by Tampa Tyson
Maybe she also thought that I'd been ruining her social life. “We’ve got to go into her house,” I said, “tonight.”
Kayla totally agreed with me. We were soon standing at the front of Sage’s driveway, Kayla’s flashlight scanning for the entryway. “Look, Gabby,” she shone her light on the steps to Kayla’s front porch, which was not near her door at all. Instead, you had to climb the desk, walk a bit under a covered porch, and then stop at the door, “you think she does this to keep mud prints out?”
I shrugged. Kayla’s eyes rested on the nearby garbage can, and with one fell swoop, she kicked off its lid as if she was doing Ninja Karate. “Ew!” She leaped back and pinched her nose shut, trying with all her might to get the smell-repellent lid back on, but she couldn’t get the lid with one hand and if she tried to drag it along the side of the garbage can, something would make it fall.
‘What you’d do that for?” I asked, pinching my nose shut as the reek strengthened.
“I was trying to find something,” Kayla said, “a key, perhaps.”
“Why would somebody throw keys out ‘less they were fake?”
“You’re right. Maybe she put hers under the welcome mat!” Kayla ran across the porch, flipped the welcome mat just in front of Sage’s door, and picked up the keys. “I knew they were here.”
I shook my head. Kayla came back to me and helped me up the steps - the stench was so bad now, she said, that covering the garbage wouldn’t help anymore, and then we stepped inside Sage’s house. If I’d thought the garbage can was extreme this was even worse. The welcome mat couldn’t cancel out the stench of germ-killing chemicals and the sight of rat poison-soaked mouse-traps. “Disgusting.”
My eyes rested on the nearby maroon coffee table. Underneath it, I could see two wicker baskets, and on top lay a green potted plant in a ceramic pot. I pulled each of the wicker baskets slightly out. One had knitting materials - a rainbow spectrum of yarn and brown knitting hooks. The other basket was full of Health magazines, some 100 years old. Wow... I picked out one of the magazines.
“Gabby. Focus!”
“Right,” I said. “I’ll check upstairs—”
“No, no, no, I’ll check upstairs, you stay down here and look in the kitchen... Look, I just don’t want you to fall down the stairs, okay?”
“Yeah, I get it.” I felt a little disappointed, but it wasn’t really all that bad. After all, Kayla was probably right - it’d probably be easier for me to investigate the kitchen. “I’ll meet you back in the foyer in 20 minutes.”
“But I’m free all night.”
“I’ve got a doctor’s appointment tomorrow,” I said, “I want to get a good night’s sleep.”
“Right... Okay... Twenty minutes tops.”
Kayla and I both smiled and then we went our separate ways, me to the kitchen, Kayla upstairs to the bedrooms. The kitchen portion seemed mostly like a standard kitchen, gas range, standard cabinet fridge, standard fridge. The cabinets were white, the floor was made of tile.
The one thing that made the home different, besides the fact that several glass cabinets were filled with salt - fewer spices instead of wine glasses - was the fact that there was neither a computer nor a TV. Sage instead kept her appointments in a black appointment book, listed special dates on a wall calendar, and posted shopping lists and to do lists on her corkboard bulletin board.
I flipped through her appointment book, noting that during the day I first saw her, she'd had zero appointments. Clearly, she hadn’t planned on attending Kayla’s party. Why, then, had she been there?
“Gabby! You gotta come see this!”
Half shocked, half stunned, I turned around. I could hear Kayla’s joy, impeded by nothing technological, bounce happily off the walls. “I’m coming.”
I headed upstairs, through the steps in Sage’s living room, and passed by two bedrooms on my way to the end of the hall. One a pink teenage bedroom with Barbie dolls strewn all over the floor - the other one a gothic style bedroom- bed untouched, the floor and wall spotless except for the occasional cobweb and dust bunny. Then I approached the end of the hall.
“Gabby. Look at this.”
I peeked inside the bedroom. It was about the average size of a master bedroom. A king bed was confined to the center of the room, hoisted on a rusted metal bed frame, covered with a blanket decorated with race cars instead of skiers. There were no bookshelves, the only thing you could do was play with a little child’s race- track play set, where the cars were perfectly lined up at the starting point. “Wow.” Whoever resided here certainly had a lot of big dreams, dreams that probably weren’t being satisfied by Sage’s control freak hand.’
“That’s not all.” Kayla slowly closed the door behind her. A piece of paper, smacked between the door and wall, shifted slightly as the door closed. “You see this map here?”
“Yeah.” I looked at the piece of paper hanging on the wall, and though I could tell it was a map of the street, I couldn't tell if it had been hand drawn, designed by the computer, or some sort of combination of the two.
What I did notice was that whoever had created the map, computer or not, had labeled all the homes with both names except for Sage's - which just had a first name - Otherwise, Stephen Williams, Hannah Cosmos and Dr. Angie were residents of the street. And any one of them could have been behind my accident...
“Funny Sage would do such a thing. Put the last names of people on her map when she doesn't want to share her own last name.”
“I don’t think this is her map,” I said.
“You’re right!” Kayla ripped the map from the wall. She flipped the map over, looking for a name and the spare piece that was hanging on the wall, “it’s nobody’s map.”
"Why would somebody not put their name on a map?"
“Because they did the crime and they don’t want anybody to know they did it?” Kayla dropped the map, “look, Gabby, I think we need to talk to Robert some more- I feel he’s hiding something... something important.”
“Please, Kayla,” I couldn’t handle the thought of that young boy, Robert Smith, being behind all this. He’d seemed so sweet, (aside from the fact he’d shouted at me when I first met him) so innocent, (aside from the fact that he tried to throw a hardcover book at me), and so loving, except for the fact that he didn’t realize I was hurt, “you keep saying it’s Robert, yet you keep telling me he wouldn’t do it on purpose...”
“Of course not!” Kayla replied.
“You know what you’re proving, Kayla?” I said, “you’re proving that this is nothing more than an accident.”
“I didn’t...”
"I've had enough,” I said. "I'm going home."
Chapter 6
I'm not sure wherever Kayla watched me leave or followed me home to ensure I was safe, but as soon I got home and entered.... (through the front door, it had stayed locked yet again), I ran upstairs to my room and collapsed onto my bed.
After a few minutes of sitting there, seething and raging, whamming my left fist into my pillow, I felt the first trickle of tears drip down my cheeks. Quickly realizing it'd be better for me not to cry too much (though I could pass it as another nightmare), I wiped the tears away.
Then I lay in bed, trying not to think. But my mind bubbled with thoughts.... thoughts about skiing, thoughts about the discomfort of wearing a cast, questions of wherever or not this had been an accident... Great, I thought, one day of investigation and I'm already unsettled.
Stop acting like this, I told myself, this is nothing more than an accident.... get it out of your mind.... it doesn't matter what Kayla thinks. But what if she's right.... what if this is more than an accident? What if somebody tried to hurt you on purpose.... like Sage. Why would she do that? You heard Kayla.... the woman doesn't like sick people.
Tossing and turning in bed, I wished I was any place but here.... even Florida sounded more appealing... I don’t remember how I fell asleep.... all I remember is waking up to my Dad entering th
e room. “Appointment today, Gabby,” he said.
I groaned. “Don’t give me that look,” Dad said. “You know as well as I do that this appointment is a necessary If you hadn’t gotten hurt though...”
“Yeah, I know.” Especially todays. It would be the day I’d be finding out how long I’d be in this cast for... I was partly excited about it, and partly dreading it. Knowing how much longer I would be in a cast would give me the ability to relax, but it would also make me feel more desperate. Besides, even though being at home with a cast hadn’t been very fun, at least I had the ability to sleep in my own bedroom.
After blinking a few times to soothe my sleep-deprived eyes, I got up and tried to make my bed. Dad praised me for trying, even though the bed remained a disaster, and then we headed downstairs, me letting out a big yawn while Mom removed clothes from the dryer. "What's for breakfast, Mom?"
"Just a banana right now. “Mom quickly helped me into a blue denim jacket and buttoned the buttons for me. “There... You look stylish."
Stylish? Given Mom had covered my injured arm with the cast, making one sleeve simply dangle.... it looked more like somebody had cut off my arm. With Kayla, I had been able to tolerate it.... now... “It’s okay, Gabby,” Mom placed her arms on my shoulder, “we’ll be home before you know it.”
I didn’t really care about coming home. I just wanted to be out of this cast. But like Kayla had said, I couldn't change the past, and I couldn't pass through the annoying parts of my life. I'd have to deal with it, like Mom and said. “You’ll be okay here, John, right?”
“Yeah, of course.” Dad stuck his hands in his pocket and muttered something under his breath. While I couldn’t hear what he was muttered, I figured it was probably something Mom wouldn’t like.... why would he be muttering otherwise?
“Alright, Honey.” Mom brought me into the garage and helped me into her car. Normally she drove super-fast, but this time she was much slower. I had plenty of time to think about things in the car.... about how I hated the desk Mom had got me for Christmas.... and the fact that I missed Kayla. It was hard not to think about her.... especially when we passed her front driveway. Guilt nagged me, making me feel like jumping up, running up to her front porch, and apologizing to her directly.
But I didn't. For one, I didn't know how Mom would react, two; I didn't want to hurt myself again, and three, Mom had child-locked the door. All I could do was try to ignore the nagging feeling.... but it was difficult, with Mom going so slow on the highway.
The hospital, too, felt like a blur of false white as Dr. Angie dressed me in a blue hospital gown, got my arm X-rayed and then gave me several shots. I quickly learned that vaccinations weren’t fun like vacations - they were just shots, but the pain lasted only a second. The time it took to get the X-ray developed lasted much longer, and during that time, I had to listen to Mom and Dr. Angie talk.
“Well, Catherine, you see, I was actually in the midst of visiting my family when the hospital called me and said they had an emergency patient that needed my care.”
“Being on call must suck.”
“It doesn’t suck, Catherine,” Dr. Angie said, “see, my family can be quite— abrasive— at times. Being a doctor frees me from having to deal with them constantly,” he laughed nervously, “but I also love the work, Catherine. It’s so rewarding... Much more fun than dealing with family...” He looked at me and I felt as if a snake was constricting my throat.
“Even when a patient dies?”
“That’s not as rewarding,” Dr. Angie said, “but sometimes it happens. Those patients,” He looked over at me and I swallowed the lump in my throat. He had a benefit towards me getting hurt and living, “Gabby.”
Before I could reply, before I could say anything, Nurse Amy came in with two copies of my X- rays. She told Dr. Angie the line had been backed up, but I think Dr. Angie simply thought she’d been distracted. He showed Mom the X-rays and then had me change back into the clothes Mom had brought. “Wait...”
“Yes?” I looked up and I saw Mom had put the X-ray in the medical envelope. She was looking over the printed list of vaccinations I’d been given, “you didn’t give Gabby the AIDS Vaccine, did you?”
“Of course not,” Dr. Angie said, “we don’t give that to healthy patients.”
“We only give it when the kid’s been exposed to HIV,” Amy said, “it uses antibodies that can wipe out the infection before the body even knows it’s there,” she turned to Dr. Angie, “it’s like the Rabies vaccine, right?”
“Right, Amy.” Dr. Angie told Amy to leave the room with the vaccinations and then after giving Mom the news of how much longer I’d be in a plaster cast, (2 weeks) released us from the hospital. Mom went to get the car. Amy soon came back with the wheelchair and after getting me in my denim coat, Dr. Angie wheeled me outside, where we met Mom.
On the way home, I asked Mom about Rabies. She said Rabies was a serious infection that could pass from dogs to humans and that the only way to treat it with zero harm was to give a rabies vacation before the parasite could do any damage. “They have a way to treat it now, but it’s highly risky and not everybody recovers.”
Then I asked her about AIDS. She told me that the condition resulted from the HIV virus and like Rabies, it could only be treated by an injection of antibodies. Unlike Rabies, however, once the body developed HIV antibodies, it would be on a rollercoaster to Immune system destruction. And there was no cure.
Chapter 7
As Mom turned onto the country road leading to our neighborhood, I watched the trees slowly give way to the lake and the small gatherings of houses. We passed the locations where the road-blocks would have been, and I couldn’t help but notice something seemed a little bit different. Something felt different too.
Especially when Mom pulled into our driveway. She didn’t quickly jump out like Dad had done when he’d brought me home from the hospital. Instead, she pulled the car to a stop, put it in a park, and kept the car running. “Mom?”
“Stay here.” Mom opened the door out, leaving me alone. Forgetting my door was child-locked, I tried to get out, but I couldn’t. Instead, I started banging on the door.
“Hey!” It didn’t seem my good hand was doing much of a good job, though - I mean, I was kinda being soft, I didn’t want to break it too, “let me out of here!”
“Johnathan, what’s the matter with you? Why did you go let Sage come all the way over here when you know me, and Stephen made rules against that?”
Mom wasn’t answering me. She was too busy fighting with Dad, who had his hands in his pocket, with his face focused on the gravel road. Even if Mom tried to grab his face to make him look at her— “Johnathan, are you even listening to me? Look at me.” – it would just refocus itself back down.
“I don’t know why I bother with you, Johnathan,” Mom shook her head, “I keep telling you things and it’s like you don’t care about anything I say. Does Gabby’s safety not matter to you at all?”
Dad was still not responding. It was kinda a bad thing, it made Mom yell even louder, trying to get him to talk, but it was also a good thing, as it gave Sage the opportunity come over and stand by the car. And even though I knew Mom’s rules against it, I opened my window. Sage peeked inside. “You okay?”
“I’m fine. Thanks,” The heating system was keeping the car warm enough for me to survive- at least until the battery went out, “look, Sage... I know I didn’t...”
Sage didn’t seem to be paying attention. Instead, she was looking at my parents. “Sounds like your parents are in a big fight, aren’t they?”
“Yeah... but—”
“It really can’t be conducive to proper development, can it, the way your Mom and Dad are fighting, huh?”
“No... but—” I wanted to explain myself, try to explain my situation but Sage kept cutting in, breaking my train of thought.
“You should get out more.”
“Sage—”
“It’s really not heal
thy for you to remain isolated like this all the time, you know.”
“I know, but....”
“So, what’s stopping you from getting out more?”
I sighed. “I don’t know, Sage.”
That broke Sage’s train of thought. “You don’t know?” she said.
“No,” I said. “Do you remember last Saturday?”
“Yeah?”
“Well, I had a little... accident.... at the construction site.”
Sage backed away, accusing me of somehow contaminating her gas pipeline system - she’d smelt something terrible after she’d gotten home from Kayla’s party, but once I clarified that I’d simply broken my wrist, she relaxed and asked me how it happened. I told her again that I didn’t know, that I was trying to find out.
But it was improving incredibly difficult, I said, with Stephen’s precautions which Mom seemed to be taking to an extreme level. Sage shook her head in disgust as I told her about the desk Mom had gotten me for Christmas, a desk that had kicked me out of the library and pretty much ruined my social life - my only friend now was Kayla.
“What a dummy. Like my brother.”
“Your brother?”
“Yeah,” Sage folded her arms, “he doesn’t want to go anywhere, my brother. All he wants to do is sit ‘round and do nothing.’ He’d probably be happier with your parents, but it ain’t healthy for him to sit ‘round and do nothing.”
“I wish I was with you, Sage,” I replied.
“Yeah, you probably should be wishing it,” Sage said.
“Come to think of it, does your brother have anything to do with why you were at the party last weekend?”
“Why are you asking?”
“Because it didn’t seem like you’d been planning to do that.”
“How you’d know that? Wait, did you break into my house?”
I froze. I didn’t want to tell Sage that I’d broken into her house - at least not out loud, cause then Mom would know I’d been investigating and there was a high possibility I’d get myself in trouble. But Sage had to know something about what was going on.