by Laurel Veil
“And, if she wasn’t doing anything wrong, why take off like that?” said Ty.
“Look,” said Jackson as he pointed to my mom. Her body suddenly went limp and she was once again unconscious.
“Did Ruby do this to her? Has she been doing it all along?” I wondered out loud.
◆◆◆
When we arrived home, Daisy was standing at the front door, with her hand on her cushy hip. Her leggings were made from a shiny, silver material that reminded me of the foil at the base of a cupcake. They were so snug, I wasn’t sure how she was able to move, much less breathe. Her midriff formed a fluffy muffin-top over the waistband. And, her burnt orange hair was swooped up in a poofy bun that made her head resemble a cherry. She looked like an irritated pastry.
Over the background noise of Jacob’s video game, she barked, “Where have you been?”
“We took Jackson to the park after school,” I quickly answered for all of us.
“Well, my mom called to make sure you were mowing the lawn.” Her eyes were now fixed on Ty. “She’ll be home soon and she’s gonna be pissed if you don’t have things looking nice around here.”
“Thanks for the heads up,” said Ty. Daisy smiled smugly. I guessed she figured they were friends now. How could she not detect the sarcasm in his voice?
She slammed the door and we went around back to the garage. I edged while Ty mowed, and Jackson used a set of clippers to snip small, stray branches off the shrubs. My blood bubbled with resentment when I edged near the house. I could see Daisy texting as she was laying on the couch and Jacob was playing his Xbox. I quickly moved on, so I wouldn’t get too angry.
I looked back when I heard something bang against the window. Jacob was now standing at it with a scowl on his face.
“Would you hurry up and finish!” he yelled. “I can’t hear my game!” He struck the window one last time with his fist and this time it cracked.
◆◆◆
We finally finished, and as we put away all the tools we’d used, I told Ty and Jackson about the crack Jacob had put in the window.
“What a jerk,” said Ty. His look of disgust made me feel better.
My stomach twisted into a knot when I saw Ms. Alice’s rusty, gray Suburban pull into the drive. She never acknowledged how nice the yard looked and strained to pull herself out from behind the steering wheel. Her face was pink from the effort.
“Get the groceries from the back and put them away,” she blurted before she completely ran out of oxygen.
The three of us had just finished putting the last few items away in the pantry, when I heard Ms. Alice shriek my name.
“Falon! Get it in here!”
I looked down at Jackson, who was now clutching my leg. His eyes were pleading with me not to go. I brushed his bangs out from his eyes and whispered, “It’s OK,” even though I was scared to death.
“Now, I said!”
I drew strength from Ty’s eyes and stepped toward the den. Ty came up from behind, and followed me closely. He wasn’t touching me, but I could still feel him. He wasn’t going to let me face her alone.
“What’s this?” She pointed to the window.
Before I could say a word, Jacob interjected. “A rock or something shot out while she was edging. I tried to tell her not to get so close to the house.”
“You liar!” I yelled. Ms. Alice looked stunned, but I was braver than usual knowing that Ty was with me. “You hit the window and you know it!” I turned my eyes to Daisy. “You were there. Tell her.”
“All I know is you were edging and then the window was cracked.” She bobbed her head from side to side to annunciate her words. It took everything I had in me not to ball my fist up and knock that cherry head of hers off her stumpy neck.
“That’s gonna cost you double girl,” said Ms. Alice flatly. “One for breaking my window and two for lying about it.”
“I’m not lying! They’re ly—” Ty stepped up from behind and touched the small of my back. His touch was so calming, I didn’t even care anymore to defend myself. It was useless anyway.
Daisy snorted with disgust, as she looked me up and down. “She’s a liar, and a whore.”
Ty caught me by my arm as I attempted to lunge toward her. “Don’t,” he whispered in my ear. Daisy seemed even more repulsed. That’s when I realized, she was jealous…of me.
Needless to say, Ms. Alice said nothing to reprimand Daisy. I supposed it was because she agreed with her. Ty gently pushed me along, guiding me outside. And, Jackson followed closely behind him.
I inhaled a lungful of air. I was so nervous, I hadn’t realized that I had stopped breathing. I felt my eyes well up with tears. “How do you think she’s going to punish me?” I asked Ty.
Jackson threw his arms around my waist. I stroked his hair to comfort him.
I saw the muscle in Ty’s jaw jump. He was clenching his teeth. “It doesn’t matter, because we’re not going to be here.”
My heart pounded. Where would we go? How would we get there? When I locked eyes with Ty, I realized I didn’t need the answers. For the first time in a long while, I had someone to lean on and I knew things were going to be OK.
“We’re getting outta here tonight,” he said.
Jackson squeezed me harder. I knelt down, even with his face. “Hey, you’re coming too, ya know.” I held him tightly and softly said, “I would never leave you.”
3.
Ty and I stuffed what we could fit into our backpacks. Neither one of us, or Jackson, had much. With our clothes still on, we then got into our beds. We pretended to be asleep and waited for the perfect time to sneak out.
As I laid there, I replayed the fight I’d had with Daisy. I pictured the ending a little different. Instead of walking away, in this version I smacked her across the face.
My stomach grumbled. I was starving. As part of my punishment, Ms. Alice didn’t let me have any dinner. Ty and Jackson refused to eat in retaliation, so they were hungry too.
◆◆◆
“It’s time,” said Jackson.
Ty and I gave each other a look and tried not to laugh. It was so cute watching Jackson act so grown up. I felt a tug at my heart when it occurred to me that he was probably just trying to make sure he didn’t get left behind.
“Yes, sir,” said Ty as he saluted Jackson. “Be really quiet,” Ty reminded him as he started down the ladder.
We stuffed our pillows underneath our blankets and tried to make it look like we were still sleeping in our beds. We then slipped on our backpacks and shoes and tiptoed down the hall. Just as we reached the stairs, a bedroom door opened.
Ty and I stared at one another for a split second and then he pushed me and Jackson into the bathroom and slid off his backpack and shoes. I watched as he stepped back into the hallway.
“Hey,” he whispered. “It’s just me.”
“Oh my gosh, you scared me.” Daisy giggled. “What are you doing out here?”
I saw her silhouette leaning against the wall, looking up at him.
“I was coming to see you.”
I felt like I might throw up.
“Oh?” she whispered.
“Yeah, but just before you opened your door, I heard Jack call for me. I guess he wasn’t asleep like I thought. I need to go back and check on him before he wakes everyone. Give me a few minutes. When I’m sure he’s sleeping, I’ll meet you back in your room.”
She reached out and playfully pulled at the hem of his T-shirt. “OK,” she said and then rubbed her lips together like she was preparing to devour him.
I imagined smashing a hole in the sheetrock with her head.
“Remember, don’t come to my room; I’ll come to you when, and if, the coast is clear.”
She tugged at his belt loops as she tried to draw him near, but he resisted. “I better go before he comes out here.”
I knew that he was just trying to prevent her from discovering that we had left, but it was still hard to watch.
&nbs
p; Ty went back into our bedroom and waited for Daisy to close her door. As soon as she did, he came back to the bathroom, slipped on his shoes and grabbed his backpack. We headed down the stairs as quietly as we could.
I followed Ty out the door and Jackson trailed behind me. The blackness in front of us was terrifying, but it was better than what was behind us in that house. I couldn’t believe I was actually leaving. I never would’ve though, if it weren’t for Ty.
Ty stopped abruptly and turned around. “Jack! Come on,” he said in a forceful whisper.
I looked back to see Jackson still standing on the steps. “Jackson, what are you doing? Hurry sweetie before they catch us. He ran to me with his blue ribbon bunched up in his hand. I knelt and hugged him, and he reached for Ty and pulled him to us. The three of us held tightly to one another.
“You need to go to your house,” said Jackson frantically. “Ms. Alice won’t look for you, and the shadows can’t get you there."
A slamming car door startled us.
“Why did you say that?” I searched his eyes for an answer. “You’re coming with us, Jackson.”
“Fix your garden,” he said as he slipped from my grip and ran back up the steps. I called after him, but in a split second he had closed the door behind him.
I ran to the door and twisted the knob frantically. “He locked it, Ty!” I was trying to keep my voice low but I was in a sea of panic and the waves were crashing over my head.
A neighbor’s dog began barking and a light in Alice’s room came on. I knew Alice didn’t care about us, but I also knew, she would be furious when she discovered her servants and two-thirds of her monthly income were missing. I tried the knob one last time, but all it did was rattle. Why would he do this?
Ty pulled me away from the door and we didn't stop running until we reached the bus stop.
I took a moment to catch my breath. “Why do you think he did that?” My voice caught.
Ty pulled me close to his side and shook his head. “I’m not sure. He’s a smart little guy. Maybe he thought it would be easier for us if he wasn’t here.” He shrugged, “Or maybe he was just afraid of running into the shadows.”
The hair on the back of my neck stood up just thinking about them. “I thought he would’ve been more afraid to stay at Alice’s without me, than to face shadows with me.” We both flinched when we heard a noise come from the bushes.
“It’s probably just a cat,” he whispered.
I knew he didn’t believe that. I looked at the bus stop sign and then at the clock that was on the bank across the street. The bus was late. Come on! Come on!
The bus suddenly turned the corner and came toward us. Ty stood protectively close behind me and we hopped on the bus the second the doors opened. I sighed with relief when they closed and we pulled away from the curb. I couldn’t stop myself from looking back to see if anyone or anything was going to step out from the bushes, but it was too dark to see. Would I have even been able to see a shadow?
I pushed my hands into the pockets of my jacket to warm them. My eyes flooded with tears when I discovered Jackson had slipped his ribbon inside one, when he was hugging me. Was it a farewell gift? I knew how much it meant to him. I squeezed it with all my might, the way I wished I would’ve held onto him so he wouldn’t have gotten away.
Ty and I were silent for the entire ride. I only nudged him when it was time for us to get off.
◆◆◆
“This is it,” I said as we approached my house. We quietly slipped inside and I locked the door behind us. I switched on a lamp and a soft, golden glow filled the den.
“Nice,” said Ty as he looked around.
I went to the linen closet and took down two pillows and a couple of blankets.
“Here,” I said as I tossed one of the pillows and a blanket to Ty. “You can have the long couch; I’ll take the short one.”
“Would you mind if I built a fire? I don’t remember the last time I slept by a fireplace.”
"Go ahead."
In no time, the fireplace was alive with flames. As I sat there listening to it crackle, I couldn’t believe I was actually once again in my home. Of course, it wasn’t quite as good as I had imagined it would be because my mom and Jackson were missing from the scenario. My worry for them filled my eyes and rolled quietly down my cheeks.
“Hey,” whispered Ty. “It’s going to be OK. We’ll go back for Jackson.”
I nodded. My throat was burning from strain as I tried not to sob. “I just miss him so much,” I managed to choke out. “Alice isn’t really mean to him, but Daisy and Jacob—” I squeezed my eyes shut.
I felt Ty’s weight as he sat down next to me on the couch. Even though my heart was breaking, I still managed to feel embarrassed that I was crying in front of him. He put his arm around me and pulled my head to his chest. Calm slowly began to replace my anxiety.
“I know you want to get him as soon as possible—I do too—but I think we need to get your mom first.”
"What?!" When I looked up and saw his dark eyes looking down into mine, my heart beat even faster. “What do you mean?”
“I mean just that. We need to get your mom out of that place. I bet she’ll miraculously get better when we do. We need to make sure that Ruby, whoever she is, can’t get near her. It will be a lot easier to do this without Jackson.”
“But—how?” I asked. "I'm a minor. Hello? That's why I'm being forced to live with Ms. Alice. They're not going to just hand her over to me."
“Well, we’ll go in and out the way we saw Ruby do it—through the patio.” He was so calm, so brave. “We’ll push her in her chair, down the sidewalk, all the way here if we have to.”
“We can use my mom’s car, if it still runs. It’s in the garage, but it's a little banged up from her wreck.”
“We’ll get your mom tomorrow then.”
His lip went up on one side and made a feisty grin. He had so much confidence it overflowed onto me and made me brave. I was actually starting to believe, that anything was possible.
4.
“Time to wake up.” Ty was standing over me holding a pizza pan as a serving tray. “Breakfast in bed—or on the couch, I should say.” He grinned as he placed the pan on my lap when I propped myself up. “Happy Friday.”
“Pop-Tarts, my favorite!”
“I’m glad, because our choices are limited in there.” He nodded toward the kitchen.
“I guess we’ll need to go to the store,” I said.
“That’ll have to wait. I’m going to go have a look at your mom’s car. You know, make sure its running and has gas, that kinda stuff.”
“You know how to work on cars too?”
“Older ones. I already peeked in the garage—1982 Oldsmobile Delta 88—we’re good.” He gave me a reassuring smile as he picked up one of the pastries and proposed a toast. “To us and your mom’s great escape.”
I picked up the remaining Pop-Tart and we tapped them together. “I’ll eat to that.”
◆◆◆
“Do you guys have enough crap out here?” Ty teased as he opened the flaps on one of the many old cardboard boxes that lined the walls of the garage. He reached in a pulled out a tangled strand of green wire.
“Hey, be careful,” I said. He was holding the white lights my dad used to drape the shrubs with at Christmas.
Ty looked at the ball of wire and raised his brows. “You don’t seriously think I could hurt this mess, do you?”
I shrugged, and he tucked them back inside the box and then got to work.
I watched as he checked the oil and helped by handing him something when he asked for it, but mostly, I stayed out of his way.
When he was done with that, he checked the pressure in the tires. He kicked one in the rear of the car. “This one’s a little low.”
“We have an air compressor!” I jumped up from the ice chest I’d been sitting on and plugged it in for him. The compressor was rather large and made a deafening noise, but I
didn’t mind, I was just glad that I was finally able to be more helpful.
Ty filled the tire, then turned the machine off. “If you’ll raise the door, we can turn her on and see if she still runs.”
I pushed the button and the garage door awakened and let in the morning sunlight.
The key was already in the ignition, so Ty gave it a twist. The engine came to life without much effort. Ty smiled up at me as I bounced on the balls of my feet.
“Yes!” I cheered.
Ty pulled his wallet from his back pocket and looked inside. “It’s not much, but I have some money. Let’s go get a little gas and a few groceries.”
We got in and headed to the convenience store. I sneaked glimpses of Ty as he drove. He seemed even older now that he was sitting behind a steering wheel. As he raked his fingers through his hair, I noticed the way his bicep flexed. He had really nice arms.
“What are you looking at?” He grinned.
Busted! “Oh, um nothing.” If my answer wasn’t a big enough give away the blood that was rushing to my cheeks was.
“Nothing sure made you turn pink all of a sudden.”
I reached for the radio and turned it on.
“You don’t think we’ll run into Alice at the store do you?” I asked changing the subject.
“That bum? Yeah, right. She sleeps all day.”
My stomach twisted. “I wonder who’s helping Jackson get ready this morning.” I looked out my window until I was sure I wasn’t going to cry. “I hate to think he’s having to get ready for school all alone, but you’re right, Alice is probably still in bed. If he is getting any help at all, it’s from Daisy or Jacob.” I swallowed. “He would be better off alone.”
Ty pumped the gas while I went inside and grabbed a few things. I was placing some peanut butter in my basket when someone came up from behind. I guessed they wanted peanut butter too and I was in the way.