One is Come

by C. H. MacLean

  Chapter 3

  Eavesdropping

  Long after a quick and quiet dinner, Haylwen skulked to her usual spot on the living room couch to eavesdrop on her parents. Her book, propped open on her lap, provided her some measure of cover story if she was caught. Sitting on the couch arm, slouched, and resting her head against the wall, she could hear into the office. Her parent’s “office discussions,” as they called them, were really fights. Like everyone didn't know what they really were. A recurring favorite was her mother not wanting to move again, and her father telling her why they had to. Her mother always lost those arguments. She won every other argument they had, but not that one. Haylwen knew that they were going to have a fight tonight and really wanted to be prepared for what was coming.

  Her father was talking too low and quiet for her to really make out what he was saying. Did he just say fire? Although she thought they were going to be arguing about her, having it confirmed put a block of ice in her stomach. She closed her eyes and pressed her ear to the cool wall.

  “At it again, huh?”

  Haylwen jumped at her brother’s voice and almost screamed, but caught it for fear of her parents hearing her. “I wasn’t! I mean…”

  Cadarn must have been in a forgiving mood, as he let the opportunity to torment her slide by. As he stood next to the couch, he leaned against the wall. “No, I mean them,” he said quietly. “Is it time to move again? Funny, Dad usually drops a few hints before we get to this point.”

  “It’s my fault,” Haylwen said in a whisper as she tried to hide the tears welling in her eyes. She clutched her book tightly and stared at her brother’s knees.

  “Yeah, usually is.” He couldn’t let that one slide by, but said it with softness. Sometimes teasing is more comforting than stinging.

  Haylwen's grip on her emotions slipped as the comfort let her relax her control. The tears flowed, but she managed to keep her voice quiet. “No, really, I… I… the school wall caught on fire, and I was there, and I am suspended for a week!”

  “Yeah, I know. Amanda’s posting it all over the internet.” Cadarn looked at her sideways. “She says you lit the building on fire, threw some kind of fire bomb.”

  “How would I get a bomb?” she whispered fiercely. “She must have poured something on the wall and Kim had a lighter —something. They set me up!” Her anger slipped back into despair. “And I thought they were going to be my friends!”

  Cadarn crossed his arms. “Real-life friends are too much bother. It’s much more efficient to just do electronic social networking.”

  Haylwen looked at her brother. Two years older, his face was still similar enough to hers, with big lips and high cheekbones, to prove they were related. Regardless, sometimes he said things that made him sound like an alien.

  “I want to have real friends! I just want to be normal.”

  “Us? Moving as much as we do is not normal, might as well face it,” Cadarn said softly.

  “Speak for yourself,” Haylwen griped, regretting the words as soon as they left her lips. He was just trying to help.

  Cadarn’s hazel eyes went hard. “Yes, I'm not normal like Amanda.” He leaned forward to whisper. “I don’t mock my friends on the internet for the world to see.” He stood, giving her a parting smirk as he left.

  Haylwen fumed at her stupid brother and his know-it-all attitude. Friends, she sneered in her head, like he had more than just CJ. But she didn’t even have one real friend, yet, maybe. She had checked online, and had seen what Amanda was saying, but Kim hadn’t posted anything yet. Maybe I could talk to Kim after I am done spying.

  The thought jolted her back to what she was doing on the couch in the first place. She scrubbed her damp face with the back of her hand and focused on listening again. Her mother was starting to get loud, which meant she could understand more of what was going on, but it also usually meant they were almost done fighting. Oh no, she thought. Did Cadarn make me miss anything important?

  “She hasn’t shown any signs!” Mrs. Rightad said.

  That was clearly about her. Had they gotten to her punishment already? Her father’s response was too low to hear, but her mother interrupted him before he could have said much.

  “Well, no, but there is no way…” something not quite clear enough to hear. She strained, and her father’s response came through muffled, something about Cadarn? Her mother’s response was clear.

  “No, I'll talk to her, you have to go out tomorrow and this can't wait.”

  Haylwen’s stomach clenched even tighter. She tried to listen, but couldn't really hear anymore. Were they finished already? She must have missed a lot arguing with her stupid brother.

  She sat back and tried to think. Well, she thought, at least I found out it was Mom who was going to talk to me about punishment. Her father was iron, cool, and calm but so firm once he set his mind to something there was no room for negotiation. Her mother, on the other hand, had a temper, but also a soft side, and there might be a chance to soften the blow— if she wasn’t too mad. It didn’t sound like she was mad, more like she was defending me. Maybe. Hopefully.

  Haylwen felt a little better knowing she would be talking to her mother. She had a chance.

  She heard the office door open and her mother walk to the kitchen and start cleaning. She always cleaned after a fight. Their tiny apartment had the cleanest kitchen in the whole building, she was sure. Haylwen sat there, waiting for her mother to finish, thinking to herself.

  I am going to talk to Mom. She considered blaming Amanda and Kim. But that would never work. No, if I am going to be punished anyway, I have to at least defend Kim. An idea struck, and she sat up, heart racing.

  Yes, that’s it—make Kim out to be a good influence! This whole thing could be the best thing that ever happened to me! Maybe, finally, she had come up with a good enough reason to prevent their next move! Yeah, Haylwen imagined saying. Kim is a good influence on me, will keep me out of trouble, a stabilizing influence. Moving as much as we do disrupts my development, gets me into trouble. But Kim is such a good person, so rare. That might just work.

  And… if she was going to talk to her mother, she could start on her first. She and her mother were a lot alike, in some ways. Her mother would understand, she is always complaining that her friends and family are too far away. Maybe if Haylwen and her mother teamed up, they could convince her dad not to move whenever he was planning on doing it. Yes, if she and her mother started now, they might just convince him that this was the place to finally stay for a while. She smiled. She could take any punishment if it meant they would finally stay in one place long enough for her to actually have a real friend.