chapter 5

For the first time in a long time, Tania was happy. She had her father back and a boyfriend, or more a boy who was her friend…or angel…or devil. Whatever he was, he was making a difference in her life. She was still stuffed from breakfast so her shirt continued to ride up. She pulled it down as much as she could but the shirt could simply not contain her belly. Some girls would giggle and point when she walked by but she didn’t mind. None of those bitches had a god damned Warlock watching over them. Some of the guys snickered and again, she could only smile. None of these puny humans could match her Warlock. She made it to her locker when Chris made his appearance. He nearly smashed the locker in her face “Ohhhhh almost had ya. Where you been the last few days. Wanna smoke with me later?” Tania looked at him with a snicker “Why would I want to do that?” Chris put his arm over her head against the lockers and leaned into her “You know exactly why baby.” Tania then rolled her eyes, grabbed her books, shut the locker and said “In your dreams.” Chris was taken aback and for the first time, he wasn’t as cocky as he had always been. “Wow, what’s gotten into you…besides a beach ball, what the fuck?” He then noticed her bulging belly and began patting it. “Ughhh don’t do that!” Tania said as she struggled to pull her shirt down. “Damn girl, I’m gonna have to roll you down this hall.” Tania stood with her hands on her hips “Any other lame fat jokes?” Chris was not used to her resisting him or dishing it back. It was like the power he had since the…incident, was beginning to escape him. “The only thing lame is your appetite, if you don’t cut it out you’re going to be as big as a house.” Tania then clenched her first and saw a smile begin to crack on Chris face. Then she thought of her Warlock and unclenched her fists, smiling. “I know someone who’ll like that.” She turned and wiggled her butt at him “and he’ll like this too” before she walked off, leaving Chris speechless. Other guys saw the butt wiggle and whistled at her, she could only shake her head and sway to her next class. She actually was paying attention in her classes, it was like her sense of worth was restored. Making her mom proud was on her mind all day. Now that the cloud of her father’s addiction was lifting along with the Warlock’s presence, it was like she was becoming herself again. For the first time in a while, she ate lunch in the cafeteria. She no longer cared who saw her or who stared at her. She only wished the Warlock was there with her so all the girls would be jealous. “So what if your boyfriend is the captain of the football team, MY boyfriend can crush him in half.” She thought as she ate her ham sandwich and drank her orange juice she got in the lunch line. After school was over she walked toward the riverbank and there he was, against the oak tree. He had on a white t-shirt today under his leather jacket. He held his hand out and she ran over and took it. She dropped her backpack off as he swooped her in their arms and kissed deeply. She felt the butterflies in her stomach as they kissed. “You haven’t smoked today have you?” He asked. She wrapped her arms around his neck as his hands found her belly. “How did you know?” She responded as he began rubbing her belly. He kissed up her neck, to her cheek and finally her lips. “I just know. How are you?” She talked for a while about how her father had cleaned himself up and how she told Chris off. She told him how she showed off her belly and shook her ass and said she thought he’d like that. “You were right.” He said as she lifted up her shirt so he could get a better rub. Even though it wasn’t as swollen as it was after breakfast, it was still bulging over her jeans. He rubbed and caressed it as they kissed. He pulled away after a long, deep one and said “You look really pretty today.” She giggled and said “Nah.” He said “Oh no you don’t. You’re super gorgeous and you know it.” She smiled and they walked arm and arm with each other. She grabbed her backpack and then made her way home with him with her. As they walked arm in arm, Warlock kept looking around. After a while Tania asked “What’s wrong?” He kept looking around “For some reason I feel we’re being watched.” Tania looked around but couldn’t see anyone. They continued to walk when from behind a tree, Chris looked on with pure anger on his face.

When Tania made it to her house, she told Warlock to wait there. She was afraid that her father had fallen off the wagon and didn’t want to get her hopes up. She walked toward the house and as she got to her steps, she turned around only to see he was gone. She wasn’t scared, she knew if anything happened that he would be there. She opened the door and set her backpack down. She slowly walked into the living room, nope, no one there. She looked in the dining room, nope, nobody there. As she made her way toward the kitchen she looked in, “SURPRISE!!!!!!!!” Lewis had jumped out and Tania nearly pissed herself and screamed. Lewis then cackled and hugged Tania close. She punched his arms “Don’t do that, ugghhhhhhh.” Lewis said “Your mom HATED when I did that, one time she got so scared she farted loud.” Tania giggled and Lewis got serious. “My head is killing me but I got most of downstairs dusted and cleaned. I can’t believe I let this house go like that. Once I’m finished with the bathrooms I’ll order for pizza.” She smiled and went to go upstairs before she stopped. She looked out the staircase window and saw her Warlock in the tree. She stopped and went back down. “What did you say you needed help with?” He said “The bathrooms.” She said “Let me help you.” The two then spent the next two hours cleaning upstairs and downstairs, scrubbing the floors, dusting everything and sharing laughs in between. At around 5:30 Lewis and Tania were done. Lewis was breathing heavy, he wasn’t used to this kind of work, not since he was let go from his job. “Damn I’m out of shape. Gotta get back to work.” Tania was panting too but she didn’t have the heart to tell him she smoked. “Yeah me too.” Lewis looked over “Oh no, you’re beautiful, you’re not out of shape at all.” Tania looked in her father’s eyes and saw the love that had been missing, but he was exhausted. He had spent the better part of the past 24 hours cleaning up and barely sleeping. Even when they ordered pizza, he was nearly falling asleep in it. At around 6:30 Tania helped her struggling father up the stairs. “You’ve done a good job daddy but you’re tired. Get some sleep. You’re gonna be ok, I’m here for you.” Lewis held her close as they got to the top of the stairs “I’m here for you too, I’m not going back to drinking. When I get up tomorrow I’m going to start job searching. I promise.” She gave him a hug as he staggered into his bedroom. Tania then went to her room to do homework. Later on that night, she slipped into her black satin nightgown with a pair of green panties underneath. She went to bed hoping to dream about her Warlock, instead she had a terrible nightmare that her father bolted into her room with a bottle of bourbon in his hand and Chris behind him. Chris was ordering him to beat up Tania for what the Warlock did to the gangbangers and she ran downstairs. As they followed her, she bolted out the door and down the street. As she ran from her father and Chris, there was no warlock there to save her. She woke up breathing hard and sweating. She looked at the clock and it was only 5:00. She didn’t want to go back to bed but she didn’t want to stay up either. The first thing she did was take her pack of cigarettes and toss them in the trash. She thought about the Warlock and wished he was there. Suddenly she felt an odd sensation and went over to her window.