Detached

by Elicia Hyder

  I laughed softly.

  “What’s it like?” he asked.

  “You ever had a dream so real that you couldn’t tell if you were awake or asleep?”

  “No. I sleep like the dead. I don’t dream, or at least I don’t remember it if I do.”

  “Ever?”

  He shook his head.

  “Huh, well, it’s weird. Like I’m a ghost or something.”

  “Boy, the things I would do if I could be invisible for a day.”

  “Yeah? Like what?”

  He shrugged. “I might not have moved to Reno for the showgirls, but that doesn’t mean I don’t know where to find them.”

  I gagged.

  A laugh erupted from deep in his belly. “I’m only joking.”

  “Are you?”

  He winked and chuckled again. “You spy on anyone interesting yet?”

  “No.”

  “Liar.”

  “My boss,” I whispered, like Essex might be able to hear me through the atmosphere.

  He turned toward me. “Oh really? Would this be the same boss you always swear you’re not canoodling?”

  “Paps!” I buried my face in a couch pillow. “Geez.”

  “What?”

  “I’m not canoodling anybody.”

  “The shade of your face tells a different story.”

  “I don’t blush.”

  “A grandfather can see it. Does he still live in Seneca Park?”

  “Yeah. Not far from your place.”

  “I know the house. Your Gran and I checked him out a time or two. She’d approve of the canoodling too.”

  I pinched the bridge of my nose. “You know, most grandparents don’t talk like this.”

  “What’d I say?”

  “We’re not talking about my sex life, and we’re not talking about my boss. Besides, I didn’t mean to spy on him. I’m still figuring out how it works.”

  “Be careful.” His voice switched to a suddenly serious tone.

  I nodded. “I never thought I’d wish for Elias to be around to give me advice.”

  “Your father wasn’t all bad.”

  “He was a professional con man.”

  “I think most of that was your mother’s doing.”

  “He was a thief before he met Mal.”

  “Well, yeah, but he wasn’t robbing people until he teamed up with her.”

  Before my mother, Elias had made a living through the stock market. I could see now how easy something like insider trading could be. He never made big enough trades to raise any eyebrows, but he did well enough to lure my mother away from his investment broker, Renzo Bianchi.

  Renzo had the final laugh, however. Rumor has it, he was the one who tipped off the police about Elias and Mal.

  “I can’t believe you didn’t tell me about Ransom,” I said.

  “I didn’t want to tell either of you if it wasn’t true. But even your Gran and I have wondered since before Ransom was born.”

  “Because Mal was still with Renzo when she got with Elias?”

  “Partly, but even apart from Renzo, that woman has never had a faithful bone in her body.”

  My eyebrows rose. “Wow. Tell me how you really feel.”

  “OK.” Paps took my hand. “The best thing your mother ever did was have you and Ransom.”

  Resting my forehead against his, I closed my eyes and let the moment sear into my memory. The slight hitch in his voice. The thin, soft skin of his warm hand around mine. The faint scent of menthol joint cream and peppermint candy.

  He didn’t pull away. “You kids have suffered enough because of Malena. I didn’t say anything because I didn’t want to hurt your brother more if it wasn’t true.”

  “I get that.” I squeezed his fingers. “I love you, Paps.”

  “I love you too, sweet pea.” He pointed at the television. “Now turn that thing on. They’ve got a marathon of The Family Stones on channel two.”

  Ten minutes later, Paps, Milly, and I were watching the now-deceased Ryder Stone dye his superstar father’s beard bright blue. Had to say, the show was pretty funny, like a redneck spoof of the Kardashians. It explained the current media hullaballoo in Sapphire Lake.

  My front door opened, and Ransom returned. I patted the seat beside me on the sofa.

  He stared for a second and finally shook his head. “Paps, Milly, we need to get going.”

  “Not yet, Dad!” Milly protested.

  My shoulders fell. “C’mon, Ransom. Please don’t leave already.”

  He looked out the door.

  I turned to Paps for help.

  He was on the edge of his seat, ready to rock himself to standing. His eyes were serious. “Give him time,” he whispered again.

  Milly put her arms around my neck. “I’m gonna stay with Nyx.”

  “Not today, you’re not,” Ransom said.

  “But whyyyyy?”

  “Amelia.” He used his dad voice.

  Milly’s pouty mouth snapped closed, and she slid off my lap.

  I tousled her hair. “I’ll see you soon, all right, kiddo?”

  She groaned. “All right.”

  I stood and took her hand to walk her to the door. “Will you call me later?” I asked my brother.

  Ransom didn’t answer. “Come on, Mills.” He picked her up and put her on his back. He paused long enough for me to kiss her goodbye, and then they started down the stairs.

  Paps lingered behind and hugged me. “I will call you later. Please be careful.”

  “I will be.” I watched them leave. When they were gone, I closed the door and rested my forehead against it.

  This wasn’t my fault. Ransom was right—I didn’t even want the gift. My heart ached for my brother. My mind worried about what he might do. And my temper flared against our parents. How could they not have told us?

  To make matters worse, I got to lie around the house all day and stew on it. I turned to walk back to my bedroom and my eyes snagged on the whiteboard calendar.

  Circled in red was my interview last Friday.

  Elias had known about it. He hadn’t been traipsing around Tahiti lately. He’d been in my condo. And the night he’d come to find me, who knows where else he’d been snooping? He’d been out searching for clues.

  And answers.

  Ransom wasn’t the only one with information.

  I looked at my dented refrigerator again, and my heart picked up its pace. The dangers of the Boundary aside, I needed to find Orion.

  Elias had said he hoped Orion would help me, and despite all the ways Elias was a shitty father, he wouldn’t put me in harm’s way intentionally. Sooner or later, I’d have to face the uncertainties that came with this so-called gift.

  I grabbed a notepad from the kitchen and scribbled a note to Bess.

  Taking a nap.

  Do NOT wake me up.

  Chapter Eleven

  I’m going to have to give up coffee was my last coherent thought before I slipped into REM sleep. I’d closed the blackout curtains. I’d meditated. I’d even counted sheep. When I finally detached a few miserable hours after lying down, I felt a strange new emotion—relief.

  The shoes I’d worn to bed hadn’t helped. Knowing this would be my first venture out, I had dressed smarter in drawstring lounge pants and a T-shirt. Aside from the sneakers, the outfit was still comfy enough for sleep, while decent enough to meet a strange man.

  It was 4:27 p.m. I had less than three hours until sunset.

  A manhunt in that time would be tricky, especially considering I had no idea how to get out of my condo. Or my bedroom, for that matter.

  I tried the doorknob again. Nothing. I still couldn’t turn it.

  I’d purposely left the window curtains cracked open on the far side of the room. I slowly eased my head through the glass again. Looking around outside, I didn’t see anyone, but there wasn’t much open real estate between my building and the trees.

  How to get down?

  The balco
ny off the living room was almost within reach.

  With enough speed, I should’ve been able to make the jump. If I missed, and if the Boundary worked like the real world, I’d probably only break my ankles. Could a spirit even break its ankles? Would my ankles break in my bed?

  I stopped thinking.

  Like a crazy lady, I swatted the drapes until the grommets scooted across the curtain rod, and I had a decent view of the porch. Then I backed all the way to the nightstand, nervously pumping my fists.

  “This is stupid, Nyx.”

  With a deep breath, I took off running and jumped . . .

  In the real world, the distance wouldn’t have been a problem, but my hands barely caught the bottom rung of the iron rails. Thankfully, I could grip them as easily as if I were awake. I pulled myself up and over without a problem. Panting, I took a second to catch my breath.

  Everything outside was amplified.

  The sunlight.

  The cold breeze.

  The noise.

  Closing my eyes, I listened. Flogging Molly played inside Delaney’s, over the chatter and laughter and the sound of clinking glasses. A car somewhere nearby needed to have its brakes checked. And even from here, I could hear the lake’s gentle waves lapping the community’s dock.

  A door inside my condo slammed, making me jump. I turned to see Bess twirl in the hallway as she walked to the kitchen. Her arms were full of paper grocery bags, and the pink note I’d stuck on the whiteboard calendar was pinched between her teeth. She put the bags on the counter, tossed the note in the trash, and opened the fridge.

  Bess unloaded the bags. Milk, eggs, coffee creamer . . .

  I hadn’t been to the store in weeks, as evidenced by the sad state of my refrigerator. Maybe having a roommate wouldn’t be so bad after all.

  I wonder if I can get her attention.

  I raised my hand to knock on the glass before remembering my hand would go straight through it. Slowly, I stepped inside. The cool energy of the glass tickled my senses as I crossed it.

  Bess didn’t notice as I walked up behind her to peek into the bags.

  Ooo, cookies.

  On the counter, her phone buzzed. Without thinking, I looked at the screen. Who’s David?

  She frowned when she picked up the phone, but she answered it and put it to her ear. “What do you want?”

  I moved closer.

  “Where are you?” David asked, his voice almost as clear as if he were standing in the kitchen with us.

  Bess pinched the phone against her ear with her shoulder and pulled a loaf of bread out of a bag. “That’s none of your business.”

  Or mine.

  “It is my business, damn it. I care about you.”

  “Then you should have informed your penis before it found its way into somebody else.”

  I laughed and clamped my hand over my mouth, but there was no reason to. Bess couldn’t hear me.

  “Baby, I said I’m sorry.”

  As Bess launched into a rant, I mentally scolded myself for spying—again.

  I was slowly backing out of the kitchen when Bess whirled around and stormed straight through me. It was a jarring sensation, cold and tingly, like all the molecules of my ethereal body had separated and come back together.

  Bess froze, then spun all the way around, searching the empty space. Fear flashed across her face, and I flattened myself against the wall.

  She had felt it too.

  My throat thickened.

  How many times had that same look been on my face? How many times had Elias spied on me when I’d felt that creepy chill?

  “David?” She looked at her phone.

  Shit. I hoped I hadn’t destroyed it.

  As she walked toward the front door, her phone buzzed again. Thank god because I was already down a phone myself. I couldn’t afford one for Bess as well.

  “No, I didn’t hang up on you!” She threw open the front door, and I followed her through it.

  In front of the garage, her car’s trunk was standing open. She grabbed the last couple of grocery bags, slammed the lid, and turned to go back up. I stayed in the driveway a moment to make sure she got back inside.

  When the door closed behind her, I walked down the hill to the main road. Across it, at Delaney’s, the stone courtyard was dotted with groups huddled around firepits. None of them were inside the Boundary.

  But someone waved from the stone wall surrounding it.

  A boy, clear and in perfect focus, jumped down from the wall. He was about ten years old and four-and-a-half feet tall, judging by the wall behind him. He had a black buzz cut and skinny legs, partially hidden by long blue jogging shorts. His white hoodie had a troop of superheroes on the front.

  He waved again.

  I waved back.

  He walked to the street and motioned me over as cars zoomed between us.

  “You come here!” I called to him.

  He shook his head.

  Shit.

  Snowshoe wasn’t the busiest road in Sapphire Lake, but cars didn’t slow for pedestrians they couldn’t see. I wondered what would happen if I stepped in front of one. I really needed Ransom. He’d been preparing for this his whole life. And here I was, completely incapable of even crossing the street in the dream world.

  Staggering to my feet, I braced to run.

  Wait.

  What if sprinting had the same sludge-like effect as jumping? A test run would probably be smart. I turned and raced up the narrow bike lane instead. Running was fine. Maybe the glass had slowed me down in my leap from the condo.

  When I looked across the street again, the kid’s hand was clamped over his mouth to cover his laughter.

  My metaphorical insides melted with embarrassment. No. I refused to feel stupid. Better to be safe than wind up as a hood ornament, trapped in the front grill of a pickup.

  After a semi barreled past, I ran to the center turning lane. A minivan flew by, followed closely by a convertible. At a break between the car and a delivery van, I bolted toward the sidewalk. The van almost clipped my foot as I jumped onto the curb.

  “You did it!” the boy cheered.

  “No thanks to you.”

  “What’d you need me for? You practiced your running and everything.” He snickered again.

  My brow pinched.

  “Watch.” With a cocky smirk, he stepped into the road in front of a garbage truck. With a panicked gasp, my hand shot forward as the truck plowed through him. He turned around and looked at me as more cars sped through.

  My mind drifted back to the accident. Essex had said the driver claimed he’d swerved to miss a man in the road. In the report, the driver said the man had vanished.

  Like a ghost.

  The boy hopped up onto the curb, jumping with both feet. When his heels connected with the concrete, his shoes danced with lights.

  “Hey, those are pretty neat,” I said, pointing at them.

  “Thanks. They were a birthday present.”

  I knelt for a better look as he showed them off. “Really? How old did you turn?”

  “Forty-seven.”

  My spine straightened so quickly I toppled backward onto my ass.

  His head tilted. “You OK?”

  “I’m fine.” I crossed my legs and took a few deep breaths. “You’re forty-seven?”

  He nodded.

  My eyes squinted with doubt.

  He patted the top of my head. “It’s OK. You’re new.”

  “Thanks,” I said with a forced smile. “I’m Nyx.”

  “I know.” He stuck out his hand. “I’m Flash.”

  “Flash, huh? That’s quite a name.” I pointed to his superhero shirt. “Like the guy who can run really fast?”

  “Yeah. Flash Johnson.”

  My head snapped back. “Flash Johnson? The football player?”

  “Not just a football player.” He started counting on his fingers. “Three-time Super Bowl champ, Heisman Trophy winner, NFL Hall of Famer—”r />
  I waved my hand to stop him. “I know who he is. You were named after him?”

  He sat down and crossed his legs in front of me. “Well, my momma named me Aaron, but Orion said I can call myself anything I want.”

  My brow lifted. “You know Orion?”

  “Of course I do.” He jerked his thumb toward my building. “He’s the one who told me to spy on you.”

  I folded my arms. “Oh really?”

  He nodded. “Paying me a lumin a day to sit here and wait for you. You’ve got quite the view from your roof.”

  “You’ve been on my roof?”

  “Yup.”

  “What’s a lumin?”

  Flash leaned forward, bracing his elbows on his knees and balancing his chin on his hands. “You’ve got a lot to learn, lady.”

  I sighed. “Tell me about it. You know, your spying almost got me killed the other night.”

  “What are you talking about?” His voice jumped up an octave with offense.

  “The driver of the car that almost hit me said they swerved to miss someone in the road. That was you, wasn’t it?”

  “Oh no. That was Orion.”

  “It was, huh?” I asked, my jaw clenched.

  “Yeah. That’s past my bedtime.”

  “Did Orion attack me at home too?”

  “What?” His eyes doubled, and he pointed at me. “Oh, you kicked him in the dingleberries!”

  I blinked. “He choked me.”

  “Like this?” Flash put his left hand at the base of my throat, pressing his thumb into the notch at top of my sternum.

  “Yeah.”

  “He just knocked you out so he could talk to you.”

  My head snapped back.

  Flash chuckled. “You got him good though.”

  “Well, where can I find him?”

  With a laugh, he shook his head. “Ain’t no way you can see him today. He’s busy.”

  “Busy with what?”

  “Looking for hypnox. Duh.”

  “Do you know where he’s looking?”

  Flash lifted both shoulders all the way to his ears. “I just work here.”

  “When will he be back?”

  “Soon. Maybe tomorrow. He really wants to see you.”