Momentum (12 page)

“Arizona!” Ella shrieked and threw herself at me.

I caught her and started to twirl her–well… I tried. Boy, she was heavy! I put her down and couldn’t believe my eyes. “Wow. You’ve really grown! I didn’t notice that before.”

“You silly! I haven’t grown any. I just look taller with this tiara on.”

Magnificent as the tiara was, it didn’t account for her growth.
A year of growth
. I had missed a year of her life. What had she been up to?

“Arizona!”
 
Harry lifted me up into a bear hug. He looked a bit different, too. He hadn’t grown bigger or anything, but his hair was different, and there was something else, something I couldn’t quite put my finger on.

“Arizona, will you come swimming with me and Alexa?” Ella pointed to a gothic-looking girl.

“Hi, Alexa. I am Arizona, Ella’s big sis.”

Alexa smiled. “Nice to meet you. I’m Ella’s babysi–”

“Alexa is my
friend
.” Ella’s mouth was set in a determined line.

I had to smile; she’d always had a thing about being
babysat
. I needed answers, but I decided that Ella needed my attention. The questions could wait a while longer. “You coming, Harry? You, too, Kellan,” I added.

“They will in a while,” Gramadea said. “I need them to help me with something first. You and Ella go ahead. Have fun. Ella, shall I keep the tiara safe while you swim?”

She took it off and handed it to Gramadea before taking my hand and leading me outside.

~

“She doesn’t even remember!” Kellan paced the floor, shaking his head from side to side.

They–Kellan, Harry, and Amadea–were assembled in Spencer’s study.

“Kellan, I know how difficult this must be for you, but you’ll just have to give her time. I’m bringing Gertrude back for a visit. I’m hoping that it might spur her on to recall some of what’s happened.”

“What if she just goes back to being Arizona Stevens again? And then when Gertrude leaves, she transforms back again? We can’t be messing with her life like that,” Harry interjected.

Gramadea sighed. “I can’t predict what will happen. I don’t know what to do.”

“There’s absolutely nothing wrong with her being back to her normal self,” Harry said. “Yeah, she lost a year, and a lot’s happened. Maybe she’ll remember stuff eventually, or maybe not. In that case, she’s back to being herself and, even though it’ll be tough, we can help her.”

“But I’ll have lost
my
Arizona,” Kellan protested.

“Maybe, but remember she’s the same person. She’s the girl you fell in love with, the girl who played hockey. Some of that stuff might come back again when we tell her what’s happened.”

“I don’t want you to tell her about us,” Kellan muttered.

“Why not?”

“I want her to find her own way back to me.”

~

“So, Gramadea told me that you can’t remember anything that’s happened since last October.” Ella handed me a swimsuit.

“Apparently.” I took the green bikini from her.

“Nothing at all?”

“Looks that way. Where are we?”

“Oh, at Gramadea and Granddad’s house in London.”

“London? Granddad?”

“Wow, you really don’t remember, do you?”

I shook my head. “Why don’t you tell me?”

“I will, but let’s get in the pool.”

“Ella, I’m gonna get Tallulah. She might want to swim, too,” Alexa said.

faceGood idea, we’ll meet you in the pool.”

I followed Ella and, bracing myself for the cold, dove into the water. If we were in London, the water would be freezing. I was wrong. It was nice and warm, bordering on hot. We swam up and down the length of the pool splashing each other whenever we came to the ends. I let her swim ahead of me so I could watch her. She even swam differently from what I remembered, more gracefully, taking each stroke like a ballerina.

“Come on!” she yelled when she got to the end.

I swam to her and dunked her. Alexa arrived with the puppy as Ella recovered, and gently stepped into the water holding her.

“Aww, come here, Tallulah.” Ella reached for her. The puppy scrambled over to her from Alexa’s hands, carefully avoiding the water. “Let’s teach her to swim.”

“She may not be ready for that, quite yet,” Alexa suggested. “Just dip her paws in to wet them a bit, then maybe once she gets used to the water, in a few days, we could try to dip her in a bit more.”

“But she loves having baths!” Ella protested. “She swims in the bathwater.”

Alexa looked uncertain. “What do you think, Arizona?”

What did I think? Nothing. But I guessed Ella was right. It seemed to be her dog, but it was just a puppy, so she couldn’t have had her long. “I’m not sure. I guess it’ll be okay if she’s already had the puppy in the bath. I’ll help you, Ella. Let’s do it together.” I supported the puppy by putting my hands around her belly and gently lowering her into the water. Ella was holding her front paws, splashing them in the water. The puppy suddenly wriggled with such force that I was taken by surprise and inadvertently loosened my hold. She dove into the water and paddled off, her little paws going like fans. It was hysterical to watch, and we all burst into laughter.

“What is that?” Kellan gaped at the funny lump paddling manically through the water.

“It’s Tallulah!
 
See? I told you she loves the water.”

Kellan and Harry lifted off their t-shirts and jumped in beside us, their eyes fixed on the puppy.

“Wow, that really is something.” Kellan laughed, coming closer to me. I felt strange again, with a weird urge to touch him. What? I moved away from him, trying to be as unobtrusive as possible, but he noticed.

“What’s the matter?” He looked decidedly annoyed. “Do I smell or something?”

“No!” I said hastily. “I thought I stepped on something sharp.”

He didn’t look convinced. What was the matter with me? Kellan and I were very close, practically brother and sister.

I didn’t exactly remember how Kellan and I met. Mom and Kellan’s dad, Larry, were best friends, and had been for the longest time. Larry traveled to Mountain View with Ella, Grandma, and me. Kellan had been there, too. That whole journey was very vague in my mind. I had left those memories behind when I came to Mountain View. I had buried all the dark images of those times, the nights I had lain awake crying, listening to my parents fight. I had seen the escape through the portal as my salvation. I hadn’t known exactly what it was at the time, but it was an escape, an escape into normality. And Kellan had been a part of that.

He had become my brother’s instant best buddy. He had also grown very close to Ella. He was my confidant. I told him everything, even about my crushes. His mother had died before I met him, so my mom took him under her wing. Our two families did everything together. He had my back. Always. Even when we fought, I knew that I could rely on that.

Something had changed between us. It was probably me, since he seemed like his usual self, though confused as to why I was being so distant. Why was I? I looked up and smiled at him. His instant grin reassured me that I was just being silly, so I swam over and gave him a hug like I normally would.

As soon as my wet skin made contact with his, I felt like a surge of electricity soared between us. I trembled, loosening my grip before I totally embarrassed myself. I turned and dove into the water. “Catch me if you can, Ella!” I swam away as fast as I could. She caught up with me in no time, and I clambered out of the pool. “I’m wiped. Later, guys.”

I walked back into the house after bundling my clothes from the pool house. Then I realized that I had no idea where to go. I decided to try and find a guest bedroom where I could shower and change. I walked up the curved two-story stairway and then down the hallway.

“Arizona! Are you all done with your swim?” Gramadea asked, closing a door behind her.

“Yes. I thought I might take a nap. I’m wiped.”

“That’s a good idea. You must be tired out from all of your traveling. I do need to have a chat with you, but it can wait until after your nap. Did Ella show you where your bedroom is?”

“No. I didn’t know I had one. I was trying to find a guest room.”

“Let me show you.”

We walked to the end of the hall, to another staircase, and made our way upstairs. We arrived at a circular hallway with six doors. Gramadea walked over to one and opened it.

“This is your room. You should find everything you need inside. I had a few things brought over from your room at home. Ella’s room is right next door.” She pointed to the door on the left. “And Harry’s is right there.” She pointed to the door to the right of mine. Your mom and dad are in there, and Kellan’s over there. My suite is on the other side of the house.”

I looked around my room. To say it was nice would be the understatement of the year. It had everything I could possibly need and more. I even spied a refrigerator.

“Thanks, Gramadea.”

“I’ll come and get you for dinner, or maybe send Ella.” She smiled. “But I’ll tell her not to disturb you for a while.”

I nodded thankfully and closed the door behind her. I buried my face into the soft pillow as soon as I had showered and changed into my pajamas, which had been brought over from home along with a lot of my other stuff. I wondered how long they were expecting me to stay here.

“Hi, Arizona.”

I froze.

“It’s okay. I’m not here to take you or anything. Raj sent me with a message, that’s all.”

“Stan!” I sat up in bed “How did you find me?”

“It wasn’t hard. But I can’t really tell you how, now can I?”

I rolled my eyes. “So what’s the message? And why are you still helping that idiot?”

“I’m not helping him. I’m obeying my dad’s orders.”

“Why?”

He shrugged. “Anyhow, here’s the message:
Dillard is home
.”

“
I
have no idea what that means, but he said for you to tell your mom.” Stan blinked at me.