Authors: H.J. Rethuan
They
are too late. Seth and Lily are already gone.
Lily
catches her breath. The adrenaline still races through her veins even though
they are both in the relative safety of her penthouse. She grins.
“That
was amazing.”
“It
feels good, doesn’t it?” Seth tells her. “It’s like a drug, addictive. You just
want to continue, keep doing it.”
“Yeah...”
She
suddenly kisses him. Seth pulls away, surprised by her actions.
They
kiss again.
They
strip off their hoodies, their clothes, make their way through the dark,
towards the dusty master bedroom. They fumble, their hands all over each other.
Lily unbuttons his jeans, puts her hand down his pants.
“Hey,
what’s going on?” she asks him breathlessly. “Don’t you want to do this?”
“It
takes time.” Seth replies to her. “I’m on medication...”
They
wait as he continues to place soft kisses on her neck. She reaches down there
again.
She
smiles.
They
collapse on top of the bed. She climbs on top of him and pulls off her shirt. She
kisses him again.
“Just
don't think of anyone else but me okay?” he tells her.
“Why?”
“Trust
me.”
The
sex is prolonged, another side effect of Seth’s medication. It leaves them
sweaty and exhausted, entwined in the dusty sheets of that expensive bed left
abandoned in that penthouse.
“I’m
sorry for doing that.” she tells him.
“You
don’t have to be.” Seth says to her. “I think we both needed that. I should be
the one that’s sorry.”
“Why?”
“I
thought you were getting bored.”
She
laughs. She kisses him again.
“Maybe.”
she replies.
Seth
laughs too.
In
the morning Seth wakes to find himself alone. Putting on his clothes, he finds Lily
outside, looking out at the city, already dressed and ready to leave.
“You
were going to sleep with me and then leave me?” he asks her.
“Was
thinking about it.” she smirks.
They
watch the city wake from its slumber. “Again, nice view.” Seth observes.
“Like
I said, it doesn't really do anything for me.” she tells him. “I wasn't born
here, I don't have the same feelings about this place. I think I’m going to go.
Leave this city.”
“What,
today?”
“Why
wait? It’s not like I have any people to inform, or tickets to buy or anything
like that. I think I’m just going to go, and leave everything behind. Take only
the clothes on my back.”
“Where
will you go?”
“I
don’t know. Another place, another town, another city. Help some other people.”
“Well,
is there anything I might say that would convince you to stay then?”
“I
don’t know. Be my sidekick?” She laughs. “You don’t need me Seth.”
“We
still don’t know what happened to us Lily. Maybe stay a little longer, find
some answers?”
“I
told you, I know as much about this as you do. Anyway, I have my own issues too;
I have to find my own answers.”
He
sighs. Seth nods.
“Yeah.
Fair enough.”
She
kisses him again. Softly. She smiles.
“I’m
glad to have met you Seth.”
“Take
care Lily.”
She
smiles. She blinks. Seth remains, left to look out over the city alone.
Nice
view.
Things
did not feel as tense the next time Seth saw Dr Asha. With his regular doctor
yet again unavailable for various reasons, he was forced to make another
appointment to see her for his half-yearly prescription renewal. This time
though, he didn’t mind; he knew what to expect from her.
“Hello
Seth.” she greets him, happy to see him again. “So how has life been treating
you since the last time you saw me?”
“I
guess...” Seth starts. “I guess life has been treating me well doctor.” he
replies.
“In
what way?”
“Uh,
I don’t know how to put it. I’m doing something... uh, volunteer work now, just
helping people. Homeless people mainly. It’s very rewarding. Very purposeful.
Sometimes I do get a bit stressed out by it, like I feel that I can’t take on
everything, but it does balance out.”
“That’s
very good to hear.” she tells him. “I’m glad you’re helping other people Seth,
it seems very therapeutic for you. If you feel this is the best way for you to
be happy and content in your life by all means you should keep on doing it.”
“Well,
I don’t plan to stop anytime soon.” he tells her.
Dr
Asha smiles as she hands Seth his new scrip.
“Maybe
I’ll see you in another six months.”
He
smiles too.
“Maybe
I will.”
“Why
do you call me Spider-man?” Pete asks Seth as he hefts the heavy box into his
arms.
“You
know, your name. Your job. Peter Parker?”
“Who?”
he replies, seemingly confused.
“You
don’t know who Peter Parker is? He’s Spider-man, Pete! Everyone knows that!”
“Oh.
Oh yeah. To be honest I’m not a big fan of superheroes. I think they’re kind of
silly.”
“Huh.”
Seth shrugs his shoulders as Pete takes the box out to his car. He turns to his
sister, giving her a look as she comes into the room with a moving box of her
own.
“One
word: sever.”
“You
just want me to stay, don’t you?” she says to him.
“No,
I’m happy that you’re finally moving in with him but the guy doesn’t even know
who Spider-man is! He even hates superheroes!”
“He’s
just fucking with you Seth. He knows who Spider-man is. He’s seen those movies.
Still, he does find superheros kind of dumb.”
“And
he’s shacking up with someone who absolutely loves them?”
“And
that’s how committed he is to our relationship.” She smirks.
Emma
finishes sealing the box with tape. Packing done.
“Last
one.” She looks to Seth. “You going to be okay on your own?” she asks her
brother.
He
nods. “Yeah. Why wouldn’t I be?”
She
gives him a hug.
“Remember,
if you need me I’m just a phone call, or a text, or a blink away.”
He
laughs.
“Yeah,
I’ll keep that in mind.”
She
smiles.
“Have
fun Seth.”
Taking
her last box of belongings, Emma finally heads out of the house, leaving Seth
as the last remaining occupant of the old family home.
Hannah
carefully proofreads the open document on her laptop. Just got to get this one
done before she can leave for the evening. Yet another crime report; it’s been
months she’s been forced to write a listicle. She’s definitely moving on up.
After
fixing a few punctuation issues, she gives the document one last look before
hitting save and submit. Letting out a sigh of accomplishment, she looks up to find
Seth at her desk.
She
smiles.
“Hey!”
she greets him excitedly. “What are you doing here?”
“I
just came in the see my boss, to settle some nonsense or something. Decided I should
drop by and say hi as well.”
“Awwww...“
Hannah teases him. “That’s sweet.”
“So
how are things?” Seth asks her.
“Good,
good. No more listicles, I’m reporting on The Blink now. You know who The Blink
is right?”
“The
what? The who?” He’s kidding of course.
“The
Blink!” Hannah replies. “That mysterious vigilante?” Appears in the blink of an
eye?”
“Oh,
yeah, that guy. Our very own superhero. Sounds like an elaborate hoax to me.”
“Well
the police think he’s real, and kind of a pest too. But he’s helping people.”
“Yeah,
I guess he is. I mean if he’s real.” he says.
A
moment. Hesitation.
Go
for it Seth!
“Hey,
uh I don’t know if you’re busy or not but do you maybe want to get some food
after this? Like if you’re not busy I mean.”
“I’m
not busy.” she replies.
“Okay.”
Seth nods. “Oh, so you want to get something to eat then?”
Hannah
smiles at him once again.
“Sure.
I’ll get something to eat.”
“There’s
pumpkin on that pizza!” Hannah protests, shouting over the loud ambient noise
of the busy gastropub. “I didn’t ask for any pumpkin. That’s just weird.”
“Trust
me.” Seth tells her. “I didn’t think it would work either, but it does. Try a
slice.”
Seth
holds up a slice to her mouth. She hesitates.
“Okay...”
She
leans in. She takes a bite. Chews. She grins.
“You’re
right. It’s pretty good!”
“Told
you.”
Seth
takes another bite of his pizza while Hannah digs into her own dish, a bowl of
steaming risotto. It looks delicious.
“How’s
your food?” he asks her.
“It’s
nice. Nice place too. You come here a lot?”
“Not
really. I mean I used too but I don’t get out much. I mean, I do but not here.
Not this place....”
Seth
laughs nervously. She doesn’t seem to notice.
“So
Hannah...” he continues. “What does your boyfriend do?”
“Why
would you assume I had a boyfriend?” she retorts.
“I...”
Seth grimaces. “I’m sorry. I’m an idiot. I must have heard wrong.”
“Yeah
you did.” she says to him, blankfaced.
“God...”
Seth laments loudly. She laughs.
“If
anything I’m married to my job.” she tells him.
“It
was the wrong thing to say.”
“You
get a pass.”
He
cracks a smile. A sigh of relief. Great.
“So
how long have you been working at the paper?” she asks him. “As a cleaner I
mean?”
“You
really interested in that?”
“Yeah.”
“Coming
up three years I guess.” Seth replies. “It’s an okay job, and the economy’s
still pretty bad so you can’t be too picky about where you work. I was actually
lucky I had some experience, I worked for a bit while studying at uni.”
“Oh,
what did you study?”
“Um,
writing. Like copywriting. Actually took print journalism as well.”
“You
took journalism?”
“Yeah.
I did.” he replies.
“Wow,
I’m amazed I didn’t know this about you! So why aren’t doing that?”
Seth
pauses. Hesitates again.
“I’ve
just been unlucky I suppose.”
He
sighs.
“I
suffer from depression, stuff like that. I’ve had it for a while, undiagnosed.
It kind of messed up the past few years of my life. I was always self-sabotaging
myself, I didn’t know what was going on. But I got help, and things are getting
better now. Slowly.”
“I’m
sorry I didn’t know about this at all Seth.” Hannah tells him. “But I am glad
to hear that you are getting better. I hope it works out well for you.”
“Thanks.
It’s a struggle, no question about it. But I’m winning.”
She
smiles. He smiles too.
More
pizza.
The
waterfront was still a hive of activity, a sea of young people and families
amongst a wonderland of lights, buskers and street performers. Casually making
their way through the crowd, Seth and Hannah find a quieter spot by the water,
a place where they can talk some more.
“So,
this Blink guy...” Seth asks her. “What do you know about him?”
“To
be honest, not a lot.” she tells him. “We only have speculation, what eyewitnesses
have told us, what info the police have given us, to go on. Whoever he is, he
really doesn’t want to be famous.”
Seth
laughs. “Yeah, definitely.”
A
moment.
“Hey
um, I don’t know if this is too personal but... did the police ever find that maniac
who attacked you?”
She
pauses. She hesitates.
“I
still have nightmares about what happened to me that night.”
“I’m
sorry, it was stupid to bring it up...”
“No,
it’s fine. It’s all in the past. You’ve admitted some things to me, so now I
can admit some things to you...”
She
sighs.
“That
guy, the one who attacked me, he had been stalking me for a year. I guess he
had read my stories online, disagreed with something I said. Work said they
were taking care of it but obviously it wasn’t enough.”
Hannah
pauses.
“They
found him in the fucking desert.” she tells him, glancing around in case there
were any children in earshot. ”He was fucking crazy, like he lost his mind.
He’s under psychiatric care now. He won’t be getting out anytime soon.”
“That’s
good, right?”
“Honestly,
I don’t know. Even after all that harassment, all the awful things he did, sometimes
I can’t help but feel pity for him. He’s someone who needed help.”
“Well,
at least he’s getting that now.”
“Yeah.”
She pauses. “Do you remember what I told you about what happened that night?”
“The
lights you saw?”
“Yeah,
the lights. I think The Blink
saved me
. Before he was The Blink, before
the thing with the train, before he started helping everyone...”
“I
don’t know... it sounds a bit farfetched...”
“Everyone
says he disappears in a flash of light. Maybe he was there. Or maybe I’m just
crazy. Why would he even want to save me?
“Maybe
he reads your articles?” Seth tells her. She laughs.
“Well
that’s another maniac who does!”
They
walk on. Stop for some ice cream. Talk some more.
It
was a good night out.
Yet
again the walk to the car was an unsettling one. In a place, out of the way.
Poor lighting all around. Seth wasn’t too worried this time though; instead he
was more worried for her.
He
could hear them before he could see them. A group of drunken youths, just
hanging out on a corner. They had to pass right in front of them.
“Hey
hey hey, sexy lady!” calls out the most obnoxious one while doing a dance from
that Korean music video. Seth remains stonefaced, making sure Hannah is by his
side. He looks to her; she just rolls her eyes. Still, she seems unsettled. They
walk on.
The
obnoxious one begins to follow them. The catcalls continue. He starts to hurls insults
towards Seth, slurs towards Hannah. Clearly he wants a reaction. His friends
egg him on. They begin to follow Seth and Hannah too.
Seth
tries to keep his calm. Fights the urge to blink. His car is just up ahead.
Almost home, except that they’re still following them both...
“Hey
um, you go wait for me in the car.” Seth tells Hannah, handing her the keys.
“What
are you going to do?”
“Nothing.
Trust me.”
He
lets her go ahead as he turns around to wait for the group to catch up to him.
It doesn’t take them long.
“What
do you want bro?” asks the obnoxious one, fronting up to Seth, the smell of alcohol
on his breath. “Looking for trouble?”
“I’ve
had a good night guys.” Seth tells him as the rest of his friends arrive. “I don’t
really want anything to ruin it, so how about you guys just leave me and my
friend, and anyone else that comes by this way, alone.”
The
obnoxious one snorts. “Why should I leave you alone?” he asks Seth.
“Because
I’m The Blink.”
The
man laughs. He laughs loudly. His friends do too.
“You’re
that guy? You’re The Blink?”
“Yeah.
And you know what The Blink does, do you?”
“You
crazy man!” exclaims the obnoxious one. “This faggot thinks he’s The Blink!” he
tells his friends. More laughter. The man shoves Seth playfully. “You’re
fucking crazy dog. Let’s go.”
He
and his group walk away, finally leaving him alone. Seth gets into his car.