Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend (34 page)

‘Oswald,’ I whisper. ‘Where are you?’ Mrs Patterson cannot hear me but I whisper anyway.

Television makes you do a lot of dumb things.

‘Here,’ he says, grabbing my arm.

Oswald is standing beside me but I cannot see him. And I can barely hear him. Yet his grip is strong. It gives me hope that he can do what must be done.

‘Okay. Let’s go,’ I say.

‘I think that’s a good idea,’ he says. ‘I don’t think I have much time.’

The door to the basement is open. After all that has happened, we deserve this small piece of luck. I did not know how to get Oswald into the basement if it had been closed. As I lead Oswald through the kitchen and down the stairs, I look at the clock on Mrs Patterson’s stove.

6.05.

Later than I thought but still not late enough. Mrs Patterson will not be asleep for hours. But Oswald has no time left. I have to find a way to make it happen now.

The basement lights are on, but it is still almost impossible to see Oswald. As he steps into the room outside of Max’s secret room, I can see him only because he is moving. When he stops beside the green table with the tiny tennis court on top, he disappears.

‘Max is behind that wall,’ I say. ‘It’s a door, but it’s a secret door so I can’t pass through it. And Max can’t open it.’

‘You want me to open it?’ Oswald asks from some faraway land.

‘Yes,’ I say.

‘This is where I save Max?’ Oswald asks. He sounds relieved. He has made it. He is going to be able to do the one big thing in his life before he disappears.

‘This is it,’ I say. ‘You are the only one who can open the door. The only one in the whole wide world.’

I show Oswald the spot on the shelf where he must press. He places both hands against the shelf. He leans in and pushes. His whole body presses forward. He becomes the snowplow. The section of the shelf moves in almost immediately and the door slides open.

‘That was easy,’ I say.

‘Yeah,’ he says, sounding surprised. ‘Maybe I’m getting stronger.’

I can’t see Oswald’s smile, but I can hear it in his voice.

I step inside Max’s room for what I hope is the last time.

CHAPTER 55

The Problems with Getting Max Home

1. Max is afraid of the dark.
   
2. Max is afraid of strangers.
   
3. Max will not talk to anyone who he does not know.
   
4. Max is afraid of Mrs Patterson.
   
5. Max won’t admit that he is afraid of Mrs Patterson.
   
6. Max does not like change.
   
7. Max believes in me.
   

CHAPTER 56

Max is expecting Mrs Patterson to walk through the door. He does not look up when I enter the room. He is building a train with his Lego. The tracks are surrounded by platoons of plastic army men.

‘Hi, Max,’ I say.

‘A choo-choo train!’ Oswald shouts.

Max drops the Lego piece in his hand and stands up.

‘Budo!’

He sounds happy to see me. His eyes widen as they meet mine. He takes a quick step forward but then stops. His tone quickly changes. His eyes narrow. He frowns. ‘You left me.’

‘I know.’

‘You broke your promise,’ he says.

‘I know.’

‘Tell him you’re sorry,’ Oswald says.

He has moved across the room and is standing beside Max. He can’t stop staring down at him. It is like the God of One has become the God of Two.

I look at Oswald with wide eyes and shake my head. I hope he understands my meaning. I am not afraid that Max will hear Oswald. I am afraid that Oswald will distract me. I feel like one of those police officers on television who has to talk a crazy person out of jumping off a bridge. I can’t have any distractions. It’s time for me to do my part. I have only one chance to save Max and I don’t have much time.

‘Why did you leave?’ Max asks.

‘I had to leave. If I stayed here, I thought you would stay here.’

‘I did stay here,’ Max says. His eyes narrow even farther. He sounds confused.

‘I know,’ I say. ‘But I was afraid that if I stayed here, you would stay with Mrs Patterson for ever. You’re not supposed to be here, Max.’

‘Yes, I am. Stop it, Budo. You’re not talking right.’

‘Max, you have to leave this place.’

‘No. I don’t,’ Max says.

He is starting to get upset. His cheeks are turning red and he is spitting his words. I have to be careful. I need to get Max just the right amount of upset. If he gets too upset, he could get stuck.

‘Yes, you do,’ I say. ‘You have to leave. You don’t belong here.’

‘Mrs Patterson says that I belong here. She said you can stay here, too.’

‘Mrs Patterson is bad,’ I say.

‘No,’ Max says. He shouts the word. ‘Mrs Patterson takes care of me. She gave me Lego and army men and lets me eat grilled cheese for dinner whenever I want it. She told her mom that I am a good boy. She can’t be bad.’

‘This is not a good place,’ I say.

‘Yes, it is. Stop it, Budo. You’re not talking right. You’re not being a good friend. Why aren’t you talking right?’

‘You have to leave, Max. If you don’t, you will never see your mom or dad or Mrs Gosk or anyone else ever again.’

‘I will see you,’ Max says. ‘And Mrs Patterson said I can see Mommy and Daddy again soon.’

‘She is lying about your mom and dad, and you know it.’

Max says nothing. This is a good sign.

‘And if you stay here, you will never see me again, either,’ I say.

‘Stop it. You’re not talking right.’ Max’s hands clench into tiny fists. For a second, he reminds me of Oswald.

‘I mean it,’ I say. ‘You’ll never, ever see me again.’

‘Why?’ Max asks. There is fear in his voice now. This is good.

‘I am leaving. And I am not coming back.’

‘No,’ Max says.

But this is not a command. It is a request. He is asking me to stay. He is almost begging me to stay. Now there is hope.

‘Yes,’ I say. ‘I am leaving. I am never, ever coming back.’

‘Please, Budo. Don’t leave.’

‘I am leaving.’

‘No. Please don’t leave.’

‘I am leaving,’ I say, trying to make my voice like cold, hard stone. ‘You can leave, too. Or you can stay here for ever.’

‘I can’t leave,’ Max says. I hear panic in his voice now. ‘Mrs Patterson won’t let me leave.’

‘That is why you have to escape, Max.’

‘I can’t.’

‘Yes, you can.’

‘I can’t,’ Max says, and it sounds as if he might cry. ‘Mrs Patterson won’t let me out.’

‘The door is open,’ I say. I point to the open door.

‘The door is open?’ Max says, finally noticing.

‘Mrs Patterson left the door open,’ I say.

‘Liar, liar, pants are on fire!’ Oswald says from far away. I smile, wondering where he learned that.

‘Listen to me, Max. This is the only time that Mrs Patterson will forget to lock the door. You have to go now.’

‘Budo, please stay with me. We can just stay here and play with army men and Lego and video games.’

‘No, we can’t. I am leaving.’

‘Why are you being so mean?’ Oswald asks.

His voice is like an old whisper. It is like dust. I want to stop and say goodbye to him. Thank him for what he has done. I feel like he could be gone at any second. But I cannot stop. Max is toppling. I can feel it. I need to finish the job.

I turn and take three steps toward the open door.

‘Please, Budo.’ Max is pleading now. I can hear the tears in his eyes.

‘No. I am leaving and never coming back.’

‘Please, Budo,’ Max says, and my heart breaks a little to hear him so frightened. This is what I wanted, but I didn’t know how hard it would be. The right thing and the easy thing are never the same thing, and this is the truest right now.

‘Please don’t leave me,’ Max begs.

I decide that this is the moment to make my stand. I change my voice from stone to ice. ‘Mrs Patterson is bad, Max. You are afraid to say it, but you know it. But she is even worse than you know. She is planning on taking you away from this room. Away from this house. Far, far away. You will never see your mom or dad again. You will never see me again. Everything is going to change for ever and ever unless you go now. You have to go now.’

‘Please, Budo.’ Max is crying now.

‘I promise that if you leave now, you will be safe. You will get away from Mrs Patterson. You will make it home. You will see your mom and dad tonight. Cross my heart and hope to die. But we have to go now. Will you follow me now?’

Max is weeping. Tears are spilling down his cheeks. He can barely catch his breath. But in between the sobs, Max nods.

He nods.

We have a chance.

CHAPTER 57

Mrs Patterson is in her bedroom. She is packing another box with things from under her bathroom sink. The clock above the stove reads 6.42. It is time to go.

I go back to the basement. Max is standing by the staircase. Right where I left him. He is holding the locomotive from his Lego train in his hands. He is clinging to it like it is a life preserver. His pants pocket is bulging with something, too. I do not ask what.

I wonder if Oswald is still here. I look around but cannot see him.

‘I’m here,’ he says, waving his hand. The movement catches my eye. He is standing behind Max but it sounds like he is on the other side of the Grand Canyon. ‘Did you think you lost me?’

I smile.

‘Mrs Patterson is upstairs,’ I say. ‘In her bedroom. You are going to walk up the stairs and follow me. We are going to try to get out through the sliding glass door in the dining room. The door should open quietly. I watched her open it once. It didn’t squeak. Once we are outside, you are going to turn right and run as fast as you can into the woods.’

‘Okay,’ Max says. His whole body is shaking. He is terrified.

‘You can do this, Max.’

‘Okay,’ he says. But he does not believe me.

We climb the stairs and enter the hallway. The front door is to the right. I think again about sending Max out this door and decide against it. It is at the foot of the stairs. Mrs Patterson might hear it open.

‘This way,’ I say, leading Max through the kitchen and into the dining room. ‘The handle is on the right-hand side. Just give the door a pull.’

Max shifts the Lego train to his left hand and grabs the handle with his right. He pulls. The door moves a teeny tiny bit and then stops with a thud.

‘Oh, no,’ I say, feeling the first bits of panic race through me. ‘Max, we have to go to—’ Before I can finish my sentence, Max has turned a knob on the door. ‘It was locked,’ he whispers. ‘That’s all.’

He pulls on the door a second time and the glass slides open with a quiet hiss.

For a moment, I am excited. Not only is the door open but Max opened it. He solved the problem. Max does not solve problems. Max becomes trapped inside problems.

This is a good sign.

But as the door slides open, three beeps ring out throughout the house. The alarm has not gone off, but it is the beeps that tell the person who owns the door that the alarm is working but is turned off. Max’s parents’ doors make the same sound. I don’t even notice the beeps anymore because they beep every time someone opens the door. They beep all the time.

I do not think these three beeps will go unnoticed.

As if to prove the point, I hear something drop to the floor directly above us. A second later footsteps thump quickly across the upstairs floor.

‘She’s coming!’ I shout. ‘Run!’

Max does not move. He stands in the open doorway, frozen in place. The sound of Mrs Patterson’s charge across the second floor has stopped him in his tracks.

‘Max, if you do not run now, you will never escape.’

I realize how true this is as I say the words. I have taken a big chance. If Mrs Patterson catches Max now, she will never give him another chance to escape ever again. This is the one chance I have to get Max home.

And he is still not moving.

I hear Mrs Patterson. She is on the stairs now.

‘Max. Please run now. I am leaving with or without you. I am not staying here. There is no time. Your mom and dad are waiting. Mrs Gosk is waiting. Run!’

Something I said makes him move. I wish I knew what it was so I could use it again. I think it was maybe the mention of his mom.

Max steps into the night. It is dark and I am worried that this will stop Max again but it does not. Max is afraid of the dark but now he is more afraid of Mrs Patterson. He has admitted that he is afraid of her, and this is good. He crosses Mrs Patterson’s deck and walks down the three steps onto the grass. He looks out at the pond. The moon is hanging just above the trees on the opposite side. White light shimmers on the still water.

The pale moonlight
, I think. Max is dancing with the devil in the pale moonlight for real now.

‘Turn right and run!’ I scream as loud as I can. As angry as I can.

Max turns and runs into the trees.

I turn to look back at the door. Mrs Patterson is not there yet. She must have decided to check the front door first.

Oswald is standing in the doorway. He shimmers in the mixing of moonlight and light from inside the house like hot air off a parking lot. He is disappearing. It is happening right now. Right in front of my eyes.

‘Run, Budo!’ he shouts.

The sound coming from his mouth does not sound like a voice anymore. It sounds more like a distant memory. A memory almost forgotten, except now I know that Oswald was right. He will never be forgotten.

‘Save Max,’ he says.

He is probably shouting these words. Roaring this all-important final command. The words that have ended his life. But they come to me as a whisper’s whisper.

‘I have one more thing to do.’

I cannot run. I feel like Max. I am stuck in place. Oswald the Giant, imaginary friend of John the Lunatic, the only imaginary friend to have feet in both worlds, is dying before my eyes.

I am responsible for his death.