No going back, p.19
No Going Back, page 19
AGGGGGGHHHHH!
A bloody scream-shriek blasts out of me as I spring up and forward, flailing onto Rock, my zip-tied arms looping over his head, then wrapping tight around his face, sliding down his neck, and pulling the zip ties tight. And I sink my teeth into his shoulder.
Rock cries out in agony as he fires a deafening round into the bottom of the boat.
“What the hell, Rock?” Lance shouts.
The engine roar of the other boat. It’s so close to us.
Rock flails, fighting to throw me off him with one hand and aim his gun with the other.
“Let go now, Tonio!”
I don’t think. I just follow Gary’s instruction. I jump and lift my arms back over Rock’s head, releasing him just in time to see Gary—his back against the bench, legs cocked—kick the gun as it fires a deafening round and flies into the night sky.
We hear a plop and a sizzle of steam as the gun sinks down to Davy Jones’s locker.
“Aw, hell no,” Rock says, jumping forward and pulling the gun off Lance’s holster.
Rock points this gun at Gary as Lance pops the last latch on the box.
In a split second, time freezes as the end of us flashes before my eyes.
Gary Jr. is shot dead by Rock.
I am shot dead by Rock.
There is nothing in that box.
Vaughn is shot dead by Rock.
The passengers in the oncoming boat, who are close enough to witness everything, are shot dead by Rock.
When you are able to say the words my life flashed before my eyes, you are not dead. You are alive. Because sometimes life is like a movie, and the twists are so unexpected, you never could have guessed they were even possible. Like when the person you think is the biggest idiot you’ve ever met turns out not to be an idiot at all. In fact, he turns out to be unbelievably resourceful and brave. And the imaginary friend of that brave not-idiot—the one who loves making the most improbable engineering projects—is very real. Gary Jr. and me discover all this the second Lance pops that lid.
The box explodes, blowing up in Lance’s face in an eruption of glitter, a deafening siren, and pulsing strobe lights that toss him onto his back. The sound and light and madness do not stop. The glitter plume shoots into the night sky, blinding us as it rains down, blanketing the boat.
In the chaos, our leg zip ties are sliced, an arm hooks my arm, and another hooks Gary’s arm. And we’re guided up onto the Boston Whaler bench, then the rail, where Vaughn shouts, “JUMP!”
No time to think.
I prepare for the salty shock of cold and wet, but another boat—the other boat—skids right at us, spraying water, close enough to Vaughn’s boat to catch us, but not so close that it crashes.
We land in a pile on the floor. The engine revs high, and we’re shot away from the chaos, away from Lance and Rock, and north toward the tip of Dolphin Point.
MONDAY 4:05 AM
In the darkness, Vaughn guides us to the white-leather bench seats on the bow of… another Boston Whaler. We look back to the boat we’d just been on. The sound of the glitter bomb mixes with the siren of a police boat, blue lights flashing, zooming right at Lance and Rock, who are still fumbling around, trying to keep upright in the hurricane of glitter.
Gary lunges at Vaughn, trying to hug him with his zip-tied wrists. “Thank you, Vaughn. Thank you. Thank you.”
Vaughn slices the zip ties, and we rub hands over sore wrists as he takes a seat on the bench across from us. He nods to the driver and shouts at us over the roar of the engine. “Guys! I’d like you to meet Charlie!”
She waves at us, beaming a massive, proud smile out of the hood of her puffy jacket.
“Her dad owns the Boston Whaler dealership in Poulsbo. That’s how we got the boats.”
“Wow!” Gary says. “Just wow!”
We skim over those dark Puget Sound waters, toward the dock. When we’re close, Charlie quiets the engine and we slow to a crawl.
“What just happened?” Gary says. “When did you even plan this?”
“When they kidnapped me yesterday, Lance told me if I led them to the money they’d split it with me. I acted thrilled. I acted like I loved those guys and like I hated you. They believed me. They got cocky and I was able to slip away and sneak a quick phone call to Charlie this morning before I FaceTimed you guys. After that they took away my phone.
“Between then and now, Charlie rigged the glitter bomb and the crab pot and got us set up with the boats and tipped the cops off to what was happening. The boat was wired. They were listening to the whole thing.”
Me and Gary cheer and chant, “Charlie! Charlie!”
Charlie takes a big bow. “My best glitter bomb so far! Not even close!”
Vaughn sits on the bench next to me. He holds a hand out to shake. I take his hand and pull that guy into a hug.
He starts crying. “I ruined the robbery. I got you put in prison. It was all my fault.”
I pull out of the hug. “It’s okay, man. I get it.”
“Seriously?” he says.
“Hell yes. Fresh start?” I say, offering a hand again.
“Yeah,” he says. “Fresh start.” Vaughn wipes his snotty nose on the back of his sleeve. He laughs, saying, “Way to jump on Rock! Gary woulda sprung a leak if you hadn’t done that.”
“And what about this guy’s two-footed kick?” I say, tapping Gary’s chest.
“It was nothing,” Gary says. “But it was awesome. And Vaughn, buddy, you did a great acting job back there. The anger and power when you slapped us? Oscar-worthy, my man. But I gotta come clean. Me completely losing my crap back there? I wasn’t acting. That was totally real. Hundred percent.”
“Serious?” Vaughn says.
“Swear to God,” Gary says. He watches me check the time. “Oh no, guys! Tonio has to make his meeting!”
I ask Vaughn if he thinks Charlie could get us back to the Des Moines Marina.
He says he’d love to give us a ride back but Charlie’s dad isn’t thrilled with all this. He wants her and the boat back ASAP. “There’s a five-twenty ferry to Fauntleroy.” He turns to Charlie. “How long is the crossing?”
“Half hour,” she says. “About that.”
“But, guys,” Gary says, “if Tonio misses this meeting—”
“It’s okay,” I say. “We’ll take the ferry. It’s all right.”
It’s a thirty-minute drive to Des Moines from Fauntleroy in West Seattle. If Claudio can pick us up, and if there’s no traffic…
If we can convince him to go to the marina, and if, by some miracle, the shovel stayed stuck in the mud and the cord held and the bags haven’t floated away, me and Gary will grab them, and we’ll stash the money in my mom’s studio. I’ll change clothes and we’ll zip over to Puget High—please, dear God—on time for my meeting.
Vaughn can come over after school gets out, and he and Gary and I can split the money.
And I’ll begin the process of making amends with my mom by handing her thousands of dollars and taking away a mountain of financial stress that’s built up for years, and putting her and Claudio in a position to have the home they need.
I reach my hand into my pocket to grab my phone and send the text. It’s still sticky from the beer spill. Beer spill. Oh no! Nancy’s car!
That’s when I see the missed notifications. The first is a text from Claudio.
Waiting for you at Donuts.
Where are you? Please tell me you are ok
There are more like that. And a bunch of texts directly from my mom. Which means Claudio told her we switched phones. Her messages break my heart so much, I can’t get through them. Plus, I need to fill Claudio in on my current situation.
Hi Claudio! I am alive. Yay! How
are you? I hope you’re doing great.
Sorry 4 not showing up. Life got
very crazy.
Anyways no need to ask me ?s
right now… super-long stories for
another time lol.
My dad’s # is in my contacts. Text
him please and tell him the Miata
is across the street from the
marina pier parking lot.
And could you please pick me up
this morn @ Fauntleroy ferry @
6am sharp.
Lastly, please do not tell my mom
those two requests but do tell
her I’m going to be on time to my
meeting and looking forward to
seeing her and… big hug?
Also, Claudio, you are the best
thing that ever happened to this
family.
Claudio’s response comes fast.
Processing.….….….….…… WTF!?!?!
Will text ur dad re (borrowed? stolen?) car.
Will pick you up @ ferry. But no more secrets
btwn me & your mom. EVER.
Lastly. I am happy you’re alive because
I am strongly considering killing you.
If ur mom doesn’t kill us both first.
Charlie lands us at a public park dock. She apologizes that there’s no good place to drop us off closer. We can see the ferry terminal from here, but it’s gonna be a long walk.
We thank her for saving our lives. As brilliant as Charlie is, she turns to Vaughn like she believes he’s the amazing one. “This was Vaughn’s idea. His plan. I just had to make it happen.”
“Wow, Vaughn,” Gary says, “I underestimated you. And for that, I am sorry.”
“Your friend took a big risk to make this happen,” Charlie says. “For you.”
Vaughn shrugs, his face turning red.
“And that crab!” she says. “That was my signal to come at you guys hard and fast. Awesome touch, huh? Again, totally Vaughn’s idea.”
Vaughn sucks on a finger and shakes it in the air. “That thing hurt for real.”
“Same with you slapping me,” Gary says. “The pain I felt was like you were actually trying to hurt me. Again, a top-notch performance, Vaughn.”
“I needed to convince them I was actually mad at you guys and that I was on their side.”
“It worked,” Gary says.
“And the truth is, I was mad at you. My lawyer played a cell phone recording of you two planning the robbery. You called me idiot a bunch of times. You both talked like that was my actual name.”
We tell him how sorry we are.
“We’re even now,” he says.
“Yeah,” I say. “We are.”
“Not so fast,” Gary says. “We still gotta dig up that money and split it three ways. Just like we always planned.”
Vaughn shakes his head. “When Rock and Lance kidnapped me, I had just moved back. I got a job lined up at Charlie’s dad’s dealership.” He and Charlie smile big at each other. “It pays well. They’re setting me up with a little studio apartment close to work. So I’m good. Seriously, you guys, I don’t want to touch that drug money ever again.”
Drug money. Damn.
“Too much pain,” he says. “Too many bad vibes.” Vaughn reaches out his hand one last time.
I shake it, nodding at him, still trying to tell him I got no bad feelings left, hoping he doesn’t either.
“Vaughn?” Gary says. “The irony is, me and Tonio are strapped. You got ferry money?”
Charlie pulls out a wallet and hands us a twenty. “Good luck, you two.”
“Good luck, guys,” Gary says.
We watch Vaughn and Charlie in the moonlight as they slowly make their way toward Vashon’s northwest point. They’re shoulder to shoulder, his arm wrapped around her waist as she steers the Whaler. They’ll sail north on this Puget Sound stretch of the Salish Sea, between the west coast of Bainbridge Island and the shores of Kitsap Peninsula, all the way up to Poulsbo. And I bet they go like that the whole way, shoulder to shoulder, his arm around her back, the sun rising on them, blessing this morning, blessing Vaughn and Charlie as they sail into their future.
Maya and me were not meant to be.
I think Vaughn and Charlie are meant to be. I hope they are.
“Charlie is real,” Gary says. “They are a girl. A beautiful and tough and brilliant woman with a cherry Boston Whaler. And she loves Vaughn.”
“Yup,” I say, teeth chattering as a wave of wet cold finally takes over my whole body.
“We’re the idiots,” Gary says.
“Yup,” I say.
“Let’s walk, Tonio. That’ll warm you up.”
We make our way through the park, then along the shoulder of Vashon Highway until we’re on a sidewalk, under streetlights, walking through town. In a few minutes we’re sitting on a bench outside the tiny yellow ferry terminal, waiting for five o’clock, when the doors will open and we can buy our tickets.
“I’m really tired,” Gary says, his head falling toward my shoulder.
“Uh-uh,” I say. “If you knock out, I will too. We can’t risk missing this boat. If we do, I’m screwed. Talk to me, Gary. Keep me awake.”
“I don’t have a story, Tonio. You talk.”
When I Promised to Change
So then… Grace drove me to school
on the first day after the end of my suspension.
She shook hands with Mrs. Lucrisia and Mr. Matthews.
He asked how we were related.
I told him Grace had given me a job and a place to stay.
She gave them her number, winked, and said,
You call me from now on.
We made a plan for success—
check-ins with Mrs. Lucrisia and the social worker,
a sober-support program, and weekly reports from teachers.
I signed the papers. And said goodbye to Grace.
In Orton’s math class, I was lost cuz of all the days I’d missed.
But I promised myself I would not get down.
I would raise my hand, ask questions,
stay after class, and study for hours,
cuz I had to make this work.
Just as I made those promises,
Mr. Matthews opened the door,
and he called me into the hall,
where I was met by two county cops
who cuffed me, threw me in a van,
and drove me away to Seattle,
where I spent days in juvie lockup. Juvie school.
Back and forth to juvie court.
But mostly, juvie was endless waiting.
Waiting and waiting for days and days.
Waiting to learn my fate.
MONDAY 5:05 AM
We walk aboard the Kittitas. It’s huge for a boat. Medium-size for a Washington State ferry. If you walk on, it’s hard to get to work from the Fauntleroy ferry terminal without a long bus ride. So most commuters drive on. There are a bunch of cars already loaded up because this boat originates at Southworth, just west of here on the Kitsap Peninsula. Everyone is headed to work at Amazon in Seattle, or at Boeing—the factory over in Renton or the one up in Everett. Probably some people headed out to Microsoft in Redmond.
Out of the hundreds of people on this boat, I’m guessing that today, me and Gary are the only ones who might end up getting their hands on more cash than most people will touch in their lives. And I’m guessing I’m the only one who has a chance of ending this day in prison.
Gary and I get the strangest looks from these people, all uptight in their fancy, sharp business suits and their soft, hipster-casual business suits, and their REI gear. They’ve never seen a couple teenagers on a boat before?
We head outside to the rear deck. The wind is whipping. It’s freezing. We lean over the rail and watch black water churn into white froth as the engine kicks to life, and slowly, slowly, the boat separates from the shadow that is Vashon.
Gary Jr. points to the sunrise above the Olympic Mountains, too soon threatening to turn night into day. “Isn’t it ironic?” he says. “We’re in the biggest hurry of our lives. And we’re on the slowest possible form of transportation known to man.”
“Can we change the subject?”
“I bet you are freaking out. I would totally be freaking.”
“Yeah. I am. Okay?”
“I got weed.”
“None for me. But you go ahead. We keep facing this way, no one will see you.”
Gary pulls out a baggie. A blunt. Gets it lit up.
I clear my throat and take in a big deep breath cuz I’m gonna get real with Gary. “So…”
“You sure you don’t want some?”
“Still on parole.” I say that like I haven’t broken a million terms already.
“Right,” Gary says. “I’m sorry I been pushy on that, Tonio.”
The apology comes out so sincere. And the look on this kid’s face. Open. Loving. Sad. I have to come clean. “Gary, are you still curious why I was on the beach instead of meeting you at the gate?”
He lets out a steady stream of smoke and opens his eyes. “I was trying to not think about it. That didn’t work. So I been imagining it was related to you having the very best intentions. Like when you attacked Rock to save my life.”
“Then you kicked his gun away to save mine.”
“I finally saved your life, Tonio. Feels pretty good.”
“Me being at the marina before you got there wasn’t that kind of good.”
Gary takes a deep hit.
“My dad told me Lance and Rock were chasing Vaughn. When Vaughn said that stuff about meeting him in a boat, I knew they had him. I went to the marina early because I didn’t want Lance to end up with the money.”
“What about me?” he says.
“Honestly?”
“Honestly.”
“I wasn’t thinking about it.”
“It?”
“You.”
