Jaxson looked at me questionably and I nodded. The little monkey moved forward, and I reached out my hand to stroke his little head. His hair was coarse but soft beneath my hands.
When he disappeared the nutshells still remained. The taste of the peanut was still on my tongue. I was beyond flabbergasted.
The sound of Jaxson’s chair clattering to the floor and Cooper disappearing made me break out of my stupor.
“You guys are so full of shit,” Jemmy snorted as she came into the room. “I’ve been fooled one too many times by your pranks Jax. I won’t do it again.” She looked over at me and sighed. “Why must you stoop to his level? I brought friends, movies, and snacks and you’re helping him pull my leg.” She then turned an unamused look at Jaxson. “I liked it better when you were refraining using your gift. It was a blissful, uneventful period,” she said with a longsuffering, dramatic sigh.
I ignored her look of disbelief and looked at Jaxson and said insistently. “I would like a blue pony and I think her name should be Petunia.”
A blue pony appeared in front of us. It wasn’t what I had in mind. “I want her to be short and chubby. Like that pony on that cartoon Ella watches.”
Seconds later, the pony I envisioned was in front of me. I slowly crept forward and tried to run my hands through her mane. It was silky and soft to the touch. Drake moved forward and began stroking her too.
We exchanged a look of awe.
“You guys suck!” Jemmy whined as she went to pet the pony too. Her mouth dropped opened. “You’re not supposed to be able to touch an illusion,” she said in a shocked whisper.
“It’s an illusion!”
“It’s their connection,” Sierra said in wonder. “It’s getting stronger.”
“I think you need to talk to Pops about this,” Jemmy stated as she continued to stroke the horse. “But can we keep her?”
Jace and Noah returned at that moment. “Keep what?” Noah asked as he entered the apartment.
Petunia decided to poop in the middle of the kitchen.
“Are you cleaning that up?” Drake asked Jaxson dryly as the smell immediately wafted up to us.
“I’ll do it,” I stated reluctantly; after all, I had requested the pony.
“Funny,” Noah stated. He, too, had been on the tail end of too many Jaxson jokes. Especially recently. The stronger Jaxson had gotten, the stronger his illusions had. The details had gotten sharper. You could smell and hear them more realistically.
Noah went to stomp on it and we all yelled NO! but it was too late. His shoes were now covered in Petunia’s poop.
Jace and Noah had installed the television on the wall in the corner of the room. Beth had insisted that we keep it since she had more televisions at home, and they didn’t use the one that she had brought as an extra. We just got done watching Sweet Home Alabama. It was my first time watching it (much to all the girl’s horror) and I had really enjoyed it.
I generally didn’t get too emotional over movies unless it involved a beloved pet dying, but there were a few lines and scenes in the movie that had tugged at my heart strings. Jemmy and Rachel had openly cried. I had to admit to feeling the burn at the back of my eyes.
I even found myself wondering if Melanie had the opportunity to keep them both. Would she have? After being thrust into my situation, and after seeing people like Gavin, Jemmy, and Sierra, it made me ponder all my preconceived notions on the definition of a relationship. I had secretly rooted for Jake the whole time, but Andrew had his moments, too. Could Melanie have lived happily ever after with both of them? Or would she be left wondering in the future about what if…
Jax had curled up in Drake’s bed with me and Dawn despite Jemmy and Rachel’s protest. They had insisted it was a girls-only girl’s day and he hadn’t listened. He was currently sound asleep on my stomach, his arms wrapped around my middle, and I was caressing his hair.
Jemmy, Sierra, and Rachel was curled up in the other bed, and we were all eating the loaded nachos that Drake had made us. It was delicious. I didn’t think I would be hungry after my omelette, but the chips covered in cheese, a meat mixture, lettuce, tomatoes, sour cream, and jalapenos had beckoned me.
“So, what’s going on with Superior Seven?” Rachel finally asked cautiously as Jemmy shifted through her binder of DVDs for another movie to watch.
I sighed. I knew girl’s day was going too smoothly. “Superior Seven?” I asked dryly.
“Yeah, that’s what everyone’s calling you now. It’s a mouth full so I’m just gonna call you the Supesev,” Dawn waved a chip as she threw another one in her mouth.
“Oooh Supesev, I like that better,” Jemmy bounced up and down on her knees with excitement.
“You guys are helping her ignore my question,” Rachel moaned with a smile.
“Nothing,” I sighed. I didn’t want to get into it right now. “Are there any more jalapenos?” I asked.
Rachel handed me the ramekin filled with jalapenos. “You can’t hide anything from us,” Rachel snorted. “Jemmy told us that she saw them with that…witch and her friends, in the recordings. We also noticed how you guys were acting at dinner last night.”