BLOODY HORIZON

CHAPTER TWELVE

°°° Dinner °°°

      Lunch was served at 3:30 p.m. A creamy and highly aromatic Mac and cheese dish that Jason and Andrew couldn’t get enough of Sean and Dan, on the other hand, were stuffed from the cake, and Ann had eaten some grilled key lime chicken wings while they cleaned up the kitchen. There were plenty of leftovers.

     The rest of the day was spent in the living room watching movies. Sean was a bit surprised that the Whites didn’t ask their kids to go to bed as a result of the upcoming exams. In fact, he had been quite perplexed by the fact that they had agreed to his coming at such a time. It was mostly because of the move, but still, they weren’t the least bit concerned about how these past few days would affect their children’s performances in school.

      Sean concluded that Jason and Andrew were just that smart. He was also smart himself, which is why his mom didn’t really have issues with his trip, but she also trusted him to study while he was in Kentucky. The Whites seemed much more carefree in that regard.

       Thursday was made a special "mother’s day." It was all about her. The movies watched and the places visited were all Ann's. Friday threatened to be the same, but Andrew shockingly suggested that himself and Jason should be given the chance to catch up on revision in preparation for the upcoming examination.

Dan and Ann were in and out almost every three hours, behaving like kids who had just fallen in love. They spent most of the day together and had a dinner date planned. Ann had brought up the suggestion of a double date with Sean and Karen, but no one agreed to it, not even Dan. It was obvious that his plans for the evening were just for two.

~~

      Sean was clad in black jean trousers, a white shirt, and one of Jason’s black leather jackets. The outfit was complemented with a black Balenciaga Speed Trainer. He stood in front of the ceiling-high mirror in Andrew’s room. Ann had picked out his outfit before she left for her dinner date with Dan.

"You're looking good, son," Andrew said slowly, feeling proud.

"You do realize I’m older than you, right?" Sean laughed, propping the leather jacket forward.

"Hey Andy," Jason, who had been standing at the door all along, called out. "Get him the wrist watch," he said with a smile that told Sean that they had a surprise.

"Dude, it’s alright, man," Sean refused. "You’ve already given me your...

"Not listening to your heh," Andrew chuckled, turning away from his wardrobe with a black box in his hands, its black glass lid opened.

"Is that…?" Sean froze upon seeing its content.

"Yup," Jason smirked while walking to Andrew. He took the black digital watch from the box. "It’s a Dual Infinity Chrono-Core," he held it up, showing off its physical features.

     The Chrono-Core held a sleek, futuristic model with a circular shape. Based on the time of day, the Chrono-Core’s brightness will diversify, amplifying its stainless-steel persona with illuminated Super-LumiNova pigments. It held a crystal-hardened mineral window, and its 30-meter water resistance helped it sustain moderate outdoor use.

     The Chrono-Core was one of the inventions that Dan helped build. It could connect to his phone, and he could use all the apps on the watch. Dan sometimes boasted of the Chrono-Core having an expandable screen to allow for a television-like device when desired. Sean had always dreamed of having one. "I thought... isn’t this expensive as hell?" he stammered."Yup," Jason strapped it to the hesitant Sean’s right wrist. "And... it’s all yours," he smirked.

Sean was dumbfounded. The Chrono-Core was such a rare wrist watch that only a few thousand people worldwide had one, and he had an original, straight from the source. It was truly a blessing to know the Whites.

"Well?" Andrew poked him in the ribs. "Aren’t you going to sync it to your phone?"

"Yeah, yeah." Sean was extremely shocked.

"She’s here," Jason announced as the doorbell rang.

"How do I…"

"Get outta here, bro," Jason cut Sean mid-speech. "You look really great."

Sean sighed, "Thanks, bro," he walked out of the room and stopped reaching the living room. "You guys, what are you going to do though?" "No one’s home," Sean asked, concerned.

Jason and Andrew looked at each other with mischievous smiles.

"We’ll be fine," they both chorused, pushing the tensed-up Sean to the door.

"Crazy dudes," Sean chuckled.

     A soft knock on the door resounded just as he touched the knob, startling him. Jason and Andrew almost couldn’t stop themselves from laughing. Sean shook his head and opened the door.

      Karen stood outside after opening the door. She was clad in an ash zip-up leather jacket with its sleeves folded elbow-high over a white round neck top, tucked into a flared raspberry-colored lycra skirt that barely covered her thighs. A portion of her long, sparkling amber hair rested on her chest, covering a bit of the right side of her face.

"Hey," she smiled at Sean was completely stunned and mesmerized by her looks.

"Hello," he quickly got up. "You look... stunning," he quickly added.

Karen gave a smile, pushed her hair behind her left ear, and returned the compliment.

"You have to return him home before seven thirty," Jason shouted out from the living room just before the duo walked off the porch.

"Good evening to you too, Jay," she chuckled, gently pulling Sean to the waiting cab.

"So..." Sean said after they got in. "Where are we headed?"

"We’ll be going to the movies," she smiled.

"Alright," he smiled as the cab drove off.

~~

     An hour into the movie, which, to Sean’s surprise, was a military movie that Karen seemed to actually enjoy, Karen decided it was time to leave.

     Twenty minutes later, Sean was sitting across from Karen at an open-air diner. They had ordered salted caramel ice cream cake shots, and before long they had consumed it entirely."I honestly didn’t think a girl like you would eat this much," Sean chuckled softly.

"Yeah… "I'm not trying to be who I’m not," Karen smiled. "My granddad made sure of that."

"That’s cool. "I never got to meet any of mine," Sean said with a hint of sadness. "What was it like though?" He quickly changed his tone, ensuring that the atmosphere didn’t go dull, not for a moment. "I heard they can be grumpy."

"That is an understatement," she laughed. "My granddad was a Colonel in his days in the military, so he was and still is strict, grumpy, and paranoid..." she stopped to think, and her smile widened. "Beneath all that, though, Pops is a sweet, loving guy."

     Sean could see the love she had for her Colonel grandfather, and for a moment, he was envious. "Same as my mom." "Not the military part though," he immediately added with a chuckle. "My mom is a nurse. What about yours? "I know it’s not exactly first date protocol, but this could be our... last," he said, noticing a subtle change in her expression. "What’s wrong?" he asked with much concern as he leaned forward.

"My mom... and dad are both...," she said, but then stopped, unable to say the word.

‘Crap… Sean, you are a crazy moron," he said, almost face palming in shame. "I’m so sorry, I didn’t know..." I shouldn’t have…"

"It’s alright," she chuckled softly and smiled. "Besides, you wouldn’t have known if you hadn’t asked." It was bound to happen. "If not now, later in the future."

"Later in the future?" His eyes widened. "She actually wants to meet up again," he said. He was beyond thrilled, but he hid his excitement with proficiency and maintained his apologetic expression.

"So… "You are into martial arts, right?" she asked and continued after he nodded in affirmation. "For how long?"He chuckled internally. "She’s trying to get an estimate of my age."

"Since I was six," he answered. Deciding to help her out, he added a bit more detail. "I believe nine years now," he shrugged, taking a sip from the drinks they had ordered after they were through with the caramel ice cream cake shots.

Her eyes widened, exposing her. She hadn’t been expecting that, and her shocked state gave him much pleasure.

"It has just been basic movements though," he continued, seeing that she was struggling to swallow her other questions to come back to the main discussion. She had most likely planned their conversation to get the answers she wanted, and his responding in a way she hadn’t expected got her rattled and lost for words momentarily.

     She sighed and decided to throw away her list of questions. She knew that he knew she was testing him, and if he was truthful about it, then he probably is an honest guy. "A rare find today," she told herself. "Or he could just be faking it," she quickly reminded herself, but stuck to her resolve to let the rest of the date occur as naturally as possible.

"Well," she said, ruffling through her black purse. "Here is his card, Mr. Melvin," she pushed a light-reflecting milk-colored card with words and numbers printed on it and a logo carrying the name Fight to Fitness Studio. "Are you going to enlist?" she added, closing her purse.

"I will love to, but... I don’t live here," Sean said with a regretful smile as he picked up the card.

"Oh, where do you stay?" she asked as her mind began to suggest the cities he could be from in Kentucky."Philadelphia," he adjusted his seat.

Karen froze. ‘Philadelphia? "That's really far," she was shocked. School was still in session, so she wasn’t expecting him to be that far away from Kentucky. She didn’t even expect him to be from Kentucky. "Wait a minute... Philadelphia?’ she was shocked by another realization."You stay in Philadelphia?" she asked, her shocked state well expressed.

"Umm… yeah… why?" Sean was confused.

"I am from Philly as well," her reply was still laced with shock.

"Are you serious?" he asked, not sure if she was playing.

"Yeah, I am," she chuckled, regaining herself. "Actually, Pops lives there, my granddad."

"Wait what?" Sean was confused. "If you are from Philadelphia, then why are you here?" he asked, confused.

"I actually grew up here," she said, sitting back. "I was here when my parents... you know," she tilted her head a little. "I stay with an aunt of mine during school sessions, and I spend my breaks with Pops," she explained.

"That’s really cool." Sean sighed. "I wish Jason’s dad would do the same for Jason and Andrew," his tone was now sad.

"What? "The Whites are moving?" Karen wasn’t expecting that.

"Oh… "I thought you knew," Sean thought for a moment then continued, "Well, do me a favor and keep it to yourself." "If Jason hasn’t told anyone yet, he probably has his reasons," he pleaded.

"Don’t worry," she laughed. "My lips are sealed," she added with a smile, and her expression changed, showing she was thinking, but from the smile, it was about good memories. Even though she hardly ever talked to Jason, it wasn’t because she was more popular. Jason was really reserved in school. He wasn’t someone who liked to mingle. He was friendly but didn’t let himself have friends, so even when she’d attempted to make him her friend sometime ago, he shook her off and declined her offer to be friends. She figured he was scared of something. She always thought it was fear of rejection, but now she’d gotten a better answer. He didn’t want to make any friends to avoid his heart getting broken by another move.

"They move this often?" she asked.

Sean looked at her, slightly shocked by the question, but said, "This would be their third move in about five years... "I'm not all too sure though."

"Oh wow!" Karen was stunned. She could relate in a way, though. She’d been shuffling between her divorced military parents since they both died in a car crash three years ago. shuffling between her parents', aunt's, and granddad’s. She never had any friends over because she didn’t know when one parent would decide they wanted to have her over.

"I’m sure going to miss him though," Sean smiled, thinking about the memories they made in Maryland and Pittsburgh.

"They are going really far, huh?" She gave a heart-melting smile.

"Yeah." Sean exhaled heavily. "A whole continent away,"

They were silent for a while before Karen glanced at her phone.

"Seven already," she smiled. "Guess I’d better get you home then," she smiled.

      Sean shook his head, slightly embarrassed, before pushing himself up. He picked up his phone and raised his head slightly to see Karen’s outstretched hand. He froze in that moment. "Is she trying to make fun of me and play little boy, or does she really want to hold hands?" he was perplexed. Looking at her face, he saw in her eyes that she wasn’t trying to play any games, but he knew there was every possibility; he was just seeing what he wanted to see.

Seeing a little hesitation in his eyes, Karen grabbed at his hands and pulled him along.Sean smiled as she pulled him away. "Where do you live?"

"With my aunt," she answered with a straight face.

"Come on!" Sean laughed. "I’m serious."

"I stay a few blocks away from where we first met," she replied after a light chuckle.

"I want to walk you home," Sean said, trying to sound bold and final.

Karen looked him in the eyes and smiled. She accepted his offer. "I know a short cut," she smiled, resting her head on his shoulder.

Sean’s heart melted at that. He felt his feet turn into jelly; he almost couldn’t keep himself standing, and Karen noticed it and smiled.

"I take it you don’t have a girlfriend," she chuckled.

Sean was taken aback momentarily. "I... I thought you already knew that," he tried to joke.

"You guys are usually good at hiding stuff like that," Karen shrugged.

Sean smiled. "I’m not one of such guys," he replied. He was tempted to ask her if she was in a relationship, but figured that it could be him moving too fast.

She wrapped her hands tightly around his arm and walked on, leading the way as they chatted about random topics.

~~

     Walking Karen home, their discussions were mostly relating to school, her favorite sports, martial arts, and career choices. Karen wanted to study psychology. She was fascinated by the mind, so much so that she was already taking and excelling in online beginner classes for psychology.

      When he told her he intended to become a mechatronic engineer, she was stunned, asking him why he was then so interested in martial arts if he wasn’t going to pick a career related to it. He explained that he loved martial arts, but making it a career was out of the question. He was going to actually do so until he found out that his mother, like him, loved art but didn’t study it; she went into medicine. He realized then that martial arts was more or less a hobby he took really seriously. Mechatronics on the other hand made him feel there was a chance to really better his generation in ways martial arts wouldn’t.

"You are a late lover boy," Jason shouted with a stern voice, sitting outside at the steps leading up to the house with Andrew, who was almost asleep.

"Hey man!" Sean laughed as he walked up to Jason. He looked in through the windows, and though he couldn’t see anything, he asked, "Your parents aren’t back yet?" He looked at his Dual Infinity Chrono-Core.

"Show off!" Andrew chuckled weakly.

Jason laughed and said, "They are baking or something."

"A send-off party for you." Andrew sat up. "Come on, let’s go in.""Missed me?" Sean jokingly whispered in Jason’s ear."Eww, bro," Jason’s face contorted as they walked into the house laughing.