Authors: David Pandolfe
I watched Tommy gaze blankly into the mirror. He seemed
completely fine now.
“That’s how it usually goes at first,” Curtis said.
“People—living people, that is—see what they choose to see. Like, who can wrap
his brain around a bathrobe jumping all over the place? Can’t happen, right?
So, it didn’t. Tommy is undoubtedly telling himself he was still half asleep,
that he was probably just dreaming the whole deal. That’s why we have to make
that extra little effort to make an impression.”
Tommy reached for his toothbrush and Curtis flicked it
across the counter. Tommy leaped back like he’d been shocked with a cattle
prod.
Curtis gave the toothbrush another nudge and it dropped
to floor.
Tommy’s face went pale. “Holy crap! This can’t be
happening. I must have a fever or something.”
Curtis grabbed a bar of soap and started writing on the
mirror. Tommy watched, his eyes bugging as the soap floated before him and
these words appeared on the glass:
No fever. You’re just a total freak!
Tommy ran from the bathroom, his footsteps soon clomping
down the stairs, while we cracked up laughing. When we finally managed to stop,
Curtis said, “I think our work here is done.” He winked and added, “For now.”
“That was awesome,” I said.
“Oh, wait.” Curtis grabbed a wet towel from the rack and
wiped off the mirror. “After all, we wouldn’t want anyone to think Tommy’s
sane, would we?”
~~~
When we arrived back in our neighborhood, I was in a much
better mood than I had been earlier. I was still kind of bothered by the whole
“ghost” idea, but watching Tommy Balboa freak out had been hilarious. But my
upbeat mood deflated as soon as we entered Halfway House. Jamie, Nikki, Naomi
and Simon stood waiting in the front hall. I could tell at a glance they
weren’t happy. Nikki glared, while both Simon and Naomi looked down at the
floor. Jamie wouldn’t look me in the eye.
I turned to Curtis. “We just did something wrong, didn’t
we?”
“Depends on who you ask,” Curtis said. He made his way
past the crowd in the hallway and walked off into the house, whistling happily.
Total Darkness
The newspapers would later say no one witnessed anything
unusual on the night my sister went missing. The truth was, there had been no
living witnesses. But I had learned at least one useful thing from Curtis. If
not for that, I never would have been that witness.
After that first time crossing over, I’d started checking
in on my family. At any time of day, by simply concentrating on them, off I
went. Although, it wasn’t always easy being around them, I have to admit. They
didn’t laugh or smile anymore. Most of the time they barely talked. My parents
sat staring at the TV. My brother lifted weights out in the garage. My sister
mostly hung out in her room alone. Everything was different and it was like
visiting a place where everyone felt sick while knowing you were the one who’d
caused it. Still, I kept going back, telling myself as the days passed that
they’d start to get better soon.
Which is why I was there on that night. It was a Friday
and we’d always spent those together—a family tradition, pizza and a movie. So,
I figured I’d drop in and hang around for a while, maybe catch them at a time
when they seemed happy again. But when I walked into the silent house, I knew
immediately no one was home.
At first, I wandered alone through the rooms as the sun
set outside, casting shadows. Then I saw the note on the counter, written by my
mother.
B, Dad and I have our meeting tonight. John is going out with
friends. We should be home around 9:00.
I knew my parents were together for their meeting,
whatever that was about. John was out with friends. So, I wondered about
Bethany and where she might be. That’s all it took. I lifted off and floated through
the kitchen ceiling, then the roof of the house. I found myself alongside birds
coming home to their nests and bats heading out for dinner. I flew through the
sky, a very cool feeling, realizing this must be how we traveled when we
weren’t sure where we were going. After a few minutes I spotted our old Volvo
below, the car my parents had hung onto when my father got his new one. John
was still working on getting his license so it had to be Bethany—the Volvo had
been hers now for almost a year. I dropped through the roof, landing right
where I meant to in the front passenger seat.
I looked over at Bethany. “Hey, how’s it going?”
Bethany seemed lost in thought, or possibly the music on
the radio. But the funny thing was she did glance in my direction for just a
second. It could have been a coincidence and I told myself it probably was.
“Kind of muggy tonight,” I said. “I couldn’t help notice
while I was flying through the air.” I waited a moment for effect. “Did you
maybe hear what I just said? The part about me flying through the air?”
Bethany reached for the radio and changed stations.
“You should see where I’m hanging out these days. Never
too hot, never too cold. Pretty much perfect all the time. Well, that’s not
entirely true. I kind of made a bad first impression by bringing rain and fog.
Didn’t exactly get me off to a good start.”
Bethany started singing along with Lady Gaga as she drove
onto the bridge to cross the river. It wasn’t easy but I glanced down at the
water a few times, thinking at first I’d be scared. But it didn’t really bother
me as much as I would have thought, I guess because drowning (as bad as it had
been) hadn’t actually killed me. After all, there I was sitting next to my
sister even if she didn’t know it.
“You’d probably like the kids I’ve met,” I said. “Mostly,
they all seem cool. There’s this guy named Jamie who I get along with pretty
good so far. We might even be busting out the boards soon—he said they have a
totally pro skate park there somewhere.”
As Bethany continued to drive, I told her more about
Jamie, Nikki, Naomi, Simon and Curtis, how we all seemed so different from each
other. “I have no idea what we’re doing together,” I said. “I mean, why us?
We’re all about the same age, give or take a little. Except Naomi—she’s pretty
young. But think about how many people must die every day. Anyway, whatever, at
least they’re okay to hang out with.”
Bethany stopped singing while she crossed the bridge and
it made me feel like she could almost hear me talking. It wasn’t long before
she put her blinker on and pulled into a strip mall parking lot. She stopped in
front of the Starbucks and checked her hair in the rearview mirror.
“You know I didn’t commit suicide, right? Like everybody
seems to think?”
Bethany turned off the radio. She shook her head as if to
chase off an unpleasant thought.
I knew it had to be my imagination but it really seemed
like she’d heard me.
“I really need you guys to know that, okay? I totally did
not commit suicide.”
Bethany looked down and wiped her eyes. “Not suicide,”
she whispered. “It wasn’t that. I just know.”
I stared at her, stunned. “Bethany, did you just hear
me?”
Bethany glanced at herself again in the rearview, then
looked out at the other cars. Something told me I had to think fast. What came
to mind might seem totally random but I wondered if it would get through to her
again.
“Hey, Total B,” I said. “It’s me. I’m right here next to
you.”
Bethany stopped searching the parking lot. She cocked her
head as if listening.
She’d totally heard me. No doubt about it.
Here’s the deal. ‘Total B’ was what I used to call
Bethany when she got on my nerves. But the funny thing was Bethany kind of got
a kick out of the nickname and after a while it became more of a joke between
us.
I tried another one. “Crapsicles!”
Yeah, I know, kind of lame. But let me explain. Saying
“crapsicles” was my way of swearing when I was like ten years old. But then
Bethany and John started saying it too. It became sort of a family swear word I
was proud of inventing.
At that one, Bethany chuckled. Then suddenly her eyes
went wide and she looked around inside the car. “Henry? Are you here with me?”
“Yes, I’m right here!”
Bethany shook her head. “God, I must be going insane.”
“No, I’m right next to you! Can you see me?”
Bethany didn’t see me—instead, she looked past me. She
smiled and waved. A gray van had just parked next to us, one of those Toyota or
Honda deals like someone’s mother would drive. The kind of car you’d never look
at twice, but there was a guy behind the wheel and he smiled back at Bethany.
Then he got out and came around to Bethany’s side as she opened her door. He
had curly brown hair that fell nearly to his shoulders and a reddish-brown
beard. I’d never seen him before but Bethany definitely knew him.
“You made it!” she said. “Was the drive okay?”
The guy shrugged and smiled again. “No problem. God, it’s
so good to finally see you in person.”
“You too,” Bethany’s eyes shined and her face blushed.
She looked happy, when I’d started to wonder if she ever would again. To be
honest, I wasn’t sure how to feel about that, not in that moment.
The thing is—maybe it was because of my parents’ issues
or maybe it was because he’d just made Bethany forget all about me—but I didn’t
like Will right off the bat. And he didn’t look twenty-four either, not to me.
Sure, it could have been the long hair and the beard but he seemed older.
Will nodded at the Starbucks. “I guess we might as well
grab a coffee.”
“Might as well,” Bethany said.
I watched, forgotten, as the two of them walked into
Starbucks.
Once they were inside, Will stopped and looked around.
“It’s kind of crowded,” he said. “Why don’t you snag that table and I’ll get
the drinks. What are you having?”
“A latte sounds good. Non-fat, I guess.” Bethany went
open her purse. “Here, I’ve got —”
“No way,” Will said. “My treat.” He flashed Bethany a
smile, then went to order drinks.
I waited with Bethany at the table, trying a few more
times to see if she could hear me. But I guess there was too much going on. Or
maybe she was busy thinking about Will. I couldn’t tell. Either way, it wasn’t
long before he came back and sat across from her.
“So, how’s the summer class going?” Bethany said,
stirring her latte.
“Not bad,” Will said. “I think it will help next year to
get it out of the way.”
Bethany took a sip of her drink and set it down again.
“Graduate school. God, that’s so cool. I’m still hoping to survive high
school!”
Will laughed. “You will. Before you know it, you’ll be
heading off to college. Still thinking about UNC? I think you’d really like
Chapel Hill.”
Bethany looked away for a moment. “I’m kind of thinking
about going to school in state now. You know, because of what happened. I’m not
so sure about moving away from my family.”
Will nodded. “Sure, that makes sense. Are things getting
any better?”
“Not really.”
Will touched the back of her hand. “Sorry. I know you’ve
been through a lot.”
Bethany did her best to smile. “Thanks for being so
understanding. It’s been great to be able to talk to you during all of this.”
It felt so strange to realize that for the first time in
Bethany’s life she’d looked to someone outside our family to help her through a
tough time. In the past, we’d always been there for each other. But it looked
like my death had changed that too.
Will and Bethany talked for a while about people I’d
never met and things they’d learned about each other online. After they
finished their drinks, Will said, “Listen, I have an idea. How about we head
into town? Maybe we could just kind of walk around for a while. What’s that
place you told me about? You said there were cool shops, record stores, stuff
like that.”
“Cary Street. Yeah, that sounds good.” Bethany checked
her watch. “As long as I’m back in a couple hours, I mean. The last thing I
need is my parents being worried.”
“Sure, of course. We could stay here if you think it
would be better.”
Bethany shook her head, then smiled. “No, it’s fine.”
I walked with them as they left. I got into the back seat
of the van. I kept listening as he kept lying. I witnessed all of it.
They’d only driven a mile or so when Will’s cell phone
rang. He patted his pockets. “Damn, where is that thing?”
The phone rang again.
“I think it’s in the center console,” Bethany said. “Do
you want me to get it for you?”
“Thanks.”
All of it was so well staged. Bethany never suspected
anything. Neither did I.
Will answered the phone. “Karen? I’m sorry. Who –” A
moment passed while he listened. “Oh, God, I totally forgot. Yeah, I think it
will be okay. I’m on my way into town now, actually. Probably like fifteen
minutes or so.”
Will tossed the phone back into the center console and
sighed. “My roommate’s sister. I totally spaced it. Eric asked me to drop off
some stuff. My roommate, I mean. Sorry. Eric’s my roommate and—”
Bethany laughed. “Karen’s his sister. Got it. You need to
drop something off.”
Will laughed too. “Yeah, I said I would. Do you mind?”
“Why would I mind?”
Will kept driving, accelerating a little. “Well, you
know. This is our time together. But it should take like two minutes. I told
you my roommate’s from Richmond, right?”
“Yeah, you mentioned it.” Bethany rolled her window down.
She closed her eyes as the breeze blew over her face. “Does your roommate—Eric,
I mean—like Chapel Hill too?”
“Loves it,” Will said, accelerating just a bit more.
~~~
Just on the outskirts of Richmond, Will drove into a
neighborhood lined with old brick apartment buildings. He stopped in front of
one of them, then dialed his phone. “Karen, it’s Will. I’m right out front.
Okay, sure.” He turned to Bethany. “She’ll be right down.”
Bethany’s eyes popped open. “Oh, my God, sorry.”
Will tilted his head and looked at her curiously. “Are
you tired?”
It seemed weird to me that Bethany was tired all of a
sudden. Just a few minutes ago, she’d been totally excited and happy.
Bethany rested her head against the seat. “No, I’m fine.”
“Any good places to eat on Cary Street? Maybe we could
get some dinner.”
“Sure, that sounds great.” Bethany spoke softly, her
eyes starting to close again.
It even seemed like Bethany might be about to doze off
when a thin girl with long blonde hair approached the car. A woman, really. She
might have been a little younger than Will, but not much. She leaned into
Bethany’s window and I couldn’t help notice how green her eyes were.
“Thanks so much for stopping by,” she said. “Eric told
me he didn’t mean to take my books. I totally don’t believe him.”
Will laughed. “Right, I wouldn’t either. There’s just the
one box in back. It’s kind of heavy, though. I can help if you—”
“No, it’s fine. But do you mind giving me a ride to where
I parked? I was going to put them in my trunk.”
I wish I could say that I at least sensed something was
off. But it wasn’t like that. They totally fooled me too.
Karen got into the van and Will started driving. Looking
back, I realize that I should have guessed something was going on when he
didn’t ask Karen where she’d parked. He just kept driving, down one block and
then another, while nobody spoke. Suddenly, he was outside the neighborhood and
taking an onramp for the highway. I was in back, next to Karen, who sat looking
out the window as if nothing unusual was taking place. Not that I could have
done anything, but it was already too late.
A few minutes passed before Bethany opened her eyes
again. She seemed groggy and confused as she looked out at the road. Then she
turned to Will without lifting her head fully from the headrest. “What are we
doing?”
Will didn’t answer.
Bethany sat up, blinking repeatedly, struggling to keep
her eyes open. She glanced back at Karen, then turned to Will again. “Will,
where are we going?”