EMIT (THE EMIT SAGA) (27 page)

“The problem is that the catastrophe will happen if we don’t find that other envelope.”

“I am so sick of all this talk of the future, sci-fi jargon, nonsense. I’ve kept this crazy secret, but I’m no longer letting you guys call all the shots. Until someone explains to me what’s going on, I want you leave me alone or I will tell my parents.”

“I can’t
tell you anything. It’s classified.”

“Well,
then I don’t want to be involved anymore. I want all of you out of my life. Please go deal with bombs, envelopes and goons all by yourself.”

“
I’ll leave. But if the envelope turns up, please call me.”

“You
’ll be the first person I call.” After he walked out, I slammed the door.

Lily got in around six and knowing that this drama wasn’t over, I was afraid to tell her anything. The bomb
part really scared me. Even with the doormen and the NSA security, a bomb got into my building. It could have killed me, John Costra, and who knows how many others.

We went to my room and Lily sat on my bed
. “I know something’s wrong. Please tell me.”

I stared at Lily’s face and
couldn’t hold it together any longer. I was falling apart inside and I started to cry.

I jum
ped up off the bed and blasted the radio. They couldn’t hear me. I wouldn’t let them have the satisfaction of knowing how upset I was.

Lily
didn’t know what was going on and she looked so confused. She hugged me and said, “Please don’t cry. Tell me what’s going on?”

I took a piece of paper and wrote ‘MY ROOM IS BUGGED, LET’S GO OUTSIDE.’ Lily stared at me like I was crazy. I nodded
that it was true. Not wanting Mom to see my red face, I put on my sunglasses. Lily followed me out to the kitchen and didn’t say anything.

“Mom,
we’re taking Amber for a walk. Call my cell when dinner is ready.”

“
Okay. Lily, I heard you’re seeing a movie with Chad tonight. What time are you going out? I want to make sure you eat.”   

“He’s meeting me here around
7:45. Don’t worry. I’ll get something at the movies.”

“No
, that’s plenty of time for us to eat together.”

When we got outside, Lily asked
. “What are you talking about? Who’s bugging you?”

We walked and I talked. Basically I told her everything as best I could
since there was so much that I really didn’t understand myself. Lily didn’t interrupt, just listened attentively and gasped at times. The car accident flipped her out.

S
he exploded, “Someone ran you over on purpose! You have to go to the police.”

B
y the end of the story she understood the problem in contacting the police. Even if the police believed me, which was doubtful, the NSA would step in and take over.

We sat on a bench and she
just stared at me in a stupor. “You need to tell your parents. I don’t know if I trust this agency. It all sounds so crazy.”

“I can
’t. I still believe Daniel. Even if he hurt me, I do trust him.”

“What did he
mean when he said this will happen in the future?”

“Every time I’
ve asked, he says it’s classified. I told him not to talk to me again until he tells me what’s going on. That’s the reason I’m going to Grammy’s. I can’t do this anymore.” I started getting emotional and Lily comforted me.

“I
t’s probably best that you get out of here.”

“
You need to know that your house is bugged, too.” I watched her face as all of this slowly registered. First surprise, then understanding and then rage showed on her face.

“You’ve got to be kidding! They took that
photo of him from my scrapbook? They were in my house?” she asked, putting two and two together.

“Yes
,” I began. “Daniel said that someone was watching and protecting you. Lily, at least you’re safe, well unless they try to run you down.” I started chuckling because this all sounded so stupid, that it was funny.

Lily looked at me like I had
truly cracked up, and maybe I had. “Why are they following and bugging me too? What could I possibly have to do with this?”

“I have no idea, maybe it’s
because you’re always with me. Beats me, this whole thing is going to put me in an insane asylum. I can’t figure anything out.”

“I can’t believe
they were going to bomb your building.”

“Isn’t that insane?”

Lily suddenly said, “I thought we’d never keep secrets from each other.”

“I’
m sorry, but I didn’t want you to get hurt.”

“B
ut you did get hurt and I had no idea what really happened. If anything happened to you... I can’t even go there,” said Lily, visibly distraught.

“
Daniel said that I had at least a week before those goons figured out they needed something else. But then he said that he could be wrong, so let’s hope that’s the case,” I said.

“When you saw him on Long Island, was it him?” Lily asked.

“Yeah, you owe me ten dollars,” I said and laughed.

Lily s
tared at me like I was deranged and she might be right. I felt like I’m losing my mind.

My cell
rang and it was Mom telling us to come home.

After dinner,
I went with Lily down to the lobby to meet Chad. I made him promise to walk her home afterwards. Chad looked at me oddly and said he had planned to do that all along.

Heading back towards the elevator, I almost walked
into Pierce. “Off to work?” He just nodded and walked out of the building.

Mom and Dad watch
ed a movie in the den, while I waited for Lily in the living room and prayed that we’d both stay safe. With nothing good on TV, I picked up my Lord Byron book and read, ‘When We Two Parted.’

WHEN WE TWO PARTED

When we two parted

In silence and tears,
Half broken-hearted
To sever for years,
Pale grew thy cheek and cold,
Colder thy kiss;
Truly that hour foretold
Sorrow to this.
The dew of the morning
Sank chill on my brow-
It felt like the warning
Of what I feel now.
Thy vows are all broken,
And light is thy fame;
I hear thy name spoken,
And share in its shame.
They name thee before me,
A knell to mine ear;
A shudder comes o'er me-
Why wert thou so dear?
They know not I knew thee,
Who knew thee too well-
Long, long shall I rue thee
Too deeply to tell.
In secret we met-
In silence I grieve,
That thy heart could forget,
Thy spirit deceive.
If I should meet thee
After long years,
How should I greet thee!-
With silence and tears.

As I read
it, my eyes welled up. By the time I reached the fourth and final stanza, I was a complete mess. The words resonated with me and I could feel the pain caused by the decline of the relationship.

Looking up at the clock,
I saw that it was almost twelve and Lily wasn’t back. Mom came in and asked me if I heard from her when I told her no, she told me to call. Lily answered and said that they were at Starbucks and she’d lost track of time.

When
she got in, we ran upstairs to talk. As Lily got on the bed, she said, “You should date Reed and then we could double date.”

“Maybe...” I said loudly
, knowing they were listening.

Lily realized what I was doing
. “He’s so cute and so much cuter than Daniel,” she added.

“I know and besides Daniel was such a pompous ass,” I said loudly.

I made it unbearable for them to listen to our conversation by putting the music on really loud. Mom ran in and scolded us about the radio’s volume and made us turn it off.

I woke up in a state of terror from another nightmare. I remembered
being chased and getting killed. The dreams seemed so vivid and felt so real. All this espionage stuff was causing havoc with my sleep and my mind.




Waking up and finding Lily there was such a comfort. Somebody finally knew what I’d been going through and could help, or at least
give me advice.

As Lily was leaving, she said, “I’ll see you Friday night at Grammy’s. Oh, I forgot
to tell you that Noelle is coming. Should I see if I could change it? We won’t be able to talk.”

“There’s really nothing else to say. We just have to wait and see what happens.
Having her out there will be a nice distraction. Besides, she can play tennis and bike with you.”

I packed clothes that were easy to slip on
, so that I wouldn’t have to ask Grammy for help. Mom helped me bring my bags downstairs and left them in the foyer. We would leave right after my doctor’s appointment.

At the doctor’s
building, I saw Pierce in the lobby talking to a guy with black hair. It was creepy that people I didn’t know were following me around and listening to my every word.

Dr. Wesley took off the plaster cast and put on a fiberglass one now that the swelling was gone. The new cast was much better, less bulky and more comfortable. He told me that the cast liner could get wet but I still needed to be careful. How do you swi
m with one arm?

We took a taxi home, had lunch, packed up the car, and were on the road by one o’clock.

“Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow.”
Einstein

Sitting in the car for two hours gave me plenty of time to think about Daniel and I knew that I had to get over my anger. Yes, he lied and led me on, but he had never once treated me inappropriately. He had been protecting me and was doing his job. The rejection was painful, but I couldn’t force him to have feelings for me that he didn’t have.

We got to Grammy’s around three and she rushed out the door thrilled to see us.
Grammy told me to go lie down by the pool and I left them in the kitchen. I watched the boats in the distance and when I opened my eyes, I knew I had fallen asleep. Except for Amber, I was alone.

I went inside and found them in the living room. “I can’t believe I had a three-hour-nap! T
he painkillers really knock me out. What’s for dinner? I’m starving.”

“Turkey burgers
. We were waiting for you to wake up before we started a ruckus on the grill,” Grammy said.

“I made a pasta pesto and Grammy made a tomato and mozzarella salad.  Do you want something while we cook the burgers or do you want to wait?” Mom asked.

“I’ll wait. I’m going to put on my bathing suit. I’ll be right back.”

I put my suit on
and spotted the NSA boat right in front of the house. “I understand you guys aren’t going to stop tormenting me, but do you have to be on top of me. Please move and go someplace else,” I ordered.

The cell rang and it was a private number again.
Please don’t let it be Daniel.

“Hello?”

“It’s Daniel. I’m the one out here. Pierce is on his way and when he gets here, I’ll move. I don’t want you to think we’re doing this intentionally.”

I didn’t know what to say, I was completely silent.
I said, “Fine” and hung up. There was nothing else to say.




In the morning,
the boat was gone. I sat by the pool, read poetry, sketched and wrote depressing, heart-rending songs. Soon, I’d have a whole book of pathetic songs and poems dedicated to my heartbreak. I was miserable. I caught Mom’s glances and she understood more than I gave her credit for.

When we went to the store, I noticed that the
boat was at the Causeway Beach and it made me feel good that Daniel was nearby.

Noelle showed up before Lily since she had driven out with Aunt Cecile. Lily was taking the
bus with Uncle Ian.

After changing, Noelle swam and I sat on a lounge chair. Noelle insisted that I tell her all about my accident. I got hit by a car summed it up, but she wanted more and kept asking questions. Thankfully, I was saved by Lily’s call saying that they had caught an ea
rlier bus.

While Noelle read magazines, I went upstairs to check my laptop. I read all the new postings on Facebook, sent some messages, chatted with some friends. When Lily finally arrived,
the weekend officially started.

After dinner, we hung out in the pool and gabbed. I had nothing to talk about and realized quickly that without Daniel, my life was quite dull. Lily talked about her job and then about Chad and Zack, the boy that had asked her out from her swim club. Noelle talked about work and then admitted that she had a crush on a boy
named Dean who worked with her.