"Who was she?" I ask, having finally left the dining hall. Into what felt like a sea of people. The receptionist had signed in most of the line while we were getting our food, causing a large buildup of people in the lobby. Watching how close everyone was to each other put a pit in my stomach. If I even thought about doing the same, I'd be hit for certain.
"Just some nobody, don't worry about how I know her. What I wanna know is how she knows you." Ty asks. I instinctively tuck my head. I haven't told anyone about it since it happened. It would only cause them more problems if I did. The three kids that enjoyed making my life at school worse were Dawn, Pat, and Stone. Stone was a dwarf but despite his size he was the meanest of the trio. They made me undress and walk around the school naked. Everyone that saw took pictures of me and everyone that hadn't seen it yet had witnessed it through posts and sharing on social media. I was hoping that it was all a bad dream, but now it was proving itself to be more real than I could ever imagine. "What'd you do, Al?"
"Nothing…"
"Then how does she know you?" he repeats, his tone increasingly aggravated.
"I... I don't…" The words bubble in the back of my throat like acid. I can't tell him, I shouldn't. I give him enough problems on my own just by existing.
"Spit it out already will you-"
"Ty! you'd better calm down. Do NOT talk to your brother that way." A familiar voice interrupts. Kerry, who's shaking off her wet hands, somehow manages to find us in the overcrowded hotel lobby and I couldn't be more grateful for it.
"He's not telling me what's wrong with him. He's just standing there like a statue." Ty explains. A quick breath leaves my nose in frustration. The last thing I want is to bring it up around her.
"What do you mean?" she questions. Then glances at me, noticing my eyes widening. "What's wrong?
"I-I don't want to talk about it right now." I plead. Kerry nods, understanding that isn't the best place for me. She knows how get around crowds.
She switches her tone to be gentler, understanding. "That's fine. Here, Let's meet up with your uncle, we can set up the room and show you guys what a vacation looks like." she smiles at me "A nice room, a comfy bed, and a good view. It sounds amazing right?" she places a hand on my head in an attempt to comfort me. "C'mon he should be around here somewhere." she turns to look over the heads of the tourists in front of us. Then holds out her hand to both of us. I grab a hold of it not wanting to be left behind. Ty scoffs and opts to just follow at a distance. We make our way through the buildup of friends, family, and couples. My heart racing in my chest while I brush shoulders with what feels like demons. All watching me like snakes waiting to strike at the first chance they get. Their judgemental gaze never leaves my direction. I can feel them looking now. It just makes me want to curl up into a ball and hide away from it all. I'm not a person like them, I'm a bug, and no amount of magic would change that.
The crowd is as thick as quicksand, leaving me dead tired trying to trudge my way through it with Kerry. By the time we weave back to the entrance. Kerry hears my wheezing, and a worried look paints her face. My plate of bacon is knocked out of my hand when a burly-looking dwarf shoulder-checks me. He watches as we hurry through the crowd and speaks a sarcastic "Oops" We find Tom's overly gelled hair nearing the front of the line, his eyes scanning what seems like hundreds of people for us. Kerry waves to him from halfway across the room and he signals for us to come over. After some trouble we all finally reconvene. Tom immediately recognizes the state I'm in and sneakily cuts in front of the woman ahead of us, who's distracted with her crying baby. He forces his way to the front desk and greets the receptionist.
I can hardly make out the words leaving his lips. The tightening in my chest is near unbearable. If it weren't for Kerry holding onto my hand I would likely have passed out by now. I never would've thought a place like this could be so packed. I thought islands were meant to be away from everything, but it feels like everything has followed us here. In the span of an hour this hotel lobby had gone from a quiet reserved place to a chaotic mess. People of all shapes and sizes, color and smell. They're here from all over the world to see family they haven't seen in years, and yet not a single elf plagues this hall except me.
The receptionist hands the keys to Uncle Tom, and he quickly leads the way to the elevator, Kerry following behind. He pushes through them all with such ease. No one gives him a dirty look or a nasty comment. Without fuss, they move out of the way. I wish it were so pleasant for me.
"Hold on. Where's Ty?" Kerry asks, looking back.
Tom joins her and doesn't see Ty anywhere, "Oh, damnit!" shouts.
"It's alright, give me the keys, you go find him." she suggests. Tom nods then tosses the keys to her and rushes back into the dense tidal waves of people, now pushing their way towards us.
We can either take the stairs or the elevator, both are bad options. Our room is on the fourth floor, and I doubt I could make it up the first set of stairs without needing a minute to breathe.
It only takes a few seconds for the doors to slide open. Me, Kerry, and a pair of dwarf sisters rush in before anyone else can pack it anymore.
The elevator only makes my nausea worse. Kerry pulls off her bag from around her shoulder and hastily pulls out an inhaler. I reach out and snatch it from her in desperation. This wasn't the first or the last time this was going to happen. All I can do is try to live with it.
The seconds bleed into what feels like hours as breath starts to come back into me. The sisters watch me with curiosity more so than concern. Every shift in the room serves as a new fear to enter the back of my mind. Finally a pleasant ding signifies the end of my two minutes of torture. Kerry, still holding my sweat-drenched hand, leads me from the elevator doors down the hall to our room, her eyes scanning each of the numbers like she was looking for a winning lottery ticket. We find the room Ty and I will be staying in and practically bust the door down. Immediately I lay flat on the bed closest to me and try to keep myself as calm as possible. Smushing my face into the blanket. I remember every step I took around those people, the looks they gave me. A freak like me doesn't belong with them.
As tears fall from my eyes and onto my blanket, Kerry kneels down beside me and gently rubs my back "It's ok sweetheart. It's ok."
I don't leave the room for the rest of the day. The embarrassment of it all wasn't something new to me, but it didn't make for a pleasurable experience. After a few minutes Kerry left my side to go and check on Ty. It took around an hour for Ty to come into the room. He didn't say a word to me. He didn't even make fun of me. I'd be lying to myself if I didn't say it scared me. It was hard to tell what he was thinking while shouting in my face, but even harder when he wasn't.
By the time the sun finally set our clothes were all sorted and put away of course, by me. When I asked him for help, he shrugged his shoulders and went back to tapping his hands on whatever was around him, only this time he had earbuds in to guide him and block all interruptions.
The final hours of the day are rounding the corner, our beds about 2 feet apart from each other. My eyes grow heavier by the minute, only I don't want to fall asleep. I know I will dream and in all my time on this earth I've never known myself to have a good dream.
With strenuous effort I turn to my side facing Ty, he's staring at the ceiling. It's too dark to tell if his eyes are open. I don't mind when he gives me the silent treatment, but the TV remote was on his side of the room.
"Hey Ty?"
"Hm?"
"You awake?"
"Mhm."
"Can you pass me the remote?" He doesn't respond. I wait a few seconds before opening my mouth to speak again. "Ty?" another moment of silence. An exhausted breath leaves my lungs as I lift the covers from my legs preparing myself to walk over and get it myself. I sit at the edge of the bed rubbing my eyes when Ty finally speaks.
"Why didn't you tell me?" A question I'm not ready for.
"Huh? I did tell you. You just fell back asleep." I respond, unsure of the context. In the back of my head, I know.
"The pictures, Al. Why didn't you tell me those kids did that to you?" A long silence falls over the both of us. He must've gone back to Victoria to find out. I hate how stubborn he is.
"I- I didn't know how to…" I reply, not entirely sure where this conversation was going to go.
"What do you mean you didn't know how to? You come up to me and say it like I do to you. If you look stupid I'll call you stupid. If you say something that makes me mad I'll tell you you're being annoying. It's not that hard, Al." I could tell from his increasing volume that this is something he'd been thinking about all day.
"Maybe it isn't for you…but I'm not like you!"
"Yeah, that's for sure." Ty says, ripping the blanket off of himself, sitting up to meet me at the edge of his bed. "So, who were they? The usual three?"
"No Ty, don't"
"Don't do what? Get back at those fuckers for stripping my baby brother down? Are you serious?"
"You'll just make it worse, please." I plead, frantically picking at my nails. I can already hear my heart thumping again.
"Oh, I plan to. When we get back, you'd better not try to stop me. They're dead. I'll kill em, I promise you that."
"Stop!"
"I'm gonna do the same to them. See how they act when they're brought to your level." he cracks his knuckles. "Then I'll kill 'em, yeah." My words don't mean a thing to him anymore, he's planned this out and to stop him would be like stopping an animal hunting for a meal.
"Don't kill anyone Ty! I didn't tell you because I knew you'd react this way." I turn on the light and stand from my bed watching Ty move from one end of the room to the other with his fists clenched, knuckles white.
"No, these animals want to put their hands on my brother, then they'd better be ready to deal with the consequences."
"Are you?!" I shout, my voice cracking. Ty stops dead in his tracks then walks over to me then grabs my collar.
"Are you stupid? Of course I am! You're my brother first Al, if some lunatic puts their hands on you, you'd better know that I'm going to be there to make sure it never happens again." his angered breaths are hot against my cheek. He's lifted me higher than my legs can reach, my toes clutching at the carpet in an attempt to regain my balance.
"Don't do it Ty, please. Don't do it." I manage. Those boys didn't deserve to be beaten. They were just doing what they know is right in the world. I'm not a person, so I shouldn't be treated like one. I don't hold anything against them nor will I. It's the way things are and there's nothing I can do about it except stop Ty from digging himself into a grave he can't climb out of.
Ty sees the fear in my face and loosens his grip on my shirt, falling back onto his bed. He grits his teeth "Fine, whatever." He takes the remote from his nightstand and tosses it to me. "Just keep it down." and turns his body away from me, facing the balcony.
If I was tired before, I'm definitely not getting a wink now.