July (The Year of The Change Book 1) (24 page)

Breakfast was done. The Forest Ranger presentation and port docking wasn't for two more hours. The twins were playing cards at the table and Dad lay next to Sue reading a magazine on Alaska. I was reading my book in my bunk. Bored, bored, and bored.

Sue still didn’t look like she felt well. She’d dressed and sat up for a while before Dad and the twins went to get breakfast. She still couldn't watch us eat. She wasn't gagging at the smell, which was a relief.

"You can't play that!" Tam threw the card at Tim.

"Yes, I can!" Tim slammed it back on the pile on the table.

"No, you can't!" Tam reached for the card.

Tim slapped his hand on top of it. "Can, too!"

"Mom! Tim’s cheating!"

"Am not!"

Dad sat up. "Okay, time to go for a walk."

Tim and Tam ditched the cards and ran for their shoes and coats.

Dad, sitting on the side of the bed, glanced back as he put his shoes on. "You know, Sue, some fresh air might do you some good." He tied his laces.

She didn't say anything and he turned to look with hope on his face. It had to be hard on him. He wasn't used to watching the twins all by himself. Now he knows how I feel some times. Retrieving the cards, I dealt solitaire and tried to block out the kids. Just in case I kept a watch on Sue, hoping she would go.

Sue's brows rose as she thought. She hadn't said no, so Dad's hope turned into a smile and he got her shoes.

"I'm not so sure about this, Len." Her eyes grew large as she looked between Dad and the bathroom.

"Ah, come on, it'll be good for you." Dad put a shoe on Sue's right foot then took it off and put it on the correct one.

"I don't know if I would make it very far." Still, she hadn’t said no.

Tam helped with the other shoe. "Come on, Mom, you can do it. Wait till you see all the cool stuff on the ship."

They hadn't mentioned any cool stuff to me.

"We're within sight of land, so you'll get your first glimpse of Alaska." Tim chimed in.

They hadn't told me that, either. My first real glimpse wouldn't be until Whittier, when we got off. Maybe I'll get to see this part of Alaska when I leave in two years.

The three of them pulled Sue up and helped her into her coat. She was wide eyed, not letting them move her very fast. She eyed the bed and toilet one last time as they dragged her to the door.

Dad pried up the tape and held the door open so Tim and Tam could keep a good hold as they pulled her out. "That's my girl. You'll love it on deck, I promise."

In a cloud of uncertainty, Sue was ushered away and the door shut behind them.

I walked to the entry and smoothed the tape in place. "They didn't even say good-bye. I guess I'm back to being invisible." I didn’t speak to anyone in particular, just the dust motes that danced in the little bit of sunlight that trickled through the curtains on our little round window. With the door bolted, I returned to my game of solitaire. My mind wouldn’t stay tuned into the game, so I just stared at the cards not really wanting to play all by myself.

"
The jack goes on the queen
."

"Thanks." Absently, I moved the royal heart, and then my heart missed a beat.

I screamed and the cards went everywhere. Tumbling back off the bench, I crab-walked until my head hit the wall. Unable to speak, I just sat. The angry disheveled guy, from the window yesterday and in the hall, now sat on the bench across from where I’d just leapt from.

Sneering -- his face didn't seem the right place for a smile -- he scooped up the cards that remained on the table.

"What the …?" I couldn't believe my eyes. "How'd you …?"

The sneer stayed steady as he leaned back and shuffled the cards close to his thin chest. “
I didn't expect you to be so surprised
."

"You sneak up on me. Scared me half to death and you expect me not to be surprised?" I clutched my chest. The pounding of my heart vibrated my hand.

He raised a brow. "
You didn't see me come in?
"

"No! How'd you get in?" I scanned the tape. All was as I left it.

"
I came in through the door.
" He placed the cards on the table.

"No, you didn't, it's locked and I bolted it." I didn’t mention the tape for fear he would ask questions.

"
It wasn't locked when I came in.”
He put his elbow on the table and leaned his head on his hand as though settling in for a long conversation.
“You really didn't see me?
"

"No. Isn't that obvious?" My heart still hadn’t slowed.

He scrunched up his face and studied me for a moment. "
Yeah, I guess it is. You really didn't see me, huh?
" He stood.

I flattened myself against the wall.

"
Well, you know I'm here now so I think we should introduce ourselves
." He extended his hand as he walked towards me. "
I'm Andrew LaMarr, my friends call me Drew.
"

I didn't shake his hand. I only stared at his face, too afraid to look away.

"
And you are?
"

Not a word found its way out of my brain. He frowned.

Shoving his hands into his pockets, he looked around the room. "
So, do you have an aversion to fresh air or did you do something wrong and they're forcing you to stay in here?
" He turned back to me, his face now as devoid of emotion as his voice.

I shivered. "I don't have to stay in here, but its best that I do."

"
Why
?" Still, no emotion.

"If you haven't noticed, I cause problems when I'm around guys." How am I going to get him out of here?

A corner of his mouth broke ranks and pulled up. "
I had noticed you draw a lot of attention to yourself. But being beautiful isn't a sin. You shouldn't be punished for it
."

Affected
.

"I'm not being punished. I'm being careful."

"
Careful about what?"
He sat cross-legged in front of me.

He’s too close. "I’m careful not to cause a riot."

His laugh was angry and rough. "
Still, it’s no reason to be cooped up in here. You deserve better.
" He reached out to brush some hair from my face.

I scooted away, along the wall. "How'd you get in here, really?" My movement soured his already menacing face.

He raised one brow. "
Really?"

My eyes rolled despite the tremor rippling through me. "Yes."

"
I walked in when your family left. Your mother didn't look like she was ready to go out
."

"Nah-uh, if you came in then my dad would’ve seen you." I inched further away. “I would’ve seen you, too.”

He leaned back on his hands. "
People don't see me
."

"If I can see you, then they can, too."

He shook his head tiredly. "
You're the only one who’s ever seen me when I …"
He pursed his lips. "
When I don’t want to be seen. I wonder why that is?"
He searched my face.

It was hard to swallow. Was he telling the truth? Could I see him when others couldn't, or was he crazy? "You're not making any sense." If it were true, was this connected to The Change?

"
Have you ever gone into Phase?"

"Into what?"

The sneer was back. "
Maybe you're not a Walker
."

"Huh?" I wished he’d quit talking in riddles.

"
But you can see me all the same
." His eyes looked distant, as though pondering a complex math equation.

"Yes, I can see you just as well as I can see the wall. And when they get back, my dad will see you, too."

"
No, he won't
." His shrug was indifferent. On the other hand, his eyes burned holes in my face.

"Why?" I turned my palms up. "Because you're in … phase?" I dropped them to my lap. "Whatever that means."

He pulled one knee up and rested his arm on it. "
I think you have a secret and that secret will explain how you can see me
."

Had he been spying on me? "I have a lot of secrets, none of which have anything to do with phase … whatever." I had to get him out of here.

His sneer widened. "
Yep, you have a secret. Would you tell me the truth if you were a Phase Walker?"

"A
Phase
Walker?" He had to be crazy. "If I knew what it meant I would tell you, but I don't." I should placate him. Sigh. How much deeper was I going to get into this? "Are there many of you?"

"
No
." He looked past me. "
I've only met two, my uncle and another man
." He focused on me again, his whole face softening, the difference was astounding. "
I don't know if there are female Phase Walkers
." He leaned toward me, sliding onto his knees. His yearning seemed to pull him forward.

I put my hands out and readied my feet to kick. "No, no, no, don't even think about it!"

He halted. "
Why? It would be perfect, just you and me going wherever we want, whenever we want. No being imprisoned in cramped little rooms –"

"I'm not being imprisoned, I'm being safe!"

He moved closer and I slid further along the wall.

"
I would be good to you, protect you and take care of you
." His offer was all that I’d always wanted from a boy … but not this angry one.

"No! I'm not ready for that!" I slid into the corner by the couch. There was nowhere else to go. I was trapped.

Voices at the door yanked my attention. Drew looked over his shoulder.

"My family's back and now they're going to catch you!"

The derision on his face made my skin crawl. The door rattled.

He jumped to his feet. "
You think about what I said
."

I pulled myself up with the help of the couch and wall. "You're crazy."

That didn't set him apart from all the other affected guys, they were crazy, too. The others were affected and slap-happy with delirium. He was affected and angry.

The door opened and Dad half carried Sue in.

"Dad! Catch him!"

Dad's head jerked up and he almost lost his hold on Sue as he looked around. "Who?"

Drew stood two feet from Dad, and Tim walked behind the angry man to the table.

I pointed at Drew who sneered. "Him! Can't you see him?! He's standing right there!"

The arrogant laugh of the strange guy grated on my nerves.

Dad's eyes widened as he looked from me to the spot where I pointed. "There's no one there, Sylv."

"
Sylv? So that's your name
." Drew put his hands in his pockets and rocked back on his heels.

I looked at him, angry now. "My name is Sylvia."

Dad lowered Sue to Tam's bunk. "Yes, your name is Sylvia. Are you alright?"

"
I told you they can't see me
." Drew shrugged.

ARGH! I wanted to shake my dad and point his face at the obnoxious, sneering Drew. "You really can't see him?"

Slowly, Dad’s head moved side to side, his eyes wide.

"Who are we supposed to see, Sylv?" Tim was looking under the table for the rest of the cards.

"He said his name is Drew."

"
That's my cue. Bye, Sylv. Think about my offer, it's gotta be better than this.
" He held his arms wide before waving his fingers at me. "
Tootles!
"

He slipped around Dad and waved one last time as the last of him, his hand, disappeared out the door.

"Stop him!" I pointed with both arms as I rushed after him.

Dad caught my arm and forced me to look at him. "What's going on, Sylvia?"

"She's finally gone crazy, Len." Sue grabbed Dad's sleeve. She pulled hand over hand and climbed his arm. He leaned down when she grabbed his collar. "I knew it would come to this. It's all that food, it's gone to her brain." She almost stood before her knees buckled and she collapsed onto the bunk. She closed her eyes and curled into a ball.

Tam patted her shoulder.

I ignored her comment. "Dad, you let him get away."

Two boys meandered into the room smiling. "Hello." One sounded French.

Dad let go of my arms and pushed the boys out. The velocity with which he slammed the door, made me jump. He turned, and red exploded across his face. "I'm going to get Sue to bed, then, you're going to explain to me what just happened." He pulled Sue up. She didn't open her eyes, as he mostly carried her to their bed.