The Outcast

Chapter 20: Revelations

Chapter 20: Revelations

Nirvana Evans

To anyone observing this scene from the outside it would look completely hilarious. Every single one of our faces was etched with confusion. Yes, confusion was the only appropriate word to describe the situation in the room. River’s mom had just arrived home from her date with none other than Mr. Hendricks, who also happened to be Tara’s dad. He seemed almost as surprised to see me here as I was to see him. River was glancing between the two of us with shock probably wondering how in the world I knew his mom’s date and Ms. Quinn just looked curious as she observed the exchange of weird looks everyone was sharing.

“You know Ana?” River’s mom asked Mr. Hendricks finally. He was a tall man who was around the age of forty, like my parents. He had a decent amount of black silky hair that crowned his head and the same dark eyes that Tara possessed. Even with a slight hint of a beer belly that poked out from under his blue collared shirt he could still be considered good looking, for an old guy that was.  

“Yes she’s a friend of my daughter’s,” his reply almost made me chuckle. Me and Tara? Friends? Yeah, maybe that would happen- when hell froze over, unicorns took over the world and pigs started flying. That girl was one of the stubbornness people I had come across in all my years. That could explain why she and Hazel were starting to get along so well. They were both extremely obstinate creatures. Tara was the kind of person who laughed at the motto ‘Forgive and Forget’. She’d seek revenge like a hawk hunts its prey and once she had something set in her mind she would do everything in her reach to accomplish it. We were completely opposite.  

“What a coincidence, she’s my son’s friend too” Ms. Quinn said and when River cleared his throat she added “Oh and this is River”.

“Pleasure to meet you, boy” Mr. Hendricks offered his hand to River who in return eyed him up and down before accepting the handshake. I could tell from River’s facial expression that he wasn’t pleased to meet Mr. Hendricks at all and being called ‘boy’ wasn’t helping the situation.

“Do you want anything to drink, Henry?” Ms. Quinn asked her date.

“Some water would be fine, thanks love” he answered easily, taking a seat on one of the barstools on the kitchen. Ms. Quinn pulled out the water pitcher from the fridge and then went to grab a cup. When she stood up on her toes to reach for the cabinet, her black dress rose up a bit in the back and Mr. Hendricks stared shamelessly at her behind. River noticed this and he seemed to be growing more upset with the situation as the seconds ticked by.  

“Do you mind? Stop staring at her like that” River spit out annoyed. Ms. Quinn shot him a disapproving look while Mr. Hendricks, or Henry as she called him, wore an amused expression on his face.

“Protective son you got there” he said as she handed him a glass. River was about to say something else when I figured it was time to intercept the situation before it got worse.

“Well I should really be getting home. It’s almost past my curfew. River will you walk me to my door?” I asked him

“Of course” he replied right away. I said goodnight to the adults and we walked out into the cold night. The moon was full as she shinned her pale face down on us. There were only a handful of visible stars scattered across the black canvas of the sky. It was hard to notice them though when the moon stood there big and proud as she out shinned everything else in her way. The street lights flickered in fear, cowering under the powerful moonlight. She was the queen of our sky, at least until daylight broke out and the sun rose to take her place.