The Hades Throne

Chapter 6 - Home

"You guys did all this? You've got to be fooling me." I exclaim, dropping my bags at the door and gazing around in wonder.

"Not fooling you, Adalia. We did it, all of it." Leaning against the door frame is Marli, who assures me with a resolute nod.

I am standing in what was once the upper level of an old book factory, which is now the residence for Toby, Marli and Jacob. It is an impressive open, warehouse type room, the areas segregated by their respective furniture. Pressed to one side is a tiny kitchen, no more than a counter, fridge and microwave.

"Oh, that is so cool." I say to the television projector.

Heading on through the kitchen is what could be called the living area. The furniture is a mix-matched ensemble, ranging from torn bean bag chairs to a 1970s leather couch. The other side of the space has three single beds with thick built comforters. Dust spackled, sun lightened wood underlines the room, and open beam work oversees it all.

"You should see what people throw away. It's a waste." Toby explains.

"Yeah most people are a waste." Marli sneers, sidetracked.

Toby gives her an inclined glare, reading deeply into her message, but his stare is laced with something else besides prickly annoyance.

Toby gives me a tour of what can't be seen from the main room, which consists of a tight bathroom, a potato-chips and chocolate stocked pantry, and a back staircase that leads down to the main floor.

"No one uses it anymore. It used to be the book factory's store front, but upstairs is better for living than the downstairs." Toby explains, regarding the bottom most floor. "It's kinda like our garage."

We end in the living area, where Jacob and Marli are lounging on the leather couch. Toby falls into a browned arm chair. Someone turns on the projector, and the screen lights up with a rerun of a sitcom.

I'm still too focused on absorbing my surroundings to be interested in the television show. "Who's this?" I pick up a photo of a young blond girl standing with a similar featured man.

Marli shuffles her purple and aqua died hair out of her face, and comes over to look at the photograph. "Me and my dad."

I take another glance at the photo. The similarities are resounding in the captured moment. "He looks just like you. Are you two close?"

She averts her gaze, studying her nails with over strained closeness. The water in the cup in her hand suddenly spirals into a mini whirl pool, and I would be shocked had I not known about her power over water. "No. Not really. That's why I live here and not with him."

There's a dragging silence, and I pass my weight back and forth on my feet in agitation. Her words have something hidden under their floorboards, another message I don't seem to be getting. Toby and Jacob do, though. Toby picks himself up and walks over to the fridge.  Jacob shifts in his chair as if he is sitting on a brick, and gazes longingly at where is friend has gone.

Jacob, looking increasingly awkward as the moments pass, asks, "So, Adalia, what about your parents?"

Now it is my turn to look out of place. I return the frame of Marli and her father back to the coffee table. "My dad has passed on and my mother is in police custody." I answer bluntly. Toby comes back over, watching our exchange like he is a spectator to a game of tennis to the death.

"Oh."

"That sucks for reals." Marli says and reaches out to place a comforting hand on my shoulder. It is only when she makes contact, and a set of words flash through my mind that I flinch violently away. But I can't miss it, and this time, unlike before, it sends a terror of pain through my brain.