by Gareth Otton
“What’s wrong with that?”
“No one at school wants them there. Everyone will hate me if I help them.”
Tad hesitated, not wanting to ruin the joy of seeing his daughter again. However, as a bullied child at school, he couldn’t keep silent.
“Really? You would leave those poor kids on their own just so you can be popular?”
Jen flinched, but soon the red returned to her aura.
“It’s not my fault they’re there, and things are just getting good at school. People aren’t tip-toeing around me like they did when I first came back. If I help those kids, everything will change.”
“Do you even want to be friends with people who don’t want to help someone who needs it?”
Jen hesitated, not wanting to back down but not knowing what to say. Her anger faded and in a sheepish voice she answered, “They’re acting strange. Some of them space out, standing alone for minutes at a time, staring at nothing. When people try to talk to them, they’re ignored like they’re not even there. It’s freaky, and they’re scaring the other kids… They’re scaring the teachers as well. It wasn’t a good idea bringing them to school.”
“They need a Proxy,” Tad said, and wished he hadn’t.
White so bright it almost hurt to look at, flooded Jen’s aura as the colour faded from her cheeks and her eyes widened.
“No, I can’t do that, dad. Tony keeps asking… You need to stop him from bothering me about it. Please. I’m not ready, not again.”
Recognising her panic, Tad grabbed her hands to calm her. He was surprised to find they were trembling.
“Calm down. You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to.”
“I want to help them, I do. I’m just not ready. I mean, I’ve got my back, and I’m in that stupid house and—”
“Jen,” Tad said again, more forcefully this time. “Calm down. It’s okay. No one will force you to do anything. It was just a suggestion.”
“But what about the ghosts? They need a Proxy and—”
“If you’re not ready, you’re not ready. There’s nothing to be ashamed of,” Tad interrupted again, wishing he hadn’t mentioned the word Proxy. He didn’t realise how strong her reaction would be, but he should have guessed. The last time she did that, she lost the use of her legs.
An awkward silence descended as Tad struggled to move past this. Unfortunately, the longer he left it, the harder it was to find the words. Deep down, he worried he was forgetting how to talk with his daughter. The comfortable familiarity wasn’t there anymore, and the words wouldn’t come.
Silence won’t help, say something, he thought to himself.
“I’ll talk to Tony,” he said, and thankfully it was enough.
“Talk to Amber,” Jen suggested. “Tony doesn’t listen, but she’ll make sure he remembers.”
Despite the tension in the room, Tad laughed.
“Thank god for Amber,” he said. “I still don’t know why she spends so much time with him, but he’s easier to manage when she’s around. It’s almost like having Miriam back.”
Jen grinned.
“It’s better. Miriam punished him, but he was never bothered. With Amber, though, he’s worried about what she thinks.”
Tad explored memories sectioned away in a part of his mind that didn’t belong to him. After so long with Tony, those thoughts were as familiar as his own, but it never failed to be a little strange to hear someone else’s thoughts. Tad endured a split second where he felt like he was two people living parallel lives, but then he was back to himself and his smile matched Jen’s.
“You don’t know the half of it. Did you know he hasn’t gone to a strip club since he met her, nor any of his old haunts? He’s like a new ghost.”
“Are they together… you know? Like boyfriend and girlfriend?”
Tad explored those memories again, then shook his head.
“Tony’s hung up on their age difference.”
“She’s not that much older than him,” Jen pointed out.
“No, she’s nearly half his age. He’s thinking real years, not ghost years.”
Jen blew a raspberry and waved her hand in dismissal.
“That’s stupid. He’s been fourteen since he died. He needs to come to his senses before she comes to hers.” An evil grin spread across her face when she added, “Though it’s funny when he gets all flustered, so maybe he can stay confused a little longer.”
“You’re evil,” Tad said, and Jen grinned in response.
There was another brief silence, but it didn’t last half so long before Jen said, “I’ve convinced John and Jean to let me see Dr Burman after school. I start on Friday.”
“That’s great news. See, they’re not so bad.”
Jen shook her head. “They’re awful. If it wasn’t for them I’d be walking by now, not just spending time locked in my room with medical books.”
“You’re reading medical books?” Tad asked, surprised.
“Yeah, Dr B’s been sending them over. He asked me to learn about anatomy, and cells, and DNA, and stuff like that. He says it’s giving me a good foundation.”
“You’ve actually read them?” Tad asked, stunned that Jen would do extra homework, even if it helped heal her back.
“Yeah. It was boring at first, but the more I read, the more interesting it gets. You know, when I healed myself before, I was doing so much without even thinking about it. I had to constrict the blood vessels to stop the bleeding and allow a clot to form, bring white blood cells in to consume the dead cells and fight off infection, and then create collagen to create new cells to heal the wound. It’s kind of crazy I could do that without even knowing it. Though, I’m not sure if I did. I mean, it’s a lot of steps and there’s normally scarring, but I can do it without scars. I wonder if Dream skips some of those steps and creates new perfect copies of the cells that were already there. I’ll have to speak to Dr B when I see him on Friday.”
Tad blinked, stunned at the rush of words.
“Just how many books have you read?”
“I don’t know, maybe ten,” she said like it was nothing. Yet, when she was living with him, he struggled to get her to read five pages to keep up with her English class.
“Jen, that’s amazing.”
She rolled her eyes. “That’s what I’m saying. Dream is letting me skip so many—”
“No, it’s amazing how far you’ve come so quickly. I didn’t even know you were reading all this and now you sound like a doctor already.”
Jen blushed, but couldn’t hide her proud smile.
“It’s just a bit of reading.”
“It sounds pretty advanced to me.” He was about to say more when both dogs lifted their heads from Jen’s lap, ears pricked forward as they sensed something. A moment later, Tad sensed it as well.
“A ghost is here,” Jen said, surprising him again.
“You can sense that?” he asked, knowing she used to struggle to use her senses at a distance.
“I’ve been practicing. It helps pass the time without needing to speak with John and Jean. It’s not Tony. Who is it?”
“It’s Rodney,” Tad said after taking a second to identify the presence approaching the house. A memory jumped to the front of his mind and he glanced at his watch. Suddenly he groaned.
“What’s wrong?” Jen asked.
“I forgot, he’s here to take me on a workout.”
Jen nearly choked on her laughter.
“What? You mean exercise?”
Why did everyone laugh whenever they heard that? Tony laughed so hard he’d been rolling around on the floor.
“Yes, is that so hard to believe? I promised Tony I’d make more of an effort with new ghosts and with us dreamwalking everywhere, I’m becoming unfit. Rodney offered to help.”
“Becoming?” Jen joked, and though he tried to look affronted, Tad laughed.
“Alright, that’s enough from you.” He looked at his watch again. As much as he hated to do this, he did
n’t have a choice. “It’s been great seeing you, Jen, but you can’t stay here or we’ll undo all the good work we’ve done over the last four months.”
Jen’s smile fell and she shrank in on herself. When she talked about topics way beyond her years, showed how much she was growing as a dreamwalker, and teased him for working out, he saw the young woman she was turning into. Now though, he was reminded that she was still his little girl and he would do anything not to have to send her away again.
“I know,” Jen said. She looked around the room as though trying to memorise it, like maybe this was the last time she would ever see it.
“It’s not forever. You have to remember that, and remember my promise. We’ll try their way first, and if that doesn’t work, we’ll do it our way. No matter what, it won’t be forever. You know that, right?”
“I know… it just feels like forever.”
Tad stood and pulled her into another hug.
“I love you, Jen. And I’m proud of you. Never forget that.”
“I love you too, dad.”
Jen pulled away and smiled at him, and though there were tears in her eyes again, they didn’t seem so bad. The truth was, Tad was feeling better as well. Suddenly he was glad she risked everything to visit. It was the break he desperately needed, and he felt like someone had injected fresh life into his veins.
“Be good for John and Jean,” he said. Jen rolled her eyes. “And good luck with Dr Burman. I’m looking forward to hearing about that in our Dream session on Friday.”
Jen nodded and stepped away, walking over to Hawk who looked a little sad as he thumped his tail a few times and snuffled Jen’s hand. Turning back one last time, Jen waved goodbye, then vanished.
Tad stared at the empty space where his daughter stood just moments earlier. Already her absence weighed on him, and he hoped it wasn’t another four months before he saw her again. With Charles and Miriam gone and Tony spending most of his time with Amber, Tad had lost his entire family over the last year. It was hard to keep going in the face of that. But Jen’s brief visit reminded him what he was fighting for, and that was all the motivation he needed.
He’d figure out what was going on with this bill, help get the country ready for the fight that was coming, and while he did that, he’d get his daughter back where she belonged. He’d do it because he had to, and there was no point wasting time on wishing it was any other way.
When Rodney called out to see if he was home, it was a Tad filled with renewed energy who called out his answer. For the first time, he actually looked forward to training… though he knew that wouldn’t last.
“Come on, Growler. Let’s not keep the man waiting.”
4
Wednesday, 16th November 2016
17:49
“If you need anything, please let me know.”
“I will,” Leon answered as the waitress walked away, putting so much swing into her hips that Stella was sure she’d throw her back out.
“Oh my god,” Stella said, pulling Leon’s attention back to her from across the round table. They sat in the corner booth of a pub that had seen better days. The wooden floors were dark with heavy use, the booth creaked when they moved, and the wallpaper was a remnant from the seventies and had yellowed from cigarette smoke. It was not somewhere Stella fancied grabbing an evening meal, but for all the negatives there were upsides. Despite the aging decor, it wasn’t dirty, just run down. Also, she’d heard good things about the food, nothing special, but simple food at reasonable prices. Finally, and most importantly, it was the quietest pub in the city centre, which meant she might make it all the way through dinner without someone coming over to introduce themselves.
“What?” Leon asked. “I wasn’t staring.”
“Not you. Her,” Stella said. “She was only one step shy of throwing herself at you.”
Leon smiled in a way that would make the waitress swoon.
In so many ways he could be Stella’s twin. His jet black hair, worn long and swept back, framed a face with the kind of crystal blue eyes you’d spot from the other side of the room. There was a supernatural perfection to his appearance that turned heads more than A-lister movie stars. Where he differed from Stella was the darker shade of skin thanks to growing up in a warmer climate, the square jaw and athletic frame that made it all too clear that this was a specimen of masculinity.
“She wasn’t that bad,” Leon defended. “You’re just stunned because you’re finally seeing the truth.”
“What truth?” Stella asked, flinching at the five letter word that meant so much to her recently. Truth was becoming a defining feature of her life.
“That when push comes to shove, there’s not that much difference between men and women. We can all make idiots of ourselves around people we find attractive.”
Stella rolled her eyes, but knew Leon was right. She’d been exposed to the interest of men since she was a teenager and couldn’t deny building certain expectations based on that interest. Playing to those expectations served her well in the past, though she struggled with it recently.
“Tad joining us tonight?” Leon asked.
Stella shook her head. “It’s for the best. He had an interview this afternoon, and that always leaves him cranky.”
“Isn’t he always cranky?” Leon asked, smiling to remove the sting from his remark but unable to hide the weight to his question.
She hesitated before answering, her first instinct being to jump to Tad’s defence. However, though she’d never believe it four months ago, Stella valued the time she spent getting to know a member of her family. True to his word, Leon wanted to make up for lost time, going so far as to move to the UK. He’d swapped a well-paying office job for a minimum wage bar job just to be here. He was also one of the most genuine people she had ever met. There was no duplicity in Leon, and it made her want to return that attitude in kind.
“He’s snappy these days. But you just caught him at a bad time.”
“Jen?” Leon asked, and Stella nodded. “How’s all that going?”
“Best not to ask,” Stella answered, and Leon’s smile slipped.
“Sorry to hear that. I’ll admit, from the outside it doesn’t look good what he did, but he wouldn’t be taking it this hard if he wasn’t a good person.”
“They’re both taking it hard because as far as they’re concerned, they’re father and daughter. Maybe not by blood, but after what those two have been through, their relationship is stronger than any familial bond.”
She was about to say more, but her phone buzzed and she was reaching for it before she realised what she was doing and forced herself to stop. She refused to be a slave to that little device. She had worked out a system with Denise that if anything was urgent, Denise would contact her. Stella’s phone was set up to play a specific ringtone, even when on silent, should Denise call, so she wouldn’t miss anything important. That didn’t stop her wanting to check though, and she used all her willpower to remove her hand from her pocket and put it back on the table without the phone.
The internal battle only took a second, but when she looked up, she knew she was busted. Leon didn’t have her supernatural sense to see the truth, but as a natural people person, he was observant enough to put the clues together. He grinned, enjoying her struggle.
“Your addiction playing up?”
“Maybe,” Stella hedged, blushing at getting caught. “I’m working on it.”
Leon laughed. “I don’t mind. You have an important job. If you want to check the phone, don’t let me stop you.”
“No,” she insisted. “I came out for dinner to get to know you, not to be distracted by—”
She was interrupted as the devil device buzzed again, and this time she couldn’t help herself. Her phone was out in an instant and all she could say was a quick sorry before she looked to see what was waiting. Leon laughed from the other side of the booth, which only made her blush harder.
She had a lot of missed notifications
, most of which she had programmed to not even buzz her phone or she would never have a moment’s peace. The important two were notifications from the early warning system Miles created. The first said there was a supernatural incident that required a Dream Team tactical unit and that more information would follow. The next notification was the promised information about what was happening.
“What is it?” Leon asked. “A problem?”
Stella nodded. “Some kind of trouble at that new shelter for homeless ghosts. First responders requested a Dream Team tactical unit, so that means trouble.”
“You need to go?” he asked, sounding almost a little hopeful.
She looked up, studying his expression to see if he was looking for an excuse to get out of having to spend an evening with her. Her intuition wouldn’t let her lie to herself these days though, forcing her to look past her insecurities and seek another explanation. That same supernatural intuition supplied the answer.
Leon was excited.
Despite the potential to rise to heights undreamed of by normal people, the rules of his family forced him to stay on a small island and remain hidden. He never said it directly, but Stella guessed he was only half here for her. Another part of him was here for the adventure of life in the Borderlands.
“No, I don’t need to go. Trevors’ people can handle it.”
“You sure? That shelter is just around the corner. We could be there in less than five minutes.”
Stella’s body twitched like she was ready to jump on Leon’s suggestion, but she forced herself to relax. There was always going to be a crisis of some kind. Letting herself jump at every one was the reason she hadn’t had a full weekend off in six months. She came out tonight for a meal with her cousin and to behave like a normal person. Work could wait.
“No, I’m looking forward to my dinner.”
Leon burst out laughing as she grimaced for telling even that slight untruth. It wasn’t an outright lie; she was starving and looking forward to her meal. But the intent behind the statement was to make Leon think she’d rather be here than at the scene of whatever was happening, and that wasn’t true.