Chapter 27 Now
Now
I woke up with a start, gasping for breath.
“It was just a dream. You’re okay,” Beau said near my ear. His arms were around me, holding me tight. I was lying on his chest. The bathroom was still dark.
Earlier, our kissing had gone from happy reunion, excited and intense, to soft and vulnerable.
He played with my hair while his lips gently moved along mine, then across my jaw and down my neck.
Slowly I became more and more relaxed, my eyes staying closed for longer and longer periods until he whispered, “Are you falling asleep on me?”
“No, I’m awake,” I said in a sleepy drawl.
“It’s okay, go to sleep,” he said. His finger traveled from my forehead down the bridge of my nose and to my lips.
I kissed his fingertip. “Just a tiny sleep.”
“We’re going to be okay,” he said as I drifted off. Or maybe I imagined that. Or dreamed it. It felt like a dream. A good one.
Then I had the familiar nightmare. The one where men dressed in black surrounded me, telling me they were going to take me away.
Rip me apart from my family. I couldn’t run.
My back was against the headboard and all my escape routes were blocked.
They closed in on me and right before they grabbed me, I woke up.
My heart was beating a million miles a minute now. I wiped at my eyes, which I could feel were damp with sweat or tears. Probably both.
“You okay?” Beau asked.
“Yes,” I said.
“I feel your heart pounding,” he said. My chest was pressed against his side. I thought about pushing away, sitting up, but his arms around me felt nice. They seemed to be grounding me in the moment, helping me settle more quickly than I normally did.
“Nightmare,” I mumbled.
“I’m sorry,” he said.
I took several more deep breaths. “Did you sleep at all?”
“I did.”
I wondered if he really did, and if so for how long. I wondered how long I’d slept before the nightmare.
“You know what the worst part about being in here is?” I asked.
“The hard floor? The germs? The lack of food?”
“No,” I said. “The fact that we have no idea what time it is. There’s something about not knowing if you have five more hours or two until there’s a minuscule chance someone might rescue you.”
“Rescue?” he asked, like that was the wrong word. “You need to be rescued?”
Right now, in his arms, it didn’t feel like I needed to be rescued.
But there was so much more happening outside this bathroom.
Things I needed to be a part of. I needed to show up.
Support my dad. And even the things that were happening inside this bathroom would change once the sun came up.
The light would shine brightly on all the hurt and unresolved issues from our past. I wasn’t sure a singular makeout session was enough to make those disappear.
In fact I knew it wasn’t. But it was still dark, so I’d think about all that later.
“I need to tell you something I discovered after you fell asleep,” he said.
“Something bad?” I asked.
“Remember all that music we listened to earlier?”
“Yeah,” I said. The playlist I’d made for him. I hadn’t forgotten.
“I tried to listen to music again.”
“Okay?”
“And I couldn’t.”
“The app closed?” I asked.
“I’m guessing my phone died. Out there in my backpack.”
“Oh…right. No more music, I guess.”
“It’s more than that.”
“What?” I sat up, worried now. I could hardly see his grainy outline in the darkness; I definitely couldn’t see his facial expression.
“My location…” he said.
“Oh no.” I realized what he was saying. “Nobody will know where you are.”
“Exactly.” He reached out and grabbed my hand. Maybe he thought I was going to panic like I had earlier. And maybe now was a better time to panic, but my face didn’t go numb and my heart kept its steady beat.
“That sucks” is all I could think of to say. I wasn’t letting myself process this. It was still dark after all. I couldn’t worry. I wouldn’t. We’d get out. We had to. When the sun came up we’d find a way out. Or someone would find us.
“What about your phone?” he asked. “Do you think it still has any power in that bag?”
“I have no idea. I don’t remember what it was at when Mrs. Thiessen made me bag it. But either way, I turned it off. It’s useless.”
“Are you sure?”
“Pretty sure.”
“Why did she lock it up?”
“I was looking at it,” I said. “She caught me.”
“I swear she has eagle eyes.”
“I know,” I said.
“You couldn’t wait until after class to look?”
“I was waiting for a text from my mom. I was supposed to give her a letter that she was going to give to my dad’s lawyer if they were moving forward with charges.
I’ve been supposed to give it to her for several weeks.
Tomorrow…well, today…is my last chance. I need to write it today. I need to get out.”
“He finds out today?”
“I don’t know. But they need my letter. It will help.” It had to help.
“Do you think they’re going to charge him?”
“Six months ago, I would’ve said my dad could never do something like that, steal money, forge paperwork.
He’s honest and moral. I have no idea anymore.
Obviously I hope they haven’t found anything on him.
That this was all the one partner, like everyone else is claiming, but maybe I’m prepping myself for the worst, just in case. ”
“I wish you’d told me what was going on with you. Then maybe I wouldn’t have—”
“It’s still dark,” I blurted out. “Rule two. We’re not supposed to be worrying about anything.”
“True,” he said.
“Plus, I can’t see your face.”
“What?”
“I don’t want to have this conversation when I can’t see your face.”
“I do have a pretty nice face,” he said, probably trying to lighten the suddenly heavy mood.
“You do,” I said.
“Come here.” He pulled me back down next to him and kissed the top of my head. “I hope it’s only two o’clock.”
“Why?” I asked.
“Because rule number two needs to remain in effect for longer.”
I pressed my lips to his. “I agree.”