Chapter 14 #2
“I don’t know if she’s here,” he says. If someone else said that, it might be an attempt to dissuade me, a lie.
In his case, I think it might be the truth.
There are enough people in this house that a man like him, who has taken the youngest two on almost exclusively, might very well not pay much attention to what the older girls are doing.
“Mom!” a female voice shrieks. “She won’t take it off!”
“It’s not yours! I bought it at the same store you did! They don’t make just one of each piece of clothing, Serenity!”
“You don’t have any money, Eva!”
“Yes, I do! I’ve been babysitting! Stop grabbing at me!”
“Hey! Is Laura here?” Her stepfather booms over the general noise.
“Is what?”
“Is Laura here?”
“I don’t know!” Laura’s mom shouts back.
Again, I’m really not sure that the woman has any idea what’s been said to her. She’s working in the kitchen and she sounds harried and busy enough not to be taking in the slightest bit of information.
“Dad!” one of the smaller creatures yells, garnering their father’s attention.
By this time, I am standing on the porch. The front door is thrown open, and a young woman whose blonde hair has been colored with pink streaks looks at me with eyes very reminiscent of Laura’s.
“You looking for Laura?”
“Yes,” I say.
“She’s not here,” she says, closing the door.
Well. That at least gives me an answer. Maybe. A teenager with an attitude is not the most reliable source of information at the best of times. Laura might very well be close by, hiding in something like plain sight.
“What did you have for her?”
The stepfather is suddenly next to me.
“Hmm?”
“You said she was supposed to pick up some work. Where is it? We’ll give it to her next time we see her.”
“Of course,” I say, reaching inside my jacket.
There’s nothing there, of course. I didn’t think this far ahead. I did not imagine I’d actually be asked for the papers.
“I’ve forgotten them in my office!” I declare. “At any rate, please let Laura know. The assignment is worth forty percent of her grade.”
“You visit the home of every kid who doesn’t show up to class?”
This man is not as stupid as I mistakenly decided he looked. He doesn’t have the demeanor of a polished or educated gentleman, but when I look into his milky brown eyes, there’s a hint of violence that answers a call I feel deep in my gut.
“I do when I happen to be passing…”
“This isn’t really your kind of neighborhood,” he says. “That car out there. That’s fancy. Better be careful. The kids’ll have it stripped for parts before you can say ‘inappropriate age gap.’”
“Alright, I’m going to head out,” I say.
“Yeah. You do that.”
He stands, legs spread on the porch like an ogre defending his pad.
I leave, not angry like I’d usually be if someone spoke to me like that, or obsessed with revenge, but interested.
Laura’s family is more protective of her than they seem to be.
She’s so independent, and spends so much time looking after them.
I assumed her mother’s partner wouldn’t really care about her. I might have been wrong.
Laura
I breathe in for the first time since I realized his car was outside the house.
Not literally, of course, but it feels like it.
He found me so quickly. That was scary. I have been going around in my head as to how hard I fucked up by running away from him.
The day I went to his office hours and gave him head, I was so close to chickening out.
But kneeling there in front of him, knowing he was using me, knowing that he intended to keep using me forever, I knew I had to make that last-ditch effort to get free.
Now I’m not sure any of it was worth it.
I feel trapped. He knows where I am, and it’s only a matter of time before he gets me.
The door to the bedroom opens. My younger sister walks in, rolling her eyes just for practice, really.
“I got rid of him,” Serenity says. “He’s so old. Kind of cute maybe. In like, an old guy way.”
“Stay away from him. He’s really dangerous.”
She rolls her eyes at me again, for even more practice. She could go to the Olympics with that shit. “You think everything is dangerous, Laura. I’m not going to go running after someone older than my dad. Gross.” She gives me a judgmental look, as if she thinks that’s what I’ve been doing.
I let her think what she wants. Serenity likes to be judgmental and bitchy sometimes, but I know for a fact she won’t say anything to anyone about the fact that I’m hiding in her room.
I snuck into the house at seven in the morning. Nobody noticed. In the middle of breakfast, I walked through and grabbed a bowl of cereal. They noticed then, I think, but not in a really deep way. My plan is to hide out here. There’s food here, a bathroom, and a bed. That’s all I need.
A knock on the door makes me freeze. Nobody knocks in this house. They throw open the door and just start complaining about a stolen top, or a missing toy, or a yogurt they think was for them.
“Yeah?” Serenity answers, her tone dripping with unnecessary attitude, as if she’s pissed off anybody dares to show a little bit of courtesy.
The door opens a crack. I know instantly who it is.
The only person in this house who is respectful of the older girls’ space.
It has to be my mother’s boyfriend. That’s still how I think about him, even though I guess they’ve been together for five years now.
So many dad guys have come and gone through this house I don’t really take them seriously anymore.
“Laura, you in here?”
“Yes, John,” I say.
He steps into the room and closes the door behind him. Somewhere in the distance, a dish breaks. He looks at me, and I get the feeling I’ve done something wrong, which is weird because I’m not used to that from him.
“Why’s there a slime ball in a suit looking for you, Laura?”
“I don’t know,” I snort. “Who was it?”
“Some guy says he’s a lecturer at your school. I’ve seen him on TV though. I don’t like people who are on TV. They think they’re better than everyone else. Think the rules don’t apply to them. They do creepy shit.”
John’s always had strong opinions about things. Usually I tune them out. My mom listens and agrees with him, which he loves. I don’t say anything, and he just keeps talking.
“If he’s creeping you out, I can call the guys.” John mentions ‘the guys’ from time to time. We’ve never met them. I’ve always assumed there’s not really any such thing as ‘the guys,’ or if there are guys, that they’re spread across all forty-eight contiguous states.
“That’s okay,” I tell him. “He’s just really invested in student outcomes.”
“That right?” John says, his tone flat. I don’t know why, but he’s even more suspicious now. Has John been smart all along?
He’s never shown much interest in me before. Kind of surprises me. To be honest, I thought John had pretty much forgotten I existed.
“Why do you… not, I mean, not why do you care, but usually you don’t ask about my life?” I say, trying not to further rouse his suspicions.
“I never had to worry about you before,” he says. “Now it feels like I do.”
“That’s nice. Thanks. I’m okay though.”
He squints at me for a moment, then nods and leaves the room.
Serenity lets out a shriek. “My new jeans are missing too! Eva!”