Chapter 51
“What’s up, Caspian? Are you crying?” Cormac asked, taken aback by the sight. Caspian crying?
Harry didn’t respond until they were both in the car. When the car finally started moving, Harry directed, “Take me to the WonderJoy Mall near the hospital.”
“The mall?” Cormac was puzzled.
But at Harry’s insistence, Cormac complied. When they arrived, Harry said, “I need some alone time. Don’t follow me.”
With that, Harry quickly disappeared into the restroom, leaving Cormac standing there, dumbfounded. How old is this kid? Wanting alone time?
Once inside the restroom, Harry dialed Caspian’s number. Caspian, who was helping Elisa with her math homework, quickly excused himself to answer the call in the restroom.
“I’m in the men’s restroom on the first floor of WonderJoy Mall. Come here now. I need to see you!” Harry’s words came out in a rush before Caspian could even respond.
“See me?” Caspian’s anxiety spiked. “Is something wrong? Why the sudden urgency to meet?”
“You’ll find out when you get here. Just come alone. I came here with Cormac, and I don’t want him to see you.” Harry hung up quickly.
Caspian was left confused, but something in Harry’s tone told him that this was serious. He excused himself from Elisa and headed out the door.
“Elisa, a buddy asked me to play some basketball,” Caspian lied as he made his exit.
“Who’s asking you to play basketball at this hour?” Elisa’s voice was filled with confusion.
“Just a friend,” Caspian replied dismissively.
Mia, overhearing the conversation, stepped in, concerned. “Mia, don’t worry, I’m just going next door,” Caspian reassured her as he quickly left. “You stay here and take care of Elisa. I’ll be right back.”
Elisa shook her head, exasperated. “Harry always has a habit of wandering off on his own. Mia, you don’t need to worry about him. He’s sneaked out plenty of times before, and he’s proven that he won’t get lost.”
Once Caspian was out of the neighborhood, he hailed a cab and made his way directly to WonderJoy Mall. Despite never having met Harry in person, they’d been constantly on the phone, switching identities. The thought of meeting his doppelganger face-to-face felt strangely surreal.
And when he did, it was like looking into a mirror. Not only did they share the same face, but even their builds seemed identical. No wonder the adults often got them confused.
Harry spoke up first, cutting through the surreal moment. “Take off your shirt,” he ordered. “It’s time we switched back.”
“Switch back?” Caspian was taken aback. “Why all of a sudden?”
“It turns out we don’t need to anymore,” Harry said, barely masking his frustration. “Our goal was to bring our mom and your dad together, but that’s off the table now, so we need to switch back.”
“How come?” Caspian asked, still confused.
“Why don’t you go home and ask your dad?” Harry snapped, clearly agitated. “We thought they were dating. They seemed so close. But it was all a sham. Your dad doesn’t even think highly of her. So, what’s the point?” Harry’s voice grew more bitter. “My mom is incredible. She has plenty of suitors. She’s not desperate. Why should she marry your dad, especially when there’s not one sane person in your family?”
As Harry spoke, he threw his jacket off, clearly venting. “You and your dad are crazy. Your granddad never stops badmouthing my mom, and that Cormac of yours, who looks all right on the surface, also called her bad luck. And your grandmother, whom I’ve never met, is surely no angel. Why should my mom marry into your family and suffer? I’ll protect my mom myself. Tell your dad to stay away from her once you get back!”
Before Caspian could process everything, Harry threw his jacket at him. “Hurry up and strip. We’re switching back now!”
Caspian, usually the one in control of their exchanges, suddenly felt at a loss. “What exactly happened? How did my dad hurt Mom?”
“My mom had a car accident and almost died, and it was your dad’s fault. Is that clear enough for you?” Harry barked.
“A car accident?!” Caspian gasped in shock. “But how? Didn’t Dad say he was going on a trip?”
“Well, no kidding, you want the truth?” Harry’s voice was laced with anger. When Caspian hesitated to undress, Harry took matters into his own hands. He grabbed Caspian’s jacket and put it on himself. “Let’s pretend nothing ever happened. Just stop looking for us, okay? Goodbye, Caspian.”
With that, Harry stormed through the back door, leaving Caspian standing there, stunned, unable to catch up. He stared at his reflection in the mirror, his mind racing. It took a few seconds to realize that somehow, he had switched back from being Harry to Caspian.
Now wasn’t the time to dwell on the strange switch. The thought of Galatea’s accident drove Caspian to rush out of the restroom. He quickly spotted Cormac waiting not too far from the restroom entrance.
“So, you’ve finally cooled down, Caspian?” Cormac asked, his voice filled with concern.
“My mom was in an accident?” Caspian’s voice trembled with worry.
Cormac looked at him, confused. Hadn’t Caspian just been at the hospital to see her? Why was he asking this now?
“Which hospital? Hurry up and take me there!” Caspian’s heart raced. He needed to see his mother. He needed to know if she was okay.
“No, Caspian, what’s going on? Memory issues again?” Cormac was baffled. “Didn’t you just come from the hospital? As a doctor, I can tell you she needs rest. It’s not good for her recovery to have visitors all the time.” Cormac paused, his expression clouded. Did Harry visit her at the hospital? That’s why I can’t go?
“Did my dad have something to do with my mom’s accident?” Caspian asked, his voice tinged with dread.
“What? Why would you think your dad had anything to do with it?” Cormac’s confusion only deepened.
Without responding, Caspian turned and started walking away, his pace quickening. Cormac had no choice but to follow.
“What’s going on?” Cormac asked, trying to make sense of it all.
Caspian remained silent, his thoughts swirling.
“Car accidents are tragic, but luckily she has a chance to recover—that’s a silver lining, right?” Cormac tried to offer some comfort. “She’ll get better. The doctors said there won’t be any lasting effects.”
“I’ll never see my mom again!” Caspian suddenly stopped, spinning around to face Cormac. His voice cracked as he yelled, “I hate you people! All I wanted was for Galatea to be my mom! Why can’t any of you agree to that? Why do you all have to hurt her? I hate you! I hate all of you!”
With that, Caspian turned on his heel and ran off, his steps heavy with emotion. Cormac chased after him, but he had no idea how to calm the storm inside the boy.