Matt looked up as Ice King
entered the gym. Gym was required for all grades so it wasn’t surprising to have
all ages in the same class. He was glad that it was the end of the night. His
encounter with the author had unsettled him. He would have been perfectly happy
to not see him again. The other man was trailed by three teens, two girls and a
boy. Meghan waved at them.
“Do you know them?”
“Abigail and Adelle are in my
class. They’re always one of the first ones picked for teams.”
“You’ve never mentioned them
before.”
She snorted, “I’m not stupid,
Dad. They’re mixed. There’s no way Mom would approve.”
“True. Just make sure to fall in
love with a purple boy and she’ll be happy.”
“I’ll marry who I want to marry,
regardless of color or gender.”
Matt glanced around for his wife
before replying to his daughter’s comment. “I’ll walk you down the aisle.”
“You mean that?” She asked eyes
wide.
“Yes. I don’t want you to be
trapped in a loveless marriage. Marry for love and I’ll support you.”
“Thanks.”
Matt turned away and went into
the boys’ locker room. He was glad his daughter would have the opportunity to
marry as she pleased. He sank down to the floor of the shower stall and rested
his head on his knees.
“It’s a good thing purples don’t
have active abilities. Otherwise, the school might need a new gym.”
Matt looked up at the speaker.
King’s comment puzzled him. “What is that supposed to mean?” He growled at the
other man.
King glided over to him and
knelt beside him. “It means you’re angry. Anger makes it difficult to control
one’s…abilities. Lack of control generally translates to collateral damage.”
“Like frost covering a
bathroom?”
“Yes. Greys control cold and
dark. Purples See.”
“See what?”
King shrugged, “The future, the
present, the past. Things that others don’t. Power.”
“Power?”
“The flow of power when other’s
use their abilities.”
“You don’t see it?”
“No. I feel it, sense it, but I
don’t see it.”
“I don’t have any special
abilities. I can’t See.”
King smiled slightly. “No, it is
rare for these abilities to waken spontaneously.” He shifted his body so he was
sitting next to Matt. “Why are you angry?"
“Because I hate my wife. I hate
the fact that I was forced to marry her. I hate that I don’t desire her. I hate
her parents. I hate her opinions. I hate that I’ve lived a lie for thirty
years.” He shifted his body and cursed as the box in his pocket jabbed him in
the thigh. “And I hate this!” He pulled it out and threw it against the wall.
King moved to pick it up. There
was a sharp intake of breath. “A pregnancy test?”
“Yeah,” Matt answered, “I’m too
much of a coward to take it.”
“Do you want to be pregnant?”
“No. Yes. I don’t know. I don’t
even know who the father is. I’m a slut. I had sex with three men in one
night.”
“I know.”
“You know? How do you know?”
The other man stared at the box
in his hands. “Matthew, the only reason your in-laws are still breathing is
because I promised Aaron that I wouldn’t kill them.”
Matt blinked. The comment had
startled him, but as he thought about it, he realized that King must be one of
Aaron’s other lovers. Aaron had mentioned having two other lovers besides Dr.
Dickson but hadn’t named names. He realized why Aaron hadn’t told him. Ice King
stood for everything the PPP opposed and Matt was one of the leaders of the
PPP.
“If he ever changes his mind,
can I watch?” The question popped out his mouth. He flushed at the startled
look the other man gave him.
“You want to watch me kill
someone?”
Matt opened his mouth and then
closed it. There was no good answer to that. He settled for shrugging his
shoulders.
King extended the box without
further comment. Matt shoved it back in his pocket and stood up. He needed to
leave.
“Matthew, if you want someone
with you when you take the test, you can call me.”
“I don’t have your number.”
The other man rattled off a
series of digits. Matt pulled out his phone and entered them. “You won’t tell
Aaron? About the test?”
“No.”
“Thanks.” Matt left the room.
He drove home in silence.
No comments:
Post a Comment