Earthshaker

Chapter 29

Chapter 29I woke up in bed with my clothes on, drooling on my pillow, at 8:15 the next morning. So much for the all-nighter.

The last number I remembered seeing on the digital clock was 3:30, though I also remembered nodding off several times before then. I guess I'd been more tired than I'd thought. Fighting two all-out battles in one day will do that to you.

Rolling over, I saw sunlight bleeding through the curtains. Squinting, I threw a forearm over my eyes to block it.

I lay there for a moment, floating in a blissful cloud of drowsy ignorance. Nothing much on my mind at all.

Then, it all rushed back to me at once. Everything that had happened. Everything I planned to do. It fell over me like a shadow, like a heavy weight. I wished I could go back to sleep, but I knew I couldn't.

I wished I could at least have a normal day again, the kind where the worst thing I had to deal with was a dissatisfied customer or a rude airline agent. Funny how a humdrum routine can shine like gold when you can't get it anymore. When your life turns into an out-of-control merry-go-round ride.

After a few more minutes of lazy avoidance, I finally got out of bed. Saw the maps and scribbled notes were exactly where I'd left them at 3:30 in the morning, scattered all over the laptop computer and desk. The laptop was still switched on, with the screen saver running—a computer-generated image of planet Earth, spinning away against a star-filled background.

I opened the door and wobbled out into the hallway. Used the bathroom, then headed for the living room. Wondering if Laurel might have sneaked out in the middle of the night. Part of me hoping she'd sneaked out, because then I wouldn't have to deal with the mess she'd aimed in my direction.

But she was still there. In fact, she looked like she hadn't budged all night. I was pretty sure she was in the exact same position as the last time I'd looked in on her, around two a.m.

Duke was there, too, sitting in the recliner, watching the TV with the sound down. He had the news on, one of the national news channels, and the headline on the screen read, "Freak Quakes Rock Pennsylvania." I saw video of the flattened forest in Cousin Canyon, shot from above. Then video of the ruins of The Tipple, with a close-up on the boulder I'd thrown through the wall.

I turned and shuffled into the kitchen. Could've done without the reminder of the shitty day I'd had the day before.

Grabbing a fresh mug from the cupboard, I filled it with cold coffee from the pot, left over from the night before. Had a sip and didn't mind it. Maybe because I still felt like half a zombie.

Duke padded in as I stood there. "Good morning, Earth Angel." He looked wide awake and ready for anything.

"Thanks for putting me in bed." I kept my voice low for Laurel's sake. "I guess I must've dozed off."

"We got a lot of work done before that." Duke nodded and smiled. "I got even more done after you hit the hay." Sleeping, like eating, was one of those human being things he didn't need to do in his current form. Made a run at it now and then just to feel human again, but he didn't really need it at all.

"We need to hit the road." The clock on the microwave said 8:45 a.m. "Who gets to do the honors?" I nodded toward Laurel in the living room.

"Let her sleep a little longer," said Duke. "Why don't you start getting ready, and I'll wake her at nine?"

"I'm ready now." I sipped the cold coffee and clunked the mug down on the counter. "All I need to do is throw my shoes on and grab the car keys."

Duke smirked and shook his head. "I can appreciate your enthusiasm, Earth Angel, but trust me...you're not ready." He wrinkled his nose and flapped his hand in front of his face. "Please, for the rest of us...go get yourself a shower."

He was probably right, I was probably ripe, but I didn't want to put off hunting the killer. Partly because I needed vengeance, partly because I needed answers about myself, and partly because I wanted to get the hell out of town before Briar got back into the mix. I was still ashamed of myself for screwing things up for him the night before; I was also pissed at him for being angry with me. For treating me like crap just when I was starting to care about him as more than a friend...maybe. I guess I might have thought I should keep him and Laurel apart, too, since they seemed to be getting along so well.

"I can clean up later," I said. "We're burning daylight."

"No." Duke pointed toward the bathroom. "Get your shower or nobody's going anywhere."

I glared at him. Thought about plowing right through him and going to Rough Run myself. The hell with him.

But, as always, Duke had a hold on me. Had the power to snap me out of a "sinking fast" mood, force me to see things from new angles, or make me take a shower when I didn't want to. He was like a father to me in that way...in all ways, really. Though I'd never known who my true father was, Duke came closer than anyone to filling the bill.

"All right, all right." I blew out my breath in one big, disgusted sigh. "I'll get a shower."

Duke bowed his head and spread his arms wide. "On behalf of everyone you meet today, I offer a million glittering thank-yous in advance."

"Yeah, yeah." At least there were no doubts in my mind about how I felt about him. Even as I scowled and stormed past him, giving him a little bump with my shoulder, I knew I loved him. Like my very own father. Sometimes I wondered if he was my own father somehow.

"There'll be homemade blueberry pancakes and sausage when you're done," said Duke. "Plus a yogurt and fresh fruit parfait for desert."

I took two steps back and poked my head in the kitchen."Since when do I have all that food in my apartment?"

Duke opened the refrigerator. "I told you I was busy last night after you fell asleep." He pulled out a clear plastic container of blueberries and shook it. "I wish we'd had 24-hour grocery stores back in my day."

I almost told him not to bother cooking, we could eat on the road, I didn't want any homemade pancakes and sausage. But that wouldn't have been true. His cooking was to die for, and I was starving. Couldn't remember eating a damn thing the day before.

Besides, waiting one more hour to get rolling wasn't going to kill me. Wouldn't make any difference one way or the other when it came to finding the killer.

Duke always seemed to know what was best for me. Why couldn't all my relationships be so simple?