And it very quickly reminded her of where she was, and just as quickly alarmed her. That had been one effective distraction to pull her from the danger of her surroundings. Now that she’d been staring at her bright screen, her eyes were blind to the darkness, making it even more insidious. She aimed the screen at the area in front of her, blinking to hopefully make her be able to focus more quickly.
The meager light shone on a something in front of her, and she yelped and jumped backward. The huge bird that had been watching her earlier had waddled over, quiet as a ninja, and was standing right at her feet, staring up at her. She suddenly found herself with her phone to her ear, listening to the ringing of her phone call to Roman.
Why was she calling him? She might not have been willing to call one of her sisters, but she could’ve called any one of her roommates. Or even her mom or dad. But no—she called Roman.
She kept her eyes on the bird, hearing her own heartbeat pumping in her ears like an overly excited aerobics instructor. Her chest was getting tighter, which was unfortunate, because it gave less room for the battle going on between the wildebeests in her stomach. She jumped at the sound of a rustling behind her, then rolled her shoulders, darting her eyes around at everything.
“Bex?” Roman answered the phone groggily, his voice thick with sleep.
“Please tell me you know how to talk someone down from a phobia attack,” she whispered in a voice that was bordering on hysterical, clutching the phone with both hands. Her breaths were coming fast, and she kept glancing around, making sure no other birds were trying to flank her and attack from behind, all while keeping an eye on the one right in front of her.
“Phobia attack? What’s going on?”
“There is a bird right in front of me that I swear has been around since the dinosaurs. That’s how big he is. He’s got black feathers and black legs and even a black beak that—I am not kidding you—is as long as a butcher knife. Around his eyes and cheeks and a giant neck thing, though, that part’s not black. It’s bright orange. Like it’s there just to remind you that he’s unpredictable. I saw him earlier on the tour, and I’m pretty sure he’s been plotting my demise ever since. Since he was awake then, I’m pretty sure that means he’s not actually nocturnal—he just made an exception for me. And Roman! He is following me! Every time I take a step, he takes a step.”
“Where are you?” His voice sounded a little more awake, but much more baffled.
She tried to get further away from the sleeping people so she wouldn’t wake them. Each step she took was matched by the cursed bird. “The aviary.”
“Why are you at the aviary at...nearly three in the morning if you have a phobia of birds?”
She let out a huff of air. “Because I’m stupid. And a sucker for helping out with my nieces and nephews.”
“Ahh,” he breathed. “You’re at the Forty Winks with Feathered Friends camp. I did that when I was a kid, too.”
“What? Why? Are you a secret bird lover? I might have to cancel our last interview. And our date.”
“You’re not a fan of birds or people who like birds. Got it. I assume your nephew is exempt from your ire?”
She glanced over at where Asher lay sleeping in the cot next to hers. “Yes. Because he’s eight and adorable.” Then her eyes were back on the bird’s, and she swore he’d moved closer during that second her focus was away. “Roman, what do I do? He just keeps staring at me with those beady little eyes. I’m pretty sure he can see right into my soul.”
“He probably likes what he sees. That’s why he’s following you.”
“Roman!” she hissed.
“Okay,” he said, and she could hear some rustling, like maybe he was adjusting to a seated position in bed, “tell me why you’re so afraid of birds.”
“Because they’ve got grabby, stabby feet. And grabby stabby beaks. And since they can fly, they can attack you from any direction.” She ducked, looking all around, suddenly worried about how many birds were waiting on top of the posts and buildings and light posts. “They swarm. And they carry diseases.”
“They do not.”
“And they’re smart—you’ve seen them fly in formations. They’re capable of planning a coordinated attack to take over the world.”
“No they aren’t.”
“Remember how I said that they’re smart?”
“Okay...but they wouldn’t. They aren’t vindictive like that.”
“Ducks are.”
“Okay, ducks are. But not that bird in front of you.”
“How do you know? He looks smart and vindictive! And birds can’t be trusted!”
“These birds can be trusted. Bex, the aviary has been doing this activity for years. Since long before I was even old enough to do it. They wouldn’t have started it and definitely wouldn’t continue it if they were worried about that happening. Or if anything bad had happened in all the years they’ve done it.”
“Maybe this is a new bird. It keeps cocking his head as he’s staring at me. Like he’s planning something.”
“He’s not sizing you up for a meal, Bex. He’s just curious. Birds aren’t mean—they are just curious. He’s watching you because you’re the only one there who’s awake. There’s no one else to watch.”
She looked out across the pavilion. Everyone else was all snuggled in their sleeping bags, snoozing. Was he really only interested in her because she was giving him a show to watch? “Are you sure?”
“Positive. Birds are social creatures. This one got up in the middle of the night, scratched his head as he was wandering to the refrigerator and noticed the TV was on. So he thought, ‘Hey, that show looks interesting. Pretty girl, too. I think I’ll just plop down on the couch and watch for a bit as I eat this slice of pizza.’”
She laughed a quiet laugh and could feel some of the tension leaving her shoulders.
“If you go climb into your sleeping bag and close your eyes, the bird’s going to go, ‘Looks like this show is over, and the next one is boring. I might as well go back to bed.’ Then he’ll stumble his way back to his nest, and totally forget it even happened by morning. Unless he notices the missing piece of pizza, of course.”
“And the pepperoni morning breath.”
“Definitely that.”
She took a deep breath as her war in her stomach calmed down to a half-hearted disagreement. She hadn’t expected Roman to be so patient. Nikki’s ex-husband hadn’t been, that was for sure. Maybe she had been wrong about Roman, and he wasn’t like her old brother-in-law, after all. Maybe he wasn’t so rigid and overbearing. Not only did he pick up the phone in the middle of the night, but he’d been understanding. And, actually, helpful. She could feel her heart rate returning to normal. She opened and closed her hand, trying to ease the cramp from her death grip on the phone.
“It surprises me that you have a phobia. I thought nothing could faze you.”
“And I didn’t think you’d be so patient after being woken up in the middle of the night.”
He let out a chuckling breath, and she could hear the smile in it. “For what it’s worth, I’m impressed you were willing to go to this thing with your nephew. That took guts.”