After Eden (24 page)

I went across to the living room. All the books that had been on the bookshelf were gone. So was the television. The coffee table and the sofa remained. I tried the light switch. Nothing. So they’d had the electricity disconnected.

I ran up the stairs and into the bathroom. A small pile of towels was still neatly stacked inside and a half-used bar of soap sat by the sink. I checked the tap. Water flowed. It seemed they’d cleared out most of the furnishings and thrown away most of their personal stuff, but a few pieces remained behind.

I went into Ryan’s bedroom. The bed had been stripped and the bedding was neatly folded at the foot of the bed. There was nothing of his in the room. No sketch pad or book or dirty mug. No trace of him whatsoever. I was just about to head back downstairs when I heard a car approaching. I looked out of the window and saw a black car pulling into the drive. It hadn’t occurred to me that anyone else would visit the farmhouse. But it made perfect sense. The house was empty. Presumably, Ben would have arranged for it to be sold. My heart ached at the thought of another family moving in. Of not being able to visit our apple tree. How long would I have? Days? Weeks? Months?

I didn’t like the thought of a real estate agent or lawyer finding me inside the house. The problem was, the back door just led into the backyard. There was no way back onto the lane without coming around to the front and heading down the driveway. There was nothing for it: I would have to face them.

I headed back down the stairs and up to the front door.
A man was facing away from me. He was bent over, pulling hard at something in the ground. Our apple tree. Why anyone would wish to destroy a tree was completely mystifying. But what was even more confusing was the person pulling it out of the ground. Because even though he had his back to me, I could tell immediately who it was: Travis.

I was just on the verge of running outside and yelling at him, when I stopped. Something wasn’t right. I backed away from the door and gently pushed it shut. My blood had turned to ice. I went back into the kitchen and stood near the window. He tossed the sapling onto the ground and continued digging. If he went any deeper, he would find our time capsule. The tree and the time capsule were the only permanent reminders of me and Ryan, the only mark we had left on the Earth.

And that was when I realized what was happening.

Travis pulled the time capsule out of the ground and tossed it onto the lawn next to the tree. He dropped the shovel and wiped his forehead with his sleeve. He turned to face the house. His face was pink from exertion and mud was smeared across his arms. I stepped back from the window.

I wasn’t sure if he had seen me or not. I’d only been there for about a second and it was much harder to see in through a window than out. I could run to the car, but he would probably intercept me on the way. Run out of the back door. That could work, but there was nowhere to hide. Hide in one of the rooms upstairs. But then if he found me, I’d be trapped. I had to face him.

I went to the front door and opened it. Travis was standing right in front of me.

“Hey, Travis!” I said, as though there was nothing that could have pleased me more than to bump into Travis at the farmhouse. “Did Miranda send you here to get me?”

“We need to talk,” he said.

“Can we talk at home? I was just leaving.”

Travis put one hand on the small of my back and pushed me gently, but firmly, inside.

“What’s going on, Travis?” I asked, trying to keep the fear out of my voice.

“I’m cleaning up your mess.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“I think you do.”

“Who are you?” I whispered.

“I’m sure you’ve worked that out by now. He told you everything else. He must have told you about the cleanup agents.”

I swallowed. Travis was Miranda’s boyfriend. They’d been together for months. He was a part of the family. When Ryan had mentioned cleaners, I’d imagined some sort of archvillain from a James Bond movie. Not Travis.

“We need to do some damage limitation,” he said, steering me into the living room. “We can start with this.”

He held a piece of paper in front of my face. My letter to Ryan. I grabbed for it, but Travis held it out of reach.

“Imagine if somebody else had found this.
By the time you read this, I will be long dead. Although my life will be over, only a day or two will have passed for you. It’s strange to think
of you out there, still young and handsome when I am dead and gone
.”

“Stop!” I said, my face burning.

Travis flicked open his lighter and held the flame to the end of the letter. I watched the paper char and then burn. He dropped the paper in the fire grate.

“How did you know about that?”

“I didn’t till I dug it up. I had to check, to make sure the two of you hadn’t done something stupid. I can’t believe he let you put that in there.”

“He didn’t know about it.”

“Sit down, Eden,” said Travis, gesturing toward the sofa.

“I’d prefer to stand.”

“Don’t worry. I’m not going to hurt you.”

I couldn’t imagine Travis hurting me. We’d shared so many meals together; we’d lazed around on the sofa with Miranda. He’d given me lifts into town. Maybe he wouldn’t hurt me. Perhaps he would trust me with their secrets, as Ben, Cassie, and Ryan had chosen to do. Perhaps not.

I sat down. “How did you know?”

“That you knew?”

I nodded.

“It’s my job to know these things. But truthfully, you made it easy. You started asking questions about time travel around the same time you became friendly with Orion Westland. It was obvious you had sussed him out. And then, the other night, of all the stars in the night sky, you chose Algol. You wouldn’t know this, but Algol is still
considered to be a binary star system in 2012. It’s not until 2045 that a third star was confirmed.”

“Are you going to kill me?”

He laughed. “I’m not going to hurt you. Like I said, we need to talk. I need to know just how much Westland told you. Wait here. I’ll get us a drink.”

He left the room. I could make a run for it. Try to get to the car. But I wouldn’t have much time and he might cut me off at the front door. I decided to stay put and wait for a better opportunity. Travis didn’t know I had learned to drive and he didn’t know I had the car key with me. I needed to sit tight and hope that he didn’t do something before I had the chance to put my plan into action.

“They haven’t left much behind, have they?” said Travis, coming back into the living room. “Very inconsiderate. But they left some beer.”

He twisted the tops off the bottles. “Where’s Connor?” His voice was soft, kind, unthreatening. He pushed one of the bottles into my hand.

I put it on the coffee table.

“I forgot,” said Travis with a smirk. “You don’t drink. Perhaps you should start. You look like you need to relax.”

“What do you want?”

“To talk.” He took a long swig from his bottle. “Where’s Connor?”

“I don’t know,” I said. “We had an argument last night. He’s not speaking to me.”

“What did you argue about?”

“I broke his telescope.”

Travis chortled. “Nice. Pass me your phone.”

“I don’t have my phone with me.”

“Stand up.”

“Why?”

“I’m going to pat you down and see whether you’re telling the truth.”

I didn’t want his hands anywhere near my body. I handed it over. Travis spent a couple of minutes looking at it and then dialed a number.

He passed it back to me. “Tell him to meet you here.”

I hung up. “No.”

I felt something hard hit the edge of my jaw with enough force to knock me sideways on the couch. A searing pain began to radiate along my face.

“I need to talk to Connor,” he said.

I sat up. My jaw ached and my mouth was dry. “Why? He doesn’t know anything.”

“I’ll be the judge of that.” He stormed out of the room.

I held my jaw. There was no blood and I could move my mouth, but the pain was intense.

“I’m sorry I hit you,” he said, coming back into the room. He placed a small wet hand towel against my jaw. He smelled like sweat and cigarettes, and the sour smell of beer lingered on his breath. “I don’t make a habit of hitting girls, but you were not being very cooperative.”

I took the towel from him and held it to the side of my face. He stared at me. For a few seconds I stared back. I’d never really looked at him before. He was Miranda’s smart-ass boyfriend. Not really worthy of my attention.
Now I really saw him. His upper body was broad; his blue T-shirt tight against his body, showing the outline of large biceps and pectorals. He obviously worked out or did some sort of physical activity. He could overpower me with one arm.

A sneer made its way up one side of Travis’s face. “Like what you see?”

I felt the old flush start on my chest. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“You were checking me out.”

“No, I wasn’t.”

“Ryan’s only been gone a few hours and already you’re looking for fresh meat. Nice dress, by the way.”

I looked up and caught his leer. Self-consciously I pulled at the hem of my dress, trying to make it longer. This was not the Travis I thought I knew. This was an entirely different person.

“Pass me your phone,” he said. “We’re going to do this again. And this time you’re going to tell Connor to haul ass over here.”

He dialed Connor’s number and passed me the phone.

“What do you want?” asked Connor.

The phone was on speaker.

“I need to see you.”

“I don’t want to see you.”

“Tell him it’s important,” Travis whispered in my ear.

“Please, Connor,” I said. “It’s important.”

“I have plans with Megan. I’ll call you in a few days.”

Travis shook his head.

“I really need to see you today. Please, Connor. You’re my best friend. I wouldn’t ask if it wasn’t important.”

Connor sighed into the phone. “We’re going to see a movie in a bit. It doesn’t finish till ten.”

Travis whispered in my ear again. “Tell him to take a taxi and you’ll pay the driver.”

“Take a taxi,” I said. “Meet me at Ryan’s farmhouse halfway down Trenoweth Lane. I’ll pay for the taxi.”

“What’s going on, Eden?”

“Just come here later, okay?”

I hung up.

“Good girl,” said Travis. He checked his watch. “We have a couple of hours to kill. I’m hungry. Are you hungry?”

“No. And Miranda is going to wonder where I am.”

“Let’s sort that out first then, shall we?”

He opened his own phone and dialed a number.

“Hey, baby,” he said. “I’m still working. I probably won’t get to see you until tomorrow.”

He was silent while Miranda said something on the other end of the line. For a second I considered shouting for help, but the pain in my jaw reminded me what could happen if I tried to pull something. I’d have to come up with a different strategy.

“I just saw Eden. She’s going to the movies with Connor and some other friends.”

I stared at him. He winked at me.

“She asked me to let you know she’ll be home late. I’ll see you tomorrow, baby. Love you.” He pressed a button to end the call.

“How could you pretend to like Miranda? How could you pretend to be our friend?”

Travis shrugged. “I arrived nine months before Ryan and the others. Nine months of just waiting around. That’s a long time to do nothing. I needed a friend.”

“Did you choose Miranda because she was my aunt?”

“Yes. She was my second choice. I briefly considered Connor’s mother, but she wasn’t my type.”

“You’re horrible. How can you do that to someone?”

“You’re just a kid,” he said. “You still believe in true love. One day you’ll realize that we’re all just looking for someone to keep us warm at night. But let’s talk about food. I’m starving. The only place that’s willing to deliver to this godforsaken hellhole is Perran Pizza. Ben was thoughtful enough to leave their menu by the phone. Choose something.”

The pizza arrived at eight o’clock. Travis went to the door to pay for the food. Connor would be here in two hours. Maybe the two of us would have a chance against Travis, but I doubted that.

I called him while Travis paid for the pizza.

“What now?” he said.

“Forget what I said earlier,” I said.

“Fine. You’re acting really weird.”

“I know. I’m sorry. Just don’t come to the farmhouse, okay?”

“Fine. I’ll call you in a few days.”

I hung up and slipped my phone back in my pocket, out of sight.

Travis carried two boxes of pizza into the living room. “Cheese for you and meat feast for me,” he said, placing both boxes on the coffee table.

“I’ll go and get us plates,” I said.

He didn’t try to stop me. I went into the kitchen and took two plates from the cupboard. Then I quickly looked through the cupboards and drawers for something I could use as a weapon. There was nothing. No bread knives or meat knives. Just ordinary knives and forks. I was about to settle for a fork when I noticed a corkscrew with a sharp end. It might do a good job on a cork, but I wasn’t sure it could harm a strong man. It was all I had to work with so I put it in my pocket next to my keys.

Back in the living room, I handed one of the plates to Travis.

“I’m going to get another beer,” he said. “Sure I can’t tempt you?”

I shook my head. He returned with two more bottles. He’d already drunk the bottle from earlier as well as the bottle he’d brought for me. If he drank these, that would be four. Maybe he would drink too much and pass out. I looked at him again. He was big. Lots of muscle. The bigger you were, the more alcohol you could tolerate without becoming drunk. It would take a lot for Travis to pass out. But perhaps if he drank enough, he would get sloppy. And then I could stab him with the corkscrew. Would it do enough damage if I could? Maybe if I went for a soft place like the inside of his nose or his eye it would hurt him enough for
me to make a run for it. What if he overpowered me and stabbed me instead?

“You’re checking me out again,” he said with a grin. “We have a couple of hours to kill. I wouldn’t say no if you’re interested.”