Tell Me I'm Wrong

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“Hello Brendon!”

Brendon turned around from the steaming machine with a voice that was loud and singsong, “Hello Lisa! How are you?”

The little eleven year old beamed seeing Brendon and came closer, “Wonderful! I brought you something.”

“Did you now?” He watched her as she climbed on top of the stool she always sat on when he worked and dug into her jacket pockets grabbing something small for him, “What could you possible have for me?”

She was smiling wide and held her hand out close and he gave her a questioning look laced with a playful smile as he cupped his hand under hers ready to catch what ever she was going to give him. She opened her hand letting the little gears fell from her hand.

He brought them closer and looked at them know they were the stainless steal ones he was needing to go get from Mary’s store, “You didn’t steal these from you sister now did you?”

She shook her head swinging her legs lightly, “Nope, I paid for them.”

Brendon frowned, “If you’re lying to me––You know stealing is wrong.”

She looked hurt, “I know Brendon. You said you needed them but you never came and got them. So I just bought them from Mary for you. I figured you could pay me back.”

He smiled again and closed his hand around the little gears and leaned forward and kiss the top of her head, “You’re so sweet. Thank you and tell Mary I’m sorry I didn’t show up yesterday. I get so caught up in my–”

Brendon was cut off as he walked back to his desk dropping the little gears off to rest with all his notes that he took, “I already told her you had been busy. She said it was fine but you just owed her.” Lisa sighed, “She was sad Brendon. She puts up a lot with you.”

Brendon nodded and looked over his shoulder, “I know. I don’t mean to let her down. You do know I love her right?”

She nodded and looked over at the steaming machine, its low whine now getting louder, “Of course Brendon. But you might want to check that…”

And as if on cue the one of the glass covers of the pressure meter on his machine shattered and the little red needle spinning wildly. Brendon cursed and jumped over to the machine and turning knobs and pulling levers to try to get the machine to stop its violent hissing and now shaking.

Brendon grabbed a nearby wrench and struck the machine. It gave a few last puffs of steam and whine before resetting its calm state. Brendon smiled and turned to face Lisa with an accomplished glance, “See, everything is under control.”

With that being a said a button near Brendon’s head popped off and fell to the floor and Lisa let out her laugh, “Sure Brendon.”

Brendon sighed and slowly bent down to pick up the button. He placed it back on with a tap and moved back over to his desk summoning Lisa closer to look at something he had near him. She complied and slowly passed another one of his machines waiting for it to have a fit of its own and moved closer.

“You know how we had welded the pieces of metal last week?” She nodded and watched him sit down pulling the small foot long piece of metal towards him, “I finally found that component I was missing in the acid. Come closer.”

Brendon moved slightly to have her right next to him as he brought a small bottle next to him. He unscrewed the little lid and allowed the dropped to be filled. He brought the dropper over the welded bond on the metal and smirked at her before allowing the drops to fall from the dropper.

There was a light hiss and Lisa watched in amazement how the metal just pulled away from the welded spot becoming back into two separate pieces, “Perfect. I need to keep testing see if I can perfect it a bit more but what do you think?”

Lisa shrugged, yet amazed but didn’t know what to say, “What…What would it be used for?”

Brendon shrugged and placed the dropper back in its bottle then making sure it was sealed shut, “I’m not entirely sure yet. Say someone makes a mistake they now can undo it.”

She nodded slightly trying to show some kind of approval, “Right.”

Brendon sighed and sat down in his chair, “That pathetic?”

She shrugged and tried to give a weak smile, “You’ve had better things. Is there something wrong? You don’t seem as risk taking as you used to be. Is there something on your mind?”

Brendon looked at the girl and much wanted to tell her yes. He wanted to tell Lisa, the only person he trusted since his father’s death, that he was being plotted against. Simply wanted to just come out that the little notebook he had in his desk drawer was her sister’s, her sister’s handwriting and the woman he had fallen so deeply in love that the words stated was of those that he was her next target and was clear as day.

All he had done was simply pick it up as she had dropped it when she had left the dinner she had with him.

He had thought it was going so well, that this would be another person he could openly trust and not be called a fool yet again. But this plot to poison him after getting him to marry her was obscene but there. She was going to take his money and it would be a simple way. He was being played and he couldn’t believe it. He wanted so desperately to have someone else to see it and make sure he really wasn’t loosing his mind but this was Lisa, the younger sister of the woman he wanted to be with, the woman that wanted to kill him and the woman that she looked up to.

He had to stop Mary but he didn’t want to hurt Lisa.

And yes he had been more risk taking because the idea he was brewing was going to be so drastic he didn’t know if it was going to work. He didn’t know if he could pull it off but he only had one shot to do so.

He was scared but confident.

He was going to let Mary have her plan and poison him, to see if it was true, and he was going to die, and he was going to come back to life and prove Mary did it.

This was going to be the most out of this world thing he was going to do but he knew he could. His father had come up with these few ideas of a concoction that would but him in such a deep state it could appear like he was dead, and would later wake up unharmed.

Brendon was sure he could create it and do the same but he would need to keep some kind of antidote to counter the poison. He was terrified it wouldn’t work but his father was ever wrong and he just needed to trust himself.

This would boost his reputation and might even give him a nice foothold in the town.

“Yes something is bothering me,” He turned to face Lisa, “Will you promise to help me when I need it regardless of the situation?”

She was confused, “Of course Brendon but I don’t understand.”

He licked his lips lightly, “Someone is going to kill me Lisa, and I need you to help me when I die that I can come back.”

She looked at him scared and worried, “What? Brendon if you’ve been threaten we need to tell the sheriff!”

“No!” He reached for her shoulder and let his tone get soft, “No. Because they don’t know I know and if I tell, they’ll know. Promise me this stays between us Lisa. Promise me you’ll help me stop them.”

She felt tears build up, Brendon looked so fragile in front of her and it hurt. She loved Brendon like a brother and couldn’t imagine not having Brendon around. She didn’t understand how someone could want to hurt him.

She felt his hand fall and she reached forward wrapping her arms around Brendon’s neck almost too tight for him but he allowed it and pulled her closer, “Yes. Brendon. I’ll help you and I promise I won’t tell anyone.”

“Especially Mary?” Brendon was a little fearful, “I know you’re close.”

“I won’t tell her. I swear! I don’t want you hurt Brendon.”

He pulled back and smiled at her, “Don’t worry, we’ll out smart them.”

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