by Jack Parker
"My parents won't come with me?" I asked meekly.
"Unfortunately not, it is impossible. It would be too much of a give-away and we need your father to stay here to ensure that our deal goes through. And your mother…." He struggled to find the words.
"Would tell the whole state of Iowa," I finished for him.
"She has quite the mouth on her," Detective Kaiser added.
I looked at him blankly, just to show my displeasure. Only I was allowed to insult her. "She is my mother."
"Right. I know," Kaiser said, pulling out a couple pieces of paper, not even noticing how I could even view that as an insult. "Your story in Phoenix is that you are going to be sent to a mental hospital due to your traumatic experience. That's what we are telling your parents, although they will probably figure out that you have been moved. We recently notified your school and had everything transferred over to George Washington High School in Iowa." He looked at me expectantly but I just stared at him in disbelief.
"You told people I'm going to a mental hospital?" I shouted.
"It was the only way to explain your absence that was flexible enough that you could be gone for days or a couple months." Kaiser glared.
"I don't want my friends to think that!"
"We told the school to keep it private. Your reputation will be fine."
"What am I supposed to tell them?" I was still yelling, completely flustered.
"That you are going away for help, and will contact them when you return."
"This is a joke." I folded my arms across my chest defiantly. "I hate this."
"You have to go. You could be killed. It's for your own safety. This will keep you and the ones you love the safest. It's the best option."
"Actually, we have a court order-" Kaiser stopped in mid sentence, seeing how distressed I had become, because I knew they were right, it was the only way I could ensure that I wouldn't be plagued by Mickey's vicious crones. They were at my school, my house. I was done.
"Be packed and ready to go by tomorrow morning."
The next morning came slowly. I didn't sleep at all, even though I saw two cars parked near my house, extra protection. I had five giant suitcases packed, and although my clothes didn't have the same shine and appeal they once had, they were part of my old life, my normal life; I couldn't leave them. So I packed it all and threw in my make-up, hair supplies, IPod, laptop- everything I used. When Detective O'Connor showed up, he had brought along a friendly looking lady.
"This is our agent Anna Michaels. She is assigned to your case and will be working undercover with you, acting as your aunt."
"Hi." I waved lamely, a little tired from the lack of sleep, it had been days since I had more than a couple hours of sleep. I looked awful and I just wore sweats, not really in the mood to go through my bags for something to wear.
"Hi Heidi!" She smiled, very peppy-like. She was in her thirties, with pretty blonde hair and soft brown eyes. She walked over and helped with some of the suitcases, chatting while she went. "I know this must be really hard for you, but it can also be kind of cool. You can be whoever you want to be. Just think-you can invent a whole new you."
But this was not what I wanted to hear; I was tired of changing. I didn't want a new me. I wanted the old me. The one that wasn't scared of every sound and movement I heard, the one that could go outside and not be paranoid of every person on the street.
"I guess," I said lamely, shrugging as if that could convey a better response.
"Nah. You'll see. You'll have a fun time in Iowa, new experiences and all that, and you'll be back here in no time." She smiled at me, flashing nice pearly whites. I looked over at Detective O'Connor who followed her around with longing in his eyes, smiling whenever she smiled, laughing whenever she did. It was extremely apparent, as I saw him rush to her aid whenever she tried to pick up a suitcase that was the least bit heavy, while leaving me to drag along the biggest one.
I hung back while Anna took my suitcase to the car. I nudged the handsome detective, giving him a little wink. "That your lovely lady friend?"
He stared at me in horror. "No. She just started working with our unit. We've talked a little bit. Nothing else."
"But you want it to be." I grinned, suddenly changing moods from somber to hopefulness. I liked these detectives, even that rude Kaiser, they had grown on me.
"It could never work. I doubt she would ever like me that way. Besides… just look at her. I'm sure she is married." He automatically smiled at seeing her, as she walked in the door.
Anna walked upstairs to grab another suitcase and I grabbed one as well. "So Anna, I really appreciate you helping me out and staying with me in Iowa." I turned and looked over my shoulder and gave Detective O'Connor a coy smile. "I bet it must be kind of a pain, leaving your husband and everything behind."
Detective O'Connor's head snapped in my direction and he sent me a death look.
"Oh no! Don't worry about it. I actually got a divorce about two years ago. It was pretty messy and dragged out, I figured that taking this assignment would be nice, a little low-key for me, but I certainly don't mind."
"I'm glad." I sent a smile her way, loading up the rest of the car.
"Oh and Heidi, I almost forgot," she said as we all packed into the car. "It's strongly recommended that you change your look a little bit. Your hair is pretty distinctive and you have nice light eyes, but you can get colored contacts if you want."
I stared at them. I had to change looks too?
I sighed. It was hard to do whatever these people wanted. But a part of me couldn't fight it anymore. I just wanted peace and solace; I wanted to feel safe around people that weren't police officers. And if I had to dye my hair to do it, I guess I couldn't complain.
"Can we use my hair dresser please?" I asked.
"Oh. Of course," she said. And we drove over to my hair stylist, Theresa, where she sat me in my chair and began dying my hair a light blonde. I loved Theresa; she was friendly, and talked to anybody and everybody. She was the best, one of the only people I could actually stand.
"I'm going to make it look natural," she cooed, clearly excited. "I love your old hair, but this will look great and your face will look perfect with the light color!"
"Can we get it cut as well?" Anna offered. "I was thinking layers."
"No cutting," I said. "I like it long."
"What about a loose perm? Like waves," Detective O'Connor put in.
All three of us paused to stare at him. How could he know what a perm was? Or a loose perm for that matter?
"I have a teenage niece," he explained sheepishly.
"Sure." I shrugged, "Good suggestion, Miss Jay."
But, apparently his extensive knowledge on female culture only extended to hair and he didn't get my reference. Anna did though, laughing lightly while the detective shifted uncomfortably, knowing I was probably making fun of him but not really understanding it.
So about an hour and a half later, I was several shades of blonde, with new, wavy locks. It was surprising, to look at myself in the mirror. I looked… different. But I liked it, a lot. I wasn't sure at first, but as I played with my hair, I noticed it wasn't the same stick straight strawberry blonde. The waves framed my face nicely, my blonde hair looked really natural, and made me look slightly tan, something I had been trying to do for years.
"Do you like it?"
"Yeah." I smiled, pleased with at least one of the new changes in my life, "Yeah, I do."
My dad's curiosity and short attention span has led us to move around a lot, so I never really became close to my friends. It wasn't worth it, when his contract would be up in two years. I wasn't really missing my friends. I mean, they're nice. I have to say, out of all the friends I've made, I especially like the ones I had here. We worked very well together. And I'll end up seeing them again as soon as this whole situation is sorted out, so when I landed in Iowa, and Anna kept bringing it up, I had to reassure her.
"It really won't be
that hard, trust me." I inched away from her hugging arms. I guess we were starting to act like family early.
"Oh I'm sorry! Do you not like to be touched?" She asked totally serious. I began to wonder about her ability to 'protect' me. She was petite, bubbly, and kind, not really the gun-reeling type. But, as I noticed our surrounding area, the possibility of anyone finding us in the middle of nowhere is quite slim. So maybe it didn't matter.
"Um. No. Touching is fine. I just am really tired, long flight you know."
She nodded knowingly, and we drove to our new home. It hadn't quite hit me yet, that I was staying here, without my parents, it seemed unreal, that I would be in this small town in Iowa, where there were a lot of fields. I had never seen so many fields, and endless road.
"So, I heard you have some experience with moving around." She huffed, pulling out a suitcase.
"A little," I said, doing the same. When I looked at the house I smiled. It was nice, one of those mid-west houses. I lived in Illinois when I was 7 up until I was 9. It reminded me a lot of that house. The house was brick, white shudders, and a black door. It was small; maybe a ¼ the size of my house in Phoenix, but it was just the two of us. When I walked in, I looked around, noticing the comfortable décor. The inside was painted a warm rogue, and a sunny yellow in the kitchen. My heart ached for a little bit, this house was a home.
That's one thing that I noticed, when moving around. There are places you go, where you can just feel it, that the place is meant for family, it's meant for a home. When I lived in North Carolina, and now Phoenix, it was a house, a piece of property you waited in until the value increased to a point that you sold it. Everything was material, where here, this house was meant to be lived in until you grew old and had grandchildren. The stairs creaked; there was a laundry shoot, and small curvy stairs that led to the second floor.
I continued to explore; the upstairs had three small bedrooms, one slightly larger than the other, which I assumed was the master bedroom. The master bedroom was the size of my bathroom. I had a large bathroom for sure, but I had become accustomed to space. But I didn't mind, I liked it, small rooms and all.
"Sorry," Anna looked apologetic "I know you're used to a much larger… situation, but this is what all the houses are like here."
"I love it." I smiled, looking at the ceiling, which indented to create the pointy roof I had seen outside.
"You do?" She asked in disbelief.
"Yeah." I shrugged "It's… nice."
"Well great!" She clapped her hands together, "I figured we could paint your bedroom, but most of it has been painted and such for us, we even have furniture! Do you like it?"
I peeked into my room, which was painted a pale pink, with a patterned cover to match.
"Its very sweet." I ran my fingers over the quilt.
"I'll let you get settled then." She smiled at me, pushing her blonde hair out of her eyes, and resting her hands on her hips. She reminded me of an overgrown teenager, in a good way though.
"You should probably go get your bags and everything, but just to continue briefing you, we're saying I had a bad divorce, I'm moving out here and working at the law firm not far from our house, and your parents are on a sabbatical, traveling and what not, and you wanted to visit. I am also sure they told you not to have any type of contact with the people back in Phoenix, not even your parents, it is way too dangerous." She reached into her pocket. "I almost forgot. Here's your license, it has all your information redone, and everything else you should get at school on Monday."
"And one more thing, I'll let you know if there are any updates on the case, or if there will be any visitors, but otherwise, try to relax, your safe now."
"Thanks." I smiled at her, and went downstairs to get more of my bags, and opened my door to be face to face with bright blue eyes.
My body jolted involuntarily and I took a sharp intake of breath in surprise, ready to scream before a voice said, "Hi! We live down the street, and wanted to come and introduce ourselves… I'm sorry. Did I scare you?"
I let a shudder run through me as I composed myself. "Oh don't worry about it, I was just lost in thought. Hi. I'm Heidi…" I checked my ID and stuck out my hands, "Risler, Heidi Risler."
"Camdon." Big warm hands enveloped mine, and those pretty blue eyes stared at me. I literally stared right into them, they seemed so deep and beautiful, I felt my body gravitating towards them, almost wanting to lean in and get a closer look.
Anna rested a friendly hand on my shoulder, pulling me back from my thoughts, and saving me from doing anything too embarrassing.
Sitting in a little pulley wagon next to Camdon was a sweet little girl, with the same brown hair as Camdon, but brown eyes instead of his intense blue. She looked three at the most and was holding a plate of cupcakes.
I was never especially into children. I've just never really been around them. They're messy, and demanding, and I had never been the babysitting type. Cute to look at, but not fun to deal with. I stared down at this little girl, who had big brown eyes, looking up at me expectantly.
"I feel like she wants me to pet her or something." I murmured to Anna, who pinched me in response.
Ouch. I rubbed my arm as Camdon gave me a funny look, hoping he didn't hear, I opened the door a little wider.
"Want to come inside? It's kind of cold." I commented. The brisk fall air was not very pleasant. Why couldn't I leave during the middle of the summer? When it hit 120 degrees?
He let out a little laugh. I looked up at him. "This is the nicest weather we've had all week. It was freezing a couple days ago. But sure, we'd like to come in, just for a bit, I have to take Ella home soon." He leaned in and whispered, "She needs a nap."
It was clear as soon as he stepped into our house that I was not in Phoenix anymore. No one ever comes and brings anything to your door to welcome you, and they aren't this friendly, guy's especially, would not tote around little kids. In fact, I don't think I had ever met anyone like Camdon. No guy my age would carry around a little girl so tenderly, as if it wasn't a complete obligation, and wouldn't be so friendly and welcoming.
He looked around and turned with a big smile, "This is a nice place. We had an old couple that lived here before, but went to DeMoines to live with their daughter. How'd you guys decide to move out?"
Camdon looked genuinely interested, and after I thought about it, he probably was. Camdon was by far, the most adorable thing I had ever seen. He had one dimple that appeared every time he smiled. Which he did, a lot. He was almost as upbeat as Anna, always sounding happy and intrigued. But it wasn't peppiness, it was more like…happiness. He had a type of joyful charisma that made the whole room brighter. It worked for him; he just glowed, and was obviously very charming. His personality was one I couldn't help but notice, and it felt like every part of my body was attracted to him. Whether it was his athletic body, cute looks, or personality, I couldn't decide, and frankly, it began to freak me out. I didn't want to come off as a creep though, so moved as far away from him as I could, afraid that I would become entranced by his eyes again.
Anna got out a glass and filled it up with water for us. "She'll be visiting for a couple months, her parents are taking a long sabbatical, and Heidi was nice enough to come help me get settled in." She sent a thankful smile my way.
I flashed one back. Weird. This was so weird.
"Oh yeah?" He turned. "You aren't going to miss home or anything like that? What year are you? I imagine that has to be hard."
"I'm a junior." I said, sliding into a chair at the small kitchen table. "But I think it'll be a nice change in scenery, I don't mind, Anna's not just family, she's a good friend." I nudged her playfully. I'm glad Anna and I clicked. Maybe people would actually believe our lies.
He grinned, his dimple making him look adorable. Ella began to yank on his shirt and he picked her up and put her in his lap. " Me too! When do you start school? I'd be happy to show you around, don't be afraid to ask."
"I star
t on Monday." I took a sip of my water. Watching him as he subconsciously put Ella's shoes back on, tying them while continuing to talk to me, as if taking care of the little girl was second nature.
"You'll like it. People are pretty friendly here." I can tell, I thought to myself. "And it's a pretty small school, about 130 kids in our class. You'll know everyone in no time." When he was finished fixing the little girls shoes he looked up at me and smiled.
"Is that your…daughter?" I asked, I could only assume it was someone really dear to him, and the age difference was pretty big for it to be his sister.
"Who?" He asked confused. Then it dawned on him, "Noooo," he laughed loudly. "This is my sister. Why would you think it was my daughter? She's almost three." He added, as if it was totally crazy for someone to have a child at fifteen.
Anna stepped in to save me. "She's not from here," She smiled at him, "She went to high school in Phoenix."
"Arizona?"
"Yup. And usually, when a high school boy has a little kid with him, it's his kid. Not his sibling." I cleared my throat. "At least, at my old school." I clarified, not wanting him to think I was being a snob, "Which, now that I think about it, is pretty ghetto." but I couldn't help getting a little defensive, I already felt slightly embarrassed around him, but I couldn't place why.
I really wasn't getting off to the greatest start with this guy. I'm blaming it on the plane ride. It was a long one.
"Well, not out here. That' s pretty scandalous." Camdon shifted a little uncomfortably, and got an odd look on his face, which was unusual, since the whole time he basically was a magnet for all things calm and cool.
"Yeah. We have four girls pregnant in my grade, and its only a couple months into the school year, I'm sure we'll get more." I shut my mouth and felt like hitting my head. Was that information really necessary? I was just going to stop talking. Anna can take over from here; maybe she could protect me from embarrassing myself.
Camdon moved Ella in his lap, who was beginning to drift off. "We brought you cupcakes, but I think I gotta go soon, this one is dozing already."