Afterlife (Afterlife Saga) (46 page)

“What, I just popped out for some
Peptol
Bismal
. Jeez paranoid much,” she said as she walked past us and went straight to the bathroom, leaving Frank and I with the same expression.

“Well, I called your cell like a million times babe and guess what...you didn't answer!” Frank was upset, that much was clear.

“I was driving!” She shouted from inside the bathroom.

“Since when has that ever stopped you?” Frank snapped back.

“Well aren't you the one who’s always telling me to be more careful! And what's with the third degree?” She asked through the door. I had gone into the kitchen to put the kettle on and also to give them some privacy.

“Well I was worried, I mean you're ill so I just thought that something could've happened...I mean Christ I called the hospital Libs!”

“Oh honey, I'm fine, look I'm sorry if I made you worry.” And with that I knew it was over as I could hear the sound of kissing, so I got up and closed the door which made them giggle like teenagers.

I couldn't help but think that Libby was hiding something, as the rest of the night she was acting... well kind of weird. For starters she stuffed her face full of the beef stroganoff I made and then she tucked into a tub of Ben and Jerry's Phish food!

“Well, it looks like someone is feeling better,” Frank said as he too dug his
spoon into the tub getting out some
brown goo of chocolate. Frank had filled her in about our trip to Bobby's and she laughed until she cried especially when Frank added,

“Yeah should have seen his shiny head, it looked more like a solar panel for a sex machine! Horny old bastard!” Then we were all in hysterics.

“Well it looks like Keira is catching everyone’s eye.” Libby said nudging Frank as they shared a not so private joke. I just rolled my eyes and took my plate back into the kitchen, saying, “Kids” as I went passed them.

The truth was I was still a bit freaked from what I had seen in Bobby's eyes. I just couldn't put my finger on it but there had been something deep and lurking about the way he looked at me. I tried to shake it off as I did with most things these days, but it still remained at the back of my mind. To be honest ever since I had met Draven I had felt something in my life clinging on, like my mind was being controlled by another entity. It had heightened my senses, adding another one, acting like a third eye. It was making me see things that I couldn't explain and who knows, it could even
be controlling my dreams.

I know thinking this was crazy but considering the facts, what else was there? That it was just all down to me and my imagination? Maybe the fact that I had seen monsters in people since I was seven had something to do with it. Either way I looked at it, the same conclusion always came up....

There was something wrong with me.

Chapter 25 - Weeks gone by.

Things at the club changed after the Saturday that I walked away from Draven. Weeks had gone by and yet not a word from him. It seemed that he didn't take kindly to being disobeyed and my punishment was being ignored. He didn't even look my way when I went by and the pain of this got worse, not better. The one time I thought I was close to receiving a reaction was when he walked past me at the end of my shift one night. Only instead of a friendly word, I got an evil glare that made my fists clench and my heart pound in my chest. I was very close to screaming at him but thankfully I was still scared of him and my bravery from that Saturday hadn't lasted.

Apart from my nights of being ignored at the club, my days had found a routine. I would spend my time juggling college and working, with the occasional night off, spending it with RJ and the rest of the gang. My problem
was
that the more time I spent with Jack, the clearer he was making his intentions. I tried to talk to RJ but it fell on deaf ears as she would have liked nothing more than for me and Jack to become an item. It made me wonder how differently I would feel for Jack if I had never laid eyes on Draven.

I had soon got used to my new car and was loving the new found freedom that went with it.  I took it in turns with RJ driving to College and it didn't take long before my glove compartment was filled with RJ's favourite CD's. Of course she preferred it when I took my car, as unlike hers, it didn't sound like a lawnmower on crack! She showed me all around the town and I took her out to eat at a Mexican restaurant to say thanks. It felt good to do this again, making me feel less like a teenager and more of the adult I was. We all went to the movies one night and they all laughed at me when I had called it the flicks. However, Jack's flirting never went
unnoticed as he made every effort to be near me.

I felt as though I belonged, a feeling I hadn't felt for a very long time. But at the back of my mind were my own demons inching their way to the front, never letting me forget the sense of security that I felt when I was near Draven. It would only stop when I was at the club making me feel as though I had come home. A piece of me was empty and that hole would only be filled when I was there. It was like the building itself was one giant entity that fed from my emotions. It wanted me there, it wanted to keep me and it was using Draven as the key.     

Then one day everything changed and I was once again thrown into a world I didn't understand. It had started just like any other day, the only difference being that Jack had asked me on a date and this time I couldn't find any more excuses to give, so I agreed. I was caught in the middle of a war with my mind and heart. Both wanted different things. My brain convinced me that after two weeks of silence and being ignored finally convinced me that Draven didn't want anything to do with me and no amount of wishing
it,
would make it happen.  My heart, of course, didn't want to give up, so it hadn't been an easy decision. I just kept telling myself it's only a date, what's the worst that can happen?

We had arranged for Friday night as I had the night off due the day shift I was going to do on Saturday. I had never worked the club in the day before so I wasn't really sure what to expect. I wondered if Draven would still be at his table as surely they couldn't just sit there every day and night, could they?

I had two separate friendships with
Sophia;
there was the usual everyday one in class and the other very different one at the club. She had tried to explain it once to me but I told her that she didn't need to explain anything and that I fully understood why this was. She had a position to uphold and couldn't spend the time talking to me when I was working. After all she was one of my bosses.

It wasn't as if she just wouldn't acknowledge me, she would always wave and occasionally she’d come up and say hi but you could tell it was frowned upon by her brother. In class though we acted like normal friends, laughing and joking about Reed, and she would do her usual trick of asking a million and one questions about me but never revealing anything about herself. She remained a mystery just like her brother. She never once mentioned him and I never asked.

She did however ask about Jack, the day that he asked me out.

“I noticed you were talking to Jack before class, any development there?” She said as she twisted a black barrel curl around her finger.

“Yeah kind of, he asked me out this Friday night and I finally said yes.” She didn't look shocked, as if she had been waiting for it, knowing all along what he felt for me.

“Umm that's nice, you’re not working then?” There was something off about her tone but I couldn't put a finger on it.

“No, I have the night off but I'm in on Saturday,” I said trying to figure out her expression.

She quickly dropped the conversation as Reed entered the room. My relationship with Reed had smoothed out after the misunderstanding was rectified and the evidence that my work was always handed in early and above all always received a
good grade. This wasn't only down to the fact that I wanted to prove a point, in truth it was more down to whenever I spent any time alone with myself, my thoughts would be consumed by Draven and the only way to stop this was to set my mind on a different course. As a result I was ahead in all my classes.

It was Thursday and I was working at the club tonight. I got in from college to find Libby home already and cleaning again. Lately Libby had been acting weird, ever since her stomach bug. She would clean constantly and eat everything in sight. I didn't understand her behaviour, as she had never been one of those cleaning freaks or one for over-eating. Granted before I came to live with them, there was mainly junk food and a microwaveable meal on every shelf of the freezer but they were also fitness fanatics. But Libby had stopped doing yoga and gave up her
Pilate’s
class at her health club.

I was on my way upstairs after saying hello to the bottom part of her as her head was stuck in the oven cleaning it like a woman possessed, when it hit me! I ran back down the stairs flinging my body round the corner so fast that I almost slipped and shouted,

“You’re pregnant!” Her head emerged from the foamy oven and she smiled.

“I knew it! Why didn't you tell me?” I shouted not being able to contain my excitement. She got up and pulled off her rubber gloves, throwing them into the sink. I couldn’t help running up to her and giving her a big hug.

“WOW, too tight, too tight” she said as I squeezed my arms around her.

“Oops sorry, but come on tell me, does Frank know?”

“No and I don't want you saying anything, not yet.” She said holding me back by my shoulders so she could look me in the eye.

“Ok I won't but why? Is he not ready?” I asked not believing the question. I knew that he was ready to be a dad, anyone could see that when he was around other people's children... he loved kids!

“It's not that, look there's a reason I didn't tell anyone this and you have to promise not to say a word!” She said holding out her hand for the special secret hand shake that we had made up as kids and still kept to its sacred seal. I placed my hand on hers and did the moves she knew so well ending in a disgusting spit in each palm rubbing them together. Of course back when we were kids we would just wipe our hands on our trouser leg but now we both got up and washed our hands, laughing.

“So come on, spill it.”

She took a deep breath and said, “Frank's got a low sperm count.” I couldn't help it but I laughed. I knew it was wrong and Libby didn't look happy about my reaction but I laughed more about the way she said it than the actual meaning behind it.

“I'm sorry, I didn't mean to do that,
it’s
just way you said it, I half expected you to tell me that Frank’s a spy or something.” She rolled her eyes and continued.

“Well, I have my first scan next week and I wanted to wait until after then, just to be sure...I don't want to get his hopes up.”

I nodded and held her hand saying, “But when did you find this out and why didn't you tell me?”

“I don't know why I didn't...I wanted to. It's just that I thought I would be jinxing it if it told anyone.” She squeezed my hand back before getting up to make tea.

“I found out when you and Frank went out to buy your car, when you left it me got thinking about why I was sick and then I remembered I hadn't had a... well you know what, so I had to get a test.”

“And that's why you were all weird about it when you got home?”

“Well yeah, I mean I even heard my phone go off in the car and was about to answer it when I thought...no, I have to be extra careful now, as I might be living for two. It even slowed down my driving.”

“So you went to get a test and it was positive?” I said passing her the milk out the fridge.

“No I bought four tests and they were all positive.” I couldn't help my eyes welling up at the thought.