S. Bodeen - The Fallout

“Where are we going?” I said, breathing hard as we ran.

“We need a bus.” Tony turned and ran down the street to the left and I followed.

We went several more blocks before we hit a street with a bus stop. We stood inside the shelter, doubled over from the sprinting, and just panted for a moment. I asked, “Can I get back home on the bus?”

He nodded. “Yeah. We may have to switch a few times, though.” He looked at me. “I’ll get you there, don’t worry.”

A bus showed up a short time later, and Tony paid for both of us. Good thing, because I had no money with me. We were the only ones on that bus. We had just gotten off it to wait for a connecting bus when Tony’s phone rang. He glanced at the screen and held up a finger. “Be right back.” He stepped away for a minute and I heard him say, “Yeah, boss.” He listened for a moment and then said, “Part of the plan. I’ll get everything back where it belongs.”

His tone was low and I couldn’t really hear anything else. Boss? Maybe that car had been stolen and he was supposed to deliver it. Or maybe there were drugs in the trunk. My heart began to pound. Maybe my gut feeling had been right about him. I was glad Eddy wasn’t with him… But Eddy was with him. At least, Tony thought I was Eddy.

Maybe, for Eddy’s sake, I should end it. Their friendship. Pick a fight so Tony would never show up at the house again.

Tony hung up and came back over to the bus stop.

“Who was that?” I asked.

“Just this guy I do stuff for. He doesn’t always agree with how I get things done.” He shrugged.

“Oh,” I said. Could I do it? End their friendship right then and there?

But Eddy would wonder why Tony didn’t call. And he’d end up calling and then figure it all out. He’d end up being mad at me. Not a chance I wanted to take. Plus, as much as I didn’t want to admit it, Tony was fun. And I could picture the three of us hanging out. So I asked, “Illegal stuff?”

Tony laughed. He laughed so hard he bent over and put his hands on his knees to catch his breath. “Oh, my God.”

“What’s so funny?” I asked,

He stood back up, still chuckling. “It may be slightly outside the law of certain things, but no. Not illegal.”

“I have no idea what that means.” I laughed. “I don’t think I want to know.”

He smiled. “Probably a good idea.” A bus pulled onto the street and came toward us. He pointed. “That one will get us back to Mercer.”

I said, “You don’t have to go with me. I can do it.”

He shook his head. “No. I’d probably stay up all night wondering if you made it or not.”

I frowned. “No, you wouldn’t.”

“No, I probably wouldn’t.” He laughed and smacked me on the arm with the back of his hand. “It sounded sincere, though, didn’t it?”

I laughed and shoved him. “Yeah, it did.”

The bus squeaked to a stop and Tony handed me some money.

“Thanks. I’ll pay you back next time you come over.”

He said, “I know you will.”

I stepped on the bus and lifted a hand. “See ya.”

“Later, Eli.”

The door shut behind me.

Eli.

I turned back around. Through the clear doors of the bus, I saw Tony standing there, hands in his pockets, a smirk on his face. He lifted one hand to me as the bus pulled away.

I sunk down into a seat, still looking back at him.

Did Tony know it was me the whole time? I wondered what gave me away. And I wondered what I was going to tell Eddy when he found out.

I had quite a jog from where the bus left me off, so by the time I climbed over the fence and snuck back into the house, I was wiped out. I managed to make it into the house and up to my room without anyone knowing I’d left. At least, I thought so.

When I woke in the morning, sun was streaming in my window and my clock read ten after ten. I quickly threw on some sweats and grabbed Eddy’s hoodie and shoes I’d worn the night before. He wasn’t in his room, luckily, and I threw them in his closet. He tended to be a bit messy, so he probably wouldn’t notice. I wondered whether Tony would tell him about our outing.

Maybe he already had.

I heard the little kids yelling and laughing in the playroom, but I passed by and headed for the kitchen. Eddy and Lexie were both there, eating strawberries. I told Eddy, “You look better.”

He said, “I feel better.”

I poured myself a cup of coffee.

Lexie looked at me. “You slept late.”

I shrugged. “Stayed up late reading.”

Gram came in with a stack of mail, which she set on the counter. “For no one knowing where we live, we sure get a lot of junk mail.”

I pulled the stack toward me and started leafing through one at a time. Every envelope and catalog was addressed to Gram, or at least Gram’s real first name and her grandmother’s maiden name.

“Junk.” I tossed an envelope aside. “Junk.” I tossed that one at Eddy’s face. “Junk.” I threw that one up in the air and it landed on the floor.

Gram narrowed her eyes at me. “Recycle those when you’re finished picking them up.” She left.

I was just about to toss the next envelope in the air when I saw the name Yanakakis on the front. I looked closer. Alexandra Yanakakis. I glanced at the return address. The information about Lexie’s birth parents.

Eddy and Lexie had begun to argue about whether the little kids would enjoy going to a mall, so they didn’t see me slip that envelope into my lap as I kept sorting the rest.

Eddy stood up and put the empty strawberry bowl by the sink. “Want to shoot some hoops?”

Happy for the invite, I nodded, probably a little too enthusiastically. “Yeah, after I eat something. I’ll meet you out there.”

“Cool.” He went upstairs.

I lifted the envelope out of my lap. “Lex. It came.”

“What came?”

I handed it to her. Her eyes widened as she read the return address. “This is it?”

I nodded. “Want me to open it?”

She shook her head. “No. I don’t know if I’m ready.”

“Okay. I’m here if you need me.”

A corner of her mouth turned up. “I know. Thanks.” Lexie stood. “I’m gonna go up to my room and open it.” She lifted the envelope higher and squinted at it. “Maybe.”

I put on some sneakers and went to join Eddy outside. We played one-on-one for a while, until we were both sweating and panting, and needed water. Back in the kitchen, Mom was talking to someone on the phone. She must have just been exercising because her face was red, her temples were sweaty, and her T-shirt was damp. “They’re my properties to do with as I want. It’s not the company’s decision.”

Eddy got two glasses out of the cupboard and handed one to me. I filled it with the sprayer in the sink and handed it to him. I’d just started to fill up the other one when Mom finally noticed us. She told the person on the other end, “We’ll discuss this later.” She hung up and smiled at us. “How was your game?”

“I won,” I said.

Eddy smacked me in the chest. “Did not.”

“Really?” I aimed the sprayer at him.

He held up a palm at me. “You wouldn’t dare.”

I sprayed at him, just enough to get his shirt a bit wet.

“You did not just do that.” He stepped toward me and I sprayed him more, laughing as he tried to get the sprayer from me.

“Boys!” Mom looked like she was trying not to laugh as she admonished us. “Els will have a fit if you get the kitchen all wet.”

“Sorry,” I said. Then I spritzed her in the face. “Oops.”

She sputtered and blinked, then started to laugh. “Eli!” She widened her eyes at Eddy. “Are you going to let him get away with that?”