Into the Fire by Patrick Hester

Author:Patrick Hester [Hester, Patrick]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: WordFire Press
Published: 2016-08-31T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty-one

I found Simon seated with his feet up on the chair opposite him, DS in his hands and eyes fixed upon the little screen. I could tell he wasn’t really paying attention to whatever game he played. He wore a dark hoodie with the strings pulled tight to shadow his face. The waiting room had seating for thirty people, with televisions in the corners and a fish tank dividing the room in half. I walked right up to Simon and sat down in the chair beside him. When he didn’t acknowledge my presence, I bumped my knee against his.

“Where’s Mom?” I asked.

“In with Dad,” he replied. He’d put a fresh coat of black on his fingernails. Oy, this kid.

“Why aren’t you in there too?”

He shrugged.

“How’re you doing?”

He shrugged.

“You need anything before I check on them?”

Again, he shrugged.

I wanted to smack him. Really, this is the language of the sullen teenager, so I let it go as someone who once practiced it with the touch of a true savant. Someday, someone would become a billionaire overnight by inventing a translator for those who have forgotten this most difficult language.

I got up and took five steps forward.

“I could eat,” he said.

He speaks! It’s a miracle!

Altering my course, I went to the door and grabbed Chase by the shoulder. If he wanted to be helpful, I could make use of him after all.

“Do me a favor?” I asked, trying not to wince as I said the word favor.

“Sure,” he replied.

“Simon could use something to eat.”

“Oh? Well, so could I,” he said. “What do you say, Simon? Up for a little cafeteria food? I hear they have Jell-O. Three kinds.” He held three fingers up.

In answer, Simon practically ran out of the room. “Watch him?” I asked. “He’s being weird. Well, more weird than normal. I’m worried about him.”

“I will,” Chase promised.

“If you can get him to talk, that would rock. Maybe a guy-to-guy thing?”

“I can try. If I’ve learned anything about the Kane family, it’s that you can’t force them to talk about something before they’re ready to.”

I frowned.

He smiled.

“Stop,” I took a breath. “Stop being all insightful. You’re freaking me out.”

His smile deepened.

I rolled my eyes. “I’ll try to bring Mom down, too. She’s got to be starved by now.”

“All right. We’ll be there.”

“And don’t tell him about Jorge.”

“Roger,” he said.

“Or that I cried.”

“I think he could handle such an earth-shattering revelation as the mighty Samantha Kane shedding a couple tears,” he said.

My frown deepened.

Chase disappeared after my little brother. One down …

Probably not the best idea I’ve ever had, asking my ex-boyfriend to convince my little brother to talk to him, but it wasn’t the worst, either. Chase had a way with people. If anyone could get Simon to talk, it probably wouldn’t be Chase, but I was just desperate enough to give anything a try. Still, I’d owe him a favor, and I cringed at the thought.

I moved across the room to a desk where a woman sat behind a glass wall with a little speaker set in the middle.

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