“We’ll need to let out the air pocket, and possibly add more water.”
I wasn’t sure I liked waterbeds, but we were able to spread out phones, the laptop and a couple of tablets, along with notebooks around us.
Luke shut the door and locked it. Any one of the guys would be able to open it, but it would be a small barrier for Jimmy if they returned.
Luke opened a laptop, checked in with Carol, who was still cleaning, and then frowned. “I know we’re waiting to find out if your dad or Marie or someone spills the beans about you and what she might know. Never stops you from feeling guilty, even when the cause is right.”
“Like when you break into homes?”
“Oh, I’d never do that,” he said, his face changing into a grin. “But supposedly, if you were to do that sort of thing, there’s always someone innocent involved. We’re doing this so we don’t have to deal with a police investigation about you and your background, and risk you getting put into the system, possibly sent to a foster home. We know this. I know it. It just sucks they’re in the middle of it.”
While he set up what he thought we needed, I typed messages to Victor, who said he was on the way. Dr. Green checked in, letting me know he was at the hospital and was going to be busy for a few hours. Gabriel was going to get picked up with Victor. Silas was at the diner, filling in for North, but he’d be by when someone replaced him.
The last one I messaged was Mr. Blackbourne, giving him an update.
Sang: Victor and Gabriel are headed here. Dr. Green is at work. Silas is at the diner. North is asleep.
I sent that message, counted the names on the screen. We were a large group to keep up with. I sent a follow-up.
Sang: Nathan and Kota are playing basketball with Jimmy to make friends. Luke and I are keeping an eye on things from Nathan’s house.
I sent that message too, and then second-guessed sending something so formal without saying anything else.
Sang: How are things with you?
That seemed awkward. Time passed as I tried to think of something to follow up with, but the longer he went without responding, the more awkward it was.
He usually got back to me pretty quickly. I hoped he wasn’t having problems.
He was the only one unaccounted for now. Did anyone ever stay by him?
What did he do when he wasn’t around the rest of us?
Luke had a mountain of pillows propped up behind us so we could relax and spread out. I opened a paper notebook, and at first just to have something physical in my hands. All I could think to do was doodle along the edges. Luke was watching the laptop. He wedged his leg under mine, until my thigh was propped up above his knee. To make it comfortable, I rearranged myself so I was leaning with my legs over his and using his arm to prop the notebook up on. He kept the laptop on top of my legs. The laptop warmed my skin, but for the moment, it was cozy.
Waiting for Carol to talk to my dad, or for anyone to say things that we needed to know, was taking so long. If they never spoke of it, what would happen?
Guilt weighed on me for watching them so closely.
Carol and I had different desires. She wanted to get married to my dad, to do what was best for her family, to move, and seemed interested in giving Marie and me direction in life. I appreciated it, but I wanted to be with the guys in the Academy.
Pretending to have returned and to be okay with everything going on worried me. It was taking steps further from what I wanted.
As I doodled in the notebook, I glanced on occasion at Carol and her cleaning, willing her to say something that made it so I didn’t have to go back.
It was horrible to think I wanted her to do something horrible to me. Some sinister action from Carol could expedite my escape from the house.
The line of thinking scared me. I hated that I thought so direly about them.
There was a gentle turn of the doorknob to the bedroom. I was slow to respond to it, deep in thought, and part of me assumed it was North, coming to check on our progress. I wasn’t sure he’d actually gone back to sleep.
Luke sat up quickly, double-checking the laptop before getting up just enough to put a foot on the floor.
Victor appeared. His wavy brown hair was breeze-blown, part of it hanging across his dark, wide eyes. He wore a soft white sweater on top of his collared shirt, but the sleeves were rolled up to midway between wrist and elbow. He spotted me on the bed, and then Luke. An eyebrow went up. The intensity in his eyes, the fire, sparked with concern.
“Do we want to be in here?” he asked, the smooth baritone breaking the silence.
Luke relaxed, pushing aside the laptop a little more carefully on the bed. “I don’t care. Someone pick a place so I don’t have a heart attack.”
Victor’s eyebrow rose. “Did we say we were—”
“Get the fuck out of the way,” Gabriel’s voice came from outside the room. Victor stepped aside, holding the door open wider. Gabriel appeared, looked at the two of us, and leaned against the door frame. His hair was brushed neatly. The blond locks on either side of his face had dark roots coming in, matching the rest of the russet. His ears had the three black rings, and one more pink ring opposite the black rings. The crystal studs in each lobe were pink. He wore dark jeans and a collared shirt with a bright orange tie.
The shirt and tie threw me off. What was that for?
Gabriel scanned the room, from the waterbed covered in tech, to the cords going everywhere. There was a low dresser across the room with a TV on it, but we’d piled a laptop and tablets we weren’t using around the base. He made a face. “If we can’t use the rest of the house, this room is going to get crowded.”
“We shouldn’t use Kota’s place,” Luke said. He settled back on the bed, keeping an eye on the video feeds for my house. “Someone is going to notice us walking back and forth. And Erica will figure out something is going on with a ton of laptops and gear over there.”
Victor closed a door and then came to the bed, picking up a tablet. He leaned partially against the bed and typed something quickly. “We need something Sang can access via the woods. Something on the other side of the street, perhaps.”
“A place Jimmy won’t show up at,” Luke said. “Or Carol.”
A place? There were only homes on this road that had access to the woods. There was the diner as well, but that was somewhere Jimmy could come looking for me, and we couldn’t set up laptops all day there.
Gabriel came around the bed, sitting on the corner closest to me. He squinted at me. “Fuck me, what’s with the hair thing?”
I touched the band that covered most of my hair, and the clip securing the rest. “I thought it was easier to keep it out of the way than to wash out all that hairspray she used. Dr. Green took pictures. We’ll need to replicate the makeup.”
Gabriel rolled his eyes, shaking his head. “I saw those. I may need to run out and get a few of the same makeup items she uses. I’ll need to go through her shit if she keeps trying to do this. It is hard to match colors with photos.”
“Not sure when we’ll get a chance to go in together,” Luke said. “But I can probably get an inventory list today, probably tonight...”
“Better get pictures of the outside and the back labels,” Gabriel said. “I’ll be lucky if anything she has is still available anywhere. This shit gets replaced like every season.”
I glanced at the clock, showing closer to ten. Time was slipping away, and I’d have to be back. “When should I go? I’m assuming I only work part-time. She just said be back before dinner tonight.”
The others looked at each other, each one shrugging.
“Never,” Gabriel said with a grunt. “Let’s try never going back.”
“Probably shortly after lunchtime,” Victor said, returning to looking at the tablet. “Between...eight and one? Maybe two?”
I wasn’t sure what was normal, but when no one countered, so
metime around one o’clock became the time I anticipated going back.
Besides, Kota and Nathan were at the house now. I wondered how long they could stick around. As much as I hated the thought of them getting caught, I hoped someone could get into the attic space before I got back so I wouldn’t be alone. Or was that possible?
When I did return, I wonder if I’d be allowed to shower and change clothing. Would I have to wear the dress all day?
It was all mentally exhausting, and I wasn’t even back at the house yet. I collapsed onto the pillows again, shoving away the notebook. “Do we have a plan yet?”
“I’m looking for a good location, sweetie,” Victor said. “This might take a minute.”
“I mean...on getting me out. Is there anything we can do to push this along?”
The guys stilled. I stared at the ceiling.
When no one answered, I sensed the heaviness, the doubt.
They didn’t know.
I didn’t mean to sound impatient. I simply dreaded going back. Jimmy shook things up, breaking the sanctuary of Nathan’s home for me. Here we were trying to figure out how to stay hidden longer, when I wanted to work on how to get out. I didn’t want to be on edge every moment. Not like this.
“If we’re going for a private school,” Victor said, “shouldn’t we work out a brochure?”
“A few,” Gabriel said. “Give her a choice.”
“North and Kota were trying to work out the technical details,” Luke said, staring at the screen. “They set up phone lines she can call where she’ll reach someone prepared to answer. Realistic-sounding names that didn’t already have schools associated with them...” He paused, his mouth open and eyes glazing over. “Ugh, why can’t I stop watching her? She’s dusting furniture. Why is this fascinating?”
Gabriel reached out, seized Luke’s pinkie toe and squeezed it, causing Luke to jerk. “Who the fuck cares what she’s doing? What’s he doing?”
Luke pulled his feet under himself to sit up, causing the waterbed mattress to stir and me to roll against the headboard. He switched cameras. “Jimmy’s playing basketball.”