“Seri?” Aquilla quietly said.
“What, Quill?” she answered in a nicer tone than she had before. She could tell by the sound of Quill’s voice that she was finished being a brat. She detected the sad tone.
“Never mind,” Aquilla decided, rolling away from Seri. It didn’t matter. Seri wasn’t going to help her anyway. She may as well let it go.
<>
Aquilla joined her family for breakfast and then announced that she was taking her laptop and walking to the park, letting all of them know that she wanted to be alone. She was really only telling Seri and Monica. Liz gave her space, not because she wanted to, but still. She didn’t have to worry about Reese at all. She was too busy chasing boys with her annoying friend Lil.
“Let’s talk first, Quill,” Monica suggested.
“Let’s not,” Aquilla replied, leaving the table.
Liz started after her with a broken heart. She couldn’t help her. She didn’t know how.
“Reese, go over and visit with your grandparents for a while,” Liz ordered.
“Why?” Reese asked, scraping the last bit of her oatmeal from the sides of her bowl.
“Because I said to,” Liz scolded with a scornful look.
“Come on, Lil,” Reese coaxed, sensing the thick air.
Monica and Seri exchanged a quick glance, waiting for the storm.
“I think you two should head home when we do this weekend, back to your own homes,” Liz coldly stated.
“I was actually telling Seri the same thing. I know this is hard, Liz, and I would love to give you the easy advice that you’re looking for,” Monica explained. “I can’t. I don’t have any more answers than you do. She has opened up to me and we have talked quite a bit. I just can’t get her to open up about being here.”
“She doesn’t want to be here, does she?” Liz asked, moving to her purse. She could feel her chest tighten at the same time she felt the tears burn her eyes.
“Liz, it’s only been a week. You can’t expect her to come home and turn into the daughter you lost 14 years ago,” Monica assured her.
Seri didn’t say a word. She wasn’t a shrink. She wasn’t touching any of this.
Liz inhaled her medicine and smiled at Quill as she walked out. Quill gave her a fake smile back, trying not to roll her eyes as she walked out the door.
“Why is it that she wants to be with Seri? She doesn’t know Seri any more than she knows me. I don’t understand,” Liz continued.
“For some reason, Quill has taken Seri on as her security. She feels safe with Seri. I’m not sure why that is either, but I am hoping that getting Seri out of the picture will help. I will come two or three times a week and keep working with her. Don’t expect too much too fast, Liz. You’re doing all that you can by giving her space and letting her take the steps.”
“How long?” she wanted to know.
Monica knew what she was asking. “I can’t answer that either, Liz. This is all new to me too. We don’t really get the experience for kidnapped girls taken from their families’ years ago. I wish I had a better answer for you. I don’t.”
Liz dropped her head and covered her eyes with her hand. Great, neither Seri nor Monica did well with emotions. They hated to be around crying people. What the hell were they supposed to say? Seri nudged Monica’s arm with hers, nodding toward Liz for her to console her. Monica shook her head and nodded her own head toward Liz, telling her to go to her.
Seri brought her hand up and dared rock paper scissors. They secretly played the childish game. Monica lost. She gave Seri a dirty look and scooted from the table, walking to Liz.
“Seri and I are going into town tonight and staying in a hotel. I will talk to Quill today and give her a little homework while we are gone. You’ve just got to hang in there, Liz, and remember that she’s not purposely trying to be mean to you. This is hard for her. Very hard,” Monica tried as she circled her back with small circles.
“I’m sorry. I just feel so helpless. She’s my child and I can’t help her,” Liz stated, taking the tissues from Seri.
<><><>
Aquilla sat her laptop up on a picnic table. She watched the younger kids running around, playing on the swings and slide. She never had that growing up. She never got to play with a group of kids on a playground. She played with Julius. Julius played all the silly games that these kids were playing with her. She wouldn’t have wanted it any other way, she decided, logging onto the computer with the encrypted code.
Aquilla read for almost an hour. She laughed more than once as Julius reminisced about their upbringing. He talked about his dad beating his ass for tying her tooth to a string and slamming the door. It worked, and she got her first ten dollar bill that night.
He reminded her about their make believe wedding when she was seven, and the wedding cake that she insisted the cook prepare for their special day. Every stuffed animal she had attending their wedding.
They were all witnesses, Quill. So that makes it real. That makes you mine, always and forever. Mr. Frog said so.
Aquilla laughed and wiped the single tear that slid down her cheek. She missed him something fierce. She wanted him so bad and didn’t know if she would be able to stand it much longer.
I have tried to be a better person because of you, Quill. You always made me want to do better. That being said, there are a lot of things that I did that I am not proud of, including running drugs, training women, and most of all, not reporting your whereabouts.
“Hey, aren’t you that kidnapped girl from the news?”
Aquilla looked up to see three teenage boys standing in front of her.
“Yeah,” she replied and turned her attention back to the computer in front of her, trying to ignore them.
“You a freak or something?” the middle one spoke as the other two laughed.
Aquilla ignored him and tried to stay focused on Julius’s words.
“She a freak,” he laughed. “Can you talk? Was you locked in a cage all them years? I bet you a wild woman. You a crazy? You get lots of dick sucking experience?” the boy continued on and on while Aquilla’s blood began to boil.
“You ever have an English class?” she looked up, dogging his slang vocabulary.
“Ooh, she a feisty little bitch. You be a sex slave all them years, did ya?”
“Don’t hurt him; just make him eat a little dirt.”
Aquilla smiled when she heard Seri in her right ear. She got up and walked to the other side of the table.
“Dat right baby, come to daddy,” he called, grabbing his crotch.
“You should probably turn around and leave before you get hurt,” Aquilla warned.
“Yes, fucking hurt me, baby,” he called, jumping up and down as the other two boys laughed, egging him on.
Aquilla was fast. She was lightning fast. The illiterate boy found himself in some sort of pretzel knot, face down in the dirt. He couldn’t move and moaned in pain from her knee being shoved in his back.
Aquilla kept an eye on the other two while holding the kid twice her size to the ground. She came to her feet when she caught them coming after her.
“You want to go?” she asked, in a karate stance.
They exchanged a look, trying to decide whether it was in their best interest to walk away.
“Go after her!” the boy on the ground yelled at them.
She caught the first one right in his shoulder with her left foot. He instantly screamed out in pain and dropped to his knees. The other one raised his hands, not wanting any part of her. He cowardly backed off, pulling his friends to their feet. They scurried away quickly.
Aquilla smiled a victory smile, dusting her hands and turned back to Seri.
FUCK.
“Quill, what the hell is this?” Seri asked, staring in disbelief at the computer.
“Nothing,” she said, slamming the laptop closed.
“You switched laptops. That’s why Houston said there was nothing on Julius’s. You did, did
n’t you, Quill?”
“Leave me alone. It’s none of your business.”
“It is my business. Do you know where he is?”
“Do you honestly think I would be standing here right now if I did?”
“Oh, my God, I can’t believe you. You really should work for the FBI, you’re good. You have to turn that over, Quill.”
“No way, you’re not touching this laptop. It’s private and it’s written to me.” Shit. This couldn’t be happening. She would never find him if Seri confiscated her laptop.
“Quill, it’s not up for debate. I need to see what’s on there,” Seri demanded.
“Go ahead,” Aquilla disputed. “I’ll make a deal with you. If you can crack his code the way I had to, you can read everything on there. Hell I’ll even let you hand it over to Agent Dick Face, but if you can’t, you have to leave me alone and stay the hell away from it.”
“What do you mean crack his code?”
“Do we have a deal?” Aquilla asked, with one hand out. This was her only shot. She knew that if she could get Seri to shake on it, she wouldn’t go back on her word.
Seri looked to the purple laptop now sitting on the table with Quills hand flat on the top.
“You’re the worst case I’ve ever had,” Seri complained, shaking her hand.
Aquilla smiled and opened the laptop.
Seri said the numbers aloud when she clicked on the bar. “2-16-22-8-13-13-1, what’s this mean, Quill?”
“Uh-uh, that wasn’t the deal. You have to figure it out.” Aquilla stood behind her as she tried decoding the password.
“You’re kind of a badass, you know?” Seri said, looking over her shoulder.
Aquilla smiled a proud smile back. For whatever reason, Seri’s opinion mattered more than anyone’s.
“Well there are seven numbers, with two 13’s, so I know that it is going to spell out Aquilla somehow.”
“Huhuh,” Aquilla hummed from behind. She figured that out pretty quickly too.
“Monica and I are going to get a room tonight. You and your mother are going to the movies.”
“I’m coming with you guys,” Aquilla instantly argued.
Seri closed the laptop. She would crack the code later. “Sit down, Quill.”
“What? I am!” she demanded, moving to the bench in front of Seri.
“Have you ever been to a movie?”
“Yes, lots of times.”
“You’re a liar. What movie did you see? Name just one.”
“Shaw Shank Redemption,” Aquilla blurted the first movie that came to mind. She did see that movie. Talin sneaked it to her one night. She watched in her bed, snuggled into Julius as they watched it together in her bed on her laptop.
Seri snorted. “I’m not even sure you were born when that movie came out. Quill, go with your mother. You’re not being very fair to her. She’s trying and all you’re doing is pushing her away.”
“I don’t want her to try. I want her to leave me alone until I can figure out how to get out of here.”
Seri shook her head impatiently. “Quill, what if Julius isn’t looking for you?”
“He is.”
“What if you never find Julius?”
“I will.”
“What if you drop your guard and enjoy your life here?”
“I won’t.”
“What if you never leave here?”
“I am. Why do you have to go stay in a hotel tonight? I don’t want to stay here without you.”
Damnit, this girl was like a puppy with no mommy. “Quill, when you and your family leave to go home Sunday, I’m going home to my house. You’re going to have to do this on your own. Drop the tough girl act and let your mother be there for you.”
“I’m not staying here without you. I’m not. I’ll go with you. Please take me with you, Seri,” she begged.
“Quill, you know that’s not going to happen. You’re 17. I will probably be on another case somewhere within the week anyway. I don’t stay home much.”
“Why?”
“Why what?”
“You told me you would tell me how you got into all of this,” Quill reminded her.
“Hey, Quill!” Monica called from a few feet away. “Come on, let’s talk.”
“I’m talking to Seri,” she called back. She didn’t need to talk to Monica. She only needed Seri.
“Come here, Mo.” Seri called over her shoulder.
“What?” Monica asked looking at the somber faces.
“I told Quill I would tell her about how we got into this. Sit down. You can help.”
“No, Sarah. We’re not doing that. The girl has enough going through her mind right now.”
“I don’t want to talk to you. I want to talk to Seri,” Quill looked up, covering her squinted eyes with a salute from the sun.
“Seri is not real, Quill. Seri never was real. Seri lives in your imagination. Her name is Sarah Strokes, always has been, always will be.”
“Stop being a bitch. I told her I would explain it to her. And I’m going to whether you want to do it now or wait for me to do it later,” Sarah said.
Monica took a defeated breath. “I have a blanket setup over by the lake. Let’s go sit under the shade tree and get out of the sun.”
“I’m going to take my computer in and go to the bathroom, I’ll meet you there,” Aquilla explained, excusing herself.
“Why are you so dirty? You look like you were rolling around in the dirt,” Monica asked as she stood.
“I kind of was.”
“What’s she talking about, Sarah?”
“Ohm, I kind of turned her loose on a trio of boys picking on her. That girl is one tough little bitch,” Seri smiled, proudly back at Quill as she walked away.
“You let her get into a fight with three boys?” Monica couldn’t believe her friend. She was ridiculous.
“No, only two of them, the other one ran back to mommy with his dick between his legs.”
“What the fuck is your problem? You need to go away. I can’t help her with you enabling her like you do,” Monica angrily spoke as soon as Quill was out of earshot.
“What do you want me to do? I never asked the girl to latch onto me like a leech.”
“I want you to stop acting like you’re her best friend. The girl has issues, and you telling her about Lakota isn’t going to help anything. Stop talking to her, stop sleeping in the same bed, and ignore her for ten minutes. Let her bond with her family!!!”
“Will you stop yelling? I already told her we were leaving Sunday. She knows that.”
“Oh My God, Sarah. Why would you tell her that? I have four days with her and now she is going to focus on nothing but that. Maybe you should let me use my degree and stay the fuck out of the way….!! Monica yelled.
“Fine, Monica. You go down there and sit by the lake under the shade tree and make her talk about feelings. You’re right. You have the degree. Let me know how that works out for you,” Seri said, inches from her face with a vindictive glare.
Seri stormed off back to the house. Monica didn’t know shit about Quill. She didn’t care if she held a degree in psychology. She had never had a case where a girl was ripped from her home and taken to a family she never knew. Monica didn’t know any more about how to help her than she did.
“Aren’t you coming?” Quill asked, walking toward the lake.
“No!!! Go talk about your feelings with Monica,” Seri shouted, and kept walking.
Aquilla looked puzzled as she watched her walk away. What the hell?
“Did you and Seri have a fight?” she asked, sitting Indian style on the blanket.
“Yeah, kind of. Don’t worry about it. We’ve had many fights.”
“About me?”
“Yes. Quill, we need to talk about your mother.”
“I don’t want to talk about my mother. Why do we need to talk about her? I want to know how Seri and you ended up working for the FBI.”
“We’re not t
alking about that. That is irrelevant. What do you feel for you mom?”
“I feeeeeel nothing for her.”
“But you do Seri?”
“I have no idea what you are talking about.”
“Yes you do, Quill. Why are you so taken with Seri?”
“I don’t know. Seri gets me. My mother just wants me to be little Shelby Rimmer, the cheerleader or some shit.”
“She does not, Quill. She just wants to have a relationship with you. And you won’t give her a chance. She sat at the table and cried her eyes out, inhaling her medicine this morning because she doesn’t know what to do to help you.”
“She did?” Quill asked, looking over at her. She didn’t want that. She didn’t want her to feel anything for her. Why couldn’t she just leave her alone and keep her distance until she could figure out how to get out of there?
“Yes. She did. She loves you, Quill.”
“I don’t belong here, Mo. I’m different than them.”
“How are you different?”
“I don’t know. I can’t explain it. I wasn’t raised with this happy little family. I mean, I was happy and all. It was just different. I had servants that took care of everything for me. I don’t think I ever made my own bed, not until Seri made me do it anyway. I spent my life running and with two people.”
“Why do you think this is some happy little family?”
Quill snorted. “Watch how my mother is always playing with Reese’s hair, rubbing her back, and engaging in meaningless conversation with her. I don’t do emotions.”
“You never had the physical contact like that growing up?”
“I mean, yeah, sort of. My father hugged me and stuff, and Julius was always affectionate with me. This is just different. I don’t know.”
“Do you know that when your mother lost you, she lost Reese too?”
“What do you mean?”
“She left her and your father for two years. She didn’t feel as though she deserved Reese. She felt immense guilt for letting someone snatch you away.”
“What do you mean she left Reese for two years?”
“She left her in New York with your father and moved back here. She stopped living, spent her time in a dark room, and wouldn’t have anything to do with her own daughter.”
Plausibility Page 22