The Appeal of Evil (The Road to Salvation) (23 page)

As Katie sat in the car, she contemplated driving to Deb’s grandma’s house. She’d been there a few times, and she was sure she could find it again. It wasn’t that she didn’t trust Deb– she knew Deb would talk to her grandma like she said she would–but Katie would feel so much better acting instead of sitting around waiting. What if Deb was right? What if her grandma refused to help because she was upset with Deb’s actions? What would Katie do then? Perhaps if Katie asked for help personally, Gram would be more willing to assist.

Katie was half a second away from starting the car when she noticed her mom glance out the window. There was no chance of leaving now. Mom had let things slide for a while, given Katie the space she needed, but Katie shouldn’t push too far. She didn’t need her mom calling the cops and winding up in the hospital again. No doubt her mom still wasn’t convinced Katie was all right. With a sigh, she pushed open the door and headed into the house.

The foyer was bright and inviting, and the soft orange lights illuminated the small room. The scent of chicken and potatoes hit her nostrils, causing her stomach to growl. Her mouth watered and a weakness took over her body. When was the last time she had eaten? If she couldn’t remember, it had probably been too long. She headed for the kitchen, trying to figure out what she was going to say to her mom. Maybe she would wait until her mom spoke first and respond accordingly. That was probably the safest approach.

Katie stepped onto the linoleum floor, her base desires driving her to eat, and stopped in her tracks. Her mom stood at the kitchen sink staring at her, and Wes and Randy sat at the kitchen table. Her first inclination was to turn around and walk out of the house. It didn’t matter where she went, she just wanted to get away. But what would be the point? Wes and Randy could stop her if they really wanted or hunt her down. Her mom would commit her to an asylum until she was convinced Katie was mentally stable. No, the best course of action was to convince everyone she was fine so they would leave her alone.

She was genuinely surprised to see Wes in her house. After the confrontation on the mountain, she thought for sure she would never see him again. And that really didn’t bother her. It didn’t escape her notice that Wes refused to look at her. His gaze was focused on the table, the muscles in his jaw were tight. He probably wanted to be there even less than she did.

“I like that tankini.” Her mom’s voice drew her attention away from Wes. “You borrow that from Deb?”

Katie glanced down at herself. “Yeah. We went to the reservoir instead of shopping today.”

Mom forced a smile. “I heard. Did you have a nice day?”

Katie folded her arms across her chest. “Not really.” She shot a glare toward Wes.

Mom nodded and opened the oven door. Pulling out the pan, she set it on the stove. The scent of chicken was overwhelming and Katie’s stomach growled audibly. She needed to eat or she was going to pass out. Barely feeling her feet beneath her, she went to the table and sat down. Mom had already set the table and Katie couldn’t wait to fill her plate.

The tension in the air was palpable. Wes’s hands balled into fists before he pulled them from the table into his lap. Katie fought back the urge to scream at him and tell him what a jerk he was. Sadness and anger mixed throughout her body. She shouldn’t have said some of the things she said, but Wes shouldn’t have said or done certain things either. She really didn’t want him in her house, let alone directly across from her. The hollowness in her chest grew more apparent, making her feel even more irritated with his presence. She glanced at Randy. He stared back at her, tapping his finger on the table, and nodded once. The urge to stick out her tongue at him overwhelmed her, but she refrained. Why were they here if they didn’t want to save Katie? They’d made it very clear she was untrustworthy and needed to be sacrificed for the greater good. She grabbed her napkin and placed it in her lap. Mom placed the pan of cheesy chicken and potatoes in the center of the table and took a seat. Katie waited impatiently for the “guests” to be served first, then spooned a huge helping onto her plate.

“So what’s the special occasion that Wes and Randy honor us with their presence?” Katie was tired of playing nice. She didn’t care how snarky the comment came out. She wanted to know what was going on.

“Katie.” her mom huffed. “That’s no way to talk about guests.”

Katie shoved a forkful of food in her mouth to keep from telling her mom she was an idiot for thinking Wes and Randy were fine upstanding human beings.

“They’re here because they are concerned about you.” Mom folded her arms on the table and leaned forward. “They think you might have fallen in with a bad crowd.”

Katie stopped chewing and glanced from her mom to the guys sitting across from her. Was this some kind of joke? Had they really come over to her house to control her life? Did they really think tattling on her was going to change things?

Her mom cleared her throat. “I heard about the fight today at the reservoir, Katie. I’ve also been told about Josh. Were you ever going to tell me about him?”

Katie swallowed the bite in her mouth. She hadn’t chewed properly, so it took a while for it to go down. How much did her mom know? Did Wes and Randy reveal to her mom what Josh was? Katie scoffed inwardly. No, that wouldn’t happen. They wouldn’t even tell the truth in the hospital, no way were they revealing anything now. She narrowed her eyes to slits and stared at Randy and Wes.

“Oh, they did. And what did they tell you about Josh?”

“They said he’s bad news. That he has a record. Deals drugs.” Mom straightened up in her chair. “I don’t want you hanging out with people like that, Katie.”

Katie couldn’t help but laugh. The seriousness in the room was overwhelming; the lies were unbearable. Was this really how Wes and Randy were going to sway Katie to the good side? They were going to sic her mom on her? Katie would have entertained the notion of not seeing Josh anymore if someone asked her nicely not to. She’d been to Hell, she’d seen what he could do; he was bad news. There was no denying that. Now, however, she wanted to do something to spite her mom and the guys who were supposedly looking out for her safety. She knew they really didn’t care about here. This was just their way of getting back at Josh.

Mom stared at Katie wide-eyed. It took a few moments before Katie was able to regain control of herself.

“Is that really what these two told you?” Katie pointed across the table.

“Yes.”

“And you believed them?”

Mom hesitated, glancing from Katie to the guys and back to Katie. “Why would they lie? We’ve known them for years.”

“Known them?” Katie almost choked on the words. “You told me you haven’t spoken to Randy for years. You told me that after his wife died,” the word came out full of spite, “he isolated himself from you. I’m betting the first time you actually talked to Randy in a long time was the other night when he showed up at the house looking for me.” She raised her eyebrows questioningly.

“That’s not the point, Katie. Wes and Randy only want what is best for you. They want you to be safe. So do I. Look at what Josh did to Wes.”

For the first time, Wes raised his head and Katie was able to see the bruises and cuts. Anger flared across his eyes as their gaze met, and his lips pressed into a thin line. Katie clenched her jaw.

“You should see what Wes did to Josh! He started it! Wes whacked Josh in the back of the head with a log!”

“Are you actually defending him?” Wes growled between gritted teeth. His voice was barely audible.

Katie snarled. “Are you actually sitting in my house, eating my food, and telling my mother lies? Don’t you dare get holier-than-thou on me!”

Randy held up his hand. “Katie, there’s no need to get upset. Let’s just have a civilized discussion here.”

Katie slammed her hands down on the table. “No need to get upset? Are you kidding me? You’ve destroyed my life! You put me in the middle of a war that I shouldn’t be in, then come in here and make it sound like everything is my fault. I didn’t ask Josh to come here. I didn’t make him attack Wes at school, and I sure as hell didn’t want to be taken to that warehouse.” She pointed a finger at Wes. “If it weren’t for me, you would already be dead! Do NOT come into my house and dictate who I should or should not hang out with. YOU brought this on me.”

Wes stood from his chair with such force it toppled over backward. “Do you really think I’m trying to harm you? I never wanted any of this! I wanted you to be safe, but you keep putting yourself in harm’s way!”

Randy placed a hand on his son’s arm, trying to get him to calm down. Mom’s eyes had gone wide; her mouth was pressed shut and confusion covered her face. Katie felt slightly bad for dragging her into the situation, but that was all on Wes and Randy. They could have left her out of it. They could have left Katie out of it. They should have just walked away. Wes should have left her alone after the mountain. It would have made things so much easier and her mom wouldn’t have gotten involved. What were Randy and Wes trying to accomplish? What was their end game?

Wes panted, his face red with anger and exertion. Eventually, he stormed out of the house, slamming the door behind him as he did. Randy rose slowly from his chair. Katie couldn’t tell if it was because of his injuries or hesitation. As he walked past her mom, he placed a hand on her shoulder.

“I’m sorry about all this. I’ll call you later.”

She nodded, and Randy left the house. Katie leaned back in her seat, her appetite completely gone.

“Would you mind explaining to me exactly what that was about?” Mom’s voice had an accusatory edge to it.

Katie scoffed. “Really? You’re going to make this my fault?”

Mom waved her hand through the air. “That’s not what I’m doing, Katie. I’m just trying to figure out what is going on.”

“Your tone says differently.”

“Well, your tone isn’t exactly friendly,” Mom snapped.

Katie stood from her seat. “I can’t believe you were willing to listen and believe Wes and Randy without even talking to me first. It’s just like what happened the other day when you took me to the hospital. Why don’t you listen to me anymore?”

Mom cocked her head to the side, her mood softening. “I’m listening, Katie. Tell me what’s going on.”

Katie rolled her eyes. “It’s a little late for that now, Mom.” She left the kitchen and stomped up to her room.

KATIE LOCKED THE DOOR TO HER ROOM
and cranked up her music. She figured Mom would be up in a few minutes, coaxing her to talk through the door. How could her mom listen to Wes and Randy without talking to her first? What had they told her that was so convincing that she wouldn’t believe her own daughter? What had she done that made her mom turn away from her?

Katie threw herself on her bed and buried her face in her pillow. Anger, confusion, and sadness surged through her body. She didn’t know how to react, so the emotions flooded out of her in a scream that was muffled in cotton. On one hand, she realized Wes and Randy were just looking out for her and attempting to keep her safe. After all, Josh was a demon. Katie’d caught a glimpse of his true self at the reservoir. The memory sent a chill down her spine. What bothered Katie the most about the situation was that Wes and Randy didn’t seem to be acting in her best interest. If they wanted to protect her, why didn’t they talk to her? Why didn’t they let her help? She wasn’t a child, and it irritated her to no end that they were treating her like one.

Katie rolled onto her back and stared at the ceiling. She wasn’t sure if she wanted to scream again or cry. She didn’t get the chance to do either. A light swirled in her room. Katie leapt from her bed toward the door. She wasn’t going to exit just yet, but she couldn’t risk opening the door and her mom seeing the anomaly—there was no telling how she would react—and she needed to calculate her odds of getting out if Wes stepped out of the portal. She glanced from the light to the door. It wasn’t that far; with some running steps, she should be able to get out. Dang it! She locked the door to keep her mom out. It was going to slow her down unlocking the door, potentially giving Wes enough time to grab her and pull her through. He was the last person she wanted to talk to, and she thought he had felt the same way, but she had been wrong before—many times before.

The figure stepped out of the light. Katie relaxed. Josh’s chiseled face and to-die-for smile was focused directly on her. Not that Josh was any better than Wes, but given a choice between the two, she would take the demon any day. He still wore his swimsuit, but his face was bruised and swollen from the fight. Katie almost felt sorry for him, but then she remembered what he was and what he did. Why couldn’t he be a normal teenage boy? She folded her hands across her chest. As the blaring music hit Josh’s ears, his smile faltered.

“Everything all right?” He had to yell to be heard.

She shook her head. Without saying anything, she stepped up to him and put her mouth close to his ear so she didn’t have to yell. “Take me somewhere. I don’t care where. Anywhere is better than here.”

The smile once again grew on his lips and he wrapped his arms around Katie’s shoulders. They stepped into the light. Katie knew she shouldn’t be going with him; she knew what she was doing was dangerous, but a part of her really didn’t care. A part of her wanted to show Wes, Randy, and her mom that she could take care of herself. She was a big girl, she didn’t need them looking out for her. She was going to prove that Josh wasn’t that dangerous. Yet, a small voice at the back of her brain told her she was getting in way over her head, and that made her stomach ache.

The pair stepped onto a sandy beach at sunset. Pinks, oranges, purples, and blue splattered the sky. A humid breeze tossed her hair, the smell of fish and salt entered her nostrils. Waves crashed against the sand in steady rhythm. Instantly, Katie felt relaxed, at peace. She glanced at Josh. He still had his arm around her shoulders.

“I figured we were still in our suits and didn’t get a chance to enjoy the reservoir, so we should come some place tropical.”