Chapter 10 – DON’T ASK ME QUESTIONS IF YOU’RE AFRAID OF THE ANSWER

Delaney shoved the bowl of stew off the counter and watched with some satisfaction as it landed on the floor with a satisfying splat. She would have to pick it up soon or explain herself to Grace when she came in for her dinner. It was frustrating enough to make meals for a varied group of people with all kinds of likes and dislikes but she flat out hated to cook for someone who felt no remorse in turning down food without even trying it. Den’s girl was sulking and there was nothing that she hated more than a person who couldn’t find a better outlet for their anger than sitting in a darkened room, staring out the window.

Before she could do anything about the food, Blake came tearing into the room and began lapping up the vegetables and meat swimming in a thick broth. “Better you have it than I throw it away,” she muttered before straightening her shoulders and meeting Alma face to face. “Have you been to see her?”

“Who?”

She knew that Alma knew very well who she meant but she played along with the game. “Den’s girl. The one who remains nameless no matter who questions her.”

It was all over the house that the girl Den had brought home with him was refusing to answer even such a simple question as her name. She’d spoken a few words to Grace when she’d questioned her about how she was feeling but only because Grace reminded her that she was to call Greg with updates about her condition. It was easy to see that she was perfectly fine now that Grace had gotten inside her body and fixed everything that was wrong. From the sounds of the gossip, it was a considerable fix.

“I don’t think we should take to calling her Den’s girl, do you? It makes her sound like a pet.” There was censure in Alma’s voice but Delaney recognized that not all of it was for her. Regardless, she felt chastised and fought hard not to hang her head in shame.

“Isn’t she one? He found her all broken up beside the road and she won’t talk. Sounds like a pet to me. And don’t look at me like that, Alma. I know she isn’t a pet. I’m just a little put out with her.”

“And I suppose she’s the only reason you’re upset?”

“Of course not,” Delaney answered honestly. “I’m always angry. It’s who I am. Isn’t that what you told Heather last week?”

Alma’s lips clamped together in a thin line of irritation. “We were alone when I told her that. Or were we? I thought we had a talk about you listening at doors.”

“I wasn’t listening at doors. Becca was. She’s the good little girl that no one thinks to look for who comes running to tattle whenever possible. Or did you think you were the only one she tattled to? When she hears my name come up, she likes to make sure I hear about it.” She enjoyed the surprise she saw on Alma’s face. It took some of the smug look off that she’d been walking around with lately. “So are we going to let the girl leave? That’s obviously what she wants. I don’t know why she’s being forced to stay here.”

“She has no means of leaving. Vert hasn’t been able to fix her motorcycle so that it’s drivable. Would you like her to take your car? Are you being that generous?”

“We could drive her down to Twin Falls and she could catch a bus? Or there’s always the airport.”

“I don’t believe she has any money.”

Delaney narrowed her eyes. “You don’t know or you went through her things and you just don’t want anyone to know that you had ruined her privacy?”

Blake began to growl as Alma crossed her arms and stood up straight. Her thin face was blanched of color as Delaney continued to goad her. “What are you implying, Delaney?”

“I think you know. You’re starting to take this family for granted, making it a group of people you’re manipulating and controlling instead of keeping an out on like the loving matriarch you used to be. When did you get it into your mind that we needed to be your trained monkeys, doing your bidding at the snap of a finger?”

“I thought this was supposed to be a tirade against the girl Den brought home? Are you so volatile these days that you can switch your anger back and forth between complete strangers and your family with such ease that it’s hard to see where the break is at? You’ll have to forgive me if I’m not able to follow you.” Blake meekly followed her out of the room, his head hanging low as the tension continued to crackle in the air.

With a muffled curse, Delaney picked up the bowl from the floor and flung it into the sink. While she was able to diffuse tension and feed off the chaos it supplied, it hurt when it was tension she created. The energy wasn’t the same. When she closed her eyes, the darkness was tinged with a muted orange color instead of the clear yellow she normally saw and her mouth had a strange metallic taste in it liked she’d been sucking on pennies.

“I don’t like being played for the fool,” she whispered, clenching her hands into fists. “She’s getting too full of herself, thinking she can make us dance to the tune she wants played. I don’t care what she says, I’m going to see Harris.”

On her way from the kitchen to the back stairs, she passed by the door she’d stormed out only a few minutes before. It was open a crack and she wondered if she’d left it open in her irritated exit. No, as she thought back, she’d closed it carefully behind her. No matter that Den wasn’t here anymore right now, the family was respecting his desire that the family not just stop and stare at the girl who had single-handedly gotten rid of the leeches.

She leaned forward and tried to look through the opening. It was impossible to see anything in the darkness but she could hear something now that she was so close. At first she thought it was Grace checking on her patient before she realized it was the girl speaking very slowly and deliberately. No one appeared to be answering her. Delaney was about to walk away when it dawned on her who might be in the room.

“Beau, he asked you specifically not to come in here,” she said as she opened the door, before her eyes fully adjusted to the sudden lack of light. She had her phone in her hand but it didn’t ring as she’d expected it to.

“I asked her to come in. She was standing at the door, looking so forlorn.” The girl was now sitting cross-legged on the cot with Beau mirroring her. “She’s not being a bother.”

“He wasn’t worried about her being a bother. Den doesn’t want the family bothering you.” This time the phone rang and she flipped it open.

Then what are you doing here? I’m not being a bother. She wanted to talk and all of you just come in here and act like she’s an animal in the zoo.

“All of you? Aren’t you going to apply that pronoun to yourself? What are you going to do when he comes home and finds you’ve deliberately gone against his wishes?”

I just wanted to know what she was like. Her signal is still fuzzy even though she’s here in the house now. I thought maybe it would help to come talk to her.

“Are you Beau?” the girl asked, her mouth pulled into a huge smile for the first time that Delaney had ever seen. It made her look less road-weary and more like a person who might live here and be happy. “Den mentioned you before. You talk to him on his phone.”

Beau nodded and pointed to Delaney’s phone. Give her the phone.

“Doesn’t she have one of her own?”

Maybe that’s why her signal is fuzzy. If she doesn’t have a phone, she wouldn’t have something to direct the signal back to me. I want to talk to her.

“On one condition. You’ll tell me if anyone is between here and the top room.”

They stared at each other, both assessing the other. Delaney tried to keep her face bland but finally gave up. The emotions were still strong in her heart for her to pretend to be without any. Beau seemed to understand as soon as she saw her face change.

No one is here right now. The boys will be home soon, though. The house will get much more crowded soon. If you only care about getting there and not necessarily who sees you leave, you’ll be fine.

“Thank you.” She left the phone open and handed over the phone to the girl. “When it rings, push this button. You don’t have to bother with anything else. Beau will do the rest. Word of advice, though. Don’t talk down to her. She’s not stupid. She’s mute. That girl sitting there has the sharpest mind of almost anyone I’ve met. Her ears work perfectly well.”

Her mouth formed into a perfect O as her eyes widened. “I’m sorry, Beau. I didn’t realize.”

The phone beeped and Delaney watched as the girl fumbled with the phone but figured it out on her own. When she was sure they would now be able to communicate with each other, she slipped out the door and closed it quietly. Just knowing she could make it up the stairs without incident made her feel more at ease. The tension that had coiled through her for the last week was gone.

“Where have you been?” Harris demanded as soon as Delaney made it all the way up the stairs. The tone wasn’t joyful or surprised. It was royally pissed. “Do you know the conversations I’ve had to put up with whenever anyone else brings me my dinner?”

Delaney stopped where she was, waiting to move into the room further until Harris was calmed down. There was no actual chaos for her to soak up. It was all just pure emotion. From the look of things up here, they had both been dealing with an overabundance of emotions lately. “I made your favorite dessert for dinner tonight. Will that help?”

“Help? My favorite dessert has, on average, three hundred and fifteen extra calories than Heather’s favorite dessert. That’s only if I get a piece that’s only a two-inch square. What happens to me if you give me a piece slightly bigger because you feel guilty for not coming up here yourself? I’ll have to expend more energy to use up the extra calories. With so much going on down below, I have to hide more often which means I don’t get to walk as much as I should to work off the calories and I’ll get fat. Do you want me to be fat, Delaney? Would that make you happy?”

“I don’t want you to get fat but I’d be happier if you’d eat more often. Your face is getting thin again. I don’t like seeing you dealing with the stress by not eating.”

Whatever calories Harris was worried about consuming were being used up in her frantic pacing around the room. Books were stacked in various places around the room, stalagmites of paper and ink. She was walking a course around each and every one in a specific order but she was beginning to move so fast that a couple of the stacks were wobbling. Knowing there would be a complete meltdown if they fell and made a mess, Delaney decided to intervene. Starting at one end of the maze, she began to straighten the stacks. A couple of the books were too top-heavy and she took those and stacked them up separately. When she was done, Delaney picked a book at random and sat down in one of the comfortable chairs by the window. It wasn’t a comfortable pose as she watched Harris continue to pace.

“What is it that’s bothering you? This isn’t about food. I don’t like to see you so agitated. Tell me what has you so worried.”

For a moment, she was afraid that the other girl might not be able to talk about it. Sometimes, getting the words away from the emotions was hard for Harris. They were often interchangeable, both in her heart and her head.

“Something is wrong.”

Delaney shook her head. “No, the leeches are gone. That… we got rid of them last night. They’re gone.”

There was silence in the room. Harris had stopped moving and was staring blankly from across the room. It was hard to tell exactly what she was looking at from the chair Delaney was sitting in but she didn’t dare move closer. Harris was still too unstable for that.

“I keep trying to understand what’s wrong but I can’t make sense of it. That’s what I’m having trouble with, you know. The pattern is there but I can’t understand it. Everyone thinks I always have these troubles communicating and being with people. I’m a nice girl, you know. I used to be a very nice girl who got along with everyone with everyone. Look what’s happened to me. Look at what I’ve become.” She gestured around the room, her wild movements causing a stronger gust of wind to make the books in a nearby stack to sway dangerously. “This room is not where I belong. I belong out there where the patterns are all around me. Nature is one huge, gigantic, wonderful maze. And I’m here. In this room. And you won’t come see me.”

The pain coalesced in Delaney’s chest. No one had told Harris what was going on. Not even Alma, who had assured her that she was doing everything she could to make Harris comfortable. She didn’t know that the poor girl was being kept in the dark. Not caring what might happen to her by getting close to Harris when she was upset, Delaney threw herself across the room at her friend.

“Oh, sweetness, it’s not like that. They don’t think we should be together so much. It causes friction in the air that isn’t good. It makes everyone edgy.” She landed on her knees in front of Harris and held up her hands, begging her silently to understand why she’d let them talk her into this. “I did it for you. No one told me that you hadn’t been told about this. I thought they’d explained everything to you. I thought… I thought you understood.”

She couldn’t tell her that she’d originally thought it was Harris’ idea. That was the only thing that had made her agree in the first place. Lately, she’d started to understand that she’d been duped. Instead of charging off to get some answers, she decided to wait it out and see what was going on. “If I’d known you were so worked up, I would have found a way up here earlier.”

Harris dropped to her knees, her hands outstretched in a mirror image of Delaney’s posture. Tiny sparks erupted from their fingers, traveling back and forth at speeds that electrified the air around them. The spell of burning hair was prevalent over the usual perfume of paper and ink the upper room usually smelled like. “They told me it was your idea. That you couldn’t bear to be around me. It hurt to think that I was hurting you.”

“Do you think this hurts me?” Slowly, she reached out a hand to grasp one of Harris’. When it was firmly in her hands, she did the same with the same. “This doesn’t hurt! We just have to be careful. Who cares if everyone else has a few more electric shocks for the rest of the day. I won’t leave if you don’t want me to.”

“I don’t want you to leave.”

The girls smiled at each other, suddenly shy in the face of the revelations they’d shared without restraint. Sparks still flew back and forth but the initial buzz was out of the air. Without breaking contact, Delaney sat down properly on the ground. She wasn’t comfortable on the floor but it was better than moving very far away and losing this sudden contentment she was wrapped in. Pulling Harris down beside her, she let go of one of her hands and began to smooth the girl’s flyaway hair. She had a feeling hers was probably standing up, too. The steady motion calmed both girls down even more and the sparks caused by their contact dulled to a thin stream of light.

“Tell me everything I’ve missed. Even the boring parts.”

Harris smiled so big that almost all of her teeth were in view. “There are no boring parts.”

“Let me be the judge of that, sweetness.”

They snuggled together and began to talk, the other one taking up when the other one grew silent so that there was no empty space between them that wasn’t closed up with words and glances.

Chapter 11 – YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT YOU’RE ASKING OF ME

Den hated feeling this dirty. It was the kind of grime that not only stuck to his skin but seemed to seep into his pores so that he felt as if he would never be clean again.

(possibly move this part into the conversation with the group or with just Aria) The brush fire hadn’t been large but it had been messy. The stretch of highway it burned down was fairly lonely so they never had to deal with much traffic but the flames had also leapt over a fence and threatened stock. With the help of the rancher and his crew, they’d been able to move the animals to a safer location as they fought to keep the fire from spreading on both the private and state-owned land. There hadn’t been any rain this summer but the spring runoff had supplied enough moisture to keep things goring well into the year. Now all that growth was drying up which meant any spark could set off a blaze. So far, the local fire crew had been able to keep a good handle on all of them but the men were all beginning to wear down. Most of the men, besides Den and his family, were older and had a lot of experience but didn’t appreciate this much time in their heavy gear, breathing the noxious smoke.

One of the senior members of the team had cornered Den at one point and grilled him about the fire they’d had on their property. He’d been hoping it had been late enough that no one had noticed but the bad thing about such a small town was that nothing we unnoticed for long and the gossip network always made sure that everyone in town eventually heard about it. He’d assured the man that nothing had been amiss and they’d only allowed the fires for a short period of time before they’d been properly taken care of.

He was ready for a hot shower and a long nap but he wasn’t sure if he was going to get either one. It hadn’t been right of him to leave Aria the way he had. Since he wasn’t an actual member of the fire department, they hadn’t actually needed him even if he had been able to help. It had been cowardice that had forced his hand. He trusted his family to obey his request to leave her alone but that didn’t mean he should have left her alone, no matter that she didn’t seem pleased to have him around.

As the house came into view, he realized he’d been wrong about his family. Aria, Beau, Becca and Alma were sitting out on the wide wrap around porch, looking as if they were southern belles catching a breeze off the water. He had to admit that Aria looked better than when he’d left and it was nice to see her smile but he was still angry. All the guilt he’d felt evaporated and transferred to anger with his family and most especially to the girl who didn’t seem to miss his presence.

“Evening, ladies,” Xander joked as he walked up the wooden steps, tipping an imaginary hat. “Might fine weather we’re having in these parts.”

Everyone laughed except Den. His stormy face didn’t seem to bother anyone as they asked about the fire. Xander was more than ready to tell the stories of the night to this eager audience.

“There’s dinner waiting for you on the stove,” Alma finally interjected when all five men had shown up; weary, dirty and hungry. “You should probably trade off between eating and showering so we don’t run out of hot water.”

Den stayed where he was at the bottom of the stairs leading up to the porch. He merely sat down instead of filing in after everyone else. Aria had been careful not to catch his eye although she’d joined in with the laughter often enough. She stayed where she was, scooting over a bit from her place on the top step to allow for more than one person to go by her. Alma excused herself but Beau and Becca seemed content to stay where they were.

“Could I have a little privacy, please? I need to talk to… my friend.” He respected Aria’s wishes about her name but he had very few adjectives he could use to explain her.

They both looked at her for an indication of what she wanted them to do. When she nodded, they stood up and walked in the direction of the barn. It was one of the places he’d thought about having this conversation but maybe it was better to do it in full view of the household.

“So, you’re a fireman?”

He shook his head. “No, not officially. I’ve done all the training and certifications but I don’t belong to any department. To join would be to lay down too many roots. I’m not a ‘roots’ kind of guy.”

She seemed to be pondering this so he took advantage of her seeming desire to talk a good thing and stretched out his legs so that was using the step as a lounger. They were close enough to have a fairly private conversation without it being too intimate. After their earlier contact, he wasn’t ready to get pulled back in again by her ever-changing attitudes.

“Your family is nice. Beau told me how you asked them all to stay away at first.”

“At first? There was no at first. I never rescinded that order but I’m not going to split hairs seeing as how you seemed to have come out of the room on your own.”

“I got tired of sitting alone in the dark. Then Beau came in and we started talking.”

“You did? How?”

“The tall girl… from the kitchen. She let me us her phone. I haven’t seen her again or I’d give it back.”

Den’s mouth fell open in surprise. “Delaney? She was nice to you?”

“Not really. I refused to eat the stew she brought so I’m sure she’s not very happy with me. Beau did her a favor. I take it she’s never very pleasant.”

“No. Not often. In a pinch, though, I wouldn’t want anyone else watching my back.”

“This place seems so peaceful. I can’t imagine it being as blood-thirsty around here as you keep saying it is.”

It did seem rather an anomaly tonight out here in the twilight to think about the leeches. He sighed and leaned back, much too tired to have this discussion. Why did she constantly shift things around on him so that he never knew exactly what was coming next? “If you could remember last night, you might not think so. I’m not sure exactly what you can do but whatever it is, you got the job done. Not many of us can say that.”

He watched indecision play across her face. The mask he’d seen her wearing was off once again. This girl shed masks quicker than anyone she’d seen before. At least anyone he’d paid attention to before.

“Do you think there’s a reason for all this controversy?”

“What do you mean?”

“Why don’t the… the… why don’t they want you here?”

Den moved fluidly to his knees, balancing his arms on the step beside Aria. “The leeches? It’s just the way it’s always been. This is a bastion of truth.”

“And you believe that with all your heart?” She leaned forward and whispered in his ear, breathing on his neck and shifting the tiny hairs on his nap around so that he shivered. “Do you really fight them without knowing why they care? That’s not smart.”

She had a point. One that he hadn’t thought of before. He’d been many other places before and after he’d come here. There were only a few that had this problem. “There are only a few groups that are as big as ours. Or as diverse.”

“Do you feel safe here?”

“Always. Do you?” She shook her head and he realized some of why she’d reacted the way she had this morning. “Is it the area?” She shook her head again, just a tiny movement but he couldn’t help but feel it. “The people?”

This time she hesitated. He felt her indecision again and it frustrated him. “Don’t answer that. Can you handle it again for another day? Vert had to head into town and order some parts for your bike. I can’t promise you a ride anywhere else until afternoon tomorrow.”

She sat back, licking her lips over and over as if she didn’t even realized she did it. It definitely looked like the first little nervous tic he’d ever seen her use. “Are you planning on going somewhere else in the meantime? I don’t relish the idea of sitting in the dark anymore.”

“Why didn’t you turn on the light? There’s a switch.”

For the first time tonight, she looked him in the eye. What he saw there put him in awe of this girl. He assumed he knew her when he really didn’t. Not at all.

“Have you ever seen what electricity and water do to each other?”