Moved

Chapter 6

Friendship sucked. Lying on my stomach, I glanced at my bedside clock as another round of knocking echoed through the apartment. Five in the morning. Was this revenge? We’d stayed up until one watching movies.

“Oh, just come in already,” I called loud enough so I wouldn’t have to get out of bed and open the door.

A few moments later, he stood in my room.

“Your dad called me. He’s wondering why you haven’t called yet.”

“You’re kidding, right?” I lifted my head to glare at him. “We were together all night. Didn’t you say that?”

He gave me a look. “No.”

I sighed. “Phone me,” I said, holding out my hand.

Racer handed me my phone, which was on the nightstand, and gave me a grin as I squinted at the numbers to dial. He was enjoying this too much. As soon as it started to ring, I laid my head back on the pillow.

“Gillian,” my dad said instead of hello.

“Hey, Dad. No lectures, please. It’s five a.m. I’m fine. Alive and breathing. Just not fully awake. Regular call schedule again, ‘K?”

He gave a relieved sigh. “I’ll call you tonight after work.”

“Thanks, Dad. Love you.” I hung up the phone and dropped it on the floor, letting my arm dangle off the bed. My eyes had remained closed throughout the conversation.

“Does this mean no early morning self-defense practice?”

I lifted my hand to point in the general direction of the door. Racer chuckled as he left.

By ten, I was up, showered, dressed, and ready for some shed time. I moseyed down the stairs and saw Racer’s door open.

“Knock, knock.”

“Come in,” he called from somewhere within.

“I’m heading to the shed for a run.”

Pulling a shirt over his head, he stepped out of his bedroom. The brief glimpse of abs and happy trail made my mouth go dry.

“I’ll be ready in just a minute,” he said as he moved past me.

He bent, grabbed his shoes, and sat in a chair to put them on. The whole time I stared. Yummy had been hiding under a layer of cranky-pants. I really hoped I would see less frowning and more abs from now on.

Robotically, I followed him out the door.

I studied him. Really studied. His hoodie, loose pants, and frown had hidden the truth from me.

A gorgeous guy in the guise of a good looking guy.

And I’d flashed him. A blush heated my cheeks.

My abs liked to play hide and seek behind the bowls of Ben and Jerry’s in which I occasionally indulged.

He had an eight pack. I had a flat, soft one pack.

Surely he hadn’t noticed that, though. I mean, when it came to boobs, men had tunnel vision. ..right?

I took a few steady breaths and stepped into the shed. When he took off his shoes, I knew I was about to suffer through another self-defense lesson. I wrinkled my nose, and he caught my look.

“Five minutes,” he promised.

“Of butt-kicking,” I said. My butt. He smiled at me as I kicked off my shoes and joined him on the mat.

“I’m Chuck.” That was all he said before he roughly grabbed my shirt and pulled me toward him. My hands flew up to brace for impact, and I collided with his hard chest. This wasn’t going to work. I stared at him while my fingers and palms memorized the planes onto which they remained glued.

I started a chant in my head. “Friends. Friends. Friends. Friends. Happy trail. Friends. Friends. Abs.” The message wasn’t easy to maintain.

“You’re taking too long to plan. Just act,” he said, pulling me tighter.

Plan? If I was planning, it wasn’t defense. Head in the game, Gillian.

I blinked up at him and freely ran my hands over his chest. His surprise was priceless. His shock when I attempted to knee him in the groin was even better. He scrambled away like I was a rabid dog and frowned at me.

“I said to fight dirty but to be careful in what you do. Kneeing a man will drop him but only if you succeed in the kneeing. Otherwise, you’re just going to piss him off.”

“Obviously I need practice. Let’s try again,” I said with a sweet smile.

A smile broke his frown. He waved me forward.

Dad used to scuffle with me when I was younger.

Good old fashioned wrestling matches. Before I started to look like a real girl instead of a tomboy.

I used those moves, now. When Racer knocked me down, I wrapped myself around his legs to trip him up.

When he fell, I jumped on him like a spider monkey.

He wasn’t ticklish but was just as susceptible to sharp elbows and knees as my dad had been.

However, Racer never stayed down long. When he won his feet, we circled each other, both waiting for the other to make the first move.

A few minutes later, I cried uncle. Gasping for breath, I bent over and braced my hands on my knees. Jogging was one thing. All out wrestling was much harder.

With a grin, Racer walked away to work on his car. I collapsed on the mat until my breathing returned to normal then doggedly stood and went to the treadmill. No more ice cream. Chuck would find me easy pickings if he decided to change from creepy Peeping Tom to actual attacker.

I selected an easy jog and settled into the rhythm for the next thirty minutes.

When I stopped abruptly without walking the cool down cycle, I caught Racer leaning against his car as he watched me. He immediately turned away.

“If you have all of this stuff, why don’t I ever see you using it?”

He slid under the jacked car, which muffled his response. It didn’t bother me. He’d gone from jailer to standoff-ish in just two days. It was good progress.

“I’m going in to shower. Want to watch a movie afterward?”

He mumbled something else but stayed under the car. Shrugging, I walked out of the shed.

Checking my school email while twisting my hair into a bun, I saw I had two more papers assigned and due in two weeks.

I left the computer open and went to my room to grab clean clothes for after my shower.

The hole in the bathroom door had me shaking my head as I shut it.

I stripped and stepped into the spray to rinse off the sweat.

After I dried, changed, and pulled my hair free, I went downstairs.

But Racer didn’t answer his door. Puzzled, I went to the shed and found him still working on his car.

Well, I could start on the research for those papers.

For the next four hours, I surfed the internet and struggled not to be distracted by videos of baby animals.

Boredom grew with each tick of the wall clock.

At just after two, I closed the computer and started riffling through my cupboards and freezer to come up with something for dinner.

A bag of julienne cut vegetables inspired me to make stir-fry with homemade dumplings.

I had to go online for the dumpling recipe, but they were surprisingly easy to make.

It kept me busy for another two hours. When everything was ready, I went looking for Racer.

He didn’t answer his door and wasn’t in the shed.

I stood in the shed, staring at nothing and wondering what the heck to do next.

“Racer?” No answer. “Can I borrow your car?” No answer.

“So, can I drive around town naked?” No answer again.

It wasn’t like him to leave. I started to worry then quickly shook my head.

Racer wasn’t human. What could Chuck possibly do to him?

Following me home from school when I hadn’t really been paying attention was one thing, but all the way here?

There was no way Chuck was behind Racer’s disappearance.

I sighed and left the shed. Racer had avoided me before.

I just wished I knew why he was doing it now. I’d thought we were making progress.

I went upstairs, closed myself in my apartment, and ate dinner. When I finished cleaning up, I popped in a movie, still wondering where Racer had gone.

Around seven, my phone rang. I checked the number and answered.

“Hey, Dad.”

“How are things going?”

I was glad he didn’t bring up texting Stephanie or my long silence.

“Well, I’m still safely bored. Thankfully, Racer has pay per view. I’ve been watching movies with him the last few days. The ones I brought with me got old fast.”

“I would send you some more but—”

“I know. Chuck. Any sign of him lately?”

“Yeah, but nothing for you to worry about.”

Which meant there was.

“Is Larry hanging around more?”

“Nah. He’s been checking into things for me. Nance stepped in as second.”

“Officially? Tattoo and everything? You know for a gang leader’s daughter I’m still remarkably un-tattooed.”

He grunted in acknowledgment. “Your mother would come back and kill me if I ever let that happen.”

I sighed. “It would almost be worth it.” I didn’t mean the tattoo. Getting one just to see her, to ask all the questions that her letter to me caused.

There was a moment of heavy silence. “I miss her, too.”

“I know. I love you, Dad.”

“You too, sweetie. Talk to you tomorrow.”

“Bye.”

* * * *

Knocking woke me again, making me wish I hadn’t insisted on the formality. He’d just enter if I didn’t answer.

“Come in!” I buried my head under my pillow. “College means sleeping in. I finally get curtains, and I can’t even enjoy them.” My words were muffled but he must have heard them because he laughed.

“Get up. Time for exercise.”

I sat up and whipped the pillow at him. He caught it with a smile.

“Where were you yesterday? Just disappearing like that isn’t cool. I kept picturing...” I sighed and decided not to finish my ridiculous thought.

“What did you picture?”

“I’m here for a reason. I thought maybe Chuck...just never mind.” The idea of Chuck, who was just a creepy follower, coming here and taking on Racer was as ludicrous this morning as it was last night. But it hadn’t stopped me from thinking about it.

Racer walked closer to the bed and handed me the pillow.

“Your father said they spot Chuck at least once a day.” My eyes flew to his as he said it. “Your father’s fine. He’s not alone. The point is that they know he’s still back in your home area. There’s nothing for you to worry about here.”

Then, why couldn’t I have a car or go jogging? Instead of saying it aloud, I just nodded, ready to change the subject. I didn’t want to think of Chuck stalking my Dad.

“Shed. Five minutes.”

Then, he strode out the door.

* * * *

Racer put me through an hour of self-defense training where he actually taught me a few moves.

With his arms wrapped around me from behind, I stomped on his foot.

When he grunted and bent forward slightly, I tossed my head back and tried to break his nose.

We practiced the move several times until he sat on the mat to rub his feet.

“I thought I’d be too short for that,” I said referring to the backwards head-butt.

“Not if you bring him down to your level.”

Him. Chuck. “Do you think I’ll really have to use this stuff?” I’d only said yes to lessons to make Dad feel better, but Racer suddenly seemed very determined to hone my defense skills. Was there something Dad and Racer weren’t telling me?

He shrugged, stood, and offered me his hand. I took it and tried to ignore the tingle that spread from my fingers to my stomach at his touch. Self-defense with him was getting distracting. So much touching...

* * * *

I curled my feet under me and leaned back in the chair, trying to focus on the movie.

After doing homework for six hours, I’d paced the apartment restlessly.

The sound of my steps must have gotten to Racer because, with a frown, he had knocked on my door and invited me down to his place.

The comedy on the screen hadn’t improved his mood.

It wasn’t doing anything for me, either.

The restlessness sat heavy on my shoulders, making me want to fidget. I couldn’t stop worrying about Dad. Where was Chuck? Why wasn’t he letting go of his infatuation? He was handsome enough to attract other women.

Sighing, I stood. Racer looked at me with another frown.

“Sorry. I can’t do this.”

I walked out of his apartment and to the shed.

I cranked the radio to drown out my own thoughts and sat on the mat, trying to think of nothing and failing.

I wanted to go home. I wanted to talk to my friends.

I wanted to go back to school. I flopped back onto the mat and spread my arms wide.

I hated the mind-numbing boredom here. The steel rafters above didn’t give me any answers.

Racer left me alone for the rest of the night. He didn’t even come out to the shed to check on me or open his door when I walked back to my apartment.

When the phone rang, I checked the number then let it ring twice more while I tried to put myself into a better frame of mind.

“Hey, Dad,” I said, putting on my chipper voice.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing really. My mind is turning to pudding from extreme seclusion. I may not be able to articulate in a social situation when...if...I ever return to society.”

“Gillian—”

“I know. It’s to keep me safe.” A moment of silence reigned. “Let’s just go to the police,” I said, thinking of Chuck following him. I only had one parent left.

“Honey, there are things you don’t understand. We just can’t risk it.”

“Because of your job?”

He laughed. “In a way. It’s the questions the authorities would start asking that we can’t risk.”

It wasn’t about his job, then. What other secrets did we have?

I thought of my mother’s letter and remained quiet.

He was somehow worried the questions might lead back to her and her secrets.

Even after losing her all those years ago, I treasured her trust in me.

I wouldn’t break it. Not for my safety or for his.

“Fine. I’ll be fine. I’ll buy some books online or something.”

“Love you, hun.”

“Love you too, Dad.”