Never Again Separate

By Cypher

Chapter Seven

"Your boarding pass?"

Lucy searched through her bag a moment before handing her airline ticket to the flight attendant. Normally she'd have had it out, but her mind was on other matters.

Mainly Matt.

She smiled a thank you to the man and got on the plan, finding her seat with relative ease. It's hard to believe I found him. Almost like a miracle.

It hadn't been a miracle, though. Her brother, Kyle, had been surfing the web, working on the creating a web site and trying to find ideas, when he noticed his sister's original name, Lucy Camden, in the description of a search result.

"Hey Luce!"

"I'm busy!"

"You've got to see this!"

Lucy let out a frustrated sigh. "I'm doing my toe nails."

"Screw your toe nails, your on a web page."

"What?" Lucy knew of a couple girls from school who had had their pictures posted on sites with questionable content. "What site?"

"Some detective put it on a message board."

Lucy set the nail paint down and walked on her heels to her brother's room. He was slouched back in his chair, his bleach spiked hair hiding the main content of the screen from her view. "Move over."

Kyle got off his chair and Lucy sat in it, reading over the screen.

"It sounds a lot like you. You know this Matt guy?"

Lucy scrolled down, scanning the page slowly. "Yeah...he was the eldest brother of the Camden siblings. I can't believe he's searching for us."

"You and this Simon guy."

Lucy bit her lip. "Think I should meet him?"

"You're going to your home town, right? Maybe he's already there."

Lucy nodded. "I could meet him and see if it's true or just some whacko."

"It seems legit. I checked out the code of the page. It's official." Kyle rubbed his green eyes. "Damn headaches."

"Kyle, how long have you been on this thing?"

"A few hours, why?"

"I thought so. Go rest your eyes. Read a book, do something other than stare at the television or computer screen."

Kyle pushed her shoulder. "My eyes are fine. Now shoo. I want to get back to work."

Lucy bookmarked the page and got up, heading for the bathroom to finish her nails. "You're gonna go blind."

"Oh well."

Lucy shook her head. Kyle was a great brother, he was just a teenager. The month before he had been grounded for having a girl in his room, both of them way too close to the bed for comfort. When he was thirteen there was a huge fuss when he gave, and received, his first hickey. It seemed he was always getting into some sort of trouble. She wouldn't have him any other way, though.

Her father, Todd Weiss, always seemed to want to get both his children in trouble. He was strongly opposed to Lucy's going to Glen Oak, especially after he found out about the fact that she might meet Matt.

"You don't know this guy. For all you know he's a sexual predator trying to lure people with this sob story."

Lucy looked at the ceiling. "Dad, I doubt it's that. Not every guy online is a sexual predator."

"You know you're right." He rested his hands on the back of a chair. "Some are just homicidal maniacs or scamers trying to get your money and who knows what else."

Lucy pinched the bridge of her nose. "Dad, you're over reacting. Besides, Kyle thinks it's the real thing."

"Kyle thinks." He threw a hand in the hair. "Well, by all means, if your brother, who if I recall is still grounded for making a poor choice in judgment, thinks it's fine, then it must be safe." He shook his head. "If that's the whole of your argument, I suggest you unpack your bags this instant."

"Dad!"

Lucy looked out the window, watching the clouds as the plane passed through their layers. That conversation was typical of her and her adopted father. Even before she announced she was becoming a Protestant minister, they often clashed over, what she considered, minor tiffs. Fortunately, her mother, Joy, was there to counterbalance her father's irrationality.

"Dear, calm down. Lucy makes some valid arguments. Besides, she'll be in Glen Oak. There's so little crime it's a wonder they have a police department."

Todd snorted and crossed his arms. "Doesn't mean I'll agree to let her go."

"What if she asked to meet him at that church she's going to? She'll be perfectly safe if she's in a church, and they'll be people nearby. And she does know how to defend herself against a man. Remember?"

Lucy winced at that. Once when practicing for soccer she had nailed her father right between his legs with her cleat. On one hand, it was a great kick, and she learned how to fight off men if they got too aggressive. On the other hand, it seemed her father could never have children again.

Her father remembered that as well. "Point taken. But I don't feel comfortable with it. I barely like the idea of her on a plane."

"Dad, I'm nearly eighteen years old. I'll be living on my own for college. You have to let go at some point."

Joy set her hands on Lucy's shoulders. "While it could've been put better than that, she makes a good argument. We have to let go. It's time we started."

Todd shook his head and waved his hands at them. "Fine, fine. Just be careful, alright?"

Lucy nodded. "I will! Thank you!" She hugged Joy and went up to her room to confirm her flight information, and to invite Matt to the church.

As it turned out, though, Lucy almost didn't come any ways. As she passed Kyle's room she noticed he was lying on the bed holding his head. When he couldn't really communicate, she called her parents and they went to the hospital.

"Migraines? No history of it. Why?" Todd glanced between the room Kyle was in and the doctor.

The doctor, an older gentleman who was only slightly taller than Lucy, pushed his classes up his nose a bit. "Has he been complaining of headaches? Light sensitivity? Anything like that?"

Lucy nodded. "Yeah. I told him to spend less time staring at the computer screen."

Joy squeezed her husband's hand. "He's been wearing sunglasses more, too. Even inside. It's the fad at school."

Todd pursed her lips. "Last week he felt sick, some dizziness and nausea. I thought it was just a twenty-four hour flu."

The doctor wrote something on his pad. "Well, it's migraines. I'm surprised he's been able to go this long without a fainting spell."

Lucy looked over at Kyle. Except for the hospital gown and IV in his arm, he looked as he normally did when he slept. "When will he be released?"

"He should be fine by tomorrow. I'll make up a prescription, and he needs to take it easy while his body adjusts to it. If it's really bad he'll have to skip school and do what he can at home." The doctor looked at his watch. "Excuse me a moment." He got up and left.

Lucy watched the steady rise and fall of her brother's chest. "I'm not going."

"What? Going where?"

Lucy looked at her father. "I'm not going to Glen Oak. I can't leave him when he's like this."

"Nonsense." Joy patted her back. "You're going. You'll only be gone a day. We can handle him for that long."

"But-"

"Your mother's right. You need to get ready for college. Go. You can leave your car at the airport and drive home as soon as you get out, without having to wait for a ride." Todd glanced over at Joy. "We can take care of Kyle until then."

Lucy nodded slowly. "Alright. Mind if I say good-bye first?"

"He's resting, but alright."

Lucy went in and leaned against Kyle's bed. "Hey there." She brushed his hair back. "I got to go to Glen Oak tomorrow, but when I get back I'll spend a ton of time with you. I'll even rent those horror movies you like to watch."

Lucy blinked as the seat belt sign turned off. Right, I have to pick up those movies on my way home. She stood up and headed for the rear rest rooms. I'll help him get better, then introduce him to Matt. I can't wait for Kyle to meet Matt. I think they'll get along great.

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Author's Prattle: This chapter was published under the strain of my first Bio and Chem midterm. As a result, I'm sorry if things are a bit off, but hey, I got it out, right? As always, if you enjoyed, please review.