The Rules for Disappearing (16 page)

Ethan hands me the phone and Dad answers on the second ring.

“Hey. Get a pen and take this number in case you need me.” There would only be two reasons why he would have to call: Mom or the suits. Ethan calls out his number digit by digit as I repeat it to Dad.

I hang up the phone and hand it back to Ethan. “Thanks.”

He drops it in a cup holder. “No problem. I’m surprised you

don’t have a phone.” He cranks up the heat in the truck.

I was really hoping for no questions so I wouldn’t have to lie to him tonight. “Yeah, I had one but lost it. Dad refuses to buy me another one right now.”

“Did it suck leaving your friends halfway through senior year?”

—S

he asks.

—N

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When I answer, I’m not thinking of the friends I made in the

last placement, which was nowhere near Arkansas, but of Laura and Elle and how complicated it is. “God, more than you can imagine.”

Even though everything was so screwed up between us when I left, I still miss them. Miss my old life.

“I don’t know, sometimes I think it would be awesome to pick

up and get out of here. Move off where no one knows you. Start all over.” This surprises me. Except for the crap with Ben and Emma, he seems to get along with everybody.

“It’s not all it’s cracked up to be,” I say.

Ethan pulls out his iPod. “Okay, getting too deep. What do you want to hear? I have it all.” He cocks his head and looks at me sideways. “Let me guess what kind of music you like. Your favorite.”

I turn sideways in the truck, facing him. “Go for it.”

He chews his lip and looks back and forth from the road to me.

“Not country.”

“Good so far.”

“Not Top 40.”

“Keep going.”

“No heavy metal, head bangers, or big-hair bands.”

I pull my feet up in the seat. “Getting closer.”

“It’s a toss-up. Depends on your mood. Every day you like

alternative, indie pop, but on other days you’re not afraid to bust a rhyme. You like a little hip-hop, a little Mary J. and even some Beyoncé, although she’s Top 40.”

I’m shocked. He nailed it. “How did you know that?”

S—

“Can’t give away my secrets.”

N—

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I lean forward and push his arm playfully. “Really. How would

you know that?”

“So, I’m right?”

I shrug my shoulders and say, “Pretty close.”

He fiddles with the iPod and says, “The first day when I found you outside singing, I didn’t know what in the hell that was but I finally figured it out. The Ting Tings.”

The mention of my singing embarrasses me and I’m glad it’s

dark in the truck. “You just figured it out, huh. It’s not like they’re main stream.”

“Emma was listening to them last night. Sounded familiar.”

My upper lip instantly and uncontrollably curls up. “Shut. Up.

There is no way we like the same music.”

Ethan holds his hands up in a defensive posture. “I’m telling you what I heard.”

“Fine. Okay, so how’d you figure out Mary J.? Cause I do love

her. Beyoncé, too.”

“Mary told me. I asked her what kind of music you liked. She

said turn on Mary J. Blige if I really want you to loosen up.”

“That’s cheating! And what did she mean loosen up? I’m

loose.”

Ethan starts laughing. Hard. “Loose. You’re kidding, right?

You’re wound up tighter than a pissed off rattlesnake.” Mary J.

fills the truck and I smile. “I couldn’t stand that Ting Ting shit or Beyoncé either but I found a few Mary J. songs that didn’t totally suck,” he says.

I can’t believe he downloaded songs for me. I wonder if he would

—S

—N

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be surprised if I reached over and held his hand. My screw it attitude is back in full force.

We pull up to the party and the yard is full of cars. I have a small moment of panic about what to do with the go-bag. I can’t very well lug it around all night at a party, but I also hate the idea of leaving it in the truck. Ethan waits for me outside the truck while I struggle with what to do about the bag. Leaving it is really my only option.

“Did you lock the car?”

He shakes his pocket and I hear the keys rattle. “Yeah, you need back in?”

“No. Just wanted to make sure it’s locked.”

Ethan grabs my hand and pulls me close. “Loosen. Up.” He

kisses me on the tip of my nose. It is so quick but the contact leaves me with a warm, fuzzy feeling that goes all the way to my ears.

On the walk to the house, it dawns on me that I should be afraid of what’s going to happen if Ben and Emma are here. Especially if Ben pulls that same crap he was doing at school.

I stop, forcing Ethan to stop too. “Hold on. Promise me

something.”

Ethan takes a small step toward me. It’s so dark, I can barely see his face. “Promise what?”

“Don’t let Ben piss you off. That’s what he’s trying to do, you know. Piss you off.”

His hand stiffens in mine. “I know exactly what Ben is trying to do. Don’t worry, I can take care of him.”

S—

The closer we get to the house, the louder the music gets. On

N—

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while a group of people watch. He flips over, lands on his feet, and everyone cheers. Ethan speaks to several people as we make it up the steps. Most do a double take when they see me, either shocked that I actually look decent or that Ethan brought me here. Or both.

We head to the kitchen and I’m relieved to see Catherine is here.

And what’s even better is she seems excited to see me, too.

Ethan grabs two beers and hands one to me. “Everybody

remembers Meg, right? Meg, I don’t think you met Drew.”

Everyone says hi except Julie and Trey, who are too busy mak-

ing out against the counter to even notice we’ve walked in the room.

“What’s up, Ethan? Didn’t know if you were coming,” Drew

says.

“Yeah. I had some stuff to do at the farm before I could go out.”

Will pulls Ethan into a headlock and messes up his hair. “Yeah, we’re gonna catch hell tomorrow.”

Ethan shoves him away, laughing. “Damn, boy, I worked hard

on my hair tonight.” He makes a big production of smoothing it back down.

Will laughs and says, “Dad says we’re working cows in the

morning. That son of a bitch is gonna make me get up at the crack of dawn.” He punches Ethan in the shoulder. “Maybe I’ll crash at your house, your Dad isn’t as big of an ass as mine is.”

Ethan turns to me and says, “Will’s dad and mine are partners.

They farm and have a couple hundred head of cows.”

“Yeah, and they love to work the shit out of us,” Will says. A few more drinks and he won’t be worth anything tomorrow.

While the guys talk, Catherine hops up on the counter and sits

—S

next to me. Her dark red hair is curly tonight but not in that awful

—N

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beauty pageant sort of way that’s common around here.

“Hey. I’m so glad you came. Ethan wasn’t sure you could

make it.”

“Yeah. Me, too.”

Catherine’s pretty in a different sort of way, with tiny freckles across her nose and big brown eyes, but it’s something else that really makes her stand out. It’s her confidence—she wears it almost like a physical thing and it reminds me a little of Elle, but Elle’s confidence had claws and was something to be feared.

“So, how are you handling the Ethan/Ben/Emma drama?” she

asks.

I hesitate. What am I supposed to say? “Uh, not really sure.”

“You just need to ignore her. She loves drama. She’ll totally

suck you into her cuckoo crazy world if you let her. And Ben’s not much better.”

Since most people come into the house through the kitchen,

it gets a little crowded. Will leans back into the counter where Catherine’s perched and she wraps her legs around his waist and rests her elbows on his shoulders. He keeps talking to the guys while she’s talking to me and it’s almost as if they’re unaware they moved into one another.

“I take it you’re not a fan of Emma?” I ask.

“P-lease. I learned my lesson with her years ago.”

I hang with Catherine a while and it’s nice to just girl talk. I didn’t realize how much I missed this until now. Some guy comes through offering Jell-O shots but I stick with beer since I don’t trust S—

myself to get tipsy or drunk.

N—

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at me every couple of minutes, like he’s making sure I’m still here.

Julie and Trey are still making out against the counter. They should find a room.

As the party rolls on, I get a running commentary from

Catherine. “That’s Sadie and Anthony,” she whispers and points to a couple who strolls through the kitchen, hand in hand. “They’ve got the record for breaking up and getting back together. It’s like 24 or 25 times now. Ridiculous.”

Another girl walks in and starts talking to Ethan and Will.

“That’s Mary Grace. Watch out for her. Her favorite hobby is

hooking up and most times she doesn’t care if the guy is with someone or not.” Catherine leans over Will’s shoulder and says, “Mary Grace, you’ve got to look somewhere else, sweetie—Ethan’s with Meg tonight.”

Maybe Catherine has a few claws of her own.

Mary Grace throws a fake smile at Catherine, then flips her

off. Ethan laughs then mouths the word,
thanks
, to Catherine. I try really hard not to blush.

She fills me in on everyone that has the unfortunate luck to walk through the kitchen. She seems to know everything about them,

most of it way more information than I need, but it’s funny as hell.

As soon as a slow song starts, Ethan breaks away from the guys and grabs my hand, pulling me to the den. There’d been a steady stream of people dancing when the music was faster, mainly girls dancing in a group, but there are only a few couples left once this slow song starts.

We pass the open door to the dining room on the way and see

—S

what looks like a very enthusiastic game of strip poker going on.

—N

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Most people are down to underwear except one guy sitting at the table who is fully dressed. He’s draped with what looks like all the pieces that other people have already lost.

Ethan walks to an empty corner of the room and pulls me in

close, one hand in mine and the other wrapped around my lower

back. I used to love to dance. Would dance to anything, but I especially loved to slow dance. It was my favorite, being all cuddled up to a guy I liked and swaying with the music. This is the only time in all these months that I’ve even had a chance.

I’m still pretty nervous around him so I bury my head in his

neck, then I won’t have to look at him or try to find something clever to say. He smells delicious.

We move to the music and it’s nice. Really nice. Warmth spreads from the contact on the small of my back, and the friction between his calloused hand and mine is making it impossible to concentrate.

He feels strong. And safe.

The song ends and Ethan pulls back slightly. Everyone else

leaves the dance area but we’re glued to our spot. His eyes are on my mouth. My heart is pounding. He moves back in and I curl my fingers in the back of his hair.

And then we hear sirens.

S—

N—

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RULES FOR DISAPPEARING

BY WITNESS PROTECTION PRISONER #18A7R04M:

Do not go to parties or any other non–school-related activity. It’s risky hanging out with a bunch of amateurs.

Theentire house breaks out in pandemonium. I look out of the

window and two police cars are roaring down the driveway with

lights flashing. I freeze with panic. Can’t move. It looks like my house did the morning the suits showed up.

Ethan pulls me from the window. “Gotta go, Meg.”

He yells to the gang in the kitchen for them to follow us. Ethan drags me through the house and we explode out of a back door.

Ethan doesn’t stop, just books it to the edge of the yard thick with trees and bushes. Different scenarios roll through my head and none of them are good. My hands feel clammy.

Will, Drew, Catherine, Trey, and Julie are right behind me as

we pick our way through the dark yard.

I squeeze Ethan’s hand and whisper, “Where are we going?”

He pulls me in close. “We’re heading to the front yard, to my

truck.”

Is he nuts? We’re just gonna get in his truck with cops here?

—S

What does he think, they’re gonna let us drive off?

—N

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Branches scratch my face and pull on my clothes. I do not like walking in the dark through a bunch of trees and bushy things. I’m scared some crazed animal is going to bite me on the leg or fall out of a tree and land on my head.

Catherine giggles behind me. I glance at her and she has a

scared expression, her hand over her mouth. She must be the kind who does that when nervous—so not what I expected out of her.