Somewhere in the Middle (18 page)

The sound of laughter drew me to the den when I got inside the house.
I found my family watching home movies of past Christmases. Transferring
all the old VHS recordings to DVDs had been my dad's gift to my mom. I
joined them in hopes old times would cheer me up. And maybe they did, but
only a little. I kept glancing at my silent cell phone, wondering if
Roone had forgotten his promise to call. I considered calling him, but
decided not to since it might be a bad time, as in right in the middle of
a father-son argument over me.

In the end, I left the den not very long after I entered it and walked
down the hall to my bedroom. There I stretched out on my bed, listening
to the rain pattering my window panes and staring at the ceiling. After a
half hour of that, I called Dayna.

"Merry Christmas,
chica
," she said by way of answering.

"Ditto. Did you get some fun stuff?"

"Yeah, you?"

I rattled off a list that included clothes, money, gift cards, and new
headphones.

"Beats?" she asked, referring to the Dr Dre headphones every student
at McAlister would've died for.

"Yep."

"That's so not fair. I got knockoffs." She said something to someone
with her.

"Who are you talking to?"

"Gavin."

Of course. It was only right they should be together, and I should've
been with Roone, too. "Something happened tonight."

"What do you mean?"

"Roone told me he loved me."

"Holy crapoly! When? How? Where? Why?"

I gave her the scoop, well, most of it. I didn't mention Leif or
Roone's love-of-my-life wording for some reason. When we said our
goodbyes, I called Sid. The only son of two popular pediatricians, he
rattled off a gift list I couldn't quite believe, though I didn't
begrudge him a thing. I had love in my life, something he'd probably only
get if he left the bigots in our small town far behind. True to form, Sid
gave me heartfelt congrats when I got around to telling him Roone and I
were for real. And I ended the call feeling better and with a smile on my
face.

Still awake at eleven, I finally decided to risk waking Roone just to
hear his voice. The call went straight to voicemail. Based on that and
the late hour, I assumed he did what I usually did, turn my cell off
every night while it charged. Unlike a lot of girls I knew, Dayna
included, I didn't freak if my iPhone took a well-deserved breather.

Sunday morning I woke to stormy skies and a huge drop in temperature.
The ice encasing our winter grass made each blade look like an inverted
icicle. Every tree branch and power line had been glazed to match, which
was probably why my bedside clock wasn't working. Somewhere a line had
snapped from the weight, leaving families without electricity.
Fortunately, we had a fireplace, a gas water heater, and a gas stove. So
while there wouldn't be any TV or computers to keep us occupied, the
house would be warm enough, and we could still bathe and eat.

"Power's out all over town," said my dad when I got to the
kitchen.

I saw he was wearing his uniform and just about to walk out the
door.

"Your mom left about an hour ago. She got there okay. Said the roads
were slick on the bridges and at the intersections, but doable. All the
same, I hope you won't get out unless it's important." He pulled on his
standard issue jacket. "Is Roone all electric?"

"I honestly don't know."

"Well if he is and they need a generator, we have a spare in the
garage."

"Okay. Um, dad?"

"Uh-huh." He was looking all over for his deputy cap.

I took it off the top of the fridge and handed it to him. "Roone and I
are dating now."

"I know." Dad patted his pockets to be sure he had his wallet and
phone.

"I mean really dating. The act is over. And there's something
else."

"What's that?" He picked up his radio.

"We're nuts about each other."

That got his attention. "This is news to you?"

"Well, yeah."

Grinning Dad gave me quick hug and kiss. "Then you and your guy are a
lot slower than I thought you were, because I saw it in both of you the
night of the dance. Call if you need me, okay?" With a wink and a smug
smile, he left, letting in a swirl of chilly air before the door shut
behind him.

I hugged myself in the aftermath. "Brrrr."

"Are you cooking breakfast?" Cory, scratching his bare belly, joined
me in the kitchen. Bleary-eyed and with a serious case of bed head, he
couldn't have been awake long.

"I can. But I'll wait until eight since Eli will probably be up by
then."

He glanced toward the microwave and then at the clock radio on the
counter, neither of which told him the time.

I explained. "Power's out."

Cory yawned. "Bummer. Just here or all over town?"

"All over, I think."

"Does Roone have gas?"

"Not in front of me. Unlike the Thorsen guys, he's way too polite for
that."

My sleepy brother got the joke a little late and burst out laughing.
"Good one."

I rolled my eyes. What was it with guys and fart jokes? Not that I
couldn't blame myself for this particular one. "I don't know if they're
all electric or not. I'll call in a minute to ask and make sure they're
okay."

"I like that guy. Too bad you two are pretend."

"Actually, what you warned me about has happened."

"Which is...?"

"Love has jumped up and bit me on the butt."

Cory's eyes lit up. He grinned really big. "I
knew
it! Dude had
that look in his eye."

"What look?"

"That I-can't-believe-she's-with-me one." He slowly nodded, clearly
lost in thought. "He's a nice guy. Mature for his age, don't you
think?"

"Yeah, I do." Amazed that my usually oblivious Dad and brother had
seen something I hadn't, I went to my room to turn on my phone. I sat on
the side of the bed and called Roone even though it was only seven-thirty
in the morning. But he didn't pick up. So I texted him instead:
Got
power?

I waited two solid hours for his answering text, but never got it. I
called him again at noon, but he didn't answer. That worried me a little.
Had something happened to him? My thoughts immediately went into a
tailspin. Roone had wrecked his bike on the way home last night and been
killed, but his dad hadn't bothered to call me. Or maybe he'd made it
home and confessed our love, upsetting his father so badly that they'd
fought to the finish. Or maybe their power had gone off in the wee hours
of the morning, and they'd simply frozen to death.

By then, I'd run out of crazy maybes, which left a simple one: Roone's
phone had died, and he couldn't charge it because he had no electricity.
That meant if I wanted to talk to him, I had to drive over there. I
finally did it around five-thirty, accompanied by Eli, who'd thrown a
royal fit when I tried to leave. He'd apparently colored a picture of
Thor that he wanted to give Roone in person.

Though it was still very cold and oddly dark out--I actually had to
use my headlights--we got to the Thorsens' without anything worse that my
back tires fishtailing once on a patch of black ice.

The house lay in darkness, so no power there, either. I suddenly
remembered Roone and his brother entertaining themselves by playing that
glowing ball game, both of them shirtless in the snow. Realizing that
they'd probably be warm even if their house was without heat, I felt a
little foolish for driving over. Then a new worry surfaced--what if Roone
was breaking the news of us gently to his dad. Would our suddenly
dropping by screw up his timing?

I sat in my car in the driveway for a couple of minutes with the motor
running, staring at the house and wondering whether we should go or stay.
Or maybe I hoped Roone's clairaudience would alert him to my presence and
save me from having to knock on the door. Why I was so nervous, I had no
idea. I wasn't usually like that.

"I want to go in," said Eli, reminding me I wasn't alone.

Reluctantly, I killed the engine and got out of the car. I released
Eli from the seat belt. He got the picture he'd colored, as well as the
Thor gear he'd brought along. The icy lawn crunched under our feet as we
approached the house. I avoided the sidewalk, which could be slick, and
took great care on the front steps, too. Finally I stood face-to-face
with the cut-glass inset, Eli hopping from one foot to the other in his
eagerness to see Roone. I tried the bell before I thought and then
laughed at my own stupidity as I raised my fist to knock.

The door swung inward the moment my knuckles rapped it.

The house was unlocked? For some reason my heart dropped straight into
my stomach even though I knew some people left their houses open during
the day, something my crime-conscious dad would never allow. Now what? I
glanced at Eli. He shrugged like a little old man, which would've
lightened the moment any other time. Squashing my unease, I opened the
door a scant couple of inches more and put my mouth to the crack I'd
made.

"Hello? Anybody home?" All I heard was the eerie echo of my own voice.
Finding my courage, I boldly pushed, increasing the opening enough that I
could slip inside the house, Eli so close behind that he bumped into me
when I stopped. "Hel-loooo!"

No answer.

A dozen scenarios blasted me. They were in the backyard, upstairs, out
to eat, at Home Depot buying a generator... The possibilities were endless,
and there I stood in their foyer, uninvited. I instantly backed out the
way I'd come, stepping on my little brother's toes in the process. As I
did, my gaze landed on the entry table a couple of feet away. I could
just make out three cell phones lying on it.

I froze. Unless all were stone dead and, therefore useless, there was
no good reason for them to be there. Though confused and not a little
frightened, I pushed the door completely open. "Wait here, buddy."

"No way."

With a sigh, I grasped his wrist and made myself go inside again.
Something was very wrong. I had to figure out what it was. Fumbling for
the light switch, I flicked it a couple of times just in case. Of course,
it didn't work. Wishing I'd brought along a flashlight, I began to
explore in the dark, my pulse pounding in my ears as I ventured forward a
few feet, still attached to my little bro. "Is anyone in here?"

Just ahead a shadow shifted and divided from the wall to become a tall
male. I nearly fainted with relief. "There you are. Whew."

He didn't answer. A camp lantern's light suddenly pierced the
blackness.

I squealed and fell back, knocking Eli into the wall. I instantly
laughed at myself, a sound that faded into silence when the light was
raised higher to reveal who held it.

My heart stopped. "Teo?"

"Hello, Everly."

Now my heart shifted into overdrive. My wary gaze narrowed as I
instinctively stepped in front of Eli and held him behind me. "Where's
Roone?"

"I was just about to about to ask you that." Teo moved closer.

"Well, I sure don't know." I took a matching stepping back and felt
Eli stumble. Noting Teo's immediate smirk, I wished I hadn't shown my
fear. "He hasn't answered my calls, so I came over to make sure he was
okay. Why are you inside his house?" Teo sure as hell hadn't been
invited.

Teo advanced again, his long black hair loose and swinging with every
step. I instantly thought of every bad martial arts movie I'd ever seen,
racial stereotyping I didn't condone but couldn't seem to get out of my
head now that it was there. It didn't help that he moved without making a
sound and wore black leather everything except his deep purple T-shirt,
just visible under his jacket. "I was hoping to talk to him, but as you
now see, no one's home."

"And you came inside anyway?"

His soft snigger derided me. "Isn't that what you just did?"

"I'm his girlfriend." I backed up all the way to the front door, where
I turned to look at Eli. "Go to the car
now
."

He stuck out his bottom lip and shook his head. I saw him tighten his
grip on the plastic Mjölnir.

Teo clearly liked that. "Are you really Thorsen's girl, Everly? I'll
admit I've been confused, though I think I've got it now." He was so
close I could feel his hot breath fanning my hair. "It wasn't easy. One
minute you're reminding him that you're just friends. The next he's
calling you the love of his life."

I softly gasped. "How could you possibly know that?"

"I've had my eye on you for a while."

"You've been stalking me?"

Teo shrugged. "You're a girl worth stalking." He suddenly reached
around me and shoved the front door shut, an unexpected motion that made
me recoil. Eli, trapped behind my body, peeked around me. I knew what he
saw: a house that looked spookier by the second with walls that seemed to
be closing in.

I kept a hand on my brother's head to keep him where he was. "I don't
understand."

"My father, Li Sun Qing, sent me here to find your boyfriend and take
him back to Början, where his psychic skills are badly needed."

"Your real name is Ching?" I said it just the way he did.

"That's right. My father is dictator of planet Början."

"Wait...Början is a planet?" I focused on Teo in an attempt to
ignore the crazy thoughts now exploding inside my head.

"You mean Roone hasn't told you? I thought you were
the
one."
He made that sound like a bad thing.

I was too shell shocked to answer.

Teo's cold eyes assessed me and my little brother the whole time. "If
I'd only known..." He sighed dramatically. "Now I'm going to have to kill
you both, but not until Roone gives himself up, of course, which is
exactly what he'll do once he finds out you guys are with me. Isas, Jun,
Sheng...you can come out now."