by Dakota Lake
“Oh crap!” I gasped in panic, pushing my hoodie sleeve up to check the time 1.47pm. There was no way I was going to make it back in time before the guard came back, I had missed my time opening. I hadn't planned for this, but I hadn't planned to be wasting time hiding in the bushes either. But then again I wasn't expecting to end up outside. Alex's words 'up is out' echoed in my head. I suddenly figured out what Alex was telling me.
The way out was to go up. But where exactly was I? I didn't even know what the time was here, it definitely wasn't 1.47pm in the afternoon. It looked like the middle of the night.
I stood for a few minutes trying to work out when the next time opening would be available, when the guard would be gone. If I went back now I would be caught red handed and the guard would most likely get into very big trouble. Or worse. The next time opening was twenty four hours from now. I would be gone from the manor for twenty four hours. The only times I would be missed would be dinner time and lessons in the morning, I could easily make something up. I could say I was upstairs taking a nap, that would be a good cover for dinner no one would know. Then I could pretend I'd muddled my days up and that's why I didn't show up for my lesson. Well I had twenty four hours to come up with an excuse. What am I going to do for twenty four hours? I looked up at the gate, I had to get out of here for a start. I needed to find out where I was. I was contemplating climbing the gate but I didn't know how successful I would be at it. I walked around the gate inspecting the wall. Maybe I could climb one of the trees and get onto the wall? I was busy looking for the nearest tree when I saw something dark under the ivy. I lifted the ivy and discovered a large wooden gate. I turned the handle and the latch lifted, it wasn't locked. Whoever was in charge of security round here wasn't doing a very good job of it. At least I didn't have to climb any trees now. On the other side of the gate was a small neatly trimmed grass verge that led down to the street. I closed the gate behind me and walked back to the front of the gates. There was a sign on the wall. Rose Cottage. The street was dark except for a few street lights along the edge. There were other expensive houses through gates and up long drives. It all looked very posh. I walked to the end of the street which was a crossroad and went off in three other directions. I eventually walked back and paced around outside the front of Rose Cottage, not knowing what to do with myself. If anyone saw me they would probably call the police but I had no idea what to do or where to go. I spotted someone at the end of the street walking this way, last thing I wanted was to run into Emmett or someone else I knew, so I dived into the nearest bush. Great I'm in a bush again! I stayed down low as the footsteps moved closer and came to a stop.
“What are you doing?” asked a gruff voice.
I assumed he was talking to me as there was no one else around. Crap!
“Are you okay?” I saw his legs moving closer. “Are you injured or drunk?” he continued. I didn't think he was likely to leave until I spoke to him and it didn't sound like anyone I knew, I just hoped they didn't know me. I stood up and looked over at him. He was tall with brown hair, not long but long enough to tuck behind his ears. He had a young teenagers face but the unshaven stubble added a few years. He was wearing a large camouflage jacket, jeans and sneakers and I was sure I'd never seen him before.
“I'm fine.” I replied after a long pause while I observed him.
“Okay. So what are you doing out here in the middle of the night?” he asked.
“Middle of the night?”
“Yes,” he added looking around. “Are you alone?”
“No.” I said without having to think about it.
I didn't know him and I didn't want him to think I was all alone and defenceless. “All right,” he replied even though he knew I was lying. “Do you live round here?” “Sort of,” I looked back at the gates.
“So you're a rich kid?”
“What?”
“Only rich kids live round here, snobby little brats most of them.”
I didn't know what to say so I stood waiting for him to leave but he didn't.
“So if you live in there what are you doing out here?” he asked.
“I can't go in there at the moment.”
“Oh, did you have a fall out with your rents or something?”
“What?” I asked not understanding what he meant.
“Parents. Did you have a falling out?”
I nodded. It seemed like a good excuse as to why I was standing around outside in the middle of the night. I checked my watch again.
“Hey do you know what time it is?”
“Aren't you wearing a watch?” he asked looking at my wrist.
“It's not keeping time that well.”
He fished his cell out his pocket. “2.21.” he said.
“In the morning?” I asked, not that I had to ask it was obvious it wasn't 2.21 in the afternoon. “Yeah in the morning as in the middle of the night. Are you sure you haven't taken something?” “Nope, I'm perfectly fine.” I said pulling my sleeve back down.
My watch was keeping the right time it was just twelve hours fast or twelve hours slow. This was crazy, this couldn't really be happening could it? I must be dreaming. That was it I was having some bizarre dream, that's the only way I could explain this.
“So how long are you planning on standing out here?”
I shrugged. Even I hadn't thought about it yet. I didn't know what I was planning to do. He shifted around uncomfortable and looked down the street.
“Look you seem like a nice girl. I can't just leave you out here on your own, it doesn't feel right. So can you go back inside now.”
“I can't, not yet.”
“Well when can you?” he asked.
“I dunno maybe in the morning.”
I knew I couldn't go back in now, it was too dark for a start. I didn't know who I'd bump into inside or the owner would catch me and call the cops on me and I'd get taken away.
“So you're not going back inside. And I can't leave you outside in the dark. I mean this is a nice neighbourhood and all but you do still get the odd creep out after dark.”
“Like you,” I said. What was he doing out here anyway?
“You think I'm a creep?”
“Well like you said, it is the middle of the night and that's when the creeps come out.” He chuckled to himself and pulled something from his pocket.
“I'm not a creep. I'm just on my way home. I live over there,” he said lighting a cigarette and nodding his head towards the end of the street.
“What's your name?” he asked.
“Ruby.”
“Ruby, Ruby, Ruby, Ruby.” he said repeating my name. “That name sounds familiar.” but he shook it off and smiled.
“I'm Brandon. Do you want one?” he asked offering me a cigarette.
“I don't smoke.”
“Well Ruby, that doesn't smoke. You have two choices. You can either go back inside your house which means I will sleep better knowing you're not out here all alone or you can come home with me. Nothing sinister or anything like that. Let's just say I'm in this twelve-step programme, I'm trying to turn my life around and do the right thing and it wouldn't feel right leaving you out here.” I stepped around the bush I felt like an idiot still standing amongst some strangers shrubs. “Who do you live with?” I asked.
“My brother and my mom.”
I looked around considering my options. He was right I couldn't stay out here all night. “Well Brandon who's in a twelve-step programme, can I trust you?”
“Yep. Scouts honour.”
I walked over to him hoping I wasn't walking myself into some trap of lies. “Lead the way.” I said. We walked to the end of the street, crossed over and carried on walking passed more expensive homes with shiny cars and swimming pools.
“So what are you doing out so late?” I asked still curious about him.
“I was out looking for my dad.”
“Is he missing?”
“No nothing like that, he's a hard guy to tr
ack down. No address.”
“How do you normally get a hold of him?”
“He drops by occasionally. I stole his number from my mom's cell but he's not answering.” “Is it important that you find him?”
“Yes and no.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means yes it is important but it isn't urgent.” he said flicking his cigarette into someone's garden. “So which one do you live in?” I asked looking around at the houses.
“None of them.” he glanced sideways at me smiling.
“Come on,” he said suddenly diverting off the sidewalk and up someone's drive. “I thought you said you didn't live in any of these?”
He turned back and put his finger to his lips. I stopped and watched the back of him as he disappeared round the back of the house.
I tip toed a little further and peeked through a side window, an older couple were sat playing a board game at the table.
“What are you doing?” he said gently grabbing my arm and pulling me away.
“Who lives here?” I asked quietly.
“I dunno some old couple. Come on it's getting cold I think it's gonna chuck it down any minute.” He walked off heading round the back again, I jogged behind him to catch up. He cut across the back lawn and carefully stepped over the garden gnomes that were dotted everywhere. “Hey, where are you going?” I asked following him further down the garden into the darkness. “Brandon, wait....” I called as he sped up and zipped in between a pair of garden sheds. I walked down between the sheds into complete darkness.
“Boo!” Brandon popped up from behind the shed, I shrieked and fell back into the shed. “Seriously that wasn't funny.” I said hand on my heart as it thumped rapidly.
“Come on I'll give you a boost.” he said standing next to the fence.
“Boost to where?” I asked lifting my foot onto his hand and holding onto his shoulder. “Home.”
“Don't tell me you live in a tree house.”
“No it's a little more upmarket than a tree. Ready?”
He lifted me up and I pulled myself up onto the fence and lifted my leg over. Brandon lifted himself up in a matter of seconds and jumped down the other side.
“What are you still doing up there?” he called.
“How did you do that so quick?”
“Years of practice.”
“Did we just shortcut through an old couples back garden?”
“Maybe.” he said helping me down.
“So trespassing is part of your twelve-step programme?”
“That shortcut cuts forty minutes off my journey.”
Even though it was dark the moon shone down enough to see where I was walking. We had somehow ended up in a wooded area walking through ferns. I followed him carefully but not too close I was having crazy thoughts of him suddenly turning on me with a knife. I had no idea why I had even considered this idea. I was probably walking towards my own death. The only advantage I had was I knew I was quick. I could run away from him in a matter of seconds, if I had to. He had switched his cell onto torch mode and was following it along the ground. “So do you go to HPH?” he asked.
“What's HPH?”
“Heaven's Point High. It's the high school. I'll take that as a no.”
“Whoa! Wait a minute. Am I in Heaven's Point, like right now?”
“Err yeah. Are you sure you're okay?”
“Yeah, no I'm good.” I replied.
I was in Heaven's Point. I couldn't believe it I had found a way out of the manor and I'd walked straight into the place I needed to be to find my brother or Micah. I looked over at Brandon, it was dark but I could still make out the odd facial expression he was giving me. He probably thought I was nuts.
“So do you go to HPH?” I asked. Hoping he wouldn't ask me about my sanity seeing as I didn't even know where I was.
“Used to. Got kicked out.”
“For what?”
“Do you really want to know?” he asked laughing as he said it.
“Sure I do.” I said stepping over an empty beer bottle.
“I got kicked out for dealing in school.”
“So is that what the programmes for?”
“Yep that and my mom's threatening to kick me out if I don't sort myself out.” He lifted his cellphone torch up and a chain link fence came into view.
“Please don't tell me we have to climb that?”
“Yep, do you want a boost again?”
“I'm going to need more than a boost. I think I'm gonna need a jet pack.”
He laughed and linked his hands together for me to step onto so I could reach as high as possible. “You got the top?” he asked.
“Yeah I can just about reach it.”
“Good, now hold onto it and try to pull yourself up. Try lifting one leg up at the same time.” “This is not how I expected I would be spending my day.” I said pulling my leg up. I managed to hook it over on the second try. This fence was higher and wobblier which didn't help. “You mean night. Not how you expected to be spending your night. Moon, stars and dark skies.” he said pulling himself up next to me.
“Right night, cause it's not day time here.” I mumbled to myself as I watched him jump down and land perfectly without even faulting.
“Did you say something?” he asked looking up at me.
“Nothing.” I replied, then I realised he had mentioned the moon.
I looked up at the sky and sure enough I could see the moon glowing and the stars glistening all over the dark sky. Back at the manor there was no moon, no stars. Just clouds that always seemed to cover the moon or sun, I'd never seen stars down there.
“Err Ruby, you coming down?”
“Sorry I was looking at the stars. I haven't seen them for months.”
“Why have you been living underground?” he joked.
But it was much more than a joke to me. It was the plain obvious truth. I had been living underground. Underground in some other world, some underground world. The word Hell sprang to mind, but that only reminded me of Jessie. Even the thought of his name bought a smile to my face. Calling him Jessie felt right he looked like a Jessie.
“Yo! Ruby,”
“Sorry,”
“You okay to jump?”
“No I'll probably break a leg.”
“Lower yourself down and let go, I'll catch you.”
“Fine but if I somehow manage to elbow you in the face and break your nose don't say I didn't warn you.”
I let go and Brandon's arms caught me around the waist lowering me safely to the ground. “See that wasn't so hard.” he said letting go.
He nodded his head towards the trees and I followed him walking across the grass until I could see the outline of long rectangular shapes in front.
“Where are we?” I asked catching up to him again, he was tall and his one step was equivalent to two of mine.
“Home?”
As we got closer I could clearly see we were on a trailer park and the shapes were trailer homes. I was so busy being nosey looking through windows amazed some people were still awake at this hour, that I'd completely lost Brandon. I had only let my eyes wonder for a second and he had vanished. I came to a stop and spun around looking for him both ways.
“Ruby,” Brandon called quietly.
I followed his voice and found him helping himself to a beer from a drinks cooler outside someone's trailer.
“Want one?” he smirked.
“No that's stealing.”
“The guy owes me like a ton of money from goods I've sold to him and he's not paid up. So every few nights on my way through I help myself to a beer. It's all cool, I consider this interest.” He opened the lid with a bottle opener from his key ring and handed it to me. I took a few sips and we walked along a dirt track between the trailers. He downed his bottle and placed it on the floor next to a mailbox.
I finished mine and he took it from me and stuck it in a flower pot.
We walked down someone's lit
tle driveway and around the back and cut across the grass and zigzagged around a few more trailers.
“This place is like a maze.”
“Don't worry I know where I'm going. I know this place like the back of my foot.” “I thought the phrase was 'back of my hand'?”
“It is but I'm not normal.” he said smiling over at me.
I felt something wet land on my nose which I quickly wiped away.
“Here comes the rain.” he said pulling me by the sleeve, hurrying me.
We jogged across another dirt track and Brandon ran over to a trailer numbered 69. He ran up the steps and I hurried to catch up with him just as the heavens opened up and started to pour down. “Sixty nine baby,” he said pulling out his keys. “My brothers probably still awake, but I warn you he's a complete book nerd and history fanatic. So if he gets too much tell him you're anti history. That's what I say when he starts with me.”
He opened the door and walked into a warm room where an electric heater was switched on heating the room. The rain fell down loudly on the roof and sounded as though it was going to come through the ceiling of the trailer. There was a small kitchen area on the left with a two seater table and a corridor that led off to the bedrooms. To the right was a sitting area with an old retro TV, one long couch and a small desk with a computer. There was someone asleep on the couch facing away from us.
“Yo bitch! Wake up. You're hogging the seating area.” Brandon said loudly.
The guy grumbled and rolled over while Brandon continued to nudge him with his foot. “What time is it?” the guy asked sitting up, pushing Brandon's foot away.
He looked different to Brandon but there was still a likeness to show they were brothers. He had slightly longer brown hair that was an untamed mess of waves and was wearing a beige knitted jumper that looked five sizes too big for him with jeans and nothing on his feet.
“Around three.” Brandon replied as he walked into the kitchen.
“Ruby this is James, James this is Ruby.” Brandon said opening the fridge, digging around inside. “Hello Ruby.” James said standing up giving me the once over.
He walked over to the fridge and started whispering to Brandon. But I could still hear him. “Mom said no more girls.”
“It's not like that, she needed a place to crash.”