Watchers of the Night
Page 29
* * *
“A frickin helicopter, man! No one would ever believe this! Thanks for having me out, bro, seriously!”
Steven was giving Paul a bear hug in the parking lot of Astralis, ignoring the fact that both Dittrich and Dr. Abrams were waiting patiently beside them. “Look at this place, man! It’s like something out of a James Bond movie, all out in the middle of nowhere and all. I don’t guess you guys do much partying, huh? What with having no neighbors for like… a thousand miles.”
Paul knew that Dr. Abrams was sizing up Steven with every word he spoke, and he also knew that changing the way Steven communicated was never going to happen, so Paul decided the only way he could keep Steven’s coarse personality from being an issue was to act as if it was exactly the way he wanted it.
“No partying so far,” Paul replied with a wide, forced smile. He gave Steven a direct look and spoke in a voice that was probably louder than it needed to be. “But I haven’t been here very long yet, so maybe I just haven’t caught one yet. It’s a big enough for a hell of a rager—it’s like a castle in there.”
A slight narrowing of the eyes showed that Steven got the hint.
“I want you to meet Dr. Abrams,” Paul said. “He’s the head honcho here, and the one who has been helping me with my, um, condition. You already met Mr. Dittrich back at school.”
Shaking hands with both men, Steven said, “Pleasure, guys. Thanks for letting me come visit my buddy and thanks for that kick ass ride in. I never thought I’d be in one of those things, ever!”
“Glad to make your day, Steven,” smiled Dr. Abrams. “Is that your only bag? Let’s get you inside and situated. We have a nice room adjacent to Paul’s on the second level where I’m sure you’ll be comfortable. Once you have your things stored, perhaps the two of you could join Mr. Dittrich and me in the welcome office? Paul? You don’t mind showing Steven to his room, do you?”
“No problem at all. We’ll meet you in your office in about fifteen minutes.”
Moving inside, Paul waited in the lobby while Lydia helped Steven sign in as a guest and then led him through the main lower level hallway. They walked slowly, Steven humming People are Strange, until they got to the elevator where finally Steven said, “What the hell, man?”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean what the hell. You leave Radcliff not saying much of anything, and then you don’t call anyone at home for like a week. When you finally do, you call me, and you ask me to come visit you in your mountain fortress by helicopter like it’s just a social call. What the hell?”
The elevators opened up. “Straight up, Steven. I need a friend. I’m in over my head, I’m scared to death, and I need someone to help me separate the dream from the reality.”
Steven didn’t follow as Paul stepped into the elevator. Paul turned around and reached over to stop the doors from closing. “What?” he asked.
With no trace of his usual sarcasm or bravado, Steven replied, “And you called me? You really are screwed.”