by Margaret Iuni
This is part of an on-going series. To read the last part of this story, click here.
If you had asked me to guess what Target wore to bed, never in a thousand years would I have guessed a nightcap and flannel pajamas. I bit my lower lip in an attempt to hide a smile, but Sears must have thought I was nervous because he placed his hand on my lower back and gave a slight nod. In the meantime, Target was letting Sears know exactly how he felt about being woken up at 5:30 in the morning.
“Sir,” Sears stared his father down. “Sleep can wait.” Target moved his hand as if to run it through his hair, knocking his nightcap off in the process. Sears’ serious expression was beginning to register in Target’s mind.
“What’s up?” he finally asked. He took a deep breath as he took in the sight of the two of us standing side by side and the smell of pancakes wafting up the stairs.
“I was just telling Sears about a dream I had,” I admitted, staring at a new hole in my favorite pair of socks.
“I’m assuming it wasn’t your typical rainbows and unicorns,” Target’s eyes clouded. I shook my head. “Come on,” Target swung his door open and gestured that we should follow him inside.
“Sir, that package that we got this morning,” I started, “Any chance I’m allowed to know what was in it?” Target offered me a small smile as he shook his head and took a seat on his bed.
“Not a shot.” Sears took a seat on the floor and I chose to join him.
“Didn’t think so. Worth a try, though,” I flashed a half-hearted smile and pulled my knees to my chest so I could rest my chin on them.
“Alright. So, this dream you had. Let’s hear it.”
“Well, I was just telling Sears,” I said, picking at the loose frays of the rug. “Costco was being dismembered. His arm was on the floor.” I slammed my eyes shut but kept talking, “I couldn’t see much else. The lighting was terrible. I could hear people talking, but not in a language I understand.” I shuddered as I remembered, forcing my eyes open just in time to see a meaningful glance pass between Sears and Target.
“So, it’s happening,” Target sighed.
“What is?” I asked, finally catching Sears’ eye.
“The package this morning. It wasn’t something we’ll be discussing, but rest assured it wasn’t
pleasant. There was a letter attached. The usual threats, except no one is supposed to know you’re living here, Macy. Out of the very few people who do, more than half of them are dead or have gone missing.” Target opened a drawer in his nightstand, pulling out folders filled with paperwork. “The fact that someone knew where we were and how to send us that package does not bode well. Someone on your team at some point or another must have had loose lips. We can assume it happened relatively soon after you first moved here because of all the agents who have gone missing. What we weren’t sure of was how much these people knew.”
“Alright, so they know where I live,” my voice cracked. I had tried not to question much of the situation until now. “Who are they?”
“Something we’re still working on figuring out,” Sears said, teeth clenched.
“Until we do know, we can’t do much in the ways of protecting you here,” Target’s eyes shifted towards his alarm clock. “I called headquarters last night. We’re relocating today. I don’t know where to, so I can’t provide you that information,” he said quickly, noting my wide eyes. “You need to pack, but we have until close to dinner time to get ready.”
“What about my mom? School?” I whispered.
“We’re trying to get in touch with her as of now, but you know she’s on a case. It could be a few days before we’re successful. School will be informed as of this morning that you need to go visit a sick relative in Florida for a while and that you’ll be keeping up with your coursework at another location. That’s not true, of course. I’ll be homeschooling you wherever we go.” At this, Sears’ head shot up.
“Why?” he moaned.
“Clearly, we can’t seem to keep cover. So we’ll be enforcing isolation,” Target grunted.
“What am I supposed to tell Minnie?” I asked. “She’s going to know something’s up as soon as I don’t show up to school.”
“Send her a text in the morning. Tell her the same story. Tell her you won’t be able to contact her while you’re away. Your life is at stake here, Macy,” his eyes softened as he searched my face. “She can’t know. No one can know.” I nodded. “Okay. Back to bed now, you two. We’ll deal with this tomorrow,” Target pulled the blanket up around him as Sears and I stood up. We closed the door behind us, but neither of us moved towards our rooms. Instead, we headed back downstairs.
We cleaned up in silence, wrapping the last two pancakes in plastic wrap. “For the road tomorrow,” Sears noted, placing them in the fridge. I bit the inside of my cheeks, dragging myself into the
present.
“I should probably get to bed,” I slid my hand over the counter.
“Me, too,” Sears turned away from the refrigerator and held the door open for me to leave the kitchen.
We climbed the stairs together. When it was time for us to split up, Sears stopped. “Are you alright?” He had to know the answer already, but I appreciated the question. I shook my head once before I felt my eyes begin to well. I took a deep breath and choked out a shaky laugh.
“I’m fine.” Sears’ eyebrows raised. “I’ll be fine,” I amended.
“I don’t doubt that,” he broke my gaze for a moment. “Do you, um, want me to stay with you for a while?” His words hung awkwardly in the air for a while. “I’ll stay on the floor. Just so you’re not alone,” he sounded like he did the morning I first met him- tortured by the prospect of making me uncomfortable or of giving me a bad impression.
“Yeah,” the word left my mouth without checking with my brain first, but even after my brain caught up, it didn’t seem to have any objections.
