16. Blake
Chapter 16
Blake
The library isn’t my typical hangout, but when my girl is there, I’ll happily join her.
I find Alexis in the back of the crumbling old building, in a dark corner hidden by bookshelves on all sides. She doesn’t look up when I approach her, but I can just make out the redness in her eyes from crying, her hair wild and falling in bunches from a weak bun.
The sight of her like this sends a twinge of pain through my heart.
“Good morning, Sunshine,” I say, placing a warm to-go cup of cherry tea and a snack on the desk. “A girl came up to me at the café just to tell me she voted for us. Isn’t that wild? I didn’t expect people to take this contest seriously, but there’s a certain buzz going around for it.”
Alexis barely glances at me before reaching into her bag and pulling out a baby-blue penguin, the delicate crochet stitches and almost invisible flaws proving she made it herself.
Made it for me .
“A penguin?”
“From your story. You like them, don’t you?” she asks, and for the first time she looks at me, allowing me to see the full extent of her chaos.
Tears have created a rim of mascara around her eyes, transforming Alexis into the cutest panda I’ve ever seen. Her eyelids are heavy with sleep, and the spark in her eye has dimmed. Shit.
I’ve seen her like this enough times to know what’s going on. This is usually when Levi drags her kicking and screaming into our living room and forces her to play video games with us until she calms down enough to smile again. There’s a bit of tension in the house I don’t want her to be part of, so I have to find something to the same effect.
“You gave me a gift, I gave you one. Now we’re even.”
I take the penguin from her hand, our fingers brushing for only a moment before she pulls away. The wool is warm and soft against my skin, though it is the thought of Alexis spending her precious time and energy on making it that comforts me the most. This wasn’t a quick buy at the Dollar Store to silence her need to be even or a random gesture of thanks. She listened to my silly story about a blood-thirsty penguin and remembered I must like them, then put care in making and accessorizing it, going as far as to give it tiny skates and a copy of my jersey.
“This is just incredible. Thank you. Truly.” I lean my butt against the table and reach out to tuck a lock of hair behind her ear. “Are you okay, though? What’s going on? Come on, tell me.”
She shakes her head, fresh tears brimming in her silver-blue eyes. “I’m fine, Blake. You can go. I just need to get my shit together and?—”
“Stop.” I know she hates it when people cut her off, but this time, I don’t feel bad. Better she’s angry at me than herself. “You are doing amazing . I’ve seen you read that course book cover to cover three times now—you know everything that could possibly be on that exam, I promise.”
She shakes her head. “I don’t. I need to keep going until I can recite it so I can get an A and keep my grades up and show everyone that I'm not a total fuckin’ screw up.”
“You have to stop putting that kind of pressure on yourself. It’s not the end of the world to get a lower grade every once in a while. I know things are stressful and uncertain right now, and that throwing yourself into studying feels safe and comforting to you. But it’s getting unhealthy, and I can’t let you go on like this.” I take her collection of books and paper and stuff it into her backpack before hoisting it over my shoulder. “Come. You need a day off.”
Her eyes meet mine, damp with tears, and for a moment she just stares. “Where are we going?”
I take her hand, her fingers lacing perfectly into mine like it was made for me to hold. “An adventure.”
“You know you have to tell me where we’re going at some point, right? Otherwise, it’s just kidnapping,” Alexis says, and I breathe a sigh of relief at the fact that her voice no longer sounds so frail.
We’ve been in my car for forty-five minutes, her playlist on my speakers, my hand on her thigh. She hasn’t said much, nor did I expect otherwise. She’s fixed her hair and makeup, though I can see in her eyes that the storm inside her mind rages on. I’m just glad she agreed to come.
“You’re past twenty. This is an abduction.” The GPS lady tells me to go left at the next exit, as if I don’t know the route to my own house. “And if you must know, Miss Moore, we are headed towards the monstrosity that is my childhood home.”
She feigns a dramatic gasp. “Blake Taylor, are you taking me home for the holidays? Should I expect a ring?”
A smirk pulls at my lips. “Like I’d ever propose to you in such a dull and meaningless setting.”
The manor might scream money, but my mother’s style has always leaned more tacky than elegant. Alexis deserves better than that. Like a sprawling estate with gardens filled with roses and more libraries than one could ever need, a place straight out of a Jane Austen novel.
“It’s only dull if you make it so, Blakey-bear,” She laughs. “Though I suppose it’s sweet you think so highly of me. Tell me, Blake, do you think about proposing to me often?”
“Only once, and I plan to do it right.” I shoot her a wink, and I just catch her blushing smile before she looks away.
The highway makes way for quiet suburban roads which turn into the dull gated community of my youth. When we pull into the driveway I’m surprised the gate is wide open—my mother would never leave it open for anyone, even me. Worse still, there are no cars anywhere, nor lights on in the house, despite the darkness of winter. Something is wrong—I’m just not sure what.
I take Alexis’ hand as she gets out of the car, not only because I want to, but so I can try and keep her safe if anyone’s hiding inside. We go around the back, where the grass is higher than I’ve ever seen it and the dirty smudges on the windows only add to the dread curling in my stomach. How long has this place gone without seeing a soul? And why haven’t I heard a peep about it?
“Get behind me,” I say, and reach out my arm to stop Alexis from potentially ignoring me. I’m not sure if anyone is inside, but if trouble arises I’d rather they have to go through me.
Thankfully, she doesn’t challenge it. When we step into the house, the checkered tile under our feet dusty and covered in glass from a broken window pane, she is right on my heels but makes no move to wander off alone.
“Maria?” I call. Silence . “Mom? Anyone?”
I don’t expect my mother to be around; she’s usually hiding out someplace warm this time of year. But this place is never, ever empty, the silence unnerves me like no other.
“Does it always look like…this?” Alexis asks quietly, and I tighten my grip on her hand.
“Never. Something isn’t right.” My mother is probably off on a cruise or business trip or holiday, but she has a half dozen staff members who keep this place looking like a damn palace. If they left…well, I wouldn’t blame them. No doubt my mother took things a step too far, even for her. But those people practically raised me. They wouldn’t quit without saying goodbye to me. “Let’s just grab what we came for and go.”
I lead her up the stairs and down the hall to the dreary beige horror that is my childhood bedroom. Color is my mother’s mortal enemy, so the entire house is practically all white. Beige, believe it or not, was pushing it. Thankfully, it’s been left virtually untouched since the day I left for college, so I know just where to find it.
The oldest shoe box in my closet, hidden in the back of the top shelf. Mice have gnawed some holes in the sides, but it seems they left the content untouched. I take the satin pouch from its hiding place and stuff it into my coat pocket where it’s safe.
“Do you hear that?”
I jump at the sound of Alexis’ voice. I’d been too distracted digging through my past that I hadn’t noticed her slipping away from my collection of trophies and knick-knacks to stand right behind me. I pause, listening intently, but I don’t hear a thing.
“If you want to go explore the house you can just ask, Sunshine. You don’t have to pull the horror movie excuse.”
Alexis rolls her eyes. “I’m not making an excuse, nor am I making it up—I still hear it. It’s this high pitch, like…like the whining of a dog, almost.”
A dog. The word stops me right in my tracks. She cannot possibly have left him here…though, with my mother, I shouldn’t be surprised.
Alexis takes my hand and drags me into the hallway before stopping to look around.
“It’s muffled,” she says. “Like something is blocking the sound. But it’s also kind of everywhere?”
“The ventilation shafts,” I say slowly, and Alexis nods like that’s exactly what she meant. “The blocking, could that be a door?”
She shrugs. It doesn’t matter, anyway. If he’s here, there’s only one place he could have gone—I know exactly where he is.
Once we’re back in the grand foyer, we take the shortcut through the lounge to end up in the kitchen, the old doors creaking and heavy even for me. No wonder he can’t get out—I can barely get through them myself.
The kitchen is a battlefield of flour, sugar, and heaps of unidentifiable foods sprawled out over every surface. Some of it is rotting, molding, or otherwise disgusting, and breathing in the stench almost makes me retch. But it’s the door to the basement that catches my eye. Fallen off its hinges, hanging on by a single screw, positioned in such a way it can’t be moved aside.
And that’s when I hear him.
A weak, pain-filled whine, begging anyone to listen and help. My poor boy.
“Lucky!” I tear the door off the frame and glance down the steep steps, but it’s too dark to see a thing. As if she can read my mind, Alexis holds up her phone with the flashlight turned on, illuminating the stairs. I kiss her cheek in thanks.
It’s clear she’s not leaving my side, so as I make my way down the narrow steps I hold her hand to keep her from losing her balance. Her hand, warm and reassuring in mine, is the only thing keeping me from freaking out as my home becomes more unrecognizable with every step.
Our feet touch solid ground again and Alexis drags the light from her flashlight across the room. In the far corner, behind a barrel of whatever, I spot a familiar wagging tail.
“Lucky? Come, boy, come here.” I pat my thighs, but he doesn’t budge.
Shit. Shit. Shit.
Before I can stop her Alexis is by his side, crouching by the barrel. For a moment, I’m afraid it’s not Lucky but some wild animal that will bite her if she gets too close. But then the tail-wagging intensifies, and slowly I see my dog scramble to his feet.
“He’s hurt,” Alexis says and shines the light at his paw, which hovers over the concrete floor, a bad gash along the hip stained with mostly dried blood. “It looks bad, Blake. He really needs a vet. There’s no way he can walk up those stairs; that’s probably how he got stuck here in the first place.”
“I’ll carry him.” I swallow against the lump in my throat to keep from crying as my guilt bubbles to the surface. I should have come sooner to check on him, I should have called someone or done anything to make sure he was well and taken care of. Stupid! “Upstairs—in the lower cabinet next to the door there should be a bag of kibble. Can you get it?”
“Meet you at the car?” she asks, already headed for the stairs. I nod.
“Be careful, please, or your brother will kill me.”
She’s already disappeared into the kitchen upstairs, but her laugh echoes through the empty room.
“Mommy is laughing at me, do you hear that Lucky?” he digs his snout into my hands at once, whimpering and pressing himself against me until he confuses even himself. “I’m gonna lift you now, but I’ll be very careful, okay?”
I move as slowly as I can muster, trying not to startle him. It takes a few tries before I can hold him comfortably while holding the flashlight so I can see, but when I do I make a beeline for the stairs and take them two at a time. The kitchen is empty and I find Alexis waiting by the car as promised, the back door open and her scarf laid out over the backseat like a blanket. Something in her hand glints in the weak sunlight and as we draw closer I recognize it as being Lucky’s water bowl.
“The food is in the trunk, but I figured water has a higher priority.” She steps aside so I can lay Lucky in the back seat. “I couldn’t find a leash or anything, though. Do you want me to sit in the back with him?”
“No,” I say as I shut the door. “I need you with me.”
A soft smile creeps onto her lips as she lays her hand on my shoulders, rising onto her toes to kiss my damp cheek. “Always.”