“And for you?” Adam asked, his eyes widening as Skylar’s beautiful reddish orange eyes turned to focus on the homosexual waiter.
“I’ll just have a Pepsi. Nothing to eat, though,” he replied in a caustic voice that made me want to spit on him.
“Are you sure?” Adam asked, the happiness in his voice melting away.
“Yup,” Skylar retorted.
Adam’s smile fell as he took Skylar’s menu.
He started to turn away when I tapped his shoulder. “Thank you!” I told him happily. “You’re one of the friendliest waiters I’ve talked to in a long time.”
He turned around and smiled at me.
“Likewise!” he answered. “You’re one of the nicest customers.” He shook my hand and walked away with his clipboard, whistling as he went.
I turned on Skylar the moment Adam was out of earshot.
“What the hell is your problem?” I asked angrily, ignoring Pa as she tugged on the edge of my dress and begged me to shut up.
Skylar pointed a finger at his perfectly sculpted chest. “Who, me? I’m not the one with the problem.”
“The hell you aren’t!” I almost shouted. “You treat your fiancé—my best friend—like absolute shit and you don’t even seem to care! You have all this money and what? You think you’re better than everyone else?”
He chuckled. “You’re just a child,” he replied caustically. “What do you know about me?”
“I know enough to tell that you’re lonely and you’re trying to find an outlet for the anger inside of you. To try to forget what happened in your past. That’s enough for anyone to need to know.”
He stared at me, unmoving.
I looked at Pa meaningfully. “I’m going to the bar,” I said emotionlessly. “Don’t wait for me.”
Pa nodded tightly at my sentence and squared her shoulders as I started to walk away. I took a seat next to this creepy looking biker guy, who had tattoos all over his arms that went onto his chest and neck. He cocked his head at me with interested eyes, but I shook my head.
“Sorry, buddy,” I muttered, “I’m still a minor.”
He sighed and turned away as I smiled to myself.
I kept one ear constantly turned toward Pa and the table, knowing that the wind would carry her conversation over to me. I felt a slight breeze, and I was beginning to hear distinct parts of their conversation.
“I can’t keep living like this, Skylar,” I heard Pa’s voice say through the whisper of the wind tickling my ear. “I’m just not happy. I don’t love you anymore.”
Skylar’s voice traveled even farther, faster and sharper than Pa’s.
“Well it’s obvious that you don’t,” he spat back. I wanted so badly to turn around and see the look on his face, but I knew I couldn’t. “Otherwise we wouldn’t be fighting all the time.”
“Oh, shut the hell up!” Pa retorted back at him. I smiled to myself. Way to go, Pa! “You never loved me anyway. The reason we fight is because you’re a selfish, controlling bastard without any heart at all!”
“How dare you accuse me of having no heart!” he shouted back through the wind, his voice stinging with hatred and pain. “I love you, Paola. And if you’re too blind to see that, then perhaps I was mistaken when I asked for your hand in marriage. And. You. Accepted.”
He said the last three words like they were separate sentences, pausing long enough for each word to sink in and cut deeply into Pa. I felt instant pity for her, and my heart ached to run back and hold her in my arms.
“I made a mistake,” she said boldly. “It won’t happen again. I love Rick. He’s ten times the man you’ll ever be, and he would never treat me the way you do! He’d kill himself before he did anything to me!”
“He’s stupid,” Skylar spat back. “Giving your life for something like that is nothing more than stupid!”
“Shut up,” Pa said in a deadly whisper. “Get out of here. I don’t ever want to see you again.”
There was a slight pause, and Skylar’s next words sent an alarm through me, a frightening chill that made me want to run until I collapsed.
“Don’t make a threat you can’t back up, Paola. Or you might end up regretting it someday.”
“Take your ring back,” Pa said a little louder this time. After another slight pause, I heard footsteps. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Skylar fly past me, eyes flaming, into the men’s restroom.
I looked at Pa meaningfully. She was sitting there at the booth, breathing deeply and staring straight into my eyes. I smiled encouragingly at her and cocked my head toward the restrooms. She seemed to understand, because she nodded solemnly and continued staring at the wall.
I got up from the bar and walked casually over to the restrooms. I dumped the entire contents of my humongous purse on the floor in the little hallway and bent down close to the men’s room door, inclining my ears.
“What did I do?” Skylar’s broken whisper was enough for me to understand that he was alone. “I didn’t do anything . . . I’m just . . .”
His whisper broke off and I thought I heard a soft sobbing.
“Stop crying.”
I jumped at the voice, leaning more intently against the wall. I was sure he had been alone . . .
Was he alone?
I leaned even closer into the wall, listening.
“Who are you?” I heard Skylar’s terrified whisper.
A maniacal laugh erupted from inside. “Don’t ask such a meaningless, stupid question,” the voice replied. It sounded just like Skylar . . .
Only angrier.
“Are you . . . me?” Skylar asked in a voice that was drenched in fear.
“Yes, Skylar,” the deeper voice replied. “I’m you. And I’m here to help you. But only if you help me first. That’s how these things go. You give me what I want, and I’ll get you something you want in return.”
“What do you want, then?” Skylar begged, and I heard him fall against something, almost as if he lost the support of his legs and was leaning against the counter. There was a distinct silence that frightened me, and I felt my muscles stiffen when the voice spoke again.
“Someone’s listening to us,” the voice clipped.
That was enough for me.
I grabbed anything I could, shoved things into my purse, and ran, not looking back until I was breathing uncontrollably in the seat across from Pa in the restaurant.
“D?” she asked, wiping a tear from her eye inconspicuously. “What the—?”
“No time,” I said hurriedly. “Where’s your phone? Call Ricky right now. Tell him to come get us.”
“D? What’s—?”
“Now!” I shouted. She jumped back from me, her eyes frightened. “Now,” I repeated softer, clenching the sides of the table to relax myself. Pa spoke in clipped whispers to Ricky over the phone and flipped it shut seconds after she had dialed.
“He’ll be here in five minutes,” she replied. “Come on, let’s go outside.”
“Yeah,” I said, my eyes looking to the restroom hallway nervously. “Outside . . .”
Pa looked exceedingly worried as she led me outside, and I felt so bad that I was worrying her. Heck, I was scaring myself.
My head was killing me, and the adrenaline pumping through my veins was just making the throbbing worse. Pa and I sat on a bench under the canopy of the restaurant, waiting until Ricky’s car pulled up hastily to the curb.
He pulled down the window and leaned out the passenger side. “Is she okay?” I heard him ask Pa.
“She seems okay; just a little dazed,” Pa replied. I robotically got into the car, letting my eyes roam restlessly back to the restaurant’s entrance, where I was sure I could see Skylar staring after us in anger.
Ricky gunned on the accelerator and sent us flying down the interstate toward home while I stared mechanically out the window at the hazy sky. My mind was turning over and over, capsizing on itself as it tried to make sense of everything that was happening.
&n
bsp; Skylar most definitely had been alone in that bathroom. But if that was the case, then who the hell was that other voice? It had sounded like Skylar, and claimed that it was him, but it was physically and medically impossible for Skylar to have a clone of himself.
How had the voice known I was listening? If it was just a voice, how could it have seen or heard me?
Ricky pulled into our driveway and parked the car, letting it sit there for a moment before turning around in his seat to face me.
“Dess,” he said, touching the back of his hand to my forehead, “Are you all right?”
I nodded, feeling less anxious. I leaned closer to them and watched as our eyes all began to shine brown, green, and gold. “Yeah, I think so. But there’s something you guys need to know.”
Explosive
“Let’s go inside, first,” Ricky said resolutely. Pa and I followed him, turning on every light switch we saw.
I fell into the couch with an anxious breath and Pa sat down next to Ricky on the love seat just beyond the coffee table.
He smiled at her as she folded her legs in a way that rested her knees on top of his. She smiled back and both of them turned curiously to face me.
“What did you wanna to tell us?” Ricky asked. “What happened at that restaurant?”
I took a deep breath before explaining.
“Pa invited me to go with her and Skylar to dinner tonight, but that didn’t last long. Pa told him off—rather wonderfully I might add—after I went to the bar to get drinks. Pa told him how she felt about you—Ricky—and then Skylar ran into the bathroom completely devastated. I followed him after he’d gone in, and I dumped my purse on purpose so I could listen to what he was saying inside.
“At first I thought he was alone ‘cause I heard him sobbing and crying and saying that he hadn’t done anything to deserve this. . .”—Pa snorted in annoyance as I continued—“And then I heard another voice.”
Pa’s brows furrowed in complete confusion, and Ricky’s eyes became a little clouded as my explanation continued.
“The other voice spoke to him, egging him on or something. But here’s what really freaked me out: there was no one else in there. I heard no footsteps except his, but the voice somehow knew I was listening to them. Skylar asked the voice who it was, and then seconds later he asked, ‘Are you . . . me?’”
Pa cleared her throat.
“So you’re trying to tell us that there are two Skylars?” Pa asked incredulously.
“Pa, I don’t know!” I almost shouted at her. I closed my eyes and rubbed my temples for a moment. “I just know that I heard another voice, and the voice claimed to be Skylar. And it sounded a lot like him, too. Only this voice was angrier, more hostile—yeah, I know it’s hard to imagine—than the normal Skylar.”
Ricky spoke this time. “We’ll have to take our time figuring this out,” he said calmly. “In the meantime, Dess, keep an eye out for yourself. If that voice recognized you when it couldn’t even see you, I think you need to be extremely on your guard about this.
“I’ll call Chris and talk to him now,” he continued. “I’ll take Pa home really fast, and then I’ll be right back. Lock the doors and windows and—”
“Ricky,” I interjected, the fear pooling in my chest, “I have a feeling the things we’re up against won’t even have need of doors.”
He put his arms on my shoulders. “It’ll make you feel safer. I’ll be back as soon as I can. Go get a shower, cool down. I’ll be back in a half hour at the latest. Call Chris if you want; explain things to him.”
“Thanks, Ricky,” I said, “But I’ll leave that to you.”
He nodded. “I’ll be back soon.”
I looked over to Pa, who had her arms extended for a hug. I ran up to her and embraced her, feeling the carefree breeze playing around us.
“Take care, Pa,” I said, knowing all too well what she might be facing upon returning to her apartment. “If you need us, you know where to find us. Just call me, or drive over.”
She nodded and smiled. “Will do,” she promised as she pulled out of the hug.
Ricky and Pa waved at me and went out to Ricky’s car. I watched them walk to the car through the curtains of my bedroom window, and I thought I was dreaming when I saw them clutch hands across the gear shift in the front.
They pulled away at an inhuman speed, and I was alone. Every shadow seemed to taunt me, but I knew that the light would push that all away. I turned on all the lights, letting the electricity banish away the darkness.
I hopped into the shower for the second time that day and decided to take a bath. I got out one of those little bubble bath balls and put it in the scalding hot water. I sat on the cold floor as I waited for all the bubbles to appear, and once they did, I let myself fall into the bed of bubbles.
I floated there for the longest time, letting the warm water wash away all the confusion and pain I was feeling in my head. My nerves were relaxing, and the encounter with the possible Skylar clone was slowly fading from my immediate memory.
I was still intrigued as to what exactly was going on around this place—Hopewell was so boring that even the slightest mishap meant the world was going to hell. It was no coincidence that I was seeing strange things in mirrors and the fact that Skylar had supposedly been alone in the bathroom when I had heard another voice speaking to him.
“Ah, jeez!” I screamed when a loud vibrating noise resonated from the floor beside the bathtub. “Stupid cell phone,” I muttered as I saw the little blue screen light up to tell me I had a text message.
I picked it up and read it. It was from Chris:
Rick calld and told me wut hapnd. U ok?
I smiled at his text and hurriedly replied:
Yea Im fine jst a lil freakd thts all.
I sat there for a few minutes waiting for a reply. One came in about five minutes, and it filled me with so much happiness that I couldn’t contain myself:
Thts good u’ll b fine. Hey was wondering if 2morow u wud wnt 2 meet me.
I texted back hurriedly with my own question:
Where?
Within seconds he replied to me:
By the coffee shop.
I texted “Okay” back to him and that was that. I got out of the bathtub—yeah, I know, stupid idea: texting in the bathtub—and dried myself off. By the time I had my pajamas on, Ricky was home cooking something in the kitchen when I strolled down the stairs with my hair in a towel.
“Hey, Ricky,” I said as I inhaled the sweet aroma of sizzling bacon. “Breakfast-for-dinner day, huh?”
He chuckled. “I was in the mood for a bacon, egg, and sausage sandwich, so I figured what the heck, you know?”
I smiled. “Whatever you say, Ricky. Whatever you say.”
“You want one?” he asked as he cracked another egg and poured its contents into the frying pan.
I shrugged. “Sure, I guess.” He smiled and continued cooking while I sat down at the square table.
I sat there like a zombie until Ricky put my breakfast sandwich in front of me. I ate the little thing greedily, since I hadn’t gotten the New York Strip I had ordered at the restaurant. I grumbled internally at Skylar and his stupid sort-of-clone.
But Ricky made some pretty mean breakfast sandwiches, so I was satisfied. He poured me a huge glass of milk and after we were finished eating I helped him with the dishes.
“It’s only 7,” he said nonchalantly. “Did you want to watch a movie or something before you go to sleep?”
I nodded and smiled. “Sure.”
“Well go in there and pick something,” he commanded like the big brother he was. “I’ll finish up in here.”
“You’re sure?” I asked again.
“Absolutely,” he promised. “Now go choose a movie.”
I laughed and skipped into the living room. On the north wall, perpendicular to the television set was a bookcase. The entire bookcase was full of DVDs. Full. Not even exaggerating.
It took a wh
ile for me to decide on one movie, but I eventually came to rest my decision on a ridiculous comedy movie.
Ricky and I laughed until our ribs hurt, and around 9:30 when the movie was over, I could barely keep my eyes open. My abs hurt so bad from laughing so much, and all the laughing had taken the energy right out of me. I had to beg Ricky to help me get upstairs.
“Go to bed, lil’ babay,” he said in the funniest voice I’d ever heard him use. I smiled and kissed his cheek when he bent down to tuck the covers around me.
“Thanks, Ricky,” I whispered to the darkness where his brown eyes were shining dimly. “Love you.”
“I love you, too, Dessa,” he said as he turned away. The door closed with a silent click, and my eyelids fell slowly until the darkness swallowed me.
Morning came quickly, and the sunlight upon my face energized me with such a rush that I jolted out of bed and disoriented myself. I felt my head get a tad dizzy and I lost my balance, knocking over my lamp that was resting harmlessly on my bedside table.
“Ah, jeez,” I muttered as I fixed the lamp. I walked down the stairs—well actually more like ran—and bumped right into Ricky as I rounded the corner like a speed racer.
He was closing the refrigerator door when I collided with him, a carton of milk in his hand.
“Slow down, Speedy,” he said with a chuckle. “Why so energized this morning?”
“I woke up with the sun shining on me,” I told him as I got my own bowl and started pouring Lucky Charms into it. “I think it gives me energy, just like the wind does to Pa and the earth to you. And Chris gets energy when he’s in or near water, too.”
“Interesting,” Ricky muttered in fascination. “No wonder why I like working outside.”
I smiled. “That’s probably why, then. The earth gives you energy and makes you feel whole.” I took the milk carton from Ricky and poured some into my bowl, letting the little wheat pieces and marshmallows suck it in until they became plump and sugary.
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