It felt like I had just fallen asleep, when someone started banging on my door. I peeled my tiered eyes open and looked through the peek-hole in the blankets. My room was now flooded with sunlight.
"Luna! Luna you have to wake up!" Addy sounded panicked. And I had a feeling I knew why. Addy only panicked when something was wrong with Barron. I couldn't count the times she had woke me in the wee-hours of morning or in the middle of the night with that panicked voice.
My bedroom door opened, and Addy filled my room with her hysteria. "I just got a call from the hospital in the city," she said, the words rushing out of her.
"Yeah, they have your number on speed-dial," I grumbled. I tossed the blankets away from me and sat up in my bed.
"They found him last night. He's in pretty bad shape. He lost a lot of blood."
"How many times can he actually do this before someone stuffs him in a straightjacket and locks him up in a padded cell in some asylum somewhere? That, and I have often wondered, if he keeps bleeding almost to death, will he still have any Lanchester blood left in his veins? He couldn't technically be a Lanchester anymore, could he? That would mean I am the last one," I said, faking my best fake smile.
Addy sat down on the bed beside me, which grabbed my attention. She took one of my hands in hers, the wounded one, and squeezed just a little. It was easy to ignore the sting in my finger, due to the fact that Addy was touching me.
"His heart stopped," she said, looking at me with pleading eyes, as if I had the power to heal him, as if I could do something to help him. "He nearly died," she choked on that last word. Tears came to her eyes. "I'm going to the city to see him. Do you want to come with me?"
I was taken aback by this question. But I didn't even get the chance to think about how stupid her question was, because Addy quickly spoke again. "You never know when it will be the last time you ever get to see your father, Luna."
This upset me. How could she expect that I'd ever want to see him again? I had wished death upon him numerous times. Why would I regret its actual coming?
Then again, maybe I would regret it.
I knew my father was sick. I knew the things he'd done to me were acts of that sickness. But it didn't change the fact that these things had been done. It didn't make the hurt any more tolerable. And it didn't help me to forgive him.
Oh, god, I did'"t know how to forgive him.
Yet, I was sad, if only a little, to hear how close Barron had come to death again. In all actuality, beneath the hurt, I felt sorry for Barron. And some of those times I had wished death upon him was only because I thought he'd be better off being put out of his misery. I didn't want to admit I had a soft spot in my heart for Barron, one I kept hidden beneath the pain he'd caused me. How crazy would I be, if I admitted to myself that I cared about a man who violently abused me my whole life?
Addy had always tried to keep the details of Barron's sickness a secret, so I didn't understand too much of what was going on with him. But I was there. I grew up with the monster Addy had married. I saw things I wasn't supposed to see, no matter how much Addy tried to veil my eyes. And from what I saw, I was convinced that Barron was possessed by the devil.
I shivered. The memories were all so clear and fresh.
"No. I don't want to go," I said, pulling my hand out of hers. I barely felt the pain it caused when her fingers slid over the opened wound. Right now, there were deeper wounds that were hurting far more than the flesh wound on my finger.
Addy stared at me without saying anything. The disappointment in her eyes was all too familiar to me. I hated it there. I truly hated it more than I hated anything in the world. How could she look at me like this, after knowing what I'd been through? How could she possibly not understand why I expressed a little bitterness toward my father?
"I thought you would say that," she said. Her tone was now frigid. She got up off the bed and went to the door, but instead of leaving, she stopped in the doorway and turned to look at me. "That is why I asked Doug to stay here with you tonight."
"What? I don't need a babysitter! I don't want some strange guy in the house with me," I complained.
"It surprises me that you would be concerned about being alone with a strange guy," Addy said, her tone heavy with accusation. "Try not to flirt with my husband-to-be." On that note, Addy left the room, leaving me there with my shock. I had to wonder if Addy was crazy enough to be jealous of the fact that Barron had given me so much attention while growing up in his house. Sure it was bad attention, but was it possible Addy hated me because of it? If not, why the freak did I strongly believe this to be true?
From the living room, I heard Addy whisper something to someone.
"It will be alright, Adeline. Don't you fret. I will take good care of her. Nothing is going to happen to her, while I am around. Now you better go. I will see you in the morning," I heard Doug say.
I sat on the edge of my bed, trying to ignore the feelings Addy had re-hatched inside me. I wondered why Addy would feel concerned enough about me that she would leave me with a babysitter. This was weird. Something wasn't right about this. When the hell did Addy start giving a hoot about me? Or maybe that wasn't it. Maybe she knew Doug was a monster and that he would hurt me the moment she left the house.
I would have to interrogate Doug and find out why Addy wanted him to stay here tonight. And I would have to be prepared to kick his scrawny but, if he did so happen to be a monster and was going to try something stupid.
With haste, I showered and dressed, shoved the mountain of belongings into the closet and then went to the kitchen for something to eat. I was excited about seeing Dammon tonight. It kept me light-hearted. I was actually going to spend some real time with him. And, yeah, his mother.
Addy was gone, by the time I made my way to the living room. Doug was sitting on the couch. He had to have been there for a while, by the looks of things. As I pored myself a bowl of cereal, which I was excited to have discovered in the cupboard, I noticed the mess he'd made. He had a leather book in his lap and papers and notebooks and various other books spread out all around him. But it was a tidy mess, an organized one.
"Good morning, Luna," he said. He lifted his head from the book in his lap and smiled, shifting his attention to me. It was a genuine smile, not one a monster could pull-off so well. "How was your night?"
"Good morning. It was---" I stopped to think about my answer. Lying to a preacher man didn't feel like such a good idea. "Interesting," I said, satisfied with this answer, since it was so very close to the truth, if not dead-on. "What is all that stuff you got going on over there?" I nodded my head at the mess of books he'd made around him self.
"Study material for my next sermon," Doug said. He was polite. He didn't seem upset that I had interrupted him. He didn't even look impatient about getting back to his work. Doug gave me his full, undivided attention. And, best of all, I didn't see demons scurrying about in his gaze. If they were there, I definitely would have felt them.
Unless they were sleeping.
"What's a sermon?" I asked around a mouth full of Cocoa Balls.
"Well, it's a collection of information about a particular area in the bible that a preacher would preach about."
"Is that what's in your lap? A bible?"
"Yes, it is. Would you like to look at it?"
"No. I'm not a reader-kinda-gal. So, what's your sermon about?"
Doug's face lit up a little more than it already was, which I didn't think was even possible. The man already looked like he was going to illuminate himself to death at any moment. His passion for what he did was evident in everything about him.
"Well, this one is going to be more geared toward the women of the congregation. The married ladies, to be more specific. It is a collection of verses that teaches about what God expects from her. But it is not limited to the woman. I would be interjecting a few of God's purposes for the husband, as well."
It was easy to tell this guy was totally into what he was doing and
that his passion ran deep. "Hugh. So, what kind of things does your God expect from married people?" I was genuinely curious. If Doug's god was a guy then I was pretty sure I already knew what his god expected from a woman.
Doug looked more than eager to answer this question. So much so that when he slid to the edge of the couch, he didn't notice that he'd dropped a notebook and that a few papers had fallen to the floor. "The bible teaches us a lot about this! But to name a few, First Corinthians, Chapter Seven, verses one through five say; it is good for a man not to touch a woman. Nevertheless, to avoid fornication, let every man have his own wife, and let every woman have her own husband. Let the husband render unto the wife due benevolence: and likewise also the wife unto the husband. The wife hath not power of her own body, but the husband: and likewise also the husband hath not power of his own body, but the wife. Defraud ye not one the other, except it be with consent for a time, that ye may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come together again, that Satan tempt you not for your incontinency.
"Ephesians, Chapter Five, verses twenty-one through twenty-nine say; Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God. Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the savior of the body. Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish. So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself. For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church."
Wow! I was pretty impressed that Doug had all that memorized. But I had no idea what the heck it all meant, so I wasn't exactly sure what to say.
"If you don't mind me asking, have you saved yourself for your future husband, Luna?"
I was caught off guard by this question. I certainly was not expecting it. At first I wanted to tell him that it was none of his freaking business. But I actually found myself comfortable around Doug. He was kind of cool. At least, he didn't seem to be a monster. I just couldn't help but wonder if maybe he was different than all the other men I'd known.
Did men of God beat their women? It was hard to imagine them not doing so, but I felt a spark of hope, excitement even, for Addy. After the life she's had, she deserved to be treated kindly. I may have been laden with the grudges I had against her, but I loved Addy. And I cared about her well-being.
"I have. Addy doesn't think so. She's called me a whore more than a few times. Guys follow me around like lost puppies, so she assumes I sleep with them. I don't know what her problem is, really. She just thinks the worst of me in every way."
"Adeline needs some work. We all do. Even an old preacher man like me. We never stop needing work, really. But thank God we were given an instruction manual," Doug said. He lifted his bible from his lap and waved it in the air.
I giggled at him. What a funny thing to say. Of course there was no such thing as an instruction manual for mankind or else some people would be getting it right.
I looked at Doug a little differently now, examining him just a little more thoroughly, trying to see through him and into the secret stuff most people kept hidden beneath the visible surface.
Was Doug getting it right? He had the manual in the palm of his hands. He even had some of it memorized. Was it possible Doug was truly a good guy?
"So, where do you preach? I mean, in a church of course, but where at?"
"Nowhere, yet. I preached in a church out west, but I'm still waiting to hear from the Lord about where he wants me to serve Him next."
"Then why are you writing a sermon?"
Doug picked up a thick, over-stuffed folder, one that looked pretty much in need of retirement, and he waved it up in the air like he did with his bible. A sticky-note fluttered to the floor. A look of hopelessness filled his expression, but it did nothing in the way of snubbing-out that inner glow of his. "Can't stop. It's an addiction. Like your mother and chocolate," he said.
I had no idea Addy had an addiction to chocolate, which told me that Doug new more about Addy than I did.
I smiled at Doug, as I took my last bite of cereal. Now that I broke the ice, it was time to accomplish my mission. Since I had already determined that Doug was not a monster, all I had to do know was figure out why Addy wanted him to baby-sit me.
"So, why does Addy want you here? I mean, tonight? It's just kinda weird because she's never cared about leaving me alone before."
"Oh, it's not that she hadn't cared! She just never had any other options until now. Adeline feels remorseful about having left you alone most of the time. That is partially why I told her to quit her second job. Eventually I would like to see her quit the first one too. A woman's place is at home. It is the man's curse to work and to provide."
I was getting led off-track, and I couldn't let him do that. There was more to Doug spending the night here tonight, I just knew it.
"What else? Why does she not want me to be alone?" I suddenly thought about the entity I felt in the house with me last night. The lick on my cheek. Maybe Addy somehow knew about it. Maybe Addy believed Doug was exactly what this house needed, in order to keep out what ever was in here last night. If so, Addy was alone in that belief. A big part of me doubted Doug was powerful enough to go up against an entity such as the one that was here last night. Then again, maybe Doug could blind it to death with that light of his.
"Well, I am sorry, but I better not be the one to tell you without speaking to your mother first. You know how dramatic she can be," he said, with a sympathetic grin on his face.
"Yeah, I do!" And I was glad I wasn't the only one who knew. It was nice that Doug didn't totally stand up for Addy and get all defensive about her. "I'll let you get back to work, there. I have something I need to take care of," I said.
"Your mother wants you home by nine. And I'll see about getting back your keys for that really cool motorcycle you got sitting in that shed out back. If you are home by nine, that is. Forty-one Knucklehead, right?"
"Yeah! That's her."
Doug seemed to be examining the excitement I was displaying on my face. With a warm smile, he stared at me momentarily. "Be back by nine, Luna," he said. Then he was quickly sucked away from me and reabsorbed by his work.
Yup, I was really going to like this guy, especially if he had the power to get the keys to my motorcycle back to me.
And I was definitely going to try to be home by nine, even if it was a fact that I didn't need my key back in order to start my Harley. She started just fine without one.
But Doug didn't need to know this.
****
Chapter Twenty-Three
Luna