Bones in the Sand - Julie Steimle (best fiction novels to read txt) 📗

the arm. "Never."

They both walked down the quiet street.

 

The house Zormna had inherited was an old, powder-blue, Victorian building with three stories and no basement. It had a small veranda and a simple front lawn, situated on the corner of a large street and a lesser-known street. She hadn't decorated it, though Jennifer had tried to get her to do it that last week. A rather bad sense of foreboding made her want to skip it. The front light was on and the kitchen light was blazing. And as far as Zormna could see from the smoke that trailed lightly from the chimney, Jeff had even lit a fire in her fireplace. Todd and she walked up the front step, which had been hastily swept by Jeff, and they pulled on the front door to go inside.

The front room was not warm yet, but Zormna removed her scarf and gloves and set them on the rack next to the door.

"Come in and take your boots off. I'll have some cocoa for you in just a second. The water has to boil first." Jeff's voice came from inside the kitchen to the right.

Todd smirked. He peered into the room to see if Jeff was wearing an apron. He wasn't, but he was still in his pajamas. He hadn't even taken off his scarf or his jacket. The last time he had seen Jeff with Zormna, they were bickering about the scar on Jeff's face and how it was Zormna's fault. And though he had heard around Thanksgiving that Jeff and Zormna had warmed up to each other, this was not the Jeff he once knew. He would have teased Zormna about feeling 'a little cold' rather than hurry off to get her cocoa. Todd almost laughed out loud.

Zormna just pulled off her boots and left them on the mat near the door. She walked across the room and threw herself onto the regency style couch in the living room. Zormna quit trying to fight her tears as they emerged on the tops of her cheeks.

Jeff walked into the room, carrying two mugs. He handed one to Zormna and the other to Todd.

"It might be a bit hot, but if you stir it, it should cool down," he said, mostly to Zormna.

Jeff turned back to the kitchen, catching Todd's amazed and amused expression. Then Jeff continued to work on something else.

"Thanks," Zormna muttered, holding the mug but not drinking.

Todd sat next to her. He watched her stare across the room in a dejected stupor. A faint grumble came from the kitchen. Todd could only catch a few words.

"What kind of people..." grumble, grumble "...and a Merry Christmas to you too."

Carrying in a box of doughnuts, Jeff placed them on the coffee table. He then sat down on the couch next to Todd, giving him a slight apologetic look. Jeff sipped cocoa from his own mug then pointed at the doughnuts. "Have one. I doubt you ate breakfast. Am I right?"

Zormna only nodded. She tried to sip her cocoa, but she only winced when it scorched her tongue. She placed it immediately on the coffee table. Forgetting Todd was there, she said, "Jafarr, what am I going to do now? What if the FBI comes around? I don't have a security system set up yet."

Jeff eyes widened, and motioned for her to notice Todd, who watched them both. He cleared his throat. "I think you will do as you always have done."

Zormna frowned, but she blushed, remembering the company now.

She turned to Todd, and said, "I think your Mom and Dad are probably wondering where you are. Shouldn't you be getting home?"

Todd stared at her, feeling hurt. "Are you that ready to get rid of me? They know where I am. They saw me leave with you."

She nodded and sighed. "What I meant was, won't you get in trouble for hanging out with me?"

Todd stood up with a bitter laugh. "They can't tell me who can and can't be my friends. I'm an adult."

Zormna clenched her teeth and nodded.

Jeff sighed, thinking. Finally he stood up and said, "I need to get back and get dressed. Aunt Mary will be wondering where I ran off to."

"And in your pajamas no less," Zormna murmured, staring into her mug of cocoa.

Jeff flushed as he wrapped his scarf around his neck, walking back to the front door. He pulled the boots he had left on the front mat and jerked on the door handle. He looked to Todd. Waving goodbye, he said, "Nice to see you again, Todd. Zormna, I'll come around as soon as I can to make sure things are ok with you."

He headed through the door. Yet, he stopped with a wave for Todd to follow. Todd did, wondering what Jeff was up to. Truthfully, Todd was amazed at how changed Jeff's attitude towards Zormna was. Before they were like - not oil and water. More like baking soda and vinegar. They violently reacted to one another presence.

Jeff said just as he stepped out the door, "Will you stay with her until I get back?"

Todd nodded, glancing back at Zormna, who still was on the verge of an emotional breakdown.

Jeff patted Todd thankfully on the shoulder. "Thanks, man. I owe you." He turned to leave, but paused on the front steps. "Hey, the guys and I were going to take a bunch of girls caroling tonight. Do you want to come?"

Todd smiled but he peeked back at Zormna again.

"She'll be there," Jeff said. Then adding with a smirk he said, "Even though she can't sing worth squat."

Todd smiled and nodded. "Sure."

"I heard that!" Zormna's voice bellowed from inside.

Jeff grinned and walked down the walk to his truck, muttering, "That cheered her up," to himself as he went.

Todd looked back. Zormna was glowering, but she had drunk her cocoa and was moving about in a less mournful manner. Shrugging, he supposed that was one way to cheer Zormna up, even though it really was odd. He went inside and closed the door, keeping out the winter chill and the despair of the day.

Chapter Two: Evolution

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"The chances against anything man-like on Mars are a million to one." p. 5

 

That Christmas evening, Zormna and her friends met at her place with a gaggle of girls for caroling that night. Jennifer had brought her boyfriend, Kevin Jacobson. And Brian Henderson, Jonathan Baker, Mark Wheley, and Adam Arbor brought dates, as well as Brian's sister Joy who still had a crush on Jeff, despite the fact that he had ditched her at Homecoming earlier that year. They had gathered the usual collection of people, including Darren Asher, Zormna's next-door neighbor and known neighborhood weirdo. He was Zormna's guest, so no one argued.

Zormna's house had been decorated then stocked with food for the party the group had planned after the caroling, a task that took most of the day with a lot of effort from Jeff and Todd. They did it mostly in hopes to cheer Zormna up and make her more comfortable after being thrown out of the McLennas' house. Jeff had brought in a fake tree that was on sale at half price, and they decorated it with tinfoil and paper-folded snowflakes - or that was how it looked to Todd and the rest. Zormna had been folding them at Jeff's request, and she was rather good at it. But some of them looked like flowers.

After everyone arrived, they group caroled up and down the street. After that, they hopped into the back of Brian's truck and went down to the city hall to look at the ice sculptures and lights in the city square. Some couples tried to pair off, Joy attempting to take Jeff's hand, while Jennifer and Kevin snuggled so close it nearly made Zormna sick. But Darren straggled behind them all, watching Zormna from the back as Todd made awkward advances to her side. Though, he also noticed Jeff's amused peeks backward at his two friends, while Brian tried to avert his gaze.

But Zormna didn't play into any of the romantic atmosphere at all, ignoring Todd's advances. She ran around more like a child, sliding ahead on the ice, stopping often to look at things closer than close. She straggled occasionally when fascinated by a particular clever lighting set up. This amused Jennifer a great deal who murmured under her breath how ADHD Zormna was. The only other person who did that sort of thing was Darren, though Todd joined in to be close to Zormna.

Of course, Zormna also hadn't sung well at all as they caroled. Jeff had been right about that. Though beautiful, Zormna was basically tone deaf. She would never have a career as a singing star, Brian joked... especially since it took a while for her to catch the tune and get on key. As usual, the boys found it funny, and it gave the girls something to tease Zormna about as most of the time girls were jealous of her. This stood in contrast to Jeff who had one of those voices that stunned the carolers next to him and all those listening on the street. Several of them said he should become a professional singer, which caused Zormna to peek at him surreptitiously and giggle. The girls were enraptured by his singing - including Zormna who smiled at him like they were sharing a secret joke. This, Jennifer noticed, and so did Darren who snuck several peeks at her while Jeff crooned out the words and Zormna butchered the tunes, amazed that they were from the same place yet could be such polar opposites at times. Their other friends also noticed her looks at Jeff. But they interpreted what they saw in other ways.  

Thing was, by the end of caroling, Zormna no longer seemed so upset that she had been kicked out of the McLennas' home - which had been the goal of Jeff all along. And during their warming up within her own house, their feast on cocoa, wassail, and doughnuts with friends, it felt like a home. She looked about herself and sighed.  

They all parted at midnight, though some hinted that they had to leave earlier. Jennifer practically ran home, knowing her parents would be irate that she and Todd had hung out with Zormna so late, imagining the girl indoctrinating them with some kind of...whatever philosophy against them.

Jeff stayed to help clean up. Everyone else had gone home, including Darren.

"Not a bad night. And it was pretty good for your second party," he said, collecting the dirty mugs from off the coffee table.

Zormna smirked back at him. "I suppose. At least this time no one brought beer."

Jeff laughed, recalling the party as he carried the mugs into the kitchen. "I personally think our old friend Sam did that. I think he was trying to get you drunk so you'd babble or something."

Zormna wiped off the cocoa rings on the wood table, then picked up the empty doughnut carton. There were still a few donut holes left. Some were cream-filled. "Perhaps."

Sam Perkins, a.k.a Agent Steve Keane of the FBI, had gotten himself drunk at the party Adam Arbor held in her house before Homecoming when he was undercover