Keeping Secrets

Cody pulls himself out of the plane, his shaggy golden blonde hair slicked back and his aqua eyes full of sadness and worry. His carry-on bag is slung over his shoulder and he’s wearing casual black skinny jeans with a white wife-beater. Behind him Madelyn appears, her blonde hair pulled into a ponytail with Greyson behind her. Their hands are entwined and Greyson has both their carry-ons over his shoulder. As they bound down the narrow hallway, Alli appears next. Her hazel eyes are drooping from being tired. Cody feels a pang of sympathy for her. Lastly, Matt and his wife exit the plane.

They all make their way to the baggage area, heads tossing to gaze at them. Sometimes being famous makes Cody want to scream, simply because he can’t go anywhere without there being paparazzi or stalking fans. It gets kind of creepy at times. Once they have their luggage, they make their way outside. Matt looks around for the limo while they all wait.

Cody yearns to taste the girls name on his lips. He wants to roll his tongue around with her name in his mind. He wants to finally know her name, to say it and smile, knowing that she’s alive enough to say her name to him. He licks his lips slightly, imagining what she could look like. He knows she’ll have scars. He’s not afraid of them. In fact, something about her frightening past intrigues him. He wants to save her, but not just save her. He wants to mean something to her.

It’s silly really, that he wants so desperately to save her and be a part of her life. He knows he can’t. She’ll be taken from him and sent off to live with relatives or perhaps an orphanage, which would be a million times worse than sticking around with her father. Cody just knows for a fact that it would be. Even though he’s never met her, he feels as if he knows her better than anyone else.

Alli nudges him with her elbow, drawing him from his thoughts as the limo drives up. They huddle into the long, sleek car, everyone gazing at one another, unsure of what to do next.

“How about we start at the closest hospital?” Greyson suggests, gripping Madelyn’s hand in his own.

Cody throws him a grateful smile, which is returned with a tight nod from Greyson.

Matt leans forward to talk to the driver and then presses his back against the seat again once he’s given the driver instructions. He pats his wife’s hand gently, soothing her. Matt’s wife is a fairly pretty. Her curly bright blonde hair waves a little past her shoulders and her eyes are a sparkling blue. She’s tall and petite, the perfect appearance for a model, although Cody knows she’s no model. At least, he doesn’t think so.

The limo comes to a stop in front of a looming white hospital and Cody can already smell the medicine and sickness. They all exit the car, standing and staring at the building. Alli comes up to Cody, linking her arm with his. On his other side, Madelyn links her free arm with his free arm. Next to Madelyn, Greyson holds her hand tightly.

They enter the hospital and immediately heads turn to stare at them.

“Oh my gosh, is that Greyson Chance?” a girl whispers, bending her head towards another girl, trying to be inconspicuous.

The other girl’s lips curl up into a smile. “Forget him; is that really Alli and Cody Simpson? What are they doing here?”

The first girl tilts her head up to gaze at the group. Her eyelashes are thick, framing bright orange eyes. Cody can tell their contacts. Her heart shaped face is beautiful, but her head is bald, and Cody sighs softly; must be cancer, or some other kind of sickness.

The second girl has a scar from her right temple to the right side of her jaw. It goes all the way down her face. Cody forces himself not to flinch. Next to him, he feels Alli stiffen, her arm tightening the grip between them.

“I’ll go ask.”Matt says softly, his wife following behind him as they leave Cody and the group alone.

“Excuse me,” the bald girl calls, her face flushing a bit pink. “Are you really Cody Simpson and Greyson Chance?”

Cody looks over at Greyson and shares a glance with him.

“Yes, we are.”Greyson replies, giving her a small smile.

The girl smiles sadly. “What are you doing here?”

This time Alli speaks up. “We’re looking for someone. Do you know anyone who has tried to commit suicide five times?”

The bald girl shares a look with the scarred girl, and the scarred girl sighs. “I’m Kitty, just so you know. We’ve heard of the girl, but we don’t know her. She was on the news a few weeks ago.”

Cody feels a pulse of anger in his heart. She was on the news and he missed it?

“I’m Lily. I didn’t catch the girl’s name, but I can tell you she’s not from here.”

Madelyn nudges Cody. “She must be in Ohio then.”

Lily nods.“That’s what it was! She’s from Ohio. Not sure where in Ohio, but I did remember the name of the hospital; EMH hospital, which I don’t know what that means.”

Kitty rolls her eyes. “It stands for Elyria Memorial Hospital, smart one.”

Lily shrugs.“Hey, at least I remembered the name of the hospital.”

Cody looks over at Greyson with excitement shining in his eyes for the first time in the last week. “So she’s in Ohio! Elyria, Ohio to be accurate! We have to tell Matt.”

Greyson nods in agreement. “I’ll go to tell him!”

Greyson heads over to Matt and Cody smiles at the girls. “Thank you so much for your help!”

Lily smiles back.“No problem. But would it be wrong if we asked why you’re looking for her?”

Cody shrugs. “She sent me a letter, and she needs my help. It’s a long story.”

“Well, we hope you find her soon. It’s horrible, wanting to die like that. Not everyone has a choice, and the fact that she’s choosing to die is sad.” Kitty adds.

Cody’s eyes flicker to Lily. “Are you dying?”

She averts her eyes. “Yeah, but I’ve been dying for months, so it’s okay. I already had my surgery a week ago, and now I’m going through radiation and chemotherapy.”

Alli unlinks her arm from Cody, moving towards the girl and pulling her into a gentle hug.

“You’re strong and beautiful. Don’t ever forget that, okay?”

Lily gives her a small smile, her eyes welling with tears. Alli reaches into her carry-on bag, which she forget to leave in the limo, and hands the girl a hat. But before she hands the hat to Lily, she grabs a marker and signs her name, then hands it to Cody to sign.

“Greyson and Madelyn can sign it too, when they come back.”

As if on cue, Greyson and Madelyn show up. Following them is Matt and Sarah who seem a bit more peaceful. They pass the hat around and then finally Alli gives it to Lily. The hat is still beautiful, but now it’s covered in signatures and little messages. Alli turns to Kitty.

“I don’t want anything. I’m going to live. I just have to live with a scar on my face for the rest of my life. I’m still here for Lily.”

Alli nods and leans forward, her phone out. She takes a picture of Kitty and herself, then looks at the rest of them. They shrug and take turns taking pictures until Cody, who was anxious to begin with, finally took control of the situation.

“It’s time we go. We’ve wasted enough time. Sorry girls.”

They smile and wave as the group leaves. They get in the limo again, and tell the driver where they need to go. The driver gives Matt a crazy look, but shrugs. “I get paid regardless of where we go.”

Cody leans back in his seat, sighing heavily. Now he knows where she is. He knows what hospital. He’s getting closer and closer to her. Cody closes his eyes, his head pounding and his heart racing.

What if after all this she just pushes him away?