Chapter 168: Dad's Despair
I stomped down the hallway, foul humor pushing ahead of me like a wave. My foot was already on the step when something caught my eye. I paused, noticed the back door was open and went to investigate.
Dad sat on the bench just outside, looking off into the distance. My heart immediately softened. It wasn't his fault. I was sure Mom connived to keep all of this from me without him knowing. I eased my way out and took a seat next to him, pulling my knees up and hugging them in the warmth of the morning. The sky was super blue, not a cloud in sight, the air still. Perfect summer day.
That made the whole thing all the worse. It should have been raining, thunder clouds and sad skies to match his weary sorrow. I could feel it from him, my demon connecting with him easily. Even though he didn't have access to his demon power any longer, the fundamental core of him was still there and it welcomed her even if he didn't.
"Hey, cupcake." He tried a smile. It hurt so much to see him like this. He seemed weak to me. Pathetic almost. I smothered the feeling. No way was I judging my dad. Not after he'd risked everything, given up his life on Demonicon to save us.
"Hey, Dad." I leaned sideways, resting my head on his shoulder. Immediately he hugged me. We sat there for a moment, letting the quiet morning settle over us, the chirping of a couple of small birds at the feeder Gram set up a soft counterpoint to the beat of his heart in my ear.
"You must have things to do." He pulled away after a moment. "Go have fun, kiddo."
I punched him in the arm. "I like hanging out with you."
His smile barely made it into smile territory. "I'm not much fun these days, Syd."
"That's okay." I nudged him. "It is."
"Thanks." He leaned forward and kissed my forehead. "For everything."
Could he be more heartbreaking? "We'll get you home," I said with as much conviction as I could muster. "I promise."
Dad just smiled, though this time it was more authentic. "We'll figure it out," he agreed.
I wanted to draw him out more. But he fell silent after that and it just turned uncomfortable. I retreated back inside, finding Galleytrot waiting for me on the threshold. His long red tongue lolled out, eyes full of sympathy.
Sassafras was pacing across my bed with great impatience. "What happened?" He looked on edge, fur standing up on end, eyes a little wild. "Your mother won't tell me a thing."
"Where were you?" The fur ball took off sometimes, and I never knew where.
"Never mind that," he said. "Just tell me."
"Harry almost destroyed the house." Galleytrot glanced up at me. "Sorry, Syd, but it's true."
I fell into my desk chair. "I know. It's okay."
Sassy sighed. "No," he said, "it's not. But, there isn't much we can do about it."
"I don't believe that." I sat up straighter, glaring at my cat. "There has to be a way."
"What are you looking at me for?" He settled, fur shrinking to normal as he regained his calm. "Harry would know far more than I about these things."
Sometimes I forgot he was a teenager when he was transformed into a cat. My shoulders slumped. "So he's really trapped here?" It couldn't be true. As much as I loved my dad and wanted him around, it was the whole, happy dad I craved, not the remains of who he'd become parked on the bench outside like a guy who'd given up hope.
Sassafras suddenly looked as miserable as I felt. "I'm sorry," he said, ears flattening sideways, whiskers drooping. "I wish there was something I could do."
That was the problem, though. There wasn't anything anyone could do. We couldn't reach Dad's friend, Sassy's father, either. I'd hoped Sassy could cross the barrier himself to at least contact his father, but no luck. Even combined with my power, we just didn't have the connection we needed to break through without someone waiting for us on the other side.
I went to the bed, cradled Sassy in my arms, stroking his fur over and over. "It's not your fault," I said. "It's not anyone's fault." Well, okay. It was Demitrius Strong's fault, but the leader of the Chosen of the Light was most probably dead at the hands of his own people, his physical appearance altered permanently by my demon.
I set Sassy down and let him curl up on my pillow. This sucked. For now, all I could do was hope my parents could handle it. We'd gotten off easy with the whole explosion thing this time, but I wasn't so sure the neighbors could ignore it if the house turned into a mass projectile.
So this problem was out of my hands. But it reminded me I had another to deal with. Alison. And while she hadn't exactly turned our other friends against me, no one was really talking to me either. Except Pain, that was. But she was so busy working with Gram most of the time while I studied with Mom, I hardly saw her at all.
I took a long, hot shower, planning what I was going to tell Alison in my head, having whole conversations that either ended so badly I had to leave town or turned into a gushing cry fest. I could only hope the real encounter would be much less dramatic than my imagination stirred up.
Alison refused to answer her cell phone. I knew she had it on her. She slept with the thing. Neither did she answer the string of texts I sent her. And by string, I mean I sent one after another for a full three minutes with no response whatsoever.
I wasn't even going to bother trying Skype. That was it. No more Miss Nice Syd. She was going to hear me out if I had to pin her to the ground and force-feed her my story.
What was I planning to tell her? The truth. Yeah. I was really looking forward to it.
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