and with the combination of his features and the smoke the clouded an inch from his face ,I thought to myself that he'd almost looked magical.

He looks like a fairy.

I felt enticed. Obligated to kiss him in all cases. I wrapped my arm around his head and led his lips to mine. I could taste the burnt tobacco on his tongue. It was both bitter and sweet. He welcomed my embrace and held me tighter. Like the first time, this felt uncomplicated, easy and just a little bit foolish. He suddenly pulled back and rested his forehead against mine. I could feel his uneven breaths on the tip of my nose.

"I have something to tell you," he began," but I can't do it tonight."

"What is it?"

"Promise me something tonight."

"Okay."

"Promise me that you'll open up you're mind to the possibilities of something existing that is beyond you."

"What are you talking about, Caleb?"

"And promise me that you'll be more receiving of information about your birth parents, even if it is something that you did not expect."

"Why do you mention them again? Do you know something?"

"I'll talk to you tomorrow, alright?"

He pulled back but I grabbed his arm.

"Caleb, wait. You can't just leave all of the sudden. Tell me now, what you want to tell me tomorrow. What's the difference?"

"You could have ears like mine if you wanted to, you know," he suddenly smirked and walked away, disappearing amongst the crowds of the busy street and eventually out of my sight.

When I went back inside, Ben was alone and the girl-Jess-had left. He was occupied in his phone, he only lifted his gaze when I'd taken my seat across from him.

"Hey," I mumbled.

"Hey."

"Where's Jess?"

"I told her to go home."

"That's rude Ben."

"Was it?"

"Why did you do that?"

He merely shrugged," why did you drink whiskey?"

"What are you talking about?"

He did not answer my question. Instead, he sighed and huffed and puffed and said," I'll take you home."

"You don't have to take me all the way."

"I want to, like old times when we were kids."

We rode on the train together, transited through stations and rode another train and another train until we were out of the city and on the way to my home. His house was not far from mines, on the other side of Deadwood Creek was a more populated suburb where Ben resided in a bigger home then me with just his mom. His father had moved to a different state following their divorce several years back. I'd always felt like Ben had never been the same, since the day he'd revealed to me that he'd felt as if he'd lost his father forever.

"Ben," I mumbled as we strode alongside the sidewalk.

"Yeah?"

"How long has it been? Seen you've seen your father?"

"Why?"

"I'm just wondering."

In the midst of the night, it was hard to see beyond the thick frames of his glasses. His eyes seemed far away. It wouldn't matter to me though. I knew Ben better then I knew the back of my hand and I knew that whenever he's asked a question that might trigger a wave of emotions, he'll always answer with another question.

"What's with all the parent stuff lately?"

I shrugged," it's just a question. If you're uncomfortable you don't have to answer it."

"You know the last time I seen him. It was when I was nine, when he was packing his crap and getting the hell out of our house."

"Do you think that you'll ever want to see him again?"

"I don't even know where he lives. Last I heard, he got married and has a son that might be older then me. What does that tell you about him?"

"It's crazy to me how he could have lied to you and your mom for so long. This is the man that would help my dad barbecue on Sunday's and take us to the park afterwards."

"Yeah well he wasn't a very good guy."

"I know, after all these years I guess it's still a little shocking."

He snickered," If it was a shock to you, imagine what it was like for my mom and I to learn that he had a whole other family on the other side of the country."

I was silenced for a few mere seconds. I imagined what it would feel like had it been me and had it been my father instead. I imagined I'd still love him, and I'd be guilty to, but I also would not want to speak to him again. Not out of resentment but out of fear that the hurt and heartbreak I'd worked so hard to overpass would come rushing at me the moment that I were to hear his voice again. But then, technically and truly, that would mean that I have not overpassed the emotions. Quite the opposite actually, I've buried them and slugged them around like overweighted baggage that accompanied me during every moment, second and every milestone of my existence. I peered up at Ben who was a few inches taller then me. I wondered if sometimes, he felt the weight of what his father had done, or if it was more of a subconscious feeling that he was not always privy to.

"I think you should call him Ben."

"No thank you. I'd rather give up my big toe."

"You don't think that by avoiding him, you're avoiding something much deeper?"

"Like what?"

"Like closure."

"I'm not a thirteen year old girl who's boyfriend just called things off out of nowhere. I don't need closure. My father was a lying piece of garbage. What could he say that would possibly lessen that or make what he did okay?"

"Nothing. But then you can finally stop asking yourself why he did it." Sᴇaʀch Thᴇ Find_Nøvel.ɴet website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

"I don't ask myself that."

"Don't you though? Not even in the back of your head when you see a son and father together at the grocery store? Don't you wonder why your father had to be different?"

"Are you on your period?"

I balled my fingers into a fist and thrusted them into the side of his gut. He knew how much I hated it when he asked me that question.

"You're such a jerk sometimes."

"I'm the jerk? You're over here making me question my entire existence with your therapy crap."

"I don't mean to. I just mean to say that sometimes, at the very back of our minds we are constantly asking ourself stuff that translates to mental baggage because we aren't going out there and demanding answers."

"Like you and your birth parents? I know you're always saying you don't care but deep down, don't you?"

I stared off into the distance and at the moon that hung without any effort at all and wondered if that was true. Am I constantly asking myself questions about my birth parents? If so, how could I have been so disconnected?

"I think I'm starting to."

"How would you start?"

"How would you?"

"I'm not calling Hiram. He's an ass, he probably wouldn't even answer."

"Do it now, call him."

"No, he's probably sleeping."

"So what? Just try it."

Ben took out his phone and scrolled through the contacts until he halted at the name Hiram Kane. Somehow-his name there on his phone screen-it seemed cold.

"What do I say if he answers?"

"Say hey dad, remember me?" I giggled out loud and Ben rolled his eyes.

To my surprise, Ben hit the call button and I realized that he did not need much convincing. When Ben was content on not doing something, no one on earth could convince him otherwise. He wanted to talk to his dad, I thought, he needed the push.

The phone rang and rang and suddenly on the other line was Ben's father.

"Hello?.....Hello?"

"Say something," I hissed but Ben was frozen in time. I could see his eyes, moving out of frantic panic but it seemed as if the cat had caught his tongue. I grabbed the phone from his firm grip and put the call on speaker.

"Hi Mr. Kane. It's Abby Fawn from Deadwood Creek."

Silence for a few seconds and then followed," Abby. I'm surprised to hear from you. Is everything alright?"

"Everything is fine. We were just wondering how you were?"

"I'm alright. Who's we?"

"Ben and I."

"And where is Ben? Is this his number or yours?"

"It's his number, um..."

I looked up at Ben who was not looking at me. Instead, he was staring at something behind me as if in shock.

I scrunched my eyebrows together at him and gestured that he should take the phone but he was not responsive.

"Everything is fine, Mr. Kane. Ben's a little busy now, maybe you could call him tomorrow? Just to talk about things, catch up."

"I'd like that a lot Abby. Can you tell him I missed him?"

I wondered if that would have an effect on Ben but it didn't. He placed his arms on my shoulders and was turning me to face away from him.

"I can do that Mr. Kane. Goodnight-"

I hung up the phone as soon as I could and was about to scorch Ben for his behaviour when I'd caught sight of what he'd been looking at.

A giant bird-like creature had swung wide it's burgundy wings that were feathered in the most complicated pattern. It had to be at least three feet long. I yearned to see it's face but the creature was facing away from us and soaring further and further away. At the back of its head, I could have sworn that the creature had long black hair.

"Did you see that?" Ben was somehow breathless and it took me speaking as well to to realize that I was too.

"How could I not? What kind of bird was that?"

"The biggest bird I've ever seen in my life!"

"Holy crap, I think I seen one outside of my window by my room. It might have been inside cause I found a feather. It was a long red feather like 12 inches long."

"Do you think it's the same one or there's more of them? Where the hell did they migrate from?"

"No idea but they should be in a zoo."

"No they shouldn't. These birds must be from the Amazon forests or something. They would die in habitation. They must be lost. Global warming is real I tell ya-"

"Shut up Ben," I turned so that we were face to face," you did that to avoid talking to your dad."

"Yes and no-"

"Don't lie to me."

"What did you want me to say? Hey how's are you doing and is your new family better then ours was? By the way I aced my math final daddio, you proud?"

"You get so defensive when your upset."

"Yeah I am upset Abby. You made me do something I wasn't ready to do."

I suddenly felt like his words hard stroke me," I'm sorry Ben, I didn't mean to-"

He sighed," don't be sorry. I'm a big boy I could have said no."

We walked in silence for a few minutes. When my house was within sight, I reproached the topic of the pink-haired girl at the bar.

"So, Jess."

"What about Jess?"

"She's cute Ben. Like really cute."

"Wish I could say the same for Caleb. He's hideous."

"I'm serious Ben. Why did you tell her to go home?"

"I didn't feel like hanging out with her."

"So you felt like hanging out with me instead?" I replied with a hint of sarcasm.

"Is that so strange?"

"Yes. Look what I made you do. You just called your dad who you haven't spoken to in like nine years."

"Yeah you're right, you suck."

"Are you gonna call her tomorrow?"

"I don't think so."

"Why not?"

"She's not my type."

It wasn't usually this difficult, prying information out of Ben. I got the idea that he was resisting saying something.

"Ben just spill it. Why don't like her, she's pretty, she's nice, she likes all the same off-tune shitty bands that you like-"

"There's someone else," he said suddenly, surprising me completely.

"Oh my god Ben."

"It's hard to have eyes for someone when their already so preoccupied with someone else, you know?"

"Who?"

He stopped walking and I did as well. Somehow, I felt like this moment was important. The look on his face had gone more serious then I had ever remembered seeing him. He opened his mouth to tell me something but all that came out was nothingness. I suddenly wondered if he was going to throw up.

"Are you okay?"

"I need to tell you something, now before I change my mind."

"What is it, you're freaking me out."

Silence.

I nudged his shoulder," Ben what is it? You're in love with my mom or something?....a teacher?"

Barking in the distance alerted me out of my state and meters away, Snowball had been let out by my mother who stood on the now lit porch waving at us. The small dog was yapping at my legs and Ben's, jumping about for attention.

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