Circumstellar (7 page)

The words hung in the air, piercing through me as though she had stabbed me with them. My eyes began to prickle again, and I turned to flee the attic. Nothing more could be said. I had nothing I wanted to say to that woman. Right now, I hated her more than anyone else in the world.

I
jammed my spare clothes into the overnight bag I was preparing.
At first, I wanted to do nothing but bury my sadness into my pillow. I kept dwelling on the way my aunt accused me of killing my father.
Who the hell does she think she is?
My depression soon lit into anger, and I decided not to waste any time in getting out of the house.
I was just a baby back then!
I tossed the bag over my shoulder and stormed out of the house, making sure to slam the front door as hard as possible on the way out. The windows along the front let out a violent shudder. Although I hated to admit it, if I’d learned anything at all over the past two days, it was that I might need anger management.

I decided to jog to
Lesia’s house. The cool breeze washing over my face and extra exertion helped to siphon away some of my frustration. If my life was going to continue on this track, I might need to take up running full time.

Now that my mind was starting to clear, I allowed myself to think back to what my aunt spoke of. From the way she went about storytelling, she might as well have been drunk. If anything, the whole thing just brought up even more questions. I had confirmed that my father was indeed a different sort of . . .
being
. So much so that my aunt and uncle had done everything to prevent my mother from seeing him. But who was this other woman she kept going on about? My father died protecting Mom and me from some jealous ex-girlfriend? Okay, I’ll be the first to say that was a bit anticlimactic for my tastes. Shaking my head, I decided not to dwell on the recount for the rest of the evening. But – “
I never understood why father always insisted we learn to fight. I mean, there was no point in it.
It
had been lost so long ago.”
My aunt’s words kept coming back to me. Stubborn as I was, I refused to admit what my aunt had told me had anything to do with Meissa’s senile illusions. Even if they were kind of similar. Only a bit!

Coming to
Lesia’s house, I leaned over to catch my breath. I really needed to work out more. The scent of what promised to be a delicious dinner floated to me, and all thoughts of insane women’s tales drifted to the back of my mind. My stomach wouldn’t let anything interfere with this new task.

I didn’t bother knocking and just entered the house. Mrs. Delaney had long since told me I was welcome to come and go as I pleased. Following my nose, I made my way to the kitchen. A woman with short, curly brown hair was peering into the oven, while
Lesia sat at the kitchen table reading a book. One of her silly romances probably.

“Hi,
Lesia. Mrs. Delaney,” I greeted, setting my bag on the floor and taking a seat next to Lesia. She looked up from her book, smiled at me, and then went straight back to reading.

“How are you today, Ingrid?” Mrs. Delaney asked while coming over to set out plates on the table.
Looked like only four tonight.

“I’m doing well. Dinner smells great, as usual. Is Mr. Delaney not here?”

“No, Oliver is out of town on business, and Eden insisted on going with him. It’s just us girls tonight.” She winked. “Oh, and Ty,” she added.

“Nah, he pretty much counts as one of the girls,” I said, prompting a giggle from
Lesia. A smirk crept onto my face when a voice rang out from the hallway.

“Just who is a girl?” Ty entered and took his place at the table. Like me, he had freedom of entrance. I was relieved to see he looked to be in a much better mood than he was this afternoon. A part of me was afraid he would still be trying to avoid us and skip dinner, but another part of me was confident he would show up. Like me, this was the one home-cooked meal he got every week.

“Oh, no one in particular,” I waved off innocently, “or important.” He kicked at me under the table, and I wasted no time in launching my counterattack. Laughing and kicking, we entered into battle.

“
Ouch
!” Lysia yelped, dropping her book. “Glad to see you two are back to normal,” she said, rubbing her shin.

“Sorry!” Ty and I apologized at the same time before breaking into more laughter.
Lesia spent a few futile seconds trying to continue her book before tossing it to the side and shaking her head at us. Ty gave her a sympathetic look and then turned his attention to Mrs. Delaney.

“That smells delicious, Miss Celia. I can’t wait to see what amazing dishes you’ve prepared for us tonight,” he complimented, turning on the charm. I rolled my eyes, and he gave me one last sly jab under the table.  I was about to retaliate again when Mrs. Delaney came over with her arms full of serving dishes. After helping her set the load down, we eyed the feast. Roast beef, mashed potatoes, corn, and fresh buttered rolls.
Simply marvelous. My mouth began salivating in anticipation, but I willed patience into my body, waiting for my hostess to give the okay.

Taking her seat, Mrs. Delaney smiled at all of us. Her soft brown eyes were the very picture of her daughter’s. Gentle and kind, it was easy to see where
Lesia got her traits from. “You know you don’t have to wait for me. Please, help yourselves,” she indicated to the bowls.

Taking the initiative, I grabbed a spoon and heaved a load of food onto my plate. Ty showed restraint I could only dream of possessing and insisted on waiting until all the women had been served. By the end of the evening, there wasn’t a single scrap left; Ty and I saw to that. We helped Mrs. Delaney clean up, and Ty thanked her for the meal before heading to the door. The
Delaneys didn’t have a problem with me spending the night, but since Ty was a boy, it was kind of frowned upon. So, it was customary for him to leave after dinner. At least, that’s what Lesia’s parents thought. He really just left out the front door and snuck around to Lesia’s window.

“Wait, Ty,” Mrs. Delaney called after him. “Since Eden’s not here, you can use his room if that’s all right with your father.”

“Don’t worry. He doesn’t care,” Ty said, his voice as dry as a desert. Smiling at Mrs. Delaney, he accepted, “But thank you, Miss Celia. I would love to stay the night.”

“It’s settled then. I’ll put some fresh sheets on the bed,” she said, walking towards to door. “I’ll
be in my room if you need anything. Don’t stay up too late.”

“Wow,” Ty commented once Mrs. Delaney was out of earshot. “She actually trusts us enough to leave us unsupervised.”

“No. She knows we aren’t stupid enough to get up to anything while she’s in the house,” Lesia replied with a casual air.

“Or the majority of us anyway,” I said, shooting an accusing look at Ty.

“I know. It’s so hard to keep you under control.” He sighed.

“Oh, that reminds me,”
Lesia burst out at the comment. I felt mildly offended that a statement about my lack of control could remind her of something. “Let’s go back to my room.”

We followed her through the house to her bedroom.
Lesia’s room was much nicer than mine. It was cleaner for one thing. All of her things were arranged and put away, while my floor was littered with clothes and my meager belongings. A desk covered in school notebooks stood in the corner. Her big, full-size bed rested against the wall by the window allowing for a great view of the sky. Lesia and I sat on the bed, and Ty pulled up the chair from the desk. We both looked at her expectantly. She didn’t say anything, but instead made a motion towards me. When I just gave her a bewildered stare in return, she opened her mouth.

“You said you’d tell us what happened,” she clarified.

Realization dawned on me, and I knew there was no way I was going to get out of this. Gathering my thoughts, I spoke, “Yes, I did. But before I start, you have to promise not to overreact.”

My friends looked startled for a few moments before glancing at each other and then nodding. I knew full well there was no way they were going to sit through this and remain calm, but I felt I needed to give them fair warning. I wanted to keep this as quiet as possible.

I told them everything that had happened after I left Clive’s. Sure enough, the bombardment of questions and concerns came. “Are you sure you’re okay?” “Why didn’t you say anything?” “I knew I should have gone with you!” Shushing my friends, I continued on with my visit to Meissa. I recounted the story she told me as best I could remember. Finally, I told them about what my aunt said about my father – the important parts, anyway. After I finished all I could recall, I looked at each of my friends. Both of them were silent, lost in thought. I guess they were trying to piece together the puzzle as well.

“So,”
Lesia began, “are you going to go back and see her? The woman at the temple . . .”

“I don’t see what the point would be. She’s obviously off her meds,” I said, stubborn defiance shining through. There was no way I was going back. I couldn’t believe
Lesia even suggested that I do.

“Even if she is just a witch on the mountain,” Ty mused, “she may have something useful to say.”
Not him, too
!

“Get real,” I argued, crossing my arms. “I’m not going!”

“Okay, okay,” he said, raising his hands in defense. “I’m just saying she seemed to know a lot about the, um,
Ankida
. You’d be surprised at what crazy people can tell you,” he tossed in, trying to lighten the situation. It didn’t work.

“Whatever,” I grumbled. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him shake his head.

We sat in silence again until Lesia let out a yawn.  “Maybe it would be better if we all slept on this,” she said. “It’s getting late, and this is a lot to think about.” She got up and grabbed her pajamas before heading to the bathroom.

“That’s probably a good idea,” Ty agreed, standing up and walking over to me. “Hey, Ingrid, will you help me walk down the hall? It’s pretty dark.”

I continued glaring at the bed for a few seconds before giving in. “Fine.” I stood up and made my way out of the room. Ty followed and closed the door behind him. I had to admit, it really was pretty dark. With Ty close behind, I made my way to Lesia’s older brother’s room. When Ty opened the door, I turned to leave.

“Wait.” He reached out and grabbed my arm. “I want to talk to you.”

Irritated, I turned back to him. “What?”

“I just wanted to apologize for earlier. At lunch, I mean. I didn’t mean to blow up at you like that. It’s just that,” he started, walking into the room and pulling me with him, “it’s been eight years.” He sat on Eden’s bed, and I joined him, all of my previous anger washing out of me. “She just left us,” he whispered.

I looked deep into his forlorn eyes, and my heart ached for him. I knew exactly what he was talking about. Two years before I moved here, Ty’s mother just up and left one day: no goodbye, no note, nothing. Ty and his father had gone to the park one morning, and when they returned, she was gone. A few of her clothes, some pictures, and an old suitcase were the only things she had taken. She left everything else, including two broken hearts.

My aunt liked to literally drown her sorrows in alcohol. Ty’s dad, on the other hand, had a different vice: work. Ever since his wife left, he buried himself in his work, escaping home at the crack of dawn and not returning until the moon was high in the sky. It was his way of coping – shutting
himself off from the world, including his own son. But I knew he still cared in his own way. He always made sure Ty had some money for the week. And as for Ty –

“Why are you smiling?” he asked. He sounded so lost.

“I was just thinking about when we were kids. You remember when I first moved here?” The fond memory filled me.

“Yeah, I remember,” he said with a small smile of his own.

“You used to be such a bully. All the other kids were scared of you.” I laughed. “They all warned me stay away. And then, when we went out for recess, you came right up to me and grabbed my arm. Do you remember what you said?”

“I remember,” he replied, his voice filling with mirth. “I marched you in front of all the other kids and told them that you were mine and that no one else could play with you.”

“That’s right!” I giggled. “And you kept it that way, too. Right until Lesia tapped you on the shoulder one day and said she wanted to play with me. And what did you say?”

“Well, I guess so.” We were rolling on the bed at that point, trying to stifle as much of our laughter as possible. It had been too long since we had goofed around like this. Gasping for air, I sat up and wiped my eyes.

“Must not have been able to resist that pink bow,” I joked, nudging him with my elbow.

“It was too cute,” he admitted, sitting up beside me. “Thanks, Ingrid. You always know just what I need to feel better.”

“Well, obviously.” I smirked at him. “We’ve been friends for how many years now?”

“A lot,” he replied, smirking back and meeting my eyes. As we gazed at each other, I could feel
the atmosphere in the room shift into something completely different – new, but wonderful. The moon shone through the bedroom window, striking his eyes and making the deep cobalt orbs shimmer with a light almost as intense as mine. I was slowly drowning in them, sinking deeper into his very being.
Let me be consumed.
His breath was warm on my face, and I vaguely wondered if Lesia’s mom was a heavy sleep –
Lesia!