A Shadow's Light BK 2 (7 page)

“Sorry about that, Johnston,” said Rob in jest.

Test didn’t respond, instead he grabbed a paper towel and began to wipe up the spill.

“Knock it off, Rob!” yelled James from across the room.

“Or what?” answered Rob as he turned and postured aggressively.

“Or I’ll send your ass home for the day. That’s what!”

“Oh whatever, James,” replied Rob with a grin.

“It’s fine, James,” spoke Test as he continued to wipe up the mess. “No big deal.”

Rob turned to Test and smacked him on the shoulder.

“Yeah, James, come on…it’s no big deal,” replied Rob with a deep laugh.

Test winced in pain as Rob gripped his shoulder and then squeezed in a show of strength. Before Test could counter, the bell on the door chimed and in walked Enrique, followed closely by Alyssa. Her eyes were immediately locked on him, and his on her.

Quickly, Rob released his grip on Test. Standing like a four year old that knew he’d been caught doing something that he shouldn’t; he took a step towards Enrique.

“Morning, boss! You need some coffee?”

“Got some; thanks,” replied Enrique in an insolent tone.

Enrique looked at Test and, with a nod, acknowledged that he was there, but not necessarily pleased with him.

“Chance, I’d like to see you in my office.”

Once more, Test remained quiet, nodding his head and taking a few steps forward. He glanced to Alyssa. Her eyes were fearful; wide with anticipation and welling with emotion.

Enrique opened the door to his office and held the door as Test passed through.

“Take a seat,” said Enrique forcefully, pointing to the chair in front of his desk.

Closing the door, Enrique walked to his desk and took a seat in his worn out chair. He rested both of his elbows on the desk, and clasped his hands with his index fingers jutting upward in a steeple-like shape. He stared at a picture of his son that rested on the corner of his desk, and in a tensely controlled motion, reclined in his chair.

“You know, Chance, I’m not your father.”

Test remained silent. A little thrown off by the comment, he leaned forward in his seat.

“I don’t have the right to pry and preach,” continued Enrique. “Now, in turn, you are not my son. I don’t have any obligation to protect you, or to provide for you. You are a grown man and your life is yours to live. If you choose to screw that up, then I have no choice but to let you.” Enrique’s voice remained level and strong.

Test felt a rush of guilt overtake him. “I’m sor…”

“I don’t want to hear it,” interrupted Enrique with a raised hand. “I don’t want to know what happened. I don’t want to hear excuses. All that I want is for you to understand that you just used your one and only free pass.”

Test silently nodded his head in agreement.

“Don’t just sit there! I want to hear you say it!” yelled Enrique as he exploded to his feet.

Test snapped backward in shock. He had never seen Enrique like this.

“I understand,” spoke Test submissively.

“You’d damn well bet…,” Enrique paused to compose himself. “You had better understand.”

Test stood from his chair, and before he was upright, his back twisted into a combination of spasms and cramps. He quickly flung himself forward, placing his palms on the desk and cringing in pain.

With a look of annoyance, Enrique stared at Test. “You gonna be able to make it today?”

“Yes sir. I’ll be fine.”

“Okay then, its time to go.”

Enrique left the room without another word, leaving Test to stare out the doorway. Alyssa and James were both eyeing Enrique as he walked passed them out the front door. Test lowered his head and gathered himself before walking out of the office.

As he reached the office door, Alyssa rushed to him. Standing directly in front of him, she gently placed a hand on his shoulder.

“Are you okay?” she asked.

“Yeah; you know how Enrique is.” He attempted to shrug off the fact that Enrique’s little talk had bothered him.

“I’m not talking about that,” replied Alyssa as she noticed his wounds. “You look like you got run over!”

Test bit his bottom lip and closed his eyes as Alyssa gently brushed his hair from his brow.

“What happened?” she asked.

Test opened his eyes and looked around the room. Everyone was gone except for James, who was standing by the door with his hands shoved in his front jean pockets. Quickly shifting his gaze away from him, he looked back to Alyssa.

“Can I talk to you about this later?” asked Test sincerely. “I’ve got to go to work or your uncle is going to fire me.”

There seriousness in his voice was impossible to miss. Alyssa simply nodded her head yes and turned to walk out the door. Before letting the door close, she looked back.

“Will you have lunch with me?”

Test looked at James who reluctantly had a smile on his face. He felt the corner of his own mouth raise, and looked back to the beautiful figure standing in the backlit doorway.

“Yeah, that sounds good,” he replied.

Alyssa glanced at James with a bright toothed smile and let the door close. James pulled his hands from his pockets and began to clap.

“I knew you had it in you.” The cadence of his clapping was short and sharp. His voice was stern. “Now, if you can keep from screwing up your job, maybe you can have it all?”

Test walked towards James and spoke as he crossed his arms tightly to his chest. “It’s complicated.”

“Life is complicated enough without being stupid and making it more so,” replied James. “You going to tell me what happened yesterday?”

Looking James straight in the eye, he replied in a respectful manner. “If you need to know, then yes, I will tell you.”

“I don’t
need
to know… but I would like to,” replied James.

“Can I tell you on the way? Enrique’s pissed off enough. I’m sure he’s not going to wait on me much today.”

James looked at him with a raised eyebrow as he pushed open the door for Test. “You’re probably right…can’t say as I blame him either.”

Chapter 8

Test had spoken with James most all of the way to the job site. He had explained about falling off of a bike after having a few drinks and rolling down an embankment and into a swath of small trees. James didn’t know that for one, Test didn’t drink, and second, he didn’t own a bicycle. It didn’t take much convincing for James to accept the explanation, and then the conversation turned to Alyssa. It was all Test could do to keep the smile from his face as James mentioned her name.

“Oh come on man!” He quickly sat up and turned into Test. “I saw the way you two looked at each other in that office. You can’t tell me there isn’t something there.”

He winked at Test innocently, but the sight of it brought back the dream of the farm in a frightening flash. He suddenly felt cold as a pins and needles sensation covered his skin. His heart began to skip. He could hear James talking, but couldn’t focus.

The next thing he knew, someone was standing over him, clutching his shoulders and shaking him violently.

“Hey!” the figure yelled.

Test’s eyes came into focus and he could see James take a knee in front of him. The truck had come to a stop and Rob was already standing at the tailgate.

Test lifted his head and regained his bearings. They were stopped on the dirt road in the middle of the forest, not far from the job site. The morning light was now streaming through the trees, and the shadows danced in and out of the cloud of dust left by the truck as they had driven down the road.

“I said I’m fine!” Test leaned over his knees and rubbed his forehead in frustration. “I’m sorry,” said Test with his gaze focused on the bed of the truck. He lifted his torso and rested his elbows on his knees. “All I want to do is work. I don’t want to let anyone down again.”

James stood in the truck and looked at Rob.

“Well…you heard the man. Get goin’.”

Rob pounded the tailgate with the side of his fist as he turned and walked to the cab. “Damned waste of breath if you ask me,” he said malevolently.

James stepped quickly to Rob, placing one foot on the side of the truck bed, and leaned down to him aggressively. “I don’t remember asking you, Rob, so shut your smart ass, God forsaken, diarrhea mouth and drive the damned truck!”

Test looked at Rob’s face and was delighted to see a flinch of submission. The delight was short lived as Rob quickly squared his shoulders and looked to him with a vicious stare. Amused, Test let a smile creep onto his face, further annoying Rob. Without further incident, Rob stepped to the driver’s door and hopped into the cab. Before James could take a seat, the truck was started and put into gear, leaving him to scramble for balance and take the seat opposite Test.

“Thanks,” said Test.

James grinned and smacked Test on the knee. “No need for thanks. I’ve been looking for a reason to do that for a long time.”

*****

Once on the job site, the morning had gone relatively smooth. Test’s body had loosened up to the point that, with the exception of the back of his head, he didn’t notice the soreness as he had before. The sweat seemed to sear into the cut with a burning sensation that was nearly constant.

With the sun high overhead, Test looked up to realize that he was the only one working. He looked through the maze of skeleton walls in front of him to see Alyssa walking towards him with a burlap grocery sack hanging from her right arm. She had a wonderful sparkling smile that rendered the smudges of dirt on her face invisible to Test’s eyes. Her hair was pulled back and there were stray strands hanging here and there.

“You ready for lunch?” she asked standing outside of the maze.

With a smile Test dropped his nail gun and took off his tool belt. Unable to stop smiling, he looked at her and replied. “Now that you mention it, I am kinda hungry.”

“Good. I made us some sandwiches. Is turkey okay?” she asked timidly.

“It’s perfect,” he replied.

Test stepped to the ground and walked towards her. Her eyes were locked on him, and as he stood before her he unexpectedly reached his hand to her face and wiped the smudge from her cheek. Alyssa’s face became flushed as she glanced back and forth between Test’s face and the ground.

“I must look awful, huh?”

“Actually,” replied Test, “I was thinking just the opposite.”

He surprised himself at how direct and unafraid he was able to be. Typically, when he was around a girl that he liked, he was always nervous and his speech was stammered, but not with Alyssa.

Her eyes filled with attraction, Alyssa gently took Test’s hand in hers and the two of them walked into the woods. After a short stroll, they found a fallen tree with the perfect crook for a seat. The sun was streaming through the canopy and the air was so still it was as if time had stopped. Alyssa was the first to take a seat as she reached into the bag and pulled out a sandwich, handing it to Test with a smile.

“Thank you,” replied Test as he sat beside her.

The two of them remained silent for a bit while they ate their lunch. Test was careful not to be his usual self and inhale his food, though he took comfort in the fact that Alyssa didn’t appear to be timid in the moment.

Alyssa took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, allowing her shoulders to relax and droop slightly. “Can I tell you something if you promise not to repeat it?”

“We used to play together during the summer when we were younger. When he got older, he didn’t ever seem to have time when I was around.” She paused for a moment, looking off in the distance through the trees.