Lost in Flight (9 page)

Riley got into the shower and washed the grime off, then caught sight of himself in the mirror.  He looked like a caveman, or someone on a wanted poster, with his beard.  When he was working off-grid, one of his rituals was growing a beard until he was finished.  It had only been two weeks, but the beard was impressive and it was time it came off.

He woke up late on Friday, but felt rested.  He made his way over to his parents’ place to let them know he was back and headed into town to get some supplies.   He always told himself he should be used to the looks and double takes by now, but it still irritated him.  If someone spoke directly to him or made eye contact, he’d respond.  Otherwise, he ignored pretty much everyone and just did what he had to do.

The double takes and whispers were more pronounced today, but he got to the grocery store unimpeded.  He was in the produce section when he saw Stephany Gilmore and hid.  Riley had a history with Stephany Gilmore.  They’d gone out in high school; she’d taught him things he was both grateful and ashamed of. 

Whenever he turned up in town, Stephany made her way to the farmhouse.  She would leave things at his house and make excuses to come back.  Sometimes he was pleased to see her and other times, not so much.  This was a not so much time. 

Riley always felt his luck deserted him in Shanwick and just as he thought the coast was clear, Stephany Gilmore cornered him in the frozen food section.  She was a well-endowed blonde, with baby-blue eyes, and a butt that filled out her jeans.  Like him, she’d been married and divorced, but unlike him, she was looking to settle again.  In the last six months, she’d told him on multiple occasions, he was her top candidate and he’d told her that he wasn’t.

Stephany gave him a beaming smile and fluttered her beautiful blue eyes, saying, “Hey you.  Didn’t know you were back in town.  You here long?” 

Putting a smile on his face, which felt more like a grimace, Riley said, “Agh, hi Stephany.  Just back for a short time.” 

She pouted and looked up at him.  “You going out tonight?  Maybe we could meet up later?”  Stephany left the rest of her suggestion hanging in the air.

Clearing his throat a bit because it really was a “should I or shouldn’t I” moment, Riley said, “I can’t.  Sorry, Stephany.  I’ve got family things to do.” 

He could see the disappointment in her eyes and she pouted, “Some other time then?” 

When he nodded, her face lit up.  He inwardly cursed himself when he mistakenly said, “Sure.  Maybe some other time,” and watched Stephany’s eyes turn calculating.  He knew he should just say “no” and be done with it, but he was young and single.  Sometimes he needed company – not tonight, but he was keeping his future options open. 

Riley wasn’t as gentlemanly as his brother, Steven, but every now and then, he did try.  The comparison was moot anyway.  Steven would never get himself into the trouble that came naturally to Riley.

He headed to the Martins to see Jack and Johnny.  As he slowed down outside the Martin house, the front door opened and he froze.  At first he thought he was imagining things and he blinked twice.  Nope.  He wasn’t.  It was definitely
her
. 

Chapter Eight – Dirty, dirty up

Christina, Shanwick, The Past, Friday 5 October 2012 (Two days ago)

“You
cannot
be serious?  That is ridiculous, Johnny.  Ri-dic-u-lous.  Are you seriously saying that Wonder Woman and Black Widow have a tactical advantage because they have boobs?”

Johnny and Christina had been arguing about superheroes as they put the finishing touches on the house.  “It’s true, Dina,” Johnny smirked.  “You know it is.” 

“Pfffft.  I know no such thing, Johnny, and quite frankly,” retorted Christina, “I think that’s just BS.  Black Widow doesn’t even have superpowers and Wonder Woman’s outfit isn’t exactly conducive for battle.” 

“Which is why their boobs are their real weapons,” Johnny nodded seriously.  “They provide a tactical advantage.  Men look and it gives them that split second extra time to attack.” 

Johnny blinked his eyes open and closed at her like his point made complete sense, and she was a moron for thinking otherwise.  Christina stared at her brother in disbelief.  “Boobs are women’s super powers against men, Dina, he said, “it’s simple.” 

“You’re simple,” snorted Christina.

“You are,” Johnny retorted.

She glared at him, but he kept his face straight.  He had to be joking otherwise she was going to have to give him a smack down, so she tried a different track.  She went for the low-blow personal.

“Really?  Most of your girlfriends have been pretty flat in that area, Johnny.  I thought you were immune.”

She saw Johnny’s mouth quirk.  “Doesn’t mean I don’t look, Dina, or I’m immune.  I
look
.  It’s just what men do.  My women have other attributes.” 

Christina stopped the sound that was about to escape her throat - the one that sounded like a cross between gagging on something and choking.  Attributes?  She didn’t know if she’d call
those
attributes.  Many of them were borderline psychotic, stick figures, with large dominant eyes, and serious mental health problems. 

She could pick which woman Johnny was dating from all the gossip magazines just by looking at the pictures.  In the past, Christina had faced off with more than one of them and it hadn’t been pleasant.  Johnny was currently involved with an Italian model/actress named LiLi, but Christina hadn’t met her yet.  If she was anything like the others, Christina was quite happy to let the status quo remain. 

As if he’d read her mind, Johnny looked up.  “You’ll be meeting her soon, Dina.  We’re planning on moving back to Seattle.  All of us:  Mandy and Dave, Sam and Lexie, hopefully, by the end of the year.”  Although he hadn’t mentioned the name, she knew that meant Riley would be moving back, too.

She watched Johnny wipe his hands clean on a rag and throw it down.  “Well, that’s great news.  It’ll be nice for all of us to be in the same State.  Maybe we’ll get to see each other more often,” Christina said in her cheeriest, fake voice. 

Johnny looked her directly in the eyes and smiled.  “That’s what I’m hoping for, Dina.  I want us all to be close again.”

Both of them knew if Riley was in the picture that would be difficult or near impossible.  Unless, of course, they would both grow up and mend their differences?  Nope:  impossible.

********************

As the day wore on, Johnny and Christina’s conversation took a turn into the twilight zone – not the one with sparkling vampires.  The other one: where things got weird.  “Dina, this is serious okay.  I’m not joking.” 

Christina stared at her brother in horror and with increasing panic.  He was back on drugs.  It was the only possible explanation.  He had to be because this was just too bizarre – even for Johnny and Shanwick. 

“So, let me get this straight,” she asked incredulously, “you are being haunted by an obese black and white cat?”

“Not haunted,” Johnny groaned and rolled his eyes.  “More like visited.  It sleeps with me at night.  I was just wondering if you’d seen it too?”

She rubbed her mouth and tried to keep her face impassive.  “Noooo.  I haven’t seen it, but it’s real right?  You can… touch it?” 

Johnny gave her a strange look and screwed his face up.  “Of course I can touch it.  It’s not a fricking ghost cat or something.  It’s real.” 

Trying to be diplomatic, Christina said, “I take a sleeping pill at night, Johnny, which is why I might not have seen the cat.” 

Staring at her quizzically, Johnny asked, “Why do you do that?” 

Christina shrugged her shoulders.  “To ensure I get a goodnight’s sleep.   Sometimes, I suffer from insomnia.” 

She didn’t want to tell Johnny the real reason:  sometimes she suffered from nightmares and he featured prominently in them.  She hadn’t had one for a long time, not until Gabby’s misfortune brought them back.  The pills made sure they were kept at bay. 

Christina was running rehab prospects through her head and planning whom she’d call for the intervention.  She needed to get him out of the house, so she could check his room for drugs.  She hoped he wasn’t back on heroin, but she hadn’t seen any recent needle marks on his arms.  It didn’t mean they weren’t somewhere else though and she needed to make sure.

Once an addict, always an addict, and Johnny was a drug addict.  He’d been clean for three years, but getting him there had been ugly.  The first time he’d gone to rehab was about five years ago and he’d met a drug-addicted supermodel that had once been the girlfriend of a rock star who committed suicide.  They escaped from rehab in their first week and ran off together. 

Their relationship put them on the paparazzi radar and photographers following them closely like a horde of locusts, snapping every single one of their drug-fuelled-crazed-antics.  The relationship hadn’t lasted.  Mainly, because Christina forced Johnny back into rehab through tough love, causing a rift between them.  She’d threatened to have him declared mentally incompetent and sent to a facility until he got clean. 

He had been furious with her and they’d communicated for years through monosyllabic texts and forced family get-togethers.  Gabby’s hospitalization had changed all that and to give Johnny credit: he’d gone back to rehab and cleaned up his act.  Now, she was worried.

When she looked up Johnny was staring at her with a lopsided grin on his face.  “Dina.  I’m not on drugs okay?  Don’t worry.”  She gave him a dubious smile and he laughed.  “I’m not.  I promise - scouts honor.” 

She was about to point out that he’d never been a boy scout, but the way he did the salute made it redundant.  It was more like the “rock on” sign.  He stood up and grinned. 

“I’m going to go get us some dinner and do the shopping.  And… while I’m gone, I want you to clean yourself up.  I’ve got a surprise for you.” 

Christina’s heart sank.  She hated surprises.  None of hers had ever been good. 

When he saw her face, Johnny laughed.  “It’s a good one.  I promise.  Now, you need to go get yourself ready.  Do your hair or something ‘cause raggedy ass won’t cut it.” 

Christina sighed.  She didn’t have a good feeling about this - not at all.

********************

Riley

What the hell was
she
still doing here?  She was supposed to be gone.  Riley wondered if Steven had done this on purpose and then discounted the thought quickly.  Steven wouldn’t do that, but he could have got his wires crossed.

Fuming, Riley watched Christina come down the front steps and stop.  It was the first time he’d seen her in the flesh in Shanwick for years.  He’d seen her at the hospital from across the road, and on TV being interviewed about Gabby, but couldn’t watch.  She’d looked like she was going to break into a million pieces and even he couldn’t find it in his heart to take pleasure in that.

Now here she was, and he glared at her with his hands clenched on the steering wheel.  It brought back every memory, good and bad, seeing her in this place.  He didn’t think it would affect him so much and he was furious. 

She looked like a little kid with her hair in two plaits and a bandana on.  She looked harmless, but he knew better.  Looking her up and down, he did a quick checklist.  She was wearing ripped jeans that were covered in paint and had on an old t-shirt tied in a knot under her boobs, with a long sleeved top underneath.

He tried not to focus on the other things, like how the t-shirt accentuated her fantastic tits, her olive skin, long legs, the hollow of her neck, her high cheekbones, and everything else.  She looked like she could do with an extra 10 pounds, but he didn’t want to think about pounds, or pounding either.  

Riley swallowed and rubbed a hand over his mouth, and chin.  He consoled himself that this was natural – a mere physical reaction.  It didn’t mean anything.  So what if he still found her mildly hot or kind of attractive?  Her physical qualities didn’t discount she was the bitch from hell. 

The same bitch from hell that was now –
holy shit
- smiling right at him.  He sat like a rabbit in the headlights as Christina gave a mega-watt smile that transformed her whole face.  She hadn’t smiled like that at him in years.  Her eyes crinkled up at the corners and her wide, generous mouth, stretched out showing all her teeth.  He could even see her dimples. 

Riley changed his mind in that instant.  Even though she was a bad, bad woman, if she wanted, she could have him.  If she was smiling at him like that, he was going to turn the car off and go talk to her. 

Then she turned around and walked back up the steps to say something to…  Johnny.  Of course, he groaned and gave himself a virtual uppercut.  He was pathetic and excited about a third party smile meant for her brother, not him.

Johnny came out and they had their heads together, laughing at some in-joke that no one else would get.  Johnny said something to her and she folded her arms, narrowed her eyes, and scowled.  Oh, yeah. 

He remembered that look well.  There was
his
girl and then he gave himself another virtual uppercut.  She wasn’t
his
girl.  Not any longer. 

It snapped Riley out of it.  Christina might not realize he was sitting in the car watching her like some freak stalker, but Johnny would.  Riley drove off toward his parents’ place and he was livid.  He was furious with himself, Steven, Johnny, and life in general.  But he reserved a special fury for Christina Martin.  She “who had the ability to disrupt his peace of mind without any effort whatsoever.”

He drove back to the farmhouse, working through the moral dilemma of whether or not he should call Stephany Gilmore and do bad things to take his mind off “other” stuff.  If he sat and thought about this too long, he knew where this would go.  He would find himself staring down an empty bottle of whiskey and then he would go over there to have a fight with
her
or worse:  make a fool of himself.