Fluorescence: The Complete Tetralogy (34 page)

I hopped off the platform and took Alice by the waist to help her down. Kareena plopped onto the ground beside us and gave me a dirty look. I would have helped her, too… if she had waited.

I knelt down, scooped up a handful of metallic confetti and shoved it into my pocket. Alice and Kareena tugged pieces from their hair.

“What now?” Alice asked, wrapping her arm around mine.

“I don’t know. We should get inside. Warm up in case we’re stuck here for much longer.”

“Yeah. Good idea.”

Kareena made a dash toward an open restaurant across
the street. We followed her, purposely lagging behind several
feet so we could talk.

“Been a crazy night, huh?” I said.

“Yeah.”

“I’m glad you’re with me, Alice. No matter how crazy things get, I’ll be okay if I have you.”

We paused in the middle of the street and side-stepped a man sweeping with a wide industrial broom. Alice looked up at me. I flicked a flake of silver paper from above her ear.

“I’m so tired,” she said with a groan. “Starting people makes me exhausted. I need to go home.”

“I know. And we will. As soon as they—”

“Are you coming or what?” Kareena shouted at us from the doorway of the restaurant.

Alice opened her mouth to respond and then froze, her eyes widening. The pavement beneath me vanished and I covered my ears against Alice’s high-pitched scream.

The sudden return of my sense of smell overwhelmed me.

It took a moment to acclimate.

“Alice!” Jane grabbed her daughter’s hands and shook her gently. “Alice! You’re home.”

Sam stood in the hallway, jaw dropped, eyes huge.

“Oh my God!” she shrieked and rushed over. “Are you okay, Alice? Ohmigod! Ohmigod! Ohmigod!”

“She’s fine, Sam,” I said, putting a hand on Alice’s shoulder.
“Aren’t you?”

Alice looked up. “Yeah.”

Being moved between places on earth was jarring as hell. Bright white light didn’t blind us and we didn’t lose our breath like we did when we were taken to see the Saviors, but the change in atmosphere was always sickening.

“Where were you two?” asked Jane. “You’ve been gone for hours!”

“You missed the ball drop in Times Square and everything!”
Sam shook her head and pointed at the TV.

I reached into my pocket and pulled out some confetti. “No, we didn’t,” I replied, lifting my hand up in front of Sam and releasing rainbow fragments into the air. They drifted down to the floor.

Jane gasped. “Oh my God! You were in…” She covered her mouth.

“Times Square. Yeah.”

Sam perked up. “You were there with—”

“You know the platform he broadcasts from? The one with the big logo on the floor?”

Sam’s eyes widened even more.

“We were sitting there, right behind him, watching the ball drop,” Alice said.

“Holy cow! You guys were in Times Square on New Year’s! Wow!”

“It’s not as fun as it sounds, Sam,” Alice said with a long face and a tired glance at her friend. “Really. It wasn’t. These jackets…”

“I was just about to ask about them,” said Jane.

“We… kind of stole them.”

“What? No.” Jane pulled back. “You didn’t! Alice!?”

“Yeah.” I flipped over the sleeve of my coat and revealed the magnetic security tab attached at the cuff. “We had to or we would have frozen out there.”

“Don’t worry, Mom, no one saw us,” said Alice
.

“But what if they had?” Jane continued. “Then what?”

Alice hunched over, put her head down and tangled her hands together.

“You weren’t there, Jane,” I raised my voice in Alice’s defense. “You don’t understand the circumstances.”

Jane crossed her arms. “I know, but…”

“No. You don’t know!” I shook my head. “You don’t know how it feels when we get pulled out of one place and dropped into another. You don’t know what it feels like to be trapped in a foreign place where no one can see or hear you but the two people you’re trapped with. We wouldn’t have done it if we didn’t have to.”

Jane remained silent for a few moments and then shrugged. “I’m sorry.” She frowned. “You’re right, Brian. I don’t understand, but I’m trying to do the best I can. I’m sorry you have to go through all of this, but please don’t get so upset with me. I’m sorry I can’t stop all of this from happening to you.”

“I need to go to bed, Mom.” Alice reached out to touch Jane’s arm. “I’m so exhausted I can’t stay up any longer.”

“What? But there’s still a few hours until midnight here,”
Sam whined. “You’re not going to wait up with me?”

Alice had told me how she and Sam spent every New Year’s Eve together. How they stayed up until midnight every year and stuffed their faces with junk food, played charades, and acted like goof balls.

That was, until the Saviors changed everything.

“I’m sorry, Sam,” Alice said, looking away guiltily. “I
really
need sleep now. I’m burned out. New York City was really cold and crowded. I just want to go to bed, okay?”

“Alright. I’m sorry.” Sam reached out to give Alice a hug. “I’ll be on the couch if you need anything tonight.”

“The couch?” I cocked an eyebrow. “Why the couch?”

“Because you’re hogging the guest room, stupid.” Sam propped a hand on her hip and shot me a dirty look. “Duh.”

True. If I’d only taken a second to actually think about the situation. It seemed kind of wrong to make Sam sleep on the couch, though. It wasn’t that comfortable, really. I’d done it before and ended up with aches in places I hadn’t realized could hurt. It also felt wrong of me to ask to switch beds with Sam, seeing how I wasn’t
her
boyfriend.

“
Alice,” I said. “Why don’t you sleep in my bed
downstairs?
Then Sam can have yours. I’ll sleep on the couch.”

Alice shrugged. “Oh, um, okay. Is that okay with you, Sam?”

Sam nodded. “Sure. Whatever.”

“Well, I’ll see you guys in the morning,” said Alice. “I’m going to grab some things from my room and then head to
the basement. Goodnight, Mom.” She hugged Jane and kissed
her on the cheek. Sam hugged her once again for good measure and this time wouldn’t let go without a fight.

Then Alice came up to me.

“Goodnight, Brian,” she said with a tired, caring little grin. “I love you.”

I leaned over and kissed her briefly.

“I love you, too. Sleep well, okay? I’ll be here if you need anything.” I watched her leave the living room.

Sam heaved a sigh and groaned beneath her breath. “Well, this is no fun anymore. I guess I’ll get ready for bed, too. Goodnight, guys. I’ll see you all in the morning.” She slouched over and meandered toward the staircase.

I felt guilty about the whole thing, even though it wasn’t my fault at all.

No one had known this would happen.

No one could have stopped it.

Jane and I remained downstairs.

After several minutes of New Year’s Eve coverage from a local station, she picked up the remote, clicked off the TV, and leaned back in her chair.

“Well, now I don’t feel like staying up anymore either,” she said and then inhaled a deep breath and puffed out her cheeks. “Worrying about you guys wiped me out. I need some rest, too.”

“I’m sorry, Jane. And I’m sorry we had to resort to stealing.”

“Don’t be, Brian. It’s not your fault. I realize that.” She shook her head. “I wish you guys didn’t have to go through this.”

“I hope we won’t have to deal with it for too much longer,” I said, trying to be optimistic.

“Do you need anything else, Brian? I can get you some extra pillows or whatever you want. I know it’s not as nice
as the bed downstairs, but after everything that’s happened…
I want to be sure you get some sleep.”

She knew I didn’t sleep well when things got weird. Last time—after we’d come back from Vegas—I’d hardly slept at all for days. The most I had gotten in one night was the few hours with Alice on the couch, and even that had been near to nothing.

Maybe it wasn’t right to ask, but I certainly wasn’t about to start sneaking around behind Jane’s back. The truth was, everything was easier with Alice beside me.

“What are you afraid of, Jane?” I blurted, as a sudden
urge to stop stifling my real feelings won control of my mouth.

“What? What do you mean?”

Alice slipped through the hallway across from the living room and then disappeared down into the basement. I knew she wouldn’t be able to hear our conversation from there.

“If… Alice and I… If we stayed in a room together instead
of—”

“No.” She shook her head violently. “Absolutely not. No. I won’t have it. It’s wrong.”

“What makes you think she and I haven’t—”

“Shut up, Brian. Please. Just shut up.” She squeezed her eyes closed and turned away from me, biting her lower lip angrily.

“Alice needs someone to protect her. Someone who knows
what it’s like to have this freaking curse.”

“And sleeping with her is going to change that?”

“We’re beyond that, Jane. Besides, I’m not asking for your permission…”

“Brian. No! You two aren’t married. I’m her mother and I don’t have to listen to anything you say. This has nothing to do with keeping Alice safe.”

“It has everything to do with keeping Alice safe!” I stood
up from the couch and clenched a fist unconsciously. Her eyes went wide at the gesture, and she gasped, offended. “Listen
to me, Jane.” I lowered my voice and flexed open my fingers. “I know you’re worried. I know you’re scared for your daughter, but I need to be there. I need to be with her—close.”

“Or what?” She shot out of her chair and glared.

I knew I was on thin ice, but I didn’t care anymore. Jane couldn’t just throw me out. That might expose my fluorescence and, in turn, put her own daughter in danger. Either that, or social services would come asking questions.

I couldn’t stop thinking about Alice—about how anxious I became when she wasn’t there—when I couldn’t grasp her hand. Always on edge. Always alert. It was wearing me thin.

“After we returned from Vegas,” I started, “I barely slept at all for days. Every time I tried, I ended up waking in a cold sweat, fearing for Alice—scared to death she might disappear or be hurt in the middle of the night and no one would even notice. I know there’s nothing I can do to stop the Saviors, but I need to be able to reach out and know she’s still there—that she’s safe. She needs me, too. To feel protected.”

“I can protect her just fine, Brian!”

“Really? Were you there when she hit the pavement in Las Vegas?”

“What’s happened to you?” Jane scowled, narrowing her eyes at me. “Who are you?”

“I’m the exact same person I’ve been since you met me, Jane. But I’m living a very different life. And so is your daughter.”

There was a long awkward silence. Jane took a step back and the look on her face changed into something between confusion and fear. She fell back into her recliner, shaking her head. Her expression softened and her eyes started to water.

“I… I don’t want to betray your trust in me, Jane. I’m only trying to be honest.”

She remained quiet.

I started to wonder if the next words out of her mouth would be a request for me to go. Somewhere. Anywhere. Just to get the hell out of her house. To leave her and her daughter alone.

But this was Alice’s mother. Not mine.

“I’ve never had to deal with a situation like this before,” she said, looking down at her hands in her lap. “The only thing I have to go on is what I learned from the mistakes I made when
I was her age. I never thought I’d be arguing with a sixteen-year-old about how to care for my own daughter.”

“I’m not trying to argue. You’re a good mother and you’ve done all you can for her. It’s time you trusted someone else with that responsibility for a change.”

She fell silent again.

I swallowed hard and watched her consider my words. She looked worried, defeated even. I hadn’t been trying to
push her to the edge, but I had. I’d only
wanted her to understand how I felt.

“And you are absolutely right, Brian.” She looked me in the eye. “I can’t protect her like this. Not from them. You’re the only one she has when they take her. You and that girl, Kareena, who I don’t really trust.” Tears glistened on her cheeks and she sucked in a muffled breath. “I didn’t want to admit it, but I can’t protect my own daughter anymore.”

“I will.”

“I know you will, Brian,” she said, sniffling. “And that’s what hurts the most. Knowing you’ll probably do a better job of keeping her safe than I will.” She grabbed a tissue from the box on the coffee table and blew her nose.

I felt a little relief in hearing her finally admit it.

. . .

Five minutes until midnight.

Jane had gone to sleep a while ago. I lay stretched out on the couch, my head on a stack of pillows that weren’t nearly as comfortable as my own, staring at the textured ceiling. Silence filled the room, until the heater kicked on and the vent in the living room began to rattle.

I pushed up from the couch and headed toward the basement door. My fingers grasped the knob and turned it slowly, so it wouldn’t squeak. The stairwell was dimly lit by soft yellow lights along the guardrail. At the base of the stairs, I entered the guest room just off to the side. The door had been left open. Alice was fast asleep on the bed, her fingers wrinkling up the edge of my pillow.

I crept onto the bed and lay down on my side, facing her. She stirred for a moment and then nestled her head against the pillow. I brushed my fingertips over her cheek and her eyes eased open.

“Happy New Year, Alice,” I whispered, and leaned over to kiss her. She exhaled a sigh and reached her hand out to stroke the side of my neck.

“Happy New Year, Brian.”

A single breath of her scent made my heart flutter. Her warm touch soothed my nerves. There beside her, I felt whole again.