The Long Way Home
By
E. S. Young
Chapter Twenty: Bells are Ringing
Comin' down to the end, gang. My estimate is that there are going to be three chapters left to this story. Probably. I'm not sure, that's why I said 'my estimate.' u.u In any case, I hope you're ready for procrastination, cuz you just know that's what I'm gonna do. Watch as I create suspension and anticipation while drawing out the moment until Sands goes into surgery! Mwahahaha! D
- - -
Sands panted slightly as he sat down on the couch the hotel had provided for their room. He wasn't surprised that he was both physically and mentally exhausted. Even though it had been a week since the Day of the Dead, doing something as simple as getting out of a taxi, entering a hotel, taking a ride in an elevator to the seventh floor, and walking to his hotel room wore him out entirely. He hated being so tired all the time. Sands didn't DO tired, but now, apparently, he did, and it was annoying the hell out of him.
Beside him, he felt Lynné take up a seat on the couch as well. Liam sighed when he dropped into a chair on the other side of the room. And Grace had yet to return from her shopping spree.
He was about to ask Lyn and Liam whether or not either of them had noticed that, despite the fact that HE was the one about to partake in a dangerous experiment, he seemed calmer than the two of them combined. However, Sands never got the chance to because a distinct 'click' told him that Lyn had just turned on the television.
'The news, how much do I wanna bet myself . . . ?'
". . . and in recent news . . ." the way too cheerful anchor man said brightly.
'I was right.'
"The governor of Colorado seems to have won all of America's hearts with the tragic story of his missing children."
Lyn groaned and closed her eyes dramatically. Liam looked at her questioningly.
"What's wrong? Do you know him?"
His partner gave a hollow laugh.
"We're old friends."
"Governor Sands' chances for reelection are certainly looking high now," the announcer was saying. Liam's eyes widened.
"He's . . . he's not –"
"'Fraid so, Fusoc," Sands said flatly.
Ignoring the stunned look on her partner's face, Lyn said:
"Well, that explains a lot."
"What?" Liam asked, staring at her, wide-eyed with shock.
"He's running for a second term as governor," she explained, "and Sands and my mysterious disappearance is JUST the thing to up his popularity ratings, savvy?"
"It is?" Sands asked, pretending to sound both shocked and hurt. "Oh, gosh, and here I thought he had finally learned to care for us."
- - -
"He . . . he AGREED!? He actually agreed to go through with –"
"Yes, yes, now shush," Lynné ordered, casting a sideways glance in the direction of Sands' bedroom. "He's asleep and can be a real asshole when disturbed."
Beside her, Liam nodded vigorously. Grace raised an eyebrow.
"I – I just can't believe he's going to do it . . ." She stared at the floor; for once her eyes were free of tears.
"Just for . . . curiosity's sake . . . you didn't think he WOULD go through with it?" Lynné asked blandly.
"What – no! Well, yes . . . in a way . . . yes."
"Mmm," Lyn murmured, nodding once in skeptical understanding. "Did you buy out all of the stores in New York while you were shopping?" she asked, eyeing the innumerable amount of bags Grace had deposited in the living room.
"No," her stepsister insisted defensively. "I only hit about one quarter of the designer stores today."
Lyn shook her head in amusement.
"And your rich-girl persona lives on . . ."
Grace glared at Lynné for a moment, the desire to hurl an unaffecting insult at the woman growing ever stronger. But she decided against it, not wanting to give her stepsister the pleasure of knowing that she had gotten under her skin. Instead, Grace asked:
"When's the surgery scheduled for?"
"Week from today," Lyn answered promptly.
"Today's Thursday . . ." Grace said faintly.
"So it'll be next Thursday," Liam said quietly.
- - -
Her father smiled warmly at her when she entered the living room of her Colorado home – house. Home just never fit with the building; the word 'home' implied 'family,' something she couldn't say she had ever had.
"Darling, I have wonderful news," he said, rising from the couch to greet her.
'Oh shit,' she sighed silently, 'he only calls me by affectionate names whenever he wants me to do something that will help his career.'
Forcing a smile just as he was, Lyn beamed at her father.
"Yes, Daddy?" she asked brightly, emphasizing the last word.
Her father's smile flickered in the slightest bit. Only Lynné took notice.
"Sweetie, how would you like it if I told you I could give you something you've always asked for?"
Resisting the desire to squeal, 'You got me my own pony!?' Lynné went for a simpler yet more affective response.
"Well gee, Dad, I can't exactly RECALL ever asking you for anything. Even if I had, I'm sure you would have calmly ignored my requests." She smiled up at him pleasantly.
Her father continued to grin but she still heard the note of annoyance in his voice when he said to her, "I think we may have found the answer to all of your problems, honey."
Lynné raised an eyebrow, her face expressionless, but said nothing.
"How would you like to meet a friend of mine –"
"Ah, wait, he isn't one of these old, bald guys that'll get YOU places but in order to do that, I have to woo him first, is he?"
Her father feigned a cough, rubbing the spot where his hair was thinning impulsively.
"No, actually, he's the SON of one of those men, sweetheart –"
"And you want me to woo HIM? That it?" Lyn shook her head, smirking humorlessly. "Well, gosh, Daddy, I . . . I don't know what to say, I mean, if that isn't father-daughter cooperation I just don't know what is."
Her father ignored her comment and continued onward, Lyn getting the impression that he had rehearsed everything, knowing that she would be less than willing to participate in any of his little schemes.
"Now listen, honey, this deal could be big . . . for the both of us." He paused to see if he had gotten the effect he had been going for, but all he got was a pair of raised eyebrows from his daughter. His ego not shattered in the least, her father pressed on.
"I just need you to take the boy out –"
"Boy?" Lyn threw daggers with her eyes.
"—take the boy out, and show him a nice time."
'And a little skin, I'm so sure,' Lyn thought acidly.
"And remember," her father continued, pointing a finger at her warningly, "any slip-ups, any little mistakes, anything of the sort –"
"Dad," Lyn interrupted, holding up a hand to silence him, "I get it. I've done your little errands before, I can do them again. Just as long as they don't result in anything too extreme."
"What d'you mean?" her father demanded. "Beatrice Lynné Sands, if that man wants to share intercourse with you, you better damn well give him what he wants!"
"All for you . . ." she said faintly. "I would give up my virginity . . . for YOU . . ."
"You lost that years ago," her father spat angrily, "You and I both know that."
It was hard to tell which face showed more hatred as Lynné and the soon-to-be governor of Colorado, her father, seethed with rage.
"Now get ready," her father commanded, composing himself once more. "He'll be here in half an hour."
Scene Four: Many Months Later
'Just as long as they don't result in anything too extreme.' Fuck that. Things were beyond extreme. Things had gone past extreme and there was no chance they were going back.
Lynné never liked weddings. Correction, she HATED weddings. She hated them with a loathing that ran so deep it was almost impossible to find it. Although the reason for her hatred made perfect sense to all of those who had attended the same weddings she had. Each and every one of them had gone horribly for Lynné, and so she wasn't keen to attend another one. Especially when that wedding happened to be her own.
Everything was set. The bridesmaids, Catherine and two friends of hers, Claire and Vanessa, looked stunning in their dark purple gowns. And Grace, the maid of honor, looked just as lovely. They had a ring bearer and a flower girl – both annoying little snot-rags from her stepmother, Melinda's side of the family. There was the best man, Brandon; he looked nice. And then there was the groom. The necessary piece that made the fractured and phony puzzle that was this wedding whole.
Lynné had to admit he was rather attractive, and she could stand to be with the man for ten whole minutes before wanting to rip his tongue out and strangling him with it. She could say that she'd only been able to do that with about four people. And now it would be five. That was progress.
Her husband-to-be, Tim, stood there, beaming at her as she looked into his warm, gray eyes. He stood there in his black tuxedo; a little red rose bud tucked into the buttonhole near the top.
'We couldn't have used pink or orange roses, could we?' Lyn asked silently. 'No, of course not. That would mean doing something with the wedding that I might like.'
Tim smiled, hell, he practically glowed as she made her way down the isle. Past the seemingly endless rows of people, past the staring eyes of his family and her . . . acquaintances, occasional relatives, whatever you preferred to call them. Anything besides family would do.
And of course, where would they be without the bride? The bride, the bride the bride . . . here she comes . . . taking her grand old time, too. Lynné shook her head, wondering how the hell she had gotten herself into this. 'Just as long as they don't result anything too extreme.' Extreme? Like she had said, fuck extreme. Things had past that point, SHE was the bride after all.
Her father had offered to escort her down the isle but she had refused. If anyone was going to lead Lynné Sands to her doom, it was going to be someone she actually liked. Well, since her friends and Grace were all bridesmaids it couldn't be any of them, so she would have to settle for Sands.
Oh settle for him my ass. You wanted to walk with your brother and you know it. Personally, I don't blame you. I'm no fan of Sands, but he's at least better than your father.
'OUR father,' Lyn hissed, 'He's your burden, too, don't forget that.'
Voices in people's heads don't have fathers, dear, the voice told her, bored. Don't forget THAT.
Her smile held firmly in place, her arm looped through Sands' arm, Lynné walked slowly down the isle, looking as pleasant as could be. She saw Grace, crying as usual, Cat, smirking triumphantly as Lyn kissed her freedom goodbye. Claire and Vanessa were doing a good job of hiding their concern for their friend with big, falsely proud smiles or happiness. There was her father, wearing a grin that was a replica of Cat's and her stepmother, Melinda smirking just as broadly, for once, Lyn was mildly surprised to see, without a margarita glass in her hand.
Sands looked down at her for one brief moment. But when he saw that his sister was set on getting to the end of the church without turning back, he turned his gaze straight ahead.
Lynné finally made it to the end of the isle. Sands let go of her arm, though no one would know he was reluctant to do so, and allowed Tim to take hold of it instead. Lyn suppressed a flinch. The priest smiled down at Lynné and Tim as the couple exchanged a smile. He opened his book, though he knew the message he was going to deliver by heart, and the ceremony began.
"Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to witness the holy matrimony of Timothy Johnathan Rhodes and Beatrice Lynné Sands . . ."
Lynné winced inwardly. They just HAD to say Beatrice, didn't they . . . . ?
- - -
Absentmindedly twirling the plain gold ring in her fingers, Lynné stared out at sun as it slowly sank, turning the sky brilliant orange and pink colors.
'At least it knows what color roses I like,' she thought distantly.
Turning her gaze to the little ring in her hand, Lyn sighed. She was disgusted at everyone. Her father, of course, was the one who received most of her disgust, but she was even sick of herself. Just a bit, though. Lynné Sands wasn't one of feel remorse. Then again, she should be feeling somewhat guilty. She had, after all, led an innocent man to believe she loved him; led him into thinking that she was going to protect, honor, and obey him for as long as they both would live.
Lyn snorted. Yeah right. She could never see herself doing anything like that. But he did love her.
Ohhh, he loved your LOOKS, let's face it. the voice sighed, annoyed. You know no one would ever love the cold, heartless bitch that you've become. It's just not logical.
'Gotta agree with ya there,' Lyn thought in a grimly satisfied way. 'It's like they say: life's a bitch, and then ya marry one.'
Yes, the voice said in agreement. you're a manipulative, unfeeling bitch, Beatrice. Who in their right or even wrong mind would love THAT?
'That's where you're wrong,' Lyn said calmly. 'I am not a bitch.'
Oh come off it, the voice started to say.
'No,' Lyn thought defiantly. 'You see, there is a very fine line between being a strong-willed, fierce, independent, opinionated woman . . . and just being a total bitch. I'm walking that fine line right now, and I know that's a risk.'
Oh, fuck you-- the voice began, but it was cut off once again by Sands. Lyn turned around to see her brother pushing open the door to the balcony of the 'rustic' yet ritzy lodge they were all staying at for the weekend. Inside, Lyn could hear the sounds of the wedding guests dancing, drinking, and just having a good time as the DJ started playing another hit song over his sound system.
Sighing quietly, Lynné turned her attention back to the sunset. Sands watched his sister for a while, taking in the strange sight of seeing her in a wedding dress and looking this defeated. The beautiful white gown swirled around her as the mountain air blew. As he watched her running her wedding ring between her fingers, Sands wondered vaguely if Lyn would be bothered if it happened to slip from her fingers and go tumbling into the forest below them, all hopes of ever retrieving the ring lost.
Sands strode over to his sister. Leaning against the railing of the balcony, he pulled a cigarette from the pocket of his tux and lit up. He expected Lyn to regard his actions and shake her head in amusement, but his sister continued to gaze out at the evening sky. Finally, fed up with the silence, Sands spoke.
"Nice ceremony."
"Mmm."
"You looked good, anyway."
"Mmm."
Oh, so they were gonna do this, were they? Not a chance, Sands would make sure of that.
"So," he began, casually taking a drag on his cigarette, "having second thoughts?"
Finally, she switched her attention to him, though her expression stayed the same.
"Gee, Sands, I never knew you were a mind-reader. Ever think of going into the telly-psychic business? I hear they make big bucks doing that."
"Well, I thought about it, but then the CIA just seemed more of my style, y'know?"
"Yes," Lyn said nodding, "Mister Screw-the-Government-I'm-a-Rebellious-Adolescent, I can really see you joining the CIA."
Sands shrugged, a stream of smoke trailing from his mouth.
"Would you rather I joined the FBI? Or I could be a cop, how would you like that?"
"CIA's fine," Lyn said, waving him off, "Go nuts, I don't care."
Sands sighed as another ribbon of smoke filled the air. Lyn returned to her sunset.
"So," he stated plainly, careful to keep his voice light, "do you . . . wanna get out of here?"
"And go where, Sands? Where would you like to go?"
"I dunno. Anywhere. Come back whenever you feel like it."
Lyn raised her eyebrows, beginning to realize where her brother was going with this.
"What if . . ." she said slowly, "I don't FEEL like coming back for a long time?"
"How long is long?" Sands asked curiously.
Lyn shrugged. "Oh, I dunno, few hours . . . days . . . weeks, months, year or two . . . all depends on my mood."
Sands smirked down at her, putting out his cigarette and flicking it off of the balcony.
"Let's go."
Grinning wryly, they slipped through the massive crowd of party guests easily. Surprisingly, they weren't even stopped by someone wanting to congratulate Lyn on her marriage for the eighty-seventh time. Unnoticed by all, Sands and Lynné exited the lodge and made a break through the parking lot to Sands' car. Sands started the ignition, pulled the car out of the lot, and they make their escape, driving off into the beautiful sunset.
- - -
I had to be part of my aunt's wedding this past Saturday, so if that explains the flashback about the wedding, I'm glad I helped. =) Really, I just wanted to express how much of a jerk Lyn and Sands' dad can be. We already got a look at how he treats Sands, so I wanted to get Lynné in there as well. Like I said, only about two or three chapters left, guys, so stay tuned!
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