by Jo Ho
Chapter 10
The rest of the library trip went as planned.
Ally grabbed several books from her favorite section. They read through a few stories together, while Tyler acted out the voices — though she knew she would never be an actress. The sad fact of the matter was, she wasn’t particularly good at it, plus her voices tended to sound like a chipmunk from those Saturday morning cartoons. Ally didn't seem to care, however. Every time Tyler did one of her voices, she would send Ally into peals of laughter that had the librarians shooting stern looks their way.
With time almost up, they had made the walk back and were only a few houses away from Ally’s current home. Her hand in Tyler’s, Ally walked beside her though her happy jaunt had slowed down considerably. Tyler put it down to the fact that they would be saying goodbye to each other again soon. As if she read her mind, Ally looked up at her, smiling even as her face seemed a little wan. “I’ve got enough books to keep me going for at least five days," she said.
"Five days? Is that all it’s going to take for you to read all those? I should get you to do my coursework," Tyler said making Ally laugh.
“I’d probably be better at it too,” Ally replied slowly, slightly out of breath.
Tyler looked down, grinning, trying to come up with a smart retort for her wise-cracking sister when Ally stopped suddenly, frowning, her face growing paler by the second. Her breathing came in shallow gasps and she seemed suddenly weak. The rapid change in her complexion stopped Tyler dead. "What's the matter?" she asked urgently.
“I don’t know,” Ally said softly. “I don’t feel so great."
The words had barely left her lips when her entire body started shaking. As she started swaying on her feet, Tyler leapt forward, grabbing Ally before she fell backward as her eyes rolled into the back of her head. Her sudden deadweight would have had Tyler’s arms screaming in protest if she wasn’t still feeling the additional strength her energy potion gave her.
“Ally, what’s wrong? Wake up!" Tyler screamed as she picked her up in her arms, carrying her towards Cheryl Heep's house. Carrying her as if she weighted nothing, she hurried down the overgrown path. Reaching the front door, she kicked at it with a foot.
"Open the door! I've got Ally, she needs help!” she yelled. She waited for what seemed like an eternity until the door was finally opened. Cheryl Heep stood there, her face distorted with annoyance.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing…” she began, quickly trailing off when she saw Ally’s condition. She pointed to a room. "In there. Put her on the sofa.”
Tyler hurried inside, carefully setting her sister onto the faded floral couch. All she could do was stare at her little face as the blood pounded in her ears, causing a strange rushing sound. She felt disjointed from the world, as if she wasn’t in her body anymore. She could barely hear Cheryl's voice as she dialed for help. All she could do was stand there staring down at her sister, one thought running through her mind.
Please don’t die on me too.
Tyler was frozen in a black space. She didn't hear any of the chaos around her until Cheryl finally shook her. She turned her dazed eyes to the woman.
"The doctor’s on his way. He said this is likely a side-effect from the dialysis and that it looks worse than it is. You need to go now," she said firmly, already pushing her towards the door.
"Go?” Tyler blurted out. “I can't go. I need to make sure she's okay."
Cheryl's lips tightened into a thin line that only emphasized her pinched features. "There’s nothing you can do for her. You’ll just be in the way. Go home and I will call you when we hear anything."
Tyler's feet were like rocks. She tried to force them into the floor but Cheryl was much stronger than she looked. With a few quick shoves, she had Tyler halfway out of the front door. Tyler gripped onto the doorframe, desperate to stay. "I need to be here for her. She needs me," Tyler said.
Cheryl shook her head. "This isn’t the first time this has happened. I know how to deal with it. As her legal guardian, I’m telling you that you need to go and let me handle this. I can't look after her properly if you're here getting in the way so please just go."
With that Cheryl shoved Tyler out the house, slamming the door on her face. Tyler stood there frozen, unable to believe she had been pushed out when Ally needed her the most. Her shock quickly graduated to rage. She grabbed the door handle and twisted, but it was locked. She punched the door next, but all that resulted in was a hurt fist. The door stayed firmly closed. “Let me in, Cheryl! You can’t keep ignoring me! She’s my sister!”
Refusing to leave, Tyler paced the length of the house. She was still there when a black car pulled up a few minutes later, a medical logo painted on its side. A man jumped out carrying a large leather bag with him. The ID badge pinned to his chest revealed he was a doctor at Mercy General. As he hurried to the door, Tyler grabbed his arm.
“Ally needs help,” she rambled.
His brown eyes scanned her quickly, assessing her as he spoke calmly. “You’re Tyler, Ally’s sister?”
Tyler, stopped, surprised that he would know who she was. “Yes.”
“I’ve helped Ally before. She’s spoken about you every time. Try not to worry, I’ll do what I can,” he said, his eyes exuding compassion. Relieved that she would get medical assistance now, Tyler stepped aside as the door opened and the doctor hurried inside. Tyler made a move to follow him, but the door was shut on her again.
Moving to the window, Tyler cupped a hand over her eyes so that she could see inside better. The doctor examined her briefly then gave her a shot of something. Then he sat down beside Ally, holding her hand until her color came back to her. He spoke with Cheryl for a while as Ally, who had noticed Tyler standing outside, gave Tyler a small wave and wobbly smile. Tears streaming down her face, Tyler gave her a thumbs up as Ally nodded.
When the doctor came out, he gave Tyler a reassuring smile. “She’s fine. This will just happen every now and again. She actually wasn’t feeling too well when she woke up.”
Tyler felt her stomach clench. Had Ally been feeling sick all day? “But she never said anything to me.”
His eyes turned understanding. “I gather that might have been so she could see you. She’s fine, Tyler. She just needs to rest and have no excitement for a day or two. She’ll bounce back in no time.”
Giving Tyler a pat on the shoulder, he headed back to his car and left, having no idea how rocked to the core she was by his news. Ally hadn’t been feeling well all day, but she had kept this from her, so they could still spend time together. Far from feeling angry at her, Tyler just felt responsible. She was the adult, she was the grown-up. She should have noticed something was wrong, but she was too selfish, wanting to spend time with Ally herself.
Tyler could kick herself.
Ally never complained, even when she needed to. She would never admit how much pain she was in, not if she thought it would inconvenience those she loved and what was the first thing Tyler had said to her? She had complained about how long it had taken for her to get there when she would have gone around the world if that’s what it would have taken. The kid was a goddamn saint, but if Tyler had learned one lesson today, it was that she never wanted to feel this helpless again. She needed to help Ally. They were lucky that the doctor came quickly this time, but what if he couldn’t the next time she fell ill? What if she wasn’t home? What if, she took a turn for the worse and Tyler was all the way across the city from her?
Unwilling to accept that, Tyler realized a new option had recently opened up to her. What if she could use her powers to save Ally herself?
This new thought barreled into her mind like a rocket on jet fuel. Here she was, wasting her talent on essentially an energy drink when she could be putting it to much better use. Maybe there was something she could conjure up that would help Ally in a way that no doctor could. Determined to help her, Tyler started back across town to the lab. She would start working on a cure
.
And she wouldn’t stop until it was done.
Chapter 11
With hunger gnawing at her stomach, Marley hurried into TJ Halls, hoping that the others had found some decent dining options by now.
Marley’s mind drifted over to Tyler. They still needed to tell her what they had discovered today but had mutually agreed that it could wait until she was back from Ally’s.
Moving up to the next floor, Marley was only a few rooms away from her own when she heard a familiar voice. She stopped, confused, craning her neck to locate the source of it. The friendly male laughed as he talked about one of those random facts that he loved so much. Rounding the corner, Marley found her dad talking with their RA Rhett and was struck by the coincidental timing. What the heck was he doing here?
Paul must have sensed her presence, as he turned in her direction, a big grin spreading across his face. “There you are. I swung by on the off chance of seeing you but got waylaid by Rhett here — as it turns out, has an interest in ancient religious artifacts.”
Rhett greeted Marley with a nod as he gestured to Paul. “Your dad’s pretty cool. You never mentioned he was a professor here.”
Rhett seemed like a nice guy, but Marley wasn’t in the mood for him. She needed food, and now that her dad was here, it looked like she’d be having that talk with him after all. “It’s not like we’ve had the chance to have any real conversation yet. Last time I saw you, you were surrounded by all those admiring female students.”
A blush spread over Rhett’s cheeks as he laughed, shaking his head.
“Anyway, we can talk more about what you think of my dad another time, but right now, I need to eat before I pass out.”
Although he knew he was being dismissed, Rhett took it all in his stride. "Sure thing. Mr. Gray," he said to Paul. “Feel free to drop by anytime you want to discuss 12th century England. I’m obsessed with the medieval era. I’m actually writing a book about it now."
"Absolutely,” Paul replied. “If you have any questions just shoot me an email." Rhett nodded then headed into his room. As soon as he was gone, Paul grabbed Marley in a bear hug. Marley felt instantly comforted. He looked the same as ever, neatly shaven, wearing those brown corduroy pants he seemed to live in. No matter where they were in the country, her dad would always be the same. She hadn’t known until this very moment how important that was for her.
“You’ll never believe this, but I actually just went to your office to find you."
Paul's eyebrows went up a notch. "Really? See that? Still have our psychic connection,” he grinned. “Well, let’s go grab some food.”
Marley nodded as he tucked her arm into his. “Thank God, I’m starving.”
They headed off together as Marley chatted away to him, even as she felt the anxiety over their upcoming conversation preying on her.
Chapter 12
Eve perched on the edge of Marley's bed as she watched Cassie fixing her make-up in the mirror.
Spending time on her appearance seemed almost like a comfort blanket for her. Of all people, Eve knew what that was like. They both hid under their layers of make-up… but for very different reasons.
Today Cassie was wearing a pink silk camisole with a matching knee-high skirt. The V-necked top hung a little low, as Cassie wasn’t well enough endowed in that department to hold it up, but she tried to hide this with a thin scarf made out of a delicate fabric printed with flowers. It hung down the middle of her chest, distracting the eye from what Cassie didn’t want people to notice. It was a neat trick that Eve filed away for future use. There were always body parts a girl wanted to disguise.
Swiping her finger across her phone screen, she was scrolling through some options for food when the phone buzzed, vibrating in her hand with a message from Marley that she read out to Cassie: “Bumped into my dad. He decided to take me out to dinner so I won’t be joining you. See you guys later. M.”
With Tyler still a no-show, and Marley now busy with her dad, Eve was stuck with Cassie. From the slope of her shoulders, she realized Cassie wasn’t too pleased about this either. She still harbored a grudge against her that didn’t look like it would be going any time soon. Eve could go home, avoid any attitude from her, but she was also big enough to know that she was at fault here. Their current estrangement was due to her own big mouth and it was up to her to fix it, especially if she didn’t want this nonsense to keep happening every time they were alone. Forcing a smile onto her lips, she looked at Cassie. “Since everyone else has dinner plans, should we go out too?"
While Eve had watched, Cassie had been trying — and failing — to smooth out the frizz in her ginger hair and was now attempting to reapply the eyeliner around her brown eyes when Eve’s question caused her hand to still. “You mean just the two of us?"
Eve shrugged. “Why not? Everybody else is out. We need to eat."
Cassie studied her through the mirror, holding her gaze as her eyes became distant. Eve could almost see the internal battle raging inside. "Yeah,” she said suddenly. “That sounds nice. There's a place I like that's not too far."
Eve let out the breath she hadn’t known she was holding. Relieved that she was finally getting somewhere, Eve stood up, heading towards the door. "Great. You lead.”
Cassie had been right, the restaurant wasn't far at all. Only two short blocks away.
Seeing it, Eve wished it was on the other side of town.
Approaching the glittering glass windows of the restaurant Eve slowed her walk to a crawl, trying not look as incredulous as she felt. "This? This is your favorite restaurant?"
Diamond chandeliers hung over every table, their jewels polished to a gleam. A giant tank full of tropical fish took up an entire wall and separated the dining area from the kitchen where busy chefs in white uniforms hustled, creating lavish dishes that looked too good to eat. A model-like Maître d’ stood by the door in what had to be a designer evening gown. Inside, the lighting was low, intimate. Jazz music played, the kind that had no words and seemed just a jumble of random notes.
It was everything Eve hated.
But that wasn't even the worst of it. The worst was the clientele. Like the Maître d’, the women paired designer dresses with high heels, the men tailored suits. Whether it was a real rule or not, the place had a dress code. Eve looked down at her outfit, a black and purple corset that she teamed with leggings and biker boots, chosen when she had been half awake. Then there was the small matter of her face… she would not be allowed inside a place like this. "I can't go in there," Eve said.
Cassie stopped a few yards from the Maître d’, staring back at her in consternation. There was no sign that showed she understood what the problem might be. "Why? I come here all the time."
She couldn’t be this clueless, could she? Eve gestured down herself. "Not looking like me you don't," she said finally. Whatever privileged filter Cassie had been wearing suddenly fell away as she took in Eve’s appearance.
"You don't look like the regular customers, that’s true, but I’m sure they won’t mind.” Apparently not accepting that the restaurant would have an issue with Eve, Cassie marched up to the woman at the door. To her surprise, the Maître d’ greeted Cassie with a warm hug. She really hadn’t been exaggerating when she said she came here all the time. Cassie spoke animatedly with the woman then pointed at Eve. The Maître d’ looked her over. Though the woman’s eyes did widen, she kept her cool before nodding, gesturing for Eve to approach. A flower of apprehension opened in her chest. Were they seriously letting her into this restaurant looking like this? Was this going to turn into a cruel joke? Was this how Cassie was going to get back at her, by humiliating her?
Despite any misgivings she felt, she couldn’t just walk away. Steeling herself for whatever was going to happen, Eve moved forward. The Maître d’ smiled at her with sultry lips. “Any friend of Cassie's is a friend of ours. Welcome to Sherbrooke restaurant. One of our waiters will show you to a table."
Blinking
, slightly shellshocked, Eve followed Cassie silently as their smartly-dressed waiter bowed his head at them. "If you ladies would follow me I have your table right here."
Cassie went with him, but Eve trailed behind, conscious of the looks being shot her way. Some startled diners looked down their noses at her, but most seemed to have better manners, keeping their reactions to themselves. The place was surrounded by glass and mirrors; she couldn't move a step without seeing her reflection and their responses. It wasn’t even that she was dressed so differently to the other clientele that had her sticking out: she was also one of the few Black people in the room. Every inch of her wanted to run back outside, but she needed to make things up to Cassie. If she wanted to eat here then Eve would have to stomach her discomfort and deal with it.
They wove through the maze of tables as their waiter led them to a table right next to the fish tank. Pulling out a chair, he helped them settle in as he handed them the menus, then left to give them time to look at them.
"I can't believe they let me in," Eve said, still waiting for the other shoe to drop.
"I've been coming here almost every week for years with my folks. I practically grew up here. Whenever my parents have an event or party, they usually do it here, so I figured they wouldn't have a problem with you, because otherwise, they would have to have a problem with me." There was no hint of guile or malicious intent in Cassie’s eyes.
Eve was hit by a wave of gratitude. Yes, they had their differences, but Cassie was proving to be a loyal friend. They were worlds apart in just about every way, yet here they were, about to have dinner. Feeling her tension fade, she opened her menu when her eyes widened in horror. How could she be so stupid? Just one of the mains would cost her a week of wages at the bar. As if Cassie could sense her discomfort, she looked over the top of the menu at her.
"I forgot to say when I suggested this restaurant, but don't worry about anything. Order what you want. It’s my treat.”