Ch 6
The doorbell rings for a second time when Julie and I are upstairs dressing, getting ready to head over to Base. Thinking it's Rosso again, or one of his lackeys, I pull my shirt over my head, look down, and find Julie smiling up at me.
"You're like a ninja," I joke and kiss her.
She laughs, "I may be a ninja, but you're getting the door."
The doorbell rings for a second time, and I rush out of the door.
"If it's Rosso waiting to escort us, I'm giving him a piece of my mind. Be sure to tell him that."
"If it's a bottle of wine, it's for me!" Nora calls.
I shake my head with a laugh, and pull open the door, prepared to find Rosso standing on the other side. Prepared to have a snarky response.
I'm not prepared, however, to find Beth on the other side of my door. She looks uncomfortable and shifts from foot to foot. "Hi, Riley." She says.
I stare at her, my mouth agape. After all that had just happened, I damn near forgot about her.
"I uh... asked around, and your neighbors told me where you lived."
"I...see." I murmur.
"I'm leaving in a few hours, and..."
Rapid footsteps run down the stairs, and I don't need to turn around to know that Julie has seen who is at the door. She walks up behind me, a smile slowly fading from her face as her yellow eyes take in Beth's green. "Hi..." Julie says, looking from Beth to me and back again.
"You must be Julie." Beth says. "I'm... I'm a friend of Riley's."
"Riley?" Julie questions.
"Julie, this is Beth... my... my..." I gurgle on the word. I can't seem to make my mouth form around it. It just doesn't sound right passing through my lips.
"Well... I'm his fiance."
Fiance. Fiance! Hot damn, I never married her! I am so happy I nearly grab Julie and spin her. This is the best news I got all morning.
"I'm going back to Atlanta today." Beth says.
"You're from our sister camp?" Julie asks.
"Yes." She says, and looks at me. "I was just wondering... Riley, did you have anything to say to me?"
Have a good trip? It was nice meeting you? These are the first things that pop into my head, the standard generic fare I often use when the people of the stadium talk to me. It's not that I want to be cold or calculated to Beth, I just don't know what to say, and the same old jargon just doesn't seem to cut it. Julie looks at me meaningfully. I clear my throat, "I... I'm sorry I'm not the person you've been looking for all of these years." I reach out and place a hand on her shoulder.
Beth lowers her head, and a few tears slip out. "I know. I see that, but if you ever... your mother is alive, and she salvaged a lot of things from your childhood. I know it's asking a lot, but if you ever want to, come back, we'll be waiting."
My ears perk up at this. Memories, images from an old life that I can't remember. Details of who I was. It's overpowering. I'm not sure that I want to remember. "Thank you." I say.
Beth rushes to me and gives me a hug before turning and walking away. I watch her until she is out of sight and then I slowly close the door.
"So," Julie says, "You're a Riley."
"So it seems." I say.
"I feel bad for her."
"So do I."
There's a pause, and Julie whispers, "Do you think you want to know? You know, who you were?"
"I don't know," I say with a sigh.
"And... your mother... R, if nothing else, you should call her. At least put her mind at rest."
"Is that the right thing to do? Julie, they're looking for someone who doesn't exist anymore."
"You're still her son." Julie says. "She'd want to know."
"Come on, kids." Nora says, walking down the stairs. "Off to work we go." She looks from Julie to me, at our tense expressions. "What did I miss?"
…...
The feeling in the meeting room was tense. Julie sits next to me, her right hand clutching onto my left as if she were afraid I'd slip through her fingers. These meeting rooms were usually full of M, Julie, and I and Rosso. Today it is full, a few of the people in charge of our sister camp crowding the room. I wonder about M, and if he is okay. He'd always be so cocky, saying he was too stubborn to die. And I would believe him... until now. If these lieutenants made it here from our sister camp after M had left, then that means he was most likely...
Rosso is speaking, his attention spanning between Julie and I. I know this is important. I know I should be paying attention to him. But between my missing friend, keeping Julie calm, and my wife, I would say my mind is pretty busy.
"What do you think, R?" Rosso asks.
I stare at him, dumfounded. What?
Julie looks at me, across the table to the lieutenants, and then to Rosso. "No." She says.
"Julie," Rosso starts.
"No." She says again. "You're not splitting us up." She looks to me for support, her sunshine eyes wide and desperate. "Tell him, R. Tell him that splitting us up after this mission is a dumb idea."
"We need to know what they're after, Julie." Rosso says gently. "I give you my word, he will have all of the protection he needs."
"I don't care! Gee, let's think, I wonder who they're after! They're after R of course!"
I think long and hard about this for a moment. From the gist of it, we're going on a mission somewhere in the south. Rosso is splitting Julie and I up after it. Maybe it's not so bad of an idea. If the Boneys come after me, it's better for Julie to be far away and safe. Let me deal with them. Let me pay for my defiance. "Maybe it's not such a bad idea, Jule." I say quietly.
She turns to me, and a flash of betrayal flashes across her face.
"Good, you're in agreement." Rosso says.
Julie withdraws her hand from me and folds her arms. Tears fill her eyes and she turns away. "So, what's the plan, then?" She asks, her voice breaking. "We go and survey the corpse camp, head to the south... we're retracing M's steps. After that, I'm just supposed to leave him in Atlanta, and wait for these boney bastards to make their move? And then what happens when they do? Did you all forget that R is alive now? He's flesh and blood, and has a beating heart..."
"Allow me to answer that question, Miss." One of the Lieutenants from the south camp across the table speaks up. He raises his hand, and a man from behind him steps forward, carrying an enormous, sophisticated looking gun. "In all due respect, when M was at our camp last, we brought him into our weapons department and he had a lot of input on this beauty. We want to dispose of these bone men, but we can't find them. Not without your help."
…...
"I can't believe you didn't back me up in there." Julie says later that night. We are in our bedroom, preparing to get our rest before heading out in the morning.
I sigh, sit down on my edge of the bed and pull off my socks. I know that whatever I say to her now will be pointless. I didn't take her side at the base, and that's all she will ever know. But, I try anyway. "Because they're right, Julie."
"How're they right?" She whispers. She is sitting on her side of the bed as well, and when I glance over at her, she is pulling a tank top over her head. She grabs her hair and floofs it out of the shirt, and I watch it drape over her shoulders like strands of gold.
I hesitate. I can think of all of the counter arguments she's going to say to me.
"I just think it's better if we're together." She says, and flings herself down on the bed. She stares up at her ceiling.
"It's only for a week." I tell her, and lay down next to her.
"Yeah, it'll start off as a week. And then these bastards don't show up. And then it's a month."
"Then, I will visit you." I tell her.
"And call me everyday." She adds.
"And call you everyday," I confirm.
"And... call me in the morning to say you love me."
"Every morning."
"And... you'll think of me." She whispers. "While I'm here all alone."
I reach over and gently place my hand over her heart. "It's you and me, remember?"
She takes both of her hands and covers mine. "You'll be safe, won't you?" She whispers, and small tears leak out of her eyes, "I've lost so much, I can't lose you too."
I reach out and pull her toward me, wrapping my arms around her. I let her cry herself out, soothing her and rubbing her back. "It's going to be okay, Jule." I say.
She dries her eyes on her wrist and then pushes me onto my back before climbing on top of me. She gives me a small smile.
I raise my eyebrows in question, but she simply covers my mouth with her own.