Together Again • JJ Maybank

Four

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The sharp and sudden sound of my alarm ringing loudly shocked me awake in a panic. In my sleepy daze I reached out to hit my phone, instantly silencing the sound. Stretching my whole body out, I groaned at the thought of another long day at school when my mind eventually caught up, reminding me that school wasn't the reason for my alarm today.

It was a Saturday, which meant it was time for me to tackle my part of the plan. And luckily for me, Nana had finally relaxed some of her strict rules and curfews she had imposed on me these past few months.

Grabbing my things, I made my way to the bathroom to jump in the shower. The cold metal faucet squeaked as it turned, followed by the sound of water gurgling as it came to life in the pipes. I stepped into the water, letting it swamp over me as I tried desperately to tolerate the cold temperature. I had quickly gotten used to Nana's old, creaky water pipes since living here. How the water would turn from freezing cold to boiling hot in seconds, and how there was no in-between.

For a moment, I let my mind wander back to a couple of days earlier as doubts filled my mind about what I had to do today. 

"He thinks they're still alive! John B and Sarah." I yelled back to JJ after he questioned my involvement with Topper.

The look on his face contorted as he processed my words. A mixture of sorrow and anger drowned out the flicker of hope that I was sure flashed in his eyes. "And we have a plan." I finished, hoping he would want to know more and want to help.

But he didn't. With a heavy exasperated sigh, he proceeded to tell me to give up, to move on. How even if by some miracle they were still alive, he was pissed that they had gone nearly four months without even trying to make contact with us. 

He didn't care.

I didn't even get to the part of telling him my involvement in the plan. But I knew he wouldn't have approved of it either way. I needed to remind myself of the optimism and hope required to push forward. Regardless of whether they were alive or not, I wanted to clear John B's tainted name and proving Ward's guilt was the only way to do that.

With a towel wrapped around me and my damp hair dripping down my back, I opened the door to walk back to my bedroom when I bumped straight into Nana in the hall.

"Oh, you're up early dear." She said, shocked to see me.

"It's my first weekend of freedom Nana. I'm making the most of every waking hour!" I tried to laugh it off casually as if it was no big deal but for the past few months I had barely seen daylight before noon if I wasn't working or at school.

She eyed me for a moment, trying to hide her suspicions. She knew the lockdown I had been put under recently was extreme, but after hearing about all the mayhem that led up to John B's disappearance while she was on vacation, she had no other choice but to track my every move. And now she was struggling to release the reigns again, as much as she knew she should.

"And what are your plans today?" She asked, trying to sound as calm and casual as possible, but I could sense the nervousness in her voice as she continued down the hall towards the kitchen. I wanted nothing more than for Nana to trust me, but I couldn't help the guilty feeling washing over me knowing that on my first weekend of freedom I was already having to lie to her.

Swallowing down the dryness in my throat I tried to keep my voice as lighthearted and normal as possible. "Oh, just meeting up with an old... friend." I stuttered, trying to lie as little as possible. "Over on the mainland." I quickly added, hoping that by adding as much truthful information as possible, she wouldn't question the small vague parts.