Sophie's Different (James Madison Series Book 3)

by Patrick Hodges

  I leaned forward as well, touching my forehead to hers. “You've been there for me my whole life, Kirsten. I was happy to be there for you this time.”

  Just then, Mom's bellow came from downstairs. “Sophie! Time to go! Are you ready?”

  “Be right down!” I turned back to face my sister. “Thanks, Kray-Kray.”

  “Come on, Soapy Suds,” she said, giving my nose a tweak. “Neverland awaits.”

  * * *

  Peeking through a crack between the curtain and the side of the stage, I looked out over the audience, who were finding their seats in the auditorium. The lunch-tables had been folded up and pushed to the sides of the room, and in their place several hundred folding-chairs sat, spread out in neat, tidy rows.

  I hadn't told Eve or Joshua that Kelsey and her dad were planning on attending tonight's performance, preferring to save that as a surprise. It was quite a moment as we walked up the sidewalk toward the auditorium, when we heard a high-pitched “Eve! Joshua!” from behind us. Kelsey, clad in a very nice royal-blue sweater and white slacks, bounded up to Eve and almost tackled her, embracing her and then Joshua in a crushing hug. The reunion between Kelsey and her old friends from the school bus was tearful and magical.

  Kelsey's father, Detective Callahan, was all smiles as he joined us. After many, many hugs, handshakes, and re-introductions between my family and hers, they all took their spots in the front row, which I had the foresight to ask Mr. Danbury to reserve for them. I watched them closely, anticipating the start of the show. Not far away from them was Ayden's mom. She was sitting right next to Marissa's parents, her big sister Lisa, and her very bored-looking brother Ricardo, who was tugging at the collar of the dress shirt he'd no doubt been forced to wear. Further back in the crowd were Michelle's parents, who were chatting away with Simon's folks.

  Mr. Danbury strode onto the stage, gathering us together as a group. “Okay, guys, this is it, closing night. But before we put this production to rest, I just want to tell all of you how so very proud I am. You're one of the best groups of kids I've ever worked with, and you've exceeded every expectation I've had. I can honestly say this has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. Thank you all.” He held his palms up, which we all took turns high-fiving.

  “Your families are expecting your best, so go give it to 'em!” He smiled broadly, and it infected all of us.

  Ayden winked at me, pulling his floppy green hat down so it covered his heroic bruise. I winked back.

  We were ready.

  * * *

  Ayden moved toward the edge of the stage, preparing to make his final exit. “Peter!” I called, and he turned to face me again. “It was a grand adventure, wasn't it?”

  He bowed to me with a dramatic flourish. “The grandest of them all.”

  “Will we ever fly again?”

  Ayden backed up, spreading his arms. “With me, everything is possible,” he said, smiling. “Just promise me you won't turn into too much of a grown-up, okay?”

  I smiled back at him. “I promise.”

  He straightened up again, and I saw his eyes were twinkling. “Goodnight, Wendy.”

  I blew him a kiss. “Goodnight, Peter.”

  He bowed one more time, and then turned and ran off the stage. The stage-lights dimmed, and the cafeteria lights came up. The play was over.

  All the people in the audience, who'd been silent for the last hour as we performed – with at least thirty grown-ups holding up their cell phones and cameras to record our little play for posterity – erupted into thunderous applause. Mr. Danbury walked onto the stage, waving his arms and beckoning the audience for more, while the entire cast filed onto the stage, joined hands and bowed in unison. Having our classmates clap for us was amazing, but this … this moment was special.

  I stood between Marissa and Ayden, all of us seeking out our families. Mom, Dad, Eve, Joshua, and Kirsten were still standing, clapping and cheering. Right next to Kirsten was Kelsey, who was going nuts, hollering and woo-hooing like a crazy person. God, I love that girl. Ayden was waving at his mom, who looked so proud I thought she might just explode. Even Mr. Ramos, who almost never smiled, was grinning from ear to ear.

  We all rejoined hands, took another step toward the edge of the stage, and bowed again, eliciting another round of cheers and applause.

  Oh yeah. I could SO get used to this.

  * * *

  The adrenaline rush still hadn't worn off a few minutes later as I ran down the steps leading from the stage and practically leapt into my parents' arms. I felt like I was going to burst into tears at any moment, I was so happy.

  “Oh, my God!” Mom cried, wrapping her arms around me. “My baby's a star!”

  Dad then took his turn. “Oh, my angel! I am so proud of you!”

  Before I could respond, Kelsey ran up and almost crushed the breath from my body. “Sophie!” Her body was vibrating, she was so excited. “You were amazing!”

  “Thanks, Kelse,” I said, my nerves finally returning to normal.

  Eve stepped forward, giving me a big hug of her own. “Wow, Soph,” she said, “I am so impressed. You killed it tonight.”

  “You think so?”

  “Are you kidding?” Joshua asked, gently squeezing my shoulder. “I've been to my share of plays, and this was one of the best I've ever seen. It didn't feel like a middle-school play at all.”

  “No, it didn't,” said Kirsten, nuzzling me from behind. “Makes me wish I'd tried out for the play last year!”

  My reply was cut off by Marissa, who pushed her way between my parents and embraced me. Ayden was right behind her. “Soph! We did it! We totally did it!”

  “You were so awesome, Riss,” I said, returning the hug. I then turned to Ayden. “But you, Ayden … you were incredible.”

  “Thanks.” He used both his arms to gather Marissa and me into a tender group-hug. “I have great co-stars.”

  The next twenty minutes were spent posing for a multitude of photos from every family member in the audience. Even though I was sad that my first acting experience had come to an end, the smile never left my face.

  After one final group photo that included the entire cast and crew, we all took turns hugging Mr. Danbury, Mrs. Lynn, and Ms. Hough. Little by little, the crowd started to disperse, returning to their cars. I didn't want to leave. I didn't want it to be over. I wanted this night to go on forever.

  “Great job, Sophie,” Kayla said, hugging me for the fourth time tonight. “I don't care if people think you're uncool. You're the coolest person I've ever met.”

  “See you Monday, Kayla,” I said, and she smiled and walked toward the exit, where her parents and Autumn were waiting.

  I said goodnight to Simon and Michelle, who left arm-in-arm. I also happened to catch Marissa and Ayden, still in costume, give each other a brief but adorable smack on the lips before Marissa left as well. She waved goodbye to both of us, giving me the thumb-and-pinky-against-the-head sign for 'call me later' as she walked out the door.

  I looked over the faces of my friends and family, and noticed someone was missing. “Kelsey … where's your dad?”

  She gestured toward the exit. “I heard his phone buzz a couple of times, so he probably went out to check his messages.” She made a face. “I hope there's no cop stuff he has to do now; that would totally kill the mood.”

  As if on cue, Detective Callahan re-entered the building. He still had his phone in his hand, and he wasn't smiling. In fact, he looked like he had extremely bad news.

  Uh-oh.

  Detective Callahan made his way over to where Ayden and his mom were standing, and it felt like a rock had been dropped into my stomach.

  “Mrs. Saunders?” he asked softly.

  Her smile seeped away. “What is it?”

  “It's – it's your daughter.”

  Ayden's whole body stiffened up, and his jaw dropped open. “Kim?”

  Mrs. Saunders took a step forward, looking worriedly up at Detecti
ve Callahan. “You found her?”

  He nodded, but didn't say anything.

  Mrs. Saunders was getting more frantic by the second. “Where is she?”

  “She's … in the hospital.”

  I could hear Mrs. Saunders' breath getting ragged, and she had to put her hand on Ayden's shoulder for support. “What – what happened?”

  “She's been shot.”

  Chapter 31

  ~ Day 83 (Sat., 6:20 p.m.) ~

  AYDEN

  I was in a state of shock as I rode in the back seat of Detective Callahan's car. The world suddenly felt like a black-and-white movie playing in slow motion. I could hear the sounds of the road, see the lights from the street lamps, but none of it seemed real.

  I'd gotten my wish. More than anything, I wanted my sister back, but, somehow, that wish had been granted in the most terrifying way possible.

  Mom was riding shotgun, and I was in the back seat, jammed between Kelsey and Sophie, both of whom were accompanying me to the hospital. Because of the urgency of the situation, we decided to leave the rust-bucket at school and come back for it later. Sophie's dad, her sister Eve and Eve's boyfriend Joshua would be following in their own car, while her mom drove her other sister Kirsten home. Mom asked Detective Callahan what happened, but he had very little information to give us. The girls and I watched the miles go by in silence so thick you could cut it with a knife, with Sophie and Kelsey both holding my hands tightly.

  Kim's been found. She's alive. But she's been … oh my God, she's been … shot. No. Please, God, no.

  I felt tears forming, and it took all my willpower to keep them at bay. Sophie wrapped both her arms around me. “It'll be okay, Ayden. We're all right here for you.” I barely heard her.

  No. This can't happen. We've lost so much, Mom and me. She lost her family, and then we lost Dad and Kim. We can't find my sister now, only to lose her again. We can't. Please, God, don't do this to us. Not tonight. Not after all this. Don't take her away from us again, PLEASE!

  Please …

  We pulled into the parking lot next to the Emergency Department at St. Joseph's Hospital, and we all piled out as quickly as possible. It wasn't until I caught a few strange looks from people in the waiting room that I realized I was still dressed as Peter Pan. But I was beyond caring. My sister has to be alive. She has to be.

  Detective Callahan had a few words with the receptionist, as well as a uniformed officer standing nearby. After a few minutes, he walked over and rejoined the rest of us.

  “So, how is she?” Mom cried, her eyes pleading.

  “She's alive,” he said, and we all released our breath.

  “Is she okay?” I asked.

  “The receptionist just spoke with one of the nurses. According to her, she's still in surgery. She took one in the shoulder blade, as well as getting a good knock on the head. We'll have to wait for further word from the doctors, but the initial reports are that she's going to be all right.”

  I was so relieved, I ran to my mom and hugged her with every ounce of strength I had. “She's okay, Mom.” A teardrop coursed down my cheek. “She's back. Kim's back.”

  Mom couldn't hold back the tears either. “I know, baby. I know.” She sobbed into my shoulder, and I sobbed into hers, as we felt the hands of our friends patting our backs and arms in reassurance.

  * * *

  It took a while to get the whole story from both Detective Callahan and another man who was there to meet us, a man who identified himself as DEA Agent Jason Latimer. As we waited for news about Kim, they laid out the story for us.

  After Kim ran away from home, she moved in with a guy she met at one of the many parties she attended, a guy named Cole Barnes. He was twenty-two years old at the time, and a college dropout, though he came from a fairly rich family. From what I could gather, he had a bright future ahead of him until he fell in with a bad crowd.

  A month before her eighteenth birthday, they both moved to Los Angeles and lived there for several months. However, at one point both of them were arrested for drug possession, and Cole was facing a long prison sentence for dealing. Before their trials, they were both approached by the DEA and given the chance to avoid prison if they agreed to become confidential informants.

  A major player in the California drug trade, Jorge Castellano, was looking to expand his empire into Nevada and Arizona, distributing everything from over-the-counter pills to hard stuff like cocaine and heroin. Cole was just a low-level dealer, but he had a lot of contacts in the drug world, and he agreed to work with the DEA on the condition that he and Kim be allowed to disappear when it was all over. Six months ago, Cole and Kim moved back to Arizona, living in a small house in south Phoenix.

  For the last six months, she was only thirty minutes away. I can't believe it. Mom was clutching my hand so hard, I felt it going numb.

  “But, if Kim had moved back to the area, why wasn't I notified?” Mom asked.

  “Because she's no longer a minor, there was nothing we could do,” Agent Latimer explained. “Legally, she can make her own choices. Plus, she was living under a fake name, and her part in a DEA operation, however limited, was a secret. Only a few key people in law enforcement even knew of her involvement.”

  “Were they both using, as part of this … operation?”

  “I don't believe so, Mrs. Saunders. Being an informant is a dicey thing. Your whole life is predicated on telling lies and keeping secrets. That's kind of hard to pull off if you're high all the time.”

  Mom exhaled, nodding. I exhaled as well. This news, at least, provided some relief.

  “Over the summer, Mr. Barnes fed his DEA contact all the information he could find. The DEA was hoping he, and other informants like him, would provide evidence that would eventually link to Castellano. Unfortunately, Castellano is so far up the food chain, he's practically untouchable.”

  Agent Latimer sighed, then continued, “I've spoken at length with Mr. Barnes' contact, Agent Fallwell. It would seem that, several weeks ago, Mr. Barnes began to suspect he was being followed. He missed his usual rendezvous with Agent Fallwell several times, and he grew increasingly paranoid that his cover had been blown. For this reason, we installed surveillance cameras in several key places around his house, with all the feeds being recorded on Mr. Barnes' laptop.

  “Earlier this afternoon, he must've gotten word that his connection to the police had been discovered. According to the video feeds, he and Kim started frantically throwing their stuff into the trunk of his car. Not five minutes later, he was walking out of his front door with another suitcase when two guys drove up with automatic weapons and opened fire. He was hit twice in the chest, and another bullet passed through two walls of the house before striking Kim in the shoulder. The impact caused her to hit her head on the bedroom wall, knocking her out. When the police arrived on the scene, Mr. Barnes was dead and Kim was unconscious, bleeding from her bullet wound. She was immediately rushed to the hospital.”

  “What – what happened to the shooters?” Mom said, her voice quaking.

  Detective Callahan's face remained impassive, but he gave a satisfied nod. “Thanks to the video feeds, we were able to get their faces and their license plate. We found them an hour later, and after a short foot-chase, one of them was caught and arrested.”

  “And the other one?”

  The detective looked at me for a moment, and then back to Mom. “He was determined not to be taken alive … and he wasn't.”

  Mom nodded. “I see. So what happens now? Can Kim come home with us?”

  Agent Latimer said, “That's up to her. Technically, she's eighteen and an adult, so she can go wherever she wants. Per the terms of her deal with us, she's free and clear of all drug charges.”

  “She's not going to have to testify, is she?”

  “Highly unlikely. She wasn't really part of Mr. Barnes' business, she was just his girlfriend.”

  Mom's face was a mixture of relief and intense anger. “She could've died!”


  “I know, and I'm sorry for that. But this is not a nice business your daughter got mixed up in. We gave her several opportunities to get out, but she refused. I think she really loved Mr. Barnes.”

  That figures. Same old Kim. More heart than brains, and stubborn as a mule.

  “Thank you, agent, detective,” she said to the two lawmen. “I'd really like to see my daughter now.”

  “Soon as the doctors say it's okay,” Detective Callahan said. “We'll come by in the next couple of days to get her statement, and then …” he smiled, “it'll be up to the three of you what happens next.”

  Agent Latimer stood, said his goodbyes, and walked out of the waiting room. Detective Callahan stood as well. “Ayden, I know this isn't how you wanted the night to end, but for what it's worth, I had a great time at the play. I want to thank you for letting Kelsey and me attend.”

  “You're welcome.” I tried to smile but found myself unable to.

  “I know it's been hard for you lately, but I'm a big believer in karma. You helped us out a few weeks ago, and with all the amazing people you have around you,” he indicated my Mom and the Devereaux family, “I have a feeling you'll be just fine.” I simply nodded in thanks.

  He turned to Kelsey. “Time to go, K-Bear,” he said, and then walked purposefully toward the exit.

  Kelsey stood up and gave loving hugs to Eve and Joshua. To Sophie she said, “Anytime you want to call me, Soph …”

  “I will,” she said, giving Kelsey another long hug.

  “Congratulations, Ayden,” she said to me. “You were awesome.”

  “Thanks,” I said, finally able to smile.

  Kelsey waved goodbye, and then left.

  * * *

  The six of us remained in the waiting room another ninety minutes before we got news that Kim was out of surgery and being moved to her own room on the second floor. She hadn't regained consciousness yet, but the surgeon assured us that with proper care and rehabilitation, she wouldn't suffer any permanent damage, except for a rough and ugly scar on her shoulder.