“Ha ha. You act like you guys aren’t on the same side,” I quipped, rising too.
James winked. “With Carter and me? You never know.”
That was my only major interaction with anyone the rest of the day, besides calling my parents, which I did, up in my room. As soon as I heard my mom’s tone of voice when she answered the phone, I knew I was in trouble.
“Hi, Mom,” I said. “I…uh…how are you guys? Everything okay?”
“It’s fine.”
Great. The dreaded It’s fine. I’m so dead.
“Mom, I’m…I’m so sorry about this. I feel terrible. Please know I didn’t mean for any of this to happen. If I could change it, I would. I’m really sorry—”
“I believe that you’re sorry, Ellie,” Mom broke in, exasperation in her voice, “but that doesn’t make all of this transitioning any easier. When does it stop? Are we going to be here in this new place a few more months before you cause us all to be uprooted again?”
That stung. She had no idea what she was saying, but hurt swelled in my throat, just the same.
“Your dad’s not happy,” she went on. “Your brothers are upset. I’m not happy.”
Silence. I didn’t know what to say to break it except to whisper again, “I’m sorry, Mom.”
On the other end of the line, she sighed. “I know. I’ll stop. I guess it can’t be helped, can it?”
I shook my head. Then realized she couldn’t see me and spoke up. “No, it can’t.”
Another deep sigh. “Well…we’ll make do, I guess. We always have. How are you? Are you alright?”
Was I? Not really, but I wasn’t about to go into any further details.
“I’m fine. I’ll—I’ll be with you soon. I promise.”
“I don’t suppose you can tell me where you’re at? Or will you refuse to answer that too?”
Nothing to reply except, “I’m sorry, Mom. I’m trying to keep all of you safe. All of us safe.”
Her silence spoke volumes. At last, she said, “I love you, Ellie. Call me tomorrow if you’re not going to be with us by then, okay? Don’t worry. We’ll figure this out.”
Relieved, I felt the pressure in my chest ease as I said, “I love you too. Tell Dad and the boys I love them. Talk to you tomorrow.”
I pushed the button to end the call on the phone James had procured, dropping it on the bed with a sigh. The conversation had been painful, but honestly not as bad as I’d thought.
At least it’s done.
It was done, and so was I, as far as having any activities to do. After a few more hours cooped up in my room, I felt like I was going stir crazy. Nobody was stepping out of their way to entertain me, which I took as a sign that I really had become something of a family member instead of a mere guest here. Dinner arrived in the evening and I wolfed it down. That managed to occupy my attention for a little while, but once the food was gone it was just the TV and me again. By endlessly flicking channels, I discovered a movie I didn’t mind watching, and spent the next couple of hours alternating resting positions on the bed until the movie was over and I’d unwound enough to drift off to sleep…
The buzzing of the phone on the nightstand awakened me. It wasn’t ringing, it was buzzing. The entire phone lit up with a blue glow, while the buttons on the keypad flashed on and off again in an eye-catching pattern. Wincing, I reached for it, while also glancing at the time on the clock behind the phone. I couldn’t even read the numbers without my glasses, so I fumbled around on the nightstand, found them, and pressed them onto my nose.
10:15. I’d been asleep for about a half-hour.
Pressing a button on the keypad, I cleared my throat and said, “Hello?”
“Ellie?”
At first my sleep-fogged brain didn’t register the voice on the other end.
“Yes. Who is this?”
A sharp laugh. “It’s Carter, Ellie.”
I was awake enough now to hear the “duh” in his voice.
“Carter?” I sat up in bed, swiping the hair out of my face. “What do you want?”
Instantly, I felt on guard. Why was he calling, waking me when it was past 10:00 P.M.? Shouldn’t he be doing his duty investigating the suspected sabotage? Or, better yet, resting? The guy was coming off a serious wound. He ought to be sleeping too.
“You feel like getting some fresh air?”
“Getting some fresh air?” My muddled brain tried to figure out the motives behind his statement. “You’re asking me to take a walk at night? Why? Are you trying to make up for our fight yesterday?”
This made him chuckle. “Maybe. I was being a jerk. You want to go on night patrol with me? Check on the areas James was working yesterday?”
I sat there a second, letting the offer process. Something seemed off, but I couldn’t quite put my finger on it.
“I thought you were mad at me,” I said finally. Mad enough to order me out of his room. Why the nice act now with no contrition to back it up? I’d known I needed to discuss returning to my family with him, but I’d been waiting for him to cool off. Did this mean he had?
“Look, kid, I’m…uh, trying to apologize for the way I acted earlier.”
I frowned. By asking me to go on night patrol? I guessed it was logical. Sort of.
“Shouldn’t you be resting?”
“I’ve…done nothing but rest,” he replied. Again, something in his tone seemed slightly off, but it was hard to pinpoint what.
“Okay, well, are you sure this is safe?”
“Would I have invited you if it wasn’t?”
“I guess not.”
“So, you want to do this or not? I’m running out of time, not to mention patience.”
He sounded a little sharp. Definitely impatient.
“Well, alright. Sure. Why not?”
Wasn’t like I had any pressing obligations or anything better to do than catch up on my sleep. I could do that any time. If Carter wanted to go out of his way to apologize, I supposed the least I could do was meet him halfway. Maybe I also owed him an apology for some of my harsher comments. Maybe this would be a good chance to talk about reuniting with my family.
“Okay. Meet me out at the pool. You remember where that is, right?”
“Of course.”
“Right. I’ll see you there in about ten minutes. Oh, and Ellie?”
“Yeah?”
“The doors and windows here are usually locked by 10 P.M., unless there’s an event or guests. You’ll need a code to get out the back doors. It’s 2598.”
“2598,” I repeated. “Got it.”
“If you run into anyone and they ask what you’re doing, say you couldn’t sleep and you’re taking a walk in the garden to relax.”
“Why can’t I say what we’re doing?”
“If there’s sabotage going on, someone from the inside is probably in on it. I don’t want to tip our hand.”
That made sense.
“Right. I’ll see you in ten minutes.”
He hung up and so did I. Rather than move, I sat there on the edge of the bed, considering, doubting. Was this smart? If there really was chicanery going on, the people involved might be dangerous. Undoubtedly were dangerous. Deadly. There had been killings and murders already. The guy the other night—disemboweled. I shuddered. I was a little taken aback that Carter would invite me outside after dark, this late. All I could figure was he must not be too worried about the safety aspect, or he definitely wouldn’t have asked me. He’d never truly put me in harm’s way before and I didn’t think he’d start now.