Aftermath (34 page)

“Okay,” he said. “We’ll be there.” I was relieved he seemed happy. He gave me a brief grin, as Lucas came back into his Ray’s office.

“Hey, look who I found loading up his car,” a dark-haired guy said. He followed Lucas into the office and gave him a gentle shove. He looked older than Lucas, about mid-twenties, with curly hair he wore trimmed short. Despite his tough, rugged look and leather jacket, his eyes seemed kind.

Ray mumbled something under his breath when the tough guy noticed me.

“Oh, sorry. I didn’t realize I was interrupting.” The guy smiled. He looked familiar.

“Hey. Be polite, not your normal selves,” Ray interjected, while Lucas punched the guy’s shoulder. They acted like brothers fighting over something meaningless. “Abe, this here’s Emma. She’s Lucas’ girlfriend, so be nice to her.”

“Umm… hi,” I said and stood up. I didn’t have the courage to correct Ray. Worst of all, his comment didn’t seem to bother Lucas. 

Abe extended his hand, and I placed mine in his. I expected a handshake. Instead, he leaned down and kissed it. My thoughts immediately went to Pete and the house party on Saturday night, followed quickly by the memory of that almost kiss with Ben and the girl that interrupted us.

Odd, but something about Abe reminded me of her.

Ben's Story

I’d been waiting outside of Drew’s house for over an hour.

Claire said Emma and Lucas were on their way. There was need for me to join the stupid ritual prematurely. TP’ing was the last thing I wanted to do, tonight or ever, but as any good agent, I complied with expectations in my undercover role. I was just procrastinating joining my so-called peers.

A crackling of leaves and branches brought me out of my daydream. I spun around and propelled to the security of the large oak tree branch twenty-two feet off the ground. I glanced down and saw a lone deer several yards away, hidden in the thick woods across the street from Drew’s house.

I held position, quiet and still. I counted souls in the vicinity; eight teenagers in Drew’s house, including Drew, Claire, Molly, and Stephanie. Drew’s mom was sound asleep in her bedroom on the second floor. The other homes on the dead-end road were vacant. Approximately one half mile away, a car headed in this direction held three souls, all male. Another vehicle, three quarters of a mile from my position, had one individual. It turned eastbound, as I watched from my perch.

Another crackle had me scanning the woods and not the streets.

An essence of something non-human floated amongst the trees. A brief breeze carried it to and around me. It was not the sweet sickly odor of a hybrid that I grew accustomed to here in rural Westport. Instead, it was more of a sensation rather than a smell. As my mind circled it round and round, attempting to gather the memory in my recordable brain, another noise distracted me.

When I looked behind me, I saw Bianca approaching, having used a portal nearby. She didn’t see me or sense me.

I should have called out to her, but something stopped me. Watching her from a distance, I noticed her casual stroll through the trees. She slowed her pace and looked over her shoulder before proceeding forward again. She looked left, then right, stopping, starting, and walking backward. She stood still for a moment, and then spun slowly around. I felt it best to stay silent.

The deer I saw earlier suddenly spooked, leaping over a fallen branch and out of sight. Bianca jumped with the slight noise its hoofs made on the dried leaves. As her breathing slowed and her heart rate returned to normal, the essence I felt earlier came flooding back.

It was stronger this time and more intense, almost mesmerizing and sickening.

In the distance, I heard the sound of rubber on gravel, but my mind was wrapped around the immense presence of something I never trained to battle.

Around me, like a fog, I was overwhelmed. As soon as it came, it left.

I shook my head, hoping to shed the daze I was in.  When I felt clear again, I realized a car pulled into Drew’s driveway, followed by another. Looking below and around me, there was no sign of Bianca or anyone else for that matter, human or immortal.

Not that I could tell, anyway.

Emma's Story

“Ray’s kinda creepy,” I blurted to Lucas, as we drove to Drew’s house. “I mean, he’s nice. Just a little different.” Once the words were out, I couldn’t take them back.

His chuckle relieved me. “He’s intense.”

“He called me your girlfriend.” I paused, hoping to gauge his response. When he didn’t comment, I said. “We’re just friends, you know.” My voice sounded weak, even to my ears. I didn’t want to be his girlfriend, but I didn’t want him mad at me, either.

“Yeah. Whatever.”

After a few blocks of silence, I said, “I invited him to pictures before homecoming.”

He glared at me. “Why’d you do that?”

“Umm… because I thought I should.” He was focused on the road again, but he didn’t answer me. “He said your mom wanted pictures,” I explained. “I thought it would be easier if they came to the lake, instead of us going to there.”

He nodded, and then sat silent for a while. The thump of the music in the car was the only noise. Finally, he spoke. “My dad doesn’t like him.”

I didn’t respond.

“He thinks Ray’s trouble.”

“Why?”

He laughed. “Because he is.”

Huh?

“Ray doesn’t have much respect for cops, you know?” He glanced my way, and then stared at the road. “I got the pot from him.”

“Oh.” Why would he tell me this?

We drove again in silence before he said, “I never told anyone that.”

Our eyes met for an instant. “I won’t tell.”

He smiled, and then turned into Drew’s driveway. “Good news is that Ray’s giving us the booze for Trent’s party on Saturday.”

Great. Another lie I’d have to keep from Aunt Barb.

Ben's Story

A few hours spent TP’ing was more than enough.

The old Hamilton read eight minutes past two o’clock when I last glanced at it.

“Just a few rolls left. Might as well finish them,” Drew said, tossing one to me and another to Lucas. It was the last house of the night, down from Trent’s.

Emma and Claire helped with a house nearby, some soccer player they knew, but once the trees were satisfactorily covered, they decided to go home. “We’re cold,” Claire told me when I raised an eyebrow. The October air was chilly, so I couldn’t blame them. Claire volunteered to take Emma home since it was obvious Lucas had no intention of leaving.

I unrolled a tail of the tissue and tossed the roll up at the maple tree beside the house. It was on the edge of the cul-de-sac, adjacent to the farm titled in Henry Nichols name. The farm that was quiet and almost vacant since old man Kensington disappeared, and I had my encounter with the hybrids.

The roll unraveled, leaving a trail of white streamer in the upper branches before falling back down, landing on a limb fifteen feet above ground.

Lucas was around the corner, at the front of the house, while Drew was busy decorating bushes like it was Christmas and the toilet paper was tree garland. Neither would see if I suddenly jumped up to the branch and loosened the roll from its ledge. Of course, I could leave it up in the trees, but a good stretch would loosen my stiff legs. Not to mention, extraordinary athletic abilities were one of the things I enjoyed most about being an immortal.

As I leaped in the air, the unforgettable, sweet scent of a hybrid caressed my nostrils, immediately followed by the bitter apple aftertaste. I hesitated, lingering longer in the air than I should have.

“Shit, man! How high can you jump?” Lucas yelled when I descended.

Damn it! I should have left the paper in the tree.

“You’ve got some vertical.” Lucas chuckled. I’d have to eliminate his memory. I hated this guy as it was. Now, he was making me do more work, too.

When I landed back on the ground, I was suddenly in the spotlight of an exterior light that turned on unexpectedly. Lights aimed on the front and sides of the house brightened our work and exposed the three of us.

Drew yelled to run and Lucas scattered, me in tow. We weaved between the mature trees and jumped over small, fallen branches and twigs until reaching the perimeter of the property. Drew hurdled the fence that separated the private residence from the adjacent farm.

Lucas swore as he stumbled over the barbed wire fence, landing in the post-harvest soil. When it was my turn, I could smell the blood on the barbs and dipped my forefinger in it. A tiny drop was all I needed to know his blood type was rare. What was alarming was that the red and white blood cell counts were not in proportion for a healthy human. I was ten yards from the fence when I realized some of his oddly shaped cells were affixed to a component I hadn’t encountered before.

In order to test it further, I’d need another sample.

“Parker, come on!” Drew yelled as I sprinted back to the fence.

“I dropped my phone,” I answered and bent down to the ground. With one hand on the barb, I gathered a second droplet and notified my handler.

On it,
Jorgenson answered, and I turned back to the guys.

Emma's Story

I touched up my lip gloss and glanced in the full-length mirror, waiting for Lucas.

The image staring back at me was better than I ever looked before. Then again, with Aunt Barb, the little touches were everything.

She woke me up that morning earlier than normal.

Two hours later and after a mani-pedi, I was seated in a swivel chair at the salon. A trendy-looking, twenty-something-year-old stylist swept my hair into a cascade of curls. An older woman attended to my makeup. She said it would complement my bright blue eyes. She was right.

I loved the look staring back at me.

When the doorbell rang, I was lost in thought of past dances. Chester flew off the bed, dragging my comforter with him. His bark echoed, as I followed him down the stairs to greet Lucas and Neal.

“You look… great!” Lucas said. His wide grin made me feel pretty.

“So do you,” I said. Even though I didn’t like Lucas in that way, he was attractive all dressed up. “You matched my dress.” I smiled, noticing his black shirt and fuchsia-striped tie.

Aunt Barb insisted I pin the boutonniere on Lucas’ shirt, even though I was nervous I’d stick him. Lucas stood patiently as I tried, only for the pink rose to flip over on itself. She snapped photo after photo of what drew laughter out of everyone but me. I was suddenly overwhelmed with embarrassment, my hands shaking as I tried a second time and stuck him.

Lucas cringed, and then recovered.

“Sorry,” I mumbled.

When Aunt Barb suggested I place my hand under his shirt as a guide, it worked. Though I was completely uncomfortable touching his bare chest with my fingers.

A few photos later, with a corsage on my wrist, we were on our way to the Inn.

Lucas and I drove separate from my aunt and Neal. Once alone, he asked if I reconsidered staying at Trent’s overnight. He didn’t seem happy that I planned to stay at Claire’s house, like I told him the first time he asked. Instead, he changed the subject and offered up some girlie drink Ray gave him.

“It tastes like fruit punch,” Lucas explained. “I guess it’s really good. He thought you girls would like it better than the whiskey he gave me.”

“Okay. I’ll try it later. Claire’s brother is designated driver, I guess.”

He didn’t answer, and I wondered what he was thinking.

We were the first to arrive at the Inn, which wasn’t surprising to me. Aunt Barb directed staff the minute she walked in the door, confirming locations and times for our dinner and hors d’oeuvres for the parents.

I was used to it, but Lucas seemed uncomfortable. He put his hands in his pockets, took them out, and then put them back in again. Pacing the length of the room, he occasionally stopped to look out the window. The room was used for business meetings and weddings and had a private balcony overlooking the lake. Neatly trimmed mature trees offered shade and still gave incredible views, especially at sunset.

I wondered if Lucas was nervous about Ray and his mom coming.

Photography gear was set up in the corner of the room. A middle-aged man and a young woman set up equipment. He adjusted the height of a tripod, while she angled umbrella lights toward a white backdrop already in place.

“I’d like the entire group lined up on the balcony, shot from below. Then another pose at the water’s edge,” Aunt Barb told them.

Neal and I chuckled about my aunt’s obsession with perfection.

“I think she’s got OCD,” I said.

“It
is
her job to make events memorable, Emma,” Neal reminded me.

I nodded. I liked Neal. He was calm, while my aunt seemed so high energy.

“The garden would be nice for smaller groups or couples’ photos, too,” my aunt said to the middle-aged man. She pointed out locations across the property.

“She’s over the top,” I whispered to Neal, who grinned, tight lipped.

A few minutes later, Claire and Drew arrived, followed by Justin and Hannah, which seemed to please Lucas. Kids and parents filed in one after another, and I found myself losing track of who was there and who wasn’t. Claire and I posed for photos with our dates and friends, snapping more than we’d ever need.

As Claire and I sipped on non-alcoholic spritzers, I noticed Lucas greeting a blonde-haired woman near the bar. I didn’t realize it was his mom until I saw Ray nearby. Part of me couldn’t get over him giving Lucas the pot. What kind of stepdad was he?

“Wish me luck,” I whispered to Claire, and then joined Lucas.

Ray winked at me, as he shook my hand. “Good to see you again,” he said.

Char gave me a hug. Even though her eyes were bright and clear and she looked much better than the first time we met, she was boney under the black, boxy dress that hung from her shoulders.

“Lucas. You gave her the corsage already!” Char said, irritated.

“Um, yeah, Mom. I gave it to her when I picked her up.” He never called her Mom, and I wondered if Ray had a talk with him about it.

“It’s alright, Char,” Ray answered in a calming tone.

“No. No, it’s not,” Char objected. “I wanted pictures of the pinning.” She reached up to touch Lucas’ pink rose, but Ray held her shaking hand down.

“My aunt took pictures. I can get you copies.” I interjected, and then regretted it.

“It’s not the same. I didn’t see you pin it on!” she shrieked.

“Mom, please,” Lucas began and took a deep breath. I couldn’t get over her insistence.

“Don’t
please
me, Lucas Victor Crandon.” She glared at him.

“Charlene, keep your voice down. We don’t need to draw attention,” Ray said. Then, turning to me, he added, “Emma, I’m sorry about this. She gets like this… once in a while.”

An old, gray-haired man in a pinstriped navy suit approached Ray and whispered in his ear, while Char mumbled to Lucas.

“Mom, stop already. I knew this was a bad idea,” Lucas said, more to me than to her.

Ray nodded at the man and then addressed Char. His voice was low and firm, but I couldn’t make out the words. The gray-haired man walked through the crowd of kids and parents, exiting through a set of double doors, just as Ben walked in, looking incredibly attractive. They must have bumped into one another, because as soon as Ben saw him, he stopped and turned around.

“Emma? Emma, what do you think?” Lucas asked. His eyes were wide.

“Sorry. What?”

“I suggested you and Lucas pose. You know.
Pretend
you’re pinning on the flower-thing. Make Char
happy
, would ya?” Ray’s snarky tone made me uncomfortable.

“Oh, yeah. Sure. Okay.” I was caught daydreaming and clearly scolded. Ray wasn’t the person I wanted on my bad side.

“Outside. Hurry up. Let’s go,” he said with a sense of urgency.

Even for him, it was awkward, but I followed Ray anyway.