The Ties That Bind (13 page)

I extracted myself from their grip and motioned for everyone to sit down. 

“I said at our last meeting we would talk about it before you three started plotting to add a new girl to my … umm …”

“Harem,” Vicki supplied helpfully.

“Anyway,” I said, pointedly ignoring her, “it seems like you girls have started plotting again.”

They all passed looks back and forth before Zoe said, “You’re right, we are plotting. We like her a lot. She is so sweet and funny. Once you get her away from guys she can really talk. And she really likes you; she asked so many questions about you.”

“What? We only talked a few times. Why would she want to know about me?”

Zoe gave me the ‘you are so dumb’ look before replying, “Cas, she avoids talking to guys, totally. Her only consistent male interactions are probably her father, and if what we suspect is true, those aren’t positive interactions. And then you ride up on your white horse, and are caring and sweet, and treat her like she is special. Of course she is interested in you!”

“Well, I know you three want to get her added to our little group, and I know you like to move fast. I will say, I am not against it. Surprisingly, I find myself really drawn to her, as well. But, and I want to make sure you all hear me on this,” I stopped to make eye contact with each girl.“ We need to get her some kind of help, for whatever is causing her to be so bruised all the time. First let’s help her,
then
you can return to your plotting. Okay?”

I got a bunch of murmured replies, and was under no illusion they would actually listen to me. I just hoped I could refocus their relentless energy and scheming, to something more productive.

They let it drop, and we went about the rest of our day. The rest of the week followed the normal school day patterns, with only the marathon training I had started to do with Andrea, and spending extra time with Emily standing out.

I did notice what looked like fresh bruises on Emily the day after the shopping outing with the girls, but she dodged my questions and I eventually let it drop. I was happy that she became steadily more open and talkative as the week wore on, although she still refused to move over to our regular lunch table.

Some of the guys at the table started asking why I was leaving my girlfriends alone to go sit with Emily, but Vicki quickly shut them down, making it clear this was an authorized activity by them.

As Friday rolled around, all three girls were getting excited as it was time for the next date night. This time it was Tami and I together, and Vicki and Zoe headed off to do their own thing. All four of us were starting to look forward to date night.

I had to stop by work on the way home, and I took longer than expected. While it was still in the early stages, Ronald’s project was one more thing to keep an eye on. I was walking out to the house just as Zoe and Vicki were walking out. Both were dressed casually but looked very nice.

“Headed out for your date,” I asked as I gave each of them a kiss.

“Yep,” Zoe replied, looking immensely happy, “you two have fun.”

They giggled as they ran to the waiting car. I couldn’t see who was driving it, but assumed it was one of the people who worked for Vicki’s family. I was expecting to find Tami also dressed up and ready to go out, but was surprised to find her sitting barefoot at the table wearing the same jeans and t-shirt she wore to school.

I sat next to her and said, “Aren’t we going out tonight?”

She shook her head, “Nope. For our date I want to spend it here. Mrs. B is out working with Alex so we have the house to ourselves. I am going to cook us dinner, and then we are going to watch a movie.”

I gave her a perplexed look, “Don’t you want to do something special.”

She stood up and slid into my lap, putting her arms around my head, “This is special, to me. I want to take care of my man.”

I smiled back at her, “You already take care of me more than I deserve.”

She hopped up and started working around the kitchen. While she cooked, I just sat and watched her work. The feeling of having someone doing something so … domestic for me, really warmed my heart. As she cooked Tami started softly humming a song I didn’t recognize.

It took some time but she finished making dinner and put a plate in front of both of our spots. She gave me a quick kiss then sat down to start eating.

“You are really amazing, you know that?”

I got a huge smile for my compliment before she decided to demur. 

“It’s nothing. Anyone could make dinner.”

“It’s not nothing. Sure anyone could make dinner, but it wouldn’t be the same. Your happiness is infectious.”

“That’s because this is what I was meant to do.”

There seemed to be something in the way she said that which meant more than the words themselves, so I hesitated for a second.

“What do you mean?”

“I don’t know if you realized it yet or not, but everyone close to you is starting to plan out their lives around you… around what we can be for you.”

“What do you mean ‘what you can be for me?’”

“Cas, you are the most important person in the world to us. Not just Zoe, Vicki and me, but Alex, Megan … everyone close enough to you to know what is really happening. We have all started planning our futures based around it. Did you know Megan changed her planned major for college, next year?”

“No.”

“She had planned on being a teacher, but she is switching to engineering so she can help you in your company.”

“That is a pretty big change.”

“Yea, but she has always been good at math and after being altered she should be able to handle it. Zoe knows she wants to do something around computers, and is trying to figure out how to make that work for you. Vicki has started reading on non-profits, and wants to make an impact with Evolve.”

“Huh. I had no idea. What about you?”

“I want to do this.”

“This?”

“This. Taking care of the family. Not just us, but some day there are going to be a lot of kids. There have to be, actually, if we are going to move your genetic line forward. I plan on being the one to stay home with them.”

“You don’t have to do that Tami. We can figure out something when that day comes. Don’t you want to …”

“You don’t get it, Cas. This
is
what I want to do. I told you a little about my family, the way I was raised. The church came first, the kids came second. We were an afterthought, a way to make the church grow. I don’t want our kids to grow up that way. I want them to know that they are loved and cherished for themselves, and not as a means to an end.”

“There is a real danger they could be seen as just the next step in your plan, and that isn’t fair to them. So I plan on being the one to stay with them, and focus on them.”

“Wow, you are something else, Tami.”

She just smiled and held my hand before she went back to eating. 

“A change of subject. I am not going to be around for Christmas.”

“What?”

“I know. I really want to be, but there is a church revival, every year. My parents insist Judy and I go. They have been lenient this year with all the time I spend over here, so I kinda owe them not to fight going for Christmas.”

“I can see that. As long as it means you can spend so much time with us the rest of the year, then I am good. I will miss you, though.”

“I know, me too.”

We finished the rest of diner making idle chit-chat, but it was hard not thinking about Tami being gone over Christmas. It had only been a few months since I was shot and she joined our little group, but I couldn’t imagine spending time without her now.

After dinner I helped her wash up the dishes. We were constantly touching and caressing each other at every opportunity, turning the domestic chore into almost foreplay. When we were finished, I was ready to grab her and run upstairs. Instead, I opted for a little more decorum as we walked up to the second bedroom, hand in hand. I wanted to leave our normal room for Zoe and Vicki when they got home.

Later that evening I was roused out of sleep by a hand pushing on my shoulder, and a soft kiss on my cheek. Tami was still tucked up tightly against my other side, so I knew it wasn’t her. I cracked on eye open to see Zoe standing over me.

“Come join us in bed, and bring our girlfriend. We miss you.”

I didn’t say anything, but instead slid out of bed and picked up a sleeping Tami. She was pretty zonked out and only murmured a bit as I cradled her in my arms. Once back in our room, I lay Tami down next to Vicki. As soon as she was out of my arms, she seemed to instinctively turn and snuggle into Vicki, letting out a little sigh.

I moved in behind Zoe, and spooned against her. I started to close my eyes and go back to sleep, knowing I needed some more rest before the marathon in the morning, when Zoe’s voice stopped me.

“Tami told you she is going to be out of town for Christmas?”

“Yeah, and I get why, but it will be sad not to have her with us.”

“Yeah, I know. Actually, there is more. Vicki is going to be out of town, too. Her parents planned a ski vacation. She invited us, but we also have plans.”

“We do?”

“Yeah. Mom wants us to go visit Grandma. She is getting pretty old, and we don’t know how many more opportunities we will have. Mom already said you should come with us.”

“Aww, man, I can’t. We are going to have the prototype ready the next week. I need to stick around for that.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. There is no way I can be out of town for an extended time. Where is she?”

“Florida.”

“That’s too far to go just for Christmas day. How long are you going to be gone?”

“A week, I think.”

I rolled and lay down fully looking at the ceiling, “This sucks. There is no way I can go with you.”

Zoe turned around and put her head on my shoulder, “I’m sorry, Cas. We didn’t plan it this way. I think Mom and I just assumed you would go with us.”

I gently rubbed her back, “I know, I am not blaming you. You should go see your grandmother while you can. Family is important.”

“I just don’t want to leave you all alone on Christmas.”

“I'll be okay. I'll have work to distract me.”

“Well, we will think of something.”

I wasn’t sure what she meant, but there was nothing to be done. I really did believe that it was important they spend time with their families over the holidays. Just because I couldn’t disappear for a week, didn’t mean they should have to stay, too. Still, I would miss them. 

That was what my brain focused on as I drifted off to sleep.

The next morning I was up and ready by the time Megan came to pick me up. Andrea was already in the car and we were both dressed in running clothes. I was pretty calm, since honestly I was running this thing more out of support for Andrea than for myself, but she was keyed up. She started to go into our running strategy for the race, something we had gone over many times. I cut her off after about five minutes.

"Andrea, it's ok. You can do this in your sleep, you're just nervous. You need to calm down and relax."

She took a couple of deep breaths then said, "You're right, sorry. A friend of mine said Arkansas's team is going to be there, and I want them to notice me now, so I can get scouted as a senior. Those guys are amazing; they have been national champions like seven times in the last ten years."

"You'll do fine, you have prepared for this and you're ready."

She just nodded and looked out the window, he nerves getting to her a little bit.

We had parked and started walking toward registration to get our numbers when I heard my name called from behind me. I was surprised to see Josh and Amanda walking up. They did our runs with us, but Josh was never going to be a great runner and I was certain marathons were not his thing.

"Hey, what are you guys doing here," I said as they got closer.

Josh waved a hand at Amanda and said, "She had heard Andrea talking about this and wanted to try it out. Don't worry; we know we can't keep up with you guys. We are going to run with the other amateurs."

I smiled and gave Josh a chuckle, "You guys run more than most, and you'll do great."

As with any large event, after registration we stood around just waiting for something to happen. Andrea said she saw her friend, the one that told her about the Arkansas team, and went over to talk to her. I made small talk with Josh and Amanda while we waited. We saw each other nearly every day, so there wasn't a ton of stuff to actually talk about.

Amanda did try and press me for details on what our plan was with Emily, but since I honestly didn't know what schemes the girls were cooking up there wasn't much I could tell her. Like so much in my life I just referred her to them.

It was almost race time when Andrea came running up, as excited as I have ever seen her.

"You won't believe it, a couple of the Arkansas people didn't make it cause of car trouble or something, and needed another two people to run with them, so they had enough to switch off lead. My friend knows the coach and their captain, and recommended me to them. They want me to run with them."

She looked concerned for a moment before continuing, "Cas, I know we were supposed to..."

I held up a hand, stopping her, "I totally get it. I was just in this for a little fun. I won't be crushed if you run with those guys. Actually, this is such an amazing opportunity I would be upset if you didn't run with them. Plus, Amanda and Josh are here. I can just run with them."

She threw her arms around me in a crushing hug, "Thanks Cas, you really are the best." With that she bolted to join her friend and the runners from Arkansas.

I looked over and Josh and Amanda, "I never thought I would see someone so excited about running."

They both chuckled and we headed over to our position to start. We were deep in the middle of the pack, which was fine by me. An air horn sounded and we were off. I let Josh set the pace and it was considerably slower than what Andrea and I had been training at, but that was fine with me. It was a nice day out, not too hot yet since it was still early, and I was looking forward to taking it kind of easy on the run. Andrea can get a little intense about her running.

We started falling further back until we were one of the last groups. There was a pack of older people, maybe in their 40s, just ahead of us and no one I could see behind us. The group ahead of us wasn't well coordinated and they were putting a lot of distance between their lead and their stragglers. If I had to bet, I would guess they wouldn't stay a group much longer and a couple of people would either fall far behind or just drop out entirely.

Amanda was leading our group at the moment, and unfortunately she also wasn't paying much attention to other runners. Josh was falling further behind and the gap between them was becoming noticeable. I knew that once Amanda realized she was putting distance between them, she should slow down and get back to his pace, so I slowly edged off so he wasn't running alone. You could see he was struggling, red faced and puffing.

We started getting tangled with the group ahead of us. Amanda had actually passed one of their stragglers by a good bit, although he was ahead of Josh and I still. That was when it happened. We were running along an open road and it hadn't been shut down. I am guessing because the shoulder was so wide they thought there would be enough room for the runners and cars, and I am guessing they were right. Besides, the speed limit on this stretch was not all that fast.

I am not sure if it was fatigue, or if he tripped, but the furthest straggler, the one closest to Josh and I, tripped and fell towards the roadway, rolling a bit. He wasn't that much in the road, but he was enough. That wouldn't have been such a big deal except for at that moment a car was happening by. There wasn't a lot of room, and I was almost certain neither the runner nor the driver were going to be able to stop what looked to be inevitable.

I was closer to the guy than the car was, actually not far away at all. Time slipped into slow motion again, although it felt a little different. Instead of the incredible sluggishness I normally feel, this was more ... flowing is the best way I can describe it. I burst forward, getting to the guy almost as the car did. I grabbed onto him with both arms and pushed off as hard as I could, trying to use my forward momentum to get us clear of the car. I hadn't tried jumping much since I started noticing the changes in my body, and clearly my leg muscles were stronger than any of us thought. I propelled both myself and the runner up enough to clear the hood and just missed the edge of the car. Unfortunately we didn't miss it completely. The guy's body was dragging a little bit behind mine, and his right foot clipped the car's rear view mirror. He let out a shout of pain, followed by another as we impacted hard in the roadway.

I lay there stunned for a moment, since the wind had gotten knocked out of me, but recovered enough that after a moment I pulled the guy out of the roadway, just in case another car who wasn't paying attention came along.

The worst part was, the driver didn't even stop. Actually, I think he had been distracted and wasn't watching the roadway, because you could see him finally react just as he passed us. For a second the brake lights flashed like he was going to stop and check on everyone, then the lights went out and he accelerated away from us. Sometimes people are such cowards.

The guy's friends got to us and helped me pull him the rest of the way out of the road, while one of them took off down the road, saying he thought there was a gas station nearby he could call for help from. The guy was moaning in pain and his ankle was turned at a gruesome angle. Without question it was broken, but considering he was still alive that seemed like a pretty fair trade. His friends had him at this point, talking to him and each other. While they thanked me, they were focused on their injured buddy, rightfully so. I fell back to join Amanda, who missed all the excitement, and Josh, who hadn't moved since everything happened. He was staring at me wide eyed.

"Cas, how did you..."

I interrupted him, wanting to avoid this line of questioning, "I just got lucky Josh. I was really close and the guy was already mostly clear of the car."

His brows furrowed, "bullshit, I saw what happened."

Amanda seemed interested now, which wasn't a good thing.

"Josh," I said still hoping to forestall this entire conversation "It was nothing."

"Cas, I know I am the dumbest person in our group, but I'm not an idiot. I have seen you and your girls working out. I remember what happened in your last game. And I saw this."

Just then the guy over with his friends let out a yelp of pain. I took this as an opportunity.

"Amanda, could you go see if he is ok. I am worried about that guy."

"But I..."

"Please Amanda."

She looked very interested in our conversation and it was clear she didn't want to go, but after a minute of looking back and forth between Josh and I, she turned and walked toward the other runners.

As soon as she was gone, I turned to Josh, "You're right, there is more going on here. It isn't for public knowledge and I don't want anyone else, including Amanda, to know about it if they don't have to. Come by the house tonight, I will fill you in. Ok."

"Absolutely. I knew there was more going on with you lately then you had been saying. If I can get you to teach me even a little of how you have been doing all this stuff..."

I shook my head, "Josh, it's not like..."

"It's cool Cas, I can wait till later to talk about it."

He was smiling as he walked over towards where Amanda was standing. The way Josh seemed happy, like something had happened for his benefit, bothered me greatly. And he wasn't really listening to anything I was saying. All in all there was no way this was going to work out well.

It took almost half an hour longer for an ambulance to arrive, along with some folks from the organizing group. Both the injured guys group and Josh, Amanda and I called it a day and grabbed rides with the organizers back to the finish point.

After a little bit he and Amanda took off while I waited for Andrea to finish. Josh kept throwing me expectant and questioning glances, and I knew this would come to no good.

Andrea was excited to hear about the accident, the story of which was already making the rounds. Thankfully Josh was the only one who saw what I did. The guy was kinda out of it and I am not sure how much of what happened would be clear to him. For everyone I talked to, simply saying I pulled him out of the way seemed good enough.

Andrea also wanted to talk about her run with the Arkansas team, and she went on about it the entire time Megan drove us home, and only stopped when she had to go into her house. Apparently they let her lead for a while and set the pace, and she was very happy about her performance.

By the time Megan and I got home, everyone else was already there for the family meeting. While we were going to use this meeting to go over Megan's results, I was thankful to have a forum to bring up the stuff with Josh from today.

Everyone was gathered up in the living room and looked up as we entered. Zoe stood up and gave me her spot, and promptly reseated herself in my lap, while Megan took an empty space next to Alex. Alex was about to start speaking when I interrupted her.

"We have an issue. Josh has a fairly good idea about some of my abilities."

That stopped everyone cold. Several people looked from me back to Megan, assuming she had some kind of knowledge simply due to her proximity to me while driving me home.

"There was an incident during the marathon. A guy fell in front of a car and I moved to pull him out to safety before he was run over. I had ended up running with Josh and Amanda, and only Josh was in a position to see me. My actions were enough to confirm his already growing suspicions about my abilities. He confronted me about them and I told him that wasn't the place, and I would find time to sit him down and talk to him."

"I tried to remain non-committal, but he is going to expect some kind of answers, and he has enough first-hand knowledge that we won't be able to put him off with platitudes and half-truths."

Mom looked at me hard for a moment before speaking, "What do you want to do?"

"I want to tell him about my differences, but not about everything. And he isn't to be part of the family meetings. As soon as I said that I would talk to him about what he had seen, he got excited and jumped to conclusions that he could get the same abilities. His attitude lately has been concerning me. He has a sense of entitlement that is frightening, and even if made loyal to me, his base personality is one that will be sure to cause us issues if he is enhanced, or even given all the information."

Mom turned from me to the girls, "Zoe and Tami, you probably know Josh the best. What do you think?"

They let a look pass between then before Zoe said, "Cas is right. Josh has always been entitled and it is getting worse. He also is not the most, circumspect, person we know. I think he would be a liability for us."

Mom nodded and said, "Okay, Cas, it's your call, but it sounds like you have the right idea. I think we should sit him down with just you and me and talk to him. I want to be there; hopefully an adult presence will let him know the gravity of the situation. I think it's best if he doesn't know about everyone else."

Vicki was shaking her head, "I think the three of us need to be there also. He already has an idea something is up with us and has asked me about it twice now. Both times I played it off as something in his head, but, once he has more information, it isn't hard to make 2 plus 2 work out to something reasonably close to four."

"Ok, then the five of us," mom said after thinking for a moment. "Arrange a time and let me know. Now, on to the research we did on Megan's questionnaires. We did the best we could going over this, and had some help from a behavioral researcher at UT, although the data we gave them was scattered and anonymized enough that they cautioned their conclusions had a higher than normal error rate."