Something about that word sparks a memory inside my mind and I tug my cell phone out my pocket. “I got a random text when he was on that ship,” I gush while scrolling through to find it. “I didn’t answer it at the time because it was the middle of the night when I got it, and to be honest I never thought much about it, I guess I just assumed that he was drunk. It’s only with hindsight that I think there might be more to it.”
Actually, I forgot all about it until she mentioned the name of the cruise, but I don’t want to tell this mysterious woman that. I don’t want her to think bad about me. Especially not now that my brother is gone.
“You didn’t text much?” she asks as she takes the phone from my hand.
“Not really.” I give her a one shouldered shrug. “Stephen wasn’t much for technology. I always told him that was crazy if he wanted to be famous. No one gets anywhere without a social media presence, but he wouldn’t ever listen.” I shake my head as I realize what I’m saying. “Although I guess that isn’t important now.”
“So, he really is dead,” she replies morosely. “I guess it’s time that I actually start to accept that.” Her eyes run over the screen and she starts to read aloud. ‘Kian, it’s me, bro. I’m doing a show on the Princess Cruise ship and
I’ve seen something. I’m scared. I don’t know what to do.’ She looks up at me with wide eyes. “And you ignored this?”
“I did try to call him the next day.” I don’t know if that’s strictly true, I did think about calling him but I can’t remember whether or not I actually did. “But he was always sending me weird texts. I think he drank too much when he got to the US so it was hard to see what was real and what wasn’t.”
“He was scared,” she says biting down on her bottom lip. “Which makes sense because he vanished. He just disappeared.”
There’s something about this girl that screams out knowledge. I don’t know what it is but I can just tell that she knows something. Me and my family were just told that Stephen got into a fight and was killed but now it seems like there might be more to it. It’s hard for me to accept anyway, I don’t feel right knowing that my twin brother isn’t out there in the world anymore, so if I can discover the truth about what actually happened to him then maybe I can finally get some closure.
“My apartment isn’t far from here,” I tell her coyly. “Do you maybe want to come back with me and we can talk some more about it. I feel like this is something that we both need to get off our chests.”
She nods gratefully and breathes deeply. “Yes, I think I would like that.” She half smiles at me showing just how awkward she feels, then she extends her hand out to me. “I’m Tia by the way, I don’t think I said that yet.”
“Tia.” As my skin grabs onto hers and we shake, I feel a connection growing. This is someone new, someone who knew Stephen in at least a little bit of the time that he was missing from my life. She’s exactly the sort of person who I need to get to know to find out the missing jigsaw pieces. I didn’t even realize that I needed that, but I do. “Come on, let’s go.”
The walk to my apartment is done so in silence. Every time I glance over to Tia I can see that thoughts are racing through her brain. There must be something here, she’s an American girl that magically turned up in the middle of New Zealand armed with information. It’s as if someone thrust her into my life for a reason and I need to find out what that reason might be.
I unlock the door and we move inside. My eye scan about the place taking in the mess everywhere. I’m not the tidiest type, but I would have cleared up if I knew that anyone would be round. It’s been a long time since I’ve had any visitors, even before Stephen died people didn’t come to see me.
“Sorry, it’s a mess.” I grab a few things and put them into piles., but I give up when I realize that it really doesn’t matter. “I guess I didn’t think I’d have anyone here.”
“It doesn’t matter,” she replies awkwardly. “I wasn’t expecting to meet you either.”
“No.” I extend my arm towards the couch, indicating for her to sit down. She takes my command and perches on the edge. I grab a slightly warm beer off the side and pop it open to give to her. “I suppose not.” I take my seat and stare at her. “Do you mind telling me more about what happened.”
She nods and pales while taking a sip of the beer. “Okay, well I met Stephen on the cruise, like I said. He started to talk to me in the day and invited me to see him play at the night.” I smile to myself, smooth as always. Stephen was always so much better with the ladies than me. I guess it did piss me off when we were younger. Especially since the beautiful women like Tia are just the sort I would like. “I went to watch him play and we… hung out afterwards.”
“You don’t need to explain.” I let out an awkward chuckle. “I know my brother.” Knew I knew my brother. I need to remember that he’s past tense now.
“Yes.” Her cheeks flame red which makes me feel bad. Maybe I shouldn’t have said that. Maybe it’s colored her memory which wasn’t my intention at all. “So, we hung out, and then he said he was going for a cigarette.” She reaches into her bag and pulls something out of her purse. “He gave me his pick and said it was a promise that he was coming back.”
My eyes find the instrument in her fingers and my heart skips a beat. That’s the pick that my brother has had his whole musical life. That was important to him, more than anything else. Probably even more than his family. The fact that he gave it to Tia means something.
I lean forward and take it from her. I flick it idly between my fingers as my heart pounds. “If Stephen gave this to you then he meant to come back,” I rasp nervously. “I know for a fact that he would never leave this behind anywhere.” I stare in her eyes, needing to be honest now. I can’t worry about her opinion of Stephen anymore. “I know for a fact that he slept with a lot of women just the one time, that was a part of his thing, but the fact that he gave you this means he was coming back. He wanted to see you more.” I bite down on my bottom lip as a realization hits me. “I think it means he liked you. Really liked you a lot.”
“Oh.” She doesn’t know what to say, I can see it in her eyes. “Right.”
I stand up and pace up and down. “He gave you this, he wanted to come back.” I repeat. “But he didn’t. Then when you consider the text.” My brain is spinning fast, I’m trying to process everything quickly. “Something happened.” I stare at Tia. “Something happened that night which is why he didn’t return.” My heart beats in my mouth. “He saw something, something that scared him away from you and made him text me.” I gulp as I try to work out how it’s all connected. I haven’t had so may clues before, now I have them but I don’t know how to fit them together. “What was the cruise like? Were there dangerous people aboard?” I stare at her, maybe she’s the key. “Do you have any dangerous exes that would want to keep a new man away from you?”
She looks understandably overwhelmed by my accusation. “No, I… the cruise was nice. Full of posh people. You really think he saw something aboard that got him killed some time later?”
“It’s possible, isn’t it?” She doesn’t have an answer to that. “I can’t imagine Stephen ever directly getting himself involved in a dangerous world, but it might have happened by accident.”
“I don’t know what to say,” Tia whispers thickly. “I suppose it is possible.”
Without even thinking about it, I stomp across the room and I grab my own guitar. I strum it with Stephen’s pick trying to rise his spirit once more. I haven’t felt close to him since he died and I miss him like crazy.
“You’re very good,” Tia eventually interjects, reminding me that she’s in the room. “Very talented. The way that you play reminds me of him a bit.”
“He’s much more rock than me.” I shake my head. “He was much more rock than me.”