Mine...Yours Pt. 01

"Last time I spoke without an attorney present and just told the truth to a police officer who was just wanting to know my side of the story, everything got twisted. I was thrown in jail and accused of something I did not do. Details can be twisted, even erased, by those taking notes. With respect I have nothing to say at this time unless I have an attorney present." I told them quietly. The female officer placed her hand on my wounded leg and began to squeeze the bandages. "Are you sure there is nothing you want to tell...hey!"

Jemima pulled the woman's hand back off my leg, "Excuse me, officer, I didn't want you to get any blood on your hands." Jemima's face looked anything but peaceful staring into the officer's eyes. Her eyes began doing that color shifting thing again, and the officer relaxed.

"Not a problem." She said softly, almost dreamily. Jemima turned her gaze to the male officer who was starting to stand and reach for his weapon. You should never make physical contact with a police officer. I know this only to well when I tried to shake one of their hands. Jemima's eyes locked onto his and she said firmly, "Please stand next to your partner and look at me." He did so and now both were staring at Jemima. Her teeth grew long and her eyes shifted back in forth through the color spectrum more quickly and even brighter than before. Then she spoke, but in a voice full of authority, of total command.

"Thank you both for coming out here to check on us. We appreciate your valuable time, officers, and thank you for checking our house and the grounds for intruders. Since you found nothing, it seems to be maybe a stray animal of some kind was making a racket. There didn't seem to be any need for notes to be taken." As she said this Gwen walked up with a glass of water for me, then turned and tore off the notes that the officer's had been taking in their notepads.

"Now that everything is settled, why don't you go to the coffee shop down the highway and get yourselves something to eat and drink. You will remember this as being a routine call, and a false alarm...do you understand?" Both officer's nodded and headed out the front door to their patrol car.

"They going to be alright to drive?" I asked softly after the door was shut. Hildy looked down into my eyes and I could see it. She was starting to do the thing I hated. Damn it! I could see the pity beginning to form in her eyes looking down at me! I don't want or need your pity! I don't like the way it makes me feel! I don't like feeling like a soft helpless child! I don't...feel. I feel! No wonder I have been off my game and everything hurts, the Door. The Door is damaged and I got to fix it. I could feel tears as my emotions so long shut away, were now making themselves painfully aware.

Normally I could deal with this fallout alone in my house, but now I have an audience of three women all looking down at me. I wanted to say something, but I was afraid to cry, to show weakness in front of them. It sounds stupid I know, but that is how my mind works. Never show weakness to potential enemies, and as a sex offender...everyone is a potential enemy.

Hildy spoke first, "Why didn't you tell us?" I looked away.

"Greg...why didn't you tell us." She asked again.

"What was I supposed to say?" I returned. "I am not on any watch list, or considered a threat onf any kind. It's not something you just walk up to someone and tell them!"

I chuckled, and stopped before it became a sob, Jemima noticed though and her gaze sharpened and became more intent on my face. "You just don't introduce yourself as the friendly neighborhood sex offender now do you!" I finished. Gwen had a ghost of a smile on her face as I said that.

"Jemima, when I first met you, you were being all protective of your roommates. Would that have been a good time to tell you?" I asked. I saw Jemima shake her head and glance at the ground for a moment.

"Gwen, same thing I asked her. I saw you looking at me with fear on your face when you nearly ran your bike into me. I at first thought you were just surprised and shocked. Then you kept on being afraid of me...would that have been a good time to tell you?" She shook her head and looked about to speak, but then just waited to see what I would say next.

I looked over at Hilda, and saw her fold her arms over her ample chest and look down at me. She smiled, I would love to say it was a wolfish grin, but I am just not that lucky enough. "Don't even need to ask Greg, I get it." She leaned over, close enough that her long hair fell in my face. "I know you're innocent. I can smell you, and in my long life I have known many types of people. You are not what they say you are." I closed my eyes, just relishing in what she said.

I felt a hand fall on my leg and I startled a bit from the unexpected contact. "Easy there slugger!" Jemima said with a soft chortle. "Just saying my piece now." Her hand came up and I watched wide-eyed as it caressed the side of my face. "Even without a sensitive nose like Hilda's. Anyone who could fight off a succubus could not be a sex offender. If you were then you would have been one of the first to be her lunch!" She pulled her hand back and made room for Gwen who sat down at my hips on the edge of the couch cushion. She opened and closed her mouth many times before she spoke.

"I am empathic Greg. I feel other people's feelings and emotions, it borderlines on telepathy. When I first saw you, and you touched me; I felt so much pain, shame, anger, and then nothing! Each time an emotion surfaced it would disappear. I was curious about you, and a little afraid. I am not as old as my roommates, so I have never encountered someone like you before." She placed her hand in the center of my chest. "I feel you now though. You are still hurt..." her voice trailed off, and her eyes warmed to me as she looked back down at me.

"I feel it! You are grateful!" She sounded so happy, and I was being touched, the first time in a long while where I was being touched and it felt goooood! Good enough that I was starting to have a physical reaction that made me embarrassed! I felt Gwen give a quick rub on my sternum and give me a giggle and a wink before she stood up again. Oh...right...empathic. Probably picked up on my, oh hell! I shifted a little uncomfortably. "Guys? I appreciate what you all have said, words can't really... Thanks." Dang it, I can feel my eyes starting to leak! "I'd really like to get home if you don't mind?"

Literally three minutes later I had all three women in my house and I was tucked into my mattress on the floor of my bedroom! I saw Gwen walking around my bedroom, such as it was, staring at my bookselves. I have a lot of them, made from cinderblocks stacked with 1X8 pieces of lumber. She started reading my authors. "Sun Tzu, Nietzche, Socrates, Asimov, Heinlen, Thoreou. Those are some interesting choices. A lot of, I guess classics."

She kept wandering around and looking out the windows as I lay there watching her. "Where's Hildy and Jemima at?" I asked. I could guess though. She giggled and said, "If I know them they are probably exploring your house and seeing what secrets they can find! Probably trying to find your hidden porn collection! I would have looked under the mattress, but your lying on that right now." I just stared at the ceiling. She noticed my lack of response. "Something I said?" She stepped closer. "You know they aren't really searching your house like that, I can call them back if you..."

"I don't have any porn." I said quickly. "As a sex offender on probation I am not allowed any porn." I took a deep breath. "Not even a Victoria Secret catalogue. If I have a girlfriend and she sends me a picture on my cell phone of her bra covered breasts, and the police find it they can take me back to jail and I get a new charge. Or my PO, that's my probation officer, can extend my probation as much as they see fit. It is a violation to look at that sort of stuff."

Gwen got quiet. "So you can't see anything sexual in real life either?"

"If I had a girlfriend she and I could do the horizontal mambo as much as we wanted with no repercussions. Except of course for pregnancy, or a chance at STDs, or a broken heart when she finds out what I have been labeled. Yeah, kind of messes up the whole dating thing."

"But...I don't get it, if they got to know you, heard your story like we all did...?"

Yes dear reader, I told them the story of my hurt. I am not going into it again if you don't mind, you already got the story and it kind of hurts to write it all out again so I won't put it down here a second time. Tough. Their reactions were what you would expect, except for Jemima's. She seemed to not be surprised by the way the court system worked itself out on me. Now, back to the story.

"Sure, I get some sympathy, or they freak out. Kind of a coin toss most of the time in how they are going to react. " I replied.

"So when was the last time you have been with a woman?" Gwen asked softly. I eyed her for a moment. I was wondering if this was going to be one of those situations where the nubile hottie then comes onto the hurt bed ridden hero who saved them to give him some much needed release. Then they cuddle until the sun comes up, make love one more time and they both know now something special has sparked between them. I met her eyes, yeah, that is kind of what she was thinking.

"It's been four years for me, and I haven't been looking to get any either." I said flatly. She blinked. I could see her mouth the words Four Years to herself. "Why not?" she asked.

"Obviously it's because of the stigma associated with...hell Gwen. Why are we having this conversation, seriously? I can see the pity and shock in your eyes, are you looking to give me...? No, this conversation is done. I appreciate you trying to get to know me and understand my situation, but please. I can't do this right now, possibly ever. I really need some sleep."

Gwen looked like she wanted to say more, her mouth opening and closing a few times, but she was saved by Hildy poking her head up above my rough form banister at the stair leading into my room. "Hey, Gwen! You finished healing him up yet, you got to see this!" Gwen turned to look at her roomie, and I picked up the blanket and saw that, yep, other than a few scars my leg was looking just as good as it was yesterday!

"How did you..." I started to ask, but she interrupted me. "I'm a witch Greg, it's what I do! Coming Hildy...Greg wants to sleep." She started to leave and I threw the blankets off of my body and stood up. Hildy looked closely at me, but appraisingly, and differently. I guess this was the first time she saw me without a shirt. I was just wearing long legged gym shorts for bed, and now she got to see my pudge. Remember I told you all I am a bit overweight? Well, now she was really seeing it and I felt a blush begin to creep up on me, but stopped it. I'm in my own house and they are poking around in it.

"Show me what you were going to show Gwen." I said quietly. "Also, I don't believe I gave you permission to go snooping in my house did I?" I heard Jemima's voice sail up from the stairs.

"Nope, you didn't Mr. Recluse! How else we gonna find anything out about you if we don't look for ourselves. Gwen! You gotta see this guy's basement!"

My jaw dropped! "No!" I shouted. Too late, Hildy and Gwen were scooting down the stairs, and I lumbered after them with a slight limp. I rounded the stairs and a got brief glimpse of Gwen's broomstick skirt as they sailed down the basement stairs. I gave pursuit and then we were all standing in my basement and Hildy was looking over everything with a critical eye.

My real-life basement is a lot different than the one in my mind's eye. There is no Door, is one major difference. The other is that my basement is my gym. I salvaged a bunch of large mirrors that normally would be thrown away out of the dumpsters at work. I mounted them with hardware I took from another dumpster to the wall all along one side of the basement. It looked similar to what you see at most professional gyms, or dance studios. I had several heavy bags of various sizes and heights hanging from the wooden supports in the floor. Some were homemade out of car seat coverings, a couple I had purchased years ago. There were cinder blocks with bars passed through them and tied tightly with cord, they were obviously weights of some kind, and yeah. It looked like exactly what it was, a post apocalyptic weight room.

"Why would you hide this from us? What is there to be embarrassed about?" Gwen asked looking at me curiously. Jemima added. "This room has seen a lot of use. You should be as fit as a professional athlete from all this. It's got your smell and...blood over all of it. So what gives?"

I took a half step back from all of those eyes on me. I felt so, exposed I guess is the right word. Like that old dream of giving a report in front of the class and all of a sudden you realize your zipper is unzipped and you chose that day of all days to go commando to school? Something like that is what I was feeling. First these women realize I can See them for who they are, that leverage I had was now gone. Same time they now find out I am a sex offender, and see how the cops treat me, then I had to depend on them to patch me up. That all in all was a lot to handle for anyone to deal with. Then they search my house, for what I don't know, and find my gym. If they are smart their going to put two and two together and...

"Camouflage..." Hildy muttered to herself, while scenting the air of the room.

"What's camouflage?" Gwen asked. Hildy looked at me, and I couldn't move. If my Door had been fixed, and not leaking emotions all over the place I might have not given anything away. Oh well, if wishes were dinner no one would be starving.

"His body, it's his camouflage." Hildy said simply. The others looked at me, their eyes tracing my form and looking for what Hilda was talking about.

"He looks like he always does, I don't," Jemima's voice trailed off. She licked her lips a moment and then snapped her eyes to my body again. "Your right Hildy. His taste doesn't add up to what I see."

Gwen still looked confused. Hilda stepped up to me and my body stiffened and I stood straighter to meet her eyes. "I smell it in this room. You work out here, and hide your training because you feel hunted. You don't strike me as a prey animal, you fight with surprise tactics. I saw that when you fought the succubus." I heard Jemima snicker.

"How could you have seen the fight Hildy, you were busy at the time!" The werewolf cut her eyes sharply to her vampire companion and the snickering stopped, but the smirk stayed on the woman's lips.

She turned her head back to me, then quickly smacked me in the stomach! I let out a surprised woof of air, then quickly sucked back in oxygen through my teeth. I glowered at the woman. "Like I thought," she said. "That layer of blubber around you is only an inch or so thick. Your abs are hard as a rock. I bet you could do sit ups with Gwen sitting on your chest." She looked off to the side and spotted a circular fifty-pound weight with hand grips I had jury rigged by the mat on the floor. "You hold that when you do your abdominal workouts?" I didn't respond just stared hard at her.

She nodded, and glanced around the room again. "You work out hard here so they don't see you train, and you don't try to get rid of excess fat, so no one knows how strong you might be. You always want to be underestimated don't you?"

I felt a shiver up my spine, and I saw Jemima and Gwen look at me differently, appraising me much the way Hildy did from the stair in my room. "What do you want from me?" I asked quietly. Hilda's eyes widened in surprise. "Seriously, what do you want from me!" I said it louder. Jemima started speaking but I cut her off.

"You keep poking at my secrets, and I just want to be left alone! I tried to be a good neighbor, and I felt that we were beginning to get along. I thank you for accepting me and listening to me but you all are going too far. Too. Damn. Far!" I took a deep breath and let it out slowly, letting the tension leave. Surprisingly, my Door felt firm, and back in place at the end of it. I always heard that deep breathing can solve a lot of the world's ailments, guess there must be some truth to that. I could feel my face changing back to the empty look that I normally carried on me. The face I use when I am alone. Gwen shuddered a little seeing it. I guess someone who is an empathic witch, they must find it a little disconcerting.

"I would like you all to leave now. Please do not come back. Thank you for inviting me to your party, and thank you for fixing my leg. I think it best to say goodbye now." I turned and walked back up the stairs and waited by the front door. I finally saw them at the top of the stairway and opened the front door for them, "This way, please." I asked quietly. The women came forward, and passed me on the way out. Hilda stopped and looked slightly down at me, "Look, Greg, I am sor..."

My voice came out hoarse, and I had to clear my throat and start again. "Jus...Just get out."

If she had been wearing her fur coat when I said that, her ears would have been drooping. "Farewell. My friend." she said softly. "Friends don't treat people like you treated me." I replied. She looked back at me and said her last sentence softly just for my ears alone.

"Greg, sometimes friends push."

To be continued...