by R. J. Garcia
Silence hesitated and looked over at Finn. “She would have burned us alive!” Tears lit her eyes. “And she hurt my mom. She stole so many years. She stole her babies.”
Finn took Silence’s hand in his. “Don’t let her have another. You’d go to jail…She ain’t worth it.”
Silence’s eyes shifted to my sister, in my arms, and she winced as if in pain, before mumbling, “I’m sorry, Izzy,” and handing Finn the book of matches.
The relief almost flattened me.
Silence composed herself enough to shoot the old lady a hostile smile. “Yeah. She’s old. She’ll burn in hell soon enough.”
Izzy was shaky but had almost stopped crying as I rocked her slowly and gently in my arms.
Annie reached for Izzy, telling her, “Come with me, sweetie, Tommy needs to rest.”
Finn helped me down to the grass. They all sat with me. Together we watched the strange and eerie visual of the house roaring in flames. We all looked on with a mute vigilance as the flames poked straight through the roof, almost high enough to set the clouds on fire.
The fire trucks and police cars raced in with wailing sirens. My grandmother began to spin her tale, playing the part of innocent victim, claiming my friends and I burnt her house down and tried to set her on fire. The police even listened to her.
The same officer with the narrow face looked me in the eyes. “You again. You seem to be here anytime something crazy happens in this town.” When the officer ordered us to get to our feet, I couldn’t think about it. The others got up. I stayed there on the lawn, curled over, clutching my lower leg with my blistered hands. Izzy scampered over and sat with me on the lawn.
Even as the officer talked to my friends his gaze kept going back to me, with sharp and watchful eyes. I couldn’t blame him, not really.
First, Annie timidly explained, “Officer, he’s hurt his ankle, bad.” Silence detailed it further, saying “The bone’s sticking out.” I followed Finn’s eyes to the dark crimson puddle on the grass near my ankle. I looked away.
Silence did most of the talking, pleading our case. She talked loudly and held back tears, rubbing her nose between sentences, her hands flashing to bring home her point. I couldn’t quite hear her, but I knew what she told them. My supposed grandmother started the fire with her crazy brother Earl, who had assaulted Finn months ago and locked us in the attic, and about the kidnappings of Silence’s mom and a lady named Sarah Evans. A lady who was later murdered. It was hard to explain and even harder to understand.
My brain was cloudy. The lights flashed all around me, adding to my confusion. My ankle throbbed, and I faded in and out of my rational mind. At times the pain pushed all thoughts away.
I didn’t know if the police believed us and they didn’t, at first. It was a thrilling relief that he listened to us at all.
Silence wanted more. She demanded they arrest my grandmother and her brother now. Finn put his arm around her, trying to calm and comfort her. How do you tell a girl who waited all her life for justice, to wait longer? Justice was slow, if it even showed up.
We were all whisked to the hospital and treated for smoke inhalation. The craziness distracted me from the fact I couldn’t walk. That same night I had emergency surgery on my ankle to repair a compound fracture and chilled out a few days in the hospital. It was Finn’s turn to play visitor.
Chapter 56
Waiting
Finn
Back to Present
We waited for the forensics, and DNA evidence to come back to support our crazy and twisted story. In the meantime, Reese returned to town and regained custody of Isabella. Until everything was sorted out and my mom agreed to take Tommy in temporarily when he got released from the hospital.
Here I sat with Deputy Bennet in a cramped interrogation room that was making me clammy and claustrophobic.
Trying to divide and conquer, Bennet said, “Doesn’t it bother you that you didn’t get the girl?”
He had my head pounding with all the things I wanted to forget. He also had me remembering some things that weren’t half bad. Silence’s face flashed in my mind. “For your information, I got my girl. Good try, but Tommy’s her cousin and my best friend.”
“So, Tommy’s your best friend. Is that why you helped him burn down his grandparent’s house?”
I took a second to absorb the shock. This guy wouldn’t stop. “Hold up! Tommy didn’t start that fire, and I sure as hell didn’t help him.” Bennet kept his eyes on me in this calm way expecting me to squirm. I shifted in my chair and talked more than I wanted to. “We were locked in the attic when a liquid poured under the door, and the whole place lit up. We’re the victims in this. The girls and even little Izzy were there. We all could have died.” The images were still raw in my head. I could smell the smoke and those God-awful sirens played in my head like the worst song ever.
Bennet slapped a palm on his forehead before he started up again. “I can keep talking until you tell me the truth.”
I snapped, “You mean what you want to hear.”
There was an unexpected rap on the door. Bennet ran his hands over his eyes and sneered with impatience. “One minute,” he said holding up his index finger.
Bennet was talking to another guy right outside the door. I kept quiet, and folded my hands on my lap, trying not to feel so pissed off. Tension wound itself around my neck and shoulders. Things seemed to be going Gone Girl on us. I stared at the empty chair, mentally preparing to lawyer-up.
Bennet came back in the room, telling me, “I think that’s all for today.” And just like that he opened the door and waved his hand officially dismissing me.
Once outside the room, I spotted Tommy limping on his crutch toward a vending machine in a small alcove. I walked down the hallway lined with offices. I’d been here a few times with Polar Bear. When I passed his office, I could almost feel his ghost—like I did at the house sometimes. The soda machine hummed, and I heard the can of pop drop and said, “Hey,” to Tommy as he bent down and grabbed his Pepsi.
Tommy turned around and our eyes met for a second. He raised an eyebrow, “So Bennet seems kind of good, huh?” snapping the lid of his pop back and taking a swig.
I smirked at the heat rising up my neck and my shoulders dropped. “Okay, I was wrong. Bennet’s an idiot. Hey, where’s my mom?”
Tommy told me, “She’s waiting in the lobby to take us home.” There was a weird and playful edge about him.
A uniformed officer passed by, with a polite nod.
Tommy’s face had been tight with dread and fear the last time I saw him, suddenly looked optimistic. Before I could even ask, he said, “They’re here, man. The FBI.” His eyes crinkled up with his smile. “And I think they believe us.”
I ran a shaky hand back through my hair feeling the relief. I smiled back at him, before grabbing his Pepsi and taking a drink. Damn, if it wasn’t the best Pepsi I ever tasted.
I had relaxed in the car on the way home and was happy to see Silence waiting on my porch. We walked up the concrete drive and Silence asked my mom and Tommy, if she could talk to me alone and the visit seemed way less promising.
My mom said, “Sure,” and Tommy flicked a peace sign and I did, too. They both went inside.
I became more nervous as Silence’s eyes pinned me down. When I glanced up, massive clouds rolled in, obscuring the perfect sunset. The sky turned melancholy.
She seemed serious and preoccupied, like she was on some mission. Frown lines appeared between her brows. Her golden hair danced around in a sweet little breeze, but I was starting to feel warm.
“The FBI is taking over the case. It’s going to be cool.”
She grinned. “It’s about time.” Her smile fell away now traceless on her pale skin. “I need to tell you something.”
I sat down on the step of the porch next to a pot of wilted petunias. Silence hesitated and sat next to me. The wind blew the hair over her left eye every few seconds, and she’d swat it back.
“Break up with you? No way. You haven’t even done anything to piss me off yet.” She gently elbowed me and rolled her eyes. “It’s about Polar Bear. You and Tommy thought he was taking advantage of me. It was never like that.” Her green eyes looked clear and calm. “You see, he used to know my mom and grandmother. He would hide at their house when his father was drinking.”
I never thought Polar Bear was ever young, or on the other side of the abuse. Then again, his parents, the little one’s grandparents never came around.
She started talking again. “Anyway, he started coming over after my grandmother died and paying the bills and things. Crazy thing is, I imagined, pretended your stepdad from hell was my father because well it was better than having some crazy-ass kidnapper as a dad.” A few tears ran down her face, and she smeared them across her cheek. “But that’s the truth.”
“Si, it doesn’t matter who your father was. You’re you.”
She kept looking straight ahead of her. “I just decided today, I’d tell you.”
I touched her hands that were folded on her lap. “Thanks. It means a lot.” I realized what she told me would help me deal with my stepdad’s ghost. The story might also serve as a cautionary tale to never become like him. “I’m glad to know there was a speck of good in him. Polar Bear lost it in the end.”
She looked over at me. “Yeah, I’ll never get to know Holden...” Her eyes exuded a sparkle and warmth, but pain, too.
A lesser kid would have caved to sorrow. Silence battled the hair that repeatedly blew in her face with her chin held high. “I’m sorry,” I told her. The sky looked grey like wet paint, and I could smell the rain in the air. I bumped my shoulder against hers. “Let’s go inside.”
Chapter 57
The Good Part
Tommy
One week later
It had been a wild up-and-down ride for all of us. Eventually the long-buried truth came to light. My mom was thirty-three years old when she’d finally found out who she really was. That’s why Izzy and I, along with our mom, planned on taking the name Serel as soon as possible. Johnny Serel was my grandfather, and a good man, who was killed trying to protect the girl he loved. His remains were found buried in the back of that cabin in the woods, in a city, two hours away from Summertime. The same cabin the phantom van had been speeding toward when Finn and Silence took that crazy ride.
It was a happy ending, thirty years too late. I was still a little nervous inside. It wasn’t exactly the same world anymore. We were idiot kids, so of course, we snuck out the first chance we could. That night everything almost seemed normal again.
The drooping branches surrounding the clearing sheltered us. It was a starry night like I’d never experienced in the city; a sky so clear, I could almost see Saturn. The weather warmed up to us, too. The crickets were chirping. We all sat around the campfire watching the flames sputter and crackle as small embers twirled and fluttered out of sight. A column of peaceful smoke ascended to the heavens. My crutches lay a few feet behind me. I had wanted this moment more than I ever wanted anything in my life. Just to be here with them. Then Silence and Finn started kissing. I rolled my eyes. Annie and I turned our backs to give them their moment.
We exchanged a smile.
“I’m going to be staying with Reese again. And she’s having my mom over for dinner. Izzy’s excited,” I told her. I was more excited. I felt like a little kid at Christmas. A kid who was going to get what he always wanted. I’d never been that kid.
Her jaw briefly dropped. “Tommy, that’s great! That’s awesome.” Annie’s eyes crinkled around the edges before they shifted to the trees.
But I kept staring at her until her gaze again brushed my face and my eyes fell. It was the familiar game we’d played. Only now the feelings that had been swirling around my head and chest were trickling in.
Annie changed her hair to a softer, lighter purple. Truthfully, I wasn’t the type of guy who liked purple hair at all. Looking at her, though, I started to find her even more attractive. I think no matter what she did to her hair, I would have liked it. I existed in a pro-Annie frame of mind.
“At least they finally arrested that guy who hurt Finn,” she said.
“Yeah, crazy Uncle Earl,” I mustered a smile that probably looked like a grimace. “I guess they’ll be arresting my fake grandparents soon. But let’s not talk about it. Not tonight.”
After a beat, and a quizzical turn of her head, she thought of something. “Did I ever tell you how I met Finn?”
“No,” I replied, immediately interested.
“My cousin Ryan and Mudget had tied me to a tree and were shooting their bb guns at me, when this little redheaded boy came up, demanded they let me go. So, they tied Finn up, too.”
“How old were you?”
“We were about six or seven.” She folded her legs under her. “I’d seen him around, but it’s the first time we really talked.”
I could imagine this cute little Annie and Finn tied to that tree. The picture was sad and adorable at the same time. We both smiled a little. “That’s messed up.” A few quiet seconds passed as a feeling of calmness came over me. “I’m lucky I met you guys. I couldn’t have made it through this without you.” Again, I wanted to kiss Annie. I didn’t want to kiss her because Finn and Silence were going at it, or because she was cute, or the sweetest person I ever knew. I wanted to kiss Annie because I couldn’t hold back a second longer.
The fire glowed behind her. I put my arm around her shoulder and brought my face close to hers, and then she turned away. I pulled back. Now my rush of feelings became an ache. She didn’t feel the same. I forced myself to look at her. She seemed too serious, lost in quiet contemplation. This couldn’t be good.
“Are you going to kiss me?” she asked.
“Yeah, I was trying to,” I awkwardly admitted. “If that’s okay?”
She let out a tiny giggle. Her eyes became shiny. She rubbed her lips together. “But shouldn’t the cutest boy in school, be with the cutest girl?”
“Forget that guy and be with me.” I smiled and leaned in, so did she. I pulled her closer as her arms slipped around my waist, anchoring herself to me. We kissed. I experienced her lips, her tongue, and the sweet taste of her mouth. If my life had been a movie, it would have been the perfect place to run the credits. But it wasn’t. There was a long road ahead of us.
If someone asked me to classify my life under a genre, I would have to give more than one answer. It was a mystery and suspense, at the same time. I get that. It could also be called a love story. Maybe not a traditional love story between one boy and one girl, although it was a little of that, too. It was really a love story between four friends.
The girl you fall for at fifteen or sixteen may not be the girl you marry. It doesn’t mean you didn’t love them. Annie would always be special to me. Any positive relationship that comes after a dysfunctional one can restore a small piece of trust and normality to your life. I know I learned a lot from my short relationship with Holden, and from what was only the beginning of my relationship with Reese. I also learned a lot from my friends. I’d always remember what the first important lady in my life, my mom, told me. Just because something bad happens to you, doesn’t make you bad.
One final thought, you know how people say what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. I don’t think that’s exactly true. I think what doesn’t kill you makes you realize how strong you really are. And I realized, I’m pretty tough.
After the kiss, Annie and I went and laid down, on an old flannel blanket, hands intertwined, breathing in sync and looking up at the stars. Finn and Silence stretched out a blanket next to ours and joined us.
“Are you guys a couple now?” Silence’s question was almost immediate.
I looked at Annie who shyly smiled, but neither of us answered. I figured I needed to ask her first.
Changing the subject,
I said, “Some of the stars are long gone by the time their light reaches the earth.”
Finn broke in, “Oh no, Tommy’s going to talk about the stars.”
“Yeah, I heard that. They’re kind of like phantom stars, ghosts, really,” Silence said.
Of course, Annie from the bright side added, “It makes them even more beautiful.”
My happiness deepened that night realizing how fleeting life and everything was. I turned to kiss Annie a second time and could only hope Johnny and Laney had a night like this one.
THE END.
About the Author
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R.J. Garcia is a wife and proud mom. She earned her MSW and worked with foster children and as a school social worker. Writing has been her other great love. She has published several non-fiction pieces. She has been writing short-stories for as long as she can remember. To her amazement, those short stories became novels!
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If you would like to learn more about R.J.'s break out novel, Nocturnal Meetings, go to:
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