...and yet another really long chapter. once again, i had alot to cover.
A Dream Worth Living
Zack and Cody were dead silent as the elevator of doom made its way down each and every floor. There were no stops along the way; there were no interruptions of any kind. Dooms day had arrived.
Why did they choose to ignore all the warning signs?
Why were they so eager to let this stranger into their lives?
Everything wasn't perfect but at least they were able to hold on to each other, nobody had to worry about losing someone in death.
Now where was the future going to lead them?
Zack was contemplating all the possible things that could be going on in the lobby right now. How many people did he already kill? Who's being held hostage?
"I swear if he hurt anybody down there…" Zack started.
"We can't freak out. Not yet." Cody said trying to calm his brother down.
"We can't just rush out there Zack, what if he's expecting us? He could have traps. He's capable of any and everything."
Zack didn't care about traps, or even the fact that he was placing himself in danger.
"You realize what we've done right? Don't you realize we let a killer into this hotel without letting anybody know? If anybody dies, it's our fault."
Cody stood completely still.
" Sure they won't blame us, but deep down inside… Cody. I'm not ready to hold onto that kind of guilt?"
…
For once Cody couldn't fight Zack on this one. He was right. Cody could just imagine what it would be like seeing a dead body in the lobby, knowing he was partly responsible.
What if he killed Mr. Moseby?
Even though Justin would see it as another kill, he would have no idea, or even the understanding of how much of an injustice that would be to everybody.
This was the only person that looked past the fact their mom had children, the only real father figure in London's life, the one person that saw his workplace as his own home.
How can you take someone like that away from those that love and need him?
Or even worse… what did he do to mom?
It felt like forever but it had only been moments since they got into the elevator. Cody was starting to feel a little sick. It would be devastating if anything would happen to those they knew and loved.
The twins were five floors away from the lobby.
"… I thought we could help him… but I guess I was wrong." Cody said.
" We all wanted to help him. But sometimes there's nothing we can do. The best thing right now… is to stop him any way we can."
"Yeah… I guess you're right…" Cody held his head down in shame.
Zack could see the hurt in Cody's eyes. Once again his all too well meaning brother was let down again. Life took its toll on his heart. Sometimes there's nothing that you can do to make things right. The sooner everyone could realize that, the easier it would be to deal with the pain.
The elevator was approaching the lobby. Loud voices could be heard as the elevator moved between walls. Zack and Cody were mortified. The voices were getting louder and louder, it sounded like a crowd gathered in the lobby.
The elevator came to a stop, the doors opened and it was so crowded, Zack and Cody could barely see anything else but the back of people's shirts.
"Oh my god" they both thought. How many people did Justin have hostage? What was he doing down there? What was all the commotion?
Zack signaled for Cody to take one side while he took the other, if anything was going to happen, they figured they could rush him from two different sides of the lobby.
This may be the stupidest thing they could've ever done. Why didn't they get somebody with authority, a person with a gun? How on earth would they be able to stop Justin with their bare hands? Their twisted brother was much stronger, much faster than they could possibly imagine. And the more each of them thought about it, their quick decision didn't seem so bright of an idea.
But it was too late… Justin could easily be able to see if either of them decided to run for help.
As time furiously sped by, the boys were beginning to see that their eyes were deceiving them.
The more they made their way through the crowds Zack and Cody were beginning to realize that something was quite different. Nobody was on the ground; their hands weren't even in the air. In fact, nobody was even frowning; they were smiling of all things.
Zack was a little confused, so was Cody. Zack brushed his face passed the crowd and peaked into the center where all the attentions was.
The loud noises that they heard were mistaken as sounds of panic and anguish, and yet the noises that distorted their judgment ended up being sounds of shock and amazement.
Standing in the center of the room was Justin. Apparently he had dyed his hair black again. He was wearing one of Cody's black silk shirts and a pair of Zack's black cargo pants. Darkness suited his personality well. He was like a shadow that crept amongst the light, undying in its attempt to overshadow the lives of everyone around him. Just like in the drawings he made, Justin seemed to have re-created an all-new identity for himself.
What was going on?
Then Mr. Moseby came through the crowd ecstatic with joy. He waved his hands towards Zack and Cody signaling them towards him.
As if that wasn't odd enough. Mr. Moseby telling the boys to come near him? It's usually the other way around. None of the boys had ever seen him this happy.
Was it okay to let their guard down, Justin hadn't done anything… yet. Everything seemed so confusing right at the moment.
"There you are, I'm so glad to see you! I don't know how he did it, but he's done it! He came down here two hours ago, we talked, sort of, and then out of the blue he just started working on it. This is amazing, not even the most skilled craftsman was able to do this!"
"Wait. What are you talking about? What did Justin do?" Zack asked.
Was this some kind of joke, did Moseby even realize he was in the same room with a dangerous psychopath? Of course he didn't. Nobody said anything.
Before Zack got his reply, Cody turned his head and looked with disbelief.
"Oh my god… how did… whoa!"
In the center of the room, stood the Tipton vase. It was repaired all the way back to its shiny glory. Piece by piece was perfectly placed back together as if nothing ever happened to it. It wasn't even possible to see any cracks; there was no sign of it ever being broken.
Zack and Cody got a little closer and stared in amazement. The detail was incredible. Every chip, every nook, all of it was back again. Justin remained silent, as he was still in deep concentration. He was wiping the vase clean of any thumbprints. Whatever he did to the vase, it was so compactly placed back together, he could pick it up, turn it around and even spin it without it crumpling back into dust.
"But how? There was over a million tiny pieces all over the floor… I remember it clearly." Zack said.
"Yeah. Zack smashed that thing into oblivion."
Mr. Moseby face turned sour.
"Ah yes. Don't remind me."
All three of them leaned a little bit closer; Justin finally set the vase back down on the center of the table.
"All done…"
There was thunderous applause throughout the hotel. The impossible had been accomplished. The Tipton heirloom was fixed. Moseby jumped up and down with joy like he was a lunatic and almost a second later, he fell to the ground.
" Ohh… my back."
"Lucky for you that was the only thing that happened." Carey said as she walked through the departing crowd.
"MOM!" The boys said in unison as they both rushed towards her, they nearly suffocated her with big hugs.
" My goodness what's gotten into you two? And could you ease up a little, I'm starting to lose consciousness…"
The boys let go, allowing for their mom to catch her breath.
"What was that all about?" she was finally able to say.
Cody was trying to say everything at once.
"You… Justin… you were both like… not there… and the papers! There were papers everywhere! Lots and lots of scribbles, and there were fangs really scary fangs!"
Zack needed to clear up the confusion.
"We woke up, you were gone and so was Justin. And there were creepy drawings all over the walls."
Carey just brushed their concerns aside with a smile.
" Oh that. Don't worry about that, I'll clean it up later."
Carey started humming and then she noticed that Mr. Moseby was still on the ground. She leaned over to help him up. Zack looked at Cody as if to say, " Is she even listening?"
"Mom. What's with the drawings?"
"Oh who wants to talk about drawings at a time like this?"
Carey walked over towards Justin and patted the top of his head.
"And-I-am-so-proud of you. Will ya look at that vase…"
She was nodding her head in approval totally oblivious to the glares coming from the twins, after all, the boys were scared half to death just a few minutes ago, and somebody owed an explanation.
It appeared that Justin had already met lots of people in the hotel before Zack and Cody had to come up with a story to cover his past. He was shaking Arwin's hand; obviously he made a new friend.
"You would make quite a repairman my friend. I can just see it now. You are a natural! You could learn from me, you could be… my disciple!"
Arwin's mind suddenly drifted away with all the possibilities.
"That's a lovely offer, but I'm not sure about that yet…" Justin said.
"Just remember. The door is always open for you… if you choose to walk the path of… The Arwin."
Justin watched as Arwin left the lobby whistling the theme of Darth Vader. In the distance, there was a loud bang, Arwin obviously tripped over something as usual. Moments later a small voice gave way.
"I'm okay."
Justin smiled and then turned his attention towards his brothers who were standing there with their arms folded. They were visibly upset that they have been ignored. Justin didn't seem to notice; either that or he didn't care.
"I like that person."
"Nice to know." Zack said in a sarcastic tone, which caused Carey to take notice.
"Is there anybody you don't like?" he finished.
"Zack, what's gotten into you? Apologize to your brother!" Carey folded her arms. Mr. Moseby quietly backed away to make an escape.
Zack hadn't made any move; neither did Cody, the one who usually cracked under any sense of authority.
"Boys what is wrong with the two of you?"
Zack turned towards his mother with a look of anger streaking across his face.
"You think there's nothing wrong with leaving without saying anything, or the eerie drawings pasted all over the walls,"
Zack points at Justin,
"No sign of our potentially psychotic buddy right here,"
Cody decided to finish.
"… And then leaving us with the thought of wondering what happened to you, you think that it's nothing to worry about?"
Carey paused for a moment; she didn't know what to say, so instead Justin decided to interrupt.
"There is nothing to worry about. Everything is just fine."
Zack ignored him and continued staring at his mother.
"Mom, what's going on?"
"Well…"
Carey let out another smile and looked at Justin who was smiling back, it wasn't one of his evil grins, yet it was a genuine smile, one that could be mistaken as human.
The huge crowd was beginning to disintegrate. Soon enough the room was deserted enough to have a conversation.
"Last night when you two were sleeping… your brother and I had a really long conversation. We talked and talked until the early hours in the morning and finally… we reached a point in which we had a connection. We saw each other on an eye-to-eye level."
Cody asked, "What's that supposed to mean?"
"Believe me, if I tried to explain everything to you right now, it would take forever." Carey let out a little laugh.
Although this was a little awkward, it was easy to see that whatever took place last night was not violent. Everyone was still intact, alive and breathing. And Carey seemed to be smiling an awful lot this morning, like some heavy burden had been lifted. Cody was beginning to notice this and for a moment he wasn't all that affected by what happened earlier.
Zack was still yet to be convinced. He stood there seemingly unaffected by his mother's response to his question. He glanced over at Justin who was giving him a blank stare, Zack wanted to like him, he really did. But there were just too many creepy things that his brother did. It wasn't too long ago when Justin said, "No offense kid, I really enjoyed talking to you but there's too many doors between us in which we could never understand each other."
Maybe that wasn't his split persona speaking to him. What he said might not have been far from the truth. But either way, Justin was here, living in his room, amongst the rest of the family. Zack would have no choice but to get used to him. Maybe they would have a point in their lives in which they would reach an eye-to-eye understanding. But for now… every time he was around Justin, he would be taking a chance.
"I'm going back upstairs." Zack said, he was frustrated, realizing that if he didn't brush off what just happened, he'd be pissed off for the rest of the day. Nobody followed him, not even Cody.
Always trying to be the logical one, Cody decided to stay downstairs so he could make sense of everything going on around him.
"Mom. Are you sure everything's okay?"
Carey looked at her concerned son. His eyes were speaking a million thoughts to her as if to send a silent message "is he making you say this?" "Are you in danger?" it was hard to swallow her story. Carey leaned closer to Cody and put her hand on his shoulder.
In almost a whisper she said, "trust me on this one… everything is going to be just fine. I've been set free."
Her eyes began to water; Cody's emotions were temporarily disfigured at that moment. That was a tear of joy. He had never witnessed anything as peculiar as that. Then to add onto the onslaught of odd behavior, Carey hugged her son closely.
"I love you all so much."
She grabbed Justin and brought him close too. It seemed like an eternity before she decided to let go of the two.
"You know what, I'm hungry, are you guys hungry, I'm gonna cook something. Better yet, lets order breakfast from the hotel today. Everybody knows the Tipton has the best breakfast in Boston."
Carey scurried off into the dining area of the hotel to get a table ready. If anyone had been paying attention to the two boys in the middle of the lobby, they would have seen a completely confused kid in pajamas scratching his head, and another kid standing next to him as if he were the grim reaper, all dressed in black with nowhere to go, silently contemplating if today would be the day he would collect another soul.
Cody glanced over at Justin and began to think. Justin of course wasn't paying any attention to him; he was off into his world again. In his mind, Cody decided to officially deem Justin as "Mr. Psychopath," and just for kicks, he was going to entertain the idea of trying to understand him.
"What exactly did you say to her?"
Justin thought for a moment, and then he said, "I dunno… mostly words I guess."
"Never mind…"
Why Cody even asked became a mystery in itself. Why should he even care at this moment anyway, after all, he couldn't argue the fact that somebody put a smile on his mothers face.
Once again, as if by choice, Cody decided to ignore all of his impulses and allowed himself to take another chance on Justin.
Putting on a brave smile, Cody looked into his brother's eyes and placed an arm around his shoulder.
"So Justin, how would you like to meet the rest of the family?"
"Okay… but do we still get to eat breakfast?"
"Of course…"
It's quite comical if you think about it. Why is it that in the midst of total confusion, there always lies some inner hope that things are not really as bad as they are? Was Cody truly destined for inner destruction? One second you think this stranger killed your family, and the next thing that happens, you turn that same stranger into you best buddy.
"So who would you like to meet first?"
As the brothers trailed away from the lobby, all seemed to be going well again, like the Tipton vase, everything was beginning to piece back together again despite overlooking all the flaws. But was it because it was so easy to ignore the big picture? There were still unanswered questions, but at this point, who really cared?
Constant plot holes always occurred somewhere in this story of the lost child. Who was Justin really? If he was truly as brilliant as he seemed to be, maybe he was putting on a show and he had yet to introduce the grand finale.
Meanwhile…
Zack roamed all around the suite contemplating whether or not he was really trying to welcome Justin, or sabotage his chances of being part of the family. As he began to take down all of the drawings, he started to think about this whole situation. He never really did give him a real chance. It was like his mind was blocking out any possibility of Justin ever redeeming himself, ever becoming normal.
But how could anybody ignore the fact that all of his symptoms of a split personality just absent mindedly vanished? He seemed so different from just a week ago, even from last night. What was going on? Which one was Justin, human or soldier. Is it possible for a monster to understand that it's a monster?
"I'm not human you know."
Those were Justin's own words.
Is a soldier really a monster? In truth, a soldier never shows compassion, never cries over a death, and never fears the inevitable fate that comes in being a killer. In the world of a soldier it has always been kill or be killed. A soldier is similar to a bullet, or the blade of a knife, neither one has a sense of loyalty. Soldiers will do whatever they are commanded to do, and without thought, without reason, they soon forget that they are alive and eventually they become something evil, they become the shepherds of death.
But a soldier is also human. Humans thrive off of the love they are shown and in return they learn to love. History has proven that a human is willing to sacrifice their life for the chance of freedom, a chance to be heard, some will die to protect their offspring in order that their family line will continue. So in the end, a human's greatest fear is not death, but it is rather being forgotten as if they had never existed. That becomes more important than life itself.
Could Justin learn to love? It's like he was a robot in need of being re-programmed. Zack stared at all of the drawings on the walls again, realizing that they were metaphoric illustrations. Is this what Justin saw the whole world as, perfect while he was the only one with fangs? How little he knew about the universe.
He came to this hotel wanting to live in this world, the life of a kid. Justin wanted to feel that he was not worthless.
There was a little bit of human inside of him as well as a little bit of soldier. Split right down in the middle. The real question was, which part had more power over him?
There were so many questions to take into consideration, so many of them ignored. Zack wasn't like the others, he couldn't just pretend that nothing was wrong, there was something creepy about Justin, he didn't know what, but it wasn't good. Little did Zack know, but he wasn't the only one worried about what Justin was capable of doing.
About thirty six hours away from Boston…
For the past twelve hours, words of caution kept playing in the back of Kurt's mind.
"Just get to your family before it's too late."
Kurt opened his eyes and it was the middle of the afternoon. He found himself staring into the blue sky. Standing over him was a cop.
"Sir, you want to tell me what happened?" The officer inquired.
Kurt got up from the ground and realized that he had a massive headache. He realized that he was right next to the freeway where the cars were speeding right past him, over on the other side he saw his band sitting on the ground next to the police car.
"Where am I?" He asked.
"Apparently you had been driving under the influence." The officer stated.
The RV was over in the corner all smashed up after going off on the side of the road.
Kurt didn't remember everything that happened last night but he knew that he was trying to get to Boston. He was so panicked that he didn't even take the time to sober up, he was so scared for his family that he immediately got on the road and took off. He was swaying left and right over the freeway nearly causing fatal accidents. Soon enough he eventually crashed off into the side of the road.
"Oh my god… was anybody hurt?"
"Not like you're going to be. That's a certified DUI charge, which means that I am going to confiscate your driver's license, and escort you to jail. How's that sound for waking up to a wonderful afternoon?"
Then Kurt realized he was standing right in front of the only person that could probably help him. This was exactly what he needed. If he could get to Boston with the aid of the police, he could be there in time to get Justin away from the rest of the family.
But then again knowing how cops work; they would just nonchalantly radio in a police unit to go inside the hotel in which they would not be prepared for Justin. Either way, Kurt had to take a chance.
"I need your help officer."
"Tell me about it."
I'm serious. I have to get to Boston."
The officer looked at Kurt strange. Obviously this guy had been drinking way too much. He speeds off into the middle of the night in order to get to Boston?
"… And why do you need to get to Boston?" The officer asked in a sarcastic tone.
"My family is in danger!"
"You think that your family that's all the way in Boston is in danger?"
Kurt was starting to panic. He knew that the officer didn't believe him and he knew that in a few moments he was going to get hauled off to jail, then there would be no way that he could get there in time to save anybody.
"I know that this sounds strange officer but hear me out…"
The cop started to find this situation a little interesting so he decided to take off his sunglasses and humor the drunk.
"Alright… lets hear It." he began to smile.
"About two weeks ago I just found out that my twin children's other brother was still alive. But he is criminally insane. He broke out and is with my family right now, I have to get to Boston before he decides to hurt anybody."
The officer looked deep into Kurt's eyes. Kurt was hoping the officer would believe him. But instead the officer lets out a big laugh. It goes on for about a minute.
"Boy I'll tell you that is the most original lie I have ever heard. If it were Friday night stand up, you'd get an award, but unfortunately, I have lost my patience, and it's too hot outside to just stand here."
The officer pulled out a pair of handcuffs and was about to arrest Kurt until out of sheer impulse, Kurt stomped hard on the officer's foot forcing him to bend over in pain. At that moment Kurt grabbed the baton and whacked the officer in the back of the head knocking him out cold. There was just too much at risk if he was taken to jail.
The band members on the side of the road just looked in total shock as they watched Kurt assault a police officer. The cop was dragged into the bushes in the center of the freeway dividers.
"Are you crazy!" One of the band members shouted.
Kurt reached into the pocket of the officer and retrieved his gun.
"As of right now… yes."
Then he ran towards the RV to see if it was still working. When the vehicle spawned to life, Kurt hauled out of there as if there were no tomorrow.
Everything from this moment on would be like treading into new territory, Kurt didn't know what he was doing, but somehow he was doing it. What was he going to do with the gun? Would he really need it? What if he was too late? Would he be able to go on? And if he couldn't, would he use that gun on himself? After all, failure could be right around the corner, and he had everything to lose.
"So how come we've never heard of you Justin?"
There was a moment of silence in the restaurant. It was still pretty early, early enough to take a break before the majority of guests woke up. The dark haired wonder had drawn such a huge interest throughout the entire hotel staff, that all of them decided to sit in on the breakfast at the Tipton. Even London decided to grace her presence in the midst of commoners in order to find out a little more about Justin.
As a matter of fact when Cody was giving Justin the grand tour of the hotel, everyone just gravitated towards his direction and kept following the two of them since. Justin was like this great mystery, this masked soul. He talked like a scholar, but acted somewhat as a newborn completely oblivious to the things around him. Which one was he? It was impossible to tell through his mannerisms if he was being truthful or sarcastic at times.
Everything about Justin was interesting. When the food was ordered, he said that he wanted soup, and when they asked him what kind, he looked at them as if to say, "there's more than one?" He was never given many choices, in fact he was so confused with the idea behind ordering food, Cody ordered for him instead.
He was given pancakes. They were quite possibly the most delicious things he had ever tasted.
Looking at his empty plate, he was in a sort of daze.
"Justin?"
He looked up to see Mr. Moseby who had been sitting three people across the table from him. It was then he realized that he had trailed off into his own world again.
"How come we've never heard of you?" Moseby asked again.
"That is a very good question." Justin replied. He then looked over at Cody who was about to pee in his pants from fright. He totally forgot about the excuse he was going to make up for Justin's sudden arrival. Now that everybody in the hotel was gathered in one spot, Cody had to think of something really fast.
"Well… uh! You see… um. Mathematically."
Oh great! Cody thought. He was beginning to shake from being so nervous. He totally didn't see that coming, him being put on the spotlight like that.
He tried to say words but nothing came out. Everybody was looking at Cody wondering if he was choking on something.
Justin nodded his head as if to say, "you're completely hopeless."
"I'm here on a visit."
With a quizzical expression Moseby replied, "A visit?"
"Yes. A visit."
Cody looked at Justin as if to ask what in the heck he was thinking.
Justin decided to continue, if it was one thing he and Zack were experts at, it was being able to tell a convincing lie.
"Long ago, when me and my brothers were born, there were financial problems. My parents sent me over to live with my aunt when I was just two years old, and I have been there since. My brothers and I interacted with each other on and off throughout the years but the decision to approach my brothers here at the hotel arrived a week ago when my aunt asked me if I would like to get to know my brothers a little better."
Cody looked as if he were about to pass out. Justin put his arm around his brother in an attempt to calm him down, or at least to keep him from falling off the chair.
"I was absolutely ecstatic." He grinned.
Moseby looked at the equally surprised Carey who just nodded her head agreeing to the story Justin handed the people.
It was actually a lot better than anything Zack, Cody, or Carey had thought of especially being the fact he made it up within seconds.
"Who knows, the visit may become permanent." Justin added.
"That'll definitely be a big change, imagine three little peoples running around the hotel." Estaban said. He was so excited by the prospect of more people that could cover for him whenever he felt like taking an extended break, the more people able to send Mr. Moseby running the other direction yelling "Estaban," the better.
"Finally, somebody worthy of being my sidekick… Maddie, your fired."
" You know London, it's not permanent yet. If I'm fired, who's gonna listen to you talk about yourself?"
"Fine. You're hired again."
Maddie made an evil grin and then began to heavily exaggerate by putting her hand over her forehead.
"I don't know about that… you see, the psychological stress… and the strain you put on me, I'm not sure I wanna come back… if only I had a reason to go on like this…"
London didn't notice her sarcasm.
"How's 200 bucks?"
"Consider me your certified lackey again."
Everybody seemed to welcome Justin with open arms. It was as if he had been there the whole time, and he just happened to come back. Cody finally regained his body movement from shock. The noises from around the table, the clanking of plates, the people talking to each other moved into the back of Cody's head, the only thing that was on his mind now, was his thoughts.
He watched as Justin blended in so easily with everyone. Like a film that captured every detail of the moment, Cody realized that if Justin's story were written in a book, it would be a constant page-turner. Everything was so unpredictable. This was one thing that he couldn't understand, and he liked that. As much as he realized that things didn't go exactly as planned he understood more and more that it was what made life so interesting, just as he thought earlier, the journey ended with Justin right here in the suite regardless of how it happened.
Was this fate?Was Justin destined to return home to his real family, his real life?
His concentration was jolted when he looked towards the entrance of the restaurant, where he saw Zack standing there with his arms folded. He was leaning against the reservation desk.
"Zack, where have you been?" Maddie said waving him over to the tables.
Zack didn't say anything but he waved back and gave a light smile instead. He walked slowly towards the long row of connected tables where all the Tipton employees resided for breakfast. Everybody was especially cheery this morning. Even Moseby was smiling more than he ever smiled in the mornings.
Zack finally reached the table where Cody, Mom and Justin sat. There was an extra chair but Zack didn't bother taking it.
"Sweetie, don't you want to sit down?" Carey asked.
"No. I won't be in here long."
Justin looked at Zack silently wondering what he was up to.
Was this going to be another prelude to false accusations?
"Did you want some breakfast?" Justin asked. He was testing the grounds to see if Zack would respond to him.
Zack looked his way but didn't stare him in the eye.
"No thanks, I already ate."
"What did you eat this early in the morning?" Cody asked.
"Kraft's macaroni and cheese."
There was silence at their table. Zack looked as if he were about to say something but then decided not to. He looked around at everyone gathered around them. It was obvious Justin had quite an impact on everyone, he obviously couldn't be that bad.
"So… what brings you down here?" Carey asked while picking at a piece of toast.
"Are you gonna talk about what's been bothering you?"
"Well… actually I came down her for… Justin."
Justin quizzically looked at his brother. Was he being sarcastic?
"You came down here for me?"
"Yeah."
"What for?"
…
Zack was trying hard to find the right words to say.
"The new skate park just opened today…I thought you'd like to try skateboarding or something…"
This was quite a peculiar moment. It seemed obvious at so many times that Zack wanted absolutely nothing to do with Justin. Was he serious?
Justin scanned Zack's face looking for any implication of false truth. What was Zack up to, he thought. Zack's hands were fidgeting. It was like he was nervous or something.
"You want to take me somewhere with you?" Justin was curious but he didn't let his guard down for a second.
" I figured… we could get to know each other… y'know, for real this time."
" How do I know that you aren't up to something? You made it clear that you think I'm a psychopath."
"I know what I said…and I'm sorry. I never gave you a chance."
Zack was able to stop fidgeting after he said that. It was something important that he had to get off of his chest. He never gave many people a chance. After mom and dad divorced, he made it up in his mind that it was impossible for people to change. Once the first impression was set, that automatically determined what kind of person they would be for the rest of their life. Zack knew that it was the wrong way to look at things, and he knew that he would be miserable if he were to keep that point of view for the rest of his life.
"I want to start over…"
In the short time that Justin had already been here, Zack could see what type of person he was, and what type of person he had become. Justin hadn't so much as lifted a finger in attempt to bring harm to anyone. As a matter of fact, he rebuilt something that was destroyed. That should be evidence enough that things can change for the better.
Justin tried as hard as he could to find a flaw in Zack that would expose his real objective, but he couldn't find it. His expression changed to one that allowed breathing room between the two, releasing the pressure of the intensity. They began to see each other on an eye-to-eye basis.
" I want to start over too…if you'll let me." Justin finally said.
Both were sincere. Although there were loud people all over the hotel restaurant, neither Zack, Cody, Justin, nor Carey could hear anything; it was another life changing moment in which two siblings saw each other as a human being. Everyone could finally start the healing process, and siblings could join together to become a stronger team, always there for each other.
"Alright then… lets go." Zack pointed over to the entrance where he had leaned a couple of skateboards on the wall with a duffel bag full of sports gear.
Cody sprung up from the table nearly knocking it over.
"I'm coming too!"
As the boys ran out of the dining area, Cody yelled a quick "see ya later" to everybody.
They all waved back and continued their conversations. Carey thought for a moment that this was too good to be true. Were all of her dreams coming to a realization? Things this great weren't supposed to happen to ordinary people, only actors in well-scripted movies had those kind of dream lives.
With all these new hopes and dreams, Carey felt that it was time to throw the old life away into the past, where it should stay forever. It was time to move on, and it was time for this songbird to find her tune again.
It was a great day to be outside in Boston. The sun was shining and the weather was perfect. The bus ride to the skate park was a short one but for Justin, he was able to capture a million memories. The people sitting outside coffee shops, the kids running up and down the streets, other people moseying down the sidewalk in their business suits simply out and about enjoying life seemed to have struck a chord inside his heart.
"Why is it that people work so hard to enjoy their life when the easiest way is to just go outside?" Justin mumbled, but it was really a thought intended for himself.
The people on the bus he found the most interesting. Here they were sitting next to each other but nobody spoke. They all seemed to be afraid of each other like a disease. Wasn't the objective of life to interact with the people next to you everyday? Don't these people know that they were put on this earth to deal with each other? And yet they wonder why they are so unhappy. Everybody was so afraid to trust each other.
It was a kaleidoscope of imagery that Justin believed would be enough to satisfy him for a lifetime. There was so much to this life that he was made oblivious to. Each and every human roaming about on the streets and on the bus had a different story to tell, they had lead a different life that nobody else would be able to capture within their mind. Why didn't they share their stories? It would make the world a better place.
The bus approached the skate park and the triplets made their way past the people finally reaching their destination. It wouldn't be interesting enough to say that all the boys did was teach Justin how to skate that day. There was so much more entailed in that journey to the park. There were hundreds of kids running around without a care in the world. Justin noticed that none of the kids there felt that they were in danger. There wasn't an overshadowing monster in their lives plaguing them with orders that lead to their doom. Instead, they were free, free as birds. They had all the potential in the world to let their imaginations take off. Their futures were unplanned, life belonged to them and there was nothing that was going to stand in their way.
The children enjoyed the freedom of not knowing what it was like to be a slave. Like all newborns, they were unaware of how truly evil the world could be. Through a life of pain, today was a day where Justin felt like he could actually be at peace.
Every other moment or so, Justin would roll around on the skateboard but his real reason for being there was to enjoy the atmosphere. He sat down most of the day. Watched Zack and Cody join most of the other kids.
They fit in so well with the others.
This was truly their life and he was just a visitor… just as he said to the people at the hotel. Somehow he knew that something like this would not last forever.
The day had played out as a dream, one of Justin's dreams that he never told anyone of. He used to dream when he lied down from the long days of training. Before the constant tests of survival, the constant blood shed, Justin used to be able to sleep, he used to be able to dream of days when there was nothing around him but a field of grass. It didn't matter what he did while he was there in the moment; all he knew was that it belonged to him and nobody else. Perhaps one day, he could have something like that to call his own.
It had gotten dark and the boys had to return home.
Once they arrived at the Tipton, all three boys ran through the lobby scaring Moseby's guests half to death because they were covered with dirt. Justin was feeling right at home.
The day had been perfect.
After all the boys showered and ate dinner, the whole family parked in front of the television. This was what family was all about, everybody being close together and enjoying each other's company. The funny thing was the fact the TV was never turned on, everybody just lounged about and talked, it wasn't until they stopped getting any response from Justin who had finally fallen asleep that they realized how tiring the whole day was.
Carey let out a huge yawn creating the same reaction from Zack and Cody.
Soon enough the rest of the family drifted off to sleep and ended up camping out on the couch and the floor.
It all seemed like everything was going to come together. All the possibilities in the world seemed like they could be brought to light.
The next day entailed some of the joyous events that happened the day before but in different flavors. Justin learned the art of playing videogames in the lobby with a single quarter, Zack made a pro out of him. Cody taught Justin how to cook his new favorite food pancakes, and both boys introduced him to Tapeworm and Max. Needless to say, they were out of their minds with shock and amazement, just as Cody predicted a while ago when he first met Justin. Within the period of a day and a half, Justin learned to skateboard, dance like Max, play basketball, and smooth talk London (which really wasn't that hard).
Justin's thirst for knowledge was remarkable. Anything he was shown how to do, he absorbed it like a sponge. He had quickly become the favorite among all the people in the hotel. But as the day dwindled down, the truth about Justin's future would soon be revealed.
It had reached the evening and Carey had just finished her concert. Everyone gave her a standing ovation. It was clear that the cloud that was over her head had vanished. Carey had found her soul again and sounded better than she ever did. She was so good that it attracted the press who wanted to put her in tomorrow's newspaper titled, "Tipton Headliner Blows Audience Away."
Everything was going so well that Carey wanted to fix the boys some dessert when they got back upstairs. But to their surprise when they got inside the suite, they saw Kurt sitting on the couch with one light on.
"Dad?" Zack was the first to say.
"Kurt. How'd you get in here?" Carey asked.
Kurt was silent. He just sat there in the dark with only the lamp lighting his face.
"I still have an extra card key from the last time I was here." He finally said.
His voice seemed a little raspy. Kurt looked extremely exhausted as if he hadn't gone to sleep for days. Justin came from behind the rest of the family and then Kurt immediately snapped up from the couch.
He accusingly pointed at Justin as if he did something wrong.
"YOU!" Kurt yelled.
"You get away from my family!""Kurt!" Carey shouted.
"He's a monster Carey! He's dangerous!""Kurt what are you talking about?"
"He's a killer, he can't be trusted!"
Zack and Cody were in shock by the hurtful words he was saying about Justin.
"Dad you don't understand, nothing's wrong with Justin!" Cody said trying to defend his brother.
"Stay out of this Cody! Boys go to your room!"
Neither Zack nor Cody budged.
Justin didn't seem all that surprised at this attack on his character, it was almost as if he saw it coming. Instead Justin tried to show Kurt that nothing was wrong with him by slowly trying to move closer.
"It's okay." Justin said.
It was then Kurt panicked and pulled a gun out of his back pocket.
"Back away from me freak!" His hands were shaking. Kurt had never pointed a gun at anyone before; it made matters even worse knowing that he was pointing a gun at his own son.
"KURT! OH MY GOD WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" Carey shouted.
"DAD! CALM DOWN!" Zack yelled. He was so scared at what was happening.
Kurt was so confused by all the voices around him, he couldn't think straight, suffering from a hangover plus the fact that he had not slept for a couple of days, he finally reached his breaking point, he didn't know what he was doing, and without warning, the gun that was pointed in Justin's direction made the decision for him.
BANG!
uh-oh... I'm Scared!