A Girl Between (23 page)

I was lying on the couch, my bandaged feet propped up,
staring out at the miserable freezing cold wet weather.  It had been showering
off and on with intermittent thunder and lightning since I had gotten up.  Beauty
Queen, as usual was sticking to me like glue.  She wasn’t even letting me go
into the bathroom by myself.  And I was so bored, I was even thinking about
doing homework!  My aunt’s voice made me jump.

“Tess, Mercy’s here to see you.  Are you up for it?”  She
asked, eyebrow raised and hands on her hips.  “You know, I think you could use
a little rest and you should stay off your feet.  Why don’t I just tell her
you’re sleeping?”

“Aunt Amy, I don’t want to lie to Mercy.  Besides, I’m bored
out of my mind.  I’ve been sitting here with my feet up for the last two
hours.  I can’t take it anymore,” I whined.

“Oh, dear, two hours!  I’m sorry that you have to suffer so
much when you’re stuck here with us,” Auntie responded in a dry tone.

I raised my eyebrows at Auntie.  “Could you just send Mercy
in, please?”

Aunt Amy sighed.  “All right, all right, how about if I
bring in a batch of peanut butter drops, your favorites?  I made them last
night after we got back from the emergency room.  I find that it’s best to keep
myself very busy when I’m crazed with worry.”  Aunt Amy proceeded to glare at
me.

“I’m sorry, Auntie.  People don’t get bitten by rats on
purpose you know!  It was a freak thing.”  I gave her the most pitiful look I
could manage.  I had to be careful not to overdo it because I wanted to get out
of the house as soon as possible.  Thank God she doesn’t REALLY know what’s
going on.  She’d lock me up in the attic and never let me out. 

Mercy made her appearance while my aunt went to get the
cookies.  It was great to see her breeze in with her big smile.  She was
wearing pants for a change with a big crazy top.  Her hair looked like she
stuck her finger in the plug and kept it there.  “Tessie, how are you doing?” 
She leaned over to give me a quick hug.

“Where’d you get that top?”  It just popped out of my
mouth.  I couldn’t help myself.  I really wondered because she couldn’t have
bought it in any store I’ve ever been in, not that I’m any fashion expert.

“Oh, this”, she answered breezily.  “It’s my mom’s.  She
used to wear it in her old hippie days.  I think it’s called a dashiki.  I wear
it so much she finally gave it to me.  Don’t you just love it?”  She asked
while turning around to show me the back.  I literally had to shield my eyes
from the bright glare.

“Oh, yeah, uh, it’s really nice,” I murmured.

She glanced at my bandaged feet before squeezing herself
onto the edge of the couch right up next to me.  Then, she leaned in and asked
in a low voice, “What’s this I heard about rat bites, Tess?”

I answered with a shudder, “What you heard was true.  I got
bit by rats in the basement of Rockledge High School.  There were hundreds of
them that got into the window where I was holed up in a bathroom.  It’s like
they were going after me, personally.”

Tess looked at me shaking her head.  “I don’t even want to
know how you happened to get stuck in the basement of Rockledge High School.”

I gave her a dark look, “Yeah, don’t ask.”

“It’s definitely weird, mobs of rats.  Was the school a real
dump or something?” asked Mercy.

“No, it was just a normal high school,” I asserted.

“Something doesn’t seem right to me. I can’t imagine that
wild rats were targeting you, but at the same time, you have to admit, you’re a
trouble magnet!  In fact, I feel a little nervous just sitting here with you!” 
Mercy joked.

“Yeah, like you’ve been hurt!” I exclaimed.  “By the way,
have you heard about the packs of roving cats that have been sighted in Woodley
and the surrounding towns?”

Mercy paused for a minute before responding, “Let me get
this straight.  There are now packs of cats and rats roaming around the Woodley
countryside. Are the cats also running around attacking people?”  Beauty Queen loudly
meowed while she strolled over to Mercy and rubbed up against her. Mercy absently
stroked her silky fir. 

“I haven’t heard that, but all this reminds me of what Mrs.
Petrov talked about.  Remember she remarked that diaboles may reincarnate into
rats?”

Aunt Amy came in at that very moment carrying a tea tray. 
Did she hear what we were saying?  She stopped for a second and frowned, “Is
everything all right?”

“Everything’s fine!  Mercy was just telling me about the
latest horror movie she just saw.  You want to hear about it?”  I knew that
would stop her from bugging us.  Aunt Amy flips out over horror movies.

“I heard you say something about cats and rats.  Tess, that
reminds me, have you heard the cats recently?” Aunt Amy asked.

I frowned. “Heard the cats?  What’re you talking about?

“There have been cats howling outside of the house
throughout the night.  It started about a week ago.  At first Grandma thought
that Beauty Queen was in heat, but that couldn’t be it. Beauty Queen is fixed
and it’s not even that time of year.  What an ungodly racket!  I can’t believe
you didn’t hear them last night,” she exclaimed.

“I was dead tired when I went to bed so I probably just
slept through it,” I replied.  Beauty Queen, who was lying against me, suddenly
nipped the finger I was scratching her with. “Ouch,” I yelled at Beauty.
What’re you doing?”

Auntie proceeded back toward the kitchen. “Anyway, girls,
relax and have a cup of tea.  I’ll be right back with the cookies.”

As soon as Aunt Amy left, Mercy remarked, “That’s weird
about the cats.  It reminds me of the cats at the Petrov’s house.  Remember how
they were trying to communicate with you?  Do you think these cats are trying
to do the same?”

I shrugged.  “I have no idea.  Whatever the reason, it’s
just another strange thing going on around here.”

Mercy leaned in and said in a quiet tone, “One reason I came
over today was to figure out a time when you could come see my mom again.  She
has to conduct another regression session with you before things get much worse
around here.  She wants to take you back to the Apocalypse.  We’re running out
of time.  It’s becoming apparent that the next ‘unfortunate incident’ will get
worse.

“Yeah, I’ve been thinking about that.  No sense putting it
off.  How about tomorrow after school?”

Mercy replied, “Didn’t you hear?  We don’t have school
tomorrow.  The high school lost power last night along with about half of the
town due to the high winds.”

“Really?  The weather was that bad?”

“Yeah, didn’t you notice?”  Mercy added.

“I guess I’ve been too preoccupied.  It kept on flickering
off at Rockledge High but I didn’t realize that so many people lost power. 
What if I stop by late in the morning?”

“Yep, that should be fine.  My mom works tomorrow night so
she can take you home on her way in.  I’ll ask her what she thinks about this
crazy rat incident.  Maybe she knows something.” Mercy got up, grabbed her
giant purse/suitcase and headed for the door.  “Think you can stay outta
trouble, Tess?”  Mercy asked, her eyebrows raised.

“Yeah, thanks, I think I can manage, at least for today,” I
grumbled.

After Mercy left, I got my math book out so I could start my
homework.  The problem with math was that after five minutes I wanted to put my
head down and close my eyes.  It’ll just be for a few minutes, really.  I just
need to rest my eyes.

Who’s that?  Is that Ian?  What’s he doing here and why is
his shirt off?  He looks cold.  I’ve got to tell him to put his shirt back on. 
And what’s that on his lower back?  I think it’s that strange mark, the cross
with an X marked over it.  I know where I’ve seen that.  It was on that nasty
Tattoo Boy in my gym class.  Why would Ian have the same mark as Tattoo Boy? 
Ian looked angry.  Is he mad at me? “Ian,” I called to him.  He doesn’t hear me.

He picked up a glass of water, as if to drink it.  As the
water went up to his lips, it started to change.  By the time it reached his
mouth, it had become a solid piece of ice.  Ian looks disgusted and slammed the
glass down.  The glass cracked and fell away from the ice.  Ian took the solid
piece of ice and threw it through right the window.  The window smashed into a
million shiny shards.  I went to touch him but the shards flew back through the
window and stabbed me everywhere, sharp pricks all over my body, even my eyes. 
Everything was blurry.  Ian turned away to leave.  “Ian, don’t go,” I cried. 
As Ian looked back at me, shafts of red violet light streamed from his eyes. 
That must be his aura.  He stared, his aura screaming at me.  I saw confusion,
self-hate.  Which side was he on?  I’ve known him from the past, from the FAR
past.  I turned away from him.

“Tessie”, Auntie says, shaking me.  “Wake up.  You sounded
upset.  Did you have a bad dream?” She was peering down at me, love and caring
in her eyes.

I looked at her for a minute, getting my bearings.  What an
awful dream!  It seemed so real.  But that’s all it was, I told myself, a crazy
dream.  Best to put it out of my mind.

“I’m OK, Auntie.  Yes, it was just a funny dream.  It was
nothing.”

“By the way, Ian called while you were sleeping.  He wanted
to come over to visit so I told him to give you a couple of hours.”  She
glanced at her watch. “That means he’ll be here in about a half hour.  Hope you
don’t mind that I didn’t wake you.  I figured you’d want to see him but I
wanted you to get some sleep.”

“In a half hour!!  Look at me!  I haven’t even taken a
shower today.  “Why didn’t you wake me up a while ago?” I demanded.

“You’re naturally beautiful, dear.  You don’t need lots of
time to glam yourself up.”

“Are you kidding?  Of course I do!”  I jumped up to get
started.  “If I’m not ready by the time Ian is here, could you do me a favor
and talk to him or feed him or something?”

“Of course, dear, don’t worry.  And by the way, I was nice
enough to do your laundry this week since you’re never home and your entire
wardrobe was in your hamper.  At least you’ll have something to wear,” she
said, one eyebrow raised.

“I love you, Auntie.  You’re the best.  I’ll be right down.”

I heard the doorbell ring while I was still working on my
hair.  I scrunched it up as best as I could.  I was getting good at fixing it
the way I liked it.  I threw on a pair of fitted black jeans and a rose colored
blouse that had belonged to Annie.  She said she was giving it to me because
she was sick of it, but I think it’s because she put on a couple of pounds.
Grandma liked to bake and Annie liked to eat.  Hey, I’m not complaining if I
get her clothes!  Next, socks and my cozy fir lined slippers.  There’s no way
I’m letting Ian get a look at my nasty bitten feet.

I limped down the stairs and saw him standing there, talking
to Aunt Amy.  He didn’t catch sight of me so I kept on staring at him.  I
couldn’t help myself.  It gave me such pleasure.  Whenever I first see Ian, I get
the same gut reaction, a rush of panic and excitement.  He’s the perfect
combination of toughness and humility.  It’s the only way I can explain it. 
Suddenly, an unwelcome picture popped into my head that was from my dream. It
was the scene where Ian was staring at me with the red-violet lights streaming
from his expressionless eyes.  I shook my head, trying to forget it.

“Tess!” Ian called. He caught sight of me and, fortunately,
I wasn’t still gawking at him like some love-struck twerp.   I casually strolled
toward him, trying not to limp.  He brushed his hair out of his blue eyes
before he grabbed me and gave me a chaste hug.

Aunt Amy commanded, “Tess, sit yourself down and put your
feet up on the stool.”  

“Yes, Auntie, whatever you say,” I groaned as I proceeded to
settle in the couch.

She lifted her eyebrows at me. “I’ll leave you two alone. 
Ian, do you think you can keep Tess from encountering anymore unfortunate
episodes over the afternoon?  My heart can’t take any more stress.”  Ian turned
his beautiful smile to Aunt Amy. I could see her soften before my very eyes.

“Well, I have plenty to do today.  However, I can make you
guys some sandwiches if you get hungry.  Just let me know,” Aunt Amy remarked
as she left the room.

Finally, alone.  Ian sat down and leaned over, slowly
kissing me full on the lips.  I felt myself melting away.  Then, he took
advantage of my weakened state to start up with the questions.  “So what did I
hear about you getting bitten by rats?”  I hesitated before saying anything so
he softened me up even more by gently taking my hand.  “Tess, please tell me. I
worry about you,” he murmured.

Suddenly, out of the blue, Beauty Queen let out an eerie
howl.  It actually sent a chill up my spine.  She was in the middle of the room
having a hissy cat fit, standing on her toes with her hair completely on end.  She
continued her threatening howl while staring directly at IAN!  What in the
world was wrong with her?  

“Beauty Queen, stop it, right now! What’s wrong with you?” I
yelled.  I looked at Ian. “Sorry about that.  I don’t know what’s going on with
her.”  He was staring at her but he didn’t answer.  He finally shrugged as if
he didn’t care.