Crimson Echo (27 page)

            For the rest of my shift I kept my distance from Sabrina. I felt like I was being pressured into talking to Kane and that only made me want to rebel against her, but I knew there would be consequences if I did. I was already planning my next conversation with Kane in my head as I cleared the tables after the lunch rush.

           There for a split second I thought about having a talk with one of Gabe’s seeker friends and having them hunt down Sabrina, but I knew Kane would never forgive me if I led them straight to him and his family, so I let it go just as quickly. The thought of getting away from Sabrina’s watchful eyes made me clean my tables much faster than usual.

            I clocked out and with another glance at Sabrina I left the diner. As I treaded through the melting snow in the parking lot I yanked my apron from around my waist, balling it up and throwing it in the backseat of my car. I could still feel Sabrina eyeing me as I pulled out of the parking lot.

           I fought the traffic on the expressway, it was packed as usual. Everyone was in a hurry to make it home to their families in time for dinner. I was so used to the drive back and forth by now that I didn’t need to look at signs anymore. I instinctually maneuvered around cars to get in the exit lane for Echo.

          
The large green sign read three miles until the turn off and I yawned against the back of my hand as I approached my turn.  It was only a short distance to my house from the highway. I made it in record time, afraid I would fall asleep at the wheel.  I pulled against the curb— one of my usual spots and slammed the door, making my way up to the front porch. Pulling on the handle, I shrugged my coat off and tossed it to the side.

“Well, look who’s using the front door.” Mom peeked around the kitchen counter.

“Mom, please not right now.” I moaned. “My feet are killing me.”

“You’ve been coming and going from your
veranda all week, I feel like I’m running a bed and breakfast.”

I looked at dad for help on this one, but he threw up his hands in surrender.

“How’s work?” He winked at me.

“It’s going okay. We were swamped today and Ruby had to interview waitresses, so I had to manage her tables too. It was exhausting.” I plopped down on the sofa across from dad.

“Did you make a lot in tips today?” He went on.

“About ten bucks.
People weren’t very generous this morning.” I said as I counted the change in my pockets.

“Well, that’s not too shabby is it Darlene? You’ll be able to buy me a
brand new Lexus in no time.” He joked.

“Yes, that’s nice dear
… What?” She caught the tail end of the conversation. “No, absolutely not. No more cars for you!”

           
Dad had a bad habit of buying cars from auto auctions and repairing them in his free time and then selling them for twice what he paid. At one point our backyard looked like a car lot. Mom and I once joked that he had a spending problem, but I don’t think mom was joking.

“Yes dear.” Dad mimicked her.

“What’s for dinner?” I asked, heading straight for the large metal pot on the stove. “Spaghetti again?” I cringed.

“You always love my spaghetti
. Would you mind stirring those noodles, I don’t want them to burn.” She ignored the disgusted look on my face. We had spaghetti at least once a week, I’m sure dad had had his fair share of it too.

“Remember what I told you about this dish?” She pointed at the noodles.

“Yes, you tell me all the time.” I sighed.

           
When I was ten I decided I wanted to be a cook, so mom let me help her make spaghetti. She reminded me every time she made it that it was the quickest meal to make for your husband and kids after you come home from work.
Drop the noodles in boiling hot water and heat the sauce in a pan, if you have hamburger meat pre-cooked throw it in, but just on special occasions.
I mouthed the words along with her and watched her pour the tomato sauce right from the can into the waiting pan.

“Supper is served!” She yelled at my dad.

“Honey, the game is on. I can’t miss this.” His eyes never left the television. “What was that? That was out! Call it like you see it! Come on ref!”

“I’ll take it to him.” I laughed.

“Thanks sweetie, there’s no way we would be able to tear him away from that thing tonight.”

“No problem.” I sat the plate down in front of him and returned to my spot at the table.

           I poured enough parmesan cheese on it to make sure it was thoroughly coated. We both sat at the table slurping up our noodles without saying a word— the sound had me on edge. Everything that went on with Sabrina at work was the real culprit. I knew I had to protect the Evans’ secret above everything else, but I had to get this off of my chest and I could only think of one person that would listen without judgment. I rushed to clear my plate and the table. I poured the left over spaghetti into an empty Tupperware container and slung it in the icebox.

“Where’s the fire?” Mom asked, eyeing me suspiciously.

“I just remembered I have homework. I need to finish it since I’m working a double shift tomorrow.”

“Tristan, don’t you think you’re working a little too hard? I think you should ask for some time off.”

“We just got a new waitress, so I’m sure things will slow down here pretty soon. I promise, I’ll say something if it gets to be too much.” I assured her as I climbed the staircase.

“Okay, good night love bug. I love you.”

“Ditto.”  I said as I climbed the stairs at record speed, taking two at a time until I reached my bedroom door. I grabbed a pair of sweats out of my top drawer and an old band tee and slipped into the bathroom. I sat on the edge of the tub and adjusted the water until it was as hot as I could stand it. Eyeing my cell phone on the sink, I picked it up and dialed.

“Hello?”
Said the gruff voice on the other end.

“Hey Gabe,
it’s me Tristan.”

“
Hey Trist, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong, were you sleeping?”

“No, I…no, I was watching TV. What’s up?” He couldn’t lie convincingly to me, he never could.

“I need to talk…in person. When are you free?”

“I’m free now. Do you want me to come over?”

“Could you?” I tried to keep the hysterics out of my voice.

“I’ll be there in thirty minutes, just sit tight. Okay?” I couldn’t imagine how worried he must be, but I had to make him wait and I needed to figure out how to put it delicately enough that he wouldn’t freak out.

“
Oh Gabe, thanks for this.”

“Anytime.”
He hung up the phone and I sank into the tub.

           
I trembled at the thought of what Kane would say if he knew I was thinking about telling someone about his secret, but he had pushed me to this. I couldn’t tell him what Sabrina planned to do, what if he took her side? I have always been good at keeping everyone else’s secrets, but this one was too big even for me. I practiced my opening line over and over, but it never sounded right. 

          
My mind wandered as I drifted lower into the now lukewarm water. My memory dredged up the conversation I had had with Sabrina earlier in the day and I shuddered. I remembered Kane telling me once that the older you are in the witch world, the more power you acquire, but he had never been more specific than that. The threat still lingered at the forefront of my consciousness as I obsessively picked apart each word. No matter how I sliced it, it all came out the same.  

           
When the water went cold, I pulled myself out of the bath tub and wrapped a towel tightly around my body. I wrung my hair out and dressed as fast as I could, trying to avoid the cold air that swirled around me. I tossed my dirty clothes in the hamper as I walked back to my room. Crossing my room to my bed, I saw movement in the double glass doors and jumped. My adrenaline spiked as my eyes adjusted to the darkness and then I recognized the dark figure.

“You scared the crap out of me!” I whispered as I unlocked the deadbolt.

“Sorry, I’ve been knocking for a while.” Gabe admitted, stepping through the door.

“I didn’t expect you to be here that fast. I guess I’m just a little jumpy today.”

“What am I doing here on your balcony in the middle of the night?” He got right to the point.

“I don’t really know how to tell you this without sounding crazy.” I took a deep breath and motioned for him to sit down on the bed with me.

“I won’t judge you, I promise.” He waited anxiously, taking a seat at the foot of the bed.
I felt like I had spoken the same words to him once before.

“What exactly did you mean the other day when you said you had heard things about the Evans?”

“Not this again Tristan, I told you it was just rumors.” He shook his head.

“But, you never told me what the rumors were.”

“Why don’t you tell me what you know? I’m sure you are more informed than I am.” He flipped the script on me, pulling the rug right out from under me.

“All I ask is that you keep an open mind. I just need someone to talk to and you’re the only one I can fully trust with this secret.”

“Spit it out. I’m aging over here.”

“
There’s something that I used to think was a fairytale, something you would only find in mythology or kids stories. But I’ve come to realize it’s real and there’s no telling what else is. Kane is a witch.” I blurted out and waited for his reaction.

“Okay…
is this the secret you’ve been hiding?”

“Well, there’s more. They’re all witches, they all have powers and they can do magic. I’ve seen it with my own eyes.
Emporia isn’t a private school! It’s a school for witches to learn their craft. Kane teaches magic there and his sister threatened me with lightning bolts.” I stopped myself. I started to feel stupid for having him come all this way just to tell him about a family of witches. “I’m sorry, I just need someone to talk to.”

“T
ristan, I don’t want to hear about this stuff, I can’t.”

“What do you mean, you can’t?” I sat back on my bed.

“I can’t hear about any witches. I don’t want to know that the Evan’s family are witches.” He said sharply.

“Why not?”

“Because witches are the reason my dad is gone! Okay? I said it, that’s the truth!” He half yelled as he slid down the wall and onto the floor.

“Gabe, why didn’t you tell me?”

“What good would it do? Yes, I know all about witches and magic. My dad was obsessed with finding them.” He informed me.

“Finding them or hunting them?” I asked as it began
to sink in. “Was your dad a seeker?”

“Yes,” he hung his head. “That’s why he’s not with us anymore. Mom couldn’t take it. He was putting us all in danger with his little witch hunts, so she gave him an ultimatum.”

“And he chose hunting over his family?” I asked.

He nodded his head.

“I’m so sorry, I didn’t know.” I joined him on the floor and wrapped an arm around his shoulder. “If I would’ve known all of this I would’ve never brought any of it up.”

“It’s not your fault. It does feel better to finally get that off of my chest after all of this time though.”

            I nodded and thought about all the things that I planned on getting off of my chest, but with all of this new information about Gabe’s father I thought it best to keep it to myself. I didn’t know if hunting was a predominate trait in Gabe’s family or if it was something his father had taken up as a hobby, either way I had to make sure to protect the one I love.

“I’m sorry I just unloaded all of that on you. I shouldn’t have given you that burden to carry.”

“Gabe, don’t worry about it. What are friends for, right?”

“I guess so.” He hugged me
and I knew that was what he needed in that moment.

“I promise no more witch talk.” I whispered.

“It’s not that I don’t want to know, it’s just that I’m afraid I’ll slip up and give them away and I know how important he is to you. If I was the one who led the seekers right to them, I don’t think I could forgive myself for what it would do to you.”

“I understand. I won’t mention it again, I promise.”

“Thanks for understanding.” He smiled.

“Of course.”

“Well, if
there isn’t any other life altering news you need to tell me I’m going to head out, it’s getting pretty late.”

“Are you sure you’re okay,” I asked.
“With all of this?”

“Five by five.”
He answered.

“You remembered?”
I smiled, feeling my heart break for my friend.

“I’ll always remember.” And with that said he escaped out into the night, more swift than the wind. 

            I hadn’t expected such a reaction out of Gabe. All this time that I had known him and not once did he ever offer to tell me what happened to his father. I couldn’t believe that he had kept such a big secret from me for all these years. And now that I knew the subject of anything supernatural was off limits with him I wasn’t sure what we would talk about.