Desolate (Riverband #2) (10 page)

Janet came over to us with a bruise on her cheek and a bloody lip. Reese looked at her. "Janet? What are you doing here? What happened to you?”

She smiled a little. She sat next to me and Reese. "I heard about your dad and thought I’d come to see how you were doing."

Reese looked at Janet’s face. “What happened to you?”

“Nothing for you to worry about.” She leaned back against the waiting room chair.

Janet was like me.  If she didn’t want to tell you something, she wouldn’t.  There would be no convincing her to say a thing.  I held tightly to Reese’s hand.  “Where did Garrett go?”

“I don’t know. He said something about going to get a snack.” Reese put her head on my shoulder.

“There he is,” Janet said as she jerked her head towards the door. She shifted in her chair and winced.

I laid my head on Reese’s.  I loved how her hair always smelled like pears and vanilla.  Garrett walked over and immediately looked at Janet’s wounds.  “Uh oh,” I whispered to Reese.

“What happened, J?”  he asked as he sat down next to her.

She shrugged. “Ran into a door,” she lied badly. She took the snickers out of his hand and took a bite.

“That was one badass door,” I mumbled as I closed my eyes.  

Garrett didn’t push Janet for the truth.  He nudged me.  I opened my eyes.  “How’s Mayor Johnson?”

"We don't know anything yet."

A nurse walked in. "Reese, you can go see him now."

She looked at me then the nurse. She nodded and stood to follow the nurse.

I shook my head in disbelief and looked at Janet and Garrett.  "Shit you guys that was weird as hell. He just shows up, asks for Reese, and then passes out." I shook my head again. Between my girlfriend being a witch and her mangled dad showing up on my porch, my life had become a really horrible movie.

“That’s crazy, but I'm glad he’s back. I'm sure the town will be happy.  And Reese.  She’ll be happy to have her dad back."

Janet started digging in her purse. "Havock," she said looking at me.

She pulled out a card. "I'm sure things will be hectic at your house tonight. Tell your mom to call that number and order. I’ll pay for it and drop it off." She smiled at me and Garrett then stood.  She looked at Garrett longer than friends look at friends before talking again.  “I’m going to go get Reese some clothes and things.  I’m sure she’ll want to stay here with her dad.” She turned and left.

I handed Garrett the card. He raised a brow. "Why did you give it to me?  I already know the number."

I laughed. "She’s your friend. Or is she more?”  I teased.

Garrett laughed. "Whatever. She's way older than me and one of my best friends."

"Have you not ever heard of a cougar?"

Garrett shoved my shoulder and laughed. "Shut up.  I can’t even think about her as anything else."

I smirked. "She's pretty hot. You might want to call that number but not just to order food."

Garrett rolled his eyes. "You're an idiot."

I looked up and saw Reese walking over to us. She was wiping her eyes.

I stood and walked over to her. "How is he?"

"He's stable. They gave him a lot of medicine to make him sleep. They said he wouldn't be awake till morning and since he's in ICU, I can't stay." She came over to me and put her head against my chest.

I wrapped my arms around her and kissed her head. "You might want to call Janet.  She figured he’d have to stay and you’d stay with him.  She was going to get you some clothes and things.” 

Reese pulled out her phone to text Janet as we walked down the hall.

REESE

Your mom is here.  She’s with us.  She’s one of us now.  Your father couldn’t love her because of what she was and had become.  No one will love you either.  We love you, Reese. We could take care of you.  Death is easy.  It’s like sleep, Love.  The world isn’t a place for those with your magnitude of power.  Come help us rule the other side.

I woke up in the kitchen, in the corner near the bay window with a knife to my throat.  I dropped it and screamed.  Tears started pouring down my cheeks and I heard footsteps pounding down the stairs.

“Reese?”  The footsteps came closer. “Reese!”  Havock yelled as he reached for the knife.  The knife shot across the floor as the Shadow’s voices screamed at me.

He grabbed my shoulders and shook me. The shadows became silent and the knife was back on the counter in its holder where it normally was.

“What were you doing?!”  Havock asked, demanding an answer.

I was shaking all over. “I...I…” I looked over my shoulder and Garrett, Johanna and Rick were walking into the kitchen with Scott plowing past them to get to me.  He jumped up putting his paws on my side and licked my arm.

“What’s going on?  We heard you scream,” Mrs. Johanna said as she came closer to me.  She touched the side of my face.  “Are you alright?”

Rick called Scott over to him then asked Garrett to take him outside.

I was shaking so bad. “I don’t know,” I whispered. I’m going crazy. I’m losing it. I just tried to slit my own throat. WHAT the hell?!

Havock was shaking, too.  He saw me and the knife beside me.  I could only imagine what was going through his mind.  He looked at his parents.  “She was just having a nightmare.  I’ll take care of it.”

“Why is she in the kitchen?”  Mrs. Johanna asked confused.

“To get something to drink.  I’ll handle it, mom.”  

She looked at Mr. Rick and he nodded at her.  She looked at me over her shoulder worriedly as they made their way out of the kitchen. Havock looked at me.

Tears filled his eyes.  “What were you doing with that knife, Princess?”

Tears fell down my face. “I...I think I was trying to slit my throat,” I whispered. “I woke up and stopped myself.” I rubbed my left arm in an agitated manner. “They were talking to me in my dreams. I don’t know, Havock. I don’t know what’s happening to me.”

“Who was talking to you?”

“The shadows.” I didn’t know what to do. I wanted Havock to hold me, but I didn’t know if he’d want to hold me after what he saw.

Garrett came back in with Scott.   He started to say something to Havock but he cut him off.  “Just go upstairs, Garrett.”  He ran his hand through his hair and clenched his jaw.

Garrett looked at me then called Scott up the stairs with him.

“What I just saw isn’t-” His breath caught in his throat and his hands were shaking.  He started pacing the kitchen before kicking a chair over.  “How do I even talk to you after something like that?!”

Tears fell down my cheeks. “I don’t know.” I looked at him. “Can you just hold me?”

His fearful eyes locked on mine.  He hesitated a minute and came over.  He hugged me and didn’t let go.  “I’m at a loss, Princess. If I wouldn’t have come down here there’s no telling what might have happened.  Dammit, I can’t even process this!” He started yelling and let go of me. 

We needed to take this conversation outside before the entire house came back down again. “Havock, let’s go outside.”

He took my hand and hurried with me out the back door.  He needed about thirty cigarettes to calm down.  “So you didn’t try to kill yourself on your own?!”

I shook my head and leaned against his truck. “I didn’t even know what I was doing until I woke up. That’s when I screamed.”

He put his back against his truck next to me.  He shook his head then went around to the driver side.  I saw him digging around in the glove department.  He came back over with a pack of cigarettes and a lighter.  He lit one with a trembling hand.  Tears fell down his face.

“From now on you sleep in my room.  I don’t give a damn what my parents say.”

“What if I hurt you?! I can’t hurt you, Havock. You’re my world.”

“And what the hell am I supposed to do if you hurt yourself?!”  He flicked the ashes and looked down at me.  “You just had a knife to your throat!  Then when I tried to get it off the floor it moved with no one moving it!  Those shadow things… are they in my house?!”

“They show up wherever I am. Remember Christmas break. That’s what I saw!” I ran a hand through my hair. “Maybe I shouldn’t be here. I don’t want to hurt you.” Tears fell down my face, and I wiped them as they fell.

He laughed coldly.  “Yeah right.”  He finished his cigarette then wiped my tears.  “Maybe you were sleep walking.  Maybe the shadows are just dreams.  Maybe you could see a doctor or something about medicine?  Hell, I’ve got weed in the truck.  That could help.  Seriously.”

“Why do you have weed in your truck?” I asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Did I say weed?  I meant…yeah I said weed.”

I face palmed then chuckled a little. “What am I going to do with you?”

“I could think of something.  I have a mental list of things that I’d love for you to do with me.  Weed, hit a back road…all your problems solved.”  He grinned and wiggled his eyebrows at me.

“No drugs,” I said as I poked his chest. “But a back road sounds like lots of fun. I have a mental list of things that I want you to do to me.” I smiled mischievously.

“I’ll go grab my keys.”  He hurried inside.

~~~

I held dad's hand as I waited for him to wake up. When his eyes opened tears filled my eyes. "Daddy?" I stood up and leaned over to kiss his forehead. "How are you feeling? Do you need me to get a nurse?"

He shook his head and closed his eyes. He squeezed my hand.

A tear slipped down my cheek. "I love you, daddy." I kissed his cheek. “I've missed you.”

He kissed my hand and smiled a little.

"What'd they say? Did they say you were going to be okay?" I asked as I sat on the bed next to him.

He shrugged then groaned from the pain the movement caused. The door opened and Mrs. Johanna and Mr. Rick came in. She was holding flowers.

"Good afternoon, Mayor," Johanna said with a smile as she came over and patted his hand.

I pushed the nurses' button. "Mrs. Johanna, Daddy's in pain," I said as I looked at her.

A nurse came in and started asking him questions.

Johanna kissed my head. "We will just come by later."  She set the flowers on the window sill.

Rick hugged me then they left.

I watched as the nurse gave dad something for the pain. I then held his hand tightly. "So, I'm actually going to a public school and it sucks." I gave him a weak smile. “Remind me to thank you for the years of home school later,” I teased.

Dad looked at me and smiled.

"He's going to fall back asleep, but he's going to be just fine."

I nodded and the nurse left. Another tear slipped down my cheek. "You're not allowed to ever leave me again. Okay?"

He nodded then fell asleep.

I took a deep breath then kissed his head. I sat down in the chair next to his bed and pulled up my legs. I drew while I watched him sleep.

After a while of drawing, I laid my head back against the chair and closed my eyes. I didn't have my eyes closed for long when I felt someone kiss me. I opened them to see Havock.

"Hey."

He kissed me again. "Hey." He smiled against my lips. He handed me a Taco Bell bag.

"You're a life saver," I whispered. I stood up and stretched. "You want to go for a walk?" I asked as I put the food down.

“After you eat.”

I smiled a little then sat down at the little table and ate my dinner. This room was as nice as some hotels. It was ridiculous what you got when you were the mayor.

Once I was finished, I stood up and grabbed Havock's hand. We walked out into the back garden.

"This hospital is nicer than the one in Riverbend. I'm glad they moved him."

I nodded. "Me too. I just wish I was closer to you."

"Mom said I could stay here tonight with you."  He sat on a bench and pulled me onto his lap. He kissed me. "If you want me to."

I put my head on his shoulder. "I'd like that very much, however, does your mom know that I'm staying in a hotel room because they won't let me stay here at night?"

"I might have left out that part." He grinned.

I chuckled. "It's about time for us to leave. I need to go get my stuff and tell dad bye," I said as I looked at my cellphone.

He nodded. "I'll meet you out front."

I kissed Havock then headed inside. I grabbed my stuff and hugged dad carefully.

"I'll be back tomorrow," I whispered before leaving the room.

I walked out to Havock's truck and got in. I gave him directions to the hotel.  It didn’t take long, and we were there.

We were barely in the door before I kissed him. He picked me up, and I wrapped my legs around his waist. His hands were under my shirt and lips on mine as he walked us to the bed. He laid me down and hovered over me.

"I got you something." He kissed me again. "Want it now or later?"

I ran my hand through his hair. "Later. Much later."

I tugged at his shirt wanting it gone.
Now.

Once it was off, I went back to kissing him with everything in me as my hands roamed his chest.

He started to take off my jeans but stopped.  He was looking to his left, above us. "Umm, Reese?"

"Yeah?" I asked as I looked at him for stopping. We were stopping now? Why?

"Ummm, is there a particular reasoning the remote and my cell phone is floating?" He pointed.

I looked at them then covered my mouth to keep from laughing. "Sorry." I touched his face then cupped the back of his neck. "Can we go back to what we were doing?"

"Can you make that stuff stop floating? It's freaking me out.  Total mood killer, Princess."

I chewed on my lip and concentrated till they floated back to the table. I felt a slight headache forming, but I ignored it.

Everything else but us faded away after that.