“The worst thing that happened to me was watching my best friend die in high school. We were driving back from a concert in Atlanta. It was early in the morning, probably just after four. I started getting sleepy.” He pressed his lips together as he stared at his fidgeting hands. “I don’t know why I didn’t pull over. He even told me he would drive if I got too tired. But I didn’t. I was stubborn and thought I was invincible.” One side of his mouth quirked. “I wasn’t. Neither of us were. I drove into the other lane and hit an oncoming truck head on. He choked on his own blood right in front of me. There was nothing I could do about it.”
“Damn, dude. I never knew about that,” his friend said.
The guy shook his head. “I never talk about it. It still hurts.” He turned to look at me with tears in his eyes. “But it seemed like you needed to hear it for some reason.”
I swallowed the lump lodged within my throat. His story was touching, and it hit home. He wasn’t the douche I had him pegged for. “Bartender, another shot glass please.”
She put her phone down and placed another glass beside the one that I had been drinking from.
“Thanks,” I mumbled.
She nodded and went back to her phone, ignoring us. I filled both glasses and pushed one in his direction. “I did need it. Thanks for sharing it. I know how hard it was for you.”
He picked up the glass and tilted it toward me. “You’re welcome.” We both downed our drinks and set the glasses back on the bar. Silence surrounded us for several minutes. I don’t think either of us knew what to say after that. There was no way I was opening up about what had happened to me. It was all still too fresh, too raw.
“What do say we hurry up and get drunk to forget everything? Because shit, now I’ve done got myself depressed over here,” he said.
“I’ve never agreed to anything more.” We took drink after drink, and soon my bottle was empty. I held it up and looked inside at its bare contents and turned it upside down. “It’s all gone! When did we drink all this?” I asked the guy whose name I couldn’t remember and had decided on calling him Bama due to the crimson football team hat he wore. He didn’t seem to mind the nickname; in fact, he encouraged his friend to start calling him that.
Bama leaned over, attempting to whisper, though it was more of like a yell, and pointed at the bartender. “I think she poured it out. Pretty sure that’s what happened. I’m willing to put money on it.”
She looked up from her phone and in his direction and rolled her eyes.
“Do you see how rude these people are, and to think you gave her a fat ass tip early. I’d slap her if I was you,” he continued. “I would, but I’m like, a dude, so I’d probably get in some kind of man beating trouble.”
I glanced between him and the bartender. “Do you really think I should?”
“No, Reese. You shouldn’t. You’d probably end up killing her,” a familiar voice said.
I turned to find Sim standing behind me with his arms crossed. “Sim! What are you doing here?”
“Everyone has been out trying to find you.” As if on cue, his phone started to play some old country song. He pulled it out of his back pocket and flipped it over to read the name. “Hey. Yeah, I found her. She’s drunk at The Pine of all places and threatening to slap the bartender. Yeah, yeah. I’m bringing her back with me, so there’s no need to come up here.” He paused for a minute, and a masculine voice on the other end screamed words I couldn’t understand at him. “Dude. I get it. There’s no need to yell. She’s fine now. We’ll be back shortly.” He put the phone back in his pocket and refocused on me.
I shook my head. “Oh no. Don’t give those sexy serious eyes. We’re over, Sim.”
He chuckled. “I’m not giving you sexy eyes. And I know we’re over. Believe me, I’ve come to the realization that you’re just too much woman for me.”
“Why?”
“Why what?” he asked, stepping forward to put his body in between me and Bama.
“Why am I too much woman?” My shoulders hunched forward as I touched the ripped fabric of my shirt with trembling fingers. “Why was I picked for this, Sim? What did I do to deserve all this?”
“Nothing. If anything, you are the least person to deserve this. I really don’t know what to tell you. Words won’t make anything any better. Believe me. This entire time we’ve been driving around looking for you, I’ve played out every line I could think of in my head to tell you to make you feel better. The fact is nothing I say will make it right. You know it and I know it.”
“He killed my parents.”
He sighed. “I know. When they dumped you and Harley near the facility, they also tossed their bodies.”
I looked up at him. “I’m glad you’re the one that found me because I think everyone else would have tried to bullshit me.”
“Oh, no doubt.” He straightened and acted as if he were dusting off invisible specks from his shoulders. “Can’t help it they aren’t as smooth as me.” He held out his hand for me to take. “Now can we go? You really need to get cleaned up since you dipped out before they could get you patched up. There’s a bloody spot on the floor beneath your chair from your wounds. Surprised this guy didn’t say something about it.” With his thumb, he pointed in Bama’s direction.
Bama shrugged. “There’s no judgment here. If she wanted to come here to drink away her problems instead of going to the hospital to get stitches, well that’s on her. I fully support her.”
Sim gently patted him on the back. “Good man, I guess. Thanks for keeping her company.”
“See ya around, Bama,” I said following Sim in the direction of the door.
“Oh, Reese.”
“Yeah?”
“Would you have really killed the bartender if you would’ve slapped her?” he asked.
I glanced in her direction. “There’s about a ninety-five percent chance that’s accurate.”
Bama laughed and nodded his head.
“Do you know how worried sick we were about you?” Shayla yelled when I came through the door. She had the others at her back, forming what looked like a V. “We’ve been hunting for you for hours. I guess you didn’t think it necessary to tell anyone where you were going, huh?”
“Yeah, for all we knew you’d hauled ass again. Sounds like something you’d do considering you’ve already done it to us once before,” Raven seethed.
I clamped my lip between my teeth and whirled around toward the direction from which I’d entered. If my mouth opened, I had no idea what was going to come out. It was best for me to get away from them, and quick.
“Oh, look, there she goes running away again,” Raven barked comically. “Why don’t you just go back to where you came from, Reese? We could probably handle this better without you. Maybe not so many people would have died.”
This caused a low murmur from the others. I wasn’t sure if they agreed or disagreed with her words, but standing with her while she said them made them on her side in my heated eyes.
My heels dug into the ground as I came to an abrupt halt. This was enough. I had been through a lot tonight and previous days. Lots of which they knew nothing about. It was time to have a come-to-Jesus meeting with this entire group or I would kill each and every one of them and not think twice about it. The Darkness within me festered during any confrontation I had like this. It wanted out. All I had to do was grant it resurrection.
Slowly, I turned around, the fire blazing within my veins. It seeped from the tattoos on the inside of my wrists and eagerly curled around my palms. I cupped it within my grasp and moved it playfully between my fingers. “I want everyone in the meeting room now. Even Fuzz. It’s time we get this shit straight or I will leave. And if that happens, you die. Plain and simple. It won’t be by my hand, but Dermetheus’s. I’m the only one who can stop him, and you all know it.”
Their mouths hung open, but no one bothered to correct my statement. They already knew they were as good as dead without me so why was th
e need to push me away so great? The voice inside my head screamed at me.
It’s because you’ve done nothing but push all them away. They were scared while you were gone, and you came back a different person. You didn’t even bother telling them why you were the way you were, except for Shayla.
I darted around them and headed in the direction of the meeting room and punched the door open with my fist. It slammed against the wall and bounced back nearly hitting me in the face.
“Watch out, killer, or you’ll end up with a broken nose to go along with everything else on you,” Harley said, stopping me in my tracks.
I lunged forward, wrapping my arms around his neck.
“Whoa, now. Pretty banged up, remember?”
I pulled back and glanced back at the door. “I really deserved to be hit with it for being such a piece of shit.” I wiggled my fingers, easing the pain that was now radiating up my arm. “I’ve lost my parents and all my friends.” Not to mention the love of my life, but I wasn’t about to confide that particular bit of information to him.
He stepped forward with his hand out, but let it drop to his side instead of putting it on me. Great. Now I probably lost him. Thanks to Dermetheus’s little torture session, he now knew how broken I really was. I wouldn’t blame him if he didn’t want anything else to do with me. I wouldn’t.
“Harley, I—”
“Okay, we’re here,” Shayla interrupted, walking between the two of us. “What’s all this about?” She paused only long enough to give me a sympathetic look before taking seat on the couch with Payne behind her.
I continued to stare at Harley. It seemed like there was never a right time. Either I wasn’t ready or we were interrupted. There was always something holding us back from this conversation. Not that I had minded the interruptions before. I was grateful for them. Even now, a tiny part of me rejoiced.
Finally tearing my eyes away from him, I refocused on her. “We’re coming clean. Everyone here now. Y’all want to know why I am the way I am now, well I’m about to tell you.”
“I think this is long overdue,” Fuzz said from behind me. “In order for us to fight beside each other, we need to trust one another.”
“Agreed,” Savannah said. “I’ll go first. So, I don’t have a big secret other than I’m not sure about you guys, but I’m scared shitless. Sometimes I wake up in the morning praying it was all a nightmare and that everything in my life is normal, but nope. It’s all a reality, and it’s one that I’m not sure how much more I can take.”
I looked around at all their faces. “Does anyone else feel this way?” I knew the answer before any of them opened their mouths. Several of them nodded. “This isn’t mandatory. Yeah, we all started this life because we thought it’d be cool, but it didn’t turn out the way we’d thought. Sure, we’re badasses, but it isn’t cool. We’ve lost some good friends along the way, and I’m sure by the end of this thing there’s a good chance the person sitting next to you now might not make it through all of it.” I walked over to the door and held it open. “If you want to leave, no one will hold it against you.” Everyone exchanged glances. Some stared at the door with lingering eyes. To my surprise, no one moved.
“All of this does suck, but we’re not going anywhere. We started this, and we’re going to finish it,” Dax said.
“I guess I’ll go next,” Fuzz said. I was surprised that he was taking a turn. I knew things about him due to the hallucinations or whatever the hell they were when I was in the mental hospital. Nabea and Fuzz. Fuzz was like me. Different. “Some of you might know by this point, but it’s never been spoken out loud.”
Shayla sat up on the edge of the couch as her hand shot up into the air. “Oh my gosh! I think I know this one. Fuzz isn’t from here. He’s from Plamethia,” she continued not giving him the time to speak.
Gasps and whispers started at once.
“Did I get it right?” she asked him.
He rolled his eyes. “Yes, thanks for telling everyone before I could. I came over years ago along with Harley, Hollywood, Zeke, and Freeman. I’ve known them this whole time. We were instructed not to let on that we knew each other, and I was to train those who would help in this fight until Reese was ready.”
That stirred those uneasy feelings within me regarding Fuzz. During my time with him, he hadn’t ever shown anything other than loyalty, but I still needed to know. Now was the time to ask. After everyone around the room took a turn sharing hidden abilities, thoughts, or secrets they had been keeping from everyone else, there was only me left.
I licked my lips and looked down, searching for the right way to start. I could feel everyone’s eyes on me without seeing them. I rubbed the side on my neck and launched from the beginning, way back when I found out things while we were training and the dreams, all the way until I made my way back here. “Now Dermetheus wants me to complete finding the portals and finish this job. He basically implied that if I don’t he will do to everyone here what he did to my parents.” I choked on the words. I was responsible for enough bloodshed. The thought of having more on my hands was too much. “Maybe it’s the best thing to do. I don’t want to lose any more of you. If giving it over is what it takes, so be it.”
That earned a startled reaction from everyone in the room. Fuzz stood and walked over to me. “Reese, Nabea didn’t send me over here for you to give in.”
I shrugged. It was now or ever. “Speaking of Nabea, there’s something that doesn’t add up.”
His brows slashed inward. “What do you mean?”
“In the hospital, she sort of showed me things. She told me that her uncle, Lavarus, was responsible for releasing the Darkness and that he killed her parents. After that he escaped, making the portals irreversible.” I narrowed my eyes. “How is that possible, Fuzz? Because if it’s true, you sent Steele to find the person responsible for all this. I was led to be trained by the enemy.”
Fuzz blinked at me. “I would never…. Nabea told you that Lavarus was responsible? No. No. No. It was Dermetheus. Not Lavarus. He raised me. I know him better than anyone. Something isn’t right. What she showed you isn’t right.”
“I really hope you’re right. But if you aren’t, she’s been playing me. Maybe the both of us.”
Shayla jumped up from her position. “I say fuck her. She isn’t here. She chose to stay over there and not come fight. This is our fight, not hers.” She turned to me. “You will complete this mission, and when you’re done we will destroy that thing. What comes after, we handle together. We’re the broken ones, and they made us that way. Now it’s time to show them why that was a mistake. It’s time to show them why we were born for this.”
28
Reese
“Reese, are you sure you’re okay to make this trip?” Payne asked barely loud enough for me to hear.
Out of the corner of my eye, I could read his determined expression. It was hard, laced with concern. I fiddled with the straps of the belt that I had yet to take off draped across my lap. That momentary hesitation caused him to stir in his seat and lean closer to me. “You don’t have to carry the weight of all this on your shoulders.”
Burning tears seeped into my eyes blurring the black material between my fingers. I hated him in that moment. The words he spoke broke the barrier that I was desperately trying to keep intact. I thought I had been through enough, that distancing myself from everyone would keep me from any more hurt. After losing Steele, I didn’t know how much more I could take. But then seeing Dermetheus slaughter my parents right in front of me pushed me to a breaking point. The worse thing was as strong as I thought I had become in those last few seconds of seeing their panicked eyes, I knew I was weak. I was nothing compared to the monster I was destined to face. I would lose against him, no matter what I did.
“No,” I finally answered, my voice cracking slightly. We had left their bodies at the funeral home after Freeman implanted a few thoughts into the workers’ minds. There would be no big deal made over
their death. They would be buried in the plots they had purchased years ago. “No matter what I go through, this is my fight to finish.”
Those words left a bitter taste on the tip of my tongue. If only it were as easy as he thought it was. It made things so much better for me. I wouldn’t feel so worn down, so defeated all the time. Everyone looked to me for answers that I didn’t have. I had no idea if my decisions would end up getting more people killed or not. That was a lot to take on for anyone and wasn’t about to put the stress on another person.
He rested his chin on his fist, not taking his eyes off me. “You’ve got to be the most stubborn girl I’ve ever known. And I’ve known some doozies. Some that I wished I could forget.”
“Do you wish you could forget meeting me?” The inquiry slipped out before I could stop it. But the more I caught questioning stares from my friends, the more I was starting to believe this was true.
“Never. No matter what happens, don’t ever think that. You’re one of the most loyal, strong women I’ve ever known.” His hand slipped around mine and squeezed. Instead of pulling mine away I left it there. In some way, this gesture made things seem a bit more manageable. “Try to think about the way things used to be.”
I exhaled, laying my head back against the seat. Biting the inside of my cheek, I fought to remember the way everything was before our experiences got so serious. It was an impossible task. I vaguely remembered that nonchalant time of my life. It was a fog that I couldn’t seem to shift through.
Shifting my attention to the tiny window on my right, I focused on the wispy clouds the jet barreled along. The past several weeks had passed by quickly. Too quickly. All I did was stay on the go. When I arrived back in Jackson, I thought I was done leaving, but needless to say I had hardly been there.
The jet’s wheels touched down with a slight squeal and bounced upward with a jarring motion. My hands shot to the armrests and clutched the fabric, pulling the skin tight over my knuckles. With a quick intake of air, I held it deep in my puffed chest. I had to remind myself that we would be on the ground and stopped shortly. We hit the ground and tilted upward once again. My stomach churned in a violet twisting manner. I wasn’t sure if it were nausea from nerves or the motion sickness. I puckered my lips and slowly blew air out. The act did nothing to calm my fluttering heart.
War Page 18