Chapter 7

The next day was much of the same for Adam. He woke up, had a quick coffee with Kendra and Holly, wished them well at work, and then went back to bed with Emily. He decided that it was a routine he could get used to. After breakfast he trekked up to Delilah’s house, did his usual perusal of the journals — no new revelations forthcoming — and then went back to Serenity Falls to have lunch with his sister.

It was just the two of them today. Holly had told him that she and Kendra would eat with their class. She’d also added that they might be a bit late in getting back. It was almost 2pm when Adam and his sister saw the couple walking towards them through the Retreat.

Emily frowned slightly as they neared.

“Hey, is Kendra alright? She looks more ... intense than usual.”

Adam cocked his head to the side. He glanced at Holly who gave him a subtle nod.

“ ... yeah. She’s usually tackling you at this point, Emily.”

“Hah. Small mercies. But still, I wonder what’s up.”

Holly was the one who waved as they got closer. She jogged ahead of Kendra, and went over to Emily’s side. She put her arm around Adam’s sister, hugging her jovially.

“Hey, how about the two of us go for a little walk.”

Emily’s eyes had widened slightly at the brunette’s approach. She looked a little unsure.

“Um, why?”

“Kendra just wants a word with your brother. It shouldn’t take long, I just want to give them a moment alone. So nothing nefarious on my end. Unless you’re up for that of course.”

Emily slipped out from underneath Holly’s arm. She gave Kendra a considering look, but addressed Holly.

“Hah. You wish. I’ll keep my pants on thank you very much.”

Holly gave Emily an easy smile.

“Hey, you can keep yours on if you like. We could still have fun regardless.”

“ ... are you fucking with me?”

Holly linked arms with Adam’s sister, gently towing her away.

“Would you like me to? Ha, sorry! I’m just kidding. Come on, let’s head down to the beach and check it out. They should be setting up for the bonfire night...”

Adam watched as Holly and his sister walked away. Emily glanced back at him once, her expression hard to read, and then they rounded a corner and were gone. Adam took a deep breath, turning to face the unusually serious Kendra. He had a good idea of what this was about, and only the fact that Holly had seemed so unconcerned kept him grounded.

“Hey, Kendra. Are you ... okay?”

Kendra cocked her head slightly to the side. Her eyes were intent as flickered all over Adam’s face.

“Hey, Adam. Yeah, I’m okay. Walk with me a bit?”

Kendra slipped one arm through his and started to walk with him side by side through the Retreat. Adam looked down at the top of Kendra’s head, but he couldn’t see her face. Every now and then she glanced up, peering at him.

Adam cleared his throat.

“How was class?”

“Hmm? Oh. Yeah, it was fine. More of the same. Everyone liked the food. Don’t tell Holly, but I think we are getting people coming back each day just for the spread.”

Kendra’s voice didn’t sound like it usually did either. She wasn’t being playful — even though Adam knew that she mostly put it on because she thought it was funny.

“ ... So, Holly had a talk to you about ... stuff?”

Kendra glanced up at him again, and then snorted indelicately. Her arm tightened around his.

“‘Stuff’ he says. Sometimes you really do sound young, Adam.”

Adam was silent for a moment, unsure how he was supposed to take that. Kendra didn’t seem upset, just ... focussed.

“Uh, sorry. I could have phrased that better.”

Kendra shrugged.

“I knew what you meant. Sorry, Adam, I’m just ... considering a lot of ‘stuff’ at the moment.”

Adam’s voice was soft.

“Yeah. I can understand that.”

Kendra’s footsteps faltered. She looked up at Adam, glaring — but not exactly at him. Her eyes were over-bright.

“No. Don’t you start sounding sad, or I’ll...”

Kendra sniffed, and then rubbed her arm across her face. She let go of Adam so that she could slap both of her palms to her cheeks. Adam didn’t think she meant to do it as hard as she did. Her hands made a resounding ‘crack’ as she slapped her face.

“Ow. Okay, big guy, come with me. I thought I could do this while we walked, but I need to go somewhere private.”

Kendra took Adam’s hand and changed their direction. She started to lead him to the bungalow she had originally stayed at with Holly.

“I don’t know why we even kept this place — I mean Delilah said we could keep it while we were here, but we barely use it. All our stuff is here I guess...”

Kendra opened the door and ushered Adam inside. She pointed at the sofa imperiously.

“Sit.”

Adam eyed the blonde, but did as she asked. He still didn’t have a good read on Kendra. He couldn’t sense her emotions as clear as he could Emily, and what he could feel was all jumbled up in a mess.

Once Adam had sat down, Kendra stood in front of him. She looked down at Adam for a long moment, her brows furrowed.

“Kendra? If Holly told you, and your upset — I’m sorry —”

“Quiet, you.”

Kendra reached out and cupped Adam’s face. She tilted his head up, studying it. She turned her head from side to side, peering at him intently. Then she sighed, letting him go. She ran a hand through her long blonde hair.

“I guess I can see it. I ... sort of understand it. But it’s so fucking crazy.”

Adam’s eyes were a little wide. He was off-balance, unsure of what Kendra was feeling.

“Kendra, are you okay?”

“Am I — gah!”

Kendra threw her arms up in the air, turning around and walking a few steps while muttering under her breath. Then she faced Adam again, glowering.

“Forget about me. Are you okay?”

Adam blinked.

“Me?”

“Yes, you. Holly told me that — It’s stupid because it’s obviously been ages and you’re fine, but she said you’ve been going into some kind of freaky magic cave. And — holy shit. That’s what happened when we first met you, isn’t it?”

Adam shifted on the sofa. He felt uncomfortable sitting while Kendra stood over him, but every time he moved to stand up, she glared warningly at him. Adam wasn’t sure what Kendra was thinking. He had been operating under the idea that she would be upset when she found out what was going on. Holly had been distant with him for almost a week! But that didn’t seem to be the case with Kendra.

“Ah, yeah I’m fine, Kendra. And it was — when you met me, I mean. I was just coming back from —”

Kendra put a finger to Adam’s lips, bending down so that she could look at him at eye-level.

“So you’re okay?”

“ ... why wouldn’t I be? Kendra, what’s going on? I should be asking you this.”

Kendra straightened up. She shook her head, her blonde hair flying.

“No you shouldn’t! I’m not pretending to understand everything — Holly was trying to just give me all the facts, but in doing so she kind of left out the actual ‘story’ of what happened.”

“The story?”

“Yes! The story! The narrative! It’s all weird powers, ghosts in a cave — evil cults? Holly told it like she was listing bullet points. It was like the driest explanation ever! I just don’t get how you fit in with all that.”

Adam’s lips twitched for a moment.

“Look, do you want to sit down as well, Kendra? Or do you want to pace about? Sorry if I’m not handling this well, but I sort of expected you to be ... upset?”

“No, I need to pace about. And I was upset — at first.”

“ ... didn’t Holly only tell you today?”

Kendra grimaced.

“Yes, but I was mostly upset that she didn’t tell me before this. There was so much going on that I didn’t know about! I mean — holy shit, Delilah? Your Mom? And here I was thinking that it was wild with just you and Emily.”