The Year They Fell

by David Kreizman

  Jack squeezed in up front, his knees pressing into his chest, while the rest of us piled into the back. Josie sat on my lap and I put the seat belt carefully around both of us. In the process, my hand touched her stomach. The moment was not lost on either of us.

  I was barely aware of the driver, who did nothing but complain for the entire ride. Jack did his best to ignore him, too, but he was getting more agitated as the trip went on.

  Dayana leaned over. “Hey, how much cash do you guys have on you? ’Cause I’m thinking this ride is going to be fucking expensive.”

  Reaching for our wallets in the cramped backseat was like playing Twister. I was very aware of Josie being pushed or jostled. We each fished out our money and Harrison added up the collection. It was clear we were going to be short. When the driver realized we didn’t have enough money to get to the hotel, he started yelling and cursing. Jack told him to stop at an ATM, but the guy wasn’t having any of it. He didn’t want to take us all in the first place and now we were costing him money. He was ranting about goddamn entitled American kids and threatening to call the police and Jack finally told him to pull over. I took in our surroundings. Nothing but open fields of grass and rocks.

  The driver pulled the car over to the side of the road.

  “What the hell,” said Dayana. “He expects us to get out? In the middle of freaking nowhere?”

  “Better than getting arrested,” said Jack. “We’ll flag down another cab. Let’s go. We’re not giving this asshole our money.” Dayana tried to reason with the driver, but Jack was already unloading all of our bags. We had no choice but to climb out. The second the door closed, the driver sped off and left us.

  Josie shoved Jack. “How did you let that happen? Why couldn’t you just apologize? Look around. There are no cabs here. It’s a hundred and ten degrees. How the hell are we going to get to the hotel?”

  Harrison studied the GPS on his phone. “It’s approximately a fifty-five-minute walk,” he said, looking around at the area. “I can get us there. But we should start moving right away.”

  Josie looked even more flushed and exhausted.

  “Have a seat on my bag,” I said. “We’ll call another taxi service.”

  Jack slung his bag over his shoulder. “By the time one comes, we’ll already be there.”

  “He’s probably right,” said Harrison. “We saw the shortage at the airport.”

  Jack started to walk. “We didn’t come here to wait around. Let’s move.”

  “It’s too hot to walk,” I said, keeping an eye on Josie. “We don’t even have water.”

  Jack shook his head. “Oh. Are you hot and thirsty? You want me to carry you?”

  “Jack, just wait for the car,” I said.

  “Waste of time. Walking will suck, but at least we’ll be there. Let’s just go.”

  “No,” said Josie.

  “Come on, Jo,” said Jack. “You’re holding us up. We walk, we jump in the pool, we have a drink…”

  Josie kicked over her suitcase. “I said no!”

  Harrison stood the suitcase back up. “You overpacked your suitcase. That’s why you don’t want to drag it. You really didn’t need to bring more than—”

  “You don’t know what the hell you’re talking about,” Josie snapped. “I can’t believe we followed you down here.”

  Harrison looked stunned. “I never forced anybody…”

  “What the hell are we doing?” Josie asked. “How are we going to find out what happened to our parents when we can’t even find a cab! You want to walk? Fine, let’s walk. And when I pass out, just leave me on the side of the road until someone finds me.”

  Jack stopped. “Are you feeling sick again? Why didn’t you tell me? Here, let me take your bag.”

  She shoved him away. “I’m not sick!” she blurted. “I’m pregnant. I’m fucking pregnant.”

  The group went silent as her words sunk in.

  Then Dayana rushed to hug her. “At least it’s out there now and we can deal with it.”

  Josie took a step back. “I don’t want to talk about it. I just want to get out of here.”

  Harrison was stepping into the road. “I’ll call for another taxi.”

  Jack stared at Josie.

  She waited for him to say something, to hold her, to do anything.

  Instead he pressed his palm into his forehead and turned on me. “You must be psyched.” His face was red and his shirt was soaked through with sweat. A vein throbbed in the side of his head.

  “I just told him, Jack,” said Josie. “On the plane. He didn’t know.”

  Jack kept his focus on me. “You love this, don’t you?”

  I didn’t know how to answer. I was still trying to keep up the lie, but he was attacking. “What? I…”

  “You had to be scared before. It’s only natural. You had to worry that someday Josie would leave you like she did all the others. You’d just be another guy she used and tossed away.”

  “Jack, don’t be a dick,” said Dayana.

  He didn’t stop. “Now she’s locked in. She can never leave you. You’ve got her for the rest of her life.”

  “No. It’s not like that.”

  Josie tried to step in. “What’s wrong with you, Jack? Stop this.”

  But Jack was only getting himself more worked up. “On the plane. When you came out of the bathroom, you knew, didn’t you?”

  “Yes, but I—”

  “You gave me a thumbs-up. A fucking thumbs-up!”

  “It’s not what you think.”

  “Is anybody getting more than two bars?” asked Harrison, holding up his phone.

  Jack ignored Harrison. “You’re ruining her life and you couldn’t be happier about it.”

  “Jack, stop it!” said Josie.

  “Yeah, take it easy,” said Dayana.

  But Jack was advancing on me, just like that night with my sketchbook. Only he was even angrier now. Out of control. He kept coming forward. “Admit you love this!”

  “Stop!” I said.

  “Did you try to get her pregnant?!”

  “Of course not.”

  He was going to hit me. I could feel it. They wouldn’t be able to hold him back, and I’d end up in the hospital like Coach Murphy or bleeding in some field in the middle of an island.

  “Jack, come on!”

  “Leave him alone!”

  Nothing they said was stopping him. If I didn’t do something he’d be on me. He was inches away now. His giant hands squeezing into tight fists. “Why should I believe you? This is the best thing that ever happened to you. You got what you always wanted. All those years following her around, drawing her in your book, and now she’s finally yours.”

  “You think I wanted this?”

  “Stop, Jack.”

  He grabbed my shirt. “Didn’t you? Didn’t you?!”

  “No! No, I didn’t want a baby! I’m not even close to being ready. Josie and me as parents? It’s a disaster. A train wreck. I was just pretending to make her feel good.” The words weren’t even out of my mouth before I tried to take them back. But it was too late.

  The look on Josie’s face absolutely crushed me. “You think it’s a disaster…”

  I was too upset and confused to even defend myself. “Josie…”

  She backed away from me.

  Dayana moved in to comfort Josie and glared at me. “That was a fucked-up thing to say.” She didn’t have to tell me that.

  “It’s not unreasonable, though,” Harrison offered. I don’t know if he thought he was defending me, but he just made it worse. “They’re eighteen years old. Statistically, they are not the most suitable parents.”

  “Stop talking,” Josie snapped at Harrison.

  “He didn’t mean it,” said Dayana. “Nobody knows what to say in a situation like this.”

  “It’s not a situation, Dayana,” said Josie. “It’s my life!”

  Dayana looked hurt.

  “I’m trying to be practic
al,” added Harrison. “Which is why we need to get to the police station and…”

  “Tell me the truth, Archie,” said Josie, zeroing in on me. “Just you and me now. What do you really think about me being pregnant?”

  I looked into Josie’s eyes and I couldn’t. The fake smile. The nice words. I couldn’t find them or any others. The lie was over. “I don’t. I mean, it’s just that…”

  As Josie turned away from me, Jack shook his head. “This is the father of your baby. Congratulations.”

  When a taxi appeared down the road, Harrison yelled and waved his hands to flag it down. The car pulled over. It was even smaller than the first one. “You get in, Josie,” said Jack, loading her bag.

  He tried to get in after her, but she blocked him. “You’re not coming.”

  “I’ll go with her,” said Dayana.

  “Me too,” I said.

  “No,” she said. “Both of you. All of you. Please. Just let me go. Let me go.”

  21

  JACK

  I smelled their coconut sunscreen before I saw or heard them. It cut through the dust in my nose.

  “Hold the elevator!” I stuck my foot out to keep the door from closing before two girls around my age, one blonde, the other with dark, curly hair, jumped in. Both were a reddish tan, wearing bikini tops and sarongs. They carried towels and smoothies in plastic cups. They both smiled at me as the elevator door shut. I was suddenly very aware of how I must look after running halfway across the island searching for my sister.

  As soon as Josie had taken off in the cab, I threw my duffel over my shoulder and started to sprint. I left Archie, Dayana, and Harrison standing there on the side of the road calling after me.

  “Jack, where the hell are you going?!”

  “You don’t have to do this,” yelled Archie.

  I could barely hear Harrison’s voice as I turned a corner. “Please don’t leave!”

  I ran as hard as I could down small streets and past grassy fields. I wanted to get to Jo, to tell her—I don’t know what. But I couldn’t stand the thought of her alone somewhere. Pregnant. All these years I’d waited for my chance to protect her. And I’d let her down again. So I ran all the way to the hotel, hoping to find her and make it right.

  The girls in the elevator didn’t seem to care that I was dirty and sweaty. “Thanks,” said Blondie.

  “Thank you, sir,” added Curls. “Wow, you’re big. You just get here?”

  “I did.”

  “You look hot.” The blonde shared a smirk with her friend. “I mean, you should check out the pool. It has a swim-up bar.”

  The other girl put her hand to the side of her mouth and pretended to whisper. “They don’t check IDs either.”

  The elevator landed on the fifth floor and the doors opened. “Aw, is this your floor? Already? Too bad,” said the blonde.

  “We’re just going to grab a phone charger. We’ll be back at the pool in a few,” said her friend. “Maybe we’ll see you there?”

  I dragged my bag off the elevator and heard them giggling as the door closed behind me. It’s like they were from a different world, the one that existed for me before the crash, before my brain got all mashed up and long before my twin sister got knocked up.

  I found the room, swiped the key, and went inside. “Jo?” The suite was large and tropical with a view of the beach and the pool. But it was empty. I tried calling Josie’s phone but got her voicemail seven times in a row. I went into the bathroom, peeled off my wet clothes, and jumped into a cold shower. I had to duck to fit under the showerhead and I watched dirt swirl around the drain by my feet.

  I stepped out of the shower, wrapped a towel around my waist, and walked out to the balcony with four small bottles of rum from the minibar. In the pool down below, a father was throwing his little son up in the air as the boy laughed and screamed. I watched as the two girls from the elevator returned to the poolside, ditched their skirts, and lay out on a couple of chairs with fresh drinks.

  I glanced at my phone. No messages. I picked it up and started to text Dad.

  Great news Dad

  Jo’s pregnant!

  Why R we here?

  You died out there but so what?

  You were here and now you’re not

  We were a family and now we’re not

  I’m sorry

  I said I’d protect her

  She doesn’t even want to talk to me

  I’m sorry

  I unzipped my duffel, dumping its contents over the bed. I grabbed a bathing suit from the pile, yanked it on, and banged out the door without a shirt or shoes, but with a couple more bottles from the bar tucked under a towel.

  I finished the bottles in the elevator and tossed the empties into the bushes on my way to the pool. I jumped straight into the water, creating a large splash on my way in. When I resurfaced, I could see that my entrance had attracted attention. Blondie and Curls were on the other side of the pool, whispering to each other. I swam to their side and lifted myself from the water right in front of them. They smiled and removed their sunglasses as I shook myself off like a dog. I snatched a nearby lounge chair and dragged it loudly across the concrete.

  A nearby hotel worker hurried up. “Can I help you with that, sir?”

  “I’m good. But you can get me a drink. Whatever they’re having. And two more for them. Room 537.”

  As he walked up, I sat down next to Curls. “I’m Jack.”

  She took my hand and shook it. “Lacey.”

  “I’m Sierra.”

  “Nice to meet you both,” I said.

  Lacey handed me one of her towels. “Who are you here with, Jack?”

  “Nobody. What are we drinking, by the way?”

  “Some kind of rum punch. It’s strong. So you just came on vacation by yourself?”

  “It’s not a vacation,” I said.

  “Work?”

  “Why does it matter?”

  “We were just curious. We’re here with our families. That’s my big brother across the pool.” I didn’t even glance over.

  “I’m rewarding myself. It’s been a shitty year.”

  “Your parents let you come down here all by yourself?”

  I opened my mouth and out shot a laugh. A loud, harsh laugh that made my head pound again and startled me as much as it startled the girls. I saw them cut a look across the pool and the brother got off his chair and walked over.

  He was almost as tall as me, but a lot skinnier. He had long hair and a hipster beard. “How’s it going, Sierra?”

  “Okay. Perry, this is Jack.”

  “What’s up, Jack? Sierra, why don’t you two give us a second.”

  The more my head hurt, the harder I laughed. “Look at you, playing the hero brother. Trying to protect your sister, huh? Good fucking luck with that. Nothing you can do … bro. Nothing you can do.”

  “Lace,” said Sierra. “Let’s take a walk on the beach.”

  “The … beach,” I choked out between laughs. “Sure, nothing bad could happen out there.”

  Lacey got up from her chair. “It was nice meeting you, Jack. We really need to go.”

  “That’s where they died.” It felt like the words came out before the thought fully appeared in my brain. Like someone else put them there.

  Lacey and Sierra stopped walking.

  “My parents. That’s where they died. Right out there, a few miles down. They were supposed to stay here, right in this hotel. I came here to see it with my sister, only she’s missing. She ran away from me and I don’t know how to find her.”

  “Excuse me, sir, can we escort you back to your room?” I turned to see two men in golf shirts. The guy talking was wearing an earpiece.

  “I haven’t gotten my drink yet.”

  Lacey and Sierra and her brother were already on their way to the beach.

  “Sir, come with us please.”

  “I don’t want to come with you. I want to find Jo. I want to go home. I want to go
back.”

  “That can be arranged, sir.”

  “Can it? Can you make it go back?”

  The two men each grabbed one of my arms. “Let’s go.”

  “Don’t touch me,” I growled. “Get your hands off me!” But as I tried to rip my arms free, I suddenly felt tired and weak. Instead of fighting, I sagged down and gave up as they dragged me away from the pool deck and toward the lobby.

  “Wait! Please don’t!”

  Suddenly the security guards stopped pulling me, and I picked my head up to see Archie standing in the way. His glasses were covered in dust and his shirt was soaked through.

  “Please move,” said one of the security guards. “This man was creating a disturbance.”

  “I’m sorry about that,” said Archie, his voice not cracking at all. “But he’s not going to cause any trouble. Right, Jack?”

  “Archie?”

  “Who are you, young man?” said the other guard.

  “My name is Archie Gallagher. I’m eighteen and I live in River Bank, New Jersey. This is Jack Clay. He lives there too.”

  “He’s your friend?”

  “He’s … Yes, Jack is my friend, he’s been my friend since we were four years old, even if he didn’t always know it.”

  “Stop talking,” I said. He did the opposite.

  “Jack and I and his sister Josie and our friends Harrison and Dayana we came down here because our parents died in a plane crash well not Dayana’s but she’s part of us too we came down here for answers and because we didn’t know what else to do and because Jack made us realize we need it and because we were stuck. I know Jack looks big and scary and he has a temper but he’s a good person and a great brother and please don’t arrest him or throw him out or whatever because I kind of need him right now and so does his sister.”

  When Archie was done jabbering the security guards looked at each other and one shook his head.

  “Take him up to your room and don’t let him out until he’s sobered up. And if this happens again, we call the police.”

  “Yes,” said Archie. “That’s what we’ll do. Thank you. Thank you both.”

  The guards walked away and Archie stood there looking at me, like he was waiting for something to happen. I turned my back on him and walked toward the beach.