Labelled by Blood

      Jesse looked into my eyes. His looked exhausted. Were they like this all day? Did I just never notice?       "Alex?" he asked.       "Right. Everything okay?" He didn't answer. "Dammit Jess," I scoffed, "is everything okay?"       He shook his head. His eyes misted. I felt like a jerk. A new label to add to the catalog of negatives.       "What's wrong?" I asked.       He broke down in a way only Jesse could. Not with full tears, but with shaky confidence that cracked in real-time and a constant grimace with head shaking.       "I'm scared, Alex."       I knew I didn't have to ask. But I did anyways. "About what?"       He shook his head again.       "We'll take it down," I said. "Me, you, and Parker. We can't lose."       Jesse stood up abruptly. We walked off. I trailed after him, tossing out my trash and his soup filled with bits of cheesecake and strawberries. He didn't say anything until we got outside.       "Walk me home," he said. He was shaking.       "Right."       We walked to his house for the first time, ever. Puddles in the streets reflected the pale moon. Streetlamps lit up a broken bridge of safety. Cars passed by with an urgency that didn't fit a Tuesday night. When we finally got to his house, he broke apart.       "I've been thinking," he sobbed. "About what happened with you and Jesus. How you almost died. How the Collector just patched you up like it was giving you a an icepack. How your Mom and Dad are even worried about you."       I was speechless. I searched him for answers he was looking for himself. I shook my head. "Jesse, I'm scared, too."       He nodded. "I know, but I don't think we can do it."       My stomach dropped. Heart shattered.       "What if that thing's been watching us every time we go out there?"       I wanted to disappear. Go away forever.       "Alex?"       I shrugged. "I. I don't know, Jesse."       "What if we don't live to see tomorrow?"       I chuckled at this, not because it was funny. "We'll see tomorrow."       "And Thursday?"       "We'll make it happen."       He took my words and chewed them. He hugged me, kissed me, kept me close. Then he pulled away.       "I have to go. Mom and Dad are going to be pretty upset."       I nodded. "Right."       Jesse kissed my cheek. "Thank you. Night, Alex. Get home safe and text me when you do."       My hand grazed where he kissed me and I smiled just a big enough to see. "Mmhmm. Night, Jess."       I didn't think he believed me. But I also just needed him to survive and come out still Jesse. I watched him go inside his house. Some screaming poked through asking where he'd been and if he realized how late it was. I faced down the street and headed to my house. Where I had no clue what awaited me.       On the way, I saw a few familiar faces, but they continued to ignore my existence. At least I could always count on the average person to make me feel hidden and invisible. I passed the gym. A figured stepped out and I immediately recognize his silhouette. It was the creep. I walked faster and didn't look back. Why was he at the gym at seven o' clock? Who did that?       Thankfully, he didn't follow me like I feared. When I got home, took in a deep breath and a got a taste of something smoky in the air. It wasn't bad, but it was clear it wasn't food being cooked. I put my hand on the gold and shimmering knob that dressed to impress. A soft click rang out as I twisted the knob and stepped in. My parents were still reading their books and put them down immediately. They almost rushed at me and I had to make some space.       "Alex?" Mom asked. "Are you okay?"       I furrowed my brows, my eyes darting right then at them. I chuckled, my chest bouncing almost cartoonishly.       "Alex?" She asked again.       "Yeah," I finally answered. "Why? What's wrong?"       Dad sighed, Mom's eyes looked at me for the first time in years with fear. Not of me, but for me.       "Mom? Dad?" I asked.       "We were just making sure you got home safely. It's later than we thought you would be out. Jesse didn't join?" Dad asked.       My heart skipped a beat. They were worried. For me. Tears welled in my eyes. I wiped them away the moment they appeared. Mom and Dad looked at me a while longer and then went back to their seats. But before they did, Dad placed a hand on my shoulder and gave me Dad-pats. As they walked away, I heard Mom sniffle. I just stood there and let the whole thing sink in. After a good five minutes, I took a step.       "There's a snack in the microwave," Mom called out.       I froze completely. My eyes shifted towards them. They were engrossed in their books once more. I hadn't noticed earlier, but there was a documentary on marine life in the background. There was a trio of sea turtles swimming gracefully in an almost dance-like spiral. I didn't know they did that. The volume on the TV was quiet; it was background noise to their reading journeys.       I went to the kitchen and fixed myself a glass of water and looked into the microwave. There was a full tray of brownies with foil covering the top. The tray was still warm. I took one and headed to my room. I gulped my water down and placed the brownie on my desk. Its sweet fudgy aroma filled my room and made the whole night feel as though it was a dream that I would wake up from.       My bouquet held on by a thread. The night sky was clearing up, and the wind blew against my window just loud enough to whistle. A car drove by slowly. The headlights dimmed and bouncing with each pot hole in the road. I sat at my desk and admired my brownie. Box made, sure, but not store bought. My Mom and Dad made it for me. It crumbled in the right places and invited me to shovel it down. But I didn't. I enjoyed and cherished eat and every bite. After I finished it, my eyes glossed over the crumbs. They were random, but I found a pattern in there, somewhere. Somehow. A game of connect-the-dots that formed a story. A story of hope. Love. Devotion.       I broke down. Tears spilled and ruined the story. My desk and plate dotted with little reflective pools that mirrored me in a twisted and bent image. They pattered softly. My phone buzzed in my pocket.       It was Jesse. Asking me if I made it home and inside safely. I told him I did. He apologized for "how he acted." Like he needed to apologize for being human. I told him he was being silly and that he needed to go to sleep. I yawned and my phone vibrated, again. This time it was Parker asking if I was doing alright. When I told him I was, he responded instantly with another drawing. It was of Jesse and I. Parker told me he snapped a photo of us and sketched it out. I cried again. I thanked him and told him he was a great friend. He told me we were, too. We had a little back and fourth before I decided to just call him.       "Yo," Parker answered. "You okay?"       "Yeah," I sniffled. "Just wanted to hear you again. Jesse and I went out for a date."       He gave a little whoop on my behalf. "You go, Lex! You both are perfect for each other."       This made me smile, then I started to tell him how tonight played out. He grunted and hummed every now and then. He didn't have to, I got the feeling he'd listen to me with full attention no matter what, even if I droned on about math.       "Wait," Parker stopped me when I got to my and Jesse's conversations. "Go back a bit."       "Hm?"       He probed. I caved and told him everything. How Jesse was off tonight, what happened when we got to the ice cream parlor, and after.       "Huh," Parker said.       "Yeah."       We sat an in uncomfortable silence for a bit.       "Jesse's tripping," Parker said. "I think, after today, we just need another day or two and we'll be able to take down anyone or anything."       This made me laugh. I felt kind of the same, too. He was right, and I was fighting two sides of the same coin tonight. Another pause.       "Say," Parker drew a breath out. "Thanks for trusting me."       I stared at my ceiling. "What do you mean?"       "I mean thanks. For not just pushing me away. You and Jess."       "Why would we do that?"       "Because I just kind of inserted myself into your lives."       "Right."       "And Sophia and Lucas just randomly got really heated and angry."       "Right. You've mentioned them a while ago. What's the deal with them?"       "We used to be friends. Then, one day, we weren't."       I didn't press further. "Thank you, too."       "For?"       "For being there for me. Even when Jesse couldn't. Like, actually couldn't be there."       "Hey, we all deserve a chance."       This got me smiling with my teeth. I felt a sudden bashfulness. "You don't think I'm a weirdo loser?"       "Well, you're definitely a weirdo. You and that stapler."       We both laughed. He assured me. I assured him. He started sketching over the phone. His pencil scraped the pad he drew on and it was oddly soothing. It reminded me of the first time he drew me and when Toby scribbled away.       "I wrote a couple of poems," I blurted.       A rancorous laughter tinned over the phone. He had to breathe carefully to calm himself down. My bashfulness turned me pink. I just knew it.       "Alex Linnet, a poet? You've got an awkward grace, I'll give you that."       I chewed on some words, but then his next statement made me forgive him.       "I'm just joking. I think you'd be perfect for it."       "Yeah?" I asked.       "Without a doubt."       "Want to hear the ones I wrote?"