Lost In Lies

by Xavier Neal

  “Really?”

  “Yeah.”

  “He didn’t, he didn’t call back right away or text?”

  “No. I’m sure he just couldn’t get to you at that moment. He’ll probably call back. If you would’ve been out any longer, I so was going to call 911.” After a small pause, I whimper out, “I’m just glad you’re all right.”

  “Avec vous par mon côté, comment pouvoir je ne suis pas?”

  Impressed that, even after being knocked out, he can still speak French flawlessly, I ask, “What does that mean?”

  Nick takes my hand and lets his eyes fall deep into mine, “With you by my side, how could I not be?”

  Hearing the sound of Jake’s footsteps approaching, I merely help Nick up to his feet and attempt a smile. If he had any idea what I was really doing, he’d know that, with me by his side, he’ll never be all right.

  Chapter 7

  Opening the front door to the hotel, I do my best to put on my game face because, chances are, Peter is waiting in the chair to ring my neck. Tiptoeing, hoping not to be noticed, I’m surprised when he’s not there. I’m astonished, frankly, that no one is. Confused, since I’ve become rather accustomed to Aiden on that couch, Peter in that chair, and Eiden lounging on the other one, I stroll farther into the room, where I find Aiden and Eiden sitting on the balcony railing, laughing.

  Aiden shakes his head, and Eiden nails him playfully in the shoulder, looking like brothers, which I rarely get to see. Smiling, I watch as Aiden pretends to be innocent again before Eiden grabs him around the neck and gives a wrestle-style embrace. Slightly touched, I turn my head, hearing voices come from the kitchen. Quietly, I slide over and peak around the corner to see Belle and Peter.

  He’s sitting on the kitchen counter, she’s scooting food around in a pan, and he’s gawking at her. The kind smile is one I’m not very familiar with on Peter’s face, but I’d swear it was one of love. She giggles and hits him on the knee, causing him to genuinely laugh, the way you let your guard down when no one’s looking.

  “Have I told you how lucky I am lately?” his words are sweet. I lean back out of sight, desperate to see him in action out from behind his sarcasm and liquor.

  “Not lately,” she points the spatula at him.

  Peter grabs her by the hand, pulls her over to him, straddles his legs around her, and lowers his forehead, “Well I am.”

  At that moment, I watch Peter lift Belle’s chin up, so their lips touch. Instantly, my heart drops.

  “He is actually capable of loving someone other than himself,” Justin whispers in my ear, causing me to jump in reaction.

  “When did you get here?” I try to regain my breath as my entire back hits the wall.

  “I’ve been here. Saw you spying on everyone,” he slides his hands in his pockets.

  “I wasn’t spying,” I snap quickly. “I was, merely, watching everyone in their natural states without them knowing.”

  “So spying?”

  “Fine. Whatever. It’s just so weird,” I shake my head. “I saw Aiden and Eiden hanging out and then Peter and Belle. It’s like, underneath all the danger and stealing and trash talking, you all, well, really ...”

  “Care about each other,” he fills in the words. “We’re a family, Peyton. It’s what we do. And some days are better than others, but at the end, we’d all put our lives on the line for each other.” Justin lowers his face closer to mine, “And some of us would do it not because we’re family, but in love.”

  I grin widely and get ready to tilt my lips to his when Peter comes out of the kitchen and mutters, “Isn’t that why you two have a room?”

  My lips press back together as I hit my head against the wall, “Hello to you too, Peter.”

  “I didn’t say hello,” he quickly retorts, the plastic cup once again finding his hand. Heading to the chair, he says, “I assume you’ve got good news for me.”

  “You haven’t told him?” I whisper.

  Justin quickly shakes his head, “Was waiting for you.”

  “Kennedy, Monroe, care to share with the group?” Peter makes a motion at the couch that now has Aiden and Eiden on it.

  “We’ve got news,” Justin tilts his fedora up.

  “You got the impression of the lock?”

  “Peyton did get the impression.” Justin smiles widely before continuing, “It just so happens that it got stolen.”

  “Stolen.”

  “By Alex.”

  “By Alex.”

  “And Lola,” I add to Peter’s chagrin.

  “Yes and Lola.” Peter slowly turns red as Belle joins us.

  “So you’re saying that, not only does Alex have the same blueprint as us and know what we’re after, but now, he has the impression we need to open that damn drawer to steal the damn perfume?!” His rage rattles off his tongue. “How the hell did this happen? Since when does Alex have everything we do or more? Oh, that’s right, ever since we got involved with you!” His finger points angrily at me.

  Quick to rush to my defense, Justin says, “It wasn’t her fault. She was ambushed.”

  “Of course she was!” his snip surprises Belle with its volume. “She’s the weakest damn link! She’s the one you go after, and with you there to rescue her, they have the chance to take out my best man!”

  Hearing him compliment Justin takes me off guard. It’s rare to hear him speak nicely to Belle, let alone to Justin—and all in the same day. Is he sick or just that wasted? And if he is that wasted, whatever he’s been drinking today, he needs to drink more of it. “Peter I—”

  “Shut up.” He holds a hand up to me. “I don’t care. I don’t want to hear anything from you right now.”

  Looking deep into my eyes, he glares, and I lower my head, “Right.”

  “Don’t be pissed off at her!” Justin’s defense seems sweet.

  “I’m not just pissed off at her! I’m pissed off at you too! You’re getting sloppy! Your judgment is clouded! God, this is why…”

  “I’m not sloppy! We’re overworked Peter! We all wanna go home. We all need to go home and recuperate. We left one job and went straight into another. Don’t blame her! Blame yourself!”

  Pointing a finger at Justin, he starts, “I swear, you—”

  “Guys!” Belle cuts them off. “Pointing fingers isn’t going to get us anywhere, get the impression back, or fix anything. All we can do now is make a new game plan and move forward with it.”

  Aiden raises a hand, “We, um, have another problem.”

  “What’s that, Dr. Google? Did I hear you say we have another problem?”

  Swallowing nervously, Aiden nods, “Yeah. Peyton, you remember how you asked me to look into your father’s movements?”

  “Yeah,” I answer slowly.

  “He took a flight earlier today back home, where he booked another flight to Landlin two days from now. The only reason he didn’t book one sooner is they were all full—every airline he checked.”

  I feel my heart sink as my body melts against the wall, “How does he know I’m here?”

  “Nick’s father is probably a member of the Precious Society as well,” Peter grumbles.

  “What is that?” I ask.

  He shakes his head, denying me the information, “Not now. What else has Daddy dearest been up to?”

  “Not very much. Bank accounts haven’t had much movement; however, he is making constant calls to one number other than your mother,” Aiden types a few keys and pulls it up for me to see. “Recognize it?”

  Slowly shaking my head, I study it, “No. Can’t you trace it?”

  “Of course,” Aiden chuckles proudly to himself. “But it’s a burn phone. Whoever bought it had the intent of it not being traced.”

  “Great,” Peter grumbles, taking a drink out of his cup. “Just great.”

  “Hey, is there any way you could activate the GPS in the chip and trace it that way, so maybe we get a location?” Justin’s suggestion causes Aiden’s ears to perk
up.

  “Maybe. Might have to break a few firewalls or tap into some satellites, but it might be able to be done. Either way, Peyton’s dad is headed this way. He booked the earliest flight that morning. He will land at 6 a.m.”

  “We have two days to get that perfume and get the hell out of here,” Peter sounds more flustered than I think I’ve ever heard him. “Do we have a ship?”

  “Jake’s working on it,” Eiden shrugs. “I can ask him to speed up the process, but I mean ... He’s already working on good faith from Jimmy. I don’t know how much more luck I can press, man.”

  “Fix this,” Peter points to Justin. “This is what you’re here for! Make me a plan, fix this, and fix it now. You’ve got 24 hours. Don’t waste them.”

  Annoyed, Peter storms off like a small child to his room. Belle slumps in after him, I’m sure, to attempt to calm his nerves.

  Disheartened that I’m such a disappointment, I toss Aiden a glance as he starts pounding on his computer, “Didn’t want sleep anyway.”

  “Tell me about it,” Eiden mumbles, pulling out his cell phone. Strolling toward the front door, he shoots Justin a look, “Good luck.”

  Justin offers a hand, which I take, allowing him to lead us to our bedroom. Immediately, I take the foot of the bed, pull my legs up to chest, and begin to rock back and forth. Burying my head and tears in my arms, I whimper and let go of all that’s built up inside of me.

  After a few moments alone in my own sorrow, I feel a body slide beside me, wrap an arm around me and sigh, “Wanna talk about it?”

  Lifting my head up, my mascara running down my face, I whimper, “This is just going awful! I’ve been a Lost Boy…”

  “Girl…”

  “Whatever, for like what three days? And I’ve managed to screw us over, almost get us killed, and get you in trouble with Sir Sarcasticness. I’m a mess. I ... miss my mom, and the only thing that would soothe me and help me focus is forbidden to me now.” I tap the corner of the mattress where my sketchbook used to hide. “I feel like a walking mistake—one large disappointment.”

  Justin’s fingertips stroke my arm as my head falls on his shoulder, “Disappointment to a noble soul is what cold water is to burning metal; it strengthens, tempers, intensifies, but never destroys it.”

  Through sniffles, I ask, “Who said that?”

  “Elizar Tabor.” After a pause, he sighs, “We’re going to get through this.”

  “How do you know?”

  “Because it’s what we do. We’re Lost Boys,” the words are meant to be inspirational, but as someone who knows very little about what being a Lost Boy means, I still feel more lost than ever. Silence fills the room again for a longer amount of time before Justin pops up, grabs me by the hand, and pulls me over to the window.

  “What are you doing?”

  “We’re gonna go down to the beach.”

  “But you have less than 24 hours to fix this.”

  “Then don’t make me wait,” he opens the window and extends a hand for me to take.

  With a heavy sigh, I follow his lead and allow him to fly us into the atmosphere out of sight, through clouds, and over the spot where I was earlier today by the horses. Once we land right in front of them, Star opens one eye to acknowledge that she knows we’re there before closing it to go back into a peaceful slumber.

  “What are we doing here?” I ask, leaning against a tree.

  “Take a seat,” he instructs. “I'll be right back.”

  Unsure, yet willing to trust, I tilt my head up to the sky to stare at the stars searching for the nebula, the doorway to somewhere else. Somewhere magical. I was certain when I said, “Off to Neverland,” that we would actually make it there, but at this rate, I’m not sure we will.

  Justin returns, sits down beside me, and offers me a stick. Confused, I scrunch my nose, “What’s that for?”

  “To draw,” a smile crawls on his face.

  “What?”

  “You aren’t allowed to draw with pencil and paper right?”

  “Right.”

  “So use the stick like you would a pencil and the sand,” he points to the abundance by my feet, “like paper.”

  “You do know it’s not the same right?” It’s easy to see how he could think it’s the same. In theory, yes, the motions and movements are the same and maybe even the end picture, but if he were just to look at this art a little closer, he’d see, it’s really not. Deep within my brain, a sleepy idea turns over, something important, about something seeming the same but not being the same.

  “Yeah, but it might help. I hate seeing you so miserable, and I know how tough it is to give up the only thing that could probably soothe all your worries and insecurities. Just try it.”

  With a tentative smile, I lean forward and begin to draw the outline of a head to find out Justin’s right. To a certain degree, a bit of pressure is relieved. While it may not draw the same as a pencil, it erases a lot smoother.

  Justin puts on a contented smile, leans back on his palms, and lets out a sigh, “Peter was mad.”

  “No kidding,” I mutter, attempting to perfect the shape of Nick’s face. The shape, the lines, Nick’s face, Nicks dreams ... That sleepy idea I had is reaching for the snooze. After a small beat, I stop and look over at Justin, “Can I ask you something?”

  “Sure.”

  “What if Peter’s wrong?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I mean, what if—just stay with me on this—what if the perfume bottle in the display isn’t actually the one we need? What if all the bells and whistles, the impossible security systems, are just a distraction? What if the bottle isn’t protected at all and is hidden in plain sight?”

  Justin thinks for a moment before nodding slowly, “Hiding in plain sight? That would be, well, genius.”

  “And that would make sense why the display seemed to stay out for a ridiculously short amount of time the other day. Plus, the image on my birthday card and the one in the case have slightly different markings, but if you only get a glimpse, it looks like a perfect—”

  “Match. Someone made a forgery already,” he taps his foot.

  “I think we’re wasting time trying to break in and steal that,” I begin, adding the details to Nick’s hair, placing a fedora on his head like Justin’s. “But I know Peter’s not going to believe that.”

  “If you’re going to draw him, could you at least make him look cartoony?”

  I toss him a sarcastic look, “Really?”

  “His nose is way bigger than that.”

  “It is not.”

  “And his eyes are a little lopsided, don't forget to add that.”

  Relieved by his playfully cute jealousy, I shake my head, “Justin...”

  “I’m just saying,” he shrugs, hopeful. “So we need Peter to believe you.”

  “That sentence is much easier said than done.”

  “We’re gonna con him,” Justin says simply. “We set it up to look like I’m going to steal it, tip the Dark Watchers off first, so when they try to steal it, we tell Peter it turns out that it was the wrong one. He’ll want to know where the real one is, however. Do you have any idea where it is?”

  Confidently, I answer, “No.”

  “Well, before I can do my part, I need you to find that bottle,” he demands.

  “How?”

  “Go over there tonight,” he lets out an uneasy exhale. “Slip a little sleeping drug in his drink. Once he passes out, find that bottle. Once you do, we can con Peter and Alex.”

  Staring at the portrait I created, I respond, “Do you really think I’m right?”

  He nods, “Would I tell you to go over to the guy’s house who happens to want you as much as I do if I didn’t?”

  Slowly, I drag my eyes up to his, “No, no you wouldn’t.”

  Chapter 8

  After managing to pull my act together on the beach, I head back with Justin to the hotel, where we immediately put our con into motion. Do I th
ink it’s right to con the people who are supposed to trust you? Of course not. Do I think it’s going to be our best shot at getting what we need in the long run? Most definitely.

  I hop into the shower and enjoy the only peace I can get living under constant surveillance. While it was easy at first, knowing that my every move is being watched and judged by everyone, it feels insanely freeing to have even 20 minutes of unsupervised bliss. Instead of a shower being just that, it’s like the only truly private experience I can get in this lifestyle. The water washes over me, energizing me in an unfamiliar way. After an adequate amount of time has passed, I get out of the shower, wrap my towel around me, and rush out down the stairs into the living room, where almost everyone is gathered.

  “Why don’t we slip something into Nick’s drink? Once he’s out, I can let Justin in, and he can get a real look at the perfume up close and the entire situation. I mean, we will still have to beat the Dark Watchers to the punch, but at least this way, we’ve finally got the upper hand,” I hold onto my towel with one hand.

  Aiden, Eiden, and Peter tilt their heads at my soaking wet body as if they haven’t heard a single word I said. The three of them gawk as Justin merely adjusts his loose tie around his neck.

  “Are you naked under that?” Aiden quickly questions, his eyes unable to rise from my legs.

  “Really?” My hand waves to break his focus on the oh-so-inappropriate (and highly uncomfortable) point.

  “Valid question,” Eiden backs up his brother.

  “Appealing question,” Peter corrects him, leaning backward in his chair in an attempt to see down my towel.

  Shaking his head between chuckles, Justin smiles, “That’s a great idea.”

  “Thank you,” I pretend to look relieved at him.

  “Now could you please change before they riot,” he pats his tie.

  “Sure,” I bob my wet head around. “Sorry, I just had to put that out there so you guys could work it out before I place a call to Nick.”

  “Don’t be sorry,” Aiden smiles, trying to pry his attention off of me.