Island of Lost Girls - Jennifer McMahon [65]
More dragging upstairs, this time just above her head. Lizzys old room.
She took the stairs slowly, quietly. Her body remembered where each squeaky spot was, and carefully avoided them. She got to the top and made her way down the carpeted hallway, past the collages of framed studio portraits and school photos of Lizzy and Peter. She passed Daniel and Aggies room. The door was open and she glanced in to see a mountain of clothing piled on the bed. Empty cardboard boxes scattered around the floor.
The next room was Lizzys. The door was open. Rhonda put her back against the wall and slid sideways, like a cop on television, thinking she could spin around once she got to the doorway, draw her gun, and yellFreeze! But this was no cop show. And she had no gun. And it was only Peter she was going to face, not some boxy-jawed criminal. She turned slowly and peeked into the room. Peters back was to her. He was doing something at the foot of the bed.
Rope.
He was coiling a long piece of coarse rope.
She inhaled sharply. He heard her and turned.
Rhonda? What the fuck? You just about gave me a heart attack! Whyd you sneak up on me like that?
I called your name. You didnt answer. I heard funny noises. I guess I was kind of freaked.
Well that makes two of us, now. Shit! What are you doing here? He held the coiled rope in clenched hands.
I thought Id drop by. See if I could give you a hand.
Peter tossed the rope down on the bed. Maybe you can help me get this thing out of here. He nodded at the immense dresser that had once belonged to Lizzy. Its oak. Its been in my moms family forever. Tock thinks we should keep it. Pass it on to Suzy.
Rhonda nodded, stepped into the room. She went toward the closet. The metal rod Lizzy used to hang from was gone and the frame had been repainted. But there, through the hastily applied coat of paint, Rhonda could still see the ghosts of Lizzys pencil marks. Rhonda bent down to study them and saw the last date: August 10, 1993. The day they did their last performance ofPeter Pan . It was as if Lizzy had stopped getting taller, refusing to grow up along with Peter and the lost boys.
Its a bitch though, Peter said, slapping the top of the dresser with his open palm. Weighs ten tons. Come on, grab a side.
Rhonda went around and grabbed the left side of the dresser. It was nearly five feet high and four feet wide. She lifted with a grunt, and got it about an inch up, then set it down. Weve got to get the drawers out, she said.
They pulled out empty drawers. Found a mothball. A couple of pennies. A single brown button. Rhonda picked up the button and held it, thinking it was the saddest, most lonely object she could imagine. A lost button from a lost girl. Rhonda slid it into her pocket when Peter wasnt looking, then went back to her side and lifted again, nodding at Peter.
So what did you want to talk to me about so bad? Peter asked, lifting his own side. Together, they did a slow shuffle walk with the dresser, Rhonda going backward, aiming for the doorway. With the dresser raised, they could barely make eye contact over the top.
Rhonda took in a breath, unsure of where to begin. Shed rehearsed in the car on the way over and she decided to stick to her script. Begin with the motel, with Lizzy. Then show him the keys. But when she opened her mouth, thats not what she started with.
The night we didPeter Pan , you and Lizzy had a fight. You asked her to do something she didnt want to do. She was scared. What was it? Rhonda set her end of the dresser down. A few more steps and shed be to the doorway.
Peter narrowed his eyes. I dont remember.
He was lying.
Rhonda picked up her end and lifted again. Peter followed her lead and they resumed their shuffle walk.
I went to the Inn and Out Motel, she told him, her eyes meeting his over the flat surface of the dresser. It was time to stop playing games. Throw something at him that he couldnt lie his way out of.
They were at the doorway now and Rhonda backed herself