Turning Point

At the start of the week, Andres was absent from both virtual learning and school in general. Recently, he’s been showing up when he doesn’t have to work, sometimes even in the morning, just so he could hang out with everyone.

Jessica did notice he was mostly silent on SL over the weekend, but didn’t think it was a big deal since she would see him after school, though that ended up not happening either. Jessica tried to tell herself this is just one day, and she’ll be able to see him this week for sure.

Then came Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, his absence continued. Jessica still messaged him and once he started replying again, they were all sporadic, sometimes taking him many hours. Jessica held off on asking if he was okay. This is without a doubt that this is related to his illness and the more she waited to see him, the worse she felt.

Anguish, concern, fear, all of those feelings raced through Jessica’s mind. Before she knew it, she was looking forward to his presence each day, whether in person or through their messages, making each wait near unbearable.

She wasn’t the only one feeling some worry. That Thursday, after Jessica walked up to the 3rd floor, she hears Marquise call out to her. He’s standing in the doorway to the first classroom in the hall, signaling for her to enter. Jessica was going to their meeting area, what could be so important that he’d want to discuss it in secret like this? She walks into the room, with Marquise following her, closing the door behind them.

Shayna was already waiting, leaning against the first table with her usual, dissatisfied look. Jessica is blunt in asking if something is wrong. Marquise is quick to clear the air.

“Nothing is wrong. We were just wondering if Yuuki spoke to you earlier in the week like she did with us.”

“You mean about the truth?” After Marquise nods, Jessica gives a short version of what she told Yuuki. “She did, but I declined. I think it’s better if I don’t know.”

Marquise lets out a sigh of relief, indicating he was worried about something after all. Shayna on the other hand has no reaction, she simply tells Marquise,

“I told you she would say ‘no’ just like we did.”

“Sorry if I scared you. I just wanted to make sure we were all on the same page.”

“I can’t deny I was curious as well.” Jessica says.

Shayna turns to Jessica, “Don’t you find it strange? That we were all asked separately."

Jessica did wonder why they weren’t asked as a group even though they all meet at least once a day and chose to not think too much about it. If, say, only two people said yes, would they be told separately too?

After a brief pause, Shayna adds, “I wonder if things are about to change like before…”

Jessica was already told by Marquise that he and Shayna joined the group 6 months ago in May at different times. Yuuki didn’t approach them. Similar to herself, both of them could see the sword and asked her about it. When they were introduced to Kahler, and later Andres, they had no qualms about joining. As they put it, it’s not like there was anything better to do.

At first they only worked a few nights a week. They would alternate between Andres and Shayna for their reaper abilities, leaving Marquise and Yuuki as the most consistent to go out each of those nights. It was only during the month of October, right before Jessica joined, that it changed to every weeknight.

Kahler didn’t explain why. He just announced the change and they went along with it. This ended up putting a heavier load on Shayna since she was used to working fewer days, which made her foul mood even worse at the time. Now there’s this strange question, leading the trio to believe something else may happen in the near future. There is also Michael’s warning to consider.

The only person left to ask is Andres. Just thinking about him causes them to feel the same uneasiness. This has nothing to do with their work. Andres gets severely ill almost every month, so much so that it’s difficult for him to get out of bed. All of them know there is nothing they can do besides send comforting messages, but that’s not enough to make them feel better about it, so does it really do much for him?

When she gets home after school, Jessica doesn’t want to wait any longer and decides to ask Andres if she can come over to visit. She already considered doing so before, but now she can no longer contain how much she wants to see him.

It isn’t a rule that they can’t go out. Kahler suggested taking advantage of Yuuki’s ability for their own protection. In this case, Jessica is willing to take the risk.

After hitting ‘send’, Jessica stares at the computer. Tapping her toes on the carpet floor, eagerly waiting for a response despite knowing it may take a while. She only lasted 40 minutes and turned her chair around. If she stared any longer it felt like her eyes would melt out of their sockets.

She looks around her room and proceeds to clean up the dirty laundry that’s spread about. Jessica throws them in her wicker hamper, closes all the drawers in her dresser, and even makes her bed.

She glances back at her computer. Jessica has the sound turned up and will be alerted if she receives a new message, but can’t help it. Unsurprisingly, it remains unchanged.

Jessica falls onto her bed, laying on her back, and lets out a huff. The minutes couldn’t drag anymore than at this moment.

She starts humming as she looks up at the ceiling, counting every crack and crevasse. Once Jessica reaches number 183, she hears a ‘ping’. She jumps up and rushes to her computer to read; ‘That may be just what I need.’ Saying the words over and over, Jessica’s expression gets brighter and brighter.

They exchange a few more messages and agree to meet on Saturday to lessen the chance of Yuuki walking in on them. Andres gives Jessica his address on Glenloch Street. He actually lives really close, making it a 15 minute walk from her apartment. There’s still one more day of school left in the week, but with the promise of seeing Andres right around the corner, Jessica will be able to push through.

On the promised day, Jessica leaves just before noon to meet Andres at his home. The chill in the air is made worse by the wind that blows through the city, hitting her right away, making her glad she bundled up. Although she doesn’t feel the need to hide, Jessica still wears a hood over her head.

As she walks down Levick Street, Jessica thinks back to the last time she walked outside alone. It’s been over a month since she joined the saviors, with that morning being the last she walked to school. Ever since then, Yuuki has been taking her back and forth.

It has definitely made things more convenient, and she can appreciate it more now that it has gotten so cold out. Jessica loves winter, and Philly is more mild compared to Boston, but the weather can still be brutal at times.

Once she arrives, she sees that he lives in a 2 story row home at the end of the block. Her apartment is surrounded by neighbors on 3 sides. Some are very noisy so she’s envious.

Jessica starts walking up the stairs to the door, making it half way before stopping. Until now, she only felt elated at the idea of visiting, but as she takes each step closer, the more her heart feels like it’s going to beat out of her chest. Not only is this her first time visiting a friend, Andres is someone she greatly enjoys being around which is further proven by this extra effort.

She can’t just turn around now after coming so close. Jessica attempts to swallow her nervousness and walks up the final steps before knocking. Andres opens the door almost immediately and once he comes in full view, a calm washes over her.

“Glad you could make it. Come in.”

“Happy to be here.”

Jessica walks in and after closing the door, Andres offers to take her jacket to hang on the coat rack. She walks down the hall and enters the main room. A small kitchen is to the left, and on the right appears to be the living room. The word ‘appears’ comes to mind because instead of a couch, there’s a large bed facing the TV. Why would there be a bed on the first floor when there are more rooms upstairs?

“Do you…live alone?” Jessica almost doesn’t want to ask, but does anyway.

“I guess it looks strange, don’t it? My parents work out of state and since it’s just me, and everything needed is right here, I save the exhaustion from the steps and just use this as my room.”

Andres is already stuck at home for most hours of the day and this only adds to an already lonely situation. Not that living with someone is always an improvement. Jessica lives with her grandmother and feels like she’s alone all the same.

Andres then tries to add something uplifting. “Ain’t that bad. My parents hired a nurse’s aide to stop by 3 times a week to help with meals and all the health related stuff. They’re kind people.”

Andres’ life motto is; ‘see the good with the bad’. Though since he hasn’t had a guest over in a long time, he may have forgotten how people could react.

Jessica then notices Andres is wearing his jacket even here at home. It’s not cold inside, making it more strange. This arouses her suspicions from the last time they were out and she decides to put her theory to the test. She walks over to him and grabs the zipper.

“Why are you still wearing this?”

Distraught, Andres grabs her hand in a split second to stop her. Jessica is surprised at first by his sudden actions. Looking at his hands, she can see them shaking slightly. Jessica reassures him with her gentle tone.

“It’s okay. Trust me.”

Andres groans in protest before releasing Jessica’s hand, allowing her to continue. She fully unzips the coat and slides it down until it hits the floor.

He’s wearing a black, long-sleeved shirt that fits tight enough to be able to count every rib as they stick out, and see just how thin his arms really are. He’s clearly malnourished and it may not simply be from this past week. Not only does it serve as a constant reminder of how sick he actually is, there would be no way to avoid discussing it with anyone he meets.

Before the silence makes him more uncomfortable, Jessica hugs Andres. With her arms almost completely encircling his waist, she places her head against his chest. He’s only a few inches taller at 5’10”, but it’s enough that her ear is placed near his heart. Andres wants to take a step back and as she feels him pull away, Jessica says two words that cause him to relax.

“Thank you.”

Andres stops in his tracks, wondering how she managed to say that before he could. Ever since their first meeting, that night he saw her walk into the classroom, her eyes shining in the city lights, he wanted to say that to her. A beautiful distraction that made him forget his daily suffering.

From every outing, smile, message; it became limitless. Not being able to see her this week made it all the more difficult to endure his illness.

Although he always hid what bothered him the most, she was able to figure it out. Andres chuckles and leans down to hug her in return.

“That’s not fair. I should be sayin’ that to you.”

With neither wanting to let go, the exchange lasts until they hear a noise outfront. Still holding each other, they lift their heads and lock eyes.

“This isn’t why I wanted you over, but hey, I’m not complainin’.”

“Sorry, I couldn’t resist.” Jessica readily admits.

Jessica isn’t sure when she started feeling this way, but those feelings grew in the time they’ve been apart. If they met at school this probably would have gone differently. Andres then flashes a mischievous look.

“Now, I know you haven’t read that book I sent you.”

Jessica jumps at that comment, but is unable to escape due to his embrace. Even before discussing the famous author AJ Shane, Andres already brought up the topic of books and sent her an online link to [Away] With You by The-Nel. It was one of his favorite books growing up and he wanted to share that with her.

It’s not that Jessica didn’t want to or didn’t have time to get to it. Actually, she has no good excuse which is why she wants to run away.

Despite his expression when he brought it up, he just wanted to suggest they watch the movie adaptation instead. Andres claims the book is way better and still recommends it, but believes it’s still worth watching. Jessica is more than happy to indulge in anything he enjoys.

They move to the bed, sitting side by side with a pillow between their backs and the headboard. Initially, Andres is awake and points out all the differences in the movie compared to the book, but almost half way through, he falls asleep, still sitting up.

Jessica pays attention to the movie, but hearing his steady breaths causes her to look at his sleeping face a few times. Andres probably needed the rest so she didn’t try to wake him. Instead, she fully takes in everything that occurs, almost wishing the day wouldn’t end.

Once the credits start to roll, Andres opens his eyes. “Ah- I fell asleep didn’t I? Hope I didn’t ruin it for ya.”

“Not at all. Though you were a liiiittle distracting.” Jessica can’t help teasing him.

Andres tries to push her aside as a form of revenge, but ends up pushing himself as well due to his lack of strength. The two break out into laughter over the silly outcome. When the screen turns black, the already dark room becomes completely engulfed due to the blackout curtains on the only window in the room.

Andres flips a switch to turn on a lamp and after her eyes adjust to the light, Jessica notices a large stack of notebooks that escaped her vision before.

“Those books, are they for studying?”

Andres looks to the table at the foot of the bed, “Them? They’re actually from Yuuki. She offered all this when I was havin’ a tough time. She also made notebooks for Kahler. Ya know, the ones he flips through each night.”

Jessica knew Andres had to have some method to studying. He’s absent so often and still has decent grades. She just never expected Yuuki to be the cause.

But wait a minute. Yuuki herself also still manages to get an ‘A’ on every assignment.

“She makes both of you special notes and finds time to study for her own high grades? How does she pull that off?” Jessica points out another thing that doesn’t make sense.

“I never thought a that.”

Andres thinks back to when Yuuki gave him the first notebook. The subject was American history, his least favorite because he honestly didn’t care to learn that. He more so enjoys escaping to the fantasy world in books rather than living here.

He tries to remember what she told him when he asked why she was willing to go the extra mile. “ ‘Let’s just say I may have more knowledge than one might assume’ is how she put it? Not that I understood what it meant.”

Putting aside her strange comment, Yuuki didn’t even answer his question.

While Jessica tosses around the piled up mysteries in her mind, Andres asks her thoughts on the movie. She takes one look at his gentle exterior and is reminded why she came here. It isn’t to try and solve all the strange things she’s learned this past month, but instead to temporarily forget all of that and spend time with someone she likes. They wind up discussing their opinions until the sun starts to set.

Although they didn’t want to leave each other just yet, Jessica knows she should go before it gets too dark out. Andres is sure to thank her again for visiting and asks her to let him know when she’s home. Jessica promises to do so and takes one more look at him before lifting her hood to leave.

Starting on her way with a walk, Jessica begins to skip as she continues home, feeling the utmost amount of joy.

Even after arriving here, she never expected anything like this to happen. Jessica figured she would make some friends, maybe find a hobby, pass school with flying colors, then settle with a simple job to get by until she could live on her own. All of this completely changed her outlook on life, finally giving her a form of hope for her future.

When she is about to cross the vacant street, Jessica suddenly can’t move. She tries to speak aloud, but is unable to do that as well. Stuck in place, Jessica can only move her eyes and look around to see people strolling on the sidewalk and cars driving in the road, all while she can’t even take a step. Does no one find this odd? Jessica then hears a voice that sends a chill down her spine.

“Disobeying your leader’s orders? What a bad girl you are.”

Michael walks from behind Jessica and stands in front of her. She takes one look at him before glancing around once more, but Michael assures her that although she is still on the sidewalk, no one can see what they are doing. To them, she’s just standing there as if waiting for someone.

Jessica has never witnessed Michael do anything nefarious. In the few times she encountered him, he only talked or sent souls as empty threats. Her fear is completely based on everything Yuuki and Kahler told the group. Making him out to be their main enemy.

When Michael begins to circle around her, seemingly examining or looking for something, Jessica’s lip quivers. She can only stare in horror as she is left completely defenseless to whatever he plans to do. He then moves out of sight, making her more fearful.

“I’m glad you gave me the chance to meet you like this. There’s something about you that’s different. I haven’t been able to figure it out–”

Once Michael glances at her left arm, he knows he has it. He lifts her hand and pulls up her sleeves. Although Jessica normally wears a wristband at her grandmother’s behest, she stopped wearing it last week. There are no marks and the long sleeves already cover her wrist so she found no reason to hide it further.

With a cruel smile, Michael glides his fingers atop her wrist. “You’re not from around here, are you?”

Jessica then realizes: this is how he’s been able to find them. Michael is able to sense the chip she is forced to carry, or more specifically, how it makes her body different from others. Jessica, and even Michael, never considered the possibility because it seemed like a strange idea.

The difference is very slight, and it’s not as if she is the only person in the city with one, but the fact that she is always around the same people, who happen to not have chips, makes it easier for him to find her. To find them.

It’s all my fault.

Jessica slowly opens her mouth as if to scream, but is unable. Tears stream down her face. Michael lets go of her hand and wipes away the tears from under her eyes.

“Don’t cry, my child. Once I leave, you will forget this ever happened. Besides, I would have found you all before new year’s regardless. This just made my job a bit easier.”

Jessica watches helplessly as Michael leans in towards her ear and whispers, “I’ll see you again in one week’s time” and he disappears in a flash of light.

Now able to move, Jessica almost falls forward, confused as to how she wound up here. With a gust of wind, she feels a sensation similar to water freezing on her cheek and wipes her face.

“Tears? What was I doing?”

She looks in the direction of the Delaware River and is able to see the top of her apartment building.

“That’s right, I was going home.”

Without a second thought, Jessica continues to walk home, unaware of the encounter that just occurred.