Chapter Nine
AJ
Thank fuck for Hollie Palmer.
She took charge of a situation I couldn’t control. I never expected Noah to freak out that much about going to Rita’s. I don’t think I’d really thought about it from his point of view.
He’s just a kid. And, yeah, he can be a rowdy fucker at times, but still, he doesn’t wanna be taken away from the only life he’s ever known. But Hollie persuaded him. She made him see that without Rita, he’d be headed straight for juvie.
I look at Hollie on the couch, Noah’s head resting in her lap.
She stroked his hair and let him cry until he passed out.
I’ve never met a girl with that amount of patience, and I’m blown away by the kindness she’s shown my brother.
Not everybody would take the trouble, especially not for some disadvantaged kid from Rapture.
She’s shown warmth toward him, but toward me… she’s a little cooler.
‘How come you came back?’ I ask, sitting across from her.
She looks down at Noah and checks he ain’t stirring. ‘What do you mean?’
‘To Canyon. To this place.’
She gives a shrug. ‘I guess I didn’t know what to do with my life. My dad lives here. My mum lives with her partner in Paris. London can be lonely and expensive. I didn’t plan to stay here for a whole year. It just… happened.’
I’m curious, I guess, so I ask the question. ‘You didn’t have a boyfriend over there?’
She pulls at the neckline of her top and clears her throat. It’s cute how nervous she gets. ‘I had a boyfriend in my third year of college. He works in sales in London now, but it didn’t really work out.’
I keep thinking about that damn closet. I should just ask her what she knows about that night. ‘Oh yeah, why not?’
I’ve embarrassed her again. ‘Um. I… I guess… he liked me more than I liked him?’
‘You still talk to him?’
‘He writes me emails. Wants me to go back to England.’
‘Do you wanna go back to England?’
She shrugs her shoulders for a second time. ‘I don’t have anything keeping me here. I mean, I like volunteering, but it’s the same problem, no green card. My father can petition for me as an alien relative, but right now, I can’t get paid work here, not legally.’
‘That sucks.’
‘It’s why I should probably just go home.’
‘What about the guy? Sounds like he’s down bad for you.’
‘Maybe.’
‘What’s his name?’
‘Owen.’
‘Don’t you wanna go home to Owen?’
She looks awkward, her gaze shifting away.
‘You ever had an American boyfriend?’ I don’t quite know where that came from, the words coming out my mouth before I can put a lid on ’em.
She laughs softly. ‘No. So, when are we planning on leaving?’
Okay, so my attempt at small talk just crashed and burned.
‘I mean… do you have a plan?’ she asks pointedly.
Oh, I geddit. She’s wondering how soon I can get Noah out her apartment. ‘Yeah, I got a plan. Thought we could try and leave tomorrow night.’
I’ve got her attention, so I continue. ‘There’s a diner.
To get to it, we need to head northeast to San Antonio on the I-37.
Then we’ll get on Interstate Ten, right?
There’s an Exxon filling station northwest of Canyon, near the exit with the Interstate,’ I say.
‘I’ll wait for you there. Then you can follow me to the diner. ’
She nods her head, but says nothing.
‘I’ll pay for your gas. Along with the money I’ll pay you for making the trip.’
I get to my feet. I can’t figure her out. ‘Look, I know this is a massive inconvenience for you—’
‘It’s not,’ she interrupts. ‘I want to see Noah safe. I don’t want to see him arrested. And I’m grateful to you, for… you know. Paying me.’
‘It’s what you deserve. I know my mom would wanna thank you in person. Should I come back tomorrow?’
‘What’s the name of the diner?’ Hollie asks.
‘Missy’s.’
‘Then why don’t I meet you there, with Noah? Tomorrow night, around eleven p.m. I’ll look up the location. It’s probably best that you stay away from here. I can take care of Noah.’
‘That’s all right with you?’
It’s decent of her, for sure. When she says it’s okay, I gather up my things and get ready to head back to Rapture. A part of me thinks she doesn’t want me tagging along for the ride. That I’m not the one she wants to help.
She only cares about Noah.
I’m nervous.
It’s after eleven p.m. and she’s a no-show.
In the parking lot at Missy’s All-Night Diner, just north of San Antonio, I wait in the shadows, sitting on my motorcycle.
I keep my helmet on, because it feels safer that way.
There’s less chance of me being picked up on security cameras.
Behind me is a motel, the Los Pinos Inn.
Missy’s is advertised on a big neon billboard sign that’s hard to miss.
By eleven-thirty I’m freaking out. She ain’t here. Except then I spy her excuse for a car rolling into the lot. Figures she’d be late getting here driving that thing.
I watch as she steers her car into a space. I swing my leg over my bike and walk toward her. She’s just getting out the car when she clocks me.
I notice she holds onto the door frame as I approach. She’s tied her hair back. The way the light hits her face, I can see that she’s on edge. But there’s something else too, a look I don’t quite recognize.
That’s when I realize, I’m still wearing my helmet.
I ease it off and she looks kinda relieved.
‘Hey,’ I say, when I reach her and my gaze moves around the inside of the car. Noah’s lying across the back seat. I keep my voice low as she closes the driver’s side door. ‘How’s it going?’ I ask.
‘Fine,’ she says. ‘Noah’s been asleep since we left.’
‘We should prolly rest here,’ I say. ‘Get a few hours’ shuteye then head on out again around sunup.’
‘You mean get a room?’
‘They take cash. No booking necessary. I checked.’
‘Right.’ She sounds unsure.
‘Did you… uh, want your own room?’ I ask. ‘You know. For privacy.’
She can’t seem to look me in the face. I remember this about her now, that she always was always a little socially awkward.
She runs her fingers down her hair. ‘Please. I can pay.’
‘Naw, I got it. You’re here ’cause of me. And Noah. Can’t have you using your own money. Maybe wait here.’
It doesn’t take me too long to get us a couple twin rooms. I come back and hand her a key, attached to a block of wood with the room number scratched into it. I note she’s yawning already. I open up the passenger door and land a swift kick on the bottom of Noah’s sneaker.
He groans. Hollie throws me a look of disapproval, before she leans inside the vehicle and gives Noah a gentle shake. Noah stirs.
It takes her a good minute or so to coax him out of the car and I stand there impatiently with one hand on my hip, the other still holding my helmet. When he’s upright, I reach for his hood and tug it over his head. He bats me sleepily away.
‘Keep your head down, bruh,’ I remind him as we climb the stairs to the rooms on the second floor of the motel.
I glance back. Hollie’s got her arm wrapped around his shoulders. In her other hand, she’s carrying his bag. Not even my mom would do that.
When we reach our rooms along the balcony, Hollie hands me his backpack and I open the door.
‘Will you be all right?’ I ask her.
She doesn’t answer, just nods her head. I don’t know if she’s freaked out or just exhausted. She lets Noah go and he yawns, walking inside our room.
‘What time will we leave?’ she says as she backs away toward the door to her own room, which is the one next to ours.
‘Around six. Just before sunrise. You wanna grab some breakfast with me from the diner? You’re not, like, vegan or anything, are you?’
‘No,’ she says.
‘Then I’m gonna knock on your door at five-thirty.’
She nods her head again. The look in her eyes tells me she’s exhausted. I’m relieved, because it means she’s still all in on this plan to smuggle Noah across the state line.
‘Get some sleep,’ I say. ‘See you in the morning.’
I watch her get inside her room, then open my own door again to find Noah face down and spreadeagled on one of the twin beds. I put the safety lock on the door and toss my bag on the other bed.
‘I’m getting a shower, man,’ I tell him. ‘Don’t come in the bathroom.’
The shower is surprisingly decent, hot and more powerful than it looks too. I come back out in my towel, steam swirling around my head to find Noah hasn’t moved. I turn the lights down, thinking he’s gone back to sleep.
‘I’m awake,’ he grumbles.
‘You wanna get a shower?’ I ask.
‘I’m good,’ he says.
I switch the AC up to the max. ‘Get out your clothes then,’ I tell him.
Normally, I sleep naked, because it’s so hot inside the loft space above Scotch & Smoke.
I’m not used to having somebody else in the room, unless it’s a hookup, so I pull on a clean pair of underwear.
Noah tears off his hoodie and strips down to his boxer briefs and socks, then slithers under the covers.
‘You’re not gonna brush your teeth?’ I ask him.
He grumbles, gets out of bed again and roots around in his backpack, pulling out his toothbrush. I hear him shuffling around the bathroom, switching on the faucet and the sound of him taking a long piss. When he comes back, he launches himself at the bed.
I get under the covers and switch out the light. I’ve set an alarm for just before five-thirty.
‘Everything all right with Hollie?’ I ask in the darkness.
‘She’s nice,’ Noah says. ‘She made me pancakes, with chocolate sauce and maple syrup.’
‘I hope you thanked her.’
‘I’m not that dumb,’ he says with a sigh. ‘Wish I could stay with her instead of Aunt Rita.’
‘You can’t stay with Hollie, Noah. We don’t even know her.’
‘I know that she cares about me. You just want me off your hands already.’
‘That’s not true.’
He makes a huffing sound. ‘So is true. And don’t try anything with Hollie. You’re not her type.’
‘Keep your voice down, shitbird. She’s right next door.’
Noah clicks his tongue like he couldn’t care less.
I roll over to face him. I don’t know why exactly, but the next thing to come out my mouth is, ‘What’s her type?’