Marked (The Pack) (17 page)

“She should trust you.”

I stopped in front of her. “She would if she had known me long enough.”

“Maybe she would if you’d quit lying and sneaking around and trying to do things you know she won’t like.”

Leave it to Brynna to get technical. “Come on, Brynna.”

“What makes you think my parents will agree to let me go?”

“They will, won’t they? They let you go all these other places. You’ll say you’re sick and that you’re not going an hour or so after we leave. They’ll never know.”

Tucking a strand of red hair behind her ear she frowned. “What if I don’t want to get sick? What if I want to go on the trip?”

This was a development I hadn’t thought of. I hadn’t mentioned to Channing my plan of using Brynna… no, that sounded bad and gave me a twinge of guilt. I hadn’t told Channing of my plan to get Brynna to help me convince Louise to let me go on the weekend trip to New Orleans. But I couldn’t possibly go to her and ask if Brynna could go with us.

“You don’t really want to go do you?”

Brynna leaned over onto the pillow she was holding in her lap. “You think I don’t like to have fun or want to go out and party sometimes.”

Well yeah, I did think that, but now probably wasn’t the time to say it. “I think you dislike Channing and her friends enough that you wouldn’t want to go anywhere with them.”

“Are you including yourself in that?”

I crossed my arms in front of me. “Maybe.”

“So why would I want to help you?”

“You wouldn’t, but I’m asking you to do it.”

“You may lie to Louise, but I can always count on your being honest with me, can’t I?”

I paused. It was true. I didn’t feel like I needed to hide anything with Brynna. “Yes, I think I can tell you the truth. And I wouldn’t have to make up stories for Louise if she’d quit treating me like I’m twelve. I never had to do this at home. I just went places without this huge ordeal.”

“You’re not home anymore. You’re here. Louise is trying to protect you.”

“Protect me from what?”

Brynna frowned. “From yourself, obviously.”

“Are you gonna help me or what?”

The other girl fell back against the mound of pillows behind her and tossed the one she’d been holding into the air. It landed with a plop beside Kurt Vonnegut who hardly batted an eye. She groaned once and tossed her head from side to side.

“I’m certain I’m going to regret this, but okay, I’ll help you, this once.”

I pounced beside her on the bed, grabbing her hand and shaking it. “Thanks, and you won’t regret it.”

Brynna pulled her hand away. “This doesn’t make us friends, you know.”

“Of course not, but I’ll owe you one. I promise to do whatever it is you need.”

This time Brynna laughed. “I’ll have to think of something.”

“Be sure you do it before I go home at the end of the summer.”

“Oh, that’s right, I forgot you’re still supposed to go home when your mom gets back from her trip.”

“Was there ever any doubt that I wouldn’t?”

Scooting back into the pillows, Brynna narrowed her eyes, then smiled. “No, not one doubt.”

“Alright, I’m off to break the news of the trip to Aunt Louise, and you need to hit your parents up about it right now.”

I hurried to the door, and Brynna got up slowly. I hoped she wouldn’t change her mind. “You’re sure you can do this?”

“I’m sure I can and I’m sure I won’t like it.”

“I’ll be forever grateful.”

“Hmmm, that helps me feel better,” Brynna said sarcastically.

I trotted down the steps and out the front door to hop on my ATV. As I motored by Channing’s house, I decided to stop and let her know the plan with Brynna. That way if Brynna’s parents called Channing’s, which I was certain they would, there’d be no surprises. I wished Louise could be as understanding as Channing’s parents, who didn’t have the least concern about her going to New Orleans with her cousin for the weekend. I didn’t know why Louise felt the need to watch my every move. Brynna thought she was trying to protect me, but there was nothing dangerous about going on a trip to New Orleans. Which was why telling her the tiniest of lies so that I could go wasn’t a bad thing at all.

***

“You’re not concentrating today, Alexis.”

“Sorry,” I shouted as I spun the jet ski around and attempted to run the Bodinwa course again.

“You don’t think it could be because you’re half smashed do you?” Myles grumbled under his breath as I floated beside him.

From the pier his dad waved for him to wait as he reset his timer. “Where have you been drinking this early in the afternoon, or do I even need to ask?”

“I ran by Channing’s before I came here, and I’m not half smashed.”

“Whatever you say.”

Myles shot forward toward the course, leaving me rocking in his wake. Not a good sensation for me at the moment. I thought I might be sick. Myles was right, I shouldn’t drink anything before playing this game, but it was hard to say no to Channing when she got it in her head that you should have a drink. I didn’t like disappointing Mr. Branton. Not when he took up his free time to help me. He shouted for me to get going as Myles pulled alongside me. He’d finished his ride already and set the course up for me. Myles snorted as I cranked my ski.

“Think you can make it without throwing up?”

I could tell he was more than disappointed in me. He seemed completely disgusted. That only added to the queasiness in my stomach. I ignored Myles and tried to take a few breaths. I waited for that feeling to come. The excitement, the floating, the confident
I can do anything feeling
, but it never did. I shot forward missing most everything I tried for and skirted the ramp without an attempt. There was no way I could do it.

I motored back to the pier where Mr. Branton stood and he frowned. “Let’s call it a day, okay. If you two will pull everything into the boathouse, I’ll tie it down.”

I helped Myles get the equipment in without a word. When that was done I cleaned my jet ski and stored it.

Myles tossed me the t-shirt and shorts I‘d left on the decking of the boathouse. “Come get something to drink before you go home, something non alcoholic.”

I nodded. Arguing with Myles wasn’t very appealing right now. I didn’t feel good, and it wasn’t only because I let Channing convince me to drink more than I should. Mr. Branton’s helping me and my ability to ride the Bodinwa course had become the highlight of the summer. The trip to New Orleans might end up being even better than Bodinwa, but I doubted it. Flying through the course was like being taken away to another place, a place where I became someone else. Someone stronger, and maybe even a little powerful.

Myles led the way to the back deck of their house where his dad had poured lemonade and set out some graham crackers. Mr. Branton drank his lemonade and watched me nibble a cracker while Myles disappeared inside to get on some dry clothes.

“You know Alexis, Bodinwa is really about concentration. It’s bringing your mind and body together so that the two function without you actually thinking about it. Your subconscious is running the show. But your body is trained and prepared for that to happen.”

I nodded, feeling worse, even though I thought it wasn‘t possible.

“It all begins with self control. Not everyone can control their mind and body well enough to excel at the game, but you can, can’t you.”

I forced my eyes away from the glass in front of me where I’d been tracking the path of sweat beads to keep from looking at him. His voice held that hypnotizing quality that I remembered from the first day at camp when he read the story. Finally, I met his gaze and saw his disappointment.

“I…I’d like to be good at the game, but I didn’t do it today.”

“Because you lost your self control.”

“I guess so.” I mumbled, wondering if I sounded as guilty as I felt.

Mr. Branton refilled his glass and mine. He had been nice to me. I felt like I had let him down today, which made me miserable, though I wasn’t sure why. He and Myles got along really well, and they never seemed to fight or disagree. He was a good dad, the kind I would like to have gotten. I thought of my new step dad. He wasn’t so bad, but I didn’t feel the closeness to him that I already felt with Mr. Branton. We seemed to have things in common. I didn’t know what they were, but I could just tell that we did.

“I’ll be ready next time we practice. I won’t waste your time.”

“It’s not my time being wasted, Alexis, it’s yours.” He glanced at the sky. “You better get started home before Louise starts worrying about you. After the incident with those dogs last week I imagine you don’t want to be on that path again after dark.”

“I go the long way now, and they were wolves, not dogs.”

“Right, wolves, and you really should hurry if you’re going the other way around the lake. I’ll phone Louise to let her know.”

I nodded and ran down the steps to the four-wheeler. When I reached the ground I contemplated going back and telling Mr. Branton my concerns about Louise. But, in the end, I couldn’t really put those into words. What did I think? That she’d killed somebody? The thought made me cold all over and immediately led me to the next thought. What was really happening when I was sleepwalking? Where did I go? What did I do? Where were the images in my head coming from? What if it wasn’t Louise at all? What if it was me? I felt sick and knew that was why I couldn’t go back and talk to him, couldn’t talk to anyone. Because
what if it was me
?

Chapter Eighteen

The early morning sun streaming in the huge window filled the room with light. I rolled over with a yawn, then bolted upright, tossing the sheet covering me to the floor. I could see a yard, grass, the rails of the white daybed I had been asleep in. This wasn’t Vicki’s house.

“And she’s awake.”

I swung my feet to the floor, glancing down at the huge man’s t-shirt that hung nearly to my knees. It very likely belonged to the stranger standing in the doorway smiling at me. I backed near the window, wondering if I could throw something through it and escape.

“Who are you? What am I doing here?”

He laughed. “Sorry, I guess I should have given you an explanation first. I’m Vincent Unger. I’m a friend of your Aunt Louise’s, believe it or not.”

“I don’t believe it.”

“We can give her a call if you want. Naturally, I called her last night when I first found you. I run late at night sometimes along the levee when I can’t sleep, or if I’ve worked a late shift. I’m a doctor. I happened up on you lying in the grass unconscious. I imagine it was one doozey of a party, huh.”

“I don’t remember.”

“That’s the worst thing about getting in that condition. You never really can recall how much fun you had.”

“I wasn’t in a condition.”

“Oh, you were in a condition all right.”

“I had been dreaming. I was sleepwalking.” I stopped. My elbow thumped against the windowpane behind me as my hand flew to cover my mouth. “Oh, my God! Was I dressed?”

Vincent swung my tiny evening bag from his fingers. “If you can call wearing this dressed, then yeah, I guess you were.”

The heat in my face had to have increased the temperature in the whole room. I stared at the floor. I never aspired to be the kind of girl who paraded naked in the streets.

“Hey, it’s okay. Looks like you came out of it uninjured, and you had this little purse around your neck. Your aunt had stuck a card in there with her name and emergency phone numbers on it. It was your lucky day.” He was quiet for a moment and I looked up to see him staring at me. “Not everybody gets one.”

I nodded. “I’ll call my aunt now if that’s okay.”

“Sounds like a good idea. She was worried.”

Two hours later, dressed in a t-shirt, shorts and flip- flops that Vincent had bought for me, I finished my last beignet and took a long drink of the Café du Monde’s latte. Vincent had brought me here for breakfast before starting the trip back to Lebeaux. Eating at the café was practically a requirement for visitors he’d said. A big hill that Vincent referred to as a levee kept us from actually seeing the Mississippi River from where we sat in the café.

“The levee helps keep water out of the city because it’s below sea level.”

I nodded, not sure if I believed him. Wouldn’t we be sitting in water if the city was below sea level? I didn’t bother to ask. Now that I didn’t have to be afraid Vincent was a kidnapper, I could once again marvel at the movie star good looks of all the men I seemed to meet lately. Vincent was by far one of the most memorable. He was single, a doctor, and must have been about Louise’s age. But he didn’t look like the doctors I ended up seeing when I went to the clinic with a cold. Of course, I hadn’t been to the clinic in a few years, so maybe this was what doctors looked like now. Either I’d missed seeing all the good looking men in Chicago or else they really did all live here. I wasn’t sure which.