A shiver runs down my spine. It must be the Hunters.
He shakes his head. “Don’t you have to be at work soon?”
“I, umm, I have a couple hours, but I’m starving. Do you want to get something to eat at the diner? I’ll be happy to go in early.”
“Sounds good to me.” He smiles.
“Let me change. Come inside and give me a few minutes.”
The diner isn’t busy and Kyle isn’t behind the grill.
Roger greets us when we sit. “Hey Alice! Are you here to eat before your shift?”
“I thought I’d try some of the food I’ve been serving. This is my cousin, Fonso.”
“What can I get you?” Roger asks. I see he isn’t holding a pad to write it down. “Sam is cooking now and he’s the best.”
“I won’t tell Kyle you said that.” I grin.
“Kyle knows it.” He laughs. “I’m too outspoken not to say anything.”
“I can see that.”
“I’ll have a burger, well done, with fries,” Fonso says.
“With all the fixin’s?” Roger asks.
He nods.
“I’ll have the same.” I give him our menus.
“Sounds good.”
Roger tells Sam our order through the window instead of writing it down for him. No other server is here, and Abby is nowhere. It’s a one-man show right before the night shift.
“I’ve never been here before.” Fonso looks around the tiny diner.
“Do you have a job?” I ask.
“I work part-time at the bookstore, mainly on weekends. It gives me money for my car, but I end up spending more there than anywhere.”
“What do you like to read?”
“Steampunk and Sci Fi mostly. I’ll do the occasional fantasy, but often real life is crazier than what I read in a book.”
“I can understand that.”
“Do you like to read?”
Roger brings us water. “It’ll be out in a moment.” He goes back to the counter and wipes it down.
“I do, but I haven’t in a while. I’m interested in the environment, marine biology, and some archeology, so I stick to the non-fiction section of the library.” I tap my nails on the table. “I’ve taken several correspondence courses online because we never stay in one place long enough to go to college.”
“We?”
Emptiness forms in my chest. “I meant my Dad and me, when we were together.”
“Where is he now?”
I wish I knew. “I left him in Louisiana.”
“And your Dad didn’t tell you about us?”
The conversation takes a turn for the worse. I’m not prepared to answer these questions, not knowing if I need to answer them truthfully.
“No.”
“Here you go.” Roger places our plates in front of us. “Bon appetite.”
“Thank you,” Fonso and I say in unison.
I immediately shove the burger in my mouth and take an enormous bite. “Mmm, amazing.”
Roger smiles. “I know.” He leaves us to enjoy the meal.
Fonso digs in too, and the questions stop. I’m relieved.
We finish our meals and Kyle walks through the front door. He waves.
Fonso stares at him. “That’s Kyle, huh?”
“Yep. I guess that’s my sign I need to start work.” I dig into my bag. “Lunch is on me.”
“No, I can’t.” Fonso reaches for his wallet.
“Nope, it’s on me. Thank you for the ride and the rescue today.” I glide over to the register and give Roger my money while stepping behind the counter.
Fonso follows me. “Thanks Alice.”
“See you soon, I hope.” I wave.
“You bet.” He walks out and heads to his car.
“He seems like a nice fellow,” Roger says, giving me my change.
“Keep it.”
“No, Alice. I ain’t no server and I’ll take no tip from ya.”
Smiling, I take my money and shove it into my pocket. “Can I leave my bag somewhere safe?”
“Sure, in my office.” He leads me through the kitchen where Kyle relieves Sam, the burly cook who makes a mean burger. “It’s always unlocked, so you can squeeze in here and get it any time.”
“Thanks.” I set my bag in the office.
“Sure thing.” He shuts the door and removes his apron. “I’ll see you all later. It’s you two tonight, so take it easy.”
Sam and Roger leave out the back door together.
Kyle leans against the post at the kitchen entrance. “I’m sorry about this morning. I didn’t mean to seem stalker-like.”
“I didn’t…I don’t think you’re stalking me.” I clean the table Fonso and I sat at, bringing the dishes into the back.
“You didn’t tell me yesterday that you knew Colin.” I said. “You yelled at him for almost running me over, but you didn’t mention you knew him from school.”
“School?” Kyle’s surprise gnaws at me. Did Colin lie?
“He said you went to school together.” I wash my hands in the sink.
“We never went to school together. I’d be surprised if he even attended high school.” Kyle goes back into the kitchen, grabbing pans and placing them on the stove.
“Why did he say that then?” I move to the window separating the kitchen from the counter.
The bell above the door rings and our first customer enters, taking me away from the conversation.
For the remainder of the evening, Kyle avoids me, cooking and doing kitchen tasks. When eleven o’clock rolls around, Roger comes in and closes the diner. Damn, I realize I missed the bus again. I need to ask Roger about leaving a few minutes early so I can catch it.
I wait for Kyle outside.
“Why were you avoiding me?” I cross my arms.
“I wasn’t.” He walks to his Jeep.
“Yes, you are.” I walk behind him.
He breathes loudly. “I’m sorry. Colin is a sore subject.”
“That’s obvious.”
“Do you want a ride home?”
Sheepishly, I lower my head. “Yes, thank you.”
Once in the passenger seat, I repeat the question that’s been lingering on my mind all night. “Why did Colin say you were in school together?”
“Colin and I trained together. It was in a fighting class, like martial arts.”
We pass the bus stop. Colin stands by his truck where he parked last night, watching me as Kyle drives past. Kyle doesn’t see him. Colin’s face heats with anger.
“It was a long time ago,” Kyle continues. “I didn’t like him then and I don’t like him now.”
“Thank you for telling me, and for the ride home.”
“You’re welcome.”
We near the campground.
“You can drop me off here, at the entrance.”
“Are you sure? I don’t mind going in.”
“Yes, I’m sure.” I don’t want to stir Deena or anyone else and draw attention.
“Okay, here you go.” He pulls up to the entrance, turning his Jeep around.
“Thanks again.”
He drives away, leaving me to think about Colin and the look he had when we passed. Guilt bubbles inside me. He was waiting for me and I ignored him.
On the way to my cabin, I see Fonso’s car. Fonso stands outside Aunt Simza’s trailer arguing with her.
Chapter 12
Aunt Simza shakes her head and slams the door in Fonso’s face. He raises his arm and opens his hand. The ground shakes and a rock shoots through the air slamming into the closest tree trunk.
My mouth hangs open.
Fonso spots me and races in my direction. He slows when he nears me.
I raise my hand.
Fonso stops a few feet from me. “Alice, we need to talk.”
“W-w-what was that?” I point to the tree trunk near Aunt Simza’s trailer. “The rock just flew…without you touching it.”
“I can explain.” Fonso hold
s his hands up as if trying to hush me. “It’s not what you think.”
“Was I dreaming? I’m tired, for sure, but I’m certain of what I saw, damn it.” I walk toward my cabin, ignoring him.
“Alice, please listen.” He grabs my left arm.
I drop the cabin key.
He picks the key up and hands it to me.
“You told me you have no abilities. Your family said the same.”
He lowers his head. “I lied.”
I hold the door open for him. “Why?”
He exhales and walks inside. I gesture to the couch and he sits, making himself comfortable. “It’s a long story.”
I should have been exhausted from the day’s events, but I was too pumped. “Let’s hear it.” I close the door and place my bag on the counter.
He scoots over, making room for me sit next to him. “First off, my family didn’t lie to you. They don’t know what I’m able to do.”
“What was that?”
He leans on his side, facing me. “Telekinesis.”
“What? Like moving things with your mind?” I ask. “What kind of things? How doesn’t your family know this?”
“Aunt Simza knows. She’s the one who told me to keep it a secret because it’s a dangerous ability.”
“Dangerous? How?”
“How much do you know about your mother?” He lifts an eyebrow.
“My mother?” A deep-seated sadness rises in the pit of my stomach. “I don’t know anything. Dad told me she died giving birth to me. She was beautiful, he told me, but I’ve never seen a picture, so I wouldn’t know.”
“He didn’t mention her gift?”
“No.”
“Aunt Simza told me she had the same ability I do. Her family knew and often used her for profit when she was younger. Our grandfather would charge fees for people to see her, like a circus freak. He used all of them, actually.”
I was suddenly sick to my stomach and I was glad I hadn’t eaten anything since the burger at lunch. I push the horrifying thought away and ask, “My mother was telekinetic?”
He nods. “Aunt Simza said she was very powerful. She could move boulders and buses. She could uproot trees and juggle hundreds of balls at the same time.”
“And you, too?”
He shakes his head. “I’m not that strong. Aunt Simza said it’s because I don’t use it often. I’m suppressing it, because everything she’s ever told me scared me. The only time something happens is when I’m angry.”
I can relate. My emotions rule my ability. I open my mouth to say so, and then tighten my lips.
“How does your mother not know? Didn’t you always have this ability, even when you were young?” I remember all of those natural disasters that weren’t so natural. They followed me to every town. Dad knew it from the moment I was born, or so he told me.
“I’ve always had it. Ma was so wrapped up in her drama…her problems…her ability, that she rarely paid attention to me. I’ve always been an introvert, so I spent a lot of the time by myself, playing alone.”
“And Aunt Simza saw you?”
“Yes, she saw it when I was very young. She protected me, too. She’d coach me to not use my ability in front of anyone. She’d tell me the boogieman would come and snatch me. As I grew older, she told me other people would hunt me down if they knew what I could do. Just like…”
“Just like what?” My curiosity peaks and I feel my body stiffen.
“Like they hunted your mother.”
I wasn’t sure what I was expecting, but that wasn’t it. “The Hunters,” I whisper.
“What?” he asks.
By him confiding in me, it’s like an instant bond has formed between us. When I glance up to meet his eyes, I feel I can trust him. “Dad told me she died giving birth to me.” I’m filled with an overwhelming numbness.
“Aunt Simza said your mother and father ran away from everyone before they had you. She figures the Hunters got her because Lyuba appeared to Aunt Simza.”
It dawns on me that Aunt Simza speaks with the dead. “Did my mother tell her?”
“She didn’t speak to Aunt Simza, she only appeared to let her know she’d passed. A warning to leave. That’s when Aunt Simza, Ma, and Pa took me and ran. They escaped our grandfather and found refuge with a carnival. The first in a long line of changes.”
“This is so much…I don’t know what to think or say.” My mind races. “Why were you arguing with her tonight? Aunt Simza, that is.”
“She called Ma and told her she was leaving and this time she wanted to leave alone. She didn’t want us to follow her or bother her anymore.” He leans back and studies the ceiling. “She wouldn’t tell me why. She’s so angry. I have no idea why they are fighting and what is causing her to leave us. We’ve been together forever and it feels like she’s abandoning us…me. She was the only one who knew.”
“You trust her.”
“She warned us if we were ever in danger. The dead always look out for her. Why would she put us in harm’s way by leaving us?”
“I don’t know.”
“Will you keep my secret?” His eyes plead with me.
“Yes.”
“Tell no one ever?”
“It’s not my secret to share. I’d never do that to you.”
“I believe you.” He stands. “I’m going to go. I’m sure you’re tired from working.”
“Thank you, Fonso.” I hug him. It’s tempting to tell him my secret…the biggest secret of my life, but that warning written on a piece of paper enters my head. Make sure no one learns of your ability…no one!
He leaves and thoughts of my mother flood me. Did the Hunters get her? Did she really die like Dad had told me? I came here for answers, searching for my father, but all I find is more questions.
Low on clothes, I head into town early to shop. Filled with bags, I arrive at work and stuff them in Roger’s office.
“Went shopping?” Kyle smiles. He flips a sizzling burger on the grill.
“Needed to get a few things. Running low on supplies.”
“We aren’t your storage unit, you know.” Abby pushes her retro looking glasses up her nose.
“Hush, Abby.” Roger says. “You’re getting crankier by the minute, I swear. Let’s go home.”
“You’re married?” It came out of my mouth before I could hold it in and it sounded awful.
Roger laughs. “Going on forty-five years now, believe it or not.”
“That may be all you’re getting, you big oaf.” Abby frowns.
“I’m sorry, that wasn’t my place to ask.”
“Don’t worry your head none.” Roger waves and rushes Abby out the door.
“It doesn’t make sense, does it?” Kyle pokes his head through the window.
“Not at all.” I put my apron on. “I don’t know why I didn’t pick up on it before.”
“Because they don’t act like a married couple.” Kyle places two plates in the window. “Order.”
The night flies by as a constant stream of diners come in. The tips feel heavy in my pocket and I don’t feel so guilty for spending money on clothes today. All the extra money that was in that envelope is almost gone and I need to start buying groceries and paying rent soon.
Roger comes in at eleven and shoos us out, saying he’ll help with the dishes since the washer guy didn’t show tonight. Kyle took turns cleaning and cooking all night.
“I’ll need you both back on Tuesday. Enjoy your days off.”
“Thanks Roger.”
Kyle holds the door open. “Seems like we are official work partners. I think Roger has ulterior motives.”
“Huh?”
“We work together…the same hours, and now he’s giving us the same time off?”
“Oh.” My face feels flushed.
“Would you like to…if you’re not too tired, that is…go watch the stars with me?” He rakes his hands through his hair.
“Now?” He shrugs. No one has ever asked me t
o go stargazing. “Okay. Sounds like fun.”
“Really?” He grins. “Let’s go. I have a great telescope. You will be amazed.”
Kyle drives fifteen minutes west. “It’s the best place to see the night clearly, away from the lights of the town and the coast.”
He parks at the dead end of a dirt road.
“This is secluded.”
He grabs his gear from the back, including a huge lens.
“Do you need help?” I ask.
“Can you take the bag? It has the tripod in it. That would help.”
I follow him down a path to an open clearing. Grass and dandelions stand ankle high.
“Wow, you’re right. It’s so dark and the stars are so bright.”
A few clouds pass over the hundreds of twinkling stars, making way for the clearest, liveliest night sky I’ve ever seen.
“Wait until you see it through the scope.” Kyle sets it up and his enthusiasm entices me to be equally excited.
“You really are passionate about this.”
“I’ve always been fascinated with space and the possibilities.” He messes with the knob on the telescope as he looks through the lens. “Look at this.”
I can see craters on the grayish moon. “That’s amazing.” I stare longer and see the cracks and wonder how big some of those holes are.
Pulling back, he readjusts the position.
“Here’s another one that will blow you away. I’m so glad we can see it tonight.” He backs away and lets me gaze.
“I can see the rings.” It looks like two rings around Saturn. “It’s so clear and seems so close.”
He allows me to watch a while longer. I feel like I’m watching a National Geographic special. I pull back. “You want to see Jupiter?” he asks.
I nod.
He continues to show me a pinwheel galaxy, some clusters, and several planets in our solar system. We move to the blanket when our space exploration finishes.
“I didn’t know they could be so beautiful through the telescope like that. I mean, I’ve seen them on TV, but this is so pure and raw and real.” My smile widens as we lay with our arms holding our heads up.
“I’m glad you enjoyed it.” He turns on his side and faces me. “It’s the best time to see it, on a clear night with no clouds. The weatherman says we are in store for showers tomorrow night, so I wanted to get out tonight and see what space had to offer me.”
Lightning Struck (The Roaming Curse Book 1) Page 7