Time Mends (30 page)

Without warning, he grabbed my face and
kissed me. It wasn’t the passionate, goes on forever kind of kiss
I’d grown accustomed to, but it curled my toes all the same. When
it was over he stayed close enough I could still feel his lips move
against mine. “This is real, and I didn’t leave you alone. I have
always loved you, and I will love you until the end of time. Now,
wake up and live.”

Even after I woke up I could still feel
where Alex’s lips touched mine.

This is real, and I didn’t
leave you alone.

I wanted to believe. As my fingers traced my
still sensitive lips, the need to believe was a loud, hungry thing
inside me. And where was the harm in giving in? This was the day of
the trial. While I wasn’t sure exactly how the Shifter legal system
worked, I knew these weren’t the kind of people to leave their
guilty sitting on death row for years and years. I wasn’t being
melodramatic when I told Alex I thought this was my last day on
earth. Logic said I wasn’t going to be breathing when the sun rose
tomorrow morning.

There was a knock on the door, the signal
for me to stand in the middle of the cage, hands up in the
universal criminal pose, while my breakfast was delivered. Mrs.
Akay walked through the door in her usual fashion - head of graying
dark hair down, steps small and quick. She never spoke, never
looked at me. In a new and different move, Travis followed her into
the basement while Rocco had the honors of keeping the handgun
leveled on my head.

“
Before you whine about
the lack of nutrition, you should know Talley told us to feed you
this crap,” Travis said with his slow drawl.

My normal breakfast tray included eggs,
toast or biscuits, sausage or bacon, fruit, and milk. This morning
the only staple item was the milk. Along with it was a box of Cap’n
Crunch, a giant bowl, a spoon, and a can of Mello Yello.

“
You should be so lucky as
to have a friend like Talley Matthews.” My voice actually hitched a
little as I said it. Excellent. It was going to be the kind of day
where I got all teary eyed over cereal and soft drinks.

“
She’s good people,” he
agreed. “You know she’s coming to see you later today?”

“
Please don’t be kidding
me,” I whispered.

Travis smiled as Mrs. Akay brushed past him.
“Nope. I’m not much of a joker, especially the mean kind.” He
closed the door and engaged the lock. “Stefan reckons if you can be
a good girl all day a couple of pre-trial visits won’t hurt
anything. You are going to be a good girl today, aren’t ya?”

If it meant I got to see my friends one more
time I would be anything they wanted me to be. “Saint-like.”

“
Glad to hear it.” Instead
of going out the door that led to the basement stairs, he leaned
against it. “I’m on Scout Duty this morning, and I’m not really
feeling up to the drama of an attempted escape.”

I grabbed the cereal and poured half the box
into the bowl. It wasn’t like calories and sugar were going to make
much of a difference at this point. “Well, I would certainly hate
to inconvenience you.”

His laughter was slow and deep and made me
aware of the tiny little hairs on the back of the neck. “I hope
you’re innocent,” he said. “You’re fun to have around.”

***

Scout Duty seemed to entail actually staying
in the basement all day. Travis’s presence made the whole morning
shower routine a bit blush-inducing since there was no way he
couldn’t see through the flimsy curtain, but I wasn’t going into my
trial unwashed. I settled by showering in my bra and panties,
thinking it would be like wearing a bikini. It probably would’ve
been if I hadn’t felt Travis’s eyes on me the whole time.

But other than the part where I felt like an
unwitting porn star, having him around was nice and distracting. I
was practically starved for conversation thanks to my solitary
confinement, and Travis wasn’t hard to talk to. He lived up to
pretty much every Texas stereotype with his love of football and
country music, but we found mutual ground when it came to old
slasher movies. We spent a good hour or more trying to decide if
Freddy or Jason were more badass.

It was two hours after another parade of my
favorite foods - corn dogs, Doritos, a Little Debbie brownie, and
more Mello Yello - when there was a hesitant knock at the door. It
was the day of the new moon, so my nose wasn’t working at full
strength, but I still could smell a hint of baby shampoo and fresh
baked bread.

This time it was Bob who stood on the other
side of the door, but instead of pulling the gun, he simply ushered
in Talley and then stood on the side opposite Travis.

“
You’re in a jail!” my
best friend exclaimed as she rushed towards the bars. I yelled,
“No!” at the exact same moment Travis reached out and grabbed her
arm. He managed to stop her before she actually touched the
metal.

“
That’s wired, sweetheart.
Don’t want to see you fry like mosquito on a bug zapper, now do
we?”

“
You’ve put her in an
electrocuted jail?”

Talley’s outrage was comforting in some
respects, especially since it reflected my own feelings on the
subject, but I hated seeing her so upset.

“
Is jail the right term?”
I asked, walking up as close as I dared to the bars. “Doesn’t that
indicated a multiple cell facility? I think this is more of a cage.
Maybe a prison, but cage really captures the feel more.”

“
Whatever it’s called,
it’s wrong.” She turned on the Shifter with narrowed eyes. “You
said she was comfortable.”

“
She is comfortable,”
Travis said. “The bed has got a new mattress and everything. It’s
nice, ain’t it, Scout?”

“
He’s right. This is
pretty top of the line as cages go.”

Talley ignored my comment in favor of
keeping her focus on Travis. “Let her out.”

Travis ducked his head. “Sorry, Talley. You
know I can’t do that.”

Something licked across my skin. A tiny
pulse of power that seemed to be coming from Talley. “Then let me
in.”

Travis looked at Bob, who
shrugged as if to say,
Whatever, dude. I’m
just here in case I get to shoot someone.

“
I’m doing this because I
like you and your girl here made me a promise.” He looked at me
over Talley’s head as he undid the lock. “Saint-like,
remember?”

“
See this?” I said,
pointing at the space above my head. “Halo. Glowing bright and
proud.”

“
And you?” he asked
Talley.

“
There is a reason Jase
calls me Mother Teresa.”

Travis didn’t even try to hide the boyish
grin on his face or knowing look in his eye. “Oh, we all know the
reason.” Catching on to his meaning, Talley’s face flamed. “You
girls have thirty minutes, so be good.” He locked the cage door
behind Talley and then resumed his post.

Talley had her arms wrapped around me before
the hum of electricity started vibrating in the bars. “I can’t
believe they’ve put you in a cage.”

“
I can’t believe you can’t
believe they put me in a cage.”

“
Are you okay?” she
muttered in my ear. “Have they hurt you?”

I shook my head, enjoying the human contact.
Normally, I merely tolerate Talley’s hugs, but after two weeks
without being touched in the waking world, I starved for it. “I’m
well fed, well exercised, and abuse free,” I assured her. “Lonely
and bored, and being stuck with the same five novels for the two
weeks is a special kind of hell, but I’m okay.” I squeezed her a
bit harder. “How are you?”

“
Good.” She released her
hold on me. I held on for a second or two longer and then let her
go. “They’ve been really nice to all of us. Lizzie, one of the
other Seers, has even been helping me with my abilities since we’re
both Soul Seers.”

I raised an eyebrow, knowing Talley had to
realize she should be the one giving Lizzie lessons.

“
I’m glad you’re being
taken care of,” I said, meaning it. “I would hate to break out of
here and kick someone’s butt if they were mistreating
you.”

Talley’s face clouded over. “Honestly,
Scout, I had no idea it was like this for you. The way True talked,
I thought this was like a basement apartment. I would have never
just sat idly by and let them do this.”

“
Tal, it’s not so bad.
Really.” I grabbed onto her wrist and tugged her towards the bed.
“Come, experience the comfort of swanky mattress.” As I coaxed her
into sitting beside me I sent a message through our skin to skin
link.
There was nothing you could do, I
told her. If you would have tried anything they would’ve stuck you
and the boys in here with me. What good would that have done
anyone?

The images I got in response included a
truck, a gate, and a barn.

It seemed brain to brain communication was
one of those things that needed constant practice to keep
sharp.

Our thirty minutes passed quickly with
Talley updating me on reports from my parents (Dad was angry, Mom
was worried, and Angel was in the process of redecorating my
bedroom), how the boys were doing (Charlie wasn’t falling apart
again and Jase was, big shocker, fitting in nicely), and my best
defense strategy (unfortunately, she still hadn’t discovered a
nice, logical reason I was able to Change). Before we knew it,
Travis was opening the door, telling Talley to get the show on the
road.

“
I love you,” she said,
unshed tears in her voice.

“
You’re worth twelve of
me. Take care of yourself, and keep an eye on the boys.” Because,
even knowing what transpired between Jase and the Alpha Female, he
was still my brother, still mine. “Don’t let them do anything
stupid.”

Talley started to say something, but her
voice cracked, and she just gave up. Her arms were tight around my
waist, and I found myself dropping kisses of comfort onto the crown
of her head.

And then the images started cascading in my
mind.

Maroon pick-up truck parked underneath the
trees.

An ornate gate.

An old barn, red paint peeling.

Then they repeated, over and over again.

“
Come on, girls.” Travis’s
voice was kind, but demanding. “If we’re even a minute late getting
upstairs we’ll both be in trouble.”

Talley stepped back. Even though her eyes
were filled with tears, I could see purpose and understanding
there. Those images weren’t by accident. I nodded slightly, letting
her know I understood.

***

When Bob returned from escorting Talley back
upstairs he wasn’t alone.

“
You’re not going in,
don’t even ask.” Travis was still lounged against the wall by the
door, but his posture changed just enough to prove he was ready for
action. Bob also took up his former post, but this time the gun was
in his hand.

“
Hey, Chuck,” I said from
my crossed-legged pose in the middle of the cage floor. “What’s
new?”

Charlie looked at the two guards, seeing the
same aggressiveness as I did. He folded himself into a mirror image
of my position, showing he was no threat. Bob’s grip on the gun
eased up a bit, but both of the Shifters still looked battle
ready.

“
Quit my job,” he said,
propping his elbows on his knees and resting his chin in his
hands.

“
Really? I thought you
loved the debauchery of it all.”

“
Got tired of having to
update all my shots every other week. Anyway, I got kinda
busy.”

“
Yeah, that’s the tragedy
of a job. Eats up all your time so you can’t do important things,
like save Princess Peach from Bowser.”

“
I’m so glad someone else
gets it,” he said absentmindedly as his eyes roamed over my
surroundings. “That’s some pen you got there, Scout. Chains on the
wall and everything.”

“
It’s luxurious, right? I
must be a very good puppy.”

“
Obviously. I just have a
bed with my name printed on a little gold tag.”

“
Poor mistreated
mongrel.”

“
Spoiled
princess.”

We both sat up straighter at the same time
as though the move was coordinated. Charlie’s focus had shifted
from my surroundings to me, his eyes critically following my
movement. In any other situation his intense focus would have been
embarrassing, but I knew concern when I saw it.

“
You look good,” he
said.

“
Charlie, you’re gonna
make me blush,” I giggled, trying to ease the lines around his
eyes.

He didn’t take the bait, all humor leeched
out of him. “I’ve missed you.”

“
I’ve missed you, too,” I
said around the lump that magically appeared in my
throat.

Charlie shifted around so one knee was
raised up beside him. “Scout, we need to talk.” His eyes focused on
the concrete stretching between us.

“
Okay…”

“
Actually, I need to talk,
and I need you to listen.”

This promised to be a lot of fun.
“Okay.”

“
That night, when Alex
died—”

I couldn’t do this. “Charlie—”

“
No.” His voice was a
command. “I need to say this, Scout. Please, let me
talk.”

I didn’t reply. I couldn’t. Everything in my
body was frozen.

“
No
interruptions.”

My chin bobbed down and back up as if
resting a mechanical neck.