Don't Call Me A Hero

Chapter 20

The cool morning air flowed through the dirty streets, picking up forgotten newspapers and sending them sailing through the air. I watched them as I stood leaning against the wall of the motel. I could hear everyone else getting ready to leave inside but I made no move to help the packing up process. Last night was filled with lengthy arguments as to why Kendra’s “plan” was a bad idea. 

I thought it was a good one even though it was to help me land a date. No one was going anywhere alone with her plan, well, everyone but Peter. I’d go with her to stake out the science building her father was based out of. There was a restaurant beside it with very limited seating but it would be the perfect place for a lunch date. Peter was in charge of finding out who else was involved from the college. Maria and Charlie were supposed to stake out the storage area to see how many people came and went so we could rightfully plan the best time to attack. 

Their biggest complaint was me leaving the motel room. 

“Hey,” Kendra said as she stepped outside. She looked me up and down before sighing, “please tell me you at least took a shower?”

“Yes?” I said as we started down the small walkway.

“Good,” she nodded, as she paused and grabbed my arm. She reached up and started messing with my hair. I swatted her hands away as we stepped onto the sidewalk that led to the main road. I sighed and frowned as she pulled at my arm, “where are you running off to?”

“What do you mean?”

“Look,” she said and pointed toward a car I hadn’t noticed before. It was black and slick, definitely not something that was meant for this part of town. I leaned down as one of the windows rolled down. Owen smiled over at me from the driver’s seat, looking as handsome as ever in a plain white t-shirt and dark jeans. 

“How?” I looked back at her.

“I may have stolen the number off your phone,” she said, “I’ll meet you there in an hour or two. I’m going to take the train. You have fun!”

“Kendra!” I called after her as she went skipping down the sidewalk. Yes, she was actually skipping. 

“You ready?” Owen asked. I nodded as I pulled the door open and plopped down on the black leather seat. I pulled the seatbelt over my chest as he pulled away from the curb. He navigated his way through the lower district without a word and I could feel the awkwardness growing as the silence wore on. 

When did I get so nervous around him? 

“So, how’s your family?” he asked.

“What?” 

“You said you were staying with family, right?” he asked, glancing over at me.

“Yeah,” I nodded, mentally slapping myself, “they are definitely something. They were against this whole thing.”

“Why?” he asked, “it’s just lunch.”

Exactly, Alex, it’s just lunch!

“I know but with everything going on…” I trailed off, How much did he know? How much should I tell him?

“Ah,” he nodded as he drove over the train tracks, “they just want you safe.”

“Yeah,” I said as I glanced over at him. His eyes were trained forward and I let myself gaze at his attractive features. He caught my gaze and raised an eyebrow as I turned away, my cheeks heating up as I glared at the outside world. 

“Alex?” he said, his voice quiet as he reached over my lap and grabbed my left hand that sat resting on my thighs. He intertwined his fingers with mine and our hands rested there on my lap. I looked down at our interconnected hands and smiled. Though my hand was so much paler than his, I liked the look of his hand in mine. 

“This okay?” he asked. I glanced up at him and tightened my fingers around his and nodded. He smiled as he turned his attention back toward the road. 

This couldn’t just be lunch. 

“Okay,” he said as he pulled into the small parking lot beside the small diner. I frowned as he released my hand and immediately regretted it. Why was I so desperate to hold onto him? 

Get a hold of yourself, Alex. 

As soon as he locked the car, however, his hand was back in mine and leading me toward the front doors of the restaurant. I tried to stop the stupid grin from stretching across my face but I couldn’t. I have never experienced something like this before. Sure, I’ve had crushes. Arthur used to be one of them but I’ve never had someone that seemed to reciprocate those feelings back. 

Ride high, Alex thought to himself, while you still can.

“Where do you want to sit?” he asked as we stepped into the small building. It was nearly empty and I pulled him toward a booth that stood at the very end. It was alongside the long windows and I could see the science building Kendra’s father worked out of.

“Perfect,” he said as he slid across from me. I smiled as a waitress came up with a pad in her hand. She looked bored and disinterested but jotted down our drink choices either way. She slowly struttered away and I turned my attention back toward Owen, who was already looking at me.

“So,” I said with a small smile, “how has college been without me?”

“Oh, fine,” he shrugged, “it gets a little boring. Are you taking online classes now?”

“No,” I shook my head, “I’m going to jump back in next semester. There’s just a lot going on in my life right now.”

“I understand,” he nodded as he picked up the menu the waitress had left for us, “you just have to make sure you get back into it.” 

“I will,” I said and picked up my own menu. It was a rather basic American diner. I opted for the hamburger and it seemed Owen had the same idea when the waitress came back to the table. 

“So,” he said with a smile after the waitress stepped away from our table, “tell me about yourself.”

“Oh, uh, what do you want to know?”

“What’s your favorite thing to do for fun?” he asked. 

“Well, I like to…” I carried off as I tried to come up with a valid answer. Everything that came to mind was stuff I used to do when I was a kid. Activities that were spearheaded by Arthur and my mother. Activities I don’t think I particularly liked even back then but pretended to because it was expected of me. 

What did I like to do? 

“Is it that hard?” he asked after a moment of silence.

“Surprisingly,” I chuckled, “but I do like to draw.”

“Really?”

“Yeah,” I shrugged, “I designed all my tattoos before my friend tattooed me.”

“Really?” he asked, reaching over and grabbing my hand, “can I see them?”

“Sure,” I said as I pulled up my sleeve. One hand held mine while his other traced over the swirling designs. I watched him for a moment, his fingers tickling my skin as they moved over the dark ink. I frowned as the quiet kidnapper appeared in my head. I could feel his fingers with Owen’s, lightly tracing over my visible tattoos. He seemed to notice my discomfort and pulled away with a slight frown on his face. 

“Sorry,” I stuttered out as I pulled my sleeve down, “I’m just not used to people touching me like that.”

“It’s fine,” he said, a smile appearing back on his face. 

“What about you?” I asked him, “what do you like to do?”

“I...uh, well,” he tilted his head as he thought about it. I smiled softly as I watched his face. His thick eyebrows were pulled together and his lips were scrunched up as if he was tasting something sour. His face cleared and he smiled as he spoke, “I really enjoy sports but I’ve never been allowed to play them.”

“Cause your power jackpot,” I nodded, “that kind of sucks.”

“Well,” he shrugged, “I had always played when my family got together.” 

“Oh, that sounds fun,” I commented, “do you have a big family?”

“Yeah,” he shrugged, “got five brothers and a bunch of cousins. They’re crazy. I haven’t seen them in a long time.”

“Why not?” I asked. 

“My parents found out I was gay,” he said as if it explained everything. I didn’t want to pry. I’ve heard horror stories about people’s coming out stories and I had always known I was lucky that my sexuality wasn’t something my family cared about. Of course, I only had my mother and sister. He had a whole family to disappoint. I didn’t have to ask. Instead, he continued and I held my breath as I noticed the tears brimming in his eyes, “they kicked me out and said some awful things. I was trying to figure out what I was going to do when my grandma found me and took me in.”

“Aw.”

“Yeah,” he chuckled, “my grandma has since refused to visit any homophobic family members. She still sends presents every year to my younger brothers but she has never set foot in their house. I’m the youngest sibling and I had hoped my brothers would stick with me but…”

“I’m sorry,” I said, reaching forward and grabbing his hand. My heart skipped a beat as I did so but I kept my hand there. I wasn’t used to physical contact but I wanted to experience it before Arthur could get me, “I can’t imagine what that was like.”

“No?” he asked, giving my hand a light squeeze before pulling away. I was about to complain when the waitress set out plates down in front of us, “you’re one of the few that didn’t have a bad experience?”

“It wasn’t a big reveal for me,” I shrugged, “my mom knew since I was young and my sister thought I was cool because I was just like her favorite villain. She ended up telling my friends and no one ever cared.” 

“I’m jealous,” he said as he took a large bite of his burger. We ate in silence and took time to enjoy the meal Owen was paying for. I glanced toward the science building and watched Kendra bound down the steps and start walking toward the diner. I let out a sigh as I sipped my drink before clearing my throat.

We chatted for a little longer while we finished the remnants of our meals. I could see Kendra waiting on a bench across the street and she winked at me as she pulled out her phone. I waited as he paid for the meal. We stepped outside and into the cool afternoon air. We stood there for a moment before he turned toward me.

“Am I driving you back to the motel?”

“No,” I shook my head, “I have some business to take care of on campus so I’ll be hanging around for a little while.”

“Okay,” he said and looked down at his watch, “oops, I have to get to class.”

“It was good to see you,” I said as I offered up an awkward wave. He chuckled and ducked forward. My first instinct was to lean away but I kept in place as he kissed my cheek. I blushed as he pulled away.

“I’m really happy you texted me,” he whispered, his face inches from mine, “let’s do this again?”

“Of course,” I whispered back. He nodded with a smile and headed toward his car. He gave me a wave as he climbed in. I watched him speed off and out of sight before starting toward Kendra’s slouching form.

“That was adorable,” she said as I plopped down next to her on the hard wooden bench. 

“Shut up.”

“You’re still blushing,” she giggled. I glared up at the tree that towered over us and glanced over at her.

“Did you find out anything?” I asked.

“I got a copy of my dad’s schedule,” she said and pulled a paper out. I snatched it from her outstretched hand and glanced over it. 

“So we know when he’d be free,” I nodded, “anything else.”

“I don’t know,” she said as she pulled a folder out of her dark backpack. She handed it over to me and I flipped it open. It was a file on a female doctor. She had plenty of certifications that I didn’t bother reading. My focus was on her little picture that was paperclipped to the folder itself.

I knew this woman.