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The desk also contained a tablet. Marc was swiping through a photo album on the illuminated screen. He curled his fingers at me. “Come take a look.”
I hovered over his shoulder, looking through the array of pictures, some girls, but mostly boys. One I recognized as the girl from down the hallway.
None looked like Wil.
Disappointed, I nudged Marc aside, going through each picture one by one. There weren’t many. Some were marked as residents who had already left. One looked sort of like Wil, but his hair was too long, and the glasses weren’t his. Plus, the jawline wasn’t right.
“No,” I said, pointing to the look-a-like. “I can see why you’d think this one might be him but...”
“What about him?” he asked, pointing to another boy, who had a similar haircut and glasses but didn’t resemble Wil anywhere else.
I shook my head, feeling some relief. Part of it was I couldn’t imagine Wil living in a place like this. Not that it might have been horrible, but that it didn’t seem all that comfortable from my perspective. Maybe, though, he would have thought it was still better than living with our father in a motel, about to be kicked out into the street.
The other part was relief that I didn’t have to confront him yet. I preferred the idea of him approaching me when he was ready. It was torture to think of what I’d say to him if I did run into him again.
I was going to explain to Marc that I appreciated his help, when a cell phone rang. I looked at Marc expectantly.
Marc took his phone out, looked at it and then shook his head. “Not mine. Must be yours.”
I blinked, surprised. I wasn’t used to having one. I took it out, noticed an unknown number, but answered it just in case. “Hello?”
“Kayli-Bayli!” cried a shrill voice, male. Sort of. “God, tell me you’ve got a nice club or casino in this town.”
I had a flash of a memory: a dark-skinned, bubble-butt crossdresser in yellow spandex and a blue halter. “Future?”
“Did you forget your old friend already?” she asked. “Look, I’ve got a favor to ask you.”
I looked at Marc, who shrugged. I wasn’t sure if he could hear, but I must have looked confused. “How did you know this number?”
“I asked your boyfriend,” she said, and left it at that, leaving me to wonder who she meant. “I need you to meet me at the pier. The one off of...where are we?” she asked someone on her end. There was a voice, but I couldn’t understand what was being said. She came back. “Palm Island?”
“Isle of Palms?” I asked. “You’re in town?”
“Sure,” she said. “There’s a pier here, and you have to come see this boat. It’s fucking huge. I’d almost give up my boobs for one of these. Maybe if I show my boobs to enough guys I could afford it.”
I checked the window; it was dark outside and the wind was sweeping through the nearby trees. “You want me to go right now?”
“It won’t take five minutes. After everything I did in Florida to help you out, could you come hang out with me for a bit?”
“What’s going on?” I asked.
“You’ll see,” she said and then hung up.
I made a face as I put the phone down.
“Something bad?” Marc asked.
I shrugged and then put the phone away. “Future is calling in a favor. She’s in town.”
Marc stared blankly at me for a minute and then his eyes widened and his mouth popped open as he seemed to remember who I was talking about. “Oh my god. She’s back? Tell me we don’t have to. What favor? What...” He pressed a palm to his cheek, rubbing. “Wow.”
I was feeling the same way. I couldn’t guess the sort of favor Future would ask, but I had a feeling it was going to be something beyond my wildest imagination.
A FANCY FUTURE
Mary returned as we were on our way out. Marc lingered to talk to her and let her know we didn’t see anyone resembling my brother.
The excitement of being in a rush to hurry to see Wil, the disappointment of not finding him, and then the sudden surprise from Future calling left me rattled. I went to the door and walked out without Marc. I needed to get air. I needed to get out.
The cool air of late fall bit into my lungs as I crossed the yard. My eyes had a hard time adjusting to the darkness, but I moved forward anyway.
Raven was slumped in the driver’s seat, listening to the radio on low and looking like he was almost asleep. He sat up as I approached, and unrolled the window. His dark eyes narrowed on my face, shifted to behind my shoulder toward the house, and then back at me. “Where is he?”
“He’s not here,” I said, moving to stand next to the truck door. I folded my arms over my chest, tightening the jacket around my shoulders. I was pouting, but I couldn’t help it.
Raven cursed, something in Russian, under his breath. He smacked his palm against the steering wheel. “I was too slow,” he said. “I should have jumped in the truck.”
My head rocked back at his response, and my heart softened for him that he felt so strong and was blaming himself. It knocked me out of my uncomfortable disappointment and anger. “No, Raven,” I said, reaching for his arm and holding his wrist. “I don’t think he was ever here. Marc’s lead was wrong.”
Raven mumbled something, shaking his head. “I don’t know what’s worse,” he said. “Being too late or raising your hopes.”
I wasn’t sure, either. My imagination told me I might not even want to know what was going on with Wil. The longer I went without seeing him, the more I started to wonder who he really was. Had I ever really known him? After all these years, maybe he’d had enough of our family: the absentee sister after his mother died and his dad turned into a drunken slob. I thought he’d understood I was working to support us.
Maybe he felt abandoned.
“Little Thief,” Raven said, drawing me out of my pit of guilty thoughts. He reached out and cupped my cheek in his palm and held it. “We’ll find him. Don’t kill me like that.”
I had to smile, not knowing where to start with his odd choice of words.
Marc finally emerged from the house, Mary waving a final goodbye and closing up behind him. Raven dropped his hand from my face as Marc came up, waving a business card. He handed it over to me. “Listen,” he said. “She said to call her any time. I gave her your number, too. And she’s friends with a few of the other shelter owners and foster families around the area. She’ll call if she’s got any leads.”
“It’s fine,” I said quickly. I smothered my urge to suggest maybe we should quit looking, that maybe he didn’t want to be found and didn’t really want to see me. Weeks had passed, and there’d been nothing.
Marc nodded slowly. He combed his fingers through the length of hair that had fallen across his green eye, leaving only the blue one visible. His face needed a shave and there were dark circles under his eyes. I hadn’t noticed before, probably because I hadn’t seen him all day and we’d been in a rush when came in. “Hey,” he said. “I was going to say let’s call it a night, but since Future called, do you want to go see what she’s up to?”
“Future?” Raven asked, his voice dropping in tone. His shoulders straightened and his face tightened.
I recoiled slightly, surprised at Raven’s reaction. “Yeah,” I said, slowly. “She called. She was asking for a favor. She said something about a ship by the pier over on Isle of Palms.”
Raven’s eyes flashed at Marc. “So?” he said. “We don’t need to listen.”
“We do owe her,” Marc said.
Raven’s lips twitched. “We don’t owe her right now.”
I nudged Raven’s arm. “What’s the deal?” I asked.
“How’d she get your number?” Raven asked.
I shrugged. I didn’t want to mention she’d said ‘boyfriend’. I had feeling that it could have been Blake. She’d called him to get my number?
That left me with a slightly empty feeling. Weeks ago, when I had been kidnapped and needed help, I talk
ed Blake into lending a hand. He did and I’d ended up in the hospital after the ordeal. I’d told the boys after I got home that I should probably call him and thank him, but all of them said I shouldn’t. When I pressured them with questions as to why, they had said they’d tried to thank Blake but he wanted to be left alone. They gave a few other reasons not to talk to him, too, mostly about the aftermath of being kidnapped, and trying to upgrade our own security.
I didn’t want to admit to the boys, but one night when they’d been asleep, I’d snuck down to use the pay phone in the lobby and called Blake. It felt wrong to not at least thank him after everything he’d done. I don’t know why I thought to use the pay phone. It was just to see if he’d listen if it was another phone number instead of deleting it without answering.
Despite my calling and leaving him a message, he never did call me back on my cell. I thought of a thousand reasons why, but now after Future admitted to getting my number from someone else, and the only other person she knew that knew me was Blake, I had to guess that Blake simply didn’t want to reach out to me. Maybe the boys had been right; he wanted to be left alone.
