She saw the hair on the dog’s neck and back rise. It was afraid too. Could it sense her energy? It approached her slowly. Its lips were pulled back over its teeth. A snarl escaped its throat as it prepared to charge.
Sasha crouched and raised her hand. She felt sparks crackle at the end of her fingertips. She didn’t want to hurt the dog but sensed it was an opportunity to practice with her power.
When the dog lunged, she was ready. The sparks flew from her fingers in a stream of blue sparking light. The sparks coalesced together and pushed the dog’s muzzle.
The dog was startled by the light and the shock of the touch of the spark and skidded to a stop. It remained fixed on a few stray sparks that lingered near its nose. In her head, Sasha directed the sparks to zap the dog’s muzzle and then pull back.
The sparks followed her direction and remained visible. Zap. Zap. Zap. The dog cried out and scurried away into a dark corner of the yard. The sparks fizzled from sight.
Pleased with her experiment she left the yard and relocked the gate. The dog had ceased barking and stayed in its corner whimpering. Sasha regretted any pain she caused the dog but she had learned a lot from her experiment.
Her sparks only appear when she’s facing danger. The sparks do respond to her commands no matter how direct or intuitive. The assault on the dog happened just as she directed it.
In the coffee shop, she wanted to make the gun useless but didn’t know exactly how to do it. The sparks sensed her command and operated independently. She marveled at whether that meant the magic had some intelligence.
Sasha shook her head as she walked back to her house. Her experiment worked but raised as many questions as it answered. She needed to find this Fifth Street guy. She needed answers.
She walked into her house through the front door. She rubbed her feet on the carpet to remove grit when the doorbell rang.
She pulled open the door to find two policemen on the doorstep. Stunned Sasha gaped.
“Sasha?” one officer asked.
“Yes,” she said timidly. What had she done? Did someone see her with the dog?
“We need to talk to you about your friend Cady,” one officer said. “Can we come in?”
Sasha pulled the door open. “Sure,” she said and closed it after they walked into the foyer. She led them to the kitchen where her father was making a snack. He was about to take a large bite out of his sandwich when he saw the police. He put his untouched snack on the counter.
“Officers,” he said. “Is something wrong?”
“We are investigating the disappearance of Cady Hatwell,” one officer said.
Sasha gasped. Disappearance? “What?” she said. “How?”
One officer smiled tightly. “That’s what we are trying to find out. She hasn’t been seen since she spoke with you yesterday,” he said. “We’re here to talk to you about that.”
Sasha’s mind swirled. Did she see Cady yesterday or was it Monday? No, Monday was the birthday dinner. Sasha nodded and told the officers about Cady picking her up and the two of them going to a local park.
“What time was that?”
Sasha shrugged. “C’mon Sasha help these guys out,” her father said testily.
“I don’t know what time,” she said.
“Can we check your phone?”
Sasha dug her hands in her pockets. It wasn’t there. Confounded she tried to remember when she last had her phone.
“I think it’s in my room,” she said and ran upstairs. The phone was on her bed. She scrolled through her phone and her chest tightened when she realized Cady hadn’t returned her messages. What could have happened to her?
She flew down the stairs and dropped the phone in one of the policeman’s hands. She stood by fidgeting as the police went through her phone.
“You’ve placed a couple of calls to her today,” one police officer said.
“I got her voice mail,” she said. “I left messages.”
“That would explain why the calls were only 30 seconds,” he said. “The log has you talking to her for three minutes at 7:24 last night. Does that sound right?”
Sasha shrugged. “Don’t be difficult Sasha, answer the men,” her father barked. Her father was angry. He never got angry with her.
“Yes. If that’s what the phone says,” she said stumbling over her words. “I’m not being difficult. I just don’t remember when it was. It was dark and after dinner. That’s as specific as I can get.”
“What did you talk about?” one officer asked.
Sasha didn’t know what to say. Her throat got dry and she coughed to cover up her nervousness. She couldn’t tell them about the blue sparks or the attacks. Was Cady’s disappearance related to Nefar? Sasha didn’t think so. Evan was the only person who’d been present during the attacks. Unless she’d been followed, Nefar wouldn’t know Cady existed.
“Boys,” she said, using a tried and true subject that parents avoid.
“Can you elaborate?” he said.
Sasha sighed as if the policemen were invading her privacy. “I like a guy who doesn’t like me,” she said with a touch of anger. She and Cady had not talked about Evan but the situation was still true.
“Oh,” the officer said. “What about Cady? Was she seeing someone?”
Before she answered her father broke in.
“She left your birthday party early didn’t she?”
“Yes but I don’t know where she was going,” she said as the officers wrote something down in their notebooks.
“Do you know where she was going after she dropped you off?”
Sasha thought back to her interaction with Cady. She hadn’t wanted to meet Sasha because she said she was busy.
“I have no idea,” she said honestly. “She’s been very busy lately and hasn’t had much time for me. At the party she said she had an appointment. She said she had the date set for weeks that’s why she couldn’t go to my party.”
“But she came to your party…” he officer said trying to prompt her to finishing her story.
“Yes but she said she couldn’t stay for the whole night. I think she left while we were eating dessert,” she said cautiously.
“Can you give me the names of some of her other friends?” an officer said.
Sasha put out her hand for her phone. She scrolled through the numbers and realized that most of the other people she knew weren’t friends with Cady. She tried to recall who else she’s seen with Cady and drew a blank.
Cady had set her up on a date with Sean but she couldn’t remember which of Sean’s friends was dating Cady. She gave the police Sean’s name.
Then she remembered that at her birthday party Cady was asking about whether Evan was single. She didn’t want to get Evan in trouble so she didn’t tell police.
“I didn’t see her at school today,” she said. “That’s not too unusual.”
“Why’s that?”
“I’d say she’s absent a lot,” Sasha said.
The officer snapped his notebook shut.
“Ok thanks,” he said walking with his partner toward the door. “If you think of anything else give me a call.” He gave her his business card and left.
Her dad was standing beside her as the front door shut behind the police. He gathered Sasha in his arms and hugged her tight.
“I’m sure it’s nothing,” he said into her hair.
“Probably,” she said. She tried not to think about all the horrible things that could have happened to her. Should she have told the police that Cady liked to smoke dope? Would that have helped?
Uneasy Sasha went to her room. She slept fitfully that night dreaming about her missing friend.
“Have you heard from Cady?” Sasha asked Jenna once they were settled in her car on the way to school.
“Cady and I aren’t on a texting basis,” Jenna said. “If you haven’t noticed she doesn’t like me and I don’t like her.”
“I noticed,” Sasha said dryly. “It was hard not to. Yo
u’ve been so mean to each other.”
“Clarification,” Jenna said as she made a turn.”She started it.”
Sasha groaned. For the millionth time she wished her two close friends could get along. Anytime the three of them were together, Jenna and Cady bickered like sisters and rarely expressed any concern or affection for each other. Sasha suspected they tolerated each other when Sasha was around and hated each other every other moment. Sasha couldn’t figure out where the hate came from and how to make it go away.
“I haven’t heard from her in a couple of days,” Sasha said ignoring Jenna’s animosity. “The police came by the house last night and questioned me. Have you seen her around school?”
Sasha had texted and called Cady but to no avail, there was no response.
“No and who cares,” Jenna said. “I’ve never understood why you are friends with her.”
Sasha twisted in her seat to face Jenna. “She could ask me the same of you.”
Jenna snorted. “We have 15 years of history. You’ve only known her, what, six months?”
Sasha paused before responding. Jenna was right in that she’d only met Cady a few months ago and had been hanging with Jenna since she was two.
“She’s not very nice to you either,” Jenna said.
“That’s not true,” she protested.
“Let’s review shall we? She took you to a park where you got jumped. She set you up with a creep and she hit on the guy you like. Where’s the love?”
When Jenna put it in those terms it did look bad. She’d met Cady at the community center when she’d taken Hannah there to swim in the outdoor pool last summer. Sasha remembered they’d had lounges beside each other and just began talking. Cady’s family had just moved to Austin and she was looking for a private school. Cady’s dad was some kind of tech executive and didn’t want his daughter going to public school. Sasha thought Cady said she’d moved from Memphis.
“She didn’t know I liked Evan, I never told her about him,” then she remembered she had told Cady about the robbery, “in that way.”
“You make too many excuses for her,” Hanna lectured. “It was your birthday. Anyone who wasn’t full of herself could tell you invited Evan as your special guest.”
“Let’s not talk about that anymore,” Sasha pouted. “It doesn’t change the fact that she’s missing.”
“Cady can take care of herself,” Hannah said pulling into a parking spot at school.
Sasha spent the day trying not to think about Cady. She wasn’t in class again and didn’t respond to a new slew of text messages. When she got home Sasha pulled on her running clothes even though it was a day off from track practice, she felt the need to run.
***
Growing up everyone called Evan’s dad a hero. His father was a soldier who died in the Iraq War. If that wasn’t the definition of hero he didn’t know what was. He died when a roadside bomb blew him and his squad to pieces. His ashes arrived wrapped in a plastic bag stuffed in an impersonal brown cardboard box. Nan quickly transferred the ashes to a metal box with Asian decorations that she got at a home decorating store. No one knew that the box sitting on the fireplace mantle held his father’s remains.
His father died for his country and that legacy was hard to match. Nan never made him feel inferior compared to his hero father. She’d raised him since he was 10 so she knew son and grandson as little kids and adults or near adult in Evan’s case. She was respectful and always listened when he talked. That’s why her reaction to meeting Sasha shook him so much.
He was mowing the lawn while Nan pulled weeds from her herb garden when Sasha ran by decked out in her running gear. He could tell she hadn’t seen him and was distracted by her headset and maybe thoughts. When he waved at her, she barely caught the movement and when she recognized him her face broke out into a huge smile and look of surprise. She examined the houses in the area as if she had no idea where she was and gaped at his front door until he saw recognition in her eyes.
“I have no idea how I got here,” she said pulling the ear buds away and turning off her music. He didn’t recognize the song blasting from the ear buds.
“By foot?”
“Ha ha, aren’t you the clever one,” she said and then smiled graciously as his grandmother walked toward them.
Nan stretched out her hand. “I’m Nancy,” Nan said.
“Wonderful to meet you I’m Sasha,” she said.
“Are you school friends?”
Sasha shook her head. “I met Evan a few weeks ago at the café. It’s my favorite place. Have you been?”
“It’s a young person’s place,” Nan said. “I’d stick out too much.”
Evan flicked the switches of the lawnmower nervously trying to find an inroad into the conversation so that he could interject some control over the topic.
“Hardly,” scoffed Sasha. “It’s a coffee shop. Hasn’t Evan introduced you to Teebow? He’s the owner. He’s super cool and nice.”
“He’s talked about him but he keeps the details close to his vest like about you.”
Evan felt his stomach drop as he glanced at Sasha for her reaction. Sasha appeared flushed and Evan wasn’t sure if it was the running or if Nan embarrassed her. He hadn’t told Nan anything about Sasha because she would jump to conclusions and quiz him every chance she got.
“Nothing to tell,” Sasha said hesitantly and peeked at Evan before quickly glancing away.
“Oh, I can’t imagine that,” Nan said. “If so, my grandson is more hopeless than I ever thought.”
Sasha laughed. “No argument there,” she grinned.
“Hey,” he said defending himself. “Can you talk about something else?”
Sasha shrugged. “You are the topic we have in common, it’s only natural we’d want to discuss you. Oh, which reminds me, you make one mean chocolate cake.”
“You had some?”
“A while back but I’ve not been invited to return,” she said joking.
It was Evan’s turn to flush with embarrassment. He knew he’d come to regret pushing her away. Having to face his Nan’s ire over rejecting Sasha was not something he’d confront if he could avoid it.
Sasha lifted her watch to see the time. “I didn’t know it was so late,” she said backing away. “I have to get home. It was nice meeting you Nancy.”
Nan patted Sasha’s forearm. “Lovely meeting you. Come back sometime for more chocolate cake.”
“Will do,” she said before turning to Evan. “See you sometime.” And she was gone.
Evan watched her run away and wondered if he should have said more. Every time he saw her he wished she wouldn’t leave. He wondered if those feelings would ever go way. He barely knew her and yet he felt like he needed to get to know her better. It was an attraction that was a mystery to him. He’d dated lots of girls yet none who sparked a fire inside him that burned so hot.
He was trying to put her out of his head when he flipped the switch on the mower and it roared to life. It didn’t take him long to finish the yard and rake up the grass clippings. He went in search of his grandmother when he couldn’t find her weeding and found her in the kitchen drinking lemonade.
“I don’t like lying Evan,” Nan said in a sharp tone. He knew he was in trouble although he wasn’t exactly sure why. He sat down across from her and used a napkin to blot sweat from his face.
“You’ve never mentioned Sasha,” she swallowed some of her drink. “Why is that?”
Evan shrugged and avoided eye contact with his grandmother. “I don’t tell you everything,” he mumbled.
“And how,” she snapped rising from her chair and taking her glass to the sink. She rinsed it and put it in the drainer. “I had no idea who she was. It was awkward.”
Evan cleared his throat. “I thought you two got along just fine. She had no clue you lied.”
Nan leaned against the counter and pierced him with a stare that made him shift in his seat.
“How come I haven’t met
this girl before now?” Nan said. “I can tell you like her.”
Evan pulled open the fridge and stared at its contents. He was hungry and didn’t know what he wanted to eat. He also wanted to avoid this conversation with his grandmother. They were close but he didn’t confide in her about his girl issues. They talked about school, his dad, his future, her future. They had never talked about girls before and he wasn’t comfortable discussing it now.
“She seems like a lovely girl, how long have you known her?”
“Not long,” he mumbled opening a Tupperware container of leftovers. He got a fork from a drawer and ate from the plastic storage container. Normally his grandmother would tell him to get a plate but she was distracted.
“Listen Evan,” she said gathering a plate and cup and taking them to the sink. She ran the water and added soap in preparation to wash dishes. “I feel like you’re wasting your youth.”
Evan looked up from eating and watched his grandmother work. He was a bit discomforted with the direction of the conversation. He shifted in his seat and wondered if he could leave the room unnoticed.
“Your father had his first girlfriend when he was 15,” she said as if changing the subject.
Curious Evan had never heard this story before so he got comfortable and gave his grandmother his full attention.
“He thought he was in love,” she said with a distracted look on her face as if she’d sent herself twenty years in the past. “I shouldn’t have said thought. He was in love.”
She laughed at the memory and then turned serious. “And then he met your mother,” she said. “She got pregnant, he joined the military and the rest of the story you know.”
Evan frowned. He didn’t understand the point she was trying to make.
“My point is ten years after meeting your mom he was gone,” she said. “If he hadn’t explored his feelings for that first girl, he never would have had two loves before he died. He never would have had those experiences. He didn’t know he was going to die so young. No one knows when it’s their time.”
“Why are you telling me this?” he said perplexed.
Cursed Page 11
