The Legend of the Firewalker, Book #1

Chapter 15.2

Author Note:

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Chapter 15.2

Jonas smiled big and embraced the lady with curly blond hair. She was short in comparison to Jonas, and his arms could probably wrap twice around her tiny waist.

"I love you, Mom," he said, while still wrapped in her embrace.

"Aw," she uttered, "I love you too, honey!" She attempted to comfort Jonas by rubbing his back. "These three weeks away from home must have really gotten to you."

"Jonas!" shouted another voice.

Jonas quickly released his mom. "Bobby!" he yelled with excitement. Jonas playfully ruffled the dark curly hair of the boy in front of him. "Did you miss your big brother?" he asked.

Bobby winced playfully. "Um, a little," he said, and then he grinned. "What's to miss when you've called practically every night this week?"

Jonas playfully put Bobby into a headlock and continued to ruffle his hair. "I am going to take that as a yes!"

Jonas' mom turned around to glance at Nathan and Malick. "Oh, my goodness, how rude of me," she said. "And is it still raining?" She paused briefly to stick her head outside the door. "Come in, come in," she said, with a hand gesture, "before it starts raining again."

She closed the door and faced them, peering over her glasses, which sat oddly crookedly on her nose. "Ah," she said. "Let me guess — you must be Nathan."

Nathan paused. He was a little startled by her accurate prediction. "Yeah," he said. "That's me."

Jonas's mom clapped her hands together and smiled. "Oh!" she said, dragging out the word. "I am just so thrilled to meet you."

Nathan raised his eyebrows and gave a quick look to Malick before rewarding her with an awkward smile.

Linda placed her hands on her hips and laughed so loudly that Malick jumped back.

She smiled and fluttered her eyelashes. "Don't act so surprised," she said. "Jonas talks about you all the time!"

She extended a hand first to Malick and then to Nathan.

"As you probably already guessed," she said, "I am Jonas's mother, Linda Ann Riley."

Nathan still had a surprised but awkward look on his face. "Nice to meet you, Mrs. Riley," he said, while shaking her hand. 

"Aw," she said. "Just call me Linda." She fluttered her eyelashes over her glasses again and grinned at Malick. "And I apologize; what's your name?"

Malick gave a cynical smile. It looked like he was trying not to laugh. "Stephen," he said, "Stephen Malick, but just Malick will do."

Linda stared at Malick. She raised one eyebrow and twitched her lip. "Malick," she said. She hesitated before speaking again. "Oh, okay. Well, then have a seat, Malick. And you too, Nathan."

Nathan sat down next to Malick on a yellow-and-white floral upholstered sofa, and Linda sat in the matching armchair. The living room was neat and sparsely decorated. In the corner, next to a bronze floor lamp, a Siamese cat was sprawled out on the hardwood floor. Nathan thought the cat's bright blue eyes were hypnotizing.

"Jonas!" said Bobby. He had an excited look on his face. "Guess what?" he asked. "I finally completed the last board of Wizards and Warriors!" Bobby grabbed Jonas by the hand. "Come on," he said. "Do you wanna see?"

Jonas smiled. "Oh, okay," he said. "But you need to say hello to Nathan and Malick first." 

Bobby quickly looked over at Nathan and Malick. It was as if he had noticed them for the first time.

"Oh, hi," he said. He slowly walked over to Nathan and put out his hand. "Nice to meet you," he said. "I'm Bobby. Do you play video games?" 

Bobby looked tired, and there were what appeared to be faint scratches on his forearm. Nathan noticed the scratches were red, so he assumed they were probably recent. "I play a little," he said with a smile. "But it's been a while since I've last played a video game." 

Bobby turned to Malick. "Do you play?" he asked.

Malick ran his hand through his hair. "I've played my share," he responded cockily.  

Jonas turned to look at Nathan. "I'll make it quick," he said.

Nathan nodded and Jonas hurried around the corner with his little brother.

"Jonas is really good with his little brother," said Linda. "He really does look out for him. He's done a great job encouraging Bobby with school and with his studies."

"He mentioned Bobby has been having problems in school," said Nathan.

The Siamese cat that had been spread out on the floor next to the floor lamp was now at the foot of Linda's leg. It purred as Linda rubbed its back.

"This is Lacey," Linda said. "She helps to keep me company." 

Linda paused. She suddenly appeared uncomfortable. "He's a young boy," she said. "Considering everything that happened, I think he's doing well." She looked sad, but still tried to smile. "He's still doing the normal things most boys his age do," she said. "Playing video games, roughhousing with his brother — you know, the normal stuff."

Nathan was a little confused. He didn't know what she meant by "considering everything that happened."

"So are things better now?" he asked. "I mean, did something happen at school?"

"Well," she said, "things have gotten a little better. His teacher said he's turning assignments in on time, but falling asleep in class is still an issue. I think he sneaks at night to play his video games, but I don't want to come down too hard on him."

Lacey attempted to sit next to Malick, but he shooed her away. She meowed and Nathan leaned over to pet her.

"This might sound strange," Nathan said, "but I noticed there were some scratches on Bobby's forearm. Did he fall recently?"

"Oh," said Linda, looking slightly surprised, "he probably got a few scuffs and scrapes climbing trees." She smiled. "You know, just being a typical nine-year-old. His father was so good at keeping him in line and watching after him when he played outside. It's just been so difficult for Bobby, and for Jonas too, I'm sure." 

"Wait," said Nathan. "I know that Jonas is close to his brother, but why has it been so hard for him?"

Linda looked confused. "Wait. What?" she said. She paused for a second and then suddenly placed her hand to her mouth. "You don't know, do you?" she asked. "I thought Jonas had told you."

Nathan felt clueless. He turned to Malick, who only shrugged.

"Told us what?" Nathan asked.

Linda looked as if she was fighting back tears. "They lost their father not too long ago." she said. Her nose began to run and she started to sniffle.

Malick grabbed a tissue from the nearby end table and handed it to her.

"The police believe he may have been murdered," she said.

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