The Wanderers Beginning: The Wanderers, Reborn, & Unforgiven (7 page)

             
Mark wrapped blankets around us and rubbed my arms furiously to try and warm me up. I heard a girl giggling from one of the tents. Then I heard Dean’s voice say, “It’s okay girls. No need to be shy.”

             
“Uh, gross,” I commented and Mark chuckled.

             
Before long, everyone else started making their way back to the fire. “I am fucking freezing,” Marissa whined. Kevin wrapped a blanket around her and held her tight to help warm her up.

             
“Save me a seat. I’m going to check on my little brother quick,” Josie told Trevor. She popped her head in Jake’s tent. “Hey Ella, this is the tent Xander put Jake in right?”

             
“Yeah?”

             
“Then where is he?”

             
“What?”

             
Josie frantically threw blankets around inside the tent. “He’s not here!”

             
“Okay, relax, maybe he got cold and went inside. You check the other tents and I’ll check inside. I’m sure he’s here somewhere.”

             
Josie let out a breath and started searching the other tents. I searched every bedroom, spare room, bathroom, and found nothing. Now my adrenaline was pumping. I headed back outside to see if Jake turned up.

             
“Anything?” Josie asked panicked and I knew now she had no luck outside. I shook my head no. “Where could he be?”

             
“Do you want me to wake my parents?”

             
Josie bit her nails nervously while she thought it over. “Yes.”

             
I went back inside and knocked on their bedroom door. “Mom…Dad?”

             
“What is it honey?” my mom asked.

             
“We can’t find Jake.”

             
“What do you mean you can’t find him,” my dad said sitting up.

             
“He fell asleep and we put him in one of the tents, but now he’s not there.”

             
“Well he couldn’t have gone far. I’ll call the McNaughton’s.”

             
“No!”

             
“No?” my mom asked confused.

             
“There’s no reason to worry them yet if we don’t have to.”

             
“True, alright, wake up Xander and Jasa and gather everyone. We’ll find him.”

             
I left my parents room while they got dressed and woke up Xander. He was out of bed in seconds.

             
My parents, Xander, and Jasa double checked the house calling out Jake’s name and coming up empty. Then we all gathered outside. We handed out flashlights and lanterns to everyone and started to scour the woods for Josie’s little brother.

             
We kept close to each other making sure we didn’t miss one spot. We called out his name hoping we’d get a response. “Anything yet?” Josie asked in hopes of finding at least some trace of her brother.

             
“No, nothing,” Kevin called from over the left side.

             
We had been searching for over an hour and still nothing. No footprints, no signs of a struggle or injury. “Don’t worry Josie, we’ll find him.” I tried comforting her, but even I was starting to feel skeptical.

             
We had reached near the end of the woods and found nothing. “Alright everyone, let’s start heading back,” my dad said.

             
“What! No! We can’t! We haven’t found him yet,” Josie cried.

             
“Josie, I think it’s time we called your parents and notified the police.”

             
As we retraced our steps back to the house. I saw movement out of the corner of my eye and I ran over to check it out. “Ella?” Dean called following me.

             
I carefully searched the area and when I came upon a ditch by a large oak tree, I found Jake curled up into a ball. I jumped down and touched him gently. “Jake?”

             
He flinched and whimpered. “Jake…it’s okay…it’s me, Ella.” He leapt into my arms and squeezed me so tight I could barely breathe. “I found him!” I yelled.

             
Everyone came running over. Josie tore him out of my arms. “Jakey, thank god! Are you hurt?” She pulled him back and looked him over, checking for scrapes and bruises. There wasn’t a scratch on him.

             
“Alright, let’s get him back to the house,” my dad said.

             
Everyone was relieved Jake was found unharmed and thought it best to call it a night. Josie and Jake stayed in my room. We decided sleeping outside was no longer a good idea.

             
When we got back to the house we gave Jake a clean pair of pajamas and put him to bed. “Jake, what were you doing in the woods?” Josie asked him.

             
“I heard something and I thought I’d prove how brave I was and check it out. I followed the noise too far and got lost. Then I saw it and got scared and tried to hide.”

             
“Saw what, Jake?”

             
“The man…the man with the glowing eyes.” Josie looked at me, I shrugged.

             
“What man Jake?”

             
“His eyes glowed yellow…they scared me JoJo.” JoJo was his nickname for Josie.

             
“It’s okay Jake. There’s no reason to be scared anymore.” She gave Jake a giant hug and tucked him in. “And were going to keep this between us right? No need to tell mom and dad about your little venture in the woods, okay? It will be our little secret?”

             
Jake nodded and closed his eyes. Josie and I left the bedroom and headed downstairs to watch some TV before we fell asleep. I thought about what Jake had said,
‘the
man with the glowing eyes’
. Maybe I wasn’t crazy, but then again, this was a six year old and fear can make your mind play tricks on you. I brushed off the thought, thinking maybe he overheard Dean’s lame story. It must be nothing more than coincidence.

             
Sometime in the middle of the night Josie had gone upstairs and crawled into bed with Jake. I stayed on the couch. When I woke up in the morning I went upstairs to my room to change. Then I remembered the story Dean said about our uncle Bobby. Curious, I thought I’d ask my dad about it. So instead of going to my room I went straight to the den knowing my dad would already be up working. “Good morning dad.”

             
“Good morning sweetheart. How’s Jake doing?”

             
“He seems fine.”

             
“That’s good. Gave us quite a scare, that little one.”

             
“No kidding,” I said more to myself. “Hey dad, can I ask you something?”

             
“Sure sweetie, anything.”

             
“Who’s Uncle Bobby?”

             
My father looked taken back a second. “Just…an old family friend,” he said awkwardly.

             
“Yeah that’s what Dean said. How come I never heard of him?”

             
“We don’t talk much.” I could tell my dad was hiding something and that this was a subject he did not want to discuss. “Anything else?"

             
“No,” I lied. I had a million more questions, but wasn’t sure my dad was willing to answer them.

             
“Can you do me a favor and tell Dean I’d like to speak with him please.” His voice was restrained and calculating.

             
“No problem.”

             
Crap.

             
I had a feeling I just got Dean in trouble, but for what I didn’t know. Regardless, I would deal with the wrath of Dean for opening my mouth later. “Hey, dad wants to talk to you,” I told Dean and headed to my room, well pretended to. I was curious and wanted to know why my dad seemed upset.

             
After Dean stepped into the den, I tiptoed down the hall. “Close the door Dean.” I heard my father say. I pressed my ear to the door so I could hear them better. “What exactly did you tell Ella about Uncle Bobby?”

             
“Nothing.”

             
“Don’t lie to me!” my Dad yelled.

             
“I didn’t really tell her anything. I just told a story how we got blitzed one night, that’s all.”

             
“That’s all…that’s all! Just her knowing he exists is more than she should know!”

             
“She’s gonna find out eventually. What’s the big deal?”

             
“You have no idea what you have done! And she better never find out!”

             
“You can’t stop it.”

             
“Yes I can and I will!” My dad was furious and I didn’t understand why.

             
“No you can’t! It’s gonna happen whether you want it to or not!” Now Dean was yelling. “You know it, too! Better she find out now than later.”

             
“Ella!” Xander yelled and I jumped at being caught eavesdropping.

             
“Shh!” I whispered and ran up to Xander.

             
“Ella, how many times did I tell you it’s not polite to spy,” he scolded.

             
“Whatever, don’t act like you never did it.”

             
“Yeah, but I was never dumb enough to get caught.”

             
I scoffed. “Whatever.”

             
Dean walked out of the den looking defeated, as if my dad had smacked him. He didn’t even look at us. He just went to his room and slammed the door.

             
Annoyed about being caught and missing the end of the conversation, I asked Xander about Uncle Bobby. “He’s just a friend of the family. Drop it Ella,” Xander said and stomped off.

             
What the hell was going on? So there’s some big secret everyone was privy to, but me. And what is the big deal? Knowing I wasn’t going to get a straight answer from anyone anytime soon, I let it go…for now.

             
After I changed, I said goodbye to Josie and Jake and headed downstairs for a family breakfast that included my father, this time, and Jasa. After breakfast we packed everything up. With the eventful weekend I had, I was ready to go home and hoped to have some normalcy before heading off to school.

Chapter
five

With only a week left until school started, there was so much to be done. I had to buy furniture and appliances for my dorm along with books, flash drives, notebooks, and clothes. Although, according to Josie everyone wore pajamas to class.

             
I had gotten a sneak peek at my dorm room when I visited the school with Josie in the spring. The dorm rooms were not big, but not small like most. I knew I would need a microwave, mini fridge, a desk, and a desk lamp.

             
My mom asked where exactly I was going to fit all this stuff. I told her no worries, I’d make it fit. And she also suggested maybe I should wait to see what my roommate would bring, that way I didn’t take anything extra. I told her, her mom probably told her the same thing. Better safe than sorry.

             
Our shopping trip was a successful one. I found the perfect little desk, with a clamp-on light, and a mini fridge. My mom said no to the microwave. She said she’d like to think I was getting a better meal than something you would just pop and nuke for two minutes. My books would have to wait until I got to school. I also bought some new clothing. Vermont was definitely colder than California. Sweaters, jeans, and a winter jacket were a must to survive the cooler climate.

             
My mom hated the fact that I was going to school so far away, but to me, the whole point was to get as far away as I could.  I could get a fresh start and meet new people. Knowing Josie would be at the same school as me made my mom feel a little better. It also helped that Dean wouldn't be that far away. He was transferring to a school in Rhode Island. My mom took comfort in knowing at least Dean and I would be on the same coast.

             
My mom spent every minute with me the week before I left. She basically smothered me, saying it wasn’t too late to go to a school closer to home. I told her, as I did a thousand times, I’ll be fine, stop worrying. My mom wanted to fly out there with me, but I had my dad convince her it wasn’t necessary. I was an adult now and could do this on my own.

             
The day I left we had our big family breakfast, minus Dean. He left two days earlier to go back to school. Since transferring, he had a few things to deal with concerning his paperwork or so he said.

             
After breakfast, I double-checked to make sure I had everything. Danni helped me carry my luggage downstairs where I said goodbye to her and Hadley.

             
Then it was Xander's turn. “Stay out of trouble kid,” he said.

             
“Please…I’m not Dean.”

             
“We’ll see,” he laughed and gave me another hug. My mom was already crying and I told her if she didn’t stop, she wasn’t allowed to come to the airport.

             
Josie and I were taking the same flight out, so my parents offered to take her as well. Her parents weren’t as involved in her life as mine and seemed more than happy to not have to worry about taking her to the airport.

             
When Josie saw us pull up, she ran out of the house screaming “Freedom!” I couldn’t help but laugh. I got out of the car to help her load her things in the back.

             
Jake came running out of the house after Josie, hands full, and still in his footie pajamas. “JoJo wait!” Josie turned to him before getting in. “Here, I made you a card and got you a present.” He handed her a piece of construction paper and an oddly shaped present that you could tell he wrapped himself.

             
“I think I’m actually going to miss you,” she said picking him up and giving him a hug and kiss. “Okay go back inside.” She rustled his hair and with a sigh got in the car.

             
“Ready?”

             
“Oh yeah, I’m ready.” Josie waved goodbye to her brother as we drove off.

             
On the way, she opened the card Jake had made for her. The card was made from purple construction paper with what looked like a drawing of Jake and Josie (stick figures of course) playing in the sun. On the inside, Jake had wrote real big, in blue crayon -

I
will miss u JoJo

Do
not forget me

Luv
, Jakey.

             
He also attached a photo of them together that was taken last year at the beach. While they were on vacation Josie had buried Jake in the sand up to his head. She opened up her gift. It was a stuffed penguin. His stuffed penguin. The one he took everywhere with him. I remember he told me once it made him feel safe. Josie choked up a little at the gift.

             
I smiled at her letting her know it would be okay. As much as she complained about him, there was no denying how much she truly loved him.

             
My dad hugged me and gave me a kiss on the forehead. My mom squeezed me so tight I couldn’t breathe. “Uh mom…dad a little help,” I said waving my arms frantically trying to escape her vice grip.

             
I didn’t think she was going to let go. “Okay Jamila, she has a flight to catch,” my dad said unlocking her mama bear paws she had hooked around me.

             
I waved goodbye and got in line with Josie to head through security. Once we were out of sight of my parents, Josie and I started jumping up and down, unable to contain our excitement. We practically ran to join the rest of the passengers waiting in line to board the plane.

             
Once we were settled, we waited patiently for the plane to take off. It was about a six hour flight, so we made ourselves comfortable and checked out the in-flight movie.

             
Upon arriving in Vermont, we stopped at one of the local coffee shops before heading to campus. All our stuff was already delivered to our dorms, waiting to be unpacked.

             
The campus was buzzing with new students heading in every direction trying to find their way. “Okay, well my dorm is this way.” I pointed to the right.

             
“And mine’s that way,” Josie said pointing to left all the way across campus. “Call me as soon as you get situated. I hope you get a cool roommate.”

             
“Ditto,” she said, smiling nervously.

             
We hugged and both headed our separate ways. I took out my information packet and headed off to meet my new roommate. When I got to my room I found out I was the first to arrive. All of my stuff shoved in the one corner.

             
I sat on one of the beds and looked around, taking everything in. We had a few days before classes started and I wasn’t quite ready to unpack. I called Josie to see if she wanted to hit the bookstore with me. “I don’t feel like unpacking yet. Wanna walk around and check everything out?”

             
“I can’t. There’s a problem,” she said. I could hear through the phone that she was biting her nails. A nervous habit of hers I was constantly trying to help her break.

             
“What do you mean?”

             
“Apparently they assigned too many people to a room. I was the last to arrive so I’m the one stuck without a place to stay. I already called my parents and they’re bitching up a storm. Meet your roommate yet?”

             
“No and my stuff is the only stuff here. Maybe she’s arriving later.”

             
“Well at least you get to pick what side of the room you want. I can’t even…Ella, I’m gonna have to call you back. Don’t go anywhere without me, okay?”

             
“Okay, I won’t,” I said, hanging up the phone. I figured since I had to wait, might as well start unpacking after all. I started with the biggest box first, which included my desk and all my school supplies.

             
“Some assembly required,” the box read.

             
Great, I was the last person who should attempt to put something together. Maybe I can get my roommate to help me.

             
I moved onto the next box, my clothes.

             
There were two dresser sets and one closet – so much for not having to share. I shoved everything I could into the drawers and stuffed my bulkier things in the closet, such as my winter coat, sweaters and boots, which ended up taking up most of the space. I hope my roommate packed less than I did.

             
I moved on to the next box, containing my toiletries, make-up, a few knickknacks, and two framed photos. One was a picture of Kyle and I after we won the state championship and the other was a picture of the whole family. I placed them both on the night stand next to my bed. If I couldn’t have him here in person then at least I would have him here in spirit.

             
I was distracted by a knock at the door. I got up to answer it. When I opened the door, there was a large man carrying a heavy box. He pushed pass me and laid the box down on the floor, walked back out, and carried in some more boxes.

             
Must be my roommate’s stuff, I thought to myself. I stayed out of his way until Josie popped her head in the door carrying one of her many suitcases. “Hey, what are you doing here?”

             
“Is that anyway to greet your new roommate?”

             
“What?” I asked surprised.

             
“Well, after I talked to my mom, she called yours and told her what happened. So your mom instantly called the school to make sure you weren’t having any problems.”

             
“Of course,” I said rolling my eyes.

             
“That’s when we found out you were never assigned a roommate and since I didn’t have a place to stay…voila`.”

             
“So you’re my roommate?” I said, a big smile dancing on my lips.

             
“Yep.”

             
“Ah!” We both screamed jumping up and down.

             
The man who was carrying in the boxes stood in the doorway waiting for his next instructions. “I think that’s it. Thanks Bob,” Josie said slapping him on the shoulder and handing him a big fat tip. He nodded and closed the door behind him.

             
Josie and I proceeded to scream again while jumping up and down and falling on our beds. “How perfect is this?” Josie gleamed.

             
“I know, and since you’re here; I need help putting this desk together.”

             
“Please, that’s what hot young freshman are for. Besides, now that we know we’re roommates we can go out and explore.” She yanked me off the bed and out the door, barely giving me enough time to grab my purse.

             
We walked down the hall passing kids settling in or saying goodbye to their parents. A tall, rugged, good looking guy, wearing only a towel passed us and Josie said, “I really think I’m going to like college.”

             
Our dorm was coed, which was one of the primary reasons Josie picked this place, so she says. I knew it was because she didn’t want to go to a new school without me.

             
Our room was located on the second floor. Instead of the elevator, we took the two flights of stairs to the lobby.

             
Once outside, we stood for a moment and debated which way to go. There was so much activity and plenty to check out. They had booths set up everywhere to sign up for clubs or charities. Others were fraternities or sororities trying to get you to join and each and every one had a flyer or pamphlet. There were even protestors, speaking about wildlife or the depletion of our natural resources. Josie and I only made it about ten feet before our hands were full of colorful papers of endless information and invites.

             
We strolled along the campus taking in the sites. We eventually found the book store and I told Josie I wanted to pick up my books. After spending two hours of touring the campus and not being able to walk anymore, we made our way back to our dorm. “So what do you want to do now?” Josie asked.

             
“How about rest for a little, then finish unpacking.”

             
“Ugh, I hate unpacking. I should have had Bob stay and do it for me.”

             
I laughed and checked my cell phone to see I had three missed calls from my mom and one from Dean. I had left it in my room by accident while we went out to explore. “Crap, I forgot to call my mom. She’s probably freaking out.” I called my voice mail to listen to my messages.

             
“Hi Ella its mom, just want to make sure you arrived okay and everything is alright. Call me as soon as you get in, love ya.”