Down World by Rebecca Phelps (beach read TXT) 📗

would jump,” he said so softly I could barely hear it. And then he repeated, “I thought he would jump.”

I wasn’t even angry anymore. I was just done with all these boys.

“I was an idiot,” he said, finally looking up at me. “I’m sorry, M.”

I wiped the tears off my cheeks. “My mom wasn’t trying to kill herself,” I realized. “She was trying to follow Robbie.”

My mother grew up in this town. Did she know about the portals? Was it possible that she had always known Robbie wasn’t dead, and had kept it from us for over three years? How could she do that to my father? To me?

I followed the thought one step further, imagining my mother, in her little blue earrings, looking for that magical spot on the train tracks. “But she couldn’t find it,” I said, mostly to myself, just as Kieren hadn’t been able to find it. The only piece I couldn’t fit into the puzzle was why she had gone to the high school. And if the doors were still sealed, then why didn’t she ever come back out?

A respectful moment of silence followed, everyone lost in their own thoughts.

“I have to tell my dad,” I said, standing up decisively.

“No.” It was Scott who spoke, but he wasn’t looking at me. He was looking at Kieren. “She can’t do that. This is why I told you not to bring her here. She’s going to tell everyone.”

“Shut up, Scott,” Brady said.

“Screw you, Brady. This isn’t a game. What do you think happens when this stupid kid blabs to everyone that there’s a portal on the train track? You think we can keep this quiet after that?”

I looked around at the sea of unsympathetic faces.

“We can make it right,” Kieren said. “We don’t need to tell anyone, M. Your mother will come back when she can’t find Robbie and she’ll see that we’ve already saved him. He’s not dead. He’s just trapped in there. We can get him out.” The more Kieren talked, the more excited he got about his own idea.

“You’ve done enough,” I said. I wasn’t leaving this up to Kieren. “Here’s what’s going to happen now,” I continued, looking straight at Scott. “In one week, I’m going to Oregon. I’ve already told my dad I’m going to a camp up north. It’s all arranged.”

Everyone in the circle froze.

“You’re going to the Mystics?” Brady asked.

I softened my tone, realizing that this was a sore spot for him. “Yes. I need to find out what Piper couldn’t—if there’s a way to take people out for good.” Brady nodded slowly, his jaw muscles tensing.

“You can’t go,” Kieren began. “M, think for a second. You can’t travel by yourself. You’re only sixteen. You’ll get caught and they’ll call your dad.”

I was taken aback by this. Of course, he was right. Someone would call the cops on me for sure. I wasn’t one of those sixteen-year-olds who could pass herself off as eighteen. At five foot four, I was only about a hundred and five pounds, still waiting to fill out. If anything, I looked younger than my age.

“I’ll go with her,” Brady said, standing up next to me. “I can say she’s my kid sister, that we’re going to visit an aunt or something.”

“Absolutely not,” Kieren said firmly. “I’ll go.”

“I don’t want you to go,” I said to Kieren. I knew it would hurt him, but I didn’t care. I needed some space from him. I knew he had been a stupid kid when he dared my brother to stay on the train tracks, but I still blamed him. I didn’t think I would ever stop blaming him.

“How would you go, Kieren? What would your parents say?” Brady countered.

Kieren had no response to this. He clearly realized the same thing. He had no excuse to leave town.

“But it’s no problem for me,” Brady continued. “I was planning on going there anyway to see if I could find Piper. And besides, there’s no one here to wonder where I’ve gone.”

I knew he said it to justify his argument, not to fish for sympathy. But it couldn’t help but sound pitiful coming out of his mouth. Again, I wondered what had happened to his mother, and when his father was coming back from Alaska or wherever he was.

Even Kieren had to admit that the plan was perfect. But I was secretly terrified inside. Was this really happening? Was I going to Oregon with Brady? How would that even work? Where would we sleep? How would we find the Mystics? And what if they couldn’t help us?

When Piper McMahon traveled west, she probably would have killed to have Brady with her. I should feel lucky. But somehow, knowing he was going just made it seem more real, more overwhelming.

“It’s settled, then,” I said. “We leave next Sunday.”

I looked down at the group, all sitting on the floor. No one had any objections, even Kieren. I looked over at Brady, and he nodded. “Next Sunday,” he agreed.

The meeting was over. Everyone started to get up and mill about. But I didn’t have anything more to say. I turned and walked over to the window, climbed out, got on my bike, and pedaled home as fast as I could.

I didn’t know how this would end. And I was scared out of my mind. But I knew one thing for sure: if there was a way to get my brother out of DW, I was going to find it. The truth was coming out, and I wouldn’t stop until I knew all of it.

PART TWO

CHAPTER 10

The following Sunday was unseasonably hot for June. Even at 8 a.m., as I hauled my suitcase down the stairs and onto the driveway to wait for my dad to take me to the bus depot, the air was thick with an early-morning fog that made my hair stick to my forehead.

“Ready, kiddo?” he asked as he came out the front