Page 21 of Possessed By Shadows

Chapter 6

Lukas’s apartment was empty. I left him another voicemail. I was waiting on food from one of the smaller shops, andouille sausage with red beans and rice, and some chicken gumbo, when my phone rang. Both foods made me salivate, and left me indecisive, which meant ordering both, but Micah and I would share. The phone ringing startled me as I was so deep in thought over a simple food choice. For a few seconds I thought it was Lukas and was ready to lay into him, but it wasn’t his ringtone.

I answered without more than glancing at the screen. My dad, not Lukas… weird, Dad never called me. Honestly, I didn’t know how he knew my number. Lukas had probably given it to him.

“Hey, Dad, what’s up?” I had a moment of anxiety that something had happened to mom. My brain immediately jumping to the worst scenario. My therapist often reminded me that it took years to retrain negative behavior. Obviously I still needed to work on that.

“Do you have any idea where your brother is?” His tone was gruff with an edge of Georgia drawl. I should have been used to it over the years, the lack of kindness in his voice. My dad was very matter-of-fact, do what I tell you, and don’t question me, in tone and personality. It was one of the reasons we were never close. I was too wishy-washy for him.

“No,” I said slowly, dread filling my gut. Was Lukas hurt? In a hospital somewhere? And how would my dad know before I did when he was halfway across the country?

“He was supposed to pick me up at the airport.”

That was a revelation. “What? You’re in New Orleans?”

“Isn’t that what I just said?”

“Yes, sir,” I said fast. “Lukas didn’t tell me. He hasn’t been answering his phone. I don’t know where he is.” And I wasn’t allowed to drive. Picking my dad up from the airport was not an option. “He was supposed to work the shop tonight,” I said, then added, “but he’s got a ton of business stuff going on lately, so maybe it slipped his mind,” hoping my dad didn’t think Lukas was flaky. In truth, Lukas hadn’t really been flaky until I got to town. Was it my fault? “How long will you be in town?”

“I’m here to work on his house. He said it needs a lot of work, and I’ve done construction before. I was in-between jobs anyway.”

“Oh, that’s great. It does need work,” I answered awkwardly. The food finally appeared, and I took the containers, though my appetite was gone, worry giving me nausea. It sounded like my dad would be here for a bit. That was distressing. Was he supposed to be staying with Lukas then?

“I’m not allowed to drive,” I said, hating uttering those words, which made me feel incompetent, “but I can see if Micah will drive. We’ll have to see if Lukas left his car.”

“You still have those blackouts?” My dad asked. “The government better be compensating you for the damage done.”

“Yes, and yes,” I agreed, not willing to go into details.

“I will get a cab. Just need to get into Lukas’s house. Was going to be staying there while I worked on it.”

“Sure.” I didn’t have keys. Maybe there was a set in Lukas’s apartment? I’d have to ask Sky. I hightailed it back toward the shop. “Do you know where the shop is? Simply Crafty? Cabs aren’t allowed on the street in front, but they can drop you off a block down.”

He grunted at me. Was that an agreement?

“I have to see if Lukas left the keys in his apartment,” I admitted. I had keys to his apartment, not to the house. I’d never even been in the house. Standing outside with Micah was as close as we got. His indication of ants on his skin, and Sky’s affirmation that her cards told her it was haunted, was enough for me to stay away.

“I will meet you at the shop,” my father agreed.

“Okay, see you soon,” I said and hung up, heart racing. I practically ran back to the shop, praying the whole way that Lukas had shown up and I could hand my dad over to him. It wasn’t that we didn’t get along. It was more that we were polar opposites, and he never had use for a kid who couldn’t focus. At my announcement that I was enlisting, he had been overjoyed. They’d make me less flighty, he said. Funnily enough, it hadn’t.

Upstairs in the shop, things had quieted down, but there was no Lukas. Brad and Jojo were gone. “Do you know if the keys to Lukas’s house are in his apartment?” I asked Sky as I huffed a bit from the run.

“I think so?”

Micah appeared from the back room. I held out the boxes of food for him. No reason for him to go hungry when it was my stomach that was churning. “My dad is here,” I said in a rush. “Like, in town. Lukas asked him to come work on the house? Has anyone heard from Lukas?” Because I was going to kill him for leaving this all on me.

“Sit down and eat,” Micah directed, “and breathe. It will be fine.”

“He’s on his way here right now,” I said feeling my heart squeeze in my chest. Fear, I realized. All the things I faced, and my dad’s disapproval could bring me to my knees faster. I hadn’t seen him since before I left for bootcamp over a decade ago.

“Good, then there is no need to rush,” Micah tugged me toward the back room.

“I can run and look for the keys,” Sky offered. “They should be on the rack by the door. If it’s okay if I leave for a few minutes.”

“That’s fine,” Micah agreed. “I’ve got the shop.”

Sky nodded and scooted out from behind the counter and darted out the door. It was odd that she was dressed in jeans and a sweater, hair pulled back into a thick braid. Normally, even with the chill, she was in a dress. But maybe it had gotten too cold even for her. I tried to focus on everything around me instead of devolving into a panic attack. The shop smelled like lilac and a hint of bergamot, a scent I really enjoyed but found could quickly become too strong. At least it helped ground me a little as I tried to pick out where it was coming from. A small cone of incense behind the counter, flickered a tiny white line of smoke. I stared at it, watching it move and breathing the scent.