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Okay, this was weird. The last time I’d seen Theo was a couple days ago. I’d been expecting to never see him again. Basically, I’d helped him through a tough time, inadvertently. It involved lucies. And his family secret that had practically destroyed half his ancestors. That was until I’d come along and forced it all out into the open, thereby giving everyone involved a happy ending. After the terrible start, of course.
What made it all that little bit worse was that Theo was an old friend of my dad’s.
And that had been the last straw for my dad, which was why I was now taking pills.
Before I could even begin to wonder what to make of it, an enthusiastic Theo and not-so-enthusiastic Dad came out of the living room to greet us.
Well, me.
‘Annie! Great to see you again. I still cannot thank you enough,’ Theo grinned, pulling me into a bear hug. Well, alright.
Theo was still looking like his old self, which was good to see. Only last week, he’d been an unwashed hermit spending his days in a dusty old library. God knows what the mental and emotional effects would be long-term, but he seemed to be holding up okay for now. I guessed he’d popped over to see his old buddy, and to start mending the broken friendship. It was going to be a very slow process, I’d guess. He’d need counselling, maybe, and the support of his friends and family. Coming to Ohio must’ve been a big step for him. I bet he wanted nothing more than to run back to Craton and get back in his hidey-hole.
That’s when I noticed the stack of suitcases in the lobby.
Huh?
‘I could not stand another second in my home,’ Theo explained, as he pulled away and saw what I was looking at. ‘I could tell you the titles of all the books in there, and where every little creak in the floorboards were coming from. I was going stir-crazy. And also, one of Vince’s bitches just gave birth, so there’s pee and poop everywhere. I left Rhonda to deal with it all.’
For a second, I was dumbfounded that his weaselly brother Vince could even manage more than one, until I remembered he had dogs. Much more plausible.
‘I called up Shaun to apologize for my behavior and to thank him for your help,’ he went on, as my dad narrowed his eyes. Thank you, Theo. ‘I told him all about the situation, and he said I was welcome to stay here for as long as I wanted.’
I could tell by my dad’s expression that it hadn’t been a sincere offer, but Theo was clearly oblivious. He carried on talking, even though neither I nor my dad had yet to say a word to each other. I had a very vague recollection of Theo being the talker in the group. My dad just let him ramble, and their other friends Barbie and Ken had a sibling telepathy and tended to just share looks.
And I still didn’t remember seeing my mom in these memories.
‘He’s been telling me all about your therapy doodah, and I gotta say, I think it’s wrong,’ he frowned, causing my dad’s grimace to set in stone. Again, thank you, Theo. ‘I still don’t know how you knew what you did, but I don’t think that’s something you can push away. You can’t pretend it didn’t happen. It happened.’
‘Theo, I keep telling you, she’s ill,’ my dad said through gritted teeth. He was leaning against the doorframe, arms folded tightly; probably so he wouldn’t use his fists.
‘She ain’t ill, Shaun. She’s got a gift,’ Theo breathed, uttering the second worst g-word to use in this house.
As George stared at the scene perplexedly, I decided that this was obviously between two friends, and was nothing to do with me. Thus, it was easier to stand frozen and pretend I wasn’t actually there.
‘There is no gift. She made a few guesses and got it right. That’s all it’s ever been. Everything else has been lies.’
Ouch. I double-checked but my dad’s arms were still folded, so it had only been a verbal assault. Sure as heck didn’t feel like it.
‘You can’t honestly believe that. How do you explain that she knew the exact location of a guy my grandfather shot dead? Or that she knew my family history better than I ever could?’
My dad’s eyes full of misery swept over to me. I shrugged helplessly at him.
‘You told me that she broke into a safe,’ he said, not taking his eyes off me.
‘Yeah, that was after she’d said and done all of that.’
‘How do you know she didn’t do it twice?’
‘Because she didn’t,’ Theo said simply, as I managed to avoid my father’s gaze. I can’t believe he actually said that. Although, actually, I can. He’s never believed me. He’s always believed the worst of me, but never the truth. It’s like he wanted to believe I was a liar. He wanted everyone to know that.
Now, why would that be? Why would he try to convince people that I was a liar? Why was he afraid of somebody believing me?
Why am I asking these questions when I know the damn answer?
You know, maybe my father did want me out of the way. It was just an entirely different way that I thought.
‘You haven’t been around, Theo,’ my dad sighed, dramatically closing his eyes at the pain and injustice he’s suffered. ‘It’s not only that she “sees things.” It’s the things she does, too. Robbery, lying to cops. She has caused people to die. And she doesn’t care.’
You’re right, Dad. Causing deaths is something I’ve absolutely never cared about. You know, he’s never asked me how I felt after these things happened. It’s like he assumes I’m doing this purely for fun. He doesn’t see that every lucy has left me a little bit more broken than the last. He doesn’t talk to me. He talks at me.
And yeah, he did do the air quotes, too.
‘She just moves right onto the next one without even stopping for breath,’ he sneered.
‘I’m sure that ain’t true, Shaun, if you just-’
‘Theo, that’s enough,’ my dad barked, startling me. ‘Look, I know I offered you a place to stay, but now’s not a good time. My daughter’s in a bad place right now and we have a lot to discuss. Together, as a family. I think it might be best if you find a hotel instead.’
Theo was as shocked as I was. Shaun Mendes, the greatest guy in the world, refusing a friend in need? That was unheard of and completely against his character. Besides, we have eight bedrooms. I’m pretty sure we could have multiple guests here that I’d never even see.
Not wanting to argue, Theo dejectedly starting picking up his suitcases when I said it.
‘Dad, I want him to stay.’
‘What?’ he chorused with an equally baffled George. Even Theo looked surprised.
‘I want him to stay. It’ll be good for me to have somebody else to talk to,’ I explained. Somebody real, I wanted to sarcastically add, but I didn’t.
‘Are you sure? I mean, you’re going through a difficult time,’ he said again. I still didn’t know what it meant. I’d hardly call an hour-long therapy session once a week “difficult.”
‘Yes, I’m sure.’
Finally, my dad nodded and said it was okay. He helped a relieved Theo take his bags to his room, and I carried on with my previous plan of eating and lazing in my room.
‘Why?’ George asked when we were alone. I closed my door and put on a movie.
‘Because it’ll take the heat off me,’ I groaned. ‘I don’t want my dad on my back every moment, asking me how therapy’s going and how I feel. That’s a surefire way to cause a billion arguments. This way, he gets to catch up on old times and maybe Theo’ll put in a good word for me.’
Thankfully, George seemed to take that as gospel and didn’t question it. Most of that was a lie. The truth was, I didn’t want to be alone with my dad because I was afraid of him.
I didn’t even want to admit that to myself, let alone George.
I didn’t even know why I was afraid. I couldn’t pin it down. I just knew that it had something to do with my mom.
And Theo knew her.
I wanted to ask him about her. When my dad would be at work, we’d be alone. I’d get to maneuver the conversation around and ask the burning question on my mind.
Why the hell didn’t I remember her?
I was trying, I really was. Nothing was coming to me. I could swear that I’d never actually spoken to her.
Except at the same time, I couldn’t.
Okay, I felt like I was going to have an aneurysm. If I hadn’t already had one, that is.
I closed my eyes and tried to calm myself. Tomorrow. Forget everything, I’d start again tomorrow after a really long sleep. I’d take it slow and have a nice, long conversation with Theo about my mom. I’d finally find out what the big deal is.
After that, I could relax again until Monday when-
No. Wait. Leesha was coming back tomorrow.
And possibly Chief Rathers.
Crap, I’d almost forgotten about all that. Maybe my dad was right, and I was going through a rough time.
And as usual, it was all my own doing.