Wanted (25 page)

Authors: Annika James

Tags: #young adult paranormal romance

BOOK: Wanted

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“Well, I bes' be goin’. Victor, Rober’, it’s binnae real pleasure workin’ wit' ya, an’ bes’ o’ luck on yer new venture.”

“Huh? What? You’re leaving already, Tommy?” I asked, snapping out of it for the second time in less than ten minutes.

“Aye. On’y me and tha young’un watchin’ tha park righ’ now, and he’s no' tha good. ‘Side, I on’y came ta give ya yer goin’ away present, Bethie.”

I looked at the sweaty wad on the table and felt remorse for leaving Tommy so suddenly to deal with the whole park.

“Tommy, really, I can’t—”

“I said dinnae argue. Think o' it as…their unpaid vacation time,” he cut in, wagging a fat finger between Rob and Victor.

“Tommy, I’m really very sorry—”

“Victor, please. I can un’erstand tha nee’ ta leave when summa as tragic as this ‘appens.”

“Thank you for your understanding, Tommy,” Robert replied, standing to help Tommy out of his seat.

We all walked slowly behind Tommy as he waddled back out the door, two pies tucked under his arm—”Midnight snack,” he’d chortled—before waving goodbye as he drove away, his tiny car inches from the pavement.

Sitting back in the living room, I’d lost all my energy—and inclination—to clean. The idea we only had a few days was making my head spin. What world had I been living in, that I’d lost track of all time?

“Well, Robert, Tommy’s given us a very generous head start to getting what we need, but we’ve still got a long ways to go, and very little time to complete it. Have you managed to come up with anything new?” Victor had settled in the chair opposite me, eyeing the piles of stuff with a tired expression.

“Actually, I took most of our belongings down to one of the thrift stores, and they were so pleased to get something that they bought it all.” Lizzy spoke up.

“What did you take?” Robert asked, incredulous.

“Our books, most of our clothes, some furniture…you know, extra stuff that although we really liked it, wouldn’t have helped us survive.”

“Furniture?” Rob's face turned sad and he looked at me with wide eyes. “Lizzy, you didn’t take my hammock, did you?” The hammock had been a gift from Tommy and Robert enjoyed it immensely. We’d been sitting in it when he told me I could tell my mother about their secret—which, unfortunately, I never got to tell.

“No, silly. That doesn’t take up much room at all.”

“Never mind about that, Rob. Lizzy, how much did you get?” Victor asked.

“One thousand dollars. Which is much more than I thought I’d get but altogether, after four trips, that’s the total.”

“Okay. So we have fifteen hundred dollars. Definitely not enough to get an RV, but maybe a larger, older car.”

Victor stood up and began pacing back and forth on my living room rug, rubbing his stubbly chin between his thumb and index finger. He reminded me of Sherlock Holmes. Robert gave my hand a little squeeze and I suddenly remembered the envelope Clare had shoved into my hands.

“Wait,” I yelped, jumping up and dashing out of the room before they could object. I ran upstairs and flew into my room, wondering where on earth I’d put that stupid little purse I had at the funeral. I didn’t even remember coming home. After searching frantically for a few minutes, I finally found it shoved all the way under my bed. I must have kicked it there in a moment of anger.

I pulled it out and ran back down the stairs, flinging it into Victor’s hands. He was so surprised he dropped it and the purse opened. The envelope fell out, half open, and one hundred dollar bills—lots of them—became visible.

“Beth? What in the—?” Victor barely managed to get out before we were all on the floor, trying to count.

“Bethie? Where did you get this?” Robert asked, a look of incredulity in his eyes.

“Clare gave it to us. Richard must have told her we planned to leave and she gave this to me earlier. I’d forgotten all about it.”

“Beth, there’s a great deal of money here…” Victor made piles of hundred dollar bills. When he finished, there were five piles on the floor.

“Five thousand?” Lizzy exclaimed.

“Oh my—” I started.

“Beth, we can’t accept this—” Victor cut in.

“She said it wasn’t much,” I argued. I couldn’t believe Clare would do something so unselfish. Even if it was part of the new her. I didn’t think breaking up with Robert, spending all your parents’ money, getting forced to sell all of your things as punishment, and then getting a new boyfriend could change someone so much.

It just wasn’t possible.

“Father,” Robert started, much more calmly than the rest of us. “Clare obviously wanted Beth to have it. She knew of our plans and she didn’t allow Beth to know what she had until Clare and her family had already left town, correct?”

“Well, yes, I suppose so…”

“Then it would be rude if we didn’t accept Clare’s generous gift and use it for what it was meant for.”

There was silence while we all contemplated what he’d said. All of us wanted to agree, yet no one wanted to say it out loud. Lizzy spoke first.

“I think you’re right. She knew we were leaving and she gave this to Beth anyway. We should use it.”

So it was decided that we would drive to Monticello and try to purchase an old, beat-up, rusty RV in an attempt to make it to Nevada in one piece.

This book is dedicated to anyone who has been knocked down.

Get back up and fight for your dreams.

And to the people who think they can hurt us—thank you for making us stronger.

Acknowledgements

I have to thank my amazing family and friends who stood by me through a hurricane, held me up and kept me moving forward, who believed in me always. And thank you to everyone at MuseItUp for taking a chance on me and helping me to really make this book the best it can be.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, or events, is coincidental and not intended by the author.

MuseItUp Publishing

14878 James, Pierrefonds, Quebec, Canada, H9H 1P5

Edited by Katie Carroll

Copyedited by Greta Gunselman

Layout and Book Production by Lea Schizas

eBook ISBN: 978-1-77127-242-1

First eBook Edition *January 2013

Production by MuseItUp Publishing