Taint (Formerly Claimed) Dark Midnight 1

Chapter 16

Way before her mother…

 “The principal called yesterday,” he croaked, snapping her back to reality.  “She said you weren’t in school.  I tried to call your phone, but with the storm I couldn’t get through…”

 “Dad,” she said softly.  “I’m fine…really…I just wasn’t feeling good yesterday…”

“Right,” he accepted the lie with a hasty nod.  “But you still should have called me!  Do you have any idea what went through my mind when—”

He paused abruptly then pulled back just enough to look her in the eye. 

He seemed so damn exhausted; Miriam wondered how he was still standing. She had a suspicion that a missed school day and poor cell phone reception weren't the only reasons why he looked so relieved. 

Something else haunted those dark eyes. 

 “Dad, what’s wrong?”

Without thinking, she reached out to touch his shoulder, feeling the bones even from beneath his lab coat.  

He flinched. 

“You didn’t hear?”

“Hear what, Dad?”

He frowned.  “Even with the snow, it’s been all over the news…”

“What, Dad?”

He grimaced, his hand reaching out almost without him realizing it to ghost her chin.  “They found a girl last night,” he said in a trembling voice.  “Dead.  In the snow.”

Her entire body grew numb.

“W-what?”

Her father nodded slowly. “They found her this morning…the police aren’t saying how she died but…it doesn’t look good.”

“T-That’s horrible…”  She stuttered through dry lips.  “What…what happened?”

Her father shrugged.  “I don’t know.  The police aren’t releasing anything definitive—not even to the morgue.  With all the snow, they couldn’t even get the body to the hospital.” 

Miriam wondered if he would have to be the one to do the grisly honors; slicing open the young girl to determine the cause of death.

She shivered at the image, but the grisly thought wasn't the only reason chills ran down her spine.  

No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t erase the dark gaze of the strange boy from the night before…

…or Eliot’s fear when she mentioned him.

“Do they…know what happened?” She stammered, if only for a distraction.  

“No," He answered firmly.  "They only know her to be a local teenager. She might have even gone to your school but there’s nothing definitive.  Nothing but…” he sighed and ran a shaky hand along the growing stubble on his bottom chin.  “There are rumors…horrible rumors…and the description of the girl that’s floating around sounded an awful lot like—” He shook his head and gathered her in his arms for one final squeeze.  “I’m just glad you’re alright.”

She looped her arms around his neck and hugged him back carefully, the same way someone might treat a nervously horse.  

“I’m fine, Dad,” she insisted, patting him gently on the shoulder.  “Really.  I’ll make sure to call next time.”

“I tried to have your Uncle drive over to check on you,” he blurted, “but with the roads closed, he couldn’t get through…”

To her surprise, he held her for almost a full minute, his slender arms shaking as they held her tight.  Then, all at once, he pulled back and glanced over her from head to toe.  The look in his eye transformed him in an instant from worried father to shrewd physician.