it's a long chapter, i had alot to cover...
A Brand New Story
There is a point in everyone's life where they want to go back in time and do something different so they can leave regret behind them. But sometimes it's necessary to have regret to look back on so lessons can be learned, and we can actually appreciate those small gaps in life where there's a chance to make up for a mistake, cherishing the possibility of a second chance.
Carey always wanted to believe that, so she made it a point to try to look for the possibilities of goodness. For a while she wasn't able to do that since she had such a guilty conscience weighing down on her. But since she arrived at a place where she could confront her sins of the past, she has slowly been able to regain that part of her she felt she had lost a long time ago.
It had been a day and a half since everyone had arrived to meet the not so distant relative.
Justin was progressing very well in his interaction with others.
The orderlies were able to move him from the creepy looking dungeon of a conference room into a place that was a little more appealing to the eyes. It was a much bigger room with books and board games, even a Television that played in the background. With all the noises buzzing around, it settled everyone into a more relaxed state of mind.
Cody had been running his mouth constantly since he arrived; it was as if he had to tell his entire life story in one sitting. Honestly everyone wanted him to shut up for five minutes but it wasn't like anyone had something better to say. Cody was covering all the aspects of their lives. Flipping nonstop through his collage of pictures, he was showing Justin a flurry of images, he stared with intense curiosity, Cody kept on moving his mouth at super speed.
"…And this is Maddie, she's the candy counter girl, Zack likes her. This is Estaban; he's on vacation back home with his mom, you know I wonder what he'd think if he knew there were three of us, oh well, oh yeah… this is Muriel she's super lazy, but everyone likes her which is the only reason she still works there, Arwin is the electrician, and this is London."
Cody was about to flip the page again but Justin stopped him and pointed at London's picture.
"Tell me more about this… London." He said with a little smile on his face.
"Oh you wouldn't be interested, she's the daughter of the Hotel owner. She's super rich and as air headed as a balloon. But she's nice, I guess."
"Then you wouldn't mind if I kept this picture."
Justin reached under the plastic of the picture book and pocketed the photo.
Zack let out a silent laugh. He was a little relieved that this guy resembled him in some way. Justin was a natural born player just like him. Even though he was happy with the way things were going, Zack was still hugging the corners of the room.
Since that little incident the other day, he hasn't really said anything to Justin. He felt slightly guilty for hitting him across the head with a chair before he even got the chance to introduce himself.
Zack was still curious if Justin was going to freak out on everybody again, he didn't forget his rant about voices inside his head, or about the mission that was still fixated into his brain. It was truly a magnificent moment for the family reunion but he just couldn't forget about what happened before.
Visiting hours were almost over and the rest of the gang hardly had anything to say to Justin. They laughed along with Cody as he told Justin funny stories about living in the hotel but nobody really trailed off into anything different. It seemed as if they were afraid to speak. Carey sat crossed legged in one of the lounge chairs slightly rocking back and forth while Kurt was standing right behind her holding onto the chair. It was a little eerie. In a comfortable setting sat the most uncomfortable people.
The clock tower outside rang seven PM. Visiting hours were over and everyone had to clear the rooms. Kurt and Carrie slowly backed away telling Justin that they would be there again tomorrow, bright and early. Cody was exhausted from all the talking so he went ahead and packed up the picture book and reached over the table to give Justin a pat on the back. Then in a moment of awkwardness, he gave Justin a hug.
Justin's eyes grew wide; he found it a little strange. Little did he realize, he'd never really been hugged. If it always felt this weird having somebody surrounding a pair of arms around you breathing down the back of your neck, he knew that he wouldn't be the huggable type.
"I'm glad we've finally met." Cody whispered. His arms were still wrapped around his brother.
Justin didn't know how to respond so he said the first thing on his mind.
"Uh… okay."
Cody let go. Justin was relieved; he thought this kid was bizarre.
"See you tomorrow… brother." Cody said excitedly.
He couldn't wait for the next day. There was so much to show Justin. For the first time in a while there was something more on Cody's mind besides homework. He felt that Justin would be his new project. Perhaps with a little time and effort he could get this stranger to accept the entire family as a whole and he would be able to come home with them and start a brand new life, away from this terrible dream he'd been living. There were so many possibilities.
Cody could just imagine walking into the Tipton with a surprise for the entire hotel. Everybody would be amazed at this new discovery of a third brother. Maddie, London, and especially Estaban would definitely get a kick out of it, Arwin would want to do research of course, Mr. Moseby would probably pass out from fright but then he'd come around, as he always did. All the kids at school would be thrilled over the missing link, Justin would tell his story of how he escaped a life of torment and was rescued out of a prison. So many cool stories he'd be able to tell.
Miles escorted everyone down the hall and started talking to Carey and Kurt about the excellent progress Justin was making. They trailed off and disappeared down the halls and that's when Zack took a last look at his brother who still hasn't made any eye contact with him yet.
Zack approached Justin to pat him on the back the same way Cody did, but it seemed like he was hesitating a little. He lightly tapped his hand on Justin's back.
"Uh… see ya tomorrow… uh… buddy." After a weak smile, Zack was the last to head towards the door.
"Are you… afraid of me?" Justin asked looking up at Zack.
There was a bit of silence following that question. Everyone was gone; orderlies haven't arrived for Justin yet. Zack looked back at his brother sitting down at the table with his hands folded. Looking at Justin's face, Zack could see that his brother seemed a little bothered that he hasn't spoken to him at all.
"Of course not…" Zack let out an awkward smile.
"Your voice says one thing but your face says another…"
Justin looked down at the table as if to search for the right words to say.
"I'm sure you have your reasons for pretending not to hate me… but I know when I'm being lied to."
Zack was a little surprised at Justin's straight forwardness.
"Perhaps I'm not what you expected. I'll understand if you don't think of me as your brother."
"No. That's not it." Zack started.
"I'm not human you know…" Justin stated. He frowned at the table before faking a smile.
Zack looked at him with curious eyes. What did he mean by that.
Justin pulled out a piece of paper from his pocket and then set it on the table. It looked like one of the crayon drawings he had been working on in the other room. It was a picture full of kids that lived in a shack.
"This is my family… the majority of them are dead now. The others… I'm not sure what happened to them."
Zack looked at the crinkled up paper. All of them had guns and there were tall people in this shack that had fangs drawn in their mouths. The children were looking at them in fear. It was a pretty descriptive drawing.
"For years I always believed that the unit I was established in, was my family. My father was the mysterious man who we all addressed as sir, my mother was the gun I held in my hands which I cherished, slept side by side with, because it was my only comfort, my only protection."
Justin looks outside the window at a group of children playing together.
"There was always a test of survival, sometimes, in broad daylight, sometimes in the middle of the night. There was gunfire, explosions everywhere. All I could ever hear during those times was screaming. Everyday I would wake up to find one of my brothers dead."
Zack just stood there silently. Was he supposed to reply?
Justin then pulled out the photo of London. He was lightly bending the small picture back and forth. Then he stopped and just stared at it.
"… And now that I see you… and Cody. I realize that my family is not like yours… your universe is far different than mine. You have these precious memories to look back on, these unforgettable people in your life in which you can be around, knowing they can make you happy. That is the mark of a person that has lived, that's what makes a human being… so you see… I can't be human… I can't possibly be your brother."
Justin placed the photograph back on the table and pushed it away, he felt it wasn't his to keep. He sighed deeply as if admitting defeat, and then he looked away from the table.
"But that's okay I guess… after all, it's part of my destiny, the ordinary life was never meant for me."
Justin stood up from the table and headed towards the set of doors in the other direction leading back to his corridors. He paused for just a moment.
"I just wish that I didn't have to face the truth. I was doomed from the beginning."
"Wait." Zack said. Justin turned around. Zack was walking towards him.
He didn't know why he stopped Justin; it was just that he felt he had to say something to him.
"I'm… sorry that I hit you across the head with the chair…"
"Why? You did what you had to do in order to protect your family."
Then with a shy smile Justin added,
"It must be good to have someone close to you worth fighting for."
He turned back around but Zack wasn't finished.
"You know you're wrong about one thing."
"Wrong… about what?"
"You are human… it's just that you haven't discovered yourself. You haven't really been out there, so you can't be doomed."
It was a kind thing to say but Justin didn't believe Zack. The more he thought about where his life had led him, the more anger and hurt he felt.
"I didn't count myself out… that's the decision the world made. You should see the way they stare. From the first day I arrived here I learned a very important thing; the truth is far more painful. It's not easy accepting that you're a freak."
Zack wanted nothing more than to make Justin feel better, but he knew that no matter what he said, it wouldn't change Justin's morbid view of life.
Meanwhile outside the doors of the visiting room, everybody was heading towards the door exit.
Kurt was feeling cheerful that everything was going well enough for them. He wanted to celebrate and take everyone out for dinner. It took a little while before the gang realized that Zack wasn't behind them. They were almost out of the building before orderlies knew that there was a missing person.
"Where's Zack?" Carey asked.
"I don't think he left the room." Kurt said.
Cody didn't seem to have a clue either. Then all of the sudden Miles radios in a code red. Telling anyone within the vicinity of the visiting rooms to get Justin immediately. Automatically many people in the building began running full speed down the hallways, locking down the doors leaving security the only people out and about. Carey Kurt and Cody were almost put behind doors as well but they stopped Miles demanding answers.
"What is going on here isn't this a little extreme?" Kurt yelled.
"I told you before that we have never dealt with a child like yours in this vicinity before and there are a couple of precautions that we had to take. We have to act fast to save your son."
Carey began to panic. " Which son? What are you talking about? Is there something you haven't told us?"
"Your son Zack is in very real danger. I can't explain right now, the important things is that we get Zack out of there, right now." Miles finally said. Then he ran off down the hallway.
Meanwhile back in the visiting room, Zack heard the alarms go off and wondered what was going on.
Justin began to shake violently. He knelt to the ground, something was happening to him.
"What's wrong, are you okay?" Zack said.
"The medicine… it's… it's wearing off." Justin legs got wobbly and he had to support himself on the table.
Zack nudged himself closer.
"Are you sick… I can go get help!"
Watching Justin go through what looked like a seizure came as a shock to Zack. A low growl of pain came out of Justin as if he was transforming into something from a horror film. He was in a great amount of pain. He grabbed onto the table so hard that his fingernails were peeling off.
"Y-you have to leave… right now!" Justin managed to say before falling completely to the ground.
"Oh my god! W-What's happening to you?" Zack was freaked out.
Justin's violent trembling was getting worse. He wrapped his hands around his ribs tearing part of his shirt, cutting into his flesh. He let out another cry of pain before blacking out on the floor. Justin had stopped shaking. Was he dead? What happened? Zack was at a stand still; he didn't know what to do.
The door to the visiting room was busted down; Zack was grabbed by a group of people trying to protect him.
"Something's wrong with Justin you have to help him!" Zack managed to say.
Orderlies formed a large circle around Justin who laid on the ground still. Nobody moved towards the body to even check if he was alive. Instead guns were drawn out pointing towards him. Zack just stood in horror; he had no idea what was going on.
"He's sick! He needs help!" Zack yelled.
He managed to get out of the protective hold placed on him and he ran through the circle to check on Justin.
"Noooooo!" Miles shouted. He ran after Zack.
Before Zack could react, Justin snapped to his feet.
He grabbed Miles twisting his arm backwards, and then cracked his kneecap bending his leg the wrong direction. Miles was flung towards the others guards knocking them down, and then Justin placed his arm around Zack's neck, his fingers touching pressure points.
"Put your tranquilizers down and back away or he dies!" Justin yelled.
Shakily, Miles crawled from the heap of bodies with his two working limbs.
"Justin calm down."
"No! My name is not Justin! I am soldier 448891! And you're keeping me from fulfilling my objective! How long did you think you could keep me here?"
"Please, we can help you."
" Help me? You took me away from my unit, my family! It's bad enough you dragged these… imposters into your bullshit, but you and I have different agendas. This ends now!"
The cloud of confusion was beginning to lift from Zack. It was apparent Justin had a split personality. The orderlies knew about it, the security guards knew about it, it all seemed to make sense, no wonder they placed him in that dungeon like room in the beginning. This side must've been the violent, temperamental psyche that was conveniently shielded from the family.
Justin turned his attention to Zack; he let out a wicked smile. Zack could see that his brother was mentally insane. The calm demeanor, the sense of vulnerability, his fear of being a freak, all of this was non-existent in this other person. This Justin was bold, daring, and would stop at nothing to get what he wanted, even if it meant killing. This was no human being, this was a soldier who's one objective was to see the mission through, the first step required escape.
"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."
Zack was kicked towards the security team as Justin picked up the table to use it as a shield against the tranquilizers. Those who were able to pick up their guns fired away but they were too late. The table was used to bust the door open. Justin hopped over six different people making a run for it down the hallway.
"He's evaded security! Stop him!"
Justin continued to run, flooring anybody that got in his way with swift punches and kicks. Nobody was spared from his wrath, from big security guard to small nurse; everyone found a place on the floor unconscious.
He carried the heart of an assassin. A ruthless display of raw power was used on any one and anything. Finally oncoming resistance cornered him. Justin paused for a moment before running to get enough speed to scale the walls and reach the air ducts. From a birds eye view he would observe the enemy.
The time to fight had passed. It was time to escape. Justin knew that his chances of freedom would increase if he were to become an imminent threat to those recent visitors. Climbing through the ducts, he made his way towards the front of the building. It was then he heard familiar voices.
"Can somebody please tell me what the hell is going on?" Carey yelled.
"Ma'am we need you to calm down. We need all of you to take cover in one of the rooms."
"I'm not leaving until I get answers!"
"Carey we need to…"
"Damn it Kurt not now! I'm sick and tired of the mystery game. I want answers now! "
From the distance security was running towards their direction with Zack in the front. Carey was relieved that her son was okay but before she could express any relief Zack was yelling in the distance to run. Nobody could quite understand what was going on but then the air duct on the roof busted open and Justin landed in front of Kurt, his eyes staring coldly into his fathers.
"Freeze! We have taser guns this time and we will use them!" Security yelled.
Every person capable of holding a weapon was right behind Justin. Zack was pulled back once more into a protective hold.
"Justin. What's going on?" Kurt asked. There was no reply.
"Justin! You will put your hands up and get down on the floor!"
Carey panicked, "What's going on? Why are you pointing weapons at my son! What are you crazy people doing-…!"
Justin turned around and backhanded Carey, knocking her to the ground.
"HEY!" Kurt yelled. He tried to grab Justin but instead he was used as a shield for the oncoming taser gun. Kurt was hit and he fell to the floor shaking.
"Hold your fire!" Miles shouted from the distance. He managed to grab onto the walls as support to get down the hallway.
Cody looked around at all the chaos and finally just stood there mortified. He couldn't believe what just happened. He saw his mother on the floor shaking off the blow; she had blood coming out of her nose, and his father was on the ground twitching. Justin remained standing there with a look of satisfaction on his face.
"Justin… what have you done?" Cody said almost silently.
Justin ignored him; instead his attention was on somebody else.
"I can keep this up Miles, you know I can, the question is how long can you!"
Security let Miles through so he could try to talk sense into Justin. In his hand was a bottle of pills.
"I only want to help you."
"Get that poison away from me."
"Justin, you're sick, you need help. You've suffered a serious amount of mental abuse."
"And you intend to fix me? You intend to erase the voices inside my head? I need them to help me complete the mission."
Justin glances behind him at the two adults on the ground.
" You used them Miles. You used my deadbeat birth parents as bait to let me out of my cage. You used the body doubles to poison my thoughts, make me into one of you. What can you do now that I'm free? Without the pills I'm much stronger than this "Justin" you've created."
"You're out of control Justin. If you don't get help, you could lose your mind forever."
Justin paused for a moment.
He looked around to see all the destruction he caused after just moments of being out of the room. He knew deep down inside what he was doing wasn't right. There were millions of voices in his head but out of all of them, he could still hear the faint voice of his other side telling him to stop.
"Justin, whatever happened to you was in the past. There is no mission. There is no main objective anymore. Don't you see? There is no need for a soldier; you've already been set free."
Justin calmed himself. His cold, lifeless eyes were starting to regain a little bit of life. Miles was glad he was reaching him.
"Since you've been here, you've made great sacrifices; you've made great progress. You're starting to see light at the end of the tunnel. Don't quit now. You can't leave… I don't want to see you end up dead."
The rage had left Justin. He had slowly regained his composure and he was almost himself again.
Then somebody fired a tranquilizer hitting him square in the chest. He glared at Miles with intense rage believing that it was another one of his mind tricks. He pulled the dart out of his chest and walked towards Miles.
"You think you're so smart don't you?"
But then another dart was fired, hitting his thigh. Justin pulled that one out too but then three more were fired, then another, and then another. Soon his body was covered with tranquilizer darts. The fact that he was still standing had many surprised.
"You think you can save me… I don't need to be saved…"
Justin dropped to his knees hardly able to keep awake. He looks off to the side and sees Cody standing there with tears welled up in his eyes. The picture book he was holding slipped from his fingers and hit the ground, sending photographs every which way.
Justin looked at one of the pictures closest to him. It was Zack and Cody's soccer photo. To him these boys were twins then, and would be twins forever.
Justin spoke with the little energy he still had.
"Take a good look at me… I'm already dead…"
Then Justin looked at Carey. She didn't bother getting up from the ground; she just sat there in awe of the whole situation.
"After all… I was dead before I was even born wasn't I mother?"
There was no reply. Carey put her hand over her mouth and just cried silently. She looked away from her son's eyes. Justin laid his back completely on the ground letting the drugs take its full effect on him. Nobody moved incase it was another trick. Before Justin completely blacked out he became delirious and began to talk to himself. What he was saying was nonsense to everybody, except Kurt who had regained his body movement.
"I… represent an agency …that specializes in placing the right child with the right parents."
Kurt's eyes went wide.
"W- We make it a point to make sure that the child is… well taken care of… and properly educated in ways that will benefit the world."
Kurt couldn't bear to listen. How could Justin remember that conversation, he was just a baby. How did he know he was given away? Tears poured down Kurt's eyes. He felt so ashamed. Whatever was wrong with Justin was because of what he did. As Justin trailed off into a silent slumber he mumbled the last words, which impacted Kurt the most.
" Sometimes… the best decision one can make for their child is letting them go. Giving them a chance that couldn't be provided any other way."
There was no more movement. Justin was unconscious. Orderlies picked up the body and transferred him over to a hospital ward. The threat was gone. Zack stood there motionless; he knew right then and there that his family would never be the same. He looked at Cody knowing that his dreams had been shattered. It was a shame too; He worked so hard to try to bring the family together. Looking at him standing there was so depressing; there was no need for description.
Everybody had taken a blow. Carey lost her son, she was dead to him and there was no chance of revival no matter how hard she tried. Kurt was the first to make any sudden movement. He headed down the hallway chasing after Miles, demanding answers.
He found him in a room with doctors trying to fix his leg.
"What the hell did you do to my son?" He yelled.
Kurt pulled Miles from the bed holding him by his shirt. Nurses ran out of the room. It was just the two of them stuck in the room together.
"I didn't want to scare you with all the details, we at the center felt it was okay to experiment with the…"
Kurt right hooked Miles square in the jaw sending him across the other side of the tiny room.
"We didn't know how he would react… we though there was a possibility of him getting better."
Kurt balled up his fist, he wanted to hit him again but he restrained himself.
"So what are you saying… huh? Are you telling me all this talk about progress was bullshit? You lied to my family, giving us false hope that things would turn out alright?"
Miles didn't want to get off the floor. He knew what he did was wrong, regardless of his good intentions.
"What kind of person are you? You sick bastard. You've ripped my family's heart apart."
Kurt put his hands behind his head and looked up to the ceiling. He paused for a moment and then stared back at Miles.
"Tell me the truth… is there any hope for my son?"
Miles worked up the courage to speak.
"We don't really know anymore… the medicine he's been given for the past months has become immune in his body. There was no other way to control him…"
Kurt was getting frustrated.
"Just tell me…"
Miles stared into Kurt's bloodshot eyes, he had stopped balling his fists, they settled down to a relaxed state. He wanted to have good news for Kurt but what he was going to say next was just unbearable.
"As of right now, Justin may never be the same again… we aren't sure of what happened to him. There is no cure. He will have to be transferred to an institute for the criminally insane… I'm sorry."
Miles held his head down in shame. He was expecting to get hit again because he felt he really deserved it. Instead Kurt just walked out of the room where he saw Zack and Cody standing there. They heard the whole thing. Kurt didn't know what to say so there was an indefinite silence. All three of the guys headed back down the hallways of the crisis center.
Carey had been taken into a room to fix her nose. So Kurt went in to check on her. Zack and Cody just sat there on the benches in the hallway waiting. Zack was replaying the conversation he had with Justin. He couldn't possibly be as bad as they said he was, could he? They had a real conversation didn't they? It wasn't anything like the conversation Justin had with Cody; Zack remembered Cody did all the talking, it was different with Zack, and Justin actually spoke with him.
This was so confusing.
Sitting next to him was the ever so silent Cody. He just looked down on the ground staring at his feet.
"Hey buddy… some day huh?" Zack said.
Cody didn't say a word. He just sat there as if he was pretending not to exist. Zack put his arm around Cody, knowing he just needed somebody to just sit there with him.
"You know… it's okay to cry… I wont laugh at you…"
Cody whipped his head up towards Zack.
"I've decided that I'm not going to cry anymore."
"Cody it's okay…"
"No! It's not. I'm tired of crying over things that I can't control. Tired of being dragged through hell and back… and for what? To sit up every night wondering how I can make things better for everybody. It's just not fair."
"Cody I understand…"
"No you don't, you're the strong one remember? Everybody relies on you to make things better. Your Mr. Indestructible. Its time I take control of my own life and stop caring so much. There's no point."
"You think I'm indestructible? You think I don't work just as hard as you do to make things better for everyone around us? You're not the only one hurting."
They both stared at each other, both feeling angry, but knowing it was at the wrong person.
The hospital door opened, Kurt was holding Carey upright because she was drugged with painkillers. It was official; the whole family was screwed up. Kurt signaled for the boys to get up. They headed towards the exit doors.
When they got outside it was dark. The fog was beginning to pour in.
"We're going home…" Kurt finally said as he and the boys got Carrie into the RV. It seemed like it was the right thing to do.
Kurt couldn't bear the thought of knowing his long lost son would stay that way forever. Lost.
He wished that he never came, wished that he could forget that this ever happened.
The boys understood. This was something that they all wished they never went through. All of the things they were hoping for became nothing but a shattered memory.
The engine started up, Carey was fast asleep, and Cody sat at the table where he had his homework strewn across in every which way. He looked out the window at the facility where his brother lived. Soon Justin would leave that place not as a free person, but as a prisoner in his own mind that would be shipped off into a place where darkness would consume him for the rest of his life.
What happened to all the good things that were supposed to come out of all this? Cody thought. This was supposed to be a good thing, something that would be great for the entire family.
No more hope, no more dreams.
Cody let those words play continuously through his mind.
No more hope, no more dreams.
Cody looked at his homework. He had already finished it. All the answers of the universe covered his papers it seemed. But now that a new mystery had walked into his life, Cody wasn't sure if homework was even all that satisfying anymore. The RV turned onto the freeway headed for home. He watched as everything moved so fast.
It was interesting how fast the future could become the present, and how fast the present could become the past. The future Cody always believed anticipated great mysteries worth unfolding, but not anymore. He rolled down the window of the RV and threw all his papers out the window littering the freeway. Something he cared so much about immediately became the past, immediately became a distant memory.
Zack was in the back of the RV, he saw what Cody did but said nothing. He could feel it deep inside weather it was twin telepathy, or a gut feeling, that Cody had changed. His innocence had been scarred. It was sad that it went out the window, but it was time to face reality. Zack couldn't help him anymore. A cloud of darkness had been cast over the Martin family. Neither of them would ever be the same again…
A week had passed since the road trip. Kurt and Carey once again went their separate ways; it was as if they never met. The return to the Tipton would've seemed to be a little relieving. Mr. Moseby complaining about everything, Estaban had returned from his homeland so he was back at the hotel, Maddie and London were back to their usual arguing. It was all back to normal… except a few things.
Zack hadn't said anything to Maddie since the return. The hotel was so quiet and… boring. As happy as that made Mr. Moseby, it still came as a shock to him. He'd never seen either of the boys so depressed, so lifeless when they walked through the lobby. They moved silently through the lobby making no eye contact with anybody.
Cody dragged his backpack around now; it was as if he went through the everyday movements of trailing to school and back. But it was as if he didn't care about anything anymore. He hasn't even spoken to Arwin since they returned. Usually he'd rush over there to tell him about some new scientific discovery he found. He didn't even make eye contact with anybody, whoever tried to approach him, Cody would pretend not to notice him or her and walk the other direction.
Carey was still the headline singer at the hotel but all the heart and passion that was in her singing had disappeared. She was hitting all the right notes, and she still sang beautifully, but something was missing.
Everyone in the hotel was beginning to notice these changes in the Martin family; they were like the ghosts of the hotel. Maddie was the first one who tried to approach the boys, maybe see what was going on. When Cody came through the lobby dragging his bag across the floor, she said hi, Cody replied with a lifeless "hello" and kept walking towards the elevator. Dragging his bag everywhere took a toll on the fabric.
There was a rip and books were sliding onto the floor.
"Cody your books." Maddie said, but Cody kept walking towards the elevator and left them on the floor, the doors closed. This was incredibly odd for Cody to do something like that, so she grabbed his books off the floor and pressed the button on the elevator. She went up to their suite and knocked on their door. There was silence. She knew Cody went inside the room so she knew he was avoiding her.
"Cody, open the door. You left your books."
He cracked the door open to see Maddie standing there. She could only see his eye through the creak on the door. Cody looked at the books and reached for them but Maddie pulled them back. She was trying to get him to come outside the door. Cody didn't budge. He opened the door just a little so he could stand in front of Maddie, she could see his face now.
"Hey. What's the matter kiddo?" Maddie asked.
She could see he was trying to avoid her. His eyes pointed to the ground.
Maddie continued, "I haven't seen you guys running around in a while, is something wrong?"
Cody was silent for a while and then he said with a light voice, "everything's fine."
Maddie was a little frightened of Cody's behavior. He looked a little pale; maybe it was just her imagination.
"You wanna come downstairs? Maybe we can talk… I'll buy you some candy."
"There's nothing to talk about…" Cody replied.
"C'mon, you can talk to me…" Maddie smiled.
"I don't want to talk to you."
Cody shut the door, disregarding the fact that Maddie had his books. She felt hurt that he treated her so coldly. She felt like she was about to cry. Maddie walked down the hall but then ran into Zack.
"Zack what's going on? You and Cody have been acting so strange."
Zack at least put on a fake smile for Maddie; she could see right through it.
"Everything's fine…" Zack replied.
"That's what Cody said before he slammed the door in my face. Is there something going on?"
"There's nothing to worry about… we'll be just fine."
Zack tried to brush his way past her but Maddie lightly grabbed Zack's arm trying to stop him. Zack turned around and pointed his eyes to the ground.
"Why won't any of you talk to me? I know something's wrong."
Maddie looked closely at Zack's face and she could see that there was a small tear running down his left eye. She had never seen him cry before so she was starting to get scared. She started to cry too.
"Zacky what's wrong, talk to me."
"I… can't. I wish I could… but you wouldn't understand."
Zack moved away from Maddie and ran into the suite closing the door behind him. Maddie started to cry harder. She pressed the elevator door to go back down to the lobby. By the time she got to the floor, she had already dried her eyes and resumed her work but she couldn't stop thinking about the twins upstairs.
About an hour had passed and she was in a daze, what could possibly be so wrong that they boys couldn't tell her about it? Her concentration was broken by a sudden "ahem" from Mr. Moseby. She knew he had caught her daydreaming. She turned around to arrange the candy again, she did it four times already but she had nothing better to do.
"Excuse me." A voice over the counter uttered.
Maddie rolled her eyes, it sounded like another annoying customer, she didn't even bother turning around.
"Hi how can I help you?" She said.
I'm looking for someone who lives here. I was wondering if you could help me."
"I'm not allowed to give out that information. Perhaps the front desk will better assist you."
"This is a little important… Maddie Fitzpatrick. It concerns my family. You may know them as the Martins."
"As I said before, I'm not allowed to give… wait. How do you know my full name?
She slowly turned around and saw a little blond boy with strands of black hair standing at the counter in a dark blue suit.
"Oh so you've finally come out of the room, what did you do to your hair?"
There was silence. She squinted her eyes a little and then realized that it was neither Zack nor Cody. Her jaw dropped open and her eyes grew as big as golf balls.
"So… you do know them… it's plain to see why Zack likes you, you quite cute when you're surprised."
"This… is impossible… w- who are you?"
Mr. Moseby looked over to see Maddie talking to one of the twins and he grew frustrated with Maddie taking time away from the customers.
He marched over there to tell her off but then stopped in his tracks when he saw both Zack and Cody step off the elevator at the same time. Then he looked at the other kid dressed in a suit.
Zack was walking towards Maddie.
"Look Maddie I'm sorry that I ignored you like that I…" Zack came to a screeching halt, Cody bumped into him.
"Ouch watch where you're going…" Cody looked up and his mouth dropped open.
Standing in the middle of the hotel was Justin. His hair neatly brushed, dressed in a nice suit, as if nothing happened last week.
"Brothers… it's good to see you again."
Mr. Moseby started blurting out gibberish, the kind where nobody knew what he was saying, but everyone knew what he meant.
Estaban was walking past the lobby with Arwin and spotted the huge scene.
"Oh my goodness… I'm seeing three little blond peoples?"
"No way!" Arwin shouted. Then he began shouting some more, and then he shouted across the hotel and ran away.
What's all the commotion?" Carey asked. Everybody in the hotel was looking at her with wide eyes.
Her heart began to beat rapidly.
"What's going on… did something break?" She was getting scared.
There was nothing but silence. Then from the side of her eye she caught a glimpse of what stirred all the commotion. Her heart practically stopped when she saw Justin standing there as if nothing happened.
"Hello mother…"
Carey grew weak at the knees. She used the nearby chair to balance herself.
"Justin? How… how did you get here?"
"That's not important right now, I think it's best that we all have a little talk."
Justin held out his hand for his mother to grab hold. Bringing her back to her feet, Justin then guided her and his brothers to the elevator. They disappeared from everybody's sight. The people in the hotel just stood there completely frozen in time.
A brand new chapter for the Tipton hotel had begun.
A Brand new Story...