Shadows Within (The Dark Mind Trilogy Book 2)

by Matthew Goldstein

  “Yes, Honey. You were only four months.”

  “Then... was dad still there?”

  Meredith bit her lip and took her eyes off the road to glance at Cole for a split second. “Yes, he does factor into the next part. I will admit, I was stalling bringing him up.”

  “Why don't you ever wanna talk about him?”

  “I'm not sure, really.” Her voice had lowered and her shoulders sagged. “Maybe since I never talk about him, even after all these years, it's difficult.”

  “I never wanted to bring it up,” Cole said, “but now I want to know. Maybe once you get it out, it'll make it easier.”

  “Maybe...”

  They pulled in front of the Williams house. Amy opened the back door and hesitated awkwardly in the silence. She tapped Cole's shoulder. “I'll see you tomorrow.”

  Cole turned around and their eyes locked, sending that familiar fuzzy feeling coursing through his body. Who cares about some stupid deadbeat? Look at her. “See you tomorrow.” He smiled.

  “Thanks, Mrs. Sicarius. Bye.” Amy hurried out of the car. The front door was open before she reached it, Mrs. Williams standing in the doorway, smiling and waving to Meredith.

  Meredith returned the wave and drove off. “I suppose you may be right,” she said. “We'll try it tomorrow. How about we go see a movie now?”

  “Really? A movie? Like in theaters? Where'd that come from?” Money had always been tight and he could count on one hand the number of movies they had seen in theaters. Whenever it came up, his mom would complain about how much of a ripoff the movies were and they should just wait for it to come out on video.

  “How about in honor of your first day of school tomorrow? Did you block that out?”

  “Ah, man, thanks a lot. I was doing a really good job not thinking about that. Do you even know what's playing?”

  “Nope. That will be part of the fun. We'll experiment.”

  They bought tickets for a movie that sounded like a comedy but in actuality turned out to be more of a romance that neither of them enjoyed. Still, Meredith didn't seem to mind and made a number of jokes after it was over, poking fun at the various plot devices and mushy dialog. Cole didn't know what to make of his mother's strange mood, but, nonetheless, he immensely enjoyed his last night of freedom at the end of summer.

  He dreamed of Dr. Stern again that night. She always haunted him as he laid in bed at night, tossing and turning, trying to shut off his brain, but the dreams were getting less frequent. That didn't make them any less terrifying, though, and it was a long while before he slipped back into unconsciousness.

  “Cole! Cole! You're gonna be late for your first day. Come on, get up!” Meredith tugged on the sheets but Cole had them wrapped around him in a tight cocoon.

  “I don't wanna go to school. Can I skip it? I'm so tiiiired.” He yawned and turned on his side, away from his mother.

  “You're only tired because you've been staying up too late all summer. I told you this would happen. Now get UP!” She yanked on the sheets, ripping them off Cole and exposing him to the open air.

  “Aaahh, all right, fine, you win.” Cole rubbed his eyes as he climbed out of bed, trying to force them to see straight.

  “Good. Now you'd better get moving. You want to make a good first impression on your teachers.”

  “I'm going. I'm going.” He dragged himself into the bathroom to brush his teeth. By the time he was dressed and downstairs, he knew he would never make it on time. A steaming bowl of oatmeal alongside a sliced orange awaited him on the kitchen table. Meredith was pacing the kitchen floor while Beth ate her own bowl of oatmeal. Beth did not look up from her breakfast as Cole entered.

  “Finally,” Meredith said, standing at the sink and wringing her hands. “I don't think you'll make the bus so I'll drive you today. But don't make this a habit. Tomorrow you'll just have to explain why you were late.”

  “I'm sorry I was so slow. I'll be better tomorrow. I promise.”

  “We'll see,” Beth said, and chuckled quietly.

  Cole was still trying to pry the sleep from his body as they neared the school. It wasn't until he could see the building that it sank in that he was about to start his first day as a freshman in high school. His nerves kicked into overdrive, driving the exhaustion away and replacing it with a dry mouth. You'll be fine. It's just like last year. You know how to deal with kids who are bigger than you. You've got this. Despite his internal pep talk, he found it difficult to open the car door.

  “Have a good day, Honey,” Meredith said. “I can't wait to hear about it later.”

  “Yeah, uh huh, bye.” He climbed out, slamming the door behind him. The first thing he noticed as he glanced around was that there were very few cars dropping off students. He couldn't be sure if it was just his imagination but he could swear he saw some kids smirking at him and one point in his direction. Don't ever miss the bus again, dammit.

  He kept his head down and hurried into the building. Once inside, he realized he had no idea where to go. This building felt much larger than his last and much more crowded. He was used to being shorter than his peers, but now they all looked like mountains. He pulled his bag off his shoulder and unzipped it to retrieve the piece of paper that had his homeroom number on it. C106. The doors around him all had A on them so he found the nearest staircase and hurried up two flights. As he reached the third floor, the late bell rang and all at once the hallway was empty. He bolted down the hall, finding his classroom a minute later.

  He opened the door, cutting the teacher off mid-sentence. The teacher glared at him. “Take a seat anywhere you like. And do it quickly.”

  “Sorry,” Cole mumbled. He glanced quickly around the room, feeling every student's eyes on him, as he looked for the one person who would make it all right. There she was, sitting against the windows, covering her mouth to hide a smile. Unfortunately, the seat next to her was taken, so he plopped himself down in an empty chair by the front, not wanting to keep his teacher waiting any longer.

  “Thank you,” the teacher said. “As I was saying, my name is Mr. Foyer and I'll be your homeroom teacher for the year. I will also have many of you for Math. Since this is your first day, there are a few things we need to go over.”

  A brief lecture and some paperwork later, they were dismissed to their first class. Cole waited outside the front door for Amy, trying to avoid awkward eye contact with his passing classmates.

  She appeared, bubbling with excitement. “Hey there, cutie. Isn't this so cool? We're in high school. I feel so old! By the way, sorry I couldn't save you a seat. I tried but the teacher forbid. I don't think I like him, but whatever, this is still so cool! We should get going. I don't want to be late for my first class.”

  Cole pulled out his schedule and jogged to keep up with Amy. “I'm just so happy we finally have some classes together. It'll be so much better than only having lunch. Too bad we don't have the same first period. I think I need to go in the opposite direction, like right now, or I'll never make it.”

  “Bye! See you for third period!” She gave him a playful tap and took off. Cole watched her go for a moment and then went off in the other direction.

  The first two periods were English and History, not his favorite two subjects, but it being the first day, it they were nothing but introductions. He was surprised to find that he actually liked his history teacher, Mrs. Bennett. She was far more normal than Mrs. Taylor had been and made the entire class laugh a few times.

  Third period was Biology. He rushed out of History to make sure he could reserve a seat for Amy. He was one of the first few inside and he chose a table for two against the wall, taking the outer seat to prevent someone from sitting in the other seat without his permission. Students started to mill in, and before long, most of the class had filled up, with no sign of Amy. Cole kept his eyes glued to the door, hoping Amy would appear before he was forced to give up the seat. In his preoccupation, he did not notice someone by his side.

 
; “Excuse me. May I sit there?”

  Cole turned his head to see a girl with long blond hair, freckles and mesmerizing blue eyes looking down at him. She bit her lip and clutched her books against her body.

  “Oh, I, um...” Cole was caught off guard and found he could not remember words. “No, I'm sorry, I'm saving this seat for someone.”

  “Oh.” The girl's eyes dropped to the floor. “That's okay.” She walked over to an empty seat next to another boy who beckoned her graciously into it. They immediately began to converse energetically.

  Cole watched them for a second, once again missing someone come up alongside him.

  “Is this seat taken?”

  Cole's head whipped around. “Oh, Amy! I saved it for you. I was getting worried I would have to give up the seat before you got here.” He stood up to allow Amy more room to get in.

  “You're so sweet.” She sat at the desk, strewing her books onto the table.

  As Cole sat back down, he noticed the blond girl glance briefly in his direction. He shook his head and turned to Amy.

  “You know, it's not polite to stare at people,” Amy said.

  “Oh, when you came in? Yeah, I had to turn someone away and felt bad so I was just making sure they found another seat.”

  “Always thoughtful. Man, doesn't biology sound so interesting? How has your day been going? Oh, never mind, the teacher's about to start. We'll talk after class.”

  “Biology,” the teacher began simply. “Who knows exactly what that means?”

  A couple of students raised their hands.

  “It's good that some of you think you know. Let's see if you're right. My name is Mr. Harris.” He scrawled the name on the whiteboard, and wrote another word underneath it, underlined. “Welcome to the study of life.”

  A few faces revealed smirks and one student chuckled out loud. Mr. Harris seemed not to notice.

  Forty-two minutes later, the bell signaling the end of the class sounded and all the students gathered their belongings.

  “Lunch!” Amy exclaimed as they followed the tide out of the room. “I'm starved. Mrs. Williams, I mean Sarah, actually packed me a lunch. Isn't she hilarious? I think maybe she forgot she took in a girl in high school.”

  “You shouldn't complain,” Cole said. “It's gotta be better than a school lunch if the food here is anything like I.S. 24.”

  “I don't actually know what it is,” Amy said. “It's all wrapped up and I didn't see her making it.” Once they were in the hallway, she continued. “Mr. Harris is a little corny but I think I like him. Biology sounds fun. It helps that he's cute too.”

  “I didn't notice,” Cole said, shaking his head.

  “So how were your first three periods?” Amy said. “Mine were okay. I don't know how I feel about them yet. You'll have to tell me what you think when you have them later.” They were approaching the cafeteria doors, and, without warning, Amy pulled Cole aside against the wall, out of the traffic flow.

  “What are you do-” he began, but before he knew what happening, her lips were pressed against his. His eyes closed and for a second he forgot where he was, but reality crept back in, bringing with it instant apprehension. He pulled gently back from her embrace. “We shouldn't do that in here,” he whispered. “People can watch us. I feel weird. And we might get in trouble.”

  “I couldn't resist. You worry too much.” She brushed his hair back and continued into the cafeteria.

  Cole looked at the passing crowd and noticed a bunch of students giving him amused looks. One older boy winked at him. He hurried after Amy, afraid his cheeks were getting red.

  “Go to her,” someone shouted behind him.

  Cole sat across from Amy at the end of a table. “Sorry I said that,” he said. “You just caught me off-guard.”

  “With me, you'd better always be on your guard. Don't worry about it.” She pulled the aluminum foil wrapped sandwich from her bag and looked back inside. “You'll never believe this one. Sarah, really does think I'm in third grade.” She reached her hand into the bag, removing it with a slip of paper.

  “No.” Cole covered his mouth to avoid potentially offending Amy, but it was impossible to hide his laugh. “Is that a note?”

  “I think it is.”

  “Read it. Read it.”

  “You're a nosy one,” Amy said, but unfolded the paper, her eyes reading over the words before she said them. “Dear Amy. Hope you enjoy the lunch. Good luck on your first day. Knock 'em dead. I'm making your favorite later. Love Sarah.”

  “Aw, that's adorable. I hope you get a new one every day. What's your favorite?”

  Amy laughed. “That's enough poking fun at Sarah. You'd better go get your lunch.”

  “Oh, right, I almost forgot about that.”

  “Really?” Amy laughed harder. “You're ridiculous, you know that?”

  Cole waited on line for his food, hoping it would surprise him, but it was the same unappetizing slop he had hated at his last school. Something to make you feel right at home, he thought bitterly. With his tray of food, he returned to the main room, and at first could not find Amy, because she was no longer alone. Who in the world...? Only when he was closer did he recognize them. It was Martin and a couple of his friends from last year. With them were two kids Cole did not recognize. More new people? Six months ago I talked to no one. Now I think I've met enough people to last me the rest of my life.

  “Cole!” Martin said. “So glad you could join us.”

  “I didn't realize you had the same lunch as us.”

  “I didn't either, until I saw Amy here, sitting all by herself, all anti-social and stuff. I want you to meet Joe and Clive here. I met them last period. They're cool.”

  “Hey,” Cole said, less enthusiastic than he meant.

  “Hey,” Joe and Clive responded.

  “So?” Martin said. “How's high school? How cool is this? We're so old!”

  “I don't feel old, being the youngest grade in the school,” Cole said.

  “Yeah but it's high school. In my first class, I had this weird guy...” Martin went off about his first day, and how awesome his summer had been. Cole, meanwhile, concentrated on getting his food down and keeping it there, drifting into and out of the conversation. Every once in a while, his eyes would meet Amy's, who smiled discreetly and kicked him playfully under the table.

  “Who do you guys have next period?” Martin said as the period drew to a close.

  “Global history,” Amy said.

  “Me too! Oh man, just like old times. I was wondering if we would have any classes together.”

  The bell rang and they parted ways, Martin going off with Amy to Global, while Cole went to Spanish. “Have fuuun,” Cole said sarcastically.

  Amy punched his arm. “Oh yeah. See you in homeroom.”

  10

  “Yes, I can still sense you! This is amazing!”

  “How far do you think this works?”

  “Do you want to start driving and call me in every town you reach?”

  “I kinda do, but right now why don’t you come over. There’s some more I want to test short range.”

  “I’d love to but I need to wait for Frank for dinner. I wish I could share all this with him but I haven’t thought a way to tell him without him thinking I’m crazy.” Meredith gripped the phone tighter as the issue brought back the commonplace anxiety in the pit of her stomach. “I would think I was crazy too.”

  “I'm sure he loves you enough to give it a chance. And you have proof. I can help you with that.”

  “So then why don't you tell your wife?”

  “It's tough, I will admit, but perhaps I will. We can both come clean.”

  “What a relief that would be.”

  “Personally, I think it can only be worse if you don’t tell him because I’m sure that having such a close guy friend who appeared out of nowhere and you see all the time for ‘baby advice’ is difficult to explain.”

  “That’s true. I’ll thi
nk about it. It scares me but you're right. Anyway, can I see you later tonight?”

  “That works. Sue will be out late so I’m free most of the night. Just need to watch little Travis.”

  “See you later.” Meredith hung up the phone as the front door opened, and left the kitchen to greet her husband. “Honey! How was your day?”

  Frank hung his jacket on the wall peg. “Boring. But it just got a lot better. Come here.” He embraced her in a tight hug and then planted a kiss on her lips before he pulled away.

  “I hope you’re hungry,” Meredith said, leading the way to the kitchen. “I made double the recipe by mistake.”

  “Then I guess I’ll have lunch for tomorrow. Mmmm, smells really good.”

  “Thanks. You look tense. Sit down and relax. I’ll get everything for you.”

  “It was stressful today,” Frank said. “Tom won't stop moaning about the new system and we all have to bow to his every whim. It was supposed to make our lives easier. But enough work, this looks so delicious. My mouth is watering. Thanks, I love you.”

  “I love you, too.” She hesitated, fearing the impact her next words would have. “By the way, after dinner, I’m going to head over to Peter’s for a bit.”

  Frank paused, his fork halfway to his mouth, and looked up. “Again?”

  “Yeah, is that a problem? It shouldn’t be long.” She could see the gears whirring inside her husband’s head as he struggled to figure out what to say.

  “You see him a lot. What do you two do?”

  “At first we were sharing stuff about parenting but now I do it for Cole. I think it would be cute and healthy if Cole had a friend. I’m going to bring him over to see Travis. They seem to get along really well. You should come sometime too and see them together. It’s adorable.” Whenever she tried to lie or cover something up, she tended to speak faster, and from the suspicion on Frank’s face, she knew he had noticed the telltale sign.

  “That’s fine, honey,” Frank said quietly. “You do what you want.” He resumed eating, leaving Meredith with a sickness in the pit of her stomach, which expanded throughout her body.