What if it does?
Will the boys ask questions?
What would I say?
Can I really tell them the truth?
I fall back onto my bed, tears in my eyes, when I hear a knock. But it’s not coming from my door. I look over at my window and see Hunter on the other side. I quickly slide off the bed and open the window.
“What are you doing here?” I whisper, as he climbs in.
“I missed seeing you today,” he says. “Are you okay?”
I wipe at my eyes. “I’m fine. It’s just…”
He gently grabs my arms and flips them over to see the whelps on my wrist.
“Who did this to you?” Hunter asks, his voice eerily calm.
“Nobody. It’s stupid,” I say.
He looks at me, his face softening. “Karlie, these are done by somebody’s hands. It’s not stupid. You’re hurting. And you need to tell me who did it.”
“Andrew,” I answer. There are more tears falling from my face now. “My stepbrother.”
“Is this all he did?” Hunter asks. “Just grab your wrists?”
“He kicked me too,” I answer.
“Where?”
“My stomach,” I say, my voice low. “But my stomach doesn’t hurt that bad. It’s mostly just my wrist. I can tell it’s nothing serious in my stomach. Not like last ti…” I clear my throat. “I’m okay, Hunter.”
“What do you mean last time?” he asks, then motions for me to sit on my bed. He pulls up a medal fold up chair directly in front of me. “Karlie, it’s time that you tell me everything.”
I hear something at my window, and I jump when I see somebody else in the window.
It’s Nolan.
And he looks angry.
Like, rip somebody’s head off angry.
He doesn’t say anything. He just sits down on the bed beside me.
“Go ahead,” Hunter says. “Nolan needs to hear too.”
“It’s not that bad right now. It’s just one week without food,” I say. “And Andrew didn’t hurt me that bad. Last time he hurt me, I couldn’t get out of bed for a week. He punched my stomach, but I’m fine now. I got over it. It was a long time ago.”
“What do you mean a week without food?” Nolan asks. His voice is really soft, which I didn’t expect. He’s not a soft guy. He’s tough. And he’s only ever yelled at me for being stupid.
“I’ve gone a month. A week is nothing. Especially since you guys keep giving me food,” I say. “I hope my mom doesn’t notice. I will probably gain weight. Which I need to, I know. But Mom doesn’t want me to be fat.”
“A month without food? How are you even alive?” Hunter asks.
“I still had school. So I’d eat lunch at school. I just wouldn’t get breakfast or dinner,” I answer.
“What about the weekends?”
“The weekends were hard, but I made it,” I say.
“How many times have you been grounded from food?” Nolan asks.
“A few times,” I answer. “Usually the punishment is a week or two. One time, my mom grounded me in the summer. That was rough. I didn’t get to eat for a week. But I was too weak to do any of my chores, so she ended it early.”
“Why do you get grounded?” Nolan asks.
I shrug. “Different reasons. The time I was grounded for a month, it was because I talked to a girl at school. I wanted to make a friend. But then Mom grounded me from food, so I never made that mistake again.”
“Is that why you ignored me that first day of school?” Hunter asks.
I nod. “It wasn’t anything personal. I just knew I couldn’t handle another month without food. I lost ten pounds that month, and I’m still trying to gain it back. I was underweight to begin with.”
“What are we going to do?” Hunter asks, but he’s now looking at Nolan.
“I don’t know,” Nolan answers. “She’s not ready.”
“Ready for what?” I ask.
“We can’t leave her here,” Hunter says.
Nolan nods.
I wish I knew what they were talking about.
Nolan looks right at me, his green eyes locking with mine. I can’t look away, even though I kind of want to. He is such an intense guy.
“Karlie, do you trust me?” he asks.
I nod. Once. But that’s all he needs. His face visibly relaxes.
“I can get you out of here,” Nolan tells me. “I can get you away from this mess and away from your family.”
“How?” I ask.
“Do you want to get away from them?” he asks.
“Yes,” I answer, without hesitation.
“Nolan, it’s too soon,” Hunter says.
“I know,” Nolan says, his voice harsh again. He looks at me. “Karlie, I am going to get you out of this mess. Right now. Are you willing to come with us?”
Am I?
I barely know Nolan and the rest of the guys.
But I trust them.
Why?
I don’t know. But I feel I can trust them. Way down in my gut, I feel it.
“I will come,” I tell him.
“Good,” Nolan says, now smiling. He has a dimple in his left cheek. I’ve never seen him smile, but it’s actually quite beautiful.
“You should smile more often,” I say.
“I’ve been telling him that for ye…” Hunter says, but his voice is cut off when Nolan’s hand punches his arm. “Ouch.”
Nolan gets up and walks towards my door.
“What are you doing?” I ask.
“You’re not climbing down the tree again,” he says. “It’s not safe.”
“Ugh… you climbed up it. Why can’t I?” I ask.
“Because I said so,” Nolan says.
“We can’t walk out the front door. Andrew is down there,” I say.
“I know,” he says, smiling again. Only this time, the smile is more of an evil smile. He opens the door, and Hunter and I look at each other for a second before running after Nolan.
This cannot be good.
I want to yell after him, but I don’t. The last thing I want is for my mom and stepdad to hear.
Hunter reaches over and grabs my hand as we run. The gesture is so unexpected that I almost stop running. He’s comforting me, and I don’t exactly know what to do with it, but it’s sweet and exactly what I need in this moment.
We run down the stairs, and Andrew stands up.
“What the heck is this?” Andrew asks, as Nolan stops in front of him. “This is perfect, Karlie. Boys in your room. Wait until I tell your mom. She will ki—.”
His voice is cut short when Nolan’s fist connects with his face. He falls backwards, blood trickling from his nose.
“What the heck, man,” Andrew says, wiping blood away. “I will kill you.”
Nolan puts a foot on his chest and Andrew can’t move.
“You should be glad I’m not going to kill you for what you did to Karlie,” Nolan says, putting his foot down harder. I swear I hear a bone crack. “You’re going to have a long, miserable life. That thought alone is what is stopping me from ending your life.”
Andrew screams. It’s a horrible, high pitched scream. And if he wasn’t screaming because he is in pain, I’d be laughing, because he screams like a girl.
“Come on, Karlie,” Hunter says, pulling me towards the front door.
Nolan, Hunter and I all walk out the front door and to a car that is waiting on us. I don’t know how the car is there, but it is. Nolan opens the back door and pushes me inside gently. He gets in beside me, and Hunter gets in the front seat.
“Hey, Karlie,” the driver says. “Long time, no see.”
I look up and see Jax.
Wow.
Jax and Hunter look a lot a like.
“Hey,” I say.
“Chat later. Drive now,” Nolan says.
I look at the house to see my mom and stepdad come running out the door.
Oh my gosh.
What have I done?
He’s really scary when he’s angry.
When we reach the end of our street, I look back to see that my stepdad is trying to chase after the car on foot.
Nolan sees me looking and touches my cheek. It’s so soft and unexpected that I turn and look at him.
“Karlie, just look at me, okay?” he says.
I nod.
I would pretty much do anything that Nolan asked me to at this moment. Or any moment.
“You have really pretty eyes,” Nolan says.
“Me?” I ask.
He nods.
I look down. My stomach is in knots and I feel a little dizzy.
“I said look at me,” Nolan says, in an authoritative voice.
My eyes look at him out of reflex.
“Are you okay?” he asks.
“I… I don’t know,” I answer, deciding to go with honesty. My breath is coming in and out too fast. “Do you think they’ll call the cops?”
“No. Definitely not,” Hunter says from the front. “Even they’re not stupid enough to do something like that.”
“Why wouldn’t they call the cops?” I ask, between breaths. “I’m her daughter.”
Hunter mumbles something, which gets him a punch in the arm from Nolan, but I didn’t hear whatever he said.
“Karlie, I said look at me,” Nolan says again.
I look at him, and I see concern in his green eyes. “You need to breathe slower. In.” He breathes in. “Out.” He lets it out. He continues to prompt me, while breathing slowly along with me.
“Thank you,” I tell him, once I am able to breathe normally. “I don’t usually have panic attacks.”
“Not usually?” he asks.
“I’ve had a few. Back when my mom used to lock me in the closet,” I say. “The panic attacks are usually triggered by small spaces.”
Nolan’s jaw tenses, and sweat starts to beed up on his forehead. It’s then that I notice a vein in his neck popping out slightly.
He’s mad.
And he’s really scary when he’s angry.
“Guys, we got a problem,” Jax says, looking in his rearview mirror.
I turn around to see what he’s talking about, and that’s when I see my mom in her car, racing up behind us.
The car accelerates, pushing me back against the seat. Nolan never moves, not even an inch. He is unnaturally strong.
I hear Nolan talking to Jax and Hunter, but I have no idea what he’s saying. He’s speaking in a language that I don’t understand. Which, to be honest, I only know English and a few Spanish words.
“Are you speaking… German?” I ask.
“Swiss German,” Hunter answers.
“Swiss?” I ask. “Where did you guys say you were from again?”
“Jax and I are from the UK,” Hunter answers.
“But you don’t sound British,” I say.
“Is this better?” he asks, switching to a British accent.
“How… did you do that?” I ask.
“We’ve been trained,” Hunter answers, now sticking with a British accent. “Accent training. It was actually my least favorite class, but it’s come in handy a lot.”
“Right,” I say, then look behind. My mom is right on our trail.
“Don’t worry,” Nolan says. “Jax has been trained on the best driving courses.
I nod. “Because people getting trained to speak in different accents and how to drive when somebody is chasing you is completely normal.” I take deep breath. “So, where are you from?”
“Ontario,” Nolan answers.
“Okay,” I say. “What about Sander?”
“He’s from Seattle,” Nolan says.
“And Brett?” I ask.
“He’s from California,” Hunter answers.
“And Gage?” I ask.
“Gage is from Japan,” Nolan says.
“Okay,” I say. “And how exactly do you all know each other.”
“We went to school together,” Hunter answers.
“School?” I ask.
“Boarding school,” Hunter continues. “In Switzerland.”
I hear a load noise. Our car swerves a little, but Jax quickly corrects the mistake. I look behind us to see that the bumper on my mom’s car is now dented.
She hit us.
My mom is legit crazy.
Though, I’m not certain that the boys I’m with aren’t crazy too.
Boarding school in Switzerland?
That’s just nuts.
“Go faster,” Hunter says.
“I’m trying,” Jax says. “I need to avoid traffic.”
“Get on the interstate and book it out of here,” Nolan says.
Jax lets out a breath. “Sure thing, boss.”
He takes the exit onto the interstate, and I feel the car accelerate. I look back to see that my mom is still back there, but not as close. Her car obviously can’t keep up with this one, which both relieves and frightens me.
She’s my mom. And yeah, she is mean. But it doesn’t change the fact that she gave birth to me. I’m never going to see her again, and I’m not sure that it’s a good thing.
“Karlie, why don’t you get some sleep. We’ve got a long drive,” Nolan says.
Sleep?
Yeah right.
“I don’t think I can sleep,” I say, as my vision goes blurry. My eyes suddenly feel heavy. “Sleep sounds…”
Thursday, August 17
We have orders.
I jerk awake, sitting straight up in the bed. I have no idea where I am or how I got here. The last thing I remember is being in the car with Jax, Hunter and Nolan, and we were getting chased by my mom.
My mom!
Oh my gosh. Did we really get away from her?
“You’re up,” a voice says.
Without looking, I already know the voice belongs to Sander.
I look over and see him standing up from the chair he was sitting in. “You slept a long time.”
“I… I did?” I ask.
He nods.
“You went to school in Switzerland?” I ask.
He grins. “Out of everything in the world you could’ve said or asked, you ask that first?”
I nod.
“Well, yes, I did go to school in Switzerland.”
“And you speak German?” I ask.
“All of my team does,” Sanders says.
“All of… your team?”
“Enough questions,” he says. “I can’t answer them all. Sorry. You need to wait for Nolan to get back.”
“Where did he go?” I ask.
“I thought I told you I can’t answer your questions,” he says.
“Right. Sorry,” I say. “But I was wondering… umm… where am I at?”
He laughs. “Karlie, you are not very good at following instructions. How do all the teachers at school think you’re this obedient, good girl?”
“Well, I met a bad boy who convinced me to ditch school,” I tell him. “I’m a bad girl now.”
His mouth hangs open a bit. “Every time I talk to you, I’m amazed by just how awesome you are.”
Me?
Awesome?
“Don’t look so surprised,” he says, then looks at his phone. “They have breakfast ready if your hungry.”
I nod.
Five minutes later, I am at a table with Sander, Gage and Brett. Even though I knew Brett was their friend, I’m a little surprised to see him with the rest of them. In my head, he seems out of place.
“Karlie, hey,” Brett says.
“Hey. Sorry I didn’t meet you Tuesday night. Nolan kind of threatened me,” I say.
“He’s good at that,” Brett says. “And it’s okay. I knew you wouldn’t come. Because Nolan told me what he was going to do.”
I nod. “So, are you guys assassins?”
“Assassins?” Gage says, tilting his head to the side slightly. “Are you seriously asking that?”
“I just want to know,” I say. “You’re no
t just normal guys, right. So either your ninjas, assassins, or, like, superheroes.”
Sander laughs. “I like her.”
“So you’ve said,” Brett says, glaring at him. “Need I remind you all, this assignment is temporary.”
“The assignment, as in me?” I ask. “Anyway, I’ll figure out what you are eventually.”
“We’re not superheroes, though I am flattered,” Sander says.
“Not assassins,” Gage says. “And since I’m the only Asian guy, I’m pretty sure that I’m the only one who could be a ninja.”
“You’re, like, one fourth Japanese. Stop saying you’re Asian. You’re mostly white,” Brett says.
“Hey, I was raised in Japan,” he protests. “And one forth is better than none. Besides, I’m one half Russian, which means I’m three fourths Asian.”
“Whatever,” Sander says.
“Cool. So you’ve been to Russia?” I ask.
“No,” Gage answers. “But my dad is from there. And my mom is half Japanese, half American. I was born in the US but moved to Japan when I was three. My parents actually still live there.”
“Wait. I thought your parents were moving to Germany and that’s why you moved here,” I say.
“Umm… I lied,” he says. “Sorry.”
I will deal with that later. “Why did you move to America?”
“I haven’t,” he answers. “I’m not in America perm…”
“Enough answers for now,” Sander says, cutting him off. “We’re waiting for Nolan. We have orders.”
“As long as the orders aren’t to kill me,” I say.
Nobody laughs.
I take a bit of bacon, thinking if today is my last day to live, at least I had an amazing breakfast.
Safe house.
I look around the large house that I’m in. It’s two stories, and has a ton of bedrooms. The colors in each room are very normal, yet it doesn’t feel like it’s lived in. One room is pink, and look likes a ten year old girl stays in there. One room is blue and has a fish tank. But this house… it’s not the guys’ house. I’m not sure if the house really belongs to anybody in particular.
There are pictures on the wall of a family, but the pictures almost don’t look real. The pictures look like they’re of models or somebody who is getting paid to pose for a picture.
Finding Me (The Spy Chronicles Book 1) Page 4