KISS by Jalissa Pastorius Page A

He’s a lie to keep my family happy…to
keep him happy.
But my mom is sick. She’s not getting any better because he’s too
worried about my college tuition.” He said grabbing Iris by the
arms. Her eyes grew round. He held her tightly. She started to get
anxious, was there a little bit of madness in his eye? Was this
what everyone was warning her about? Suddenly, she wasn’t so sure
about reaching the end of the tunnel. She stopped. When she looked
up it was too late, she was already at the end staring at Jay. He
held his hand out waiting for her to take it.
    “ Maybe, my mom could help,”
she mumbled deep in thought. When Jay shook her she looked
up.
    “ How can she help?” he
asked. Iris hadn’t realize he heard her. This was the time to
reveal her status in society. She wasn’t even sure her mother could
help Jay’s. There had to be a reason she hadn’t had the procedure
done yet right? It couldn’t only be about money. She broke free of
his grasped. “Sorry,” he grumbled.
    “ It’s okay.”
     
    But was it
really?
     
    She wasn’t quite sure. He’d been
holding her too tightly. She was anxious now, they’d never even got
around to talking about what was wrong with him.
    “ Do you want me to go
away?” What? Why would he ask that? They had walked toward the back
of the church where he sat looking dejectedly. She supposed she
paused too long before she knew it he’d closed his eyes and laid
down on the parking lot.
     
    What was going
on?
     
    “ Iris, what are we doing
here?” he asked suddenly sitting up. Iris was getting scared now.
She wasn’t so sure she wanted to solve this mystery; maybe she
should head home. “Jay, I –thi,” she started out.
    “ I’m not Jay! I’m Axel,” he
said looking at her. Natasha’s words came back to haunt
her.
    He’s dangerous. Be careful. My mom is
his therapist.
    “ Axel, everything is fine,”
she said backing away from him slowly.
    “ Of course everything is
fine. What are you talking about? What’s got you so
spooked?”
    “ Nothing,” she squeaked as
her eyes darted around them. Damn. They were completely out of
sight. She’d rather face Jean-Pierre. At least the moon was still
shining providing some light. How long had they been out here? Ryan
should come looking for her soon. Well she hoped he would come and
look for her. “Did he do something to hurt you?” Axel asked
worriedly.
    Iris only concern was getting away
from him, but she quickly disregarded it when he asked about her
wellbeing. Was Axel aware of Jay? It was like he was two entities,
no three she thought, recalling the shy one from earlier all mixed
together in one body. It was strange. She wondered what drove him
to this madness. What caused him to be this way?
     
    Girl get a grip. You’re
dealing with Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde!
     
    “ No, no one hurt me,” she
muttered pushing her hair behind her ear. “Axel what’s going
on?”
    Axel looked at the beautiful girl he’d
grown so attached to. She was unlike anyone he’d ever know. She was
a goddess bathed in the moonlight. He wondered how such a person
could exist. She was taken out of a fable and placed before him.
“Honestly, I don’t know myself. I just know sometimes I wake up
with missing parts of my day. My life at home is pretty rough. I
mean my dad tries his best you know. It’s just things got harder
when mom got sick. No one wants to take the chance with this new
procedure. There’s only two surgeons in the world who could do it.
My dad is worried about college education. I just recently found
out we’re drowning in medical bills. He doesn’t want to pay for a
procedure that’s bound to fail. But I love my mother!” he said
pulling at his hair. “I rather know we’ve done everything we can to
save her.” A lump formed in Iris throat. She threw her arms around
the despairing boy. She’d do everything in her power to
help.
    “ I will help you. I
promise,” she said crying for him. Axel’s own