Redemption (Night Marchers #2) Written by: Rebecca Gober and Courtney Nuckels (7 page)

"Capoosh! So what's the plan? Hi-jack a boat
or stow away on a cruise ship?" Kaylee says excitedly.

"Nah, I get sea sick." I reply jokingly while
simultaneously raising an eyebrow at her. "How about an old
fashioned plane ride?"

"So practical Emma. I would be more into a
more modern plane ride though, I heard those old fashioned ones
tend to be really bumpy in the sky." Kaylee says.

I've really missed how natural and fun it is
to jump into witty chatter with Kaylee. "Here's the problem,
Kaylee, those modern plane rides cost mucho dinero and I don't have
any." I watch as Kaylee ponders this dilemma.

"Well, would you consider this an emergency?"
Kaylee asks.

"Of the highest sort, yes." I reply.

"I agree. Then I would say that this would be
a good reason to dip into my emergency college fund. Now, I know
you like to roll in style, but this girl can't afford first class
tickets." Kaylee says with a laugh.

Instead of laughing though, my eyes start
tearing up. They are good tears though. I have an amazing friend.
Kaylee realizes that I've gone into 'serious mode,' and it doesn't
take long before her eyes go all watery too.

She grabs two Kleenex’s from her nightstand,
hands one to me and then uses the other one to dab at her eyes.
"Thank you so much Kaylee. I don't know what I would do without
you."

"I don't know either." She says lightening up
the mood a bit with her quick wit. "Anyhow, we are family and
family helps each other."

I nod and then blush when my stomach lets out
a ferocious growl.

"Well then," Kaylee jokes, "I guess it's time
to scrounge up some dinner."

We both head to the kitchen. Kaylee's mom has
already gone to bed since she has to get up at four a.m. for her
flight tomorrow. So with her asleep, we are left to fend for
ourselves. After carefully weighing out the option between cereal
and ramen we decided on ramen.

Kaylee fills me in on all that's been going
on at our high school, senior pranks and all as we slurp our
noodles. After dinner we head back to her room, open up my laptop
and hunt for deals on last minute flights. We consider trading in
Kaylee's ticket that the Kealoha's purchased for her, but decide
that it could end up tipping them off on our plans. We check out
numerous sites and finally end up settling on one that only costs
an arm and half of a leg. Rates on flights must be exponentially
higher this week because Texas is out on spring break. We use
Kaylee's debit card to purchase and confirm our flights.

With plane tickets set up for tomorrow, I'm
exhausted with jet lag and feel sleep calling to me but I have one
last thing to do before getting some shuteye. Pulling out my IPhone
I send a quick text letting Tristan know the details of our flight.
A minute later my phone vibrates; I open it to see the
response.

"R U sure? I think perhaps u r safer in
Texas."
Tristan texts back.

I take a deep breath and try not to be
frustrated by his response.
"So are u sayin u don't want me 2
come back?"
I know I’m being a total girl and twisting his
words, but I can’t seem to help it.

A few seconds later he responds,
"No! Of
course I want u back. I just also want u safe."

Kaylee looks at me and raises her eyebrows in
question when she sees me rolling my eyes at the phone. I ignore
the question and text back,
"Understand. So do u want 2 help or
not?"

He doesn't respond. I wonder after a few
minutes if he's going to even bother. As I'm about ready to throw
my phone out the window in frustration, he says,
"K. What do u
need me 2 do?"

Using my two thumbs I type out my game plan
to Tristan and in the end, the only response I get from him is,
"K."

I can tell that he's not too thrilled about
how secretive we will have to be, nor is he happy that I'm going to
be back in the line of danger. While I care about Tristan and what
he thinks, I'm not going to waver on what I need to do. Kai is in
this spot because of me. I can't just sit back and let him stay
that way while I go on with my life. It's not possible. I send
Tristan a final text,
"Thx. G Night."

He doesn't text back, but that's okay. I know
he's upset and probably feels like I'm pulling his arm since he
knows that if he doesn't help me, I will still do this without him.
Just call me stubborn. But, tonight, I can't worry about that. I'm
too exhausted to worry about it. She sets her alarm for five in the
morning, both for making sure her mom is gone, and because we have
a flight to catch at nine. As I fall asleep, I can't help but
wonder what Kai is going through tonight and if he's thinking about
me.

Chapter 4

It seems so bizarre to be loading luggage
back into the car so soon after I’d just arrived. Kaylee is sleep
walking over to the coffee maker to get her breakfast. She is
pretty much useless in the morning until she has had her first cup
of jo. We sit at the counter sipping our coffee and I watch as
Kaylee comes alive. The dawn is becoming apparent as the first rays
of light seep in from the window.

“We better get a move on Kaylee if we’re
going to catch our flight.”

Kaylee nods in response. “You know Emma, I
don’t know if it has just hit me until now that I am actually going
to Hawaii!” Yep, she woke up. “I mean, that is so cool!”

I watch her as she jumps off the bar stool
and runs into her room. Struggling to catch up to her, I find her
packing several different swimsuits, sundresses, flip flops etc.
into her suitcase.

“You know, I hate to be a killjoy Kaylee, but
I don’t think we are going to have a lot of time to sit around and
soak up the sun while we’re there. Remember what this is all
about!” I am trying not to be a Debbie Downer, but I can’t help but
squelch her spirits if she is thinking of this as some exotic
vacation.

Kaylee stops mid pack and looks up at me. She
exhales softly looking deflated. “Sorry Emma, it’s just—ever since
I was small I’ve always wanted to go somewhere like Hawaii, I’ve
just never had the chance, what, with my mom being the sole
provider and all.”

Feeling utterly horrible I kneel down to
Kaylee’s level. “Trust me Kaylee, if there was any other way…” I
leave it at that. I know I really don’t have to explain myself,
because in a few hours time she will be immersed in it as well.

Getting to the airport doesn’t take long when
Kaylee is driving. If there were ever open auditions for NASCAR I
would sign her up myself. My hand remains glued to the ‘Oh Crap’
bar as we drift into the nearest parking spot. I cringe just
knowing she’s going to be paying $20 a day to park here.

Standing in line for the ticket counter to
pick up our boarding passes feels like the longest wait of our
lives. Not because the line itself is long, but because we know
that when we get to the counter, they will need to check our IDs.
They could technically say something about us being minors and that
could put an end to our trip before it has even begun.

Once we finally get to the front of the line
an older woman behind the counter calls out, "next!" I start to
head forward but Kaylee grabs me abruptly by the arm and then
kneels down, pretending to mess with her shoelace. Since she's
stalling for some apparent reason, I turn around to a young couple
behind us and offer them to go ahead in front of us.

Once they move ahead Kaylee stands up and
gives me a mischievous look. That's when I hear a man at the far
end of the counter call out, "Next!" This airline employee is
somewhat young; I would say early twenties if I had to guess.
Kaylee turns slightly towards me whispering, “Let me do the
talking.”

Oh boy, I have no idea what she intends to
do, but she better not blow it! We finally get to the front of the
line when I see Kaylee’s hair flipping back flirtatiously as she
cocks her hip. Oh. My. Gosh. Is all I can think right now. She bats
her eyelashes as she waltzes up to the ticket counter and leans
forward over it, leaving only about a foot of space between the two
of them. I look at the young man who is paying no attention to me.
I can tell that he is a little shocked by Kaylee's audacity, but I
can also tell he is enjoying every second of it.

Kaylee places our confirmation print outs we
got online in between the two of them. Then she begins in a throaty
soulful voice, “Hey handsome, have we met before, you look
familiar?”

“Um, I don’t think so,” the man hesitantly
replies. He methodically places each print out under the bar code
reader without even looking down.

“Hmmmm,” Kaylee ponders. She twirls her hair
around the tip of her finger. “Maybe it was just in my dreams.” I
see a smirk little smile etch across her face.

Oh brother…

I hear a flirtatious giggle before she
continues. “It looks like you have a very important job.” She
reaches for his nametag tracing the name Tad with her index finger.
She turns to me and grabs my arm bringing me to her side. “And this
is my friend Emma. Emma and I are on our way to Hawaii!” She
giggles again.

My face is probably beet red and I am so over
this moment wishing it would end soon. I could only imagine what
the people behind us are thinking right about now.

"Sounds like fun," He says flirting right
back. Kaylee hands over her ID while she tries her best to distract
Tad. He only steels a quick glance to confirm that the name matches
the computer. It takes an agonizing moment before he gives it back
to Kaylee.

“You ladies have a good trip,” Tad says while
giving Kaylee the once over. He quickly checks mine but is still
looking at Kaylee out of the corner of his eye. I do a mental eye
roll as he hands me back my ID along with our boarding passes. I
have no idea how he processed and printed them without even looking
at the screen.

Kaylee takes a sharpie out of her purse then
grabs his hand and places her digits on his palm.

“It was nice to meet you Tad,” I say while
pushing Kaylee past the ropes and towards the security area. Kaylee
reaches her hand up extending her thumb and pinkie finger to her
ear,
call me
, she mouths back to Tad.

“Okay, seriously Kaylee, I think you might
have just taken that a little too far.” I say giving her a playful
shove.

Kaylee laughs, “I got us through didn’t
I.”

She has a point, so I just nod in mutual
understanding as we make our way through the security checks.

Once we make it through, I check my watch
seeing we have about 30 minutes or so until our flight boards. It’s
just enough time to stop at Starbucks and get a steaming cup of
coffee. I grab a pastry as well knowing all about the revolting
food they serve in coach. This should tide me over for a few hours
at least, I hope.

***

Kaylee unscrews the air nozzle above her in
the plane letting out a burst of cold air.

“Hey,” I chide as Kaylee turns it back
down.

“Sorrree,” she chides back.

To say I’m a little on edge would be an
understatement. I feel like I’ve been running in circles uselessly
since I last saw Kai, and I’m not sure what to do with myself. I go
to recline my seat only to be stopped just inches back. I push the
button and try again only to get the same resistance. I look behind
me and get a very dirty look from an overly large woman. I let out
a long sigh and settle in for the remainder of the long trip
ahead.

Chapter 5

As Kaylee and I exit onto the air bridge I
shoot her a semi-dirty look. She looks so refreshed from her
five-hour nap. I on the other hand am as stiff as a board from
sitting straight up for eight hours. I shrug off my annoyance;
after all, I wouldn't have been able to sleep anyhow, even if I was
laying all the way back in first class.

As we walk through the terminal I catch a
glimpse of my reflection in a poster frame. My hair looks affright;
so I reach up to try to straighten it out a bit with my hands.
Kaylee smirks at me then pulls a brush out of her purse. I gladly
accept it and start pulling it through my tangled mane.

When we near baggage claim my heart starts
doing the quick step. Knowing Tristan might be there is one of the
things that have kept me wide-awake throughout the entire plane
ride.

Kaylee looks at me knowingly and gives me a
reassuring pat on the back. "Breathe Emma, it will be okay."

"Easy for you to say," I mutter. I have no
idea how Tristan is going to act when I see him. That is, if he
even comes at all. He was none too pleased about my asking for his
help. Not that he doesn't want to help me, he just doesn't want me
in danger. He made that perfectly clear when I was awoken around
two a.m. this morning by the sound of his text. He obviously didn't
think about the time difference. Anyhow, he was pleading with me to
stay put in Texas. We argued back and forth until I sent a final
text to him saying:
Never mind, I don't want your help. I will
do this on my own.
I then shut off my phone and haven't turned
it back on since.

When we reach baggage claim, Tristan is
nowhere to be found. I don't know if I should be relieved that he's
not there or if I should feel bad or worried. I know he's not happy
with me, but I care about him and I don't like that we’re arguing.
In addition, I was really counting on his help with my plan. I take
a deep breath, clear my thoughts and turn to Kaylee, "Whatever, we
can do this on our own anyway. We don't need him!" I think I say
this more to try and convince myself than her.

Kaylee looks at me worriedly. I'm sure she
knows that I'm upset but doesn't make a big deal out of it. "You
bet Emma, we are woman, hear us roar!" I stifle a laugh.

She always knows how to lighten my mood. We
both head over to the luggage carrousel and grab our bags. "Well I
guess we will just hail a taxi," I say.