Infamous

CHAPTER 15

“Do you really want to die?”

That question hung in Nick’s mind, taunting him. In his dream, he looked out into a field and there he saw his future. For the next two years, he’d be a laughingstock in school. Everyone had seen him arrested.

Everyone.

Even his grandparents.

The horror of his mother’s expression … The doubt in her eyes.

And what waited for him? More loss. Either his mother or Kody. And others Ambrose refused to name. Why should he continue living when the cost of it would be their lives?

If he were dead, there would be no reason for any of them to die. That would stop it completely. It would. They would be free. His father would no longer be after him to kill him.

The pain that had lived inside him since the hour of his birth would end. I’m so sick of it all. And he was. At fifteen, he felt like a battered old man. Life was so hard. Some days it seemed like the only purpose of it was to see just how hard it could kick him. How low it could make him sink. It had needlessly slapped him senseless most days. And for what?

Why did it have to be like this? Why did people have to be so mean for no reason whatsoever? Why did they have to attack? Bring someone down?

End it.

You can control that much of your life.

Suddenly, Grim was beside him. He was dressed in a flowing black robe, his face barely visible from inside his cowl. In his hand, he held a black knife that looked like a military KA-BAR. Silently, he held it out to Nick.

One cut.

One moment of one last pain.

Everything would be over. He would hurt no more.

As Nick reached for the knife, he felt another presence beside him.

“Don’t do it, Nick. This isn’t you.” Kody. The sound of that sweet, soft voice reached out and touched him in places he didn’t fully understand. She covered his hand with hers and then laced her fingers with his. They were so soft as they slid against his skin.

“Close your eyes,” she breathed in his ear.

Without question, he obeyed. His head swam as images blurred through his mind in rapid succession. He didn’t know what he was looking at. Not until Kody kissed him.

She pulled back and laid her hand to his hot cheek. Then she spoke to him in a language he’d never heard before. Yet, he understood her words perfectly.

“There’s an enemy inside all of us, Nick, that wants to do us harm. It hates us passionately, and it wears us down with echoing insults we can’t escape. No matter what we try or what we do. It’s a never-ending playback that torments us when we’re alone. And especially at night when we’re trying to sleep and there’s no one else beside us.”

The love in her eyes scorched him as she stroked his cheek with her thumb. “But somehow our sanity returns, and drives that madness away. And we are not what that voice says we are. We’re stronger than that, and our dark, ugly interloper knows it. I think that’s why it hates us so much. Because it knows that we alone can defeat it. We can send it back to the darkest part of our nature where it belongs. Bury it so deep that we drown out those voices that hurt and torture us. It does not have to control us, and we don’t have to listen.”

She smiled up at him. “No one is immune to the dark interloper. We all feel that those wounds won’t heal. That they go too deep and let so much blood that it floods our souls with utter agony. That we have screwed up beyond repair. But it’s not true. What we have, Nick, is one life. And every day of it is the richest blessing. The bad times teach us lessons about ourselves and others. But most of all, they show us just how strong we are. For we survive what destroys a lesser being, and every day that we live is victory over that interloper. You and I are like creatures. We are not sheep to be slaughtered. We are fighters, and in the midst of our darkest battles, we don’t lie down and get stepped on. We shake our fists at the sky and shout, ‘Bring me your worst. Because I intend to give you my best and I will win no matter what it takes. You may knock me down, I can’t stop that. But I will get back up, and when I do, your blood will be the blood spilled.’”

He wanted to believe that. He did. “I’m so tired, Kody,” he breathed. “It just keeps coming with no let-up. Everything I do is wrong. Everything I touch turns to crap, and I’m sick to death of being blamed for things I haven’t done.”

“That’s the interloper talking, not you. I know my Nick. My Nick is strong.”

He licked his lips as his pain intensified. “If I live, you or my mother will die. What’s the point?”

“What’s the point?” she asked incredulously. “The point is to savor and treasure every moment, every breath. They are precious because they are limited. Nothing in abundance is ever held dear. It’s cast off without any thought whatsoever. But happiness, victory, and life are sacred because they are fleeting and stingily measured.”

“And the pain is never-ending.” Talk about abundance. It was shoveled at him so fast, he was buried in it.

“Not true and you know it. Pain is even more fleeting than the other emotions. Yes, it stays for awhile sometimes, but it always goes eventually. Always. Do you remember what you told Brynna when you stopped her from killing herself?”

“That I wore tacky shirts?”

Smiling, she shook her head at him. “The rest of it?”

“Vaguely.”

“You said, I know you’re hurting. Believe me, I know how it feels to get your emotional teeth kicked down your throat so far that it makes you choke on the last shred of your dignity. That sick feeling in your gut that tells you, you can’t take it anymore. That life sucks hard and it won’t ever get better. That you’re walking on the tightrope, trying to hang on with your toes ’cause you ain’t got no safety net, and you’re barely one sneeze away from being a stain on the floor. But you’re not alone. You’re not. You’ve got a lot of people who care about you. People who love you and who would be devastated if something ever happened to you.’”

“People who will die if I live,” Nick reminded her.

“And do you really think we wouldn’t be every bit as devastated if we lost you?”

No, he hadn’t thought about that at all.

“There’s always another side to everything, Nick. Two perspectives on all things. No two memories of any event are ever the same. They’re all sifted through our emotional channels, which run deep, and they color every input into our brain. How many times have you argued with someone over a past event where they claim one thing happened, but you don’t remember it that way?”

All the time. “But—”

She placed her hand over his lips to keep him from speaking. “Do you know what suicide is?”

“Yeah, death.”

She shook her head. “It’s the ultimate act of selfishness. Yes, death is painful for those who live on. Losing someone burns so deep that it never stops. Time doesn’t heal it, it just dulls it for a little while. Believe me, I know. Unlike you, I have lost those I love. And I grieve every day of my life that I can’t get ahold of them. That I can’t hear their voices or see their faces. I would give anything I have, my soul, my life, if I could just hug them one more time and tell them that I love them. And how much I miss them. But again, it’s because our time together is so fleeting and limited that it teaches us to savor every smile they give us. And having lived through their deaths, I can tell you this. I love them too much to make them suffer the way I have over their loss. I would rather say good-bye to them first than have them alive for years, aching for me the way I grieve for them. What do you think your mother would do if something happened to you?”

“She’d follow me to the grave.” How many times had she told him that? If anything ever happened to you, they’d have to dig two graves. I couldn’t live if I lost you.

“I have buried everyone I love, Nick. Please, don’t be so cruel as to make me bury you, too.” Tears glistened in her eyes. “I can’t do it again, Nick. I can’t. And I would rather give my life for you than have you give yours for me.”

He covered her hand with his and savored the warmth of her touch and the words that branded themselves in his heart.

Nekoda tightened her grip on him. “If you doubt anything I say, ask Dr. Burdette why she’s in New Orleans. Why she comes here every year at this time.”

He frowned at her words. “Why?”

“Day after tomorrow is the anniversary of the death of Bubba’s wife and son. And yesterday was the anniversary of the death of his best friend. Dr. Burdette’s here because she’s terrified that even all these years later, Bubba will kill himself to get away from the pain of losing the three of them.”

“When did they die?”

“His wife and son, twelve years ago when his son was only two.”

Nick’s heart ached as he realized that Bubba’s son would have gone to school with him. They were almost the same age.

Kody nodded as she read his thoughts. “It’s why Bubba all but adopted you when you met. His son had dark hair and blue eyes.”

Just like him.

“And it’s why he and Mark are such good friends.”

Nick scowled at that. “I don’t understand.”

“Mark’s older brother was Bubba’s best friend. In college they went out like millions of others their age. They’d won a championship bowl game and had wanted to celebrate. Bubba had too much to drink so Mark’s brother drove Bubba’s truck that night. On their way back to the dorm, for reasons no one knows, their pickup left the road and overturned. Bubba was thrown from the passenger side, but Mark’s brother was pinned underneath the truck. Had Bubba not been drunk and passed out, he could have gotten help before his friend died. Instead, Mark’s brother bled to death before another car spotted them and notified the authorities. Bubba has never forgiven himself.”

That one bit explained so much about Bubba’s idiosyncrasies. The poor man. And yet, Nick had known Bubba all this time, and he’d never had a clue about any of that. “Is that why he didn’t go pro?”

“In part. He also didn’t want to raise his son in that kind of lifestyle. Because he’d already lost his best friend, he didn’t want to waste even a second of his time with his wife and child. He wanted a job that would have him home with them every night.”

And still he’d lost them. It was so not right.

“But you see how our tragedies interconnect and shape us? Bubba wouldn’t have had all the time he did have with his wife and son had he not lost his best friend.”

Nick saw it, even though he didn’t like it. “And he wouldn’t teach self-defense courses if his wife hadn’t died.”

Kody nodded. “People aren’t just ants rushing around over a crust of bread. Every life, no matter how isolated, touches hundreds of others. It’s up to us to decide if those micro connections are positive or negative. But whichever we decide, it does impact the ones we deal with. One word can give someone the strength they needed at that moment or it can shred them down to nothing. A single smile can turn a bad moment good. And one wrong outburst or word could be the tiny push that causes someone to slip over the edge into destruction.”

She was definitely right about that. One touch of her hand could soothe him in a way nothing else did. Still, the voices were in his head and they were loud and clear, telling him how worthless he was. How ugly. How everyone would be better off without him.

“Do you really hear the self-loathing soundtrack in your head, too?” he asked her.

“Nick, I promise you, we all do. You know your friend Acheron?”

“Yeah.”

“Have you ever seen him without dark sunglasses on?”

Now that she mentioned it … “No, I haven’t.”

“Ash is so embarrassed by his own eyes that he won’t show them. At all. Not even to those he’s closest to. If they ever do see them, he keeps his gaze on the floor. And have you seen the size of my butt? If it gets any bigger, it’s going to be assigned its own zip code. And don’t get me started on how thin and flat my hair is. Or the fact that I can’t spell anything. I feel so stupid sometimes, and yet here I am able to summon powers from most dimensions. None of that matters to my inner beast that insults me every day of my life.”

He narrowed his gaze suspiciously. “I think you’re making all of that up. ’Cause, girl, I don’t see a flaw anywhere on your body. Of course, I haven’t seen your butt except when it’s been covered with clothing. Maybe if you show me some of what you’re talking about in the flesh…”

She wrinkled her nose at him. “You’re awful.”

He was, but in the worst moment of his life she’d made him smile. At least until his thoughts left her and returned to what had them here in this fringe area. What had possessed him in his cell. “How do you learn to function past the voices? They’re always in my head on a continuous loop.”

“Drown them out with music or logic. Yeah, I might not be that smart. Or beautiful. But that’s not all there is to me. I matter to people. Not all people, but to the ones who matter to me, and they’re the only ones in this world who count. To the darkest pit with the rest of them.”

He leaned down and pressed his forehead against hers so that he could stare into her eyes. “I love you, Kody. And I hear everything you’ve said. But I don’t think I’m strong enough to live without you.”

“How do you think I feel about you?”

If that was true, she was right. How could he leave her to the agony of grief if he killed himself?

She tilted her head until she captured his lips and kissed him until his senses reeled. Her touch calmed and soothed him until he felt like himself again.

But with that sensation, he felt her leaving.

“Kody!” he called, reaching out for her. But she was already gone.

Suddenly, he slammed back into his body. Opening his eyes, he found himself in the holding cell with Caleb next to him.

Caleb let out a relieved sigh. “Thank the universe she got through to you.”

Nick frowned. “What are you talking about?”

Caleb laughed bitterly. “You just experienced what I told you I couldn’t explain. Whenever a Malachai gets into environments like this one, its base urge is to become violent. In the past, when that happened, it caused a Malachai to attack others. But you, my friend, turn in it inward instead of outward.”

“Meaning what?”

“You become self-destructive.”

Nick didn’t understand the fearful concern in Caleb’s eyes. “Is that not better?”

“Depends.”

Nick was getting frustrated with Caleb’s vague answers. “On?”

“If you want mankind enslaved by you or your father.”

Great. Just what he wanted to hear. “You know, I’m beginning to think the only choice anyone has in life is between either a bad outcome or a worse one.”

“You’re right. It does seem to be the case, most times.”

Nick grew quiet as three policemen came in.

“We’re taking both of you to your bail hearing.”

Caleb actually looked pleased. “Go, Virgil.”

Nick was feeling pretty good about it, until he noticed something about the policemen. It was only a flash, but he recognized it as his powers warning him.

“Caleb, get back.”

“Why?”

Using the trick Thorn had shown him, Nick summoned a firebolt. His hand glowed as a tennis ball–sized stone manifested in his palm. “They’re lollers.”

As Caleb moved back, one of them tossed out a bloodred chain that wrapped around Caleb’s throat and held him in place.

Nick let fly his bolt into that demon’s chest. He exploded into fire as the other two rushed Nick.

Caleb caught one before he could reach Nick, and broke his neck. The one attacking Nick threw a wide, telegraphed punch. Nick ducked and came up with a fist into the demon’s jaw. The blow shattered his shell, causing him to disintegrate. Something that showered them with an odor so foul, Nick gagged on it.

“What kind are they?” Nick asked.

“The kind that shouldn’t be here.”

“How so?”

Caleb gave him a hard stare. “They’re blood demons.” He said that like Nick ought to know what that was.

Yeah. Clueless as normal. “Isn’t that what Virgil is?”

“Damn, Nick, quit being bibliophobic.”

Nick grimaced. “When did we quit speaking the same language?”

“Means you’re afraid of books. I’ve never seen anyone stand toe-to-toe with a daeve and not have a shred of fear in him, yet if I hand you a book, unless it’s manga, you act like it’s going to bite you.”

“It’s not the biting that scares me, it’s the boring. Besides, I like books with pictures. Manga can get pretty racy in Shonen and my mother doesn’t confiscate it and ground me for reading it. Unlike other male materials that launch her into a three-week rant about how women don’t look like that and how it’s disrespectful to her to have it in her house.”

Caleb growled at him. “You are so mature at times that you lure me into forgetting the fact that you’re an embryo.” He growled fiercely before he continued. “Vampires were human at one time. While humans call them demons, demons are a separate life form. I have never been human, thank the Source for that, and neither have blood demons. So named because they are created from the blood of a higher demon to serve him.”

Now that sounded more interesting than scary. Definitely could come in handy one day. “Will I have that power?”

“If I don’t kill you before you mature, yes.”

Nick intended to stay off Caleb’s menu. “Awesome. So what? Are they clones?”

“No. Not even. They’re sent in to take something from the target and return it to their master so that he can gain control of that individual.”

Nick went cold. “You think my father sent them?”

“No. Adarian has your blood. Besides, it’s not his style. He’s never subtle. Someone else sent them.”

But who? “Who knows about me, or you, for that matter?”

“I don’t know, Nick. But we’ve got to get you out of here before you break down again. Not to mention, we’re both sitting ducks in this place.” Caleb froze as if a thought had occurred to him. “I know you’re not going to tell me because you knew it was wrong and that I should kill you for it, but do you think who or whatever you made your deal with could have sent them after you?”

Nick considered it for a few. “No.”

“Any chance you’ll tell me why you think that?”

“They already have something of mine. They wouldn’t need to send out demons to claim any part of me.”

Caleb ground his teeth until his jaw protruded. It was more than obvious he was super unhappy about Nick’s bargain.

And Caleb didn’t even know what it was … Yet.

“What did you give them?”

“Not my soul,” Nick said, knowing that would be Caleb’s primary concern. “Don’t worry.”

“I need to know. Should we get attacked—”

“We won’t.”

Caleb cursed. “What have you gotten us into?”

Before he could answer, Virgil returned with a single deputy. “You both owe me for this. I just laid down a critical favor to get you a bond hearing this fast.”

“We won’t forget,” Caleb assured him.

But after they changed clothes and were hauled before the meanest-looking man Nick had ever seen, he wasn’t so sure he wanted to be indebted. Virgil must have given up something big to get this guy to cooperate. He didn’t know what, and he didn’t want to know what.

The female prosecutor gestured angrily toward Nick. “It was a violent rape, Your Honor, and the defendant has a long history of violence. Look at the bruises on his face. Obviously, he was recently in another altercation with someone else. Not to mention his father—”

“I object, Your Honor.” Virgil drowned out whatever she’d been about to say. “Relevance.”

Glaring at him, she shoved her glasses up, higher on her nose. “Relevance is a family history of violence.”

“His father is not the defendant here,” Virgil fired back. “And unless you can produce a genetic expert showing that one has bearing on the other, it’s irrelevant.”

She bristled. “Psychologists say—”

“Do you have a psychologist who can testify?” Virgil asked.

“Not yet.”

“Then I stand by what I said. I object.”

The judge finally spoke. “Defense is right, counselor. The defendant’s father isn’t the one accused. Go on.”

She sighed heavily. “Fine. I believe him to be a substantial flight risk and think that he should be remanded into custody until his trial.”

The judge looked at Virgil. “Defense, what have you to say?”

“He’s a child, Your Honor. Look at him. Clean cut, honor student.”

“So was Ted Bundy,” the prosecutor interjected.

The judge glared at her. “That’s enough of that, Counsel” He returned his attention to Virgil. “Continue.”

“He has two jobs and people who rely on him. He is not a flight risk. And I can produce seven upstanding members of this community who are here to give testimony as to his character.”

“And I have a video of him—”

The judge banged his gavel. “Counsel, enough.” He looked back at Virgil. “Where are your witnesses?”

They stood up. Nick turned to see Liza, Mama Lo Peltier, Kyrian, Mr. Poitiers and Mr. Addams, Dr. Burdette, and Madaug’s father, Dr. St. James. His mother, Acheron, Rosa, Kody, and Menyara were also with Kyrian, and Bubba and Mark sat next to Dr. Burdette. Nick’s insides shrank at the sight of them. While he was grateful they were willing to stand up for him, he was humiliated that they all knew about this.

Then again, who didn’t know? Not like he’d been arrested in private.

He cringed at the thought of facing his classmates and school admin after this. No matter what, he’d forever be labeled as a criminal.

So this is how Brynna felt …

Virgil cleared his throat. “And Your Honor, they were the first seven I called. If you give me an hour, I can get you a dozen more. All of whom are willing to testify to Mr. Gautier’s good character and upstanding morals.”

The judge considered it. “Bail is set at a million dollars and I want him under house arrest until his trial. He can go to school and work, but nowhere else. And he is not to be left alone.”

“Uh, Your Honor,” Virgil said, before clearing his throat, “his job for Mr. Hunter requires him to run errands all over the city.”

“Then he is to be electronically monitored at all times and will be required to call in every hour on the hour outside of school.”

“Yes, Your Honor. Thank you.”

Caleb’s hearing was much easier. The judge let him go with a promise that he wouldn’t touch anymore police cars.

His stomach knotting, Nick headed for his mother. She wouldn’t even look at him.

Kyrian clapped Nick on the back. “I’ve already given the bail money to Virgil to post your bond.”

Nick nodded gratefully at Kyrian. “Thank you. For everything.”

“No problem.”

Acheron placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. “Don’t worry, Nick. We’ll find out the truth.”

But it wouldn’t change the hurt in his mother’s eyes.

In fact, she refused to speak to him as she drove him home. He searched his mind for something to say, but nothing came.

He reached over to touch her hand. She pulled away before he could make contact. Anger and hurt pierced him straight through his heart. How could she doubt him?

Once they were home, he went to his room.

“Nick? I want you to leave your door open.”

He started to say “But Mom,” but he knew how that would play out. She’d shut him down like she always did. So he left his door ajar and went to sit on his bed. It was only then that he realized his mom had ransacked his room. “Mom? Where’s my—”

“You’re on restriction.” There was a note of hysteria in her voice. “Sit in there and think about … things.”

Bad idea, since the only thing on his mind right now was that he hated her for doing this to him when he was innocent.

And as he sat there, thinking, his fury mounted even higher until he couldn’t stand it anymore. He sprang to his feet and went to the living room where she sat watching TV.

“What do you want?” Still, she wouldn’t look at him.

Infuriated, he wiped his hand across his top lip. “I’m a virgin, Mom. I’ve never done anything more than kiss a girl, and Nekoda’s the only one I’ve done that with. I know you don’t believe me, but you can ask her. She’s not a liar.” And neither am I. But she’d never once believed him about anything.

Tears fell down her face. “I’m so sorry, Nicky. I know you’re innocent. I do. But it’s so hard for me to be in that courtroom with everyone judging me and you.” She started sobbing.

Nick went to her and pulled her into his arms while she cried against his shoulder.

“You don’t know what it’s like to be the most popular girl in school and then … they were so mean to me. Once people knew I was pregnant, I went to my best friend’s … We’d been friends since second grade, and her mother wouldn’t let me in the house. She told me Ashley wasn’t allowed to associate with trash.”

Guilt slashed at him. He’d never meant to hurt her.

“I’m sorry, Mama.”

“Don’t be, baby. You were worth it. You were. I’ve never once, ever, regretted having you with me. But it’s been so hard. I’m always questioning myself if I’m doing the right thing by you. When you were an infant, I used to sit and hold you and cry while I apologized for bringing you into a world that was so cruel and bone mean. For keeping you in poverty and not being able to give you a better life.”

“Don’t cry, Mama. Please. I don’t care that we had Christmases where the only gifts I got were clean socks and bubblegum. I don’t. The only thing that matters to me is that you don’t regret me. Please, don’t look at me like I’m dirt.”

She pulled back to cup his face in her hands. “I would never do that to you.”

“But you have. A lot. I’ve seen it.”

She shook her head. “No, Nick, that wasn’t what you saw.”

“Then why couldn’t you look at me in the courtroom? Why did you pull your hand back in the car?”

“Because I feel like I failed you and that you were blaming me for being arrested. If I hadn’t raised you the way I did, people wouldn’t be so quick to judge you like they do. I know that’s my fault. I offered to give testimony for you, and your lawyer told me it wouldn’t be a good idea. Do you know how that made me feel? He might as well have made me wear a shirt that said ‘trash’ on it.”

“Mama, no. Virgil isn’t like that. He was only trying to keep you from getting chewed up by the prosecutor.”

“Well, that’s not how it felt.”

Nick blinked his own tears away. “If you don’t hate me, why am I on restriction and why wouldn’t you let me close my door?”

“You have a B in chemistry. Remember? I told you at the school that you were on restriction for that.”

Oh yeah, he’d totally forgotten. “And the door?”

“It gets really hot in this room when I have the TV on and you close it. What did you think?”

“I thought you thought I was a creep.”

She glared at him. “Dang it all, Nick. I know you’re not a creep. I’ve seen the way you are around Kody and other girls, too. You’re bashful as you can be, and every time Kody touches your hand, you light up like a Christmas tree. Most of the time, you’re scared to even touch her. It’s like you’re terrified of her.”

He cringed. “It’s that obvious?”

“Yes.”

Would the humiliations never stop?

She wiped at her tears. “I can’t believe you misunderstood me so.”

“Same here,” he said. “Have I ever said or done anything that makes you think I hold anything against you?”

“No, not really. But I hold it against me.”

He scowled at her. “Then keep it on you. Don’t let it run over here to me.”

She placed her hand on his cheek. “I love you, baby. And I’m sorry you have to go through this.”

Not as much as he was.

Then, to his shock, she handed him the remote. “I think you’ve been punished enough for one day. Sit here and watch TV with me.”

Grateful beyond belief that he’d been wrong about her actions, Nick flipped channels until she snatched the remote back.

“You drive me crazy the way you watch TV. Pick something and stay with it.”

“I have teenage ADD powered by male testosterone, Mom. What do you expect?”

She growled at him as she returned to her girl show. Nick tried not to grimace.

But that ended a few minutes later when a call came in. Since they were watching TV, his mom didn’t get up to take it. Instead, she let it go to the answering machine.

“This is Principal Head from St. Richard’s. I’m calling to let you know that Nicholas is being expelled from school immediately. If you will mail any textbooks he might have back to us, we would appreciate it. Likewise, we will box up his personal items and have them shipped to your residence on file. Thank you.”

His mother’s face turned bright red. “How dare he!”

Nick didn’t respond. He was too busy feeling a crotch-kick for that. But then, what had he expected? Head thought he was a rapist and a thief. He was just protecting his students from a monster.…

Well, at least I don’t have to face Head or anyone else in school again. “Can I call Kody and Caleb to let them know?”

She hesitated before she nodded. “But this isn’t over. I’m going to talk to your lawyer tomorrow to see if there’s anything we can do.”

“Uh, he’s not really a day person. He works night court for a reason, so if you want to talk to him, call him before dawn.”

She hesitated, then nodded. “Interesting. I’ll do that right now. Don’t worry, baby. We’ll get you back in school.”

Don’t do me any favors. The thought of going back to school right now didn’t appeal to him at all.

My life is falling apart.

He felt like crap, until he looked at his mother as she spoke on the phone, and tried to imagine the horror of what she’d been through by the time she was his age.

Yeah, getting thrown out of school sucked. Getting thrown out of your home was so much worse. Even now, her parents insulted her.

“Hey, Ma?”

She returned after leaving a message for Virgil to sit next to him. “What, Boo?”

“I am so proud of you. Thank you for not giving me away.”

She scowled at him. “Oh baby, why do you obsess over that so much? It’s like part of you keeps waiting for me to throw you out.”

Because part of him was waiting for that. It was his worst fear. “I know what it cost you to keep me. I do. And as I get older, it’s a lot clearer. By the time you were my age, I was walking.”

She smiled. “Oh, I remember how beautiful you were. You didn’t have any hair. You were such a bald little booger, I thought I was going to have to save up to buy you a toupee.” She ruffled his hair playfully.

He laughed.

She leaned against him. “Don’t worry, Boo. Everything will work out. It always does. Somehow, even if it’s at the very last second, God always comes through for us.”

And her faith never wavered. His was a little more bipolar. But his mother had constant and unflappable belief. He envied her that. And it was amazing given everything she’d been through.

Closing his eyes, Nick listened to the TV as he tried to relax.

And as he tuned the physical world out, he began to hear the ether voices.

Be careful. Be careful. Be careful. Be careful. It sounded like a reptilian voice that echoed around him.

Be careful of what?

My friend’s enemy is my enemy.

Yeah, okay, so what did that mean? But there was no answer for his question.

Weird. Typical, but weird.

As he started drifting to sleep, he had an unmistakable feeling. Something was searching. Clawing. Slithering.

And it was here.