Chapter Thirty-Five
Sarah
DARKNESS INVADED THE rooms of the Towson mansion. The dark was like a veil, covering every Towson face in miraculous slumber. Zach thought his house was haunted, but everyone else assumed it was child’s play. On a night like tonight, though, anything could be thought possible.
A man appeared on the grass, his tennis shoes stroking the dewy grass. He wore a black ski mask and appropriate clothing to melt in with his surroundings. Since he’d been stalking the place for nearly a week, he understood a spare key was hidden underneath a large jew plant on the back porch. He lifted the watery verdure and its numerous violet tendrils and took the key into his glove. He quickly sashayed across the stone path to the back door, where, using his good eyes, he had spied on the girl—Sarah—punch in a few numbers on the home security system. Simply, he planned to pray no one heard the beeps. His car was parked on the street by a Japanese magnolia, ready to drive away when he successfully obtained Karli.
He opened the door, the bleeps prickling his skin. He punched the appropriate keys and turned the system off and back on. It was louder than he imagined, probably because he was absolutely terrified. He quickly paraded into the kitchen, taking every angle with a cocky stride. He heard no stirrings. He hoped no one was awake. He found the back staircase, the pretty hardwood steps making him cringe. The love of his life had abandoned him for a cookie-cutter friend, a friend she couldn’t stand. She always ranted about Sarah, and he always told her to get over it. He felt bad for his comments now, because he really loved Karli, and she’d hurt him, but he would forgive her. He always forgave her.
He took the steps two at a time and heard the whir of a fan. It was his first stroke of luck. He peeked into the boy’s room, and the kid was out cold. Moonlight streamed into his bedroom, but his tongue hung out of his head. He was unconscious.
Next, he passed the girl Sarah’s room. She slept by a fan on its loudest spin cycle. He smiled. He continued onward, finding Karli easily. She was splayed out on the bed like a princess, her white hair fanned out, her hand resting protectively against her stomach. He missed her so much it hurt to even stare at her form. Somehow she was prettier pregnant than before. A twinge of guilt hit him for how he’d treated her, and how she’d sought Alex McFarland—of all people—instead of him.
He loved her. He wanted to marry her. And he had forgiven her.
He unsealed the baggie containing a cloth doused with chloroform. His buddy had sworn it would do the trick. He gently padded across the room, making little sound, and was proud once again that his girlfriend had always been such a heavy sleeper. He lifted the cloth to her nose and mouth and gently pressed. Karli’s eyes fluttered open and she acted like she would scream, but something kept her against it. He continued to hold the cloth against her. As the chloroform began to seep into her lungs, a sleepy voice called out, “Karli, you okay? I thought I saw you walking around.”
The girl appeared at the door. John cursed himself for not shutting the thing behind him. Anxiously he picked up his girlfriend, who was finally gaining consciousness. “Is this real life?” she whispered.
Sarah retreated, grabbing a lamp from a nearby table. Before she could lose the bravery to do so, she aimed it at the intruder’s head. It crashed to the floor after taking a chunk of skin from the base of his neck. He decided to avoid the pain and rush off as fast as he could. He could still make a decent getaway.
Then Sarah screamed at the top of her lungs and ran into him like a lineman. He fell to the ground and dropped Karli. John Cruston turned and slapped the girl across the face so hard that blood dripped from her nose immediately.
“Stop now. Shut up, or I’ll kill you.”
“Karli! Wake up! Wake up!”
Karli groggily started to yawn. She wasn’t comprehending the terror of her surroundings, nor did she really care at the moment. She tried to stand before she was scooped up again by John, who rushed down the stairs two-at-a-time before running straight into Scott, who held a gun straight into his face.
“Who are you, and why are you in my house?”
John cursed under his breath. “I’d rather not say.”
Scott cocked the gun. “Nothing circumstantial, young man. Who are you?”
“I doubt your gun even has any bullets,” interrupted John.
“John?” Karli asked, and at this, she began to flail around like a tossed rag doll. “Let me go!”
“Men like you wouldn’t have the balls to take the shot.”
“Want to try me?” Scott released the weapon and cursed himself when nothing happened. He had taken the bullets out nearly three weeks ago while he was cleaning his armory.
John lifted his meaty leg and kicked Scott right in the heart. The man threw a punch, but it was nothing near John’s body. John hurriedly fiddled with the front door, tightening his hold around Karli.
He opened it after what felt like a lifetime. This had been an incredibly horrible idea. He’d abducted his girlfriend, trespassed into a random stranger’s house, and broken the terms of his parole within one swift squeeze of the heart. And in the meantime, he’d been higher than the Empire State Building.
He made it to the dewy grass and fell over a large, random stone just haphazardly lying in the grass, like it was always meant to be in the midst of perfect green. He reached for his ankle, which felt like a bursting, live wire and stared at his girlfriend heading back to the house. His mission had failed.
In the midst of his throbbing pain, John Cruston stood, and called out like a dopey Romeo, “Karli Angeline Kirkpatrick, I love you more than anything in this world!”
The woman turned, looking stunning in the glow of the claw-shaped moon. “Oh, really? That’s why you decided to kidnap me?”
“Karli. We’ve got to change. We’ve got to stop our business.”
“Your business, John!” she called out.
The roar of police cars sounded. They were especially nimble tonight. John lifted a hand through his longish hair. “Karli, I’m in love with you. I’ll forgive you for Alex. I’ll do anything to make it up to you. I’m not a good guy, nor have I ever been, but I want to try to make things right.”
“I’ll see it when I believe it, John Cruston,” Karli shouted, her voice thin. The Towson family stood nearby.
Scott called out, “You’re going to prison, homeboy!”
“Dad,” Sarah breathed.
“Karli, I’m serious. I need help. I need to get clean, and when I do, I’m going to make it up to you. I won’t be a thief in the night no more. I promise you that.” He got to his knees and lifted his hands into the night, into the approaching blue radiance that hazed the streets.
“This was your love poem to me? John, you’re so stupid.”
“But baby, I’m in love with you!”
Sarah wanted to gag at the entire scene, but she had some subdued elements to her personality, and she restrained herself. It was nearly one o’clock in the morning, a drug dealer lay on her lawn, promising to become drug free, while a bridge had been built once again with a person she’d hurt terribly. Then there was the whole issue of Joel Sealet.
Sarah wondered how long one summer could possibly be.