Kings and Queens of Promise

“Jared, are you sure this is a good idea?” I asked nervously as we walked out of the mansion.

“It’ll be fine, Em. We’re just going to the doctors and then out to lunch. An hour or two at the most,” Jared assured me.

“Can’t we skip it?”

“Em, you’re almost 30 weeks along. You’re supposed to go every other week now. Besides, no one will be looking at your back. They‘ll be looking at your baby bump.” I bit my lip as we climbed into my truck, Jared driving and me nervously looking out the window. I had the window rolled down and as we drove down the road, I saw a familiar old lady walking her dog. She was the same lady I’d asked for directions my first day in Huntington.

“Hi!” I shouted at her as I leaned out the window. She stared at me in astonishment as we passed.

“You know her?” Jared asked.

“Yeah. She gave me directions on my first day here,” I smiled. It was good to be away from the mansion for the first time in so long. I was really nervous that someone would see my wings, but I was trying to remain optimistic.

As we got out at the doctor’s office, my worry-level rose to near-panic. As Jared took my hand and walked me inside, I clenched my wings even tighter to my back, hoping no one noticed how lumpy the back of my jacket looked. No one really seemed to be paying attention, so I quickly sat down with my back to the wall.

“So,” Jared said as he settled himself next to me, “have you thought of any names?”

“Pierre and I had discussed a few names. He, of course, wanted something French, like Adeline or Lynette.”

“What names do you like?”

“Um, Kelsey was always a favorite when I was younger. Now I kind of like Eleanor.”

“Eleanor,” Jared repeated. “Maybe we could call her Ellie.”

“That’s be perfect,” I smiled, leaning my head on his shoulder.

“Aw, aren’t you two a cute couple?” asked a woman sitting across from us. She was alone. Her hair was dark brown and wavy.

“Oh, we’re not a couple,” I said quickly. “He’s just here for support.”

“Oh. Single mom?” she asked.

“Yeah.”

“Me, too. How far along are you?”

“Almost 7 months,” I said, patting my stomach.

“I’m 8-and-a-half.”

“Is it true that it’s worse further along?” I asked, leaning forward slightly.

“It’s about the same,” she shrugged. “Have you had a baby shower yet?”

“Oh, um, I don’t think I was going to have a-”

“You are,” Jared cut me off.

“Really? Who’s planning it, Frank?”

“Um, Matt’s girlfriend.” I almost choked on my own spit.

“Matt’s got a girlfriend? And she’s throwing me a baby shower?”

“Yeah. Her and everyone else’s girlfriends.”

“Who else has girlfriends?” I demanded.

“Jimmy, Johnny...David...I think that’s it.”

“Fun, fun,” I said unenthusiastically. “Have you had your baby shower yet?”

“Not yet,” the girl smiled. “I like you. I’m Violet.”

“I’m Em, and this is Jared. You should come to my baby shower.”

“I’d love that,” she replied, taking my cell phone and putting in her number.

“Emerson?” a doctor called. I quickly got up, pressing my wings tight against my back as Jared took my hand. As I entered the back room and saw Violet looking strangely at me. I shrugged it off and followed the doctor into the back.



“See, today wasn’t so bad,” Jared chuckled as we sat at a table outside a small ice cream shop. I had my back pressed against the building as I carefully ate my ice cream sundae. We were sitting on the waterfront and, if I wasn’t eating ice cream, I’d probably be roasting in my overcoat. I already had the buttons undone. “I mean, you made a friend and got to see your baby.”

“Today was pretty good,” I smiled, looking out at the beach.

“Are you done?” he asked me, reaching for my empty cup. I watched as he took it inside and then came back out. I slowly stood up and we began the ten minute walk back to the car.

“Hey, Jare?” I asked after a minute.

“Yeah?”

“How come you take such good care of me?” I asked.

“I’m your friend, Em,” he said, smiling at me.

“Yeah, but...I know I’m such a burden.”

“Em,” Jared sighed, reaching out and taking my hand. “You’re not a burden. Honestly, I love you so much, it would be impossible for me not to want to help you out. I want to be there for you through everything, because you are the most amazing woman I’ve ever met and you deserve to have someone spoil you and take care of you and I cannot even begin to tell you how much I hated seeing you with Pierre. He never deserved you and, without him, you’re so much happier. And now that he’s not around, I want to be the one to take care of you.”

I was stunned by his speech. I stopped walking and turned to look up at him. He was looking down at me intently, his thumb gently stroking the back of my hand.

“Jared...” I started, trying to overcome the rush of emotions I was feeling. I couldn’t believe how stupid I was not to realize it before. Why I wasn’t upset or awkward around Jack anymore. Why I didn’t feel the same about Pierre anymore. Why the only person my thoughts were stuck on was the man standing before me.

I was in love with Jared.

I took his other hand, now facing him. He didn’t seem to need to read my mind to know what I was thinking, as he slowly lowered his head toward mine.

“Jared!” a voice suddenly shouted, making me and Jared quickly break apart. We turned to see a blonde woman fast approaching. She was wearing stilettos, a tight mini-dress, and had on a thick layer of makeup.

“Oh, God,” I heard Jared mutter. The blonde strutted up to us.

“So, Jared, long time no see. Is this your latest slut? What the fuck is that?!” she exclaimed, her eyes locking on my very noticeable baby-bump. “You knocked her up?!”

“Em, go back to the car,” Jared hissed. I turned and started to walk away.

“Where the fuck are you going, bitch!” the blonde bimbo demanded, grabbing the back of my jacket. Since I had been in a hurry, I didn’t have time to react before my jacket was torn from my shoulders. I froze, she froze, most passersby froze. Everyone’s eyes were fixed on me and, in an instant, I reacted in the only way I could think: I ran.

I tore down the street, hearing Jared calling after me. I kept running, tears stinging my eyes. I could hear peoples shouts of surprise as the winged girl ran past them. I kept running into people and finally a threw myself into the air, beating my wings hard to keep myself in the air. I rose higher and higher, my four weeks of practice paying off.

I soon reached an alarming height, over a hundred feet in the air. I hovered still for a moment scanning the city below me. I rose still more until I was high enough to pass for a bird to the people below. I quickly looked around for the mansion, because my wings were already getting tired. I spotted the familiar house and shot toward it. Once I was close enough, I fell into a dive, loosing altitude at an alarming pace.

My eyes were blurred with tears and I could barely see. I saw a blur of the green grass fast approaching and I was out of control. I was going to crash land. At the last minute, I turned onto my back, to protect my baby. I slammed into the ground, winding me, and skidded about 30 feet before I came to a stop, my back burning and my heart racing. I wasn’t really hurt, but I remained on the ground. I clutched my stomach protectively and began to cry.

‘Alex,” I thought, desperately wishing my thoughts could reach my brother. Moments later, the front door opened and Alex came running out.

“Em?!” he shouted, running to my side. “Are you okay? What happened? I heard your voice in my head and-”

“S-Some bitch yelled at me and called me a slut and ripped off my jacket. Everyone around saw my wings,” I sobbed.

“And how’d you end up on the front lawn?”

“I flew here. I lost control and crashed.”

“Are you hurt?” he asked, helping me sit up.

“I’m fine,” I said, trying to silence my sobs. Alex pulled me into his arms and let me cry.

“What happened to Jared?” he asked after awhile.

“I dunno. I ran.”

“Come on, let’s get you in the house,” Alex said, helping me stand up. He took me into the bathroom and I took off my shirt while he looked at the wall. Once I had a towel in front of me, Alex got out some disinfectant and dabbed all the scrapes now decorating my back. “Damn, this is nasty.”

“Things would’ve been much worse if I’d landed on my stomach,” I pointed out.

“So, who was this woman?” Alex asked, turning around so I could put my shirt back on.

“I dunno.”

“What did she look like?”

“Um, bleach blond and, uh...slutty-looking.”

“Sounds like one of Jared’s exes,” boomed Brian’s loud voice, making me and Alex both jump. Brian was standing in the doorway, leaning against the wall. “You need to be careful with your landings. Those are your only pair of maternity jeans.”

“Shut up, Brian,” I said, annoyed.

“Hey, Em, don’t worry about that bitch,” Brian said. “She tried to ruin Jared’s life several years ago. He’s not going to let her anywhere near you.”

“Thanks, Bri,” I sighed.

“Em!” I heard Jared shouting from downstairs. I let out a breath and ran downstairs to meet him. At the sight of him, the memories flooded fresh into my brain and tears filled my eyes. I ran down the stairs and into his waiting arms. “Oh, my God, Em, I am so sorry.”

“I’m sorry!” I wailed. “I should’ve had my jacket buttoned.”

“No, no, this isn’t your fault. It’s stupid Trisha,” he said angrily.

“Who was she?”

“My ex. It took me a long time to get rid of her. She was so stubborn. Now she’s back in town. Shit.”

“How’d you get rid of her.”

“I basically told her to fuck off and then walked away.”

“Em was seriously upset, dude,” Brian said. “She crash landed in the front yard and then called Alex with her mind.” I swear, his weird psychometric thing seriously freaked me out sometimes.

“With her mind?” Jared asked, letting go of me. “Show me,” he said to me. I bit my lip and sent a mental message to Jared. “What? I do not! Wait, wow. So, you can send people your thoughts. What about reading them?”

“Quick, what am I thinking?” Brian asked.

“Um...yummy socks?”

“Yummy socks? What the hell is that?” he laughed.

“Then what were you thinking?”

“Spaghetti taco.”

“Nice.”

“Guys, focus,” Jared cut in.

“Right,” I nodded. “So, what are we going to do? By this time tomorrow, the story of the winged girl is going to be all over the internet.”

“It was going to come to this eventually,” Jared sighed. “I guess the sooner we deal with it, the easier it’ll be.”

“Ugh,” I sighed, walking into the great room and sitting on the couch. Except, my butt didn’t actually reach the couch. “Jack.” Jack became visible beneath me, grinning sheepishly. “Oh, man, we’re all freaks.”

“We’re not freaks, we’re just different,” Jack assured me.

Well, either way, we’re about to expose ourselves to the real world,” Jared sighed.

“I’ll be praying,” Brian sighed.