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I stared out the window as my mother drove home. She didn’t ask any questions until she parked in the driveway, and then she turned in my direction and started the grand inquisition.
“Stop, Mom!” I yelled after the fiftieth question fired my way.
“What did Father Michael say?”
“He doesn’t have a clue how to stop a rogue reaper. But he did give me an idea of where I can find a reaper,” I said and opened the door to escape the confines of the car.
She grabbed my arm and I hesitated, looking back at her worried gaze. “Nick...”
“Mom, I told you, I need to stop this war and the only way I can think of to stop them is to find an ally who knows something about reapers.”
“There has to be another way,” she said.
“I don’t think there is another way and if I don’t do anything, a lot of innocent people will die.” I finally said it out loud and the responsibility of the statement hit with the full force of a hurricane, I melted into the seat with the weight of it.
“Nick, this isn’t your fight.”
But it was and whether she liked it or not, I had to see it through. Instead of worrying her, I just nodded and slipped out of the car. While I wanted to just stick my head in the sand and forget about the last few days, I couldn’t.
I glanced toward Julia’s house and she waved to me from her front porch. I sent her a wave and retrieved my backpack from the front hallway.
“Mom, I’m heading over to Julia’s for a while, okay?” I announced and didn’t wait for the answer. I just took off, leaving her at the front door with thoughts of danger racing around in her mind.
“Hey, Nick,” Julia smiled and stood as I approached her front steps. “Are you okay?”
I nodded and dropped my bag on the stairs, pulling her to me in a warm hug. I closed my eyes and inhaled, losing myself in her sweet scent. Her body molded to mine, warming the cold center of dread in my stomach.
“Who was that at your house yesterday?”
I stiffened in her arms and pulled away, avoiding her gaze. Instead, I looked at my house and shoved my hands in my pockets, unsure of how to answer her.
“Did he have something to do with your Grandmother?”
“No.” I shifted my weight and looked back at her. “Not directly,” I said and fidgeted, uncomfortable with the way she was studying me just waiting. Instead of answering, I picked up my bag. “You ready to head to the library?”
“Nick.”
I turned back to her. “What?”
“He scared me,” she whispered.
The innocence of that comment made me smile. Death should scare her, he had no right to be around such a beautiful girl. “I know. You ran out of the house like it was on fire.”
She smacked my arm and the humor lit up her eyes. “Now you’re just making fun of me.”
“Ayup.” I grinned at her and hooked my arm around her waist, leading her down the walkway.
We made it halfway to the library before she asked again. “Seriously, who was that man?”
I sighed. “That was my father.”
Julia stopped. “Your what?”
“Turns out my father is alive and well and he decided to pay us a visit,” I said and kept walking, afraid of actually seeing her reaction. It took a moment before her hand grabbed the crook of my arm, yanking me around to face her. Shock outlined her wide eyes underlined by a subtle shade of fear and I offered up a smile I was sure would just stoke those fires.
“Your father is alive?”
Debatable, but I wasn’t about to say that out loud, instead I nodded.
“He smells like a fire.”
Reverting to all the stories I was told growing up, I shrugged. “He was a firefighter. My mom told me he died when the World Trade Center collapsed.” He and his entire unit perished when the North tower fell and now I wondered how much of that was true or whether he was there to shepherd them to whatever comes next after your heart stops beating.
I realized the latter was probably more of the truth than what my mom told me, but now I was curious. I filed that question away for later tonight and focused back on Julia. She was talking and I missed what she said.
“I’m sorry Jules, I’m still a little out of it. This whole thing is screwing with my mind.”
She offered a hint of a smile and wrapped her arm in mine. “I bet. I thought he died?”
We crossed Main Street heading toward the library and I glanced at the sign for York Hospital and slowed my pace. I needed to find a reaper but I didn’t want to drag Julia into it.
“What’s wrong?”
I turned back toward Julia. “Nothing,” I said and then glanced at the sign again. “I just need to make a quick stop before we go to the library.” I pointed toward the hospital and got a raised eyebrow in response.
“The hospital?”
I nodded without an explanation and prayed she wouldn’t push for an answer.
“What’s at the hospital?”
Looks like God was ignoring my prayers these days. “I need to see if I can find someone, but I’ll drop you off at the library first.”
“I don’t mind going with you.”
Julia liked an adventure and the hospital qualified as just that for her. I knew there was only one way to discourage her. “It’s my father...”
Her footfalls slowed and I glanced at her, wondering just how much meeting him had affected her. I got my answer a moment later with an attempt at a smile. “I guess I could wait at the library for you.”
I escorted her down the hill between the Dairy Mart and Rick’s Café parking lots to the library. I savored the feel of her soft, warm lips on mine in the entryway and when I broke contact, an emptiness filled the space warmth had occupied. “I won’t be long,” I said, and before I could change my mind, I headed out toward the hospital.