Limbo's Child (Book One of The Dead Things Series)

by Jonah Hewitt

  It was interminable, but she eventually managed to work her way over to the card racks by way of the teddy bears, the floral case, the souvenirs, the candy bars, the pajama racks, the toiletries, the teddy bears again and then the magazine selection. She was there. Deep breath. She was less than two feet away from him, but she couldn’t take a direct look at him without looking suspicious. So, she looked at his hands. They were beautiful – elegant but not at all dainty. Strong and powerful-looking, but not thick or hammy. His forearms were great too, muscular but not bulging or veiny. Good. Guys that worked out too much were vain and self-centered. She was just a few seconds into hand and arm rapture before she realized it would look pretty odd for her to stand there without looking at a card, so she grabbed one at random. She was staring directly at it as if perusing her options, but couldn’t see a thing because she was concentrating so hard on her peripheral vision. He was looking at get-well cards for grandmothers. He was getting a card for his grandmother! He was probably here to visit her too. What a sweetie.

  She leaned forward a little and risked a sideward glance. His shirt read “Han shot first.” That made her smile. Her mom was a huge Han Solo fan. Ok, so he liked science fiction and that meant he was probably a little bit of a geek too. That was good – geeks weren’t too self-obsessed or vain, but he wasn’t too geeky or weird, though he did seem a bit pale. Maybe he played video games in his mom’s basement all day. She leaned in a little closer and took in a deep breath. He even smelled great. He smelled like a mix of cut grass and fresh water and good, clean earth with just a touch of campfire or barbecue. He smelled like summer. He smelled like Texas. He smelled like home. “Nope, definitely not a basement-dwelling gamer,” Lucy thought.

  He probably worked outside a lot, maybe with people or animals. In a split second, she imagined they were riding a horse together. She was riding in front with one of his arms tightly around her middle while his other hand held the reins. They were galloping across a beach at sunset. Lucy put the card she was holding over her face to hide her smile. She was getting carried away with herself, she thought. Entirely unpractical and her mom would not approve. Mom. She turned away a little sad. She had let herself daydream a little too much. It had been fun to forget for a while, but she had to come back to earth.

  She turned to her right to take one last look at him. He was gone! Somehow, he had slipped away while she was daydreaming. Darn it! She craned her neck to see if he was somewhere in the back of the store. She wasn’t certain why, but she just had to see him one last time. He wasn’t anywhere. Maybe he had left? She instantly felt a twinge of regret and turned to make a dash for the lobby to see if she could catch one last look. She didn’t get far.

  “Ouch!” Lucy collided hard into the firm midsection of another person and fell backward from the jolt. When she could focus her eyes, she found she was sitting on her backside staring at a pair of vintage wingtips. She slowly scanned up the legs in black jeans that were attached to the shoes. Further up, her eyes climbed until they met a brown t-shirt that read “Han shot first.” Lucy quickly tried to look away, but inexorably her eyes were drawn back. The boy was lowering himself, crouching down until his face was just a few inches from hers, his crystal-blue eyes shimmering, his blonde hair flowing around his face, backlit by the gift shop’s track lighting. He was even more beautiful up close. Perfect skin and perfect teeth too. Great smile. It all seemed to be unfolding in slow motion until finally she realized he was talking to her.

  “Um…what?” she said, shaking her head to clear it.

  “I said, ‘are you ok?’ I’m sorry. I didn’t see you there. Here, let me help you up.”

  It took Lucy a moment to realize he had extended his hand to her. Lucy froze. It was like her hands were stuck to the floor in glue. She let herself fantasize a little. She imagined that he was reaching for her hand asking her to dance, or maybe he was reaching down to pull her up onto the back of a white stallion. “This is silly,” she thought. Finally, she slowly reached up a hand and placed it in his. It fit perfectly. All at once he lifted Lucy – she felt weightless and was instantly on her feet. His hand was strong and surprisingly cold. She had a flash of him leaning over her languid, ecstatic body to…kiss her? Or was it to take a bite out of her neck? She couldn’t tell. “That was odd,” she thought. She usually didn’t go in for the whole goth-vampire-romance thing at all, but there were plenty of her friends in Texas who did, so maybe that’s where that came from. She quickly pulled her hand away.

  She stood there unsure of what to say. Finally, she just looked down and pulled her hair behind her ears and said, “Um…thanks.”

  He just smiled a friendly, normal smile and then said, “Here, you dropped your card, let me get that for you.” Before she could even react he had bent down and retrieved the card she had dropped. He held it for a moment and read it aloud, “Congratulations…on your twins…step-daughter?”

  Lucy’s eyes widened. She hadn’t even noticed what the card had said.

  “Boy…they got cards for every occasion don’t they?” He handed the card back to her.

  “Yeah,” Lucy grabbed the card back and stared at it…sure enough, that’s what it said. She lamely tried to think of a cover story. “Yeah…I was getting it for a friend…a friend whose stepdaughter just had…twins?” She hadn’t meant it to come out sounding like a question. She cringed. Whether he bought it or not, she couldn’t tell. He just smiled. An awkward silence fell on them.

  He took a step forward and just stood there looking at her…deeply. Why was he just standing there looking at her? His eyes were so blue and clear – so deep – she just had to take a step back to withstand their intensity. It was making her very anxious. She was frantically looking left and right for a way out, but there they were, stuck in a narrow aisle, and he was blocking the only way forward. She was starting to have crazy thoughts. Half of her wanted to run away and the other half wanted to step forward. She was having uncontrollable, wild daydreams. She was on a bluff overlooking the sea with him and running into his arms like they were in one of her mom’s favorite corset dramas. Or they were splashing around in the old swimming hole in the moonlight. Or they were dancing in a strange nightclub with all the people forming a circle around them cheering as he swept her off her feet.

  “Um…I forgot the envelope,” he finally said as he glanced towards the card rack.

  Lucy instantly deflated. “Oh, of course.” She rolled her eyes and awkwardly tried to squeeze herself out of the way in the narrow aisle. As the boy squeezed by he couldn’t help but brush up against her. When his arm touched hers, it felt like an electric shock. She saw a vision of him like a beautiful, wild animal, knocking foes aside to protect her. They looked like zombies. Maybe she liked the goth-vampire-romance scene more than she realized! He grabbed an envelope, and she rocked back and forth on her toes, not certain what to do. She couldn’t really leave until Amanda got back, but she didn’t want to stay here enduring endless embarrassment. She was just about to go back over to the teddy bears to scream into their tummies some more when he spoke.

  “So…what you in for?”

  “Huh?” she said, dumbstruck.

  He looked down at the wide-eyed kitten pajamas. She instantly pulled the robe shut in horror. She had forgotten what she was wearing. He chuckled.

  “I figured you must be a patient, that is, unless you make a habit of walking around gift shops in your PJs.”

  “Um…no…I’m a, I’m a patient. Here. In the hospital. This hospital,” she said as if it wasn’t obvious she meant this hospital. She rolled her eyes at how lame she must sound. He just smiled again.

  “So?” he said again.

  “So?!” she replied defensively.

  “So…what are you in for?” he prodded gently.

  “Oh! Um…” She really didn’t want to say she was here because she had been in a car wreck. That would just bring up the whole dead mom thing again, and he probably already thought she was cra
zy – she didn’t want to look needy too. “Tonsils!” she eventually said. It was the first thing that popped into her head.

  “Tonsils?” he replied. “I didn’t know that was an overnight stay. I thought they did that out-patient these days.”

  “Did they?” Lucy thought. She didn’t know. She quickly decided to change her story. “Um…I’m sorry…I meant to say…” she tried to think. What was it that little French orphan girl had taken out of her in those stories her mother used to read to her when she was little? “Appendix…I meant to say appendix,” she finally said at last.

  “Appendix?” he said a little cautiously, “Like Madeline from the stories?”

  She cringed again. Why couldn’t a meteor fall out of the sky and bury her right now!

  “Yeah, I’m not having my tonsils out, I’m having my appendix out. Just like Madeline from the stories.” She resisted the urge to bury her face in her hands.

  “Yeah, I get those two mixed up all the time.” He smiled.

  She blushed uncontrollably. Suddenly desperate to change the subject, she asked him a question. “So… what are you here for, since you are obviously NOT a patient like me, because I am definitely a patient. A patient who is having her appendix taken out, not her tonsils.” The second that sentence left her mouth she knew she must have sounded like she was an alien pretending to be human. Any moment he would expect her to take her rubber face off. He thankfully didn’t comment.

  “Oh, my grandmother’s up on the fourth floor.”

  “Really?” That was the same floor she was on. She tried to sound surprised and concerned, but aloof all at the same time. It sounded robotic instead.

  “Yeah, I drove in this morning from Philly.”

  “Really?” she said again.

  “Yeah. Nothing serious, but she’s the only family I have left.”

  He was an orphan? An orphan coming to visit his sick grandmother? So he was cute and noble. A noble and cute orphan who checked up on his grandmother? What were the odds? All she could think to say was “Really?” Had she already said that? She couldn’t remember.

  He laughed a little and said, “Really.” There was another awkward silence.

  “So what’s your name?” he eventually said.

  “My name?” She had a crazy thought about giving him some elaborate alias, like Natasha or Lolita, but then she just blurted out, “Lucy. My name is Lucy.”

  “Lucy. That’s a nice name. Hey, isn’t that Latin for ‘Light’ or ‘Shining?’”

  “Um…yeah…I think so.” Lucy didn’t think, she knew. It came from the Latin, Lux, for light or shining or dawn, but she didn’t want to seem too pushy or like a know-it-all. Guys didn’t like that. Her mother had told her a dozen times what her name meant. Her mom had chosen it especially for her, because she was born at dawn, and because her eyes were bright green. But more importantly, he knew Latin! Most people just made the connection to the character from Peanuts, so it pleased Lucy that this boy wasn’t just some dumb airhead at least.

  “Well, it fits you, ‘cause your eyes are so bright,” he continued.

  This sounded a little patronizing, like the kind of thing older boys said to tease younger girls, but she didn’t care. Lucy’s stomach flipped and she nearly swooned.

  “Well, it’s nice to meet you, Lucy.” He stuck out his hand again. She looked from his hand to his eyes and to his hand again. “I better take it, before he thinks I’m a weirdo,” she thought. She reached up and took it roughly. It was strong but gentle, if a bit cold. She had a flash of fangs and fiery eyes, and then she had that fantasy about him biting her neck again. Ok, she guessed she really had to read that book everyone was talking about now. It obviously had impacted her more than she thought. She pulled the hand away awkwardly.

  “My name is Schuyler.”

  “Schuyler.” She didn’t know why, but when she said the name it sounded like poetry. She put too much into it and it sounded a bit too melodramatic when she said it.

  He laughed. “Yeah, it’s a bit pretentious for a name isn’t it?” She blushed. Oh no! She hadn’t meant to make him feel bad about his name!

  “Um…no…it’s a great name…I mean, it’s a beautiful name, a lovely name…no really, I… I knew this girl in Texas who was called Schuyler!” Egad. Had she just told him he had a girl’s name? She had. She was really blowing it.

  “It’s ok.” He laughed a little. “You can just call me Sky – everyone else does.” He was being really nice.

  “Sky,” she said once. “Sky – like the blue in your eyes?” she thought, but she didn’t dare say it out loud. Why was this boy having such an effect on her?!! It was almost like magic.

  “So…Lucy,” he started again, “Was that your mom in here with you earlier?”

  “Hmm? Oh…no…that was…my…” Lucy paused. “Aunt. Yep, that was my aunt.” She said it twice, just to convince herself she believed it.

  “Really?” Schuyler replied, acting somewhat dubious, “Cause I wouldn’t have put the two of you together.” He eyed the exit to the gift shop and seemed to be calculating something in his brain, but whatever it was, Lucy couldn’t guess. “Are you two together a lot?” he finally asked.

  “I guess so,” she said. She didn’t really know what more to say to this, so she just stood there rocking on her feet idly.

  There was another long pause before he spoke again, “Well, I think the cashier wants to close up.”

  “Oh!” Lucy turned to look at the cashier. The little old lady was already sore at Lucy and Amanda for their mocking of the pajama selection, and she was looking rather testy at the moment.

  “Um…ok.” Lucy walked awkwardly towards the checkout counter. Schuyler was just a step behind her. She desperately wanted to turn around and look at him again but that would be too awkward so instead, she just slowed down a little to force him to walk just a little closer to her. Once they had arrived she stood there holding her “Congratulations on the Twins, Stepdaughter” card like it was a failing report card she was trying to hide from her mother. She didn’t really want to buy it, but she didn’t know what else to do with it.

  “Um…you can go first,” she said at last.

  “That’s ok, you can go first. I’m in no hurry.” The cashier gave them a look – she was obviously in a hurry.

  Great. There was no getting out of this. She turned to the cashier and relinquished the card hesitantly. Only then did she realize she didn’t have any money when the cashier announced the price: two ninety-five. She ran through the pockets of her robe, but she already knew she had nothing to pay with. She looked up at Schuyler anxiously and then back to the cashier.

  “Um…I’m sorry…my Aunt…just stepped out…and…she’ll be back soon…and…”

  “That’s ok…I got it,” Schuyler interrupted.

  “Oh..no…that’s ok!! You don’t…” she tried to protest but he was already asking the cashier to ring it up with his card.

  “Um…thanks,” she said as she pulled her hair behind her ears for the forty-seventh time.

  “No problem.” He just smiled back at her.

  While the cashier was ringing up his items, Lucy looked at the card he had purchased for his grandmother. It had lilies and silver writing. It was a beautiful card for a grandmother.

  “So your grandmother’s ok?” she finally asked.

  “Hmm? Oh yeah, she’ll be fine,” Sky responded. “She caught a spot of pneumonia, and they decided they wanted to watch her for a few days, so it’s just precautionary. The doctors say she’ll be fine.” He got quiet and his eyes looked just like a lost puppy dog’s eyes. He was obviously considering sharing something more with her. His voice got a little shaky when he finally spoke, “My parents both died years ago. I live with my step mom in Philly now. She doesn’t like me taking the trip, but y’know…” he trailed off.

  “Prince Charming complete with wicked stepmother,” thought Lucy, “How perfect.”

  Schuyler went on, “I don
’t get to see her as much as I should, but I try.” He looked a little sad. Lucy felt the need to cheer him up.

  “I’m sure you’re being modest,” she said, “How many other teenagers would visit their grandmother?”

  He shrugged humbly. “Well, I’m the only family she’s got left. If I didn’t look out for her who would?”

  “Well I think it’s really sweet,” Lucy said.

  He smiled. It was hard to believe this guy was for real. He was really nice and kind and sweet. He wasn’t arrogant or bossy. He was just too good to be true. She thought about him and her for a minute and tried to force the crazy daydreams aside. They were both alone – like her and Yo-yo or her and Amanda. So many broken and unfinished lives. She certainly felt broken, but having him near made her feel better. Maybe all the broken and lonely people could find a happy place together. Then she imagined they were living in a big house together in the country and that he did housework for her without his shirt on while she sat on the couch reading and watched. “WHERE DID THAT COME FROM?!!” she thought. She quickly shoved that daydream back into the recesses of her mind and looked away. That wasn’t like her at all.

  “Well I think it’s really great that you come to visit your grandmother,” she said trying to shove the previous thought from her mind.

  “Thanks…that’s really nice of you to say that.”

  “Oh no, I mean it,” she said perhaps a little too anxiously. He just smiled.

  As she looked back, their eyes locked. He paused and then leaned in towards her very slowly and reached a hand behind her head. “OMIGOSH!!” she thought, “Is he going to kiss me?!! Do I want him to kiss me?!!” She panicked and closed her eyes. From behind her slammed-shut eyelids there was a deafening silence and then…nothing. Lucy opened one eye.