IT TAKES ANOTHER

By: Xanarific

CHAPTER THREE: Making the Decision of a Lifetime

This had all occured the very same day when Carly and Eva had met. The strange occurance in line with meeting a new friend, the only friend which Carly had known yet at Castaway high. She, at this point and time, did not know what to think but proceeded with it like she had known Eva longer than in reality.

Such thoughts only made things worse, for when the bus made it's stop to let the two of them off, they did not wish to leave each other behind. Eva was to go to an orphanage down the street, which wasn't too far away, but it was far enough that Carly couldn't walk without her parent's realizing that she was gone. In that case, how was it to be that she was to dissappear for months without them realizing?

She had to laugh at the thought. In fact, everything seemed like a complete joke, like a dream that was too good to become reality. She and Eva exchanged numbers before parting ways, and then Carly began her short walk up the stone stairs to the large, old manor. Even after living there for about three weeks now it was still easy to get lost within the maze of a house. But, she did remember having to climb down the main stairwell earlier that morning, so she proceeded in that direction and she decided that she would track her way to her bedroom from there.

Her mother and stepdad were nowhere in sight as she continued up the massive stairway and into the hallway on the third floor. She assumed that, by the fact that one of the cars that was normally parked outside was gone, they had gone out without her.

"It's not my concern," she told herself. "I know the old man has got to have something here to eat for dinner. Heartless, though he is, I really doubt that he would leave me here to starve... Would he?"

She finally reached her bedroom, and there on her dresser was a note from her mother. She then picked it up and began to read to herself:

Carly,

I ask that you forgive me for my attitude toward you earlier this morning. You must understand that there are decisions that I must make in order for the benefit of your well being. In all honesty, Charlie is not the man at which I had intended to be with, expecially after that unmentionable day a few months back, but I remain with him for the reason that what he has to offer to me is worth more than I alone can support for you. It took a bit of pleading on my part, but I finally convinced him to leave some extra cash behind for you so that you can treat yourself to a nice dinner for a change, for I control not his ways. Please always understand that I love you and that everything I do is for you, and never be discouraged by my stern approaches whenever the matter calls, for that is not my heart speaking. Charlie does not wish for me to tell you this, but we are out on a trip to Seakurt for his work, and we won't be back until late next week, so make the money last. I will miss you much until then.

Love Always,

through good and bad,

MOM

- P.S. I do know. It is up to you to make it happen.

Carly dropped the letter in awe. She knew? But... How?

While she sat trying to collect up her thoughts, the truth hit her like a train. The old principal had told her already that he had gotten the situation covered, but she knew not that it would be handled so soon. At this she quickly snatched up her phone immediately and dialed Eva's number.

After three rings, her voice picked up on the line.

"Yes?"

"Eva, it's me, Carly!"

"Oh, hey! That was quick. Umm... Whats up?"

"This is important, listen up! I've made my decision!"

For a moment, all went silent on the other end.

"Al... already? How?"

"I got a note from my mom today. It turns out that she already knows about the whole thing, apparently. She and my stepdad went off to Seakurt for a week, and as it turns out, it was only a coverup to buy me some time. I don't think that he knows about it, but my mother is actually for me going off to this school!"

"Ha! I KNEW that this would happen!"

"Hunh?"

"Well... I already noticed that by the time we got home, the red car that was in your front driveway this morning was gone. I saw you unlock the door while trying to enter the house, meaning that chances are that no one was home, otherwise the door would be unlocked."

"What? But how did you pick up that they were headed to Seakurt?"

"Well, I actually picked up a brocure from in front of your driveway earlier encouraging people to visit Seakurt. It was a requested mailing, shipped specifically to your house, and on it was an itenerary containing the times from which their plane takes off, which was earlier today, to when it lands back again in a week."

"WHAT? You have GOT to be joking! Just HOW do you notice these things?"

"Well, to be honest, this one was by accident. I picked up the brocure by pure interest, and after that I made the discovery and began to piece together the clues."

"Wow... You're mind is pure gold," said Carly in amazement.

"So, I suppose you wish to go after all, then?"

"Yes, that is my intent. And you?"
"I did say that I would stay with you until the end, did I not?"

At that time, there was a knock on Carly's door.

"Carly, we're home! Open up, we have a surprise for ya!"

Carly's blood ran cold... She had been so focused on the fact that her parents were gone to realize that there was still the twins. They, unfournately, had also stayed behind, meaning that unless she did something, then yet another obstacle was approaching, barring her way to successfully making her escape come Wednesday.

"Not alone I see," said Charles. "Just who are you talking to? One of those pathetic girls back at your rag town?"

"I'll have to call you back Eva," said Carly. "But yes, I'm going, and these twins are NOT going to prevent it!"

"I catch you. Bye."

With that, the line went dead. This only made the pounding on the door grow stronger.

"Open up, rags! We need a word with you! Just where do you think you're going!"

And then, she thought of an idea, a pretty genius idea in her mind. For the two of them who thought that she was about to leave somewhere, she stamped her feet on the ground and proceeded to noisily open the back window. Strong wind flooded the room and in turn, pounded back on the wood of the door creating the effect which she had intended on.

"Oh, no you don't," shouted Alan. "C'mon Charles, we won't let her get out that easily!"

Then, after a moment of standing by the window in silence, she heard two sets of footsteps fade off down the main stairwell. She then proceeded to follow behind, as silent as the falltime breezes and wait until she heard the click of the front door shutting before she would dash down, lock all locks, and chain up the door so that the two mindless twins could not re-enter. By the time that was said and done, Carly dashed up the stairs and shut and locked her own window so that the twins would not climb up. Then she fell back in her satisfaction, knowing that they would not be able to enter again unless they went around back. The back of the house was all fenced in for security measures, and to get in required a special key which, though the twins did have, they left behind in their bedrooms by mistake. Now, Carly was alone in the house while the two idiotic twins were locked out with no hope of returning back unless she were to unlock the door again.

"They'll get back inside somehow, I know it," she said to herself, trying to catch her breath. "But until then, I think I'll just sit here and relax..."

This night was the best one which she had had since her arrival a few months back. Early on, the two twins gave up in trying to reenter the house, so they called a friend to come pick them up and take them over to their house instead. Now, Carly was left with $225 at hand to last a week plus a day, along with a huge, empty manor which she was free to now take a proper tour of instead of shoving herself in her room the entire night. Of course, she would take advantage of this time alone, so she quickly ordered a pizza and then gave Eva a call again and told her what had happened.

"That was genius, Carly," she exclaimed. "But you do know that the twins are not as likely to fall for that a second time, right?"

"I know," she replied, "that's why I'm taking advantage of this time I have now to do some exploring."

"Exploring, eh? Where at?"

"Just around the house. I never cared to look around while my parents were around, for I was told about many different rooms that were 'off limits'. But now, whos going to know?"
"Hmm... Thats always an interesting thing to do, explore. I sometimes like to wander around the orphange when I have free time in case that there was something I missed the time before. Usually theres not, but I take great joy when there is, for it's like finding some lost treasure buried long ago by my ancestors."

"Yes, I see what you mean. And to think that in over a week, we will have an entire new school to explore! That is, unless you wish to explore Castaway high to try and find someone's long lost homework."

"Ha, fat chance! Really, that place is not even worth it. It's too new. I much prefer exploring older places, like your manor. It's the older ones that still posses that classic charm that steals my interest."

"Exactly! You and I really do think alike, don't we Eva?"

Carly then grabbed one of the paper plates from atop the fridge in the kitchen and grabbed her one last slice of pizza so that she could take on her tour. She then proceeded into the large living room, and continued back into a hallway that stretched outward from the body of the manor. She had gone back this way only once before, and that was before her stepdad had told her which ways were and were not off limits to her. She was not surprised to find that most of the house was.

"I'm heading back down what I would assume is the frontmost leg of the manor," she said to Eva through mouthfulls of pizza. "It's surprisingly a long hall, and I've only ever been a few steps in. Let's see where it will take me..."

"Hmm... Well, if I remember correctly, I saw that leg, or what I thought was that leg, heading into a smaller section of the manor. I wouldn't guess it goes anywhere special, maybe to an old cellar if you are lucky. But from the outside, it looked like a dead end."

"Even so, I would like to know. I'm approaching the door at the end of the hall now. Hold on, my hands are full at the moment, I'll have to put the phone down for a second."

Carly did so, placing the plate of pizza and her cell on the floor, making certain that she wouldn't step on them when she exited the room.

She then proceeded to open the door, but becuase of the pizza grease on her hand, she merely twisted it around the knob-it didn't budge. She tightened her grip, but still no luck.

"It's locked," she said, picking up the phone again with her non-greased hand. She then picked up the pizza and made her return to the kitchen.

"Hmm... Well, I guess that not all doors can remain open," said Eva with a smile. Carly sensed this smile even though she couldn't see her.

"I'll just try another path, then," she said.

When she entered the kitched again, she threw away her plate and popped the last bite of pizza crust into her mouth. Then, after breifly washing her hands to remove the grease, she again lifed the cell from the counter and proceeded out back into the large entrance room where the main stairwell stood. This time, she walked past the stairwell and through a hall which stood at the frontmost part of the manor. She knew only of the fact that the twins had their bedrooms down this way, but never had she gone there to see them. Though this area was actually not restricted to her, her wishes were beyond visiting her senseless stepbrothers in their rooms. But now, her curiosity got the better of her.

In the meantime, night began to settle upon the outside of the manor, and a low rumble of thunder was heard, roaring deep into the evening sky. Rain pattered against the windows, but this did not stop Carly from engaging on her tour.

She reached the door of the first room and grabbed the handle. To her surprise, Alan had actually remembered to lock his door.

"Wow, that's ironic. I think I'd take being locked out of my bedroom for a while apart from being locked out of the house."

"Carly, why is it that no one makes a good bit of sense in this town?"

"Why ask me?"

She then proceeded to the next door, Charles' door. Slightly ajar, Carly creaked it open wide and stepped into. The television was on low, playing a rerun of comedian Ronald Howard's midnight acts, and scattered on the large bed to the left was a mess of dirty school clothes that remained unwashed from last week. Posters hung about the room, all of famous rappers and rock stars, along with some scattered pictures of girls from school in times when no one could recall what had happened during that night. The last thing she noticed was a journal lying on his desk which, though old and battered, still seemed to draw Carly in.

"By your sudden silence, Carly, I would guess that you see something of interest in your step brother's room?"

"Well... Yeah, it's a journal of some sort. It might seem a little childish to thumb through it, but I do wonder..."

"And you were calling me nosy, Carly."

"Yeah... How's this, I'll unlock the door in exchange for me reading through a couple pages of this journal. He won't have to know about it."

"You're call, my friend. It just astounds me at the fact that there are boys who keep diaries. I find the word 'journal' to be a cover up for what it really is."

"If it really is what it is, you mean Eva."

"Just one way to know for certain."

Carly reached out her hand to grab the journal and then opened it to the first page. She was surprised to see a table of contents containing a list of dates, beginning about six years before. The table of contents took a few pages in itself, so it took a moment for Carly to locate the lastest date on the page which just so happened to be a week ago.

She flipped to that page and read to herself:

September 8, 2010

Today I sit here alone in the house. Well, not exactly alone, I have my stepsister here too, but the two of us don't really get along all that well, all thanks to Alan. But no matter, he, my father, and my stepmother are all out right now looking for some nice bait to go with their new fishing poles. I've never had that much interest in fishing, but you know that based on the event on May 3, 2008, Well... theres really not much to say right now, except that I'm alone... Alone, alone, alone. I was actually thinking about going to talk to Carly, hoping that the two of us could try and work something out, but I actually think that wouldn't work too well. You know very well why not. One of these days, though, I will try. One of these days before it becomes too late! !

"Oh... It's appears that Charles has some heart for me after all," spoke Carly softly.

"Again with the irony."

"You're telling me. Apparently he's written about me before too, but..."

Her sentence was haulted by the slam of a car door. She peered out the window to find her worst nightmare a reality.

"Oh, I've gotta get outta here. Talk to ya later, bye."

With that she hung up the phone, dashed out of Charles' room and closed the door to roughly the same position that it was in when she had found it. She then made a run to the front door, unlocked it, and skipped up the stairs back to her bedroom, closing the door with a little more force than nessacary before plopping onto her bed and closing her eyes.

In the meantime, the twins began pounding on the door downstairs.

"CARLY, OPEN UP!"

It was Charles. Whatever heart that he had shown to her in his journal certainly didn't exist now.

"Maybe you should turn the knob, ya dork," she heard Alan say. "No, no, the other way! Ugh... Now where is that creep?"

"She left us some grub," said Charles with a smile. "Good, I'm starved!"

"CARLY! GET DOWNSTAIRS NOW!"

Who is he, my father? Nowhere near, she thought.

The twins continued to yell and shout, but eventually Carly pushed the noise out of her mind. She had some other thoughts, which stood despite this pain in which they had inflicted on a daily basis. And come next Wednesday, she was happy to know that she could possibly be missed by at least one member of this new ungreatful family.

With this, her mind drifted at last into a complete state of peace, and good dreams engulfed her. She saw no hope in the day that followed, but at least that there was just a few days down the road thereafter...