Aftermath

by Jenna-Lynne Duncan

  The rest of the house was dim and I thought it was safe to say Luke wasn’t home. I hated how I was unconsciously keeping tabs on him, though I felt relieved he wasn’t there. The way he lingered when Hayden and I spent time together had become awkward. The last time we watched a movie in the living room, I caught him watching us from his laptop. From there on out, Hayden insisted we watch TV in my room. I didn’t argue with that.

  I switched on all the lights I possibly could; I figured being relieved of fearing the dark justified wasting energy. I went into the kitchen and immediately got started on the beans. Going for the speedy version of red beans and rice, I used the presoaked, canned ones. I worked quickly, getting out the cutting board and a big pot. I opened the refrigerator to grab a few ingredients, half expecting not to have what I needed. I was still getting used to not living with my dad. Going from nothing to everything is not something you can get used to overnight. It used to be a constant aggravation to round up money for groceries or pull something together besides cereal for dinner. Sure enough, the fridge was stocked full. It was always full. I thought back to how Hayden didn’t need to eat. He did this for my benefit and it wasn’t until just then that I realized how much he did for my benefit. That made me love him even more, but also question how much of his true nature he was hiding. Did he feel like he was missing out? Was he holding himself back? I pushed stupid thoughts away and concentrated on dumping the beans in the oversized brass pot.

  I stirred them into a mixture of jalapeños and water when Luke walked into the kitchen from out of nowhere.

  Luke chuckled at me being so jumpy, then spoke, “Hey, Ana.”

  “Hi Luke…”

  “Why do you say it like that?” He noisily scooted out a bar stool and sat down.

  “I am just trying to figure out what you want?”

  He chuckled devilishly again. “Oh, there are so many ways I could answer that.”

  “You know what I mean,” I cut him off. “What’s up?”

  “Nothing. I just wanted to be with you. Be in here with you,” he quickly corrected. “Hell, Ana, I just want to be around you.”

  “Luke, this has got to stop. I’m not going to keep hanging out with you if you’re going to keep trying to…I don’t know, seduce me? Here, chop this up.” I handed him a cutting board with an onion on it. He took it but looked at it questionably. “I value our friendship. Please don’t ruin that.”

  He stared at the onion and I smiled, imitating chopping it. He shrugged and grabbed the biggest knife from the block on the counter.

  “Fine, I’ll stop. For now. But just hear me out. Don’t do anything drastic, like bind to him. That means you’re stuck with him for eternity.” He rubbed his eye with the back of his hand.

  “I’m young. I haven’t even graduated yet. I have no idea what I am going to do tomorrow let alone next year. I’m not even thinking about that.”

  “You don’t think I get that? The thought of being with someone for eternity scares me too. But with you—everything makes sense.”

  “Spending eternity with someone you love doesn’t sound so bad. I love Hayden, I wouldn’t be here without him. Literally. Or did you forget you wanted to kill me?”

  He chopped the onions angrily and then pushed the cutting board toward me. I gave him a saccharine smile as I took them and stirred them into the beans. He let me cook in silence for a while, shaking his head every so often. He cocked his head quickly, as if listening to something, then turned back to me.

  “You just need to think about a few things first, that’s all I’m saying. Just promise me you’ll at least consider it. We have so much in common… we’re the same age.” His voice was low.

  I concentrated on stirring. “I’m not 18.” I heard the garage door open and I gave Luke a look.

  “Funny, Ana. You know what I mean. Just tell me you’ll think about it.”

  I squeezed my lips into a line waiting for Hayden to come inside. I flinched as Luke tossed the knife on the counter and walked away.

  Chapter Eight

  “What are you doing up so early?”

  Hayden kissed my lips when he saw me the next morning in the entryway tying my tennis shoes. “I thought I’d go for a run before school,” I said sheepishly.

  “A run?” It was even more embarrassing that he looked surprised. Okay, I need to get out and exercise more.

  I shrugged. “Yeah, I don’t know. I just feel like I have all this energy lately and I just need to get it out. I need to run.” I could feel the adrenaline build even just speaking about it.

  Hayden looked at me curiously, then smiled. “Okay, I’ll go with you then.”

  “Really? You don’t mind?”

  “Not at all, I like to run.”

  “Are you coming because you want to or are you coming because you think you should?”

  “I’m not sure what you’re trying to say, you are as elusive as ever, but yes. I want to, I’ll always want to.”

  I fought a girlish chuckle at his comment while I finished tying my shoelaces. Hayden went upstairs to change. By the time I stood up, he was standing in front of me again.

  “I thought you were getting dre—oh”.

  “I don’t like to keep you waiting.” He winked at me.

  Hayden was effortlessly clad in black shorts and sleek tennis shoes. He wore a sleeveless shirt, his tanned arms perfectly muscular. I couldn’t keep myself from reaching out and touching them. I made a mental note to not let him wear anything like that to gym class at school and added jealousy to the list of new emotions I experienced lately.

  Our neighborhood was perfect for running through, with a lot of streets to lengthen the route and a pretty path through the golf course. I had wondered why I hadn’t taken advantage of it before, when I had lived with my dad.

  “For how long have we been running?”

  Hayden looked at his watch and answered easily, “about a half-an-hour.”

  “Really?” I said surprised. It didn’t feel like we were running for that long. I wasn’t even out of breath yet. “We’d better start heading back.”

  “School,” he agreed.

  A wicked smile spread across my face. “I’ll race you back.”

  His dark hair spilled back as he laughed.

  I stopped running and put my hands on my hips. “I’m glad that amuses you, but I’m serious.”

  “Okay, Ana, I’ll race you.” He fought a smile as he worked to speak seriously.

  “No cheating.”

  “Obviously. It’s bright as day with humans everywhere.”

  “And don’t let me win, either.” I pointed a finger at him in warning.

  He leaned toward my face almost touching my nose, “I can’t promise that.”

  I was slightly disoriented when he moved back. I grunted as I turned in the direction of the house. “Ready?”

  He nodded once and we both took off toward the house. Even at human speed, he was superternaturally fast. I pushed my legs harder against the pavement, wanting and needing to go faster. The sensation I got when I ran was unlike anything thing I'd felt before. Well, maybe I'd felt it once before. The more I ran, the more it fueled my need to run. Faster and longer. The house came in view and I didn’t slow until I got to the front doorstep. I felt disappointed when we stopped.

  I bent over, slightly panting, but Hayden looked at ease. “You let me win,” I scolded him between breaths.

  “I did not.”

  I glared at him.

  “Okay. Maybe I did. I didn’t promise that I wouldn’t, remember.” He winked. “You were fast though, I almost didn’t have to.”

  “Stop teasing me.”

  “I’m serious, Ana. You were really fast,” he said as we walked into the house.

  I caught a glimpse of the clock, quickly panicking at the time I had to get ready for school.

  “Oh no, I have to shower.” I started running up the stairs. “Oh and after school, is it okay if I take the car? I want to
run somewhere after work.” I turned around when I reached the top.

  “It’s too soon to be going anywhere by yourself right now.”

  I put my hands on my hips. “You’re being paranoid. It’s been months since I’ve had a death threat.”

  “How can you say that so casually?”

  “How can you not? You’re the one who can’t die.”

  “Hilarious,” he said sarcastically.

  “Hayden,” I slowly walked down the stairs, looking up at him through lowered lashes while giving him my best pout, “I’ll be fine. It’s just work again, around lots of people. Then I just have to run somewhere real quick, twenty minutes tops, and I’ll come right home.”

  He gave me a slighted look. “Where’s ‘somewhere?'”

  “Downtown. Again, lots of people.”

  His features relaxed, he knew what I was doing.

  “Sure, I’ll just get a ride home with Luke.”

  And yet he trusted me.

  My heart warmed. I gave him a quick kiss and then ran back upstairs to get ready for school.

  As other schools rebuilt, most of the new faces at Ecole left and some of the old ones even returned. Slowly, day by day, piece by piece, we were coming back. I thought back to a couple months ago, just after Katrina, and the words of the naysayers who had told us not to rebuild or that New Orleans would never be the same again. How silly all that sounded now. I still tried to do as much as I could with volunteering. Working at the diving company took more of a toll on me than I had hoped for. I used to not mind working for my dad when it was teaching the scuba class at the St. Bernard Parish community center. Now, and finally, I had a life. I wanted free time.

  I didn’t know if it was me that had changed or the school, but going to school each day was suddenly different. Knowing Nikki and Marie would be there, and Hayden and Luke, I actually wanted to go, now. The only thing that hadn’t changed was Stephanie. Clearly nothing fazed her, not even a Hurricane.

  My morning classes, like always, went by quickly and peacefully except that Stephanie had been looking particularly smug since third period.

  I looked around my AP history class with the feeling that something was missing. Luke wasn’t at his desk and my thoughts directly went to Hayden. Had he skipped as well? Did they have to go take care of something? I quickly texted Hayden before Rachel started her lecture.

  Me: Hey, where r u?

  Hayden: In class, without you.

  Hayden: Why? He added quickly.

  Me: Just checking :)

  Okay so he was in class and Luke wasn’t. So it had nothing to do with hunting. Which meant Luke was absent for his own personal reasons.

  I found it hard to pay attention during class. I debated whether or not to do something about my dream when I got off from work. I wanted to go to the theatre.

  Late last night, as I lay in bed with my eyes open, I thought about my dream and what it had meant. The theatre had sounded familiar and I knew I had to have passed it countless times while in the French Quarter. I remembered the brochure I had taken from the ghost tours place and wondered if I still had it. I took a chance and dug through my laundry basket. I found the map just where I had left it: in the back pocket of my jeans. Sure enough, one of the highlighted stops was La Petite Theatre du Vieux Carre aka Vampire Street Theater. I flipped the map over a few times, looking for any information on why it was “the most haunted theatre in the South.” I seriously considered taking the owner up on her offer for a tour. If I was going to keep having these dreams, at least I should know the history behind the places.

  Although I hadn't committed to going yet, there was a pit of excitement and nervousness in my stomach just thinking about it. I couldn’t concentrate on schoolwork but rather on going over the details of what I would do if I went. Would I just drive by? Should I ask Hayden to come with me? Should I go back to the ghost tour place? If I kept this up, this would be a long day. And how, exactly, was I going to make it through work?

  Rachel lectured almost the entire period which gave me plenty of time for several scenarios to run through my head. I felt guilty for not being able to pay attention to her.

  After class, I gave her space and decided not to stop by her desk. Absentmindedly, I got my things and started to leave.

  “Adriana, I’d like to talk to you please.”

  Uh-oh. From her tone, I knew it couldn’t be good. Most of the class had already left but a few students turned their heads. It was like being sent to the principal’s office; but I wasn’t in trouble, was I? I nodded and started walking over to her. I thought back to our conversation yesterday about the Lalaurie mansion. She must have known something and now decided to confront me about it. I sat down in the desk closest to her while she was still sorting through folders in a filing cabinet.

  “Hi,” I alerted her to my presence, after she didn’t seem to notice me. When she just continued searching through her desk I wondered if I had even spoken in more than a whisper.

  She looked up at me, her eyelids heavy and a little startled. “I wanted to talk to you about a paper of yours.” She continued searching through papers. Ok, so this wasn’t how I thought the conversation would go. She wanted to talk to me about my academics which made me worry even more. She finally came up from her file cabinet defeated. “Sorry Adriana. I’ve just gotten tired.”

  I saw the exhaustion in her face, too, and immediately my concerned instincts took over. “Are you okay? What happened?” It was hard to believe a lecture wore her out. She was so collected earlier; even when she was teaching she was always confident. Her demeanor had completely changed and I couldn’t help but think how out-of-character it was.

  “Oh, no, I’m fine really.” She put a few papers in a manila folder and put a book on the shelf behind her. “I just haven’t been sleeping well in general.”

  “I’m sorry.” My apology was genuine, but what else could I say?

  “Nightmares,” she added quietly.

  Now I had a ton to say. “Nightmares? What do you mean nightmares? What kind of nightmares?”

  “It’s nothing. I’ve just been stressed about my house. I don’t know if I should sell it and just take the losses or not...” her words faded.

  Oh. So not my kind of nightmares.

  “Again, I’m sorry.” I put my hand on her desk in an unconscious effort to comfort her. “Is there anything I can do?”

  “Oh, I’ll be fine. I did my dissertation on the history of dreams. If I am dreaming about selling my house, then that is the path I should take. Dreams aren’t just random. They have meaning. They tell you something. So if I am dreaming I should sell my house, I have nothing to lose by pursuing it.”

  I couldn’t believe how great her timing was! Although our nightmares were completely not in the same ballpark, maybe not even in the same country, she was right. I had nothing to lose by pursuing them. I already knew my dreams were telling me something. They certainly weren’t random, now I just had to figure out what exactly it was they were trying to tell me. And that meant that I was going to go to the haunted theater after work. I smiled at her in silent agreement.

  She seemed pleased that we came to the same conclusion. She looked up at the clock on the wall. “You'd better get to your next class.”

  I looked at it, too, briefly forgetful that I had a schedule to follow. When I saw that my next class was about to start, I scrambled out of my seat.

  “You’re right. Thanks. We’ll talk later?”

  “Always,” she promised.

  Before I was out the door, I remembered something. “Oh, I almost forgot, you wanted to talk to me about a paper?”

  Her drooping eyes were now wide, “Yes, but I was mistaken. It was another student’s paper.”

  I looked at her with confusion, until she gave me a reassuring smile.

  “All right, then.” I bowed my head and walked out. She definitely knows something’s up, was my last thought before I went to gym.

  I w
alked to my locker after gym, noting rather irritatingly that Luke was, yet again, absent. Then I worried that Hayden wouldn’t be able to get a ride home from him. I would either be late to work if I had to drop Hayden off at home or Hayden would be driving me. I texted him to meet me at my locker, hoping he would have an explanation about why Luke was gone.

  “Hi,” he kissed my cheek. “I thought you were going straight to work from gym. Can’t stay away can you?” he teased.

  I gave him a patronizing smile. “Ha-ha. No, I was going to leave but—”

  “You ready to go?” Luke interrupted us, his backpack slung over his shoulder like he was here the whole day.

  “Yeah, one second. Did you change your mind about me driving you?” Hayden didn’t turn his attention from me.

  “No, it’s ok. I just wanted to say goodbye.”

  “Bye,” Luke clipped. Ugh, what was his problem today?

  “Not goodbye,” he cupped my face, “see you later.” He rubbed my lower lip with the pad of his thumb, leaving me breathless. He winked as he walked away with Luke. Stupid work. Stupid dream. There were many things I could curse. And I did just that on my short drive to work.

  Before I even walked into the shop, Zack came out of the office. “Suit up; you’re going to actually work today.”

  “Hello to you, too.” I tilted my chin up.

  Seeing Christian at his desk, I ignored Zack’s order and walked into the office.

  “Hi, Mr. Christian.”

  “Hey baby girl.” His sweet southern drawl was a contrast to the bitterness of Zack’s.

  “Busy today?” I asked, wondering why Zack wanted me to get suited up right away.

  “Yeah. ‘fraid so.”

  “More than usual?”

  “We’ve got boat inspections all week, on top of the salvaging. I had to send half my boys off shore on those Gulf jobs. They won’t be back for another week.”

  “I see.” And I officially felt guilty for having the weekend off.