Rising Tide: Dark Innocence (The Maura DeLuca Trilogy Book 1) (19 page)

“Susie?”  I chanced it. 
So far I had one strike against me.

“Yes!”  She beamed, happy I
remembered her name.  She put out her hand, “Nice to finally, officially,
meet you.”  I took her hand, taken in by her genuine smile and sweet
nature.

“Nice to meet you, too.  I’m
not trying to be rude, but I really need to get home.  I have this
horrible headache coming…”  I stopped in midsentence, realizing the
throbbing behind my eyes had vanished.  “Oh wow.  It’s gone.” 
It was my turn to smile happily.  Then a current of worry moved through my
thoughts.  I pushed it into a drawer of my consciousness to be opened
later, at home.

Susie was looking up at my face
curiously, with concern.

“Sorry, Susie!”  I tried
desperately to not seem weird.  This girl wasn’t wearing a cheerleader
uniform, so she had true friend potential.  “I was feeling bad before, but
I think my headache’s clearing up.  Did you need something?”  I
offered up what I hoped was a friendly, normal smile.

“I just wanted to invite you to sit
with us…me and a few friends…at lunch on Monday.  I’ve been watching you
sit alone all week and…sorry!  I should have invited you earlier!” 
She looked horrified with herself, so I quickly interjected.

“No!  Please don’t feel
bad.  I needed some time alone.  You know, trying to get over all the
stuff I left behind.  From the move!”  I finished in
explanation.  “But wow…thanks.  I’d love that.”  It felt good to
talk to someone right in front of me, other than my mother.  I thought
about how nice it would be to have a friend here.  A welcome distraction
from miserably obsessing over Ron’s absence, if just for a little while.

“Yea, it’s hard to move.  My
family came here from Ontario a few years ago, so I know what you mean.  I
have to go,” she shot a look back over her shoulder, “my dad’s waiting. 
But I’ll see you at lunch Monday, ok?  We can walk together from
English.”  She gave me a huge smile and a wave before disappearing in the
throng of weekend-ready students.

The good feeling I had from that
last exchange at school didn’t last all evening, sadly.  At 6:00 pm…well
5:50 to be honest, I was dutifully seated in front of my laptop, logged into
Skype and waiting eagerly.  At 6:15 I started to get frantic and bored, so
I searched Ebay for some new dresses to put on my watch list.  I checked
my Skype screen every few seconds to make sure I wasn’t missing Ron’s call—even
though my speakers were turned up all the way.

By 6:30, I was
panic-stricken.  Someone had abducted him as he was walking the three
blocks home from class…or he’d slipped and hit his head on a rock beside the
sidewalk…or somehow way worse, he’d forgotten me.  Was it possible he’d
gotten the nights mixed up?  I went to get my phone to check our texts
from the night before, to see if we’d mentioned it.

There was a text from Ron and one
from Caelyn, too. 

Sorry,
Maura, can’t make it tonight.  Will explain later.
  Was all
Ron had said.

Caelyn’s
informed me she’d be having dinner with a client and told me to go ahead and
eat without her.  I felt completely abandoned…until I heard my Skype
alert.  He’d made it!

Quickly, hands shaking, I managed
to minimize the Ebay window.  It was Merina calling.  I couldn’t help
it; my heart fell, and I was wracked with bitter disappointment.  But I
pulled myself together and put a strained smile on my face before I clicked on
the answer button.

“Hi,”
Merina
looked and sounded just as dejected as I felt.

“Hey,
Merina
.”
 I put enormous effort into keeping the smile on my face.

“You don’t have to fake it,
Maura.  Remember, you told me you were supposed to be talking to Ron
tonight?  I know you should be talking to him right now.”  She sighed
heavily and that, combined with the mournful expression on her face, made my
stomach turn a fearful somersault.

My tongue felt thick with the fear
of what she might say next, but I forced it to form words anyway.  “What
are you saying, Merina?  What’s wrong?”

“Well,” she started weakly, “I
didn’t want to say anything to you.”

I started to feel a little
sick.  Dread was balled up in the pit of my stomach, poisoning me. 
“You have to tell me, Merina.  No matter what it is.  I have to
know.”

“Ok.”  She looked down, took a
deep breath, and continued.  “Shane told me that on Tuesday he saw Ron
walking some girl to class.  We both just blew it off and said it had to
be innocent, but Shane said she was walking home with him the next day. 
And just now, my family went to get pizza at Tom’s and Ron was there…with her…”

“When he’s supposed to be Skyping
with me,” I finished for her, dejectedly.  “Are you sure it was the same
girl?”

“Yea, Shane went with us.”
 She looked down again, “I’m sorry, Maura.  I hate to tell you. 
I didn’t…”

“No, it’s ok.”  I could feel
the tears start to burn in my eyes.  “I’m glad you told me.  Thanks,
Merina.”  I didn’t want to cry in front of her.  “Hey, I need to
go.”  I could barely get the words out.  It felt like I was choking
on them.

“Ok, I understand.  I’m really
sorry, Maura.”  She’d started to cry herself. 

I quickly hit the red, End Call
button.

Caelyn
didn’t
get home until almost 9:00. 

“Sorry, Maura!” I heard her call,
from my bedroom, as she came into the apartment, “I didn’t mean to be so
late.”  I heard her steps crush against the carpet…which was strange…and
distracted me from my melancholy for a moment.  In the next, she opened
the door to my room, bringing me back.

I’d already made up my mind not to
say a word about any of this to her.  My reason was twofold.  For one
thing, Caelyn had been so happy, so different, after moving here.  I knew
she was finding more success with the clientele here in Vancouver, and I didn’t
want to spoil that for her, not one tiny bit.  Also, if I brought up my
own heartache, it would surely recall, for her, the loss of my father.  I
didn’t want her remembering that at all, now that she finally, somehow, had let
go of the pain a little. 

Secondly, I wanted to, literally,
sleep on it.  Every time I tried to picture Ron with some other girl, my
mind responded with a memory flash from our time together.  I could only
see him with me.  Besides, I was getting the story from a third
party.  There could have been some kind of gross misunderstanding. 
There had to be, but that still didn’t mean I was happy with being put off, and
with no real explanation.

“Maura! I asked you why you didn’t
eat.”  Caelyn’s voice snapped me out of my meandering thoughts. 
Standing with her hands on her hips and a very agitated look on her face, I
realized she must have asked more than once.

“Oh, sorry…I fell asleep reading
homework.”  I’d laid an open textbook on the bed beside me, completely
prepared for this cover story. 

Her expression told me she was
suspicious, and I wondered if my brief crying jag had left my eyes with
telltale red or puffiness.   I could see her contemplation, but she
decided to leave it alone.  “Must be exciting stuff.  Come on then,
you have to eat something before I’m going to let you sleep.”

I didn’t think I could choke
anything down, until Caelyn carved off some of the very rare roast beef I’d put
in the crock pot that afternoon.  After the first bite, I’d wolfed down
half of it, surprised at my sudden, ferocious appetite.  The comfort felt
from a full tummy made all of the excitement from the day wash over me and I
was drowsy to the point of agony.  I allowed Caelyn to tuck me into bed,
reasoning I’d certainly earned another childish luxury. 

As she ran her hand over my hair,
lovingly, I struggled with some memory from earlier in the day.  Some
vitally important thing I had to ask her about.  But my brain wouldn’t
bring it to the forefront, before I succumbed to sleep.  It waited,
lurking, until my consciousness faded.

In my dreams I was sick. 
Morbidly ill, as I’d feared I might be for some time now.  The quality of
the dream was cinematic—it felt so real.  Looking around me, taking in the
bleeping machines and clear tube running from the IV bag, I knew I was in the
hospital.  My tongue automatically ran over the places where my canines
were missing.  The beep from the monitor grew louder until it was
deafening.  I moved my arm up so I could cover my ear to muffle the
sound.  The rustle the movement of the blanket made blasted through my
ears, and I cried out in pain.  Something warm tightened around my other
hand, and I understood why I’d only moved one up in response to the too-loud
noises.  Someone was holding it, someone very warm. 

My vision was blurred, and the
light in the room was too, intensely bright.  The same headache I’d been
plagued with that afternoon pulsated through my skull.  I made every
effort to shut it all out and focus on that face.  The long, dark hair
told me it was Ron, before I could fully make out his features in the haziness
that was my sight.  When my eyes sharpened, he smiled at me, but the
softness in his eyes held the hard edge of worry. 

“How are you feeling?”  He
kept his voice barely above a whisper, which meant he knew how sensitive my
hearing was.  Maybe he knew what was wrong with me.  I was hurting
all over…my throat burned like a bonfire, and the rest of me was so cold I was
sure they must be transfusing me with ice water. 

I tried to speak to him, to demand
a diagnosis, but I was too weak to utter a single word.  Caelyn appeared
then, cooing over me protectively and imploring me to save my strength and keep
quiet. 

My eyes were drawn to a shape in
the doorway of my hospital room.  There was someone there, a tall, hulking
human filling up the space.  He—it had to be a man given the size—was
shrouded in darkness.  I could make out no discerning features,
whatsoever.  A nurse pushed past him, only because he moved to allow
it.  Funny, even when she was right behind him I could make out every detail
about her.  It was as if all the darkness in the room were reserved,
solely, for this unknown stranger.

The nurse brought in a blood
bag.  Although I couldn’t remember any accident or see any bandaged wound,
my brain tried to ferret out a reason for a blood transfusion, while she was
hooking up the bag.

While watching her, my eyes
switched focus, glancing over at the liquid in the bag.  Deep, dark
crimson.  I couldn’t tear my eyes away.  My mouth was like dry desert
sand, my throat the merciless sun burning over that desert at high noon. 

A rattling gasp tore up through my
chest and my body convulsed.  I was sure I was dying.  My blood
must’ve had some horrible disease tainting it and the transfusion’s purpose was
to dilute the infection. 

Ron put his hand on my chest to
hold me down.  He seemed troubled, but other than that, much too calm for
the gravity of the situation.  “Relax,” he said to me, with that same
softness to his voice, “you just need blood, Maura.”

He reached out and nodded to the
nurse.  She stopped what she was doing and took the bag down, placing it
in Ron’s hand.  He tore open the bottom, in a practiced manner, and held
it to my lips.

“Drink, Maura.  It’ll help you
faster this way.”

As shocked as I was by this turn of
events, I complied.  In all my waking hours, nothing had ever tasted
better.  And even though I knew what was happening was not what was
supposed to be happening, in my dream I tore the bag from his grasp, so I could
gulp its contents down faster. 

I woke from the nightmare with a
startled jump.  The first thing I did was run my tongue along my teeth to
ensure every tooth was still in place.  All accounted for, whew!

Next, I called out to my mother,
remembering too late I hadn’t checked to see what time it was, on a day that
was reserved for sleeping in.  I grabbed clumsily for my phone.  When
I hit the home button, I didn’t even register what the clock said, because
there was a text from Ron.  I only had time to read a few words before
Caelyn burst into the room.

“Maura!  What on Earth is
wrong?”  Oh well, Ron would just have to wait…after all he
had
kept
me waiting all of last night.  At least he’d had the decency to show up in
my dreams.

I looked up at her morosely. 
“Oh, did you have a bad dream?”

“Yes,” I peeped out, weakly. 
But then I remembered why I’d called for her, and it wasn’t to cry on her
motherly shoulder.

“Mom, did you find a dentist here
yet?”  I got right to the point. She looked surprised and didn’t answer
right away, so I pressed harder, “Mom, you promised to find out what’s wrong
with me.  Did you find a dentist?”

“Maura, I don’t think there’s
anything wrong with you…”  She put her hand up to the side of my
head. 

I pushed it away.  “Mom! 
I think there is.  I think I need to go to the doctor!”

She stifled a bit of laugher.
 “You.  Maura,
you
want to go to the doctor?  The world’s
biggest medi-phobe on the planet?  The child who hid in the dryer to avoid
a checkup?”  Diversion tactics.

I crossed my arms and knitted my
brow into stubborn furrows, “Yes!”

Caelyn
creased her own brow and regarded me like I was a little green man who’d landed
in her daughter’s bedroom. “What did you dream about?  Come on, out with
it.”

“It doesn’t matter.”  I
latched onto my resolve with a death grip.  “Mom!  Are you going to
take me to the doctor, or do I have to go by myself?”

When she saw how serious I was, my
mother backed off the sarcasm and teasing.  “Ok Maura,” she put her hand
back up on my face, wanting to comfort me with her touch.   I was a
bit penitent for raising my voice to her, and so, leaned into her palm. “But
you know the medical system is different here.  We need to have our health
cards.  We can’t just go to the doctor here without them, unless it’s a
true emergency.”

I eyed her suspiciously, wondering
if this were the truth.  I’d have to Google it later.

“They’re on the way, Maura. 
My company got that all set up for us.  As soon as they come in the mail
I’ll take you to the best doctor in the province, ok?  I promise.” 
She moved to hug me close.  “You’re my daughter; don’t you trust that I’d
take perfect care of you?  Haven’t I always?”

She had me there.  “Yes, you
have.”

“Ok then.  You check the
mailbox every day and let me know when they come.  In the meantime I’ll
ask around at work and get a recommendation for a dentist.  Does that make
you happy?”

Even though I still felt like she
was diverting me somehow, I nodded.

“How about some breakfast? 
I’ll cook!”  Caelyn and her well-played diversions.  My stomach
grumbled loudly in response.

I’d actually forgotten about Ron’s
text for a little while.  The smell of breakfast sirloin and eggs took
over the other half of my brain that wasn’t consumed by the fear of what was
happening to my body.  I only got halfway through breakfast, though,
before thoughts of his face seemed to pulsate in my head.  I ran for my
phone, hoping Caelyn would forgive my having it at the breakfast table.

“Ron texted last night and I never
got to read it,” I said in explanation, as I slid back into my chair.

She looked at me with disbelief, as
if it were impossible for such a thing to happen.  I ignored her and
punched in the number code to unlock my phone.

Sorry
again Maura. Had some stuff I had to take care of. Was late for
rehearsal.  We played til late. Hope you sleep good! : )

He’d sent the text at midnight, so
at least that part appeared to be true.  I hated being suspicious. 
But still, I had to keep turning it all around in my head.  If the girl
wasn’t important to him, why did he fail to mention her?  Was Shane sure
it’d been Ron in the pizza place with some other girl?  But how could he
mistake his best friend from childhood, especially in a town as small as
Indiana, Pennsylvania?  Did Ron know Shane and Merina had seen him with
this other girl?  Or was he insulting me by not caring if he’d been
caught?  Most importantly, who was she??