Hold Me Closer, Necromancer - Lish McBride [90]
Maybe he could call Sam’s mom? No, he didn’t want to ask for another favor, not after having her Brooke-sit. Besides, he didn’t think she’d like what he had to say to begin with.
Ramon walked over to the door next to Sam’s and knocked. Mrs. Winalski answered immediately. The bright pink of her sweats almost blinded him. “Sorry, Mrs. W. Bad time?”
“No,” she said, slightly winded, “just doing my yoga. At my age, you have to work to stay flexible, if you know what I mean.”
Ramon tried his best to not know what she meant.
“Any news from Sam?”
Ramon thrust his hands into his pockets. Mrs. W always made him feel like he was under inspection. “Sort of,” he said. “That’s why I knocked.”
“Stop fidgeting,” she said. “I won’t bite. Now, out with it.” He straightened up. “Do you think you could give me a ride out to Sam’s mom’s house?”
She nodded and held up a hand, telling him to wait, before he could explain or even offer her gas money. Two minutes later, she popped out in jeans and a bright purple V-neck sweater.
“Wow. You’re fast.”
“Time waits for no one, Ramon, not even me. C’mon.”
Ramon hugged his skateboard to his chest with one arm and half jogged to catch up with her.
Mrs. Winalski owned a candy-apple-red 1965 Mustang GT convertible, and she drove it like she could die at any minute and needed to get five things done before that happened. With an immaculate interior and a wax job that would do any car wash proud, the car was clearly Mrs. W’s baby. That didn’t bring him any comfort as he shut his eyes, gripped the door, and tried to remember the names of all the saints.
He didn’t crack his lids until he felt the car slow to a stop. He was surprised that Mrs. W hadn’t needed directions. Not that he’d been in a state to give them.
“We’re here,” she said, climbing out of the car.
“Did you go up on two wheels there for a while?”
She laughed. “I could grow to like you, Ramon.”
Ramon didn’t respond to that. He concentrated on getting his legs to stop shaking instead. Then he followed her up the walkway.
“Sammy bring you here before?”
Mrs. Winalski shook her head. She jabbed the doorbell with her finger. Haley opened it and immediately burst into a grin.
“Hey, Mom, Mrs. W’s here!”
Sam’s mom peered around Haley before welcoming them in. Tia hugged them both, a strained smile on her face.
“You said you’d never been here.” Ramon gave Mrs. W his best accusing stare while he placed his skateboard carefully next to the door.
“No,” she said, following Haley into the kitchen. “You asked if Sam had ever brought me here.”
Tia shut the door behind them and ushered Ramon into the kitchen.
“Libby is an old friend,” she said. “I asked her to keep an eye on Sam for me.”
“Is she—” He made wavy gestures with his hands, though he wasn’t sure what that might indicate.
“She’s a witch, Ramon, like me.”
“Okay, then.” He took a seat at the table and tried to remember a time in his life when Tia’s statement would have sounded odd.
While Tia assembled a platter of sandwich stuff, Ramon filled them in on what he knew. Once he’d finished, he gave Sam’s mom a moment to digest it all. He piled cheese onto some bread, hoping to eat in the meantime.
Mrs. W, however, did not screw around. “You’ve got to remove the binding now, Tia.”
Tia clasped her hands and stared at her white knuckles. “I don’t know if I can. He’s so far away.” Her voice cracked, and she trailed off. Haley reached over and covered her mother’s hands with hers.
“You did what you thought was best, Mom,” Haley said.
“Not perfect, no. But it helped. You did good.”
Tia looked up, grateful. “But now we need to try something else,” Haley said. “If Sam doesn’t have his powers, he won’t stand a chance against Douglas.”
Ramon wasn’t sure if Sam stood a chance even with the binding removed, but he didn’t want to say that. Saying it might make it true.
Libby agreed with Haley, and they both kept on her until Tia finally said, “Okay.”
Ramon held on to Brooke’s bag and sat back, watching. He didn’t know what to expect, exactly. So far they’d brewed some kind of green liquid