9. Barbecue

  (Lina)

  No one knew it, but I was sweating buckets. Beneath my hat, my forehead was soaked, and my armpits weren’t any better. Kayo, too, looked like he was melting in the sun while we bounced the volleyball back and forth to one another.

  He made small talk every so often, but for the most part, we kept our focus on the volleys. Until I saw Zeyna making her way back over to our camp. She’d taken my cover-up without permission, but I pushed down my annoyance.

  I caught the ball and gestured for one second to Kayo as I met Zeyna under the umbrella. It did little to shade the area anymore with the direction of the sun. There was no escaping the heat.

  “What’s up?” I asked.

  I threw the ball back to Kayo when he called for it. He jogged over to the nearest volleyball net to replace some girl whose friends were packing up to leave.

  “Zai’len is at the bistro.”

  “What?” I gasped.

  She tossed off my cover-up and landed in the chair. “For a business meeting or something.”

  “You ran into him when you went to the washroom?”

  “No. He sent this picture.” She pulled it up on her tab, and I sat lightly on the armrest to get a look. She angled the screen for me to get a better view and moved to block the sun.

  I didn’t know what I was looking at, at first. It was just of his legs.

  “Uh… What is the context?”

  “Nothing, he just sent the picture.”

  “So long after the ‘That’s too bad’?” Weird.

  She nodded and then zoomed into the corner of the yellow-tinted picture, where a menu was on the table. I almost scoffed. Of course she’d focus on that. Scary.

  The twins were scarily adept at stalking people. I thought it was just Zephyr—he likely knew Sera better than she knew herself—but Zeyna was a sleuth in her own right.

  “So you went there?” I asked accusatorily.

  “Obviously. I had to see for myself.”

  “Naturally…” I suppressed my exasperated breath. “Did you find him?”

  “Yes.” She swiped the picture away and turned off the screen.

  “And?” I moved to sit on the blanket.

  She sat rather slumped and defeated. Her shoulders and wings sagged while she held her tab between her thighs.

  “I don’t know…”

  Zeyna did her best to explain what happened at the bistro and what he said, unsure about how to judge the situation. It seemed Zeph had been correct in his deductions.

  “He was with a few older men, and with the suit, I assumed a business meeting. I didn’t want to take up too much of his time, so I bought us some drinks, then left.”

  “How old is he…?”

  She thought for a second but came up at a loss. “I actually don’t know. Hopefully not old…”

  If he was Demon, or even Deity, as she suspected, he could’ve been a hundred years older than us and we’d never know unless he said so.

  “What if he is…?” I asked, cringing.

  After a while, age gaps meant nothing, but we were still young in the grand scheme of our lifetimes. Twenty-one was hardly more than two percent of our life. If Zai’len was over fifty, it’d be a vast maturity difference between the two of them. The gap usually stopped being a big deal once both parties were past seventy or eighty.

  Then again, any gap of over two hundred years still held a stigma. My own parents had a three-hundred-year gap, with my father being 523. Compared to my mother, he came across as an ancient library of knowledge and experience.

  But age dynamics were a well-argued subject throughout all cultures. All the rules tended to go out the window when it came to humans. Any human that fell in love with another race didn’t consider age differences. They were doomed to die before one hundred, and there was no use fretting over age. They only wanted to enjoy the time they had with their friends and loved ones.

  To us, humans were like what dogs and cats were to humans. Sometimes you couldn’t help but be attached, but you knew you’d have to bear a heart-wrenching goodbye one day. Though, in my perception, dogs and cats were more precious than humans would ever be.

  “If he’s old, that’s just one more reason I don’t need to fuck with him,” Zey said.

  “This afternoon you were saying there was no point in pursuing him,” I reminded her. “Yet you sure went running when you found out he was nearby.” I smirked.

  She glowered at me. “Lina, stop calling me out!”

  “I’m just saying.”

  I let her off the hook with a little laugh, then grabbed my tab from my bag and rolled onto my stomach. She propped her feet up on my butt.

  A few messages awaited me once my tab powered up.

  Medicine Babes | Arianna: I got the clinical placement at Lorenzen Medical Center! + 45 new messages!

  Private | Mom: Eylina, how is the retreat? Be sure to get a private meeting with Miss Yenka. You have to get the most out of the trip since you are missing hours at the clinic.

  “Where’d Kayo go?” Zey asked while I sent a half-hearted congratulations to my classmates.

  “Wow, you actually remembered Kayo was here with us. I thought you forgot about him the second you met Zai’len.”

  Zeyna stomped me on the butt, and I pointed over to the volleyball net in response.

  “Looks like you rid him of his minor heat stroke.”

  “Yeah,” I lied.

  I had checked him once they left, but I found nothing wrong with him. I didn’t know if he had misdiagnosed himself or if he’d faked his ailment. Regardless, I acted as if I healed him too. He said nothing of it after, pretended to feel refreshed. It was the strangest healing experience I’d ever partook in.

  After sending another lie to my mom about learning a lot at the retreat, I peered over to Zeyna. She held her tab in her hand. I could just make out a text conversation through the glass. She opened the image again, and I smiled to myself.

  “What are you doing?”

  “Nothing,” she blurted, and flicked the picture away. “Do you think I should say something?”

  “Like?”

  She shrugged.

  My hand buzzed. Good, my mom said, don’t forget to take notes.

  “Great,” I muttered.

  “What?”

  “My mom says to ‘take notes.’”

  “At a retreat…?”

  “Well, your brochure said there’d be a workshop.” I huffed my annoyance.

  “Right…”

  She searched her manipulative little mind for a solution. That same manipulative little mind was the reason I was in Alora in the first place.

  My mom would’ve never let me go away for the weekend to party when I was supposed to be helping at our family clinic, so Zeyna, as she always did, took the situation into her own hands and sent my mother a fake brochure for a Healing Arts Retreat. She knew my mother always put my education first.

  “Just show her some of your school notes if she asks.”

  “Fine,” I muttered begrudgingly.

  I hated when Zeyna won, and she won all too frequently…

  But I had reason to thank her in some cases. I still couldn’t believe I was able to move out. Well aware of how strict my parents were, I never even would’ve asked, but Zeyna had made a strong argument. It pissed me off that she’d been able to convince them in the end when I hadn’t. But my annoyance only went so far. Her wins were my wins too.

  This weekend was likely to be my only vacation for the whole summer. I’d be back to the stressful fast-paced environment of the clinic by Tuesday. If I was lucky, Zeyna would get it in her mind to drag us to some other vacation home before we started class again in the fall.

  “What about a picture of me?”

  “Huh?”

  “I can send him a random no-context picture of me—see what he says.” She pulled her bikini top down to reveal more of her cleavage.

  “No, make it of your legs.” I scuttled back to her side to get a better view.

  While we decided on what angle and posture to take the picture in, Sera and Zeph returned with curious looks. They stopped out of the way, but Sera questioned what we were doing.

  Zeyna explained once more her encounter with Zai’len for the two, and I added a few comments that she’d missed during her retelling.

  “So now I’m going to send him a context-less picture of my legs.”

  Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  Sera laughed, and Zeph rolled his eyes. “No, no,” she said. “You should do it at home. He knows we’re staying on Symbiosis, right? You can have the house number in the corner. If he wants to see you, he’ll know where to find you.”

  Zeyna grinned. “Brilliant.”

  Zeph looked between us. “You make things so complicated…”

  He collapsed the umbrella and began packing up. Sera and I helped him, while Zeyna went to retrieve Kayo. I flapped out the towels, then helped Sera fold up the blanket.

  Zeyna and Kayo came racing back, laughing. She pushed him aside as they charged toward us. He latched onto her and tried to drag her down with him.

  The three of us stared at them. “Does he like her?” Sera mumbled to Zephyr.

  Curious, I listened for the answer too as I lugged up my big tote bag.

  “I hope not,” he murmured back.

  “You don’t know?” I asked.

  “The last thing I want to talk about is if someone likes my twin sister…”

  I raised a hand in surrender. He gathered whatever he could, and Sera offered to hold his duffel bag, but he declined. He claimed he was the butler today.

  Zeyna and Kayo came to a skidding halt in the sand as she tackled him. We all stumbled back, then stared down at them.

  “I won! I won!” Zeyna shouted while on top of Kayo.

  “Yeah, right. You cheated—again.” They got up, and he brushed the sand off his dark bulky arms.

  “If you two are finished with your shenanigans, can we get going? I’m starving,” Sera said.

  She and Zeph led the way back to the house. Kayo fell behind while he collected the rest of our belongings.

  ***

  Zeyna’s running playlist, which doubled as her pre-party mix, blasted from a portable speaker. It echoed through the walls to the bathroom, and I hummed along with the melody while I wiped the condensation from the mirror and ran a hand through my short black hair.

  With a few swipes in the right direction, I left it to air dry, then finished toweling myself off and put on my bra and underwear. The music deafened me as I stepped back into the bedroom.

  Zeyna was too busy shaking her ass and whipping her hair around to notice my return. Sera, though, shimmied over and handed me a drink. She sang a verse to me, then went back to the mirror to continue with her makeup.

  “Zeyna, hurry and get ready so we can take that picture,” Sera called.

  Zey nodded and danced over to our bags. She pulled me into her dance, spinning me. I grimaced at my sloshing drink but kept it contained to the glass.

  “What should I wear?” she asked as the song came to an end. She brought the bag over to the bed and dumped the whole thing out on the mattress.

  I let Sera help her while I picked out my own outfit. Though we’d joked about wearing sweats, we decided to dress up in the end. Sera suggested potentially going to the club later. Plus, we didn’t even know if Zai’len was coming. If he was, well, he’d already set eyes on me once, and Zeph wasn’t likely to let anyone look too closely at Sera.

  We each tried on several options, swapping items every so often until we were satisfied. Zey borrowed a top from Sera. The cropped ruffled wrap top went perfectly with a red and black wyrm-print skirt she had.

  I also borrowed from Sera’s wardrobe—a tight pale purple plaid skirt that I matched with a simple tucked white t-shirt.

  Sera chose a thin dusty blue sweater dress and a vintage silver locket I brought. Once she tugged on my sheer tights, she went back to dancing around the room while Zeyna and I did our makeup. I fixed my hair too, once it was almost dry.

  Finished with her drink, she sneakily sipped from mine; I saw in the mirror. One of her favorite songs came on and, unperturbed by her audience, she sang along.

  “She’s so happy,” Zey whispered to me.

  “I know.” I smiled. “It’s almost summer.”

  Not only was school out, but spring and summer were just her seasons. And there was nothing Zeyna and I loved seeing more than Sera blossoming.

  Zeyna launched up and rushed over to Sera to sing the chorus with her. They belted out as they jumped on the bed. I burst out laughing while I watched them body roll together. Beckoned over, I joined them until the song finished.

  When we finally left the room—aware that we were those girls who took forever to get ready—we made our way downstairs, bringing the music with us. Fat and charcoal permeated the air from the open patio door.

  Kayo chopped some vegetables at the island. He said, “Nice of you to join us.”

  Zeyna flourished her hands, as if to say take a gander at how beautiful we are. Zeph came in then. He ignored how beautiful we were—even Sera. He came in simply to get a tray, then left again.

  Sera and I stopped at the island with Zeyna, and I eyed Kayo’s technique. He didn’t know how to cut iceberg lettuce. It was in pieces that were too small to cover a full burger but also too big to be considered shredded. The tomatoes and onions were well done, though.

  Zeyna scanned his set up and said, “Cut up the watermelon too. I want a fruit salad.”

  Kayo rolled his eyes, but she didn’t catch it as she turned back to the door and pulled out her tablet. Sera hooked my arm and led me outside with them. We all paused on the stoop beside the house number.

  “Sera, I need your artistic vision to help me with this picture.”

  The two brainstormed, and the longer we stood around, right outside the door, the more I found myself agreeing with Zeph. This was complicated. I highly doubted Zai’len had put the same amount of thought into his picture. He’d just wanted to get her attention, so he snapped a pic of his lap, the easiest and most obscured thing while at his meeting.

  Sera must’ve taken over fifty pictures on her tab. It had to be casual but also sexy, according to Zeyna. Eventually Sera went to get a sausage from Zeph to use as a prop.

  All the earlier options were too staged, so they settled on having Zeyna sit on the stoop, the house number conveniently above her, while she enjoyed her sausage. She held her mouth wide open for the sausage.

  Sera scuttled around like a crab to get the perfect angle. “Tilt your head back a bit.” Zeyna listened. “Give me a little more amusement. A little more twinkle and mischief to the eye.”

  I laughed, watching with pity. Zeph stopped by my side.

  “What are you doing…? The food is ready.” He sighed at the sight in front of him.

  Zeyna didn’t move a muscle while Sera snapped the pics.

  “Wait, wait,” she said. “We have to do this before we lose the light.”

  “Kay, well, when you’re finished with this, we’ll be eating in the back,” Zeph said. “Before it gets cold would be nice.” He stalked away.

  I peeked over Sera’s shoulder, surprised by what she’d been able to pick up with her camera. The picture was super cute, if it weren’t for the sausage. With a normal smile, it would’ve been perfect.

  The simple pose and background made it feel casual, even though it was clearly being taken by someone else. Yet the pose was also dynamic enough to make it seem like she was enjoying her time outside. It revealed her bent legs, her skirt hiking up ever so slightly but her crotch still well obscured by the angle. And with the golden light, Zeyna’s hair looked lustrous.

  Sera straightened. “Okay, I think I got it. That’s a wrap.”

  “Nice!” Zeyna shot up to take a look at what she got. “Xanthippe, look!” She gushed as Sera scrolled through the images. “Oh, I love that one! Sera, these are so good! You should’ve gone into Media Arts.”

  I glimpsed the time—6:38 PM—and suggested they send one while it still mattered.

  “I’ll just send you them all,” Sera said as she absently made her way to the back patio. “I can take some of you later, Lina,” she said over her shoulder. “I have a few ideas that’ll look great by the pool.”

  I smiled at her. “Okay. Thanks.”

  “It’s getting cold!” Zeph shouted at us as we rounded the corner.

  He and Kayo moved around the table on the stone area of the yard. The house cast the back in shadows, but the sky remained yellow with the fading sun.

  Zey and Sera ignored him as they dealt with the pictures. Zey watched over Sera’s shoulder while she began the long process of sending them. He didn’t pay them much attention as they settled at the table, distracted by their tablets.

  He said to me, “We made a portobello mushroom for you, Lina, just in case. And there’s these veggie dishes.” He pointed out a few of the plates around the table.

  “Thank you.”

  Though I didn’t tend to eat much, I felt a bit hungry, since I’d only had a handful of chips at lunch. And I felt bad that they’d went through all the trouble to cook for me. I didn’t want to let the food go to waste.

  Five minutes later, when we all sat at the table but Sera and Zey were still staring at their phones, Zeph reached across the table and snatched Sera’s tab and threw it into the pool. But it hit the stone before it went in.

  “Hellion!” she screamed and launched from her chair. The rest of us stared in shock.

  “What the fuck, Zeph?” Zeyna held her tab to her chest to avoid the same fate.

  “Anyone you need to speak to right now is in front of you,” he said.

  Sera’s furious face turned back to him. “Go get it, right now,” she hissed, stabbing her finger at the pool.

  “Not until later.”

  “No, you have to. Now.”

  He ignored her and reached for a toasted bun.

  “Zeyna, what is the punishment for breaking your word from a bet?”

  She shrugged dumbfoundedly. “Whatever punishment you want will be better than mine.”

  We all looked around at one another while Zeph and Sera glared at each other.

  “Get my tab, Hellion,” Sera demanded. “Or you and Kayo can go home. Your choice.”

  Zeyna’s mouth popped open. My eyes did too.

  “Dude,” Kayo said from the end of the table.

  Slowly, Zephyr pushed back his seat and got up. He didn’t say a word as he walked away, unbuttoning his shirt. He stripped down to his boxers, then dove into the pool.

  Resurfacing a moment later, he heaved himself out of the water and stalked back to the table. A heatwave wavered out of him, and he came back dry.

  “What now, Sera?” he asked, facing her at the table.

  She held out her hand. He dropped the shattered glass in her palm and sat down. Her lip trembled as she looked down at the tab. It remained intact, but fissures ran through the transparent device.

  Sucking in a breath, she quietly returned to her chair. The broken tab was placed to the side and, avoiding our attention, she began serving herself from the food. No vegetables, only meat and carbs.

  She sawed into a sausage and popped a piece into her mouth. We all watched. We all saw the tears drip down her cheeks and turn to dark spots on my blue dress. She didn’t stick around after we saw that.

  Sera escaped her chair and rushed inside. Zeph got up right away, but so did I.

  “No, stay.”

  “I—”

  “I’ll go.”

  He reluctantly conceded, and I went after her. As soon as I stepped away, Zey hissed at Zephyr, “What the fuck was that?”

  The living rooms were empty when I entered, so I checked the bedroom.

  Sera curled up in the corner of the leather sofa, wiping her cheeks. Her chest jerked with each sniffle, and she scrunched the sweater’s sleeves into her fists. I sat at her feet and hugged her knees.

  She didn’t acknowledge me at first, gaze intent on the scrunched fabric in her hands. Hopeful for her attention, I lowered my chin to her knees and pouted at her.

  “Serbear…” I murmured.

  “Why would I ever like him? I want nothing to do with him.”

  “He wanted your attention and acted irrationally. He didn’t mean to hurt you.” I wiped her cheek.

  “So why take it out on me? I was just helping Zeyna. I did nothing to him.”

  “I’m sorry, Sera.” I scooted closer to her on the edge of the sofa and hugged her. “You didn’t deserve that. It was really unfair of him. He should’ve thought better.”

  “I hate him.”

  I held her tighter to me. “No, don’t say that. It was just a mistake.”

  “I don’t deserve it…” she rasped. “I did nothing wrong…”

  My eyes watered. “You did nothing wrong.”

  I’d heard those words a few other times. One time in particular, I couldn’t forget. Sera had missed a week of classes—back in first-year. I’d been working at the clinic in the evening, and Zeyna called me during one of my shifts, a rarity. So I answered. I had a huge fight with my mom when I decided to leave work early.

  I rushed to Zeph and Zeyna’s apartment, and Zeph answered the door, face gaunt. I’d never seen him so pallid. Zeyna sat on their sofa with Sera tucked beneath her wing. A large purple bruise consumed the upper left portion of her face and a red ring encircled her throat.

  She wouldn’t say anything.

  But later, a storm rolled in. She shook in terror as she hung onto Zeyna, pleading for it to be over. “I did nothing wrong,” she’d cried over and over.

  I could never stand seeing her so small, so scared, so traumatized.

  She’d stayed in that house for a whole week with Shawn after he beat her, and she would’ve stayed longer—maybe until she was killed—if Zeyna hadn’t picked her up.

  Zeyna and I had our fair share of disagreements over the years, but there was one thing I was forever grateful of Zeyna for: she refused to let Sera go back.

  She moved out of hers and Zeph’s place in the following days and demanded Sera stay with her at a new apartment. Rent had been an issue for a while. Zeyna didn’t care, having waived the fees for several months. It wasn’t until Sera got a job that she insisted she pay rent and return whatever she owed the Kazix’sas.

  Sera once told me that Zeyna and I were the best things to ever happen to her. She had never felt safer than when she was with us.

  I knew Zephyr had meant no harm, but it was enough to piss me off that he’d shaken that belief. For a moment, she hadn’t felt safe in our presence. And that wasn’t okay with me. I didn’t think it’d be okay with Zeyna either.

  I didn’t even think it’d be okay with Zeph if he understood what we understood.

  “I’m here for you, Serbear. I’ll protect you.” She relaxed into me. “Do you want me to tell him to go home?”

  She… nodded.

  I sighed softly. “Okay.”