He Started It

by Samantha Downing

  And because I really did think Grandpa would’ve hit Nikki if she hadn’t moved away from his fist.

  That was the moment everything changed – for our trip, and for us. A shift in perception about what we were doing and why we were there. You know that switch – when you realize the hunter is being hunted, the predator is the prey.

  ‘He stole us?’ Nikki said.

  ‘Beth,’ Grandpa said. ‘You’re being ridiculous. You just spoke to your parents last night.’

  I ignored him and spoke only to Nikki. ‘Haven’t you noticed the way he’s always standing right there when we’re on the phone? And how Mom always sounds like she’s about to explode? And,’ I said, leaning closer to Nikki. ‘Why do they keep asking where we are? Why doesn’t Grandpa tell them?’

  Grandpa banged his fist on the dash more than once. ‘Stop this right now!’

  Nikki’s eyes lit up, like she had just found the last piece of a puzzle. ‘Holyyyy shit. You’re right.’

  Eddie took off his headphones. ‘What’s happening?’

  ‘We’ve been abducted,’ Nikki said.

  The car lurched to one side, taking all of us with it. Grandpa pulled off the road and he turned around in his seat. He had never been a good-looking man, or maybe he was when he was younger but not when I knew him. He had ruddy skin, a bulbous nose, short legs, and a long torso. ‘Nobody has abducted you.’

  ‘Then why do you hide your cell phone?’ I said.

  ‘Cell phone?’

  The stunned look on his face convinced Nikki. She smiled as big as I’d ever seen. Even Portia stopped crying.

  ‘Oh my God,’ Nikki said. ‘This is awesome.’

  ‘Awesome?’ Eddie said. ‘What’s so awesome about it?’

  Nikki didn’t answer. She just kept smiling.

  What is your worst habit?

  Obviously it’s that I’m too trusting. I trusted Grandpa when he said Mom and Dad wanted us to go on this trip, even if he was an asshole to Grandma. I trusted Beth would always tell me everything. I trusted that I hadn’t been abducted.

  Wrong. Wrong. Wrong.

  Oh, and I trusted Grandpa was an okay man until Grandma told me he wasn’t. Not even close.

  The only good thing here is that other people are trusting, too. No one has a clue what I’m planning right now. Even if they suspect I’m up to something, they probably think I’m just going to run. I’m not.

  Also, if you asked my mom this question, she’d say my worst habit is causing so much trouble. Most of the time, I don’t even start it. I just get all the blame.

  Oklahoma

  State Motto: Hard work conquers all things

  When I said Nikki was close to Grandma, it was an understatement. Nikki practically lived at their house the last couple of weeks, when we all knew Grandma was about to die. Her cancer was so bad that the doctors stopped treatment and sent her home.

  I went over there too, just not as much. Grandma couldn’t get out of bed and was only awake for short periods of time. The bedroom already smelled of death.

  No idea how I knew that at my age, but I did.

  If Nikki noticed it, she didn’t say anything and never would have admitted if it bothered her.

  Nikki and Grandma had one big thing in common: They were both the oldest child of four. That’s why she always gave Nikki better presents, more gift money, and bigger slices of pie at dessert. Grandma used to say the firstborn had it the worst, because parents had no idea what they were doing yet. They had to experiment.

  ‘I’m your guinea pig,’ Nikki used to say to our parents. ‘Firstborns are always the guinea pigs.’

  Grandma told her that and no one could talk her out of it. Our parents also couldn’t stop her from skipping school to stay with Grandma during those last days.

  What I didn’t know about, didn’t even think of, was the medication.

  I didn’t realize Nikki was the one who kept it organized, who made sure our grandmother took the right pills at the right time, not just for the cancer, but for blood pressure, thyroid, cholesterol, and pain. She kept the bottles all lined up and color coded on the nightstand because she was afraid Grandpa would screw them up.

  A few hours after Nikki learned we had been abducted, we were in another motel room, still blocked by Grandpa’s cot from leaving. And by his gun, because by then we all knew he had one. I never really believed Grandpa would shoot one of us, but a gun was so foreign to me that it was like a living thing. I was scared to get too close to it.

  As I was about to fall asleep, I felt Nikki’s breath in my ear.

  ‘Follow me,’ she said.

  I didn’t hesitate.

  The only place to go was the bathroom, and that’s where she went. Once inside, she shut the door and turned on the light. Nikki had Grandpa’s toiletries bag in her hand.

  ‘I forgive you for not telling me earlier,’ she whispered.

  ‘Okay. Thanks.’ That wasn’t really what I wanted to say. I wanted to say I’d kept my mouth shut until I sure because I was afraid she would laugh at me for being wrong, but it didn’t seem like the time to say all that.

  She sat on the floor cross-legged, wearing sweats and an old rainbow shirt she’d had forever. I always hoped to get it as a hand-me-down but she wouldn’t let it go. Not yet.

  Sitting in that bathroom with her reminded me of when we were younger and used to play together. We’d sit on the floor of her room forever. That’s how it felt. We’d play with dolls or games or whatever we could find until Mom yelled at us to go to bed. Sometimes we didn’t. Nikki would turn on a flashlight and we’d stay up after everyone else went to sleep.

  That all changed when Nikki decided she was too old to play with me anymore.

  The road trip brought it all back, and it started that night. She shared a secret with me and she hadn’t done that in forever.

  I watched as she took Grandpa’s medicine bottles out of his bag, reading each label before setting it down on the murky white tile. I wanted to ask what she was doing but figured I was supposed to know.

  ‘Okay,’ she said, her voice still a whisper. ‘Check this out.’

  She opened the bottles and showed me a handful of pills. Three of them looked similar, the other two didn’t.

  ‘So?’ I said.

  ‘So look.’ She dumped a few of one kind out in her hand and put them in another bottle. You couldn’t tell which pill was which. Nikki did this again and again until they were all mixed up. ‘Now he’s going to take too much Vicodin.’

  ‘Okay.’

  She looked up at me, her eyes shiny in the dark. ‘You know what that means?’

  I shrugged.

  She sighed.

  ‘It means we’re taking control of this road trip,’ she said. ‘And Grandpa won’t be able to stop us.’

  I nodded, keeping my confusion to myself. What did she mean, take control? Were we going to call Mom and Dad and tell them to come get us? I hoped so, because who wanted to be abducted?

  That isn’t what Nikki did, of course. Didn’t even consider it.

  As I watched her switch all those pills around, I had no idea what she was really up to.

  I think about this now, as Eddie drives us through the Oklahoma Panhandle. It’s thirty-four miles wide, and links routes from the Texas Panhandle to Colorado on the west, Kansas on the east. We’re heading west.

  ‘There it is,’ Portia says.

  I look up, having no idea what she’s talking about. ‘The border?’

  ‘The pickup truck.’

  Pretty sure all of our heads turn at once.

  ‘Are you shitting me?’ Eddie says.

  Portia doesn’t answer. She’s leaning over the seat, staring out the back window. I climb over our seat to join her.

  ‘Where?’ I say.

  She points. To our right, behind a silver SUV, is a black pickup. Huge, double cab, black-on-black wheels. No license plate in front, typical for the South.

  ‘Is it them?’ Kris
ta says.

  ‘Could be,’ I say.

  ‘It is,’ Portia says.

  We’re on a two-lane road, in the right lane, and the silver SUV is coming up on our left side. ‘Slow down. See if they’ll pass us,’ I say.

  Eddie does. He’s looking in the side mirror, watching the truck.

  The car behind us honks because we’re slowing down. Portia flips off the driver, who looks like a teenager. He can’t move into the fast lane because the pickup blocks his way.

  ‘It’s going to pass,’ Portia says.

  ‘Then they can’t be following us,’ Eddie says.

  No one answers him.

  ‘Wait,’ I say. ‘They’re slowing down.’

  ‘Waaaay down,’ Portia says.

  The teenager gets into the fast lane and passes us. The truck stays back.

  ‘Get off at the next exit,’ I say. ‘Then get right back on. See if they follow.’

  ‘You watch police shows, don’t you?’ Portia asks.

  Felix answers for me. ‘Movies. She likes the movies.’

  ‘Just do it,’ I say to Eddie.

  He does. He increases his speed until we’re moving normally again. The pickup does the same. When the next exit comes up, Eddie turns off without using his blinker. Everyone watches out the back window.

  I’m looking for the auburn-haired woman.

  ‘Moved to the slow lane,’ Portia says.

  Eddie stops at the first light. We’re below the interstate now, waiting for the truck to come down the off-ramp, and I can feel all of us hold our collective breath. We do not exhale until the pickup appears.

  They are following us.

  Eddie swears under his breath. ‘Shit.’

  ‘Light’s green,’ Felix says.

  Eddie doesn’t step on the gas. The next thing I know Portia’s out of the car, storming toward the truck coming up behind us.

  They stop when they see her.

  Felix follows her out of the car.

  Krista takes out her phone. ‘I’m calling 911.’

  ‘What do you want?’ Portia screams loud enough to cause an avalanche.

  The guy in the truck guns it, tires squealing, and takes off down the road. Away from Portia, away from us, and they go right. Away from the interstate.

  Gone. Just like that, they’re gone.

  ‘The police are on their way,’ Krista says.

  We wait, because that’s what you do when you call the police and they have your name, phone number, and location. They have it before you even say a word, and this is true everywhere, even Oklahoma. Personally, I’m beginning to wonder about this state. Last time I was here was when I told Nikki about Grandpa and everything exploded.

  At least this time it’s only about the truck.

  ‘I’ll do the talking,’ Eddie says.

  Krista starts to argue and decides against it. I exhale. And I send Eddie a text.

  The cops are going to think we’re crazy.

  He reads it, turns to me, and nods.

  Don’t get me wrong, I’m scared of whatever that truck is doing, but I also know we have no information that will interest the cops.

  Whoever is in that truck knows what they’re doing.

  Before I have a chance to text all of this to Eddie, the cavalry arrives. Otherwise known as the Oklahoma Highway Patrol. Two of them, on motorcycles, roar up to us. Our car is now on the side of the road and we’re all standing outside of it except for Portia, who has climbed back inside the car and refuses to move.

  Both patrolmen are male and both wear – yes – aviator sunglasses.

  Eddie introduces himself, establishing that he is our leader. Krista is at his side, arms crossed over her chest.

  Portia sends me a text.

  Don’t let Krista talk.

  I shrug, assuming Portia’s watching from the truck. What does she want me to do – tackle Krista to shut her up? Yes, probably.

  Eddie starts talking, explaining everything from Alabama to Oklahoma. He’s using his charming voice, smiling and laughing, turning red like he’s embarrassed his wife called the police for this kind of thing. A good effort, but it still sounds bananas.

  And there is no way to stop Krista.

  ‘They put nails in our tire,’ she says.

  ‘You saw this?’ says one of the patrolman. The name on his badge is Feldman.

  Eddie shrugs. ‘Not saw them, exactly. But –’

  ‘Who else would’ve done it?’ Krista says. ‘I saw one of them in the parking lot the same night.’

  ‘Which parking lot?’ Feldman says.

  ‘At a motel, not here, but I mean they’ve been following us for a while,’ Krista says.

  ‘And the starter relay?’ says the other patrolman. His name is Pineda. ‘Anyone see who took that?’

  No one answers.

  Krista huffs. ‘I mean, come on!’ she says. ‘I don’t have to see every little thing to know what’s going on.’

  Portia was right for staying in the car, and I wonder if it was college or the strip club that made my little sister smarter than me. Or maybe it’s because she’s single. I’ll have to spend some time pondering that when I’m not with law enforcement.

  ‘What exactly would you like us to do?’ Pineda says.

  Eddie jumps in before Krista does. ‘Look, we probably overreacted. It’s been a weird trip for us, and to be honest, we’re all a little raw right now. Our grandfather passed away and we’re bringing him to his final resting place. That’s why we’re on this trip.’

  The patrolmen exchange looks. Feldman turns and walks back to his motorcycle, pushing up his sunglasses as he goes.

  Pineda sighs. ‘You should have taken a plane.’

  He isn’t wrong.

  Oklahoma is where strange things happen, both now and then.

  Grandpa started feeling woozy from the pain pills along this same thirty-four-mile stretch, and he pulled over as soon as he could. Nikki and I laid him out in the back of the van. He was slurring his words like he had been drinking.

  ‘We have to call 911,’ Eddie said. ‘Then Mom and Dad.’ He reached into Grandpa’s pocket for the cell phone.

  ‘I have it,’ Nikki said, holding it up for him to see.

  ‘You call, then.’

  Nikki shook her head. ‘We’re not calling anyone. He isn’t sick.’

  ‘Look at him. How can you –’

  ‘He’s had too many pills,’ she said.

  ‘How do you know?’

  ‘I switched them around.’

  She stared at Eddie, daring him to say something. He looked at me. I looked to Grandpa, who was out of it but not unconscious. He understood what Nikki said.

  ‘Why?’ Grandpa said.

  We were in the van, pulled over in the parking lot of a fast-food restaurant right off the interstate, and we all stared at Nikki. Even I had no idea. I never asked her why because I didn’t want to look stupid.

  ‘Because of what you did to Grandma,’ she said.

  ‘What are you –’

  Nikki held up her hand to shut him up. ‘Don’t. She told me everything.’

  Grandpa tried to sit up. ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about.’

  ‘Oh, you don’t?’ Nikki bent down, sticking her face close to his. ‘You don’t remember hitting her?’

  Everyone was too stunned to respond. I know I was.

  ‘It’s true,’ Nikki said. ‘You slapped her, you shoved her, you even punched her a few times.’ She stared at him, her eyes hard. ‘She told me everything. She wanted someone to know before she died.’

  ‘No,’ Grandpa said.

  ‘Yes.’

  Portia dove into my lap, wanting protection from whatever was going on. ‘What’s happening?’ she said. She tried to whisper and failed.

  ‘What’s happening is our grandfather is horrible man,’ Nikki said. ‘He was an asshole to Grandma and he’s been an asshole to us.’

  Grandpa slumped back down on the seat, looking
like he was in shock. He didn’t say a word. Eddie crossed his arms over his chest. Portia buried her head in my lap.

  I didn’t hate Grandpa before then. Never had a reason to. Then all of a sudden I did.

  Only later did I learn that Grandma didn’t think she was talking to Nikki. She was too delirious at the end. Grandma said all of those things because she thought she was talking to her sister, not her granddaughter.

  But the stories were true. All of them.

  Nikki, still with the phone in her hand, nodded at me. Once. A sharp, sure movement.

  ‘This is our road trip now,’ she said.

  Who is the person from history that you would most like to meet and talk to?

  Dr Lang already asked me this question. I guess it must be especially revealing or something. I knew he wanted me to say Jesus, Washington, or Lincoln, because those are the obvious choices. So I did. I said Washington because he was the first US president so he had a unique insight into our history. Unique insight – I said it just like that and Dr Lang laughed, but screw him. He gets paid by my parents, or our insurance or whatever, so he’s just an employee.

  He hates it when I say that.

  But if I had to answer honestly, I’d say I want to talk to the guy who invented Risk. I always thought Dad was being dramatic when he said Risk isn’t just a game, it’s a metaphor for life.

  Each turn has three parts: Draft, Attack, Fortify.

  So, first you have to draft your troops. Your allies. My closest ally has always been Beth.

  Attack. That’s exactly what we did to Grandpa – it was just with pills instead of guns.

  Then we fortified our position. We got Eddie to come around to our side, and Portia had basically nowhere else to go.

  I don’t say this often about my parents, but Dad may have been right about this Risk thing.

  Colorado

  State Motto: Nothing without providence

  We’re now in Round Two of the road trip, which began where Nikki took control. Felix and Krista don’t know this. They also don’t know that where we go and what we do is about to change.

  This time, Round Two begins with a decent place to stay.