Amy leaned in close to Cole’s ear. “This could be a problem. Does she not realize we need money?”
“What are you kids doing?” Beth said. “I wasn't kidding. In exactly one hour we leave.”
“All of these machines need tokens,” Cole said, feeling his confidence growing.
Beth took a quick survey of the area around her. “Of course they do. How did I not think of that?” She looked down at Cole and Amy’s pleading faces. “Fine.” She opened her purse and rifled through her belongings. “Here’s five dollars for each of you. Bring me back change.”
Amy smirked at Cole as they took the money and then they both ran off to the nearest token machines.
“Can you believe that?” Amy laughed as she put her five dollar bill into the machine. “'Bring me change.' Well even if it were possible to not change the whole bill into tokens, how can five dollars last an hour?”
“She’s kind of old-fashioned,” Cole laughed. “She forgot that inflation happened. Probably thinks each machine only takes a penny.”
Amy laughed. “Old people. Guess we have to make this last.”
They stuffed the tokens in their pockets and went to the arcade machines.
“You go first,” Amy said.
Cole stood there, staring blankly at the screen.
“Have you never played a video game before?” Amy asked, failing to hold back a wide smile.
“Um.” Cole's face turned a deep red.
“I’ll go first. Show you how it works.” She stepped up to the machine and put in a token. As she played she explained what she was doing. When she was done she made Cole give it a try and, while he played, she shouted tips that were more distracting than helpful but which Cole appreciated nonetheless.
This routine continued for the rest of the machines and, by the end, Cole had picked up enough to try a couple first.
“Wow, you’re getting really good,” Amy said, genuinely impressed.
Cole was embarrassed at how much that compliment meant to him but he did not let it show. You see that? I can do things if I try.
A couple of times he looked back at Beth, still leaning against the counter by the door. She was watching the kids running around, screaming their heads off, all the while bearing an expression of utter disgust and frequently checking her watch. At one point, a small boy dared to bump into her and she shot him a look of death. He backed away slowly and then sprinted off to join his friends. Cole smiled to himself as he watched these events unfold.
The minute the hour was up, Beth fetched the two of them and they drove back to her house, Amy and Cole chattering the whole time about all the best games they had played and all the most memorable moments of each one. Cole never remembered having this much fun in his entire life, nor did he ever remember having this much to say. When they got back to the house, they continued their conversation in the library, to Beth’s relief.
After wolfing down a quick dinner, they returned to the library, most of their earlier energy and excitement spent, while Beth went off to take a long, warm bath.
“Man, you weren't kidding,” Amy said. “Your aunt's cooking is awful.”
Cole laughed. “Told 'ya. Hey, check out this crazy book I found in here.” He pulled the supernatural book off the shelf and placed it, open to the table of contents, on Amy's lap.
“Oooohh, this looks interesting,” Amy said as she scanned the page. “I've always been fascinated by things like this. I'm so curious to see what the author has to say about them. What do you think? Do you believe in this stuff?”
“I think so. I want to. I definitely believe some of it. I have to say, I've been reading it and it's very convincing.”
Amy's eyes lit up. “What did it say about ghosts? Are they real?”
They took up seats by the windowsill and chatted about the contents of the book. Cole explained some of the more convincing arguments while being careful not to give away too much so that Amy could experience the same thrills that had absorbed him. In a moment of paranoia, Cole peeked out the window to the empty street outside. Of course, there’s nothing out there.
“Why does your aunt have this book?” Amy said. “Did you ask her about it?”
“She doesn't really like to answer questions about her things. Or at all.”
Amy smirked. “I kinda picked up on that. Well, if you don't wanna ask, I can.”
“No, that's all right. I can. What's the worst she could do?”
“Cool.” Amy went over to the window and looked out. “It’s so nice out there,” she said. “Hey, who’s that?”
“Who’s what?” Cole said, instantly frantic, climbing over to the window. No. One look out the window and his heart was in his throat. “I have to be right back,” he whispered. He sprinted out of the house, praying the car wouldn't drive away before he got some answers.
Miraculously, the car was still idling by the curb, showing no sign of movement. The driver was obscured in darkness, visible only as the silhouette of a woman, but the boy’s head was clearly visible inside the passenger side window. Cole stopped on the sidewalk, catching his breath, trying to remember what he had wanted to ask. The encounter had been so unexpected that all of his burning questions were lost in the abyss of his mind, behind the chorus of voices that had started up inside his head again once he was close to the boy.
The boy broke the silence first. “Nice place. Whose house is this?”
The voice opened the floodgates in Cole's brain and the questions came streaming back. He decided to start with the basics. “Who are you? How did you find this place? And why the hell are you stalking me?”
“Easy, Cole,” the boy said.
“How do you know my name?! Who are you?” Cole took a threatening step closer to the car.
“You really have no idea?” the boy said. “I overestimated you.”
A fire swelled up within Cole, but before he could react, he heard footsteps behind him and spun around to see Amy approaching.
“What’s going on out here?” she said as she came to Cole’s side.
“Go back inside,” Cole said, surprised at the coldness of his voice. “Please. You shouldn’t be out here.”
“I don’t think so,” Amy said, folding her arms. “Tell me what’s going on.”
“Who’s this, your girlfriend? Does she know? I guess not since even you don’t,” the boy said with a sarcastic smile.
“Listen,” Cole said, choosing his words carefully in front of Amy, “if you don’t stop, I’m going to call the cops.”
“Oh yeah, and tell them what?” the boy said. “You don’t even know my name.”
Cole gritted his teeth, his voice threatening to lose its cool. “Either tell me what you want or leave me alone.”
“I don’t think that’s going to happen.” The boy smiled.
“You son of a…” Cole lunged at the open window, arms flailing towards the boy’s face. He saw a flash of fear in the boy's eyes as he shouted to the driver to go. Cole grabbed the boy’s shirt as the car peeled away but leapt back to avoid the tires crushing his feet. He stared after it, fists at his sides, fuming.
“Should have figured!” the boy shouted back at him as the car fled down the block.
“The license plate was covered,” Amy said quietly after the car had turned the corner. “Calm down. Come inside and tell me what that was all about. We won’t let that little weasel push you around.”
Cole’s shoulders relaxed. “All right.”
Amy took his hand and the two of them walked back inside the house. Cole’s head was spinning, the most pressing matter being what he was going to tell Amy. He couldn’t tell her the truth but his lie had to be solid enough to convince her after what she had witnessed.
They sat down in the library, Amy across from him, waiting expectantly. Cole was thankful she did not pressure him, allowing him a second to collect his thoughts.
“I honestly don’t know who that is,” Cole began tentatively. “He showed up
at my mom’s house one night and before I could talk to him he disappeared. All I know is that he’s stalking me. He somehow found out where both my house and my aunt's house are and I think I might have seen him outside school once too. But I have no idea what he wants.” Mostly true but convincing enough.
Amy was quiet a moment. “Okay. Let’s try to figure this out. It didn’t seem like he was just doing this randomly. He must have a motivation. And who was that woman driving, his mother? Why would she help him? Think. There must be some reason.”
Dammit Amy. “I don’t wanna talk about it.”
Amy shot him a sideways glance. “This doesn’t seem like something you can ignore.”
Cole glared at her. “I agree. Some things you shouldn’t ignore.”
Amy bit her lip and looked at the floor. “Forget I said anything. So what were we doing before?”
The rest of the night passed uneventfully, the heavy tension easing as they talked about more pleasant topics. Cole was still shaken up but he managed not to think much about the encounter. He would have to figure this out in his own time. He could not tell Amy that he was essentially insane and that his curse had brought him an enemy, one who knew too much information about him and had definite but unknown intentions.
After Amy left, he stayed awake all night, staring through the window, viewing the encounter on the street in his head over and over. There were too many unanswerable questions. This kid clearly had some internal connection to him but what did it mean? He wished he had listened better to the voices in his head instead of focusing all his energy on his rage. He was sure there was an answer in there that would explain everything.
He thought back further to the amusement park. The boy seemed to have interest in Cole before Cole ever noticed him. Did he know who Cole was before the amusement park? How long had he been stalking him? How much did he know about him? The thought terrified him, knowing that there was someone out there with malicious intent and the help of an adult who might know everything about him. It left him feeling helpless, at the mercy of whatever this kid wanted to do. What did he want and, more importantly, what was he waiting for?
12
As the first rays of sunlight broke the horizon, Cole drifted off into a troubled sleep, awakened in the morning by Beth’s gruff voice. At lunch, Cole kept expecting Amy to bring up the night before, but she apparently thought it was only fair not to mention it so she kept the topics trivial. She discovered to her dismay that he had seen hardly any movies, and she spent most of the period describing her favorites and compiling a list of ones that they needed to watch together.
The end of the day rolled around and, to Cole’s delight, Meredith was outside waiting for him.
“Mom! You’re better again!” Cole sprinted towards her and threw his arms around her.
“Yeah. Those damn doctors kept me there longer than I needed to be.”
“I’ll do everything for you, Mom. You have to take it easy. Please.”
Meredith rubbed his hair. “You’re so sweet.”
For the first time, Cole looked beyond Meredith into the car and took a step back. Beth was sitting in the passenger seat, staring straight ahead, arms folded.
“What is she doing here?” Cole said.
“Oh, well she’s been so great taking care of you lately that I felt I needed to pay her back. We’re all going out to eat a late lunch. Hope you're not too full.”
Just then Amy appeared next to Cole. “Hi Cole’s mom! Glad to see you’re okay.” She took a quick glance at the scene of Meredith, Cole, and Beth in the car. “I’ll see you tomorrow Cole. Bye!” She waved and hurried away.
Cole smiled as she ran away and then grudgingly sat in the backseat, jealous that Amy was able to avoid this awkward dinner.
“Everyone ready?” Meredith said as she got into the driver’s seat.
“Uh-huh,” Cole said.
Beth grunted.
“All right then,” Meredith said, trying to maintain her enthusiasm.
As they drove away, thoughts of the boy, temporarily forgotten during the reunion with his mother, popped back into Cole’s head. His eyes swept up and down the street and, sure enough, there was the car, idling on the corner in the direction they were heading. As they passed it, Cole’s eyes met the boy’s briefly. He sat in silence the rest of the ride, his mind in turmoil, a lump blocking his throat.
Meredith was attempting to make conversation with Beth but Beth's one-word answers were making it difficult. Cole did not catch a word of the conversation and was glad nothing was asked of him, since he was in no state to respond. When he climbed out of the backseat at the restaurant, his head started to clear and he tuned in to the adults' conversation.
“Well I don’t know about you but that’s what I heard about Uncle Al,” Meredith was saying.
“Yeah,” Beth said.
“You heard that too?” Meredith said, holding the door open for Beth, who pushed her way through the second set of doors.
They were inside a fancy Chinese restaurant by the name of Peking Taste. Large chandeliers lined the ceiling, casting a warm glow on all the well-dressed customers talking quietly over their small portions of expensive food.
“Three?” the hostess asked them, while registering their cheap clothing with a wary glance.
“Yes, please,” Meredith said.
“Can we get a booth?” Beth said.
“I’ll, uh, see what I can do,” the hostess said, trying her best to stay polite as she took out a seating chart.
Meredith gave Beth’s back a dirty look, plastered a smile on her face, and followed the hostess to a booth against the back wall.
“A booth, just like you requested,” the hostess said cheerily, laying menus on the table as they slid into their seats.
Beth grunted.
There was a long silence as the three of them perused the menu far more times than was necessary. When the waiter came to take their drinks, they all ordered water and Cole thought he caught the waiter almost imperceptibly shake his head.
“So Beth, I’d like to formally thank you in front of Cole,” Meredith said. “You have no idea how much what you did means to me. I don’t know what I would have done with Cole if you had not agreed to care for him. Twice. And don’t say you didn’t have a choice. You did and it was very kind of you.”
Beth nodded. “He’s not a bad kid. Could've been worse.”
Cole smiled inwardly at the apparent pain it took Beth to admit that. Guess I’m growing on her.
Meredith looked shocked that Beth had nearly given her son a compliment and could say no more, leaving the table in silence until the waiter returned.
“Are you ready to order?” he said as he pulled out a notepad and pen.
“Aren't you supposed to be able to remember these things?” Beth said, smirking.
“I'm, uh, new ma'am. Still working on it.” He forced a fake laugh.
“Just kiddin' ya. I'll take the General Tso's chicken and hot and sour soup.”
The waiter stopped writing. “Oh, sorry, we're actually out of the hot and sour soup.”
“Figures,” Beth murmured. “Okay, then get me egg drop. And don't mess up my order.”
“Don't worry ma'am, I've got it.”
Cole cringed and slouched in his seat, wishing he could disappear. Wouldn't want to change too much, would she? That would just be unreasonable.
After they ordered their food, Meredith turned the conversation back to family, the only topic they had in common but in which Beth had no interest. After they finished their meal, Meredith drove Beth back to her house.
“Thanks again for everything,” Meredith said as Beth got out of the car. “If you ever need anything, don’t hesitate to ask.”
“I won’t,” Beth said, closing the door. “Bye.”
“Bye!” Meredith said through the open window. “Thanksgiving is coming up soon so I guess we’ll see you then.”
“Yep, guess I’ll be seeing you then.
”
Meredith shot Cole a look, forcing him out of the car. “Thanks, Aunt Beth,” he said.
Beth nodded and headed into the house while Cole clambered into the front seat.
“That was only slightly painful,” Meredith said, smiling. “She hates to admit it but she has a good heart. She's just not the most social person. So, how was your second stay with her?”
“Not too bad,” Cole said. “A lot better than the first. I think she’s softening up to me.”
Meredith smiled and tousled Cole’s hair. “How could she not?”
That night, as they were enjoying a small dinner that Cole had helped prepare so that his mother would take it easy, the doorbell rang. Meredith paused, her fork halfway to her mouth, and looked at the clock in confusion.
“Who in the world could that be?” she said as she wiped her mouth and pushed in her chair. “And especially during dinnertime.”
Cole waited at the table while his mother went to answer the door.
“Hello? Can I help you?” he heard her ask from the other room.
“Hi. I’m Cole’s friend from school.”
Cole's stomach seized as a cold sweat crept over him. He had only heard that voice once but there could be no doubt who it was. He snuck a peek around the corner and his eyes locked with the boy's for a second before he retreated, shaking, into the kitchen.
“We made plans the other day,” the boy said.
“Oh, I’m sorry, Cole didn’t mention anything about this.”
“Ooooh, I hope I didn’t mix up the days. I couldn’t remember and I guess I got it wrong.”
Cole was leaning his head back against the wall, praying. What the hell is he doing here? Send him away. Please, just send him away.
“Not a problem,” Meredith said. “You can come in. We’re not busy tonight.”
“Thanks so much.”
The door slam felt like a sledgehammer pounding his heart. Cole squeezed the table and tried to steady his breathing but the icy grip of fear was too strong. He at least hoped his trembling was not visible as Meredith and the boy came into the kitchen.
Dark Mind (The Dark Mind Trilogy Book 1) Page 10
