Chapter 28 – We Commence Plan B

Here you left scattered
Like wishes I led to your room
Bury my face in your pillow
Just to smell your perfume
Outside I'm hungry
But inside I'm just consumed
Tell me how I'm supposed to breathe
Losing you is choking me

“What do we do now?” Nathan flopped in the sofa, throwing me a cold look.

Dad didn’t even move. He just kept watching NCIS Season 2 marathon. Pretending to look like he didn’t worry at all was his way to keep Nathan and me from panicking. I kept pacing the floor, looking at the street every now and then.

At 6 PM, it was already a bit dark outside. There were only a few cars left, parked in front of Dad’s house. The closest one had its windows rolled down. A man was snoozing in the driver’s seat. His passenger had come out of the car, craning her neck to see through the window if anyone’s home. Those people had been hanging around the neighborhood for a few days now.

Reporters. The power suits and tool vests gave it away.  Not like they were trying to blend in or anything. Some even had the station logo printed on their cars. Most of them were Boston press. But some were smart enough to cover up their business.

Just this morning, there had got to be twenty of them flocking the neighborhood street. A few of them even tried to harass information out of the neighbors. Dad had to make phone calls all day  to apologize to everyone. Some of them took it well. Most just bugged Dad with gossip and probing questions. An old grumpy couple from the other end of the street even threatened to report us to the police if we don’t leave town soon.

Nathan was so tempted to throw empty glass bottles at every one of them. You know, the ones with gasoline in them. And then you shoot the target with flaming arrows and everything goes Bam! He couldn’t destroy them all though. At least, not when Dad was watching.

The doctors told us that Arthur should avoid getting stressed out. Not until he got some heart operation that sounded like cabbage or something like that. He needed a good long rest. A soothing environment. Some light exercise. Healthy diet. Easy.

Yeah, right. We couldn’t even get out of the house without those reporters chasing us. So we’d resorted to sleeping all day, TV and Spam. Dad tried to make it sound like a fun thing just to lighten up the mood. He just couldn’t afford to let us worry about him. That’d damage his reputation. Nate had always saw Dad as his hero or something.

But seriously, we needed new security. All this ruckus had brought us enough trouble already.

If only Moira wasn’t too busy straightening out ‘things’ she could recruit some trusty dudes in black right away. She’d always been the one to do everything for me. But Megan’s funeral was just yesterday and I couldn’t possibly expect Moira to be back on the job now. Maybe not ever. That was just too bad. And I felt really down thinking that. Moira had been like a second mother to me.

I just got a call from Sonnet this morning. It was a long winding conversation with Jobs’ assistant. The gist was that they were letting the band go. I was told to report ASAP, though. Looked like they wanted to keep me. The problem was I didn’t if I want to go back without my friends. Stardom had kept life comfortable for my family for so many years. It was tempting, especially now that Dad needed some kind of surgery. But I dunno. Maybe I’d somehow changed. Those guys practically hauled me from being down in the dumps too many times. Turning my back on them was not an option.

I’d been trying to talk to Sarah for weeks. All those times, she kept avoiding me. Once I tried to call her and when she picked up all she said was, “Ready to explain yourself yet?” She didn’t even sound angry. Just tired and unsure.

“Yeah, well… Can I see you?” There must be something wrong with my throat.

“Leon…” she sighed quietly. “Please, don’t make me do that.”

“Do what?”

“Make me see you.” There was a long pause in the other line. I didn’t try to speak. I just waited for her to maybe collect herself. The fact that she didn’t want to see me was kind of expected. Still, it felt a lot like hell actually hearing it come from her. “I… I’m still mad at you and I want to stay that way until everything’s clear to me.”

I gripped the phone tighter, peering through the window of my room. From here, I could see Sarah sitting in front of her study table. Once she saw me looking, she got all flustered as she pulled the curtains down.

“Then stay mad at me! I don’t care.” I was starting to sound desperate which I was. “I can’t stand this. I’m not asking you to forgive me. I just… I just want to see you, Sarah.”

Heavily, she drew a deep breath. “That’s the problem!” She raised her voice and began rambling shakily. “I can’t see you because I’m afraid. That I’ll forgive you all too soon. And I’ll just forget everything you did like it never happened. Now, I can’t even remember why I’m mad at you. And that’s not fair! It’s not fair that I feel this way because… you’ve done so many awful things that I don’t remember now. And… and—“ She was out of breath when she snapped out of it.

A short pause.

It sounded to me like Sarah was hyperventilating. A loud crack told me that she dropped the phone. I heard a muffled scream like when you’re so frustrated and you burry your face in a pillow before squealing your lungs out.

Then she kept saying, “I should not have said that. I should NOT have said that!” before she remembered to hang up. And that was that.

We’d never spoke to each other since then. I tried to talk to her again. Even asked for Freddy’s help but it seemed like nothing could make her change her mind. He said to give Sarah some space.

I kept asking myself, what was the point of staying? But really, I was waiting, hopeful that she’d somehow give me another chance. I couldn’t accept defeat, yet. So maybe, if she won’t meet me, I thought I ought to do something.

“Leon?” Dad called. “Something wrong?”

I must’ve been spacing out. “Y-yeah… No. I mean, what’re we talking about again?”

“I was asking if you could get my medicines,” he replied, discreetly feeling the left of his chest.

Dad managed not to show any sign of distress. But with the way his shoulders rose and fall rapidly, I could tell he was in pain again. Nate was too busy watching TV to see it but I did.

“Sure,” I said smiling, acting as if I didn’t see through his pretence. “Just a sec.” Panicking would only make everything worse

Casually, I left the living room and once I was out of view, I darted up the stairs. Feverishly, I flung the door to Dad’s room. I hurried to the bathroom and rummaged in the medicine cabinet just above the sink. Once I’d found the small plastic box where he kept his pills. I just about flew to the TV room then walked back in as if it wasn’t a big deal. Dad would surely make a fuss if I so much as asked how he was feeling. He had this fantasy that he’s invincible.

“Here,” I handed him his pills.

Dad took it without a word. He could barely pause to read the labels on the blister foil. After popping the medicine into his mouth, he swallowed and leaned back on the sofa, closing his eyes. I kept watching him in the corner of my eye.

Fifteen minutes passed before he finally seemed to calm down. It made me scared that Dad’s condition was this bad. He just didn’t want us to know. And even if he won’t admit, this was no way to live for my old man—though he’d probably beat me up if I call him ‘old man’ out loud.

If this keeps up, we’d have to leave Hopkinton. The answer was screaming at my face. It was inevitable. Dad and Nate were probably just waiting for me to give the final word.

That night, I couldn’t sleep at all so I stopped trying. It was around midnight when I went down to the kitchen to get a beer. The TV was still on. A zombie apocalypse movie was being aired. I’d seen it a couple of times. I just couldn’t remember the title.

Nate was slouched in the sofa, his head rested on his hand. He was staring at the screen but it didn’t look like he was watching.

“Hey,” I said, heading to the kitchen. “I’mma go get a beer. Want one?”

He just nodded lazily. And after getting two bottles, I took a big gulp from mine. I let the booze kick in a bit before going back to the TV room. Wearily, I slumped in the couch.

Nathan took a sip and looked at me. “We can’t stay cooped up in here forever, you know. Or wait for those do-gooders to find something else more amusing.” When he said do-gooders, he meant the reporters. No idea why he calls them that. My brother’s screwed up that way.

I rubbed my temples. Ugh. Like I needed to be reminded. “How’s Dad?”

“Asleep.” He threw me an probing look. “But better, I think.”

I nodded. So he noticed too. “I just need a bit more time.”

“Hell, you’ve mentioned that before,” he noted coolly. “Now, I’m afraid time’s not on our side.”

I downed halfway through my bottle. As much as I hated to admit it, Nate was right. The panic in me grew. “I dunno. I just… need a second chance.”

“You already had one, remember? Only, you ruined it again,” he stated matter-of-factly. He’d always been inconsiderately blunt. But I was starting to wonder if he’d been deliberately doing it to annoy me. He didn’t look like he was having a laugh about it, though. So I guessed that was just him being serious.

Deep in thought, I let out a deep breath. “Just this once. If it doesn’t work, I’m done.”

 “Just this once,” he echoed, nodding. “Fall short again and it’s bye bye Sarah.” A satisfied look came across my brother’s face. He fell silent for a while, his eyes fixed on the ceiling. After a minute or two of his weird silence, he jumped off his seat and absently muttered, “I’m going to have to call Reed and Chuck.”

Trusting my brother again with his elaborate schemes might not be the brightest idea. But it wasn’t like I had anything in mind. Sarah won’t see me no matter what I did. And I won’t resort to kidnapping her. But, yeah. That came up in my mind once or twice.

“Leon,” Dad threw the keys to me. He secretly winked at me before getting into the front seat.

I stared at the keys in my hand then at the new Chevy pick-up truck Dad brought just this weekend. It was black like his R8 so I assumed it’d be his other car. (He always bought blue for me and maybe someday, red for Nate since it’s his favorite) Plus, I didn’t think he’d let me drive after ploughing through the hospital railings last time. Well, my probation had been lifted a few weeks ago but it still felt weird holding the steering wheel.

I must’ve looked like an idiot with the permanent smirk on my face. Nate started to complain about it but all he could was sulk in the backseat. Ha! Served him right. He’d been slaving me for the past few days since he was the one who arranged all this.

Ricky would be driving on his own so we picked up Chuck and Reed first. It took a few minutes before they got tired examining the new truck. Nathan was more than happy to tell them about it.

“It can run up to one hundred and thirty-five kilometres per hour. And the compartment is really spacious,” he mused. “With the Carryboy on, you could probably fit a body in there.”

Reed and Chuck just gaped at him like saying, “Seriously?”

“What?” He sounded a bit ticked that he was being stared at. “I meant, only if you really need to!”

Right…

So we drove to Gloucester Beach at five in the morning. It was still a bit dark. Not to mention, I’d love to curl up under my covers at this time. But we had to make sure we arrive before the others did. And it was necessary to keep the press from following us.

Nathan had arranged a “little get-together beach party before we part ways to college” thing. At least, that was how he’d put it. But really, it was just my way to see Sarah. She had no clue      I was going, of course. My brother lied about me going back to LA. He even invited Becky, Mike, Leigh, Larson, Drake and Matt to make it look real.

I hoped Matt won’t come. He’d totally spoil my plans for the day. I couldn’t afford that. Chuck suggested putting sleeping pills in his drink. I doubted that would work.

The sun was just rising when we got there. Quiet waves lapped on the beach. It was lulling, with the ripples catching the first rays of the sun so that it glittered a bit. I paused to admire it, a calm sort of kick racing through my veins. If only Sarah could see this…

On that note, I shook my head and tried to focus. Everything would all go to waste if I screwed up again. Perfect wasn’t really what I was really aiming for but something close would be nice.

For now, the beach was all to ourselves but, people would soon be coming. We were just about done setting up the umbrellas and foldable recliners when they arrived. One of them was Matt’s Camaro followed by Ricky’s truck. The other one, I didn’t recognize.

I stood there waiting, hidden by the shadow of an umbrella. Taking a deep breath, I peered at them from my spot. My head was pounding by the time Sarah got out of Matt’s car. And my hands were shaking when I saw them walking together towards us. Again, I got that sick feeling to my stomach. Like I just wanted to disappear or jump off a cliff.

All I could do was grind my teeth. Put on a blank mask. Hide in a corner. Watch them greet each other happily from a distance. It was like I didn’t exist.

When Mike saw me, he just smirked, pulling his girlfriend Leigh closer to him. “Oh, goodie. Look guys, Mr. Superstar’s here!” He certainly wasn’t doing it to make me at ease.

Matt snorted a bit but he didn’t let Sarah see it. Drake and Larson at least, were happy to see me. Or so they seemed. Sarah on the other hand looked almost petrified. She just stood beside Matt, looking back at the street. Obviously, seeing me had put her in one of her moods.

“Hi,” I said to her. I tried to meet her eyes but she won’t even face me. “Errm…”

“Hi, Leon,” Becky smiled, eyeing at the small picnic area we just set up. “Nice umbrellas,” she said just to break the awkward silence.

“Totally Chuck’s idea,” I replied, managing a small smile, my eyes still fixed searchingly on Sarah.

Becky just nodded, giving me a meaningful smile, pretending to search for Chuck in the beach. “Okay. I better go tell him how awesome it looks,” she said, dragging the others with her. As she brushed past me, she whispered, “Good luck.”

Her efforts left the three of us—me, Sarah and Matt—alone. Matt was still hell bent on not letting Sarah be alone with me. I could tell by the way he shot me sharp stares. Before I could even say anything, he held Sarah’s hand and led her to the beach.

I nearly lost my cool seeing that. If Sarah wanted Matt to hold her hand, I couldn’t really tell. But that was not the point. To be able to get to Sarah, I’d have to get rid of Matt. It’d be tough job. But not impossible.

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So we've finally reached the third of the story. Will Leon give up on Sarah? So there. Vote, comment, fan if you wanna. And yeah, don't forget to vote for Reapers in the coming Watty Awards in the Paranormal Genre. Thanks guys!

See ya, when I see ya!

~shim