The Invisible Boy

by Alyssa Hollingsworth

  Once we’re out of Eli’s hearing, I launch into an update on everything. About how yesterday—was it only yesterday?—at the Newseum I figured out Eli was a human trafficking victim. About how the police didn’t help and my parents were not happy and now Eli’s hurt and I’m trying to find my aunt Lexie.

  Kenny’s mouth drops farther and farther open the longer I talk. By the end of it all, I could stick an entire hamburger in it without even straining his jaw.

  I expect him to argue that Eli couldn’t possibly be a slave, or about how my imagination has gone haywire, but instead, he says, “You made him bike all the way here from your house while he’s hurt?”

  “What?” My face gets hot. “I didn’t have a choice! Just—look.”

  I motion toward Eli. He’s drooped over the bike, like it’s holding him up instead of vice versa, but his eyes are sharp and attentive, darting from us to the windows to the street. When Wonder Dog nuzzles Eli’s hand, he jumps and winces.

  “He wanted to go on his own—find his mom by himself. The only person he trusts is me, Paddle—Wi-Fi—Kenny. Me and you. And I barely even got him to come here.” I push my braids over my shoulder. “I’ve convinced him that we need my aunt, but if I do anything unexpected, he might freak and run off. So this is the way it has to be. Are you going to help or not?”

  “Are you crazy?” Kenny glances at me and Eli and back at me. “Of course I’m gonna help. What do you need me to do?”

  A smile tugs on my lips. “Okay, first—do you have your phone?”

  Kenny pulls it out of his pocket. Together, we search for Aunt Lexie. One of the first results is a bio on a fancy lawyer website. The name of her organization is right at the top, and it takes only a few more taps before we have the address. I copy it down in my notepad.

  “One more thing,” I add. “Do you have a metro card we can borrow?”

  Kenny shakes his head. “Not on me, but my dad keeps them in a bowl by the door.”

  I nod. “Can you get two? Then Eli and I will metro into DC.”

  “You can’t take Wonder Dog on the train.” He frowns, walking back over to Eli. “I’ll put her inside. Your bike, too. She won’t pee on my dad’s carpet, right?”

  I glare at him. “She only pees on the carpets of people who ask dumb questions.”

  “Got it.” Kenny glances at Eli, who pushes the bike toward us with a nod. Kenny wheels it to the door, and Wonder has to follow. She looks back and whimpers.

  Eli hurries after them and kneels to let Wonder lick his face. A faint smile turns up the corners of his mouth.

  “It’ll be okay,” he murmurs. “Goodbye for now.”

  When Eli lets Wonder go, Kenny takes my dog by the harness and pulls her inside. Eli stands and moves beside me. A few minutes pass before Kenny returns, holding three cards and his phone. “I’m coming, too.” He passes a card to me and one to Eli. “I mean—if that’s okay.”

  I glance at Eli. He glances at me.

  “If it’s all right with you, Lightning Lane,” he says, “it’s all right with me.”

  “Then it’s settled, Invisible Boy.” I assume a heroic pose with my fists on my hips. “The backyard birdhouse heroes unite once more.”

  “We’re going to need to work on that name.” Kenny grins. “Come on, Rosslyn Metro Station is this way.”

  Fifteen minutes later, we’re on a train heading for the city. Kenny and I sit awkwardly in one row, and Eli collapses in the one behind us. He leans against the window and closes his eyes. Our car is about halfway filled with adults in business clothes, probably all early commuters. Some of them watch us curiously, but no one seems to particularly care about three kids alone on the train. I guess we’ve passed suspicious o’clock, but I’m not sure what time it actually is.

  “So…” I shift in my seat and glance at Kenny. “You believe me?”

  Kenny nods slowly. He whispers, “There’s always been something … kind of off about him. It’s hard to believe, but it makes sense. In a weird way.”

  I nod. I’ll take that.

  The train stops at a station and more people get on. Kenny waits until we’re in motion again, then says, “So, how are we going to find his mom?”

  “Well, he has a picture of her house.”

  “Can I see it?” Kenny asks.

  I open my mouth to say probably not, but then a hand holds the photo out between our faces.

  “Here,” Eli mumbles. As soon as Kenny takes it, Eli flops back down on his seat and throws an arm over his eyes. I smile at him.

  “Um. Thanks.” Kenny turns over the picture and studies it. He sits up straighter, holding it closer.

  I shift to face him. “What? Do you recognize it?”

  “I—I don’t know. Maybe.” Kenny fishes out his phone and snaps a picture of the photo, but then he slumps again. “No signal. But I’ll text my dad. It looks really, really familiar.”

  My heart thuds. “Seriously?”

  He nods, typing with his thumbs while he shoots a grin at me. “Seriously maybe.”

  I take the photo and lean over the back of our seat, tucking it under the arm Eli has resting on his stomach. He’s breathing heavily. Asleep. Maybe that’s just as well—I don’t want to raise his hopes again until we absolutely have a solid lead. I twist and sit down.

  A few more stops go by. I fidget with the end of one braid. Kenny keeps checking his phone to see if the signal has gotten better. Two weeks ago, I would never have suspected Paddle Boy would be the person I need to save the day. And, as a reporter obligated to acknowledge the truth, I have to admit my instincts were off in this case.

  “Look, ah—Kenny.” I make myself take a deep breath. “I’m sorry about the whole—Paddle Boy thing. About holding it against you and never asking about it or whatever. That was kind of unfair.”

  He glances at me, surprised.

  Part of me still wants to see a supervillain when I look at him. After all, an archenemy is fabulous material for a story. But I have to be willing to see what’s actually right in front of me.

  Anyway, in this case, a friend might be better.

  “So, yeah.” I sit up straighter. “I’m … glad you’re in league with us.”

  Eli says, “Me too.”

  Kenny and I both jump.

  “I thought you were asleep!” I squeak, turning. Eli still has his eyes closed.

  “Invisible Boy never sleeps,” he says sleepily.

  “Well, it’s a good thing you’re awake.” Kenny’s face is bright red, but he points to the big metro map on the wall near us. “Because we’re almost at our stop.”

  A few minutes later, we ride the long escalators out of Smithsonian Station. As we come closer and closer to ground level, the purple-red sky grows bigger. I step off the escalator and move out of the way of the commuters, turning around in a circle to get my bearings.

  The morning glows, streaking the lingering clouds in pink and teal. The National Mall stretches out on either side of me—green grass extending from the Capitol on my right to the Washington Monument on my left. A pale yellow sun peeks out over the buildings. Fingers of warm light touch everything from the monument’s metal top to the pebbles at our feet. My lungs tighten.

  “Wow,” says Eli, beside me.

  “Yeah,” I whisper.

  Even James couldn’t capture this—this sunrise that somehow feels like it’s happened for the very first time.

  We made it. After everything, we made it.

  Or—just about.

  Taking a deep breath, I shake off the spell. “Okay. Kenny, can you map a route to my aunt’s office?”

  “Got it,” Kenny says. In a second, the Google lady voice starts calmly giving us instructions.

  Kenny takes the lead, heading away from the National Mall. I glance at his screen—6:02 a.m. Eli stays close to my side, casting uncertain looks at everyone. Commuters are out in force now. Traffic clogs the roads and crowds fill the sidewalks. We don’t have anywhere to hide, but n
o one seems to notice us. Maybe they think we’re on our way to summer school or something.

  At the map’s direction, we weave through streets. Kenny keeps his eyes down, often repeating the robot voice commands once or twice just to make sure we get them. I think about telling him that the ability to stop time hasn’t damaged my hearing, but I decide after all the help he’s giving us, I should hold it in. Besides, I’m too tired to care.

  “It’ll be on this next street,” Kenny says, checking the instructions again. “We’re almost—”

  We step around the corner. My heart stops.

  My parents are standing outside the building. With Aunt Lexie. And a policeman.

  And Candace.

  Chapter 22

  THE TRUTH

  I grab Kenny’s and Eli’s arms, but my feet stick to the pavement. It’s too late.

  “Nadia!” Mom shouts. “Get over here right now.”

  “Do you need me to cause a distraction?” Kenny asks in my ear. “I could jump into the street.”

  I shake my head. Getting hit by a car isn’t going to help anyone. But my thoughts scatter as I search for a better idea. Questions crowd my brain. Like: Why the heck are my parents with Candace? How did they know I’d come here?

  The policeman walks toward us. I glance at Eli, desperate. He drops his gaze to the ground. His skin has turned an ashy gray. In the morning light, the bruise on his cheek darkens. The scab on his lip splits again when he breathes through his mouth. His hoodie hangs off one shoulder.

  He didn’t want to do this. I convinced him to come to Aunt Lexie’s office. And now he’s been caught.

  “Come on, kids,” the cop says, in reach now. “Let’s go.”

  “We haven’t done anything wrong,” I say, more to myself and my friends than the cop. It’s true, and the truth unglues my feet. I tighten my hold on the boys and walk forward, Kenny on my left and Eli on my right. I give Eli’s arm a gentle shake. “Keep your head up, Invisible Boy. It isn’t over.”

  He just nods, once. I’m not sure if he’s saying yes, I’ll keep hoping or yes, it is over. I wish I really could stop time—freeze everyone right here and come up with a plan, or whisk Eli away to safety, or convince him that we have the power to face down a supervillain and win. With time on pause, I could explain everything to Mom and Dad. I could get them on my side before Candace twists the truth into a lie.

  As we approach, I get a better view of my parents—and wish I’d been studying the pavement like Eli. Bright red crying blotches cover Mom’s face. Dad stands as still and pale as the marble wall behind him. Their clothes are rumpled, like they got dressed in the dark. Beside them, Aunt Lexie clasps and unclasps her hands, casting worried looks between me and my parents. She’s the only one dressed nicely, but even she just has her hair back in a loose ponytail, as if she left the house in a rush.

  My stomach turns over. I didn’t even think about how worried they would be.

  Candace leans on my mom’s arm weakly. She has dark circles under her eyes and her hair whirls around her head like a tangled hat. Nothing like the perfect-neighbor act. Her face is red, too, like she’s been crying. Mom squeezes her shoulder. I wish the cop would go ahead and slap handcuffs on Candace, but he stands back by his cruiser, watching without interfering.

  I grip Eli’s sleeve.

  “What were you thinking, Nadia?” Mom half sobs, half whispers when we stop in front of them. She tries to hug me—which doesn’t work too well, with my hands still clenched on the boys. I push Eli a little behind me, so I can shield him. “We were worried sick!”

  “Eli, thank God,” Candace whispers, wiping her eyes. “Ohh, just look at you! Are you hurt?”

  “Kenny, what are you—?” my dad starts to ask. “How did you get pulled into—?”

  Mom lets me go and tucks one wet braid behind my ear. “Are you okay?”

  “I—” I have no idea how to answer that. So I move on to my own question. “H-how did you find us?”

  “Candace came by the house at about three a.m. to say she thought you might have run off with her foster son—Eli?” Mom glances at him, but only for a millisecond, before she focuses on me again. “We thought you were in bed! But when we couldn’t find—”

  Her voice breaks. Dad puts a hand on her shoulder and rubs. “We remembered what Lexie had told you,” he says. “So we guessed you might have … done something.”

  “We tried to call you, Dia.” Aunt Lexie swallows, staying a few steps away to give my parents room. I wish she’d come closer, get between us and Candace. “I couldn’t figure out why you weren’t answering. Then your parents found your phone on your bed…”

  I lift my chin, looking past my mom and straight at my aunt. With all the strength I can muster, I say, “Eli is a slave. A”—I search for the exact term Aunt Lexie used before—“domestic servant.”

  My parents glance at Candace, and she shakes her head, mouth agape. “I—I—” She shifts her gaze to Eli and reaches for him. “Honey, are you okay? What happened?”

  I pull him nearer, so she can’t touch him. To Aunt Lexie, I keep talking. “I’ve seen where he sleeps—in a basement closet, on lumpy pillows and a sleeping bag. I’ve seen all the stuff he does—working in the yard every day for hours.”

  “I saw that part, too,” Kenny says, raising a hand.

  “And yeah, he’s hurt.” I point to the bruise on Eli’s cheek. “Because she did this!”

  “How could you say such things?” Candace asks, voice fragile as glass. “If this is another game, it’s gone too far. Just look at you, Eli—did you fall on your way here?” She holds out her arms again. “Sweetie, let me see those scrapes.”

  “Are you sure this lady is a trafficker?” Kenny whispers to me.

  “I know what I saw,” I say, louder. Maybe I would have doubted it at another time, but not now. “I know what he said. Right?” I turn to Eli. “Right?”

  “What on earth did you tell this poor girl, Eli?” Candace wipes her cheeks, but immediately fresh tears gather in her eyes. She looks over her shoulder at Aunt Lexie and my parents. “I took him from an abusive father and brought him into my home. I’ve been doing my best with him—but he’s a troubled kid. Sometimes I’m not sure he’s entirely … I think he imagines things. Like your daughter.”

  I concentrate on breathing. Eli doesn’t move or speak. He stares down at his shoes.

  “Nadia,” Mom says, confused but gentle, “you can let him go. You’re all safe. There must be some misunderstanding…”

  “Lexie, you’re the expert,” Dad says to her. “Tell Nadia that he’s fine.”

  Aunt Lexie opens and closes her mouth. “It—isn’t that simple.”

  Everyone starts talking at once.

  Dad says, “What do you mean?”

  Mom says, “We need to get you kids into some dry clothes.”

  Candace leans forward and takes Eli’s shoulder, like she’s going to pull him into a hug. “Come on, dear. Let me—”

  Eli doesn’t resist. His eyes are going dim. His shoulders are slumping.

  I hold on to him and yell in Candace’s face, “NO.”

  The adults freeze, staring at me.

  The cop takes a step forward.

  “Get. Your. Hands. Off. Him.” My voice has taken on a life of its own. My head goes completely silent, and I know nothing and feel nothing except that if she doesn’t let go of Eli right now, I’m going to lose it.

  Candace is facing me, so I’m the only one who notices her eyes harden. A tear wavers on her eyelash, but doesn’t fall. Low, so low my parents might not even hear it, she says, “Don’t let your imagination run away with you, now. This isn’t a time for games.”

  My body goes cold, and she doesn’t need heat vision to burn a hole through me.

  Calm and quiet, a voice beside me says, “Don’t speak to her like that.”

  “What?” Candace glances at Eli.

  Eli lifts his head.

  And he meets Candace�
��s eyes.

  Her skin pales and then flushes.

  “Stop,” she hisses. She doesn’t blink. The tear drops. “Stop doing that.”

  Eli grips my hand. “No.”

  Aunt Lexie moves closer to us. She looks right at Eli.

  And sees him.

  Chapter 23

  THE EXTRAORDINARY SECRET OF SUPERHEROES

  “Nadia’s telling the truth.” Eli never shifts his gaze from Candace, but I think he’s talking to all of us. “For two years, I’ve been locked in a closet room in the basement at night. I cook and clean for parties. I take care of the gardens. I haven’t been to school.”

  Candace’s jaw goes slack. Then she pulls back her hand, like she might slap Eli. But before she can, Aunt Lexie catches her arm.

  “None of that,” she says to Candace. Then she looks over at the officer. “Can you hold this woman on suspicion of child abuse?”

  The policeman nods, stepping around us to take her arm. Candace clenches her fists.

  “You shouldn’t be charging me with anything,” she says to Aunt Lexie. “Can’t you see the boy? He needs to go to a hospital. I need to take him to a hospital.”

  Aunt Lexie ignores her. “Eli, could I talk to you alone for a sec?”

  Eli hesitates. I squeeze his hand.

  “She’s a good one,” I whisper to him. “I promise, Invisible Boy. She’s safe.”

  His mouth twitches, almost like a smile. “Okay, Lightning Lane.”

  I let him go and watch while he and Aunt Lexie move nearer the building. The cop hasn’t handcuffed Candace, but he’s standing near her while she talks in a quick, concerned sort of voice. Mom hasn’t moved. Dad puts an arm around her waist. My body feels like wires are strung through me, holding me up, keeping me alert even though exhaustion clouds the corners of my brain.

  Kenny nudges my side and I almost jump out of my skin. “I think I found her.”

  I blink. “Found who?”