A Reason To Grow

3. Duke

Three

Duke

“You psycho!” My sister throws a tie-dye pillow at my face. The fringe slams against my eyeballs and a burning sensation floods my body. “Stop it! Leave me alone!” She heaves a lamp this time. I dive away from the missile. It shatters on the floor.

“Calm down, Alice!” I remain in place, but hold my arm out to her. “No one is hurting you. You’re safe.”

Her chest heaves. My words break her spell and her eyes flutter open. They are light brown like mine. They are also filled with horror. Her gaze skims my face and the pieces of her lamp on the ground. “Duke…”

“It’s fine.” I approach her. “It’s fine.”

She sinks into her bed, devastated. “It happened again. I didn’t want it to happen again.”

I stoop before her, careful not to touch her or lean too much into her space. “At least you snapped out of it sooner than usual. The therapist says you’re making progress. Don’t be too hard on yourself.”

Alice bows her head, her black hair falling over her lily-white shoulders. She brings her knees to her chest and wraps her skinny arms around them. It’s hard to see her suffering like this, but there’s not much I can do.

“Did I hurt you?” she asks.

“Not really.”

“Then why are your eyes tearing up?”

“It’s nothing.” I pat her bed and stand. “You hungry?”

She glances at her watch and blanches. “What are you still doing here? Aren’t you supposed to meet the moving trucks at your new school now?”

“They’ll be late. I have plenty of time.” I smile at her. “I’ll make you some soup.”

“Duke…” Her wispy voice breaks my heart. I remember a time when my sister was proud and adventurous like our father who travelled all the way from Taiwan to make a new home in Belize. She was sassy and stubborn like our mother who raised two children on her own when my father died.

I turn at the door and stare at her. She looks so small as she hunches over, her head bowed and her gaze locked on the ground. My heart squeezes. I want to offer her a hug, but it will only make things worse.

“Duke, he called me.”

Anger flares in my stomach. I struggle to tamp it down so she can’t see how affected I am by her words. “Did you answer?”

“No. I hung up as soon as I heard his voice.”

“Good.” I nod. “Block the number.”

“But… what if he found us? What if he knows we’re here?”

Fear strikes my heart. My nose flares. “We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it. Alright? Just focus on getting some rest.”

She nods and lies flat in her bed. I duck out of her room and head to the kitchen. My fists slam against the counter when I’m alone. I thought the madness would stop when we moved to Belize City. Looks like I was wrong.

“Hello?” Someone knocks on the door. “Mr. Lam?”

My eyebrows scrunch. The voice is unfamiliar. I ignore them, but when the knocking persists, I stomp to the door and fling it open. “Yes?”

“Hi.” A small woman stands outside. She’s wearing a see-through kimono with a tank top underneath and a pair of black leggings. Her hair is in a huge bun at the top of her head.

“Can I help you?”

“Yes, I’m…” Her chin flies to her chest, brown eyes widening as she points to something on the floor. A scream tears from her throat, piercing enough to shatter glass. She jumps into my arms and clings to me, her hands locked behind my neck.

I gape. My hands are frozen over her backside. She’s soft in my arms, a fact that gets thrown out of my mind when I realize I have no idea who she is or why she’s holding me. The moment I release her, she waddles away and fixes her hair sheepishly.

“I thought I saw a roach,” she says.

“There aren’t any roaches in this building.” At least I hope not. The critters disgust me. I step back and stare at her. “Who are you?”

She grins and offers a hand. “I’m Careena Richards. Your new neighbor.”

My eyebrows hike. I stare at the arm that is hovering in the air. “What?”

“A neighbor is someone who lives or works next door to you—”

“I can speak English,” I snap. “I meant what do you want?”

“Oy.” She rubs her forehead and mumbles, “Maybe I came at the wrong time.” She nods as if deciding something within herself. “I’m sorry for barging in like this. Let’s start over. You lock the door, and I’ll knock again. Without jumping into your arms this time.”

“Ms. Richards—”

“Careena.” Her brown eyes sparkle like she’s sharing a secret. “Call me Careena.”

I’m still struggling to make sense of her presence in my living room and calling her by her first name suggests we have a relationship that involves more than her sprinting into my house at random. “Get out.”

“Wait, I—”

I snatch her hand and steer her back to the door. “Leave now, and I won’t call the police.”

She digs her heels into the floor and resists me. “Listen, Mr. Lam, I just want to talk.”

Footsteps thunder down the hall and two more people spring into my living room. My eyes widen and my hold on Careena loosens. Am I being robbed? I rake my gaze over the woman with brown skin and long hair and her cohort who is pale with blue eyes and a determined expression.

Maybe this is their con. Maybe they knock on doors, distract their victims and then pick the houses clean.

It doesn’t matter. If the situation escalates, they may hurt Alice.

“Just take my stuff.” I glance down the hall where my sister is resting and raise my arms in surrender. “Don’t hurt us.”

Careena groans. “Guys! What are you doing here?”

“We couldn’t wait in the car while you met some strange guy. What if he tried something with you?” The man points at me, narrowing his eyes. “Are you okay?”

“Me?” I ask.

“Of course not.”

“Lisa, why didn’t you talk him out of it?” Careena holds a hand to her head. “This is so embarrassing. You’re ruining everything.”

The second woman tosses her long black hair over her shoulder. “I thought it would be fun.”

My arms plop to my sides. “So… you’re not robbing me?”

“No. I’m so sorry, Mr. Lam. This isn’t working out the way it did in my head. I came to talk to you about using the backroom in your building. See, it used to be my photography studio, but I got kicked out, and I need your permission to—”

“Now isn’t a good time to discuss business. If you’re sorry…” I gesture to the door. “Leave.”

“This is my fault.” The brother scratches his head. “I got worried—” He notices my expression and adds. “Just hear her out, man. If you do, I swear, we’ll never barge into your house and bother you again.”

I sweep the siblings toward the exits. It’s none of my business why they targeted me. None of my business why neither of them look alike. I’m just glad they’re not here to rob me and, hopefully, Alice never hears about any of this.

“Mr. Lam!” Careena stops. I place my hand on her back and urge her along. She moves reluctantly. “This looks bad, but working in the same building with me wouldn’t be this chaotic. I promise. I’m a good tenant and I—”

“Duke?” Alice’s voice cuts through the frenzy. I freeze as every eye shifts from me to my sister. Alice scrunches her nose. A bemused smile curves her lips. “What’s going on?”

“Nothing.” I spin and throw my arms out as if my body alone can hide three people. “Go back to your room. I’ll be there in a minute.”

She steps closer instead, her eyes locked on the man behind me. “You’re Tanner Richards.”

I glance over my shoulder. “Who?”

“Oh my gosh!” For the first time in months, my sister smiles—a full-blown, no-holds-barred grin that shines from her pretty eyes and transforms her face. My heart trips over itself.

“Hey.” The man dips his chin in greeting.

Alice trembles. “I can’t believe Tanner Richards is standing in my living room right now.”

“You—ah,” I rub my hands together, “know this guy?” I give Tanner a once-over. He looks way too old for Alice. His eyes are a bright blue and his blonde hair curls on the top of his head. I’ve never seen him before and I have no idea where Alice would have made his acquaintance.

“I have all his books,” she says and then glances at Tanner. “I have all your books.”

He flashes her a grin. “Would you like an autograph?”

Alice swoons. I rush to her side to catch her before she falls. Her pale cheeks are flushed. Excitement flashes in her eyes. “Duke…” she whispers.

“Yeah?” I dip my ear close to her lips so I can hear better.

“Pinch me.”

I frown and set her back on her feet. Alice points to the sofa. “Have a seat, Mr. Richards. I’ll be right back with my books.” She squeals and gallops down the hall to her room. I have no idea how she’ll find her novels in the moving boxes that we packed in a hurry.

My gaze swings to the siblings settling on my couch. They’ll be here a while.

Great.