Short Stories

The Lonely Horse - Chapter 2

I stand in front of my closet. Evelyn and José left to gather their supernatural gear, and I'm alone again. I like being alone. I'm at my best alone.

I look at my overflowing mess of a hamper. After I spilled iced tea on my last shirt, I don't know if I have anything to wear. Except...

Oh, great.

With a loud sigh, I crouch down and pull a box out from underneath my bed. It's a care package from my parents. They sent me clothes. How thoughtful. I never really told them that I'm a girl, because they wouldn't believe it, and they never thought that my long hair or pierced ears might mean something. I always wear jeans and t-shirts when I go back home, and they probably sent me lots of boy clothes.

I pull a long-sleeved dark purple shirt from the pile of neatly folded clothes. Huh. That's weird. It's cut skinny, with a scoop neck instead of a crew neck. I squint at the tag printed on the back, and realize it's from the women's section.

Probably a mistake. I bet that my mom went shopping and was so busy on her phone that she wandered into the women's section and bought me a shirt from there without realizing it. I take off my robe and hold the shirt up to myself. It looks like it's my size. It even brings out my eyes. I guess random chance can make you get lucky sometimes.

I grab the bra from under my pillow, and get dressed in the shirt and some jeans. (Is it weird that I buy jeans from the men's section? I just like having real pockets. Evelyn does it too.) I pocket my phone, and put my wallet in my bag, in case they need to identify my body. I check my bag of supplies: salt, pepper spray, knife, duct tape, matches, EMF meter, makeup mirror, holy water, granola bar. (A girl's got to eat.)

Okay. I'm ready to deal with this. I'll look around, and tell Evelyn and José about anything weird I see. Then they'll possibly save the world from this cursed lonely horse thing, and I'll go back to my life of TV and studying and sleep.

I don't care what other people think. I like my life. My therapist said I had "complex PTSD" and "trust issues" and that I isolated myself because I didn't "feel safe around other people." But that was a load of nonsense, so I stopped seeing her. People are selfish and noisy and unpredictable. TV is always there for you for a small monthly fee. You never wonder where you stand. I don't get why anyone bothers with the outside world at all.

But sometimes I have to go protect the outside world, and that means tolerating other people long enough to point out the monster and then go home.

José texts, asking again if I'm sure I can do this. I tell him yes, and that I'll meet him at his apartment.

It's 6:58 when we all meet up in front of José's apartment. The air is still, with humidity hanging low in the air. The dying light from sunset is long gone, and you can pick out some stars. We live in a small college town, so the light pollution isn't too bad. I can hear noise from a nearby Halloween party. The cold air bites the tip of my nose.

"You're shivering, Marley," José says. He pulls his hoodie off over his head and hands it over to me.

"I don't want you to be cold." I don't uncross my arms.

"I brought an extra jacket for myself," he says, shooting Evelyn an I-told-you-so look. Evelyn rolls her eyes. "C'mon, I warmed this up just for you."

I let out a big sigh, hiding a smile as I put on the hoodie. José always smells faintly of cinnamon, and now I'm wrapped in the scent. The hoodie is several sizes too large for me, and it's still warm from him.

José catches me savoring the experience while he is putting on a denim jacket. He grins at me. I turn pink and try to hide my head in the oversized hoodie like a turtle.