Demonspawn (16 page)

“Go for it. I'll setup camp on the
floor.”

“Don't be a dumbass, Alex. You can sleep next
to me. I promise I won't try to jump you in the middle of the
night.”

The sad part was if she did, I probably
wouldn't stop her.

My heart skipped a beat at the idea. I knew
then this crush wasn't exactly fading away.

But I could control it. Hell, if I could
control my ability to walk through walls and turn invisible, I
could control a crush on my best friend. It would go away. I would
kill it, it would just take time.

“I'll stay on my side of the bed. I
promise.”

She smiled. “I know, Alex. Man, stop throwing
a fit. You can have the bathroom first.”

I heard her changing clothes while I brushed
my teeth. I knew I'd have a hard time sleeping. I was still wound
up from the drive. But I knew I couldn't stay up late. Tomorrow was
going to be a crazy day, and I had to get rest.

I left the bathroom to see Cindy wearing
flannel pajamas. She disappeared into the bathroom while I went
through my bag, and immediately I realized something.

“Dammit.”

When I packed, I thought I'd be alone. I
didn't pack any kind of pajamas. I had sweatpants, but that was it.
That would have to do. I quickly put them on. I even kept my shirt
on. It would be a hot night.

I crawled into bed and turned the light out
on my side. A few minutes later Cindy joined me. It was probably a
funny sight. I was
all
the way over on my side. Another inch
and I would have fallen out of bed.

“Jesus, Alex, you act like I have the plague
or something.”

“Just trying to give you space.”

“Would you calm down? We're gonna bump into
each other tonight, you know. What is your problem? Stop being a
baby.”

My problem was I was attracted to my best
friend. But I quickly shoved that aside. I had to, or it would take
over my thoughts.

“No problem here,” I said as I gave myself
some more of the bed.

“Finally. Goodnight.”

She turned her light off, and the room was
covered in darkness.

I was right. I couldn't sleep. I laid
perfectly still with my hands behind my head and staring at the
ceiling. Cindy was curled on her side with her back to me. After
about ten minutes she started talking.

“Alex.”

“Yeah.”

“No matter what happens tomorrow with your
parents, just remember I got your back.”

I smiled. I could tell by her voice that she
was half asleep. She probably wouldn't remember a thing
tomorrow.

“Same here, Cindy. You know I'll be the best
man at your wedding.”

I couldn't hear what she said next. Something
about a broom.

“What? Couldn't hear you.”

She didn't respond. She was already in dream
land. I just laughed quietly.

All of a sudden, without a single warning,
Cindy turned over and threw a leg over my waist and an arm on my
chest. I froze every muscle. I didn't even breathe. It took about
ten seconds to realize she was simply moving in her sleep, and not
trying to straddle me. I finally let my breath out and relaxed.
Then she actually scooted closer and used my arm for a pillow. Her
face was about an inch from mine.

I smiled and wrapped my arm around her. She
sighed quietly and squeezed me. I'd had my share of girlfriends,
but never been so excited, just to have someone close. I knew I'd
be on the floor before long, only because I was so tempted to run a
finger along her cheek. And we couldn't have that. Besides, I knew
she was probably dreaming about an old boyfriend, and not me.

I'm not sure what time I woke up the next
morning. It still felt early, but the sun was up. Cindy and I were
in the same positions that we fell asleep in. I was on my back.
Cindy was snuggled up close to me. I could feel her breathing, and
it relaxed me.

I felt my own heart beating hard in my chest,
but for a change it had nothing to do with Cindy. This was the day.
I knew it. It was the day that the mystery about me that had been
building up would finally get some answers.

Somehow, in the back of my mind, I knew I
wouldn't like the answers I got. My biological parents abandoned
me. There was no way that could have a good reason behind it.

Cindy's breathing stopped, and I felt her
body tighten up.

“Alex?”

“Morning.”

“Oh, Christ.”

She literally jumped out of bed. I did the
same thing, not knowing what the hell was going on. She stared at
me from the opposite side of the bed. Her eyes were wide, her hair
a mess. Her eyes fell to the bed, then back to me.

“Alex, I'm so sorry,” she said. She couldn't
find words. “I didn't mean...you know...it was an accident.”

I was confused. “Uh, Cindy,
what
was
an accident?”

“I didn't mean to get so close. You know,
sleeping. I should have stayed on my side of the bed.”

I held in my laughter. “Yeah, what the hell
is your problem?”

It took her a moment to realize I was joking.
Then she smiled. “You ass.”

I laughed. “No biggie, Cindy. Hell, I saw you
naked. I guess we're even.”

“Not really. I call shower first.”

“Go for it.”

It took about an hour to get ready. During
that time I kept peeking out the hotel window, trying to get a
small view of daytime Blossom. We were right across the street from
a restaurant. A few people walked the streets, but not many. I did
notice that everyone stopped and said hi to each other.
Interesting. I thought you only saw stuff like that in the
movies.

We eventually left the hotel room and climbed
in her car. It took us about half an hour to find Heavenly Heart.
It was very close to the hotel, but we went the wrong way once,
adding to some travel time. We parked across the street and I gave
it a hard look.

I'm not sure what I expected to see. I'd
never seen an adoption center before. It looked a lot like a
school. Lots of rooms, lots of windows. A large gate enclosed the
place. I saw a few guys mowing the grass and trimming the bushes. A
sign saying Heavenly Heart stood near the front sidewalk.

I took a breath. This is what I came for.

“Are you okay?”

I nodded, then looked at her. “Cindy, if I
forget to tell you, thanks for coming with me.”

She smiled warmly. She didn't say anything,
just put her hand on mine. Which I'm almost embarrassed to say sent
little bolts up my arm.

“Okay,” I said. “Let's get this done.”

We left the car and walked across the street.
I saw a middle-aged woman walking her dog. She gave me a long look.
I guess they weren't used to visitors in Blossom. She finally gave
me a half smile and wished me a good morning. I did the same.

We opened the front door and stepped into a
rather large lobby. There was a set of stairs going up to the left.
There was a large desk in the center with a bored-looking woman on
the phone. Behind her and to the left and right were doors leading
further into the center. A boy probably around ten was sweeping the
floor, and not looking too happy about it.

The woman ended her call as Cindy and I sat
across from her.

“Good morning,” she said. “How can I help
you?”

I pulled out the certificate from my
folder.

“This is me,” I explained. “This place
handled my adoption. I'd like to know who my parents are.”

You couldn't get any more direct than that.
She looked over the certificate.

“Alex Teague,” she said. “Do you have your
driver's license and a second form of ID? A lot of records are in
the computer, but I'll have to look. And who is this with you?”

“Cindy Marshall.”

“Are you two married?”

I tried not to laugh. Strange question. I can
only guess the woman was just nosy.

“Nah,” Cindy said. “We're sex buddies.”

I turned to make sure the ten-year-old
couldn't hear. Apparently Cindy didn't like the nosiness
either.

The woman only smiled uncomfortably. I handed
over my license and a credit card. The woman started typing quickly
at the computer while she talked.

“Back then all records were paper, kept in
file folders,” she said. “We have been shifting over to computer
files though, but I'm not sure if we've hit that year yet. Ah, this
might be it.”

I actually saw her face turn white before she
pushed a few more keys on the keyboard.

“Nope, I was wrong,” she said. “Looks like
that record isn't in the computer. Which means it's in a box in
storage. If you come back tomorrow I can have it pulled for
you.”

I didn't believe her. She suddenly looked
sick.

“Are you okay?” I asked.

She nodded quickly. “Yeah, just not feeling
good. In fact, I'm gonna run to the bathroom.”

She got up and went through the door behind
her, leaving us alone with the ten-year-old.

I looked at Cindy and shrugged. We got up and
left through the front door.

“Sex buddies?” was the first thing I said to
her.

“Hey, she was sticking her nose where it
didn't belong. What the hell does that have to do with adoption?
She wanted to jump your bones.”

I stood by the driver's door while Cindy
circled around. We looked at each other over the roof a moment.

“Do you believe what she said?” I asked.

“Not at all.”

I turned back toward the center. Something
weird was definitely going on. “Me neither. Stay here a sec. I'll
be right back.”

With that, I vanished. I stuck my fingers
into the driver's side door, just to double check. Before I could
cross the street, I heard Cindy.

“Wow. My sex buddy is a freakin' ninja.”

I laughed, knowing she couldn't hear me.

I walked through the front door to see the
same woman who helped us sitting at the front desk once again. This
time the ten-year-old boy was gone. There was an older man standing
behind her. They both stared at the computer monitor. I circled
around them and listened.

“He was right
here
,” the woman said.
“Can you believe that?”

“What did you tell him?”

“I told him to come back tomorrow.
I
don't want to get involved. He was so cute, too. But shit, Mister
Simmons, I grew up hearing that crazy story.”

“That may be, Denise. But we can get in
serious trouble for withholding information.”

Denise shrugged. “I'll just say I made a
mistake. That's all.”

Mister Simmons smirked and stared at the
monitor again. “The town would talk if they knew he was here.”

“Hell, what do you think I'm telling my
family as soon as I get home?”

I looked over their shoulders. On the monitor
was a wealth of jumbled information that I'm sure they could figure
out at first glance. To me, though, it was Greek. I only saw my
name once, but I did see something that caught my attention.

Previous Guardian: Elizabeth Fields.

Was that my mother?

I left the center with a few phrases bouncing
in my head. Crazy story. The town would talk.

What the hell is going on?

Cindy was reclined back in her seat. I walked
right up to her window and reappeared.

“Gotcha!” I shouted, and grabbed her
shoulder.

She jumped and gave me a look. “Alex! You
asshole!”

I laughed like a little kid as I climbed
behind the wheel.

“My previous guardian was Elizabeth Fields,”
I said.

“Why would that woman lie?”

“I don't know. But apparently I'm some kind
of town legend or something.”

“At least you're a legend somewhere. No one
likes you back in Maryland.”

“Aww.
Everyone
loves me.”

“Not if you keep scaring people like
that.”

“What can I do to make it up to you?” I was
just kidding. But I realized I sounded very flirty.

“Don't ask me that. I'll have you giving me a
full body massage.”

Wow. What punishment. I tried to push the
picture from my head. “Well, you ready to make one more stop?”

“Sure.”

I thought Elizabeth Fields would be hard to
find, just because that's my luck. I was wrong. Her name was listed
in the phone book, and a guy at a gas station gave me decent
directions. Everything was close in Blossom, and it didn't take no
more than an hour to pull up outside her house. It was close to two
o'clock.

I didn't get out of the car right away. I
turned off the engine and sat there, staring at her house. It
looked like it had seen better days. The yard was growing out of
control. I could barely see the front of the house with all the
bushes in the way. The fence looked like it was near
collapsing.

Cindy didn't say anything. She knew I was
lost in my own little world, just reflecting on everything. I
finally talked after a few minutes.

“Three days ago I thought I had everything
under control. I'm a freak, I know. But I was a freak that knew
where I came from. Now I'm sitting here looking at what might be my
real mother's house. I handled all the ghost crap, but this
adoption thing is killing me.”

“Look, I know it's easy for me to say. But
you have to put all this behind you. This will help. You can't let
all this get you down. Besides, I'm
glad
your real parents
gave you up.”

I gave her a look. Strange thing to say.

“I don't know what I'd do without you,” she
explained. “So yeah, I'm glad. Believe me, Alicia, your mom, my
parents, and me, we'll never complain.”

I smiled. I knew I'd told her, and I thought
it many times, but I was glad Cindy came along with me.

“Okay, let's go.”

We crossed the street and I knocked on the
front door. Cindy stood a step behind me. I felt my heart hammering
as I heard the door open and a woman stood before me.

Slightly graying hair, although it used to be
brown. She looked maybe close to fifty. She was probably a little
shorter than me, around Cindy's height. Her expression suggested
she was having a bad morning. Or perhaps
every
morning was
bad. She eyed me up and down, a look of irritation on her face.