Dark Mind (The Dark Mind Trilogy Book 1) (13 page)

Cole gave his mother a strange look but knew it was pointless to push the subject. “Love you too, Mom. Night.”

13

Cole opened his eyes the next morning to bright sunlight streaming in through the cracks in his blinds. He knew it had to be late because the sun didn’t reach his room until nearly noon. Still, he felt exhausted and lay in bed for another twenty minutes before gathering enough strength to roll out of bed onto his feet.

Meredith was reading the newspaper on the couch when Cole thumped down the stairs. At the sound of his approach, she dropped the paper and hurried to him.

“Cole! I was starting to get worried about you. You were asleep so long I was wondering if you were okay.”

“Fine,” Cole said, rubbing his eyes. “Just wanted to relax this weekend. Was lounging around in bed for a long time.”

“Can I make you some breakfast?” Meredith said, already on her way to the kitchen. “French toast? Omelette? Cereal?”

“I’ll have an English muffin,” Cole said, taking the orange juice out of the refrigerator and sitting at the table.

“Of course.” Meredith placed the English muffin in the toaster oven. “What did you want to do today? Do you have a lot of homework?”

“Can you melt cheese on that? Nah, I don’t have much work. I was wondering if Amy could come over today.”

“Sure she can, Sweetie,” Meredith said as she sliced the cheese. “Just make sure you get all your homework done. I'd better not hear from your teacher that you didn’t hand something in and you better not be up late on Sunday doing anything.”

“Don’t worry, Mom, I – “

The blaring ring of the telephone cut him off. Meredith dropped the cheese on the English muffin, set the timer and grabbed the phone off the wall.

“Hello
?... Absolutely. Hold on one sec.” Meredith cupped the receiver in her hand. “Speak of the devil. Here she is.”

Cole grabbed the phone. “Hey? Amy?”

There was a long pause and then a small, desperate voice emanated from the earpiece. “Cole… They found out. They came into my room last night. I don’t know why. I’m scared. They’re really mad.”

Cole’s breath caught in his throat. “One second.” He looked up to make sure his mother was busy at the sink and slipped out of the room. “What did they do?” he whispered.

“I don’t think… I just had to tell you. I’m not even allowed to be on the phone. Oh no, they’re coming. I have to go. Bye.”

The line clicked dead. Cole held the receiver to his ear, terrifying thoughts of what might be happening running through his head.

“Honey, your breakfast is ready.”

“Coming.” Cole trudged into the kitchen but did not take a seat. The English muffin sandwich was steaming on a plate on the table, cheese oozing out of its sides.

“Is something the matter?” Meredith was staring at Cole, a cup in one hand and a sponge in the other.

“I need to go over to Amy’s,” he said quietly.

“Right now? At least finish your breakfast first.”

“I’ll take it with me.”

“What’s the emergency? Is something the matter?” She placed the cup and sponge on the counter and approached Cole.

Cole sighed. “She got in a lot of trouble and she’s afraid of what her parents are going to do.”

“Cole, I understand that you feel bad but that isn’t your place to interfere.” She put an arm around his shoulders.

Cole pulled away. “
No, you don’t understand, she –”

“Cole! It is up to her parents to punish her as they see fit. That is how it has to be. You cannot undermine that authority.”

“Okay,” he said, and sat down at the table to eat his breakfast.

“I’m sorry but there’s nothing you can do. If she did something wrong, there have to be consequences.” She finished washing the cup and returned to the TV in the living room.

As soon as Cole heard the mumblings of a television program he jumped up and grabbed the phone book off the top of the refrigerator. He flipped through the pages until he found her last name, all the while wishing he knew her father's name, and was not the least surprised when there was a lengthy list of Browns. His head jerked up at a sound from the living room and he had the book halfway closed when he realized it was just the creaking of the decrepit sofa as his mom shifted her position.

He began to scan the list, not knowing what he was looking for, but refusing to give up hope. He was reaching the end of the list when it hit him. They had recently gotten caller ID, and she had just called. Cole ripped the phone out of the cradle and scrolled back to the last received call, Daniel Brown. He had the address in a few moments. He replaced the phone book on top of the refrigerator and pulled open one of the kitchen drawers. He scanned through the stack of papers inside until he found what he was looking for, a local map. A louder creak from the living room told him that his mother was getting up. He slammed the drawer shut, stuffed the map in his pocket, and downed the last bite of the English muffin as Meredith walked in.

“I’m going to change,” he said through a mouthful of food, hoping Meredith wouldn’t notice the slight bulge in his pocket.

Meredith gave him a strange look as he hurried past her and up the stairs. Once inside his room, Cole spread the map out on his bed and located his house. He knew Amy couldn’t be too far away if she had been able to walk home last night so he began to search in a tight radius around his house for her street, gradually increasing the size of the circle, until he had found it. He made a mental note of the route he would take and folded the map back into its original shape.

He got dressed and tucked the map neatly into his pants' waist. Taking a deep breath, he strode out of his room, down to the living room, and came to a stop behind the couch and his mother’s back. “Can I have some money? I wanna get a snack at the corner store.”

“Right after breakfast?” Meredith said without turning around. “You don’t have to go now. Maybe later.”

Cole returned, dejected, to the kitchen and sat across from the small back door that was never used. It was taunting him, beckoning him to break his mother’s rules worse than he had ever dared. It was an impossible situation with no good outcome. As he sat there, the door became his world, the God and the Devil of his existence, and he could focus on nothing else. He could feel it drawing him near. He could not believe he was even considering this line of thought but Amy needed him. Every second lost was one more second at the mercy of her parents. He had no idea what he would do when he got there but he would figure it out later. There was only one course of action. He silently slipped out the back door.

He had no trouble navigating his way through the streets to Amy’s house. He refused to think about what he had just done and what would happen when he returned. He was living in the moment; he would take things as they came.

Amy’s house was an elaborate three-story white mansion with black shutters and a perfectly manicured lawn. The in ground sprinklers were watering the finely trimmed shrubbery and miniature trees. For the first time, Cole felt himself losing his resolve as he traipsed up the stone walkway towards the front door, a shower of cool mist occasionally chilling his cheeks. He paused at the doorbell, considering abandoning the whole mission and heading home, in the hopes his mother had not yet realized he was gone. Amy was more than likely unharmed and he was not only going to get in serious trouble but he was also afraid he would look like a fool.

Before he knew what he was doing, as if in another world watching his actions from far away, he pressed the doorbell. He had to concentrate on standing his ground as the deafening chimes sounded within and a dog began his incessant barking. After what seemed an eternity, the knob turned and the door swung open.

“Can I help you?”

The man standing at the door was a large, intimidating man with slicked back dark hair, a white shirt open at the neck, and black slacks. His expression of annoyed distaste gave the impression that Cole was interrupting something important.

“Did you want something?”

Cole realized he had been standing in silence. He cleared his throat and said as boldly as he could muster, “Is Amy here?”

The man’s eyes narrowed questioningly. “She’s busy at the moment. What’s this about? Are you a friend from school?”

“Yes. I’m sorry but it’s really important I speak to her. Can I just have a minute?”

The man’s face had become menacing. “No. I told you she’s busy.”

“I can wait,” Cole said, but the man was already closing the door.

Before the door had closed, Mrs. Brown appeared at his side. “Who is it, Honey?”

“Just some kid,” Mr. Brown said. “But he’s going now.”

“Oh, Cole!” Mrs. Brown exclaimed in astonishment, pushing in front of her husband. He gave her a dirty look and stepped aside. “What are you doing here? Your mother called looking for you. Said you left and that you might be on your way here.”

“Yeah, can I, uh, see Amy for a second? It’s very important.”

“I’m sorry but whatever it is, it’s going to have to wait. She’s in trouble and isn’t allowed to see friends. But come in. I’ll call your mom and then drive you home.” She stepped back from the door and beckoned Cole inside. Mr. Brown had long since departed. “Take off your shoes and leave them on the mat.”

Cole crossed the threshold into the immaculate entrance hall. The floors were all spotless white rugs that felt plush under his socks as he followed Mrs. Brown into the living room. This room was a spectacular sight with its plastic covered white couches, large glass coffee table, massive flat screen TV, and elaborate chandelier hanging from the ceiling, but it did not emit feelings of warmth and coziness that he expected in a home.

Mrs. Brown offered him a seat while she continued on to the kitchen. Cole felt awkward and uncomfortable sitting on the plastic covering of the couches and thus decided to explore. Amy’s house was a sight to see, and he was inclined to absorb as much as possible. At the same time, he was aware that Amy was close by and he was determined to make sure she was all right, so that he had not made this trip in vain. In case he was being watched, he feigned interest in the modern art pieces that cluttered the walls as he backed slowly out of the living room. He found himself in a long hallway, dimly lit by a couple of recessed ceiling lights. As he walked idly down the hall, he saw a door covered in shadow at the end creak open.

“Cole? Is that you?” a voice whispered from within the dark doorway.

“Amy? I came here to make sure you were all right.” Cole walked further down the hall towards the door.

One eye peeked around the doorframe. “You shouldn’t have come. I shouldn’t have called you. I don’t know what I was doing. I was just freaking out and had to do something. Go away before I get in any more trouble.”

“Cole?”

Amy’s eye widened before she disappeared inside the room and gently shut the door behind her. Cole turned around to see Mrs. Brown at the end of the hall.

“Oh, there you are,” she said with a smile. “You shouldn’t go wandering off on your own. Your mom was worried sick and she's relieved to hear you're safe. Now come with me so I can drive you home.”

Cole had no more cards to play so he consented to follow Mrs. Brown to her car. All that this visit had accomplished was to get him in trouble and deepen his worry for Amy.

“It’s a shame you two can’t see each other today,” Mrs. Brown said once they were in the car. “She does adore you, oh so much.”

“Uh-huh.”

“Maybe during the week you two can hang out. Although I’m afraid she might be coming down with a cold. Hopefully not but we’ll see.”

“Yeah.”

They arrived at Cole’s house a few minutes later.

“You shouldn’t scare your mom like that,” Mrs. Brown said. “I know you’re a good kid. See you soon.”

“Thanks for the ride, Mrs. Brown,” Cole said sullenly.

Mrs. Brown drove away, leaving Cole staring up at his house, dreading the coming encounter. He didn’t have long to wait, though, because the front door opened and Meredith burst onto the porch.

“Cole! Thank God. Get inside immediately.”

Cole bowed his head and dragged himself up the stairs to his house. “Sorry, Mom.”

“You’re
sorry
? Why would you go against me like that? I almost had a heart attack when I couldn’t find you. And you
lied
on top of it. Go to your room. You’re grounded.”

Cole didn’t have to be told twice. He had never seen his mother so angry before and it scared him more than he wanted to admit. Even worse, he felt awful about what he had put her through. She was very protective of him and he couldn't imagine the pain and fear she must have felt when he disappeared. She had never punished him before so he had no idea what kind of punishment was in store for him. Whatever it was, he could only imagine, and the suspense was killing him. He paced back and forth across his floor, unable to stop moving, pictures of Amy and his mother flashing across his mind. He couldn’t help but think how much simpler and easier life used to be, not so very long ago. As his mother said, wasn’t companionship supposed to bring overall greater happiness?

After an intolerable wait he heard his mother’s footsteps on the stairs. He ceased his pacing to take a seat and wait for the inevitable. Meredith entered the room and took a seat next to him, her somber expression impossible to read, yet not the angry one he had anticipated.