Splinter (Whisper Walker Series) (7 page)

Father would slide into bed next to me, even though he had other things he needed to do. He would set the tray between us, half on each of our laps. Then we would eat, talking about the previous day’s activities, or what we had planned for the day.

He would stay longer than he should. He always had so many things to attend to with the Guild. When you’re Magistrate, free time is hard to come by. Eventually, his communicator would start buzzing non-stop, paging him to leave. He would go, reluctantly, leaving the tray with me, so I could enjoy the rest of the hot tea before I got up.

I felt a burning in my chest. An unpleasant, unbidden feeling, drawing me back into the here and now. I sat up quickly, looking around Drake’s room to remind myself that I was safe now; that father was no longer a part of my life. I felt the corners of my eyes swell, the edges of my vision blurring with the early signs of tears.

The unpleasant sensation in my chest wouldn’t leave me alone. I crawled out of bed and headed straight for the shower.

I turned the water on hot. Very hot. I stepped in, walking right up to the showerhead and directing the stream at my face. I tried to wash out my eyes that had started pouring tears hot enough to give the shower stiff competition.

I felt my shoulders heave in a silent sob, my breathing coming in quiet shudders. I was alone, but still, I couldn’t release. I wouldn’t allow myself to let it out. It was a wall I had built up for the last five years. A wall I needed to protect myself from others.

I focused on the good things in my life. The house, my success at work, Drake…Drake. I really cared about him. I knew that. I knew that every day, I was starting to care more and more.

As the water scorched my face, my neck, and my shoulders, I felt some of the tension melt away, leaving behind a numbness, a separation from my body.

Turning around, I lowered the water temperature. I cleared my head, focusing on breathing in the steam, on the heavy relaxing feeling it left in my chest. It helped cut through the numbness.

After a few more minutes of standing there, I leaned my head against the shower wall. I let my eyelids droop lazily, only a sliver of light slipping through the gap at the bottom. The light flickered. A moment later I was on the shower floor, well, almost on the shower floor. Between it and me, was Drake.

I realized my elbow was jammed into his stomach as he let out an “oompf” and I released an undignified squeak.

“Hey, Drake?” I said.

“Uh-huh?”

“I was in the shower first.” I snickered, unable to hold it in.

“Sorry. It seems like you’re always landing on me.”

“Hey, you caused it this time.”

“Ugh, my head is killing me.”

“Ooh. I’m sorry. Let me see the damage,” I said, turning slightly to get a look at his head.

“Doesn’t look bad. No blood, but a little bump. You’ll live. I’ve seen you get worse.” I laughed lightly. “Remember that time when you were after that mutant and he led you into that trap? And you split your skull open on your own gun? Yeah, that was worse.”

As I pulled his head down to get a look, I inevitably drew his face right into my breasts. I didn’t realize it at first, then felt his breath tickle my nipple. I felt it harden unexpectedly, accompanied by a fluttering in my stomach.

“Ahh!” we both cried in unison, scrambling to get out of the shower.

“You’re naked!” I yelled as my foot slipped out from under me in my haste, and I fell right back down on my butt.

“Of course I’m naked! I was ready to take a shower!”

“What? You didn’t notice the steam-filled bathroom?” I demanded, my voice pitchy in my sudden discomfort.

“Well, uh…I didn’t really think about it. I was preoccupied. It’s not that big a deal, Kelsie. We had to shower together back in the day when they rationed our water.”

“That was like twice! And
we were twelve!
Kinda way different now!”

“Okay, well, maybe. Can you at least stop yelling? My head is pounding, and you’re not helping with your shrill voice,” Drake asked.

By now I’d gotten out and hurriedly wrapped myself in a towel since I’d been on top.
On top of a naked Drake.
God, this was awkward.

“My
shrill voice?!”
I exclaimed. I felt a little bad for yelling when his head hurt, but calling my voice shrill was rude.

“How’s this for a shrill voice?”
I screamed, increasing my volume as I stormed out of the bathroom and slammed the door.

I got dressed in a tizzy in my room, throwing on whatever was nearest. Wait, not that shirt from last night. It stunk.

I slid into a pair of my favorite dark khaki shorts and a fluorescent tank top that had the main purpose of nearly blinding anyone that looked at me. It was fun to see them blink and, if I was really lucky, see their eyes water a little. You’d think they would look away from it, but for some reason, they couldn’t ever seem to.

Normally, wearing it made me feel good, optimistic and ornery. But my heart was still pounding from lying naked on top of a naked Drake. So weird. So not cool.

I started to feel worse for yelling. I wasn’t going to apologize for it, though. He had lost that possibility when he’d called my voice “shrill.” Jerk.

With a dramatic sigh, I headed back across the hall to the bathroom door. Not wanting any more awkwardness, I knocked.

I heard some sort of mumble and still heard the shower. So I headed in, cautiously looking around to ensure the curtain was in place.

Confident that it was clear, I hopped up on the counter and started kicking my legs, letting them thump lightly back against the wood of the cabinet.

“Sorry, Drake.” I started, clearing my throat. “I was just caught completely off guard.” I was still mad about him calling my voice “shrill,” though. But I was going to let him come to that conclusion and apologize on his own. He had deductive reasoning like no one’s business – one of the many things that made him so good at his job.

My apology was met with only the sound of the water pounding against the wall. I was starting to think he hadn’t heard me, or that he’d fallen asleep, when he finally spoke up.

“Yeah, it was a bit awkward, that’s for sure.” He let out a chuckle. “Sorry for interrupting your shower.”

Really? That’s what he was going to apologize for? “It’s fine. I was done anyway, just letting the hot water relax me.”

“Hey, what’s up with you? You’re really out of it.”

“What makes you say that?”

“Well, aside from you climbing in the shower with me like you didn’t realize someone was in here already, you still have your boxers on.”

“Then why’d you yell ‘you’re naked’?” he asked.

“Pure reflex, mainly because you’re only wearing boxers and I
was
naked.”

“Girls. So weird.”

I snorted. “So, what’s got you so sidetracked? Still stuck on the ‘invisible bodies’ thing?”

“Are you going to bring that up constantly in such a derisive manner?” He groaned. “And no, well…sorta. That’s part of what has me sidetracked.”

“Yeah, you’re going to hear about that for a long time.” I grinned to myself, already feeling less weird about the situation earlier.

“Great. Looking forward to it.” Drake’s voice said anything but. “What’s on my mind is, well…I need to be honest with you. Remember when you asked me what I saw on the skeletons earlier that totally freaked me out?”

I nodded, bracing myself now. This must be big if he didn’t want to tell me earlier. Especially if it was enough to cause him to forget to take off his boxers and climb in the shower while I was still in it.

“Well, there were a few Council members. Our Council members. One was the Magistrate. Which is crazy since I just saw him out in town. He acted like a total ass to me, also. More than usual.”

“Yeah, that is weird. See? I told you, you’re crazy, he
is
alive. Nothing to worry about.”

“That’s not all of it.” He paused, taking in a deep breath and letting it out. “I didn’t see it when we first got there. But when I fell back in, there was a body along one wall. A fully detailed − like it was really there − body. It was your father’s.”

I felt my body tense up. My breath catching in my chest, words wedged in my throat. All at once I had so much to say and yet no idea how to say it. Like my mouth didn’t work, or my brain. I let myself sit there on the counter, finding myself rocking lightly side-to-side as though my body understood better than I that my mind was trying to catch up, and it needed to do something.

Out of the corner of my eye, I registered Drake climbing out of the shower in a towel, but I didn’t look up. Finally, I thought my mouth would work again. “How can you be sure? I haven’t seen him in years and neither have you.”

Drake didn’t answer.

“Right?” I demanded, looking at him and wondering why he wasn’t responding.

Drake looked up at the ceiling for a second before answering. “I saw him last winter, I was searching on No-Man’s land, and he was there with a couple of guards. When I saw his body in the pit, I got really close to check. It was him, I’m positive.”

A deep sigh escaped my lips. It had been building in my chest for the last few minutes. I didn’t like that he had kept things from me. But then, that made me feel like a hypocrite with the many major secrets I still kept from him, to this day.

“That’s unexpected. You’d think we would’ve heard that he was dead. A trader or someone would have mentioned it. That’s kind of a big deal.”

“Yeah. I would have thought so, too. I didn’t know if I should tell you, until I knew for sure. But it’s been eating me up.”

I’d been finding it hard to believe Drake already about this invisible body thing. Now he wanted to drag my father into it? Someone that I knew for sure we would have heard about being dead – if it were true. He might’ve been psychotic, but he was still my father. Nothing would change that. I wouldn’t wish him dead.

No, the fact remained that Drake was the
only
one that thought all of these things. The
only
one that saw the bodies and bones. He even admitted to seeing the same people in town this morning that he had supposedly seen the remains of in the pit. The logic all pointed at him playing some screwed-up joke or having cracked.

“Drake?”

“Mhmm?”

“Did something happen to you in the waste cities?”

His head jerked up, his voice growing hard. “No! What makes you ask that?”

“Settle down, sheesh. I just wanted to know if maybe it was possible you spent too much time in the cities. Maybe were exposed to too much radiation or a toxic agent? It would explain your peculiar behavior, your hallucinations.” As soon as the word left my mouth I wanted to snatch it back.

His voice stayed hard, getting lower and slower. “I don’t think so. So you don’t believe me, huh?”

“It’s not that I don’t believe you. I mean, I don’t, really. I’m trying to, it’s just a little out there, you know?”

Drake turned to face the wall, resting his forehead against it. I saw his arm muscles tense as he fought to control his temper. I wasn’t afraid he’d hit me. Drake never would. But I knew that I had hurt him, and
I
hurt for hurting him.

“I knew it would be tough for you to believe me. But I thought you would at least
try.
Maybe give me the benefit of the doubt. Not throw it back in my face like I’m crazy.”

I didn’t say anything for a second, which was obviously a mistake when he pushed away from the wall abruptly and threw open the bathroom door. He stormed out it, not even bothering to close it as he went to his room.

“Drake! Don’t be like that. Please. Don’t be mad,” I begged him, sliding off the counter and ducking my head into the hallway. His door was already closed. Something about seeing his door closed completely, latched, something we rarely bothered to do, was like a twist to the knife in my side that I was already dealing with. With a quiet sob, I went to my room and climbed up on my bed, pulling my knees to my chest and clenching them tightly to me. My shoulders started heaving, salty tears burning paths down my cheeks, mingling with shower water and finding their way to the corners of my mouth where they trickled in like salt to a wound.

Why was he being difficult? I’d been honest with him and look where it’d gotten me. He was acting childish. Overreacting. What gave him the right to be an ass? I was doing my best to give him the benefit of the doubt.

The tears started lessening down my face. I felt a fire building in my chest. Why was I crying? Why was Drake’s behavior getting to me so strongly? I sat up straight. All of my emotions turned to irritation and aggravation. I felt myself getting angry. He had no right.

I decided to do what I do best when I’m angry. Time to steal stuff from someone else’s traps. I suited up, leather shirt, stretchy pants, knives, and of course, my sword. Hmm. On second thought, maybe not the sword. I’m just going to get some meat, after all. I threw on my cloak and took off for the wall. I hoped I wouldn’t run into Drake on the outside.

Getting over the wall was actually easier this time. I didn’t run into anyone, and everything just went smoothly, which surprised me since it seems like any time you’re mad or in a hurry,
nothing
ever goes right.

The thing about the Ackspec’s traps is that they’re normally hidden. It keeps people like me from doing what I’m doing now. Unless however, you’re, you know, me.

I had learned about surviving through trial and error when I’d run away from my filicidal father. I’d roamed free in the wild for quite some time before Drake saved me that fateful day when he pushed me out of the way of the Sven guard’s bullet and instead, took it himself in the leg. None of this did anyone know, though. Not even Drake. As far as he knew, I’d simply gone straight from the Briln to the Sven. I’d never actually lied to him about it, he’d simply assumed something and I did nothing to contradict his assumption.

One of the things I learned very quickly when starving was that it was easier to get the food that someone else had caught than catch it myself. I’d learned how to find their traps, without getting stuck in one myself – most of the time. I’d take their catch and reset the trap. They’d never even know I’d been there or had taken the catch.