Demon Girl (Keeley Thomson Book One) (23 page)

   “She does honey, but she also needs to go and be with her friends. We have to let her grow up sometime.” The woman smiled at Keeley.

   “I personally was planning to wait until she was thirty-five, but...”

   The two adults looked at each other and nodded slowly.

   “Alright,” Devon York looked at his daughter hard.

   “But you still have school in the morning and if you stay up all night, don't think that means it's alright to skip. Keeley, same goes for you, even if we aren't your parents, no skipping just because you stay up all night and make sure you get in touch with your parents.” The tone was bossy, but under that scared. They so didn't want Hally questioned by the police. Her identity wouldn't hold up to scrutiny if someone really dug.

   Keeley got that. She couldn't let them know she did without them freaking out, but it made sense now.

   “Alright. I agree. We're going to be at either General or Hally will be back here. We may all invade in the middle of the night though, but...”

   “That's fine. Call if you need us?” Ginger York looked at her daughter, who looked to be in shock, but managed a nod.

   As they drove away, very carefully and exactly, Hally turned to her, eyes wide. Keeley watched the road, but could make her out in her peripheral vision, which was neat. The girl wasn't in sharp focus, but she didn't have the edge of her glasses over her either.

   “How did you do that?” The words held awe, pure and unadulterated. “Even Darla wasn't able to manage them like that I...”

   “Darla,” Keeley said while nodding gently. “didn't have an emergency like this. They're people Hally, it's obvious that they love you and don't want you to be hurt, that's all. Won't they be surprised when we all descend on their living room later? I bet they thought I was kidding about that.” She wasn't. The lesser demon wouldn't be looking for anyone at Hally's house, so it would make a good safe haven for Eve at least. Gary might have been marked though, so that couldn't be allowed.

   The food was easy, all greasy and high fat, but Darla's credit card paid for it. The hard part turned out to be her own parents, who wanted her home the second she called to tell them about everything. It felt a little out of place. No, extremely and absurdly out of place.

   “I... OK, dad. Um, I need to pack up here, so, half an hour?” Keeley had never had a curfew after all and it was still before midnight. An emergency too, so it was a surprise when her father growled at her.

   “Now. If you're not home in fifteen minutes you're grounded for two weeks young lady.” Then there was a click as he hung up on her.

   Um. Keeley stared at Darla's cell phone in her hand and explained quickly.

   Darla snagged the phone and smiled.

   “Well, drive safe. Better two weeks of grounding than dead. Or worse, denting Freida.” She smiled and patted her back.

   Keeley ran to the car. It wasn't fair.

   The going home part, well, she could see that. They didn't know where she was or what she was up to, but fifteen minutes to make a twenty minute trip? That was uncalled for. She drove the speed limit though, and didn't get stopped by the police. That would just make it all worse, wouldn't it? Her father stood in the driveway with his arms crossed, dressed in blue flannel pajamas and holding something in his hand. A flashlight. There was plenty of light to see by, so it baffled her as to what the plan was. She'd come home directly and as fast as the law allowed, so a beating seemed a little over the top.

   Instead of saying anything he grumbled at her a bit as she climbed out and then immediately started using the flashlight to look through the windows. She didn't get what he was looking for. Drugs? It would be stupid to leave them laying around on the seats though. Keeley had explained the whole situation, using the gay bashing excuse, but for some reason her father wasn't buying it. Not wanting to, she reached out and touched his arm, his obvious anger giving way to fear.

   He'd thought she'd been out with a boy and had lied to him.

   It was ridiculous, but she knew she couldn't say that. More, he couldn't hear it. It just wouldn't make sense to him. On a deep level he really believed that all women just ran around having sex whenever they could, with anyone not him. Telling him otherwise would just bounce the idea off of his brain. It wasn't rational at all, but that didn't really matter.

   “Rob's still in surgery. He may be for hours. Darla's going to call if, well, if there is any news.” If there was bad news. There would be no reason to call for something pleasant. Not in the middle of the night.

   Her father didn't say anything, just stormed into the house as if he had a mission. What that was she didn't know, but Keeley followed, only to be stopped by her mom at the door.

   “This... it isn't about anything you did honey. I hope your friend is alright.”

   “So do I.” She looked at her mother and shrugged.

   “Did he really think I was out having sex? I mean, I wasn't, not this time, but you know, it's pretty much going to happen someday. I hope so at least. Is he going to threaten to shoot any boy I bring home? Or girl?”

   Her mom smiled and shook her head.

   “No, I think he just needs some time to get used to the fact that his little girl isn't a baby any more. That's all.”

   It went deeper than that, but Keeley felt better about her dad anyway. It was alright for her to pretend he was just being a little overprotective and not that he thought she was an incurable slut, like her mom. It had been in the subtext, but there. Charles Thomson really thought that any time Sherry left the house she was sleeping around. It was a strain on the marriage, which, if Keeley was any kind of judge, probably wouldn't last a year past her leaving the house. About the first time her mom wanted to join a club to pass the time or spent extra time at the gym.

   It was sad, but then neither of them was happy at all as things stood.

   Still, no reason to take it out on her, was it?

   Keeley didn't have anything to do, so she laid down and slept until the phone rang at six-thirty in the morning. It was Darla. That she called that early was message enough, but she spoke anyway.

   “Keels. Rob didn't make it. He died in surgery. We... need to meet. This is getting too serious. In the parking lot before school? Just drive Freida. I have to deal with things here...”

   Crud.

   “Yeah, I'll be there. Do you, does anyone, need anything?” It was one of those things you said when you didn't know what else to say.

   “No, but they might later. I'm free to volunteer you?”

   “Within reason, ask first, but yeah.”

   “Deal.” The demon said softly.

   “Heck no. Just a friendly offer.”

   Darla sighed.

   “Good. I got stuck in three bad deals before I worked my way out of them. It took nearly a hundred years. I'll see you in forty minutes?”

   “Got it.”

   Keeley woke herself up, remembering what that was like and then living it. Better than coffee. She scrambled to get ready, but had everything together and ready before her parents came out, getting a start on their own day.

   “Trying to beat us out of the house?” Charles said, only a hint of accusation in his voice.

   She shook her head.

   “Rob... died. In surgery. I'm going to meet everyone at school. I don't know what else is going to happen, but...”

   She cried. It was all just too much. Yeah, she didn't really know Rob, but he was her date to the homecoming dance she didn't want to go to and he'd seemed nice, if a little bit of a horn-dog. It wasn't fair at all. Other people got to be older before someone they knew died, didn't they? And poor Gary. He wouldn't even be allowed to mention he knew Rob as more than a friend would he? Unless the gay bashing thing...

   Uhg. Well that was about to blow up. It was so obvious she should have thought about it the night before.

   Maybe they could find someplace else for Gary to live when his dad kicked him out? Why the man couldn't just deal, Keeley didn't know. Probably a closet case himself and just not brave enough to face things. Or at least afraid that might be the case. Homophobes weren't gay as a rule, they were just afraid they were. It would be funny, if not for the violence and hate.

   She didn't hug either of her parents, since they didn't seem inclined to do that much, not normally. It took her by surprise when they both moved on her.

   “Oh, honey... I'm so sorry.” Her mom sounded worried and a little freaked out.

   Her father just hugged her and didn't say anything. An apology wouldn't help now, besides he didn't see that he'd done anything wrong. That would just be their thing, she decided. Her dad messing up because he didn't realize that she had to be a person too and her understanding it and just letting it go. Well, it was a plan at least. After a few minutes she straightened.

   “Right now I have to get to school and see if I can help anyone at all. I'm... so not ready for this.”

   Her dad surprised her then, “No one ever is. Just remember, as long as you're trying to be kind, saying something is almost always better than saying nothing, no matter how awkward it feels.” He gave her shoulder a little squeeze.

   “I'll keep that in mind. Thanks.”

   She left carefully, paying extra attention to her driving, eyes still a little red, but not bleary.

   Poor...

   Everyone.

   Yeah, that should about set the tone for the day.

   Poor everyone.

Chapter twelve

   There were people at the school when she got there, kids, a lot of them subdued, milled in front of the building. At the mouth of the main entrance a shrine of sorts had been setup, people had already left stuffed bears, cards and unlit candles. A large white placard at the back, hastily made up, simply said, “we love you Roberto”.

   Roberto. Keeley hadn't even known his name wasn't Robert. Or even just Rob.

   She pulled Freida's large cream expanse in next to the little red sports car where Hally sat, her head on Eve's shoulder. Gary wasn't around anywhere, but Darla sat upright in the front seat. Not chipper looking, but not exhausted either. Just tired. Keeley felt it too. It wasn't that she couldn't get rid of it, but some things were meant to be felt. Her grief for one. It was hard to deal with, but she knew that she wasn't feeling bad for the dead boy. Sorry he died? Sure, and a little bit for the pain he'd felt first, but no, she felt bad for her living friends. It was uncomfortable and made her brain itch.

   Why?

   Because she hardly knew any of them at all. She'd only been around Gary for a couple of hours, tops, and the others, well, they were nice to her, but she didn't have a history with them. She didn't know them.

   More to the point, she actually did know them, more intimately than any of them would ever guess, even if she told them everything, but they barely knew her at all. It made her feel like she was jumping in on their grief, riding along as if her feelings actually mattered in this, when clearly they didn't. Not any more than the girls sitting at the front of the building crying and holding each other.

   A lot of them were just reacting to someone having died. It didn't matter who it was. If it had been the least popular teacher in the school or the half creepy janitor that always checked out the girls behinds when he thought no one was looking, they'd have acted the same. Their tears weren't for Rob, but for themselves and the fact that someday, they'd die and it could come at any time.

   There were worse reasons to get all emotional she decided.

   It took her a while to climb out, not knowing what to say, hoping she didn't make a fool of herself. The plan was to ask how they all were, to say how sorry she was. To hug them all. Instead she stood for a second and noticed the gaps. The things that didn't fit.

   “Where's Gary?” Keeley addressed this to Darla who'd clearly been crying herself.

   “His dad came to the hospital... I... Really don't think that's going to end well. The cops told Ken, Gary's dad, that his son and his boyfriend had been jumped last night. I have a word in with Roy, to see if he can fix it, but I doubt that's going to happen in time. Gary's too wrung out to lie now and say that the attackers were just wrong and that he's straight. I just hope one of them doesn't kill the other over it.”

   Yeah, that could get messy fast.

   Remembering herself Keeley hugged the others who clung back like they'd float away into the sky if they didn't. Finally Darla stood.

   “I need to go over some things with Keeley. Then we all need to get to class. Remember as cheerleaders we're here for everyone that wants to talk. Get with the others too and spread that around. We can't do much, but we can stand together and support everyone we can.”

   The movements were a little slow, but the other girls got out of the car and started walking, looking more like they were the ones that needed to be supported than like they could hold someone else up at all. But humans became stronger from stress. As long as it didn't kill them. This wouldn't kill them.

   There was an assembly scheduled during first period and grief counselors being brought in. It was a nice gesture, but what they really needed to do was find the thing that hurt... killed, Rob and make it stop. Darla nodded slowly when Keeley said it, but she didn't say anything as they walked, toward the lone tree off away from the parking lot, on the other side of the school. They had grass. It wasn't very green, but there was enough to hold the soil in place as they walked.

   “Keeley... I can't ask you to get involved in this...” The words were soft and held real worry, or at least something that sounded so much like it Keeley couldn't tell the difference.

   “But...”

   Nodding Keeley finished for her.

   “But we're the ones that are here, that have a stake in this, so I'm in. Even if it means I die before my time. Let's avoid that part though? Or letting anyone else know I exist if possible. So what do we do, set a trap and stick it back in a jar?”

   At the tree Darla touched it gently with her right hand.