Child of Recklessness (Trials of Strength Book 2) (32 page)

‘
Touch wood or Alex and I are gonna beat you up,’ Anna laughed.
‘Won’t we, Alex, huh?’

I lifted
the wallet Brian had left before setting off with Chris. It
contained some money from what we had left of Brian’s ‘borrowed’
fund.

‘
You got the list?’ I asked Anna, and she nodded and patted her
pocket.

Our task
was more fun than Brain’s and Chris’s. It was our job to go out
into the world and test the water. In the process we would buy food
and supplies for our get together that night. Although I was
panicked, my sensible paranoia foremost in my mind, I was also
determined. We’d succeeded in our fight. We’d lost people we loved
to it. With my father’s group gone, the players in our government
had better have backed off.

We
entered the day outside, and it was beautiful. The sun beat down
from the sky, and somehow, the day seemed brighter than the ones
that came before. Anna and I travelled the streets, slowly at
first, our eyes darted around primed for danger. But although
people stared, and occasionally snapped a picture of us with their
smartphones, we were left alone. I hadn’t expected that. I thought
for sure we would have been swarmed. I had the sense the media
stayed behind its doors because they’d been told to, but people
were free to do as they please.

I
relayed these same thoughts to Anna as she stopped in front of a
jewellery shop’s window and browsed the trinkets on
display.

‘
They’re scared,’ Anna replied. ‘For months we’ve been the big
bad bomber wolves. Even though they’ve been told we aren’t, that
sort of feeling is hard to forget.’

I
nodded, admiring her intuitiveness. Plus, I was glad we were being
left to enjoy ourselves.

We
entered a shopping centre and got working on our list. Food,
coffee, alcohol, toiletries, coffee, baby stuff, coffee-

‘
We get it,’ Anna chuckled and punched my arm. ‘We won’t forget
coffee. If you’d like, we can go back to that jewellery shop and
you can pick out a ring for it.’

I
laughed as I pushed the trolley in my hands, but stopped. Anna left
to get milk, but her words lingered in my mind.

You can pick out a ring……

Something clicked; the right course of action. Something I
knew I wanted to do.

‘
You okay?’ Anna asked as she slipped the milk into the
trolley.

I
blinked and smiled.

‘
Never been better,’ I replied and for the life of me, I’d
never meant it more.

*

‘
Cheers!’ we all cried while our glasses collided.

I took a
sip of the cheap champagne we had bought, and it tasted wonderful,
well, if you ignored its taste anyway. We’d finished a dinner that
Brian had rustled up, and once we’d settled and lay Alex to bed, we
opened up the special treat. That night we sat with no worries. We
didn’t talk much, the silence peaceful and warranted. We just
chilled. We didn’t have any plans; there were no evil beings on our
agenda to take down. The world had returned to its place as our
oyster.

Brian
got up and headed to his computers. After a few clicks, a soft
melody filled the room. I didn’t know the song, but it fit well
with our quiet. I got up, fuelled with alcoholic courage and pulled
Brian off to the side. For a second his gaze took on its darkened
tone. His eyes narrowed and his jaw clenched.

‘
Brian,’ I said.

My tone
was soft, and Brian’s jaw slackened.

‘
I never thanked you for what you did for my son,’ I continued,
keeping my voice low. ‘Trust me I know how hard it was to have to
do what you did.’

He
didn’t argue. I had done what he’d done, killed someone I loved
more than life itself. I let the warm image of my mother’s face
linger in my mind.

‘
But thank you,’ I said. ‘You have no idea how much I mean
that.’

Brian
remained in silence as he chose his words.

‘
I’m not sure I’ll ever stop being angry,’ he replied and eyed
me carefully. ‘I won’t ever stop wondering what if? But my Dad died
for what we achieved, and I won’t spit on his memory by ruining
what we’ve earned.’

I nodded
and he turned to leave, but I grabbed his arm. He looked round, his
forehead creased in slight irritation.

‘
I have something I was hoping you could do quietly for me?’ I
whispered and handed him a slip of paper.

Brian
surveyed it, and a grin cracked along his face. He looked up and it
vanished.

‘
I’ll see what I can do,’ he said.

‘
Thanks,’ I replied.

We
joined Anna and Chris back on the couches. Anna shifted to lay her
head on my shoulder and I rested my head on top.

We let
the music serenade us, and the four of us were united in our
hope.

*

‘
So you rented this hunk of junk?’ I asked Chris as we loaded
Jessica’s carpet wrapped body into the trunk.

‘
I thought it’d be better than dragging a corpse miles through
the city, twice,’ Chris shot back.

‘
I hope you’re covered for dead bodies,’ I chuckled.

‘
You know, I left that part out when I got it,’ he
replied.

‘
Good idea.’

Anna,
Alex and Brian were already in the back of the car, and we were all
raw. After a quick internet search we’d found the location of
Penny, Jessica’s daughter. We waited the full day for the moon to
take to the sky. Not only were we burying our friend, there was
also an increased chance of being caught doing it.

We took
off and drove through the city. The graveyard we headed to had been
dedicated to babies who hadn’t survived, either before birth, or
after. I hoped there wasn’t any trouble, not in a place like that,
and not while we put Jessica to rest. We rolled up to the
graveyard’s gates, and while Chris and I managed Jessica’s body,
Brian dug out three spades. Anna was our lookout, her and Alex
remaining in the car while we got to work.

We
located Penny’s grave and crouched to settle Jessica on the floor.
The stone that bared Penny’s name was simple but elegant, a small
rectangle that had been worn with weather. I clenched my teeth at
the horrors the world was capable of, and took a spade from Chris.
It took a couple hours of hard and debilitating work, but the three
of us stood back and stared into the six foot hole we’d dug. I
lowered myself down as Brian and Chris tried to hand the bundle
containing Jessica’s body to me. Once done, I climbed out and the
three of us refilled the hole in silence.

‘
I’ll get Anna,’ I told the others as they patted down the
ground.

I
dropped the spade and slouched back to the car. Anna saw me coming,
and stepped out with Alex.

‘
All done?’ she asked.

‘
Yeah,’ I nodded. ‘Do you want to come and lay the flowers with
me? You don’t have to.’

Anna
stared into the distance for a second before she steeled herself
and drew in a deep breath.

‘
No,’ she replied. ‘I want to come and pay my respects
too.’

I
squeezed her shoulder while trying not do get her dirty before I
collected the two bunches of flowers we’d bought on the way. Then,
united, we walked back over. The three spades sat grouped together
with Brian and Chris sat beside. They got to their feet as we
arrived, eyes downcast and hooded. My insides felt
heavy.

‘
Should we, um, make some sort of marker for her?’ Brian
asked.

I chewed
my lip and looked to Chris.

‘
No,’ he sighed. ‘We don’t want someone noticing that someone
who shouldn’t be here is here. We don’t want them digging her
up.’

I nodded
and handed Anna a bunch of flowers, then we walked to the head of
both Penny’s and Jessica’s grave, and lay the flowers
down.

‘
What if someone notices the freshly dug earth?’ I
whispered.

Chris
pondered that and looked around before replying, ‘We should be
alright, it’s out of the way, but any marker like a big stone or
wooden cross would be spotted. It’s better this way.’

We stood
back and lapsed back into saddened silence. Anna’s eyes glistened,
but she kept her composure. A good half an hour past, before Brian
and Chris turned to go.

‘
Wait,’ Anna said, ‘we should say something.’

I met
her gaze and her eyes pleaded with mine. I turned to the other two,
but they kept their gaze averted. No one knew what to
say.

I
cleared my throat.

‘
Jessica, um,’ I coughed, ‘Jessica tried to kill
us.’

Anna
looked at me, her eyebrows knitted together.

‘
But hey, you’re not really one of us until you’ve pointed a
gun at us,’ I laughed. ‘Or, well, pointed a gun at me.’

‘
Hey,’ Anna smiled, ‘I’ve never pointed a gun at
you.’

‘
Yet,’ I replied.

Brian
and Chris chuckled but remained quiet, and I couldn’t help let my
grin grow as the memories of the two of them aiming guns at me
flashed through my mind.

‘
Even though her life revolved around death,’ I continued, ‘it
wasn’t the thing that defined her. Beneath that icy, hard exterior,
deep, deep, deep, deep down, there was a mother, and a good
person.

‘
She might not have shown it often, she would probably kick my
arse even for saying it aloud, but Jessica wasn’t evil. She wasn’t.
Any of us could have gone the same path as her because all of us
have had despicable things happen to us. So we can’t blame her, but
we can understand. And in the end, she did what was right. She
fought for us and for what was right. I owe her everything. If it
wasn’t for Jessica, we might not have Alex with us today, or Chris,
or Anna.’

I
swallowed and turned to face the two graves.

‘
Thank you,’ I whispered. ‘Thank you and I hope you and your
daughter are finally together. You deserve it.’

I stood
back and joined the group. A lazy wind rustled the leaves on the
trees. I knew it was my imagination when I heard it, but for a
second, Jessica’s voice filled my mind and I smiled.

You arsehole!

The Proposal

Everyone
slept in the next day, and it wasn’t until around lunch time I
opened my eyes. Anna lay across from me, her features smooth and
innocent as she slept. My night had been plagued with nightmares,
of faceless men and women taking my son from my arms. I couldn’t
shake the feeling inside, the feeling of defensiveness, as if we
were relaxing too soon. I wanted to be happy, and I was, but what
if...

Anna’s
eyes fluttered open, and she smiled at me groggily. I couldn’t help
but return a grin of my own. She was right, I was majorly
paranoid.

‘
Thanks,’ I whispered to her and brushed a stray hand of her
hair.

Her
forehead creased confused, but I just shook my head. Anna was like
she had said: My tether. There was no need to utter any words. One
look and all the dark thoughts that swirled in my head
vanished.

‘
You change, I’ll feed?’ Anna said.

‘
Sounds good,’ I replied.

We both
shifted and stood up. Jessica had been right when she said Alex was
one of the best babies she had encountered. My little guy was all
round happy, all of the time. He slept from when we did, until we
woke him up, and even then, he woke with a smile and a laugh. I
lifted him from his crib, making gentle shushing sounds as he
stirred in my arms. As I grabbed a fresh nappy and a clean pair of
clothes, his laughter filled my ear.

‘
Are you gonna attack me with your pee today?’ I
chuckled.

Anna
slouched back into the room as I finished, pee free, and I handed
Alex over. I kissed them both on the forehead and headed for the
bathroom. I turned on the shower and stripped. Part of me was aware
of the vial under the loose tile, but I forcefully ignored it as I
washed and changed. I headed back out and relieved Anna, who
grabbed her own clothes and disappeared to shower.

I
bounced Alex as I headed to the main room. Chris was in the
kitchen, and as I approached, he grabbed another mug and started
another coffee.

‘
Thanks,’ I said. ‘Is Brian still asleep?’

‘
Nope,’ Chris replied. ‘He’s away. For you he said.’

Chris
raised his eyebrows and grinned.

‘
He told you didn’t him?’ I moaned as Chris nodded, ‘the little
cretin.’

Chris
laughed and stirred the liquid inside the mugs.

‘
Don’t worry,’ he said, ‘your secret is safe with me, and I
think it’s awesome.’

Anna
entered the room and sauntered over. She took Alex into her arms,
and Chris handed me my coffee. He motioned for me to join him in
his room, and I followed him through. I closed the door behind me,
and he walked straight across from it and planted himself in a
chair at a table by the window. I sat parallel to him and waited
for him to speak.