Out of Darkness

Ice Cream

There is a knock on the door, and I look to Mr. Blackbourne. He raises his eyebrow, as though he were asking me if I am ready. I shake my head and take another bite of ice cream. Dr. Sean walks over to whomever is on the other side and speaks to them in hushed tones. He comes back and carefully places an arm around my shoulders.

"You know, Pookie," I stop him with a raised hand. I walk over to the microwave and yank out the mostly concealed bug. I look around the kitchen, and decide that the best place for it is inside the freezer.

When I'm done, I turn around to see the pair of them leaning against the counter in identical poses. Arms and ankles crossed, both of them trying not to laugh. I mimic their pose across from them and wait to see who will crack first.

It's Sean. He leans over, holding his side and laughs like a maniac. Mr. Blackbourne has that millimeter smile and his eyes are shining with a mirth that softens all of his hard edges.

"What? My first thought was to microwave it on high!" I walk back over to my seat and resume eating my dessert.

"Pookie," he is still laughing, "you are a delight!" He wipes his eyes and rejoins me. "But how long are you going to keep the boys on ice?" He wags his eyebrows as he says the last part, and starts snickering at his pun. Mr. Blackbourne rolls his eyes, but appears to be waiting for my answer as well.

I reach to take another bite, but my spoon hits cardboard. Darn.

"It's not that I don't want to talk to them," I scrape up the melty parts for one last taste while gathering my thoughts, "it's, well," I look into each of their eyes, suddenly desperate for guidance, "how am I supposed to do any of this? I don't really know any of you, but you all have seen me at my worst. I've never been free before. I'm winging it here, and I'm scared and thrilled and completely in over my head." I groan and drop my head onto the counter. "See! I'm a mess!" and I bang my head once more for good measure.

Sean tightens his hold on me and tries to lift my head, but I refuse. I'm too embarrassed.

"Pookie, I personally love your word-vomit! It's much better than the other kind that I have to deal with at the hospital!"

This time, it's Mr. Blackbourne who groans. "Sean, could we not talk about bodily fluids while in the kitchen?" I peek out from my hiding, and he leans down to my level.

"Miss Sorensen, you have demonstrated great courage up until now. Please don't let go of it yet. Our family needs you. We've been complacent for too long. We have taken our relationships for granted, and have become stagnant in our personal growth. There's never been a female on our team, and there is bound to be a learning curve for everyone. By all means, let the boys sweat for their conduct, but please, Miss Sorensen, don't hold it against them forever."

I'm not sure how he does it, but his faith in me makes me think that I can do anything. I get up and walk back to the freezer. I dig around and find several more pints of Ben and Jerry's and balance them in my arms. I grab a handful of spoons and walk over to the exit. Sean and Mr. Blackbourne haven't moved, so I push open the door with my hip and call over my shoulder, "You coming?"

***

She is a vision from my dreams, my Cupcake. A flaxen haired goddess standing there with a scowl and an armload of ice cream. She stares each of us down and then says, "So I hear you've never had a girl before."

Several of my brothers choke for a second and I hear Nathan sputtering, "Wha- no- but-"

Gabe is cracking up beside me and ends up falling into my lap and then rolling to the floor, while North bellows out, "THAT'S A FUCKING LIE!"

My cupcake looks startled and then confused. Doc is also laughing, but he leans over and whispers something in her ear, which I assume is an explanation, because she turns beet red and her mouth drops open. Kota walks up to her slowly and offers to help her with her armload. It seems to shake her out of her embarrassment and she shakes her head and clears her throat.

"Sorry! What I meant to say, was that you've all never been with a girl before..." she stutters to a halt when she realizes how that sounds. "UGH! I mean, I've never really been around boys, either, and that we are both learning how to act!" She narrows her eyes, daring any of us to laugh at her. Gabe swallows his hysterics and she nods in approval. "Even though I'm mad about how you were all treating me, and that you all thought it was okay to spy on a private conversation, I'm sorry that I yelled at you. I brought you a peace offering." She starts passing out the pints and spoons. She tries to hand me a Karamel Sutra, but I just shake my head.

"Do you want a different flavor, Luke?" she asks me. I shake my head again. I don't deserve ice cream. She keeps passing them out, and I feel sick to my stomach. How can she be so forgiving? I should have known better. I've been crowding her this whole time, and I should have known! I was there! I saw where they kept her, and I couldn't take a hint! I knew that she didn't like to be touched, but I was being selfish and kept pushing, thinking that I would be the one to fix her. I feel so ashamed. I get up and while everyone is engrossed in talking and getting her to try their flavor, I sneak down the hall.

***

Victor has just given me a bite of his Cherries Garcia when I notice Luke slide out of the room. I walk over to where Mr. Blackbourne is sitting and gently lower myself to a crouch next to him.

"You handled that very well, Miss Sorensen," he says, and I feel like I could fly from his praise alone. He inclines his head and asks, "Was there something you needed?"

I nod and let him see my worry. "Mr. Blackbourne, I don't know if you noticed, but Luke just snuck out, and he didn't seem to be very happy."

He looks at the still-clean spoon in my hand and questions, "Did you have extra?" I follow his gaze and shake my head.

"No, sir, Luke didn't want any."

His posture stiffens and he looks at me sharply. "Are you telling me that Mr. Taylor refused dessert?"

I nod. I feel like I'm missing something, and afraid that I've messed up.

"I offered to get him a different flavor, but he just shook his head. Did I do something wrong?"

"No, Miss Sorensen, you did everything just right. I'm afraid that I am the one who is at fault here."

Mr. Blackbourne got out of his seat and quickly followed Luke down the hall.

***

I look at the address on the paper and then at the house across the street. I sigh. This is the eighth on our list of possible witnesses. Jen is starting to get twitchy and I'm getting nervous. We've checked out more than half of them, and they have all been scum. David Addams is an accountant with an unusual deposit and withdrawal schedule. We're hoping that he's one of those people that are pressured into doing it, but I have my doubts. He has that same look about him as Mr. Sorensen. That smugness that you just want to wipe off of them with the heel of your boot to their face.

A flicker of movement in the backyard catches my eye and I nudge Jen and point. A woman, maybe 30-35 years old limps out of the back door and begins hanging clothes on the line. She looks around and when she doesn't see anyone, she drops her basket and tilts her face up to the sun. Jen gasps and I hear the rapid clicks of her camera shutter.

Shit.

She's got a black eye, and a fading bruise along her jaw. She snaps her head up. She must have heard something, because she hustles to finish with the laundry and then does that lumbering hobble back into the house.

"She's the one, Shannon," Jen says. I look at her and wonder what she saw that I didn't. She pulls the memory card out of her camera and plugs it into the laptop. She pulls up one of the photos and zooms in on something that I couldn't see from where I'm seated. Damn it! The woman wasn't limping. She was shackled at the ankle, dragging a heavy chain behind her. My partner looks at me with a scary-as-fuck grin.

"She's the one who's going to help us bring down these bastards."

***