Chapter 30: Chapter 30

The bedroom she was standing in was even more unfamiliar than the one she’d fallen asleep in likely an hour or two ago. The sunlight peeking through the curtained window revealed it was early morning in whatever dreamland she’d stumbled into. The border at the top of light blue walls consisted of trains, cars, and sailboats. That and the bedspread curled around a smallish, sleeping body revealed this room must belong to a young boy.

Glancing around, Ru realized the room might be in need of updating. There were no toys similar to the ones in the border; instead, a table full of Legos took up a huge amount of space against one wall. There were figurines on a shelf, mostly Minecraft, Star Wars, and Pokémon. This child must’ve been about ten or so, she thought, though he seemed short for his age or was just really good at rolling into a ball.

“Why am I here?” Ru whispered, not wanting to disturb him, but she was confused. She didn’t feel like she was the dreamer. In fact, she didn’t feel like she was asleep at all. But then, she had tried to go right to sleep after the mac and cheese Cutter had graciously made her for dinner, rather than practicing her Keeper skills, so she was fairly certain she hadn’t actually leapt into another realm.

As she pondered exactly what was going on, the bedding shifted. Two arms shot up from beneath the blanket, stretching toward the ceiling, and a big yawn filled the room. A few moments later, the boy sat up. It only took Ru a second to realize whose room she was in. “Ira!” she shouted.

He didn’t look at all surprised to see her standing there. He wasn’t one for emotions most of the time, but the boy who had been in her class at Thomas Elementary climbed out of bed and rushed over to stand in front of her. Ru wanted to reach out and give him a hug, but she knew he preferred people to ask before they touched him. “Is it you, Ms. Roberts?” he asked, looking up at her but not meeting her eyes. “Did you come to visit me.”

Stooping down so that she was at his level, she replied, “I sure did, Ira. How have you been? I’ve missed you so much.”

“I’ve missed you, too. Our new teacher is good, but she doesn’t let me talk to her about Minecraft like you did.” The corner of his mouth wrinkled up, a sign to her that this new situation didn’t make him happy.

“I’m very sorry to hear that. I can talk to her, if you’d like.”

Ira only shrugged. “Do you want to see what I’m making with my Legos?”

“Absolutely, I’d like to,” Ru replied, and as he walked over to the table covered with building blocks, she followed, dropping down on a pillow on the floor so she could see.

Ira began to talk about the various creations he’d built, and Ru listened, nodding along but not really speaking. One of the characteristics of Ira’s autism was that he liked to talk about things he was interested in, but he had yet to develop the ability to care what other people thought, so there was no patience for remarks from the listener. He did expect full attention, however, and Ru was happy to give it to him. She’d missed listening to him discuss the things he enjoyed.

“And this one can climb up the sides of buildings thanks to the suction cups I put on the bottom. See?” He demonstrated how the vehicle he’d made was able to make it to the top of the red and yellow squared building he’d also constructed.

“That’s pretty cool,” she replied, and he nodded, setting the car aside and grabbing something else.

Before Ira could explain the next vehicle, a new voice entered the space. “Wow! I knew you were good at Legos, but I had no idea you could build like this.”

The sharp pain in her stomach got her attention almost as quickly as the voice did. Ru turned her head to see a familiar face crossing the room to join them. She couldn’t believe what she was seeing; she was staring into hazel eyes she never thought she’d see again.

“Mr. Dawson! You’re here, too?” Ira asked, turning to face the newcomer. “My room is very popular this morning.”

“Yes, it is,” Kyle replied, looking down at Ru. “Hello, Ms. Roberts.”

Ru ignored the intense pain in her gut and hauled herself to her feet, instinctively readying herself. As much as she wanted to believe this was all a dream and she was looking into the face of the man she’d fallen in love with not long ago, she wasn’t unconscious enough to forget that Kyle Dawson didn’t really exist. “What are you doing here?”

“What do you mean?” he asked, his forehead crinkling like he truly had no idea. “I have just as much right to be here as you do.”

“No, you don’t,” Ru replied, taking a step toward Ira but not putting her hand around him, realizing that would make him uncomfortable. She would if she had to, though. “You don’t even know him.”

“Yes, I do,” he countered, shoving his hands down into the khaki slacks he was wearing.

“Mr. Dawson is our substitute sometimes when Coach Kennedy is sick.” Ira relayed the information almost in a monotone, no emotion whatsoever, like he was just repeating what he’d been told.

Ru gasped. “Seriously?” she asked, looking Kyle in the face again. “You’ve been substituting at my school?”

“You don’t work there anymore, Ms. Roberts.” Ira’s statement might’ve been true, but she could hardly explain to any ten-year-old, particularly this one, why Thomas Elementary would always be her school. “You quit.”

“That’s right. You did quit.” Kyle had a smirk on his face. “Anyway, I’m still surprised by your shock, Ms. Roberts. I think we have a mutual friend who told you I was coming.” He winked at her then, and the searing pain was back in her stomach. Ru almost doubled over. “I see you got the invitation, too.”

“Why?” It was the only word she could get out. “Why are you pretending to be something that you’re not?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“A mutual friend?” She glanced down at Ira but he was back to working with his Legos, not paying attention. “Are you friends with yourself, Thanatos?” She said it through gritted teeth, like she didn’t want to confuse Ira, but he wasn’t listening anyway.

He chuckled, which momentarily caused Ira to look up, but not for long. “Maybe. I am pretty amazing.”

She began to shake her head. “You are far from it.”

“That’s not what you used to think. Back when we….” He stopped, glancing down at Ira, but the smile was still on his face.

“I don’t know what you think is going to happen in here, but you may as well go ahead and leap away, back to your little hidey hole or wherever the hel—heck you came from.” She was trying her best not to swear in front of the little boy.

“What do you mean you don’t know what I’m doing here? I told you. It’s really simple, Rune. You tell me where you’re going after you fly to London tomorrow, and I’ll walk away. Alone. Don’t tell me, Ira comes with me.” He shrugged, and she tried not to stare at his perfectly sculpted shoulders, reminding herself he was death incarnate. He wasn’t Kyle. He wanted to hurt Ira.

“I’m not telling you anything,” she said, her eyes boring into him. The fact that he knew they were flying to London was enough to alarm her, which she assumed was his reason for stating it. It was already too much for him to know. “And Ira’s not leaving here with you.”