by Brinda Berry
I sniffled into the silence as my nose began to run in the heated interior of the truck. I would not look at him.
“You’re an idiot. He didn’t forget you. He was brainwashed, so you can’t blame him for that.” He waited a beat. “He’s miserable. You’re miserable. What’s the point of that.” He said as a statement rather than a question. “If you are trying to punish him, it’s working.”
I wanted to slap him. “I can’t believe you said that. I’m not like that. You act like I’m doing something vindictive and…and…I’m not.”
“You’re acting like a scared little girl. I thought you had more guts than that. I thought—”
“I don’t need the guilt trip.” My voice rose and I couldn’t seem to stop it. “We start seeing each other again and then the IIA decides they’ll pull the old mind wipe trick and I have to suck it up all over again. I’m not doing it. I won’t be—”
A sharp rap at the window stopped me.
The door opened, and Regulus stuck his head inside. “We need to leave. You finished in here?”
Regulus asked the question like Austin and I had been making out and not arguing for the last few minutes. I glared at him with a fragment of leftover emotion.
“Thanks, man. I think you saved my life tonight,” Austin said. “I owe you.”
“No.”
“Yeah, you did. And that stuff you said to me back there? It’s a non issue. I’m stepping back. Mia’s yours.”
I shoved Austin’s arm without thinking and he paled.
One side of Austin’s mouth tipped up. He ignored me and held out a hand.
Regulus looked at Austin’s hand for a long moment before moving into the handshake. The gesture was over in seconds but seemed to signal a new phase in their relationship. I ignored them both.
“Excuse me.” I slid across the seat and forced Regulus to move aside. My body ached. Nothing really hurt earlier in the cold when I thought I might die. Now, I felt everything, from my toes to my taste buds. I moaned when I stepped out of the truck.
“Hey.” I came up behind Tiny and Arizona and looked over the edge. The Jeep hadn’t exploded or any of those other things I’d imagined from the movies. It smoldered.
“Austin OK?” asked Arizona.
“Very OK. Lucky to be alive.”
“How did you go over?” Arizona scratched his head.
Tiny glanced at the shorn piece of metal that had once protected vehicles from the steep edge. “I’ve lived here my entire life. No one’s ever gone over the highway safety barriers. At least, I don’t remember it ever happening.”
“Bleeker,” I said. One word. No explanation necessary for the name synonymous with evil.
12
Bad to Worse
I looked out over the valley to see that we’d lost daylight. The roads grew more dangerous by the minute. Arizona and Regulus finished whatever they’d done to conceal their activity. The motorcycle sat against the side of the limestone cliff.
My own cell rang. ‘Dad’ appeared in the lit screen.
“Mia, where are you?” Dad’s voice held an angry, anxious tone.
“Dad, we had a wreck but I’m OK and—”
“Where? I’m coming now,” he answered like he wanted to reach through the phone and strangle me.
“Dad, calm down. I said I’m fine. I’m at the top of Dagger Mountain. The ice is bad. I don’t know if you can make it here. Is Pete at home yet?”
“I’m on my way. Don’t leave.”
He hung up on me, and I stood staring at the phone.
I turned to realize I had an audience. The guys circled me and must have been there throughout the call. I stared at my phone, wishing I had Pete’s cell phone number.
“Tiny’s truck ran out of gas. We need everybody in the cab before the warmth is gone,” Regulus ordered.
One girl and three guys couldn’t fit into the cab of a truck. Tiny alone was the size of an NFL linebacker. Regulus had lost his mind.
Tiny the Jolly Green Giant. That’s what we called him after failing to squeeze everyone into the cab of the truck. I texted Dad that we also needed gas. Austin called the police to let them know about the accident and that a tow truck couldn’t get to his vehicle. He failed to tell them it was now a mess of metal lodged at the bottom of the ravine among brush and trees.
We drew straws for sitting inside the truck cab. I suspected that Tiny had rigged his fate as he organized the lottery and drew the short piece of grass. Outside in the bed of the truck, he covered up with a blanket. He said he kept it for napping sometimes. Strange, but handy.
A policeman and my dad arrived within minutes of one another. The blood and lack of any real injuries had been difficult to explain. After Austin answered questions for the officer’s report, we had permission to leave.
We piled into Dad’s Suburban. “Did Pete find you?” I sat in the front and stuck my stiff fingers against heat vents on the dash.
Dad gave me a funny look—sad and curious at the same time. “I saw him briefly. He’s at the house.”
“Why didn’t he come with you?”
“Let’s talk after I get the boys home.” Dad white knuckled the steering wheel and stared straight ahead.
As we approached the road a mile from our house, a tow truck pulled out with a car on the back, smashed into an accordion.
Dad glanced at me. “I heard about this wreck before I called you.” He nodded at the leaving tow truck. Sheriff Alder called me about it.
“Oh. I guess that got you worried. Dad, I’m fine. It scared me and I’m banged up, but nothing serious. Who had the wreck?”
He didn’t answer but stared ahead. We’d started down our driveway. The heavy weight of the Suburban kept us steady on the ice. The darkness pressed in and the headlights illuminated a new torrent of sleet.
I didn’t ask again.
Dad and I entered the house and Pete gave me a quick nod. “I’m glad you’re home.”
I quizzed him with my eyes. A strange vibe emanated from Pete, a brown haze of irritation—or maybe it was exhaustion—enveloping his entire body.
“Can I talk to you?” I asked Pete.
“Not now, Sis. Need to make a call.”
Pete turned to Dad. “Have you talked to her?”
OK. This had to be about me leaving the house. And how had Pete even known where to find me?
Dad shook his head. Pete pivoted and walked to the kitchen without another word.
“I’m going upstairs. I’m so tired.” I put one foot on the stairs and waited for him to tell me no. To lecture about the trouble I’d gotten into lately.
He didn’t stop me.
Five minutes later, he knocked on my door and poked his head through the opening.
“Mia, can I come in?” His voice wasn’t angry like it had been on the phone. He sounded hesitant. Uncertain.
I sat up in bed. “Dad, you have to stop worrying. It was like a freak occurrence that I’ve been in two wrecks in the same year. I try to be safe. You know me.” I knew he was thinking about the wreck I’d had in the fall that put me in the hospital.
He held up his hand in the universal language for stop. “Mia.” Settling on the edge of my unmade bed, he put his face in his hands for a moment. I hated that I’d worried him so much.
“What Dad? What’s wrong?” I hadn’t seen him like this in a long time. “What was Pete talking about downstairs? I—”
“Something terrible has happened.” Dad waited. “This entire town will be talking about it soon.”
I frowned. I couldn’t imagine anything that he could tell me that could be that bad.
“I’ll come out and say it. I don’t know another way.” He developed a concentrated fascination with the crease in his jeans.
We sat in silence again.
“You’re pregnant,” I said to break the silence.
He didn’t laugh. “Your mother has called several times in an effort to reconnect with you.”
“So? I don’t want that. Tell her no.” I didn’t know what Nancy wanted. Nor did I care. Most likely, she wanted to see my untimely death over the side of a mountain.
Since Dad had no knowledge of my secret double life this year, I stopped myself from sharing those thoughts.
“No. You won’t be talking with her.” He looked again at my walls.
I waited.
“The call I had earlier from Sheriff Alder. It was about that wreck. Something terrible has happened to your mother. Nancy was in that wreck. She hit a culvert and flipped the car. She died instantly.”
“Oh.” I was stunned. “She’s dead?” As soon as I asked the stupid question, I shook my head at it. I was having a hard time grasping the concept.
Dad tilted his head to one side as if thinking. “I should have let you meet with her. I should have told you about her phone calls. She was obviously coming here. I should have…” He paused, looking like he might cry.
My throat pinched and I took a few deep breaths in and out and in to coax it into relaxing. I would not cry. I would not cry. If I cried, he’d think it was for her. I’d never cry for her. Growing up I’d watched my older brother Pete cry too many times after he asked if she’d called or if she would come home.
“I took away that chance because I didn’t want you to get hurt.”
“Is Pete all right?” I asked. The steadiness of my voice surprised me.
He nodded. “He’s taking it better than I thought. He arrived when the ambulance did. Sheriff Alder knew it was Nancy. Recognized her.”
“Oh.” What was wrong with me that I couldn’t say anything else?
The pressure in my head had nothing to do with grief over her. I didn’t know her. Really, I didn’t. My life was out of control. First, I lost Pete to an undercover agency, then Regulus to the IIA. And Bleeker had taken Biscuit from me.
Did Dr. Bleeker kill Nancy? Who would he kill next?
My chest filled with rage, a black poison moving up my throat to choke me.
Dad jumped up from the bed and appeared at my side. “Sweetheart. I’m so sorry.” He pulled me up into a hug.
I let him. He rubbed his hand over the top of my head. His tenderness made me want to cry but my eyes were sandpapery dry. I wiggled out of his arms.
“I’m fine. Really fine.” I closed my eyes. “Can I have some time alone, Dad? Are you OK?”
“Yes,” he said, raking both hands through his hair. “It was a shock. I don’t think it’s sunk in. I’m worried about Pete. I don’t think it’s real to him. He was so close to your mother before she left. You may not remember—”
“Dad. Can you…” I looked at the door.
“Sure.” He backed away. “I think you need some rest from that wreck. You could have been killed. And now this bad news after Bis—” He took a deep breath. “Take a nap. Rest.”
I watched the emotions cross his face.
“I will. Thanks.”
He walked stiffly to the doorway before turning. “Everything will be fine. We’ll get past this. I’ll talk to you later about the funeral.”
I hadn’t even thought about that detail. I flung myself across the bed and buried my head under a pillow. I thought I heard a scratching and for one brief second, I rose to open the door for Biscuit. I realized my own stupidity. My dog was gone. That woman was gone.
I told myself to calm down and rationalize. Everything required some action from me, and I couldn’t stand the pressure.
* * *
Dad opened my door. “Mia? Didn’t you hear me?”
I moved the pillows aside. “I thought you told me to take a nap.” I leaned my head on the door frame.
“Regulus is downstairs.”
I frowned at him. “Why? What does he want?” I gulped and hoped Dad couldn’t hear what sounded abnormally loud in my head.
“I told him that you didn’t want company. He started quizzing me about how you were feeling after the wreck.” Dad’s gentle voice edged on apologetic.
“Mia?” Regulus said from somewhere too close.
Dad jerked his head around. “Son, I told you I’d come and get you if she—”
Regulus stood at the top of the stairs and a few feet away from my door. I could see his narrowed eyes full of determination. I’d seen that expression enough to know he wasn’t giving up easily.
“I need to talk to you.” Regulus completely ignored my dad, and it was the first show of disrespect I’d ever seen him display.
“You need to turn around and leave.” The threat in Dad’s voice alerted me to the explosiveness of the situation. He stepped in front of me and consequently blocked the view.
“Dad.” I put my hand on his shoulder. When he didn’t respond, I gave him a squeeze. “I’ll talk to him.”
Dad turned his head and whispered as if Regulus didn’t stand within hearing distance. “I’ll escort him to the door if you say the word.”
“No…no. It’s fine.” I attempted to make myself sound light and unburdened. “He’ll only stay for a few minutes.”
Dad stood a second longer than necessary in a show of fatherly protection. Then he sighed and stepped aside. He didn’t look at Regulus again. I think he was torn between being worried about me and angry at Regulus for intruding.
I watched Dad walk down the stairs before I turned to Regulus.
Regulus took two steps and stopped. “Are you upset?”
“Not really.” I answered in a raspy tone lacking enthusiasm. I was, but he didn’t have to know it. My body ached from the wreck and pain reliever tablets hadn’t helped. My brain protested from trying not to think about Nancy. I’d never have my answers about her. I wouldn’t know if she’d regretted leaving me.
“Can I come in?” He invaded the personal space boundaries I’d erected since our breaking up by not waiting for an answer. I stepped aside rather than let our bodies touch as he entered my bedroom.
I folded my arms across my chest and stared blankly across the room. “I told you I’m fine. I need to rest. That’s all.” I knew he was staring at me in that dissecting way he had.
“I know about what happened to your mother.”
“How?” I focused on him. “That was quick.”
“Pete sent me a message. I called Em. She brought me. She’s downstairs.”
“Wow. Huh.” I seemed incapable of full sentences.
Regulus had been awkward when I’d first met him in the fall. Some might call him stand-offish. He didn’t seem either as he moved closer to me.
I danced back a step and my legs touched the bed.
“You are not fine. I understand that this is a shock and you’re distraught.” He nodded his head like he wanted me to agree.
“Don’t tell me what I am. I didn’t know her.”
He ran a hand over the back of his neck and looked away. “I want to help. Arizona told me about Biscuit.”
I flinched.
“And now this.”
“You’ve helped enough. When you first came to Whispering Woods, you promised to help with finding my brother. He’s been found. We’re done.”
“You are part of my team,” he said. “I am responsible for making sure you’re OK.” His referral to my role as a gatekeeper was the wrong thing to say to me. Guarding the security of portals near my home didn’t interest me much anymore. I did want Dr. Bleeker stopped. He’d killed Biscuit. Maybe I could do this with Pete. But I didn’t need Regulus.
“So, why did Pete tell you about Nancy? You guys just met.” I sat on my bed.
Regulus grabbed the chair from my desk and sat at a good distance from me. I took a deep breath and tried to relax. My chest hurt from the effort.
“He thinks Bleeker was involved.”
“No. She had a wreck. People have wrecks. Austin and I…” I studied the pattern of the comforter on my bed. Tracing the stitching with my finger, I let the thoughts trickle down like an unpleasant drip into my brain. I stopped when I noticed my hand shaking. Breathe in. Brea
the out.
“Bleeker threatened you with the loss of a parent. He didn’t say which one.” Regulus leaned in until I could see his head near mine.
I closed my eyes. One more deep breath. I opened them. “I think I’m going be sick.”
Leaving the room without a backward glance, I stumbled into the bathroom and made it to the toilet before expelling clear liquid that burned my throat.
In a detached way, I remembered that I hadn’t eaten in a while.
“Mia, open the door.”
“Go. A…way,” I said before heaving again.
A pair of hands pulled my hair out of my mouth and face. When I’d stopped, he leaned me back to rest against him. “I’m here,” he said in a near whisper. “Don’t move.”
I wedged my forehead into the space between my knees and mumbled protests at the hands that attempted to lift my head.
Regulus placed at wet cloth against my face. “I’ll be back.”
Dad returned with him. I sensed that familiar presence at my side and leaned my head against his shoulder when he placed a gentle arm around me. They whispered above my head and Dad helped me to my feet.
After taking me to my room, Dad said, “Lie down. Regulus is bringing you some ice chips.”
“I need to brush my teeth.” I gave an unhappy moan. “I’m not going to throw—”
I dry-heaved for a moment with Dad scrambling to get the trashcan underneath my head. Afterward, I lay back while mumbling, “Never mind…”
I heard voices and realized that now Em was in my house to witness my mortifying vomit session. This had to be one of the top ten worst days of my life.
“Is she all right? What can I do?” Em’s voice was low, but I could hear her. Regulus answered even lower and I couldn’t hear him. Dad’s answer was lost as well.
“Hey you,” Em said.
I nodded without opening my eyes. “What do you want? I can’t talk right now.”
“Oh, Mia. I’m so sorry. Sorry your life is such a suckfest right now.” For some reason, her gentle female voice and her hand on the top of my head was my undoing. A hot tear traveled down my face. Yes, mortifying would totally describe this day.
