Читать книгу Mind Gap - Marina Cohen - Страница 8

CHAPTER TWO

The October sky looked like an art experiment gone wrong. Blotches of red, orange, and purple streaked the deepening blue as the sun hovered low in the horizon. It was getting dark earlier. A bitter wind raced down the street, scattering litter and leaves. It sliced through Jake’s grey hoodie, chilling him to the bone. He bent his head and hugged his chest. He was late and he hadn’t called. His mom was going to go off like a firecracker.

Jake slipped inside the building. While he waited for the elevator, he thought up excuses.

Team tryouts? Nah. She’d never buy it.

Detention? Sure. But then he’d catch it just the same.

Extra help? Jake smiled — even he wouldn’t believe that.

The elevator doors opened, and Jake stepped inside. He pressed number seven and felt the old motor kick in as the traction steel ropes began hauling him upward. Then somewhere between the third and fifth floors the elevator ground to a halt and the lights went out. In the ten years he’d lived in the building this had never happened.

Jake stood for a moment, searching the darkness. It was thick and complete. The tiny space seemed to be drawing in on him, getting hotter by the second and leaking oxygen. Jake’s pulse quickened. Sweat skittered across his forehead. He reached out, fumbling for the emergency button. Then a voice — more like a whisper of wind — blew past his right ear.

Last stop.

Jake spun round. He stepped backward until he was against the metal doors. Who had said that? But before his brain could calculate possibilities the lights went on, the air cooled, and the elevator jolted upward. Jake was standing alone. His eyes swept the ceiling and floor. A wad of gum. A cigarette butt. A chocolate-bar wrapper. He mopped his forehead and took a deep breath, exhaling slowly. Must have been his imagination.

Exiting the elevator, Jake headed down the hallway. There was barely enough time to turn the key before the door to his apartment flew open.

“Where have you been? How many times do I have to tell you to call?”

The fireworks display began.

“Do you ever listen to a word I say? I feel like I’m banging my head against a wall.”

Jake stood there, letting his mother finish her rant. There was no point in stopping her. Once she got going, she’d have to say it all. If he interrupted, her lecture would never end. He’d learned that the hard way.

“Why didn’t you answer your phone?”

“It was off.”

“Perfect. Why do I bother paying for that thing?” She leaned in closer and sniffed. “Have you been drinking again?”

“Huh? No.” Jake shrugged and did his best to look indignant. Like it had never happened before.

Jake’s mother’s stringy blond hair was showing an inch of dark roots. The corners of her eyes were ploughed like fields. She was skinny. Too skinny. She wore jeans that were out of style and T-shirts that were too big. She looked way older than thirty-four.

“I’ll bet you were hanging around with Cole.” She said his name as if it were some kind of disease. “I don’t trust him. He’s a cheap thug. He’s been getting you into trouble ever since you met him.”

Just then Drew poked his head round the corner. He mimicked their mother, shaking his head, gesturing, and moving his mouth exaggeratedly. It made Jake smile.

“Oh, I suppose you think I’m funny now. Some kinda joke. Well, let’s see if you think it’s funny when I …”

“No, Mom,” said Drew, stepping into the hallway. “He’s not laughing at you … it was me …”

“Save it, Drew. You’re always trying to rescue your brother. But I got news for you — he isn’t the one who needs rescuing …” She said this last bit to herself as if neither of them would understand it, anyway.

She turned back to Jake and whispered, “He thinks you’re some great hero. He’d jump off a bridge if you asked him.” She glared at Jake for a second longer, then her eyes softened and she reached out and hugged him. She pushed away and shook her head. With disappointment weighing her face, she grabbed her pack of cigarettes from the hall table and walked toward the balcony. “Dinner’s in the kitchen. It’s cold.”

Jake dropped his backpack by the door, kicked off his shoes, and strolled into the living room. “Get out the Xbox. I’m gonna kick your butt in Karate Chaos.” He plunked himself onto the sofa. Jake was still a bit edgy from the elevator experience and figured playing a game or two would calm his nerves. The Xbox was an old hand-me-down. He wished they had one of those new high-tech systems. If only his luck would change, then he’d be able to earn back some of his losses and buy one.

“You wanna piece ’a me?” said Drew, grinning. He got out the controllers and turned on the TV. “So how’d it go today? Did you win?”

The money. Jake cleared his throat. “Oh. Yeah. Yeah, I won, but …”

“Cool! So where’s my money?”

Jake took a deep breath. His brother’s eyes were so wide and happy that Jake had to look away. “Well, thing is … well, this teacher came and, well … he kinda confiscated the cash.” Jake glanced at his brother. The smile remained on his face, but the light in his eyes had dimmed.

“Confiscated?”

Jake paused. “He took it.”

The corners of Drew’s mouth quivered, but he kept on smiling.