The Embers Of My Heart, page 18
"I know. You have no idea how many people have told me."
"One more now. Do you still want to eat?"
I shook my head. My appetite had gone sour. "I think I'm going to take a walk instead."
She started to step toward me, but seemed to think better of it and stepped away. "Well. If you want company, I'll walk with you."
"Sorry. Need to think by myself."
"All right. I'll see you around, then. Have a good break if I don't see you before."
"You too."
I stalked away toward the edge of campus. My head ached and I was angry. No, furious. Furious with Nikki, with myself, and with my inability to deal with her bullshit. My heart started pounding as well and I forced myself to slow down and let my mind drift. In my current state, I felt like I was at risk for a heart attack. After a few minutes of walking, I was off campus. My heart calmed down and my breathing steadied. My mind searched for some level of stability. I wasn't quite at peace, but I was close enough for what I wanted to do.
Without stable powers, I couldn't mask myself and borrow a stranger's phone. It took a couple of minutes to find a solution. I picked up a cheap pre-paid phone and paid in cash. I gave the clerk a different name and hoped it wouldn't leave a trail back to me. I could have looked for a pay phone and a pre-paid long distance card, but I didn't know if those cards still existed, or if I could find a working pay phone anywhere in the area.
I swallowed hard and recalled her number. Luckily, I'd committed it to my normal memory and didn't need to tap my power to pull it out. I found a seat on a park bench and dialed. She picked up after the second ring. "Sarah here."
"Hi," I said. "Am I bothering you?"
"Kevin! Hi! No, you're not bothering me at all, you just made my day!" Her voice melted and I found myself smiling for what felt like the first time in days.
"You sounded pretty upset."
"I've been waiting by the phone for some bad news," she said. "Honestly, it's such a relief to hear your voice. I've been stressed all day."
"I can call back later?"
"No! I know it's a pain in the ass for you to get a hold of me, so I'm not going to make you go through that again. What's up? I know you don't usually call just to hear my voice."
"Well, that's part of it today."
"Uh oh," she said. "Sounds like someone's had a bad day. Is it finals season or something?"
"I just failed my last final today, but that's really not it either."
"Failing classes? Doesn't sound like you. Talk to me."
"According to Absynthe, I have a mental fracture, and it's wrecking me."
She made an odd sound. "What sort of treatment are they giving you?"
"She said it'd heal on its own as long as I avoided stress."
"That's odd. All the cases I've ever heard have required some level of intervention." She didn't sound happy.
"Maybe they know something I don't. It's not my best area."
I made a mental note to search PSInet. "Well, I'm sort of stuck, then."
"What happened to cause it?"
I told her about the Bureau appearance, my fight with Davidson and his crew, and then the hearing. "So I've been under a bit of stress lately," I said.
Star was quiet for a moment. "That's suspicious," she said. "Yeah, stress can do weird things, but it's suspicious. How long have you known about the fracture?"
"It's been on and off since I got back to school in January."
"And it's been untreated that long?" She sounded horrified.
"Like I said, on and off. Right now it's back on, with a vengeance."
"The timing's suspicious. It just happened to flare up after the hearing? Sounds like someone put a twist in your head to keep you under control for a while."
I winced. That made an uncomfortable amount of sense. "I don't like the sound of that."
"Well, I could just be paranoid."
"It's not paranoia if they really are after you." I sighed. "It's not like I don't have enough horrible shit happening to me right now."
"Oh, there's more?"
"Nikki dumped me right after the hearing."
The line fell dead silent, long enough that I wondered if she had hung up. "Dumb bitch," she finally said. Another long silence passed, and then she started laughing. "I don't get it. I'm sorry, Kevin. I'm so sorry. But, I can't help but laugh and smile and cry, all at the same time. I don't understand."
"I'm not going to try and understand you."
"I don't want you to be unhappy, but I'm so happy right now."
"I know."
"I want you to be with me."
I cleared my throat. "I do have a month off coming up right now."
"Planning on cutting loose? Take advantage of your freedom?"
"I was thinking of taking a trip."
"Anywhere in mind?"
"I hear the Pacific Northwest is nice. Any recommendations for where I could visit?"
"Seattle's nice. As long as you don't mind the rain."
"I love the rain."
"I love the idea. You're coming to me. Aren't you?"
"Yeah. I owe you, remember? A month of being your personal servant."
She laughed, her voice catching in the middle. "I'm going to show you so many things. Yeah, I remember. I didn't think it'd happen. I thought I lost you."
"Sometimes things work out."
"Sometimes they do. When are you coming?"
I did the math in my head. "I'll have to get tickets real quick. My last final was today. I can fly out tomorrow."
"That quickly?"
"I want to be there as soon as I can. I need to get out of here."
"I want you here as soon as possible too." Her voice caught again. "Kevin. Call me as soon as you get to the airport. Doesn't matter when, doesn't matter which one. Just get here."
"I will."
"I'll see you then. Sexy pants."
"I can't wait," I said. "See you then."
I hung up and considered what to do with the phone. Tossing it seemed like a waste, but I didn't want anyone to catch it on me. I could stash it in the dorm, risking discovery, but making it convenient. I put it in my pocket and headed back. The back garden had a loose stone I could pry up and stash the phone. As long as no one jumped up and down at that particular location, it'd be fine.
Inside, our traditional end-of-trimester celebration had already started. I arrived in Andreas's room, the last to show up. "And there's the man of the month," Drew said as I walked in. "The man with the mysterious red eyes!"
"Yeah, yeah," I said. Andreas offered me a drink and I put my hand up. "Not drinking tonight. Might be a bad idea, all things considered."
"The hospital did tell you that," Max pointed out. "But who listens to doctors?"
"You do."
"I'm a fucking idiot, though."
"That's true. You did drink the special last time," I said. "Do you remember that at all?"
Max winced. "Only the legend."
"It wasn't exactly a legend," Jess said. "You just slid off the chair and started speaking in tongues. Then you puked. Dear lord, did you puke. You're lucky you missed it, Kev."
I grinned. "Always had the right timing. So who's up to what this summer break?"
"I'm going home for the month," Drew said. "And Lisa's coming with me. Time to meet the parents and all that shit. Yeah, it's getting serious, you all know it." Lisa simply beamed.
"When are you going to get to meet her parents?" Max asked.
"Probably at winter break," Lisa said. "Already discussed it!"
Max snorted and turned to Jess. "So when am I going to get to meet your parents?"
She glared at him. "When are you going to get as serious about me as Drew is about Lisa?"
Silence fell around the table. While Max struggled to find an answer, Andreas leaned in. "Kaitlyn, what are you doing over this summer?"
She didn't look up or meet anyone's eyes. "Going home, working on my tan. Normal for me, right?"
"Going to rule the beach again?" I asked.
"Sure," she said. She didn't even turn her head in my direction. After our chat during the fireworks, we had barely spoken. My medical issues had occupied me. I made a mental note to follow up with her after break.
"I was offered a position with the university for the month," Andreas said, filling the silence again. "A small research assignment with stipend."
"You're just avoiding going home," Drew said.
"To an extent," he said. "It is expensive to fly to Norway and I prefer it here. My family being so far away is much less stressful for all of us."
"So what exactly are you doing?" Jess snapped. We all turned to see her leaning toward Max. "You've been avoiding the question for a week now. Answer me, dammit."
"I'm going home!" he snapped back. "Ariel's going to be home and I haven't seen her in almost a year. Are you crawling up my ass because I want to spend some time with my sister?"
"Why couldn't you just tell me that?" Jess demanded. "You didn't have to play coy about it!"
"Well, where are you going?" Max challenged her.
"I'm going home too!"
"No you're not," he said.
"What?"
He handed her a slip of paper. "I already got you a ticket."
She read it, then glared at him. "You're a dick, and I hate you, and now I have to call my parents and tell them I'm not coming home at the last minute. Ass." She leaned toward him and kissed his cheek.
"All's well that ends well," Drew observed. "What about you, Kev?"
"Traveling," I said. "That reminds me, I have to buy my tickets."
"Where you going?"
"Seattle, I think," I said. "Have a friend out there who offered a couch. It'll be nice to get away from everything out here, you know? This month has been shitty enough."
"Speaking of getting away from things, any word on your delightful ex?" Max asked. He glanced toward Kaitlyn, who didn't even flinch. "She still being a horrible person?"
"I did run into her today," I said. "Between all the insults, she told me she's going to study abroad in England for six months. The Queen can keep her as far as I'm concerned."
"Hear, hear," Drew said. He clinked his glass with Max's.
"She'll be back for the summer trimester next year," Kaitlyn said. She looked up and around the room. "So, I'll have a single room for a while. It'll be nice."
"It is nice to have a room to yourself," Andreas said.
Before they could discuss the wonderful uses of a single room, I stood up. "Sorry to run, but I actually do have to buy my ticket, right now."
"Who's this friend?" Jess demanded. She had stashed her own ticket away.
"None of your business."
Chapter Fifteen
I put a hand over my mouth and stifled a yawn. Four hours of sleep wasn't enough. After letting my dad know I was heading to Seattle, buying the ticket, packing, and arranging a taxi, four hours was all I could get, and that was an optimistic estimate with the number of times I had woken up due to my eternal headache. Albany International wasn't huge, but it had a solid number of people in line to get through to the terminal. I passed through Homeland Security Theater with no issues and looked for a place to sit and rest.
Actual food turned my stomach at this hour. I avoided fast food and settled in at a cafe, ordering just a small coffee. Hours of travel lay ahead of me. I didn't want to stay awake for the whole trip or need to use the tiny airplane bathroom. I just wanted to function long enough to board. I sipped and wondered how much sleep I would be able to get on the plane.
"Hi?" said a small voice from beside me. I glanced over to see a young girl standing just to my side. Her hair was long and golden and she looked as if she'd drift away with a strong breeze. "Sorry to bother you, but I was just wondering if I could join you?" She blushed and looked down.
I nodded at the chair across the table. "Sure, be my guest."
"Thank you," she said as she sat down. "I didn't mean to disturb you. My name's Hope."
"Kevin," I said. "And it's no bother. Going on vacation or something?"
"Visiting California," she said. "Los Angeles. My cousins live out there. I'm going to stay with them for a couple of weeks before school starts up again."
"Where do you go to school?" I asked.
"Troy," she said, looking down at the table.
"High school?"
"Yeah. I'm a senior."
"We're sort of neighbors, then. I go to Ripley," I said.
She looked up and her eyes widened. "Really? No way! They just sent me a provisional acceptance letter! I still have to go through the interview, though. I'm so nervous."
"It wasn't that bad," I said. Her expression seemed just a little too perfect, her speech just a little too polished. It couldn't be coincidence. "Just answer the questions and don't sweat it."
"Where are you going?" she asked. "I mean, today. Not in general."
"Seattle," I said. "Off to visit a friend for the month."
"A friend? Your girlfriend?" She blushed a little again.
"Well, she is a girl, and she is a friend," I said.
"I'm so sorry," Hope said. She giggled as her face turned even redder. "Mom and Dad told me I should find someone to talk to before I got on the plane. I don't mean to pry. I'm just nervous."
My head started to buzz, a sign that the headache was rising. I closed my eyes for a moment and rubbed my face. "Don't worry about it."
"Thanks," she said. "This was sort of an impromptu trip."
"Sure was," I agreed.
"Sorry?"
"Don't worry about it." The buzzing in my head continued. "So what put Ripley in your head?"
She launched into an explanation of her research and special interests, none of which made sense for what I knew of Troy High School. While she talked, I took painkillers. By the time she finished, I was done with my coffee. "So my brother in Los Angeles said I needed to take some time off and come out there before the interview," she finished.
"Brother, cousin, all the same, right?"
"What?"
I sighed. "You need to keep your lies simple."
Her eyes narrowed slightly. "I don't know what you mean by that."
"Your reactions are all too smooth, and you need to keep your story straight," I said. "Look, I don't want to play games, just tell Absynthe I'm sorry I didn't check in with her first."
"Who?" Her expression turned slightly panicky. "I don't understand."
"I'll be back for classes and training in September," I said. "I'm sure Absynthe and I will have a lot to talk about. And seriously, don't sweat the interview if you haven't actually had it yet. If you're gifted, you're already in."
Hope stared at me before slowly lowering her head to the table. "I told them I wasn't any good at this," she said. "It's way too fucking early in the morning."
"Are you supposed to try and stop me?"
"Only under certain circumstances."
"Did we get there?"
"No. God no." She looked up and frowned at me. "Absynthe's message is that you should strongly reconsider taking this trip, but she doesn't expect you to listen. She also says not to give Alistair any details about what you're doing, you dumbass. That was a direct quote, by the way."
"Understood," I said without understanding a damn thing. If she wanted me to keep things from Alistair Ripley himself, that was a message in and of itself. "Why didn't she come tell me herself?"
"Hell if I know. Maybe she just wanted to sleep in."
"Sounds about right." It didn't sound like Absynthe at all, but she still seemed angry with me. Even when I asked her for help with the headaches from the fracture, she hadn't responded. We'd have to talk when I got back. "Well, thanks for the message, and thanks for not messing up my plans."
"Yeah, whatever. Have a good summer," she said, standing up and smoothing her dress.
I boarded the first plane just under an hour later. By the time I reached Chicago for my layover, my head was pounding. By the time I boarded the second flight, the pain had risen to agony. Someone was drumming on my skull with sticks of depleted uranium. The sensation of the plane landing was horrific. I winced and waited until everyone else was off the plane before trying to stand. The attendants looked at me with sympathy, but didn't offer anything other than a hand getting up. They probably assumed that getting off the plane would help. It did, slightly.
I wandered my way to the baggage carousel and waited. My bag was one of the last ones off the plane, naturally, and by the time I picked it up, the pain threatened to make me pass out. I pulled the pre-paid phone out of my pocket, having remembered to take it with me, and stared down at the number pad. The numbers blurred. I looked up in hopes that I could find someone to help.
She was there.
Before I could get a word out, she strode toward me, parting the crowd with nothing but her singular focus. Her outfit was very nearly the same as it had been when I first met her in Washington, a sleeveless top, a black skirt, and her red hair sparkling as she passed beneath the lights. She didn't pause, didn't waste a step, didn't take her time at all. She slipped her arms around my neck and kissed me. She kissed me with wild abandon, uncaring of the audience, of blocking a section of the baggage claim, of everything. It took me no time at all to stop caring too. Even the headache seemed to respect the circumstances.
A low whistle of appreciation finally broke us apart, though she kept her arms around my neck. "Welcome to Seattle," she said. I couldn't find my words and she tilted her head slightly and smiled. "Aren't you going to say hello?"
"Hi, Sarah," I said.
Her smile grew and she gave me a second kiss, almost as thorough as the first one. "I'm glad you're here."
"So am I."
"Come on. I parked in the short term lot and don't want to pay extra." She grabbed my hand and I followed, trying to keep my balance as my head pulsed with pain. She asked me a series of questions that I could barely follow. I tried to answer, but I couldn't tell if I was talking gibberish or not. She didn't seem to care.
When we got to her car, she threw my suitcase in the back seat, pushed me into the front seat, and put her hand on my forehead. "It's worse than I thought," she said. "You've got one hell of a fever."
