The Coming | The House of Voices #2

Three - Gone

Gone

One of the advantages to being forced to snuggle up to Parish was that I no longer felt the cold. The gentle waves of body heat that touched me from between the thin material of his shirt were greatly appreciated. We walked as quickly as we dared to, not wanting to attract unwanted attention, especially after what had happened with that lady back at the electronics store.

The longer we walked, the more prominent the scent of moisture grew in the air. Rain was coming. I could smell it.

“Quit it, would you?” Parish mumbled.

“Quit what?” I asked, squinting up at him. It was growing dark quicker than we’d anticipated.

“Sniffing the air every few minutes. People are starting to stare.”

I felt my eyes widen in horror. “I wasn’t doing that!” I retorted indignantly.

He studied my face for a moment and, after deciding that I wasn’t feigning ignorance, laughed out loud. “About five times now.”

“Oh my God. Why didn’t you say anything the first time?” I demanded, trying my level best to ignore the blush of embarrassment that was creeping up my cheeks.

He shrugged in reply, offering no answer.

Grumpy now, I pouted for almost a block. “How much further?” I asked, when I was certain we were well into Georgetown.

“About two minutes.” He replied. He lifted his arm up and pointed. “It’s at the end of that little lane over there.”

Nodding, I let him lead the way in silence, thankful that we hadn’t encountered anyone so far. Random ladies might be able to believe that he just “happened” to look like the boy on the news, but his neighbors would probably know better than that.

By the time we reached his home, it was dark enough that we didn’t have to worry about people identifying us from across the street, but I shoved him into a little side lane besides a seemingly empty house, just to be on the safe side. He crashed into his neighbor’s wall with a surprised yelp.

“What the hell did you do that for?” He hissed, rubbing his elbow where it grazed the brick surface of the wall.

“Sorry. I didn’t want to take a chance.”

“No one really comes out of their homes after five.” He insisted, trying to push past me and step back out onto the sidewalk. “We’ll be fine.”

I shook my head and placed a firm hand on his chest, giving him a push back. He stopped walking, but didn’t budge at the push. “Just humor me, okay? Stay here and let me go speak to your dad. You can join me once I give the all-clear.”

He looked unsure. “No way. I’m coming with you.”

“Parish, come on. I’m only going across the road, not across the state. You’ll be able to see me from here. Just… chill, okay?”

I tried to walk away before he had time to argue, but I failed. “What are you even going to say to him? My dad?”

“I don’t know.” I admitted. “I’ll think of something. Improvise.”

“Improvise? Right.” He snorted. “You’re just going to get tossed back in Abercoster’s.”

“Um, hello, what makes you think I’m going to tell him I’m from there? I’m not an idiot, Parish. Give me some credit.”

He groaned. “Fine. Go alone then. But I swear, if you get caught or something—”

“—You’ll kill me. I know.”