Chapter 13: Chapter 13

The flight from LaGuardia to Jackson, Wyoming, was a long one, almost six hours. Ru couldn’t believe how much more complicated it seemed to even get to the plane than it had when she was younger, though she likely wasn’t paying much attention when she was ten since she was in awe of the thought of getting on a plane at all. She’d felt so lucky her mother’s uncle had insisted on flying them all out for the funeral, Ru couldn’t believe she was actually awake—not dreaming—and included. Not that her mother could’ve explained to her distant family why she’d left a ten-year-old at home unattended.

Ru had supposed she’d sit with the girls or Cutter on the flight, but she found herself nestled into a seat next to the window with Rider on the other side of an empty seat between them. He needed the aisle because of his long legs, or so he’d explained it. Ru could believe that, but she was pretty tall herself, and when the person in front of her put his seat back, even though it couldn’t have been more than an inch or two, her comfort level plummeted.

Rider was hilarious, though, and about an hour into the flight, she realized why Cutter had insisted she sit with him. He had her feeling completely at ease, not only about the flight but about where they were going. He told her lots of stories about the older Keepers who still lived in Los Angeles, including her own grandmother, as well as tales of Cutter’s missteps growing up. “Now, he’ll never admit it, but I swear to God the first time he saw a topless woman, he wet his pants.”

Ru raised an eyebrow, wanting to question if he had his liquids right, but she said nothing.

“We were just messing around one night. I think I was fourteen, which would make him twelve, I guess. We walked into this old dude’s dream, and he’s got Loni Anderson on top of him, just going to town. Cutter takes one look, and I kid you not, he’s standing in a pile of piss two seconds later! I about laughed my damn ass off.”

Despite not wanting to make fun of someone who’d been so good to her, Ru couldn’t help but laugh at Rider’s enthusiasm, supposing the sheer volume of liquid must’ve been what delineated the pee from other bodily fluids. She had no idea who Loni Anderson was.

Once Rider had calmed himself a little bit, he said, “Man, that was funny. He immediately leaped to an oceanscape and ran in the water, like that was going to erase what had happened.” His robust chuckling brought stares from a few of the other people they were seated near. “Leaf never let that go. He’d never take Cutter out again without asking him if he had on his Depends.”

Once again, Ru was laughing, wondering if anyone could make out what he was saying and assumed he was delusional. Rider wasn’t one for keeping his voice down or his secrets to himself. After she caught her breath, she innocently asked, “Now, who is Leaf?”

Rider’s countenance changed. He stopped laughing and looked over his shoulder, toward the back of the plane, where Cutter was sitting with the girls, far enough away he’d have no idea Rider was telling her embarrassing stories about him unless she mentioned it. “Oh, he… he was Cutter’s brother.”

Ru was surprised at his wording. She nodded but couldn’t decide whether or not to ask any of the myriad of questions that tumbled through her mind. Finally, she settled on, “Was?”

Clearing his throat, Rider said, “Yeah, we don’t, uh, talk about him much. I guess I shouldn’t have mentioned him. It’s just… it was funny.”

Another nod followed, and as much as Ru wanted to ask what had happened, her assumptions filled in the details. If he wanted to tell her more, he could—or Cutter could. She decided to change the subject. “So, you knew my grandmother?”

“Yeah, sort of.” Rider readjusted in his seat, and Ru could see how cramped he really was. She wondered why the powers that be couldn’t provide them with first class tickets, or maybe even a private jet. Piper was tucked under the seat between them in her case, and Ru thought if they had their own plane, she’d be able to roam around. As Rider continued to talk, she shifted her attention back to him. “We always called her Nana Sue, though she didn’t have any grandkids there. She’d come with your grandfather, Brighton, a few years before your mother was born. By the time I was old enough to know her name or who she was, your mom was gone, and we were told never to ask about Sera, not that I even knew who she was.”

Ru found that information a little hard to digest. “Was Nana Sue kind?”

“Oh, yeah. She’d always waved when we walked past her house. But she was sort of sad, you know? I mean, her husband died not long after her daughter…” he seemed to weigh his words carefully, “disappeared. I don’t know if she knew about you yet, though I guess she might’ve. You’re, what, twenty-five?” Ru nodded. “So, you’re four years younger than me. So, she must’ve known, by the time I was six or seven, anyway. But despite everything that had happened to her, she was always friendly.”

“That’s good,” Ru said, though she wasn’t sure how anyone would manage being friendly considering the circumstances he’d just explained. “Did she have a lot of friends there?”

“She must,” Rider said. “She wouldn’t have had to stay once Brighton died and Sera disappeared. She chose to.”

All of the rules of Los Angeles, of knowing about the Keepers’ and Reapers’ world, were still confusing to Ru, but she was glad her grandmother had found solace in the rest of the community. It might’ve been easy to shun her considering what Sera had done. Having a daughter who had fallen in love with a Reaper had to have been more than embarrassing and shameful for Sue. Such an experience, coupled with losing her husband, would’ve weighed on anyone. “And she knows I’m coming?”

“Yes,” Rider confirmed. “Lyric told her. She’s very excited to meet you. Everyone is.”

Ru managed a smile, but the idea of meeting an entire town’s worth of people was overwhelming. Even the fact that she’d be meeting Cutter’s parents and his sister made butterflies dance in her stomach. What if they didn’t like her? And then… the prospect of sitting across from someone who had the same DNA as her, who knew her mother possibly better than anyone, was an idea Ru couldn’t even imagine. It made her feel a little queasy.

Rider must’ve noticed. He reached out and put his hand on top of hers where she gripped the armrest. “Hey, Ru. It’s gonna be fine. It’s gonna be better than fine. You’ve got this, kid. I promise.”

She turned and looked him in the eye and couldn’t help but smile. “Thanks,” she muttered.

“Sure thing. We’ve got you this far, right? This part’ll be easy.”

He didn’t need to say more; Ru realized that, compared to everything else that lay ahead of their team, he was right. Meeting some like-minded, equally-abled people would be nothing compared to going through her mother’s things, trying to figure out how she’d been able to keep herself hidden from the world for these past twenty-two years. Finding her, convincing her to return to the fold, and seeing what she knew about the portals, was even more complex. And knowing that every Keeper was counting on her not to fail made her want to reach for the emergency exit. But Ru had made a promise that she would do all of those things, on the condition that Cutter would help her access her dad. Why she needed to see him, she couldn’t say. He was a Reaper, after all. But Ru longed to rest her eyes on him almost as much as she wanted to see Seraphina. She’d keep her promise, even if it was the most difficult task she’d ever be called upon to perform. Something told her it might not be….