"Who is Charlie anyway?"
Willow is leading me down a narrow hallway with square outlines of dust where I imagine paintings used to hang. The light fixtures curve out like hooks and guide us while the sun sets through the window at the end of the hall. Half of it is already hidden underneath the blades of grass that seem to go on for miles. I can't believe I talked with Luka and José for hours.
They gave me the basic rundown on all of the boys. They gave me information like when they were brought onto the Jolly Roger and how long they've been on the island. The two ten year olds are Markus and David. They stick to each other like glue because they were both trafficked from Syria and are most comfortable speaking Arabic.
Jaden, Aiden, and Zeke came over during dinner time to ask if I was any good at soccer. When I explained that my leg was messed up, they left immediately. I tried not to take offense to it as Luka assured me they were like this with everyone - even the adored by all Aaron.
Logan is fifteen and like me was sold out by his parents. His mother was a junkie desperate for money and his dad was never around to care what went on in the house. I had the pleasure of meeting him myself when he offered to show me to a place on the island called "The Tracks." I said I'd go with him if Luka and José could tag along. He accepted and the second he left José accused him of having a crush on me just like he does on Willow. Apparently, Logan has a thing for the ladies.
"Earth to Dovie? Spill the dirt! Who's Charlie?" Willow abruptly stops her marching to wiggle her eyebrows at me. I redden at the gesture but she misinterprets it, making her eyes go wide. "I haven't had a single juicy conversation about a boy in years! You can't deprive me of that!"
"Well, I'm sorry but it's not like that with Charlie." I fold my hands behind my back and continue through the hallway, even though I have no idea where the room with the phone booths are. I asked Willow if I could use the phones to make a call and she said we could try the phone room. Apparently the old boarding school had a special room where the old students could call family.
Willow jogs to catch up with me and takes her place as guide again. She looks at me quizzically. "How come?"
I give her a frown. "What do you mean?"
"From what I heard from our insider, Charlie's your age. I saw a picture of him and he's a knockout. He obviously cares about you if he got you over here despite . . ." Her face darkens, an odd shadow crossing her hazel eyes. Suddenly, I can see the bags underneath them. "Despite his uncle being who he is."
"I don't know. We've just always been the way we've been: friends."
Imagining a reality where Charlie wants to take me out for dinner and a movie isn't as difficult to conjure as I expect it to be. I mean, we did do all those things together as friends. He knows that he can't ever get me to hang out with him the day before a test and I know that he would rather be caught dead than wear a short sleeve. We practically know everything about each other. It would be easy - convenient - if we ended up together.
But Charlie doesn't even want to touch me. He jokes about how insufferable I am all the time and he's gone out on dates with girls while we've been friends. He's encouraged me to ask out other guys too. If we were going to happen, we would have happened.
"That stinks for me." Willow bumps the last door with the side of her hip. It swings open and I can't see anything until her hand finds the light switch on the wall. The room is decorated like a living room with its leather loveseats and sad, forgotten fireplace. The only thing that is off putting is the large shelf of taxidermy animals. There are foxes, rabbits, badgers - even an owl. I'm not surprised the old owners left those behind.
The phone booths are wall mounted telephones with a slab of wood placed in between each of them. They're all so dusty that I question whether I'll be able to talk with Charlie after all.
"What about you?" The tattoos on her leg are more visible when her shorts ride up as she reaches into each stall to try the phones. The two names are Micheal and John. "Who are the names on your thigh?"
She stiffens, pressing her lips together and not letting them go until she can produce a small smile. "The names of people I don't want to forget."
I don't say anything more and after a few moments of watching her listen to all three phones, she gives a sigh. Her hand is on her hip and for the first time all day, her shoulders are slumped. When she gazes out the window at the sun that is nearly completely out of sight, I am certain she's still thinking about my question.
"The landline phones are really spotty. They have a mind of their own and apparently they don't want to work today." She slams the last phone into the receiver and I flinch. "Listen, Aaron is the one that said you could call Charlie. Your best bet is to ask to use his cell."
"He has a cellphone?"
Why were we wasting our time with these ancient things?
"The only one on the island. He never lets anyone touch it for security purposes but he also doesn't go back on his promises. You can find him in the tower on the right." She makes a beeline out of the room and I am left in her dust - literally kicked up from the carpet. It's odd she isn't showing me there. She had fun playing tour guide today. It was probably my question that did this. I shouldn't have asked.
Hoping she's alright, I follow her directions to Aaron's room.
I find it quickly thanks to Willow's extensive tour from the morning. There isn't a door to his room but an archway leading to a staircase. I hesitate.
"Aaron?" I know my calls are pointless as his actual room must be several feet up but I feel better that I at least attempted to be polite. "Aaron, it's Dovie! I'm coming up . . ."
The stairs spiral and since there are no railings to protect me should I slip, I keep my hand against the wall as I ascend. There's a faint sound echoing off the walls and down to me. I'm near the top when I distinguish it as the sound of a little girl giggling.
I pause. My skin feels cold as I imagine something scary from the horror movie Charlie and I went to watch weeks ago. Amplified by the empty space, the giggle sounds like it belongs to the ghoulish girl with black hair cascading over her face. The mystery girl erupts into giggles again and this time I jump in surprise. I lose my footing on the step and shriek as I start to fall back.
I catch myself at the last second.
Aaron's figure materializes at the top of the steps. One of his eyebrows is raised. "What are you doing screaming in my tower?"
I give him a coy smile, embarrassed. "I was yodeling."
He laughs and it's a bouncy sound that fills the once chilling atmosphere with warmth.
"Why don't you yodel up here? The acoustics are better."
I climb the remainder of steps and follow him through another archway. His room is tiny. If we stood next to each other and both extended our arms, each of us would touch the other end of the wall. His bed is just a mattress on the floor with a bedsheet and a comforter neatly placed on top of it. He has an antique table to the right of it with a map laid across it. The various hills and meadows tell me it's of this island - Neverland.
"Make yourself at home. I take it you didn't actually come up here to yodel. If you did, I'm going to have to politely ask you to leave." He flicks on a latern next to his bed to give us more light and settles himself against the wall.
I press my hands together, standing opposite to him as there is nowhere else to sit.
"I don't want to be a bother - "
"You haven't been a bother. I haven't even seen you most of the day," he says, reassuring and sweet.
I shrug. "Luka and José took me under their wing."
"Ah, those two are nice." He wags his finger at me. "You've fallen into a good crowd."
I think about all the boys running around like they downed ten cups of coffee. None of them seemed hostile or difficult, just boyish. "Is there a bad crowd?"
"No." He turns to the window. It's narrow but the moonlight makes it through. It's brighter than the lamp and I can tell he appreciates its beauty because he doesn't take his eyes off of it for a long time. "But I would be worried if Shawn was trying to butter you up."
I groan. I hardly know the guy and he's already become my enemy.
"Does everyone know he hates me?" I ask, throwing up my hands.
"He'll get over it."
I contemplate telling him that Shawn threatened me but it feels pathetic to rat him out, especially when I'm new to the bunch. It wouldn't be smart to further prove his claim that I'm trouble.
"Willow took me over to the phones. They weren't working."
"Oh. You want to talk to Charlie." There's an edge of disappointment in his voice that I don't have the time to work out. He pulls out a smartphone from his back pocket. It's scratched up and an old model but mostly intact. He holds it out to me, his eyebrows drawn down. "You can't tell him anything about the journey over here or any of our names. After this call, you won't be able to speak to him for a while. Do you understand?"
"Of course." I take the phone from him, our fingers brushing. We had practically spent all of last night with our hands intertwined but it feels like a lifetime ago and it makes me feel incredibly awkward now.
He gets up and smoothes out his pants. "I'm going to go check on the boys for the night. I'll be back."
I catch what he's really saying: You have a time limit.
I know he's not being mean. This is just the way things have to be.
As soon as he descends down the steps, I begin dialing. I don't know why but my fingers are shaking and I feel jittery like I haven't eaten in hours. I sit on the mattress, tucking my free hand under me as the line rings.
The call picks up. "Unknown caller ID? This better not be a scam or a prank call. I'm not in a good mood."
I bite back a laugh. "You're never in a good mood."
I hear something clatter on his end and then shuffling.
"You made it? You're safe?" His voice is at a volume the librarian could never get it to. I wonder if he's not alone.
"Yes," the word is a release of breath I had been holding since Aaron showed up at my window. I can believe it now. I can believe I'm here and safe. "You're an idiot for not listening to me but - "
"Is it nice there? Not some tent under a bridge?" His tone is flat as usual but it is empty of the sarcastic edge that had grown to become so familiar.
"Yeah, it's really nice . . . beautiful, even."
"Good."
There's a pause of silence. This will be the last time we talk to one another for who knows how long and we're listening to each other breathe.
"Your uncle's not going to cause any problems for you since I've mysteriously vanished, is he?" It was something that had been looming over me since I showed up at the diner while Nakpuna was there. He knew instantly that I had told Charlie about his secret job. What did he tell Charlie? How do they plan to coexist?
"Nope. Your parents reported you missing this morning and the first place the cops checked was with me. They thought we ran away together but here I am . . . and there you are."
"He's not suspicious that you have something to do with this?"
Shawn may be extreme in his aggression but his reasoning was spot on. Charlie had begged for my freedom only a few days prior to my disappearance. All signs point to him. If I was Nakpuna, I'd be grilling my nephew. Keeping a close eye on him wouldn't be hard either considering they share a household.
Charlie snickers at the end of the line. "I put on a show - shed a few tears and yelled at him about how this was his fault, he drove you away - that kind of stuff. He looked like he wanted to puke at my patheticness so I have a hunch he bought it."
A selfish part of me wishes that some of those crocodile tears were real. It would be a luxury to know he's going to miss me like I know I'll miss him.
"I didn't know you were an actor. You're full of surprises." Charlie doesn't grab onto the line I'm throwing him. His tone remains cut and dry. It makes me miss him more than ever.
"I never got the chance to tell you this but I'm sorry. I'm really sorry."
"Sorry for what? You have nothing to be sorry for."
"For those two years we were friends - I never noticed something was wrong. I don't know how I never suspected something was going on with you."
I think of all the times I skipped into the diner and perched on the counter seats. All the time I would spend trying to cheer him up after he lost a baseball game. I had been able to forget what went on behind closed doors when I was with him. I could tuck the experiences into a file cabinet until I had to face it all again. The single time I wasn't successful in doing this was the day he had sensed something was wrong. Not long after that, I told him about everything.
"It's okay," I say, wrapping my arms around myself. "To be fair, I'm pretty good at putting up a front."
"Even with that obnoxious smile of yours, I should have known. I'm sorry it took this long."
I don't like Charlie making himself out to be the bad guy for not having the ability to read my mind. If he had known something was wrong, he would have been different. He wouldn't have insulted me endlessly and he wouldn't have felt free to complain about the mundane things going on in his life. I wouldn't have wanted that Charlie. Our time is short so I don't push it. Instead, I let my thoughts slip through my fingers.
The sound of shuffling echoes up from the bottom of the tower. It might as well be the ringing of a timer. Aaron is back.
"I have to go." The words feel like tar in my mouth. "They said I won't be able to speak to you again for a while for safety reasons."
"Right."
My parents and I were never ones to exchange "I love you"'s to each other. When we ended a phone call all we said was bye. When they dropped me off at places, all they'd say was the time they expected me home. Even moments where the phrase seemed practical like after opening presents on Christmas or when I would go down into the depths of a ship where not everyone came out, there was never any "I love you"'s exchanged.
Maybe that's why I can't get the phrase out to Charlie. I know I love him and that he's the only person in my life who deserves my love. I'm certain he loves me too so it's not like my feelings would be unreciprocated. Of course we love each other - in a platonic way.
I love you.
They're the right words to say when a person has stuck their neck out for you and you know you'd do the same. It's the appropriate time to say it when you don't know when you'll speak to them again or if you'll ever see them again.
I speak them loud in my head but can't bring my lips to utter them.
Flustered and scrambling for something to say, I settle for, "Until next time."
"Take care, Dove."
His number vanishes from the screen with a defeated sounding beep. The phone resumes whatever Aaron had playing on it before he handed it over; a video of a girl with shiny blonde hair running around a yard in a princess dress.
She giggles and I realize that she was what I was hearing when I was climbing the tower's stairs. Without the echo, it sounds much more innocent. It's the kind of laugh you can only have before the reality of the world hits you. It's the kind of laugh that results from your whole world being a playground that you can't wait to explore. You haven't yet realized that you can get stuck climbing the monkey bars or that sometimes the slide can burn your legs.
"That's Tina."
The phone nearly plummets out of my hands. I stand up as Aaron enters his room, my eyes bulging.
"I didn't mean to. I ended the call and it started playing on its own."
It doesn't seem like he's listening to my explanation. He doesn't reach for the phone but collapses onto his bed. The energy in his face has evaporated and I'm reminded of the condition Willow left in. I'm stepping on everybody's toes today.
"That's the video my social worker showed me to tell me I had a baby sister. My mom had custody of her for her first three years. I didn't hear about her until she was thrown into the system too."
Luka and José were equipped to give me the rundown on nearly anyone I wanted to know about. Naturally, I had asked about the boy who brought me to the island but they said they knew the least about him. He was on the island from the beginning and he looked out for them. That was the bulk of what they knew - aside from the trivial things like his favorite color and food.
"We were put into foster care. It was a nice family that heard she had a brother in the system and they thought we should be reunited. They even had plans of adopting us both." He fiddles with his ring as he stares up at the ceiling, lying on his back. "Our foster mother ended up getting incarcerated which terminated her parental rights. Our foster father had to navigate through a bunch of legal fees and no matter how hard he fought, his household wasn't deemed fit for Tina and I."
I wince, despite having had a good idea of how this story ended. It was disturbing how close he had gotten to a happy ending to have it snatched from him. It's sobering to know things like this can happen to anyone. One day everything is fine and the next they're not.
I lower myself to sit beside him. "Did you two get separated again?"
"If only." The tower is eerily silent as I wait for him to continue. "One of Dr.Nakpuna's employees adopted us. We were with her for maybe a month before she waived our rights to the company. She never intended for us to be her children."
The story is slightly different from the one he offered me on the ferry ride over here but I can sympathise with why he chose to leave certain parts out. This must be incredibly difficult to talk about.
"Where is Tina?"
He sniffles, wiping his nose with the back of his hand. I hadn't noticed he was so close to crying.
"Stuck on the Jolly Roger."
It becomes even more apparent why Aaron said he wouldn't stop until all the kids were rescued. His sister is among them.
How painful must it be to see all of us free from Nakupuna's hands and know that the person he loves the most is still waiting for him?
"I'm sorry." I hand him back the phone and he takes it without gazing down at the video. The exhaustion seeps from his expression as his eyes glint in the moonlight. He bounces back, propping himself up on his elbow to give me a gentle smile.
"Don't be. I'll get her back soon."
Having seen what he's accomplished so far, I don't doubt it. "I know you will."
After wishing him a goodnight, I trudge down the steps. The day feels heavy on my shoulders. The dusty mattress thrown on top of an oversized bed frame sounds heavenly now.
I'm halfway down the steps when I hear Tina's giggles echoing around me again. Since I now know who they belong to, I expect not to be frightened by them. Oddly enough, after knowing where Tina is being kept and that her big brother is missing her, her laugh is even more haunting.
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