The Rules for Disappearing (15 page)

Crunch, crunch, crunch.

I’m ready to run when an older man steps from around a tree.

He’s wearing overalls and carrying pruning shears and is com-

pletely oblivious to me freaking out on the sidewalk. He trims a few overhanging limbs on the front side then wanders off to another part of the yard.

I’m turning into a paranoid basket case.

It’s a harder walk down this street because the sidewalk is buckled in places from the roots of giant oak trees. I make it about three blocks before the traffic picks up. I check my watch—school is over.

I walk another block and stop. Ethan’s truck is parked in

a driveway up ahead. I’m guessing it’s his house since I’m only a couple of blocks from Front Street now and he said he lived near Pearl’s. Moving to the opposite side of the street, I try to make it past without being seen. As much as I don’t want to finish the walk S—

home by myself, I don’t want to look like stalker girl either. A loud N—

whistle pierces the air followed by a sharp bark. A big black dog 118

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catches something in his mouth mid-air in Ethan’s front yard. The dog trots back to the front porch where he drops the tennis ball on the ground in front of Ethan, who’s staring at me.

Great. This does not look good. Since this is not the most direct route home, it looks like I’ve gone out of my way to pass his house.

Ethan jumps off the front porch and jogs across the street, the dog bouncing along behind him.

“Now, I feel bad. You’re walking home?”

I hold my hand up. “No, don’t feel bad. I could’ve taken the bus but I cut out of last period early. I took your advice.”

Ethan chuckles. “Should have taken it earlier and come with me this morning.”

Okay, heart really starting to pump blood and I’m sure it shows in my face. Every time I look at him, my eyes go straight for those lips. “Yeah, maybe.”

He kneels down and scratches the dog behind his ears. The dog

drops to the ground in pure bliss, and Ethan looks up at me with those blue eyes. “You want me to take you the rest of the way?”

Say no. I should really say no. “Yeah, that’d be great.”

Big smile, even bigger dimple.

He and the dog jog back across the street to his truck. Ethan’s home is an old, two-story house with a wraparound porch and lots of rocking chairs. It’s charming, very fitting for the neighborhood.

I follow behind them. “What’s your dog’s name?”

Ethan rubs his hands over the back of the dog’s head. “This is Bandit.” Letting down the tailgate, the dog jumps in.

“He’s pretty. What kind of dog is he?”

—S

“Lab. Best bird dog there is.”

—N

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I guess that has something to do with hunting.

We hop in and go about two blocks before Ethan asks, “So did

Emma and Ben fight all day or what?”

His voice is tight, like he’s trying not to still be pissed about what happened this morning.

“From what it looked like, he mostly ignored her.” I’m not about to tell him Ben stalked me all day or what he said about not trusting Ethan.

“Oh, I bet she loved that.” At a red light, Ethan taps the steering wheel and asks, “Do you want to hang out later? After work?”

“Are you talking about going to that party?”

“Well, yeah, or we could do something else.”

Decision time. That’s all I really want to do in this town—hang out with him. But this is like jumping off the deep end. After the kiss this morning and going out on a date with him tonight, I won’t be able to keep any distance between us. “Do I have to let you know right now?”

His forehead creases and he stares at the road ahead. “No, you can tell me later.”

I’m pretty sure that’s not what he wanted to hear, but I can’t help it. At this point, I’m terrified to fall for him more than I already have.

We pull into the parking lot as Teeny’s getting off the bus at the curb. She spots Ethan’s truck and sprints toward his side until she sees Bandit in the back. She almost skids in the parking lot when she readjusts her direction to him. She climbs up on the back bum-S—

per and buries her head in Bandit’s neck.

N—

Ethan gets out of the truck and walks back to where Teeny and

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Bandit are. They both look at him with the same puppy dog eyes.

“I see you met Bandit.”

“Is that his name? He is sooooo cute. Does he know any tricks?”

Ethan lowers the tailgate and Bandit jumps out. Bandit goes

through his series of tricks: sit, lie down, play dead. Ethan grabs a tennis ball out of the inside of his truck and bounces it high on the concrete. Bandit catches it on the first bounce. Teeny is ecstatic.

Ethan throws Teeny the ball then she starts bouncing it for

Bandit. I watch from the tailgate, and Ethan joins me after a few minutes.

“You made her day,” I say.

“I wish I would’ve known she loved dogs. I’d have brought him

sooner.”

“Mom’s allergic so we’ve never had a pet. That’s all Teeny ever wanted.”

“Teeny?”

Oh shit.

I cannot believe I just called her that. Out loud. It’s been three placements since I screwed up like that. I take a quick, deep breath.

“Oh, that’s some stupid nickname Dad calls her. Don’t tell her I told you or she’ll be pissed.”

Ethan laughs quietly and looks at Teeny. “She’s not really small.”

“She was when she was little. It just sort of stuck. Anyway, I guess I better get ready to go to Pearl’s.”

Ethan glances at his watch and says, “It’s pretty close to four, I could hang out and then drive y’all over.”

“No!” That was a little too loud and quick. I scoot off the tail-

—S

gate. “I mean, Mary’s gonna have to shower or Mom will have some

—N

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sort of horrible reaction. So, I’ll be busy getting her ready.”

“She needs your help for a shower?”

I call Teeny over and totally ignore his question. She probably would be fine to get herself dressed today, but Ethan would want to come inside and that can’t happen. He hops off the tailgate and whistles for Bandit to load up. Teeny brings him back the tennis ball then acts ridiculous with Bandit for another couple of minutes before we can head up the stairs.

“Mary, I’m not gonna be able to make pizzas tonight but Pearl

will still let you help back there. Okay?”

Her bottom lip puckers slightly but she says, “Okay.” Then she turns and runs up the steps.

I grab my go-bag out of his truck and put it on my back. Ethan tugs on it and I turn around.

“I’ve got to go to the farm this afternoon, but I’ll be at Pearl’s to pick you up at eight.”

I open my mouth to speak but Ethan holds his hand up. “Loosen

up. We’re gonna go out. Have some fun. It’s gonna be all right.”

He links his hand in mine and pulls me in close. It almost looks like he wants to say something else but doesn’t. I can feel his rough fingers on mine and goose bumps shoot up my arm. I stare at his mouth, half open like he’s caught in the middle of forming a word, and I want to kiss him again, right here in the parking lot.

But Ethan drops my hand and walks to the driver’s side of the

truck. I let him go without another word. I hate being scared but the last time I waited for a date, the suits showed up instead.

S—

I have to remind myself—this isn’t like the night I waited for N—

Tyler. God, that night sucked. I was dressed up, waiting for him to 122

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pick me up for a Halloween party, when the suits yanked us out of that placement. I had to stay in that stupid costume until we got to the safe house.

I spent the next two placements being a total bitch to every boy who showed any interest in me. I never wanted to feel guilty for deserting someone who cared about me like that again.

And then I met Ethan.

—S

—N

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RULES FOR DISAPPEARING

BY WITNESS PROTECTION PRISONER #18A7R04M:

Most mistakes are made when you think no one is watching. And someone is always watching.

Itiptoe into the house. Mom’s waiting for me on the couch. It’s day two on the sober train. And she’s been crying. Teeny’s peeking from the hall, her eyes big.

“Sissy, I’ve been waiting for you.”

I mouth the word “shower” to Teeny and motion her down

the hall. I drop down on the couch next to Mom. She’s got tissue bunched up in both hands and alternates between the two, mopping up her face. “I’m so sorry I slapped you yesterday.”

“I’m sorry, too. I shouldn’t have said that about Dad.”

Mom waves her arms around. “We shouldn’t be here. Dad may

be close to working things out. We may not have to do this much longer.”

I scoot closer and hold her hand. “What does that mean? Will

we stay here? Or go back home?”

She shakes her head. “I’m not sure, Sissy. He won’t tell me much S—

and he’d be really upset if he knew I told you anything.” She pulls N—

me in close. “Please don’t tell him what I’ve told you.” She pulls 124

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back and runs her fingers through my short, dark hair. “You and Teeny were the cutest little girls. I can’t believe what they did to your hair.”

I’m reeling over this bomb she just dropped on me and she’s

upset about a bad dye job. “Mom, if all this may be over soon, please tell me what happened. I won’t tell Dad you told me.”

She picks at a lock of my hair and stares at it. “Sissy, there are a lot worse things than your Dad finding out what we’re talking about.” Her voice is hard, bitter.

I’m applying lip gloss when Pearl sticks her head in the bathroom.

“Ethan’s outside.” Pearl looks me up and down. “Whoa, girl. Look at you.”

I can’t help the smile that grows across my face. This is the first time in this placement that I’ve “dressed up.” It’s minor compared to what I used to do to get ready for a party, but it’s about ten steps up from the normal towel-dried hair and gray hoodie. I took a break halfway through my shift and ran to a funky little clothing shop I saw on Front Street. I used most of my tip money but got a really cute distressed leather jacket that looks great over a plain T-shirt and jeans. I don’t really have any other options for shoes so these hideous tennis shoes will have to do. The jacket is a ridiculous waste of money but it’s been so long since I’ve splurged on anything for myself, I couldn’t resist.

“Thanks, Pearl. Will you tell him I’ll be out in a minute?”

“Sure thing, honey. Nothing wrong with making a boy wait.”

Since my talk with Mom this afternoon, my mind is racing.

—S

There’s a dangerous thing brewing in there—hope.

—N

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I haven’t abandoned The Plan, but I am encouraged by my

conversation with Mom. And as much as I try to push Ethan away, I’m already sunk.

Next week, I’m going to try a new approach. I’ll surf the Internet for anything I can find, and may break down and call Laura or Elle to see what they know. Maybe something came out after we left—I don’t know. It would be a hard thing to do but that may be my only option.

I’ll have to be smart about it though: maybe take a bus to another town first. This will no doubt bring on the wrath of the suits, but I don’t care anymore. Whatever Dad is working on can go one of two ways: we’re out and free or it could blow up in his face. I still need to figure out what’s going on, now more than ever.

But tonight is for me. I’m going to have one night to be a normal teenage girl who is going out with a really hot guy. If Dad and I both fail, my family could be running the rest of our lives and then what? Someone could be right around the corner and kill us all dead! College is out when you move around like this. I’ll be stuck finding some job like I have here and taking care of Mom and Teeny. Forever. So for tonight—screw it.

Pearl gave me a big ass aerosol can of Aqua Net. It looks about twenty years old and is probably full of all the bad stuff they banned years ago. The bathroom fills with a cloud of sticky fog as I try to style my hair. I’m trying to mimic the hairstyle of the girl from the coffee shop and the end product is actually pretty close. The only thing I truly despise is leaving the brown contacts in.

S—

I throw my work shirt in my go-bag and head out of the bath-

N—

room. Ethan is talking to Pearl in the kitchen and actually gets 126

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tripped up in the middle of a sentence when he sees me. I blush to my hairline.

“Meg, you look great.” It’s said in the tone like,
Holy shit, you’re
not a total troll,
but I don’t take it personally. I know I normally look like a war refugee. He looks down at the bag. “You want to drop that off first?”

I grip the handle a little tighter. “No.”

Awkward silence.

In the truck, I push the go-bag far under the seat. Hopefully, out of sight, out of mind. “So where’s this party?”

“A friend of mine’s house. His parents are gone. They live right outside of town. Shouldn’t get busted.”

I hadn’t really thought of that. If I got picked up by the police at a party, I may as well pack the van myself. My screw it bravado wavers slightly.

“Can I borrow your cell phone to call home?”