Death of the Mad Hatter (15 page)

C
HAPTER
T
WENTY-
S
EVEN

(
Ryley: Present Time)

Edward Edgar—
heart condition. Those four words, written in my dad’s handwriting, were proof that he had a brother. It was evident that he and my mom had been lying to me, but why? After all these years, why hadn’t anyone bothered to tell me about my long, lost uncle? To find out from Becky was a low blow.

If my
mom wouldn’t talk about this Edward guy, then I needed to pay my dad a visit (and probably leave without any answers) or ask Alice Mae, since she claimed to know so much about my family.

Plus, it would give me a
valid reason to talk to her.

Not that I
needed a reason to talk to her. I paced around my bedroom, clutching Mr. Ruth while trying to think of what to do next, when I stepped on a mushy ball. I lifted up my shoe. A small round bunny turd was stuck to the bottom. I stared at Mr. Ruth like he was to blame. I sniffed it just to see if my imagination was going haywire. It stunk of rotten, overcooked popcorn. The only reasonable explanation was that a kernel got wet and turned to mush.

S
omeone knocked at the door. “The principal called,” my mom said, perceptibly annoyed, as she opened the door. “He said you caused quite—”

“
Who’s Edward Edgar, Lauren?” I asked purposely calling her by her first name, the name that every respectful son should never call their mother.

“Watch your words, young man!”

“I was named after my uncle, wasn’t I? Ryley Edward Edgar.”

“
You have no uncles, Ryley.”

I tossed her the crumpled paper,
proof that she’d lied to me for years. She caught it and carefully unfolded it.

“
Care to change your story?” I asked, folding my arms and squishing Mr. Ruth.

My
mom pressed her lips into a thin line. Her face turned ghostly white. Tears gathered in her eyes, but none spilled over. The wetter her eyes grew, the worse I felt. I uncrossed my arms, tossed the rabbit on the bed, and walked up to her.

After a lifetime of seconds, she managed to speak.
“Your father said that his best friend growing up was named Eddie. Never in my wildest dreams did I think he was Robby’s brother,” she whispered, tracing the paper like it was made of gold. “I didn’t know.”

I was ready to rattle off another ill-thought out question when she looked up at me.
My heart broke instantly. Tears spilled from her eyes. She was usually so well put together that it took me off guard.

“
I miss him, Ryley. I miss him every day, every hour.”

I took her in my arms and rocked her like she had
done when I was a child. It’d been years since I cried in front of her, and I couldn’t recall ever seeing her cry. My gut ached listening to her weep.

“
Why don’t you go see him?” I asked. “I know it’s not the same, but it’s still Dad—somewhere in there.”

Pulling away just enough to knock off my hat and mess up my hair, she said,
“When we moved to Rockingham, I told Robby that you had a hard time moving from town to town. I told him we couldn’t skip town anymore. He understood but said that if we weren’t going to move as often then we can’t visit him. He said he thought they were tracking him, and if we visited then they would eventually find us. So, I promised him because it was so hard for you… I made it a year before I went back to see him.”

“
What happened?”

“
He went berserk and said if I ever come back to visit, he’d do what he should have done years ago. Return to Wonderland and go on a killing spree… he said that was the only way we’d be safe.”

“
Safe? From whom? Him?”

“
From Eddie’s wife, Hearts,” she said. “and her minions.”

C
HAPTER
T
WENTY-
E
IGHT

(
Ryley: Present Time)

Alice Mae wasn
’t at school the next day. Or even the day after that. A whole week went by with no sign of her. It was like she’d been a figment of my imagination. And, I could almost convince myself that I’d made her (and the kiss) up, until I caught Courtney glaring at me. I couldn’t blame her for being upset with me. I’d be pissed at me too if I were her. So when John Luke became glued to her side again, I couldn’t be bummed out. And I wasn’t. I just wished there was some way I could apologize to her; so she knew I wasn’t just another guy looking for the hottest piece of tail in school. Of course, when John Luke offered to smash my face with his oversized, beastly hand if I ever uttered a word to Courtney, I was less inclined to speak to her again.

On a good note,
Mick had moved on.

Dax hadn
’t.

When Monday rolled around, I couldn
’t stand it. I had to see Alice Mae again! She’d wiggled her way into all of my thoughts. I couldn’t even veg out in front of the television without thinking about her. Why had she suddenly disappeared after we kissed?

And then there was the mystery-uncle, Edward, and his wife, Hearts. Was she the same Hearts that Alice Mae referred to? Was she really a queen? And why did Alice Mae go by Al when she visited my
dad? Was she trying to hide from someone too? There were so many damn questions and even fewer answers. I didn’t know what to think.

I sent Alice Mae a text
, saying that we needed to talk. I purposely left it vague. There were a million topics we had yet to discuss, and I didn’t want to scare her away. I never got a response. Nothing. Zilch. When Wednesday rolled around, I texted her again saying that I needed to talk to her— more accurately apologize—and that she didn’t have to say anything. Just listen. Again, no reply. So I called her and got an automated message saying that the number I called was out of cell range. Not to be dismissed so easily, I sent her a text every day, for thirteen straight days. On the fourteenth day, I sent a rather desperate one.

For all that is holy, if the kiss meant anything to you, text back.

During the middle of the fifteenth night, I heard the unmistakable beep of a text message. Waking up from a daze, I rolled onto my side. I eyed my phone that was on my nightstand. The broken screen clearly confirmed that I’d received a text message. Alice Mae finally replied! My brain momentarily stopped working. All I could think that was I’d finally gotten some kind of communication from her.

Text back.
That was what she wrote.

My body was still exhausted
, but my mind was firing on all cylinders. I tried thinking about anything but the girl who’d just texted me. Her message didn’t make any sense until I read the previous ones.

Me:
For all that is holy, if the kiss meant anything to you, text back.

Alice Mae:
Text back

Me:
Are you back?

Alice Mae:
Back where? You really need to ask more specific questions, R. If you are asking about my current state of being—then yes, I’m back in Rockingham.

Me:
Were you in Wonderland?

Alice Mae:
Yes.

Me:
What were you doing there for two weeks?

Alice Mae:
Scrubbing floors. I’d rather not talk about it.

Fine…
Me:
What is on your mind?

Alice Mae:
You.

I
swear my heart stopped beating. I re-read that single-word response over and over. I began to type another response when my phone exploded by a bomb of text messages from Alice Mae:
Stars. Candy. Always candy. Kitties. Decisions. Decisions. Decisions. Dancing. Many things are on my mind.

Again,
I tried to think of an appropriate response when another text came through from her.
The kiss.

This was absurd. What was
I supposed to say about that? Instead of texting back, I decided just to call.

“
You really shouldn’t call someone so late at night. It’s half past four, Ryley,” she said, in lieu of a greeting. “Most people have rules about phone conduct.”

Here we go again
… Why couldn’t she be the slightest bit normal? Why was I starting to like the fact that she wasn’t like everyone else I knew? “But texting in the wee hours is okay, especially after a two week hiatus?”

“
I did have several messages from you. It seemed that you were in dire need to speak with me. So speak.”

Before
I could get a word in, she asked about the protocol on doorbell ringing in the middle of the night. I asked her why it mattered.

“
Because I’m on your front porch,” she said. “I thought that there was some sort of emergency since you’d left so many messages.”

Two thoughts went through my
mind. First, my mom would have my head on a platter if Alice Mae rang the doorbell this late on a school night. And Alice Mae was on my doorstep
—right now!

“
Don’t ring the door. I’ll come down.”

Cradling the phone,
I pulled up my jeans. She filled the silence talking about the importance of proper manners. Grabbing a shirt, I tried to think of how to slip it on. I contemplated just setting the phone down when she asked what I was thinking about.

I
looked at my shirt and answered. “Clothes.”

She giggled. It made me smile. She should really try out for the choir. Her voice was stunning, even if she rambled. Instead of shrugging it on,
I balled it into my hand so I wouldn’t miss anything she said. I kept the phone pressed up against my ear and walked down the hall, careful not to step on the few floorboards that whined when weight was applied. It was brutal, since I just wanted to run to her. I peered through the small window in the door. Standing on the front step with her back to me was Alice Mae. The moon shone on her skin, making it glow. Her hair glistened against her navy blue dress. The fabric actually stopped at her knees, revealing more skin than she usually did at school. Dirt speckled her pale legs.

I
ended the call and set my phone on the counter. I cracked the door, pushing it open slowly so as not to wake my mom.

“
Ryley? Are you there? It is horribly impolite to hang up on—”

“
I’m right here, Alice Mae.”

She turned around and her mouth fell open
when she saw me. Her cheeks appeared to have been sunburned. Her stare swooped to my bare stomach. One would think that she’d never seen a guy shirtless before. A soft squeal resonated from her throat. Her eyes widened as she slapped her hand over her mouth. Her hair flung in the air as she spun around so her back was to me.

Her reaction
was adorable (and a huge compliment).

I
shrugged on my shirt. “I’m dressed now. You can turn around.”

Without making a peep, she shook her head.
I literally had to wipe the smile off my face as I approached her. She didn’t budge when I stepped behind her, and she barely scooted over when I walked down the steps so I could face her. We were eye level since she was still on the top step. She was as red as a cherry, and her eyes were pinched tight.

“
It was probably inappropriate for me to walk out before being fully dressed, but to hang up on you would have also been rude,” I said, hoping she understood that I wasn’t purposely trying to embarrass her.

Nodding ferociously
, she told me that she understood my reasoning, but she kept her eyes closed. I reached for her hand, but hesitated. Grime coated her fingernails.

“Why are you so dirty?”

“I’ve been told I’m not a fast learner,” she said. “I’ll forever stick my arms and legs out to catch myself when I fall. It’s instinct.”

Wow. That made no sense whatsoever. Instead of trying to follow her train of thought, I asked her if we could have a serious talk.

“You can talk to me with your eyes closed,” I said, fighting the urge to lean in closer. “But we have a talk long overdue. I want you to listen to me. I want you to
hear
me.”

“
It is your logic that hearing improves with closed eyes?”

Well
, it did, but I actually just wanted to keep her from seeing the desperation in my eyes when I took in her lips.

“
A woman called Hearts was married to my uncle, who I’ve never met. Is it possible that the Hearts you know and Eddie’s wife are one in the same?”

“
Anything is possible,” she said.

“
Just answer the question. Are they the same person?”

She nodded.
I edged closer. My feet were on either side of her shoes. They weren’t the grandma shoes she wore at school, but they were vintage, nevertheless. Lime green stitching lined the cream shoes. The tips of her perfectly polished toes stuck out of the top. Mud clung to the sides, but for being light colored shoes, they were relatively clean.

“
I’ve gotten the impression that Hearts and my dad don’t, or didn’t, see eye to eye,” I said, desperate to touch her lips again. My mouth dried. “Why?”

“
So much has happened in the past, it’s rather difficult for even me to make sense of it.”

“
Do you know why Robby would want Hearts dead?” I asked.

She licked her lips.
“Because he knows Hearts’ secret.”

“
Which is?”

“
If I knew, it wouldn’t be much of a secret, would it?”

S
he was lying to me. I guessed that she knew exactly what the secret was, but her fingers grazed mine. It was highly distracting. Her skin was so soft. She traced her index finger over my hand. I closed my eyes as I memorized the feel of her touch. It was so faint; I could almost trick myself into thinking that I’d made it up. Leaning close enough to feel her breath on my skin, I fought the urge to grab her and pull her against me. She’d scare too easily.

“
I don’t want to be just friends, Ryley, and I am tired of this frivolous feud in which we have partaken.”

She said exactly what I was thinking.
“We’d make an awful couple. It’d be catastrophic if we indulged in these silly feelings.”

“They are just silly feelings,” I said. “No more than just chemical reactions blowing up in our brains.”

Our foreheads touched. She didn’t pull away. She didn’t pull away! My hands were shaking as I slipped my hand around her waist. She placed her trembling hand on my chest. The realization that she wanted me as much I did her almost did me in. I tightened my grip around her waist.

“
It would be ridiculous for us to be together,” I whispered.

“
Indubitably.”

Reaching for her chin,
I held my breath. A gasp slipped from her throat when I encouraged her to look up at me. I took the last step closer to her so that there was no space between us.

“
Ryley? Don’t kiss me. It will make such a mess of… I won’t be able to clean up my chaotic emotions. I’ll have to hire an emotional housemaid.”

“
I wouldn’t dream of kissing a girl like you.” My nose slid down. My lips were so close to hers. I could almost taste them. “I don’t like chaos in my life.”

She stood on her tip
toes. When her lips grazed mine, she screamed.