Chapter Sixteen
Enough
Toby’s face was as white as the fluffy clouds over head. He clutched a book to his chest and was shaking his head slowly. Terrance and Gabe turned when they heard the approaching motorcycle. Becca’s skin crawled at the look Terrance gave her. What was that expression? His eyes were dark; a creepy, contrasting smile crawled across his lips as he stared at her. Becca knew what it must feel like to be a rabbit cornered by a fox. She could almost see fangs forming in Terrance’s smile, see saliva dripping from them. She squeezed Kayde’s waist, needing him to shield her from whatever was happening.
Kayde stopped the Shadow and revved the engine. But Terrance ignored him as he continued to stare hungrily at Becca. Horrid dark music echoed in her mind. Kayde! Her heart beat its way up to her throat as Kayde’s music reflected his thoughts and intentions. If Terrance didn’t stop, she was sure Kayde would be on him in moments.
The engine stopped suddenly, causing Becca’s heart to momentarily follow suit. She gripped Kayde’s waist tighter as he stood, ready to dismount the bike. “Don’t, Kayde,” she said with quiet desperation. Fighting with a police officer, no matter how much of a jerk he was, was a bad idea.
The music grew louder, affecting Becca deeper. She was angry now, too. What was Terrance’s problem? Why was he ganging up with Gabe and bullying Toby? He was supposed to help the oppressed, not be the oppressor!
Becca and Kayde dismounted the bike in unison. In the motion, Becca released Kayde’s waist, muting the dark melody somewhat. Her heart gave one hard thump as she realized Kayde’s music had touched her the way it had. She’d been ready to get off the bike and kick Terrance in the groin. Not that he didn’t deserve it, but that was not the way to handle Terrance. He used any excuse to cuff someone any more. Kicking him would be a definite ticket to the jail house. She briefly wondered where Adams was. Didn’t the older policeman ever work anymore?
Kayde strode purposefully toward Terrance, his muscles taught, fists clenched. “Kayde, don’t!” Becca shouted. But Kayde didn’t punch Terrance. Instead, he stopped inches in front of the policeman and stared him down.
Gabe leaned against the cruiser and smirked, causing Becca a sharp intake of breath. They want him to fight! They’re trying to get him arrested! Becca could feel Kayde’s tight energy roll off of him in waves. The dark music was getting louder every second. Becca’s breath came faster at the sound. If Terrance didn’t stop staring at her, Kayde would do exactly what they wanted.
After several minutes, Terrance finally took his gaze off of Becca and glared into Kayde’s eyes. “What are you looking at, punk?”
Through clenched teeth, Kayde answered, “I was about to ask you the same thing. That’s my girlfriend you’re ogling.”
Terrance kept his slimy smile as he looked confidently at Kayde. “For now, she is.” Then he spun on his heal and strode toward the cruiser as Gabe got in the passenger side.
“What is that supposed to mean?” Kayde shouted after him. His voice was full of fury and fear.
Terrance gave him a smirk and Becca another hungry glance before he turned to Toby. “I’ll see you later,” he said, causing Toby’s face to pale even more. The two bullies drove away, leaving three people standing in dark silence.
Becca turned to Toby. She rushed up to him and hugged him. He was shivering. She pulled away and held him at arm’s length. “What in the world was that all about, Toby? What’s going on?”
“I’d like to know, too,” Kayde’s angry voice sent chills through Becca. But Toby only glared at him.
“Nothing. They were just being bullies,” Toby said before clamping his lips shut. Becca turned to Kayde. His face would terrify any normal person at that moment.
She addressed Toby again. “Go ahead inside. I’ll be there in a minute,” she said softly. Toby glared at Kayde before he nodded to Becca and went through the double door into the school. More cars were pulling up as teens arrived to ready themselves for the upcoming ceremonies. Several gave Becca and Kayde nervous and curious glances, but she ignored them.
Reaching up, Becca placed her hands gently on Kayde’s arms and locked eyes with him. “It’s okay, now. Let it go,” she said softly. Whatever had just happened, they didn’t need to worry over it now. Besides, she was sure Toby would tell her more when Kayde wasn’t around. “I have to get ready now. You have to leave.”
Kayde’s jaw clenched as a breath of wind caught his hair, fanning it over his shining green eyes. “Don’t you see it now, Becca?” he said softly, darkly. “Something isn’t right here and you are in some kind of danger. We have to leave!”
A frustrated huff forced its way out of Becca’s chest. “Just let me get through graduation, okay? We’ll talk again tonight after I spend some time with Toby.” She cringed at Kayde’s wild expression. “I promised him,” she said firmly.
Kayde’s fingers found his hair. He pulled them through half way, then gripped and pulled in anger and frustration. Becca’s own emotions were growing more taught, ready to snap. She wanted Kayde to be happy, she wanted Toby to know she still cared, she needed Chris to feel appreciated, and she had to get through graduation. Terrance and Gabe weren’t helping any with their weirdness. Becca was dizzy from it all. Dizzy and drained of energy. Her shoulders slumped. “I’m sorry,” she said, tears unexpectedly stinging her eyes.
Kayde released his hair and looked at her more tenderly. He nodded and spoke in a strained voice, “We’ll talk more later.” Pulling her to him, he hugged her so tightly, Becca simultaneously feared and hoped he wouldn’t let go. “Just promise me one thing, please?”
“What?” she asked, her voice muffled against his chest.
“Be careful.”
Pulling away from Kayde at that moment and turning her back to him as she entered the building had been the most difficult thing Becca had ever done. In spite of her assurances that all was well and she’d be careful, foreboding clung in the air like a thick cloud. She felt it all through getting ready for graduation. Too many people had arrived, denying her a chance to talk to Toby alone. But she gave him a look and knew he understood that they would be talking later.
The graduation ceremony seemed to drag on for hours. Becca squirmed in her seat, wishing the speakers would stop trying to be funny and just get on with it. She swallowed and took a calming breath. This was supposed to be a happy day. She turned and looked at Chris sitting behind her in the row of chairs reserved for family members. He smiled proudly at her, tears shining in his eyes. She smiled back and, before turning again, tried to spot Kayde. She knew he was somewhere close, she could feel him. But she couldn’t catch his form in her quick assessment as she turned to face forward.
The last speaker took his seat and it wasn’t long before Becca’s classmates were called forward one by one to claim their diplomas. When it was Becca’s turn, she put on a smile and walked onto the stage, praying she wouldn’t trip in front of everyone. Her diploma was handed to her and the tassel on her cap moved from one side to the other. She smiled and held up the diploma to the cheers of the crowd, just as her classmates had done before her. Chris’ clear tenor rang out above everyone else as he proudly shouted and whistled and carried on, making her cheeks flame.
After caps were thrown in the air and congrats were tossed around, pictures taken and gifts exchanged, Becca searched for Kayde. Not finding him or feeling him, she quickly called him on her cell. “Where are you?”
“At the B & B. I got to thinking during the ceremony. This is a once in a lifetime kind of day. I didn’t want to spoil it for you. Besides, I had to come out and get your gift.”
“You got me a gift?” Becca’s heart swelled. He’d thought to get her a gift!
“Of course! A special gift for a special day,” his voice was so tender, Becca momentarily forgot about spending time with her classmate
s—and even Toby. But Kayde’s voice changed as he added, “I’ll be in later. Unless you get done early, then drive out here, okay?”
Becca said she would before they hung up. She fought the urge to get in her car and rush out to him that very moment. Toby’s voice distracted that thought. “Becca?”
She turned to him and smiled. They hugged tightly, congratulating each other. When they pulled apart, Toby said, “I’m glad you’re here. I was afraid you’d skip the class party to be with Kayde.”
The injured tone was obvious in Toby’s voice. “I’m sorry you feel ignored, Toby. I never meant for things to be this way. But, I just can’t ignore what I feel for Kayde, either.”
Toby nodded as he looked at his shoes. A strange smile tugged at his lips. He looked up at her in a bashful way. “Well,” he said, giving a small shrug. “It hasn’t been all bad.” He glanced over at Tara Dickens, the tall, dark haired volleyball star. They shared a warm look before Toby cleared his throat and spoke again, “Uh, Ryan and I have gotten a lot of ghost hunting done.” Becca gave him a knowing smile over the look he’d given Tara. She was pleased to see Toby’s cheeks flush.
As if he’d heard his name, Ryan suddenly appeared, giving them both hearty congratulations. “Well, now neither of you has an excuse to dodge hunting with me on a school night!” He gave them a cheesy smile as he adjusted his glasses.
“Glad to see you dressed up for the occasion!” Toby teased. Ryan’s rumpled shirt was buttoned and tucked haphazardly into the khaki shorts that looked as if they’d been wadded in a ball and left for dead before he’d put them on.
Ryan ignored his comment. “Hey, you guys want to ditch the senior party and do some hunting tonight? I bet you’d have a more memorable night than anyone else!”
Before they could answer, Catherine approached in all her glory. Her white dress suite was crisp and clean and her high polished heals clicked against the gymnasium floor. She hung on the arm of an equally well dressed man with salted hair and darting gray eyes; Toby’s dad. Becca had only seen Jack on occasion, as he always seemed to be working. The man seemed continually nervous. Maybe being a doctor made a person paranoid.
Catherine wrinkled her nose at Ryan before hugging Toby and then Becca with one of her stiff hugs. Catherine was not a warm person, Becca decided. But she wasn’t evil, like Kayde thought. Maybe she was the real reason Kayde had left earlier. Becca studied Catherine as she and Jack congratulated them. “So nice to see you two together again!” she said. Her shining eyes and happy voice seemed sincere to Becca. That darkness Kayde had felt near her must have been his imagination. Becca shrugged it off. She could convince Kayde of Catherine’s innocence later.
Mrs. Kline approached, squeezing Becca’s shoulders and laughing. Mrs. K and Catherine gave each other a forced friendly greeting before Catherine and Jack made their leave. Becca wondered momentarily at the strange encounter, but Mrs. K’s joyous expression toward her distracted her thoughts. Becca felt her eyes water at Mrs. K’s happiness for her. She was like a grandmother, and Becca was thankful for all that beautiful lady had done for her.
As the sun sank behind the horizon later, Chris and Becca sat on the sofa in their house thumbing through old photo albums. Tears rolled down their cheeks as their eyes rested on images of their parents. “I wish they could’ve been here, Becca,” Chris’ thick voice whispered. “They’d be so proud of you.”
Becca couldn’t make her voice work. She just nodded. Chris spoke again, more clearly this time. “I’m proud of you, too.” He wrapped an arm round her shoulders and squeezed.
Finally able to relax her throat enough to speak, Becca answered, “I’ll never be able to thank you enough for sacrificing your life for me these past couple of years.” She smiled at him, “I love you.”
Chris squeezed her shoulders again. “I love you, too, little sister. And I don’t feel like I sacrificed anything at all. In fact,” he said, withdrawing his arm and closing the album. “I’ve been able to do a lot of thinking and re-evaluating lately. I’m not sure I even want to be an architect.”
Shock jolted through Becca. She gaped at him as if he were an alien. “What? But that’s been your dream all along.”
Chris shook his head. “No, Becca. That’s what Dad always said I should do because I had the brains and artistic talent for it, according to him. I kept on with it because it’s what dad wanted for me. But after spending time with Kayde working on his bike, I realized my true passion was with motorcycles. I’d forgotten because I hadn’t ridden much since I left for college.”
Becca sat in silence. What could she say? Chris’ words seemed strange to her. She’d been picturing him as an architect since she was a little girl.
Continuing, Chris added, “I’ve been talking to a lot of people. I think,” he paused before a radiant smile brightened his face, “I’m going to open a motorcycle repair shop.”
Again, Becca could only gape. Chris chuckled at her expression. “I know! Crazy, right? But, Becca,” he took her shoulders in his hands, his excited energy transferring into her. “This is what I want. It’s what I feel called to do. It feels right, ya know?”
As Chris continued to lay out his plans, Becca could see and feel his excitement. He was a cheerful person by nature, but she’d never seen him this animated. He had every detail thought out and the more he talked about it, the more she realized it really was what he wanted. She was happy for him and told him so. As she gave him a hug, the doorbell rang.
Chris opened the door and happily invited Toby in. Becca beamed at him, still feeling the glow of Chris’ euphoria. “Hey, there! Ready to go?” she asked.
Toby’s old familiar smile accompanied an enthusiastic nod. Becca realized how long it’d been since she’d seen him smile like that. But then, she hadn’t been around him much without Kayde in tow.
They said their farewell’s to Chris and went to the senior party. After playing games, mingling a bit, having a few snacks, and playing more games, Toby approached Becca. “Are you having fun?” he shouted above the music that threatened to bring the roof crumbling down on them all.
She shrugged and smiled. It was good to spend time with all her classmates again, but she was missing Kayde. She didn’t think mentioning that would be a good idea, though.
“Would you mind coming to the house for a bit? I want to talk to you about something,” Toby shouted and she nodded in agreement. They left the building together, the music still throbbing in Becca’s eardrums.
While Toby fiddled with unlocking the Duster, Becca quickly texted Kayde, telling him she was okay and still “partying”, but left out where she was going. He texted back, begging her not to be too much longer. He certainly didn’t make it easy for her to want to stay with Toby. But she owed Toby the time and attention. She felt a little sad, thinking of how they might drift even further apart now that they had graduated.
Toby’s parents weren’t at home. “They like to go out and celebrate on nights like this. They probably expected me to be out til the wee hours of the morning.” It was12:30 according to the Grandfather clock. Early for senior party night.
They made their way to Toby’s room. The familiar clutter caused Becca to smile. She flopped onto the bed, allowing herself the momentary pleasure of sinking into a cloud.
Toby sat at his desk as Becca pulled herself to a sitting position. He picked up that book she’d checked out for him. “Don’t worry,” he said smirking. “This is actually a copy I bought at the book store. I took the one you checked out back to the library.”
“That good, huh?”
His face screwed up in a strange way. “Well, I’m not sure about good. But definitely interesting.” He pulled out a crumpled piece of paper from between the pages, stared at it for a moment, and then rose and walked over to Becca. His hand shook as he handed the paper to her.
Becca was immediately c
urious. “What’s this?”
“It’s the paper Gabe took from me that one day. It has things written on it, things that I’ve been learning from this book.”
Becca looked at the paper. The creases that had formed from Gabe’s crushing fist distorted some of the writing and symbols. Becca wasn’t sure what to make of it. But as she studied it closer, her breath caught in her throat at a term that leapt off the page. “Music Mage: A person who practices the magic of musical influence to manipulate and/or alter the world around them.” Did Toby suspect something about Kayde? How could he? Kayde had been so careful, resisting singing out loud, even to her.
Trying to disguise the shaking in her voice, Becca asked, “What is this about, Toby?” He stared at her, his face ashen. But before he could answer, a loud honk sounded outside. They both jumped and then ran to his window and peered between the dusty layers of the mini-blinds. Terrance’s cruiser was parked in the driveway; he and Gabe stood in front of the car, their backs to the headlights so that their features were eerily hidden in shadow.
“Toby! I know Becca’s in there!” Terrance shouted. His voice made Becca’s skin crawl. “We need to talk to both of you!”
Toby turned to her, his face showing his panic. “We have to hide!”
Becca felt his urgency for a moment, but then a dark calm washed over her. Her brows furrowed. Those two goons had made Toby suffer enough. She needed to end this. She looked intently at Toby. “Enough of this! I refuse to be intimidated by those two anymore. We’re going down there and we’re going to make it very clear that they are not going to scare us. And then, we are going to make them leave!” Becca turned and rushed out the bedroom door before Toby could stop her.
She huffed her way down the steps to the sound of her friend behind her, begging her to stop. But his pleas only made her more determined. Enough was enough. She didn’t know how, but she would make Terrance and Gabe leave.
Grasping the front door handle, Becca pulled it open dramatically as Toby shouted, “Becca, don’t!” She set herself in a firm stance as she faced Terrance and Gabe.