The Reverence of One: Book Three of the Shadow Series (29 page)

Resting with her shoulder and the side of her head on the wall, she craved a fix, something that she knew she had no chance of getting where she stood.
She had secretly stashed some heroin in her bag before she’d left
Kansas City
, but when she went to retrieve it she’d discovered that someone had gone through her things.  Her junkie mind had immediately
beg
u
n to race, considering different possibilities. The only logical place she could think of was to find a medicine cabinet and see if the owners of the house had anything that could
take the edge off
.
Deciding she’d heard enough, the conversation in the kitchen serving as a slight detour for her mission, she pushed away from the wall and turned straight into Thad who had been standing behind her unnoticed.

“Jesus,” she grumbled
, being careful not to draw the attention of those in the kitchen
. “What the hell are you doing, stalking me?”

With an odd expression that she’d only seen from his grandfather, Thad replied with a mixture of discipline and understanding. “I’m sorry if I startled you, but that isn’t reason to speak to me that way.”

Knowing that she was wrong, but struggling as to whether or not she cared, she apologized. “Sorry,” she said in a short, quick breath.

Stepping to his side, she walked passed him.

“Where are you going?” asked Thad. “Smells like breakfast is ready.”

Nicole turned towards him and replied nervously. “Nowhere, why?”

A trademark
Johnston
grin appeared on Thad’s face.
“There’s nothing in there, you know.”

Angling her head, Nicole tucked her hair behind her ears and began to tap her foot. “What are you talking about?” she asked.

Thad took as step towards her. “You forget, I have
Cliff’s
gift too.”

She folded her arms across her chest, her foot tapping more rapidly. “So?” she replied.

Thad folded his arms as well, mirroring her posture. “So,” he answered, “I saw you going through the albino lad
y’s
medicine cabinet.”

“Really?” she asked with a callous tone. “You’ve got nothing better to see than me looking for…
.
” She stopped herself as she realized she’d just given her intent away.

Thad took another step towards her and spoke in a stern voice. “Okay, so I lied. It doesn’t take a psychic to guess what an addict taken away from her supply is going to do first thing in the morning
,
especially when she’s found out that her private stash is gone.”

Instantly enraged, Nicole stepped forward and reared back to punch Thad in the chest.

“Where is it you son of a bitch?” she shouted.

Thad grabbed her arm and restrained her. “Now you just settle down!” he shouted.

The hallway was instantly filled with
those from the kitchen.

“Where is it?” screamed Nicole.

“What in the sam hill is goin’ on out here?” shouted Cliff as he grabbed his grandson’s arm. “Let her go, boy!”

With a scowl on his face, Thad let go of Nicole’s arms, leaving himself open to a cheap shot that landed square on his jaw. Being the first time in his life that he’d ever been punched, he was dazed
,
and as he came around to confront the young girl, he watched her arms snap to her side. She struggled as if there were rope tied around her torso
,
her head whipping side to side causing her hair to blanket her face.

“Let me go you fucking freaks!” she screamed. “Let me go!”

Thad turned around, confused and with a throbbing split lip, looked for assistance. He then noticed Prim standing in front of the others with an outstretched hand.

“I will let you go when you decide that you can control
yourself,” said Prim in an
unemotional voice.

“Fuck you!” screamed Nicole.

Test stood at the back of the hallway, almost in the kitchen, in shock at what was going on. This was not the Nicole that he knew and had once loved. He watched her flail in Prim’s grasp, screaming obscenities over and over again, almost as if she were possessed.
He stared at her face, noticing the heavy bags beneath her eyes and her pronounced cheekbones that seemed to jut from her sunken cheeks. It was horrifying.

“Let her go,” he exclaimed, unable to watch any longer. With no response, he shouted. “Prim! Let her go!”

Prim glanced calmly over his shoulder to Jenz who nodded in approval. Instantly Nicole’s arms flew from her sides
,
and she turned
away from the group
sobbing hysterica
lly. In several long strides, she ran
down the hallway and into the basement.

Everyone stood
quietly
in shock of what had just transpired
as
Test took a step forward. He felt Alyssa grab his hand, and he turned to meet her troubled eyes.

“This is my fault,” he said
to her
softly. “She’s like this because of me—because of what I did.”

Her bottom lip began to quiver and her eyes swelled with tears
as she listened to him speak
.

“I have to talk to her,” he paused and looked down the hallway to the basement door. “I have to help her.”

Alyssa bit her quivering bottom lip as she nodded her head. Test bent down and, placing a hand on her cheek, kissed her gently on the lips.

“I love
you,
” he said, placing his forehead to hers.

Alyssa closed her eyes, a single tear falling from the right, and replied. “I love
you
, too.”

Test pulled back, kissed her forehead, and then walked past the others to the basement door. As he was about to step down, Cliff’s
somber
voice came from behind him.

“Be careful, son. That girl’s a fragile soul.”

Test gripped the door frame tightly
, staring into the dimly lit basement
as he replied. “I will.”

He could hear Nicole’s sobs with each step he took. He trekked down the stairs slowly, trying to come up with something that he could say to make things better for her. He had nothing. As he reached the third to the last step, the stair creaked and he could hear papers shuffling. He stepped
away from the final stair and, through the dimly lit expanse,
could see her curled up in a recliner that was tucked away i
nto the corner of the long room; the only light coming from a fixture that hung in the ceiling, of which one of two bulbs was burnt out.
In her arms, clutched to her chest, was a notebook that looked as though it had seen better days.

He walked towards her without a word, and sat on the couch that rested on the same wall, but was a few feet away. The couch was disheveled—Thad’s bedding still piled up on the end closest to Nicole from the night before.

It was several minutes before he could work up the courage to speak. He
stared
at the plain beige wall opposite him.

“You okay?” he finally asked solemnly.

Her breathing coming in short huffs, she replied after a few seconds. “Do I look like I’m okay?”

He leaned back on the couch
, lacing his fingers together over his stomach,
and rolled his head to the side towards her. “No. You don’t,” he replied
seriously
. “And I’m worried about you.”

Nicole sniffed deeply and wi
ped her nose with her wrist. “Oh
really?” she
replied with a hint of sarcasm.

Test sighed. “Yes, really. What happened, Nicole? How did you
.
…”

“Get this way?” she interrupted as she lurched forward in the chair, planting her bare feet on the
tightly napped tan carpeting on the floor
. “What, you don’t think this is a good look for me?”

A wicked smile painted her lips and it sent chills down Test’s spine.

“Let me tell you something,” she continued. “When you left, you missed out on all of the fun—all of the reporters calling or standing on your doorstep all hours of the day. You missed out on my parents being furious with me for bringing this on them. You missed out on my dad losing his business because I was his daughter. You missed out on my parents getting divorced over everything. You missed out on me getting kicked out because, according to my mom, I couldn’t get my shit together.”

Test listened as she spewed the words with venom. Her breathing had become even more labored and sweat beaded on her forehead.

“You got to disappear and
then
left the rest of us to deal with the mess that you left behind.” She stood,
clutching the notebook tightly in one hand and
point
ed
her finger at him
with her free hand
while her body trembled with anger.

His heart was pounding in his chest; the guilt was swelling inside. “I’m sorry, Nicole. I really
.
…”

“You’re sorry?” she shouted. “You’re
fucking
sorry
? My life is a cesspool
waiting to get flushed away and that’s all you can say is that you’re sorry?”

The pain and anger in her eyes burned fiercely, and it was all he could do to look at her. “I know, but I don’t know what else to say, Nicole.” He leaned forward in his seat
and ran his hands
over his stubbly scalp
as he took a deep breath.
“If I would have stayed, I don’t know if things would have been any different.”

“So what, you’re saying that at least one of us got to live our lives as opposed to none of us? Great fucking answer, Test!”

Test stood forcefully and replied with blind emotion. “What do you think my life’s been like? Huh?” he shouted. “Do you think I’ve been drinking margaritas on the beach while soaking up the sun?”

Nicole took a step back, surprised at his sudden change in demeanor.

“I’m very sorry that
,
because you know me, that your life has been difficult, but mine hasn’t been a breeze either! I didn’t ask for any of this, remember?” Test could feel himself losing control and he glanced to his hands which had involuntarily begun to glow with energy. He closed his eyes and took a couple of long, deep breaths before continuing. “In the last year, I’ve lost everything, too. Everything has changed and it’s going to be this way for the rest of my life. I feel like I have lost control of everything.” His eyes
were
leaking from their corners
and
he dropped his shoulders in defeat. “I am so very sorry for what I’ve done to you. I will live with the guilt for the rest of my life. But you are here now, and we can either find a way to make things better, or we can continue to let our lives slip away.”

Not taking her
eyes off of him, she slowly ret
urned to
her seat in the recliner, folding her legs beneath her
as she sat
.

Test’s entire body trembled as he struggled to speak. “We are stuck here, together, Nicole. I can either be your friend or your enemy—it’s up to you.” He paused and
,
exhaling deeply
,
spoke. “I would like it very much if I could be your friend.”

He waited for her answer, watching her grind her teeth and fidget with her hair. He knew she was struggling with more than just their shared past. He knew she needed a fix.

Rubbing her face with her hands and then pulling her hair back three times in rapid succession, she stammered. “I...I am…I don’t know what I want anymore.”

Test looked at her pitifully a
s
she hugged the notebook to her chest. “What’s that?” he asked, trying to divert her anxiety.

She lifted it away from her thumbed through the pages. “My life,” she replied as she lifted her eyes slowly to his. “My life since our first date.”

Test’s face
creased
with a look of confusion, his eyes squinting. “What do you mean?” he asked as he sat on the arm of the couch next to her.

He watched as she turned back to the first page. Folding the cover around the back, she held out the notebook for him to see. His heart sank as he read the heading hand written on the page.

Simple Sunsets

It was the poem that he’d written for her on
the night of their first date; a
fateful night; the night when he and Nicole discovered each other, and when his powers had discovered him.
He read it and though it had been more than a year since he’d written it, he found it amazing at how much it still rang true.

“Huh,” he huffed as he dropped the notebook to his lap. “Funny how we thought life was hard then.”