Lucille walked into his room. Still in his t-shirt and boxers, her hair flowing behind her. A silver strand standing out amongst the rest. She walked closer to him. A cold wind wrapped around them. She leaned forward, her hand tracing the outline of his face, but not touching it. He longed for her to touch him. The temperature dropped as she closed in on him. An icy, earthy wind swept across his hairline. As Jake went to hold her, the room and everything around it faded to black.
In the morning when Jake’s phone rang it was Doc.
“Still asleep at ten-thirty am?”
“Still judging you brother,” he had snapped back, half asleep.
“You have five minutes before I reach the corner deli to pick up breakfast and coffee, so text me your order.”
“Mmm, coffee,” Jake grunted.
“And 15 minutes before I get there.”
Jake sighed, “okay. Okay.”
The phone beeped in his ear. His sister had hung up on him.
Jake rolled over and stretched himself out. Sitting up he saw Max sitting on top of his fish tank, the one Lucille had gotten him for Christmas. His tail twisting in tune with the movements of a scared Ranchu goldfish.
“At least you let me sleep in,” Jake said, getting up from the bed. “Don’t worry, I know it’s not because you’re a nice cat.”
Jake shuffled into the bathroom. It was Saturday. Lucille always let him sleep on Saturday mornings while she read a book or went for a run or for a hike. She was almost always home around 11, which gave him plenty of time to sleep in. His sister on the other hand had Lucille’s early morning resolve, but didn’t appreciate other people’s concepts of time. Turning on the water, Jake hopped in.
The spray of cold water put his whole body on alert. It wasn’t the most cozy way to wake up, but it definitely did the trick. Five minutes later he was out of the shower and drying off when his phone beeped. Shit, Jake thought, I never texted her what I wanted.
“Hope you wanted a Taylor ham, egg, and cheese on an everything bagel. S/P/K. With a large coffee, light and sweet. Because that’s what you’re getting. You’re lucky enough to be getting that.”
“The perfect breakfast from the perfect sister. Thanks, Doc,” Jake wrote back.
“You’re welcome. Consider it payment for watching, Max,” she responded almost immediately. Before Jake could answer a second text came in, “I’m on my way. Better be ready.”
Jake rolled his eyes, and grabbed a pair of jeans from a heap of clothes on the floor. He tightened the belt that had still been on the jeans from the day before. What his sister didn’t know wouldn’t kill her. What business was it of hers if he reused a pair of jeans. She wasn’t his mother. She just helped to raise him, and their father, after their own mother left them for an investment broker long before Jake even knew what an investment was.
There was a loud knock on the door, followed by the sound of the lock turning. Jake wiped the mouthwash off his chin with his t-shirt before pulling it over his head. He had just jammed it down as Doc walked in the doorway.
“Breakfast,” Jake exclaimed as he walked over toward his sister. “Let me help you with that,” he said taking the to-go tray and brown paper bag from her hands.
Doc followed her brother into the kitchenette. Giving it a once over she was happy to see that her brother was living like a human and not an unsupervised version of the teenage boy he had once been.
“You’re welcome, Dweeb,” Doc said, ruffling her brother’s hair. “Before we get to the heavy stuff, where is my Max?”
“Probably eating his way through my goldfish. You’re more than welcome to check my bedroom. You can even replace my fish, if you really want. I won’t stop you,” Jake said, unloading the bag.
“You didn’t let him eat the goldfish, did you?”
“Let him?”
“That’s not part of his diet. That shouldn’t be part of any house pet’s diet,” Doc said, as she fled from the kitchen.
“Yes, because I wanted my fish to become your cat’s lunch. Do you even listen to yourself anymore,” Jake retorted between chews.
Doc returned to the kitchenette, Max wrapped up in her arms. Jake had just picked up the second half of his bagel. “If you’re not gonna eat that,” he said. Max leapt out of Doc’s arms as she made her way to diner countertop. “You could have asked for two -”
“You’re a doctor now, you could have guessed. I’m still just a growing lad,” Jake cut her off.
“The only growth I’m seeing is the abyss in your brain,” Doc said. Sitting down next to her brother she looked at him. He was smiling, but his eyes were puffy. There was a tightness around his mouth. Reaching out, Doc rested her hand on his shoulder.
“She’s going to be okay, Jake,” Doc said softly. “Why don’t you start at the beginning…”
Jake forcibly swallowed his last bite and exhaled. Reaching for his coffee, he shrugged his shoulders back, his chest puffing outward. Lucille might not want someone to come barreling in on a golden horse and save her, but that’s what she needed right now. That’s what he was prepared to do. Even if it scared him shitless.
Once Jake had finished unloading everything he could think of, he released a deep exhale and waited. Cracking and re-cracking his knuckles, as he stared at his sister in silence. He wondered if his sister was going to have Lucille locked up for good. Jake was fairly certain that not being able to decide what she wanted for dinner three weeks ago didn’t mean Lucille had lost her marbles. However, not sleeping in her own room for fear of voices and monsters might be a “do not pass go” type of situation.
“Doc,” Jake blurted out, “are you going to say anything or wait until I’ve also lost my mind?”
“Mmm,” Doc grunted, “sorry – I’m just thinking…” Her voice trailed off as she flipped through an old notebook.
“Okay,” Jake exhaled loudly, “you think. I’m just going to, to, – I don’t even know.”
“Mhmm”
Jake thought about going to get his phone from the bedroom. It was almost 11:45. Lucille would definitely be back and maybe even starting to worry about him. He looked through the doorway of his bedroom. His black phone looked like an ominous stain on his light grey sheets. Worrying about him was the last thing she needed. He could fake his way through a casual texting exchange about when he and Doc would be over, but if she called him. Worried and wound up, Jake turned on his heel and headed back down the hallway toward the kitchen.
What would he say, “hey, I’m bringing my sister over to evaluate you because I think you’re off your rocker babe! Great, see you in a bit!” She would know something was up. What if it made her more upset than last night? At least if he and Doc were there, it would be different. She wouldn’t be home alone knowing the person she loved most in this world thought she was crazy. Jake was next to Doc, in her own oblivion was still flipping through a different notebook now. Lucille was alone. Right now, and probably worrying about him. Jake whipped around and headed back toward his bedroom. At the very least he should check and see if she texted him.
Approaching his bedroom door, once more he felt unsure. He so badly wanted to do what was best for Lucille, but he wasn’t an expert. But he did have one, and she was in his kitchen. Once more, Jake headed back toward the kitchen.
“Are you going to keep doing that,” Doc said, looking up from her notebook.
“Doing what,” Jake snapped.
“Pacing. Back and forth, muttering to yourself.”
Jake stood across from his sister holding his empty coffee cup. “I, uh-”
“Didn’t realize,” Doc suggested. “I didn’t think so. Anyway, I found what I was looking for.”
“You did? What was it?”
“It’s another case that we learned about in school actually. Somewhat of a similar situation. I can tell you more about it in the car. Go call Lucille and put your shoes on, okay?”
Jake nodded and walked, yet again, back to his bedroom. This time he waltzed into his room and right to his bed. Bracing himself for anything, Jake picked up his cell phone. His breath left him when he saw no missed calls or texts from Lucille.
Slipping on his sneakers, Jake almost knocked over Doc who was walking down the hallway toward the front door.
“Something’s not right,” Jake said. A look of panic spread across his face.
Doc nodded, and took her keys from her jacket.
“Come on then,” she said, closing the door and locking it behind them. Jake had called Lucille’s phone a dozen or so times on the drive to her house. Each time it went directly to voicemail. She was notorious for leaving her phone unplugged and under twenty percent, especially before bed. He had been so wrapped up in her magic the night before he hadn’t thought of her phone. He had texted her when he got home, but it was late. He figured she had finally fallen asleep.
A knot was growing in his stomach, encroaching upon the bits of food he dared to eat earlier. He thought of Lucille from his dream last night, and of her earlier in the evening. Doc pulled up to a red light, and looked over at her brother. She had a feeling this wasn’t going to end much better than the case her professor had witnessed first hand. She watched as a small reflective drop rolled across her brother’s cheek into the corner of his mouth.
Using the back of his hand, Jake pushed his nose up and straightened himself out. Once more he unlocked his phone and tried Lucille’s number. Hanging up in vain as her voicemail picked up.