I've Had The Time Of My Life

Chapter 3

"Julie... why? Why on earth would you want to go there? Plus it's not like Carlos is even there, remember? We've been checking and it's empty. DOUBLE PLUS even if Carlos was there, that would mean Caleb is there too, and I doubt he'd just let us take Carlos back! TRIPLE PLUS! Carlos chose to go there, why would he change his mind now?"

Julie was silent. She had hoped Alex would have supported her... maybe she should have gone to Reggie.

"Alex I get it. And I'm not expecting some sort of miracle or anything, but if Carlos left a note for me, then that means I should be able to leave a note for him."

Alex paused and thought about what Julie had just said. He had to admit that made sense. Now he just had to think of a way to convince her to share the plan with Reggie and Luke. "I can't think of a reason to say no to that... and I will help you but only if we tell the guys. And you have to write the note here first because you are not spending more time than necessary at the club."

"But if we're going to be quick, why do we need to worry the guys?" Julie didn't want to waste any more time. If Carlos left the message today, there was a chance he was nearby and could get her note to him.

"Are you serious? Can you think of one movie where someone's brilliant plan works on the first try without consequences? Hmmmmmmm?!" When Julie said nothing in reply, Alex nodded his head. "Exactly. So we can't rush into this."

"... fine." Julie begrudgingly murmured. "But if I think of one movie plot, but Luke freaks out unnecessarily because we told him, I'm blaming you!"

***

Carlos was in New York City. Or at least that is what he had been told – Caleb refused to let him leave the building. He had been with Caleb for a week now, and so far, he hadn't seen his mother like Caleb had promised. In fact, none of Caleb's promises had come true. According to him, Carlos was not special like Julie. And yet, Caleb wouldn't let him leave.

He regretted how he had left things with Julie. It was just... well Julie was the special one. Just like Caleb said. And since she was older, she got to spend more time with their mom. And then she was able to connect with ghosts, and Carlos just wanted the same opportunity. He had just been so annoyed that Julie was making all these decisions for him, and so he thought he would make one on his own. He didn't expect this though.

Yes, Julie had told him about how Caleb was a bad guy, but he guessed if he was good, then Caleb would be good. Plus, Carlos figured the guys probably did something bad. They were in a rock band after all. From all the websites Reggie left on his laptop, he learned rock stars can be kind of bad sometimes. Now that he thought about it though, the guys seemed like the good guys and Caleb was definitely the bad guy.

For the most part, no one spoke to Carlos, other than Caleb and occasionally a few others. Carlos would spend his time trying to figure out what Caleb's plan was. He was the Ghost Toaster after all, he couldn't let an evil ghost get away with an evil plan.

Caleb had come to find him earlier that day. Apparently, Julie and the guys were looking for him.

"It appears that your sister's dear little bandmates have been visiting my Hollywood club. I would hate for something to happen to them or darling Julie."

Carlos tried to not let his hope, excitement, and fear show. Caleb had to believe that Carlos still wanted to be there. He hadn't been doing a great job of that the past few days, and he couldn't risk making Caleb mad.

"No! I mean, I wouldn't worry about them. What if I go and talk to them?" Carlos hoped that Caleb would let him go, and then he could try to sneak away.

Caleb gave a dry laugh. "And let them take you? No. No, Carlos. I have plans for you. I in fact have thought of another way to have you join your mother... but I need those troublesome boys to leave me alone. They have been waiting for us to return to Hollywood, and I don't want them to ruin all that I have worked for. Write them a note. Tell them you won't be coming back." Carlos was glad that he could at least let Julie know that he was in trouble. "Oh, and Carlos, bring the note to me when you're done such that I can get it to them."

Now Carlos had no choice. He had to make sure to keep Julie safe. He had to have a chance to apologize for saying he hated her. So instead he wrote that he was fine and for her to stay away. He thought about writing something in Spanish to let her know what was really going on, but he didn't know if Caleb would be able to understand, and he couldn't risk it.

If he couldn't save himself, he could save Julie.

Carlos gave the note to Caleb, and one of his servants(?) – Carlos wasn't really sure who all these ghosts were – poofed away with his letter to Julie. The ghost returned a moment later and confirmed with Caleb that he had finished the task. Caleb dismissed him and turned back to Carlos with a sly smile.

"Hopefully your sister heeds your warning. Otherwise, there will have to be a more... drastic way to get her to stop looking for you." And with that, Caleb left Carlos standing alone. Making sure that he was truly alone, Carlos finally let his guard down and cried till he had no more tears.