Aftermath by Bailey Bradford (most important books of all time txt) 📗

can’t stay long, we’re supposed to be meeting up with a group of friends for dinner. Zeke can be a bit of a bear if we’re late. I just came to give you a message. I don’t know if it’ll mean anything to y’all or not. Could be a random thing Stefan was thinking about.”

As if Severo had summoned him by saying his name, Stefan was there. Lee knew it was his brother’s spirit by the warm blanket of air surrounding him and Darren like there was each time Stefan came to them.

“Hello, Stefan.” Severo greeted the spirit easily although he frowned when he said it. “It might be a good idea for you to go find Conner and let me and Laine talk to Lee and Darren alone.”

Lee’s stomach plummeted as he wondered how bad whatever Severo had to tell him was. Severo’s frown deepened as a piece of his hair was lifted and tugged then the warmth surrounding Lee and Darren vanished.

“Brat.” Severo rubbed at his scalp and eyed Lee warily. “I mean that in a good way. He’s playful, like Conner.”

Too highly strung now to even crack a smile, Lee nodded. “So what’s the message?”

“Nothing much,” Severo admitted, “at least, like I said, not that I could tell, but I asked Stefan to leave in case I’m wrong and he got upset. Whether it’s Stefan’s age or temperament, his emotions can cause things to happen. You’ve probably heard the term poltergeist?”

“Yeah, the ghosts—or spirits—that knock stuff over and scare people.”

Severo shrugged as he leaned against the porch rail. “Kind of. I don’t know as much as I wish I did about spirits, but I think poltergeists are probably spirits of younger people who’ve died and therefore they have less control of their emotions. Not emotionally mature, I guess, and their spirits are no different. But I could be completely wrong.”

Lee considered it for a minute. “No, that sounds about right. Stefan was—is—you know what I mean. He was never going to be able to function at an adult level, not emotionally or cognitively.”

“Good to know. Now, getting back on track. Sorry for veering off, I tend to do that sometimes.” Severo closed his eyes. “I didn’t get words, just images. It was dark, there was something on the walls.” Frowning, Severo was silent and Lee wished he could see what Severo had seen. So far he didn’t have a clue, and he was leaning toward this all being something Severo had only imagined. “There’s something about the walls, they aren’t… Rock? Maybe that’s what I’m seeing, because it’s distorted, not smooth and flat. Then there’s this big rock? I mean, really big, like it’s a mountain or—”

“Mystic Rock,” Lee and Darren said, glancing at each other as soon as the words left their mouths.

Severo opened his eyes and promptly slapped a hand to his forehead. “Of course! Why didn’t I recognize it? I went there once years ago and wanted to trip all the kids who ran up that sucker while I was panting and stopping every thirty feet.”

“What is Mystic Rock?” Laine asked. “I’m feeling ignorant here.”

“It’s one of those Texas treasures you really ought to see.” Lee had loved going there as a kid. He would have been one of the ones Severo wanted to trip, since Lee had jogged up the incline of the over four-hundred-foot tall chunk of rock. “The Rock is a huge granite dome rising above ground, something like four hundred and twenty feet high. We lived right down the road from Mystic Rock State Natural Area. It was an awesome place to go as a kid.”

“And there are caves,” Darren pointed out thoughtfully. His eyes lit up and he bounced on his toes. “Caves have rough walls! And Stefan’s favorite cave was in Mystic Rock!”

Darren bounced again, as if made buoyant by hope. He looked so young, so much like the boy he was when Lee had first met him that Lee’s heart ached with the knowledge of what Darren had suffered over the past two years. Lee wanted to pull Darren close and kiss him, taste the flavor of hope on Darren’s tongue—or whatever emotion it was that made him look like that. Lee restrained himself only because he knew Severo would make some crack about them being at it again.

“I’ll have to drag Laine down there to see it. Maybe we’ll take a three day weekend and stay in Carrvelle. I love that town. There’s some awesome German restaurants there.” Severo was nearly as springy as Darren, Lee noted, and he also noticed the way the harsh planes of Laine’s face softened and his icy silver irises warmed until they looked molten as he watched Severo. Laine looked utterly smitten.

Lee knew how Laine felt.

* * * *

“I’m going with you and that’s all there is to it. You won’t know which cave was Stefan’s favorite.” And if Stefan communicated to Lee which one it was, Darren was going to scream. He and Lee had been at this for over an hour now, Lee wanting Darren to remain in McKinton while Lee headed back to Jackson. Mystic Rock, to be accurate. Lee said he wanted to make sure Darren was safe, but Darren couldn’t shake the fear that Lee would leave and not come back.

“I might be able to. I used to run through just about every cave there.”

Darren crossed his arms over his chest and glared at Lee. “So? Like I said, you don’t know which one Stefan liked best.”

Lee looked exasperated as he flopped down on the couch beside Darren. “Dar, if someone killed Stefan, he might be watching for you. For all this person knows—if there is a person—Stefan told you everything about him before he died. You were Stefan’s best friend, everyone knew it. That is why I am afraid to take you with me.”

“That’s crap and you know it,” Darren muttered, seething at Lee using the same argument again when it hadn’t