The Secret of Strange Waters (The Light Keeper Series Book 2) (8 page)

BOOK: The Secret of Strange Waters (The Light Keeper Series Book 2)
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I got out of the truck and ran inside. “Mom!” I called. “Mom, are you okay?” I walked to her room to find her lying across her bed, crying. A pharmacy bag was by her side. I was so worried; a million things ran through my mind.

“Mom, are you sick again?” I prayed silently that it wasn’t something horrible.

“No, I’m not
sick
. I’m pregnant.” She rolled over and buried her face in her pillow.

“What?” I gasped. “How? I mean, how far along are you? When?” I couldn’t gather my thoughts enough to know what to ask first.

“I’m a little over three months. The baby’s due at the end of February.” She buried her head back into the pillows and sobbed loudly.

“Three months! You didn’t know until now?” I didn’t understand how that could be.

“I thought I was menopausal! I’m too
old
for this,” she cried. “I’ll have to change the wedding again,
if
he will still have me.”

“Mom, it’s okay!
Sure
he will. Haven’t you told him yet?” I wondered if they’d had a fight. Surely she’d told him and he upset her. Why else would she be so upset?

“We haven’t ever talked about having kids. You two are almost grown, and we were planning on spending our time together alone. I’ve tried to call him, but the voice mail answers, which means he’s still working. It’s not something I can leave in a message.” She sobbed into her wadded Kleenex.

Talon knocked on the doorframe. “Is everything alright?” He looked as if he was afraid to come in. Mom started wiping her eyes and trying to compose herself.

My eyes widened. “Mom’s pregnant,” I said. I wasn’t sure how he’d react.

“What?” His eyes got wide too, and then he smiled. “No way. Really?”

Mom nodded, still sniffling from crying. She tried to smile; her puffy, red eyes seemed hopeful. “I hope your dad’s as excited as you are,” she said, choking back tears.

Talon put his hand on Mom’s shoulder. “He will be! Haven’t you tried calling him?”

“He’s working, I can’t reach him.” She buried her face and started sobbing again. “I’m too old for this.”

“Obviously you’re not too old. Everything is gonna be fine. We’ll help you with everything. We can even baby sit while you and Tom go out on dates,” I said, with a little too much enthusiasm. Then it hit me.
Babysitting. Had Talon and I simply been babysitting in my vision?
So this baby was not ours, but our little brother. It would make perfect sense. I’d have to tell him of my theory later, but a sense of relief hit me.

Mom shook her head. “We’ll probably still be engaged! This wedding is never gonna happen. We can’t afford it.” There was a time I wished that were true. Anything to delay me and Talon becoming step-siblings, but I felt so bad for her.

“Why does it
have
to be a big wedding?” I asked. Mom’s plans had changed once already, but she hadn’t downsized at all. In fact, the wedding plans had only gotten more elaborate. With a baby on the way, the budget would take a hit.

“Your dad and I never had a big wedding, Lily. I wanted this time to be different.” The disappointment seeped in her tone as she looked to her hands, which she wrung in her lap nervously.

“Did you love Dad any less because you didn’t have a huge wedding?” I asked.

“Of course not,” she said, laying her hand on her tummy. “I see what you mean. I guess I’ll have to go the simple way. I wanted it to be special.”

“It will be, Mom. It’s not the material things that make a wedding, it’s the people you share it with.”

“Get hitched in Vegas,” Talon suggested. “That would be awesome!”

Mom and I both looked at him as our mouths gaped. “Don’t even think about it,” we said in unison before laughing at ourselves.

“Lily is having a big wedding. So, if you ever plan on being her groom, you can get Vegas out of your head this instant.” Mom wasn’t joking. We’d been talking about my wedding day for as long as I could remember.

“Okay, okay,” he surrendered, holding his hands up playfully.

“Besides,” she continued, “I want you kids there with us.”

“First things first, it’s after four now, which means it’s after five for Tom. Try him again.” I handed her the phone which she took hesitantly, looking at it as if it were a bomb about to explode. I motioned to Talon, and we left her there to talk to Tom in private.

I linked my arm with his as we left her room. “Are you
really
happy?” I asked. I was beginning to think he didn’t like babies.

“Are you kidding? A baby! That’s awesome. I’ve always wanted a little brother. I hope it’s a boy.”

“Well, you will be happy to know that it is.” My words stopped him in his tracks.

“How are you so sure?” He looked at me, puzzled.

I hesitated a moment, knowing he’d know I lied to him about the headache, but I figured with the excitement over the baby he’d be too happy to be upset with me. “Well, because I saw it again. The baby.” I watched his expression fade. “No! It’s a good thing. It wasn’t ours. Well, it is ours, but it’s our brother.”

“You saw Cate’s baby,” he said. But before he got too happy, he gave me a serious look. “You’re sure, their baby? Not ours?” And then it hit him: “Hey, you lied to me. You did have a headache this morning.”

“Yeah, well, I wasn’t sure you wanted to hear more about a baby. And besides, I wasn’t sure it wasn’t ours then.”

“But you are positive now? Seriously Lily, this is important.” Unsure, his face fell again.

“Yes. I thought he looked so much like you, but of course he would, he’s your little brother. Talon, we are having a little brother!” I thought back over the vision once more. “I’m positive.”

“It’s so awesome that you already saw him. I don’t think I’ve ever been jealous of your gifts until now! Too bad you can’t tell Cate.”

“Yeah, I don’t think she’d believe me anyway.” My voice fell on that note. It had always hurt that my Mom didn’t believe in my gifts.

Talon grabbed me around the waist and pulled me close. “You’re happy, too, right?” He must have seen my mood change.

“Sure, I think it’s great. We’ll always have that bond, no matter what,” I said. He gave me a questioning look. “I
mean
, even if things don’t work out, we’ll always be a part of each other’s lives, through the baby.”

“Don’t you have any faith in us?” he whispered, close to my cheek. It was something I asked him once. Then he kissed me, soft and long, not giving me time to answer.

Chapter Nine

TOM WAS
EXCITED
. He was trying to figure out a way to get home for a visit. Talon and I walked over to see Granny and tell her and the guys the good news.

“I suspected that when she wanted those popsicles,” Granny said. “So when’s the wedding?”

“Still working on it. With Tom away it will be hard to plan. He’s coming home in a few weeks to get the license, though, so at least that much will be done. Mom’s into the ‘Simple Elegance’ theme now. Maybe the third theme’s a charm.”

“You tell her I’d love to help any way I can,” Granny said. “With the wedding
and
with that little baby!”

“A baby.” Owen smirked. He was sizing up our situation in his mind before he even spoke. “So you’ll each be a half-sibling. Cool. Kind of makes that
relative
bond a little stronger, huh? Don’t you think?” Owen was reaching. Talon and I shook our heads. It still didn’t make
us
related by blood.

“So what’s it gonna be?” Hunter asked. Talon motioned to me and was about to speak, but I cut him off.

“We won’t find out till Mom gets her ultrasound. We want a boy, though,” I said, and then Talon glanced to me curiously, but didn’t contradict. I felt that some things should be left a surprise. No one else needed to know before Mom and Tom.

As we rejoiced, Hunter’s phone rang. It was Holly. He passed along the good news, and then his tone changed. He walked away to his room, visibly upset by something.

“What’s going on with Hunter and Holly?” I asked. Surely they weren’t fighting. It didn’t seem possible the way they always acted, as if they’d always been together.

“Holly has some issues at home. Hunter’s been trying to keep it under wraps for her sake, but it’s getting worse,” Granny explained.

“Wow, I had no idea.” Holly was practically my best friend and, the more I thought about it, she never really told me about her family life. I heard her parents wouldn’t let her stay out late, but that was about it. I figured they were really strict.

Owen started up again. “Don’t you think you’ll damage your little brother or sister, you know, if you two hook up? Think about it. What kind of trauma will
that
cause?” He smirked at Talon, who was giving him a cold stare.

“You’re pushing it, Owen,” he calmly warned.

“Just kidding.” Owen held his hands up defensively. “I’m sure it won’t confuse him
too bad
. There’s always therapy.”

Talon bowed up and I had to get between them. Owen gave him the stare down and stuck his arms out, inviting him to take a swing. I could tell by his eyes that he really wanted him to. “Enough, Owen, behave.” I turned to scold Talon as well. “Behave,” I warned. He cut his gaze to me, then pulled me close. He kissed my forehead as he glared at Owen.

Hunter walked back to the kitchen, grabbed the keys to the Lincoln, and darted to the door. Full of anger, he lit out of there, clearly on a mission. “I’ll be right back,” he said, swinging the door shut. It slammed so hard it shook the house, and Granny told Owen to go and stop him.

Owen made it to the door in time to watch him peel out of the drive. My heart sank; something terrible was going on. I got on the phone and dialed Holly. Her phone rang and rang, but she didn’t answer.

“I’ll try her home line,” I said, dialing. A man answered, his voice slurred and angry. “You quit callin’ here if you know what’s good for ya!” he yelled. I heard Holly’s distressed voice in the background. Then the phone slammed down.

“Holly’s in bad trouble. He’s definitely going to her house.” My eyes grew puffy with tears. Granny put her hand on her heart with worry. I looked at Talon and Owen. “Let’s go get him.” Owen grabbed his phone and started dialing Hunter’s number. His cell phone rang in the next room. Owen cursed as we ran out the door.

Talon jumped in the truck as I ran next door to tell Mom we would be right back, but she was too tired to care. Owen waited for me to get in and scoot to the middle. Before I could get buckled in, we were off. “Holly’s dad sounded drunk,” I told them. “Do you think he’d hurt Hunter?” I was scared for my cousin. He was so in love with Holly, and he’d do anything to help her.

“I don’t know—he could try,” Owen said, placing his arm behind me. I leaned toward Talon.

By the time we reached Holly’s house, her dad, a rough looking man with a scruffy beard and beer belly, was being put into a police car. Her mom—an older, rougher version of Holly—was yelling at her: “You better not go anywhere!”

“I’m outta here! For good,” Holly screamed. She threw her bags in the Lincoln. She didn’t even look like herself. Her lips were swollen and she was more animated than I’d ever seen her. Hunter was red-faced with anger, his chest heaving as it built up inside him.

Her mom was trying to tell the police that Holly couldn’t leave, but they were trying to talk her down. Hunter saw us, but motioned for us to turn around, and so we did. He stopped down the road, and we pulled up next to him.

Talon rolled down the window; Hunter was already talking. “That bastard hit her,” he explained through gritted teeth. His chest heaved as he seethed. Holly sat still next to him with her head down, clearly ashamed by the swelling her dad had caused. “She’s going home with us,” he continued. “She can’t go back there, ever!”

Talon yelled out his window. “Let’s go. We’ll meet you at home.” He took off behind Hunter.

When we got back home, Granny was not prepared for a houseguest, nor was she sure that Hunter and Holly should share a roof, so she asked if Holly could stay with me. I was all for it. I always wanted a sister, and having Holly stay with me would be the closest I’d ever get. Granny called Mom and explained what was going on, and Mom said Holly could stay with us as long as she needed.

* * *

I helped Holly clean up her face and brush out her hair. “How often does this happen?” I asked, pulling the brush through her honey-blond strands.

Her tone was very soft as she answered. “The drinking happens every night, and the yelling, too, but the hitting…that only happens once in a while.”

“How long since the last time?” I wondered how much she’d endured. It gave me a new understanding of her. Though she looked like a fragile doll, she was actually really strong.

“Well, about a week, but this time he hit me in the face. There’s no hiding
this
from Hunter.” She let out a nervous laugh, and I understood why she never stayed in her sleep shorts and tank tops when Hunter came by in the mornings. She usually wore sleeves and jeans until bed, and then after she changed, she stayed wrapped in the covers all night. She didn‘t want him, or anyone, to see her bruises. I thought it was just about modesty. “Can’t hide
this
from anyone. The back bruises are the easiest to hide, and legs, too, but the arms and face are always the worst. Mom never seems to care, as long as it isn’t her. She usually blames me anyway.”

“What does he get so mad about?” I pulled my fingers through and twisted her hair with a purple band.

“Anything and everything—whatever he can find an excuse to be pissed off about. Dinner doesn’t taste right. His shoes are not where they should be. He’s a drunk—they never need any real reasons.”

The thought of living with someone like that made me shudder. “And your mom drinks, too?”

“Yeah, sometimes. She drinks, does embarrassing things, passes out, and then doesn’t remember when she wakes up. She doesn’t drink as often, so she thinks that makes her the responsible one. She acts as though she’s a better parent and provider because of it, and that makes Daddy even worse.”

“I’m sorry. I really had no idea. You can always talk to me, you know.” Knowing her situation, I understood why she didn’t talk to me before. I’d always been ashamed that I saw Shadows. I tried to live as normally as possible and had a really good façade going, until the hurricane obliterated it. I never confided in anyone about them either, and comparatively it wasn’t half as bad as Holly had it.

“Thanks, Lily. You’re a great friend. I never said anything before because, well, you have such a normal life. You’re really lucky.”

She thought I was normal. Our talents for hiding the truth were about equal, I supposed. But surely she wouldn’t think my little gift was so normal, and this presented another problem for me. How was I supposed to control the Light if Holly was going to be living with me? I’d have to practice great restraint. I hoped I could. She was right about one thing: I was lucky. My family was great.

Holly put on her pajamas and fuzzy socks, and I showed her where she could keep her clothes. She grabbed so many things in such a hurry that we had to sift through her clean and dirty laundry. I gave her the rack in my closet that I hadn’t filled. My closet, like my room, was really too big for my belongings, but it was finally paying off. I pulled the blow-up mattress out from the closet, and we pumped some more air into it before starting her laundry.

Talon came in to say goodnight. “Sorry about everything, Holly,” he said.

She fluffed her pillow and laid down. “Thanks, it’s really not so bad. I always sleep so much better when I’m here, anyway.” She pulled the cover up over her shoulder and closed her eyes. The swelling of her lips had subsided and almost looked normal. I couldn’t imagine what it was like having to live in such a way: not ever feeling safe, not ever feeling the stability of a home, always waiting for the next incident; the next act of violence. And worse yet, taking it all from someone who was supposed to make you feel safe and loved; someone that you love yourself, though you may not always know why.

Kneeling between Holly’s bed and mine, Talon kissed me goodnight. He pulled the covers up and tucked them around my arms. “See you two in the morning,” he said, and then he plugged in my little bird, turned out the light, and headed across the hall.

It got quiet with Holly not in her usual talkative mood. I heard something bump outside. Peeking out of the blinds, I saw Owen sneaking across my driveway. I couldn’t believe it—he was still taking the Waters.
What an idiot!
I waited up till he was on his way back. By then, Holly was sound asleep, as was Talon.

“Are you crazy?” I asked as he walked up to my window. He wasn’t startled this time; he’d seen me waiting.

He stopped and looked up to the window. “It’s not so easy. I’m trying,” he defended. “Besides, I’ve got
other
reasons.”

I searched his eyes, pondering is reasons. “Like what?” I asked. He still hadn’t quit the team and the other guys were really angry with him. “Are you being bullied?” It made perfect sense. He’d been saying the other guys were mad, but I wondered how mad they were. “You’re being threatened?”

“Don’t worry about it,” he snapped. Whatever was going on was bad.

“Owen, you sound like an addict,” I whispered. “Despite what’s going on with the team, your coach is on a mission. You need to be flushing your system, drinking plenty of regular water and cranberry juice.”

“Yuck,” he said. “I hate cranberry juice.”

“You love the orange gritty Water, though? Yeah, that makes perfect sense.” I grimaced. “Try, please! I don’t want you to get in trouble or look like a freak when they see your results.”

He played with a thread from a rip in his jeans as a smile played around his lips. “Why? You wanna be the only freak in the family?” he said, teasingly. My mouth popped open, and I pretended to be offended, lowering my gaze to the ground below. “Oh Lily, you know I am only picking on you, don’t you?” I kept my head down as he leaned up to the screen and put his hand up to it. I thought I had him.

“I’m sorry. I was kidding. You aren’t the only freak. Hunter‘s still a tossup, and who knows how the baby will turn out.” He laughed, trying to make me laugh. I wanted to, but I acted hurt because it made him crazy. He was onto me, but I wasn’t giving in yet.

“Lily, seriously, you know I’m kidding, right?” He put his head down and I knew I had him. I laughed. “Dang it, Lily!” He raised his voice.

My eyes widened and I put my finger over my lips to hush him. “Shh!”

“Lily?” Holly’s faint voice called out from behind me.

Peeking over to where she lay, I waited for her to speak again, but she didn’t. Instead, her breathing leveled off, and the soft purr of her exhales sounded. “Way to go, you almost woke up Holly.” I slapped at the screen. “You better leave before you wake the whole house!”

“I’m going. It’s your fault I’m here, anyway! Quit waiting up for me!” He threw out his arms and gave me a wink, and then walked around the corner, out of my sight.

I shut the window and lay down, situating myself as I’d been before. Suddenly, without warning, the Light appeared over my head. I was stunned, not knowing if Holly was still awake or not. I made myself look away from it and tried to focus on it disappearing. After a good solid minute, it did. It was the longest few seconds of my life. Holly never stirred, thank goodness.

* * *

The next morning, Talon reminded me about Granny’s surprise. We were supposed to find a way to stall the guys and get Holly and Meagan home with us. Holly was not gonna be a problem, but trying to find a good reason to invite Meagan out of the blue was going to be tough—suspicious, too. By lunch, I had an idea. I suggested we all go out for ice cream after school. Even though everyone was on board, Owen looked at me suspiciously. I never could hide anything when it came to him, he knew me too well. When we started for class, he nudged me.

“What’s with all this ice cream stuff? I think you got something up your sleeve.” He tugged at my shirt, and I pulled away before he could literally look up my shirt sleeve.

“No,” I said, sounding a little too obvious.

“Hmm,” he stared. “I’ll get it out of you sooner or later. The day is young.” He raised his brow and smirked. His smile faded when one of the seniors pulled him off to the side. It was obvious there was no friendship between them by the way they postured over him, but Owen waved me away. I hesitated, afraid that if I stayed, I would only make it worse. Recognizing that two of them were from the football team, one being the guy they called French, I was sure that it had something to do with him and his new talents on the field. It was as I thought. He was being bullied.

BOOK: The Secret of Strange Waters (The Light Keeper Series Book 2)
4.09Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

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