Matt Archer: Legend (21 page)

“Ah,” Mom said. She sat on the edge of my bed and patted the
spot next to her. “It’s not my place to meddle in someone else’s family, but
Will’s situation never seemed all that healthy.”

“It’s not.” I started pacing again, unable to stand still a
second longer. “I hope it’s okay…but I told him if they kicked him out he could
crash here awhile.”

Mom didn’t answer for a few minutes. “Hopefully it won’t
come to that, but if it does, we have the room and I love that kid as much as I
love my own. He’s always welcome here.”

“And…um, he might need a lawyer.”

Mom’s eyes widened. “Why?”

“He plans to sue for emancipation if they don’t let him stay
on the team. He has a trust fund the size of Billings’ yearly budget…he can pay
you if he wins.”

“I’d have to hear the whole story before I agree to doing
anything like that,” Mom said. “But if the story’s right, I’ll represent him
for free.”

I nodded, too full up on everything said and done today to
risk speaking. But I knew how lucky I was to be sitting here with my mom.

On Monday, I followed Will through the slushy parking lot,
dreading my entrance into Greenhill High. The official cover story for my
absence was that I’d been selected for an immersion study in Canada, which was
a joke given that Mamie was the only Archer who’d been anything other than a
B-student. Keeping my story straight was going to be a pain, too, despite the
flow chart and fake calendar Sergeant Davis had prepared as cues.

Then things got worse…or better, depending on your
perspective.

Will and I had barely crossed the threshold when something
tiny and volatile launched itself at Will with the force of a wrecking ball.
With a huge smile, he caught the projectile and lifted her off the ground.

“I’ve missed you!” Penn cried. She planted a big kiss on him,
then pulled away. Her smile slid right off her face. “What
happened
to
you?”

Will shot me a panicked look. “Uh…”

“You’re covered with bruises. I thought you went skiing, not
brawling in a roadside bar!” Penn wriggled out of his arms and marched over to
stand toe-to-toe to me. After looking me up and down, she pointed a finger at
my chest. “No, you tell me. What were you two doing?”

“Penn, take it easy,” a soft voice said. “There are some
things I think these guys failed to mention to you, but now’s not the time.” Ella
peeked around Will’s back to give me a wry smile. “I’d suggest a lunch meeting.”

Penn was still quivering with intensity and I worried she
might punch me. “Fine, lunch.” She turned on Will. “You don’t come strolling
into school looking like you got hit by a dump truck and forget to tell your
girl, Giant Will. The story better be good.”

“Trust me,” Ella said—and good thing, because Will and I
were struck mute by the wrath of Penn. “It’s a spectacular story.”

At that, Penn’s eyebrows shot up. “Okay, but I get wound up
when I’m worried. Y’all probably should know that.” She grabbed Will’s elbow
and hauled herself up on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek. “Walk me to class.”

Will bowed, complete with arm flourish. “Your wish is my
command.”

“Oh, my God,” I choked out, laughing—mostly because I
relieved I didn’t get punched in the stomach. “Dude, there’s sucking up and
there’s…whatever that was.”

Penn glowered. It was cute and scary all at the same time. “Don’t
you start. It’s hard work training him up right. I get him nice and broken in,
then you can tease.”

“Yes, ma’am,” I said, barely keeping from cracking up,
especially at the star struck look on Will’s face. “Carry on.”

They took off, leaving me alone with Ella. She touched my
arm. “I’m glad to see you’re in one piece.”

My heart stopped beating for a ten-count. God, she was just
so beautiful. Ella had her auburn hair pulled back in a clip, but stray strands
brushed against her neck, and I would’ve paid every penny I had to tuck them
back into place.

Instead I tried very hard not to stare at the bit of
collarbone visible because her t-shirt was off-center, or wonder why her smile
was a little crooked and sad. I can’t say I was totally successful in the not-staring,
but I managed to say, “Thanks. It’s weird to be home.”

“I’m sure it is. I’m still glad to see you, though.”

We stood there, staring awkwardly at each other, until the
early bell rang and the spell was broken. I mumbled something about needing to
see Mrs. Stevens before first period and hurried away, not sure I could trust
myself around Ella. The problem with hope was that it got dashed a lot, and I
didn’t want to read anything more into her greeting other than her being friendly.
I knew I’d get hurt if I did. If not by Ella, then by Tink, who’d just push her
away again.

Ah, I’d forgotten about all the drama this place conjures
up.
Tink sighed.
Well, if you can stand being here for a few months, so
can I.

I clenched my fists, hoping she could tell by my body
language that she needed to shut up.

I waded through the crowd to the main office and checked in
with the secretary. I hadn’t lied to Ella; Mrs. Stevens
had
requested
that I stop by to see her before going back to class, probably to make sure I
was fit to roam the halls. After last year’s PTSD episode, when I’d brawled
with invisible monsters during passing period, she had cause to wonder.

It wasn’t a surprise when she gave me a looking over before
calling me into her office, either. I followed her inside and stood until she’d
taken her seat behind the large desk that took up most of the room. The squeaky
guest chair, threadbare carpet and sage-green walls were beginning to feel
homey…which probably wasn’t a good thing.

“Welcome back, Mr. Archer,” Mrs. Stevens said, giving me a
kind smile. “I see you’re mostly in one piece this time.” Her smiled faded a
bit. “But you and Mr. Cruessan both look very tired.”

My eyes snapped up to meet hers. “You’ve heard about Will,
then, I guess.”

Mrs. Stevens looked away and started rearranging the papers
on her desk. “Oh, Sergeant Davis is nothing but thorough. He called me at home,
despite the fact that I have an unlisted number. We are talking about the
military, though, so that wouldn’t stop them. The sergeant said Will’s parents
were discussing his involvement, but the military had complete confidence he’d
join the team full-time.” She shook her head. “I can’t say I’m surprised to
hear he’s involved, too, but it worries me a great deal. I’ve been a principal
through two wars. Losing students in combat is a terrible thing, even if they
graduated years before.”

I sank down in my chair, flooded with memories I couldn’t
escape. “Yeah, it is a terrible thing.”

My pain, still raw, must’ve been audible because Mrs. Stevens
met my gaze again, her eyes filled with sorrow. “I want you and Mr. Cruessan to
know that I care what happens to you. And I’m glad you’re home safe.”

I sat back and regarded Mrs. Stevens. With her iron-grey
hair, “I’m watching you” expression and stout body, she looked more like a
prison matron than a principal. But I’d come to understand she had to be hard
on the outside to do her job well…just like me.

The silence stretched between us, until I finally said,
“Thank you, ma’am.”

I received one more brief smile before Mrs. Stevens’ brisk
attitude returned. “Right, then. I received your records from the online
tutoring service and you’ve more than kept up with your classes, so you should
find it pretty easy to return to your schedule. Mr. Preston is expecting you
this morning. Off you go.”

I stood, feeling like I could face the day. As I turned to
leave, Mrs. Stevens said, “I hope you get to stay for a while.”

“Until late March, most likely,” I answered.

“Well,” Mrs. Stevens said, “Better than nothing.”

I sure hoped so.

* * *

“Monsters.” Penn’s face had turned this interesting shade of
green. “They’re real?”

“Yes,” I said.

She turned to Will. “And now you have to hunt them, just
like Matt, because a knife picked you.”

“Yes,” Will said.

“Oh.” Penn started at her lunch tray for a long moment.
“Well, I have this uncle. He lived in a little town in eastern Oklahoma and was
convinced Bigfoot was raiding his barn. Kept going on about how his chickens
had gone missing.”

She fell silent and Will and I exchanged glances. We’d seen
this kind of reaction before; when Ella’s sister, Alyssa, had found out
monsters were real, she had passed out cold. Was Mighty Penn about to crack? Or
would she tell us she thought we were full of crap?

Then Penn burst out laughing.

Yeah, not what I thought she’d do.

“The joke’s on us, Uncle Ernie!” Penn crowed. “It wasn’t a
coyote after all!”

“Does…that mean you believe me?” Will asked, shooting me a
freaked out look.

“Of course I believe you!” Penn dabbed at her eyes. “Honey,
I saw a tornado eat my best friend’s neighborhood four year ago. That thing
took out all the houses in her end of the subdivision. If monsters aren’t real,
how do you explain something like that?”

“I can’t,” Will said.

“What Ella told me at Christmas, about you two being a
couple of heroes? That makes more sense now,” Penn said. “I thought she was
just exaggerating to make a point, but she was right.”

Ella called us heroes? The tension in my shoulders released;
it sucked being lonely, but knowing that helped. “We do what we can. Sometimes
it’s enough. Sometimes it isn’t.”

“Yeah,” Will mumbled. “Sometimes it’s not nearly enough.”

Penn frowned and put her hand on Will’s cheek. “Matt, can
you excuse us a minute? I think my boy here needs to talk to me.”

I left them and threw what was left of my lunch in the
trash. When I looked back, Will had his head on her shoulder and she had
wrapped her arms around him.

I shoved my hands in my pockets and slunk out of the
cafeteria.

It sucked being lonely.

The next six weeks dragged by in a wintery blur, until I
reached my seventeenth birthday. February tenth was a Thursday and we had a
long weekend coming up because of a teacher training day. After the stress of
getting back into a school routine, I decided to have a little fun over the
break. Will and I planned to go snowboarding on Saturday, just the two of us,
and Mom was taking me out to dinner tonight. Mamie was even skipping her Friday
classes to come home to join us.

While this had the makings of a decent birthday, I didn’t
get my hopes up; my luck usually didn’t hold. Almost like nature wanted to
prove my point, the sky looked stormy to the west when I drove to school, and the
wind had kicked up in a raw and bitter gale. I about froze my butt off walking
in from the parking lot.

To my surprise, the day passed without fanfare, except for
one thing. Ella stared at me every time I passed her in the hall, finally
stopping me after our history class. “Happy Birthday,” she said. Then she stood
there, like she wanted to say more, but ended up giving me a quick kiss on the
cheek before running down the hall, blushing like crazy.

Mom’s car wasn’t in the garage when I got home. She’d been
in Helena since Tuesday for that big trial, but closing arguments had been this
morning. She should’ve been home by now.

I checked my phone and she’d left a message, so I called her
back.

“Sweetheart, how’s the weather there?” she asked.

I looked out the kitchen window. The snow had drifted up
against the fence in places and the clouds hung heavy and low. “Looks like it
might storm any minute. Why?”

“Helena’s being hit by a blizzard. The police are closing
the highways, so I’m stuck. The news says it’s moving your way, which means
Mamie can’t come home either. I’m just sick about it, honey. I hate the idea of
you being alone on your birthday.”

Mom sounded really upset, but, honestly, it wasn’t that big
a thing to me. While I’d miss them both, it wasn’t like we couldn’t do dinner
together next weekend. “Mom, it’s okay. I’ll just heat up a pizza and watch a
movie in front of the fireplace. I’m tired anyway. Being stuck inside actually
sounds kinda good.”

Mom sighed. “All right.” Her voice was quiet and worried.
“The news says the blizzard should be through Helena in a few hours before
pushing into Billings overnight. It’s supposed to let up some before it gets to
you, so with a little luck, the plows will clear a path and I’ll be home late
tomorrow. Get some rest.”

No sooner than I’d hit end, my phone rang. “Dude, there’s a
blizzard coming,” Will said. “Want to come over? Millicent made a crap-load of
food before she left for her cruise yesterday, and my parents are stuck in
Hawaii until tomorrow because of the weather. We’ll have the place all to
ourselves.”

“Hey, where are you hiding the glasses, Giant Will?” a girl
called in the background. “This kitchen is the size of my house!”

Penn.

“Will, if you think I’m coming over to your house when you
have the mansion to yourself and Penn’s there, you’re insane.”

“Did your mom make it back?”

I sighed. “No, Mom got stuck in Helena.

He pressed the issue. “It’s your birthday, man. You don’t
need to be alone, so come over.”

“I’m not gate-crashing, not when you have a girl at your
place.”

“Penn doesn’t mind. I asked her!” Will sounded desperate.

I started laughing. “No way. I am
not
coming over.
I’m staying home, making a fire and eating a frozen pizza. Now go pay some
attention to Penn before she gets pissed and leaves.”

Will was still spluttering when I hung up on him, but it was
for his own good. He was having enough trouble adjusting to being a wielder,
what with his mother giving him the silent treatment and his dad still on the
fence about the whole deal, so whatever Penn wanted to do with him was his
business, and fine with me.

Shaking my head, I set four logs in the fireplace—if I was
making a fire, it would be a
fire
and not ambiance. While it got going,
I nuked a frozen supreme pizza and grabbed two sodas and a box of Chips Ahoy.
Feast set, I hit the sofa.

For the first hour, I righteously enjoyed myself but after
the pizza and cookies were gone and
SportsCenter
was over, the house
started to feel empty. Not sure why I was even still awake, I crept upstairs to
shower and get ready for bed. The idea of napping on the couch in front of the
fire had some appeal, so I threw on flannel pajama pants and a t-shirt, picked
up my pillow and a fleece blanket and went downstairs to crash out.

I tossed and turned a while, trying to get comfortable.
While I’d wanted to be left alone, I missed Mom and Mamie. Uncle Mike, too. But
that wasn’t why I was restless, not really. As much as I hated to admit it, I
missed Ella more than anyone else. It was like a physical ache, the way I
needed to have her in my life again. I didn’t know if I could do it, but maybe
we could be friends. She got me in a way that few people did.

But I knew, deep down, we could never be just friends. The draw
on my heart was too strong and Tink would never allow me to be as close to Ella
as I wanted.

A loud banging startled me out of my doze and I sat up,
annoyed. Someone was pounding the crap out of the front door and I could think
of only one person who would beat down my door during a blizzard. I climbed off
the couch, grumbling, “Will! If that’s you, man, I’m gonna kick your ass.”

I stomped through the entry, still growling as I flung the door
open. “I thought I told you I wasn’t—”

Ella stood on my doorstep.

I wondered for a minute if I was asleep. Snowflakes, lit up
and turned golden by the streetlights, fluttered down behind her. She had on a
pair of jeans and her green ski jacket. Framed in the doorway, she made a
gorgeous sight with her hair drifting around her face in the breeze.

“Ella…what are you…?” I wrapped my arms around my chest. The
wind was icy and blew straight inside. Kind of like the feeling I got in my
heart at the sight of her.

“Will couldn’t make you come to me, so I came to you
instead.” She looked over my shoulder before dropping her gaze to the ground.

I stared at her for second, forgetting about the snow, the
wind, my short sleeves and my bare feet. “Is that why he kept insisting I come
to his place?”

Ella nodded, still not looking at me. “I’ve…been trying to
work up the nerve to talk to you for a couple of weeks now. Will and Penn
decided to force things along. But, then you didn’t come…” She shivered. “I’m
freezing. Are you going to ask me inside, or was it stupid of me to come here?”

That snapped me out of the daze I’d been caught in. “Uh,
yeah, sure.” The wind gusted and the snow swirled, falling faster now. I wanted
her to come inside, but I needed a minute to regroup, prepare. “Why don’t you
pull your car into the garage? Mom’s not here and that way you won’t have to
scrape your windshield later.”

She turned back to her car. While I ran through the living
room, kitchen and mudroom hallway to get to the garage door opener, a billion
thoughts tussled in my head. Why was she here? Just to torture me more? Tell me
she wanted me back? What? I stopped at the door to the garage and leaned
against the wall, banging the back of my head against the sheetrock. Why was it
that she had me in such a tailspin? I fought demons, literal demons, for God’s
sake, and I couldn’t handle a seventeen-year-old girl.

The wind howled against the house, interrupting my self-beating.
I shouldn’t leave Ella in a blizzard to give myself time to clear my head, so I
opened the garage door and she pulled in. She came into the house quietly, head
bowed, and made her way into the living room. I followed. When we got there,
she stood in the middle of the room in front of the fire.

“May I sit?”

I almost laughed at the formality, but the laugh got stuck
in my throat. If she could play Miss Manners, I could, too. “Sure. Let me take
your coat.”

Of course, hanging up her coat in the entryway closet gave
me more time to bang my head against the wall – the doorjamb hurt. After a
couple more blows and a few deep breaths, I went to see what she wanted.

Ella sat on the carpet in front of the fireplace, twisting
the hem of her thick fisherman’s sweater in her hands. I settled down next to
her; close, but not too close. I wanted to pull her into my arms more than
anything, run my hands through her hair, kiss her…but I stayed put. If she was
here to ‘clear the air,’ I couldn’t let myself feel a thing. I’d been hurt too
much already.

Cool, collected, that was me. “Why did you come over?”

She lifted her face, and a tear ran down her cheek. That hit
me like a punch in the gut. I scooted closer, but still didn’t touch her. I
felt like I was dealing with a spooked kitten, which was funny since I was
supposed to be the messed up one, but no one ever said this crap made sense.

She wiped her eyes. “Why didn’t you keep going out with Sami?”

That’s
why she came over? “It wouldn’t work out.”

Ella waited a while before asking, “Why not?”

The same reason it wouldn’t work out with anyone—Tink. That
wasn’t the only reason, sure, but I didn’t want to go there. “My job makes it hard.”

“Maybe, but…” Ella swallowed the last few words. When she
spoke again, her voice was soft. “Do you still care about me?”

I wasn’t sure I could answer her without breaking. Better
just to stay quiet.

“Because, Will says…” She bit her lip.

I sat up straight, starting to get a little angry about this
situation. “No, let’s hear what Will says.”

“That you do.” Ella stood and turned to the fire, her chest
heaving. “Care about me, I mean. That you never stopped.”

What was that bastard thinking, butting into the middle of
this mess after telling me I needed to fly solo? “He had no right to tell you
that.”

“Maybe not!” Ella said. She paced the floor, taking
shuddering breaths, about ten seconds away from crying her eyes out. “But even
if Will screwed up for telling me, he screwed up with his heart in the right place.
He’s always looking out for you. Always!”

I put my head in my hands. “I know.”

Ella knelt next to me and put her hand on my forearm. Like
always, it felt like electric shock. It wasn’t fair—a person shouldn’t have
this much control over someone else. I had to resist yanking my arm away.

“Matt…I’m sorry,” she said. “I made a mistake. I listened to
my doubts, and it cost us eight months. I should’ve been stronger.” She
tightened her grip. “I thought you’d be better off. I thought you needed the
space. And God knows I was a wreck every time you went on a mission.” She
paused, and the wind howled against the house so hard the walls creaked. “But remember
how you said that little voice, the one that pulled us apart, was lying? I think
you were right.”

This wasn’t right, and I knew it. I’d come a long way in the
last eight months, forced to stand on my own. Now it was my turn to man up. It
wasn’t fair to put another person through the hell I had to live. Mom and Dad’s
story had shown me that much. Then there was Tink; I was bound to something
that wouldn’t release me, not ever. Even if it hurt, I had to let Ella go
before it was too late.

“No, you didn’t make a mistake.” I looked into her green
eyes. Hypnotizing. Had to look away. “I asked too much of you. Like my dad
asked of Mom. If I’m going to be any kind of man, I should have the guts to
walk away, like he did. To protect you.”

A log popped and we both turned to the fireplace. I was glad
I didn’t have to look her in the eye for what I needed to say next.

“Ella, I love you enough to let you go.”

The weight that had been crushing my chest all these months
lifted. Relief, pure and sweet, rolled over me. I was finally strong enough to
say goodbye.

I laid my hand on hers, and we stared at each other.

Then Ella yanked her hand back. “That’s the stupidest thing
I’ve ever heard!”

Huh?

“You think I’m too weak to take it, don’t you?” Her face
turned bright red. “Oh, no, you aren’t getting out of this that easily!”

My eyes popped open in surprise. “What….I…
what
?”

“You still aren’t listening to me!” Ella gave me a shove and
I toppled over. “I love you, idiot. I want you back, so quit being so freaking noble!
Tell me you want me back. Be selfish. Let me make some sacrifices for once!”

She pushed away and I sat back up, worried she was going to
haul off and punch me, but all she did was glare in my general direction. It
didn’t matter that she was mad, though.

Ella loved me.

I laughed. I couldn’t help myself—I was so damn relieved. I
laughed harder.

“Quit laughing,” she snapped, but the corner of her mouth
turned up. Before long, she collapsed on the floor, giggling. “God, it feels
good to get all that angst out of my system.”

I flopped down next to her. “Yeah, it does.”

“Matt, I wasn’t very smart to let you go and I missed you
every second. So much that I couldn’t even look at you, it hurt so bad. I
thought I was helping you, but by the time I realized I never should’ve broken
up with you, it was too late—you left for Africa and I wondered if I’d ever get
the chance to tell you.” Ella rolled onto her side and propped herself up on
one elbow. “I know I hurt you and I totally understand if you don’t want me back.”
She gave me a timid smile, at odds with the stray tear caught on her eyelashes.
“But I hope you do.”

The room seemed to constrict. No air to breathe. Everything
stood still; so still I could hear snowflakes land on the ground outside.

Then it all exploded.

Feeling like I’d been fired from a cannon, I rolled on top
of Ella and kissed her face all over.