Текст книги "Run"

Автор книги: Holly Hood

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Текущая страница: 6 (всего у книги 14 страниц)

Noah shook his head, checking his face for blood. “I don’t want you around my family.”

Mason nodded and grabbed me by the arm again. “Fine, not a problem.”

Lainey chased after us. “Are you guys in trouble? If you’re in trouble just say so. I know my parents would help you out.”

Mason laughed, holding an edge of anger. “Lainey, shut your mouth. Just let them leave,” Noah called after her.

“You’re just kids, we could help you,” she begged. I looked at her, wondering what it was she thought she could possibly do for us.

“Lainey, you’re a nice girl, but there’s nothing you can do for us,” Mason told her. He stopped walking, at a loss for what more he could say.

“Our parents have a lot of money. If you’re in trouble because of those women, just say so and they’ll help you. I know they will,” she said again. Noah stood behind her in disbelief.

Mason released his grip on my arm and got in front of Lainey. He stared down at her. “Leave us alone. You don’t know anything about what’s going on.”

“But there are things all over the news. And according to all of you, you all were near those parts where these things happened,” she spilled.

I was blown away. Did I hear what I thought I did? That Lainey and Noah believed we were criminals on the run.

“Lainey, shut up already. If they are, do you think it’s good to point it out to them?” Noah yelled at her. He started pacing the forest floor.

“I think they’re good people. I don’t want anything to happen to them,” she said.

Mason sighed. “There are a lot of bad people out there, Lainey. I know Kendall and I are not them. I appreciate you and your worrying about us, but Kendall and I are going to be fine. And we’ll be out of here as soon as tonight,” he said.

“What about you, Kendall?” Lainey asked. Noah looked at me, suddenly seeming concerned.

“I think we’ve outstayed our welcome. And I think you’re a nice girl, but Mason and I are and always will be okay,” I said, looking away from the disappointment on her face.

“Well, let’s head back then. I’m sorry I got all crazy back there,” he said. “You guys really need to watch yourselves.”

Mason threw his arm around me. The cat was out of the bag now, so he had every right to hug me now.

We didn’t admit to anything. But we all silently agreed that we understood what was going on. Noah didn’t want his family harmed because of us. He wanted us gone, so that was what we would do. I knew agreeing to leave was enough to keep him silent. And, if not, we’d always find a way to stay one step ahead.

JUNE 28

TH

THE NIGHT WAS AS DARK as tar. Little specks lit the night sky. I watched them silently as I leaned against the door frame. It was almost two in the morning, and we were about to leave.

I could hear the bullfrogs croaking through the night air. Their sound soothing rather than annoying, it fit right in with the country life Roger and his family lived. Every moment was even better than the last in this place.

I thought to myself if I ever got to choose a way of life and where to live it, this would be perfect. I would love to live in an old country home, secluded from the sounds of the city, with my family. How great it would be to breathe in the fresh air on a daily basis and to live a simple, peaceful life.

I laid eyes on Roger as he walked across the lawn. He stopped at the bottom of the stairs. His eyes were filled with questions and concern. I knew he would never have the guts to ask the questions he wanted to ask.

“Hey there, beautiful,” he said, climbing the stairs.

“Evening, Roger,” I said softly, keeping my eyes on the stars—those very stars that I’d wished upon a million times or more. “I heard you guys are heading out,” he said, joining me. He looked up at the stars as well, running his hands along the railing, not speaking, just enjoying the view.

“Yeah, we’re leaving. It’s been nice. I really like your home,” I said. It wasn’t easy for me to make small talk.

“What do you like about it?” He leaned against the railing.

“It’s relaxing. And really pretty,” I said with a shrug.

Roger moved past my compliment, I could see in his eyes he was about to burst if he didn’t say something. I swallowed, afraid to hear what he had to say. I knew that Noah was more than likely only an earshot away and Mason was probably crouched underneath the porch waiting to attack if he tried anything.

“Lainey came to me concerned about you and Mason,” he said finally. He crossed his arms over his chest and studied me very carefully.

I sighed, not sure what to say, but I looked him straight in the eyes. “Did she say why?”

“That’s not important. The important thing is, I wanted you to know if there’s anything you need to tell me, you can do it right now.”

Silence crept into the moment, curling its fingers around us. We both stood very still. I didn’t know what to say.

“I don’t know if you know this or not, Kendall, but I’m worth a lot of money, and I’m willing to help you and Mason out,” he confided.

I shook my head. I felt the heaviness of remorse from a life full of misdeeds come rushing at me. My legs felt heavy as lead. The thought of anyone knowing the real Kendall was the worst thing that could ever happen.

I was seven years old the first time I realized my life was a wreck. I remember the first time I saw, with my own eyes, what evil really looked like.

My mom and Wanda had gotten into a big fight. I remember my mom bolting out the front door of our house wearing that old, worn out dress that she’d worn for as long as I can remember. She was barefoot and drunk.

Then I saw Aunt Wanda racing down the street in her car, trying to run her over. I imagined how great it would have been if Wanda had hit her. I was seven years old and I would have been happy to see my own mother plowed down by a car. How wrong is that?

I sat down on the porch steps watching the chaos play out around me. The sun was about to set, and it was a beautiful moment in spite of Aunt Wanda’s screeching tires.

It didn’t take long before I couldn’t see my mom anymore; she was busy running between cars and mailboxes trying to outrun Aunt Wanda.

Eventually, they found their way back home. Aunt Wanda acted as if nothing had happened, and by this time, my mother had sobered up from all the running. She walked right past me going back inside the house like she hadn’t a care in the world.

That was the day I knew we weren’t a normal family—we were the rejects, the trashy people who didn’t care about anyone or anything.

“This one time she almost strangled my mom,” I confessed, looking away from Roger.

“Wanda?” Roger asked. I just nodded my head.

“She choked her until I thought her eyes were going to pop right out of her head. I never saw someone’s face look like that before. That was the day I knew Aunt Wanda was a bad person,” I said, barely able to settle my unsteady breathing.

Roger stayed still. He let me keep right on talking. I’m sure I said more than I should have, but it felt right to do so for some reason. I didn’t care that I might regret it later.

“Payton is just as evil. Mason’s in the same situation I am.”

My thoughts drifted back to the times Mason and I would talk about all the horrible things we did while on the run with Wanda and Payton.

It was the only part of my life I shared. Mason could always one-up or tie any story I had about Wanda, proving Payton was just as nasty as Wanda.

We were both screwed up, and we knew it. It’s what made us close.

“You’re still a young girl. You could make life better for yourself if you put your mind to it,” Roger said, giving me a crooked grin. “You could probably have anything you ever wanted.” He playfully elbowed me in the side.

“I must admit I’m surprised by you, Roger,” I said, holding tight to the railing. I looked at him, a smile creeping up out of nowhere.

“Now why would that be, Kendall?”

There was nothing complicated between us. We were just two people talking.

“I expected a long, drawn-out lecture about how sorry you are for me and my life.” The wind blew my hair against my face as I stared off, my eyes seeing every lightning bug appear then disappear again.

“I’d like to say I have the answer to your problems. I’d even like to fix what is going on, but I think you’re the only one who can fix this. And I think you know it,” he told me.

I nodded, wishing I knew what that even meant. I had no clue how to fix any of it.

“What do you want out of life, Kendall?” Roger asked, touching my hand gently.

“Peace. I want to be able to trust someone. And maybe a giant bathtub I can use whenever I want,” I said, smiling at the thought of it.

Roger chuckled. I felt a bit stupid. I didn’t have high hopes. I barely had hope at all.

“This is the only advice I can give you.” He stood up straight, his shoulders relaxing some.

“What’s that?” I asked, curious.

He headed down the stairs without finishing his sentence. He motioned for me to follow. I looked around, heading down the steps slowly, a bit nervous to be sneaking around right before we were leaving.

Roger was nowhere to be found in the darkness, his shadow vanished beyond the doors of the workshop.

I hurried after him, adrenaline surging my body, my heart leaping out of my chest, my stomach clenching in a panic.

“I want you to take this,” he whispered as soon as I was inside, his figure hardly evident in the darkness. He pushed some kind of envelope in my hand.

“What is it?” I whispered, running my fingertips across the material.

“That’s two thousand dollars.” He pulled me close, his hands gently leading me to the ground.

“Roger, this is a lot of money,” I said, lying down next to him. I gripped the money with both hands, trying not to think about what he might want in return. But nothing happened. He was silent and then he pulled me close to his warm body, holding me…comforting me.

“You take it. You never know when it could come in handy. I’m sure it could get you far away,” he whispered, his voice having a calming effect.

“Go on now,” he whispered as soon as we heard the car start up breaking the silence.

I jumped to my feet, blindly finding my way to the moonlit doorway.

“Goodbye, Kendall. Take care of yourself,” Roger said.

I scanned the darkness for any signs of him, jumping when I realized he was right in front of me. He gave me a gentle nudge, sending me off.

Payton and Wanda busily loaded the trunk. Mason watched me approach, his expression showing irritation and anger. I glared right back at him, shoving my hands in my pockets, along with the money.

I finally came to a stop next to Mason. The car engine hummed and rattled beside us.

“Are you serious?” Mason hissed in my ear.

“It was nothing. He gave me money,” I said in a whisper. Roger suddenly appeared in front of all of us.

“It was nice seeing you again, Wanda. You take care now,” Roger said. He lifted the last suitcase from the ground and dropped it in the trunk for Wanda. She slammed the trunk shut.

Aunt Wanda nodded, rather quiet. Seemed like she didn’t have much to say to Roger now that she didn’t need his help anymore.

“Will do, Roger,” she said.

Roger grabbed Wanda by the arm, his features resolute. Aunt Wanda stiffened at his touch, staring down at his grip.

“Just want you all to be careful, wherever you’re headed next. And take care of that niece of yours,” Roger said, letting go of her.

My heart plummeted. I could feel the awkwardness flowing through the air as we all stood there.

Mason tugged me toward the car.

I struggled to break away from his grip on my sleeve. I needed to see what was going on.

Aunt Wanda turned, studying Roger. She grabbed the door handle of the car. “You be careful too, Roger. You have a nice family and I’m sure it’s not something you want to lose over silly little Kendall,” she said, her gaze lasting longer than Roger’s.

He nodded in agreement and headed back to his house.

We climbed into the car. I eagerly stole one final glimpse of Roger. He had proven to me he wasn’t any typical man. He looked past my silly infatuation and really wanted to help me.

It was a good feeling, one that I never felt before.

As we drove down the driveway, I looked at the house one last time. I would always remember how nice it felt to be in a home made from love—a home where the people in it genuinely cared for one another.

Anna was the most loving woman I’d ever met. She was exactly what I thought a mother should be like. It saddened me to know I’d never see her again.

“They’re all safe, that’s something to be happy about,” Mason whispered in my ear, pulling me close.

I nodded, resting my head against him. He knew what we were leaving, what it all meant. And I was sure he knew how I felt. He was the only one who understood me.

JULY 2

ND

THERE WE WERE, back on the road. Back to the deviant lifestyle we were so accustomed to. I couldn’t help but think we got a glimpse of normal at Roger’s and I seemed to be the only one who cared about it.

I wanted normal.

I looked at Mason, he was asleep. Not a care in the world it seemed. His head pressed against the window, his long legs draped across my lap pinning me in place.

Aunt Wanda puffed on another cigarette, tuning out the world as the car sped down the highway making everything on the outside a blur. She didn’t care that Roger could’ve helped us. She was headed for her next insane adventure and the chaos she’d surely leave behind.

I knew if Payton had it her way she would’ve taken Mason and left. I knew she was angry for having to put up with us any longer.

“Virginia is for lovers,” Mason read as we passed a sign. Aunt Wanda huffed in revulsion at his statement. Mason tapped my leg, ready to get out of the car. It had been another long, unpleasant drive. I’d slept a lot in the days it took to make it to the next place.

I stretched my arms, trying to relieve my aches and pains from being crammed in the backseat for so long. I reclaimed the arm that Mason was using as his own personal pillow.

Virginia wasn’t appealing to me. The air was humid just like our last stop. I groaned, not wanting to deal with more heat and humidity. My mood was bordering on plain old pissed off.

“Look at the mountains,” Mason said, pointing out my window. I shrugged, not caring about mountains at this point. “I hear you can ski here.”

Payton twisted around in her seat to look at the two of us. “Mason, shut up. No one is excited about being in Virginia—get a clue.”

I raised an eyebrow at Mason, waiting for his response. Payton was known for her snide comments, but this time it seemed different.

Aunt Wanda pulled the car into the parking lot of a small diner. Old and white. You could tell it had been around for quite some time. A couple cars sat in the parking lot, giving the impression that it may be a decent enough place to eat.

We headed inside for some food. My feet thanked me as I stood.

Mason was bouncing with energy. Payton looked ready to slap him a good one.

Aunt Wanda snagged a newspaper from the machine by the chairs. I knew what she was looking for. The same thing I would be looking for if I had the paper in my hand.

“How many?” the young waitress asked. Her hair was short. She was styled and manicured and all kinds of lovely. Her hair bright red, her makeup was beautiful, and she wore a tiny diamond stud in her nose.

She clutched her pad of paper, casually looking us over.

“Four and we will take a booth,” Aunt Wanda ordered, her nose pressed in the paper already. The girl watched Wanda closer now, probably annoyed with her rude behavior.

“Right this way, ma’am,” she said softly. “My name is Renee and I will be your server. Can I get you something to drink for starters?”

Mason slid into the booth first. He smiled, surveying the menu, his free hand drumming the tabletop.

“Iced tea for me and give her a Coke,” he said.

I looked at him, wondering why all the giddiness.

“Two coffees, black,” Payton said, snatching the menu from the table with a huff.

Aunt Wanda said nothing. She just kept scanning through the newspaper. Payton and I both watched her closely, waiting for her to say something.

“She’s not going to find anything in that paper. It’s a Virginia paper,” Mason said. He chuckled, throwing his arm around the back of the booth, his fingers grazing the back of my neck.

Payton stared at Mason. It was obvious she was doing her best to not scream and smack him upside the head. You could see her body tense with each breath she took. The more she stared at Mason and his cheerful demeanor, the angrier she became.

“I’ll tell you what you can do,” Payton said, looking around as she spoke. “Keep your mouth shut. These things go nationwide, dimwit.”

Aunt Wanda slammed the newspaper down on the table, the force sending the napkins fluttering to my lap. The paper was folded in half. She brought her long finger down and pointed out a spot with her red nail. We all closed in, silently trying to read all at once.

“God damn it,” Aunt Wanda grumbled, tossing the newspaper at the wall.

The waitress returned with our drinks. She smiled, oblivious to our problems.

“Enjoy. I’ll give you a few more minutes to look over the menu,” she said, taking off.

“Looks like your theory has been proved wrong,” Aunt Wanda said to Mason.

I grabbed the paper. I just wanted to know what was happening. Were we shit out of luck?

Scanning down the newspaper columns, I came to stop on a small article about unidentified suspects involved in the murder of a drug dealer and his criminal sons. The police were baffled by the murder of the neighbor and his girlfriend. At the end of the article it stated, plain as day, they believed the suspects were female and possibly involved in yet another crime the next state over. I knew what crime that was. I was frightened to see the link to the motel we had stayed in. Or how they believed the suspects were working with others now.

I swallowed the lump in my throat, knowing that anyone who read this hated us and the evil, meaningless crimes we’d committed. They’d probably want us to face the worst possible punishment…maybe even the death penalty. I feared there’d be people hoping to run into us and serve up their own kind of vigilante justice.

Mason scooted my drink to me. I pushed it away, nearly knocking it over, and slid out of the booth. I headed for the bathroom, sick to my stomach and shaking uncontrollably, ready to collapse in distress.

I knew this lifestyle brought with it the anxiety of always being on the run, of constantly looking over your shoulder, but I’d never read about it in the paper. And nobody around us ever figured it out. We were always one step ahead. I wondered what Aunt Wanda would do—she wasn’t one to give up without a fight.

I turned on the faucet and held my hands under the cold water—the cold numbing my fingertips. How I wished it’d numb the rest of my body. My lips and chin were trembling, fear was forcing the tears out. In an instant, my body stiffened and my fear turned into sobbing…my cries so loud they echoed off the bathroom walls.

I dropped to my knees. Roger’s image flashed through my mind; he could have helped me. He could have taken me away from all this, but I didn’t want to ruin his life with his family.

So instead of doing what I normally would, I respected Roger’s wife and Mason. I wanted to be good for Mason and hoped there could be something between us. Who was I kidding? What sort of sense did that make?

Mason was confused—he didn’t care about me. It was the idea of me and fixing me that he cared about.

The bathroom door opened. I jumped, standing up, trying to conceal my crying. The red-haired waitress looked concerned. She set her purse down on the sink and came to me.

“Why are you crying?” she asked, lifting my chin. She wiped my face with her hand, grabbing some paper towels from the dispenser.

“It’s nothing…please,” I said. I looked in the mirror…my face was covered with red blotches from crying and my hair was a mess. I blotted my nose with a paper towel.

“I can see there’s something. Please tell me. We’re probably about the same age. Maybe I can help you,” she pleaded, her expression sincere.

“Why would you want to do that? How did you become such a nice person?” I asked, as I tried to pull myself together.

“I believe I have my dad to thank for that. He was always a nice guy and he liked people. I guess he passed that on to me,” she said, with a smile.

“Well, I don’t have one of those. I have Wanda—my screwed up aunt—and a mother who never wanted to know me,” I said.

“Yeah…she seems pretty screwed up. I’ve waited tables here for five years and I’ve seen a lot of people. But I’ve never seen one quite like her,” she said.

I watched this girl and how calm and happy see seemed—no fidgeting or anxiousness. I so badly wanted what she had.

“She’s screwed up for sure.” I was biting at my bottom lip and wringing my hands. Every time someone showed me any kindness or concern, I just wanted to blurt out all that had gone down…confess to everything. My heart ached to have the comfort of knowing someone was there for me and could help me out of this mess.

So lost in my thoughts of wishing to be someone else in another place and time, I gasped at the sound of her voice when she spoke again.

“How old are you?” she asked.

“I’m twenty,” I answered, staring up at the ceiling to avoid making eye contact with her. If she only knew what I’d been through.

“Why don’t you take off and spread your wings, girly. You’re old enough to do what you want. I took off at sixteen and now I’m right where I want and need to be. You could do that, too.”

She patted my hand in reassurance and gave me another one of her sweet smiles before she headed back to work.

I stood there for a minute thinking about what she’d said. I’d been given the same advice from different people recently and I wondered how those strangers knew what I was capable of when they didn’t even know me.

When I came out of the bathroom, everyone was busy eating. Mason’s expression changed the instant he saw me. He patted the spot next to him for me to take a seat. Just as I expected, a plate of pancakes with strawberries and eggs sat in my spot.

“You okay?” he said softly.

Aunt Wanda shot me a look as well, waiting for a response.

“No, I’m not,” I said, loud enough for everyone to hear. Aunt Wanda didn’t look away and she didn’t ask what was wrong. I’m sure she thought if she stared at me long enough she’d figure it out on her own.

I picked up my fork and stabbed at my pancakes, imagining they were Wanda. I knew it was obvious to everyone that I’d been crying.

Mason gave me a confused look and went back to eating.

“Virginia isn’t so bad,” Mason said with a hint of amusement in his tone.

I looked up at Wanda and Payton to see if they’d caught his sarcasm.

“It’s a shit hole,” Payton said, breaking her silence.

Mason leaned back in the booth, a big smirk on his face.