“The car?”
Obviously, since the senator knew that Scarlett was out calling for help, it would be pure foolishness to stay in the house. A retreat would be his next course. I was the only one who’d seen him so far. I just had to either 1) hinder him long enough to keep him in the house or 2) create enough of a disturbance to draw attention as he tried to load me into a car to drive away. Of course, I was going to delay as much on the front end as possible, since there was no way to guarantee that he wouldn’t go to the kitchen, get a knife, and slit my throat as he had promised. Thus, aerobic thrashing to slow and wear him down and grabbing his glasses to obscure his vision enough to make him question reaching for a knife or attempting to drive a car.
“And you thought of all of this while in the grip of a man who was threatening to kill you?” asks Officer Goldberg.
I try to explain the homework/hunger analogy, but it just makes people look sad instead of like they agree I’ve learned the value of mind over matter.
“You’ve got a brave, smart girl there,” says the other officer.
“I know,” say my dad and Scarlett at the same time, and Scarlett doesn’t look remotely sorry or embarrassed.
Officer Goldberg gives me her card before she leaves, urging me to contact her with any questions or other memories that occur later. I think I’ve been pretty thorough, and I’m sure I’ll have to repeat it many times for the trial or whatever legal repercussions arise from this, so I’m in no hurry to talk about it again at the moment.
“Are Jimmy and Sam…?” I ask my dad, voice barely a whisper at this point.
“They’re guarding your mother.”
I nod, relieved. I’m so tired, but I don’t want to let go of Scarlett. Mitchell is on the phone with his lawyer friend, sorting that out for me, which I appreciate. I swallow several times.
“Can— Mr. Anderson, I know this is presumptuous, but can I stay at your house tonight, if I get permission from my parents? I’d really like to make sure Audrey’s okay.”
My dad gives Scarlett a thunderous look. “Of course she’ll be fine in her own house.”
“I know, I just… I’d really like to be there, sir.”
“Please, Dad?” I rasp.
He looks at me, and I see all the bluster go out of him. “Okay, baby bean. God knows you deserve a little consideration after all you went through tonight. I’ll call the school and let them know you won’t be in tomorrow. Your parents can make the call on that one,” he says to Scarlett, surprisingly nonaggressive, and I know that that’s his stamp of approval or something. “I know this hasn’t been easy on you either, hon, but you’ve been holding it together.”
“Thank you, Mr. Anderson.”
Mitchell comes back and says he’s worked everything out with the lawyer, and she’s doing this pro bono.
“Oh, no,” I instantly start to protest. He holds up a hand with a long-suffering sigh.
“Listen, Audrey, a big case like this could likely make her name known nationally. If there was any justice in the world, she would be paying you for the chance to represent you. Just take it, okay?” I nod and he half grins his approval at me. “If you’re set here, I’m going to head back. I just moved into my own apartment, and I still have a lot to unpack. You call if you need me, okay?” I nod again and hold out my arms. He groans like it’s the biggest inconvenience of his life but half hugs me quick and tight. “I’ll see you, kid.”
We skirt the dwindled crowd without too much trouble and walk back to my house, my dad and Scarlett bracketing me. I’ve reclaimed Scarlett’s hand, and she rubs her thumb over the back of mine absently. I’m not sure she’s aware she’s doing it.
Jimmy’s prowling before our door like a caged tiger. As soon as he spots us, he races down the driveway and reaches for me. I don’t want his hands around my upper arms and forestall him by hugging him around the waist with my free arm.
“What happened? What’s going on? Is Audrey hurt?” he demands above me, voice rumbling against the ear I have pressed to his chest.
The front door opens and my mom and Sam spill out as well, also overflowing with questions. I’m pulled into a fierce embrace by my mother and lose Scarlett’s hand in the process. After hugging Sam as well, I look at Dad.
“Can you…?” I whisper, gesturing toward the rest of my family. I’m hit by exhaustion and my throat and cheek are aching. I just want to put ice on my throat and fall asleep, preferably in Scarlett’s arms, but I don’t see that happening under my parent’s roof. I have an alternative plan, though.
He nods and starts talking to them in a low voice. I pull Scarlett inside.
“I’ve got to call my parents,” she says apologetically as the door closes.
I nod and whisper, “Okay. I’m getting ready for bed.”
She goes to the kitchen to make the call while I quickly change into my light red pajamas with white stripes, like a candy cane, given to me at Christmas a year ago by my aunt. I brush my teeth and wash my face, carefully, because it’s starting to really throb now, and hunt around for a spare toothbrush for Scarlett. We don’t have one, and I hope she can make do with toothpaste and her finger.
I come out of the bathroom at the same time as she emerges from the kitchen, stashing her phone in her pocket.
She smiles at me.
“I’m cleared for tonight and out of school for tomorrow,” she says before cupping my unhurt cheek in her hand and kissing me so softly it’s barely a kiss. We stand like that for a moment. I would like to prolong it into eternity, but my eyes are so heavy I seriously worry about keeling over.
I pull back and whisper, “I want to sleep on the couch. I thought Dad and Jimmy could move my mattress to the floor beside me for you.”
“Sure,” she says, giving me another featherlight kiss before moving away. She goes outside to communicate this to Jimmy while I grab a couple of extra blankets and one of my two pillows for the couch. I’m glad I washed my sheets recently. I make myself a little nest, then go into the kitchen. I find a Ziploc bag and pour a bunch of ice cubes into it. I wrap it with the reindeer towel and rest it against my throat.
I’m walking back to the living room when the front door opens and Jimmy storms in, followed by a frowning Scarlett, followed by my dad, who looks just done with everything. Mom comes in last, world weary, with her arm around Sam’s shoulders. Sam appears completely lost.
Jimmy takes one look at me and buckles, just like Dad did earlier.
“Fine! We’ll get the mattress,” he says, and gestures to Scarlett to follow him into my room. My dad follows to help. They move my single mattress and sheets to the floor while Mom strokes my hair and starts making a grocery list of my favorites for my dad to run and get. She’s going to send him out immediately, but when I see it’s two in the morning, I persuade her to wait. I’m not hungry anyway.
With a glower, Jimmy lends Scarlett a pair of old gym shorts and shirt, since she’s taller than me and couldn’t comfortably wear any of my clothes. I explain the toothbrush situation.
“That’s nothing,” Scarlett says with a careless grin. “I used to go camping all the time when I was a kid. I’m used to roughing it.”
“What, so she thinks we’re no better than a tent on the ground in the wilderness?” Jimmy asks under his breath as Scarlett disappears into the bathroom. I punch him in the arm.
I snuggle into the couch, and Mom tucks me in and kisses me several times on the forehead. Sam comes and hugs me, still looking a little confused by everything.
“I’m sorry you were hurt,” he says, and I scratch the top of his head in response.
Dad also leans down and gives me a huge hug. It’s kinda nice to be doted on like this, though I’d rather not have gone through what it took to get the attention.
Sam and Jimmy go to their bedroom first to get ready for bed, after Mom and Dad discuss if they should keep Sam home tomorrow as well. They finally agree to let the school know Sam will be a couple of hours late
to give him a chance to get fully rested. Mom and Dad disappear to their room as the bathroom door opens and Scarlett emerges, the tight shorts and fitted glittery top she’d been wearing bundled in her hand. She’s got on Jimmy’s old gym shorts and the plain jewel-blue shirt he’d given her.
She drops her clothes at the edge of the mattress and climbs on with almost felinelike grace.
“I’m sorry I ruined our date,” I rasp.
“You didn’t ruin our date,” she reassures me. She rears up, bracing her weight on her arms on the edge of the couch, and kisses me. “And we’ll make it up. How about Thai for lunch tomorrow? I can order it to be delivered. And maybe you can teach me how to play chess.”
I nod and point at the TV. She turns her head to look at it as Sam and Jimmy both head for the bathroom. Sam uses it first, and Jimmy queues up, leaning against the wall and watching us closely.
“Sure, we’ll watch some movies too,” Scarlett says, unperturbed by Jimmy. “Though they’ll have to work hard to be as awesomely bad as yesterday’s. Well,” she amends, glancing at the wall clock. “Saturday’s.”
I shake my head. I can’t believe it’s only a day later. It feels like months have passed.
“I know,” she says. “The past eight hours have aged me. I think I’ve got gray hairs. I’m checking my retirement account as soon as you fall asleep.”
I laugh voicelessly and comb my fingers through her brown hair, pushing it off of her forehead and clearing my view to her bright, bright, smiling eyes.
Sam comes out of the bathroom, and Jimmy goes in. Dad opens his and Mom’s door and says good night, then shuts off their light and leaves the door partially open. Jimmy comes out of the bathroom and also leaves their door pointedly ajar when he goes back inside.
“Oh, come on,” I say as loudly as possible.
Scarlett just chuckles and settles down on the mattress on her back, one arm bent beneath her head, watching me with a smile.
I turn onto my side so I can see better, still pressing the ice to my throat. I’m not going to recite poetry to her, but I suddenly understand the impulse and regret I don’t have the talent to distill into words what I feel when I look at her. I wish I could stay awake, but exhaustion is pulling me away. In the future I’ll have to deal with the fallout of this evening. And I’ll have to go back to school and finish my exams, and start applying to colleges and for scholarships, and keep working and working. But at least I have the assurance that when I wake up, Scarlett will be there, and I can hold her hand.
Happiness blossoms in my chest.
L.B. BEDFORD is a librarian who loves the thrill of inhabiting a good story. She has more ideas for books than she does excuses for getting out of awkward social interactions. Since her last girlfriend, she has entered the harrowing and amusing world of online dating. This form of communication makes sense to her, since she is almost permanently online anyway.
On any given day, she will be reading, writing, running, learning to code, taming her sewing machine, playing the piano, or taking advantage of all the free online courses available in a multitude of subjects. She loves cooking, sushi, and trying to kick her pasta habit. A former cat owner, she has not yet made a commitment to her next cat, though she does have the name picked out (Thor: Cat of Thunder). She lives in the Washington, DC area, where she continues to plan for more cultural events than she ends up attending.
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