by A E Faulkner
Chapter 18
The laughter subsides, inviting a natural break in the conversation. Jasmine’s mother rises and starts to gather what’s left of the snacks. Her husband jumps to his feet and follows her lead, collecting plates and napkins. Together, they retreat to the kitchen.
Riley asks where the bathroom is, and Jeff offers to show her. Chris zooms back into the room and tugs Jasmine down a hallway. It’s just me and Aidan. Alone. We shyly meet each other’s eyes, which ignites fireworks in my chest.
Holding my gaze, he stands and moseys over to the couch, plopping down next to me. Like attracting magnets, we turn toward each other, angled so that our knees are just centimeters apart. I focus on holding still. A nervous energy attempts to escape, inciting my limbs to twitch. My nerves are tingling.
He rests an arm along the top of the couch cushion and runs a hand through his hair, sending dark tufts skyward.
“So, I think everything is starting to go back to normal,” he begins to say, watching me intently. I force my face to remain expressionless. That’s not what Sergeant Bowen said, I think to myself.
“Electricity is being restored in some places. And…phone lines too. I got to talk to my parents,” he says, breaking into a wide grin.
Sharp tendrils of jealousy clamp around my heart. “That’s great!” I cringe inwardly as my voice cracks with forced enthusiasm.
His smile falters and the deep blue pools of his eyes reflect shamed sorrow. Guilt washes through me. His luck has nothing to do with my loss. I’m glad that his family is okay, but the reality of it scrapes at my invisible wounds that will never fully heal.
“I’m sorry, Quinn.” He thrusts a hand through his messy brown hair again. His pained expression makes me feel worse. I reach a shaky hand out and gently squeeze his shoulder.
“You have no reason to be sorry. Nothing that happened is your fault. And I am happy for you. I’m glad you reached your family and I hope you can get back to them soon.”
Grateful eyes meet mine as a weak smile brandishes his lips.
“It took some convincing to keep my dad from driving down here to bring us home. I told him the family shouldn’t be split up even more. He needs to be home with my mom and sisters. I was able to hold him off—for now, at least. So that means we’ve got ourselves another adventure.”
Once everyone has wandered back to the living room, Jasmine’s dad gets to the point.
“Well, kids, this old man is getting tired, so we best discuss your plans.” He leans forward, elbows resting on his knees, and rubs his palms together. He shifts his focus from me to Riley to the guys, maintaining eye contact with each of us in turn. “Now you’re welcome to stay here for as long as you’d like,” he says, waving his hands around. “But I’m guessing that’s not what you want to do.”
Riley and I share a glance. She throws me a quick nod, silently encouraging me to respond. Inhaling a deep breath, I rest my hands in my lap. “Well, we were actually planning to get on the road tonight still.” I turn to Riley for support, but her smile deflates as the air practically crackles with tension.
A chorus of protests erupts around us. “It’s getting late and it’s dark outside.”
“No, you can’t go now! Wait until the morning.”
“Just stay the night. We’ll get you set up in a spare bedroom.”
Jasmine hops down from the poufy footrest she’s curled up on and rushes to Jeff’s side. I tune out the other voices for a moment and focus on them. Alarm shades her eyes when she reaches the recliner he’s lounging in. “You can’t leave already!” He nonchalantly shrugs his shoulders.
Although he remains unfazed by my announcement, Jasmine and her family are clearly distressed. How did this become a big deal? I shoot to my feet to ensure that I’ve got everyone’s attention.
“Okay, okay,” I hold my arms out. They all stop mid-sentence, awaiting my next words. “We can wait until the morning. We’re just, you know, eager to get home.”
A relieved hush permeates the room. It dissipates just as quickly as it descended when a small voice slices through the fleeting silence.
“You know, I’ve been thinking and…I want to go home, too. I’m coming with you.”
Chapter 19
All eyes turn to Chris, who lingers just at the edge of the living room. He slowly edges toward a hallway that I assume leads to the bedrooms.
“What?” Lucas stands, running a thick hand over his forehead. “You want to go back home, son?” His kind eyes are calm, but sorrow lurks behind his dark irises. Chris nods meekly.
My head automatically twists toward Aidan and his bewildered eyes meet my glare. Chris practically begged us to take him away from home. We were afraid to leave him behind because he seemed determined to leave and we didn’t want him to find and go with the wrong people, who would have no intention of helping him. And now that he’s out of there, he wants to go back?
Jasmine’s mom slowly rises and glides toward Chris, lightly touching Jasmine’s shoulder as she passes her daughter. She kneels down to meet Chris’ eyes.
“Honey, if that’s what you want, you can go home. We don’t really have any right to keep you here. And your parents must be worried sick.” She turns toward Lucas and he gives her a sad nod. Heads slowly turn toward me and Riley.
“Girls, would you be willing to take Chris with you and make sure he gets back home?” she asks. Frustration threatens to spill out of my mouth but thankfully Riley answers.
“Of course, we’ll keep him safe.” She smiles as I silently seethe. Once again, this kid is going to delay my mission. This means we’ll have to bring him back to the trailer park, or his home—wherever that is. If not for this, we would be heading straight to Sergeant Bowen’s wife. That was supposed to be our last stop before Pennsylvania.
With the adults distracted, Chris tears off down the hallway. Words flutter around the room, but none come into focus. I’m two breaths away from crossing my arms and stomping my feet when I realize every other face in the room bears a genuine smile. Even my sister, who just met Chris and is just as anxious to get home as I am.
Guilt slithers through my mind, hampering selfish thoughts. Chris is just a kid and he probably didn’t think much beyond the adventure of tagging along with us. I’m guilty of the same.
I agreed that he should come with us, but I didn’t really think about what would happen to him or the others after we got to the base. I had one goal in mind: to find my sister. Now that I have, it probably wouldn’t hurt to put some good karma out there and hope it comes back around.
The conversation dwindles and relief descends upon the room. Lucas releases a satisfied sigh and slaps his knees. “Well, I’m glad that’s settled. Now why don’t we all get some rest.” It’s more a statement than a question. As we all rise to our feet, Jasmine’s mom reaches out toward Riley and I.
“Come with me, I’ll get you girls set up for the night.” We nod gratefully. All this planning is exhausting. I never would have admitted it, but they’re right. We need sleep. Morning will come soon enough and then we’ll finally be on the road to home.
Jasmine’s mom leads us down the hallway and sweeps open the door to a lavish aqua bedroom. The cool décor is inviting, as if invisible arms guide us inside. I guess this isn’t so bad.
“Thank you,” Riley says graciously. “This room, and your whole home, is beautiful.” Jasmine’s mom smiles, thanking her. Riley returns the smile, but it catches on her right cheek. The scar is healing nicely, but I wonder if that side of her face will ever return to its former smoothness.
“Girls,” Celina’s smile fades and her tone turns serious. “I know it probably seems odd that Chris wants to go with you tomorrow, but he’s been talking about home lately. I don’t believe he fully understood what he was asking when he begged to tag along with you. I won’t belabor it, but…just be patient with him, okay? I think he’s confused and just needs to be back where he belongs.”
Riley and I nod.
I don’t understand the kid, but maybe I should at least try not to begrudge him for being an inconvenience. Confident that we’re accepting the responsibility of taking the kid with us, Celina points across the hallway.
“You girls are welcome to shower if you’d like, either tonight or in the morning. It’s up to you, but the bathroom’s right there. Just help yourself to towels in the linen closet.”
“Thank you,” we both say. It’s probably not a bad idea to wash up so we’re all ready to go in the morning. After a final round of bidding everyone goodnight, Riley and I take turns showering. By the time we’ve both climbed into the double bed, my eyes begin to drift closed. My sister’s urgently whispered words yank me from the fringes of sleep.
“Quinn, this is probably our last chance to talk. Alone. Until we get home, I mean.” Her words ride on a wave of worry, spilling faster with each syllable. “How are we gonna keep everything Bowen told us a secret?”
“I don’t know,” I sigh. “I don’t think we can. We need the GPS, so we can’t keep that a secret. Maybe we tell the guys about Bowen’s wife after we drop Chris off. Then they’ll only know for a little while and by the time they get home, they’ll be so happy to see their family that they’ll forget all about our little side mission.”
“Yeah,” Riley starts, building onto my idea. “And we probably won’t even need the weapons. We can just leave them in the trunk. The guys will never know we have them.”
“Good idea! That’s probably the best we can do at this point. It seems like anytime we have a plan figured out, everything goes haywire.”
Agreeing that there’s no point in detailing what will probably go wrong anyway, we settle into the fluffy pillows and tug the teal bedspread up to our shoulders. Moments later, I drift to another plane, comforted by the rhythmic, relaxed breathing that floats to my ears.
When sunlight invades the room, I rouse Riley from sleep. We rush to dress and ready for our road trip. Retracing our steps, we make our way to the dining room. I guess we’re not the only ones ready to start this day. Jasmine and her parents prepare a mini feast of eggs, bacon, pancakes, and coffee, while Aidan, Jeff, and Chris gather their belongings, depositing them in a pile by the door.
The hot breakfast is delicious, and the conversation is clipped. Anticipation hangs in the air around us. Lucas and Celina impose some typical parenting advice: drive safely, go straight to the trailer park to get Chris home, don’t talk to anyone on the way. They even instruct Chris on how to explain what happened and where he spent his time away from home—in hopes that no one gets angry with us for taking the kid in the first place.
When the last slice of bacon and the last gulp of coffee are swallowed, everyone helps clean up the table. Lucas turns serious when he realizes no one has asked about a mode of transportation. I was kinda hoping no one would think of that until we were at least a few miles down the road.
Riley breeches the hushed air with lies that roll off her tongue like smooth caramel, “Oh, our dad was in the service. When we explained to personnel on the base what we were trying to do, they loaned us a car and gave us strict instructions for how to return it to a military facility once we get home. I think they felt kind of obligated to help us. You know, for everything our dad did.”
When did my sister get so good at lying?
Chapter 20
Aidan squints his eyes in obvious disbelief but keeps quiet.
Thankfully.
When our arms and packs are loaded with belongings, the hugging commences. Jasmine’s parents pull each of us into an embrace as though we’ve known them all our lives. The familiar parental expression sends a surge of sadness through me. It’s not the same as hugs from my parents, but it’s close enough to be a painful reminder of all I’ve lost. I swallow the grief and try to focus on my ultimate goal of returning home. The last thing I want to do right now is start crying.
Almost like an assembly line, we exchange parting well wishes and appreciation for our hosts’ generosity. Before long, tears spill and the hugs turn fierce, especially when it’s time for Jasmine to part with Jeff and Aidan.
“Promise me this will be the most boring trip ever!” She smiles as she playfully nudges each one. “I think we’ve all had enough excitement to last a lifetime.”
“Agreed,” Aidan declares. “I think we’re in for an uneventful ride north. If things stay nice and quiet on the road, that’s just fine with me.” Then, almost as an afterthought, he promises, “I’ll give you a call just to let you know we made it.”
Jasmine’s parents look pleased with the gesture. The departure grows prolonged when they begrudgingly pull Chris in for another hug. “Now don’t you forget. If you ever need someone to talk to, you call Jasmine right away, okay?”
Jasmine leans down next to Chris and answers for him. “Oh, he knows what to do. I made sure of it.” The kid shakes his head in agreement. I sense he’s getting impatient. Like me. My mind starts to drift to what I hope will be the open road—unobstructed and uncongested.
Jeff and Riley say their final goodbyes, although Riley’s is politely brief since she barely knows any of these people. With that, we shuffle out the front door. It feels as if the positive energy and warmth that resides in the house follows on our heels. We’re leaving behind a swallowing emptiness.
Guilt tries to dissolve my determination, but I know this is right. All of us—Riley, Aidan, Jeff, and even Chris—have to return home. No matter how much of what-used-to-be still exists, we each need to know. And the fact that Yellowstone is basically a ticking time bomb, urgency chases our heels.
Jasmine’s family watches as we disappear around the corner to where we parked the car. Lucas wraps one arm around Celina and the other around his daughter, no doubt comforting them in what probably feels like a loss.
“So you got a car?” Chris scrunches his face up and narrows his eyes.
“Yes, we have a car,” Riley confirms, smiling at the kid.
“Okay, now that Jasmine’s parents aren’t here,” Jeff says, a sly smile playing across his lips. “Tell us the truth. You stole it, didn’t you?”
Riley and I both huff out a firm, “No!” at the same time. Jeff raises his hands in mock surrender. “Okay, okay, I was just checking.” Then under his breath, he mutters loud enough for us to hear, “I can’t be the only one who was wondering.”
“I’m sure they’ll tell us when they’re ready,” Aidan says, shooting me a side eye. Guilt slithers through me. It certainly won’t be the last time. We’re starting this whole trip on half-truths and vague references.
It only takes about half a block of walking before Chris starts complaining. “Did you park in China? Or maybe Australia?” Jeff and Aidan snicker under their breath, like a couple of teenagers.
I tamp down my frustration. This kid loves being a pain.
“It’s not that far, buddy,” Riley says playfully. “Just a little more walking, I promise!” She digs into her backpack for the keys as we trek along the sidewalk. The sun hovers just over the horizon. At least we got an early start.
When we reach the end of the block, Riley and I lead our small group around the corner, slowing our pace as we approach the silver sedan. I slap the hood proudly.
“Well, boys, this is our ride!” Unimpressed blank stares wash over the car. Jeff tilts his head toward the vehicle.
“You couldn’t get something a little sportier?” His eyebrows jump in question. “Maybe a convertible or at least something with a sunroof—maybe something a little brighter than concrete?”
I turn to Riley. “We should’ve just left them here and went straight home!”
The clear, promising sky lumbers in stark contrast to Bowen’s parting words. I want to believe that our small part of the world is recovering from nature’s recent wrath, but his clear warning niggles at my brain.
The government knew about that earthquake in the Atlantic, but they didn’t warn anyone. And now this Yellowstone eruption is being kept und
er wraps too.
Riley beelines to the driver’s side and unlocks the car. She pops the trunk open. As it slowly stutters upward, I grasp it and toss my backpack inside then move aside so the others can do the same.
Aidan and Jeff pitch their bags into the trunk without hesitation. Chris meanders over next, his eyes wandering from one side of the carpeted space to the other. Now what’s the problem?
“What’s that stuff?” he asks, pointing toward the supplies Sergeant Bowen gave us. Shooting him the sternest look I can muster, I point toward the backseat. “Nothing for you to worry about. Now get in the car so we can get outta here.” He crosses his arms and paces to the backseat. A snarky utterance drifts to my ears, “I knew her sister was the nice one.”
For someone who wanted to come with us again, the kid sure doesn’t act appreciative. We’re going out of our way to drop him off and he’s giving me attitude? I shake my head as if it will ward off my heightened annoyance.
Checking the trunk one last time, my eyes sweep over the supplies. I realize that we need the GPS. Everything else can stay for now. Yanking the case out, I sling it over my shoulder and slam the trunk closed. Finally. Let’s go!
Striding to the passenger seat, I stop mid-step when I notice the squabble outside of Riley’s open window. Aidan and Jeff are debating over which one of them should drive. My sister smiles at them both. “Uh, guys, I’m driving, so no need to argue.” She dangles the keys in the air, the jingling sound mocking their pointless discussion. Jeff turns on the charm, sauntering into a lean, casually resting his elbow on the door.
“You sure you don’t want to just sit back and relax and let me worry about getting us there?” he asks, waggling his eyebrows. As if that will change anything.
“And I’m navigating, so I get the front,” I announce.
The guys fix their attention on us, clearly dissatisfied. Realizing they’re not getting anywhere in the quest to command the wheels, they shift gears. “So you’re seriously not gonna tell us how you got a car?” Jeff asks, crossing his arms. Aidan’s eyebrows jump in anticipation. Riley and I share a knowing smile and shake our heads. Nope, not yet. We can’t.