Normality, Thy Name is Lynette

Chapter Ten

We finally got to Texas in the middle of the day. It was hot, like always and I found that after being in Canada, I didn’t like it. Darian and I got off the plane and got into the airport. We bought a Starbucks and I sat down shakily. Darian kind of looked at me funny, but decided that he shouldn’t risk it. He was full of good ideas today. I reluctantly asked for Darian’s cell phone.

“No.” He said stubbornly. I raised my eyebrows.

“Do you want to get home or not?” I asked.

“Go use a payphone!” He said, annoyed.

I glared at him. “I don’t like payphones.” I complained. I knew I was being ornery, but I didn’t care. There would be plenty of sucking up to him later. He scowled at me.

“Look, Keegan may have gotten some power back, but that doesn’t mean that the Warren can’t snatch us up in a heartbeat.” He was whispering, “We still can’t use cell phones.”

I sighed and went to the payphone. Darian was on my heel. I punched in the number and my stepmom answered. That was all I needed. “Hello,” she said.

“Hey Mom” I said.

“Oh, hey Lynette, where are you?” She sounded a little annoyed that it was me. I clenched my fist.

“Oh, well the school year has ended and I am in the Dallas airport to spend the summer with you and Dad.” I said. The line was silent for a while.

“Well, Lynette, you should have called. We aren’t exactly prepared.” She said.

I couldn’t believe it. That was the house I had lived in for ten years of my life and she was trying to say that she wasn’t prepared. I gritted my teeth.

“Sorry mother. But, I need someone to pick me up. Could Dad come and get us?” I asked.

She sighed impatiently. “Yeah, okay. He’ll be there in about thirty minutes. Bye.”

She hung up the phone and I hung it up with a thud. Darian looked at me worriedly. “What abou-“

“It’s fine. I’ll tell my Dad when he gets here.” I said.

Darian looked around, a little uncomfortable. “Umm, do you want to go outside?” He asked.

I nodded and stood up with my arms still crossed.

“So, is your stepmom not very pleasant?” He asked. I guess he was trying to make me feel better.

“What do you think?” I asked.

“Ouch. Sorry about that.” He said.

I nodded. We walked on in silence. Darian didn’t want to bother me and I was deep in thought. As we went out of the door, I realized something.

“Huey can aura-read or something, right?” I asked.

He shushed me and I quickly apologized. He nodded. “Yes.” He answered briskly.

I gave a little “Ah-ha!”

“So THAT’S how he knew my parents were divorced. He could read my aura and tell that about me.”

Darian nodded and looked at me funny. “Umm, yeah, ok Lynette that’s great, but can we please stop talking about the Warren? It’s making me nervous. And PLEASE don’t talk about it around your folks.” He said.

“Oh, yeah sure, okay.”

I was in a better mood now that I had figured something out. We waited on a bench until I saw my Dad’s green BMW drive up. It sounds fancy, but it was a hand-me-down from way back. He got out of the car and I took a deep breath. It was all I could do to stop myself from throwing up in the trash can. Darian took a deep breath too and laced his hand through mine. He squeezed my hand and this time I was actually glad of the comfort he was trying to give. I walked up to my Dad and plastered a smile on my face.