The Strangeness Within Pt. 01

"I'm going to bed," Esther said. "Thank you so much for keeping me company. For everything you've done. And for being such a wonderful mother to Javier."

Mrs. Sanchez grunted and levered herself off the couch, enfolding Esther in a hug.

"You take care of him," she said. "He loves you, and he will try to protect you with all his strength, but I think he might not understand how strong you are yourself, no?"

She sniffled and leaned against the older woman. Of course Mrs. Sanchez had guessed about what was going to happen. Javier said you couldn't really fool her. He'd gotten that from somewhere, after all.

"I will take care of him, Mrs. Sanchez," she said solemnly.

"You can call me Mamá," she said. "If you like."

* * *

She undressed and put on her gym clothes, the dark-colored set, and then went through the list again.

There was so little for her to take. The pouch of money, of course. Plenty of underwear, and the extra set of gym clothes. Her sneakers and her most practical other pair. Her dresses were hardly good for traveling, but she picked out three that could be rolled up without too much wrinkling. She stuffed it all into a lumpy bag, and then she just had to wait.

Just before midnight, she opened her window. It was difficult to drop the bag as quietly as she wanted, but then it gave her something to land on. She grunted a bit, breathing hard as she let herself down, and then closed the window. Javier had jumped into her room through this window like an acrobat, and she could barely manage this.

She moved as quickly as she could to the edge of the forest, breathing a sigh of relief when the trees enfolded her. She'd always been so comfortable here, and it wasn't only because of Javier. The forest just felt like home, and perhaps it was in a way. From Father's story, she might as well have been born amongst the trees.

She reached the section of forest closest to Javier's window, glancing at the visible bit of the street. There didn't seem to be anyone there. Maybe they were being paranoid. But as Javier said, the stakes were too high, at least for her. She felt a powerful pang of guilt for the danger Javier might be putting himself into, but she couldn't do this without him.

He opened the window silently at her light knock, accepting the bag from her as though it weighed nothing. And then he pulled her right up as if she hardly weighed any more. Like that day so long ago, except that everything had changed.

His bed was right under the window, and she rolled into his arms, holding him tight while he closed the window.

"Everything all right?" he asked.

"As all right as it could be," she said. "I really got along with your Mamá. I feel terrible leaving her with such a mess."

"Me too," he said, helping her remove her shoes.

She sighed and lay on his bed, and shortly he lay down beside her. It was so much more intimate than she expected, having her whole body stretched next to his. She rolled closer to him and their faces met.

This time she let him lead the kissing, and after a minute or two of that she was starting to feel the fluttery sensation in her stomach. She felt as though her senses were sharpening, or maybe it was something to do with pheromones, because she could smell the warm musk of Javier, filling her nostrils and entering inside her, as though her body already anticipated everything to come.

But she couldn't join with him physically, not that way. She would have to be content with other things. She put an arm over his side, and Javier did the same for her, carefully avoiding the area she'd told him about. So she reached back and moved his arm down, until he was stroking her lower back the way she wanted.

She tried to get closer, but it was so awkward. Javier seemed to understand, because he shifted his legs until her thigh slipped between them. She knew how sensitive boys were, so she didn't move it any closer.

"It's OK," he said, pulling her leg in tighter. "You won't hurt me that way, if you're gentle."

He was a furnace against her, and soon he got his other arm around her. She was so warm, too warm really. With a gasp she pulled away slightly, struggling with her T-shirt, trying not to think too hard.

"Are you OK?" he asked, disentangling himself to give her space.

"Too warm," she said as she finally got the shirt off. Her heart pounded, and his hand tentatively stroked her bare stomach. She giggled nervously.

"My back," she said softly. "And, maybe you could take off your shirt?"

She wanted to crush herself against him, but the room felt stifling. His hand brushed her back, finding the rough area, and she let out a deep moan.

"You're so lovely," he mumbled as he traced the odd patch, then found another. "Such a beautiful woman."

His chest was lean and powerful. She couldn't stop running her fingers over his muscles, the hard curves of his arms. Something was happening between her breasts, and another tingling was growing between her legs. But that was too confusing to think about. She just wanted him to touch her like this, forever. They didn't have to leave in the morning. They could stay in bed, their fingers moving more slowly, their breath matching each other's, like a complicated single beast. Together two people could make stranger shapes than even her body.

* * *

"Esther," he whispered. The sky was brightening with early light.

She'd moved a little closer to him during the night, but not so close that it hid all the parts of her he'd dreamed about in the dark.

The skin of her torso was everywhere as pale as her face, except for an unusual pattern of dark freckles above her bra, between her breasts. There was a hint of purplish color to them, like the nipple she'd so memorably shown him. He wanted to kiss her there. Everywhere.

On her lower torso she had a fine, soft blond body hair, steadily thickening towards the waist of her pants. Like what he'd seen on her legs. Those rough patches of skin on her back looked little different from the surrounding areas, but the way she'd responded -- well, clearly he would be spending a lot of time touching her there.

"Esther," he said again, and this time she stirred.

He'd never actually spent the whole night with a girl, except that one time before with Esther, which hardly counted. Then again, maybe it did. Watching a sleeping woman who trusted him was such a beautiful thing.

She smiled sleepily at him, and then her expression fell, because of course this was the last restful moment of their old life.

"It's time, then?" she asked, and he nodded.

But they just lay there for a minute, looking at each other. He could tell how nervous she was to be half-dressed, but she didn't hide herself. She traced the muscles of his arm, in that way he'd liked so much last night.

Finally she rolled and turned away to pull her shirt on. In a few minutes they were huddled in the kitchen quietly eating some cereal. Javier's stomach was a knot, and he didn't feel hungry at all.

Carrying her bag, he led her into the garage, kissing her one last time before helping her get quietly settled in the back seat under a blanket.

Heart pounding, he walked quickly out the front door to go visit Mamá. She answered the door with a tired smile.

"You sure you want to go to school?" she asked loudly. "I can call them again. Maybe Esther could use some company."

"I don't think so," he said. "I wasn't much help yesterday. I think she needs a little space. Maybe she can remember some distant relatives, or friends of the family, so you don't have to do all this."

"It's no bother," Mamá said. "That's what neighbors are for, mijo, even if we don't know them very well. Why don't you come in and talk to Esther for a minute, at least. I think I heard her."

He walked in, and Mamá gripped his shoulder after they closed the door. But he quickly made his way towards Esther's room, opening the door a minute.

"I said hi," he said. "She's still pretty exhausted. Maybe tomorrow she'll be better."

"I hope so," said Mamá. "I hope so. Now, give me a hug before you go."

He hugged her, and he could feel the way she shook, trying to hold back her tears.

"I love you, Mamá," he said. "See you later."

Mamá just nodded, wiping her eyes. He opened the door, giving one last wave as he walked down the steps.

He tried to hold himself together as he drove out of the garage, just in case. Of course he didn't see anyone suspicious in the neighborhood. He wondered again if he was being totally paranoid.

He was crying when he entered the school lot, but that was all right. Slowly he circled through, then exited out the back entrance. No one followed him.

When he reached the freeway, he gave a big sigh. He glanced at the back seat, but all he saw was a rumpled blanket. Being so tiny had its advantages. He'd pull over when he thought it was safer, and she'd come up front wearing the stupid floppy hat and sunglasses.

It was more a direction than an actual plan. But they had to start somewhere.

"To Stanford?" he asked.

"Stanford," Esther agreed.