Shadowfighter

Chapter 9

Thomas looked out the car window as he and Sarah sat there in the rest area parking lot. It was four o'clock, and they were waiting for Erin and Melody. "So I finally get to meet this friend Erin that you're always talking about when you're not talking about Leah," Sarah smiled.

Thomas gave his younger sister a tolerant glance. "I think you'll like Erin," he told her.

"Do you like her?" she asked.

"That is none of your business," he replied, with more emotion than he realized he felt. "I just broke up with Leah last night and already you're asking such questions?"

"Yes," she replied. "I think Erin must be the reason you broke up with Leah."

Thomas did not answer. In a way, Sarah was right. If he had not been worrying about Erin and the Shadow, Leah never would have found out that he did not trust her with his secret. And there was something more, as well, a feeling that he could not name. It was really weird.

A minivan pulled up next to their car, and Erin got out of the passenger's side. She came to the car as Thomas rolled the window down. "Ready to go?" she asked.

"Yeah," he replied. "Erin, I'd like you to meet my sister Sarah. She's going to be a freshman this year."

"Hi," Sarah said shyly.

"Nice to meet you," Erin replied. She smiled at Thomas, and he felt that nameless emotion appear again. "Let's get on the road." She produced a set of two-way radios, and handed one to Thomas. "This is so we can stay together," she told him.

"All right. We'll keep in touch, then," he told her.

She smiled again, then went back to get in her car. Five seconds later, the radio crackled to life. "Are you leading, or are we?"

"You can," he replied.

"All right. Let's go." The minivan pulled out of the parking lot and onto the on-ramp. Thomas followed, wondering what was going on inside his head that he wasn't allowed to know about.

* * *

Erin looked back at the car following them. "How's everything on your end?" she asked Thomas via radio.

"Just fine. I think we're going to need to stop at this rest stop up here for a potty break, though."

"All right, sounds good," Erin said, looking over at Melody. Melody nodded. "We'll meet you there."

"All right. See you in a few minutes." Thomas fell silent.

Erin turned to Melody. "How are you doing, sis?"

"Fine," Melody said. "If you and Sarah want to trade cars so you and Thomas can talk about Shadowfighter business, I would not mind at all."

"That's very generous of you," Erin said. There was much she needed to discuss with Thomas about last night's feeling, especially since she thought she had figured out the cause.

At the rest stop, Erin presented Melody's suggestion to Thomas. "Do you mind riding with Melody?" Thomas asked Sarah.

"Why? So you can be alone?" Sarah replied with a grin.

Erin found herself blushing, and she realized that Thomas was also turning slightly red. "There's some things about work that we need to discuss," he told her.

"I don't mind at all," Sarah replied. "Have fun!" She went and got in the passenger's side of the minivan.

"Have fun, Melody," Erin said, handing her radio to her older sister. Thomas already had the other one.