by Imogen Rose
“Arizona, what if you disappear once Gertrude leaves?”
I shook my head trying to get my head around to what he was suggesting. “You mean you’re wondering if I’ll turn back into the original Arizona Darley?”
He nodded.
Wow. I had never considered that possibility. Had anyone else? The Wanderers? Mom? It was possible that when Gertrude left, she would take Arizona Stevens with her. She had, after all, brought me here. What would happen to me? Would I evaporate into nothingness, never to exist again? It is entirely possible that I would, for all intents and purposes, die. Arizona Darley could emerge again. I had sort of stolen her life, after all.
“Shrimp?”
“Kellan, it hadn’t even occurred to me,” I said, looking over at him. “I guess you would have your real Shrimp back.”
He got out of the car, slamming the door behind him. Sheesh. I shouldn’t have said that so flippantly. I got out of the car and walked around, put my arms around him and hugged him tight.
“Kellan, don’t be angry. I didn’t mean it like that. I have no idea what’s going to happen. I can’t imagine myself being any other way now. I am Arizona Darley who plays hockey and loves you.”
He nodded and brushed his lips against mine. “You are my real Shrimp,” he whispered into my ear.
The game had been wicked. Since David was away, I was subbing as captain, sweet! I had laid out two of our opponents and gotten myself banned from the next game, but it was worth it. David was going to be proud of me–I think. I had managed to keep our spotless record intact. It sucked not being able to celebrate it with him, though. It had only been a few days but I missed him. Sheesh, I snickered to myself. I have changed!
A lot had changed over the last year.
~
Last year, as I watched David get back into the cab to head back to Newark airport, I felt so low. I had walked into the house, not really wanting to chat with Dad.
“Hey, Arizona, where’ve you been? I was expecting you to be home. And what did you need all that money for?”
“Dad, I’m tired. Can we talk about this in the morning?”
“No, I have to go to Atlantic City again. I’ve been invited to another private poker game. Can’t miss it.”
“Why not?”
Dad looked at me like I’d lost my mind. “What are you talking about? I can’t miss it, you know that.”
I sighed. I knew that? That being that he was a compulsive gambler and couldn’t say no to a game.
“Anyway, where have you been and why did you need all that money?”
“Well, I went to camp, remember? You were supposed to pick me up at the bus stop, at school.”
He sighed. “Sheesh. I’m sorry, slipped my mind. How was camp?”
“Pretty awesome, really intense. The digs were bad, roaches and all. We didn’t spend much time in them, though. When I got there, I’d already been assigned a roommate–Marie from Vancouver. She was a really nice girl, you know, sweet and demure, not at all what I’d expected. I was a bit worried that the rest of them would be all girlie-girlie as well. But Marie was the exception. The rest of the girls were loud and aggressive. Marie turned out to be really good on the ice, though. The scouts were all over her. It turns out that her mom is looking into a position at Princeton, so who knows, she may end up moving here. That would be cool. We could use her on the team, though the boys may eat her alive. Or not, she’s very pretty.
“Anyhow, practice started at six in the morning every day, so we were up at five. The day started out on ice, followed by breakfast and theory, which was achingly boring, but could have been run by scouts so I tried paying attention.”
“Good. Were you approached by any of them?”
“Yeah, two. They asked for my contact details and said they’d be in touch.”
“Let me know if they do. So what did you need the money for?”
“Well, when you didn’t pick me up at school, I got Christian to drop me off at home. I went straight to bed. Then someone broke in….”
“Broke in? Did you call 911?”
“No, I didn’t have time. I heard glass shattering and thought it might be you, having forgotten your keys or whatever, so I came into the living room to have a look. And someone grabbed me….”
“Arizona, are you hurt?” he asked, visibly shaken.
“No, Dad. I’m fine. Anyway, I was put in the back of a van and driven to Mountain View in California.”
“You were kidnapped?” He was now gaping.
“Yes, Dad. Know anything about it?”
“What?”
“Well, think about it, Dad. Why would anyone kidnap me? You and your gambling debts could be the only reason,” I said angrily.
“Don’t be ridiculous, Arizona! I don’t gamble with kidnappers! Have you called the police?”
“No. Dad, do you gamble with Raj Sen?”
“Never heard the name. Who’s he?”
“He’s the one who kidnapped me. He is also Simla’s dad.”
“Simla?”
“Oh never mind! Don’t you pay attention to anything I say? I’ve mentioned Simla hundreds of times before. She’s the girl who got bullied at school. Remember the bathroom incident with the cell phone camera?”
“Vaguely,” he muttered unconvincingly.
“She’s a friend of mine, sort of.”
“What do you mean, sort of?” Dad asked.
“Well, she’s not a buddy like Ariele or Monica. Simla is a bit distant and very shy. She’s hard to connect with. She doesn’t have a lot of friends, any friends, really. I’m the closest she has to a friend at school. I look out for her, make sure that people know not to bully her. And she helps me with math.”
“Ah!” Dad said knowingly.
“No, it’s not like that.”
“Arizona, are you telling me that your friend’s dad kidnapped you? That’s bizarre. Why? Did you fall out with Simla?”
“No! I assumed it had something to do with you.”
“Call her.”
“Simla?”
“Yes! Who else? I want to talk to her dad. Wait, we should probably let the police deal with this.”
“Yes. Dad, where’s Gertrude?”
“I don’t know. She was here with you when I left, Arizona.”
“No, I left first, Dad! Anyhow, it doesn’t matter. All that matters is that we find her! Maybe Raj Sen took her. She wasn’t here when I got back. Maybe he did something to her so she wouldn’t bark and wake me up when he was breaking in. Dad call the police, we need them to find her.”
We spent the next few days talking first to the local police and then to the FBI. I told them everything–even about Dan and Sophie, even though I had promised I wouldn’t. The police couldn’t find Simla or her dad. The whole family seemed to have disappeared. That was a big concern, if Raj was in hiding, he might try something stupid again. The FBI put a watch on our house. Dad was beyond pissed off that he missed his poker game.
He left for AC the first chance he got, two days after I came back home. I wasn’t ready to be left on my own, but couldn’t get myself to tell him. Not that he would care. My next-door neighbors, Raymond and Beth, insisted that I stay with them during the nights at least. Normally that would have been a total drag, but I was grateful for it. They were both horrified that I had been kidnapped right under their noses.
“I’m so glad you decided to stay over,” Beth said, showing me to her son’s old bedroom. “This is yours for as long as you need it.”
“Thanks, Beth,” I said, looking around at the room. Beth’s son played college football now but he must have started off young by the looks of all the football gear in his room, including the tiny cleats. “When did he start playing?”
“Oh, he’s been playing all his life, probably was about four when he got his first cleats,” she said, pointing at them.
“Awesome.”
She smiled and gave me a hug. “It’s awesome having you stay ove
r.”
Early next morning, as I was having breakfast–Beth cooks a wicked breakfast–with the Goldens, their doorbell rang.
“A bit early for visitors,” Beth remarked, as she went to the door. She looked slightly perturbed when she walked back into the kitchen.
“Beth? Everything okay?” Raymond asked, getting up.
“Yes, dear. It’s a visitor for Arizona.”
Not the FBI again? This early? What did they want now? Maybe they had tracked down Raj Sen or Simla.
“It’s that boy who visited with you. The boy on the motorcycle.”
“Who?”
“He’s waiting for you in the living room. Don’t be too long.”
I couldn’t believe my eyes as I entered the living room.
~
Sophie looked at the TV screen as she cleaned up the bar area. How could she have ended up here? A year ago she’d been working at Ames, earning a good salary. Now, she was cleaning up after a barrage of drunken customers in a bar–The Hurler, nice name, it aptly described the clientele–in the Tenderloin district of San Francisco. The clientele was a mix of the local drunks and the surrounding college kids who couldn’t afford the nicer establishments. It was also frequented by a bunch of dealers, who kept the place running financially. The only women who came in here were, well… never mind. This was the only job Dan and she managed to get on short notice after their misadventures with Raj Sen. They’d had no money at all. Thankfully, the owner of the bar, Al–who had a fondness for body glitter–had taken pity on them and liked Dan for a bouncer. So, she did the hard work, while Dan sat outside chatting mostly.
She changed the channel to watch the local news. Sophie froze. There on the screen were artist’s renderings of Dan and her–with the offer of a reward. She hastily changed the channel back to sports and went to find Dan. They had to get out of there.
~
David! I couldn’t believe my eyes! David was in Beth’s living room! I flung myself at him. I was in his arms–practically slobbering all over him–when I found myself again and hastily drew away from him. Sheesh, way too enthusiastic, what had come over me?
“Arizona, what? Did I do something wrong?”
“No…. I’m not usually like this; this is awkward. I didn’t mean to jump you like that,” I apologized.
He smiled and gathered me back into his arms. I didn’t resist.
“Arizona, that’s inappropriate in my living room,” Beth said, wandering in and looking at us sternly.
We let go of each other instantly and stepped back. “I’m so sorry, Beth. I let my excitement get the better of me.”
“It’s okay. I do know you like him,” she smiled. “I guess you’ve come to take her to school, young man. What’s your name?”
Introductions. I can be so inadvertently rude sometimes. “David, allow me, please. Mrs. Golden this is David, a friend. David, this is Mrs. Golden, my neighbor and this is Mr. Golden,” I said, as Raymond walked into the room and shook David’s hand.
“I came to take you to school,” David said, looking at me with amusement.
“Now, David, you have to understand that Arizona here has been through a lot. She is being watched by the FBI and they are going to drive her to school this morning,” Beth informed him tritely.
I could see the confusion in his eyes.
“It’s okay, Mrs. Golden. I’ll go and let them know to follow us instead,” I said, ushering David out the door before Beth could protest. Once the agent said it was okay, we walked over to David’s bike.
“I take it you informed the police that you were kidnapped?”
“Yeah,” I answered. “I kinda had to, once I told my dad about it. I didn’t say anything about Raj and what happened to your dad, though. Do they know?”
“The local police do, but the FBI was not brought in. How long are they going to keep watch on your house?”
“I don’t know, at least until Dad gets back,” I said.
“Back? I thought he was back already? I wouldn’t have left you on your own–who was the man at your house when I dropped you off? I assumed it was your dad,” David said, clearly perturbed.
“David, it was. We spent the last couple of days being questioned and he was desperate to get to a poker game in AC, so he left yesterday, once he got the all-clear to go.”
“And he left you here, all by yourself?” David asked, his brows furrowing.
“Not all on my own. The agents are here, so are Mr. and Mrs. Golden. I stayed with them last night.”
“Can’t you see how wrong that is?” David asked angrily.
I didn’t want to see how wrong it was. If I allowed myself a journey into that thought process, I was sure to come out of it emotionally scarred. So, why go there in the first place? Denial has worked well for me for years.
“David, can you take me to school now? I’d better not be late, I’ve missed so much already.”
“Is this your first day back since you went to camp?”
“Yeah.”
“Have you spoken to any of your friends?”
“Nope. Well, I spoke to Monica–she’s my BFF–briefly to let her know that I didn’t need a ride to school this morning, but that’s all. Been too busy with the police.”
“Ah,” he said, furrowing his brows again.
“What’s with all the furrowing? You’re going to need Botox if you don’t stop!”
He chuckled. “That’s one thing you don’t have to worry your pretty little head about. Jump on, I’d better get you to school.”
Pretty little head. Yup, I guess there was a first time for everything. David’s bike was wicked. I would have to rethink the whole Dodge Charger–my dream car– thing. I may want to go all out and get a Harley instead. I’d have to ask him how he got his hockey kit to school. David dropped me off right outside the main entrance.
“Arizona, have a good day. Can I pick you up and take you to dinner after school?”
“Yeah, there’s no hockey practice tonight, so that would be great. What are you going to do all day?”
“I have a few things to organize, tell you about them after school. See you later,” he said, and kissed me goodbye before he took off.
“Still into David?” Christian asked, walking up behind me.
“Still?” I laughed. I guess Monica must have updated him with the David news. I hadn’t been able to stop myself from blabbing about him to her during our very short conversation this morning. I still had to tell her about the kidnapping!
“Early days?” he winked.
“Yeah,” I rolled my eyes at him. “Very early, so don’t go around starting annoying rumors, or I’ll have to thump you.”
“Back to normal,” he muttered, as he thumped me really hard. He was getting himself up from the floor following my well-placed shove when Noah and Brandon came walking up to us. “She’s back to normal, guys. Don’t mention the h-a-i-r,” he said, and rolled on the floor laughing. I sighed and left them in the hallway acting like idiots.
“A?”
“Hey, Mon, wassup?”
“Um, not a lot. Wassup with you?” she asked, grimacing in a bordering-on-ugly expression.
“Too much to get onto right now,” I said, rolling my eyes, “I’ll catch up with you later.”
“After school?”
“No, I’m spending time with my friend, David, after school today. Tell you all about him tomorrow.”
“Figures,” she said. “Say hi to David from me.”
Nope, I was keeping David all to myself. The day dragged. The classes were numbingly boring. I just narrowly missed detention, thank goodness, I had after-school plans. The other kids were behaving odder than usual, but I just couldn’t be bothered with them enough to figure out what their problem was. Even Mr. Harvey acted oddly concerned and didn’t wake me when I nodded off in his class. He even asked if I was okay once class ended.
I was glad to see David waiting for me after school. I nodded at the agent who w
as watching us from his car. Then I got up on David’s bike.
“Where to?” David asked.
“Let’s head over to my place. It’s empty.” Too empty. Gertrude had mysteriously disappeared. I looked for her everywhere. The police had helped, as well. We called all the rescue centers and put up flyers. There wasn’t a tree in the neighborhood and the surrounding area without her picture on it. I felt empty knowing I may never find her again. I hoped she hadn’t been run over or murdered by that insane Raj Sen.
“I noticed all the posters of Gertrude missing,” David said, as we sat down in the kitchen for a snack. “Any ideas where she went?”
“No. She was gone before I got back, so I think Raj may have taken her to stop her waking me up when he broke in. I don’t know what he did with her, though. I hope he didn’t kill her,” I whispered, my eyes welling up.
David pulled me in and held me tightly, allowing me to saturate his shoulder with my tears. I blubbered for quite some time, until I was all cried out, but still miserable. I loved Gertrude. I needed her. She was my one rock.
“Arizona, I am here for you,” David said, comfortingly as he stroked my hair. I lay face down on his chest, feeling totally despondent.
“I need her back, David.” I lay listening to his heartbeat as it lulled me to sleep.
I woke a few hours later, almost stuck to David’s chest, my tears having glued me to his skin where it peeked through his shirt. I could hear that he was fast asleep so I tried getting up without disturbing him. He stirred and stroked my head.
“You up?” he whispered.
“Yeah, stay. I’m going to take a shower and get decent before you take me out somewhere awesome for dinner.”
“Like where? I don’t know this area yet. Where’s a good place?”
“Let’s go to Sho Gun and get some hibachi. I’m hungry.”
“Sounds good,” he agreed and closed his eyes again.
Dinner was good, but it was even better being back home with David. He didn’t say much during dinner. He seemed ravenous, though. I wondered when he’d last eaten. Must have been some time ago, so I let him enjoy his meal in silence, mostly. I did ask him about his father and I gathered, between his mouthfuls, that he was doing a bit better, but he was still in the hospital. His dad was going to be released in a few days, so David had decided to pay me a visit before then.