The Gathering (Darkness Rising 1)

"This is the part where you get to say 'I told you so.' "

He swore and came over to sit beside me. "What happened?"

He meant with Rafe, but I didn't want to tell him about Rafe. Instead, I thought of everything Rafe told me, everything I desperately needed to share. But I couldn't see any way to start.

So I settled for, "It just didn't work out. Big shock, I'm sure."

"He wasn't who you thought he was."

True, yet not in the way Daniel meant. Rafe really was the person I'd seen the other night on the roof, a decent guy thrown into a hellish situation, forced to grow up fast, be strong, take responsibility.

Even now, as much as I despised being part of his solution, I understood why he'd had to find me, whatever it took. He wasn't a bad person. He wasn't even someone I could hate. That made it all the harder.

"You liked him," Daniel said softly.

I forced a smile. "Fell for the wrong guy. Every girl has to do it once in her life. At least it was a quick lesson." I got to my feet. "I could really use that dinner."

He plucked the front of his sweat-soaked shirt. "I should have a shower and change. Guess I wasn't thinking this through too well."

He glanced toward the house, and I knew he wasn't eager to go in. For the same reason he'd been out here boxing.

"You'll dry," I said. "And if the smell doesn't fade, I'll just sit at another table. Now come on before I starve."

We started circling wide around the house, heading for the road. The Blender was only a ten-minute walk, so we didn't have to bother with the truck. We made it about ten steps before the front door banged open and his dad yelled, "Where the hell do you think you're going?"

Daniel hunched his shoulders, as if against a blast of icy wind and mumbled, "Just keep walking."

Footsteps pounded behind us. A hand grabbed Daniel's shoulder and whipped him around. I could smell the booze.

Even before Daniel's mom left, I'd never seen his father much. If he was around, he'd joke with us in that awkward way grown-ups sometimes do with kids--a little too loud, trying a little too hard--and there'd be the smell of beer on his breath.

Daniel would get embarrassed and herd us outside to play. We all knew something was wrong, but everyone's parents had a drink now and then, and everyone's parents did embarrassing things. So no one thought about it much until his mom took off, and we realized his dad wasn't like every other parent, and maybe he never had been.

In the old days, his dad was always dressed up--shirt and tie, pressed pants, shiny shoes, dark hair slicked back, clean shaven, smelling faintly of cologne. Now, he still wore the shirt and slacks, but they were rumpled and stained, the shoes scuffed, his hair slick with oil, face covered in stubble. The only thing he smelled of was booze, so strong he seemed to have showered with it.

"I asked where you're going. You tore the kitchen apart trying to cook dinner, and now you're going to leave me with the mess?"

"No," Daniel's voice was low and calm, like he was talking to a child. "I said I'd clean it before bed. Maya and I are going out for dinner."

His dad blinked at me, like he hadn't seen me there. Then he scowled. No awkward joking for me these days. He didn't have much patience for any of Daniel's friends, but he seemed to like me the least, I suppose because I was the one Daniel stayed with when he needed to escape.

"Maya," he said. "Can't stay away, can you? Always coming around, teasing the boy."

Daniel's fingers wrapped around my elbow "We're leaving, Dad. There's a casserole in the--"

"You like teasing, don't you, Maya?" His da

d stepped closer as Daniel pulled me back. "Just like all the girls. Tease and flirt and keep the boys running after you, spending their money building a climbing wall for you. Maybe get a kiss on the cheek for it. Holding out to see if he makes something of himself, because that's what counts for you girls. Is he going to be a hotshot lawyer? Olympic wrestler? Or just a lowly public defender? Or washed-up gym teacher?"

"That's enough." Daniel eased me behind him, while casting glances at the surrounding houses. He wanted to get out of there, but he didn't want to make a scene. "I'll be back--"

"Of course you'll be back. Got nowhere else to go. You're a parasite, boy. Just like your little not-yet girlfriend here. She's waiting to see what you'll make of yourself first, so she can live off you. That's what all women want. Find a good man. A stupid man who'll keep paying the bills even when she brings home a brat that doesn't look anything like you. She'll tell you he's yours, and you'll believe her until one day she finds someone else, and off she goes, leaving you to raise the bastard brat."

"See if they'll give you another job in the company," Daniel said. "Leave me here and go."

His father laughed. "You think they'll allow that? I'm trapped here, looking after a freak who isn't even my son--"

"And wishes to God that was true," Daniel muttered.