Normality, Thy Name is Lynette

Chapter Forty

          Oh how sick I was of this! Honestly, can I not have one moment when some creep isn’t trying to kidnap or kill me or whatever the hell it is they wanted to do to me. And why is Enide helping him?! Has she been helping him this whole time? I just didn’t care anymore. I swirled around, smashing my fist into Rommuel’s face and then running like the devil himself was going to be chasing me.

          I slid down the attic ladder and just sprinted in a direction. I had no idea where I was. I had never been up in this part of the building before. I considered screaming for help… but the last time I did that, someone ended up dead. I looked back to see if anyone was following me, I collided with another person. Screaming I tried to rush around them, but they grabbed me, saying, “Calm down, Lynette. What’s going on?”

          I actually looked up and found that it wasn’t Odion as I had expected but Keegan. Even so, I broke out of his arms and backed away slowly, my eyes wide like a deer in headlights until I got to a cross section of hallways. I booked down a different one than the way I had come from the attic or the way I had come from Keegan or the supposed Keegan. I was determined not to fall for that trick again, and since I knew Rommuel was here, I wasn’t going to trust anyone or anything.

          My legs were starting to give up on me, but there were more people shuffling about now that I was on lower levels of the building. I found Rain leaving Maria’s room and grabbed his arms. “What did you come into my room looking for this year?” I asked him, while thinking, “Don’t say shampoo.” If it was Odion, he would say shampoo and if it was actually Rain, he obviously wouldn’t say that.

          “Uh… pudding?” he asked me in slight confusion.

          I hugged him saying, “Thank god it’s actually you.”

          He put a hand to my forehead while asking if I was okay.

          “No, I just ran here. Enide came up to me and told me that I needed to go with her, that it was important, in retrospect I should have never followed her, but I did and she led me to the attic where none other than Rommuel was up there and Enide starting crying saying she was sorry so I don’t know why she did it but that’s not the point and anyway now I’m freaking out that Odion’s here too disguised as Keegan or you or someone and I don’t know what to do.” I finished, finally taking a breath.

          “I think that was the longest sentence I have ever heard.” Rain laughed slightly, but not like he would have used to, before putting his serious face back on. “We need to find Seamus and Keegan and Ace… never mind… You go look for Keegan; I’ll find Seamus.”

          He began to leave and I grabbed his shoulder. “I’m scared. I don’t want to be by myself.”

          “We learned last time that I can’t save you, Lynette.”

          “You did though.” I said quietly.

          “How?”

          “You bought me time I didn’t have. If you hadn’t barged in, I would have been shot within the next thirty seconds and would have just bled to death, not to be found for hours.”

          “I never looked at it like that.”

          We walked together down the corridor in silence. Rain seemed to be pondering something. He hit the wall. “I am the reason he’s dead.”

          “What?”

          “Chain reaction of events. I bought you time, they came to save you, and then he got shot. I was the reason he was even in that room.” He gave me this glare. "I’m not saying I regret saving you…”

          “Stop. I already know that if it wasn’t for me, he would be alive. You don’t need to tell me. And just because you don’t say something, doesn’t mean I can’t tell that you’re thinking it. Let’s just go find Keegan or Seamus.”

          He nodded at me with the same glare. It was absolutely awful. His eye felt like they were ripping out my very soul and it hurt. Rain, the lighthearted one who I thought didn’t even know the meaning of the word hatred, now loathed my very existence. No longer did I care about Rommuel or Odion, I just wanted to cry in a corner. Better yet, let them find me. Anything would be better than this.

          Keegan had found us shortly enough, having followed me down here. Rain gave him a little test similar to mine which he passed. He came over to me and asked, “What was with you in the hallway?”

          “I’m sorry… I was being hunted down by Rommuel like some piece of meat and I wasn’t thinking straight.” I couldn’t tell him that I didn’t trust him and thought he had been Odion; it would break him.

          It took us longer to find Seamus and by then we had run into a couple of the others and said to be on the lookout. Seamus told us not to worry. They were going to find him and arrest him. I don’t know who “they” was, but I had little faith in them. Also, he was rounding up all the children, who included us, and putting us in room where we would be safe until the threat was dealt with. Enide was not allowed to join us if she was found and would be immediately arrested upon being found.

          Rain, Keegan, and I were the first in said “safe” room. Rain apologized, “I’m sorry about accusing you this morning Lynette, just by the way.”

          “Not all that angry about it, Rain, but since you didn’t believe me, you can ask Keegan here.”

          “Ask Keegan what?”

          “What base have you and Lynette gotten too?” Rain put it as politely as possible.

          Keegan blushed, embarrassed, and it was absolutely adorable. “First…”

          “Oh wow. Lynette, are you Catholic or something?”

          “No…”

          “You two have issues. Just saying.”

          Keegan raised his eyebrows. “Coming from the guy that took a year to kiss his girlfriend.”

          “We were thirteen when we started dating, give me a break!

          “And another year to get to second base.”

          “You’ve never even gotten to second base!”

          “Yeah, but who was I going to go to second base with? Cassidy? I think not! You say that I’m in a slow relationship, but mine is moving a whole lot faster than yours ever did.” He teased.

          Rain laughed. “Okay I get it. We’ll leave you alone about it from now on. Except Slade, I’m assuming.”

          “You’ll never get him to stop, don’t worry about it.” I said.

          Rain laughed like he used to, but while he was laughing, he managed to remain glaring at me. I scooted closer to Keegan feeling uncomfortable around Rain, actually he was kind of scaring me.

          Maria was holding onto someone’s arm to walk into the room. She still wasn’t feeling good and needed all the help she could get. She looked terrible and it made me feel terrible once again.

          She and her escort walked into the room. Who should be her escort other than Rain? But that wasn’t possible. Rain was sitting next to me. He had passed my test, a test with Keegan, and then acted exactly how Rain would have acted. Except, his eyes, they were always filled with hate.

          “Hello love.” He whispered into my ear. I tried to move away, but he picked me up and used me as a shield while getting out the oh-so-trusty revolver. He shifted into the Odion I remember. “Any of you move or scream or whatever it is that you think might help her and I will be wearing her brains as an accessory. I just bought this shirt and I would prefer not to ruin it.”

          I give up. I just can’t win.