I giggle and head to my room. "Just—something."
When I get to my room, I don't notice that Avra has followed me. She has to say my name five times before I respond. "Elira! Will you help me get ready or not?" Oh, yeah. She's visiting her parents. I look at the clock: 5:00—time to focus. Avra needs to leave in half an hour. I help her pick out a loose pink top with some skinny fitting black pants and help her do her makeup. I start daydreaming of Garth's voice saying the words I can't stop thinking about while I'm putting powder on Avra's cheeks. "Elira! That side is done. You're going to make me look lopsided. Give me that." She takes the powder away from me and finishes her makeup herself. That was probably a good choice because she looks amazing. I grab my key and insist on going with Ernestine to drop Avra off. I don't want to sit around by myself all night.
Ernestine looks tense as we turn down Roller Street. "Avra, don't tell your parents anything that will help the authorities find us."
"I know. I won't." Her dad is watching out the window as we pull up in my purple car. Why did I insist on taking this car? He's probably writing down the license plate number as we speak. As Avra walks up to the door with the plate of cookies that she made, the door opens and her father calls out, "Where are your friends? I told you to bring them too."
I see Avra shake her head and I'm sure she's making excuses for us. Two females who look like Avra, except poorly dressed and one is older and one is younger, appear at the door and swallow her up.
"Ernestine, they love her, right?"
"Yeah—in theory." She doesn't convince me.
As Ernestine and I get home, I try not to feel bad about not going to Avra's party. I want to support her; I just can't shake the feeling that something is wrong. Ernestine opens the door for me and the first thing I see is Jefrey sitting at the table eating from a big bag of potato chips.
I explode at him. "Where have you been?"
"I bought this bag of chips at the convenience store."
My eyes glower at him. "I see that, but you should have been back before we left. What else did you do?"
"I just had a nice conversation with a guy at the store. Is that a crime?"
"That depends on what you talked about."
"Back off, Elira. Your parents may own this house, but no one owns me."
"I never said I did..."
My mother walks into the kitchen just then. "Elira, I've been meaning to take you shopping to get a few things. You have a few hours before Avra and your other friends get back; why don't we go now?"
"I-I who will stay with Jefrey?"
Ernestine looks at me curiously. "I will. Don't worry, I'll keep him out of trouble."
"Fine, just give me a minute to check my raccoon eye makeup."
Wow. I don't know what has come over me, but I have got to calm down. I can tell by the looks on everyone's faces that I am being over-the-top concerned. I go into my bathroom and take a few calming breaths as I touch up the flesh colored makeup on my long, purplish birthmark. I put some lip gloss and fake glasses on. I don't think I look like an escapee. I walk out of my room completely ignoring Jefrey, and waltz out the door with my mother. I hope I can stay calm and enjoy this outing with my mom. Wait. I feel a smile creep onto my face. Garth loves me, so of course I can.
Chapter 20
My mom looks sideways at me from the driver's seat of her white sports car. "I hope Jefrey deserves the interrogation you just put him through."
I sigh. "Probably not. I'm just on edge about Avra today. I'll try to relax and enjoy this time together. Where are we going?"
"I thought we could go to the salon and get pedicures and manicures. We didn't get very much time alone together yesterday, so this will make up for it."
"Okay, what is a pedicure again?"
"It's something moms and daughters do together. Your feet will love it!"
"Well, how can I refuse, then?" It is surprisingly relaxing and rejuvenating to have someone soak and rub expensive creams into my hands and feet. A lady with bright pink and blue hair paints my fingernails silver and my toenails purple. I feel like such a fancy, beautiful woman. I wonder if Garth will like them. The woman looks at my eye many times and doesn't notice a thing. I remember my conversation with Garth last night and sigh. I was right. This is true freedom. When we're done, I try not to gasp when I see how much my mom is paying for all of this.
We climb into the sports car and head to my mother's favorite restaurant. The outside of "The Dish You Wish" is beautiful. It looks like it is made of crystal with cozy multicolored lights inside. An impeccably dressed waiter meets us at the door. He says that the reservation list is full, but for Florence Hamble, his favorite guest, he can find something. I guess that means that my parents hold clout everywhere in this city. I try not to look nervous as the fancy people around me watch us be seated.
"Florence, I haven't seen you at our favorite haunts in months. Where have you been?" a thin, middle-aged woman with completely white, yet stunning, hair asks my mother from the table next to ours.
"Hello, Adelia. I haven't been out and about much because I'm redecorating my basement, helping Brock with his campaign, and this weekend, hosting my sweet niece here. Edith, this is my friend, Adelia Burmingham. Adelia, this is my niece, Edith Westergard."
I smile at the stunning woman. "I'm so pleased to meet you, Mrs. Burmingham.
Adelia smiles at us both. "I can see the family resemblance. That is a lot on your plate, Florence. I'm glad it's you and not me. Good luck with everything."
"Thank you, Adelia."
I pick up the menu with shaking hands, and realize I only know what three things on it are. Mother whispers to me, "You handled that very well, my dear. You are a natural. The Veal Parmesan is to die for by the way."
"That sounds wonderful; I'll order that."
"Just so you know, Edith, I gave Maxine the camera yesterday morning before you woke up. She may have started videotaping the goings-on at the complex. Our plan is already in action."
I look around at all the people looking at us. "That's good but let's not talk about any of that stuff right now. Let's just talk about things that don't matter, like fingernail colors and cute shoes."
Mother looks at me sideways. "Ha, ha, ha. Okay, do you think the shoes I'm wearing tonight are cute?" I look at her shoes and nod.
We laugh and joke through dinner and the whole ride home. It feels so good not to worry about anyone or anything. I should give myself a break more often. Plus, Garth loves me. I look at the clock in the car: 9:45. Avra should be back!
I rush inside to see how Avra's party went. When I open the door, I have a smile on my face and my fingernails ready to show my best friend. Instead, I see Jefrey slumped in an easy chair with a hand covering his face and Ernestine pacing the great room, with tears rolling down her cheeks. They are watching the news on the television. A picture of Avra in handcuffs is showing next to a man announcing that "tonight, one of the six escapees from the Complex of Undesirables has been apprehended." I sink to the floor. "Avra Brown was taken from her former parents' house on Roller Street in Herrington today at 6:30 pm. The individual who alerted the authorities about where Brown would be tonight wishes to remain anonymous in the hope of turning more of the escapees in. The individual did receive an award of $20,000 and the authorities claim they will pay the same amount for any of the escapees still at large. Here is a picture of the five who remain at large and their names." I can't move. I am in complete shock.
My mother grabs Ernestine's arms and demands, "What did you do? What happened?"
Ernestine wipes her eyes and nose on her sleeve. "She wasn't outside at 9:00 when I went to pick her up, but there were six peace officers and their cars with the lights flashing instead. I didn't know what to do, so I just kept my eyes forwar
d and kept driving past. I came home and fretted until the news came on. I saw that they took her almost the same time you did."
"AHH!" I sprawl on the floor bawling in earnest now. I knew something was wrong. Why did I let her go?
My mother sinks to the floor and wraps her arms around me. "It'll be okay, Elira. There was nothing that you could do." She turns to Ernestine, "Are the other boys back? Where are they?"
Ernestine covers her eyes with her hand. "Th-they're not back yet. I don't know what to do! What if they were all taken? What if the peace officers are coming here, next?"
Knock, knock. "Get in the bunker now! Even you, Ernestine," my mother whispers loudly and urgently.
Jefrey, Ernestine, and I all run to the hidden room. Ernestine collapses on one of the couches and cries into her arms. Jefrey and I listen at the door.
"What happened to you? Why are you so late?" my mother yells.
A male voice answers, "An officer came to the door, so I had to sneak out the back, and slowly sneak back here. I had to hide for almost an hour in a trash bin."
"I'm sorry that happened. Go take a shower and get some clean clothes on. We can talk more when you're done."
Jefrey seems intrigued. "I'm pretty sure that is Scott out there. It sounds like he got away from a peace officer."
I wipe the hair out of my teary eyes. "I'm so glad. I just hope Rocky and Garth are okay." A tear slides down my cheek, but I wipe it away quickly as I see Jefrey glaring at me.
"Elira, do you think she's going to let us out now?"
"No, I don't. I don't think she'll let us out until Garth and Rocky come home."
"But what if they don't come home?"
I slap Jefrey across the face. "He's your brother! Act like you have a heart, Jefrey."
He touches the red spot on his cheek in surprise. "Hey! I have a heart. He could be totally fine. I'm just wondering if we're going to have to sleep in here tonight."
"Why don't we just plan on it. Hop into a bunk and go to sleep," I say as I lay on the floor next to the door. He tries to sit next to me, but I glare at him and point at the bunks. He walks to the closest one and pulls the blanket and pillow off the top bunk. He drops them on me. I pull the blanket off my face and scowl at him. He gets the hint and tucks himself in the bottom bunk for the night.
I lay on the floor for an hour. It was actually nice of Jefrey to give me the pillow and blanket, but his insensitivity toward Garth and Rocky cancels it out, in my opinion. The floor is hard as a rock, but I don't want to miss anything, so I'm staying here. All I can hear is Ernestine's sniffling, Jefrey's loud breathing, and my mom's quiet mumbling. I think Jefrey's right, it must be Scott out there. They talk back and forth after he gets out of the shower, but they are too quiet for me to know what they are saying. I hear some sniffling out there after a while. Scott must know that Avra is gone. Those are hard words to accept. Will I be hearing the same words about Garth? Please—please no. Don't let him be gone. I can't cry anymore. I'm all cried out. My head hurts. Maybe if I just close my eyes for a little bit, I'll be able to think better.
Chapter 21
I wake up to someone shoving me in the side. Ow. What gives? Oh, I fell asleep in front of the door. I need to get out of the way. My mother's head pops through the crack in the door. "Elira, wake up. Move out of the way. I have some breakfast for you."
Everything from last night comes flooding back to me. I try not to start crying as I roll out of the way. "I don't want breakfast; I want Garth."
My frowning mother and a red-eyed Scott squeeze through the door with a tray of waffles and fruit as I try to crawl out of their way.
Mother sets the tray down on one of the beds and sighs. "What a night. You will have to stay in here from now on, everyone." Mother looks at Ernestine, who is slumped on one of the couches not looking at anyone. "Garth and Rocky are not back yet." Ernestine makes a whimpering noise. "The fact is, we should probably assume they were taken too."
I go from crawling on the floor to holding my knees in the fetal position. I scream more than cry. The last thing Garth said to me, or signed to me, was that he loved me. I didn't even get the chance to say it back. Now he will never know. The final doctor will kill him. He won't betray me, so they will kill him.
Ernestine pounds the arm of the couch like it is responsible for taking her only son away from her again. "I am going to kill Frank! How stupid was I to let him waltz back into our lives after all these years."
Mother sits next to Ernestine on the couch and pats her hand. "We don't know for sure that it was Frank. The peace officers may have shown up at the right time and taken them all."
Ernestine jumps to her feet. "Let me out of here, Florence. I am going to that house of nightmares right now. If Frank is there, I am going to kill him. We told him too much. If he's not..."
Mother stands up and grabs her friend's shoulders. "No, you're not. The peace officers will be watching that house closer than ever. I can't lose you too."
Ernestine sits back down and bawls. "It hurts worse this time. I had him back. I know and love who he has become. I could only imagine who he was before."
I wipe my eyes and scoot across the floor to Ernestine. I lay my head on her lap and hug her legs. We bawl together for a few minutes. When I raise my head back up, I see that Scott is suffering on the other couch alone. I join him on the couch and cry with him too. "How could we have been so foolish? We've done so well for all these months and then, BAM. Three of us are gone."
Scott wipes the tears from his eyes and looks at me. "Who did this to us?" he asks.
Jefrey hands Scott and me plates of waffles and fruit. He clears his throat. "It had to be Avra or Rocky's dad. They are both poor and have nothing to lose."
Ernestine stabs a strawberry with her fork. "I bet it was Frank. Someone has to go check on that house. Florence, will you go?"
Mother looks at her friend with pity. "I don't know. I will send someone. I just don't know who yet."
We hear a gentle knocking as my father slips into the room with us. "I will go check on Frank, but not until some of the five peace officers leave our street. I am afraid they will follow me."
Mother taps her fingers on her knee. "Isn't it food basket night at the church?"
"Yes."
"Maybe you should take some food baskets around to the poor and—take one to Frank too." Mother looks at Ernestine hesitantly.
Ernestine shrugs. "That's as good a plan as any."
Mother stands up and collects our breakfast dishes. "I'm so sorry, everyone. If you can think of anything that will help you pass the time in here, just let me know."
Ernestine looks at me sadly, which makes me start crying again. "Florence, will you bring the chess board in here? I'm going to go crazy locked in here all day thinking about—Rocky."
"Yes. Absolutely. Anything for you, Elira? Scott? Jefrey?"
The boys shake their heads. I can only think of one thing. "Can I have some paper and pencils, Mom?"
Mother kisses my forehead before she leaves. "Sure thing, honey."
•
I know it will do no good, but I want to write Garth one last letter. I want to pretend like he is going to come through that door any minute, and I won't waste a single minute letting him know that—I love him too. As I kneel next to the bottom bunk that Jefrey slept in last night, I start writing with all the feeling I possess.
Dear Garth,
I can't believe you are gone. We were just learning each other's birthdays and eating caviar for the first time two days ago. I loved that time we had, just the two of us, laughing about nothing and holding each other. When the sight of the complex filled me with anxiety, you knew just what to say. You are the one who makes me feel safe and happy and loved. When you signed those t
hree simple words to me, I felt something change in me. I felt like the world was good and right and that I would always be happy. I wish you were still here. I want to feel all of those things again, and most importantly, I want you to know that I love you too.
"Who are you writing to?" Jefrey asks as he looks over my shoulder.
I fold the paper in half as quickly as I can before Jefrey can read it. "It's none of your business."
Jefrey sits on the bed next to me. "Did it really say ‘Garth' on the top of that letter? He's gone, Elira. You need to accept that and recognize the options that you have left."
I feel the tears start streaming down my cheeks as I fold the letter to Garth as lovingly as I can. "The only option I have today is to mourn him. Leave me alone."
Jefrey's eyes fill with frustration as he watches me put the letter in my pocket. "I am his twin, Elira. You fell for us both, and I am still here."
"You are nothing like him."
My father interrupts us as he walks into the room. "I am on my way to do some charity work tonight. I will stop by Frank Moore's house to find out what I can. Florence and Freda are bringing your dinner down in just a few minutes. Would any of you like a sleeping pill for tonight? You've all been through so much in the past 24 hours, I think a solid night's rest would do you all some good.
I immediately raise my hand. "Me. Please, Dad."
My father opens a pill bottle and hands one tablet to me. He kisses my forehead and whispers, "I'm so sorry, honey. I wish I could help you more."
My eyes fill with tears again as I hug him. Ernestine and Scott take a pill as well.
"Who's ready for lasagna and breadsticks?" My mother asks in an overly-happy way as she and Freda walk in with our dinner.
I eat, but I don't taste anything. I take the pill my father gave me as soon as I'm done with my bird-sized portion. I can't take anymore today. My boyfriend and my best friend are gone.
The Complex Law: Young Adult Dystopian Page-Turner (The Complex Trilogy Book 2) Page 16