“Ow!” she yelped. “What was that for?”
I gawked at her, holding up the phone. A smirk rested on her face as she leaned back.
“That was a private phone call.”
My hand slapped her shoulder again.
“Okay! Ow!” She started giggling. “You hit like a child. Anyways, they said that they want you to go in and see Mark. He’s been asking about you.”
I grabbed the notebook and pen.
—He can’t speak; how is he asking about me?—
“Perhaps the same way you are talking to me,” she guessed. “Come on, let’s go see Mark. I can be your voice.”
She stood up, patting my legs. When I remained sitting still, she grabbed my arms and forced me up.
“Look, I can be you.” She cleared her throat and started talking in a high-pitched voice.
“Hi, I’m Kyle. I don’t like feelings.” She made her voice crack a couple of times, which made her burst out laughing. After a few minutes of her giggling like a little girl, she sighed.
“Alright, I’m ready to go.”
~
Marie and I got to the hospital, and it was the same as it always was. Not a lot of people doing their jobs. I shrugged my hoodie up and held it there so no one would notice the handprints on my neck. I knew exactly where to go, so I just passed the front desk.
Marie whispered behind me, “Don’t we need to sign in?”
I shook my head, swallowing a little bit before whispering back. “They don’t care.”
Whispering was the only thing that didn’t cause me pain. It stung a little, but it was worth it if I could talk now and then. Marie followed me down the halls and into the children’s part. It was almost silent when we walked in. I noticed only one nurse was working, and not a lot of kids were around.
The nurse’s name was Shelly. I had met her a few times before while visiting Mark. She was the only one that did some amount of work. Not enough for her to gain all my respect, but more than others there. I waved, and she smiled, asking me to come over.
Great.
I made my way over to her, leaving Marie behind. She hadn’t noticed I left until a few moments later when she came running behind me.
“Next time, tell me when you are leaving to have a conversation with someone,” she muttered in my ear, smiling at Shelly. I just grinned, wanting to laugh at her.
Shelly put her phone aside and leaned forward on the desk. “Kyle, is this your girlfriend?”
Marie gagged, tilting her head to the side. Shelly had a confused look on her face.
“No,” Marie said, “he’s my brother.”
“I’m not your brother,” I whispered harshly.
“He’s sick,” Marie explained. Shelly nodded, still looking at us wide-eyed. “And my brother.”
I groaned. “She’s my friend.”
“Best friend.”
I rolled my eyes, waving Shelly goodbye. I grabbed Marie and pulled her down the hallways.
“I don’t want you to be my voice any more,” I complained. She gasped, yanking her arm out of my grasp.
“Why?” she cried. “I did such an excellent job!”
I chuckled at her, turning into the hallway where Mark was staying. I could see him, and he looked a lot better. He wasn’t as tired-looking, and his head wasn’t wrapped in a very thick white bandage any more. Well, it looked thinner to me, but I don’t know much about those things. He grinned when he saw me, waving Marie and me down. Marie waved back.
I realized that Marie had never met Mark. She only knew stories of what I told her, and up until a couple of days ago, she hated him. Now she was grinning at him, beaming.
When we walked in, I realized that Marie was right earlier. He was holding a whiteboard and an erasable marker. He held it up to show us what was written.
—Hello!—
We smiled, sitting down in the hospital chairs. I took the one closest to Mark while Marie sat down in the corner. Mark started to wipe his board before writing again.
—How are you?—
I opened my mouth to speak, but Marie did it for me.
“We’re good,” she answered, walking over. She stood over me and placed a hand on my shoulder. “Our poor boy has a sore throat and can barely talk.”
Mark’s face fell, and he stared at me. He pointed to my eyes that were still red. Marie turned to see what he was pointing at and nodded.
“Yeah, he was crying and rubbing his eyes.”
I poked her shoulder, shaking my head. She waved her hand in my face, telling me to shut up. Mark showed us his whiteboard.
—Why was he crying?—
I looked at Marie since she was apparently so good at winging it.
“He misses Nick.”
Really?
Mark nodded, writing something down again. It took him a few minutes, so I gave Marie a look. She scrunched her face up as a response.
—It’s okay. Me too, but they will find him.—
Find him?
He doesn’t know.
I looked up at Mark, who had hope filling his eyes. He gave me a soft smile. Marie was staring at me. I could hear her swallow a lump in her throat. She cleared her throat, eyes trailing around the room. I couldn’t believe that this hospital wouldn’t tell him anything.
I thought about the last time I was here, when Mark was freaking out about the photo that I showed him.
Freaking out about Luke.
I held my hand out for his board, and Mark gave it to me; Marie peeked over my shoulder to look at what I was writing.
—Do you remember the last time I was here?—
Mark read it and started thinking about it. He shook his head at me.
—Do you know who did this to you?—
He read it; his eyes darkened. Marie took a step back, never seeing this side of Mark before. He shook his head and started writing something down.
—I can’t remember.—
A doctor walked in, smiling at us. “Oh good, he has visitors.”
“Yep, is there a chance we could talk to you in the hall?” Marie asked, pointing to me. The doctor nodded, stepping out of the door. Mark’s face was confused, but Marie assured him everything was okay. That we just wanted to know the treatment plan.
Marie shut the door so Mark wouldn’t see us yelling at a grown adult. The doctor was looking nervous the second he saw our pissed-off faces.
“Tell me, do you know about Nick Walter?” Marie asked.
The doctor nodded, looking toward the ground. I couldn’t believe that this was the hospital I trusted with Mark’s life. This man, who spent how long in med school, was being scolded by two teenagers.
“That’s why we called Kyle,” the doctor admitted. “We wanted him to break the news to Mark. Since they are so close.”
Marie nodded. “I get that, but now there’s a kid in there who thinks one of his best friends is still alive. Why couldn’t you guys explain it to him and then let Kyle fill in the details at a later point, so Mark isn’t left in the dark.”
Damn, she’s good at this.
I just had to keep a straight face on the whole time while Marie yelled at this man. She even started pointing her finger at him and saying how unprofessional the hospital was. The doctor tried to speak multiple times, but Marie cut him off. After a few minutes, the doctor said that there was some other news.
“Just hold on to your news and wait until after we tell Mark that one of his best friends is dead.”
We walked back inside to a Mark who was smiling giddily. His eyes brightened when he saw us. I felt every bone in my body tell me not to tell him. To keep him sheltered. I could see that Marie was feeling it too. I didn’t want to tell him.
“Mark,” I whispered. I leaned closer to him so he would hear me. His eyes dropped, and his smile went away. He pushed his board aside and looked up at me.
“Nick’s body was found a few days ago.”
I watched his reaction. His face stayed the same. H
e was just looking at me. His eyes didn’t get watery; he didn’t grunt or make noises. He just sat there. After a few minutes, I saw a tear slip from his eye. Mark grabbed his board.
—Thank you for telling me. He will be missed.—
I nodded, not pushing it further. Marie was standing by the doorway when the doctor said something to her.
“What?” she screamed, startling everyone within a twelve-mile radius. She looked at Mark and apologized. I watched as she stomped into the hallway. I told Mark I would be right back and followed her out.
“What do you mean he’s being transferred?” Marie asked.
“Who’s being transferred?” I whispered, looking at the doctor.
“Mark,” he explained. “His parents haven’t returned any calls, so Mark is being transferred to another facility in New Jersey where they help kids like him, and they work with social services.”
“That’s a load of bull—”
I grabbed Marie’s shoulder, shaking my head. She groaned, crossing her arms over.
“Does he need to move out of this hospital? Why can’t social services come here?” I asked.
The doctor avoided my question. “They would be able to help him more there.”
“Oh, come on,” Marie complained, “you are going to move him to another state where he knows no one just because they couldn’t help him find his mommy and daddy?”
I peeked into the window to see Mark speaking with a nurse. Well, writing to a nurse. He noticed me in the window and smiled. He wiped away his previous message and wrote a new one. He showed me his board through the window.
—Isn’t the nurse hot?—
I started laughing at him while he grinned at me, erasing it.
I can’t let him leave.
He’s the last brother I have left.
I lost Nick and Max; Henry was never a real brother to me.
I can’t lose him too.
“Why can’t he really stay here?” I asked. The doctor looked sheepish, rubbing the back of his neck.
“Okay, we can’t afford the things Mark needs to get better,” he admitted. “We barely had enough materials to do his surgery the first time, and we fear that if he needs another one, we won’t be able to provide it.”
Marie stared at the ground. We both knew this hospital wasn’t the first choice, but we had no idea the struggles they were going through.
“You could transfer him to Concord General Hospital,” I told him.
The doctor shook his head. “There’s no way this kid could afford it.”
“He will be fine. His dad is a lawyer,” I barked.
He argued back. “His dad hasn’t reached out to us—”
“Then my parents will take the bill, don’t worry about the money.”
The doctor sighed, looking at Mark, who was sitting patiently on his bed. “I’ll talk to him. This is a decision that he needs to make.” He went inside Mark’s room, shutting the door behind him.
Marie smirked. “Isn’t that your mommy’s hospital?”
20
Day Thirty-Three
Mark agreed to be transferred to Concord General Hospital. He had to sign a bunch of papers since he had no family left, which he completed the same day. The next day he was transferred. Mom welcomed him with open arms. She demanded that her staff gave him the best treatment.
Mom had always had a soft spot for Mark, even when he was not so great of a kid. She would stand up for him when his parents weren’t around. Always making sure that he was well-fed and had a place to sleep. She saw him as the orphan boy that needed saving. Mom and Dad decided to become Mark’s legal guardians. They hired a lawyer and applied for guardianship.
The lawyer came in the next day to give us some news.
“We have a court date!” he announced. “You guys will need to go to court to fill out some papers along with a filing fee, but we are almost there.”
They were all sitting around the dining table, having drinks to celebrate. I never understood why Dad did that. He would come home from a court case then say that he needed to change for the celebration. I decided to exclude myself from the party and go see Marie. She had given me some makeup to put on my neck to hide the bruises. The swelling and red, bloodshot eyes were pretty much gone. It doesn’t pain me any more to talk either. It just took a lot of ignoring my family to heal properly.
Marie and I met up at the cafe that we went to when she had just gotten out of the psych ward. I arrived a little late, which pissed Marie off.
“What’s the point of setting a time if you aren’t going to show up until later?” she asked, crossing her arms. I rolled my eyes at her and placed my book bag on the table.
She stared at it, raising her eyebrows at me.
“I thought about what you said,” I admitted. “About going to take Nick’s phone.”
Her eyes glistened, and she slammed her police notebook onto the table. I was going to ask, but then I decided what was the point. She wasn’t going to give me a normal answer.
“We could go in and take it, but only the phone,” I told her. “I brought gloves, flashlights, and a key he gave me. Along with snacks.”
“Why flashlights?” she asked, digging through the bag. “It’s still daylight.”
“Yeah, but they are home right now. I just happen to know that tonight they are leaving town for a bit. Some charity event in Connecticut.”
Marie grinned, leaning back in her chair. “Alright, Mr. Investigator. Guess we have time to spare.”
I nodded, looking around the cafe. Not very many people were here, one guy in the other corner typing on a laptop. I remembered the last time we were here; Marie met a girl.
“Marie,” I said, grabbing her attention. “How did things go with that basketball girl?”
“Not well,” she said, scooting closer to me. “She was so clingy, and I don’t know. Her personality was not that great…” I eyed her. “Okay, she was boring.”
I laughed at her bluntness. We sat in the cafe for a while, just talking. She was telling me about her therapist appointments and how well she was doing.
“Oh, I completely forgot,” she said. “How was yours?”
“Fine.” I lied. “He was boring.”
She chuckled at me, shaking her head. “Most are.”
I didn’t want her to get worried about me blacking out and throwing things. I didn’t want to scare her, either. Most people wouldn’t have been friends with me if they knew that I had anger problems. Nick wasn’t afraid.
God, I miss him.
I realized that I never got the chance to miss him. I went through guilt, anger, depression, and fear, but never sadness. When I thought I had killed him, I jumped right into the dark phase where I was terrified to even leave my house. I never even thought about him being gone.
“The sun’s going down,” Marie informed me. “You know what that means.”
I pushed my thoughts away and smiled at her. “Yep, let’s go break into someone’s house.”
Marie and I cleaned up our table and left the cafe. The sun was still setting, so there was some light guiding our way. The sound of honking in the distance was the only thing you could hear. Trees stood still, not a single leaf blowing around. There was no wind this night, which was strange for the middle of March.
By the time we got to Luke’s house, it was dark. The only thing helping us see were the flashlights I had. Marie held one in her hand while I carried everything else. We walked to the door, and I opened it with my spare key. The door creaked open, inviting us in. I told Marie to leave her shoes outside, and she gave me a strange look.
“Ms. Cloud doesn’t like shoes in her house,” I explained, leaving my sneakers under their porch bench. She groaned, plopping her boots next to mine. She gave me a sarcastic smile before going inside. I checked our surroundings to make sure no one saw us. There was nothing around besides the other houses and an empty road. When I made it inside, Marie had her hands touching a small skull t
hat was resting on a shelf. I ran over to her, prying the thing from her grasp.
“We cannot touch anything!” I exclaimed, placing it back where it was.
“Why not? We have gloves.”
I rolled my eyes. “If it moves, she will notice.”
“Whatever. What’s she doing with a skull, anyways? I thought she was all peace for animals and such.”
I nodded. “She is. That was their old hamster’s head. She likes to keep something to remember them by.”
Marie had a disturbed look on her face, looking back at the skull.
“Messed up, I know.”
I had Marie follow me to Luke’s bedroom, slapping her hands when they reached out to grab stuff. After walking down the hallway, we entered his room, closing the door behind us. I sighed, anxiety finally kicking in. I realized that if we got caught, I didn’t know how we would explain this.
Someone could’ve seen us.
They could’ve called the police already.
I was so angry with myself for acting like this. I was never like this before. I was the one suggesting these crazy plans, not the one worrying about them. Marie saw the look on my face and asked me what was wrong.
“How do you do it?” I asked her. “How do you just do these things without being nervous?”
She smiled. “I always have a plan if things go wrong.”
I raised my eyebrows at her, not believing it.
“Test me,” she challenged.
“Police arrive?”
“Show them your spare key, tell them you are house sitting.”
“They come back early?”
“You forgot something last time you were here, so you thought you’d just stop by and grab it.”
“Alien encounter?”
“Let them take me.”
I stared at her, impressed. I slow clapped to show her, which made her laugh. She pointed to her head and tapped on it a few times.
“I always have a plan ready.”
Knowing that she was prepared for the worst made my fear ease up. I reached for the drawer, grabbing the phone from it. I unlocked it again to make sure it was Nick’s, and sure enough, it slid open. I placed it in my backpack, zipping it back up.
Believing Lies Page 20
