House of Greeks Day 4
I sat with Justin on the plane to America and in the car. Jay drove and my mother was in the front passenger seat. “Kori was excited when I told her that you were coming home.” Jay said looking in the rear view mirror.
“I miss Kori.” I said.
“Who’s Kori?” James asked.
“My identical twin sister.” I said.
“You have an identical twin?” James asked.
“And she is nothing like me.” I told him.
“So if it were her choosing between me and Justin then who do you think she would have picked?” he asked.
“Hey I said she wasn’t anything like me, but it doesn’t mean she doesn’t think the same sometimes. With her you never know what kind of crazy ideas she’ll come up with.”
“Like switching places?” my mother said.
“No, she’d never think of that.” I said. It was the truth; ‘Kori’ hadn’t thought of it, I had.
“Right, because you’re Kori.” she said.
“No, because Kori is at home.” I said.
She looked behind her and said, “Kori, Amelia doesn’t have BPD.”
Justin’s eye grew large and James looked dumbfounded. “Right, I forgot.” I said.
“So… I’m confused… is this Kori or Amelia?” Justin asked.
“Kori.” I said.
“So, do I even know the real you?” he asked.
“Yeah, actually. Everything I told you was about me, and James everything I told you was about Amelia.”
“Why?” Jay asked. “Why would you trade places?”
“She wanted to stay here with you, Jay. You are her best friend.” I told him.
“What does that make me to you?”
“Best friend by relation.”
“Okay, so am I Amelia’s boyfriend or yours?” Justin asked.
“Mine.” I said.
“Okay.”
“Wait if what you told me about you was about Amelia then how did you get those scars?” James asked.
“Well, that much was true.” I said. “But Amelia and I both have the same scars.”
I had finally told Justin the story about how I had gotten the scars while we were on the plane. “Then how do people tell you apart?” Justin asked.
“Well it used to be that I dressed one way and she did exactly the opposite. If I wore flowers and butterflies, which I never did, she wore all black… now it’s normally the exact opposite but I am still in character.”
“And grounded.” my mother said.
“Is Amelia ground?” I asked.
“Since you said ‘Kori’ didn’t come up with the idea, I’m assuming she didn’t want to go along with it either.” she said.
“No, she did.” I said.
“Then yes.”
Jay pulled into our driveway and drove till we reached the large house. Amelia ran out and met the car at the steps. “Amelia!” I yelled.
“Kori!” she said.
We wrapped our arms around each other in a huge embrace. “I missed you so much!” we said together.
James and Justin were talking to Jay and my mother about rooming arrangements. “So which one did you fall in love with?” Amelia whispered.
“The blonde one. His name is Justin. The brown haired boy liked the part of me that was you.” I whispered back.
I ran forward to them and took their hands. They walked up the steps with me to where my sister stood. “Justin, James, this is my identical twin sister…” I began.
“Amelia.” James said holding out his hand.
Justin looked at me and smiled. Amelia took his hand and shook it. “It’s nice to meet you James… and Justin.” she said quickly.
“And you, Amelia.” Justin said.
Amelia’s attention was suddenly adverted to our uniforms. “Oh, I love the uniforms. They picked good colors.” she said.
“Yeah, I was hoping to change out of mine as soon as I could.” I said.
“Well you know where your room is.” my mother said. “Justin, James, Jay, come with me and I’ll show you to your rooms.”
I walked up to my room with Amelia right behind me. “How did she find out, Kori?” she asked.
“I don’t know. James must have said something about my meds.” I said.
“Is that… Kori, is that a hearing aid?” she asked.
“I ran into some complications in England. Justin’s fist to be one of them.” I said.
“So you choose the guy who made you deaf?” she asked.
“He meant to hit James. It was more my fault for taking the punch.” I told her.
“So your boyfriend was going to hit James and then what happened?”
“I originally was standing next to James and when Justin went to hit James, I did the only thing I could to keep that from happening. I stepped in front of him and Justin didn’t have time to take it back before he hit me.” I said.
We walked into my room and I saw what I had missed so much. To my left was my drum set, electric guitar, bass guitar, microphones, and a small recording station. On the right was a poster of my brother, Brad, and right under that was my dresser. To the left of the dresser was my desk with a printer and to the right of the dresser was my queen sized bed.
I walked over to my dresser and pulled out some clean clothes. Amelia left me alone in my room so I could change. When I had my clothes changed I walked down the stairs and threw the uniform in the washing machine. “I knew I heard you down here… Kori! I thought Amelia had come down.” my mother said.
“I had to wash my clothes, mom.” I said.
“Well, while you were gone we made some new rules. I’ll explain them tomorrow after school. Now go upstairs and get Jade to make dinner.” she said.
I walked up the stairs leaving the dark basement behind. A lot could change in three days, let alone new rules. Slowly I made my way up stairs and walked into Jay. “Hey, Kori.” he said.
“Do you know where Jade is? I need to have her make dinner.” I said.
“I’ll get her for you. No worries, girlie.” he said.
Jay had never called me that; I hated it and he knew it. “Never call me that, Jay.” I told him.
“You didn’t change much, did you?” he said.
“I have in ways you could never imagine.” I said.
“Like the fact you forgive people faster than normal and don’t hold a grudge?” he said.
“If you just stopped me to be rude then go. I’m not up for it right now.” I said.
“Jay, there you are.” Amelia said.
“Ames, have you seen Jade? Kori was just off to have her make dinner.” Jay said.
“She is in the maid’s quarters making the beds.” she told me.
I took my leave and walked up the stairs to the east wing. Jay was a horrible person and Amelia couldn’t see it; he wouldn’t let her. Sometimes he got testy with me when she wasn’t around then I would go and tell her, but she never would believe me.
As I walked by my room I heard someone in there playing my guitar, and assumed it was James. “James, get out of my room!” I called.
Someone walked out of my room but it wasn’t James. “Kori, that’s not a nice way to greet your brother.” Brad said.
“I thought you were in England!” I said putting my arms around him.
“I came back here yesterday.” he said.
He had been helping me with my fake accent over the phone since he already had mastered the art of fake English accents. “Why didn’t you send me a message?” I asked.
“Didn’t you notice that picture Jay sent you?” he asked.
“Of course I did.” I said. “I thought it might have been doctored or something because Amelia wasn’t in the picture.” I told him.
“What do you mean? She was right next to me.” he said.
I pulled out my phone and opened the picture. He looked at it and then me. “This is getting really weird.” he said.
“What does that mean?” I asked.
“Mum, won’t let anyone in the basement except for Amelia and Jay. She installed video cameras in every wing to keep an eye on all of us and Jade isn’t herself anymore. She won’t speak to us ever since she made her third trek into the basement the day I came back.” he said.
“Wait, I thought we had a maid named Jamie.”
“We did. She went missing the day after you left before I got back.”
“I wonder why this is happening. Why is Jay living here now? Mum knows he is rude to me.”
“I’m not sure.”
“Where are the monitors for the cameras?”
“In the attic. Mum left it for the first time since they were installed to come get you and even then she had it locked.”
“Are you up for some music?” I asked.
James had walked into the hall with Justin. “Sure.” Brad said.
We walked into my room and I sat at the drums. Brad picked up my lead guitar and to my surprise Justin stood at the microphone while James took the bass. I started with a count off, “One… two… three… four!”
We all began to play, but Justin didn’t start the lyrics until I began to sing a melody to a song I had learned in England. He apparently knew the song so he began to sing it. Little did they know; I had pressed record on the station before sitting down behind the drums. When we had all finished playing I stood and pressed stop.
“Who wants to hear some feedback?” I asked.
Justin didn’t answer but the other two nodded eagerly. Amelia now stood at the door and was listening to our recording. When it finished I looked at Justin and he turned red. “I didn’t know you could sing.” I said.
“There’s a lot you don’t know about me.” he said.
“I hope you intend to tell me.” I told him smiling.
He nodded and took the three steps forward and took my hand. “Let’s go for a walk.” he said.
We walked down the stairs and out the front door, and then down those stairs. He led me to my favorite spot on our property; the pier. “I’ve always been into music. My parents are dead. You are my first girlfriend. I hate Jay already.” he said.
“Don’t worry about hating Jay because I do to.” I told him.
“My family disowned me. I live with foster parents over the summer. I was let in on a scholarship much like you and Tiffany. Jamie was my only friend when I started there and not so much now. I am way smarter than I would first seem.” he said. “And most importantly I love you.”
“I love you to, Justin.” I said.
Amelia came running onto the pier as we were about to kiss. “Kori, James feel down the stairs.” she said.
Justin and I broke into a run and followed her up the hill to house. James was on the ground and his head was bleeding. “Justin, call 911. Amelia, go get me a new first aid kit. Jay… just leave me alone so I can do this without making it worse.” I said.
They all left; even Jay. James’s pulse was just below normal which gave me little more time to get done what needed to be down. Amelia came back first and handed me the first aid kit. “You should go give Justin the address.” I told her.
She ran back up the stairs and I opened the first aid kit. I put the plastic gloves on and pulled out the gauze. Carefully I lifted his head and found where his head had cracked open. Quickly I placed the gauze there and then wrapped his head in the bandage. Justin and Amelia came back out, “Stairs!” I called to Justin.
He came down carefully so he wouldn’t fall but Amelia ran down them by twos. She knelt next to me and listened to his breathing. “He isn’t breathing!” she said.
“Do you know mouth to mouth?” Justin asked her.
“She isn’t trained in first aid, Justin. I am.” I told him.
“Well do mouth to mouth recitation!” he said.
I tilted James’s head back and pinched his nose closed. Slowly I took a deep breath and put my mouth to his. I released the breath into his mouth, and repeated the process three times. I pushed down on his chest to get him to breathe on his own and on the fourth push he exhaled.
We heard the ambulance in the distance. “I’ll go with him to the hospital. You guys tell mum what happened so she can call his parents.” I told them.
Justin looked at me and then James. He kissed my forehead and lead Amelia up the stairs into the house. A few minutes later the medics were there putting him on the gurney. “Did you wrap his head?” the lead medic asked.
“Yes, sir.” I said.
“You saved his life.” he told me.
“He stopped breathing about four minutes ago. I did mouth to mouth to get him going again. Is he going to be okay?” I said.
“Please, ma’am, come with us to the hospital. He may not make it and we want someone to be there for him.” he told me.
The other medics had loaded him into the ambulance by the time I climbed in. I took his hand and held it the whole ride there. He didn’t open his eyes and he wasn’t breathing on his own. “Please, James, don’t die.” I said.
It was more a plea than anything. I didn’t know what I would without him around. The medics took him out of the ambulance and ran him in to the hospital. I followed them in closely. They took him to a room with multiple machines. Carefully they transferred him from the gurney to the bed.
I sat in the chair next to his bed and held his hand. “Do you have a guitar, by chance?” I asked one of the medics before they left.
“Yeah, I’ll go get it for you.” she said.
I waited in the hospital room and watched as a doctor inspected James’s head. “He’ll need a blood transfusion and stiches but he should live.” he told me.
“What blood type does he need?” I asked.
“He has type AB.” he told me.
“Can I make a blood donation for my friend here?” I asked.
“Right this way.” he said holding out his hand.
I stood and kissed James on the forehead. “I’ll be back in a few minutes.” I whispered; though I knew he couldn’t hear me.
The doctor followed me out the door and then led me down the hall. “Doctor Jake, this young lady would like to donate blood for her friend.” he said.
The doctor turned and asked me to sit in the chair to his right. He handed me a pamphlet and had me fill it out for him. I finished it as soon as I could and gave it to him. “Have you eaten today?” he asked.
“I had lunch.” I told him.
“I want you to eat these and then press the buzzer, only then will we draw blood.” he told me handing a small package of Oreos.
I ate the Oreos as quick as I could and then pressed the buzzer. Before the doctor came back in I sat in the blue chair with the single arm. “Looks like you are eager to get this done. I just need to check your blood pressure and we can begin.” the doctor said.
He took my blood pressure and then said, “Looks like you can give just enough blood for that boy.” he said.
He handed me something to hold before he stuck my arm with a needle. I released the minor pain in my arm by squeezing the cotton in my hand. The blood flowed from my arm into the bag quickly. In a matter of minutes the bag was filled and he said, “I am going to put a new bag in. Tell me when you feel faint.”
He stopped the blood flow and had the nurse switch bags. The blood started flowing again and after a few minutes I was feeling light head. “I’m getting light headed.” I whispered.
The doctor took the needle out and bandaged my arm. “Can you take me back to his room?” I asked.
“Nurse Kelly, walk Miss…” he began.
“Kori Kavanagh.” I said.
“To Mr.…” he began again.
“James.” I said.
“Last name?” he asked.
“Rutter.” I said.
Nurse Kelly walked me to James’s room supporting some of my weight. I sat in the chair next to him and took his hand again. The others weren’t going to come; I knew that, but James would be saddened by that. Secretly I was hoping Amelia would fall for him and stop spending so much time with Jay, but I knew in my heart that it wasn’t going to happen like that at all. “I’m sorry, James. I should have known I made a stupid choice about bringing you here.” I muttered.
“Kori?” someone said from the door.
I turned and saw a girl from school. “What are you doing here?” I asked her.
“I came to see James. He went to my old school back in England.” she said.
“You were the Bryana that went missing?” I asked.
“Yes, of course.” she said.
“How did you hear about him?” I said.
“Jay called me.” she told me.
I looked back to James and she sat down in the other chair next to me. She put her arm around me and pulled me into a hug. “He’s going to be fine, Kori. James is a strong boy.” she whispered.
“I know he is.” I told her.
“Miss Kavanagh, you blood has been approved for his transfusion.” Doctor Jake said.
“Thank you.” I said.
“We are going to have to ask the two of you to wait in the waiting room while we stich his head.” he said.
Bryana took me by the hand and led me out into the waiting area. “What happened?” she asked.
“He is staying with me, Justin, Jay, and my family at my house. When he came outside earlier he forgot about the stairs and he fell down them.” I said.
We sat there in silence for a few minutes and then she said, “I’ll go get us something to eat from the cafeteria.”
She walked down the hall and left me alone for a few minutes. “You, girl, do you know her?” a man asked.
“I don’t talk to strangers.” I said.
He didn’t bother me again as I waited for Bryana to come back. She carried two trays when she came back. “Here.” she said handing me one with two glazed doughnuts, pancakes, bacon, and water on it.
“Thanks.” I said.
She sat down and said, “It’s the least I could do.”
“That man behind us… do you know him?” I whispered.
“Oh no, he found me.” she said glancing in the mirror overhead. “Rufus has been following me all the way from England.”
“Miss Kavanagh, Miss James, we finished the stiches so you may go back in when you finish eating.” Doctor Jake said.
“Thank you, doctor.” I said.
The two of us stood up and walked into James’s room. I let Bryana sit next to James’s bed and watched as she took his hand. “Bryana, do you like him as more than a friend?” I asked.
“Yes.” she said. “Does he talk about me?”
“Well I’ve only known him for a few days so he may when I’m not around, but when I am he is more concerned about school.” I told her.
“I figured as much.” she said.
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“That Tiffany girl stole him right out from under me.”
“So she stole him from you, I stole him from her for my sister but she is more occupied with Jay, so I suppose that means…”
“He’s available.” she said.
“That he is.” I told her.
“Would you mind not calling me Bryana? Can you call me Elizabeth or Beth?” she said.
“Who is that man?” I whispered.
“Someone who wants to know what I know.”
“What do you know?”
“Everything and nothing… all at once.
James’s head moved slightly. “James, are you awake?” Bryana… Beth asked.
He didn’t answer and I looked at one of the machines. “I think he is conscious just not awake, yet.” I said.
His head moved again, this time toward our voices. “Bryana?” he asked.
“James!” she said.
“You are here. I’m sorry, Bryana.” he whispered.
He squeezed her hand and slowly his eyes opened. Beth smiled at him and his eyes darted to me. “Kori, you saved my life.” he said.
“It’s what any good friend would do.” I said.
“Then I supposed Jay is a bad friend.” James smiled weakly.
“I know. He has never been a good friend for anyone except Amelia.” I told him.
“That’s not what I meant, Kori. I didn’t just fall down the stairs. He pushed me down them. Jay thought that if he didn’t do something that Amelia would like me more than she does him.” he told me.
Beth looked at me and said, “How hard did he hit his head?”
“Pretty hard, but it does sound like something the real Jay would do.” I told her.
“James, tell me exactly what happened.” she said to him.
“No. I will only tell Kori when we are alone.” he said.
“Beth, you should head to school and tell the others he woke up.” I told her.
“Beth? This is Bryana.” he said.
“I’ll explain when she leaves.” I whispered.
Beth walked out of the room and closed the door. She walked down the hall out of sight. “What’s going on, Kori?” he asked.
“There is a man after a girl named Bryana. His name is Rufus. He is after her for something she knows.” I told him.
“What does she know that he needs to know… wait Rufus is here!?” he asked.
“You know him?” I asked.
“He kidnapped Patara and then when Amy and Tiffany went to save her he trapped them in a warehouse.” he said. “What does he want from Bryana?”
“She said she knows everything and nothing all at once.” I told him.
“I guess it’s my turn.” he said.
I nodded and said, “You should sleep first, Jim.”
“She calls me that, too… but I won’t sleep until I tell you.” he said.
“Go on then.”
“Jay has been following me around the house. I did my best to stay upstairs or somewhere near you or Amelia, but the time when you were outside and Amelia was nowhere to be found was when he found his opportunity to try and get me out of the picture. When Amelia went to get you he kicked me in the back of the head until it cracked open. That was when I went unconscious.” he said.
He winced in pain; like he was still in pain. The doctor came back in and said, “Mr. James, how are you feeling?”
“Did you take x-rays yet?” I asked.
“No, should we?” he said.
“It might prove to be an excellent idea.” I told him.
“Bring me a wheel chair!” Doctor Jake called out the door.
Nurse Kelly brought one in and helped James into it. “I’m going to have to ask you to wait here while we do the x-rays.” she said.
I nodded and said, “When you have the results would you let me know?”
“Of course.” she said.
I watched her wheel James out of his room and down the hall to the x-ray rooms. I sat down on James’s bed and waited for half an hour. After a few more minutes I pulled out my phone and checked the messages. There was one from Justin. I pulled it out and read it, “Hey, babe, I’m on my way to the hospital. I have something important to talk to you about. I love you. Justin.”
I pressed reply and typed in, “James is awake and in getting x-rays now. Just wait until you find out what really happened. I love you mor., Kori.”
I finished typing it in and pressed the send button. Nurse Kelly came in and said, “He broke a few ribs but nothing serious.”
“Thank you.” I said.
Just after she left Justin ran in. “Hey, is he still doing okay?” he asked.
“Yeah, the nurse just told me he broke a few ribs but it wasn’t anything to serious. He got lucky.” I said.
“That’s good news.” he said. “So what really did happen?”
He sat next to me and took my hand. I looked at him and told him the story that James had told me. Justin listened and didn’t interrupt. When I finished he said, “How hard did he hit his head?”
“That’s what an old friend of his said when she saw him, but something tells me that his story is true.” I told him.
“Who was this friend?” he asked.
I leaned closer to him and whispered, “Bryana was here. Jay called her so they may be in this together.”
“We can’t trust either of them, can we?” he said.
“I don’t think so.” I said.
Justin pulled something out of his pocket. “This is what I wanted to talk to you about. I know I haven’t known you very long, but I love you all the same.” he said sliding onto the floor, on one knee. “Will you marry me, Kori?” he said.
“Yes.” I said.
He smiled and slid the ring on my ring onto my finger. Justin stood up and pressed a hand to cheek and kissed me. Nurse Kelly came in with James when we separated. “James!” Justin said.
“Hey, man. How’s everything going with you?” he asked.
“Me? You’re the one who is the wheelchair.” Justin said.
“Fine, so I’m temporarily handicapped. Just you wait until tomorrow. I’ll be back on my feet just like it never happened.” he told Justin.
“How much do you remember?” I asked.
“I was trying to find you and Justin because he left… that in his room.” he said looking at my hand.
“You knew?” I asked.
“Of course I did. He told me on the plane after you went to sleep.” he told me.
“What else did he tell you?” I asked.
“That’s all.” he said quickly.
I smiled as he came closer to his bed. “Help a man out, Justin.” he said.
Justin lifted him from the wheelchair and sat him on his bed. “Where did Beth go?” he asked.
“Beth?” Justin said.
“That girl who was here earlier.” I said.
“Right.” he said.
“She had to go tell the rest of the family you are okay.” I said.
“Well Doctor Jake said that I could leave today.” James said.
“Can you walk?” I asked.
He stood up and walked around for a few minutes. “If you can walk then why did I have to help you get out of that chair?” Justin asked.
“I was being lazy.” he laughed.
We walked out of the hospital room and to the check in desk. “I’m checking out Mr. Rutter.” I said.
“Sign here please.” the nurse said.
I signed James’s name and then signed mine, putting the time. Justin, James, and I walked outside and Justin led us to a car. “I think it’s best if you drive, America. I almost hit four different cars on the way here.” he said.
James got in the backseat and I sat in the driver’s seat with Justin next to me. I put the key in the ignition and turned it. The engine roared to live and we speed down the road home. “I can’t believe you drove this all the way there, Justin. Do you even have a driver’s license for America?” I said.
“No. That’s another reason I decided it best if you drove. Besides, I’m sure none of us have a certain death wish.” he said.
I took his hand as I drove down the road. He took it to his lips and kissed it. “Do you have to do that in front of me?” James asked; annoyed.
“Sorry, does it bother you?” I asked looking in the rear view mirror.
“No. I’m sorry, I stepped out of line. You two are engaged, do what you will… just not too much.” he said.
“I’m happy to hear you say that, bro. You are the best man.” Justin told him.
“It’d be my honor.” he said.
“But we are of course going to wait until we graduate, aren’t we, Justin?” I said.
“Of course, love.” he said.
I pulled into the driveway and kept going. “Do you think you can make it up the steps?” I asked James.
“Shouldn’t be a problem.” he said.
We all got out of the car after I parked it in front of the house. Jay, Amelia, and my mother came out of the front door while I inspected the car. “Justin, come here.” I said.
“Okay, so I may have scrapped the door getting out.” he said. “I was worried about James.”
“It’s fine. This isn’t my favorite car. My favorite car is the green Camaro.” I told him.
He took my hand and directed my attention to Jay. “Do you think you can get up these stairs without falling again?” Jay called to James.
I let go of Justin’s hand and darted up the stairs. Jay didn’t have time to react before I tackled him to the ground. He didn’t cover his face before I started to pound it in so I took it as a go for it. Amelia was too stunned to do anything and my mother was too busy fussing over the scratch on the car.
Justin was the one to pull me off Jay and calm me down. He pulled Jay to his feet only to punch him in the face knocking him back to the floor. James had made it up the stairs and now he kicked Jay in the side of his head; at the temple. “If you say anything to me again, Jay, it will be worse than a black eye and a little pain. Keep your hands off me as well unless you want me to call the police.” he whispered into Jay’s ear.
Justin, James, and I walked upstairs to my room and went in. “Lift your shirt, James. I want to make sure they wrapped your stomach.” I said.
He lay on my bed after taking his shirt. I was right to have checked because they hadn’t wrapped it before we left. Justin walked into the bathroom I had directed him to and pulled out large bandage. Slowly, carefully I began to wrap James’s torso. Every so often I would take it over his shoulder and bring it down onto his chest, and then wrapped it around his chest again.
“How do you know all of this first aid stuff?” Justin asked.
“It was something else Amelia didn’t want to go to. Mum wanted one of us to go so I went.” I said; simply.
“So how exactly did you save my life?” James asked.
“Well everyone, except Jay, was panicking I took control and told them all what to do. I told Jay to leave me alone and he did. When I finally got your head wrapped to slow the bleeding you had stopped breathing. I did mouth to mouth and got you breathing again. Then at the hospital when they informed me you need a blood transfusion I donated over a pint of blood; which they gave you.” I said.
“So you saved my life three times today in a matter of a few hours. I guess that mean I owe you my life more than the medics.” he said.
“You could say that.” I said as I tied off the bandage.
James took a deep breath as I did so then said, “So when does school start tomorrow?”
“Same time as it did in England, the only difference is we are in a different time zone.” I said.
“So in other words we should be getting ready for bed?” Justin said.
“Yes. First dibs on my shower!” I said.
“Second!” Justin said.
“Third.” James said. “What about my bandage?”
“We’ll just wash your hair and spray you with as much cologne as possible.” I said. “And while I’ll be dealing with hair, I’ll give you both a free haircut.”
They didn’t object but they did laugh about spraying James with cologne. I went into the bathroom and got in the shower. It was a ten minute shower and when I got out I left it on for Justin. Quickly I dressed and went back into my room. James was inspecting my guitars and Justin was looking at my poster of Brad. “This is your brother?” he asked as I came in.
“Yeah. He isn’t really English, he just acts like it.” I said.
“I’ll be in the loo.” he said walking to the bathroom.
As he walked he pulled of his shirt. He turned and smiled at me before he went in. I rolled my eyes and started talking to James. “So how much hair do you want to keep?” I asked.
“I guess that’s for you to decide.” he said.
I looked at his hair for a minute and said, “Tilt you head forward, please.”
He tilted his head forward as I walked behind him. I parted his hair in a few places until I found his stiches. “I’m not going to take too much off. Maybe an inch or two.” I said.
“Sounds good.” he said.
“Are you okay?” I asked.
He turned around and said, “I don’t think that was really Bryana. It can’t have been.”
“Why do you say that?” I asked.
“We were told she was killed.” he said.
He was starting to cry. “You love her, don’t you, James.” I said.
He nodded and said, “When Tiffany came it was the day Bryana went missing. I thought I fancied her and we started dating. She actually did like me, but after a while of knowing what had happened to Bryana, that I sorted it out. Then you came and you looked exactly like her. Everything that just back, everything I had, had for Bryana. When you chose Justin I figured it out all over again.” he told me.
“It’s okay, James. You will find someone.” I said.
Justin came out of the bathroom and his hair was dripping wet. James looked up and said, “I suppose it’s my turn.”
I picked up one of the chairs I had in my room and sat it in front of the bathroom sink. James sat in the chair and waited for further instructions. I turned on the water and made sure it wasn’t too hot or too cold. “Tilt your head back.” I said.
James tilted his head back and I got his hair drenching wet. “Keep your head under the water, James.” I said turning.
I reached into the shower and pulled out a bottle of shampoo. “What is taking so long?” Justin asked from the door.
“I had to get the shampoo out of the shower.” I said.
I put some on the palm of my hand and then worked it into James’s hair. Quickly I rinsed out the shampoo and wrapped his head in a towel. “Now where is that cologne?” James joked.
I pulled out a pair of scissors, a comb, and a hair dryer. Before he had time to object I plugged in the hair dryer and began to blow dry his hair. His hair was soft to the touch when I finished. Slowly I began to cut his hair; taking two inches of each side. When I finished you still wouldn’t be able to see his stiches.
“Your turn, Justin.” I said.
James got up from the chair and Justin sat down. “I’m only going to trim off the ends.” I told him. “Your hair is beautiful.”
His hair was already dry, so I combed his hair before I began to cut it. I carefully trimmed off the end and put a touch of color in his hair. When he looked in the mirror he said, “What did you do to my hair, love?”
“I just added a touch color. Now we both have green in our hair.” I said.
“It is lovely.” he said.
He took my hand and led me back into my room. James was inspecting my guitars again. “If you want to play it, go ahead.” I said.
James jumped and turned around. “I didn’t realize you had come out of the bathroom.” he said.
“Are you going to play or not?” Justin asked.
James picked up the guitar and plugged it into the amp. He started playing and at first I couldn’t recognize the song. After the first few notes I realized it was A La Nanita Nana. I had never heard it on electric guitar before. Justin began to sing the song; like he had heard it a thousand times.
It was unbelievable that they both knew the song well enough to sing it on their own. I felt a hand on my shoulder and looked up at Brad’s smiling face. “They are fantastic, Kori.” he whispered.
“I know.” I said.
He took my hand and said, “Before I go back to England tomorrow I would like to have a dance with my little sister.”
I put my arm on his shoulder and I danced with him. Justin and James kept playing songs that I knew; one of them was Brad’s song, Right Time. When that song began to play he looked up and said, “Did you guys know who I was when I came to your school the day before Kori got there?”
“Of course we did.” James said. “But we would never tell anyone.”
“Thanks.” Brad said.
That was the last song before my mother came on over speaker, “Dinner time. Everyone report to the dining room, right now.”
I took Justin’s hand and we walked down the stairs; Brad and James behind us. I sat at the dinner table with Justin to my left and Brad to my right. Amelia was next to Brad and Jay was next to her at the end. James sat at the edge of the table across from my mother and Jade was on the opposite side of the table from me; sitting next to the other maid.
We ate meals with our maids every day unlike other families would. I helped myself to some fried chicken, mashed potatoes, gravy, and rolls. Justin and I held hands under the table but no one really noticed, except for Brad. He cleared his throat and then took a bite of his chicken.
Justin looked at me and nodded. “Guys, Justin and I would like to say something.” I said.
“Go on, Kori.” my mother said.
“Kori and I are engaged.” Justin said.
Amelia’s chin dropped and so did Jay’s. My mother didn’t look surprised at all, for some reason I suspected she already knew because of the video cameras. “Mother, did you already know this?” I asked.
“Well the ring on your finger kind of gave it away.” she said.
“What do you mean? I don’t have a ring on my visible hand.” I told her.
“I saw it before you sat down.” she told me.
I knew it to be a lie, but I didn’t say anything about it. “Of course, how silly of me.” I said.
She smiled and took a bite of her chicken. Then it came to me, wasn’t she allergic to half the food on the table? I looked at Brad and he whispered, “We’ll talk later.”
I nodded and continued to eat without speaking. When I finished I moved to get up but Brad grabbed my leg. “May I be excused?” he asked.
“Yes, dear.” my mother said.
“May I be excused, mother?” I asked.
“Finish your potatoes first.” she said.
I finished eating my stupid potatoes and got up from the table. Quickly I rinsed my plate and walked up stairs. Justin and James close behind me. “What is going on, Brad? Isn’t Mother allergic to chicken?” I said.
“Be quiet and come with me.” he whispered.
We walked up the stairs and he led us to the attic steps. He told us to keep an eye out for my mother and he picked the lock on the door. Brad tapped my shoulder and motioned for me to go in front of him. I walked up the stairs; careful not to make them squeak.
When we got to the top we looked around only to see complete darkness. “There can’t be a security system in here, Brad. It’s too dark to see anything.” I whispered.
“That’s what she wanted us to think.” he told me.
“Why aren’t we allowed in the basement?” I asked.
“I don’t know. She never gave me a reason.” he said.
I turned to him and thumped him on the head. “What was that for?” he asked.
“She didn’t give you a reason… security cameras… not allowed in the basement… you idiot the system is in the basement!” I told him.
“Oh, I got it know. Let’s go before we get caught.” he said going down the steps.
I heard him talking to my mother and moved to hide quickly. There was a barrel right next to me with a little peep hole in it. Before she made it up the steps I got in the barrel and moved to where I could see out the hole. A light came on when she made it up the steps. My pupils didn’t have time to dilate before I had to close them to shield them against the light.
Quickly I opened them and pulled out my cell phone. I always had it on mute and lucky for me it was the very same case. Slowly I found the camera button and changed it to video. When I pressed record I saw my mother putting in a pass code to a door. The pass code wasn’t like normal. It was a lock that had double digits.
I zoomed the camera in as far as it could go and saw that it was 05-01-05-18-15. A door clicked open and she went in closing it behind her. Not giving myself time to think I got out of the barrel and headed down the stairs to the second floor. When I closed the door I turned and saw Brad against the wall.
The others were crowded around him trying to find out what we had seen. “Kori, you’re okay.” Brad said when he saw me.
He put his arms around me and hugged me. “There’s a door. It’s not a normal door.” I whispered. “I have a recording on my phone… which I left in the barrel!”
“Don’t go back up there. You don’t know when she’ll come out.” James whispered.
“I can’t get in trouble if she hasn’t told me the new rules.” I said.
“She has point.” Justin said. “But let me go instead.”
“No. I will go.” I said turning back to the door.
I walked back up the stairs making sure it was quiet before I entered the attic. There was no sign of my mother so I made my way to the barrel and reached in for my phone. When I grabbed it I opened it and shone it on the bottom of the barrel. What I saw nearly made me pass out; I would have if I hadn’t heard the other door opening.
I raced down the steps without a sound and ran to my room, the others behind me. “What’s wrong, Kori, love?” Justin asked.
“Never look inside the barrel… never look inside the barrel… never look inside the barrel.” I repeated it over and over.
“Love, what was in the barrel?” he whispered.
My eyes darted around the room making sure there was no camera. “May.” I whispered.
“You?” he asked.
“Not me, May.” Brad said.
“Who is May?” James whispered.
“It was our mother’s name.” I told him.
“Your mother was in the barrel?” Justin asked.
“She didn’t have a head… or an arm… or a leg.” I said.
“Do you want to go back to England, love?” he asked.
“No. We will figure out the mystery.” I said.
“Not another mystery. I vote on going back to England.” James said.
“Jim, shut your yap.” Beth said walking in.
“Beth.” I said walking to her.
“It’ll all be okay, love. Don’t worry. I’m here and I’m not leaving until we figure this out.” he said.
I looked at her and her expression was blank; just like my fake mother. It was up to James, Justin, Brad, and I to figure it out but I wouldn’t say it to her; she may have more power than I feared. Justin took my hand and pulled me from Beth. “This may be a good time to get Rufus involved.” I whispered to James.
“What? No!” he said.
Justin elbowed him and said, “We should get some sleep, love.”
“Good night.” I said.
He kissed my forehead and pulled James out by the arms. Brad hugged me and said, “Be careful who you put your faith in.”
“I know, Brad.” I said looking at Beth.
“Good night.” he said.
“Good night.” I said.
He took Beth’s hand and led her out of the room. Did Brad have something going on with Beth? I walked to my bedroom door and looked down the hall. What I saw terrified me. His eyes were glowing and so where Beth’s eyes… and glowing as in bright green glowing.
I closed my door quietly and pulled out my cell phone. Patara had been stupid enough to leave her phone in my room one day when I was in England so I had pulled Rufus Guardian’s cell phone number out and saved it to my phone. I sent him a text that read, “Rufus? Rufus Guardian? I have some… information you may be interested in.”
Not even three seconds later he had sent me a message back. It said, “I need your name before I make you a deal.”
I knew better than tell him anything more than what I already had in just that one message. “The girl from the hospital.” was the message he received back.
“How did you get my number?”
“It doesn’t matter. We have to meet in person if you want the information, because you aren’t top dog this time. I am.”
“Well, sounds like I am about to make a deal with the little devil.”
“I’ll text you tomorrow with a time and place to meet me. Come alone and so will I. I see everything, Guardian.”
The messages flew like crazy and I was the one to end the conversation. By the time it was over I could hear footsteps outside my room. “Are you awake, love?” Justin asked coming in.
“Yeah.” I said.
He came in and sat next to me on my bed and said, “You feeling okay? You look kind of greenish.”
“I’m fine. Just a little shook up from that.” I said.
“I’ll sleep in here with you, if you want.” he said.
I nodded and lay down on the bed. He lay down facing me. Justin took my hand in his and kissed it. “I won’t let anything happen to you, and that’s a promise.” he whispered.
“I love you, Justin.” I said.
“I love you too, Kori.” he said.
“What do you think is going on?” I asked.
“I don’t know if this is really a mystery I want to solve.” he said.
“I need to know what is going on.” I told him.
“Can’t we hire a detective or something?” he asked.
“No. This is up to the three of us.”
“Three? Who is the other one?”
“His name is Guardian.”
“Please tell me that’s his first name.”
“Okay. It’s his first name. Rufus is his last.”
“You are getting the devil involved with this?”
“The devil is already involved. He is just not in the loop as of yet. Guardian could prove to be a powerful ally.” I said. “How did you know who I was talking about?”
“Patara was a little too trusting with him.” Justin told me.
“I never said we had to trust Guardian, we just have to work with him to figure this out. Figuring Beth out has to be delayed as much as possible because if he figures her out they both may split.” I told him.
“We should talk about this in the morning. We need some sleep. If we don’t figure out the mystery by next week, we will be going back to England.” he said.
“Deal.” I said.
He kissed my forehead and I feel into a deep but unsound sleep.
“I miss Kori.” I said.
“Who’s Kori?” James asked.
“My identical twin sister.” I said.
“You have an identical twin?” James asked.
“And she is nothing like me.” I told him.
“So if it were her choosing between me and Justin then who do you think she would have picked?” he asked.
“Hey I said she wasn’t anything like me, but it doesn’t mean she doesn’t think the same sometimes. With her you never know what kind of crazy ideas she’ll come up with.”
“Like switching places?” my mother said.
“No, she’d never think of that.” I said. It was the truth; ‘Kori’ hadn’t thought of it, I had.
“Right, because you’re Kori.” she said.
“No, because Kori is at home.” I said.
She looked behind her and said, “Kori, Amelia doesn’t have BPD.”
Justin’s eye grew large and James looked dumbfounded. “Right, I forgot.” I said.
“So… I’m confused… is this Kori or Amelia?” Justin asked.
“Kori.” I said.
“So, do I even know the real you?” he asked.
“Yeah, actually. Everything I told you was about me, and James everything I told you was about Amelia.”
“Why?” Jay asked. “Why would you trade places?”
“She wanted to stay here with you, Jay. You are her best friend.” I told him.
“What does that make me to you?”
“Best friend by relation.”
“Okay, so am I Amelia’s boyfriend or yours?” Justin asked.
“Mine.” I said.
“Okay.”
“Wait if what you told me about you was about Amelia then how did you get those scars?” James asked.
“Well, that much was true.” I said. “But Amelia and I both have the same scars.”
I had finally told Justin the story about how I had gotten the scars while we were on the plane. “Then how do people tell you apart?” Justin asked.
“Well it used to be that I dressed one way and she did exactly the opposite. If I wore flowers and butterflies, which I never did, she wore all black… now it’s normally the exact opposite but I am still in character.”
“And grounded.” my mother said.
“Is Amelia ground?” I asked.
“Since you said ‘Kori’ didn’t come up with the idea, I’m assuming she didn’t want to go along with it either.” she said.
“No, she did.” I said.
“Then yes.”
Jay pulled into our driveway and drove till we reached the large house. Amelia ran out and met the car at the steps. “Amelia!” I yelled.
“Kori!” she said.
We wrapped our arms around each other in a huge embrace. “I missed you so much!” we said together.
James and Justin were talking to Jay and my mother about rooming arrangements. “So which one did you fall in love with?” Amelia whispered.
“The blonde one. His name is Justin. The brown haired boy liked the part of me that was you.” I whispered back.
I ran forward to them and took their hands. They walked up the steps with me to where my sister stood. “Justin, James, this is my identical twin sister…” I began.
“Amelia.” James said holding out his hand.
Justin looked at me and smiled. Amelia took his hand and shook it. “It’s nice to meet you James… and Justin.” she said quickly.
“And you, Amelia.” Justin said.
Amelia’s attention was suddenly adverted to our uniforms. “Oh, I love the uniforms. They picked good colors.” she said.
“Yeah, I was hoping to change out of mine as soon as I could.” I said.
“Well you know where your room is.” my mother said. “Justin, James, Jay, come with me and I’ll show you to your rooms.”
I walked up to my room with Amelia right behind me. “How did she find out, Kori?” she asked.
“I don’t know. James must have said something about my meds.” I said.
“Is that… Kori, is that a hearing aid?” she asked.
“I ran into some complications in England. Justin’s fist to be one of them.” I said.
“So you choose the guy who made you deaf?” she asked.
“He meant to hit James. It was more my fault for taking the punch.” I told her.
“So your boyfriend was going to hit James and then what happened?”
“I originally was standing next to James and when Justin went to hit James, I did the only thing I could to keep that from happening. I stepped in front of him and Justin didn’t have time to take it back before he hit me.” I said.
We walked into my room and I saw what I had missed so much. To my left was my drum set, electric guitar, bass guitar, microphones, and a small recording station. On the right was a poster of my brother, Brad, and right under that was my dresser. To the left of the dresser was my desk with a printer and to the right of the dresser was my queen sized bed.
I walked over to my dresser and pulled out some clean clothes. Amelia left me alone in my room so I could change. When I had my clothes changed I walked down the stairs and threw the uniform in the washing machine. “I knew I heard you down here… Kori! I thought Amelia had come down.” my mother said.
“I had to wash my clothes, mom.” I said.
“Well, while you were gone we made some new rules. I’ll explain them tomorrow after school. Now go upstairs and get Jade to make dinner.” she said.
I walked up the stairs leaving the dark basement behind. A lot could change in three days, let alone new rules. Slowly I made my way up stairs and walked into Jay. “Hey, Kori.” he said.
“Do you know where Jade is? I need to have her make dinner.” I said.
“I’ll get her for you. No worries, girlie.” he said.
Jay had never called me that; I hated it and he knew it. “Never call me that, Jay.” I told him.
“You didn’t change much, did you?” he said.
“I have in ways you could never imagine.” I said.
“Like the fact you forgive people faster than normal and don’t hold a grudge?” he said.
“If you just stopped me to be rude then go. I’m not up for it right now.” I said.
“Jay, there you are.” Amelia said.
“Ames, have you seen Jade? Kori was just off to have her make dinner.” Jay said.
“She is in the maid’s quarters making the beds.” she told me.
I took my leave and walked up the stairs to the east wing. Jay was a horrible person and Amelia couldn’t see it; he wouldn’t let her. Sometimes he got testy with me when she wasn’t around then I would go and tell her, but she never would believe me.
As I walked by my room I heard someone in there playing my guitar, and assumed it was James. “James, get out of my room!” I called.
Someone walked out of my room but it wasn’t James. “Kori, that’s not a nice way to greet your brother.” Brad said.
“I thought you were in England!” I said putting my arms around him.
“I came back here yesterday.” he said.
He had been helping me with my fake accent over the phone since he already had mastered the art of fake English accents. “Why didn’t you send me a message?” I asked.
“Didn’t you notice that picture Jay sent you?” he asked.
“Of course I did.” I said. “I thought it might have been doctored or something because Amelia wasn’t in the picture.” I told him.
“What do you mean? She was right next to me.” he said.
I pulled out my phone and opened the picture. He looked at it and then me. “This is getting really weird.” he said.
“What does that mean?” I asked.
“Mum, won’t let anyone in the basement except for Amelia and Jay. She installed video cameras in every wing to keep an eye on all of us and Jade isn’t herself anymore. She won’t speak to us ever since she made her third trek into the basement the day I came back.” he said.
“Wait, I thought we had a maid named Jamie.”
“We did. She went missing the day after you left before I got back.”
“I wonder why this is happening. Why is Jay living here now? Mum knows he is rude to me.”
“I’m not sure.”
“Where are the monitors for the cameras?”
“In the attic. Mum left it for the first time since they were installed to come get you and even then she had it locked.”
“Are you up for some music?” I asked.
James had walked into the hall with Justin. “Sure.” Brad said.
We walked into my room and I sat at the drums. Brad picked up my lead guitar and to my surprise Justin stood at the microphone while James took the bass. I started with a count off, “One… two… three… four!”
We all began to play, but Justin didn’t start the lyrics until I began to sing a melody to a song I had learned in England. He apparently knew the song so he began to sing it. Little did they know; I had pressed record on the station before sitting down behind the drums. When we had all finished playing I stood and pressed stop.
“Who wants to hear some feedback?” I asked.
Justin didn’t answer but the other two nodded eagerly. Amelia now stood at the door and was listening to our recording. When it finished I looked at Justin and he turned red. “I didn’t know you could sing.” I said.
“There’s a lot you don’t know about me.” he said.
“I hope you intend to tell me.” I told him smiling.
He nodded and took the three steps forward and took my hand. “Let’s go for a walk.” he said.
We walked down the stairs and out the front door, and then down those stairs. He led me to my favorite spot on our property; the pier. “I’ve always been into music. My parents are dead. You are my first girlfriend. I hate Jay already.” he said.
“Don’t worry about hating Jay because I do to.” I told him.
“My family disowned me. I live with foster parents over the summer. I was let in on a scholarship much like you and Tiffany. Jamie was my only friend when I started there and not so much now. I am way smarter than I would first seem.” he said. “And most importantly I love you.”
“I love you to, Justin.” I said.
Amelia came running onto the pier as we were about to kiss. “Kori, James feel down the stairs.” she said.
Justin and I broke into a run and followed her up the hill to house. James was on the ground and his head was bleeding. “Justin, call 911. Amelia, go get me a new first aid kit. Jay… just leave me alone so I can do this without making it worse.” I said.
They all left; even Jay. James’s pulse was just below normal which gave me little more time to get done what needed to be down. Amelia came back first and handed me the first aid kit. “You should go give Justin the address.” I told her.
She ran back up the stairs and I opened the first aid kit. I put the plastic gloves on and pulled out the gauze. Carefully I lifted his head and found where his head had cracked open. Quickly I placed the gauze there and then wrapped his head in the bandage. Justin and Amelia came back out, “Stairs!” I called to Justin.
He came down carefully so he wouldn’t fall but Amelia ran down them by twos. She knelt next to me and listened to his breathing. “He isn’t breathing!” she said.
“Do you know mouth to mouth?” Justin asked her.
“She isn’t trained in first aid, Justin. I am.” I told him.
“Well do mouth to mouth recitation!” he said.
I tilted James’s head back and pinched his nose closed. Slowly I took a deep breath and put my mouth to his. I released the breath into his mouth, and repeated the process three times. I pushed down on his chest to get him to breathe on his own and on the fourth push he exhaled.
We heard the ambulance in the distance. “I’ll go with him to the hospital. You guys tell mum what happened so she can call his parents.” I told them.
Justin looked at me and then James. He kissed my forehead and lead Amelia up the stairs into the house. A few minutes later the medics were there putting him on the gurney. “Did you wrap his head?” the lead medic asked.
“Yes, sir.” I said.
“You saved his life.” he told me.
“He stopped breathing about four minutes ago. I did mouth to mouth to get him going again. Is he going to be okay?” I said.
“Please, ma’am, come with us to the hospital. He may not make it and we want someone to be there for him.” he told me.
The other medics had loaded him into the ambulance by the time I climbed in. I took his hand and held it the whole ride there. He didn’t open his eyes and he wasn’t breathing on his own. “Please, James, don’t die.” I said.
It was more a plea than anything. I didn’t know what I would without him around. The medics took him out of the ambulance and ran him in to the hospital. I followed them in closely. They took him to a room with multiple machines. Carefully they transferred him from the gurney to the bed.
I sat in the chair next to his bed and held his hand. “Do you have a guitar, by chance?” I asked one of the medics before they left.
“Yeah, I’ll go get it for you.” she said.
I waited in the hospital room and watched as a doctor inspected James’s head. “He’ll need a blood transfusion and stiches but he should live.” he told me.
“What blood type does he need?” I asked.
“He has type AB.” he told me.
“Can I make a blood donation for my friend here?” I asked.
“Right this way.” he said holding out his hand.
I stood and kissed James on the forehead. “I’ll be back in a few minutes.” I whispered; though I knew he couldn’t hear me.
The doctor followed me out the door and then led me down the hall. “Doctor Jake, this young lady would like to donate blood for her friend.” he said.
The doctor turned and asked me to sit in the chair to his right. He handed me a pamphlet and had me fill it out for him. I finished it as soon as I could and gave it to him. “Have you eaten today?” he asked.
“I had lunch.” I told him.
“I want you to eat these and then press the buzzer, only then will we draw blood.” he told me handing a small package of Oreos.
I ate the Oreos as quick as I could and then pressed the buzzer. Before the doctor came back in I sat in the blue chair with the single arm. “Looks like you are eager to get this done. I just need to check your blood pressure and we can begin.” the doctor said.
He took my blood pressure and then said, “Looks like you can give just enough blood for that boy.” he said.
He handed me something to hold before he stuck my arm with a needle. I released the minor pain in my arm by squeezing the cotton in my hand. The blood flowed from my arm into the bag quickly. In a matter of minutes the bag was filled and he said, “I am going to put a new bag in. Tell me when you feel faint.”
He stopped the blood flow and had the nurse switch bags. The blood started flowing again and after a few minutes I was feeling light head. “I’m getting light headed.” I whispered.
The doctor took the needle out and bandaged my arm. “Can you take me back to his room?” I asked.
“Nurse Kelly, walk Miss…” he began.
“Kori Kavanagh.” I said.
“To Mr.…” he began again.
“James.” I said.
“Last name?” he asked.
“Rutter.” I said.
Nurse Kelly walked me to James’s room supporting some of my weight. I sat in the chair next to him and took his hand again. The others weren’t going to come; I knew that, but James would be saddened by that. Secretly I was hoping Amelia would fall for him and stop spending so much time with Jay, but I knew in my heart that it wasn’t going to happen like that at all. “I’m sorry, James. I should have known I made a stupid choice about bringing you here.” I muttered.
“Kori?” someone said from the door.
I turned and saw a girl from school. “What are you doing here?” I asked her.
“I came to see James. He went to my old school back in England.” she said.
“You were the Bryana that went missing?” I asked.
“Yes, of course.” she said.
“How did you hear about him?” I said.
“Jay called me.” she told me.
I looked back to James and she sat down in the other chair next to me. She put her arm around me and pulled me into a hug. “He’s going to be fine, Kori. James is a strong boy.” she whispered.
“I know he is.” I told her.
“Miss Kavanagh, you blood has been approved for his transfusion.” Doctor Jake said.
“Thank you.” I said.
“We are going to have to ask the two of you to wait in the waiting room while we stich his head.” he said.
Bryana took me by the hand and led me out into the waiting area. “What happened?” she asked.
“He is staying with me, Justin, Jay, and my family at my house. When he came outside earlier he forgot about the stairs and he fell down them.” I said.
We sat there in silence for a few minutes and then she said, “I’ll go get us something to eat from the cafeteria.”
She walked down the hall and left me alone for a few minutes. “You, girl, do you know her?” a man asked.
“I don’t talk to strangers.” I said.
He didn’t bother me again as I waited for Bryana to come back. She carried two trays when she came back. “Here.” she said handing me one with two glazed doughnuts, pancakes, bacon, and water on it.
“Thanks.” I said.
She sat down and said, “It’s the least I could do.”
“That man behind us… do you know him?” I whispered.
“Oh no, he found me.” she said glancing in the mirror overhead. “Rufus has been following me all the way from England.”
“Miss Kavanagh, Miss James, we finished the stiches so you may go back in when you finish eating.” Doctor Jake said.
“Thank you, doctor.” I said.
The two of us stood up and walked into James’s room. I let Bryana sit next to James’s bed and watched as she took his hand. “Bryana, do you like him as more than a friend?” I asked.
“Yes.” she said. “Does he talk about me?”
“Well I’ve only known him for a few days so he may when I’m not around, but when I am he is more concerned about school.” I told her.
“I figured as much.” she said.
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“That Tiffany girl stole him right out from under me.”
“So she stole him from you, I stole him from her for my sister but she is more occupied with Jay, so I suppose that means…”
“He’s available.” she said.
“That he is.” I told her.
“Would you mind not calling me Bryana? Can you call me Elizabeth or Beth?” she said.
“Who is that man?” I whispered.
“Someone who wants to know what I know.”
“What do you know?”
“Everything and nothing… all at once.
James’s head moved slightly. “James, are you awake?” Bryana… Beth asked.
He didn’t answer and I looked at one of the machines. “I think he is conscious just not awake, yet.” I said.
His head moved again, this time toward our voices. “Bryana?” he asked.
“James!” she said.
“You are here. I’m sorry, Bryana.” he whispered.
He squeezed her hand and slowly his eyes opened. Beth smiled at him and his eyes darted to me. “Kori, you saved my life.” he said.
“It’s what any good friend would do.” I said.
“Then I supposed Jay is a bad friend.” James smiled weakly.
“I know. He has never been a good friend for anyone except Amelia.” I told him.
“That’s not what I meant, Kori. I didn’t just fall down the stairs. He pushed me down them. Jay thought that if he didn’t do something that Amelia would like me more than she does him.” he told me.
Beth looked at me and said, “How hard did he hit his head?”
“Pretty hard, but it does sound like something the real Jay would do.” I told her.
“James, tell me exactly what happened.” she said to him.
“No. I will only tell Kori when we are alone.” he said.
“Beth, you should head to school and tell the others he woke up.” I told her.
“Beth? This is Bryana.” he said.
“I’ll explain when she leaves.” I whispered.
Beth walked out of the room and closed the door. She walked down the hall out of sight. “What’s going on, Kori?” he asked.
“There is a man after a girl named Bryana. His name is Rufus. He is after her for something she knows.” I told him.
“What does she know that he needs to know… wait Rufus is here!?” he asked.
“You know him?” I asked.
“He kidnapped Patara and then when Amy and Tiffany went to save her he trapped them in a warehouse.” he said. “What does he want from Bryana?”
“She said she knows everything and nothing all at once.” I told him.
“I guess it’s my turn.” he said.
I nodded and said, “You should sleep first, Jim.”
“She calls me that, too… but I won’t sleep until I tell you.” he said.
“Go on then.”
“Jay has been following me around the house. I did my best to stay upstairs or somewhere near you or Amelia, but the time when you were outside and Amelia was nowhere to be found was when he found his opportunity to try and get me out of the picture. When Amelia went to get you he kicked me in the back of the head until it cracked open. That was when I went unconscious.” he said.
He winced in pain; like he was still in pain. The doctor came back in and said, “Mr. James, how are you feeling?”
“Did you take x-rays yet?” I asked.
“No, should we?” he said.
“It might prove to be an excellent idea.” I told him.
“Bring me a wheel chair!” Doctor Jake called out the door.
Nurse Kelly brought one in and helped James into it. “I’m going to have to ask you to wait here while we do the x-rays.” she said.
I nodded and said, “When you have the results would you let me know?”
“Of course.” she said.
I watched her wheel James out of his room and down the hall to the x-ray rooms. I sat down on James’s bed and waited for half an hour. After a few more minutes I pulled out my phone and checked the messages. There was one from Justin. I pulled it out and read it, “Hey, babe, I’m on my way to the hospital. I have something important to talk to you about. I love you. Justin.”
I pressed reply and typed in, “James is awake and in getting x-rays now. Just wait until you find out what really happened. I love you mor., Kori.”
I finished typing it in and pressed the send button. Nurse Kelly came in and said, “He broke a few ribs but nothing serious.”
“Thank you.” I said.
Just after she left Justin ran in. “Hey, is he still doing okay?” he asked.
“Yeah, the nurse just told me he broke a few ribs but it wasn’t anything to serious. He got lucky.” I said.
“That’s good news.” he said. “So what really did happen?”
He sat next to me and took my hand. I looked at him and told him the story that James had told me. Justin listened and didn’t interrupt. When I finished he said, “How hard did he hit his head?”
“That’s what an old friend of his said when she saw him, but something tells me that his story is true.” I told him.
“Who was this friend?” he asked.
I leaned closer to him and whispered, “Bryana was here. Jay called her so they may be in this together.”
“We can’t trust either of them, can we?” he said.
“I don’t think so.” I said.
Justin pulled something out of his pocket. “This is what I wanted to talk to you about. I know I haven’t known you very long, but I love you all the same.” he said sliding onto the floor, on one knee. “Will you marry me, Kori?” he said.
“Yes.” I said.
He smiled and slid the ring on my ring onto my finger. Justin stood up and pressed a hand to cheek and kissed me. Nurse Kelly came in with James when we separated. “James!” Justin said.
“Hey, man. How’s everything going with you?” he asked.
“Me? You’re the one who is the wheelchair.” Justin said.
“Fine, so I’m temporarily handicapped. Just you wait until tomorrow. I’ll be back on my feet just like it never happened.” he told Justin.
“How much do you remember?” I asked.
“I was trying to find you and Justin because he left… that in his room.” he said looking at my hand.
“You knew?” I asked.
“Of course I did. He told me on the plane after you went to sleep.” he told me.
“What else did he tell you?” I asked.
“That’s all.” he said quickly.
I smiled as he came closer to his bed. “Help a man out, Justin.” he said.
Justin lifted him from the wheelchair and sat him on his bed. “Where did Beth go?” he asked.
“Beth?” Justin said.
“That girl who was here earlier.” I said.
“Right.” he said.
“She had to go tell the rest of the family you are okay.” I said.
“Well Doctor Jake said that I could leave today.” James said.
“Can you walk?” I asked.
He stood up and walked around for a few minutes. “If you can walk then why did I have to help you get out of that chair?” Justin asked.
“I was being lazy.” he laughed.
We walked out of the hospital room and to the check in desk. “I’m checking out Mr. Rutter.” I said.
“Sign here please.” the nurse said.
I signed James’s name and then signed mine, putting the time. Justin, James, and I walked outside and Justin led us to a car. “I think it’s best if you drive, America. I almost hit four different cars on the way here.” he said.
James got in the backseat and I sat in the driver’s seat with Justin next to me. I put the key in the ignition and turned it. The engine roared to live and we speed down the road home. “I can’t believe you drove this all the way there, Justin. Do you even have a driver’s license for America?” I said.
“No. That’s another reason I decided it best if you drove. Besides, I’m sure none of us have a certain death wish.” he said.
I took his hand as I drove down the road. He took it to his lips and kissed it. “Do you have to do that in front of me?” James asked; annoyed.
“Sorry, does it bother you?” I asked looking in the rear view mirror.
“No. I’m sorry, I stepped out of line. You two are engaged, do what you will… just not too much.” he said.
“I’m happy to hear you say that, bro. You are the best man.” Justin told him.
“It’d be my honor.” he said.
“But we are of course going to wait until we graduate, aren’t we, Justin?” I said.
“Of course, love.” he said.
I pulled into the driveway and kept going. “Do you think you can make it up the steps?” I asked James.
“Shouldn’t be a problem.” he said.
We all got out of the car after I parked it in front of the house. Jay, Amelia, and my mother came out of the front door while I inspected the car. “Justin, come here.” I said.
“Okay, so I may have scrapped the door getting out.” he said. “I was worried about James.”
“It’s fine. This isn’t my favorite car. My favorite car is the green Camaro.” I told him.
He took my hand and directed my attention to Jay. “Do you think you can get up these stairs without falling again?” Jay called to James.
I let go of Justin’s hand and darted up the stairs. Jay didn’t have time to react before I tackled him to the ground. He didn’t cover his face before I started to pound it in so I took it as a go for it. Amelia was too stunned to do anything and my mother was too busy fussing over the scratch on the car.
Justin was the one to pull me off Jay and calm me down. He pulled Jay to his feet only to punch him in the face knocking him back to the floor. James had made it up the stairs and now he kicked Jay in the side of his head; at the temple. “If you say anything to me again, Jay, it will be worse than a black eye and a little pain. Keep your hands off me as well unless you want me to call the police.” he whispered into Jay’s ear.
Justin, James, and I walked upstairs to my room and went in. “Lift your shirt, James. I want to make sure they wrapped your stomach.” I said.
He lay on my bed after taking his shirt. I was right to have checked because they hadn’t wrapped it before we left. Justin walked into the bathroom I had directed him to and pulled out large bandage. Slowly, carefully I began to wrap James’s torso. Every so often I would take it over his shoulder and bring it down onto his chest, and then wrapped it around his chest again.
“How do you know all of this first aid stuff?” Justin asked.
“It was something else Amelia didn’t want to go to. Mum wanted one of us to go so I went.” I said; simply.
“So how exactly did you save my life?” James asked.
“Well everyone, except Jay, was panicking I took control and told them all what to do. I told Jay to leave me alone and he did. When I finally got your head wrapped to slow the bleeding you had stopped breathing. I did mouth to mouth and got you breathing again. Then at the hospital when they informed me you need a blood transfusion I donated over a pint of blood; which they gave you.” I said.
“So you saved my life three times today in a matter of a few hours. I guess that mean I owe you my life more than the medics.” he said.
“You could say that.” I said as I tied off the bandage.
James took a deep breath as I did so then said, “So when does school start tomorrow?”
“Same time as it did in England, the only difference is we are in a different time zone.” I said.
“So in other words we should be getting ready for bed?” Justin said.
“Yes. First dibs on my shower!” I said.
“Second!” Justin said.
“Third.” James said. “What about my bandage?”
“We’ll just wash your hair and spray you with as much cologne as possible.” I said. “And while I’ll be dealing with hair, I’ll give you both a free haircut.”
They didn’t object but they did laugh about spraying James with cologne. I went into the bathroom and got in the shower. It was a ten minute shower and when I got out I left it on for Justin. Quickly I dressed and went back into my room. James was inspecting my guitars and Justin was looking at my poster of Brad. “This is your brother?” he asked as I came in.
“Yeah. He isn’t really English, he just acts like it.” I said.
“I’ll be in the loo.” he said walking to the bathroom.
As he walked he pulled of his shirt. He turned and smiled at me before he went in. I rolled my eyes and started talking to James. “So how much hair do you want to keep?” I asked.
“I guess that’s for you to decide.” he said.
I looked at his hair for a minute and said, “Tilt you head forward, please.”
He tilted his head forward as I walked behind him. I parted his hair in a few places until I found his stiches. “I’m not going to take too much off. Maybe an inch or two.” I said.
“Sounds good.” he said.
“Are you okay?” I asked.
He turned around and said, “I don’t think that was really Bryana. It can’t have been.”
“Why do you say that?” I asked.
“We were told she was killed.” he said.
He was starting to cry. “You love her, don’t you, James.” I said.
He nodded and said, “When Tiffany came it was the day Bryana went missing. I thought I fancied her and we started dating. She actually did like me, but after a while of knowing what had happened to Bryana, that I sorted it out. Then you came and you looked exactly like her. Everything that just back, everything I had, had for Bryana. When you chose Justin I figured it out all over again.” he told me.
“It’s okay, James. You will find someone.” I said.
Justin came out of the bathroom and his hair was dripping wet. James looked up and said, “I suppose it’s my turn.”
I picked up one of the chairs I had in my room and sat it in front of the bathroom sink. James sat in the chair and waited for further instructions. I turned on the water and made sure it wasn’t too hot or too cold. “Tilt your head back.” I said.
James tilted his head back and I got his hair drenching wet. “Keep your head under the water, James.” I said turning.
I reached into the shower and pulled out a bottle of shampoo. “What is taking so long?” Justin asked from the door.
“I had to get the shampoo out of the shower.” I said.
I put some on the palm of my hand and then worked it into James’s hair. Quickly I rinsed out the shampoo and wrapped his head in a towel. “Now where is that cologne?” James joked.
I pulled out a pair of scissors, a comb, and a hair dryer. Before he had time to object I plugged in the hair dryer and began to blow dry his hair. His hair was soft to the touch when I finished. Slowly I began to cut his hair; taking two inches of each side. When I finished you still wouldn’t be able to see his stiches.
“Your turn, Justin.” I said.
James got up from the chair and Justin sat down. “I’m only going to trim off the ends.” I told him. “Your hair is beautiful.”
His hair was already dry, so I combed his hair before I began to cut it. I carefully trimmed off the end and put a touch of color in his hair. When he looked in the mirror he said, “What did you do to my hair, love?”
“I just added a touch color. Now we both have green in our hair.” I said.
“It is lovely.” he said.
He took my hand and led me back into my room. James was inspecting my guitars again. “If you want to play it, go ahead.” I said.
James jumped and turned around. “I didn’t realize you had come out of the bathroom.” he said.
“Are you going to play or not?” Justin asked.
James picked up the guitar and plugged it into the amp. He started playing and at first I couldn’t recognize the song. After the first few notes I realized it was A La Nanita Nana. I had never heard it on electric guitar before. Justin began to sing the song; like he had heard it a thousand times.
It was unbelievable that they both knew the song well enough to sing it on their own. I felt a hand on my shoulder and looked up at Brad’s smiling face. “They are fantastic, Kori.” he whispered.
“I know.” I said.
He took my hand and said, “Before I go back to England tomorrow I would like to have a dance with my little sister.”
I put my arm on his shoulder and I danced with him. Justin and James kept playing songs that I knew; one of them was Brad’s song, Right Time. When that song began to play he looked up and said, “Did you guys know who I was when I came to your school the day before Kori got there?”
“Of course we did.” James said. “But we would never tell anyone.”
“Thanks.” Brad said.
That was the last song before my mother came on over speaker, “Dinner time. Everyone report to the dining room, right now.”
I took Justin’s hand and we walked down the stairs; Brad and James behind us. I sat at the dinner table with Justin to my left and Brad to my right. Amelia was next to Brad and Jay was next to her at the end. James sat at the edge of the table across from my mother and Jade was on the opposite side of the table from me; sitting next to the other maid.
We ate meals with our maids every day unlike other families would. I helped myself to some fried chicken, mashed potatoes, gravy, and rolls. Justin and I held hands under the table but no one really noticed, except for Brad. He cleared his throat and then took a bite of his chicken.
Justin looked at me and nodded. “Guys, Justin and I would like to say something.” I said.
“Go on, Kori.” my mother said.
“Kori and I are engaged.” Justin said.
Amelia’s chin dropped and so did Jay’s. My mother didn’t look surprised at all, for some reason I suspected she already knew because of the video cameras. “Mother, did you already know this?” I asked.
“Well the ring on your finger kind of gave it away.” she said.
“What do you mean? I don’t have a ring on my visible hand.” I told her.
“I saw it before you sat down.” she told me.
I knew it to be a lie, but I didn’t say anything about it. “Of course, how silly of me.” I said.
She smiled and took a bite of her chicken. Then it came to me, wasn’t she allergic to half the food on the table? I looked at Brad and he whispered, “We’ll talk later.”
I nodded and continued to eat without speaking. When I finished I moved to get up but Brad grabbed my leg. “May I be excused?” he asked.
“Yes, dear.” my mother said.
“May I be excused, mother?” I asked.
“Finish your potatoes first.” she said.
I finished eating my stupid potatoes and got up from the table. Quickly I rinsed my plate and walked up stairs. Justin and James close behind me. “What is going on, Brad? Isn’t Mother allergic to chicken?” I said.
“Be quiet and come with me.” he whispered.
We walked up the stairs and he led us to the attic steps. He told us to keep an eye out for my mother and he picked the lock on the door. Brad tapped my shoulder and motioned for me to go in front of him. I walked up the stairs; careful not to make them squeak.
When we got to the top we looked around only to see complete darkness. “There can’t be a security system in here, Brad. It’s too dark to see anything.” I whispered.
“That’s what she wanted us to think.” he told me.
“Why aren’t we allowed in the basement?” I asked.
“I don’t know. She never gave me a reason.” he said.
I turned to him and thumped him on the head. “What was that for?” he asked.
“She didn’t give you a reason… security cameras… not allowed in the basement… you idiot the system is in the basement!” I told him.
“Oh, I got it know. Let’s go before we get caught.” he said going down the steps.
I heard him talking to my mother and moved to hide quickly. There was a barrel right next to me with a little peep hole in it. Before she made it up the steps I got in the barrel and moved to where I could see out the hole. A light came on when she made it up the steps. My pupils didn’t have time to dilate before I had to close them to shield them against the light.
Quickly I opened them and pulled out my cell phone. I always had it on mute and lucky for me it was the very same case. Slowly I found the camera button and changed it to video. When I pressed record I saw my mother putting in a pass code to a door. The pass code wasn’t like normal. It was a lock that had double digits.
I zoomed the camera in as far as it could go and saw that it was 05-01-05-18-15. A door clicked open and she went in closing it behind her. Not giving myself time to think I got out of the barrel and headed down the stairs to the second floor. When I closed the door I turned and saw Brad against the wall.
The others were crowded around him trying to find out what we had seen. “Kori, you’re okay.” Brad said when he saw me.
He put his arms around me and hugged me. “There’s a door. It’s not a normal door.” I whispered. “I have a recording on my phone… which I left in the barrel!”
“Don’t go back up there. You don’t know when she’ll come out.” James whispered.
“I can’t get in trouble if she hasn’t told me the new rules.” I said.
“She has point.” Justin said. “But let me go instead.”
“No. I will go.” I said turning back to the door.
I walked back up the stairs making sure it was quiet before I entered the attic. There was no sign of my mother so I made my way to the barrel and reached in for my phone. When I grabbed it I opened it and shone it on the bottom of the barrel. What I saw nearly made me pass out; I would have if I hadn’t heard the other door opening.
I raced down the steps without a sound and ran to my room, the others behind me. “What’s wrong, Kori, love?” Justin asked.
“Never look inside the barrel… never look inside the barrel… never look inside the barrel.” I repeated it over and over.
“Love, what was in the barrel?” he whispered.
My eyes darted around the room making sure there was no camera. “May.” I whispered.
“You?” he asked.
“Not me, May.” Brad said.
“Who is May?” James whispered.
“It was our mother’s name.” I told him.
“Your mother was in the barrel?” Justin asked.
“She didn’t have a head… or an arm… or a leg.” I said.
“Do you want to go back to England, love?” he asked.
“No. We will figure out the mystery.” I said.
“Not another mystery. I vote on going back to England.” James said.
“Jim, shut your yap.” Beth said walking in.
“Beth.” I said walking to her.
“It’ll all be okay, love. Don’t worry. I’m here and I’m not leaving until we figure this out.” he said.
I looked at her and her expression was blank; just like my fake mother. It was up to James, Justin, Brad, and I to figure it out but I wouldn’t say it to her; she may have more power than I feared. Justin took my hand and pulled me from Beth. “This may be a good time to get Rufus involved.” I whispered to James.
“What? No!” he said.
Justin elbowed him and said, “We should get some sleep, love.”
“Good night.” I said.
He kissed my forehead and pulled James out by the arms. Brad hugged me and said, “Be careful who you put your faith in.”
“I know, Brad.” I said looking at Beth.
“Good night.” he said.
“Good night.” I said.
He took Beth’s hand and led her out of the room. Did Brad have something going on with Beth? I walked to my bedroom door and looked down the hall. What I saw terrified me. His eyes were glowing and so where Beth’s eyes… and glowing as in bright green glowing.
I closed my door quietly and pulled out my cell phone. Patara had been stupid enough to leave her phone in my room one day when I was in England so I had pulled Rufus Guardian’s cell phone number out and saved it to my phone. I sent him a text that read, “Rufus? Rufus Guardian? I have some… information you may be interested in.”
Not even three seconds later he had sent me a message back. It said, “I need your name before I make you a deal.”
I knew better than tell him anything more than what I already had in just that one message. “The girl from the hospital.” was the message he received back.
“How did you get my number?”
“It doesn’t matter. We have to meet in person if you want the information, because you aren’t top dog this time. I am.”
“Well, sounds like I am about to make a deal with the little devil.”
“I’ll text you tomorrow with a time and place to meet me. Come alone and so will I. I see everything, Guardian.”
The messages flew like crazy and I was the one to end the conversation. By the time it was over I could hear footsteps outside my room. “Are you awake, love?” Justin asked coming in.
“Yeah.” I said.
He came in and sat next to me on my bed and said, “You feeling okay? You look kind of greenish.”
“I’m fine. Just a little shook up from that.” I said.
“I’ll sleep in here with you, if you want.” he said.
I nodded and lay down on the bed. He lay down facing me. Justin took my hand in his and kissed it. “I won’t let anything happen to you, and that’s a promise.” he whispered.
“I love you, Justin.” I said.
“I love you too, Kori.” he said.
“What do you think is going on?” I asked.
“I don’t know if this is really a mystery I want to solve.” he said.
“I need to know what is going on.” I told him.
“Can’t we hire a detective or something?” he asked.
“No. This is up to the three of us.”
“Three? Who is the other one?”
“His name is Guardian.”
“Please tell me that’s his first name.”
“Okay. It’s his first name. Rufus is his last.”
“You are getting the devil involved with this?”
“The devil is already involved. He is just not in the loop as of yet. Guardian could prove to be a powerful ally.” I said. “How did you know who I was talking about?”
“Patara was a little too trusting with him.” Justin told me.
“I never said we had to trust Guardian, we just have to work with him to figure this out. Figuring Beth out has to be delayed as much as possible because if he figures her out they both may split.” I told him.
“We should talk about this in the morning. We need some sleep. If we don’t figure out the mystery by next week, we will be going back to England.” he said.
“Deal.” I said.
He kissed my forehead and I feel into a deep but unsound sleep.
House of Greeks Day 5
The next morning I woke up screaming. “Kori, what is?” James asked running in.
Justin had been trying to calm me down for five minutes by the time he came. “Bad dream.” Justin told him. “Very bad dream.”
“I think she should stay here.” James said.
“No! I have to go to school.” I said.
My entire body jerked in a twitch. “Love, are you sure you want to go to school?” Justin asked.
“Perfectly certain.” I told him.
I jumped out of bed, but I still wasn’t calm. Any sudden movements made me scream. “I’ve never seen anyone so scarred except for… Austin! We need to talk to Austin. Maybe he can understand what happened to Kori.” James said.
“No! We don’t need Austin. Austin is fine. I’m fine, aren’t I love?” I said.
It wasn’t like me to speak like that. It must have been something about the dream I had, had that night. What else could it have been? Something I ate maybe? Drank? Saw? Then it hit me, I was acting like that because of May.
Her headless body still moving, even without an arm and leg. I would have thought it impossible, but no; what I had seen made it clear. Nothing was impossible these days.
I stumbled to the bathroom and looked in the mirror. Without thinking I screamed. There was a body hanging from the shower head. The body of my brother. He was deader than May should have been, but he was still moving. Missing an arm, a leg, and his head; it seemed that anyone in this house was in danger.
I pulled out my phone and took a picture of the body before the others came in. “Call the police, now!” Justin said.
Jay had come in and his clothes were red. “How could you kill my brother!” I yelled at him.
“Kill your brother… Kori! I was making some steak and the blood got on my shirt.” he said.
I turned around and took a picture of him. Justin grabbed my hand and pulled me out of the house. He put me in the car and James was right behind me. “It’s time to go see Guardian. Call him now, Kori.” Justin said as he drove down the road.
I dialed Rufus and when he answered he said, “I thought you were going to text me.”
“Change of plans. We had an emergency and I need you to meet us at the park, by the pier.” I said.
“When?” he asked.
“We are heading there now. Be there as soon as you can.” I said.
Justin pulled into a parking lot and we got out and walked to the pier. I saw a man there and he was alone. “There.” I said looking at him. “You two stay right here. If we start walking, keep your distance but follow us.”
They both nodded and I took a few steps forward. “Guardian.” I said.
“Miss…” he began.
“Kori Kavanagh.” I said.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Kori.” he said. “So what is this information you promised me?”
“First you have to make a deal. I will gradually tell you information as I learn it in trade for your help.” I said.
“My help? With what?”
“Have you ever heard of my brother, Brad Kavanagh?"
“Indeed I have.”
“Dead.”
“How did this happen?” he asked.
“You tell me.” I said showing him the picture on my phone.
“Amelia… is she alright?” he asked suddenly.
“Of course she is… Father.” I said.
“How did you find out?” he asked.
“I never mentioned my sister.” I said. “Now that we have that little reunion done there are a few people I want you to meet just over there.”
I motioned for them to come without taking my eyes of my father. “Justin, James, meet Rufus Guardian, my father. Rufus, meet James and Justin. Dad, before we go any further there is something you should know. Justin and I are engaged.”
“I figured as much.” he said looking at the ring on my finger and how close Justin was standing.
“I’m not sure if it is a pleasure to meet you or not, sir.” Justin said.
He held out his hand all the same. Rufus shook it and said, “I am sorry for having kidnapped your friend. Now I must ask of you something, Mr. James. Where is Bryana?”
I looked at James and he said, “I don’t know where Bryana is.”
Rufus was growing angry. “Dad, I said I would feed you information as I gathered it. We don’t have that information just yet.” I said quickly.
He looked at me and said, “You always were a bright girl. Until you friended Jay.”
“I know I was an idiot to have become friends with Jay, Dad, but there is no reason for you to tell me that. You already put that message into my skin a few years ago.” I told him.
“I was trying to protect you.” he told me.
“I know that now.”
He put his arms around me and pulled me into a hug. “I wish I could take it back more than anything, Kori.”
“I know. It’s okay. So are you going to help us?” I asked.
“I guess I have to. If only to protect you from Jay.” he said.
“Do you really think it was Jay?” I asked.
“I also think that there is something going on with your mother and Jay.” he told me.
“It’s not May. Long story short… She is no longer part of the equation. Like Brad.” I said.
“May is dead?”
“As dead as Brad. The was one thing I forgot to mention… they were both missing their head, left arm, and right leg but they were still moving.”
“I want you all to go back to England and let me take care of this. I’m afraid to say but it sounds like there is a serial killer in that house. If not go back to England find somewhere safe to stay.”
“Rufus, sir, are you telling us that there is even the slightest possibility that Jay is a serial killer?” Justin asked.
“You catch on fast.” he said.
“I know I do. It isn’t too hard after being part of the Anubis House mystery.” he said.
I looked at him and James and said, “What mystery?”
“Earl, Rufus, Sue, Myths, the house. It was all just a mystery waiting for us to unfold it.” James said.
“You two solved a mystery that involved my father?” I asked.
“Yes. He was rather good friends with Sue when they were younger.” he said. “I’ve said too much.”
“Shall we make a vow not to keep secrets from each other?” my father asked.
“We shall indeed.” I said.
“Tell me where Bryana is.” he said.
He knew we knew and it was no longer a question. “She is the girl you asked about in the hospital.” I said.
“Kori!” Justin said.
“You didn’t see what I saw last night. She could be in it with Jay!” I told them.
“What did you see?” Rufus asked.
“She was in the hall with Brad. Their eyes were glowing neon green and then he showed up in the bathroom dead.” I said. “Before that when I went up into the attic to get my phone out of the barrel I found May inside the very same barrel I had been in. Someone is trying to tell me something important and I’m not getting it."
“I don’t understand.” Justin said.
“Neither do I.” someone behind us said.
“Please tell me that’s not who I think it is.” I whispered.
“I wish I could, Kori.” Rufus said.
I turned and found myself face to face with Jay and Bryana; no longer trying to be Beth. “What do you want?” I said.
“Since we’ve this far we might as well finish the job. We were hired to kill your entire family and anyone interferes.” Jay said.
“Did you like our signs?” Bryana asked.
“Amelia?” Rufus asked.
“Haven’t you figured it out yet? She was the one who hired us.” Jay said.
“Amelia would never do that!” James yelled.
I glanced behind me and saw Rufus holding a knife. He stepped forward slightly as I nudged James. James looked behind him and opened his hand to receive the knife. “Kill Bryana first.” I whispered.
“What about me?” Bryana asked.
“Don’t you remember me, Bryana? You loved me back at Anubis House. Don’t you still feel that?” James said.
She blinked at him and said, “Jim?”
“Yes, Bryana. Jim.” he said.
She took a few steps forward and hugged him. “I’m surrey.” he whispered.
He lifted the knife and plunged it into her back. When he pulled it out and stepped to the side she fell and tumbled down the hill into the water. “You killed Bryana!” Jay yelled.
“You’re next Jay!” James said walking forward.
Jay turned and fled from the scene and we did too; but not terrified like he. We were leaving the scene of a crime of which was too horrible for anyone to undertake. Bryana had been a good friend to James and Justin; and then James literally stabbed her in the back.
We ran and Rufus said, “Get in the car!”
None of us considered possible risks getting in the car. Justin and I sat in the backseat with James in the front. James was still terrified of what he had done. “I killed her. I killed my friend.” he kept saying.
“James, if you hadn’t we all would have been killed. Like Brad was.” I told him.
He looked shaken but stronger at the same time. I knew right then I could have never done what he had; even to Jay. “James, do you realize how brave you just were. You put your life on line and saved is while you were at it. Jay could have had a gun and tried to shot you when Bryana was dead.” Justin said.
I was holding his hand and then everything went a little fuzzy. “I’m surrey, guys. I’ve got to put you out until we get to the hideout.” Rufus said putting on a gas mask.
I went light headed and passed out with Justin’s head on my shoulder and my head on top of his. My dream was almost freakishly real. In it were Trudy and the others from Anubis House. They were talking to each other making what seemed like bets.
“I think she’ll choose James.” Tiffany said.
“You are nuts! She is going to choose Justin.” Patara said.
“Which do you think she’ll choose Trudy?” Mitchell asked.
“I think she’ll choose the one her heart wants her to. She is still young, as all of you are, and she can change her mind.” Trudy said.
It was over dinner and Austin was unusually quiet. “Austin, what’s the matter?” Amy asked.
“Nothing. I was just thinking. Doesn’t it feel like something, somewhere is wrong?” he said.
The others looked around at each other and said, “A little.”
Trudy hadn’t spoken, like she knew something was wrong. “I hope they are okay.” Patara said.
“Me, too. Maybe we should go to America and see if they are okay.” Tiffany said.
“No.” Trudy said. “No one else is to leave, orders of the principal and Earl. Be in bed by ten tonight. I don’t want any one getting into trouble with Earl tonight.”
It looked like she was mainly looking at Tiffany when she said to be in bed. “No worries. I stopped my night time wonderings when Amelia showed up.” she said.
“There is something you should know about her.” Trudy told them.
“Go on!” they said.
“Rufus Guardian is her father and she wasn’t Amelia. That was her twin Kori.” she said.
Mitchell’s chin dropped and it hit the table and Amy’s did to. Then everything went fuzzy… like there was something wrong there too. At that moment I woke from the dream.
I was alone in a big empty room and it was painted all white. Solitary. Rufus must have separated us to get information from us. The door opened and someone stepped in. He started to say something, his voice soothing. In a few more seconds I was out like a light.
“Your name is Alex and you are from New York, New York. You have not met any of these people here except for Jay. Do you understand?” the man asked.
Hypnosis. “Yes.” I said, not like I had a choice.
My eyes fluttered open again and I was no longer in the white room. I was on an air plane sitting next to Jay. “Hey, baby, it’s about time you woke up.” he said.
I smiled and said, “Where are we?”
“We will be landing in a few hours to make the connection flight.” he told me.
I rested my head on his shoulder and fell asleep again, but this time a real sleep.
Justin had been trying to calm me down for five minutes by the time he came. “Bad dream.” Justin told him. “Very bad dream.”
“I think she should stay here.” James said.
“No! I have to go to school.” I said.
My entire body jerked in a twitch. “Love, are you sure you want to go to school?” Justin asked.
“Perfectly certain.” I told him.
I jumped out of bed, but I still wasn’t calm. Any sudden movements made me scream. “I’ve never seen anyone so scarred except for… Austin! We need to talk to Austin. Maybe he can understand what happened to Kori.” James said.
“No! We don’t need Austin. Austin is fine. I’m fine, aren’t I love?” I said.
It wasn’t like me to speak like that. It must have been something about the dream I had, had that night. What else could it have been? Something I ate maybe? Drank? Saw? Then it hit me, I was acting like that because of May.
Her headless body still moving, even without an arm and leg. I would have thought it impossible, but no; what I had seen made it clear. Nothing was impossible these days.
I stumbled to the bathroom and looked in the mirror. Without thinking I screamed. There was a body hanging from the shower head. The body of my brother. He was deader than May should have been, but he was still moving. Missing an arm, a leg, and his head; it seemed that anyone in this house was in danger.
I pulled out my phone and took a picture of the body before the others came in. “Call the police, now!” Justin said.
Jay had come in and his clothes were red. “How could you kill my brother!” I yelled at him.
“Kill your brother… Kori! I was making some steak and the blood got on my shirt.” he said.
I turned around and took a picture of him. Justin grabbed my hand and pulled me out of the house. He put me in the car and James was right behind me. “It’s time to go see Guardian. Call him now, Kori.” Justin said as he drove down the road.
I dialed Rufus and when he answered he said, “I thought you were going to text me.”
“Change of plans. We had an emergency and I need you to meet us at the park, by the pier.” I said.
“When?” he asked.
“We are heading there now. Be there as soon as you can.” I said.
Justin pulled into a parking lot and we got out and walked to the pier. I saw a man there and he was alone. “There.” I said looking at him. “You two stay right here. If we start walking, keep your distance but follow us.”
They both nodded and I took a few steps forward. “Guardian.” I said.
“Miss…” he began.
“Kori Kavanagh.” I said.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Kori.” he said. “So what is this information you promised me?”
“First you have to make a deal. I will gradually tell you information as I learn it in trade for your help.” I said.
“My help? With what?”
“Have you ever heard of my brother, Brad Kavanagh?"
“Indeed I have.”
“Dead.”
“How did this happen?” he asked.
“You tell me.” I said showing him the picture on my phone.
“Amelia… is she alright?” he asked suddenly.
“Of course she is… Father.” I said.
“How did you find out?” he asked.
“I never mentioned my sister.” I said. “Now that we have that little reunion done there are a few people I want you to meet just over there.”
I motioned for them to come without taking my eyes of my father. “Justin, James, meet Rufus Guardian, my father. Rufus, meet James and Justin. Dad, before we go any further there is something you should know. Justin and I are engaged.”
“I figured as much.” he said looking at the ring on my finger and how close Justin was standing.
“I’m not sure if it is a pleasure to meet you or not, sir.” Justin said.
He held out his hand all the same. Rufus shook it and said, “I am sorry for having kidnapped your friend. Now I must ask of you something, Mr. James. Where is Bryana?”
I looked at James and he said, “I don’t know where Bryana is.”
Rufus was growing angry. “Dad, I said I would feed you information as I gathered it. We don’t have that information just yet.” I said quickly.
He looked at me and said, “You always were a bright girl. Until you friended Jay.”
“I know I was an idiot to have become friends with Jay, Dad, but there is no reason for you to tell me that. You already put that message into my skin a few years ago.” I told him.
“I was trying to protect you.” he told me.
“I know that now.”
He put his arms around me and pulled me into a hug. “I wish I could take it back more than anything, Kori.”
“I know. It’s okay. So are you going to help us?” I asked.
“I guess I have to. If only to protect you from Jay.” he said.
“Do you really think it was Jay?” I asked.
“I also think that there is something going on with your mother and Jay.” he told me.
“It’s not May. Long story short… She is no longer part of the equation. Like Brad.” I said.
“May is dead?”
“As dead as Brad. The was one thing I forgot to mention… they were both missing their head, left arm, and right leg but they were still moving.”
“I want you all to go back to England and let me take care of this. I’m afraid to say but it sounds like there is a serial killer in that house. If not go back to England find somewhere safe to stay.”
“Rufus, sir, are you telling us that there is even the slightest possibility that Jay is a serial killer?” Justin asked.
“You catch on fast.” he said.
“I know I do. It isn’t too hard after being part of the Anubis House mystery.” he said.
I looked at him and James and said, “What mystery?”
“Earl, Rufus, Sue, Myths, the house. It was all just a mystery waiting for us to unfold it.” James said.
“You two solved a mystery that involved my father?” I asked.
“Yes. He was rather good friends with Sue when they were younger.” he said. “I’ve said too much.”
“Shall we make a vow not to keep secrets from each other?” my father asked.
“We shall indeed.” I said.
“Tell me where Bryana is.” he said.
He knew we knew and it was no longer a question. “She is the girl you asked about in the hospital.” I said.
“Kori!” Justin said.
“You didn’t see what I saw last night. She could be in it with Jay!” I told them.
“What did you see?” Rufus asked.
“She was in the hall with Brad. Their eyes were glowing neon green and then he showed up in the bathroom dead.” I said. “Before that when I went up into the attic to get my phone out of the barrel I found May inside the very same barrel I had been in. Someone is trying to tell me something important and I’m not getting it."
“I don’t understand.” Justin said.
“Neither do I.” someone behind us said.
“Please tell me that’s not who I think it is.” I whispered.
“I wish I could, Kori.” Rufus said.
I turned and found myself face to face with Jay and Bryana; no longer trying to be Beth. “What do you want?” I said.
“Since we’ve this far we might as well finish the job. We were hired to kill your entire family and anyone interferes.” Jay said.
“Did you like our signs?” Bryana asked.
“Amelia?” Rufus asked.
“Haven’t you figured it out yet? She was the one who hired us.” Jay said.
“Amelia would never do that!” James yelled.
I glanced behind me and saw Rufus holding a knife. He stepped forward slightly as I nudged James. James looked behind him and opened his hand to receive the knife. “Kill Bryana first.” I whispered.
“What about me?” Bryana asked.
“Don’t you remember me, Bryana? You loved me back at Anubis House. Don’t you still feel that?” James said.
She blinked at him and said, “Jim?”
“Yes, Bryana. Jim.” he said.
She took a few steps forward and hugged him. “I’m surrey.” he whispered.
He lifted the knife and plunged it into her back. When he pulled it out and stepped to the side she fell and tumbled down the hill into the water. “You killed Bryana!” Jay yelled.
“You’re next Jay!” James said walking forward.
Jay turned and fled from the scene and we did too; but not terrified like he. We were leaving the scene of a crime of which was too horrible for anyone to undertake. Bryana had been a good friend to James and Justin; and then James literally stabbed her in the back.
We ran and Rufus said, “Get in the car!”
None of us considered possible risks getting in the car. Justin and I sat in the backseat with James in the front. James was still terrified of what he had done. “I killed her. I killed my friend.” he kept saying.
“James, if you hadn’t we all would have been killed. Like Brad was.” I told him.
He looked shaken but stronger at the same time. I knew right then I could have never done what he had; even to Jay. “James, do you realize how brave you just were. You put your life on line and saved is while you were at it. Jay could have had a gun and tried to shot you when Bryana was dead.” Justin said.
I was holding his hand and then everything went a little fuzzy. “I’m surrey, guys. I’ve got to put you out until we get to the hideout.” Rufus said putting on a gas mask.
I went light headed and passed out with Justin’s head on my shoulder and my head on top of his. My dream was almost freakishly real. In it were Trudy and the others from Anubis House. They were talking to each other making what seemed like bets.
“I think she’ll choose James.” Tiffany said.
“You are nuts! She is going to choose Justin.” Patara said.
“Which do you think she’ll choose Trudy?” Mitchell asked.
“I think she’ll choose the one her heart wants her to. She is still young, as all of you are, and she can change her mind.” Trudy said.
It was over dinner and Austin was unusually quiet. “Austin, what’s the matter?” Amy asked.
“Nothing. I was just thinking. Doesn’t it feel like something, somewhere is wrong?” he said.
The others looked around at each other and said, “A little.”
Trudy hadn’t spoken, like she knew something was wrong. “I hope they are okay.” Patara said.
“Me, too. Maybe we should go to America and see if they are okay.” Tiffany said.
“No.” Trudy said. “No one else is to leave, orders of the principal and Earl. Be in bed by ten tonight. I don’t want any one getting into trouble with Earl tonight.”
It looked like she was mainly looking at Tiffany when she said to be in bed. “No worries. I stopped my night time wonderings when Amelia showed up.” she said.
“There is something you should know about her.” Trudy told them.
“Go on!” they said.
“Rufus Guardian is her father and she wasn’t Amelia. That was her twin Kori.” she said.
Mitchell’s chin dropped and it hit the table and Amy’s did to. Then everything went fuzzy… like there was something wrong there too. At that moment I woke from the dream.
I was alone in a big empty room and it was painted all white. Solitary. Rufus must have separated us to get information from us. The door opened and someone stepped in. He started to say something, his voice soothing. In a few more seconds I was out like a light.
“Your name is Alex and you are from New York, New York. You have not met any of these people here except for Jay. Do you understand?” the man asked.
Hypnosis. “Yes.” I said, not like I had a choice.
My eyes fluttered open again and I was no longer in the white room. I was on an air plane sitting next to Jay. “Hey, baby, it’s about time you woke up.” he said.
I smiled and said, “Where are we?”
“We will be landing in a few hours to make the connection flight.” he told me.
I rested my head on his shoulder and fell asleep again, but this time a real sleep.