"Um. I guess I didn't think about it. It's not something that I think about all that much." Okay, that sounded dumb. "I mean, I think about it, just not that it's new or anything. You know, it's always been there."
You're babbling Ryan. Stop. See, this is what happens when people talk, they say too much.
Frowning, she shook her head. "It's just that I felt like such an idiot," she said.
Now it was my turn to frown. Why had she felt like an idiot? When? What part? I swear I'll never understand. Besides, why was it my fault?
"Don't worry about it," she said. "Next time, a little heads-up would be nice, okay?" Smiling she reached up and patted my shoulder, then turned back to staring at the darkness.
My insides froze and the air seemed to tingle around me. Right then, for that moment, I wanted this to go on forever. The two of us, standing next to each other in the dark.
"Why haven't I ever seen you visiting your grandmother?" I asked, desperate to keep the conversation going.
She shrugged her shoulders. "My mom and Nana don't get along very well. Mom's a little controlling and the one person she can't control is Nana. She's always had to visit us at our house."
Smiling up at me with a twinkle in her eye she said, "Besides, you were probably buried in your computer or a chessboard on those few times I did come over to visit."
Wow, maybe she did know more about me than I thought.
"I heard you broke up with Numb N ... um, your boyfriend."
She cringed for a moment and I worried that I'd said the wrong thing. It wouldn't have been the first time. Holding my breath, I waited for her answer.
"Yes, I did. Everybody thinks he broke up with me. An impression I hoped to fix tonight online. How'd you know I broke up with him and not the other way around?" she asked. Her eyes focused on mine, desperately wanting to know the answer.
Now it was my turn to shrug my shoulders. "Jarret McGee has always been dumber than a bag of potatoes, but he isn't an idiot. No way did he break up with you."
She laughed, her smile lighting up the night. "Thank you, that's sweet."
Our eyes locked for a magical moment. Even in the faint glow from the flashlight, I could see the yellow specks of gold in her blue eyes. They seemed to melt something inside of me. We held each other's stare for a moment more before she turned away to look out over the dark valley again.
"Why?" I asked, wanting to bask in her attention again.
"Why what?"
"Why did you break up with him?"
She was silent for a moment, continuing to stare into the night. I wondered if she was going to answer.
"I had my reasons," she said with that beautiful shoulder shrug of hers. "We just weren't right for each other." She glanced at me with a raised eyebrow as if asking whether I understood. Me, being as socially adept as a potted plant, didn't understand.
"What does that mean?" I blurted out before I could stop myself. Even I knew that I was probably getting way to personal.
"He wasn't who I thought he was," she said with a resigned sigh. "Besides, I wanted to be more than an accessory. Does that make any sense?"
"You're asking me? What I know about relationships could fit inside a coffee cup."
She laughed. "It's just that whenever we did anything, went anywhere, it always had to center around Jarret and his friends. Sports, cars, or seeing who could get the drunkest the quickest. It all seems so pointless after a while."
My confused frown prompted her to continue.
"Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't have minded doing those things. Just not all the time, not every time." She paused as if thinking back. "You know, I don't think he ever asked me what I wanted to do. I think he assumed that being with him, in his great and wonderful presence, was more than enough to keep a girl happy."
Wow, like I said, he was dumber than I thought. Any guy who didn't make every day Hailey's most favorite day was dumber than an idiot. Thank God for dumb idiots.
"What about you, are you seeing anyone?" she asked with a cocked eyebrow.
I almost snorted out loud at the absurdity of the question. "uh, ... no. Not right now." Maybe she didn't know anything about me after all.
That tenseness settled over us again. I wondered if Hailey could feel it.
"We should probably go back inside," I said. I'd come out here to get away from the tense drama and it seemed to follow me. She nodded her head and used the flashlight to lead the way back.
Mark and Amanda were both still sitting on the couch. Amanda had retrieved one of her brail books. Her fingers slowly moved back and forth as she read. Mark had moved the candle closer to him so he could continue with the Batman comics.
"Seattle's out also," I told them. "There's no telling how long it's going to be out."
"I'm worried about Mom, can't we call her?" Amanda asked.
"She'll be fine, the hospital is probably the best place to be tonight," I said. A cold chill passed through me as I remembered the blackness of Port Wilson. Why hadn't the hospital emergency lights been on? It should have stood out like a sore thumb.
I didn't say anything, Amanda couldn't fix it. I couldn't fix it either, I realized.
Hailey shot me a look. Her forehead narrowed in concern. She'd had the same thought about the hospital.
"Mark put the book down for a second. We need to talk," I said, trying to keep the worry from creeping into my voice.
Mark dramatically closed the paper magazine and looked up expectantly. "I get nervous whenever you say that. I figure you want to break up or something," he said with a laugh.
"Funny. No, this is serious. If Seattle is out, then the whole grid is down."
"So, we sit here and wait it out," Mark said before dramatically snapping the comic open again and returning to reading.
Damn that boy could piss me off so easily. "Damn it, Mark," I said as I reached over and snatched it from his hands. "This is serious." He glanced at Amanda, then shot me an angry look. I returned his stare for a moment making sure he understood how serious I was.
"What? You think it's the beginning of the end of the world or something? Maybe we're being invaded by aliens, or a comet has hit the other side of the world and the shock waves have created a harmonic interference in step with 120-volt household appliances. Have you checked the stove? Maybe it works, it's on 240."
Where did he get these ideas? Shaking my head, I dropped the book back into his lap and returned to the center of the room.
"Actually Mark, I don't think that," I said, hoping Amanda and Hailey could hear my confidence. "There hasn't been an EMP at least."
"How do you know?" he asked.
"Because my phone still has power, no signal, but the interior electronics are still working, and I saw several planes still up in the sky." There. That should shut him up.
"What is an EMP?" Hailey asked, her beautiful forehead creased with curiosity.
"An Electric Magnetic Pulse," Mark said before I could answer. "It's a special nuclear bomb set off high in the atmosphere. The pulse it creates ruins all non-shielded electronics. That's about ninety-nine point nine percent of them."
"Why would anyone want to stop me using my MP3 player?" Amanda asked.
"It's not your MP3 player they're after. Almost everything we use today has electronics in it. From your car to the refrigerator. From the hospital's heart-lung machines to the power system. From the gas pumps to the railway lines. Shut all that down and the world grinds to a halt. Nothing works. Nothing moves. And, eventually, nothing lives. Not like it used to."
Hailey's face had gone white. My heart stopped at the thought that I had scared her. "But, like I said, it wasn't an EMP. Too many things off the grid are still working."
"So boy genius," Mark said making me want to strangle him. I hated that nickname. He only used it when he was mad. Probably still pissed off that I'd embarrassed him in front of Amanda and Hailey. "If it wasn't an EMP, what was it?"
"How should I know?" I answer
ed, exasperated that we had gotten off course. "It really doesn't matter. What I was trying to say earlier was that it might be off for a while. Maybe days."
"Okay, and like I said. We sit it out. Miss a couple of days of school, then life returns to its normal hellish self, and the world moves on."
"Yes, but there are some things we can do to make it easier."
"What?" Hailey asked before Mark could make another snide remark.
"For one, no more going into the refrigerator or freezer," I said, shooting a look at the fresh Mountain Dew Mark had retrieved. "Every time we open the doors the quicker stuff is going to spoil." Mark caught my meaning and took a long drink from his can of Mt. Dew. "We need to fill all the bathtubs with water," I continued. "In fact, every container we can find."
"I'm not drinking out of the bathtub," Amanda said.
"It's not for drinking. It's for the commodes. Our water supply is pumped up to Mount Spelling, then gravity feeds to us. Without power, the water's going to go dry pretty quick. Believe me, we do not want to lose indoor plumbing."
A brief look of fear flashed across their faces as each of them thought about living in a world without toilets.
"Hailey, you and Mark start filling containers in the kitchen. Pots, Tupperware, etc. I'll fill the bathtubs, then start a fire. It’s going to get cold tonight. When we're done, we'll go over to Mrs. Thompson’s and do her house."
"What about me?" Amanda asked.
"I need you to get blankets and pillows. I think it would be better if we all hung out down here tonight, that way we can cut down on the number of candles."
"I don't need lights, remember," Amanda said with a smirk.
"No, but the rest of us do," Hailey said with a faraway look in her eyes.
Chapter Five
Hailey
The sharp yellow morning sun peeked through the window blinds, waking me from a nasty dream where Jarret was getting strangled by an electric cord. I couldn't tell who was holding the other end, but I was pretty sure it was me.
I put my hand up to block the light and slowly remembered where I was and what was going on. A quick look around confirmed it. Ryan's living room. Power outage. Darkness.
The candle and fire had burnt down to nothing. A cold shiver ran over my skin. The room had that morning chill I remembered from camping trips with my dad.
A wash of sadness passed through me at the thought of him. I hadn't thought about him at all last night. Had I finally moved on? He'd left eight years ago, moving to Los Angeles. I'd visited a couple of times, but Sherri wasn't exactly welcoming. To her, I was a burden to be endured and when the baby came, it had only gotten worse.
There comes a time in a girl's life when she's got to cut her losses. I’d always feel bad about losing my dad, but I no longer obsessed about it. At least not when things were normal. It was when things became strange that I missed him the most. And, it didn't get much stranger than this.
Mark Jones slept in the middle of the floor in a sleeping bag he'd retrieved from the closet without having to be told where it was. Obviously a frequent guest.
He snored lightly, his mouth hanging open. I cringed inside thinking that I might have looked like that a few minutes ago. What if I had woken up last and everybody else had watched me snore, or worse, drool. Thinking about it sent a shiver down my spine.
Amanda was curled up on the couch on her side with both hands folded under her head. She'd had to pull her legs up tight because Brantley was hogging the other end of the couch. He'd sprawled out, his legs twitching as he dreamed of being chased by rabbits.
Ryan was in the other recliner. Laying on his side, facing me. He looked so peaceful. As if he didn't have a care in the world. I flashed back to when he'd knocked on my door last night.
You were lucky Hailey. I couldn't have imagined spending the night all alone in the dark in Nana's house. I'd have been a raving lunatic by the time the sun came up.
He'd been so calm, so confident that things were going to be okay. All three of them had welcomed me. Amanda had seemed happy that I was there and ecstatic to have Brantley. Even Mark had avoided shooting me any snide remarks. But, it had been Ryan that had made everything seem almost normal. His quiet confidence was very reassuring.
Brown hair had fallen across his forehead and into his eyes. I had a sudden urge to brush it back so I could see all of his face. He was good looking. A very straight nose and a small cut on the top of his ear. A boy becoming a man. Wow, who would have imagined I'd be thinking about brushing the hair out of Ryan Hardy's eyes.
The haunting quietness let me know that the power was still out. It was like being outside at night after a heavy snow. The continued absence of a background buzz had a chilling effect.
What now? How long was this going to go on?
I slowly got out of the chair, being careful not to wake anyone. Brantley lifted his head to see what I was doing. Probably trying to figure out if he was in danger or not. Then settled back down, resting his head on his paws, his eyes following me as I picked my way across the room to the downstairs bathroom. Thankfully, it had a high window that let in enough light.
When I stepped out Mark was waiting, hopping from foot to foot. He shot me a smile, then hurried into the bathroom.
"Good morning Hailey," Amanda said with a smile. She stood at the kitchen counter pouring milk into four cereal bowls. "I hope you like corn flakes. Ryan said to use up the milk because it'll spoil first."
"Um, sure, thank you, that'll be great."
At that moment, Ryan came down the stairs. He’d probably used the upstairs bathroom. He stepped into the kitchen. His rumpled hair made him look as if he was half asleep. He'd changed into an Iron Man T-shirt and was fiddling with some kind of gadget. This was the Ryan Hardy I knew. It was the first time I'd really gotten a good look at him. He was tall and lanky, but he'd lost some of that skinny, beanpole look I remembered. He'd grown shoulders to go with that height.
His brow softened when he looked at his sister. The love and caring written all over his face. He gave me a shy smile and a quick nod, then took a bowl of cereal to the small kitchen table. So much for early morning pleasantries.
Each of us retrieved a bowl and joined him. Amanda moved around the kitchen with confidence. I studied her out of the corner of my eye. She did everything slowly, but confidently. Her hair was brushed and she looked fresh and ready to face the world. The next time I wanted to bitch about life, I'd think twice.
I needed coffee before I could face the world. Lots of coffee. Not today Hailey. Today you have to face it without a caffeine fix. I shuddered at the thought.
"So what do we do now?" Mark asked between bites of cornflakes.
"I'm tearing my grandmother's house apart looking for some kind of light. If that doesn't work I'm hiking into town," I said. There were probably a dozen things I needed. Candles and flashlights being highest on that list.
"Uh ... That might not be smart," Ryan said with a frown. "Maybe you should wait until my mom gets home. I could give you a ride."
His statement startled me. Things had been going fine until then. I didn't need someone telling me what I should or shouldn't do.
"I think I can handle a little shopping trip, Ryan," I answered. It might have been a little snippy, but I hadn't had my morning coffee.
He shrugged his shoulders and returned to his cereal. I hoped I hadn't offended him, but come on.
"I should probably get going," I said. "Thank you for helping me out last night. You guys were great. I can't imagine spending the night all alone without any lights. Thanks."
Everyone nodded and said no problems. The typical response. What's more, I was pretty sure they were being honest. I placed my empty bowl in the sink while Amanda gave Brantley a goodbye hug.
Ryan walked me to the door, holding it open.
"Thank you for rescuing me last night Ryan. You're my hero," I said as I patted him on the shoulder. A sudden urge to reach up and kiss him on the
cheek flashed through me. What would my friends think if they knew I was thinking about kissing Ryan Hardy? An even bigger question was why was my stomach all fluttery.
He seemed to read my mind because he turned red and stepped back.
"If you need anything, or if you get bored, you're more than welcome to come back over. We'll probably be sitting around with the shakes and sweats craving our MP3 players and computers."
Smiling up at him, I patted his shoulder again, then called for Brantley. Time to go face the quiet of Nana's.
.o0o.
Okay, maybe Ryan was right. Almost every store was closed and all the stoplights were out. Making our one-horse town a clogged up mess. To top it off, even those stores that were open were as dark as a cave.
Our town only had a few places that I might be lucky enough to find what I needed. Not unless I wanted to hitchhike about twenty miles towards the Seattle suburbs. Mom would have loved that. She could have used that against me for the next three years at least.
The stores were empty and looked like a picked over carcass washed up on the beach. All I could find was a Nr. 4 birthday candle that had fallen back behind the paper plates. It'd give me, at least, thirty minutes of weak light. I didn't think things could get much more ridiculous until I reached the check-out counter and realized my debit card wasn't going to work.
The Clerk, an older lady, was writing on a large yellow legal pad next to the open cash register. She was adding up people's purchases and making change. Luckily, I had barely enough cash to cover the candle, a couple of lighters, and a bottle of Sprite. I didn't even bothering asking about flashlights or more candles.
As I left the store, my stomach tightened up when I thought about how much we depended upon electricity. Ryan's speech was starting to make a little sense.
I sighed in frustration. Pulling my jacket tight and zipping it closed I started the walk home. The walk into town had been fun, invigorating. The walk home soon became a drudge. One foot in front of the other. The realization that I had failed to find any kind of light for the night weighed heavily.
Unbreakable Rules (Too Many Rules Book 3) Page 4
