by Imogen Rose
I could see Morena staring at me in the rearview mirror; she looked puzzled.
“Arizona, don’t you remember staying at my house before?”
“No. I don’t think I’ve ever met you.”
She didn’t say anything else and turned on the radio. After a while, she turned into a driveway and stopped the car in front of a two-story, fenced-in house.
I followed them inside. The house was magnificent–large, bright spaces with floor-to-ceiling windows and filled with antique furniture. I would definitely have remembered visiting there before. I hadn’t, yet it did feel vaguely familiar.
“Arizona, come with me. I’ll show you to your bedroom.”
I followed Morena up the stairs to a bedroom. She pointed to the closet. “I stocked it for you. The bathroom is over there. Take your time, and come down when you’re ready. Okay? No hurry. If you feel like a nap, that’s fine.”
I nodded and closed the door behind her. I walked over to the closet. Morena had done an awesome job with the clothes. I selected a pair of jeans, a pink Abercrombie t-shirt, and a blue sweater, laid them on the bed, then went to take a shower.
~
“So, what’s going on, David?” Morena asked, once Arizona was safely busy in the bedroom. “How come she doesn’t remember me?”
“I’m not exactly sure.” David sat down and took a gulp from his drink. “She seems back to being Arizona Darley again, the real Arizona Darley. It’s like the last year didn’t happen for her.”
“Wow, that’s strange. She lost a whole year? What brought this on?”
“We think it happened when I took Gertrude back to New Jersey. It’s like she took the Stevens soul with her. It’s unexplainable, really.”
“So, she’s back to where she was a year ago, with no memory of what’s happened in the past year?”
“Yes.”
“Is that so bad? All’s back to normal, in a way.”
“True, but she’s lost a whole year of her life. It’s going to be hard for her to integrate back into who she was a year ago. For example, she was a pretty awesome cheerleader, an important member of the cheer squad. She can’t just join in where she left off. And what about the Mountain Cats, her ice hockey team? They need her; she’s the captain.”
“I see. I’m sure, in time, it’ll sort itself out. Everything does.”
“Maybe, but right now it’s a mess,” David muttered. “And I have to go back to Jersey. To my Arizona. I left there kind of quick, even without saying goodbye, when Mom summoned me. Thankfully, A had left her passport here the last time she visited, so I grabbed it before I went over to get Arizona from the Bahamas. And now this.” He brought out the note Morena had found. “They’re back on the scene? How?”
“I don’t know for sure. I found that note just before I drove over to pick you up. Kevin hasn’t mentioned Sophie or Dan since last year. As far as I know, they went into hiding, very effectively. The FBI hasn’t even been able to track them down.”
“Arizona!” David’s hands shook as he pulled out his cell phone. “What if they took her?”
“You mean Arizona in Princeton?”
Morena nodded as David closed his eyes, breathing into his cell phone.
“A!” He opened his eyes again, his shoulders relaxing. “Hon, how are you? I’m so sorry for taking off like that. Are you pissed?”
~
An hour or so later, when I’d done my hair and played with the makeup Morena had put out for me, I looked like I was back to my normal self. Well, almost. What now? I needed to get back home. David had obviously brought me here to keep me safe. I was so confused. I lay down on the bed trying to make sense of it all. I couldn’t. It made no sense. It was like I’d been hit in the head or something and had lost my memory, like in that movie, The Bourne Identity. Could someone have erased my memory? Why? I was just a Mountain View high school student. No, it was more likely that I’d been in an accident and was suffering from amnesia. I’d have to ask David about it again as soon as I managed to open my eyes.
~
“Is she okay?” Morena inquired, once David put his phone back in his pocket.
He nodded. “For now. She is totally pissed with me but, yeah, she’s fine, for now. I didn’t tell her about the note or what’s happened; I didn’t want to freak her out. I did tell her to stay safe and hang out with her neighbor until I got there. She seemed to gather that something was wrong. She sounded on edge by the time I got off the phone. I have to go to her right away. Dan and Sophie may be on their way there now.”
“Gertrude is with her. She’ll transport her, should she be in any danger. I have left Gertrude with clear instructions,” his mother, Inez, said, coming into the kitchen. “Where is the other Arizona… Darley?”
“Mom!” David turned around and put his arms around his mother. “How did you know to come here?”
“I didn’t. I went to your dad’s house when I felt there was something wrong. He’s in some kind of trouble, but I don’t know what. So I alerted everyone, including Gertrude. Then I decided to come here to find out if Morena had seen Kevin. I am surprised to find you here. What happened?”
“Dad’s missing.” David handed his mother the note from Dan and Sophie. “Will you be able to track him?”
She shook her head. “I can’t do what you do with Arizona. I can feel his despair, but that’s it.” Her eyes started to well up.
David put his arm around her again. “We’ll find him. Dan and Sophie are bound to want something. We should hear from them soon. One of us needs to go back to the house and stay by the phone there.”
“I’ll do that,” his mom said. “You need to stay here with Arizona.”
“Mom! I have to go back to my Arizona. She could be in danger, too.”
“I realize that. Morena, could you go and watch over her? You’ve become close to her over the past year, right?”
“Yes. We’ve become fairly friendly. I’ll go.”
“No, Mom, please–”
“David. Stop. You are still assigned to Arizona Darley. This is your duty. Believe me, I know how you feel, but we have no option. Arizona needs you here. To top everything else, her mother has been in an accident.”
~
Accident? I had forced my eyes open and made my way down the stairs. I had followed the sounds to where I was now, just about to walk into the kitchen.
“Mom’s been in an accident? How? Is she okay?” My voice cracked at the end.
“Arizona, are you all right?” Mrs. Skoog asked.
“I’m fine. What’s this about Mom? What happened?”
“She was in a traffic accident–”
“Please tell me she’s okay.” I held my breath.
“She is stable now,” Mrs. Skoog soothed.
I let out my breath.
“But the accident was pretty bad. She suffered from severe blood loss and–”
“Is she going to die?” My voice broke as my stomach twisted. David put his arm around me.
“She’s in a coma.”
I turned and buried my face in David’s chest, soaking him with my tears. I sobbed, deep heaving sobs as he stroked my back.
“Arizona.” Mrs. Skoog put her hand on my shoulder. Wiping my wet nose with my sleeve, I turned to look at her.
“I am so sorry, I hope she wakes up from the coma soon.”
“I need to see her.”
“Yes. David will take you for a visit, but then you must come back and remain here until we get the Raj situation under control.”
The Raj situation? I was so fed up, so tired. I buried my face into David’s chest again and closed my eyes.
“Should I take her now?” David asked.
“No. I’ll let you know once I get the all-clear from Constance.”
I raised my head. “Who is Constance? I want to go now.”
“Constance is our leader. We need her permission to allow David to transport you. She is going to make sure that it’s safe for you to visit, and t
hen let me know. I’ll call David as soon as I know.”
“Well, how long is that going to be? What if Mom gets worse in the meantime?”
“Not long.”
“How long is not long?”
“I’ll call you with an update in half an hour, okay? I have to get to Kevin’s house after I talk to Constance. Will you two be okay here on your own for a while?”
“We’re fine, Mom. Talk to you soon.”
I nodded when she looked at me for confirmation. Then she seemed to arch her back and just disappeared. Wow. That was the first time I’d seen someone else do that wandering thing.
“Is that what you did with me?”
“Yeah. Listen, Poppet, let me get you something to eat while we wait.”
“Thanks. Where’s Morena?”
“She had to leave, but we’re safe here. I’m really sorry about your mom. We’ll head over there soon.”
He busied himself frying bacon and sticking waffles into the toaster oven.
“Coffee, tea, juice?” he asked.
“Cranberry juice, if there is any.”
He opened the refrigerator door and held up a carton of orange juice. “This do?”
I nodded.
We both stared at the food on our plates once David placed them on the table. I wasn’t hungry. Well, I was, my stomach was growling, but I felt too ill to eat. David looked unhappy, too. It hit me that I was being selfish. His dad was missing. He must be worried sick. I stretched out my hand and touched his fingers. “It’ll be okay.”
He nodded. “I know you don’t feel like it, but try and eat a little. I’ll do the same. We’ll need our strength for the trip back.”
I picked up a piece of bacon and bit off a piece. It was delicious. David did the same. “David, what did the note say?”
“The note was from Dan and Sophie. Do you recognize the names?”
“Sophie’s on the cheer squad–”
“No, not that Sophie,” David interrupted.
“Which one, then? I know a few.”
“Raj’s associates, Sophie and Dan.”
“No.”
“From what the note says, they’ve got my dad. The note doesn’t say what they want or anything, so I guess we’ll have to wait until they make contact.” He closed his eyes, clearly agitated.
I held his hand. “Why would they take your dad?”
He opened his eyes again, “I can only guess that they’ve run out of money or something. They’ve been on the run for a whole year, and it’s not like they can get regular work.”
“On the run from what?”
“The FBI. Raj tried to kill my dad last year. They’ve both been on the run since then.”
“Why? Why would they want to kill your dad?”
“Not Sophie and Dan. I’m fairly sure they didn’t bargain for all this. However, they’re reaping the consequences. While Raj is living it up in the Bahamas, they’re on the run.”
“Raj isn’t living it up exactly,” I said.
“What do you mean? The house seemed very nice….”
“That wasn’t his house. He was staying at a motel somewhere.”
“So whose house was it?”
“Stan brought me to it, said it belonged to his family.”
“I guess that makes sense. It’s probably one of Potomal’s houses.”
“Tell me about Potomal.”
“You really don’t remember a thing, do you?”
“Why don’t you start telling me what’s happened? Was I in some kind of accident? Do I have amnesia? Or have I had amnesia? What?”
“Not exactly. But you have lost a whole year, like Kellan and I explained,” he snapped.
I recoiled at his angry tone. “Are you still angry with me for not showing up at Starbucks?”
“No. Sorry, I didn’t mean for it to come out like that. I’m not angry anymore. I was, though. More disappointed than angry. I was going to ask you to the Ball.”
“Can’t we go to the next one instead?”
“Poppet, a lot of things have happened, and–”
“So you keep saying! Like what? Whatever’s happened, you still feel the same for me, don’t you?”
He stood and began pacing. “I can’t bring you up to date; it’s not up to me. I’ve already told you that you’ve been living as the girl you would have been, had your mom not moved to Mountain View. I can’t explain it to you. Your parents need to. In the meantime, know that I love you. I always have and always will, no–”
The kitchen phone buzzed, startling me. I was right next to it, so I answered. “Hello?”
“Hey! Can I speak to Morena?”
I froze as a chill went up my body. I didn’t know why, but I was unable to speak.
David jerked to attention, looking at me worriedly. “What’s the matter?”
I handed him the receiver.
David’s tight face relaxed and broke into a smile as he talked into the phone “A? Yeah, I’m fine. You okay?”
He walked out of the room leaving me alone. I tried to listen in to the conversation, but he was practically whispering. A? Who was that? Why had I frozen like that?
He was back in minutes, but his phone buzzed again as soon as he walked in. “Mom, yes.”
This time he didn’t leave, but the call was one-sided with his mom doing most of the talking.
“So?” I asked, once he was done.
“I have permission to take you to your mom. Ready to go?”
Ready? I was more than ready. I stood up and grabbed David’s outstretched hand. He pulled me in for a hug. I put my arms around him and felt a push, just like the last time I had wandered with him, followed by a feeling of warmth and… happiness, which was weird because I was far from happy.
“We’re here. You can open your eyes,” he said moments later.
I did and let go of him to turn around to figure out where we were. It was a kitchen, much like the one we’d just been in.
“Hello, kids.”
“Hi, Morena,” I said, anticipating a hug.
“Morgana,” she said.
“What?”
“I’m not Morena. I’m her sister, Morgana.”
“You look identical,” I said, amazed.
“We do, sort of. We’re identical twins,” she explained. “David, how are you doing? Inez filled me in with what’s happened. We’ll find your dad, don’t worry.”
He nodded, but didn’t look very convinced.
“I’ll drive you over to the hospital if you’re ready,” she offered.
“Yes, please. Do you have any other news about my mother?”
“No. The hospital is just a short drive away. Let’s go.”
Once again, we drove in silence, everyone immersed in their own thoughts. Mine were a mess of everything and nothing. I had been lucky to make the drive to the hospital only a few times previously. A couple of those had been to deal with cheer injuries and a few to visit Harry–who had sustained several injuries playing hockey–and my friends. I had never visited my mom or dad in the hospital before. Mom, in fact, never got sick, not even a cold. She said it was because she drank green tea everyday. I had tried some of that stuff; it was nasty. The green tea hadn’t helped her this time. I figured it couldn’t provide her with protection during a car crash. What about the airbags? Maybe that was what had knocked her out and put her into a coma.
Morgana dropped us off at the emergency bay where Gramadea was waiting.
“Hi, Arizona. Are you okay?”
“I’m worried. Can we go up and see Mom? Where’s Dad?”
“Sure. Rupert is up there with her. He hasn’t left her bedside.”
I nodded. He wouldn’t. David and I followed her down the hallway and into a suite. I expected a dark room with my mom lying in bed with a bunch of tubes stuck in her, with Rupert by her side. Instead, I walked into a brightly lit room full of chatter, which stopped dead as I entered. Everyone turned to look at me and moved away from the bed so that
I could see Mom. As expected, she was lying down, heavily bandaged, with tubes sticking into her. I walked over, nearly not noticing Dad whose head was lying in the palm of her hand. He looked up.
“Arizona!” He got up and enveloped me in his arms. “Did Raj hurt you?”
I tightened my arms around him. “Dad, I’m fine. What happened to Mom?”
“Car crash, a hit and run, the other car or truck drove off leaving Mom’s car turned upside-down on the highway.”
“Is she going to be okay?”
“Her vitals are stable, but we’ll have to see when she comes out of the coma.”
“How long?”
“We don’t know. It’s a medically-induced coma, so the doctors will bring her out of it when she’s ready.”
“Induced?”
“Yes, the doctors put her into this state to give her time to heal.”
“And they can just bring her out of it?”
“Yes.” Dad turned back around to look at Mom, his eyes welling up.
I picked up his guitar, which was leaning against her metal bed. “She can hear, right?”
“Maybe,” Dad whispered, as I perched myself on the bed next to her and strummed a few chords. Dad began humming along while stroking Mom’s forehead. We sat like that for ages, with everyone else in the room quiet. Mom didn’t stir. Not even a twitch.
I looked around for Harry and Ella. They weren’t among the other familiar faces–Gramadea, David, Grandma, Dr. Fox, Kellan, Ali, Maria, Morgana, and a few people I didn’t know. I remembered the girl standing with Ali and Maria–Ariele, like from The Little Mermaid.
“Dad, where’s Harry? And Ella?”
“They were here earlier. They’ve been taken to a safe place. They’ll be back to visit tomorrow.”
Dad looked awful, like he hadn’t slept for days. There were dark circles under his eyes, his skin seemed dry, and his lips were almost bloody from where he’d probably been chewing on them. “Dad, take a break. Go for a walk, get something to eat. Anything. Just get out of here for a while. I’ll stay with Mom.” I kept strumming his guitar.
“No–”
“Yes! I insist. Go.”
He looked too weary to argue, so he simply nodded and got up. “I’ll be back in about fifteen minutes or so.”
