Never Forgotten (Never Forgotten Series) (11 page)

The bar had cleared out a bit, so the guys pulled over some barstools and joined us at the table. It didn’t take them long to notice our barely eaten appetizers.

“You gonna finish those?” Brian asked.

“Help yourself,” Katie said.

They demolished the two baskets in a few minutes, and Evan finished my root beer. They still seemed hungry.

“Do you guys want to order something else?” I asked.

“Ah, there will be food at the party,” Peter said. “Kevin eats more than the rest of us.”

“Ready?” Evan asked.

“Let’s go,” Brian said.

Katie glanced at Brian. Her expression was calculating, although I was the only one that saw it. “Can one of your friends ride with us? Then Meara can go with you, and if we get lost, he can get us to Kevin’s.”

“Good idea,” Evan said.

“How about you, Brian?” Katie asked.

“Sure.” He nodded to his friends. “See you at Kev’s.”

I followed Evan, Peter, and Joe out to the car. They recapped the game, Evan glancing at me periodically. I smiled, reassuring him that I was fine. It was kind of interesting to hear the recount from their point of view.

Peter wasn’t much taller than I was. He talked a mile a minute and seemed to have an endless supply of energy. Joe spoke slowly and thoughtfully. He was lanky, lean, and the opposite of Peter.

When we reached the car, Peter made for the front seat. Joe blocked him and asked me pointedly, “Would you like to sit in front, Meara?”

Peter seemed surprised to see me there. Apparently, in providing his play-by-play of the game, he forgot that I was with them.

“Oh, yeah, right,” he stuttered. “Sorry, Meara. The front’s all yours.”

“Thanks, Peter.” As I walked around them, Joe winked at me. I grinned in reply.

The ride to Kevin’s house was pretty short. He lived about fifteen minutes from the arena in an apartment he shared with two other teammates. The guys told me more about the team on the ride over. I learned that the players ranged from mid-teens to early twenties. Kevin and his roommates were on the older end.

“They’re hoping to get picked soon,” Peter said.

“Picked?” I repeated. I wasn’t familiar with the term.

“They want to go professional,” Joe explained. “The Sea Dogs are like a farm team for a farm team.”

“Oh,” I said. I didn’t understand.

“Farm teams are where the professional teams get their players,” Evan said. “Are you familiar with the National Hockey League?”

“I don’t think so.”

“Where are you from again?” Joe asked.

“Wisconsin.”

“Milwaukee Admirals,” Peter said. “AHL.”

I stared at him blankly. Joe shook his head at Peter. “American Hockey League provides the players for the professional teams. That’s where we’ll play next.”

“Okay,” I said.

“Are you familiar with the Chicago Blackhawks?” Joe asked.

“I’ve heard of them,” I admitted.

Joe nodded. “They’re a professional team. National Hockey League or NHL.”

I looked at Evan. He was silent during this conversation.

“Why American teams?” I asked.

“That’s where the money is, baby!” Peter gave me an exaggerated wink. “I’m hoping for Texas. Love those Lone Stars!”

“Do you all want to play professionally?” I asked.

“Hell, yeah!” Peter yelled and fist bumped with Joe. Evan didn’t respond.

“Evan?”

“I’m not sure,” he admitted.

“What?” Peter leaned forward and clasped Evan on the shoulder. “Mitchell, you’re the best on the team. You could probably go pro now if you wanted to.”

“I don’t,” Evan said. “I’m not ready.”

“Why not, man?” Peter pursued. Evan kept his eyes on the road, but his jaw tightened. He clearly didn’t want to have this conversation.

“I’m finishing school first,” he said finally.

Joe leaned forward and patted his shoulder. “That’s cool.” He gave Peter a warning look. “Don’t you agree, Pete?”

“Yeah. Cool,” Peter said, although from the look on his face, he clearly didn’t mean it.

***

“Can I get you something?” Evan shouted so I could hear him above the thumping music. The house was filled with the players, their friends, and random acquaintances. We were in the living room, sitting on the couch.

“What are you having?” So far, Evan had only drunk a Coke, although there was plenty of beer and bottles of liquor.

“I’ll probably get a beer.”

I didn’t know what I wanted, but I knew I didn’t like beer. “I’ll come with you,” I said, following him to the kitchen.

Katie and Jen sat at the table with Brian and Peter. They were playing some kind of drinking game with cards. They both looked happy already.

“Is she going to be okay to drive?” I asked Evan.

He frowned at his sister. “I’d say ‘no’ if she continues at her current pace.”

“I’ll just have a Diet Coke then,” I told him. “I can drive Katie’s car back to your house.”

“You sure?”

“Yeah. I’ll follow you, if that’s all right. My mom okay’d me staying over.” I felt strange telling him this, since it was his house, too. Until the words came out of my mouth, I hadn’t considered the implication. I felt my cheeks warming.

If Evan noticed my discomfort, he didn’t say anything. He reached into the cooler for the Diet Coke and handed me the can. Taking a cup, he filled it at the beer keg. “Do you want to go outside for a bit?” He motioned to the patio door. “At least it will be quieter.”

“Sure.” Once again, I let him lead the way. We had to go by the table. As we passed, Katie grabbed my hand and pulled me closer.

“Isn’t Brian cute?” I’m sure she meant to whisper it in my ear, but it came out as more of a slurred shout. He was not as drunk as she was, and it was obvious he heard her, too. He grinned at us.

Katie opened her eyes wider and pouted at me. “I’m sorry, Meara. I don’t think I should drive us home. Maybe we can leave my car here and ride with Evan? Mom won’t be happy…”

I patted her shoulder. “It’s okay, Katie. Evan and I talked about this already. I’ll drive your car home.”

“You sure?”

“Yes.”

She jumped up, knocking her chair over in the process, and threw her arms around me. “You’re the best! Jen, isn’t she the best?”

Jen raised her glass at us and nodded enthusiastically. “The best!” She polished off whatever was in there, and Peter quickly refilled it.

“Are you okay?” I asked Jen. Her eyes were glassy, and her face flushed.

She waved off my concern. “I’m good. I’m…I’m great!”

She took another big gulp. At this rate, they would be throwing up within the hour. I looked at Evan, unsure of what to do. He was talking to Brian and Peter, but when I caught his eye, he nodded. He must have been listening to our conversation, too. He excused himself, went around the table, and grabbed a bowl of pretzels from the counter. He placed it between Katie and Jen.

“Have something to eat,” I told them. “And maybe slow down a little.”

Jen pouted. “We’re fine, Party Pooper.”

“Listen to her,” Evan said. “You are both going to be hurting tomorrow.”

“Hey, Mitchell, can we please get back to our game?” This came from Peter, who was pretty wasted himself. He threw a pretzel at Evan.

Evan took my hand and led me outside. The apartment had a small patio, but their unit faced a courtyard with a path that circled an in-ground pool. The few chairs on the patio were already taken, and by the looks of things, the couples sitting in them paid us no attention.

“Should we go for a walk?” Evan asked.

“I’d like that,” I said. Anything was better than hanging with the make-out couples. They appeared to be on the verge of moving beyond, and I didn’t want to stick around for that. Apparently, you lost your inhibitions with alcohol. I wasn’t the world’s most experienced partier, but the events at Kevin’s house sure opened my eyes.

Evan took my hand again, and we walked to the pool.

“Some party, huh?” He looked back at the apartment and shook his head.

“Do you usually have parties like this after your games?” I wondered if this was something he did a lot. Did he crash at the party house? Did he meet girls? What would happen if he was drunk, and I wasn’t around? There were lots of pretty girls in the house.

“Someone usually has something, but Kev’s house is always a big one. Sometimes, we just hang out and order pizza. Just the guys. It’s not always so many people.” He stopped talking and scratched his head.

“Oh,” I said.

“I don’t always go either,” he went on to add. “With school starting, I’ll probably just head back to the dorm. Or if it’s a weekend, come see you.”

He smiled at me, and I returned it. I was happy that he would choose to see me over partying with his friends. On the other hand, I planned to go to more of his games, so maybe we could do both sometimes.

“What happened to your friend that was with you at the game? Ula?” He said it like you-lah, so I felt the need to correct him.

“Ula? Oh, she had to go home.”

“She’s the one you met at the clinic, right?”

“Yeah. She’s homeschooled. I don’t think she gets out much.”

“She seemed nice.” Evan opened the gate by the pool. I thought we were going to continue on the path around it.

“Where are you going?” I asked.

He turned back and raised an eyebrow. “Don’t you trust me?”

“It’s a little late for a swim, and I don’t have a suit.”

He laughed. “We’re not going to swim. I just thought we could sit and put our feet in the water.” He held up his hand. “Scout’s honor. I promise not to push you in.”

“You were a Boy Scout?”

“Of course. Weren’t you in Girl Scouts?”

“Not so much,” I said. “Didn’t care for the uniforms.”

I could tell Evan didn’t know whether to take me seriously or not, but I didn’t expand. I sat by the water’s edge and debated about showing Evan my feet. Reluctantly, I pulled off my socks and tennis shoes. I tried to put my feet in before Evan sat down, but it was too late.

“Your toes,” he said as he sat next to me.

I looked away, embarrassed. “I know. They’re so ugly.”

“Let me see.” He wrapped his hand around my calf and lifted my foot out of the water. “I don’t think they’re ugly. They’re fascinating.”

I turned at looked at him then. Was he crazy? “They’re disgusting. I always tried to get out of swimming lessons, but my mom insisted. The kids laughed.”

“Kids are mean,” Evan said. “Webbed toes aren’t common, but people have them. They’re like flippers.”

“Very funny,” I muttered.

He lowered my leg into the water and removed his hand. My calf tingled from where he had touched me. He took my hand in his and looked into my eyes.

“I’m sorry that kids made fun of you, Meara. You shouldn’t be ashamed of anything about you. You’re beautiful from head to toe, inside and out.”

I didn’t know what to say, but my heart responded by leaping in my chest. He took off his shoes and socks, rolled his jeans up a few times, and placed his feet in the water next to mine. He entwined his right foot with my left, and somewhere, inside of me, some of the hurt from all those years ago began to fade.

It was easy enough to follow Evan’s car back to his house, even with Katie and Jen talking, laughing, and singing the entire way. Loudly. Evan waited by the garage door, and he warned us to be quiet. “Mom’ll have a fit if we wake the guests.”

I’m sure Katie and Jen thought they were being quiet, but between stumbling into furniture, cursing, and loudly whispered shushes, they didn’t fool anyone. On the other hand, no one came out of their rooms, so I took that as a good sign.

Evan and I pursued them up into Katie’s room. Katie wanted to play music, but we convinced her it was too late and, after much cajoling, she and Jen climbed into bed. I was stunned at how quickly they were out. It was like their heads hit the pillow and nighty-night.

Evan whistled softly. “They are going to be hurting tomorrow.”

“No doubt.”

I wasn’t sure where I was going to sleep. Katie and Jen took up her double bed. I wasn’t above crashing on the floor, though, if I had a blanket and pillow.

Evan inclined his head toward the door. “Want to come to my room?”

I hesitated. I wasn’t sure that I should.

“C’mon,” he said. “We’ll just watch a movie.”

“Okay.”

The first time I came to the house, Evan’s room was messy with clothes strewn about. It looked a little better this time. There was a mound of discarded shirts in the corner, and the comforter was lumpy. I guessed that he hastily cleaned up.

“Where’s Ebb and Flow?” I hadn’t seen or heard the dogs. They must have heard all the commotion that Jen and Katie made.

“They sleep in my parents’ room when I’m not home.” He took off his shoes, picked up the remote, and sat on the bed. Leaning back against the headboard, he turned on the TV. I stood in the doorway, and he looked at me curiously. “Are you going to come in and sit?”

I took off my shoes and sat next to him.

“What do you want to watch?” he asked.

“Honestly? I’m not usually up this late.” I felt like a loser admitting it, but it was after one. The only time I stayed up that late was New Year’s Eve.

“Old music videos or classic horror movies?”

“Classic horror.” I loved Vincent Price and Bela Lugosi. Those movies were so much better than the computer-generated blood and gore. They had class.

“Good choice.” Evan flipped the channel. Apparently, House of Usher was the featured film tonight. I’d seen it enough times to know it was halfway done.

“One of my favorites,” I said.

“You’ve seen it before?” Evan seemed surprised.

“Like twenty times. You?”

“Maybe ten. I guess I’m not as big a fan as you, but I love old horror movies.”

I couldn’t believe it. I’d never met anyone around my age before who liked them. Most of my friends didn’t even know these movies existed. Kim tried to sit through one every once in a while when she came over for a sleepover. She usually fell asleep. I would stay up to the end and finish it every time.

Evan sat up. He had a mischievous expression on his face. “Let me see your feet again.”

“No!” I crossed my legs, tucking my feet away before I faced him.

“Why not?”

“You have some kind of foot fetish?” I challenged.

He raised an eyebrow before responding slowly, “Maybe I do.”

He reached for my foot. I tried to scramble away, but he was too quick. I thought he was going to take my sock off but, instead, he tickled the bottom of my foot through my sock. I was extremely ticklish, much to his delight, and before long, I was breathlessly urging him to stop. I couldn’t breathe.

Evan leaned down over me and wiggled his eyebrows dramatically. “Now I know your secret.”

“No fair. I know none of yours.” I pretended to pout, which made him smile even wider.

He bent forward and kissed me. “You’re cute when you pout.”

He lifted his head and looked at me. Self-consciously, I remembered that I was lying on his bed. I cleared my throat. “I should, ah, probably go to bed. I’m going to be exhausted tomorrow.”

“Probably,” he said. His leg covered mine, and he didn’t make any attempt to move. He slowly lowered his head, and his eyes never left mine. This time he kissed me slow and deep, and I found myself breathless again.

“Evan, I really…”

“I know, I know.” With a sigh, he rolled onto his back, turned his head, and looked at me. “You probably need a pillow and blanket, right?”

“Yeah. That’d be great.”

He stood and motioned for me to follow. There was a linen closet in the hall. From the topmost shelf, which I never would have been able to reach, he pulled down a pillow and a fleece blanket.

“Thanks.” I was having trouble meeting his eyes. He pulled me into his arms again and kissed me. It was light and quick.

“Goodnight, Meara.”

***

I couldn’t sleep. For about the fifteenth time, I looked at Katie’s alarm clock. Four-thirty. Great. Ten minutes had passed since the last time I checked.

A throat cleared, and I whipped my head toward the sound, straining in the dark until my eyes grew accustomed. I almost screamed until I recognized the man.

“David?” My father stood by the window, leaning against the wall. “What are you doing here? How’d you get in?”

“I wanted to see you,” he said. He ignored my second question. He pulled out the chair by Katie’s desk and sat down. “How are you doing? How’s your mom?”

“I’m fine. Mom’s, well…she’s okay. Wait. Are you here? I’m not sleeping?”

I pinched my arm. It hurt.

“I’m real,” David said. “Not a figment of your imagination.”

I thought I’d be afraid, but I wasn’t. This was my father. He wouldn’t hurt me. I stood and walked to him. My fingers itched to reach out.

“Go ahead,” he said as though he knew what I was thinking. Maybe he did.

I touched the hand that was resting on his knee. He didn’t move. His hand was warm. “I thought I was dreaming you,” I said in a daze.

“I know.” He stood up, and I took a step back. “I’m here, Meara.”

“Does Mom know?” He shook his head, and I remembered I’d asked him that before in my dream.

“The previous times I saw you, was I sleeping?”

“Yes and no,” he said. “I suppose it was like you were sleepwalking.”

“Were we at the lighthouse?”

“Yes.”

“And the beach? The first time?” I tried to control the fear in my voice.

“Yes.” His voice was quiet. Calm. Like he knew I was getting scared, and he was treading carefully.

“How?”

He shook his head. “I can’t tell you. You wouldn’t understand.”

“Why do you look so young? What are you?” I wanted to know, and I was afraid at the same time. Had I asked this before, too? I couldn’t remember.

“You’ll find out. Soon.”

“Why won’t you tell me?” I didn’t understand his obscure responses. He was about as open as a bank safe. I had so many questions, and so far, he only had mediocre answers. I studied him, wondering what I could ask that might get a real answer.

“Are you human?”

He paused and searched my face, as if measuring how I would react. Finally, he said, “No, I am not.”

I swallowed. “And you won’t tell me what you are? What I am?”

“Not yet. The timing’s not right.”

“What’s timing got to do with it?” After all these years, he was worried about timing?

“Everything.”

Well, that helped.

“You’re dating your friend’s brother, aren’t you?” he asked. I wasn’t sure if he was trying to change the subject or if he wanted to know.

“Maybe,” I said. What was it to him? If he could be cryptic, so could I.

“Be careful, Meara,” he said. “Take things slowly.”

He was a fine one to talk. “Oh, like you and Mom?” Angry, I sat up and crossed my arms. “Please!”

“Exactly.” He continued to speak in a frustratingly calm voice. “Learn from us.”

“Dad,” I said in my most sarcastic voice. “Is that right? Should I call you Dad?”

He winced, but recovered quickly. “I’d like it if you would.”

“I’m not sure that I can. You suck as one. You come back into my life after seventeen years, tell me I’m not entirely human, but don’t disclose what I am. And then, of all things, you give me dating advice?” My hands shook, and I was on the verge of yelling. I closed my mouth and took a deep breath.

“Relax,” David said. “Your friends can’t hear you.”

“Why not?” What did he do to them? Cast a spell or something?

“They’re drunk. Passed out cold.”

Oh yeah. There was that.

He stood. “I have to go.”

“Go? You just got here!”

He chuckled and leaned forward to kiss my cheek. “You need your sleep. I’ll see you again soon.”

“When?” I asked. I wanted answers. He needed to give me something.

“Take care of your mother.”

Those were his last words before he disappeared. Literally. Not like walking out of the room or jumping out the window, he just vanished. Poof. Gone. I shivered. What in the world was he? What was I?

I lay back on the floor and wrapped the blanket tight around me. My head pounded, but my mind raced. I needed sleep. I couldn’t have gotten more than twenty minutes so far. Taking deep breaths, counting sheep, and even meditating didn’t help. I gave up and stared at the ceiling. Sleep was not coming.