Rising Tide: Dark Innocence (The Maura DeLuca Trilogy Book 1) (12 page)

Some of my angst dissipated. 

“Did you forget about my dental appointment today?” I asked more quietly.

“Maura, I called and cancelled that.”  She looked at me
quizzically. 

So she had.  “That’s what they said.  But, why didn’t you tell
me?”

“You went??”  Her eyes were so wide.

I remained very calm.  “Mom, like I said, you never told me.”

“I didn’t think you’d remember, much less go without my dragging you
there.”  It took her a minute to return a look of normalcy to her
face.  “You went, then?” she asked again.

“Yes, Mom I went.”  I couldn’t keep the tension I felt out of my
voice.

Her forced calm vanished, considerably.  “So, how did it go?” 
She was hiding something from me!

“Well, the x-rays show something wrong with some of my teeth.”

Caelyn went as white as her olive-toned skin allowed.

Definitely something wrong here.  “Mom, what’s going on?  I know
there’s something you’re not telling me.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Maura.”  Caelyn put a very
sharp edge to her tone.  “I’ve had a very hard day, and I’m in no mood for
any foolishness.”

Denial.

“Foolishness?  I’m trying to tell you there’s something wrong with me
and you’re calling it foolishness?!!”  This was the first time I’d ever
raised my voice to my mother.  She looked appropriately shocked.

“Maura Maxine.”  Her tone came out very controlled, with a huge
helping of underlying menace.  Uh oh.

“She’s not kidding.”  The soft, male voice coming from the staircase
landing made me cringe.  It was written all over my mother’s face that she
hadn’t known Ron was here.  I could see a dangerous level of fury growing
in her eyes.

“Please, Ms. DeLuca, don’t be angry.”  Ron had his perfect hands up
in a placating gesture.  “I took Maura to the dentist, and she said
something like two of her top teeth are decaying from the inside out. 
They might even be falling out, because she said they’re growing lower or
something like that.”

She’d listened to him quietly, and I knew her well enough to see she was
trying to get her emotions under control.  Caelyn took a deep breath, her
cat-green eyes still flashing excitedly.  “Is this true, Maura?  Is
this what the dentist said?”

I nodded my head emphatically, grateful that my mother’s temper was so
easily cooled.  “Yes!”  I put the tip of each index finger onto the
sharp points of each canine.  “These two teeth!  She said it’s like
the middles are missing, but she doesn’t know how the bacteria got in there,
cause there’s no decay from the outside.  Mom, I don’t want my teeth to
fall out…”  I felt my lower lip tremble a bit and fought to keep tears
from my eyes.  All that effort caused my voice to come out as no more than
a whisper, “Mom, I afraid I’m really sick or something.  What if I have
one of those weird types of cancer or something!”

Both Caelyn and Ron looked frightened when I finished that last
sentence.  And like they both wanted to hug me better.  But….Mom was
closer.

“Oh Maura,” she hugged me tightly and then stood back so she could look in
my eyes and put her overly warm hands on either side of my face.  “It’s
going to be ok, I promise you.”

How could she know?  Was this just wishful thinking on her
part?  “I don’t know…”  My voice had a humiliating shake to it, and
the fact that Ron was in the room made me painfully aware I was turning into a
sniveling, scared toddler in front of him at my mother’s touch.

“Now, now,” she crooned, her anger of two minutes ago had completely
vanished.  “Don’t worry Maura.  There are a ton of specialists in
Vancouver.  I’m sure we can find someone there who can explain exactly
what is going on with your teeth.” 

The way she said that last part, with a kind of dreamy, faraway look on
her face, made me feel funny.  She ran the tip of a finger under my left
canine and then drew her hand back sharply, a pained look on her face. 

“Ooow!  Maura, I think your teeth are in viciously fine shape.” 
She sucked a large bead of bright, red blood from her fingertip, and I licked
my lips in a response, completely driven by instinct.  I didn’t miss the
split second of eye-widening from my mother, though I admired her lightning
quick recovery.

I flicked my eyes in Ron’s direction, and his gaze wandered up to the
uninteresting ceiling.  Non-committal in his observances, as always. 
I knew he could feel the weight of my stare.

His eyes closed, and he inhaled deeply.  “Wow!  Maura something
smells good!”

Caelyn joined him.  “Is that beef roast?”  She beamed at me
then, “And do I smell dinner rolls?  You’ve really outdone yourself, my
dear!”  She sniffed the air again.  “Maybe those are done,
though?  I think you’d better go check them.”  She moved away from me
to make her way to the stairs.  “I’m going to go change.” 

Well, that was the end of that conversation….but at least it looked like I
wouldn’t have to argue with her about Ron staying for dinner.

I knew Caelyn would never let me go
to the gig Ron had invited me to, so I needed a major, school-related
excuse.  Only studying with a friend for finals would offer me reprieve
from my grounding.  I tried not to feel too guilty about it.  I
promised myself I would study vigorously after seeing Ron play for one magical
night.  I would go have my fun and then seriously put my nose to the
proverbial grindstone.  I knew I was seriously breaking the rules…and
lying…but I also knew that in about two weeks I would go away and not be able
to see the boy I was falling in love with (there I’d said it..) for who knew how
many months? I refused to believe it might even be a year.  Yes, I was
definitely due this one indulgence.

So I worked up the courage to ask,
intent on going, even if I had to sneak out of my room.

But it turned out that wouldn’t be
necessary. 

“Just so long as it isn’t one of
the girls in on that swimming prank, ok?” she’d merely said when I asked her.
 “Junior year is important and I want you to do well.  It’ll make a
difference when you’re applying to colleges.”

I felt a pang of guilt. 
College was not only a dream for me of my mother’s.  It had been a planned
part of my future for myself for as long as I could remember.  I really
would have to get back to studying after my night of fun.

“I won’t be with any of them, Mom,
believe me!”  At least there was a little bit of truth I could
offer.  

Ron’s band had gotten a gig when
another band had cancelled at the last minute.  Granted it wasn’t a
glamorous venue – they were playing a fraternity party at the university. 
Shane was friends with one of the brothers at Delta Tau Delta, who’d just
happened to come to some of their rehearsals in Shane’s garage.  Ron had
been hesitant to take the gig, feeling they were nowhere near ready to play
outside the confines of the makeshift rehearsal space, but Shane’s unsquashable
enthusiasm had won out in the end.

“You’ll see!! It’ll be
great!”  He’d wrenched an arm around Ron’s neck excitedly, almost pulling
him to the school’s cafeteria floor when he gave him the news.  Ron still
looked worried, but I’d begun to see the overcautious perfectionist in
him.  Shane was probably right and Ron was worrying for nothing.

I’d just been standing, taking the
whole moment in, excited for them to be playing in front an audience that
consisted of more than a handful of friends.  I hadn’t been lucky enough
to catch a rehearsal yet, but I knew they would be amazing—despite Ron’s
worries.  

Ron’s dark eyes grew alight with
excitement then. “Maura!  You have to come!”

“Of course!” I exclaimed.  It
felt so good to be included and wanted.  So much so that it took almost
twenty full seconds before I could feel my face fall and utter a small,
disappointed, “Oh….”

Ron understood immediately,
“Oh…your mom.”

“Yea, my mom.”  Drat it all.

Merina piped up and saved the
day…well the night.  “Just tell your mom you’re studying with me.” 
She had that impish grin on her face that was starting to break my heart. 
Because soon I wouldn’t see it again.  I had to fight the tears back hard,
so we could adequately enjoy her revelation of genius proportions.

“I think that just might
work!  Mom can’t say no to studious activities!”  I grinned back at
her, “Good thinking, Merina!”

“That’s why I love you,
Baby!”  Shane was exploding with excitement, “Beauty
and
brains.”  He kissed her fervently, his eyes radiating happiness, and she
blushed in response.

Ron reached over and pulled me
close into a clumsy hug.  And so it’d been settled.

Saturday night, Merina showed up on
my doorstep to walk me over to her house.  Of course Caelyn came out of
her office to meet this new friend of mine.  She grilled her a bit, asking
about her family, what she liked to study, what she did in her spare time.

I finally interrupted, “Mom! 
Stop giving her the third degree.”  Although I could understand her
reasons, I could see that my new friend was growing uncomfortable.  “We’d
better go get some studying done.  There’s too much to go over!”

My eagerness must have set off some
mom alarm in Caelyn.  She eyed me suspiciously, as only she could. 
Those eyes of hers weren’t only catlike in their color.  I was ready to be
out from under her scrutiny before I cracked and said or did something really
stupid.

I picked up my black and red
backpack, laden with books and a change of outfit more suited for a frat party
than the totally boring study costume I had on now—some of my more tattered
jeans and a Gorrilaz t-shirt.

“It was nice to meet you,
Merina.”  Caelyn said in earnest.  She must have been as impressed
with the girl’s shy sweetness as I was. “See you in the morning, Maura.” 
She kissed the top of my head.  Only I could recognize the panic in the
back of her eyes.  Was it more worry for me, sleeping in a strange place,
or for her, rattling around the house by herself for an entire night, without
me to fret over?

“Don’t worry Mom, it’ll be ok,” I
kissed her smooth cheek.  “I’ll be back to annoy and pester before you
know it.”  I smiled at her and she ruffled my hair like she always
did.  Then Merina and I escaped out into the night. 

The frat house was within walking
distance from my house.  As were Shane and Merina’s.  So ironically
sad that now I had new friends I could hang out with at any time, I was leaving
them very far behind.  It
was
my life, so yea, that figured.

We were stopping by Merina’s place first
to change and as she put it, “get pretty.”  I hoped she didn’t have too
much prep in mind.  I was eager to get to the party and see Ron. 
We’d both been in school yesterday, so with no classes together, it had been a
long and boring day.  He’d insisted we follow my advice of the day before
and spend the afternoon hours, before my mom came home, studying.  Caelyn
had insisted she and I go out to dinner, probably to prevent any chance of Ron
joining us again.  So after today’s equally tedious, mostly Ronless school
day I felt like I was having withdrawal. 

Merina was quiet as we walked,
probably wrapped up in thoughts of Shane, herself.  But she became
animated once again when we arrived, beaming brightly as she indicated the
cute, cottage-like house her family lived in. 

“Here we are!  That’s my room
up there.”  She pointed to a small balcony outside a pink-curtained
window.  Attached to it was a trellis with yellow roses winding their way
throughout.  I could imagine Shane climbing that.

“Wow, that’s like something out of
Romeo
and Juliet
.”

She nodded and I could see a deep
blush blooming in her cheeks by the porch light.  Now, I was fairly
certain Shane had climbed that trellis and had to giggle a bit.  We both
put on more appropriately serious expressions as we went through the front door
to face her parents.

“Hey Mom and Dad, this is Maura,”
Merina addressed them simply.  They both rose to greet me, but what stood
out for me was that they both were so relaxed.  Neither had the anxious
demeanor Caelyn seemed to carry around constantly.  Both put their hands
out to take mine and we exchanged “nice to meet yous.” 

Merina looked a lot like her
mother, but her big, hazel eyes came from her dad.  They all had the same
black-brown hair, but Merina’s was straight like her dad’s, while her mother’s
hung in tight curls that touched her shoulders. 

“Shane must be so excited?” 
Her mom asked.  I envied the fact that Merina didn’t have to lie to her
parents.

Merina grabbed her mother’s hands
in her own excitement, “Excited is a gross understatement!” 

Again I felt a pang of envy. 
If my mother knew where I was going tonight, excitement would not be one of the
emotions anyone would be feeling…well unless you counted the excitement brought
on by fear.

“Come on, Maura!”  Merina
grabbed my hand and tugged enthusiastically.  The mention of Shane had
gotten her moving.  I was awash with emotion at Merina casually taking my
hand, like we’d been friends forever.  She didn’t even comment on the
strange iciness my skin had seemed to take on of late.  Caelyn dismissed
it as a need for more iron in my diet. 

“Are you girls going to eat
dinner?” Merina’s mom called after us, as we were flying up the stairs, Merina
in a panic to get ready now.

“We’ll get something at the party,
Mom!”

“Ok, Sweetie!”  Wow. 
Caelyn would never let me get away with that.

Merina’s bedroom was very different
from mine.  Far more girly.  Stuffed animals—gifts from Shane? 
He was wickedly skilled at amusement park games—half-covered a lacy pink bedspread
that matched the curtains.  I had a shelf of collectible figurines from
video games and anime; she had one populated with elaborately dressed
dolls.  I was kind of surprised, because Merina’s wardrobe had a slight
Goth air to it that I was afraid I could never pull off.  There were three
clothes dressers in the room and one of the sliding, closet doors was open to
reveal its ‘bursting at the seams’ status.  By the variety of clothes
Merina wore to school, I’d already figured out she had far more clothes than I
did.  I’d never seen her wear the same thing twice.  I just didn’t
have as much imagination when it came to my own wardrobe… plus I was
picky.  Most of my clothes came from Ebay, since I could never find my
particular style displayed on the racks of cookie-cutter items at the mall.

Merina was following my eyes. 
“I want you to wear something of mine tonight, ok?” 

I looked at her with a doubt-filled
expression.  I had to be a full three inches taller.  But then she
produced a pair of one-size-fits-most leggings from one of the dresser
drawers.  I was intrigued.  The outsides  had a full two-inch
strip of black lace from ankle to hip.  I had time to wonder briefly if
Ron would like them before she went to the closet and produced a shirt to go with
them.  It was a long, red, tunic-styled shirt with black skull and
crossbones on the front.  I almost protested that it wasn’t really my
style….but we
were
going to a rock concert of sorts, so I should
probably break out of my shell and try something besides babydoll dresses and
Mary Janes.  Well, the babydoll dresses anyway.  Turned out Merina
and I were not the same shoe size. 

I slipped into the clothes and
assessed my reflection in Merina’s full-length mirror.  I was pleasantly
surprised to find I liked this look on me.  The dark leggings made my legs
look even more long and slender, but the loose top, coming almost halfway down
the thigh, made me feel adequately, safely hidden.  I wasn’t one to offer
my body up for ogling eyes….it made me vastly uncomfortable.

“I love this!” I exclaimed, the
anticipation of the night claiming me, as well. “Thanks, Merina!”

“No worries,” she smiled
approvingly.  “Ron will love it, it’s such a great look for you!” 
She went back to the closet to claim her own outfit.  In a few moments she
was clothed similarly.  But her leggings were white, overlain with a
similar black and white top, sporting an ornate, gothic cross. 

Next was make-up, and Merina framed
my already-dark eyes in heavy black liner and murky eye shadows.  She
finished my look with deep, red lipstick, before teasing and fluffing my long
hair into nearly double its volume.  I almost didn’t recognize my
reflection once she was done. 

“Wow, Maura, you look
amazing!  I am a genius. Hehe.”  I agreed.  I could almost pass
for one of the college girls now. 

“I
love
it.  Thank
you!”

Merina finished her own hair and
makeup, since I wasn’t equally talented in that department, and we were ready
to go.  To my surprise, Merina’s mom didn’t blink an eye at the way we looked
as we left.  I was relatively sure Caelyn wouldn’t  have allowed me
out of the house.

I felt a strong pang of hunger,
almost painful, as we waved goodbye and exited.  I hoped we really would
get to eat at the party.  Suddenly I was starving.

There were people packed in from
wall to wall of the frat house basement.  I immediately felt
uncomfortable.  So many people and so much heat….I wasn’t completely
confident with my new outfit….Where was Ron?...*I’m so hungry!* My stomach
roared to my brain.  I felt slightly nauseous and swayed a bit on my
feet. 

Strangely, Merina picked up on
this.  She put a steadying hand on my shoulder.  “Hey!  You
okay?”  Her brow furrowed the way Caelyn’s did when I was sick.

I blinked and tried to focus on
keeping to my feet.  My skin felt clammy and slick, but very cool on the
surface and I wondered briefly if I might be coming down with something. 
“I think so.”  I tried to flash a very convincing smile at her, “just too
much excitement, probably.  Remember, I don’t get out much.”  I was
immediately embarrassed at this unexpected revelation and put my head
down. 

But she seemed to understand and
patted me gently, “Yea, I know what you mean.  I feel a little dizzy
myself!  I’ve never been to a frat party before!!”  She whispered
that last part, conspiratorially, and I felt better.  It was a wonder what
real friends could do for your self-confidence.

I resigned myself to Merina’s
wisdom.  It must be the overexcitement, probably coupled with the fact we
hadn’t eaten, and it was nearly 8:00 pm.  We’d been here almost an hour,
waiting for the guys to get their gear set up, so we could talk to them before
they went on. 

Merina grabbed my hand again and
pulled me toward the stage area.  She reminded me of a playful, eager
puppy when she went into motion, wanting to be somewhere.  I loved
it.  Her enthusiasm was absolutely contagious. I had another rush of
regret, tinged with the desire to stay put in the town I’d lived in all my
life, but only now begun to enjoy.  I wondered if there was any way to
talk Caelyn out of the move?  I set myself the goal of at least one
valiant attempt, tomorrow when I got home.