Chapter 13
Meltdown
(Mason)
The weird vibe between Robin and Olivia, when I find them standing together at Olivia’s locker after school, doesn’t make sense with the polite way they’re treating each other. I suspect something happened between them earlier. Neither one seems interested in explaining, though, so I leave it alone for now.
Olivia announces that Robin is coming over to hang out, and we head for the Jeep. Evie is already waiting for us there, with Aaron making a hasty retreat. He’s well aware that Olivia thinks he’s an idiot and tries to make himself scarce when she’s around. Since I don’t like him either, I’m glad to see him go.
Evie stops staring after Aaron in time to turn and hear Robin say she’ll meet us at the house. Evie’s hands snap to her hips as she fixes a glare on Olivia. “Am I the only one who remembers what happened last time she came over?”
“We need her help,” Olivia admits.
Now, I am more curious than ever to know what she and Robin talked about.
The drive home is quiet and sullen. For some reason, Olivia keeps looking over at me with a sad expression I don’t understand. As we approach the house, everyone’s eyes are scanning the streets for suspicious cars, but everything seems perfectly average. Evie is hardly appeased.
As soon as Olivia puts the Jeep in park, Evie jumps out, slamming the door behind her. I’m shocked Evie is being so dramatic about this. When I turn to Olivia, she puts a hand on my arm and says, “This has more to do with her not being able to see Aaron than with you or Robin. I’ll go talk to her.”
Olivia gets out and holds the door open long enough for me to slide out after her. I want to ask her what’s going on between her and Robin, but she walks away before I get the chance. Sighing, I head for the house, hoping Robin will have some answers.
As my body flops onto the couch next to Robin, she looks over at me and smiles. It’s the first pleasant expression I’ve seen all afternoon. There is something infectious about Robin’s grin. I can’t help smiling back.
“Hey.”
“Hey,” she says. Robin sets the notebook she was flipping through down on the coffee table and turns sideways to look at me. She tries to maintain her smile, but it falters and slips away. “Olivia said you told her about Eliana.”
I nod, hoping she doesn’t expect me to apologize. Olivia was struggling to trust Robin. She needed to know that what happened to Eliana was the mistake of a naïve little girl and not a vicious betrayal.
“She said you don’t keep secrets from each other.”
“No, we don’t.”
Robin fidgets with one of her dangly earrings. “You didn’t tell her everything.”
She doesn’t have to explain for me to know what she’s talking about. I look away, not sure whether I’m embarrassed when I think about Robin kissing me, or glad she did it. “No,” I admit, “I didn’t tell her.”
“Why not?”
I shrug. I don’t want to admit that I didn’t know how to tell Olivia, because I couldn’t figure out how she would react. Would she be glad I had found someone that I might have a real chance at a relationship with? Would she be angry? Jealous? Would it affect her at all? Without knowing the consequences, I couldn’t tell her.
A thought suddenly occurs to me. I turn to Robin, hoping I didn’t just figure out why Olivia seemed so down on the way home. “Did you tell her?”
Robin laughs. “Olivia dislikes me enough without me adding fuel to the fire. No, I didn’t tell her.”
I start to ask what she did tell Olivia that upset her so much when I hear the front door open. Assuming it’s Olivia’s mom, but not wanting to be caught off guard, I check the driveway for her car and relax when I hear her voice calling out that she’s home. Her head peeks around the corner a few seconds later.
“Robin, how nice to see you,” Olivia’s mom says. “Where are the kids? Did they all abandon you?”
Realizing my mistake right away, I jump up from the couch and try to reach her before Robin makes the connection. I’m not fast enough.
Robin cocks her head to one side. “Evie and Olivia are upstairs, but Mason’s right in front of you.”
My hand lands on Olivia’s mom’s shoulder. Her eyes widen, knowing we’re both in trouble. “I… I meant to ask where the girls were. Of course Mason is right here.”
She reaches out and gives me a quick hug before dashing off to the kitchen. I want to follow her, but Robin grabs my shoulder. My head drops to my chest. She’s way too smart of a girl not to have connected all the dots.
“What just happened?” Robin demands. “Olivia’s mom acted like she didn’t even see you.”
“Sure she saw me,” I answer lamely.
Folding her arms across her chest like she so often does, Robin glares at me. “You’re lying.”
That’s right about when Olivia bounds down the stairs. She slows to a stop at the sight of Robin facing me down. “What happened now?”
“Your mom walked into the room and asked why I was sitting there all alone when Mason was right there! Add that to the way Evie was acting the other day, and something is clearly not right here!” Robin yells. “What is going on?”
Olivia tries to brush off the outburst. She’d have to be invisible for Robin not to notice her shifting feet and darting eyes. Still, she tries. “What are you going on about, Robin. Mom just didn’t see him. I don’t know why you’re having a meltdown about it.”
“He was standing right in front of her!” Robin’s eyes are darting back and forth.
Olivia’s mom walks back into the room slowly, her eyes on Robin. I remember her approaching an injured cat the same way once, when it wandered into our yard. In the weeks we have known Robin, Olivia’s mom has never expressed an opinion one way or the other about whether she believes Robin is a threat. Now, there is fear in her eyes.
“Robin,” she says calmly, “I’m sorry if I upset you earlier.”
The cautious approach doesn’t fool Robin. She backs away slowly.
The clomp-clomp of Evie clambering down the stairs momentarily distracts everyone. Her hand appears first, gripping the hand rail and swinging herself around the landing to start down the last half flight. She skids to stop when she realizes everyone is staring at her.
“What is all the yelling about down here? And where’s Mason? I need him to help me with my math homework,” Evie says. Her eyes dart around expectantly. Olivia and her mom groan.
Robin’s eyes double in size. One hand covers her mouth while the other starts pointing at Evie. “See? See?”
Evie’s hand drops from the rail. Her face falls as she realizes her mistake. “He’s standing right here, isn’t he?”
I reach over and touch Evie’s shoulder. “Sorry, right here.”
“Mason, I’m so sorry,” she says.
“Your mom blew our cover first,” I say with a laugh.
Olivia’s mom can’t hear me because she’s not touching me, but Evie looks over at her and grimaces. They both feel terrible. Really, I’m not sure how long we were going to be able to keep this up anyway. I’m not even sure why we’re keeping the truth from Robin anymore. I trust her, so I take the lead.
Taking Robin’s hand like I might a frightened child, I wait until she looks at me. From the corner of my eye, I can see Olivia clenching her fists. I still don’t know what happened earlier today, but Robin deserves an explanation. She doesn’t resist when I pull her over to the couch and make her sit down. Evie and her mom crowd around us, each making an effort to touch my shoulder or arm so they can hear me.
“Mason, what is going on? You guys are really freaking me out!”
I don’t quite know where to begin, so I start with the first thing that comes to mind. “Olivia is the only one who can see me.”
“What? Why?”
The only response I can give is to shrug.
“That’s no
t an answer!”
“I’m sorry, Robin, but we don’t know.”
“This doesn’t make any sense. If you’re all Caretakers, why is Olivia the only one that can see you?”
Everyone starts squirming except me. “Um, it’s probably because they aren’t Caretakers. Not even Olivia.”
For a moment, I think Robin might faint. Just in case she pitches forward and smacks her head on the table, I put my arm around her shoulder and keep her upright. The hand Robin never let go of when I led her to the couch clamps down on mine, but she stays conscious.
“How…did you…this doesn’t make sense!” Robin cries. “How did you get an Aerling if you aren’t Caretakers?”
Her hand slaps over her mouth as her eyes grow larger than I would have thought possible. The way her breathing spikes to near hyperventilation puts everyone on edge, including me. “Robin? Calm down. It’s okay. You’re freaking me out now!”
Robin isn’t paying attention to me. Her eyes snap over to Olivia’s mom. “Did you steal Mason from his Caretakers?” she demands.
“Whoa!” Olivia jumps in. “Is that what you’re having a conniption fit about? Good grief, Robin! We’re not kidnappers!”
“How…how?” Robin stutters.
Before this turns into a fight, which it looks like it’s about to, given Olivia’s and Evie’s outrage, I force Robin to look at me. “Robin, no one stole me. Olivia saved me, and she’s been protecting me ever since.”
I’m not sure my words have made any impact. Robin seems intent on going into freak out mode. I’ve stayed pretty calm up to this point, but panic starts to creep in. If Robin starts telling people someone kidnapped me, who knows what the real Caretakers will do. I’m ready to start shaking Robin when she finally takes a deep breath. Everyone holds very, very still.
Robin breathes out slowly and says, “Someone needs to tell me what on earth is going on. Right. Now.”
“Do you remember how I told you that I figured out I was an Aerling when I was five?” I ask.
Robin nods slowly.
“Well, that wasn’t completely true. I hadn’t heard the word Aerling until the day you ran into us in the parking lot. The only thing I figured out when I was five was that no one could see me. I was alone, wandering the city trying to find someone to help me, but no one heard or saw me.”
“Why… were you alone?”
Talking about this has never been easy, but for some reason a tenuous calm settles over me as I begin telling Robin my story.
“I don’t remember very much about my life before I found Olivia. I know you said something about how Aerlings remember everything, but watching my family die took most of those memories away.”
Robin gasps. “What?”
“I can’t tell you what happened for sure. I was hiding in a kitchen cabinet when it started,” I say. “I tried to come out when my mom screamed, but she held the cabinet door shut so they couldn’t find me. When the screaming stopped, I thought it was over, but it wasn’t. She fell in front of the cabinets. I didn’t see the blood at first. Not until I pushed the door open a little further. Then I saw it spreading across the tile.”
Evie reaches over and takes her mom’s hand. She curls her fingers around her daughter’s hand with tears in her eyes. Olivia sits down next to me on the couch. She just sits, letting her nearness give me strength. Facing the returning memories of my family’s deaths, I need more. My fingers slip around hers and she squeezes my hand tightly.
“I could hear whoever had hurt my mom moving through the house. My dad started yelling. There was noise everywhere. I had no idea what was going on and I panicked. All I wanted was to get to my dad. I didn’t want to hurt my mom, but I had to push the cabinet door against her to get it open far enough so I could get out. She wouldn’t answer when I tried to talk to her. When I got out, I slipped in the blood and fell beside her. I think I might have just stayed there next to her if Dad and Cami hadn’t come running down the hall.”
My eyes close as images start flooding back in. I’m back on the floor, kneeling in my mother’s blood, crying, when my dad comes sprinting down the hallway with little Cami in his arms.
“I had never seen such a wild look in his eyes. Cami was bawling, terrified out of her mind. The knife flashed through the air so fast I only saw it once it stopped moving. My dad fell to his knees, dropping Cami to the floor.”
I can’t tell Robin about what happened next. Just thinking about it hurts my heart, squeezes it until it seems ready to split in two. The ache spreads through my body, pulling me inward as I try to fight off the memories and pain. I don’t want to remember my dad looking over at me, his lips mouthing the word “run” on his dying breath. I don’t want to remember the new puddle of blood forming and creeping toward me as I screamed.
More than anything, I beg myself not to remember the man snatching Cami up off the floor and adding her to the dead. I couldn’t stop myself from disobeying my dad and crawling over to her. I picked up her hand and held it. That’s when they realized I was in the room.
“I watched them die,” I whisper. “I tried to hold my little sister. They must have seen her arm move. One of them grabbed me. I thought I was next.”
“Oh, Mason,” Olivia whispers.
“I’m not even sure how I got away,” I continue. “One second they had me, and then suddenly I was free, running to find my older brother and sister.”
The room is silent as I struggle to find my will to continue. Olivia leans her head against my shoulder. Her hand rubs back and forth across my back slowly. Every stroke lends me some of her strength.
“They were already gone by the time I found them. I didn’t know what to do, so I hid under my brother’s bed when I heard the men coming again.” The images keep coming, but I push them away. “I don’t know how long I stayed under there. It felt like days as the men searched the house for me. Even after the noises stopped and I was sure they were gone, I stayed under the bed, too terrified to come out.”
“How did you end up on our front porch?” Olivia asks quietly.
I shake my head. “Someone must have called the police. A neighbor, maybe.”
How long did I lay curled up under Brian’s bed? I remember the knocking, the door swinging open slowly, the gasps as the officers saw the blood and bodies. I had no idea who they were. Already terrified, I didn’t even have a word to describe how I felt in that moment.
I think it was the walkie-talkies that finally started to calm me down. Even at the time I knew it was a strange thing to focus on, but Brian and I had played with our own set just the day before. Every time one of the officers spoke into his walkie-talkie, I felt another bit of terror drop away. It was a long time later that I forced myself to crawl out from under the bed.
My eyes were closed as I stepped carefully around Brian’s body, only opening once I got to the hall. All I saw were my dad’s shoes before snapping them closed again. The tears streaming down my face didn’t garner any more attention than my crying. Officers walked up and down the hall, but nobody saw me.
“None of the officers knew I was there, but I had no idea why. Out of desperation, I ran out of the house to the neighbor’s houses. I banged on doors. Most stayed closed, but even when someone answered the door no one helped me. They just stared into the empty space looking confused.”
“So you just kept going?” Robin asks.
“I kept thinking someone would finally see me. Maybe it was all just a nightmare.” I shake my head. “I just kept walking until something made me stop.”
“What made you stop?” Robin asks.
Finally, a good memory. “It was Olivia.”
I turn to face her and all the bad clawing at me slips away. “I saw her sitting in the living room window. She was breathing on the glass and drawing pictures in the fog. For a moment, I thought she saw me. It was the first glint of recognition in two days, but I wasn’t sure so I sat down on the porch. I was so
tired and hungry.”
“I did see you,” Olivia whispers. “You looked so sad. All I wanted to do was make you feel better.”
My arms tighten around Olivia. I am so overwhelmed in this moment that I can’t even begin to find the words to tell her how much I love and appreciate her. One thought keeps repeating in my mind and it slips past my lips as a whisper. “I love you, Ollie.”