Page Content (OCR)
The Child - Eight when he got to his room, it was clear that Gary had moved out. In a way, Ted was relieved, but part of him wanted the confrontation. He had been betrayed by a good friend, and he wanted to know why. Gary wasn’t hard to find. Half an hour later they were alone together in Gary’s new room, and when Ted looked at his friend’s embarrassed expression, his anger relented. “Man, I’m really sorry. Really sorry, Ted,” Gary said. “I know that’s not much help.” “T trusted you,” Ted said. “Jill was my girl, and you were my friend. How could you do that to me?” “Listen,” Gary replied, “I never meant for this to happen. But Jill can be real persuasive. She brought a bottle down to the room, looking for you, but I was there, and she stayed a while.” “Didn’t you think about me?” Ted asked. “If you wanted a girl, there are plenty around here besides mine!” “Sure I did,” Gary argued, “I even asked Jill why she was flirting with me when she was your steady. And you know what? She just laughed and said she didn’t belong to you, that she loved you like a friend, that’s all. She said she was free do to what she wanted, and so were you.” Ted didn’t listen to any more. He walked away, deter- mined to find Jill and hear it for himself. He couldn’t believe that her interest in Gary was serious, in spite of what he’d seen in her room. The only way he would really know was to see her face, look into her eyes, and listen to her explanation. If she had one. By the time he found her, Ted’s obsessive need for Jill was raging, and he was desperate to believe anything she said. He wanted her back, the old Jill who loved him, whose soul had been merged with his. If she said she was sorry, he knew he would forgive her. Jill didn’t look pleased to see him when he walked into her room. “What do you want?” she asked angrily. This wasn’t what Ted expected, and for a moment he couldn’t answer. “I want to know what happened,” he finally managed to say. Masquerade of Angels 70 The Child - Eight “What do you care?” she flared. “You’ve ignored me for weeks. All you do is work and read and wander around in the mountains by yourself. I want to live it up and have fun! And I’m going to! The guys around here know how to have a good time, even if you’ ve forgotten. “Tm finally away from that small southern town, with everybody meddling in my business. My family just smothered me. For the first time in my life, I feel free and alive, and I’m going to enjoy every minute of it, with or with- out you.” “But, Jill, what about us?” Ted pleaded. “What does this mean? How can you say this? You know we’re meant to be together.” “Look,” she said, “we grew up together, schooled togeth- er, churched together, so of course I love you, Ted. How could I not love you, you’re my best friend? And I’ve tried to love you the way you wanted. But all of this business with the angels and our souls being merged, Ted, that’s your obsession. Those were your angels, not mine!” Like a dry twig breaking underfoot, Ted felt something snap inside. He waited for the surge of pain he thought he would feel. Jill had finally and completely rejected him, but astonishingly the pain was gone. Her words, honest and bru- tal, had freed him, and there was nothing left of her soul in him, not any more. The obsession was over. Masquerade of Angels 71