The Last Time
Page 10
'So this thing can take you back in time?' Jael asks, eyebrows arching in disbelief.
'Yep, but it only takes me to the night of the accident,' she says. 'After the car goes in.'
'Wow,' Jael says. 'I've never heard of anything like it, except in the movies.'
'Yeah, it's crazy, right?' Tobi says. 'I've been back twice now.'
'So there's a chance you can save your mum and brother with this?'
'Yeah, if I can get some help resuscitating them.'
The boys blush.
'Sorry,' Jael says. 'Never learned.'
'Me neither,' Tobi says.
'Maybe I can teach you,' Charli says.
'How ya gonna do that?' Tobi asks.
'I did lifesaving at school, earned my Bronze Medallion, and did some instructing. I used to have a practice dummy at home. Mum picked it up at a garage sale. I think it's still in the store room.'
'Wow, she bought you a resuscitation dummy?' Jael asks.
Charli colours. 'Yeah, well, Mum never did anything by halves; it was all or nothing.'
Jael nods. 'Sweet. So I guess we have to swing by your joint to grab it?'
'Guess so,' she says. 'Who wants to come? I can't carry it by myself.'
Tobi groans, his eyes rolling. 'We were just there. If we keep going back, they'll catch ya for sure. Can't we get it from somewhere else?'
'I can't think of anywhere, can you?'
Tobi shakes his head and says, 'Well, we need breakfast before we go. Can't thieve on an empty stomach.'
This brings a smile to their faces, and Tobi volunteers to do the store run. Charli digs in her backpack for some cash.
'Knock yourself out, Tobi. Can you please get something decent for me? I need real food, not fried stuff and fizzy drinks.' She gives him a sober look. 'They rot your teeth, you know.'
'Yes, Mum,' he says—giving her a mock salute, snatching the note from her hand, and tucking it deep into his jeans pocket. 'No nasty, fizzy drinks. Won't be long.’ He flashes them a grin and gives Charli's shoulder a quick pat. 'It's not that I don't care about savin' ya family and all that but…'
'A man's gotta eat,' Charli and Jael say in unison
Tobi's grin widens, and he rubs his flat stomach. Charli shakes her head.
'Catch ya,' Tobi says as the door clicks closed behind him.
Charli sags against the headboard, her brave exterior melting away. Jael drags a chair to the side of the bed and sits next to her. She tries to ignore the speeding of her heart at his closeness.
'This must be hard for you. It takes guts to go back and see your mum and brother drown over and over.'
The air hangs heavy with his words. Tears prick her eyes, and she nods, not trusting herself to speak. Her heart is a stone in her chest. They sit like that for a time, not touching and breathing the same air, an unspoken tension between them. His presence both comforts and disturbs her in ways she can't understand. This is a boy she doesn't know and has only spoken to a few times. Apart from admiring his prowess on the football field in the few games she's watched, he's a stranger, yet it feels like she's known him forever. She likes being in the same room as him. It feels good. But she isn't supposed to be feeling good; her family is dead, and she's responsible. She doesn't deserve to feel anything and should be lying beside them rather than sitting here, thinking about the physical closeness of a boy. Shame colours her cheeks, and she shifts away from him.
'This cross could be the only chance I have to get them back; it's the only thing keeping me going right now. I can't bear the thought of it not working. When I see them that way, on the bank, it tears me apart every time.' There's a pause, and the silence that follows is not awkward. Charli doesn't feel the need to fill it with meaningless babble like she has in the past. Jael's presence demands nothing from her. 'I know you think I'm a princess,' she whispers. 'A rich girl whose life has been perfect until now. Someone who's had everything handed to her.' She glances at him and back at her hands that are twisted in her lap. 'Well, you're right. My life has been good, too good. I just didn't realise it until now. That's why I need your help, yours and Tobi's. I don't know what to do; I've been too used to mum making decisions for me. I'm so scared that I'm going to make a mistake and destroy the happy ending. And without that, I'm scared it will destroy me.' Her voice is little more than a whisper.
'I want to tell you everything is gonna work out,' he says. 'But life doesn't always have happy endings, and sometimes we have to accept that things aren't going to turn out the way we want them to.'
She nods.
'I know, but I'm not ready for that. I have to try. I thought when I went back to the lake the first time that I had something that could make a difference. I still feel like it's the answer, but it's like a dream where you run as fast as you can and get nowhere.'
Electricity shoots through her arm when Jael touches her, and she pulls it back
'I hope we can save them, but if we can't, then what? You've got to make your future worth living with or without them.'
She nods, mild panic rising when she thinks of prison. 'Well, first we need to get that dummy and train you guys in CPR,' she says. 'That's going to help.'
Jael leans over and touches her arm again. This time, she doesn't pull it away. Tobi bursts through the door at that moment with a bulging plastic bag in each hand and his face red from the exertion.
'What did I miss?' he asks, looking between them.
Jael flushes, standing up too fast and covering his embarrassment with a fake stretch. He tells Tobi they're just planning the dummy heist.
'Breakfast first,' Tobi says, dumping the bags on the bed and unpacking a variety of healthy and unhealthy options. He grabs a greasy bacon and egg burger and flops to the floor with a grin. 'So what's the plan?'
The sun makes beads of sweat form as Charli lowers herself to the ground and stretches her legs across the garden mulch. Tobi slouches against the house to her left, almost bent double, with Jael crouching at her right elbow. The hot, humid day is causing them to melt and turn into puddles of sweat. Cicadas hum, building a chorus, and the occasional bird joins in.
They're staking out the back garden of Charli's house and have been waiting for an hour for a chance to go inside. They're stiff and bored. Rebekah Lopez dropped in about thirty minutes earlier, an aromatic dish in hand, and Charli can hear her throaty laugh. It annoys her that she can laugh when her mother's dead.
'You're supposed to be her friend,' she mutters under her breath.
It changes the feel of the house, knowing there's another woman inside that's not her mother. She misses the aroma of cooking and the passionate look on her mum's face when she cooked. She learnt to cook the food from Thomas's homeland to bring his childhood and family back to him, not aware of the history between them.
Rebekah's laugh catches her attention again, and she tenses. Why's she still there? Why isn't she crying at least?
Tobi nudges her shoulder. 'What do ya reckon they're doin' in there? She's stretching it out for someone just droppin' some food.'
Charli frowns and is hit by the urge to defend them. 'Maybe she's keeping him company while he eats, trying the cheer him up a bit?' She frowns again. 'In fact, I think Dad met her first, so they've been friends a long time.'
'Well, what are we going to do? Is there any way we can get to this storeroom without them catching us?' Tobi stretches stiff legs and walks in tiny circles to get his blood flowing again. Just as he stretches his arms above his head, the front door clicks open, and the voices grow louder.
Their ears prick up, and they all move closer to the side of the house to hear what they're saying. Charli's heart pounds at the thought of being caught.
'She'll never be a part of my family,' Thomas says.
'Come on, Thomas; she's your daughter. Doesn't that count for something?'
'Never asked for her to be born.'
'That's not her fault.'
Charli's stomach churns, and the colour d
rains from her face. What's he talking about? She slides to the ground, unable to hold her own weight as the voices move further away. Doesn't Dad love me? Why doesn't he think I'm part of their family? How can that be? Are all my memories and life a lie?
Jael is beside her with his arm around her shoulder.
'Shit, Charli, I'm sorry you had to hear that.'
He steers her away from the house. She hears the distant roll of thunder and a cacophony of crickets as he pushes her to the back of the house and through the gate. All she can think of is that her dad doesn't want her and doesn't think she's part of the family. How can that be? He's always loved me.
'Well, at least I know how he feels,' she says, trying to keep the bubble of anger from bursting. She breaks into a jog and then starts sprinting down the block. Jael keeps pace, but Tobi lags behind. She doesn't stop until she hits the foreshore. 'We can't stay here,' Jael says between breaths. 'Someone might see you Charli.'
'Don't care,' she says.
'Hey, I know this sucks, but you've gotta think of your mum and Ash. How are you going to help them if you're in gaol? You need them now more than ever.'
She knows he's right, and she looks around before ducking her head to hide her face. The foreshore is deserted. She starts to walk back, the briny breeze lifting the sweat from her skin. The crashing breakers become distant as she ducks into the shadows of a shady tree; the temperature drops beneath the heavy canopy as it blocks the sun.
'You're gonna kill me,' Tobi pants, wobbling on protesting legs.
'We've still got to get that dummy,' Jael says.
Charli stops walking and turns to him. 'Damn, I forgot all about it.'
'We have to go back.' Jael says.
She stares at him and nods, knowing there's no other option. They head back towards the Richters’ house where a dusty dummy hides in its depths.
Three hours later, they return to 'La Vista' in a yellow cab. Tobi heads to the reception to pay for an extra couple of nights, and Charli and Jael heft the dummy through the door of number forty-four. They stare at the dummy until Tobi crashes through the door and lands on his bed, reaching into a plastic bag for some jelly snakes. He rips open the pack and drags two red ones from the tangle before tossing the bag on Charli's bed. Jael is the first to speak.
'Why are we here instead of Rosa's?' he asks.
'When I found out what the cross could do, I freaked out. I didn't want anyone to know until I'd talked to Mrs P again.'
'Mrs P?'
Charli explains who she is and how they came to talk about the pendant. He nods.
'So why did you tell Tobi if you wanted to keep it a secret?'
Charli senses jealousy and smiles to herself. 'Tobi found out by accident when we were in my dad's walk-in-wardrobe and realised Dad was at home.'
'In his wardrobe?'
'Yeah, he came with me for protection when I went home to get my things.'
Jael looks at Tobi and laughs. 'You took him to protect you?'
Charli colours and looks between the boys, realising her mistake. She knows she chose Tobi because he doesn't make her heart race like Jael does.
'Yeah, well, anyway, I needed some clothes, and he was there at the time. We thought Dad was out, but he was in the shower and almost caught us in his walk-in-wardrobe, so I used the pendant to escape and had to take Tobi with me.'
Jael nods.
'And you know 'cause you crashed in here like the mafia,' Tobi says.
Jael's near-black eyes lock onto hers, and she feels a shiver.
'Yeah, sorry. I thought you guys might be in trouble or something when you disappeared.'
'How did you find us?' Charli asks. 'Tobi said no one would find us here.'
'Don't worry; I've just known this one.' He jabs a finger in Tobi's direction. 'For too long. I know how he thinks and all his moves. Don't think anyone else could get into that warped head of his.'
Tobi gives him the finger as he shoves a green snake into his mouth.
'So how did this old girl help you?' Jael asks.
'She told me it was made by the Incas. She said it had the ability to take you through time. I didn't think she was serious, at least not until I went back that first time. It freaked me out. I didn't know what was happening.'
'I can second that,' Jael says.
'And me,' Tobi says with his mouth full.
They all laugh.
'So, when I put the chain over my head, it takes me back to the precise moment that our car went into the lake.' Charli says, her eyes following the swing of the stone. 'But I've been back three times now, and every time, I get there at the same time. It's not enough time to save them both, even though there's two of me.'
'Yeah, that freaked me out,' Jael says.
'One's enough,' Tobi says.
Charli throws a pillow at him, hitting him in the shoulder. He laughs, picking it up and shoving it under his head.
'Thanks,' he calls as he digs into the bag for another snake.
'I'm not sure if there's a way I can go back earlier, but it doesn't give me enough time to save them both. I need to stop the car from going in the water. Ash is too small to go under. He can't hold his breath for long.'
'Well us learning to resuscitate them will help,' Jael says, eyeing the dummy.
'Yep, that'll make a difference,' Charli says. 'But what else can we do?'
They sit in silence for a minute, the room heavy with anticipation. Charli talks about everything she knows so far.
'So,' Tobi says, chewing the head off an orange snake. 'There was a party at your joint the night it happened, yeah?'
Charli nods. 'Our Christmas party. We have it every year on the second Saturday in December.'
'So who gets invited to this shindig?' Tobi asks, shoving the rest of the snake in his mouth and chewing with enthusiasm.
'Heaps of people,' Charli says. 'Mum and Dad's friends, my friends, neighbours, and people my parents work with.'
'How many people are we talking?' Jael asks.
'Around a hundred,' Charli says, reaching for a snake, and then pacing back and forth.
Jael whistles. 'That's some Christmas party, girl.'
Charli manages a smile. 'Yeah, I suppose it is. Just used to it, I guess.'
'Right,' Jael says. 'What else can you tell us that might help?' He stands in front of her to stop her pacing, his nearness making her heart flutter. 'You don't remember going into the lake?'
'Um...I don't remember getting in the car...and they say I was driving. When I woke up, I remember the steering wheel and that I was strapped in....but I can't drive. It doesn't make sense.'
'Sounds like drugs to me,' Tobi says, digging into the bag for the last snake and shovelling it into his mouth.
'Drugs? What are you talking about?' Charli asks. 'I don't take drugs.'
'Yeah, but maybe someone slipped somethin' in ya drink. You've gotta houseful of suspects.'
'None of my friends would do that,' Charli says, indignant.
'Not saying it was one of ya friends; it coulda been anyone.'
'There are always lots of people I don't know. I suppose it makes sense, but who'd want to drug me? Even if you're right, it's gonna be hard to find out who did it.'
'We need to focus on what we can do, not what's impossible,' Jael says. 'Maybe we should go back and call the cops. Then whoever dunnit might get caught.'
'But what about mum and Ash? That's not gonna help them,' Charli says.
'We could ring an ambulance, too,' Jael says. 'If the paramedics get there sooner, they might have a better chance. Tobi and I can still learn CPR, and we could go into the lake and get them out. We can make a start while we wait for help.' He paces, getting more animated as the idea forms. 'I'm pretty fast; I'll go for Ash while you and Tobi get your mum.'
'I ain't going in no lake,' Tobi says, rising on his bed.
'What are you talking about? We've all gotta help.'
'I can't swim,' Tobi declares. 'Never learnt.'
Both Charli and Jael look at him, stunned.
'Almost drowned when I was a kid an' never wanted to get back in the water. Rosa reckons I used to scream bloody murder at the sight of it, so she gave up. I can't swim.'
'Right,' Charli says. 'Well, you can wait on the bank and help with the resuscitation. We'll manage to get them out of the water. We need a phone; mine's still at home.' She gives Tobi a hard look, remembering he stopped her from taking it.
'Got it covered, ' Jael says, fingers digging into his pocket and coming up with an ebony-framed phone. He tosses the phone to Tobi. 'You make the call while we go in,' he says. Tobi nods, clutching the phone in one hand and peering at the screen.
'It's locked,' he says, frowning into the device. 'What's your code?'
Jael shows Tobi how to unlock and use the phone and makes him go through it over and over until he's satisfied that there'll be no mistakes. They spend the rest of the day and some of the night learning how to resuscitate a worn, second-hand dummy with a grimy, red torso and a stoic look. They nickname the dummy 'Red'. By the end of it, Tobi is proud to show off his skills and does a faultless round of resuscitation, taking a bow to vigorous applause.
When they're ready, Charli takes a deep breath, hope beating in her chest. This has to work. She says a silent prayer, despite not being religious. Charli grabs Jael's hand and Tobi's fingers wrap her arm as she slips the pendant over her head. They're back under the tree, and Jael and Charli run into the water while Tobi makes the emergency calls.
They splash through the shallows, swimming and diving with perfect precision. Jael reaches the car well before Charli. Tobi helps with Ash while the two Charlis struggle to drag Clare up the bank. The sirens wail in the distance. They do everything picture perfect; they clear his airway, breathe into his tiny lungs, and compress his chest, but there's no response. Neither victim responds by the time the flashing light flicks across the lawn.
'We gotta go,' Tobi screams. 'They're gonna catch us if we don't.'
Charli's torn as she leaves them lying there, knowing there's no time for any more, not even a goodbye. They make it to the tree amid shouts for them to stop. Their hands touch, and the necklace is off.