expression.
Sam followed Bo and Adrian up the front porch steps. Bo unlocked the front door, and the three of them trudged inside. A young woman in blue sweats emerged from the nearest apartment, umbrella in hand. She gave them a nod on her way out, brown ponytail bobbing. They didn’t meet anyone else as they trudged up the stairs to their apartment. Sam knew it was just his nerves which made the silence seem so eerie—nearly all of their www.samhainpublishing.com 55
Ally Blue
neighbors worked or attended school during the week, so of course the place was quiet—
but knowing that didn’t make him any less jumpy. He wondered if the parenting stuff would ever get any easier, or if he was fated to suffer this overwhelming sense of approaching doom every time he had to help Bo deal with discipline issues.
Inside the apartment, Sam flipped the switch to turn on the two standing lamps in the living area. Adrian tore off the poncho and threw it on the floor, then dropped his backpack beside it.
Bo took his son firmly by the shoulders and steered him to the sofa before he could stomp off to his room. “Sit,” Bo ordered. “I want to talk to you.” The glare Adrian shot at his father burned with rebellion, but he did as he was told.
Sam curled into the chair opposite the couch, hoping he’d be able to keep out of whatever was about to happen.
“I already told you I didn’t do it,” Adrian muttered.
“Yes, I know what you said.” Bo sat beside Adrian, studying his face. “Son, I’d like to believe you. But according to your teacher, you were the only student sitting close enough to the bookshelf to knock those books off it. And she said she saw you throw that pencil at her.”
Scowling, Adrian crossed his arms and attempted to stare a hole in the floor. “I don’t care what she thinks she saw. I didn’t do it.” “Then who did?”
“I don’t know! It just happened, okay?”
“Books don’t go flying off a shelf all by themselves, and pencils certainly don’t throw themselves at people.”
In his memory, Sam saw Lee’s worried face as he told them about the strange happenings at his and Janine’s house—shadows, noises, objects moving by themselves. A disturbing suspicion began to take root in Sam’s mind.
“Well, I guess someone else did it then, didn’t they?” Adrian spat.
Bo didn’t comment on the caustic tone in the child’s voice. Turning sideways, he tucked one leg beneath him. “Adrian, look at me.” 56 www.samhainpublishing.com
An Inner Darkness
The boy cut his eyes sideways to meet his father’s gaze with a defiant glare. Bo sighed. “We all make mistakes, son. We all do things we know are wrong. You can’t change what’s already happened, but you can take responsibility for your actions.” Adrian’s jaw clenched just like Bo’s did when he was angry and trying to hold it in.
“I didn’t do it.”
Bo’s dark eyes sparked with frustration. “Adrian, don’t lie to me.”
“I’m not lying! I didn’t do it !”
Before Sam could wonder why the air in the room suddenly felt so heavy, the bulb in the lamp beside him exploded with a pop. Shards of glass pinged against the wooden floor.
Adrian leaped to his feet, his face stricken. “ Now look what you made me do!” Without waiting for an answer, he ran into his and Sean’s bedroom and slammed the door behind him.
A stunned silence fell. Sam stared at the lamp for a moment, then turned to look at Bo. The color had leeched from Bo’s face. His gaze caught Sam’s, and Sam knew they were thinking the same thing.
Maybe Lee and the boys weren’t imagining things after all.
www.samhainpublishing.com 57
Ally Blue
Chapter Six
Since Adrian refused to come out of his room, Bo went in. Adrian protested, but as the door had no lock he didn’t have much choice in the matter. Sam busied himself cleaning up the broken glass and changing the bulb in the lamp.
Bo had left the bedroom door open, and Sam tried not to listen
Sam followed Bo and Adrian up the front porch steps. Bo unlocked the front door, and the three of them trudged inside. A young woman in blue sweats emerged from the nearest apartment, umbrella in hand. She gave them a nod on her way out, brown ponytail bobbing. They didn’t meet anyone else as they trudged up the stairs to their apartment. Sam knew it was just his nerves which made the silence seem so eerie—nearly all of their www.samhainpublishing.com 55
Ally Blue
neighbors worked or attended school during the week, so of course the place was quiet—
but knowing that didn’t make him any less jumpy. He wondered if the parenting stuff would ever get any easier, or if he was fated to suffer this overwhelming sense of approaching doom every time he had to help Bo deal with discipline issues.
Inside the apartment, Sam flipped the switch to turn on the two standing lamps in the living area. Adrian tore off the poncho and threw it on the floor, then dropped his backpack beside it.
Bo took his son firmly by the shoulders and steered him to the sofa before he could stomp off to his room. “Sit,” Bo ordered. “I want to talk to you.” The glare Adrian shot at his father burned with rebellion, but he did as he was told.
Sam curled into the chair opposite the couch, hoping he’d be able to keep out of whatever was about to happen.
“I already told you I didn’t do it,” Adrian muttered.
“Yes, I know what you said.” Bo sat beside Adrian, studying his face. “Son, I’d like to believe you. But according to your teacher, you were the only student sitting close enough to the bookshelf to knock those books off it. And she said she saw you throw that pencil at her.”
Scowling, Adrian crossed his arms and attempted to stare a hole in the floor. “I don’t care what she thinks she saw. I didn’t do it.” “Then who did?”
“I don’t know! It just happened, okay?”
“Books don’t go flying off a shelf all by themselves, and pencils certainly don’t throw themselves at people.”
In his memory, Sam saw Lee’s worried face as he told them about the strange happenings at his and Janine’s house—shadows, noises, objects moving by themselves. A disturbing suspicion began to take root in Sam’s mind.
“Well, I guess someone else did it then, didn’t they?” Adrian spat.
Bo didn’t comment on the caustic tone in the child’s voice. Turning sideways, he tucked one leg beneath him. “Adrian, look at me.” 56 www.samhainpublishing.com
An Inner Darkness
The boy cut his eyes sideways to meet his father’s gaze with a defiant glare. Bo sighed. “We all make mistakes, son. We all do things we know are wrong. You can’t change what’s already happened, but you can take responsibility for your actions.” Adrian’s jaw clenched just like Bo’s did when he was angry and trying to hold it in.
“I didn’t do it.”
Bo’s dark eyes sparked with frustration. “Adrian, don’t lie to me.”
“I’m not lying! I didn’t do it !”
Before Sam could wonder why the air in the room suddenly felt so heavy, the bulb in the lamp beside him exploded with a pop. Shards of glass pinged against the wooden floor.
Adrian leaped to his feet, his face stricken. “ Now look what you made me do!” Without waiting for an answer, he ran into his and Sean’s bedroom and slammed the door behind him.
A stunned silence fell. Sam stared at the lamp for a moment, then turned to look at Bo. The color had leeched from Bo’s face. His gaze caught Sam’s, and Sam knew they were thinking the same thing.
Maybe Lee and the boys weren’t imagining things after all.
www.samhainpublishing.com 57
Ally Blue
Chapter Six
Since Adrian refused to come out of his room, Bo went in. Adrian protested, but as the door had no lock he didn’t have much choice in the matter. Sam busied himself cleaning up the broken glass and changing the bulb in the lamp.
Bo had left the bedroom door open, and Sam tried not to listen
Similar Books
