Page 272 of Nobody's Girl

My heart and mind have been numb for a month. A solid month with no real emotions flowing through me. My parents have accused me of using drugs. My father asked if I was smoking pot and my mother cried. She blames Ally for the change in my behavior.

Mom was never an Ally fan, for reasons I’ve never been clear on. My mom thinks Laura hung the moon and was so happy when we started seeing each other. They hang out a lot, going shopping and to the movies.

It’s probably my mother who’s kept my relationship with Laura going. I’ve been distant to say the least. I prefer to be left alone to read, play video games, or get on my computer to search for Phoenix legends.

I’ve become obsessed with the legends of the Phoenix and Thunderbirds. Now that I know the truth, they all seem like fairy tales.

Laura came to visit this afternoon, like she does on most days. I hung out with her for a whopping fifteen minutes before I palmed her off on Mom. I gave Laura the keys to my truck and asked her to go down to Alamogordo to buy me some new jeans and shirts. I gave her the credit card the butler, Niles, gave me before I left New Orleans and told her to take Mom and make a girl’s day out of it.

My endless supply of money is being questioned only minutely. My parents think it’s money I’ve saved from my jobs the last couple of years. I’ve been given a lot of pats on the back for how well I’ve handled my earnings, a fact which makes me detest myself.

I was on the internet looking up all things Phoenix related when Ally called. My heart stopped when I saw her name flash across my cellphone screen.

I answered it without using words. ‘Hello, Al.’ I sent her with my mind.

“Miss me?” she asked me out loud.

“So, what’s up, princess?” I asked as I closed my laptop.

A flash in my head showed me exactly what was up, as she sent me some weird scene with her lying in a dark street as Eden held her, and rain fell around them. A doctor stood near them, looking down.

Suddenly a short, balding chubby older man filled my mind. He carried some wildflowers as he walked into Ally’s suit at the mansion. Then there was a horrible scene of the guy doing terrible things to someone who seems to be his daughter.

Her words whispered through the phone filled my ear with an invisible heat. “I need you, Kyle.”

“Send the jet. I’ll be there by morning,” I said as fierce protection welled up in me.

“Eden says you need to bring Laura with you,” Ally told me.

“May I ask why?” I asked, thinking Eden would rather me have my own female to keep my mind on.

Her giggle hit my ears and my heart skipped a beat. “That’s not why, silly. Something in the dream told him she helps out with this situation. Somehow she keeps this from happening, along with you.”

“I’ll give it my best shot. I’ve been a bit on the cool side with her. I’m not sure about us at this point. My heart belongs to another, as you’re aware,” I said.

“There’s room in there for more. I’m proof of that. So you haven’t broken up with her?” she asked.

“It was you who said to take that slowly and think about it. She’s had so many guys do her wrong. I’d hate to be added to the list of guys who dumped her for no real reason. She’s a great girl, Al,” I said.

“Nobody knows that more than I do, Kyle. So how’s that going, then?”

“I palm her off on my mother a lot,” I said.

A long period of silence filled the phone. “Your mother likes her?” she asked.

“Likes her? I wouldn’t say that. She loves her,” I said, and immediately was sorry as the hurt Ally felt filled me.

“Wonder what I did to make her hate me.” Ally said.

“Al, come on, baby. You were meant for another after all,” I said.

“I know,” she said. “Anyway, try to get her to come. Don’t worry about packing anything. I’m getting the two of you some clothes brought over here, as well as all the other things you’ll need. The driver won’t be taking you to the mansion. We’re at my parents’ new place. I gave you separate bedrooms. That’s what you want, right?”

My head filled with her thoughts, ‘Are you two still sleeping together?’

Without hesitation, as if I could lie to her if I wanted to, I sent back, ‘Not since we left the mansion.’

An audible sigh rang in my head. “Not that it’s my business,” Ally said. “See you in the morning, Kyle. Bye.”