32: Candy

Shyba—

Quick rapping at my door pulls me from my story. Setting the book down on my desk, I go over and open the door to find Kiara. Her eyes are wide, her breath short as she wrings her hands.

I’m on high alert. “What happened?”

She takes a deep breath and steps into my room. Then she silently goes to my bed and kneels before face-planting into the comforter and letting out a muffled whine. I silently go to sit next to her, not sure what to do. After more whining and groaning it sounds like she’s trying to talk, but I can’t make out what she says.

She finally rises to take a breath. “I’m such an idiot!”

“Eh?”

She turns to me. “I took commissions to make costumes for some of Jade and Harmony’s friends, right? They all want to be a group of superheroes for their Halloween party! So that’s five costumes I have to make! I thought, ‘oh, that’s fine, I can get it done it time’. I thought their party wasn’t until next weekend because that’s when Halloween is,” she rattles off quickly.

“But no!” she shouts. “It’s this weekend because that’s the only time everyone’s schedules work! I only have until tomorrow evening to make five costumes!”

Then she whines again before dropping back onto my bed and crying. I stare for a moment, going over all the options.

“Can you tell them there was a misunderstanding? They would understand, right?” I ask. “And they can buy costumes at the store. I saw a lot of them.”

“I can’t do that! The kids are so excited,” she cries. “I-I just don’t know what to do! I haven’t even bought the materials yet. I’m gonna be up all night!”

I quicky evaluate more options, before standing. “Then we will go to the store now and get materials,” I say and head to the door. As I open it, I turn, seeing her staring at me. I wave her on. “Come. Grab your bag and we will get started as soon as we get home.”

“You’re gonna help me?” she squeaks.

I nod. “I cannot do much, but I remember how to sew, and I can learn other things fast if you teach me. So, I will help you.”

She quickly wipes her eyes and stands, nodding.

We get home with the materials and Kiara quickly clears away things on her bedroom floor. I set out the cuts of fabric of all colors as she continues to haphazardly toss and move stuff about. Then she turns back to me and looks over the pile of fabric, staring at it like it’s a mountain.

Her breath leaves her lungs, and she wrings her hands. “Th-there’s so much!”

She starts pacing, looking around and reaching for things only to stop, as if she doesn’t know where to begin. Her breath is getting shorter. Sweat drips from her brow as her hands shake. I quickly go over to her, my hands on her arms to stop her pacing.

“Breathe,” I say. I take a deep breath, watching her.

She stares up at me, nearly hyperventilating. I breathe again, keeping my gaze on her, and she mimics me. We take a few more deep breaths together, until I see her shaking has slowed.

“Good,” I tell her. “Take one step at a time. How do you normally begin?”

She takes another breath and looks over to the fabric. “First is to get the patterns out and mark the fabric to cut.”

“Okay. We will start there.”

She looks back to me, breathing normally. Then she glances to my hands. I suddenly realize I’ve been holding her this entire time and quickly let go. “S-sorry.”

“It’s okay,” she mutters, lowering her head. “I was just a bit surprised since you don’t like touching.”

I guess I was so caught up in trying to calm her down I didn’t realize how my body was reacting. Though, I managed to accomplish my goal, so maybe it was okay. My hands are still warm from her body heat. I never thought her skin would be so soft. Is that just how it is for girls?

As the afternoon turns to evening, we work. She gives me simple tasks to fulfill while she takes on the more complicated ones. I hope I’m helping more than I am getting in the way. Still, she at least seems a lot more upbeat now.

I finish cutting my last piece and glance up to watch her at the sewing machine. Her eyes are focused on her task, completely oblivious to anything else around her. I hadn’t watched her work before, so getting to see it now is quite eye-opening. There’s a lot more to this stuff than I thought.

My stomach growls. “Want to take a break for dinner?”

She doesn’t respond. She’s probably so focused she couldn’t hear me on top of the noise from the sewing machine. I set the scissors down and slink out of the room, going down to the kitchen. We had already told Reba we would be working through dinner, and by the looks of it they already ate. In the fridge I find two plates set aside for us.

After I’ve reheated and set them on the tray, I grab a couple drinks and head back up. Kiara is still in the same position, silently feeding fabric through the machine. I set the tray down on the desk.

“I brought food,” I tell her.

Still silence. I stare at her dryly. If she doesn’t stop to eat, she won’t realize she’s hungry until she’s practically starving and can barely make it to the kitchen without fainting. I’ve seen it happen. It’s a bit unnerving, and honestly worries me a bit. Sometimes I bring her food if I know she is working.

With a sigh, I go over and grab her chair, pulling her away. “H-hey!”

I roll her over to the desk. “Eat.”

She looks up at me, then back down to the plate before grabbing her fork and shoveling pasta into her mouth. I can’t help but laugh inside, a smile sneaking onto my face. Yup. She was already starving and didn’t realize. I sit on the bench before her large bay window as I eat. She finishes her plate quickly, guzzling down her sweet tea.

With a fulfilled sigh, she turns to me. “Thank you.”

The smile slips onto my face again before I can stop it. “Can’t have you fainting yet.”

She giggles. “Yeah, guess I can do that after.”

With that, she rolls back over to continue sewing. I watch as I eat, taking it all in. She can be kind of ditzy sometimes, but when she gets like this it’s like nothing can stop her. It’s admirable in a way. I used to be like that, more determined. Maybe she can help me remember.

We work into the wee hours of the night. I clean up the tiny bits and pieces of fabric that were cut away, along with carefully refolding the fragile paper patterns and placing them back into their respective sleeves. I realize the sewing machine has stopped and glance over.

She is slumped over on the sewing table, her breath heavy. I go over, seeing she has passed out. That can’t be comfortable. My heart is tense as I gaze at her. Do I move her? I can’t just leave her there, can I?

I reach up, stopping and staring at my hand. Even though it isn’t real, I can see red all over my hands. I swallow, glancing over to her bed then back to her. It is only a few steps and she’s worked so hard. I quickly go over, pulling her covers back.

Then I clench my fists, before reaching up and pulling my jacket sleeves over my hands. I hesitantly reach toward her, pulling her head up. She makes some unintelligible murmurs but stays asleep. With a sigh, I gather her up, her body warm against mine. Her head lulls against my shoulder and she sleepily moans. I take the few strides to her bed and lay her down, making sure to place her head gently on the pillow.

How did she sleep through that? If it had been me, I would have knocked someone out for trying to grab me up like that. I pull her covers up, making sure she is nice and cozy. Then I lean back up and watch her for a moment. My chest is… warm. To think she trusts me enough to let me help her with such a daunting task, not to mention falling asleep in my presence.

I glance away and go over to turn her sewing machine off. But she doesn’t know my true identity, so it’s not a surprise she would trust me like this. I head to the door and glance back to her one more time. I wonder… What would she think if she knew? Would she still treat me the same?

The air is crisp as I follow Jade and Harmony down the sidewalk, leaves crunching under our feet. They are dressed in their superhero outfits, with masks and sparkly tutus. Houses are lit up with lights and decorations, pumpkins everywhere. My stomach is tight. It feels so weird to go up to a stranger’s door and ask for candy, much less dressed like… this.

I pull at the necktie again, loosening it a bit more. Nicky let me borrow a suit as per the request of Kiara and the twins when coming up with a plan for tonight. I adjust my shades, nearly knocking the fake earpiece off my ear. Maybe once we get a few more houses marked off, it will be easier.

Jade excitedly runs forward, and I call out, “Stay by me. I’m your bodyguard remember?”

She giggles, hurrying back to walk in front of me. It’s a bit nerve wracking to have them under my care too, but everyone else is busy and they wanted to do this, so I offered. Though I really don’t know what I’m doing. I guess as long as I don’t lose them, everything will be fine.

We get to the first house and Jade rings the bell. “Trick or treat!”

A woman wearing a witch hat opens the door and gasps. “Oh! You both look so cute!”

The girls do their pose. “We’re superhero princesses!”

Then they look to me, and I swallow before clearing my throat. “We are collecting samples of candy and taking it back to headquarters for inspection.”

The woman giggles, dropping candy into each of their buckets. “Oh, how exciting! You’re doing a great job.”

Harmony twirls. “All in a day’s work.”

Jade nods. “Thank you for your coopita— coopa— coopertation!”

I bow awkwardly before leading them away, not sure what else to do.

“It’s ‘cooperation’,” Harmony mutters.

Jade pauses. “I knew that.”

Then they are hurrying to the sidewalk, giggling. I sprint after them. “Don’t go too far ahead of me.”

They turn back and grab my jacket cuffs. “Hurry! We gotta move fast before all the good stuff gets taken!”

Next thing I know I’m being dragged from house to house, repeating my line. Seeing how happy it makes them is worth the effort though. Before long we make it back to our starting point, their buckets mostly full. I lead them to the park as per my instructions. We follow the signs, coming to the plaza where several kids and parents are gathered.

There are several others stationed around in costumes of popular characters, taking photos, and handing out candy. My eyes rove around while keeping the girls in my peripheral, instinctually marking all the exits and how many people are nearby. Kiara is working as one of the characters tonight, but I haven’t seen her this evening, so I don’t know what to look for.

As I guide the girls through the crowd, stopping at the various spots for candy and to take photos for them, I keep my eyes peeled. We move to a more secluded spot to re-tie Harmony’s shoe for the fifth time. Out of the crowd I hear a distinct giggle, my eyes immediately drawn to the source.

There sits Kiara at a bench near the rose bushes wearing a lavender gown fit for a princess, her hair mostly pulled up with only ringlets gently draping against her shoulders and a tiara on her head. I pull my shades down just enough to truly look at her. Her cheeks are softly pink, and her lips rose red. If I didn’t know better, I’d think she was a real princess.

She clasps her gloved hands and smiles gently, talking to the child in front of her. My eyes are glued to her, trying to understand how the weird and somewhat chaotic girl I know suddenly seems delicate and serene. The thought makes me feel strangely warm…

“Shyba! Dude!” I hear.

I take a breath, not having realized I was holding it. Suddenly, everything is moving again, and I can hear everyone’s voices. I look over at Nicky, who is dressed as a prince.

“What?” I ask.

“You looked like you were zoned out. You good? I know you don’t like crowds, so I was worried you might’ve gotten triggered by something.”

“Oh. I am okay,” I murmur and glance back to Kiara for a second, my mind whirling. I rub my head, pushing my shades back up. What just happened?

He looks at me for a moment, cocks a brow and looks over to her. Then his brows lift, and he smirks, laughing shortly.

I gasp, my eyes darting everywhere, my heart in my throat. “Jade! Harmony!” I had one job!

Nicky grabs my shoulder, spinning me around as he laughs. “They’re fine. They came and found me.”

There I see them a few paces over and my shoulders slump as I let out a breath. I go over. “I told you both not to go too far.”

They look at me and shrug, munching on candy. “We tried to tell you we saw him, but you didn’t hear us.”

My mind whirls again. How did I not hear them? Was I really so surprised seeing Kiara dressed as a princess it made me lose my senses? What a strange fluke.

We then head over to her, and she draws the girls close to her. “I saved your favorites,” she whispers to them, dropping the candy into their buckets and they giggle.

Then she looks up to me smiling. “Having fun? I hope they’re not driving you crazy.”

“Ah, it is fun,” I say, still gazing at her.

Nicky strides over. “It’s about time to leave. You ready?”

Kiara looks around. “Yeah, it doesn’t look like there are any other kids I haven’t already talked to.” She stands, stretching. “Ugh, my back hurts from sitting there so long.”

“Yeah, my feet are killing me,” Nicky mutters.

My eyes widen. “D-do you need a doctor?”

They snort. “It’s just an expression,” Kiara says.

My cheeks warm. I should’ve known.

Nicky grabs up the girls as they laugh and squeal. “Your chariot awaits my princesses!”

Kiara and I follow, albeit slowly since she is walking in heels she’s not used to. I watch her carefully and just as I suspected she ends up tripping over herself. I catch her, keeping her upright as she tries to find her footing.

“S-sorry!” she stammers. “Ugh… I should’ve just worn my sneakers and hid them under the dress.”

My heart still pounds from the adrenaline. “You can hold my arm if you need.”

“Are you sure?”

I nod and smile, tapping the nametag on my lapel. “I am a ‘Princess Bodyguard’. So, I need to keep you safe.”

She giggles. “Sure you can handle guarding three princesses?”

As we walk, she holds onto my arm. “Jade and Harmony are fine. You… I am not sure.”

We laugh. As I walk her to the car, I can’t help but to glance back at her. She really is beautiful. I can understand the appeal of princess characters a bit more now. At least, when it comes to her.

After making it home the twins divide their candy, giving me a portion as per Reba’s conditions for me being their ‘bodyguard’ tonight. I would have done so without payment, but the girls seem to think it’s funny, so I accept. Upon heading to my room for the night, I pop a random candy into my mouth, enjoying the sweetness. I don’t know what it is about sweets that give me such a calm feeling. And here lately it’s like I’ve been… craving them.

The world fades in as I blink the sleep from my eyes. The morning sun is barely peeking through the curtains, and I yawn. As I stretch, there is a weird crinkle noise. My eyes widen as I jolt up, my mouth parting as my eyes rove over the scene before me. Littered across my bed and the floor are dozens of empty candy wrappers.

My gaze turns to the candy jar on my desk. And it is completely empty. My brow furrows, looking over everything again and I sigh, dropping back onto my pillow. First, I find out I sleepwalk. Now I’m binging candy in the middle of the night? What is wrong with me?