Chapter 17

After having separated to explore the Space exhibit, Mum brought us all back together. She was swivelling a lot, as if looking for somebody. Grandad and Grandma were still not here, and I thought she was waiting for them.

"What did you make of that, son?" Dad asked Danny, ruffling his hair.

Danny glared at him, "Okay, I guess."

I laughed. I'd never seen him so engaged up until that point. Dad knew it, and disregarded Danny's apparent disinterest.

"It's amazing, innit!" Mum spoke, finally holding all attention on us. "Ready to move on?"

"Shouldn't we wait for the oldies?" I asked.

"They'll catch up."

Dad scoffed. "You kiddin'?"

"Well let's go anyway," Mum said. "Can't see a bloody thing in here."

The ground floor circled around the globe centrepiece, and the voiceover bid us farewell when we crossed through a glowing arch that signposted the way to the next exhibit. Light chat of enjoyment of the exhibit swirled between us, but I kept my words to a minimum. I still had terrible thoughts in my head, and it was hard to be upbeat. My acting could only go so far.

In the darkness ahead were the faint movements of one person standing alone. As we came closer, his smiling features came into view. He had a tag on his shirt, signifying that he was one of the museum guides. He was waiting by a nondescript door.

"Wonderful exhibit," Mum said to him as we wandered past. "How much for that Apollo model?"

She laughed, and so did he. Then, he said, "You liked it that much, huh?"

Mum stopped. "Oh, it was great! I think it's brilliant."

"Thank you!" The guide said. "We have some other models that aren't out yet."

Mum oohed and nudged Danny. "That'd be good to see next time, wouldn't it?"

The guide looked around. Nobody was there. "I wouldn't normally do this, but I could show you. They're just through here." He pointed an elbow to the door he was guarding.

"You'd like that, wouldn't you?" Mum said to Danny.

Danny shrugged. "Yeah, that'd be cool."

The guide nodded and fiddled with a set of keys that accompanied his belt. With one set of fingers to locate the lock, he slipped the key in and twisted the system open with a click. The door opened inwards to pitch black.

An image struck me, and I hesitated as I stared into the darkness. I felt uneasy, and I knew that I didn't want to enter. Something wasn't right.

"Ladies first." Dad said. He held out a palm ahead of me, while the guide grinned welcomingly.

It's just a museum backroom. It's just a backroom!

I was going to make a scene. I didn't want to go in, and I wasn't going to be forced. Think…

"Could I, uh… I need to go to the toilets," I excused. "I'll join you in a bit, okay?"

"We'll wait for you." Mum said cheerily.

"No, no," I giggled. "I know where you are. I'll just knock on the door when I get back."

I quickly scooted away, returning to the main space of the exhibit. I glanced over my shoulder just as I turned the corner.

Their silhouettes had not moved.

I was swallowed by dread. My index finger became glued to my teeth, and I bit lightly at the skin. My eyes darted left and right and my legs felt weak.

Get it together, Amy! You're paranoid!

Here? In a museum? Yes, I was paranoid. But I also wasn't stupid.

I jogged through the exhibit quietly until I reached the beginning, bumping into other visitors on the way, encumbered by the darkness. I apologised in whispers, and continued to scurry through, eventually emerging from the other end into the hallway between exhibits.

The café was quiet, but Grandad's inane ranting was the majority of the noise. I could see that their drinks were empty. I stepped over, pulled on a mask of calm, and smiled. "Hi!"

"Oh, hello Amy," Grandma greeted. "Are you enjoying the museum?"

I shrugged and dragged a third seat from beneath the small square table to sit with them. "It's a museum," I replied with a sigh. "Museums are meant to be boring. It's okay for the first ten minutes, but then…"

Grandad tapped a finger firmly on the table. "What this museum needs is less rubbish!"

"Oh, Gerald!" Grandma snapped.

"Why do we spend so much money on wishy-washy namby-pamby tripe?" He said. "Evolution? Dinosaurs? What a load of drivel!"

"I think the place is lovely." Grandma said sweetly.

"That's not what you told me," Grandad huffed. He looked at me. "You think you can cope with your grandmother's wittering?"

"I guess…"

He turned back to her. "You see? You don't need to be all innocent Miss Sunshine around our Amy. She's old enough now."

Grandma was clearly caught in two minds. In the end, she just drank from her empty cup.

I was so thankful that they were here.

"I'm thirsty," I uttered. "You both want another drink? Or some cake? I think they have scones."

"Such a good girl," Grandma chuckled. "I've waited so long for you to buy us a drink. It'd be rude to refuse, isn't that right Gerald?"

Grandad grunted. "Do they have beef foggy?"

Grandma shook her head. "Oh, don't be silly."

I glanced over the café counter. "They have pasties."

"Devon or Cornwall?" He demanded.

"Devon."

"Blegh!" He exclaimed. "What kind of museum is this? No tanks and no Cornish pasties. What a load of rubbish!"

He continued to rant, but Grandma had stopped listening and asked me, "Where are your parents, dear?"

"They're still in the Space room. You should see Danny. He's loving it!"

She smiled. "Oh, that's good. Your mother says he's always been good with science."

"Yeah, he is," I said. "Show him something he likes and he suddenly becomes all excited."

"You were always the same." She chuckled.

I moved to the café counter after asking them specifically what they wanted. Two teas, a chicken lattice for Grandad, a slice of lemon drizzle cake for Grandma, and an orange juice for myself. I pulled up a tray and loaded it with sugar and napkins, before the barista placed the items one-by-one into the space remaining.

When I hooked my fingers beneath the tray and turned to walk it back to the table, I saw Dad. His hands were in the pockets of his jeans, thumbs held on the lips, and he was smiling at me. It was warm but tinged with impatience that gently peeked through.

"Stopping for a lunch break?" He laughed when I set the tray down between my grandparents.

I quickly took my seat. "Yeah, I'm hungry. Something up?"

He shrugged his shoulders. "We're waiting for you down there. Are you coming?"

Grandma and Grandad were greedily digging into their food and chortling their surprise at my unexpected gift, as if I'd never bought anybody anything before. I made a point of placing my drink in both hands and leaning back into my plastic seat. "I'm going to give the next exhibit a miss. The history of chemistry isn't really all that interesting to me."

"We're waiting to see the models in the backroom," Dad explained. "You said you'd come see it."

I waved a nonchalant hand. "Don't wait on me. I'll catch up to you in about twenty minutes, okay?"

He didn't move a muscle. No… That wasn't true. His smile levelled, if only by a couple millimetres. "Come on, Amy. You saw Danny, didn't you? He wants you down there. Hell, it's the first thing he's gotten excited about in three years. Don't spoil it for him."

He couldn't see what I felt. Inside, I was melting, my hope gradually burning away. With every word and second he urged me, the paranoia was winning over.

The girl at the changing rooms, guarding that secret door that only let in the… what even were they?

A guide at a secret door –a backroom. That wholesome smile.

A trick of my own mind. The consequence of my enhanced fear. It could have been just that: a friendly guide eager to show off what was yet to come. It could also have been a trap.

If it was a trap… I couldn't bear to think of what that meant.

If I tried too hard to avoid going down, what would happen? Best case scenario: Danny would be sorely disappointed. Worst: They would find another way to take with, perhaps with more force.

The choice was obvious.

"I'm sure he's grown-up enough to see it without me," I told him. "I promise I'll see you in twenty minutes. Just leave me out of the chemistry stuff."

Now his smile had gone completely. "Amy…" He said with a tone I hadn't heard since he last chastised me as a child. "Come downstairs with your family. I'm really not impressed with this attitude."

Dad was now acting out of character. He hadn't forced me to do anything since the moment I started A-levels. He saw me as independent. Now he was suddenly demanded I see a museum exhibit with my little brother? It wasn't right. It wasn't normal.

The hope left. I could have collapsed. I was determined enough not to.

I had to think of something, and quickly.

"Oh, let her be, Devin." Grandma insisted.

Grandad huffed. "If she doesn't want to see some stupid models, she doesn't want to see some stupid models!"

He tapped me on the shoulder, restrained anger on his face. "Come on. Downstairs."

I thought of something. I would know.

"I was down there yesterday," I said to him. "I've seen the models."

He paused, and he was uncertain. "Eh?"

I made sure to glance at the grandparents, to appear like I was hiding something. I repeated, "I was down there yesterday."

He stared at me with muddled confusion. There was no going back, so I had to clarify. I got up, excused myself and grabbed him by the arm. I took him to the corner of the café where nobody was around to here.

"What is this?" He seethed. "What do you mean?"

I paid close attention to my words, but allowed them to flow like truth. "I was down there yesterday. I'm not due back yet."

"I-I didn't think…" He stammered. "We were told to bring her down for infestation."

I rolled my eyes. "Well, somebody is obviously not doing their job right. This one is taken. I didn't think you were."

He sighed, and took a precautionary look back to the grandparents. "Why are you wasting your time with them?"

"I was thirsty, and that Space exhibit was giving me a headache. I'd eventually tell them to go home."

He was now acting with more assuredness. "Fine. We're heading down to the pool. I'm sure that when we get back, we can get to know each other, now that we know…"

"I'll stick around with these two for a little while," I said, pointing a thumb in my grandparents' direction. "Then I'll… I don't know, go for a walk. What time are you expecting to be back at the car?"

"Five-thirty."

"See you at five-thirty, then."

Dad left the café and re-entered the darkness of the Space exhibit. I left for the toilets, locked myself away, and I cried until the time came to leave.