“I hope you’re not going to spend all day with that boy again,” my birth mother started. Apparently we were going to have that same discussion at least one more time. “Don’t you have colleges to look at or something? Education is very important here on Earth.”
“It was important on Trucon too,” my birth father chimed in.
“I don’t know what I’m doing today,” I replied, smiling through it all. At least I was lucky enough to have two sets of parents, right? “And I don’t know what Lochie’s up to either. I’m more worried about getting Garrick some help.”
“Garrick is a nice boy,” Birth Mom gushed. Did I mention she had a soft spot for Garrick? Like, a really big soft spot. “You should help him as much as you can.”
“I’m trying.”
Adoptive Mom threw her two cent’s worth in. “Lochie is a nice boy too.”
“She’s still too young to be dating anyone,” Birth Dad added. I had to resist the urge to roll my eyes. Nearly every day we’d had the same conversation at that very table. I wished they would all find some other topic of conversation because my love life was starting to get old.
I couldn’t take being there for much longer. The house was feeling like a cage that morning and I needed some freedom. Considering Lochie didn’t care about my troubles with Garrick, I went to the only sympathetic ear I knew I could count on. I went to Lola’s house.
Thankfully, she was at home and Asher wasn’t attached to her lips like he seemed to be most days.
She took one look at me and knew something major was up. “You didn’t get anywhere with the police?”
I shook my head sadly. “They wouldn’t even let me see him. I have no idea how to help.”
We sat on the floor of her bedroom in reverent silence as we both thought about ways to help Garrick. It seemed so impossible dealing with the police. I had no clue how to handle the entire situation. Aliens I could cope with, it was the humans that were the tricky ones.
Lola broke the silence first. “Can I ask you a question?”
“Okay,” I said with trepidation. Lola didn’t ordinarily check if she could ask a question – she would just come out and say it. I hated to think what she was about to say.
And it was something completely unexpected. “What happened between you and Garrick?”
“What do you mean?”
“You guys were hiding out for ages, you spent all that time together in that little trailer. You can’t tell me things didn’t happen.” She gave me the stare, the one that was analyzing every single one of my facial features for signs of lying.
At least I could honestly answer that question. “Nothing happened between us.”
She arched an eyebrow in question, she didn’t even really need to say the words. “Come on. You and Garrick have a spark, you can’t deny that. I don’t believe there wasn’t anything that happened between you. He’s hot, you’re hot, the math does itself.”
I picked up a cushion and swatted at her with it, anything to hide my embarrassment. “You know he kissed me once and that was it. And Lochie still has no idea so you have to promise me you won’t tell anyone.”
“There wasn’t more to that kiss than you told me?”
“It wasn’t great if that’s what you’re getting at. It was more… awkward than anything else.”
Lola was smiling from ear to ear. “So what happened then? Did you like, make out and stuff?”
“Lola! No!”
“Was he a good kisser?”
“I wouldn’t know, I was too busy trying to work out what the hell was going on at the time.”
“Would you go back for seconds?”
I rolled my eyes. “No. Lochie, remember?”
“So if you weren’t with Lochie?” She was relentless.
“Then… I don’t know.”
“So you admit it!” Was jumping out the window too tactless to get away from the entire conversation? I wouldn’t lie, I was considering it.
“I admit nothing.”
“He looks at you like he’s in love with you.” I didn’t believe that. I had seen Garrick hundreds of times – I’d lived with him – I would know if he had deeper feelings for me. We were just two aliens caught up in something so much bigger than us and trying to survive. That was all.
Besides, I was with Lochie, and as much as he infuriated me most of the time, he was the one I loved. And he would be having a heart attack if he was listening in on our current conversation.
“Garrick isn’t in love with me,” I pointed out, just so it was crystal clear. “We’re friends, that’s all.”
“So why are you trying so hard to get him out of jail?”
“Because he’s my friend. I would do the same thing if it was you in there accused of murder.”
Lola nodded like she didn’t believe me. “Riiight.”
“It’s the truth.” I didn’t know how to convince her otherwise. Garrick was… Garrick. There really was no other way to describe him.
“Fine, let’s pretend we both believe that. How are we going to spring him from the big house?” Finally, we were moving onto the topic I actually wanted to talk about.
“I have Rob trying to find out more information for me. Other than that, I want to speak to him and see what really happened. Until I know that I’m powerless to do anything.”
We slumped back into silence again. At least it was better than being interrogated. I had been hoping Lola would have some crazy plan to get to Garrick but I guess that was wishful thinking. I would have to think of something crazy myself.
I sighed. “When did life get so complicated?”
“When the aliens landed,” Lola replied quickly. I shrugged, she did have a point. It would have been nice to go back to the days when I was still pretending to be a human and being nice to everyone in accordance with the project rules.
But there was absolutely no point in dwelling on it. “So, tell me what’s happening with you. How are things going with the Hooded Roses?”
Lola’s face instantly lit up. “They are going so well. Rockapalooza is only a month away so we’ve been rehearsing hard. At least we don’t sound like a cat being strangled anymore.”
I couldn’t help but laugh. “You could never sound bad, your voice is amazing.”
“I’m sorry but your opinion doesn’t count. You are best friend biased.”
“No, I’m not. I’m telling the truth. I swear.”
She completely brushed off the compliment. “You got your tickets to the festival, right? You’ll be there?”
“Lochie and I will be there with bells on. I wouldn’t miss your awesome debut for anything.” I couldn’t wait to see them on stage. Lola had purposefully banned me from their rehearsals so I would be surprised when I saw them perform for real in front of thousands of people. I was totally going to be their groupie. And it was totally going to embarrass Lochie – a side benefit.
“There’s whispers a talent scout is going to be there.”
“You could end up famous.”
Lola’s gaze went to the floor. “Maybe, I don’t know. We’re not that great.”
I bumped her with my shoulder. “Crazier things have happened, don’t put yourself down.” Before I could continue with my pep talk, my cell phone rang. The caller ID said it was Rob. I picked up immediately, giving a Lola an I’m sorry look. “Rob, what did you find out?”
“Nothing much, the police are cagey about giving out information to outside organizations. But I do know they have decided to grant Garrick bail,” Rob said, straight to the point.
“Great, so he’s free?”
“Not quite. The bail is ten grand, he doesn’t have that kind of money.”
“Leave it with me.” I thanked Rob profusely and hung up. Now all I needed to do was find ten thousand dollars. Easy, right? Uh… no.
CHAPTER 3
There was only one place where I had a chance of finding Garrick’s bail money. It was the one place where all teenagers went f
or cash – the bank of Mom and Dad.
I hurried home and found my adoptive parents in the study. They were probably hiding from the others in there. I wouldn’t have blamed them.
“Honey, what’s wrong?” Mom asked. Apparently I looked as panicked as I felt.
“Garrick has been granted bail but it’s ten thousand dollars and he has nobody to post it for him.” The sentence came out in one long breath.
I knew I didn’t need to explain Garrick’s family situation any further. We all knew his adoptive parents had abandoned him when the project was cancelled a few months back. There was no way they would go out on a limb for him now.
His birth parents, like all the people from Trucon, wouldn’t have that kind of money. Every alien was given a set figure to help them establish themselves on Earth but it wasn’t much. It would have surprised me if they had any of it left at all.
“Ten thousand dollars is a lot of money,” Dad said, stating the obvious. Like I hadn’t already thought of that. I couldn’t even imagine seeing that much money, let alone it actually being mine.
“I know, but it’s Garrick. We can’t leave him in jail.”
“He’s accused of murder, that’s not a little crime. Have you considered the possibility that he might be guilty?”
“I know he didn’t do it.”
“So you’ve spoken to him?” Mom asked, although I really wished she hadn’t.
“No, they wouldn’t let me. But I know Garrick and he is incapable of killing anyone.”
“It’s a big risk we’d be taking by posting his bail,” Dad said. “We’d be responsible for him.”
I hadn’t exactly thought past springing him from jail. But we could figure all that out afterwards. Right then, the most important thing was getting him out of that horrible place. “He’s lived here before and he wasn’t any trouble. You guys liked him, remember? He made chocolate cake and ice cream for dessert on more than one occasion.”
They exchanged a glance. I wished I knew what was going through their minds. Hopefully only good things.
“Give us a minute to talk,” Mom finally replied. At least they were considering it. I stepped out of the study and closed the door behind myself. The last thing I noticed was that the television was on in the room, they weren’t working at all – just hiding. I don’t know why, but that made me love them so much more.
I paced in the hallway, unable to think of anything else besides Garrick. We had to get him out. Being locked up in a jail cell by himself was going to send him insane. It would send anyone insane. I had some knowledge and experience of what that felt like, I knew I was right.
It seemed to take them forever to talk before Mom finally opened the door. My heart stopped until I heard their verdict.
“Get your bag, we’ll go to the police station now,” Dad sighed. I hugged them both, hard. Not many people would bail out their adoptive daughter’s alien friend when he was up on a murder charge.
The ride there took forever. The police officer who processed the paperwork took even longer again. There were so many forms to fill out, it was ridiculous. I understood why so many crimes went unsolved, the police were too busy filling in boxes with black pens.
My parents didn’t have the ten thousand dollars required in cash, they had to put up the house as collateral. But if there was anyone in the world more capable of making sure Garrick stuck to his bail conditions, it was my parents.
Finally, after hours, we were told to take a seat and wait while they got the prisoner. They actually referred to him that way. Apparently he no longer had a real name and apparently he wasn’t innocent until proven guilty. So much for the justice system.
My foot tapped on the floor the entire time we were waiting. When they eventually brought him through the heavy steel doors, my stomach wanted to leap into my throat I was so relieved.
I hurried over, although not so fast that his escort would get worried. I wrapped my arms around Garrick’s neck. “I’m so glad you’re okay.”
He laughed. “It was only one night, Ame. But it’s really good to see you again.”
I let him go and we didn’t waste any time in getting out of the cop shop. Dad drove us home where my birth parents practically fell over each other to make sure Garrick was okay.
“They didn’t hurt you, did they?” Birth Mom asked, touching his hair to make sure it was still intact.
“It was fine, Mrs. Sington,” Garrick replied happily, much happier than I would be if I had been through it all. Being accused of murder had to be one of the top five things that sucked most in the world. “But I am really tired. Do you mind if I go to my room?”
“Of course, dear. Anything you want.” I wanted to roll my eyes. I really wished they would fuss over Lochie like that. Perhaps then he wouldn’t mind hanging out at my place so much.
“I’ll get him settled,” I offered before they insisted on tucking him in too.
“He’ll have to stay in the foldout upstairs,” Adoptive Mom added. “There will be clean sheets on the bed.”
I led Garrick upstairs. Instead of going to the study where the foldout bed awaited him, we went into my room. I wasn’t going to let him get away without some explanation first.
I made sure we hadn’t been followed and closed the door. “So, spill. Why are you being framed for murder?”
“You really think I was framed?” Garrick replied, taking a seat on the bed. I sat beside him, trying not to think of the last time we were in that exact same position. He had tried to convince me to run away to Trucon with him then and I was almost tempted to go. Those were not good times.
“Of course I do. You wouldn’t really murder someone.”
Garrick smiled and it was so nice seeing it again. “Thank you. Seriously, Ame, I don’t know what I’ve done to deserve your loyalty.”
“Well, you know, you did save my life once or twice.” I shrugged nonchalantly. I had missed our comfortable companionship. “So tell me the story so I can help convince everyone else of your innocence.”
“Do you really think anyone else will believe me?”
“Depends on how good the story is.”
Garrick stared at me for a few moments more before launching into his story. “I started working for this building company, they needed a laborer and I needed some cash, so I thought why not? It wasn’t like anything else was really working out for me.”
“You know you could have always come here if you needed anything.” I didn’t mean to interrupt, but I really wanted him to know that.
“It was okay, I was dealing with it. So I got to work really early yesterday morning. I was the youngest and newest, so they made me open the site and get everything ready for the day before anyone else arrived.”
I wanted to remind him he wasn’t exactly a morning person but I held my tongue. He probably didn’t need my teasing as well as everything else.
“So I went about my routine, but when I got inside, there was a girl’s body just lying there. She was so still, she just laid there.” Garrick paused for a few seconds, like he was reliving the moment, before continuing. “I thought she might just be hurt or sleeping or something so I ran over to her and checked for a pulse. There was nothing there. I tried CPR but she was just gone.”
“That must have been awful.”
“She was still warm, it was like it just happened. I wanted to help her so much.”
“What happened then?” My heart went out for the poor girl, whoever she was.
“I called for an ambulance, thinking there might be some miracle they could do for her. The police turned up first and then the ambulance arrived. Next thing I knew, I was being taken away.”
Now, my heart bled for Garrick. He must have been so confused by it all. It seemed he didn’t even get a chance to explain himself to anyone.
“Why didn’t they believe your story?”
Garrick shrugged. “The guy who interviewed me kept saying that she had only just died so I was the only one w
ho could have done it. The site was locked before I got there so nobody else could have got in to dump her.”
“Did you see anyone else around?” I was grappling for the right answer, the one piece of information that would have everything make sense.
“No-one. The site was all locked up. I don’t even know how they could have got in there, let alone carrying a body.” Tears started to pool in the corner of his eyes, which he tried to blink away before I noticed. Garrick crying, that was certainly a first. He was probably one of the bravest guys I knew.
“If this only happened yesterday,” I started, I was onto something that would hopefully help. “Then they wouldn’t have done an autopsy on the girl yet. When they do, they won’t find any of your DNA on her. They’ll have to drop the charges.”
“But there will be DNA. I tried to resuscitate her.”
“Surely they know to exclude that? There has to be more evidence from who really killed her.”
“I hope so.” Garrick sighed. I gave his back a rub, knowing it was such a small thing to do in amongst all his problems. If I could have made everything better, I would have gladly done anything.
A few sharp taps on my window interrupted us as both our heads shot around to look at what was causing it. I suspected I already knew, considering it was a regular occurrence over the last few weeks.
Lochie opened the window from outside and started climbing through. It was a habit for me to leave it unlocked these days. Unfortunately, that meant Mr. Grumpy could climb through at any time. I quickly took my hand away from Garrick’s back, hoping Lochie hadn’t noticed.
“What’s he doing here?” Lochie asked.
“Is that any of your business?” Garrick shot back. God, I wished their reunion happened differently.
“Seeing as though you are in my girlfriend’s bedroom, sitting on her bed, yeah that makes it my business.”
“So you have ownership of her now, do you? She can’t do anything without your permission? Is that how it works?”
I’d heard enough, I knew they could go on until one of them hit the other one. And then all four of my crazy parents would be in there to join the party too. “Guys, come on. We don’t want to alert the parental mafia downstairs.”
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