41 - ‘Come gentle night…’

“So now what are you going to do? You’re probably out of a job after you’re little temper tantrum, and you managed brush off the one person who undoubtedly could find out where Rikard is, which is the first step to finding Owen again.”

Kemp’s sigh was low and mournful as he replied, “I don’t know Trev. I just…hell they were making me feel like a two-year old who needed his hand held to cross the street.” Rubbing  his eyes he said. “I know they mean well but there I was like it was the principal’s office and I’d been called in because I’d been disruptive and my father was called in to take me home. Shit, I’m tired of everyone thinking I need a keeper.”

“Maybe if you stopped acting like you did they’d back off.”

“What’s that supposed to mean,” Kemp asked petulantly.

“It means, what have you actually done on your own to find Owen? You have a clue to where he might be. Why haven’t you tried to get out there and look? Are you just going to sit around waiting, hoping I get some sort of information, which I already pointed out to you might not happen. You’ve been in town for a week now and other than going to work and wandering the streets afterwards hoping he’ll just suddenly appear, you’ve done nothing.”

“What the hell am I supposed to do, search every house in the Garden District?”

“You can sense vampyres, use that ability you idiot. Go out there during the day instead of sitting around here moping. It could take a while but at least you’ll be doing something and you just might get lucky.”

Kemp chewed on a fingernail as he thought about that. “I wish I’d been more…that I’d pushed him for more information about where he lived, but it didn’t seem important at the time. I guess I was so wrapped up in him and how I felt, how we felt, that it never even occurred to me that we’d ever be apart, until it happened. And then it was too late. So now, yeah I have to get off my ass and stop acting like the world owes me and do this myself—for us. If there still is an ‘us’.”

“About time you got that through that thick skull of yours. Since there’s no way he could know you’ve come back it’s all on your shoulders. Although I do think you owe your father an apology for how you acted.” When Kemp shook his head in denial Trevor growled, “You have to. If for no other reason than that he’s your father and he cares. Besides why let your pride get in the way of finding Owen? You said your father offered to help. Let him.” 

“Okay, I suppose you’re right about that. Assuming Sinclair’s still talking to me, I’ll apologize to him too.”

“Good. Now get some sleep and then hit the streets tomorrow. Well this afternoon.”