FlyAway *26*

-26-

    “I don’t want to know what happened, and I’m not going to ask or anything. I just want you to know that I only took Kye in under the assumption that you would take care of her, since Aaron is essentially your boyfriend. That’s the deal.”
    “Kyle, I… I can’t. I have to go back to Jers-”
    “No. No, you don’t.” He gripped her shoulders. “Listen to me, Chris. You aren’t to leave this house. Not without me, or Zach. You stay in here with Kye. It’s for your own good. The girl is upstairs crying her eyes out. Go talk to her. Make her feel better.”
    “I don’t know what to say! Why do I have to sta-” It suddenly hit her what he was implying, and cold fear slid into the pit of her stomach. “He never left,” she whispered, horrified. “He was just waiting… Oh, God…”
    Kyle nodded almost imperceptibly. “We can’t talk about it here,” he mouthed, leading her toward the stairs. “He’s watching the house. Stay with Kye. Keep her safe.” He smiled brightly, and a faker smile she had never seen. “Poor little Kye just wants someone familiar with her. Go spend a little time with her.” He slipped something into her hand and ushered her upstairs before she could look.
    When she reached the windowless hall, she lifted the small box and pried it open. Out into her hand fell a worn leather journal with the words FlyAway across it in silver lettering. She took a sharp breath when she realized that it was weighted strangely. She opened the cover and found that a small section in the front, where nothing was written, had been cut out. In the barely adequate space was nestled a small tape recorder and something small and shiny.
    The tape in the player read, “Fly Away With Me.” The small silver object beside it was a turquoise engagement ring. She locked herself in the upstairs bathroom, sat in the bathtub, and played the tape.
    “Dear Crystal; if you’re listening to this, then Kyle is not only trustworthy, but the damn finest big brother you could have. I knew Matt had this book… I asked Kyle about it. He told me Matt had hidden it somewhere, and I’m glad that he found it. I left you this ring to remind you that I love you more than anything in the world, and when I get back, I’m going to go tell your parents exactly that. God as my witness, I will. Now, you and Kye just sit tight until I come home. It may be awhile, but I’ll be there one day to pick you up in a bridal carry and get you that beautiful wedding you want so badly. Stay safe, sweetheart, and don’t jaywalk too much. Stick with Zach; the kid’s got a head on his shoulders. You seem to lose yours sometimes.” He laughed softly and then continued. “Anyway, just know that I love you, Crystal, and I’ll be home before you know it. I promise.”
    “Never make a promise you can’t keep,” Chris muttered, sadly. She stood and slipped the ring on her middle finger, admiring it closely. It was stunning, really. She was snapped out of her reverie by a realization that shocked her. “Aaron doesn’t know that Matt never left…”
---
    Over the next few weeks, Kyle, Natalie, Chris, and Zach set about making the house into a safe, secure place for Kye to live. They called in people from Broadview Security to install burglar alarms, joined the local gun club--they’d applied for concealed weapons permits, licenses to own, and personal handguns--and had all joined self-defense classes, save for Zach, who was already a second degree black belt in tai kwon do.
    None of these things really mattered to the man who drove by the house every day, watching the windows. Matt had rented a place a few streets away under the name Douglas Palmer; he was a man who worked for Senator Kaplan, Matt’s father, and he had been only too happy to rent the room under his name. Anything for favor with the senate. People were so easily bought.
    As the summer weeks passed, Matt watched the family going about their routines, coming and going, talking and laughing, all the while looking about with fear in their eyes. Why would Chris worry? He loved her, after all, and it was silly to think that he’d hurt her.
    The girl, though… the beautiful little girl who was always hand-in-hand with one of the four overly-guarded adults… She reminded him of someone. Well, hell. She reminded him of himself. She was built the same way he’d been, when he was just a boy. That beautiful blonde hair of hers was just the same shade his had been, before it darkened. Those deep blue eyes, why… Those just had to be Crystal’s eyes. They were darker, yes, but the shape, the shine; they were perfect copies! Either the girl was just a no one, or…
    “They’re protecting her because of me,” Matt said to himself, tapping his chin. “Chris, especially. And she looks like us… But the girl was supposed to be seven or so! That doesn’t… oh, but she’s such a little liar… And she looks like us…” Well, he’d just have to fix this. He’d had no part in her life thus far, but that would all change. They had to leave her alone, sometime…
---
    September rolled around, and the little blond girl, wearing a brand new, bright blue dress and matching hair ribbons that Chris had said her Mother and Father sent to Kye, walked into the halls of her new school. It was only the fourth or fifth day, but it was a new school and a new place. Kye had talked to virtually no one, and brought her Mr. Teddykins with her to second grade every day. It was scary in there, and the kids were all bigger than she was.
    Kye gulped in terror. Teacher was always angry, and she just knew she’d get a yellow card warning if she wasn’t in early from recess! She tried to hurry along, but slipped and fell on the harsh linoleum. She heard a harsh ripping sound, and swore that even if her dress was torn up all to bits, she wouldn’t cry.
    When Kye sat up and looked, though, it wasn’t her dress that had torn; Mr. Teddykins’ head hung loosely, a large gaping wound spewing stuffing out of his neck. Her bright blue eyes grew wide with shock and horror. The teddy that nice Mrs. Gentry had given her was all ruined, and her dress was covered in dirt, and…
    Before her sniffling could begin, a strong, gentle pair of hands lifted her by the waist and set her on her feet. They turned her around, and she faced a smiling man in a nice, charming suit. He had dark blond hair and very pretty light brown eyes. She smiled back, shyly, and started to brush off her dress. She accidentally dropped a wad of Mr. Teddykins’ fluff, and gasped as she reached for it.
    “Now, now, little miss… You should be running off to class now,” the nice man said, placing a light hand on her shoulder.
    “My teddy…” she moaned. “He’s all tore up.”
    “Tell you what, sweetie,” the nice man said, lifting up the piece of fluff off of the ground with a twinkle in his eye, “you let me see your teddy for now, and I shall have him all fixed up and sitting in the office waiting for you when school lets out. How does that sound?”
    “Well, I… I have to go to class, and…”
    “It’s alright, hon. I’ll take good care of him, I promise. I’ll stitch him back up good as new, and your mommy won’t have to know about your little accident. Okay?”
    Kye considered for a moment, then decided that it would be a good idea if none of the grown-ups knew that she’d had a little spill in the hallway and torn up her teddy. She shrugged and smiled softly. “Okay… Um, are you a teacher man?”
    “Of course, sweetheart. And,” he winked, “I’m also a certified teddy doctor.”
    She giggled and heard the bell ring. It was time to start heading back to class for real now. “Okay… You promise you’ll put him in the office for me to get?”
    “Cross my heart, hope to die.”
    “Squish a piece of cherry pie?”
    He laughed lightly and nodded. “He’ll be right as rain, hon. Now run along back to class. Wouldn’t want to be late, would you?” She shook her head wildly and turned to dash away. “Of course not,” she heard him muttering behind her.
    When she went to check the office after school before Zachy picked her up, just as the nice teacher man said, the lady behind the desk smiled at her and pulled Mr. Teddykins out from under the desk. She’d just had to ask if her teddy had been dropped off here for her. He was just as perfect as the day she’d gotten him, and the nice teacher man had even fixed his silly lopsided eyes!
---
    Matt watched, through the Kiddie Kam he’d implanted in the teddy bear’s eyes, as Zach drove Kye home from school. He was certain of it, now that he’d gotten to see her up close. The girl was his daughter, and she was no older than five or six. They’d lied to him about her age to keep it from him. She was the product of himself and Crystal, and one day they would both be his again.