My heart raced. I was packing.
I was leaving.
Was I out forever?
The Longest Short Walk
Lily followed me to my bedroom and shut the door. The voices were louder in here, drifting through the vents. Even Jimmy was asking questions of Liam.
I hesitated. “Jimmy...” I said quietly.
She shook her head and smiled. “He’ll be okay,” she said. “Trust me. Carol should have known better than assuming she could take over another woman’s home. Get your things.”
I couldn’t imagine what Lily and Liam had said to her to convince her to return and face off with Carol.
I couldn’t believe this was happening. This had been planned. How?
Still, I was worried that we were leaving Marie alone with her mother, and what might happen to her.
What about our father?
I went to the bed to fetch the notebook. Then I went to the attic, throwing what I could into one of the duffle bags.
I was leaving.
For how long, I wasn’t sure.
I didn’t even notice what I was throwing in, I just shoved it all in the bag. My heart was beating so loud, thundering in my ears. My eyes were tearing up the more I moved. Excitement, hope and relief flooded through me all at once.
Leaving.
Escape.
I zipped up the bag, lifting it out of the attic. It was mostly clothes, the notebook and a few other items. If I left anything behind, Marie could have it.
Lily remained, scanning the room. “Anything else?” she whispered.
I shook my head.
“I’m going to follow you,” she said. “Once you’re out the front door, go to Kota’s house. Don’t stop, even if Carol comes out and asks you to. Not even your stepmother.”
“Will Marie be okay?” I asked.
She nodded and smiled. “Don’t worry. I’m not leaving until this is over.”
I breathed out slowly. I looked around the room, feeling sorry for Jimmy, having such a hard time coming here and then leaving so soon. I felt bad for Carol, too, but she’d started this.
I secured the bag across my shoulder and carried some of the weight by hand as I eased down the stairs. I was a bit heavier with the bag. The stairs creaked.
Not that it mattered. My stepmother was speaking so loud, her voice followed me to the front door.
“You’re delusional, lady,” she snapped, the venom so thick in her voice that it stirred the darkest corners in my mind. It shook me through. “That’s my daughter upstairs. This is my house. You can keep that man, but not before I get every last penny. And I’ll do it, just to make sure you don’t get anything. You don’t know what I know.”
Liam interrupted her. “Don’t say any more,” he said. “Don’t give anything away you can use in the divorce.”
She said something else, but Lily opened the door and urged me through.
I dashed out, fear following me.
She shut the door behind me, the wood creaking, the lock thrown as soon as it was shut.
While I could still hear the voices on the porch, I couldn’t hear anything specific. Just the inflection of hate, and Liam trying to be the stable one among them.
I took in the fresh air, hesitating only a moment. No real reason to pause, only to find more energy after the sudden shock.
I was out. It was quick. It was mostly painless.
The boys had done it. Or had they? Had they planned this?
Just when I took a step toward the front steps to descend, a figure appeared, crawling from the bushes.
Dr. Green stood up, wearing jeans and a gray T-shirt and black boots. He had a few fresh scratches on his arms from the bushes, and a couple of leaves stuck to his hair. He combed them out quickly and smiled at me.
Too big a smile. Very proud of himself.
They had done this. He was even taking credit.
My mouth hung open, gazing at how ridiculous his smile was, feeling a smile emerging from my lips. I shook my head. “I can’t believe...”
He wiggled his eyebrows and put a finger to his lips.
Somewhere in the bushes on the other side of the house, Nathan’s face appeared. He glared at Dr. Green, making motions with his hands. He was supposed to be hiding.
“I’m walking her,” Dr. Green said. He waved him out. “You’re just jealous you didn’t think to do it first.”
They were sticking close by, just in case. Where were the others? I had no doubt they were all in different locations around the house, perhaps some in the woods. They had to stand by and make sure Lily and Liam would be okay.
Dr. Green took the duffle bag from my shoulder and shooed me to take the sidewalk and head to the street.
I walked with him, feeling shaken and strange to be walking away. In daylight. With full knowledge of my stepmother and Carol.
Walking away from them.
He slung the bag over his shoulder and reached for my hand. His palm pressed against mine, fingers interlaced as he held it.
My heart still raced wildly as different emotions stirred through me. When we were at the street and walking toward Kota’s, I finally spoke. “Why didn’t you warn me?”
“Was a last-minute plan,” he said. “I wasn’t sure your stepmother would go for it. And we had to get Lily and Liam here. We had to get people into place... it was a lot to do.”
My mouth moved, wanting to ask a million questions. “I never thought...”
“I hated her before,” he said, speaking words I was thinking but unable to say for myself. “When she tied you to a stool, and then kept you in the closet, I hated her so much. Who knew she’d be a great key to getting you out of there?”
“She will notice I’m gone,” I said.
“She won’t care,” he said and squeezed my hand a little more. “It isn’t over, Sang. We’ll still have to keep an eye on things, but this way, you won’t be in the middle of it.”
I nodded. The secret about me could still get out. My stepmother might be using Academy lawyers, and my father, if he got one, would need the intervention of Academy lawyers as well. How would that all work? What happened to Carol was beyond me.
“What if they want me back?”
“We’ll worry about it then, but I doubt it. Lily will tell them you moved out. Maybe we’ll pretend you got married to me,” he said and winked. “Or we’ll just get married legally. I bet your stepmother would sign that paper. It’d be legal.”
I made a surprise O shape with my mouth.
“That was plan B,” he said. “Actually that was my first plan. But my plan didn’t involve Marie, and Mr. Blackbourne said this was probably faster and the Academy would approve easier. I think I agree with him.” He winked. “When we get married, I don’t want your stepmother to have anything to do with it.”
I didn’t say so, but I agreed with him.
We crossed Kota’s driveway and headed to the front door. It was only then that I noticed how cold the air was. I didn’t care.
I was so happy to be leaving, to be going to a place I loved.
When we were on the porch, I hesitated. “Will I be staying here now?”
He shrugged. “For today. And maybe for a few nights. After that, who knows? I’d invite you to my house, but my mother is in town.” He pushed the doorbell and passed me my bag back. “I’m not supposed to be here,” he said. “Yet.” He backed away.
He jumped the front porch’s steps and was out of sight around the garage when the door opened.
Kota stood there, and Erica was behind him. Kota wore jeans and a green Polo shirt and was barefoot. Erica wore fuzzy socks, some flannel pajama pants and a large yellow pajama shirt. Had she just gotten up?
Only then did I realize I was still in pajamas, too.
Kota smiled, and Erica only showed a little surprise. She playfully shoved Kota aside as she came out to greet me.
“Sang!” She squealed a little and gave me a very brief hug. I froze, but after th
e shock I’d gotten earlier, this was welcome. “He was just telling me how you called him to see if it was okay to come over for a birthday week. How’d you know that was exactly what he wanted?”
I blinked over her shoulder at Kota. His birthday? I had completely forgotten about it.
Which was why I was going to Kota’s and not Nathan’s or anyone else’s house.
Kota touched the corner of his glasses briefly, and awkwardly smiled. “Mom,” he said. “Don’t make a big deal. Please.”
“Of course it is a big deal,” Erica said and she tugged me by the wrist into the house. “He’s seventeen. That’s a big year. What do we want to do this week? I was thinking of having the guys over tonight, of course. Pizza party?”
“Sounds...good?” I said, unable to stop the smile on my face. I didn’t care what we did. I loved it.
The bag slipped off my shoulder and landed just in the doorway. Kota scooped it up.
“Go put that upstairs,” Erica said. “I’ll allow her to sleep up there, but we’ve got a few rules to cover.” She waggled a finger at Kota.
My heart fluttered as she led me further into the house.
I’d follow any rules she set.
Bombs
Later that afternoon, I sat in a bathtub. My hair was piled up on my head, tied into an awkward bun with a black clip. Some strands had fallen away around my shoulders.
The bathtub was filled to the edge with bubbles. Only my toes and head were sticking out. Even though my knees were poking out a little, you couldn’t see them for all the suds.
Gabriel sat nearby on the edge of the tub. He wore red pajama pants and a bright orange tank shirt. His blond strands were combed back into the russet. He held a basket he’d brought in earlier. It had the bottle of bubble bath he’d used in the tub. He went through the other items, opening boxes and bottles and sniffing the contents.
He picked up a pink round ball out of a container. “Bath bombs,” he said. He sniffed it. “Hm, it smells okay.”
Luke sat on the counter, his butt basically in the sink. He leaned against the wide mirror, his hair in a ponytail with a fuzzy black holder, something he’d borrowed from Jessica. Clips were in short supply at the moment. Gabriel had a stash and he wasn’t telling us where. “What’s the scent?”
Gabriel turned the bomb over to read the label. “Pinktacular. What the shit? What the hell scent is ‘pink’?”
“Throw it in,” Luke said. “Let’s see what it does.”
I giggled, lifting my hand out of the water, trying to wipe my cheek from a strand of hair, only I was getting bubbles pressed to my face.
Kota had insisted I sleep shortly after I’d gotten to his house. When I woke up, Gabriel and Luke were here and said a couple of others were going to show up. Not everyone, but enough to make it a sleepover.
Gabriel held the pink ball over the tub and then hesitated. “How are we supposed to see this if there’s so many bubbles?”
“Scoop some out,” Luke said. He got up and slid off the counter. He got on his knees at the tub and cupped his hand. He scooped some of the bubbles out, holding some and looking around. He nudged Gabriel out of the way. “Open the toilet. We’ll put it in there.”
I couldn’t reach the toilet to help, but sat up. I pressed my knees to my body to cover myself as they scooped out enough bubbles to see the space near the faucet and into the water.
Gabriel held the bath bomb over the water and then dropped it.
The bomb sunk, clunking against the tub.
It fizzled, spinning, and the water turned a rosy color. We watched it until the color was thick enough you couldn’t see the ball anymore, only a few fizzing bubbles.
“It just smells like sugar,” Luke said. “And maybe like strawberry, but mostly sugar.”
“I didn’t know it turned the water colors, too,” Gabriel said. He set the basket on the counter and then motioned to me. “Cover up the water again. Don’t tell Kota it was me if it ends up staining his tub.”
I didn’t think it would, but I’d never used one before.
There was a heavy knock at the door before it opened. No one had bothered to lock the door?
Silas and North hovered in the doorway, looking in. They checked out Luke and then Gabriel. North scrunched his dark eyebrows and then spotted me in the tub.
Silas tilted his head, taking in the toilet, open with a pile of bubbles inside.
I ducked a little, feeling North already disapproving of the others being in here when I was bathing.
Until I noticed his eyes also going to the toilet filled with bubbles, and then the water in the bathtub that was looking pink.
“What the hell are you putting in the toilet?” North’s voice was raspy, but still deep. He was losing his voice. I wondered who he had been shouting at. “What are you doing in here?”
“She’s taking a bath,” Gabriel said. “Chill out. We’re just goofing off.”
“Well, goof off downstairs. There’s pizza,” North said.
Gabriel pushed the basket of bath stuff onto the counter and followed Luke out of the bathroom. I couldn’t smell any pizza, but the thought of it made my stomach rumble.
Silas and North remained in the bathroom, gazing at me.
North came in further and sniffed at the air. “What’s that smell?”
“Pink,” I said flatly but grinned.
“That’s not a smell.”
“That’s what the label said.”
Silas chuckled.
North rolled his eyes. “Hurry up before the food is all gone. I’d make them wait but it might be better to let them eat now than force them to sit and wait and just smell it.” He walked away, heading toward the stairs and down.
Silas remained in the doorway for only a second, before reaching for the door. He paused. “Aggele,” he said, his dark, soulful eyes meeting mine. “Do you need me to sit here with you?”
I shook my head. “I’m almost done. I’ll get out.”
“Need clothes?”
I hesitated and then nodded. Forgot those. “Grab some?”
He went to the closet next to the bathroom, leaving the door open. It caused a cooler breeze to come through from Kota’s bedroom, but I sunk into the water to soak in the warmth.
He returned with one of his own Red Sox shirts and a pair of my pajama pants and some underwear. He dropped them on the sink top near the basket. “Smells good,” he said. “I like the pink smell.”
I smiled. I could smile all day.
I was free.
He smiled and came over to the tub. “Can I sit? For a minute?”
I nodded, wiping away some bubbles that had collected on the edge of the tub.
He sat and leaned toward me. He motioned to my neck. “I...your neck.”
I touched it gently, feeling a spot that was tender. “I should cover it.”
“You can tell her Kota did it,” Silas said.
I shook my head slowly. “No. For the others. For Kota. He’d know.”
Silas’s chest lifted as he breathed in deeply and let it go. “I didn’t scare you...then... did I?”
“Scare me? No.”
“Victor said something to me, that...you looked a little afraid leaving the bedroom. I just didn’t expect it. I didn’t think about it. I haven’t thought of what I would do if...I saw...”
I reached for his arm, pressing soapy fingers against it. “No. This is hard. You’re right. I have to be more careful around you all. I can’t imagine what must go through your head, finding me like that.”
He covered my hand over with his own. “I just realized after...it shouldn’t only be on you, either. I’ve got to adjust how I think, too. I think I need to talk to Lily. But I don’t want to go by myself. Will you go with me?”
I nodded quickly. “Of course. I want to.”
He smiled. He leaned over and I got up enough to kiss him, once, on the lips.
He backed up, beaming, and stood to head to the door. “After this
week, though. Stay with Kota now. We need him.”
After he left and closed the door for me, I rose out of the water quickly. It was tempting to stay in the tub to soak, but I didn’t want to miss a moment.
I never wanted to miss any more moments.
This was what I wanted. I swallowed, emotion thickening my throat and dampening my eyes. I’d had the same thoughts since earlier.
I was out.
This was right.
I dried off and took some time to brush my hair and reclip it. I put on the shirt, big enough to cover my butt and hang off one shoulder.
It was comfortable, though, so I wore it, along with the other clothes. I allowed the tub to drain.
I opened the bathroom door to find Kota standing there, fist ready to knock. He stopped himself, backing up a half step.
His cheeks turned red. “Oh,” he said. “I just...” He wasn’t looking at me then but at my shoulder. He blinked a few times.
“Something wrong?” Then I realized—the bruise on my neck. Had he seen it? Did he realize what it was?
He reached out slowly, wiping at my shoulder blade. He brought his finger back.
It was covered with tiny sparkles.
I was surprised to see it. I tilted myself toward the light, finding my arms were covered as well. “There was a bath bomb,” I said. “It must have had some sparkles in there.”
He chuckled. “They’ll get all over the house now.”
“Sorry.”
“Don’t be,” he said. He wiped his finger across his shirt, creating a short sparkle streak across the green. His gaze lifted to my face.
I held it as long as I dared before blushing and looking at his shoulders instead. “How is...um...Luke and Gabriel didn’t know if Carol had left yet or if Lily and Liam were still over there. Do you know?”
He nodded and backed up another step, moving to sit on the bed, urging me to follow. “From what I know, Lily and Liam remained until Carol repacked her car with Jimmy and they took off for a local hotel. They called your dad. He hasn’t answered them back.”
The coward. I moved to the edge of the bed but remained standing. “Where is he now?”
“Still at work, although I wonder if he’ll actually contact them at all. Whatever happens, we’ll listen and we can be ready for it.”