Chapter 9: |8| Derek and Sam: Going out for Cigarettes
Going Out for Cigarettes
Union Leader
Strange Orb Launches into North Country sky. Burns down an empty house
When Derek got home from work, he took the newspaper and the other mail upstairs to the apartment. He unlocked the door and was greeted by their cat Bowser. Granted it wasn't a turtle, but Amber liked the name anyway.
He put his keys on the table and looked at the paper. He unrolled it and stared at the headline.
'Shit." Derek said. Amber was home from school and heard him. "What is it?" Derek showed Amber the paper.
"Mom?"
"Mom."
"Where is she?"
"Don't know but she's not far from here.'
"Are we safe?".
" For now. The important thing is to keep this quiet. For all the press knows it was just a meteor.".
Amber sat down in shock. She hasn't seen Beth in 10 years. Derek always had a suspicion that Beth passed down her powers, but she never showed them like this
"I don't know what her plans are, but we have to prepare for the worst." Amber stood still. She didn't have any memories of Beth, but Derek told her that Beth wanted out. They were too different. At least that was the version that he told he told her that would be easiest to swallow.
"Are you gonna tell Sam?" Derek and Sam were dating for about a few months at that point. "I should, shouldn't I? " Derek asked.
"I would," Amber said while working on homework.
"Alright, I will. Need help with that?"
"It's math, dad. You suck at it."
Derek chuckled. "Yeah…"
He walked into the bedroom and closed the door.
Derek got to Sam's number. He stopped. Was she still at work? He didn't want to text something this big to her. But, he hit the phone icon.
Voicemail.
Hi, you've reached the Sams phone. By calling her phone, you caused some adorable ringtone to play. Everyone wins!
Derek left his standard message to her of "Tag, you're it." And hung up.
About 15 minutes after he called, he was playing with a math training app while getting Ambers help.
Sam called. Derek went into his bedroom
"Tag is so tiring"
"We need to talk."
"Already?"
"No not that."
"Just come over."
****
An hour later, Sam came over and Amber was in her room. Derek showed the paper to her.
"Her mom did that."
"Holy shit."
"I don't know what caused her to it but I'm scared she's gonna come after us."
"When was the last time you saw her?"
"When we broke up. 10 years ago. Amber was 5."
"What happened?"
"You know the old trope of a parent saying there gonna go out for cigarettes, but never coming back?"
"Not really."
"Well, she did. Well, she didn't say she was going for cigarettes. She left a note on the table. Hang on, I still have it."
Derek walked over to his car keys, grabbed v and then into the kitchen. He bent down and searched through the cabinet. Pans clanged to and unlocked it. He walked back over and handed it to her.
"Doesn't explain much?" Sam said as she read it and handed it back
"Didn't surprise me. She' the strong but silent type. " Derek said.
Sam sighed. "What now?"
Dereked sighed but through his nose. Get prepared...for Beth's reckoning. For both of us.
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