They all gathered in the family room. It was almost time for the 10 o’clock news. Earlier that evening they had feasted on Ma Beth’s cooking. All ten of them had managed to cram around the dining room table, the Woods and the O’Days, for a celebratory feast, now that Will and Blue were both home from the hospital.
Will was still taking it all in. Just being in a warm room with good food in his stomach and his friends and family around him made him feel like everything was finished. Blue was back safely, his summer job at the college was over, and he was home from the hospital. There were no more obligations. Everything was back to normal and it was a great feeling. And yet, it wasn’t the same normal that he’d known at the beginning of the summer.
It was a new normal. Something inside of him had gone through a major shift. It felt like he’d had an upgrade. The old Will seemed like an innocent boy, and the new Will saw the world from a much sharper perspective. It was a harsher world, but at the same time a more interesting one. And painful. He moved his left shoulder gingerly to feel a little bit of what this new harsh world had done to him. His arm was in a sling, his chest and shoulder had dozens of stitches, and even though his chest tube had been removed, breathing deeply was still painful. Still, he felt alive. More alive than he ever had. And the scars would be there for the rest of his life as a reminder of this change in his life. They were also testimony to the fact that he had taken the first big hard knock and survived. He could survive. And Blue had survived.
He looked over to where Blue was standing. She was in front of a side table, which was crammed with flowers and cards from neighbors and friends. Will walked over to where she stood. She was holding a card that Rose had made during the search. It had a simple drawing of Blue’s face. In large colorful words, it said, “Come back to us Blue, we all love you!”
“It makes a poem,” Will said. He recited the words in a lyrical rhythm, “Come back to us Blue . . . We all love you!”
Blue put the card back down and looked up at Will. It looked like she was fighting hard to keep any emotions from showing.
“Hey. You okay?”
She just looked back down. Will wasn’t sure how to react. Blue had been distant and withdrawn since coming home from the hospital. She was back in her own world much like the world she had been in when he first saw her face in the third-floor window months earlier. It wasn’t the same world, though, and she was different. Different for the same reason he had changed, of course. Who wouldn’t be changed by that? But not in the same way. It seemed like she was in limbo, like she hadn’t started healing as he had.
Suddenly there was a faint high pitched ring in Will’s head “Eeeee!” and then Sam announced, “News is on in two minutes!” He had turned the TV on and had the new remote control in his hand. He looked down at it and then glanced towards Blue and Will guiltily and put the remote down and mouthed the word, “Sorry!” while his eyes leaked, “Oops!”
The TV came to life and everyone found a place to watch it in the crowded room. Will stood behind the couch where his mother and Ma Beth were sitting. Sam and Rose were on the floor in front of the couch. Pa Bill was in his easy chair, and Nate, Wu, and Blue gathered with Will behind the couch. Most of them chatted about the interviews and wondered how it would all come across on TV. Pa Bill bemoaned how the reporters these days always sought the most drama and managed to make people look their most foolish by editing the footage in an unfair way.
Will was silent. He watched the images flashing by on the TV screen. The sound was turned down as the national and international headlines led the broadcast. They were full of reports of suicide bombings and wildfires and car accidents—a silent montage of tragedy and suffering. It made his and Blue’s experience seem trivial in comparison. The feeling of warmth and security started to drain out of him, replaced by a feeling of anxiety. Suddenly he didn’t feel like watching the interviews. He was ready to turn away from the TV and leave the room, and then he felt a hand slip into his. It was Blue. She gripped his hand tightly. He turned to look at her, but her eyes were locked on the screen. Her face had an expression that seemed out of place for Blue. It looked like fear. He turned back to the TV. He could deal with it. He wasn’t going to just leave her there like that.
He forced himself to watch the images again, but instead of getting sucked into the misery of the world playing out on the glowing screen, his thoughts were drawn to the sensation of warmth radiating from the body of the girl standing next to him. That warmth, along with the pressure of her arm against his, was like a balm, infusing him with a sense of calm and stability. He realized his anxiety was dissipating. He felt Blue’s hand relax. She seemed to calm down, too. It was as if a bubble of serenity had descended to protect them both. As they stood there together hand-in-hand preparing for the media’s distorted version of their ordeal, his mind tried to make sense of what just happened. He had grown accustomed to Blue’s unpredictable behavior, but he never imagined she would feel the need to reach out to someone. Then again, he never imagined that maybe he needed someone to reach out to him.
Sam jumped forward and turned up the volume.
“And finally, a happy ending to a local story we have been following for the past few days. It’s a story that started last Friday with the report of a missing teen. As you already know, that story quickly became much more. It soon evolved into a story of abduction, drugs, violence, and now, it turns out, some acts of amazing heroism! We at Channel 6 News have kept you up to date with each new development over the past few days, and now we can finally put names and faces to the people involved and fill in the missing pieces of this incredible tale! Bill, you were there when Chief Hannah briefed the press. Tell us what you learned!”
“Well, Linda, it was quite an announcement Chief Hannah made today, and we were there to record it! Here’s what she had to say!”
The image switched to a crowded room where Chief Hannah was standing at a small podium with a microphone.
“As you already know, at 10 a.m. last Saturday morning, we received a missing person call from William O’Day saying that their foster daughter, Blue DuBois, a fourteen-year-old, had been missing since about 10 p.m. on Friday night. He and his family had searched the home and neighborhood and found no sign of her and decided to call the police for assistance. We arrived and interviewed the family and neighbors and determined that foul play may have been involved.”
Blue DuBois! Will was shocked. He realized he never knew what Blue’s real last name was.
A voice from the crowd of reporters shouted out, “Chief Hannah, what was it that made you suspect foul play?”
“See, I told you,” muttered Pa Bill.
“SHHH!” hissed Ma Beth.
“I cannot tell you details about that at this time because it is still under investigation.”
“So was this a kidnapping?” shouted another reporter from the crowd.
“Yes, this was a forced abduction. Miss DuBois was abducted and forced into a car against her will and taken to a vacant house on Pine street, where she was bound and gagged for the period of time between approximately midnight Friday until 8:30 p.m. Saturday night.”
Will became aware that Blue was gripping his hand tightly again. He gave her hand a reassuring squeeze back.
The camera switched to the newsroom where the anchor continued, “Bill, my understanding is that Chief Hannah responded to a searcher’s text that he had found where Blue was being held.”
“That’s right, Linda. That searcher was Will Woods, the son of Westbury College professor, Dr. Daniel Woods, and he had actually entered the house where Blue was being held and was trying to rescue her. He was shot and injured by the kidnapper, who then escaped in his own vehicle but not before shooting at Chief Hannah’s car and disabling it from pursuit!”
“Wow, Bill, that’s a frightening story!”
“It is a frightening story, but I want to make sure our viewers know that everyone is okay. Chief Hannah was not injured and Will Woods will make a full recovery. And of course, Miss DuBois was rescued and is recovering now, too.”
“I understand you got to interview Blue and her rescuer!”
“I sure did Linda, and I can tell you these are two amazing kids.”
The scene switched to the hallway of the police department where the reporter was asking Will questions. Will thought he looked a bit dorky on the screen and not as mature as he wished he’d looked.
“Will, can you tell me about that night. What happened after you texted Chief Hannah? What made you go into that house that night?”
“Well, I, uh, I guess I’m not really sure.” Will groaned internally. He sounded like an idiot. But then the boy on the screen started to gain some confidence and restarted, “I mean, at first I wasn’t sure exactly what to do, but then it just came to me. We’d been looking all day for Blue and everyone was frustrated because it was getting late and dark, and everyone was worried. But then I saw the guy, Bronco, coming out of that house. I knew that if there was any chance of finding Blue, I had to go look in that house. Bronco left the house to go into an apartment next door so I ran in, and there she was, in a back bedroom. She was tied up and she wasn’t breathing, so I tore the tape off her face and got her breathing again and then tried to free her from the chair. It was hard. She was really well bound, and it took too long and Bronco came back. Everything else just happened and it was like a nightmare after that. If it wasn’t for Chief Hannah, I probably would be dead.”
“So you must have been scared. Did you know at the time how seriously you were injured?”
“It was weird when I was shot. I wasn’t sure at first that I’d really been shot, but then the pain started, and the bleeding. Was I scared? Well, yeah I must have been scared, but I didn’t really think about it while it was happening. I was scared for Blue. I thought for sure he would shoot her, but someone else came into the house and Bronco chased after him instead.”
“Who? Who came into the house?”
“I have no idea, some guy who just ran off, but I’d like to thank him because he probably saved our lives too!”
Blue and Will and Chief Hannah had decided to skirt the whole issue of Jack. Will was glad. He really did think he owed one to Jack.
“Well, we’re all glad to see that you’re going to be okay. And I think everyone is grateful for what you did to save Blue’s life. You are a hero!”
“Look, I’m not a hero. I wish people would stop saying that. I just tried to do the right thing and I got shot. I’m glad to help, but I sure could have done without the whole shooting thing!”
The reporter just laughed and so did everyone in the room at the O’Days
“That’s telling him, Will,” said Sam.
“That’s my brother!” said Rose.
“I also got to speak with Blue DuBois, and I can tell you she is one tough little lady.” The screen faded back to the police station where the reporter was interviewing Blue. The Blue on the screen was the tough survivor Will had gotten to know that summer, but the Blue clinging to his hand tonight was not that Blue.
“So Blue, it must have been very frightening for you! How do you feel now that it is all over?” asked the reporter.
“I was very scared, but I was angry, too. I think being angry helped a lot. This guy was scary but I wasn’t going to let him get to me.”
“Did you ever feel like you would never get rescued?”
“Come on, what kind of question is that to ask? I’m sorry I let them interview you Blue!” said Pa Bill angrily.
“Hush Bill!” said Ma Beth.
“I . . . I tried not to think about it. I never lost hope, at least not until the heroin.”
“How do you know it was heroin, Blue?”
Blue shot her patented glare at the reporter. “You don’t even know? This guy was a drug dealer in town! He’s been getting kids drugs for months now! That’s why I was angry. I wasn’t going to let this guy get me.”
“Well, I can see that he got more than he bargained for with you! I am glad everything turned out okay, and that you’re safe now.”
“It didn’t turn out okay because he’s still out there somewhere!”
“Well, I’m sure he won’t come back here—not with you in town. That’s for sure, Blue!”
Everyone in the O’Day house was clapping and cheering. Will looked at Blue, and she was finally smiling, a bit like herself. She relaxed her tight grip on his hand, but she didn’t let go.
The news kept going talking about the search for Bob Kelly, and they showed police drawings of him with and without his beard. And then they showed the drawing of Bronco made by Blue.
“You make those police artists look like amateurs,” said Sam.
Ma Beth said, “Sam, be nice.” But everyone else was nodding in agreement.
The news mentioned the red backpack and the missing car and then gave numbers for anyone to call with information. This was all stuff everyone in the room already knew, so there wasn’t much listening going on anymore. Instead, everyone was discussing theories of where Bronco Bob may have gone, what his chances of being found were, and why his car hadn’t been found.
Blue looked up at Will with an expression of slight embarrassment and then let go of his hand. It was like she had woken up from a bad dream, and realized she had been clinging to a stranger.
He tried to reassure her, “Hey, it’s okay.”
She didn’t reply, she just looked down.
The discussion and the noise of the TV in the living room suddenly irritated Will for some reason. He decided to retreat back to the kitchen, away from the voices. Blue followed him. They were there only a moment when Wu slipped in to join them.
All three stood silent for a while until Wu finally said, “Blue, I am still mad at you, but you had guts, going after Bronco. Just don’t scare us like that again, okay?”
“Okay,” said Blue. “Thanks, Wu. You’re a good foster brother.”
Wu laughed and said, “Hey sister.” “Thank God you’re okay.” and he grabbed her and gave her a hug.
Will heard Wu’s chiss, and from the look on her face, Blue must have, too.
“Wu, there is something we didn’t tell you about vox.”
Will glanced at Blue. She looked back at him with a raised eyebrow. She didn’t say or vox anything but her eyes dropped to the floor for a moment like she was thinking. Then she looked back at Will and nodded.
Wu was watching them. “You’re doing it now, aren’t you?”
Will looked at Wu and smiled. “Actually, not! But you were.”
“What?” said Wu. “What are you talking about?”
“Look, sometimes we can hear other people’s thoughts. It’s like everyone has a little vestigial vox tissue in their eyes. Sam was right, we can kind of read your mind sometimes. Just now, Blue and I both heard you when you thought ‘Thank God you’re okay.’”
Wu stood stock still. Will waited for some reaction but Wu’s expression was frozen. It almost looked like he wasn’t surprised, or maybe he was shocked into a coma. Will looked at Blue, who was looking at Wu, and then he looked back at Wu and saw that his face began to change. Wu screwed his face into an intent look like he was going to stare a hole in the wall. And then Will heard a chiss delivered slowly and deliberately, “I am glad you heard me. I do thank God you are both alive.” “Did you hear that?”
Will and Blue looked at each other and then laughed. Blue’s laughter startled Will. It was probably only the second or third time he had heard Blue really laugh. The sound seemed to break a spell, and the tension brought on by the newscast finally dissipated. He turned to Wu and said, “Yeah, I think you’re getting it. You don’t have to make that face for us to hear you, though.”
Just then an announcement came from the living room. It was Pa Bill. “Okay, it is time for a toast and then bedtime! Some of us have work in the morning!” Will looked at Wu as they headed to the living room and whispered, “I’ll explain it all later. This is going to be interesting, I’ve never had a friend that knew about us.”
In the living room, Ma Beth was passing out cups of seltzer water. Pa Bill held his glass of tea high in the air and announced, “To the Woods and O’Day families! And to the great power of family, friendship, and love! And especially to the safe return of two very special people!” He nodded his head toward Will and Blue and everyone raised their cups and chanted, “Hear hear!” Then there were hugs all around, as the Woods family gathered their things and said their goodbyes.
Will took one last look at Blue and Wu, as he and Rose walked down the sidewalk behind their parents. He saw Blue glare at him from the porch and vox, “Balance! Move like a cat!” And he thought he might have heard a faint, “See you, knucklehead,” from Wu. Just before he turned away, he saw Blue jab Wu in the ribs with her elbow. He noticed her classic half-smile was back. She seemed to have returned closer to her normal, good self now. He hoped it would stay that way but there was still something else going on inside her. The fact that she had reached out to him showed that she wasn’t invincible. She could hide her inner thoughts, and she could control what she said and how she expressed herself, but the grip of her hand and that anxiety that he felt when she looked at him revealed that under that thick skin, she was still fighting demons.
He watched the sidewalk passing below him as he walked. He knew he should be feeling worried about her, but instead all he could think about was the tingle that crept up his arm when she slipped her hand into his and the feeling of warmth emanating from her body as she stood close to him. His hand felt empty now. He looked at it and flexed his fingers. A little shiver went up his arm. He sighed and stuck his hand in his pocket, just so he wouldn’t feel the emptiness. He caught up to his parents and fell in behind them. As they walked the last half block to their house, he looked up at the stars and breathed deeply. The moon was just rising, and it seemed that the air had a little September nip to it.
Everyone was in bed, or at least retired to their bedrooms. Blue was lying on her bed with only the night sky lighting her room through the open window. Her mind was rambling again. The events of the past week were over. The get-together tonight was the closing chapter. That was how it was supposed to feel, at least. But it didn’t. There was something else going on that hadn’t been there before. It showed up as soon as the newscast started. She didn’t know where it came from. All she knew was that she suddenly felt like she was going to fall to pieces. The only thing that prevented it was Will’s hand. She didn’t know how or why, but like so many times before, it seemed like her body knew what to do, much better than her mind. It had seized his hand and gripped it like a lifeline. His hand was strong and from it flowed a sense of stability and security. That feeling was still with her now. She sighed. She didn’t want to be dependent on another person for that feeling, and yet it had felt good, holding his hand. Maybe it was okay just this once.
A soft gust of wind ruffled her window curtains. The late summer breeze was warm but tinted with a slight crispness, hinting that fall was coming. She closed her eyes, so she could empty her mind and open it to the familiar sounds that surrounded her now. She felt the softness of her mattress supporting her gently. The breeze from the window played with the loose strands of her hair, making them dance lightly across her face. Her bedroom door was open wide. She was never going to close it again at night. She wanted to absorb every creak and shuffle and voice and laugh from every corner of the house every night from now on. She could hear the muffled sound of Wu telling something to Sam and Sam laughing. She heard the voice of Pa Bill calling down the hall telling them to quiet down. She heard the pipes rush as someone ran water somewhere. The house made its own living breathing sounds. They surrounded her like a warm soft wind, lulling her gently into a sense of peace, allowing her to forget, just for a moment, that her demons were not banished, only at bay.