Keeping Secrets

Cody stands in front of his parents, Matt leaning against the doorway frame, his arms crossed over his chest. Angie and Brad look worriedly between the two of them, unsure of how to feel about the news. Cody sighs, looking over towards the window at the sun outside. It’s warm in California, Los Angeles to be exact. The sky is blue, cloudless and infinite.

Angie sits up a little taller, grabbing Brad’s hand in hers as she gazes sadly at her son.

“Are you sure this is what you want to do?” She asks him gently.

Cody looks over at Matt, then down at the letters on the table he had shown to his parents. He thinks of the girl and her pain. What if that was him? What if he was her and he was writing to her? He nods slowly.

“Mom, she needs me. I think that if she truly didn’t want help, she wouldn’t have bothered to send the letters in the first place.”

Angie looks at Brad for a second before responding. “Very well, we’ll do everything we can to help. You said she mentioned giving you clues?”

Cody nods. “I have a plan, but it’s kind of stupid.”

Matt speaks up. “Just spill it, kid.”

“Well, she said she’s attempted suicide five times, so what if we do some research? I mean, the news has to have reported something like that. What kind of person attempts suicide five times and lives each time? So, we do some research, find the top most stories and call the hospitals in those states or countries.”

Brad raises his eyebrows. He opens his mouth to answer when Alli walks in. Her golden hair is pulled into a side ponytail, the bottom completely curled. She’s wearing short light wash hipster shorts with a light pink short sleeved shirt and a dark red tank top underneath. Her nails are a bright red color, and as Cody looks over at her, he can tell she’s been crying recently. Despite her makeup covering most of it, her eyes are pinkish.

“It’s not stupid at all. It actually sounds smart.” She speaks up, her voice a little shaky.

“Alright,” Brad adds in. “Angie and I will go ask around about the news. Matt, you and Cody stay here with Alli and start online searching. Tom will go with us.”

Without waiting to see if they agree, Brad gets up and pulls Angie with him to go get Tom. That leaves Cody with Alli and Matt, who look everywhere but at him. They all patiently wait until they hear the door shut, signaling that his parents had left. Once they deem it safe enough to talk, Cody moves towards Alli and grabs her arm. She glares at him, but her glare is softer than it usually is.

“Why were you crying?”

She sighs and holds up the envelope. Cody takes it in surprise, opening it to find a necklace with a small note. The necklace is long, with different charms on it, all silver and small; a cross, a key, another key, a ring, a music note, and a butterfly. Cody clutches the necklace in his hand, feeling his heart hammer in his chest as he reads the note.

Clue One: This is my favorite necklace. I got all the charms in a waterpark called Kalahari. The waterpark is only in two states. I’m in one of them.

Cody hands the note to Matt. “We don’t even need to check the newspapers at this rate. She wants us to find her, Matt, but she doesn’t want it to seem like she’s weak. She doesn’t want to appear like she needs us. We need to figure out which two states this waterpark is in.”

Cody looks down at the necklace once more and then places it over his head, feeling the cool silver press against his heart. He sighs as he thinks about her again. Matt heads into the other room to start his research. Alli looks up at him.

“I was wrong, Cody. We should have tried doing something in the beginning. We need to save her.”

“I know,” Cody responds, rubbing her shoulder gently. “We will. We just need more information.”

Cody pulls her into a hug, rubbing her back softly and soothingly, desperately trying to ease her mind. They may not always get along, but Cody loves his sister and he would do anything to keep her from harm’s way.

“Thanks.” Alli says softly, smiling up at him.

He nods at her, lost in his thoughts of the girl. He just wants to know if she’s okay. He wants to save her. He wants to give her a purpose. Cody’s phone suddenly rings, chiming out Greyson’s lyrics and he chuckles softly.

“Greyson, what’s up?”

“You’re taking a break from music?” Greyson asks from the other end.

“Yeah, dude it’s a long story.”

“Well, I have time. I’m back in L.A. for a while, so why don’t I come over and you explain everything.”

“I guess so, Grey. It’s pretty intense stuff though.”

“Cody, you act like I don’t know you. Is it cool if I bring Madelyn?”

“Sure."

“Alright, I’ll be over in like ten minutes.”

Greyson hangs up and Cody sighs, glancing over at Alli. “Can you go let Matt know Greyson and Madelyn are coming over?”

She nods her head and strides to the other room to talk to him. Cody heads upstairs and changes his clothes, pulling on dark wash jeans and a white tank top. He runs his fingers through his hair softly, sighing to himself as he drags himself back downstairs in time for the doorbell to ring. He opens the door to reveal a tired Greyson and a pretty Madelyn.

Greyson’s dark hair is wildly messy, and his brown eyes are bright with curiosity. He wears black jeans and a dark blue T-shirt. Madelyn has her light blonde hair a little past her shoulders and curly, with her sparkly hazel eyes. She smiles at him as Greyson intertwines their hands. Cody feels a slight blush cross his cheeks from their romance.

He invites them in and they take seats on the couch. Cody feels Déjà vu come over him. Cody fiddles with his fingers before speaking.

“The easiest way I can explain any of this, is if you both read the letters.”

“What letters?” Greyson asks as Cody grabs them off the table.

“This girl sent me letters anonymously. She didn’t even put a return address and what she says in these letters, Greyson, it’s really sad. She’s crying out for help.”

Cody hands the first letter to Greyson. Madelyn reads the letter over his shoulder and Cody watches as her face distorts into pain and her eyes fill with tears. Greyson eyes widen and once he’s finished reading he hands it back to Cody. Cody sadly hands them another one. Once they finish the second one, Cody leans back into the wall and gazes at them.

“Now you see why I have to stop singing for a while?”

Greyson looks down at his and Madelyn’s hands together. “If I got letters like that, I would probably do the same thing. I totally understand. I’ll support and help you, Cody, whatever you need.”

“I will too.” Madelyn chimes in. “That poor girl is going to need someone she can talk to. Alli and I could probably help her open her eyes.”

Cody smiles slightly at them, feeling tears sting his eyes. He wipes them furiously. “You guys are truly amazing. Thank you so much.”

Greyson gets up and comes over to give Cody a bro hug. Then Madelyn hugs him too. Alli comes out of the room with Matt behind her. They both look over at Greyson and Madelyn. Matt walks up to Cody and hands him a piece of paper with the two states and the addresses of the waterparks.

“That’s all I know. Unless she can send us more hints, we’re stuck for now.” Matt says.

Cody racks his brain for an idea when suddenly he recalls something. “She said she was still going to write another letter that would explain everything. For now, I say we wait until the letter comes.”

Alli looks at him worriedly. “What if it never comes because she succeeds in her next attempt?”

Cody gulps, nervously twitching his hands. “Alright, then we should tell mom and dad about our discovery, and then we should probably think about starting our search in Wisconsin. If she’s not there, then she must be in Ohio.”

They all agree. Cody looks around at them and wishes that the girl could have what he has. A loving family, incredible friends and a future that doesn’t seem so scary anymore compared to what she’s been through. He sighs; feeling awful for thinking his life was bad when this girl has obviously had a terrible life.

Don’t worry, Cody thinks to himself, I’ll save you.