{"id":285,"date":"2011-06-06T00:00:42","date_gmt":"2011-06-06T04:00:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/?p=285"},"modified":"2011-06-06T00:00:42","modified_gmt":"2011-06-06T04:00:42","slug":"day-1-chapter-6-marin-03","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/?p=285","title":{"rendered":"Day 1 – Chapter 6 – Marin – 03"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I stared at J.T. for a long moment.\u00a0 Thom, scared?\u00a0 Thom wasn\u2019t afraid of anything.\u00a0 \u201cScared of what?\u201d\u00a0 He could handle all of it originally\u2026he was okay that first time down in the ravine with Drew and I, when everything started to\u2026to happen\u2026\u00a0 <\/em>I scrubbed my hand across my eyes.\u00a0 He was okay for months.\u00a0 This only started a few months ago.\u00a0 He was fine for months before.\u00a0 What changed?<\/em>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 J.T. shook his head a little.\u00a0 \u201cHe woke up screaming one night, Marin, like eight or nine months back.\u00a0 Wouldn\u2019t tell me why.\u00a0 A nightmare.\u00a0 That\u2019s what he said it was.\u00a0 Wouldn\u2019t say more than that.\u00a0 He must\u2019ve seen something, though, that scared the shit out of him.\u00a0 That was the weekend that you two were supposed to go up to Mackinac Island, remember?\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I nodded slowly.\u00a0 Eight months ago.\u00a0 He told me something came up, an emergency back home. \u00a0He\u2019d make it up to me, somehow.\u00a0 But that\u2019s when he started denying all of it, saying it wasn\u2019t real.<\/em>\u00a0 \u201cAnd he didn\u2019t talk about what he saw at all?\u201d\u00a0 My voice sounded so small.\u00a0 I drew my knees against my chest, setting aside my bowl.\u00a0 What could scare you so much, Thom?\u00a0 What did it?\u00a0 What\u2026what made you want to convince yourself and me that none of it\u2019s real?<\/em>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cDidn\u2019t tell me, and he tells me a lot.\u00a0 He\u2019s hinted, but anything solid?\u00a0 Nothing.\u201d\u00a0 J.T. made eye contact with me for a moment, then his gaze flicked toward the fire.\u00a0 \u201cHe loves you, though.\u00a0 \u2018s why he didn\u2019t go to Chicago this weekend, why he cancelled his interview.\u00a0 You were more important than that to him.\u201d\u00a0 He frowned.\u00a0 \u201cGood thing he realized it before it was too late.\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Before it\u2019s too late.\u00a0 A lot of things need to happen before it\u2019s too late.\u00a0 <\/em>My mouth was dry and I just nodded, looking away from him, away from the fire, toward the rain\u2014rain and sleet mix, it seemed.\u00a0 A gust of wind sent ashes swirling, carried them away.\u00a0 I shivered.\u00a0 Going to get a lot worse before it gets better.\u00a0 A lot of things will.<\/em>\u00a0 I glanced back toward where I\u2019d slept curled up with Thom, took a deep breath and exhaled slowly.\u00a0 What sort of nightmare would make him start denying everything he\u2019d come to accept?\u00a0 Everything that he knew was real, even if we didn\u2019t quite understand what it all meant.\u00a0 What kind of awfulness could scare him that badly?\u00a0 He\u2019s never been scared of anything, not in all the time I\u2019ve known him.<\/em>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cYou can\u2019t tell him I said anything, Marin,\u201d J.T. said quietly.\u00a0 \u201cI wasn\u2019t even supposed to tell you as much as I did just now.\u00a0 He\u2019ll kick my ass and stop speaking to me, and we both know the bastard needs someone to talk to and it might as well be my sorry ass.\u201d\u00a0 He looked at me and shook his head a little.\u00a0 \u201cHe\u2019s my brother and I know how he gets.\u00a0 He\u2019ll make me pay for it if he finds out.\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 He looks at you the same way, Jay.\u00a0 Like the brother he never had.<\/em>\u00a0 I patted his arm gently.\u00a0 \u201cI won\u2019t say anything.\u00a0 Not until you\u2019ve had a chance to try to get him to explain all of it to you, anyway.\u201d\u00a0 I smiled weakly.\u00a0 If Thom hadn\u2019t told J.T. already, Thom wasn\u2019t going to tell anyone what had gotten him so tied up in knots.\u00a0 They were<\/em> like brothers to each other, and treated each other that way\u2014like brothers that had grown up in the same wholly dysfunctional household together.\u00a0 I shook my head a little.\u00a0 \u201cIt just\u2026it worries me.\u00a0 What the hell was it that could make him so afraid?\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 J.T. shrugged, setting down his now empty bowl and standing.\u00a0 \u201cAlmost glad I don\u2019t know, Marin.\u00a0 If I did, I might be trying to prevent whatever it is.\u201d\u00a0 He raked a hand through his dark hair.\u00a0 \u201cHonestly, that might be it.\u201d\u00a0 He shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ve screwed around long enough.\u00a0 More than time for me to start figuring shit out.\u00a0 You sticking around here?\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I nodded.\u00a0 \u201cHolding down the fort.\u00a0 My feet aren\u2019t up for going all that far.\u00a0 What\u2019s first on your list?\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cFirewood, I guess.\u00a0 Might as well not wait for folks to get back before we take care of it.\u00a0 I\u2019ll round up your brother if you feel like you can keep things together here.\u201d\u00a0 He glanced toward the pile of empty bowls that was slowly materializing.\u00a0 \u201c\u2026if I get some clean water up here, think you can get these clean?\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cGet me enough and I think I can.\u201d\u00a0 It\u2019ll just take a bit of engineering, that\u2019s all.\u00a0 Figuring out how it\u2019ll work.<\/em>\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ll make it work.\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 J.T. nodded.\u00a0 \u201cRight.\u00a0 Well.\u00a0 We\u2019ll get shit organized and figure out who needs to go where and do what.\u00a0 Leave you and Thom and the professor and a few others here, probably.\u00a0 I think Leah\u2019s still sleeping, so she can take care of the hurt folks.\u201d\u00a0 He gestured a little toward the oatmeal.\u00a0 \u201cProbably should see if you can get Thom to eat some of that.\u201d
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cEventually,\u201d I said.\u00a0 \u201cRight now I\u2019m going to let him sleep.\u00a0 Not sure how much of it he actually got.\u201d\u00a0 More than we could\u2019ve, if we\u2019d\u2026god, but that wouldn\u2019t have been a smart idea.\u00a0 I\u2019d have hurt him, and then where would we be?<\/em>\u00a0 I glanced toward where he was still sleeping one more time, then sighed, looking back at the fire.<\/p>\n

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\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I stared at J.T. for a long moment.\u00a0 Thom, scared?\u00a0 Thom wasn\u2019t afraid of anything.\u00a0 \u201cScared of what?\u201d\u00a0 He could handle all of it originally\u2026he was okay that first time down in the ravine with Drew and I, when … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8,10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-285","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-chapter-6","category-day-1"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1EBlN-4B","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/285","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=285"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/285\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=285"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=285"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=285"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}