Transformation Ch. 14

I tried; I honestly tried desperately to hold it together and failed miserably. The majority of the night was spent in tears as with each retelling I felt the same as when he stepped out of the house. Growing up I'd always been like every other guy, refusing to cry because in my mind it showed weakness and here I was when I needed to be my strongest, balling like an infant. It didn't help that Detective Fredericks couldn't hold back his excitement at finally getting hard physical evidence of who the killer was.

I'm not even sure what time it was when we finally headed home. My body and brain felt as if they had been put in a blender and reduced to a fine puree. My body was desperate for rest and was instantly asleep in the front of Rob's truck. I can only assume that Rob carried me into the house and that they both helped change my clothes. I didn't typically wear anything to bed, but when I awoke I was dressed in my favorite flannel pajamas but it was the presence of an IV tube running from my arm that was the most disturbing.

Tracing the tube with my eyes, I saw that I was connected to a saline drip next to my bed. Startled by how badly I needed to pee, I disconnected the tube from my arm and rushed towards the bathroom. I was in the bathroom for longer than I expected but I took care of everything before brushing my teeth and rinsing off my face. The floor seemed unusually cold so I dug under the bed for my slippers and pulled them on. Finally outfitted in Pinky and the Brain pajamas and pink bunny slippers I headed out to the kitchen as my stomach let out a loud rumble.

Opening my door, I saw that Tiffany's door was wide open and her bed empty as sunlight streamed in around the edges of her blinds. It was nice to see that the rain had finally stopped and the sun had returned. Stepping into the main area of the house I was brought to a sudden stop by two things. Sitting on the kitchen table were three large bouquets of roses and a large white teddy bear. I wanted to look at the cards I saw sticking out, but I was drawn to the patio door and the white snow covering the back yard.

Another loud rumble from my stomach managed to pull me away from the window and over to the fridge. Opening the refrigerator my jaw dropped as I saw the remnants of a turkey dominating the top shelf. Thanksgiving had been almost a week away and yet the half-eaten turkey was staring me in the face. My hunger was temporarily forgotten, so I ran back to the bedroom and grabbed my phone to check the date.

It was the 30th of November and I'd somehow been asleep for more than a week, which certainly explained the need for the bathroom and the insistent rumble in my stomach. Returning to the kitchen, I made myself a large turkey sandwich with dressing and cranberry sauce. I figured since they had celebrated Thanksgiving without me this was as close as I would get. With a couple of large bites of sandwich finally calming my stomach, I walked over to the table so I could see who was sending Tiffany flowers.

Plucking the card from where it was tucked under the bear's arm, I pulled it out of the envelope and flipped it open. As my eyes scanned the card and processed what it said, my grip loosened and it fell to the ground.

...Sara,

You're too special for me to let you walk away like that.

Jack

"Oh fucking hell," I said aloud realizing the number written at the bottom was probably his personal cell phone. He wanted to make sure I knew his number. Picking up the card I had to reread it several times before my brain accepted what I was reading. Reading the other cards, they were all variations of the same theme. Truthfully I wasn't sure what to think about this now, knowing that Morgana had put Rob intentionally in my life. Were my feelings for Rob just a scripted piece of fiction? Was anything in my life real, and not just some piece being pushed around a game board?

Taking a look outside I saw that Tiffany's car was still in its usual spot next to my jeep but the spot where Rob would usually park had tire tracks that way too small for Rob's truck to make. I was headed to grab my phone when I remembered that we'd all made plans to go up to Flagstaff after Thanksgiving, but apparently, me being unconscious wasn't enough to change the plans. Part of me wanted to try and understand why they would just leave me lying in bed with a needle in my arm and then leave town, but I just couldn't wrap my head around it.

Deciding to grab a shower, I stepped into the bathroom and started to pull off my pajama top when it snagged on the needle still stuck in my arm. "Motherfucker," I screamed as the needle pushed into my arm. Reaching up my sleeve, I grabbed the needle and ripped it and all the tape off of my arm before tossing my pajama top to the side. Reaching in to turn on the shower, I watched as the blood dripped down my arm and briefly turned the water before running down the drain. Getting out of my remaining clothes one-handed, I stepped into the shower and took probably the quickest shower in recent memory.

The hot water felt wonderful, but I was in anything but a good mood and as soon as my hair and body were washed I was out and drying off. Looking in the mirror I saw that all of the bruising that had covered my body was gone and my cracked and broken fingernails were perfect as usual. This certainly helped explain my long nap. Unsurprisingly my arm had already healed by the time I got out of the shower. Getting dressed I had the overwhelming urge to go do something, I just didn't know what that something was. With the snow, I had to put some thought into how I was going to dress, so I opted for jeans, boots, a black tank top with a red flannel shirt over it. As I looked in the mirror I realized all I was missing was a hat and a belt and I would fit right in at a country bar. Smiling at myself, I suddenly realized what it was I was going to do.

It took me a minute to find my keys and wallet which had never made it out of my jacket pocket the day I got home. Grabbing my jacket off the hook, I found myself staring at the kitchen table for several minutes before I finally realized that it was a different table altogether. They had replaced the one I'd damaged. It was clear and cold outside, the snow crunching loudly as I made my way over to the jeep. She was a little stubborn when it came to starting, but soon the V6 came to life and I was pulling out into the street.

It had been late in the day when I awoke and the sun had already headed for the other side of the world. I knew what I wanted to do, but wasn't sure where to go so I stopped in a Boot Barn to pick up a belt and get a recommendation for a good country bar. I figured it would be the last place anyone would think to look for me. After buying a belt and talking to the girl working the floor, I knew exactly where I was headed.

Despite everything that had happened, or maybe because of it, I felt the need to just cut loose. Have some fun, have some drinks and in general forget about everything but having a good time for a while. Before my encounter with the blue gecko from hell, I used to frequent the club on base every chance I could for country night and that was just what I needed right now.

I managed to kill some time by driving around town before finally pulling into Roosters Country Cabaret. It was only about 20 minutes from the house and while Mill Avenue with all of its bars by Arizona State was closer, I wanted to dance. Even with the crappy weather, the parking lot was quickly filling with cars and trucks of all sizes. Taking only my license, cash, and the key to the jeep I made my way towards the door. As I crossed the parking lot I saw that some of the girls were braving the cold in their daisy dukes and found myself regretting not doing the same.

The line to get in was pretty short, but it was obvious that the bar was already fairly crowded which was exactly what I was hoping for. I knew I was going to be drawing attention just by the color of my hair and for tonight that was fine with me. I didn't see any open tables so I made my way to the bar and ordered a beer.

"I'll get that," a voice said next to me, "and three more Bud Lights as well please."

"I can pay for my own beer," I said, turning towards my attempted benefactor. He was good looking with dark hair and eyes and the t-shirt he had on couldn't have been tighter without being painted on.

"I'm sure you can but I severely doubt you will. If you're here by yourself you're more than welcome to join me and my buddies, I'm John by the way."

"Well, John I'll tell you what," I said picking up the beer and taking a swig, "Let me look around a little bit and if I don't get a better offer, I'll join you."

"You didn't tell me your name?"

"You're right, I didn't," I said looking over my shoulder as I strode into the crowd. It wasn't that I didn't appreciate his offer but I did want to check the place out before joining any one group of people. Besides, guys seemed to outnumber the women by a decent percentage and it would be foolish to commit myself so early.

I was passing a table with what appeared to be two couples and a guy who looked less than happy to be out when I heard overhead one of the girls say, "Go ahead and ask her."

"Are you kidding?" came the reply from Mr. Grumpy, "Look at her; there is no way she would want to dance with me."

Turning around I walked back to the group and had to relish the surprised look on everyone's face as I set my beer on the table. "You're right," I said looking him right in the eyes, "because I have no way of knowing you want to dance and since you've decided I'll say no you're not even giving me the chance to say yes." Picking up my beer again I took a long pull off of it while he seemed to contemplate what I said. As I waited, I took a moment to get a better look and decided that while he may have looked less than happy he was attractive. His blond hair was pulled back into a ponytail under his white hat which made his bright green eyes stand out.

"Would you like to dance?"

"Sure, that's what I came here to do in the first place." Setting my beer down, I waited for him to extricate himself from his stool and let him lead me out onto the dance floor. I'll admit I was a little nervous since I knew how to two-step, but I'd never had to do it backward and with someone nearly a foot taller than me. Once we reached the dance floor however I quickly realized that I shouldn't have worried as I seamlessly fell into the rhythm. It seems Gandalf included dancing in the list of new skills I got to learn.

"I'm Kyle," he said as we moved around the dance floor. He was an excellent dancer and I had no problems being able to follow his lead. We managed to not run into anyone else on the dance floor, which is some kind of record for me.

"Sara," I said only to see him wince. For a moment I thought he was going to walk off the dance floor. "Is something wrong with my name?"

"That's my ex's name."

"Oh. Well, that sucks. I understand if you'd rather find someone else to dance with."

"No, it's ok but I do think I want to get another beer. Would you like to join us? We can come back out if that's ok."

"Work's for me," I said as we headed back to the table.

"Everyone," he said reaching the table, "this is Sara. Sara, this is Kelly and Lisa and that is Roger and Mindy." Almost in sync I watched the entire table react to my name but Lisa seemed to be giving me an extra looking over and I quickly noticed her resemblance to Kyle.

"Wow," I said looking at Kyle, "your ex must have been a raging cunt for all of you to react like that." It was funny to see the looks on their faces as they all looked at each other, not realizing how visible their reaction had been. Draining my beer, I pulled some cash out of my pocket and handed it to Kyle. "Why don't you go get us another round?"

"That I can do," he said heading towards the bar.

"How bad?" I asked climbing into the open stool.

"Very," Mindy said.

"She waited until he was down on one knee proposing to tell him she'd cheated and was breaking up with him," Lisa said.

"Jesus, that's fucking cruel." I didn't even know this other Sara but I found myself hating her intensely.

"Just a bit," Lisa said, "So suffice to say I'm rather protective of my little brother."

"I get it. All I came here to do is cut loose and have some fun. I've had enough pain in my life lately and have no desire to hurt anyone else." We made small talk for a few minutes and I liked Lisa instantly. It was nice to talk with people who only knew me as I was and didn't know my history.

"Oh son of a bitch," Roger said.

"What is it?" Mindy asked.

"Hi Lisa, how's Kyle?" a woman's high squeaky voice said from behind me. It was easy to tell from her tone that she really couldn't give a fuck about him and was just trying to rub salt in the wound. Looking over my shoulder, I saw a skinny flat chested bottle blonde, her black roots standing out like a warning sign.

"Hey, Lisa? Who's the mouse?"

"I'm Kyle's ex-girlfriend Sara," she said her voice positively indignant, "I'm sure he's talked all about me."

"He mentioned that he used to date a scrawny, stringy-haired, bottle blonde gutter skank that I have the great misfortune to share a name with. I can only assume he meant you. Oh Hi, baby." I had seen Kyle approaching the table and when he stopped to set down the beers I slid off of my stool and stepped up to him. The anger on his face was readily apparent until he felt my fingers running through his hair and pulling his mouth down to mine. He seemed taken aback for a moment as my tongue snaked into his mouth, but when his hands settled on my waist I knew he was enjoying himself.

Kyle proved to be an excellent kisser and I found I was enjoying myself immensely and pressed my body into his, Kyle's hands eventually drifted down from my waist and rested on my ass. Neither of us seemed particularly interested in breaking the kiss, but inevitably we did and turning away from him, I stepped towards Sara, staring at her and tilting my head in puzzlement, "You're still here?" I could hear the laughter from the nearby tables witnessing our confrontation.

I had never seen anyone turn such a deep shade of red with anger outside of a cartoon. I'm not sure why I was feeling so defensive towards Kyle, but there was no way this bitch was going to hurt him any further. Making a noise of dismissal, I turned my back to her and picked up my beer from the table. Leaning into Kyle I made it clear that my territory was marked and she was welcome to leave.

"Well, that was interesting," Roger said once Sara finally left.

"Interesting hell," Mindy said smiling, "Fuck that was one of the hottest things I've ever seen."

"I didn't realize someone could turn so many different colors of red and purple," Lisa said, "That was awesome."

"Yeah, it was," Kyle said clearly still in a bit of a daze.

"Calm down cowboy," Kelly said, "Unlike your last one, I have a feeling this Sara would break you." Kyle looked incredibly cute as the blush settled over his face as everyone laughed.

"It's ok Kyle," I said prompting more laughter, "He's probably right, these curves are difficult to handle. Now then, I think someone promised me to return to the dance floor."

"Indeed I did," he said, taking a drink of his beer before taking my hand. All but running to the dance floor, he pulled me into his arms just as a slow song came over the speakers. Encircling my waist with his arms, I slid mine around his neck as we turned in slow circles.

"Thank you," he said.

"You're more than welcome. She needed someone to put her in her place and no one deserves to be treated like she did to you." A small smile was the only response as we made our turns on the dance floor. Song after song went by as Kyle and I continued to dance, switching easily from two-step to slow dance to line dance. Both couples joined us for a few dances before we finally returned to the table. A few guys came by the table asking if I wanted to dance, but I had to turn them all down.

It felt amazing to be able to forget everything for a while; Gandalf, Heather, Rob, Jack all were just a distant memory. I'll admit I was a little saddened when the last call was announced. I hadn't had a beer in a couple of hours and with the way, my body recovered the alcohol was long gone from my system. Lisa was the designated driver for her group, so everyone else was feeling no pain.

"Guys why don't you go outside for a minute and wait by the truck," Lisa said once we had everything together, "I need to talk to Sara for a minute."

"Uh oh," Mindy said, her words slurring together, "Someone's getting the big sister speech. Be nice Lisa, I think Kyle likes her."

"Just go and I'll be right there." The place had quickly emptied and soon only a couple of stragglers remained.

"So what did you want to talk about?"

"Mindy is right," she said, "Kyle does like you."

"Your brother is a great guy."

"I'm guessing there is probably a "but" in there somewhere," she said.

"You're right there is. Lisa, I like your brother but the last thing I need right now is a new relationship. I've had some really bad things happen lately and this evening was just about trying to escape for a little while. I appreciate you welcoming me into your group for tonight, but this is probably the last time you'll ever see me."

"Just do me a favor then. Be honest and let him down easy. I don't want him hurt more than he already is."

"Lisa get out here," Mindy yelled running back into the bar, "Kyle is fighting with some guy."

"Son of a bitch," Lisa said as we both headed towards the door, "this is the last fucking thing he needs." Crossing the parking lot at full speed we soon found Kyle in a drunken fight with John. Of course, they decided to fight right in front of my jeep. When we saw Sara yelling for John to kick his ass it explained everything.

"She's mine."

"Have fun," she said. As I crossed over to where Sara was standing she saw me and started backing up until she bumped into the tailgate of a truck.

"What the fu..." was all she was able to get out before my fist connected with her jaw. I didn't hit her as hard as I wanted to but it was enough to rock her head back and drop her on to her ass.

"If you even so much as think a negative thought about Kyle ever again I will find you and beat the living hell out of you." Kneeling I closed until I was inches from her face. "and next time I promise I won't be so gentle. Have I made myself clear?" She had a look of terror in her eyes as it dawned on her just how serious I was. Nodding her head to the affirmative I got up to see the results of the fight.

Kyle and John were still throwing drunken blows at each other when Kyle connected with a solid punch to John's midsection, doubling him over and dropping him to his knees. Kyle was standing over him, ready for him to try something when John started to retch, emptying his stomach onto the asphalt. "I'm parked on the other side of the lot," Lisa said, "let me get the truck and we can load him up."

"Jesus Kyle, what the hell was that about?" I asked bringing him over to the jeep; his lip was split and his eye was swollen and headed towards black. Pulling the ever-present first aid kit out I grabbed an ice pack and slapped it onto the side of his face. Roger, Kelly, and Mindy were all standing behind me rehashing the fight.

"He called you a whore," he said his eyes glassy and words slurred, "so I hit him." I wasn't sure how he was even still on his feet as he seemed on the verge of passing out. Some part of me deep inside swelled up at the thought of Kyle fighting to defend my honor.

"Ha-ha bitches," Sara screamed, "I called the cops and you're all going to jail." The sound of sirens in the distance started growing close and I realized we were in serious trouble.