FIVE
When I return to the present, Mario is behind me. His face is hard, the expression in his eyes is resentful.
“Asshole!” I shout. I lunge at him with my fist clenched and punch him across his mouth. He goes down immediately—the ear injury has slowed him down.
I mount him, grab the collar of his shirt, and shake vigorously. “I love her! I love her!” is all I can shout.
I can barely breathe. My limbs are limp.
I roll over off him and collapse next to him.
He could beat the crap out of me now, but I don’t care. Truthfully—I’d rather he beat me to a blistering, raw death so I’d be incapable of feeling anything more. If I’m lucky, he will, so I don’t feel the pain any hollowness anymore.
I lie there braced for him to attack, anticipating a major blow or a kick, but nothing happens. I open my eyes and I see him staring at me blankly.
“Bro…” he begins, “that was wrong of me. That was low.”
“Yeah! It was.”
“I’m an asshole. We’re friends. I want to blame you, but it isn’t your fault—well, it is but it isn’t. You know what I mean. My bad … Edwin’s like my little brother. I used to be careless, didn’t give a crap about anything. But after Alanna died, things changed for me.”
“I almost couldn’t,” I say. “Let her go, I mean. I almost didn’t.”
His eyes gently meet mine. “Then why did you?”
My self-hatred kicks in again. “Haven’t my decisions messed up enough things already? Bud’s gone, Alanna’s gone, now Edwin’s God knows where. Bud and my dad were right. We’re not gods. Now I get it. Crystal clear.”
“Still, I’m a douche to’ve done that to you. With the photo.”
“Yeah, you were. Major douche points. But I get it.”
“You do? Really?”
“No. But that’s what friends do, right?” I grin. “Lie when it’s most needed?”
He chuckles. “Yeah. Guess so.” Silence and tension fill the air until he breaks it by giving me a curious look and asking, “What’d you mean when you said you were the reason my parents were still alive?”
“Don’t worry. It doesn’t matter anymore.”
He scowls. “Don’t tell me what matters anymore. I want to know. I have a right to know whatever else you’ve screwed up.”
“All right, fine. But you asked. When I first met you, your parents had died a few years back. But then I visited Alanna in the past and gave her my MP3 player. She wanted me to show her something from the future and it was all I had on me. But it reset the sequence of events in your lifetime somehow. Altered things so your parents’ deaths never happened. ”
“Are you screwing with me?”
“Do you honestly think I’d lie about something like that?”
“My parents … were dead?”
“Don’t think about it. That’s not the reality anymore.”
“No, it’s that...” He still looks bewildered. “I’ve been such an asshole with you and you pretty much saved my parents. I should be thanking you.”
“I meant it—don’t worry. Let’s just say you owe me one.”
He shakes his head. “I can’t believe my parents were dead…” He pauses. “Thanks…”
“You don’t need to thank me. All I need is for us to work together to get Edwin back.”
“I swear to God I’ll kill that lady if I see her again.”
I can’t help laughing “Oh yeah, because that worked out so great for you the last time. You want to get rid of the other ear or something?”
He snickers and retorts, “Hey, if I wouldn’t have to hear the crap that comes out of your mouth anymore, it might not be such a bad idea. If she hadn’t had those gloves, I would’ve taken her down. She cheated. What the hell’s up with those things anyway?”
“No clue. But I bet they’re something Norrek came up with. I wonder what other toys they have that we haven’t seen yet.”
“I don’t even want to think about it.”
A door opens from somewhere in the house, and Estelle’s, Jeannie’s, and Ralph’s voices follow immediately after. I help Mario to his feet as they all come back in. Jeannie’s eyes are puffy and swollen. She’s obviously been crying. Ralph just looks serious, but I can tell that he’s only keeping together for Jeannie’s sake. I know that feeling.
Estelle comes over to me. “Sweetheart, Ralph’s already called in some favors to get your passport expedited. Luckily, I have a copy of your birth certificate.”
“You’ll fly on your own,” Ralph adds, “separately from us, but we’ll be going, too. I’ll make sure we have people keeping surveillance on you.”
“No,” I say. “If they find out you guys are around trying to stop them, they could hurt Edwin.”
Jeannie lets out a muffled sob that stops me cold. I go over to her and place my hand on her shoulder. “I won’t let anything happen to him.”
She covers her mouth with a trembling hand, looks up at the ceiling, and then turns to Ralph. I can hear her breathing faster and faster. She stares at Ralph as if she’s willing him to reassure her, to tell her “It’s going to be okay” or “He’ll be fine.” But he doesn’t, and she stumbles back down the hall toward the bathroom murmuring something about needing to be alone for a moment.
Mario raises his voice behind me. “I’m going with you guys too.”
“Absolutely not.” Ralph barks. “Ab-so-lute-ly not! You’re staying here.”
“Are you serious?” Mario throws his arms up in the air. “That kid’s practically like my brother! If you think I’m gonna stay around here when he’s in danger, you’re nuts—”
“Sweetheart,” Estelle puts in. “We don’t need any more trouble. Think about it.”
Mario takes in a deep, obvious breath, then snorts. “Okay—I’ve thought about it. And I’m going!”
“Mario,” Ralph says. “Jeannie’s staying behind. I need you to take care of her. She’ll need you here.”
Mario stomps his right foot on the floor like a kid having a tantrum. “This is bullshit!” He storms past us to the stairs and stomps his way up. A moment later, the slamming of his door makes the walls shake.
Estelle smiles over at me. “You okay? You sure you can do this?”
I glance at Ralph and then back at her. “Even if I thought I couldn’t, nothing’s going to hold me back. There’s no way I’m going to let Edwin suffer. They won’t win this.”
Everyone nods, but I know that underneath we’re all worried.
“So be it,” Ralph concludes. “Go home, get me your birth certificate and I’ll finalize the details of the trip. Remember, you still have what they want. So they’ll be back soon.”
“Yes, but in the meantime,” Estelle puts in, “we do need to make sure Edwin’s safe.”
“Which means we can’t wait to hear from them. I need to make contact with Naima,” I say. The thought of having to interact with her again sends a tingling cold shudder down my spine.
Ralph nods. “Then do it.”
