by Tampa Tyson
“Very well,” Kayla said.
“Make sure Gabby gets her rest too.”
“I will.”
“And try not to stress her out too much, okay?”
“Okay.”
“Good,” Nicholas stepped outside the door, “I’ll see you later Gabby, okay?”
Too sleepy to say much, I simply yawned and nodded, and then closed my eyes and in a desperate attempt to get some rest. But I couldn’t stay asleep very long- only a few minutes after I succeed in dozing off, Kayla woke me up to complain. Her complaint.... the room was too cold.
I couldn’t understand it. NO matter how many times I got up and went in the hall to adjust the thermostat, Kayla continued to complain. It was always too cold. Even worse, the constant stress of movement was starting to take a toll on my muscles, eventually, to the point where I felt so hot, I kicked off my blankets. Kayla immediately picked them up and wrapped herself around but no matter how tightly she wrapped herself in them, she kept shivering.
“Gabby.” she stammered through chattering teeth, chattering teeth she could barely get under control to speak the next couple of words, “check the basement. Please.”
"Oh, alright." Hating the fact that every moment I moved around, I felt hotter and hotter, but not wanting to let Kayla keep me awake, I got up and headed down to the basement, gripping railings, and walls as I headed downstairs.
As soon as I reached the master thermostat. I noticed something weird. I couldn’t put my finger on what was making me feel so weird - not at that moment anyway - all I knew was that I felt extraordinarily hot down while Kayla was extraordinarily cold upstairs. What’s going on? I thought as I tried to increase the thermostat range - by turning the dial to the right.
It went down ten degrees.
I tried again, thinking I’d simply done it wrong. It went down 10 degrees again.
Huh, I thought, staring at the thermostat, maybe I am doing this wrong. Or maybe the thermostat’s just broken. Tell you what, I’ll try the other way... Let’s see what happens.
I quickly turned the thermostat dial to the left, and as the levels started climbing, I felt satisfied with myself- down enough to back away. Well done, I told myself, you figured something out. On your own.
Then I heard a click. When I looked back the thermostat, the levels were still climbing, indeed, but they were climbing faster and higher than I’d expected them to. For several minutes, as they climbed, I couldn’t do anything but stare. 50-60-70-80-90-100.
Then, as the thermostat hit 110, I almost leaped on it as I desperately tried to turn the knob back the other way- but it had become stuck. It wouldn’t budge. A moment later, I heard metal clanging against metal and I screamed.
“Gabby?” Hearing Kayla’s voice from upstairs, I wondered if the increase in house temperature had helped her feel at least a little more comfortable, or if she was still shivering like there was no tomorrow, “is everything alright down there?”
“Yeah, yeah... Everything’s fine...” I stammered, “just struggling with the thermostat.” The metal clanging was getting louder.... and I thought I saw a spark, “I think somebody’s tampered with it...”
“Just come upstairs.”
“But Kayla...”
“Just do it... Now.”
“Alright.” I began to make my way upstairs, but just as I approached the first step, a blast of dry smoke shot itself out of the thermostat. Without hesitation, I screamed.
“Gabby!” Still wrapped in her blanket, Kayla rushed downstairs, “are you alright?”
Clenching onto the stairwell, I nodded. “We should get you to your house...”
“But Gabby...”
I peered behind me. The thermostat was sending up smoke - right at the ceiling. “The thermostat’s smoking. And you do remember what Nicholas said, don’t you?”
Kayla nodded. “Good. Let’s get you home.”
Clenching onto me tightly, Kayla helped me upstairs. As we made our way outside in the cold air, my body began to shiver. Kayla, noticing I was cold, looked at my face.
“You sure you’re okay? You sure you don’t want me to take you back to Hannah’s?”
“I’m fine, Kayla,” I said. We walked up to Kayla’s front porch, “besides, I’ve never met your family—”
The door to Kayla’s house opened. A man stepped out and growled at Kayla. She, looking as if she was about to cry, hung her head forward. Then a woman, pushing herself past the man, reached for Kayla and scooped her up. “Oh. Edward.”
The man, Edward, scowled. The woman quickly positioned Kayla on the back of her shoulder and danced. Kayla quickly started laughing. Then, continuing to dance and laugh, the woman brought Kayla into the other room and I heard them cuddling on the couch, laughing with each other. Edward shook his head.
I gulped. The way Kayla’s mother was treating her reminded me of how I felt the day I first got home from the hospital. Like a baby. Kayla was 10 years old.... not a two-year-old who needed babying, but a growing girl. What was going to happen to her if she didn’t start taking responsibility for her own actions?
“Well?”
Wishing that Kayla would eventually grow tired of her mother's coddling but doubt that she'd ever would, I looked up at Edward.
“Are you coming in? Or not?”
Yes, I’m coming. I quickly stepped inside. The women quickly leaped from Kayla’s side and rushed over to help me... Edward blocked her. She froze in place, then she crossed her arms. Edward removed his arms and me before the woman had a chance to get me, I ran past her, into the living room. The effort made me feel dizzy and sleepy, but I didn’t care.
All I cared about was not feeling like a baby. As I panted reaching the couch, I realized that not feeling like a baby had been my one motivator in life. It had been why I’d joined the ski team.... why I’d wanted that trophy so bad.... why I disobeyed Stephen.... why I encouraged Robert...
I’d never wanted any of them to feel like a baby. Not even Kayla.
“Mama?”
“Yes, Baby?”
“I want some hot chocolate.”
"Yes, anything...." The woman stood up and began to make her way over to the kitchen, but Edward quickly blocked the passageway. The woman quickly crossed her arms, but Edward refused to let her pass.
“Edward, Please.”
Edward growled.
“Edward, I’m serious.”
“You’d let your child jump over a bridge, wouldn’t you?
“Edward...”
“Stop it, Maggie. I know you.”
Maggie backed away. Kayla began to whimper. “For crying out loud, Kayla, stop your alligator tears. Do you know nothing else but how to cry? When Life doesn’t go the way you want it to, you’ve got to move on and suck it up, not cry like a baby.”
I thought Kayla would have cried more, but she didn’t. Instead, she stopped crying, burying, and stuffing her feelings. When I tried to speak, when I tried to reassure her, she quickly turned away.
It reminded me of my parents.
How they’d treated me.
No, not like Maggie, at least not exactly. Nor like Edward, at least not exactly. Instead, they treated me with love, love that refused to allow me to sabotage myself simply because I was suffering. “Hey, Kayla, do you remember?”
“Remember what?”
“Do you remember what you told me while we were investigating?”
Kayla looked at me, confused. “You wanted me to be safe, didn’t you?”
Kayla nodded.
“But you also wanted me to investigate, right?”
“Yeah.” Kayla shrugged.
“That’s the point. Your mother and father both love you, but I think they express it differently. Your Dad wants to help you grow up while your Mom wants you to enjoy your childhood and feel free to express yourself. I think if they could combine both of that and love you with limit and help you grow up.”
Kayla turned away, Maggie sighed, and Edward,
though he’d been a little curt with me earlier, now invited me into the kitchen. He started making Kayla’s hot chocolate and gave it to me. I took a sip- and I spit it out. It wasn’t sweet enough. “You’ve been drinking Kayla’s hot chocolate, haven’t you?”
Grimly, I nodded. “Who are you?” Edward’s razor-sharp voice reminded me of the scary battery-operated electric pencils sharpeners we’d use in school, which though it only happened once in a blue moon, usually when our mechanical pencils ran out of lead and the teacher had no backups. I zipped my lips.
"I don't like people who keep their mouth shut and then blame everybody else for the lack of conversation. Spill the beans, girl."
“Sorry.” I coughed, trying to get my bearings.
“I don’t like mumbling either. Get a grip, will you?”
“Sorry, my name’s Gabby,” I held out my hand, “it’s a pleasure to meet you.”
“How long have you known my daughter?”
“Ever since I joined the ski team,” I said.
“Hmph,” Edward stomped back into the living room, “Maggie... I don’t...”
“Edward!”
“You know what happens with kids from the ski team, don’t you?”
“Why do you always fall prey to confirmation basis?”
“Because...”
“Gabby’s not like them, Edward.”
"You always say that Maggie," Edward said, "but then you find out you're wrong when the child does something stupid and blames Kayla for it..."
“You wouldn’t do that, would you, Gabby?”
“No.” Not anymore. Edward couldn’t know anymore.... not until later.... not until I solved this mystery. It wasn’t just about me anymore.... solving the mystery. It was about the whole town.... saving it.
“See?” Maggie said.
Edward shook his head. Then he stomped upstairs. Maggie followed him, but I doubted he’d be able to do anything. He clearly didn’t believe me, what could Maggie do? What could I do?”
I sat near Kayla, grabbed her hand, and told her I felt sorry for her. She shrugged, saying it was okay, saying she had a bunch of friends besides me and Robert, and everybody else had betrayed her and blamed Kayla for having a ‘stupid family.' Robert and I had been the only ones who'd hung around. "Have you told Robert?"
Kayla shook her head... Yeah, right, I should have expected that. Robert was terrible with secrets. I was good with them. I mean, Kayla and I knew the truth.... that I'd blamed other people.... but I wasn't going to do it again... "I need to tell you something..."
“You didn’t go and plan this on me to grow our friendship, did you?” Oops.
Edward stomped down the steps, scolded me, and threw a ‘Told you so’ on Maggie when she came down and clenched his hands. As she dragged him back upstairs, Edward shouted at her that I was a liar, that I had blamed Kayla. “I am so sorry!”
“Nah, it’s okay.”
“That was not very nice of me, was it?”
“Gabby, you’re my best friend. Nothing can change that, no matter what you do.”
“But Kayla...”
“You should probably go.”
I didn’t want to. “Please go,” Kayla repeated.
Feeling like blaming Kayla, feeling like telling her she was trying to push me away just, so she didn’t have to feel the pain of getting yelled at by a former friend... I bit my tongue.
The phone rang. Edward ran downstairs to get it, but Kayla beat him. Maggie came downstairs afterward, shaking her head. Kayla passed the phone to Edward. Gulping, he asked who it was. Then he said it was for me.
He handed me the phone and I whispered “Hello?”
I picked it up. It was Mom. Though she wasn’t speaking, I could hear her raspy breath through the receiver. “Mom?” She was so quiet, the fingers sticking out of my cast clenched themselves up and I felt nothing. No pain. No discomfort, “Mom? What’s going om?”
"Nothing, baby," Mom was gasping for breath, "nothing for you to worry about, anyway, probably just accidentally butt dialed you."
“Why would you butt dial Kayla’s house?”
“I mean, Dad, Gabby. He butts dialed you. Your cell.”
“Who picked up the phone?”
“He... Dad... Didn’t say. Where are you anyway?”
“I’m at Kayla’s house,” I said, “and I don’t have my phone. I lost it at the ski lodge...” I gasped for breath. The Ski Lodge- my phone- my accident. They had to be related- they had to be, “Mom, I gotta go.”
“Gabby wait.”
I paused for a moment. I’d been about to sit up, but Mom had slowed me down, though not for long. “Did you want me to go home?” I asked impatiently.
“No, Gabby,” Mom replied, “stay with Kayla.”
“But...”
“Look, I’m going to tell Dad to come pick you up at Kayla’s house. Don’t leave her house until Dad gets there, right?”
“Right.” The last time I’d listened to Mom, when she told me not to attend the party, I’d gotten myself hurt. Now she was telling me to stay with Kayla, and I also wasn't sure that was a good idea. But what if she was right- what if the person who attacked me was coming after me again? To kill me? “I’ll stay with Kayla, Mom.”
“Good. Good girl.” Mom hung up the phone, which I put down. Then I stood up, my head spinning. Kayla rushed to my side to keep me from fainting, and when my stamina returned, I found myself face down on the couch, Kayla, and her mother’s heads above me.
“Is she alright?”
“She’ll be alright, Mom,” Kayla said, “how ‘bout you go upstairs with Edward and leave us alone?”
Though Maggie was apparently concerned for my wellbeing, she left the room, bringing a grunting Edward along with her. Then Kayla helped me sit up, naturally, and asked me what had happened on the phone. I told her. She gasped.... in shock. But then, knowing her parents were upstairs, she tried to restrain herself. But she couldn’t. She couldn’t keep herself from shaking. “Oh, Gabby.”
Even though I still felt tense, I managed to regain some of my composure through a couple of slow, deep breaths. Then the phone rang again- this time from the table. For the first two rings, Kayla was the one who picked it up, and she kept saying I wasn’t available. After about 3 persistent calls, she finally handed it to me.
The moment I heard the voice, I knew who it was. Stephen. Stephen Williams. “Oh!” I exclaimed, “oh, hello, Stephen. How are you?”
“Where are you?”
“I’m with Kayla. Why?”
“I want you to come home. Now.”
“But the heater—”
“I fixed it, Gabby. Come home. Now.”
“But Stephen...”
“Don’t argue. Come home.”
“Stephen, I’m with Kayla. I’m fine.”
“I know, I know, but still, I’d feel better if you were home. Safe and sound.”
“Don’t you trust me?”
“You haven’t proven yourself worthy of my trust.”
"Oh, come on, Stephen!" You've never given me a chance to leave the house, all you tell me is to stay home and I see nothing good from it, "do you really even care about me?"
“I want you home. Now.”
Feeling like a balloon on the verge of popping, I looked around Kayla’s house, trying to invent some reason for delaying my departure. Then I saw something. Outside Kayla’s windows. Darkness. Pitch black darkness. “Can’t. Too dark.”
Stephen was silent a moment. Then he spoke. “I’ll come get you then,” he said.
“Stephen... Wait.”
“I’ll give you 20 minutes.”
I hung up the phone before Stephen could say anything else. Then, after placing it back down on the table, I looked over at Kayla, who was looking at me. I had to decide. Quickly. “Stephen wants me home, Kayla.”
Kayla shivered. “He’s giving me 20 minutes,” I continued, knowing full well that while I could simply wait for Nicholas to show up, there was
no guarantee he’d show up within the 20-minute timeframe. Besides.... if something did happen... I stood up slowly.
“Wait... Gabby...”
I sat back down. “What is it, Kayla?"
“I know I can’t keep you from leaving.... but...”
I nodded. Get to the point already. I’ve got only 20 minutes.
“You do know you’re my best friend, right?”
“Yeah... yeah...” Wishing I had my phone, wishing there was a way I could check the time, all I could do was hope that Kayla would simply hurry up... “What is it?”
“Has Stephen ever told you anything about himself?”
“No. Why?”
"Because when I was rummaging through Sage's trash can, I found a clue."
“You said you were looking for a key.”
“I know what I said. But just listen.”
“Okay. What did you find?”
“I found your skis. The ones I gave you for Christmas.” The extra special ones that had the ski boot attached to the skis- the ones I’d used since then...
“My skis? In the trashcan? Jesus Christ, who put them there?”
Kayla shrugged. “It doesn’t matter,” she said, “the fact is, they were acting really strangely in the trashcan- your skis - I mean. They kept attracting everything metal. At first, I thought it was just the way they were made.... but then....”
“Mm... hmm...” Keep going.
"Well, when I was in juvie, I remembered we used Metal Ski detectors at the lodge and your skis always passed the test. I know I haven't brought it up until now, but I didn't think it mattered... Besides, you told me not to mention anything about skiing."
"It matters, Kayla," I proceeded to sit, "because whoever booby trapped my skates also booby-trapped the construction site."
Kayla pondered quietly and then she nodded.
“And I think I know who.”
Chapter 23
When I told Kayla my suspicions, she stared at me in disbelief. Then, after a few moments of silence, she told me that I must have gotten it wrong again. I shook my head, knowing this time, at least, I was right. I had succeeded in solving the mystery, in finding out who’d done it, and I was proud of myself. The mere fact that I had achieved such an accomplishment made it difficult for me to stop smiling. Until... “Only a master builder could have booby-trapped your skates,” Kayla said.