“She’s in there.” I pointed to the door.
“I’m gonna go in, you coming?”
“No. I was in there all night, I think Tia and I have to talk.”
“It can wait, really, Anna,” Tia cut in.
“No. I don’t think it should,” I replied.
“All right,” Mom said. “Be safe.”
“Always.”
Mom gave me a big hug and a kiss on the cheek then slipped into Nan’s room.
I grabbed Tia’s hand, and rushed to the lobby and out of the hospital. I took a big gulp of fresh, nighttime air. I was happy to get out of there.
I rushed towards the truck when we got outside. I had to show Clay to Tia, and explain everything. She was going to think I was out of my mind…and maybe I was. But she wanted to solve my mystery, and this was it.
“Anna, slow down.” Tia grabbed her hand back. “Where are we going?”
“I have to show you how it works.”
“How what works?”
“Clay, the time travel, the memories—”
“Okay, we’re going a mile a minute here,” Tia cut me off. “Time travel?” She sounded worried.
I didn’t know how to explain it, so I had to show her. “Tia, just trust me, okay? You said it yourself: I am a mystery you want to solve.”
The ride back was a bit awkward. We didn’t say a word, but I knew once we got back to the house then I wouldn’t have to say a thing. Clay would reveal himself. Hopefully Tia wouldn’t freak out, and we could reassess everything from that point. I counted the street lights we drove by to break away from the anxiety. I pretended that I was a kid walking from Tia’s house to mine, if only it were still that easy. I put on music to cut the tension, but for once in her life, Tia didn’t want music to fill the lack of conversation.
“Anna…,” she eventually said. “I don’t even know what’s going on.”
“I know, but I need you to trust me.”
“I think we’re beyond that, honestly. This is something you’ve never told me about, ever.”
“I know, and from here on out, I won’t be keeping any more secrets. I promise you.”
She didn’t say anything. I didn’t blame her; promises from me didn’t seem to hold much weight as of late.
“Thank you,” I spoke over the silence. “If you didn’t show up when you did, I—”
“Don’t mention it,” Tia replied. “You saved me one time. Not sure if you remember, but when we were kids, I ran off from dad and ended up—”
“—getting your leg caught in the warehouse just off the waterfront,” I finished. “Yeah, I remember that like it was yesterday.”
“Keeping score?” Tia laughed.
I smiled. “No. Just keeping the memories close.”
“Guess we’re even,” Tia replied as I turned up the path towards the house. The lights were still on, but I could feel the emptiness. I parked outside of the garage, turned to her, and said, “Come on.”
She didn’t move, and it was clear she still wasn’t completely convinced I wasn’t having a nervous breakdown.
“He…should still be inside.” I tore the key out of the truck and made my way towards the house. Tia followed.
I walked inside and everything was the same as we’d left it: lights were on, the TV was static, and an eerie calm settled over everything. I could see the journal on the floor, so I picked it up gently and flipped through. Poor Clay, I thought. He didn’t deserve any of that. He had been so scared, and being seen by Tia must have only added to the dumpster fire of this night.
“This is my journal,” I explained. “Clay lives in here.”
“That’s the journal your grandfather gave you, right?”
“Right. I used to write in it a lot. It’s where I first wrote about Clay, on our first day of school. You were in a different class so I created my own friend, I guess. Then after some time he, well, walked out of my closet. And the rest is history.”
“I guess…. Where is he?”
“I’ll show you.” I held on to the journal with both hands, and spoke softy. “Clay? Clay, it’s me. Please come out.” I paused. “It’s safe, I promise. Everything is okay.”
There was no reply, and I looked back to see a frown on Tia’s face. I let out a nervous cough and tried again.
“Hey, Clay. Everything will be okay. Nan is going to be fine. Tia is here, and she wants to meet you.” I looked at Tia and smiled. “It’s okay, she won’t tell anyone. Remember when you told me that you always wanted to meet her? Well, here’s your chance.”
There was still no reply. I let out a nervous laugh when I looked at Tia and her arms were crossed.
“Okay, Clay. You’re making me look a bit silly here, you’re supposed to have my back, remember?”
I opened up the journal, and flipped through for a bit. I found the page that would make Tia believe, and I whispered softly to the book. Tia couldn’t hear me. I didn’t want her to.
“Take her back,” I whispered as I pointed to the page. I could see the blue energy manifest around the book, then near my hands. I could feel his hand against mine, but he was invisible. He didn’t want to be seen, not yet.
I looked over to Tia—her jaw had dropped open.
I smiled. I knew Clay was nervous, and that was okay. I extended my hand with Clay’s in front of mine. Tentatively, Tia extended hers, and as our hands touched everything disappeared. We were surrounded by darkness.
“Woah! Anna, what’s going on?” Tia looked around in shock.
“You’ll see.”
The darkness began to fade away as a table lifted from the ground, and walls with decorations appeared. A banner across one of the walls read, “Happy Birthday Tia!”
I could see the shock in Tia’s face as she began to age backwards. She was a little girl again, and so was I.
“Breathe, Tia,” I reminded her.
She took a deep breath and said, “Dude, you look
