The Rules for Disappearing (30 page)

“I need a favor. Forget all the stupid shit, I really need your help.”

Ben gets serious. “What do you need?”

S—

“We have to get out of town for a while. A couple of days. I need N—

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everyone to think me and you are headed to the camp. Drive your truck there and stay until Sunday.”

Ben folds his arms across his chest. “What’s wrong?”

Ethan shakes his head. “It’s not my story to tell. Just do this for me.”

Ben waits a few seconds then says, “When do you need me to

leave?”

“Now if you can. Here’s my phone. I got a text waiting to be

sent to Mom. I need you to send it and one to your mom when you get there.”

Ben takes the phone from Ethan. “Anything else?”

“No. That’s it.”

Ben and Ethan stand there looking at each other. “You’re gonna owe me big time.”

Ethan nods. “Yeah.”

They shake hands, then Ethan motions for me to get back into

the car. I just witnessed hell freezing over.

We stop once right on the outside of town to fill up with gas, grab a map, and use the bathroom.

Ethan spreads the map across the hood and studies it. “Scottsdale is a helluva long way from here.”

I stand next to him. “I can still take the bus.”

He laughs at me and says, “It’s far but it’s almost a straight shot.

It’s all Interstate from the minute we leave Louisiana until we get to Arizona. If we don’t make too many stops, we can probably make it in a little less than twenty-four hours.”

—S

—N

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I nod, looking at the path he traces with his finger along the map.

He glances at me. “It’s gonna be a hard trip doing it that fast.”

The last eight months have been hard, but this trip is the only thing I’ve had any control over. “I’m ready.”

Ethan folds the map and pulls me in for a hug. “It’s strange to look at you and not think of you as Meg. Or Avery.”

I giggle in his chest. “Think about how I feel. Before I open my mouth, I have to think
okay who am I and what’s my story?
” I giggle again. I’m half delirious.

He shakes his head, like he still hasn’t quite absorbed all of this yet.

We get back in the car and hit the Interstate. I spend the first hour riding backwards, looking for the Suburban. About ninety

percent of this trip will be on Interstate, and while that’s great for making good time, it’s awfully boring out the window. Especially in the middle of the night.

We’ve been in the car about an hour and a half and haven’t spoken once since we left the gas station. And neither of us has touched the radio. The silence is thick.

I’m still in awe of Ethan. He jumped into this road trip with me blind and has more sense about it than I do. He’s left this awesome fake trail, and I was just going to grab the earliest Greyhound out of Shreveport. And I know what we’re up against. My plan sucked.

He’s right, I’d have never made it out of Louisiana on the bus once the suits started looking for me.

S—

I grab a pillow and lean it against the door to watch him drive.

N—

“Who’s Fred?”

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He frowns and then smiles. “Fred is Pearl’s boyfriend she thinks no one knows about.”

“Where’s the cabin?”

“South Mississippi, near the Gulf. It’s a fishing cabin Pearl’s husband had before he died. She lets me go there whenever I want.”

“What made you pick this car?”

He cocks his head and looks at me. “Blame it on all the mov-

ies I watch but I’m trying to drop us off the face of the earth. The Feds can pull credit cards. Cell phone records. They can track us through OnStar or GPS. They’ll probably go to Pearl first, then me.

They know what my truck looks like. Even though this car is a little flashy, it’s Fred’s. Not many people know him and Pearl are an item so hopefully they won’t be looking for his car. And when Ben gets to the camp and sends that text, that’s where it will look like we are.”

He chuckles after he says this. “They may pick us up on the street cameras if they go back and look at tonight’s tape, but there’s not much I can do about that. There’s hardly anybody else on the road right now to blend in with.”

Good Lord. He’s thought of everything.

“What does the text to your mom say?”

“If I keep answering these questions, you have to answer some

of mine.” He smiles and the dimple digs deep in his cheek.

I would have never gotten this far without him. He deserves a

few answers.

“Okay, deal.”

“The text says, ‘Heading to the cabin for a few days. Every-

thing’s fine. Don’t be pissed. See you soon.’”

—S

“I can’t believe you thought of all of that. So, basically your

—N

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phone will send a text from somewhere in Mississippi and Ben will be there waiting. You know once they get to him, they’ll know what we did.”

He laughs. “Yeah, but they’ll be over in Mississippi scratching their heads. It’ll buy us some time. They can jump on a plane or whatever. We need all the help we can get.” We drive a few minutes before he asks. “Why’s your family in Witness Protection?”

I stare out the front windshield. “It’s nothing we did. It’s not like I’m part of some crime family. It’s just one of those being in the wrong place at the wrong time kinda things.”

The only protection I can give Ethan is his ignorance. Maybe

when this is all over, I can tell him everything.

“How many times have you moved?”

I curl up in the seat. “Natchitoches was our sixth placement

since the beginning of June last year.”

He lets out a quiet laugh. The kind of laugh that you do, not

because something is funny, but because it’s all too much to take in.

“Everything makes sense now. All these nagging little things I had in my head about you. You seemed so normal one minute and then you’d wig out the next.”

I playfully slap his arm. “I think I held it together pretty well.”

“What was the original plan? I’m hoping it was a hell of a lot better than the one you concocted tonight.”

I let out a huff. “It
was
a good plan. Catherine and I were going dress shopping in Shreveport on Friday. I was going to give her some lame excuse and get on a bus to Phoenix. I was going to take S—

care of what I need to take care of there and then head back to N—

Shreveport on Sunday. I could have been back in class by lunch.”

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Ethan laughs. Loud. He looks at me and shakes his head. It’s

actually a few minutes before he quits laughing. I stare out the side window, trying to ignore him. It was a good plan until Mom fell apart.

“So they were gonna move you in the morning. Would I have

ever seen you again?” His voice serious now.

I look at him. “No. There would’ve been no sign we were ever

there.”

He reaches for my hand. We both seem content for the moment

to just watch the miles drop away in front of the headlights.

—S

—N

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RULES FOR DISAPPEARING

BY WITNESS PROTECTION PRISONER #18A7R04M:

Never tell anyone your secrets. They’re cal ed secrets for a reason.

Myeyes feel gritty and I’m having trouble opening them. The

light is bright, blinding me when I’m finally able to crack them.

Someone is shaking my shoulder.

Finally, the dark fuzzy shape comes into focus. It takes me a few seconds and then everything comes crashing back. Ethan.

He looks exhausted. I sit up quickly. “How long have I been

asleep?” A glance out of the window does not help pinpoint our location. We’re stopped at a gas station right off the Interstate.

“We’re on the other side of Fort Worth, about halfway to

Abilene. You’re gonna have to take a shift because I don’t think I can keep my eyes open for another mile.”

“Why didn’t you wake me up sooner?” I quickly undo my seat

belt and hop out of the car. My legs are wobbly and I really need to pee.

Ethan looks at me from over the roof of the car. “I’ll fill the car S—

up. Go get whatever you need inside.”

N—

I reach back in the car for my bag. I half walk half run to the 256

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store, trying to get my legs to work. Once inside, I quickly spot the restroom.

Cringing, I step inside the bathroom. It’s gross. Somehow, I

manage to use the toliet while keeping the plastic bag on my lap.

There’s no way I’m setting it on the floor in here.

Another balancing act at the little sink, I wash my hands and

pull my toothbrush and toothpaste out of my bag. Once my teeth are brushed, I actually feel human again. My eyes are burning and red from sleeping in the contacts. They’re coming out. They’ll work well in Scottsdale but I’m done with them until then. I get the little case out to put them away.

Back in the store, I grab a honey bun and fix a cup of coffee

then wait in line at the checkout. Ethan walks inside. When he gets close, his eyes squint as he looks at me closer. Not paying attention, he walks into a display of chips.

He changes course and comes to me in the line. He gets really

close. “I knew your eyes were different in that newspaper article, but they are really blue.”

I giggle. “Yes. They are.”

He whispers in my ear, “Once we get back in the car I’m sleep-

ing for a couple of hours and then we’re talking. Really talking about all of this.”

I love this car. It’s a totally different experience driving an old muscle car than any sports car on the market today. You really feel the engine when you hit the gas and it makes a pretty cool rumbling noise, too.

—S

Ethan told me before he completely passed out to watch my

—N

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speed. The last thing we need is to get pulled over. It’s hard, though.

I want to gas it and watch this car haul ass, but I restrain myself.

Maybe on the way home.

I glance over at Ethan, like I’ve done a hundred times since he fell asleep. He’s reclined back, mouth wide open. He’s dead to the world.

He’s gonna want answers when he wakes up. I don’t blame him

but hate pulling him into this. As much as I want to keep him igno-rant of the finer points, I don’t think I can talk him into letting me go to Price’s alone once we’re in Scottsdale. Not that it matters.

I don’t know if I can do what needs to be done alone. It would be worse to let him walk in there and not know what we’re up against.

My mind wanders as I drive. Will I run into Elle or Laura?

Probably not. Do I want to see them while I’m there? No, not really.

With Brandon dead, a lot of my anger at them is gone. Laura could have been with him and she’d be dead too. I like to think my disappearing on Elle and Laura that night may have been the reason Laura and Brandon weren’t together at his house. Maybe I had to hear that to save her life.

I drive for a few hours. There is nothing, and I mean nothing, to look at through this part of Texas.

Ethan starts to wake up as we pass through Midland. He tosses

and turns in his seat for a few minutes before he finally gives it up.

He raises the seat, rubbing his eyes.

“Where are we?” His voice is scratchy.

“Just passed Midland. Sign said Odessa is next.” I turn to look S—

at him. “Do you need to stop?”

N—

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and opens the ice chest, pulling out a Coke. He holds it out to me.

“You want one?”

I shake my head. “No, I had coffee.”

He gets back in his seat and cracks the can. Yawning big, he

stretches his legs and arms out.

“You can go back to sleep. I’m fine to drive awhile longer.”

He arches his back and rubs his face with his free hand. “No, I’m good. How long was I out?”

I glance at my watch. “About three hours. Not long enough.”

He takes a deep drink of the Coke. “You didn’t sleep much more than that. It’s enough for now.” Ethan leans back against the seat and turns his head toward mine. “Okay, blue eyes. Spill it.”

“Can I tell you everything but the exact details of what put us in the program? I’d rather not name names.”

“For now. But you’re gonna have to tell me eventually. What-

ever you need to do in Scottsdale, I’m going with you.”

I nod and take a deep breath. “I lived in Scottsdale my whole

life until last June. My dad was a pretty successful CPA there. Not a big firm but a handful of really big clients. We lived in a nice house in a golf course community. Lots of nice things—cars, clothes, you name it.” I take another deep breath. I had no idea how hard this would be to say out loud.

“I witnessed something I shouldn’t have. Something terrible.”

I don’t want to tell him I didn’t remember it until a few days ago. I don’t want to tell him I’ve hated my dad for months for something he didn’t do.

Ethan nods, urging me to go on.

—S

It’s enough encouragement to keep going. “The longest we

—N

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