Hoverfly Girl

by Parker Wren

  I stood, board straight, tears slowly falling down my cheeks. I knew that the man wouldn’t shoot me. I was pretty sure of that. And yet I couldn’t stop the frantic feeling under my skin, like bees were trying to get out, like my heart was no longer in my chest and in its place was a gaping hole of nothingness.

  I let Grayson pull me to his chest, and I sobbed. I sobbed not because of what had just happened but for putting myself in this position. For feeling like I wasn’t someone who was cut out for the things my father convinced me I could do.

  “The cops are on their way. What happened?”

  I silently shook my head, unable to form the words.

  As he went get me a glass of water, Dom finally came down the stairs.

  “What happened?” he asked, concern on his face.

  “Did you only now just wake up?” My voice was monotone without a hint of contempt or anger.

  “Yes,” he said. “Will someone please explain to me what happened?”

  I was silent. I didn’t know how to respond. I needed to tell Dom everything, to get away from this place as soon as possible, but I knew, for the time being, I was trapped. The police would arrive any minute.

  “Some men attacked Ariel,” Grayson said, handing me the water. He kneeled down in front of me and held my hands. “Did they hurt you… physically?” It pained him to ask.

  I shook my head. “Maybe some bruises, but nothing too bad.”

  Dom came over and put his arm around me. Then he ran his fingers through my hair and kissed me on my head.

  “The police are here,” Grayson said gruffly. He stood to answer the door.

  I was so overwhelmed, my cognitive resources drained, and I had only just figured out what I would tell the police.

  A policewoman walked over and reached out her hand. “I’m Sergeant Saunders,” she said. “And if it’s okay with you, I’ll be interviewing you about what occurred.”

  I nodded in agreement. A couple of the other police officers talked to Dom and Grayson and then searched the house for signs of a break-in.

  “Why don’t you go ahead and tell me what happened?”

  I explained everything in accurate detail—the way that I had come downstairs, how I was grabbed, how I defended myself. The Sergeant raised her eyes at the latter point, but I told her I had taken self-defense classes, And then I finally mentioned the gun.

  “What did the men want?” she asked.

  And that was where I needed to lie. Great, I thought. More lies. To the police, no less. No one could know what I was being asked by the men, to even suspect that there were people out there who cared about Henry’s business dealings. If I breathed a word of their true intentions and threats, it would be like pulling a loose string on a cheap scarf.

  I told the Sergeant the men planned to rob the house with me at gunpoint. I had heard a familiar story happen to a friend of a friend in Boston, and it had haunted me ever since. The men pointed the gun at the girl’s heads while the burglars stole everything in the house. I told the detective the robbers planned to have one man hold the gun at me—at least I thought that was the plan—and then the other would steal any valuables in the house.

  “What did they say to you?” the Sergeant asked. “Your housemate, Gray?”

  “Grayson,” I continued.

  “Yes, Grayson. He said he heard them shouting at you. That’s when he called 911 and came downstairs.”

  “Oh. Yes.” Of course, I should have checked to see what Grayson or Dom knew so that I didn’t contradict their stories. “They wanted to know where the jewelry was. I said I didn’t know, that I didn’t live here, that I was just a guest.”

  “And what happened then?”

  “Grayson came down and scared the guys away. Who knows what would have happened if he hadn’t been here.”

  The Sergeant nodded. She studied me for a moment, not sure what to make of me.

  “And you’re sure that there is no way you knew either of these men?”

  I shook my head. “I swear,” I said, “I have never seen either of those people in my life. I couldn’t even really see them, but I didn’t know their voices at all.”

  “Ma’am?” a voice called over from the front door.

  Detective Saunders smiled at me and patted my leg. “I think we are done here,” she said. “But if you think of anything else, please let me know.”

  I sat in stone silence, afraid that if I moved or said anything, the delicate bubble of sanity that was balanced on my head would suddenly burst. I heard the conversations over the walkie-talkies, the noise of the police rustling through house, the soft whispers, the reflection of the blue and red lights coming in through the windows. They lit up the white backsplash behind the kitchen sink in a dancing array of colors. I felt ambivalent, the way you do around police when you grew up fairly privileged, never really in trouble, but for some reason feel anxious around the police, as if they could somehow see the real you—the shameful side of you. The one that’s committed mistakes and has done illegal and dishonest things.

  I could hear the police officers talking. “It looks like the front door security system was disabled. This is probably how the perps got into the house. They probably thought no one was home. Not sure why, though, since there are three of you here. Maybe a risky bunch of thieves.”

  Grayson walked over to meet them. “Oh, man,” he said. “I feel awful. I must have forgotten to set the security alarm when I came in the house.”

  “Maybe they saw Brit and Henry leave earlier today and thought they were the only ones in the house?” Dom suggested.

  Sergeant Saunders thought about it for some time before saying to us: “All of that is entirely possible. They believed the door was unlocked, that no one was home. But most thieves would have left as soon as Ariel appeared. It’s the violent nature of the encounter that has me worried. We’ll keep investigating.”

  None of us said anything, arms cross against our check.

  Please leave, I thought. Please, I need to talk to Dom.

  After the cops finally left, the three us went to the living room. Before I could open my mouth to say anything, Grayson looked me straight in the eyes. “Are you going to tell me what actually happened now, Ariel?

  CHAPTER 23

  I exchanged glances with Dom.

  “What do you mean?” I asked Grayson.

  I’m not sure why I played this game when I knew exactly what he meant, but I needed to know what he knew and didn’t know.

  “You’re not telling the whole story,” Grayson said.

  “What makes you think that?” I said defensively.

  “Okay, if it makes you feel any better, I lied to the cops, okay? I definitely did enable the front door security system,” Grayson said.

  “So how did they get in?” Dom asked.

  “I don’t know,” said Grayson. “They knew the code.”

  We all sat in silence for a few moments.

  “But how?” I asked.

  He turned to me. “I don’t know, but I think you might. They weren’t here to rob the place, were they, Ariel?”

  I turned to look at Dom, uncertain what to think or what to do. Grayson was suspicious. He wouldn’t let it go. But I didn’t have to implicate myself and Dom by telling the truth.

  “I didn’t know what to do!” I said with slightly exaggerated exasperation. “Grayson, they came in here, stuck a gun to my head, and asked if I was spying on Henry.”

  Grayson clenched his jaw. “Seriously?”

  “What!” said Dom angrily, but I could see the color drain from his face. Someone knew. Someone knew about us.

  “Yes!” I became even more hysterical. “I had no idea what they were talking about! Spying on him for what? Is Henry involved in the mafia or something? This makes no sense, no sense at all!”

  Grayson stood. “Look, Ariel, I can’t believe this happened to you. But I’m going to get to the bottom of it. Don’t worry.”

  The shock on my f
ace certainly wasn’t exaggerated this time. “You… you think you know them?”

  “I have no idea. But it’s ridiculous. Let me do some digging with Henry and our mutual contacts.”

  “Okay,” I said, not sure how to react.

  “I have no idea what’s going on, but I’m going to do everything I can to make you safe, okay? Whatever these crazy people are thinking, I’ll make sure they know that you have nothing to do with whatever tin-foil hat conspiracy they’ve baked up.”

  “Oh, and one more thing,” Grayson said sternly. “Not one word to Brit or to Henry. This would freak both of them out. They would start going around accusing Henry’s father of trying to manipulate him or some nonsense like that. Okay?” he said, looking sternly at me. I locked on his dark brown eyes, which welled with stresses and burdens. I wanted to tell him I’ll always be on his side. But for now, I couldn’t say anything at all.

  ---

  Dom and I tried to untangle the puzzle in our room before bed that night.

  “Who figured us out? Henry’s dad?” he asked.

  “It’s the only thing I can think of,” I said. “But that doesn’t make sense. They hate each other right now. What would his dad be trying to protect Henry from? I mean, unless Henry is funneling the money and they don’t want anyone to know about it. That would support Manuel’s hypothesis.”

  “Shit,” said Dom, running his fingers through his unkempt hair. “And that means that maybe Henry did do it. Which is the worst possible situation because they would want us to stay here and pursue things more, but these people are out to get us if we stay.”

  “Or it’s someone who doesn’t want Henry to get caught up in his dad’s scheme. To make sure nothing can link him to his dad. To protect Henry above all else?”

  “But why would that be necessary if Henry isn’t involved in the scheme in the first place?”

  “I don’t know,” I said. “I just told them that we are on Henry’s side. That we were working on the same side.”

  Dom’s eyes opened wide. “You told them what, Ariel?”

  “I didn’t have a choice. They seemed like they knew. I had to say something. Like how we were there to protect Henry, too. That we were on the same side. For all know, they might think it’s bullshit. That I would say anything to protect my life.”

  Dom groaned. “They know then. They actually know.”

  “Yes,” I said. Tthey do. Maybe I royally screwed up then. I don’t know who knows, but someone does, especially now.”

  I stood up and opened the dressers.

  “What are you doing?” Dom asked as I began throwing clothes in a suitcase.

  “I’m leaving. Right now.”

  “You can’t!” he said. “We are under contract.”

  I gave him a cold stare. “Fuck the contract.”

  Dom hovered above me nervously as I continued to pack. “We need to wait—to wait and see what Manuel thinks. You need to be patient, Ariel. How about we pitch to them that we leave on Monday. Tie up any loose ends. Make sure we haven’t missed anything. I really don’t think your V for Vendetta fan club will manage to get into this house before then. Grayson called Henry and Brit and told them about the—ah— attempted burglary so they’re on their way back, and they’re bringing in security to be here 24 hours.”

  I sat down on my bed; my anger quickly subsided. “Okay, fine,” I said. I was too mentally exhausted to process what was happening or even care anymore.

  It was Thursday. I supposed I could make it to Monday.

  “And one other thing,” Dom said as his eyes stared at a crack in the hardwood floors. “I guess it means we have to officially fake a break-up. You know, you leave, or we both leave.”

  I looked up at him.

  “Yeah,” I said. “I mean, we don’t have to… there are other ways, but I guess it’s the simplest solution.”

  I went over to his bed and gave him a hug.

  “It will be the most amicable fake breakup in the history of time,” I said.

  “You know it,” he said.

  CHAPTER 24

  The next morning, I wrapped myself in a huge fleece blanket, made myself a hot chocolate, and wandered out onto the deck with a book. As I slowly sipped the warm drink, I decided to call Monika. I had a (partial) truth and a (partial) lie to tell Monika. But I needed to talk to her.

  “Monika! How’s it going?” I asked when she picked up on the third ring.

  “Oh hi! Yay! I’m good, but no, how are you doing?” she asked.

  “Are you sure?” I asked. “I hate being the one to talk all about myself.”

  “We’ll get to me eventually,” she said. “Don’t worry.”

  I let it all spill out. The burglary (but only the made-up part about wannabe thieves, not the whole truth), how shaken up I was, how I wanted to leave soon and hoped to put myself far away from Martha’s Vineyard.

  “Oh gosh, Air, I know that must have been so scary! I can’t even imagine.”

  “Yeah,” I said, though I hadn’t really told people that it wasn’t as scary and it should have been. In fact, it was exhilarating. Except when the gun was pointed to my head. I did not like that part. I had had dark thoughts about what I would do to the man who thought he could threaten my life that way.

  “And there’s more. I think I just want to come home. It’s too much for me to stay here. What if they come back?”

  “Oh, Ariel. You really think they would?”

  I hesitated before telling her the rest.

  “Well… there is more to it. The truth is… Dom and I broke up.” I winced as I said this. It was a lie. But then again, was it really a lie if the relationship was fake from the beginning? Was I finally just telling the truth?

  When I thought about it, though, our mission was over. Our cover was likely blown, and Dom was going to have to leave, too. Why continue with our pretend relationship? Well, it wasn’t totally pretend, I suppose, but we were friends, not a couple.

  “What happened between you two?”

  I had already planned the story. “Well, we kind of broke up on and off a few times this summer, just nobody knew about it. I mean, you remember when I first told you it was very fast and kind of a fling? Overall, though, we’re just not right for each other, you know?” I said. That was true, at least.

  Monika didn’t see too surprised. She knew from the start that running off with someone I had just met wasn’t like me and not likely to work out.

  “How are you feeling about it?” she asked.

  “I’m okay,” I said. “Just sad, I guess. But we were really never that serious.”

  “Maybe you’ll stay friends,” she said.

  “Yeah,” I said, doubting it to be true.

  “How are you?” I asked.

  “I’m great, actually,” she said. “I think I might be getting engaged soon!” Monika had a wonderful boyfriend, Jonathan, that she had been dating for a few years. They had been in a long-distance relationship but had remained quite serious.

  “Oh wow! That’s amazing, Mon. Congratulations!”

  We laughed.

  “Hey Air, I have to go—Jon just cooked an amazing dinner—talk soon though?

  “Yes, of course,” I said.

  I hung up the phone and looked out to the sea. I would miss it there. Screwed-up spy mission and all, the trip had been fun. The beach knew me. It didn’t care what I had or hadn’t done.

  I sat in silence on the deck and began to read, when Grayson came out.

  “Henry and Brit should be back later today from their trip,” he said. “Unfortunately I’m headed out.”

  To see your potential girlfriend, I thought.

  I forced a smile. “Sure. I think I might be leaving for good on Monday. But I’ll see you before then, right?” I felt my heart beat quickly in my chest at the thought of not seeing him.

  Grayson’s face sank. “What? Why are you leaving?”

  I shrugged, trying to distract myself from the aching fe
eling in my head, accepting that I might not see Grayson again. “Just… everything that’s happened. I think it’s time for me to go back home. I don’t want to have to worry about some crazy people after me. There are some other reasons too, but…”

  Grayson looked at the ground. “Please don’t go.”

  I was surprised when he said that but also happy and hopeful that maybe he felt something for me after all.

  “I’m sorry” was all I could manage because I was.

  “If I can reassure you that those crazy people will never come back again, will you stay?”

  I smiled. “I don’t know. Probably not.” I couldn’t tell him that if those crazy people knew who I was, I would have a shitstorm of other people coming after me, and Grayson would probably be one of them.

  Grayson came over and squeezed my hand. “Just think about it. I’ll be back by Sunday.”

  “Okay,” I said, turning my eyes back to the water. The sea was the perfect distraction when you didn’t want to have to look into someone’s eyes.

  Within a moment, Grayson was gone. I closed my eyes and tried not to think of the girl he was going to see. I tried to hold on to one small string of happiness—knowing that I would see Grayson again, at least one last time.

  Soon after, Dom came out on the deck. His jaw was tense, which was a rare look for him. He hadn’t shaved in a couple of days. I noticed streaks of red in his blond scruff.

  “Manuel says no,” Dom said.

  CHAPTER 25

  I thought about what Dom had said, letting my anger build. “So, Manuel says no, huh? Manuel is saying that we’re staying here? That is complete and utter bullshit.”

  I got up started pacing around the deck. Normally, I would feel a bit self-conscious letting my anger show so forcefully, but I was livid. How dare that man tell me no—that I couldn’t leave.

  “He has some good reasons, Ariel,” he says. “He says that if we leave now, it’s obvious that we were, in fact, spying on Henry. He thinks, based on your report, that they now are convinced you are maybe on the same side. And we need that. What if these are people who know something?”

  “Are you suggesting that I let them pull a gun to my head again and oh, I don’t know, make small talk?” I was furious.