A Shadow's Light BK 2 (6 page)

“Hey, Chance. I’m really sorry about tonight. I didn’t mean to pry. Had I known about your Mom I would never have asked. Anyway, buddy, I just wanted to say again that I’m sorry and I’ll see you in the morning. Okay? Bye.”

His voice was deep with emotion and regret. It actually made Test feel a little guilty because, in reality, his story was a lie. In the heat of the moment that was the story that came to him, and while he couldn’t have told them the truth, looking back now he knew that it could have been on the lighter side.

Moving to the next message, the phone beeped. There was a brief silence, and then came a voice that caught him completely by surprise.

“Hello, Chance. This is Alyssa.”

Test began to rub his forehead with his free hand. He felt the rush of attraction flow through him. Her voice was soothing, airy, and gentle.

“I was just calling to see if you were feeling better. Uncle E. feels pretty bad about tonight. I don’t think he meant to hurt you. Anyway, call me back if you want. I’ll be up late so don’t worry about the time. Okay?” There was a long pause. “Call me? Goodbye.”

Test hung up and stared at the phone, surprised to realize that he was smiling. Alyssa was a conundrum. At first glance, she was an outgoing, outdoors loving girl with a rugged look to her. While these things were true, she was much more. She was soft spoken and innocent. No matter how hard he tried to convince himself not to, he couldn’t help but think about her.

His mattress was old and lumpy, but as he pulled back the covers and climbed into bed, the weight of the blankets was enough to bring a hint of comfort. With a sigh, he raised his arms above his head while resting on his back. Staring at the swirl textured ceiling, his eyelids quickly grew heavy, and with a flinch, his conscious let go into a deep sleep.

Chapter 6

The farm was immaculate, and Test walked up the driveway in amazement. The roof, which once lay partially inside the framework of the house, was now angling perfectly towards the ground and covered with black shingles that glistened in the early morning sun. The grass that once was to his knees was now perfectly trimmed, and irises grew along the edge of the walkway in an array of colors. He walked to the door, which at his last visit, was hanging by a single hinge. Now firmly positioned in the frame, the door was painted a stark white, and the gold door knob was polished to a mirror finish. It turned effortlessly in his hand and the door almost swung open by itself into a quaint living room which felt as though it were inviting him into the home.

The interior of the house was simple and homey. A floral print couch occupied the far wall, and a pair of high backed chairs with wooden base frames faced the picture window next to the door. Test walked to one of the chairs and took a seat. Reclining in the chair, he looked out the picture window. The view was so breathtaking that it could have been a painting. He marveled at the sight of the barn which stood majestically, framed perfectly by the window. It was painted the cliché red and white, and looked as if it were just built yesterday. The clouds above the barn appeared frozen in time. Next to the barn sat the blue Ford pickup that also appeared to be so brand new, it looked as though it had just rolled off of the assembly line the day before.

Standing from the chair, Test quickly walked back outside and crossed the yard to the truck. He let his hand glide along the hood as he walked down the driver’s side to the door. The metal felt warm to the touch, and the paint felt like glass under his palm. As he opened the door, he could see the keys dangling from the ignition switch on the dash, just to the left hand side of the steering wheel. He climbed in and took a deep breath. The smell of warm vinyl engulfed him, and he smiled with thoughts of the Plymouth Barracuda he’d driven in Lincoln. The door closed with the precision of a watch, taking no effort to close it securely. With one hand resting on the steering wheel, and the other on the floor mounted shifter, Test gazed out the windshield. It was so clear and clean that it almost appeared as if it wasn’t there.

His peripheral vision caught a glimpse of movement to his right, and he turned to look at the corner of the barn where he thought he’d seen someone standing, but there was no one there. He shook his head as he straightened himself in the seat, and upon looking out the windshield, gasped in shock. There in front of the pickup was a young black man, in his late teens or early twenties, staring at Test with a slight grin. He was wearing a white undershirt with denim bib overalls. His hair was tight to his head and he wore black horn rimmed glasses. Test watched as the man walked around the front of the truck and to the driver’s door. He paused for a moment, standing motionless while staring at Test, and then tapped on the window three times with his index finger. Test was frozen with fear. The two of them stared into each others eyes, neither of them speaking.

The abrupt switch between dream and reality found Test sitting up in bed, confused and frightened, as a thunderous bang came from his motel room door. Sweating profusely, his body ached and his heart was pounding through his chest. He climbed out of bed and shuffled sheepishly to the door. Peering through the peep hole, he saw Enrique standing on the other side. With a new kind of fear sitting in the pit of his stomach, he lightly beat his forehead on the door a couple of times.

“Chance, open the door! I need to talk to you!”

Test hesitantly put his hand on the door handle and opened the door, but only slightly. He glanced through the crack and braced himself.

“What the hell are you doing?” asked Enrique angrily. “I tried to call you ten times today.
TEN TIMES
!”

“I’m sorry. I’ve been sleeping,” Test replied with his eyes squinting against the daylight.

Enrique then noticed all of the bruises and scrapes covering Test’s body. “What the hell happened to you? Did you get all messed up and get into a fight or something?”

Test, trying his best not to let the flippant comment upset him, opened the door wider. “Come on, Enrique. That’s not it. I told you, I don’t drink.”

Enrique wanted to be angry, but the submissive manner in which the young man answered helped to remind him why he was there. He took a step back and changed his posture to a more relaxed position. With a deep breath he continued. “Look, Chance, I’m sorry, okay? I’ve been worried as hell about you today. Not only that, but Alyssa and Julie are both pissed at me for being an ass last night.”

Test exhaled deeply and relaxed his shoulders as he nodded his head. “Nah, I’m the one that was an ass. It wasn’t your fault.”

The conversation stopped for a moment and the two of them faced each other uncomfortably. Test, forgetting that he was standing in the open doorway wearing nothing but his boxers, slid bashfully back behind the door. His embarrassing discovery caused Enrique to laugh, breaking the tension of the moment.

“So do you think I can come in or what? It has to look bad…” said Enrique as he looked up and down the walkway, “…what with me standing here talking to you while you’re half naked and all.”

Test wanted to, but couldn’t find the humor in anything. He remained motionless in the doorway, staring at Enrique intently and thinking of the last twenty four hours events. He was already tired of explaining and answering questions.

“I really need to get some sleep, Enrique. Can we do this another time?” he asked with a tense jaw.

Enrique’s frustration immediately covered his face, but then manifested into a tight lipped smile.

“I’ll tell you about it at work tomorrow--that is if I still have a job?” asked Test.

“Of course you have a job,” answered Enrique promptly.

“Then please…just let me be right now?”

Test held out an open hand to Enrique as a gesture of forgiveness as well as thanks. Enrique took it and gripped tightly.

“Don’t be late,” said Enrique with firmness in his voice.

Unable to look him in the eye, Test replied. “I won’t.”

As Enrique turned and walked to his truck, Test backed into his room and closed the door. He walked to the curtains, peeked through them, and carefully watched as Enrique pulled away.

His head was pounding, and he could feel every muscle in his body burn and ache. With his adrenaline fading, the stiffness of his joints became more apparent. He gingerly moved to the bed and took a seat on its edge. The clock on the nightstand told him that it was five o’clock. Beside it, the message light on the phone was once again blinking. Test couldn’t believe that he had slept through the phone ringing next to his head, but it was apparent that he had. And then he remembered the dream.

Quickly, his pulse accelerated, and in the dim light of the room, he grew fearful. He had dreamt of the farm in Nebraska before, but the dreams had always been snap shots of the farm as he knew it when it was his safe haven. This dream had felt different. He remembered the man standing beside the truck; his eyes strangely familiar, as if he’d seen him before. And then his mind put it together. It was the same man that he had seen across the street waiving to him the morning before. For a moment he felt sick, almost to the degree of needing to vomit. Sweat began to bead up on his forehead as he took a series of deep breaths until the sensation passed.

“Damn,” he said aloud. “That was so real.”

Suddenly the phone rang, causing him to flinch harshly. He winced in pain as he climbed across the bed and reached for the phone.

“Hello?” he asked with his voice crackling, still shaking from the pain.

“Chance?”

The soft voice on the other end was immediately recognized as Alyssa’s.

“Hey, Alyssa. How’s it goin’?” asked Test in a regretful tone.

“I’m okay. How are you? You don’t sound so good.”

“Oh…I’m fine.” His voice strained as he sat up on the opposite side of the bed. “Hey, I owe you an apology.”

“No!” she replied forcefully. “You don’t owe me anything. Uncle Enrique was being a jerk.”

“No, no, no,” replied Test. “He wasn’t trying to do anything but get to know me better. I could have handled that
way
differently.”

There was a slight pause on the line.

“I don’t know Chance. I don’t blame you for getting upset. Trust me; I know exactly how you feel.”

Test exhaled deeply into the phone.

“I’m sorry. Now
I’m
being a pain,” said Alyssa.

“No you’re not,” replied Test. “
You
trust
me.
I’m
very
happy to hear your voice right now.”

Test could here her giggle gently and it brought a smile to his face.

“So,” she asked with quivering voice. “Did you mean what you said last night?”

“Oh, God,” replied Test, struggling to remember the entirety of the conversation. “Which part?”

“The part about doing dinner again sometime?” she asked nervously.

“Oh, yeah…I don’t know if…”

Before Test could finish his sentence, Alyssa interrupted. “I’m talking about just you and me this time. No Uncle E or Aunt Julie.”

Test wanted it so badly, but he couldn’t help but to hesitate. He let himself fall back onto the bed, and ran a hand through his hair. The cut on the back of his head was now dried and scabbed over.

“Tell you what, let me think about it, okay?” he asked.

“Yeah…sure…that sounds okay,” she replied was a hint of disappointment.

Test’s heart sank. The last thing he wanted to do was make her feel bad, but in this moment, it was the best thing that he could do for either of them.

“Are you going to be at work tomorrow?” she asked.

“Yeah; I’ll be there.”

“Promise?” she asked sweetly.

Test melted. “I promise.”

“Okay then. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”

“Definitely,” he replied.

“Good night, Chance.”

He held the phone tightly in his grip and could hear the digital signal drop as she closed her cell phone. The phone call had changed his mental state drastically. He was now filled with a giddy, youthful sensation that forced him to smile. He wanted to embrace it, but he remained cautious. The events of the last twenty four hours were going to be difficult to cover. The marks and bruises on his body had to be explained, and he knew that he was going to have to tell the story to everyone on the crew. In truth, the only one that he was worried about was Alyssa.

Chapter 7

The walk to Enrique’s office was long and painful, both mentally and physically. Test had slept through the night, and awoke in the morning with his body reminding him of the previous day’s abuse. The walk had done him some good as his muscles loosened with each step, and by the time he arrived at the office, he had forgotten about the physical pain. Now he was left with the mental challenge of facing Enrique, the crew, and Alyssa.

As he approached the door, he could see James standing in the doorway. He was straight faced and shaking his head in disapproval. Test reached for the door, but James had already begun to push it open for him.

“What’s goin’ on?” asked James in a displeased voice.

Test avoided eye contact. Instead he slipped by him, leaning away with his head down.

“Nothin’ much,” he replied as he sheepishly glanced back to James. He let his hair hang like a shield over his eyes.

Standing by the coffee pot was the rest of the crew, all except Enrique and Alyssa. Jordan was leaning against the end of the counter while reading the morning newspaper. Test’s eyes instantly caught the headline and the sight of it took his breath.

Impact Sight a Mystery. Meteor Suspected Culprit.

With mild relief, he exhaled quickly, only to notice Rob standing proudly next to Jordan with his arms crossed. Slapping Eric on the chest, he pointed to Test as he walked towards them.

“Well look who decided to show up today!” spouted Rob in his usual arrogant way.

Test ignored him and continued towards the coffee. With Rob in his way, he reached around and grabbed a Styrofoam cup and depressed the lever on the percolator. Waiting until Test’s cup was half full; Rob thrust an elbow into his side causing him to drop his coffee onto the counter top.