The Grabber

Second Home

As the two finally approached his home, Al pulled out his key to unlock the front door. Andrea took a look around the familiar setting. She remembered everything that took place here. Now, things would be very different. She thought about how there was a boy in this basement right now.
"Damn lock is so old, it doesn't want to work half the time," Al sighed as he fiddled with the lock. Andrea happened to notice a window on the side of the house. She was over just enough to see it glimmer in the sun. As Al messed with the lock, she slowly moved to see the window that she assumed to lead to the basement. She leaned down to take a look inside. Her stomach churned at the sight. The boy Al had kidnapped was there, sitting on the bed with a hopeless expression. She didn't know how else to feel about what she was seeing.
"Andrea? Where'd you go?" Al called. Andrea quickly stood to join Al again.
"Here, just.. looking around. You know... memories." Al nodded.
"Probably not good ones." He then opened the door and allowed Andrea inside. As soon as she stepped in, a streak of black jolted towards Andrea.
"Samson!" Al quickly closed the door and dropped to the floor to hold Samson back as he continued to bark. "Shit. I knew I was forgetting something. You okay?" He looked at Andrea who had recoiled at the lunge.
"Yeah," she sighed. "I'm alright."
"Hey, hey," he said in an attempt to calm Samson. "Samson, stop it, it's fine!" Andrea stood still as she watched Samson's gaze on her. He seemed protective rather than harmful. Al tried to shush Samson as he gently stroked his back to distract him. Finally, his barking stopped. "Good boy," he sighed. He then signaled for Andrea to join him next to Samson. She slowly kneeled down as Samson growled. "Easy, now. She's a friend." Andrea wasn't afraid of dogs, but she was nervous around Samson. She felt even more nervous when Al gently grabbed her hand to pull it towards Samson. He growled as he watched her hand come closer. Al then made Andrea's hand gently stroke Samson's head. He flinched back just a bit, but allowed it. "See? It's okay. She's not gonna hurt you. She's not gonna hurt me," he said as he released her hand and looked at Andrea. She continued to pet Samson, who had sat down. "Right?" Andrea looked at Al as she slowly removed her hand from Samson.
"Of course not," she simply responded. Al looked at Samson, then stood with a sigh.
"Come in here." Andrea stood as Al left towards the kitchen. She followed him in curiosity, then grew nervous and confused as she saw her suitcase open on the kitchen table; her belongings strung across the table and chairs. Al crossed his arms as he looked at her. She was too shocked to speak. He finally tossed a piece of clothing out of the way so he could grab the knife her brother had given her. He lifted it as he glared at Andrea. She tensed as she stared at the knife in his grasp.
"What is this?" He asked. His tone was calm, traced with irritation.
"Why did you go through my bag?"
"What is it doing in your suitcase?" He asked with a raised voice. Andrea noticed his knuckles turning white from his firm grasp on the handle.
"I.. didn't know it-" Al tossed the knife carelessly back into her bag as he crossed his arms again.
"Why would you bring a knife with you? You don't trust me?"
"Do you not trust me?" She shot back. "Why would you go through my stuff?"
"You know everything about me, Andrea," he raised his voice. "I have to take every precaution necessary to keep my ass from ending up in jail or worse."
"If you're so fucking worried about that, then why did you kidnap another kid?"
"Do you know where you are, Andrea?" He gestured to the house. "Do you really want to test me right now?" Andrea stayed silent. Al sighed slowly with his gaze on Andrea. His voice lowered as he spoke. "I'm trying my best to keep my anger under control because I don't want anything to happen to you. But this," he said as he lifted the knife again. Andrea flinched a bit at the speed. "Doesn't fucking help." He tossed the knife back down with a thud as he crossed his arms again, looking at her.
"Michael made me bring it," she finally said. "I didn't have a say in the matter, but to be fair, you did-"
"I know what I did!" He raised his voice again as he threw his arms up in the air; walking away a bit. "I don't need to be reminded of the time I kidnapped you, the many times I almost killed you and tried to touch you. There. Does it make you feel any better that I said it?" Andrea crossed her arms.
"So you see why I'm still on fucking edge while here or even around you?"
"Then why do you stay? Huh? Why do you continue to talk to me? To meet with me after school every day? If you hate me that much and I scare you that much, then you can just walk out of here right now," he said as he began to hastily toss her belongings in her bag again. "Walk out of my house. Walk out of my life. It'll be like how it was supposed to be when I let you go the first time."
"I don't want to leave you, Al," Andrea raised her voice as well. "I never wanted to. I stay because I'm fucking attached to you. I didn't ask for that to happen, it just did. I can't help that I get attached so easy to people who care about me like my parents never fucking did." Al paused his actions as he leaned over the suitcase, staring at the contents. "When we first met, you acted like you cared about me and how I was. You always made sure I was okay. Even after everything that happened, you still cared about me. You still made me feel safe. Like I mattered. You're like a father to me, Al. As stupid as it sounds, you just are. That's why I can't just leave you. That's why I fucking stay. Because you're the only other one, besides my brother and only two friends, that gives a shit about me. And I give a shit about you. That's why I'm trying to help you." Al sighed as he tapped his fingers on the edge of Andrea's suitcase. "But if you want me to leave, I'll leave. If you want me to stay out of your life and stop trying to help you, I will. Just know that that's not what I want at all, but if it's what you want..." she shrugged as she shook her head. "Then okay," she spoke barely above a whisper. It pained her to think that Al might want her to leave and not come back. The thought that she may have just broken his trust again. The thought that she may have hurt Al to a point of no return. The feeling of losing yet another person in her life should be a familiar experience, but it still brought pain, no matter how many times she had felt it. Perhaps she was overreacting, but she had gone through this too many times to believe it. Al was still for a moment as Andrea tried to control her emotions. She didn't want to seem too vulnerable while she was here. Al finally turned to Andrea and gently grasped her shoulders.
"I don't want you to leave, okay?" His voice softened. "I do still care about you. Deeply. I always did for some reason, even I don't understand. You're.. like a daughter I never had, I guess. I can't think of how else I can describe how I feel about you. That's why I always end up coming back. I can't leave you, either." He let go of Andrea, who looked down as she cupped her elbows. He sighed a bit as he leaned against the table. "I... I love that you're trying to help me get out of all this. I really do appreciate it, but.. it's just not something that's so easy to fix. I've been doing this for years, I mean... it's all I've really ever known. I can't say I don't secretly enjoy it, though. I just don't know if I can get out of all of this. I don't even know if I want to..."
"Anyone can do anything, Al. I have faith in you."
"Faith doesn't bring people back from the dead," he softly said as he crossed his arms. "Faith doesn't erase your past."
"I mean it," she sighed as she stepped a bit closer to him. "You can start by letting him go. Then I can help you keep your anger under control. Maybe find ways that can help if you feel like you're starting to get angry or triggered by something. So far, you can control it for the most part when you're around me."
"Well, I actually like you," he shrugged. "I don't like the people I take."
"How would you know if you like them or not? You haven't gotten to know them. They could be just like me."
"I don't need to get to know them. I guess I'm just more triggered by them. Like I explained when you were down here." He looked towards the basement. Andrea did as well. It was so creepy to her that someone was down there. Trapped. Hopeless. She wanted to do everything she could to get him out of there.
"It's just trauma," Andrea finally said. "We can work through that. Together. It won't make it go away, but it'll be easier on you. Maybe it can heal the triggers."
"I don't know," Al shrugged. He sighed as he turned to finish packing up Andrea's suitcase. "We can talk about it later. For now, let's get you settled in." He grabbed her suitcase and headed back into the living room, where Samson was napping. Andrea followed and tried not to wake him up. Andrea followed Al down the hallway. He opened a door and headed inside. She did as well. "Here you are," he said as he sat the suitcase on the bed. "Now, this.. is my room, but you can stay in here." Al noticed Andrea's expression. "I'm not gonna be in here, don't worry," he assured her. "I have work I like to do at night, so you'll have this room to yourself. It's just..." he rubbed the back of his neck. "My brother is going to be staying for a while, too. He got evicted and lost his job. He just needs a place to crash."
"When is he coming?"
"He didn't say when he would be flying in exactly. Sometime today or tomorrow, I think. I'll have to pick him up from the airport when he arrives. I told him to call me when he gets there. The airport isn't too far from here. I didn't find out about him staying until yesterday. Just before I came to see you." Andrea nodded.
"Okay, well.. it'll be nice to meet him. Since you two are so close. You've met my brother, now I'll meet your brother."
"Yeah, it's fair, I guess," Al chuckled. "I'll tell him the same thing I'm telling you. My only rules," he said as he looked at Andrea. "Don't go outside after dark, and... don't go into the basement." Andrea looked down a bit. Al sighed. "I know you want to help him, but he can't know you're here. Even if he doesn't know you. You could get dragged into all of this. I'll let him go tonight, okay?"
"You promise?" She asked. Al pursed his lips and looked down. He finally sighed and nodded.
"Yeah." He looked up at Andrea. "Promise. I just hope I don't regret it."
"I'm sure you won't. Besides, you haven't shown your face to him, right? He doesn't know where you live?" Al shook his head.
"No, I wear those masks. He has no idea where he is right now or how far from home he is, but.. he does know what my van looks like. I might have to paint over the words or something." Andrea nodded. At the thought of a question, she tilted her head.
"Did you used to be a magician? Before all of this?" Al slightly smiled. He looked at the closet beside them.
"When I was a kid, I was so obsessed with magic and illusion," he said as he reached inside to grab something. "I remember scraping up enough money to buy a magic trick book to teach me how to do all kinds of tricks. From card tricks to tricks of misdirection." He placed the hat on his head with a smile as he looked at Andrea. He held a red cloth in his hand. "Would you like to see a magic trick? For real, this time?" Andrea chuckled a bit. She loved seeing Al happy about something.
"I'd love to see a real one," she smiled.
"Probably one of my favorite ones," he said as he showed the red cloth, then stuffed it into his fist. After stuffing it completely, he then lifted his fist to his mouth, blew into it, then opened his palm, revealing an empty hand. Andrea smiled.
"Well, look at you, magic man."
"Oh, hold on.. there's something.." he stepped closer to Andrea, who perked up a bit, unsure what he was doing. She saw him lift a hand to her. "Don't move.. ha." He then pulled the handkerchief from behind her ear. "Now, how did that get there?" He smiled. Andrea smiled as well.
"Why did you give up being a magician?" She asked as Al took off his hat. "You're clearly great at it." Al sighed as he placed the hat on his bed. He sat the handkerchief beside it.
"People just don't wanna see magic anymore," he said as he stared at the items. "All the kids are into space now. Ever since the moon landing and all, business started slowing down. Next thing I knew, no one was hiring me for parties or events. That was my only distraction from everything. Once that was gone, there was nothing left to keep myself in check." He tapped the hat a bit as if in thought before taking it and the handkerchief to put back in the closet.
"It's been that long since you've done it?" Al nodded as he turned to her.
"Instead of Al-acazam, I'm now known as the Grabber. I used to be a part time magician, so when I tell the kids that, I'm not completely lying. I'm just.. not one anymore."
"What if someone did hire you?" Andrea asked. Al looked back to his closet full of his magician supplies that Andrea couldn't see. She could only see how much Al seemed to miss being a magician.
"After everything I've done now... I don't think I'd be able to look at a kid normally again. The Grabber has... tainted everything." Before Andrea could speak, the sound of the phone rang through the house. They both looked towards the kitchen. "That might be Max," Al said as he exited the room. "Go ahead and make yourself at home." Andrea watched as Al left to answer the phone. She then turned to the room and gave it an overlook. She remembered Michael had told her not to sleep in Al's bed. It was funny that it actually happened.
"I'll just leave it and get what I need as I need it," Andrea sighed as she moved her suitcase by the wall. Just as she was about to head towards the door to see Al, she was stopped by a pain in her head again. She grunted in pain as she grasped her head.
"What are you doing here?" Andrea looked up from the bed she leaned on to see a familiar, yet unfamiliar, face. Andrea stared for a moment.
"