Run Like Hell (5 page)

“Tiger, what’s out there?” He barks and growls again, trying to get my attention. He stands on his hind legs and presses his front paws against the glass door. He wants to go after whatever is outside. Glancing around the yard, I don’t see a cat, but the gate is open. Weird. The gate is always securely locked. I unlock the sliding door to go outside and close the fence gate when I realize the sliding door is already unlocked. I freeze.

“Tiger, was someone in the house?” I whisper. I scan the yard quickly but don’t see anyone. Was he in the house when I was in the bath? Is he on the other side of the fence watching me now? Who the hell is this guy and what does he want? Or am I being paranoid because I lost my wallet? I run to the front door to make sure it’s locked. It is. I check the garage door and the windows. Everything is closed and locked.

What was his brother’s name? Ricky Smith? I run upstairs and pull out a yearbook and quickly thumb through the pages. He said his brother was a freshman though, which means I don’t have the newest edition with the freshman photos. I throw the yearbook across the room in frustration and pull out my junior high yearbooks and scan them but nobody with the name Ricky Smith is listed. He lied. He probably told me he had a brother in high school to make me more relaxed.

I don’t know what to think. Sitting on my bed, dazed, I’m staring at the pile of yearbooks beside me. Looking down at my leg, I realize I haven’t wrapped it yet. Jack will be here any minute. There’s no time to pretty myself up. I change into baggy black jeans and toss a t-shirt over my head. I brush my hair and teeth, then apply some quick mascara and lip gloss. In my parents’ bathroom I find Neosporin and gently apply it to my leg wound, then wrap it in gauze. I’m heading downstairs when Jack’s car pulls into the driveway.

I open the door before he has a chance to ring the doorbell. Jack steps inside and scoops me into his arms, kissing me hungrily. His t-shirt is soft beneath my hands and he smells like fabric softener. His mouth tastes like Big Red gum and can’t help getting swept away by his kiss.

“I missed you…” he mumbles as he continues to kiss me.

“I can tell.”

He slowly pulls back and gazes at my forehead. “Morgan, what happened?” Gingerly, he smoothes my bangs back and looks at the cut on my forehead. “You need stitches?”

I shake my head no. “I fell down last night.”

He looks shocked and alarmed as his dark, brown eyes rake over me. “Why are you scratched up?”

Tiger barks and jumps around, begging for Jack’s attention. I push the front door closed and lock it while Jack greets Tiger.

“I’m fine.” I don’t know what to tell him, or where to begin. The phone rings and I tell Jack I’ll be right back. I dash into the kitchen to answer the phone.

“Hello?”

“Honey, how are you? Your father and I wanted to call and check on you. Is Rory there with you too?”

Mom’s probably checking in to make sure I’m not having a wild party at the house, even though it’s Sunday afternoon.

“Tiger and I are fine and Rory went to the store for some soda.” Better cover for Aunt Rory and Mom knows she loves her soda, which Mom never buys. “How’s Chicago?”

I half listen when Mom describes the hotel, the restaurant they ate lunch at earlier, and the agreeable weather. Tonight, they have plans to go on a sightseeing dinner cruise. Mom mentions he wants to spend the day with her today before he has to work tomorrow. She also mentions she booked a spa treatment and massage for herself at the hotel tomorrow.

Jack enters the kitchen and wraps his arms around me from behind and begins to kiss my neck. I press the mute button so Mom can’t listen to his kisses.

“What are your plans today?” she asks.

I quickly click the phone off mute and step away from Jack. He hops onto the kitchen counter looking totally cute in his faded basketball t-shirt from several years ago and blue jeans. “My plans today? Oh, I’m probably going to the movies with Jack later. Maybe grab a bite to eat or something afterwards.” Jack smiles as I lie.

“Well, don’t stay out late tonight because you have school in the morning.”

“I know, I won’t, Mom.” Blah, blah, blah. I don’t want to listen to Mom’s lectures when she’s not even here.

“Please ask Rory to call me tomorrow morning. Your father and I will be out late tonight but we have our cell phones with us in case of an emergency. Is there anything you need to tell me before I hang up?”

What? How could my mother possibly know what happened last night? Is she assuming that something happened that I need to confess to?

“No, Mom. Please tell Dad I said hello.”

“I will.”

She won’t.

“Oh, I’ve got to get going. Be safe, Honey,” Mom says, then hangs up.

I stare into the phone a moment, wondering if anyone else has a mother like mine.

“What movie do you want to go see?” Jack teases, jumping off the counter and making a beeline for me.

We’ve been friends for years and have been dating for two months. I wonder why I didn’t date him sooner because he’s so incredibly cute and wonderful.

He’s six feet tall with a lean, muscular build. His brown hair is buzzed short but it’s his dark chocolate-brown eyes I love the most. They’re warm, sexy, and twinkle mischievously when he’s thinking about kissing me. Like now. I’m lucky to have him as a friend and a boyfriend.

He kisses my neck again and I close my eyes, enjoying the brush of his lips against my skin. He’s definitely the best kisser compared to other boys I’ve made out with. Kissing Jack distracts me from discussing what happened last night.

“Let’s go into the other room,” he mumbles, grabbing my hand and leading me into the living room.

He flops onto the couch and pulls me down beside him. My mind reels with the possibility this could be it, our first time together. Succumbing to Jack’s kisses, I feverishly kiss him back. It’s not how I imagined it but we’re finally alone.

The door-bell rings. I open my eyes but Jack continues to kiss me, his hands tangled in my hair. “Jack, I have to answer the door,” I whisper.

“No you don’t. Ignore it.” He continues kissing me but finally stops when I wiggle out of his arms. “Fine, go answer the door, but come right back,” he winks.

When I open the door no one is there. I didn’t take that long to answer it. Looking down, a fist of fear smashes into my stomach. My wallet is on the porch. Tiger noses his way through the half-open door and barks. I don’t see anyone or any cars on the road. Who returned my wallet? Where was it found?

“Tiger, come with me.” I bravely stroll around the house with the dog by my side but don’t find anyone lurking in the bushes. It’s three in the afternoon and the sun shines brightly. There aren’t any dark, shadowy areas for someone to hide in. I round the front of the house and find Jack standing on the porch giving staring at me oddly.

“What are you doing?” he asks, holding my wallet. “And why did you leave your wallet on the porch?”

“Tiger needed to pee,” I lie. “I took him out back. And I didn’t leave my wallet on the porch, someone else did.” I grab my wallet from his hand and open it. My credit card is there but my driver’s license is missing. Jack watches me closely. I explain to him how I’d lost my wallet last night and someone returned it. Why would someone keep my driver’s license?

“I better call the credit card company to make sure there weren’t any recent purchases.” I usher Tiger back inside and Jack follows.

This weekend isn’t turning out the way I’d planned. If anything else strange happens today I’m calling the police. Was it the same guy from last night that returned my wallet, or did someone else drop it off? I’m happy to have it back but I wish my driver’s license wasn’t missing. The credit card company confirms the card hadn’t been used in the past forty-eight hours. One less thing to worry about.

I return to the living room to find Jack watching a ball game on TV. The romance is gone. Perhaps that’s for the best. Underneath my baggy clothes I’m covering up my bandaged leg and bruised stomach, both of which I haven’t explained to Jack.

“Want something to eat or drink?” I ask, trying to be a good host.

“Sure, but only if you’re getting something for yourself.” He leans back on the sofa, his attention barely diverted from the game on the large flat screen TV.

“I’ll be right back.” Heading back to the kitchen I imagine Jack and me, ten years from now, living together. The same scenario, Jack watching a Sunday sports game on TV and me in the kitchen, comes to mind but I shake the image from my head, not yet ready for such domesticity. I empty half a bag of potato chips into a bowl and grab two bottles of water from the fridge and head back to the living room.

Sitting on the couch beside him, I blame myself for the change of mood in the room. The romantic spark extinguished. Jack’s heated kiss convinced me to take advantage of the privacy we have. But I won’t rush into sex. It’ll happen when we’re ready for it to happen.

Jack dives into the bowl of chips and starts snacking like he’s starving. I sip water and text Traci while Jack watches his game. She and Carlos saw a movie earlier and are on their way to eat. She’ll call me later tonight. I thumb through a recent magazine and I snuggle on the couch beside Jack. I can’t help wondering who rang the bell earlier before I sleepily doze off.

I awaken to Jack snuggling against me on the couch.

“Hey sleepyhead,” he murmurs. “I figured I’d let you sleep. You passed out as soon as you sat down.”

I did? I don’t remember being that tired but my body aches from last night.

“I’m sorry, Jack.” I lay against him, enjoying his arms around me.

“Nothing to apologize for. You took a nap and I watched the game on TV.” He kisses the top of my head. “But you still have to tell me how you got that gash on your head and why somebody dropped your wallet off.”

“I know we haven’t talked today,” I begin but Tiger’s wet nose nudges me and I’m torn between the two males in my life I love. I smile sheepishly at Jack. “And now we’ll have to talk outside.” He understands because he has two dogs at home and loves them dearly.

When we’re outside I’m surprised at how late in the day it is. The moon hangs in the sky like a lit paper lantern and a cool breeze blows across my face. I zip up my hoodie against the evening chill. I’m wearing a pair of slip-on-sneakers, not the most fashionable shoes but convenient for walking Tiger.

Jack’s fingers lace through mine. Tiger walks beside us, stopping to sniff and lift his leg periodically but he’s not frantically pulling on his leash. I don’t tell Jack the whole truth about last night. Instead, I tell him that my car ran out of gas, my cell phone died, and I walked to the gas station, where I met Traci since she received my last text. Regarding my cuts and bruises, I tell him I stumbled through some bushes and fell on my way to the gas station.

I don’t want Jack knowing about my lapse in judgment. Getting into that guy’s car is a secret between Traci and I and I want it to remain that way. I tell him my wallet must’ve fallen out of my purse when I was jogging to the gas station in the dark. He’s convinced it’s his fault since we didn’t ride together and he didn’t have his cell phone with him. Plus, he’s upset that I walked to the gas station in the dark.

“Do you have any idea what could have happened to you?” His hand squeezes mine protectively.

Um, yeah. I have a pretty good idea. His question lingers but he’s distracted when we turn onto my street and he notices a black car parked next to his in my driveway.

“Who owns the Jaguar?”

It’s easy to spot her. She’s sitting on my porch smoking a cigarette and waving her hands in the air at the two of us. Tiger recognizes her and I release his leash so he can run over and greet her. He knocks her backward but she manages to keep the lit cigarette away from him, finally grinding it on the walkway with her stiletto shoe once the dog eases up on her.

She’s laughing and smiling and I can tell Jack is processing her appearance – tight jeans, tank top with spaghetti straps barely supporting her large breasts, and tattoos on her arms and back. Her black hair hangs long and loose. She’s incredibly sexy and beautiful, and she also happens to be my mother’s younger sister.

Jack can barely keep his eyes off her. I swat him playfully. “Jack, this is my Aunt Rory.”

Jack’s mouth hangs open even wider, much to my humiliation. He’s supposed to be drooling over me this weekend, not my aunt. It occurs to me that Jack has never met Rory. Weird, considering that Jack and I have been friends for years.

Tiger’s still licking Rory but she stands, surprisingly steady on her high heels. “Nice to meet you, Jack.”

Jack foolishly stares instead of talks so I speak instead. “Have you been here long? Aren’t you cold?” Really, a tank top? Cover up.

“About ten minutes ago. Tiger wasn’t barking inside. I figured you were walking him. I would’ve left soon if you hadn’t come back. Your mother never gave me a key, despite the fact that I’m supposed to stay with you all week.”

Rory lights another cigarette but then crushes it out. Mom doesn’t allow smoking in the house. “And no, I’m not cold.” She holds up her jacket in her other hand with a snarky look on her face.

We enter the house but Jack stands awkwardly in the foyer. Rory produces several movies from her leather bag.