Dark Days (The Childe Series, #2)

by Kunz, C. A.

  “Alright, I’ll leave her alone…for tonight.” As Ryan turned and began walking away, Taylor just stood there in the rain, shaking his head at Ryan’s retreating back.

  The following morning Cat awoke to the sound of her mom placing another plate of food at her door. Having not eaten for a whole day, her stomach groaned as the smell of bacon drifted underneath the door into her room. Cat waited and listened for the creaking of the attic stairs to stop, signaling her mom was gone. She opened the door and grabbed the plate quickly. Shutting the door with her foot, Cat ran to her bed, scarfing down the food along the way.

  Hearing Cat’s bedroom door open and close brought a smile to Rachel’s face as she stood at the bottom of the stairs. “She’s eating again,” Rachel said to Sam as she entered the living room.

  “Well, hopefully this is a sign she’s coming around,” Sam replied, looking at his wife, happy to see a spark in her eyes.

  “I hope so, Sam. I hope so.”

  “Oh, and Aldon just called. He said he met with Gretchen this morning.”

  “Did he find out anything?” Rachel asked anxiously.

  “Gretchen apparently didn’t give her the journal. It was an entity that resides in her store, whatever that means,” Sam replied.

  “But she could’ve taken it away from Cat. Why did Gretchen let her leave with it?”

  “Aldon asked the same question, and her answer was, ‘We have no control over the future, and Cat was meant to have that book.’”

  “Did she say anything about us?”

  “Aldon said she reassured him that our secret was safe, for now,” he replied with slight worry in his tone.

  “So what does that mean?” Rachel’s face reflected the concern in her voice.

  “I don’t know. That’s all he said.”

  Sam and Rachel exchanged glances, and then looked up toward Cat’s attic bedroom, both wondering what the future held.

  Turning on her computer, Cat noticed she had forgotten to sign out of her TeenSpace instant messenger. She had more than fifty messages from her friends. She deleted them all, not reading any of them. She didn’t know how long she could keep this up. I want to talk to them, I do. But I just don’t know what to say. And I don’t want to have to explain everything. It’s hard enough as it is, she thought.

  After shutting down her computer, Cat stared out the window toward Julie’s house. It was still pouring down rain, and Cat realized she had made herself a prisoner in her own room. So many questions ran through her head. Who are my real parents? Why can’t I shake the feeling I’m more different than just what I see on the outside? Why have I been so sheltered my whole life? Is there more I haven’t been told? Her head began to throb due to the pressure building up. She opened her mini fridge, popped one of her pills, and washed it down with a gulp of water. Flopping on her bed, she tried to cry, but no tears came. “Must be all out,” Cat said, laughing hollowly. A knock at her door interrupted her thoughts.

  “Cat, honey?” Rachel asked.

  “Go away.”

  “Cat, please talk to me. I’m still your mother, blood or not.”

  “Don’t even start with the ‘I’m still your mother’ stuff. You’ve got no right to say that. Not after the way you’ve lied to me my whole life!”

  “Catherine Colvin, you open this door immediately! We’ve let you have your space, and now we need to talk,” Rachel demanded with her hands on her hips. “We’re sorry we lied, but you have to understand, we did it for a good reason. So you wouldn’t feel different.” Rachel waited a few seconds to see if Cat was going to open the door. When she didn’t, “Please open the door. All I want to do is talk. If you don’t like what I have to say, then you can stay in your room the rest of the summer. Just give me five minutes, please.”

  Cat rolled off her bed and made her way to the door. She hesitated at first, then reached for the handle and turned it, letting her mom in. “You’ve got five minutes,” she announced with her back to her mom. Rachel grabbed Cat in a hug and squeezed. Surprised by the action, Cat stood there trying to take in what was happening. She could feel her mom’s tears soaking her shoulder as Rachel shook with sobs.

  “Cat, please forgive us. We love you. I love you,” Rachel wailed as she squeezed Cat harder. Finally breaking her defensive stance, Cat turned and hugged her back.

  “Rachel, it’s okay. I just need time. Thanks for the space, but I need to do this on my own terms.”

  “I know.”

  “How did you expect me to react? You dump all of this on me, and then what? We all just hug and frolic in fields of daisies?” Gently pushing her mom back, Cat stared intently into her golden brown eyes, which seemed to have lost some of their usual luster. “Put yourself in my shoes and think how it would feel if, one, your best friend goes missing, and two, you find out you’re adopted. I mean, hello, scarring much?”

  “I know, that’s why we didn’t want you to find out like this. We had a plan-”

  “Yeah, a plan to not tell me,” Cat interrupted.

  “No, we were going to tell you eventually. I’m sorry you found out this way, sweetie.”

  “Yeah, so am I,” she murmured. “So, are we finished here? Because I have some much-needed longing and gazing out my window to do,” Cat said dryly.

  “Well, there is one more thing I wanted to talk to you about,” Rachel replied, digging in her pocket. She pulled out a set of car keys, and then showed them to Cat. “Your dad and I were going to wait until you started school again, but we thought that with all we’ve put you through, maybe this would help a little.” Cat’s eyes grew wide as she tried not to break her melancholy demeanor. She reached out and grabbed the keys from her mom’s hand and saw the logo of the one car she had asked for after she passed her driver’s test.

  “You got me a Jeep?”

  “Yeah, and it’s orange too. Your favorite color.” Cat hugged her mom again and then backed away.

  “You know, you can’t bribe me to make everything okay, right?”

  “No, we know. We were planning this even before all of this happened. We just wanted to present this now, as somewhat of a peace offering,” Rachel explained.

  “Oh…well, I was just making sure we’re on the same page.”

  “And starting now, you’re no longer grounded. You’ve been cooped up long enough. Even though it was mostly self-inflicted,” she said, smiling slightly.

  “Thanks, but I don’t know if I’ll be heading outside anytime soon. I’m still trying out this whole hermit thing. I’m not quite ready to face my friends at the moment.”

  “You know they’re very worried about you, right? They’ve called numerous times. You shouldn’t punish them for things we’ve done.”

  Cat glanced at her mom and then back at the keys in her hand. “Well, Rachel, now you know I’m okay. I think I might go back to the whole moping thing, if you don’t mind. But it kind of works best when I’m here alone, though,” she joked. Rachel smiled slightly and hugged Cat.

  “If you’d like to talk more, your father and I will be downstairs. Oh, and dinner will be at seven if you want to join us.” Cat didn’t answer. She just nodded to her mom as she left the room.

  “Rachel?”

  “Yes, sweetie?” she asked, reopening the door.

  “Never mind.”

  That night Ryan stood out in front of Cat’s house pacing back and forth in the rain, deciding if he should go up to her window, especially after Taylor’s warning. He had been waiting for about an hour after calling her phone numerous times and leaving several messages. It was eleven o’clock and Cat’s bedroom light was still on. Frustrated, Ryan finally decided to try and talk to her. Just as he was jumping up to the balcony, he noticed a golden form dash out from the Sitka spruce tree. Ryan waited and watched as a cat bolted across the balcony’s railing, through the rain, and up to Cat’s bay window.

  A loud meow sent Cat hurrying to the window. She was shocked to see Jewels out in the rain. Quickly f
linging her window open, she grabbed the feline and began drying her off with the towel that was draped over her tri-fold rice, paper screen.

  “You poor thing, you’re soaked to the bone, Jewels. What are you doing out in this nasty weather?” The feline nestled up to Cat, purring contently, as if thanking her for the wipe down. The stray cat had made a habit of stopping by Cat’s bedroom window regularly. She resembled a miniature lioness, complete with golden brown fur. The name Jewels was given to her by Cat, who loved how her eyes always shined like tiny jewels.

  Ryan made his way up to the balcony and continued to watch from outside. Suddenly, Jewels whipped around, hissing violently toward the window, and staring straight at Ryan. He quickly descended from the balcony and ran toward his car, hoping Cat hadn’t seen him.

  “What’s the matter, girl?” Jewels jumped out of Cat’s arms and perched herself on the window seat, her hair raised, and looking like she was ready to attack. Cat peered through the curtains and saw a car pulling away from her house, its tail lights glowing through the rain.

  “Was that Ryan?” Running over to her desk, she pulled her cell phone from the drawer and started to turn it on, but then stopped. She had every intention of calling Ryan, but she couldn’t go through with it. Come on Cat, you can’t block them out forever, she thought and then tossed the phone back in the drawer. Plopping face down on her bed, Cat moaned. “Ugh! Jewels, why am I so stubborn?” she uttered as Jewels joined her on the bed and curled up.

  The next couple of days passed as a blur. The rain still showed no sign of stopping. It had rained a week straight, an Astoria summer record. The front lawn closely resembled a lake. Cat was still not making any effort to communicate with her friends, though it was becoming exceedingly more difficult not to. She also had yet to join her family for dinner, though at every meal, they saved a seat for her, just in case she changed her mind.

  A loud banging came at Cat’s bay window and she saw Julie standing on her balcony completely soaked and shivering. “Are you going let me in or not?” she asked loudly. Cat opened the window and Julie stormed in, grabbing a towel from the bathroom.

  “What the heck are you doing out in the rain?”

  “Well, when your best friend won’t return any of your calls, drastic measures must be taken,” Julie stammered. “Oh, and that lattice, by the way, is darn hard to climb up when it’s wet, just saying.”

  Cat didn’t say anything. She just looked at the ground in shame and slouched down on her bed. Julie sat, and put her arm around Cat. “Don’t worry, silly, I forgive you. Whatever your reason is, I’m sure it’s a good one. And by the way, I never bought the one your parents were passing around about you being sick,” she said, smiling at Cat. Cat looked at Julie and flashed her a quick smile.

  “Hey, Julie? What’s it like being adopted?”

  “What do you mean?” she replied, puzzled.

  “Well, when you found out you were adopted, what was it like?”

  “I kind of always knew, I guess. So when Mom told me, I wasn’t really that surprised. Why do you ask?”

  Tears began to roll down Cat’s cheeks as she turned to face Julie. “I just found out that…I’m adopted. That’s why I went all anti-social.” Before Cat could get anything else out, Julie grabbed her in a hug, and for the first time in a week, Cat felt a sense of calm come over her. She smiled as Julie squeezed her tightly.

  “Julie, I have a favor to ask you.”

  “Okay.”

  “You can’t tell the others we’ve talked. I need more time to think about what I’m going to say to the rest of the gang.”

  “You got it, but please try to make your talk sooner rather than later. You know I’m terrible at keeping secrets,” Julie said with a laugh.

  Across town, later that day, Cat’s uncle Michael was pacing in the church rectory. His heart and mind were heavy as he debated whether he should inform the Colvins of the letter he received a week ago. As he combed his hand through his short, bright red curly hair, he pulled out his cell phone and began to dial their number, but then wavered. Quickly ending the call, he leaned against the wall and sighed. “Maybe I can persuade Cat’s aunt Ròs that taking Cat is not what’s best for her,” Michael said out loud. “The Colvins have done so much for Cat. Now it’s my turn to uphold the wishes of my dear departed sister.” He turned to his desk and retrieved the letter. Rereading it, as he had done several times since receiving it, he felt his confidence leave him like air from a punctured balloon. This isn’t going to be good, not good at all. I don’t think we’re ready for this, he thought, looking solemnly out the rectory window.

  2

  Roses Are Red

  Michael sat in his cozy cottage that was attached to the back of the church. As he was preparing Sunday’s sermon, a loud knock at the front door startled him. The thought of it being Ròs immediately crossed his mind and caused his heart to sink. Michael had lost track of time and was surprised that night had already fallen. As he cautiously walked down the darkened hallway, he never took his eyes off the front door. He swallowed hard before pulling the door open. Michael was relieved to see Joe, the church maintenance man, standing on the porch.

  “Fixed the leak in the roof. It was quite a doozy. You okay, Father?”

  “Yeah, just a little preoccupied is all. Thank you, Joe. See you at Mass tomorrow?” Michael asked.

  “Yep, I’ll be there with the wife and kids, as usual,” he replied happily.

  Michael closed the door firmly. He leaned against it, took in a deep breath, and willed his heart to slow down. While heading back to his study, Michael was startled by another knock at the door. He figured that Joe had forgotten something. Michael was puzzled when he opened the door and saw the front step was empty. He peered out into the lit courtyard, thankful for the street light that had been installed a year ago, and saw no one. He heard a faint squeaking noise, and looked to his right. He watched the slightly broken, old rectory sign sway back and forth in the breeze. The sign had but one sentence:

  Enter all ye seeking guidance and comfort.

  He had tried to replace the old sign, but the congregation had balked. So there it was, squeaking, as if protesting against the wind’s interruption of its peaceful hanging. After closing the door he made his way back down the hallway toward his study. The light in the study was dim, except for the lamp illuminating his desk.

  “Hello, Michael,” a female’s voice came from the vicinity of the couch. Startled, he jumped and hit the main switch, throwing the whole room into bright light. A man and a woman sat on the old Victorian couch in front of him, smiling. “I hope you don’t mind, we came in when you were talking with your friend. We didn’t want him to see us, of course.”

  “Who are you? And what are you doing in my house?!” Michael asked forcefully.

  “You must forgive our poor manners. I have forgotten that we’ve never met before.” The woman said with a smile as she raised herself from the couch. Michael took a step back. She stood taller than him and had beautiful locks of bright red curly hair. Her face was pale and flawless except for a few freckles that adorned her cheeks. Her eyes were sky blue and pierced through Michael as he stared into them.

  “I’m Ròs Aldridge Cowan, and this handsome devil with me is my husband, Trevor Cowan,” she explained with a deep Irish accent, and then held out her hand to him. Michael took it, and the first thing he noticed was how cold her fingers were. Trevor extended his hand, which was equally as cold, but gave a heartier handshake. “We’re sorry it took us so long to get here, but we ran into a little trouble in South America. We wanted to make sure we weren’t followed, so we took the scenic route. Why don’t we all sit down? You look a little peaked,” Ròs said calmly as she took Michael’s hand and lead him to the couch.

  “I told you we should’ve called first instead of just showing up,” Trevor whispered to his wife. Michael found himself seated beside Ròs and watched as Trevor pulled up one of the heavy oak chairs as if it w
eighed nothing.

  “How’s Catherine? Did you tell her about us and our plans yet?” Ròs asked impatiently.

  “Let Michael absorb the fact we’re here first, Ròs. We gave him a wee bit of a shock. Isn’t that right, Michael?”

  “I’m sorry. I’m not being a very good host. Would you like something to drink?” Michael asked, his own voice sounding unnatural to his ears.

  “No, actually we’d like to go see Catherine. I don’t think the Colvins will let us in unless you’re with us,” Ròs explained. “But first things first. Michael, how much information did your sister give you about this whole situation? When she placed Cat into your care?”

  Michael closed his eyes and leaned his head back on the couch, and thought back to that day many years ago. “Well, first of all, I hadn’t seen my sister in years, and had no idea that I had a niece, or that she was married. She told me her husband had recently passed. And that she was leaving Cat with me for a couple of days until she returned. To say the least, I was shocked.” Michael leaned his head forward and slouched with his elbows resting on his knees, looking at the ground. “I didn’t ask her where she was going or what she was doing. I’ve often wondered if I had, would things have turned out differently. Instead, I just took my niece in my arms, and grabbed the envelope from my sister’s hand. I saw the terror in her eyes and wanted to ask what was wrong, but it was too late. She had run off into the night. And after that, I never saw her again.” Looking up into Ròs eyes, Michael continued, “Two days later, I received word that she had passed from an anonymous letter with no return address. So, I put into motion the instructions that were left in the envelope. And that’s all I know.”

  “It’s not your fault, Michael. She was only trying to protect you,” Ròs said, placing a hand on his shoulder.

  “Protect me? From what?”

  “Hmm, where shall I begin? You’re a man of faith, are you not?” Ròs asked. Michael nodded. “Well, I need you to have faith. Faith that what I’m about to tell you is true. This is going to be hard for you to hear, but…we’re different.”