Dark Realms (55 page)

“Thanks, I’m so relieved,” he said. “You’re
such a lifesaver! I was going crazy, trying to figure out what to
do with my little brother. My mom’s so sick that I’m probably going
to have to find time to bring her into the clinic tomorrow as
well.”

“Well, maybe she’ll be better by tomorrow
and you won’t have to. Listen, my mom’s going to be calling you
soon, so I’d better let you go.”

“Okay. Thanks again.”

“Glad I could help.”

It was the first
time
ever
that I
was happy that my mom was a daycare provider. Now I would
definitely get to see Bryce again.

Chapter Eight

I learned that Bryce would be dropping off
his brother Bobby around seven o’clock, so I made sure to be up and
dressed. I threw on a pair of jeans, a new coral tank top, and some
lip gloss.

My mom looked at me
curiously when I walked out of my bedroom. “Wow, you’re up early.
It’s only seven o’clock, you know,
in the
morning
.”

I shrugged. “I know.”

There was a soft knock on the door and I
rushed down the stairs to answer it. Bryce stood outside, holding
the hand of a little boy with similar features. Both of them had
damp hair, blue jeans, and matching white polo shirts. Bobby was
grinning from ear to ear. He held his hand out to me.

“Hi, I’m Bobby!” he said. “I brought my
backpack!”

“Hi,” I answered, shaking his hand.

My mom kneeled next to Bobby. ”Hi, Bobby! My
name is Kris. Are you ready to have a super fun day?”

His eyes sparkled. “Yes. Bryce said I was
going to have lots of fun today.”

She smiled warmly. “Well, he was right!”

“Okay, Bryce, you can go now,” Bobby waved
to his big brother.

Bryce chuckled. “Hold on, Buddy. I have to
talk to Kris and Cassie here before you kick me out just yet.”

“Okay, Bryce,” he answered.

Bryce held out his hand to my mother. “Hi,
I’m Bryce.”

“Nice to meet you, I’m Kris,” she answered,
shaking it. “Do you have a few minutes to fill out some paperwork
and go over a couple of things before you leave? Cassie can show
Bobby around.”

He flashed one of his dimpled smiles and I
melted, again. “Certainly.”

I showed Bobby around the house and then
spent a few minutes in the toy area with him. He was giddy and
jumped from toy to toy.

“Wow, I love your toys!” he announced.

I smiled. “They’re pretty neat, aren’t
they?”

“Bobby,” my mom said, entering the toy area
with Bryce. “Your brother has to leave for work now.”

Bobby jumped up from the floor, ran over to
his brother, and threw his arms around him. “I love you,
Bryce.”

Bryce held him tightly. “I love you, too,
big guy. Be a good boy today, okay?”

Bobby stood back and crossed his heart.
“Cross my heart,” he said solemnly.

“Thank you again, Mrs. Wild,” Bryce said
turning to my mother. “You’re a lifesaver.”

“No problem. I’m glad I could help out. It
was very nice meeting you.”

“Nice meeting you as well. Well, I’d better
go. You both have my number if you need anything,” he said.

I nodded and told my mom I’d walk Bryce to
the door. When we approached the entryway and before I could react,
he pulled me into his arms and hugged me. “Thanks, Cassie,” he
whispered into my ear. The heat of his breath made me tremble all
over.

“Um, you’re welcome,” I answered
breathlessly. My heart convulsed in my chest as he released me and
I longed to feel his arms wrapped around me again.

He cleared his throat. “Wow, I’m
sorry…”
“Why?”

The next thing I knew he turned around and
was gone. A trace of his cologne lingered in the air and I closed
my eyes, thinking of how exhilarating it had felt to be in his
arms.

“Ahem,” my mother said. She stood at the top
of the stairs, her hands folded across her chest.

“What?”

She arched an eyebrow. “He’s certainly a
very good-looking young man.”

I shrugged. “So?”

“He’s a little old for you, so forget about
whatever it is you’re daydreaming about.”

I snorted. “Whatever, mom…we’re just
friends.”

“Okay. I’m just saying…” she said, her eyes
searching mine.

I was about to respond when Megan and her
mother, Sara, walked through the door. Sara appeared disheveled and
upset. My mother noticed it as well and asked me to show Megan our
new guest.

Megan took off her shoes, hugged her mother,
and then followed me into the toy area. When she saw Bobby, she
stopped and her eyes opened wide.

“Hi,” Bobby said, grinning broadly at Megan.
He was sitting on the ground and playing with Legos.

She was bashful and held firmly onto my leg.
“Hi,” she answered softly. I grabbed her hand and sat down on the
floor with both of them. Soon they were building something with
Legos together and I was able to break free to find out what was
going on in the other room.

“You can lie down in the guest room,” my
mother was murmuring in the hallway. “You must be exhausted.”

“Yes, I am a little, thank you,” she
replied, following my mom to our extra bedroom, which was next to
mine.

When my mother returned alone, she appeared
troubled. “Sara and Megan will be staying with us for a few days,”
she said.

“Why?”

Mom sighed. “Her husband is very sick and
demanded that she take Megan and stay somewhere else until he gets
better. He’s terrified of her getting the flu and having
complications with the baby. I guess the last time she was
pregnant, with Megan, she ended up in the hospital with pneumonia.
Anyway, he was so upset about her being at home that she finally
agreed to stay at a hotel for a few days. When she told me that, I
suggested that she stay here instead.”

“And she agreed?”

“Well, no…not at first. She didn’t want to
impose, but I finally talked her into it.”

“Wow. Okay.”

Just then my dad shuffled into the kitchen,
yawning. He poured himself a large bowl of cereal. “Good morning,”
he said in a hoarse voice.

“Okay, dad, you really need to quit with the
late night video games. You look exhausted.”

He cleared his throat. “I couldn’t sleep
last night and the cable wasn’t working. What else is there to do
in the middle of the night?”

“Oh I don’t know…read a book? Rub the
bunions on mom’s feet?”

Dad grimaced. “I don’t know which sounds
scarier,” he answered.

“Ha ha…very funny, you guys. My bunions just
might be too sore to make dinner tonight,” she said dryly.

My dad laughed and put his arm around her.
“Just messing with you, honey. You know I’d rub your bunions or
warts anytime.”

She elbowed him in the ribs playfully.

“By the way,” said my dad, “I won’t be home
until late this evening. I’m working until close and then I’m
taking one of the guys out for dinner after. He’s leaving the
dealership and all of my coworkers were going to have a ‘going away
party’ for him, but of course everyone’s got the damn flu. So, it’s
just us two guys.” He looked at my mom. “Would you want to meet us
at the restaurant? Or I can bring you back some wings tonight if
you’d like?”

My mom craves Buffalo wings almost as much
as I do pickles. This time she stunned us both. She shook her
head.

“No thanks on both counts. I really should
stay home tonight. I’ve got some laundry and cleaning to do. As far
as the wings go,” she said, touching her stomach. “I’m really
trying to be good. I’ve got to start changing my diet; those things
are just loaded with cholesterol.”

My dad and I looked at each other. We both
knew she’d change her mind before the end of the night. She’d be
texting and reminding him to bring them home until he pulled into
the driveway.

“
Well, if you change your
mind, just let me know and I’ll bring you some tonight,” he
replied, biting back a smile.

She shrugged and then began telling him
about our new houseguests. I wasn’t sure how my dad was going to
react to that little tidbit of news, so I left them and went to my
room, where I collapsed onto my bed. It was still early, and there
was no school, so I closed my eyes, counting the minutes until I’d
get to see Bryce again. Eventually I fell into a dreamless
asleep.

~~~

It was just after ten when I finally crawled
back out of bed. I was hungry, so I made a ham and pickle sandwich,
turned on the television, and found that the cable still wasn’t
working. Frustrated and bored, I decided to rearrange my bedroom.
After an hour of moving heavy furniture around, I stood back only
to realize that everything had worked better in their original
positions. Defeated, I gave up and sent a text to Nora, to see how
she was doing. Unfortunately, she didn’t respond, so then I sent
one to Scott, who didn’t get back to me either. I knew there wasn’t
much I could do to help find her father, but then I started
wondering if I should just drive to her house and offer a little
moral support.

“Cassie,” my mother said, interrupting my
thoughts. “Bryce called. He’s going to try and bring his mother to
the clinic tonight when he finishes work. So, Bobby might be
spending the night with us.”

“Oh,” I answered, a little disheartened that
I probably wouldn’t be seeing Bryce tonight.

Looking pensive, she strolled over to the
bay window in our kitchen and stared out. I knew that something
else was bothering her.

“What’s wrong?” I asked her.

She turned around and folded her arms across
her chest. “Well, Bryce was kind of concerned when I spoke to him.
He claimed that a buddy of his, who’s a radio dispatcher with the
Wolf Creek Police Department, gave him some alarming information. I
guess there’ve been several reports of violence in town and they’re
urging people to stay inside; lock their doors.”

I frowned. “Wow, that’s…scary.”

She sat down by the kitchen counter. “Tell
me about it,” she answered, tapping her fingernails against the
counter, absently.

My stomach clenched; Allie! I grabbed my
cell phone. “Mom, I’m going to call Allie and make sure she’s
okay.”

She grew pale. “Oh, God, I forgot she wasn’t
home! Good thinking, honey. I better call your father, too, and see
if he’s heard anything.”

Allie was oblivious to everything going on
in the outside world when I called her.

“We’re swimming and Kristie’s going to make
us a pizza later. She said she’ll bring me home sometime
tonight.”

I sighed. “Okay. The cable is out here so if
you hear something about rioting or violence, let me know right
away. Make sure you tell Kristie about it, too,” I told her.

“Yeah…well the cable’s not working here
either. In fact, the radio stations are down as well. There’s
nothing but static.”

“
Okay, now that’s really
weird.”

“Tell me about it,” Allie replied and then
began shrieking with laughter. “Kylie! Oh, my God…you are so
bumming! She’s going to…hey, Cass, I have to go. Kylie just pushed
her mom into the pool!” Click.

Leave it to Allie; nothing outside of her
world bothers her.

“Great! I can’t get a hold of your father,”
my mom announced shrilly. “I sent him a few texts and even left him
a voicemail.”

“Calm down, mom! I’m sure he’s with a
customer. You’re worrying too much.”

She sat down and rubbed her forehead.
“You’re probably right.”

“Did you call the main business line?”

“Oh, I didn’t even think about that!” She
picked up her phone again and dialed. I watched her frown and then
leave a message.

“Mom, if everyone has the flu, there’s
probably nobody available to answer the main lines either.”

She nodded in agreement, but I could tell
her mind was still racing. She was one of the most paranoid people
I knew.

Sara walked into the kitchen, looking
bewildered. “You’re not going to believe this, but something
seriously BIG is going on!” she exclaimed, then dramatically
lowered her voice, as if somebody was listening in. “A friend of
mine from the military just sent me a text. They’re issuing a
nationwide emergency warning. He wouldn’t get into details,
although I’m betting on some kind of terrorism. Anyway, everyone is
supposed to stay indoors. They’re even sending out military forces
everywhere to limit travel.”

My mom’s mouth dropped open. “What? How can
they keep everyone in the nation from leaving their homes or
driving anywhere? That’s ridiculous.”

Just then someone rang the doorbell.

We all stared at each other.

“I suppose one of us should answer that.
I’ll be right back,” said my mom.

Sara and I followed her to the door.

“Good afternoon, ma’am,” said the friendly
young soldier standing outside. He was dressed in full military
garb with a 9MM handgun holstered on his side.

“Um, hello,” replied my mother, crossing her
arms in front of her chest. “What can I do for you?”

He noticed me and Sara, with her pregnant
belly and smiled apologetically. “My name is Lieutenant Austin
Smith and I’m really sorry to bother y’all. I’m not sure if you’ve
heard, but there have been some disturbance in town and we’re
securing all of the neighborhoods now to make sure there are no
further issues.”

“Oh, well we’re fine here,” my mother
replied. Her eyes narrowed. “What sort of violence are we talking
about?”

The soldier cleared his throat. “Nothing too
major, I reckon, a few squabbles, some vandalism.”

“Who was it?” I blurted out.

He shot a fleeting glance up and down my
body, then his brown eyes met mine. His smile made me blush; I
crossed my arms across my chest.