The Lost Girl

by Lilian Carmine

  Five hours had passed and I was beginning to get tired, but I tried to cover it up as best I could. All those people had waited in line for such a long time, just for a chance to see us, even if it was for a brief moment. There were also a lot of fans who pleaded to meet Tiffany or Jackie too, and obligingly they stepped forward to give a handshake and a quick hello.

  The girl now in front of me was talking at the fastest tempo possible. I mentally nicknamed her “Flash Girl”.

  “… and ohmygosh, you look sooo much prettier in person, I can’t believe I’m, like, actually talking to you!”

  I glanced fleetingly to my right to see Tristan talking to another fan, who giggled and blushed all over. I could see he was beginning to become weary as well. Big crowds like this drained Tristan the most out of all of us.

  I smiled and gave Flash Girl my autograph and she stepped out of the line while I prepared to talk with the next fan. A tall teenage boy stepped in front of me and handed me a poster to sign. He was wearing a long, heavy jacket and one hand was stuffed inside the pocket.

  “I waited a long time to see you today,” he murmured.

  “Yeah, I know! Thanks for coming. It’s crazy in here today, huh?” I said, scribbling quickly on the poster.

  “I’m glad I got to meet you. I have something important to talk to you about.” I glanced up for the first time to have a look at the boy. He was very burly, with big strong arms and a taut, nervous face. The thing that drew most of my attention, though, was his eyes. I tensed up, reacting to them immediately.

  Today was one of those days when I was really grateful for having my special ability. I’d had this skill since I was really young, but I hadn’t known then that I was one of a very few people in the world who could do it. At least, so far I hadn’t met any other person that was like me. Just by looking in someone’s eyes I could tell what a person is feeling; I could tell if they were nervous, sad or happy. I couldn’t see exactly what they were “thinking”. I could guess many things, though. It’s called “empathy-sight”, as Miss Violet, my senior occult teacher, had explained to me. It could be real handy sometimes, but a real pain at other times. People needed to have their private feelings, and I couldn’t control my powers, couldn’t turn them off. When you are in a relationship, finding out what your significant other is feeling all the time can become a problem.

  But today I was glad that I could read these things in other people, because otherwise I would have been completely unaware of what was going on inside this boy’s head. What I saw when I looked directly into his eyes scared the hell out of me.

  Madness.

  It was the best word to describe it.

  “You should quit the band, Joe,” the boy said, his tone becoming urgent.

  A jumble of confused emotions swirled around inside his mind in a chaotic blur. It made me slightly dizzy; the intensity of his feelings was too much; the agitation in his mind warned me that he was a second away from snapping.

  I was so immersed in trying to decipher his scrambling thoughts that I wasn’t thinking straight. I should have said something, but nothing came out of my mouth. The eerie feeling I’d been having rushed back to my mind.

  Something bad is going to happen today …

  The boy snaked his hand out and grabbed my wrist, his eyes manic. “You have to stay away from these guys. All of them. They are no good for you!”

  No one was paying attention to what was happening. I glanced over to Jarvis and Johnson but they weren’t looking my way.

  The boy tightened his grip on my wrist. “I am serious, Joe!” He seemed angry at my silence. His emotions crashed around in his head, making mine hurt. He thought I was mocking him.

  “Don’t you believe me?” he growled, tugging at my arm and making me lurch into the table. My sudden fear at last made me snap out of my daze and react normally to the situation.

  “Stop it! Let go of me!” I shouted, standing up and pushing him away.

  “No! You have to believe me!” he shouted back, and tried to pull my arm again, but I twisted it, making him lose his grip.

  Thanks, martial arts training, I thought to myself.

  He leaned over the table, desperate to have a hold of me again, but he only managed to grab my necklace; he pulled it with a sharp tug. The necklace gave way and snapped; black beads scattered everywhere and I stumbled back as I escaped his hold on me.

  Everything happened so fast then. In a second Tristan was leaping over the table and tackling the lunatic boy. Josh tried to catch me as I fell backwards, but we both ended up losing our balance and crashing through the glass table behind us. The sound of breaking glass was so loud that the entire room burst into a panicked commotion, as frightened cries and confused shouts exploded everywhere.

  I lay crumpled on the floor with Josh, shards of glass all around us. My mind was still a chaotic mess, reeling from my foray into that lunatic boy’s mind. The room was in turmoil. The security line was broken and everybody was running over to us.

  Where were Jarvis and Johnson?

  Josh had glass all over him, too, his eyes wide and scared as he gazed at the uproar around us. I felt something warm and wet trickling down my face and I tried to stand up, but the crowd was so huge that we kept being pushed back to the floor. Josh wrapped his arms around me, trying to protect me, but when he saw his hand he stopped and stared at it with a puzzled expression, his eyes flashing with fear at what he saw. I glanced down; it was bathed in crimson red. There was blood all over him. That’s when I put two and two together.

  My blood.

  The crowd’s fear slipped through me, making me feel even more helpless. I looked at Josh, fear and panic engulfing me. I couldn’t think straight; I couldn’t move!

  Josh decided it was time to take action and scooped me up in his arms and carried me quickly to the elevator, pushing through the crowd like he was freaking Moses parting the waves. I tried to catch a glimpse of Tristan or any of the boys, but they were lost in the chaos. In a flash Big Johnson and Jarvis were at our side, helping to open the way. Well, better late than never, I supposed … Where the hell were they when that lunatic boy was going for my neck?

  Jarvis used his usual threatening stare that caused people to get out of his way pretty fast, while Big Johnson shouted for people to move. Then we were inside the elevator and the doors were closing, leaving us huddling inside in shock.

  I risked a glance at Big Johnson; his eyes were fixed on the doors, like he was expecting them to open at any moment to reveal a horde of invading monsters. His jaw was clenched tight and his forehead beaded with sweat. He noticed me staring and flicked his eyes to me for a moment. Guilt poured out of him like punch.

  “I’m so sorry, Miss Gray!” he blurted out. “I didn’t notice what that guy was doing until it was too late. I should have been more attentive. It won’t ever happen again, Miss Gray, you have my word.”

  “That’s okay, Big J,” I said, my voice trembling a little.

  Jarvis was looking intensely at his cousin and me, his eyes also full of guilt.

  The elevator pinged loudly into the eerie silence that followed, and the doors opened at the third floor. Josh darted out, still carrying me, and checked the empty hallway.

  Holding the doors open with his bulk, Big Johnson boomed over his shoulder at his cousin: “Jarvis, you go back downstairs, check if everything is all right, find the others.” He issued his instructions in a hard, clipped tone; he was Chief of Security after all. “I’ll be here with Gray. Keep me posted on events.”

  Although a part of me was really grateful that Big Johnson was going to stay with me, a bigger part was worried about Tristan and the boys still in the mess downstairs. They’d be needing all the help they could get. And the last time I had seen Tristan he was launching himself at that crazy boy. What if something happened to him?

  “Johnson! Please … go with Jarvis, too. Help the boys, please. I’ll be fine.”

  Josh turned and we both w
atched the two guards standing by the elevator doors, waiting to see what they’d do.

  Big Johnson stepped out and signaled for Jarvis to follow his orders. “I won’t leave her side,” he said decisively. “Go now. Bring them all back here,” he ordered, with finality in his voice.

  I hunched down in Josh’s arms, too shaken to argue any more. Big Johnson must know what he was doing.

  Josh carried me inside the private room we’d used earlier, towards a big couch in one corner. As soon as he sat down, he lifted me gently onto the couch and started checking me to find out where the blood was coming from.

  “Where does it hurt?” he asked urgently.

  Big Johnson was surveying the room, barking orders into his radio and positioning himself close to the door to block anyone who tried to enter without his permission. I shook my head while Josh tended to me. I let out a deep breath which I didn’t realize until now that I’d been holding in. “My head stings a bit.”

  “It looks like a superficial cut, but we might need to take you to a hospital, just to be sure it’s nothing serious,” Josh said, probing lightly at my head. Then he took off his shirt and wrapped it into a bundle. “Press this on your head to stop the bleeding. Don’t worry, you’re going to be fine,” he said calmly, trying to reassure me.

  He pulled me close and wrapped his arms around me, causing me to lean my head on his big chest. His skin felt so warm, and the beat of his heart made me feel a lot calmer. My insides still churned in nervousness, though. I was so worried for Tristan, the boys and Tiffany; they were still down there in that pandemonium. I hoped they were okay.

  The door burst open and I jumped, startled, my heart pounding in my chest in fright. Big Johnson was already blocking the path of whoever had barged in, but as swiftly as he had stepped forward, he moved away even faster to let a stricken-faced Tristan pass by. His intense gray gaze swept the room until he spotted the couch, and his eyes widened in fear when he saw me. Until now, he hadn’t seen all the blood. He ran to me and knelt in front of the couch. “Joe! Are you all right?” he asked, his voice deep with concern.

  “I’m all right, Tris. Is everybody else okay?”

  I looked behind him and saw Seth and Tiffany coming into the room, Harry and Jackie right behind them and a wide-eyed Sammy at their heels. I couldn’t see any sign of Jamie; come to think of it, I hadn’t noticed him in the signing room, either. But maybe he was still downstairs, trying to capture footage of the affray, as legal evidence rather than for souvenir purposes, I’d imagine. I hoped he was all right.

  Jarvis and Becca were the last ones to arrive. She took a quick glance at me on the couch and was already dialing on her phone, calling downstairs for a paramedic to come up here as well.

  Tristan was broadcasting so many emotions, it made me wince from the intensity of them. Fear, worry, nervousness, one flooding after the other in an emotional tidal wave.

  “Why is there so much blood?” he asked Josh quietly while he helped put pressure on the shirt against my head.

  I wasn’t sure if I could handle any more feelings today. I’d had enough. My body couldn’t take anything else and my head was pounding so hard, I thought it would split open any second now.

  Tristan was holding my hand, trying to reassure me that everything was really all right.

  “Don’t worry, I’ll be fine,” I told him with a weak smile.

  He laughed lightly, his voice still coming out a little tense. “Only you, Joey, would try to calm me down when you’re the one injured here. That’s my job, you know,” he scoffed playfully, making everybody laugh.

  The mood in the room relaxed considerably after that. Tiffany, Seth and Sammy huddled closer to get a look at me, while Jackie and Harry remained a little behind.

  I closed my eyes and sighed, focusing on the feeling of Tristan’s fingers on the palm of my hand. His touch always made me feel better, like an instant balsam of relief.

  Jarvis was quietly reporting back to Big Johnson at the back of the room. “It’s a hell of a mess downstairs. There were a few people hurt in the crush, but paramedics are already taking care of it. Tristan had the guy firmly secured by the time I got to him. The police have taken him off for questioning.”

  “He didn’t hurt you, right?” I asked Tristan, checking to see if he was injured.

  “I’m fine. The guy struggled a little at first, but he stopped when the bookstore security guards arrived and took him off my hands,” Tristan said softly, but then his eyes took on a dangerous glint. “If I’d known he had done this to you, though …”

  “Actually … he didn’t quite do this to me. It was an accident. I tripped and fell on that damned glass table,” I confessed, embarrassed by my clumsiness.

  “All I saw was the guy going for you, and I leapt at him,” Tristan continued. “Then all hell broke loose!”

  I glanced around the room and caught a glimpse of Jackie, at Harry’s side, staring at me. Her eyes flashed with disapproval at the way I was still leaning into Josh.

  What the hell was that girl’s problem? Why couldn’t she give me a freaking break, for once in my life? Was she jealous of Josh now too? I couldn’t go near any of the boys, was that it?

  A paramedic entered the room, which distracted me from my silent rage. He gave a quick look around and walked straight towards the couch. I guess the sight of a girl covered in blood did flash “emergency” signals.

  “Okay. Let’s get a look at you, love,” he said, putting his medical bag on the floor and opening it up. “You can let her go now,” he told Josh, as he pulled on surgical gloves.

  I nodded and Josh reluctantly let go of me, and scuttled to the other side of the couch. Tristan took the seat next to me, his hand still securely clutched around mine.

  “It’s quite common for cuts to the head to bleed a lot, but it seems yours is not too deep,” the paramedic said, inspecting the laceration on my head. “I just need to clean this up and you won’t even need stitches.”

  Tristan let out a sigh of relief. He squeezed my hand lightly for support while the paramedic expertly patted bandages and antiseptics over my wound. After a little while the man finished working on me, gave me a painkiller for my headache and hurried off to help other people in need downstairs.

  The building was swarming with paparazzi by the time we got out. Becca stayed behind to announce we were all okay and unharmed, and the boys and I, along with Tiff and Jackie, slumped in the back of the chauffered SUV as we were driven quietly home.

  I went straight to Tristan’s room when we got back, after reassuring everybody for the hundredth time that I really was all right. I didn’t want to be around Jackie a second longer than was necessary or I would be the one blowing up this time.

  Harry had been acting really weird since we left the bookstore, and I wasn’t sure why. But I wasn’t in any condition to analyze anything at the moment; I just wanted to go to bed and rest for a little bit.

  A soft, yellow light drifted through the window blinds, giving a cozy warmth to the room. I heard Tristan coming into the bedroom to check up on me. He pulled a warm blanket over my shoulders, kissing me tenderly on the forehead before silently walking away to let me sleep in peace.

  I woke up with a start when I heard the door open and someone walk inside. I blinked sleepily at a dark shape sitting next to me, and felt a hand resting lightly on my shoulder. For a second I started to panic, fear climbing up my chest because of this strange shadow looming over me, but at the sound of Tristan’s voice, washing over me soothingly, all of my fears disappeared as quickly as they came.

  “Hey, sorry to wake you, Buttons. How are you feeling?” he asked. The room was dark. Was it night-time already?

  “I’m fine. Hmm … How long I have been sleeping?” I asked groggily.

  “A few hours.” He cupped my face in his hands and gave me a soft kiss. “I’m waking you up because Becca just arrived with some news about what happened at the bookstore. I thought you might like to he
ar it.”

  “Yeah, I want to know. Thanks,” I said grabbing his hand, letting him help me stand up.

  Everybody was waiting in the living room. Becca was instructing Big Johnson and his cousin to put the gifts they’d managed to recover from the signing on the dinner table. Tiffany was also there, but Jackie was nowhere to be found, which meant she had already left, thank the gods.

  “Hey, Joey,” Becca greeted me with a concerned expression. She checked me from head to toe, to certify that I was really okay before speaking again. “You can go through the gift pile when you feel like it; I know how much it cheers you up, reading the fan letters,” she said with a comforting smile.

  I sat at the end of the couch; Tristan hunched down on the floor, sitting between my legs, and Becca started telling us the news.

  “So, the kid that attacked Joey today has a mental health problem and had been without medication for a while,” she began. “The kid was in a catatonic state so his mom was brought to the police station to answer some questions. She said he sometimes fakes taking his pills, which aggravates his condition.

  “Usually when he’s not on his medication, he starts to harbour some crazy conspiracy theories, and she said that he had been fixated on the band for a while now, listening to your albums all the time. But she thought he just enjoyed the music; she never imagined he had something like this planned. The kid was diagnosed with early-onset schizophrenia when he was just twelve. It’s very sad.

  “He’s back on his medication now,” Becca said to calm everybody down. “He won’t be bothering you guys again.” Then she smiled a big smile. “On the bright side, all your fans are all right; no one was seriously hurt in the commotion.”

  “Yeah, the TV has been broadcasting the incident non-stop today,” Seth said.

  Apparently, someone had recorded the exact moment when Josh had picked me up, bridal style, and rushed to the elevators with me in his arms, and now the scene was being replayed all over the internet with The Bodyguard theme song in the background. Funny.