This is finally finished. It came out a little shorter than originally planned at 51,800 words, but it's completed. I thought about making it longer but it ends at a good point and I didn't want to add padding. Hope you folks like it.

Masks XVIII

by

Rodford Edmiston

Part One

The remainder journey home seemed to take forever. I could tell that Kylie was tired because on several corners she either didn’t lean with me or leaned the other way.

When we finally arrived home, neither of us was in the mood for anything other than going straight to bed. It had been a very long day.

I crawled out of bed knowing that it was late but not sure how late it was. My first thought was to hit the shower and use that to wake me up.

It had to be one of the best weeks ever for me at Fashionable. Besides morning and evening yoga, I was able to have two dates a day like the one above. I don’t think my cryx ever felt that full or powerful before. I wouldn’t see Joshua again. It was somebody new each time. It was a cook or busboy at a local restaurant. It was a policeman working for the city of Chicago. It was always someone that seemed to be owed a favor for what was done to turn the other way at what we were doing.

Chapter 19

We had a leisurely morning, a late breakfast and drove home. Organised Lucy and meandered back to our campsite mooring. The weather was behaving itself. 3 campfire Sundays in a row was practically unheard of at this time of year, or so Tracy was telling me. We had 6 songs lined up. Jason hadn't contacted me and I hadn't seen him at the last campfire, so I was less worried about him. Amy was going to do a solo dance when we started with Songbird and then a routine with the girls for Happy and Walking on Sunshine.

>BR>

It was 11:59 in the night and was almsot going to be 12:00 and also my birthday! I was going to turn 14 in 20 more seconds. I got of my bed and went to turn on the lights at that moment the alarm rang it was 12:00 my parents and my sister came in wished me happy birthday and made me go back to sleep.The love me but they also are very strict.

The sound of the phone next to the bed ringing loudly pulled Steve from the depths of sleep. Groggily, he reached for it knocking the receiver off the hook before picking it up.

“Yes?”

“Ms. Grant? This is your six-a.m. wakeup call.”

It was the best truck stop sandwich I’d ever eaten. The bread was stale, the lettuce wilted, and gods only knew the deal with the egg salad, but it was solid enough to keep me from shaking to pieces.

I sat in the corner of the Sheriff's office and pulled the blanket they’d given tight. The events leading up to that point circled in my head; one moment I was being held at gunpoint, and the next I was in a ditch, screaming my lungs out. Between them were several hours and twenty miles into the next county no-one could explain.

You can read more about this session on Thrythlind, our GM’s, blog at: http://thrythlind.blogspot.com.au/2017/09/away-with-team-air...

Chapter 18

Chapter 5

For the third day in a row Jake found himself around Trish’s house before school. Once again he was sitting with her drinking a coffee and smoking one of her cigarettes. Although he hated to admit that first drag felt good and the taste of coffee was starting to grow on him. After he had taken a few drags Trish tutted.

‘Honey you’re smoking that like a Neanderthal. Here do it like me’