by Eden Ashley
Behind the dark of closed eyelids, aberrant images slowly began to seep in. There was a flash of wolves chasing her through the woods. Another flash and people were being devoured. A big man stood amongst the trees pointing and laughing at the gory scene. Kali frowned and struggled to make sense of it. But the water ran cold. Icy fingers nudged at her brain and body, jerking her from thought. She shook her head and left the shower.
Outside the bathroom, wonderful smells wafted upstairs. Kali wasn’t surprised. Most Saturdays, Lisa made breakfast for the family. Today smelled like pancakes and turkey sausage. Kali inhaled deeply. The delicious aromas tickled her nose and made her stomach growl, begging her to move faster. She slid into a pair of black sweatpants and headed downstairs, pulling Cal’s oversized hoodie over her tank top as she did so. It still smelled like him. But the scent of chocolate chip pancakes absolutely thrilled her, clearing out all thoughts of ex-boyfriends.
The kitchen was immediately visible from the bottom of the stairs. Sure enough, Lisa was busy at the stove whipping up another batch of pancakes and what could have been vegetarian omelets. The older woman was dancing, carefree and entirely out of step with the music playing from a stereo mounted below the cabinets. Without turning, Lisa posed a question in a motherly tone long ago perfected, “What time did you get in last night, young lady?”
“Um…” Kali really didn’t have an answer. “I think it was pretty late.”
That wasn’t going to fly. “You think?” Lisa repeated.
Kali took a seat at the table and started picking at the checkered table-cloth. “I don’t remember,” she admitted.
“Kalista!”
“I know. I’m sorry.”
Her adoptive mom had both hands on her hips, the pancake on the griddle forgotten. “Were you drinking?”
“No. No. I went to a movie like I told you…” Kali’s voice trailed as memories flooded in from the prior night. Empty, black eyes glowered hungrily from the rearview mirror. A dull throb began at the base of her skull. She remembered being pulled into the backseat, rough hands against her skin. She pressed a hand to her head discreetly, and tried not to remember what happened next.
“Kalista,” Lisa called again.
Blinking back the images, Kali concentrated on her not yet angry mom. “I went to a movie. That’s all, Lisa.” A knife, sharp and cold, pricked painfully at her throat. Her hand strayed there reflexively and felt the raised skin of a small nick. Alarm horns were blaring into the night. Her attacker screamed. His blood was everywhere. There was a voice, a face. The stranger.
Kali exhaled. Standing up abruptly, she began to arrange place settings at the table to disguise the motion. For a while, Lisa said nothing more. Then the smell of burning pancakes got her attention. With a squeal, she turned back to the stove, frantically scraping at the ruined flapjack in a futile attempt to save it.
“Flying fudge monkeys,” she muttered. The Metts had a rule. No profanity was allowed in the house. As a result, many other colorful expressions had been invented. “Kali, honey, come take the bacon out of the oven.”
“Bacon?” Kali repeated in surprise. The Metts had another rule. No cholesterol, fatty meats, or complex carbohydrates were allowed in the house. Of course, the rule was annulled when the girls were on their own for dinner. Cholesterol, fatty meats, and complex carbs were building blocks for fast food. And fast food was what Kali and Rozzy usually ordered.
Lisa smiled. “It’s turkey bacon, extra lean. Chop chop, before that burns too.” Kali hurried to the stove obediently, grabbing an oven mitt to retrieve the endangered breakfast while Lisa busied herself raking the ashes of the dead pancake into the trashcan. “Put the bacon in that awful serving dish. You know the one with the smiling pansies. It makes your dad happy to see me using it every once in awhile.”
Kali couldn’t help grunting as she retrieved the bulky orange, brown, and purple atrocity from the cabinet. Its colors matched nothing in Lisa’s meticulous black and red deco that was accented by white appliances. One of a kind and hand painted, the artist had chosen to place a brown flower as the focal piece in a field of happily colored pansies. If anyone gazed at the picture for more than three seconds, the brown blossom appeared to have teeth. To make matters worse, Greg’s mother had given the “gift” to Lisa as a tenth anniversary present.
“It’s not like she hasn’t been here a million times.” Lisa gestured about the kitchen. “She’s seen my taste. That woman intentionally picked out the most garish item from the bargain bin at the flea market.” Lisa shook her head, continuing to rant. Kali sort of tuned her out. Every use of the serving dish incited the same speech from Lisa. Each time Lisa came to the same conclusion. “All these years and she still hates me.”
“She’s not so fond of me either,” Kali said without thinking. She had often thought those words but never said them out loud.
Lisa carried the omelets and pancakes to the table with a concerned expression. “Why would you say such a thing?”
Too late to take it back. “It’s the way she looks at me some times. And stuff she says…more so what she doesn’t say.”
After a hesitant pause, Lisa told Kali something she had never explained to her daughter before. “Greg’s only brother died young. When your father and I accepted that we couldn’t conceive any more children, his mother took it even harder than we did. She understandably wanted a grandson to carry on the family name. We all decided that Greg and I would adopt a boy, but then you came to us Kali and we completely fell in love with you. I’ve never regretted the decision and neither has Greg.” She tucked a lock of Kali’s hair behind her ear. “Marie didn’t feel the same way. She’s really angry at me for not being able to give Greg a son.”
“I’m sorry, Lisa.”
Though it had happened decades in the past, a shadow of pain flickered across the older woman’s face. She smiled bravely. But it was a sad expression. “I’m not,” she said.
Kali turned away. She didn’t like to see Lisa so unhappy.
In a rare moment of perfect timing, Rozzy ducked past the kitchen window from the outside. Her clothes were the same from the night before, though wrinkled as if they’d been slept in. Moses spotted her too and meowed longingly at the window.
“Crapola,” Kali whispered, remembering something else she had forgotten.
Chapter 8
Kali quickly looked at her adoptive mom to see if she had noticed her kid sneaking around outside. But Lisa was too busy shooing Moses out of the kitchen. “I’ll go bring Greg and Rozzy down for breakfast,” Kali said. Without waiting for a reply, she dashed up the stairs.
“Greg!” she called and pounded on her parents’ door. “Breakfast is ready! There’s real bacon!” The last part was a lie, but she needed him downstairs ASAP to keep Lisa occupied.
Kali put her ear against the door and heard socked feet walking hurriedly across the carpet. Greg opened the door. His expression was heartbreakingly hopeful.
“Did you say bacon?”
Kali nodded, feeling slightly guilty. But maybe he wouldn’t notice the difference. She tiptoed down the stairs and located Lisa. Her back was turned. Kali darted through the living room and rushed to the back door. Moses had beaten her there. The cat stood flicking her tail from side to side expectantly.
Rozzy’s face turned bright red as soon as she saw Kali. “Way to go for ditching me last night.”
“Actually, you ditched me first. But I’m sorry.”
“What happened to you?”
I think I was attacked and nearly raped by a tub of butter flavored lard at knife point. But I can’t be certain. The details are fuzzy. Yeah, the truth was a no go.
“You’re not the only one with secrets,” Kali said and pulled her sister inside. She kept talking so Rozzy wouldn’t ask any more questions. “They don’t know you haven’t been home. Go upstairs and put on some sweats or something. You look terrible. Come down in ten minutes and sa
y you had trouble sleeping.” She examined Rozzy again. “But take a shower first. You smell like cheap aftershave. It’s incriminating.”
Rolling her eyes, Rozzy brushed past Kali and disappeared up the stairs. Precisely twelve minutes later, she reappeared looking like she had recently woken up. That probably wasn’t much of a stretch.
At the breakfast table, Greg was very disappointed to see turkey bacon on the plate in front of him. But Rozzy and Kali ate with enthusiasm since both of them had missed dinner the night before. Between bites, they told at least a dozen lies to cover their tracks. Rozzy constructed an artful story about the night of bonding she and Kali had shared. She even summed up the plot of the last movie they saw together, a romantic comedy in theaters two years before Rozzy went to college, and simply took creative liberties with any details she didn’t remember. The parents bought it. Kali listened absently until it was over. When the family breakfast was done, she went down to the basement to watch television.
The rest of the afternoon was uneventful until around four o’clock when the phone rang. Kali let it go a few times, hoping someone upstairs would pick up. Five rings later, no one had. She gave in and answered. Her boss’ voice and a lot of static greeted her from the other end.
“This is Mack Richards. Is Kali available?”
“Yeah, this is she.”
“Oh good, I’m glad I reached you! How is your weekend coming along?” The receiver crackled with his excitement.
Kali suspected the feigned interest in her weekend was just a formality. Mack was typically only nice when he needed something. She decided to test her theory. “I’m fine but last night my dog got hit by a car and might have to be put down. We’re headed to the vet right now.”
“Oh that’s exciting,” Mack said, and went on without pause. “Hey sweetie, listen. I know it’s your weekend off but I need you to come into work tomorrow morning. And I need you here a couple of hours early.”
The extra money sounded good. “Sure, what’s going on?”
“I need you to enter some data from my last expedition.”
“That has to be done at five in the morning?”
“I want it done before the rest of the office gets in and you’re too busy with other assignments. I don’t want this muddled up. I need your full concentration because I can’t have any of the mistakes you’ve been making lately.”
Kali sat up from the sunken sofa, wondering what the heck Mack was talking about. She had the lowest error rate in the office and had for a year now. But she wasn’t going to argue with him. “Okay,” she conceded. “I’ll be there first thing.”
“Thanks. I knew I could count on you.”
“No problem. I’ll see you soon.” She lowered the phone to the cradle, but Mack’s voice rang out again.
“Kali!”
Restraining a sigh, she brought the phone back to her ear. “Yes, Mr. Richards?”
“Don’t be late.” A final click signaled the line was disconnected.
It was the signature Mack maneuver: get in, get what you want, and get out. But he was the guy who signed her paycheck. And the job was helping her save for college. Above all else, it gave Kali awesome exposure to the field of archaeology.
A few seconds later, the phone rang again. She hit pause on the remote and snatched up the telephone. “Hello.”
“Hey, Kal. Let’s go out tonight.” It was Callan.
“I went out last night.”
“But not with me.”
“That’s because we broke up,” she replied flatly.
“Come on, Kal, this is stupid. Yesterday is water under the bridge.” He paused. “I shouldn’t have gotten so upset with you.”
She pushed a stray curl out of her eyes and sighed. Every movement stirred his scent from the sweatshirt. It had become so familiar in their three years of dating. “Callan, I can’t.”
“Would you just talk to me? Please?”
Smelling him while hearing his voice caused her resolve to deteriorate. “I got in pretty late last night. I don’t think Greg and Lisa will let me go out again.” That didn’t sound convincing even to her.
“That’s a lame excuse. Tell Lisa it’s me and she’ll bring Greg around. They might even pay for our dinner.”
Kali laughed. What he said was true. Lisa absolutely adored Cal. “That boy is going somewhere. He’s perfect for you,” she always said. “How long before you get here?”
“I can be there in ten.”
Kali narrowed her eyes. “Unbelievable. You were already on your way.”
He at least had the sense to sound abashed. “I sort of figured you’d say yes.”
“Well I need half an hour. Don’t get here before then. I don’t care if you have to park at the end of the street.” She hung up, wondering what she had agreed to and why. In her mind, yesterday had truly been it for them. Kali had known all along that she and Callan couldn’t last forever. It would be better for both of them if she let him go. If only the guy would let her.
Chapter 9
There wasn’t much time to decide what to wear. Cal hadn’t exactly said where they were headed. And Kali had been too distracted to ask. She tried to think like him. It wasn’t difficult. He’d said he wanted to talk. That would mean dinner somewhere, maybe at one of those artsy downtown restaurants he liked. Then again, Cal had the tendency to ignore any problems between them. A busy Saturday night was a great time to sneak into a nightclub and go dancing. Both she and Cal looked years older than seventeen, so it would be easy. They had done it plenty of times before.
Kali settled for the universal little black dress, halter style with a sinful neckline. Wearing it made her feel ten times sexier. The fabric glided against her skin, complementing the sultry curves she both loved and hated at varying moments. The dress had never failed to make Cal drool. They were breaking up, but she didn’t want him to move on too quickly.
A pair of red and black striped heels completed the outfit. She did a few turns in front of the mirror. “Nice,” she said aloud. Then her shoulders dropped. “Why am I doing this again?”
No time to straighten her hair, Kali twisted her curls into a simple up-do. A ton of bobby pins made it possible. Starting with shadow, she lined her eyes, and applied mascara for a smoky effect. Throwing a few items into a clutch, she headed down the hall to her parents’ room and knocked on the door twice. Waiting for permission to enter was the best policy. With the sex drive of a couple of twenty-year olds, barging in on Greg and Lisa could have meant emotional scarring for life.
“Come in,” they called in unison.
Kali stuck only her head through the door. It was better if they didn’t see her racy outfit. Kali wasn’t sure if Lisa even knew that she owned such a revealing piece of clothing. “I wanted to let you know that I’m going out.”
They were on their laptops, each getting ready for big upcoming trials. Being such successful lawyers came with a price. Sometimes it seemed like the two of them never stopped working. Even when on the annual family vacation, they kept in constant contact with their offices.
When Kali spoke, Greg and Lisa looked up at the same time. Twins couldn’t have been better matched. “You went out last night,” Greg said. Lisa nodded in agreement.
“Cal called. He wants to talk.”
Greg narrowed his eyes. “As long as talking is all you do.”
Lisa smiled hopefully. “Do you need money?”
“No.”
She pointed a finger in warning. “Don’t be late again.”
“I won’t.”
The doorbell chimed from downstairs, and Lisa looked confused. “He’s already here?”
Greg patted his wife’s leg. “Because they knew we’d say yes. That girl could be a lawyer. I don’t know why she misapplies herself.”
Kali said her thanks and hurriedly escaped down the stairs. She got to the front door by the third chime of the bell, opening it to find her ex looking pretty fabulo
us on the stoop. Her choice of clothing had been right on the money, matching the black slacks and dress shirt Cal wore. Kali remembered buying him the shirt for their second year anniversary. She wondered what exactly he had up his sleeve.
He looked her up and down. His eyes stopped at about chest level on the way back up. “You look amazing.” His voice sounded unnaturally husky. “It’s been less than a day and I’ve already missed you. I got a slow leak, Kal.” Taking a step forward, he wrapped one arm around her waist.
She stiffened slightly when he pulled her closer. “What are you doing?”
“I don’t want to fight anymore.” He kissed her.
She sighed as his tongue pressed into her mouth. His lips moved to her bare shoulders, and her brain got a little foggy. At the side of his throat, she watched a tiny pulse beat methodically. The rhythm was entrancing. Kali squeezed her eyes shut. The last time she’d taken from him had ended in a struggle not to lose control. Violent thoughts had haunted her for days. Something about Cal’s spark was too dark for her to handle. Maybe it was because of his past.
He caught her lips again, tugging her from thought. His kisses became more yearning and urgent. He cupped her face. Kali started to speak, but he pressed a finger to her lips. “Don’t.” His eyes slid toward the stairs. “Are your parents here?”
“Yeah, Casanova, so don’t even think about it.” She patted his broad chest. “Let’s go to dinner. So we can talk.”
“Okay. Let’s get out of here.”
They were barely out of the neighborhood when the argument happened.
“We don’t have to break up because I’m going to college. I love you and I want to make this work.”
“Maybe the talking should wait until after we’ve eaten. I’ll be in a better mood then.”
“No. Let’s do this now.” His blue eyes were determined. “You’ll be done with high school in a year. Come and join me at the university. We’ll get an apartment together.”
“I can’t work, live with you, and focus on my studies.”