“Um …” Deep breath. “We should … uh … go now.”
“Whatever you say. We can make up for lost time later. And don’t forget your purse again. It’s over there, by the hamper.”
“Uh … thanks.” I bent over to slip the strap of a small red vinyl purse over my shoulder. It was surprisingly heavy for a micro purse and I wondered what Leah kept inside. But that was the least of my concerns, and could wait.
Right now, I was getting out of here.
Thanks to Chad, the door was no longer locked. As I stepped into the hall, I was dizzy with freedom. But scared, too. Everything was still so confusing. When I looked down the unfamiliar hallway I hesitated, uncertain. To the left was a long hall, and to the right, a staircase.
I started to turn right, but Chad grabbed my arm. “Where’re you going?”
“Um … outside?”
“You’ll never make it if you walk past your parents’ room. The door is open and I heard the TV blaring, so your mother must be in there.”
“Oh … yeah. I’m all for avoiding her.”
“We’ll cut through the kitchen and then go around the garage,” he said.
I nodded, as if this made perfect sense. Then I followed him to the left, relieved to see a curved wooden staircase as we turned a corner.
“Shh. Be real quiet.” He put his finger to his lips. “Hunter is playing games.”
Hunter who? I almost asked. But I stopped myself and just nodded, as if I knew exactly who Hunter was and why he would prevent me from leaving. Tiptoeing down the stairs, we came out into a tiled hall with a high ceiling. Again I had no idea which way to go, so I followed Chad.
Electronic beeps blasted as we passed what I guessed was a game room. Chad put his finger to his lips in warning. I nodded, moving as silently as possible considering that my legs were still rubbery. We made it through an enormous kitchen and out a back door without being stopped.
The sunlight was so bright that I squinted and shaded my eyes with my hand. I paused to catch my breath, inhaling freshly mown grass. Straightening, I glanced around at a driveway leading up to a garage the size of my entire house. Bigger, actually.
“Where’s your car?” I asked Chad.
“My car?” He wrinkled his brow and shot me another one of those puzzled looks. “Don’t you mean my bike?”
“Bike?” I asked, surprised that he hadn’t shown up in a hot sports car.
“Duh. You know I drive a motorcycle.”
“Oh, yeah. Your bike.” I smiled nervously. I’d never been on a motorcycle before, but I could give it a try. “Is that what we’re taking?”
“After the stink you made last time you rode with me and a bug smashed on your neck? We’re not trying that again. Besides, my GSXR 1300 is so powerful, everyone would hear it and know I was here. I walked over.”
I frowned, trying to remember the distance between Leah’s neighborhood and Community Central Hospital. Too far to walk, for sure.
“Why are you just standing there?” he said impatiently. “You want to get caught?”
“No, but I’m still tired. How far will we have to walk?”
“Walk? You can’t be serious.” He laughed like he was playing along with a big joke. Then he reached for my purse, rifled through it and brought out a key ring. “We’ll drive like usual.”
Then, before I could say anything, he’d pushed a button and the garage door rose up, revealing a hot blue convertible and a gray SUV. He clicked another button and the convertible’s lights flashed.
“Come on,” he urged, handing me back the purse.
“But won’t Mrs. Mo … my mom get mad if I take her car?” I asked nervously.
“Why would we take her car? We’re going in yours.”
11
Chadwick Rockingham, Jr. wore that puzzled look again, but now it was mixed with a cocky grin that spread into adorable dimples when I asked him to drive. I bet Leah never let him drive. He suggested we go to our “usual place,” but I could guess what usually happened in their “usual place,” so I shook my head.
“That’s not a good idea. I’m … um … still kind of weak.”
“Where do you want to go?” He slipped into the driver’s seat and started up the engine. “If you’re hungry, we could get something at the Club.”
The Club? As in the Courtyard Country Club. Only elite and wealthy people were members. I’d imagined lunching there with my clients some day.
I shook my head regretfully. “I’m not hungry.”
“So where do you want to hang? We can’t go to my house ’cause my brother has his geek friends over making some dumb school project, and I know they annoy you.”
I shrugged, afraid of saying something wrong. But with my real body lying in a coma, I had to take a risk. “Let’s go to the hospital.”
“Huh? You’re kidding, right?”
“I’m serious. I need to go to the hospital.”
“But you just got out.”
“Not that hospital.”
His rubbed his chin, clearly puzzled. “Babe, you’re confusing me. What’s up?”
“I need to see someone at Community Central.”
“Who?”
“A family friend,” I invented. “It’s really important I see her … before it’s too late.”
“Intenseness.” He slowed the car at a yield sign, glancing over at me. “She must be really sick.”
“You have no idea.” I sank against the leather seat, exhausted and scared. My entire life (and Leah’s) hinged on getting to the hospital.
He shrugged. “Hey, whatever you want works for me. On to the hospital.”
“Oh, thanks!”
“You’ll be thanking me all right,” he added with a wink. “But that’ll be afterwards when we go to our place.”
“Um … okay,” I agreed. Not my problem. By then I’d be myself again and Leah could take care of Chad in their “usual” way.
I leaned back into my seat, falling into fatigue and closing my eyes as Chad talked. It was easy to listen to him, as he had a way of talking that made even boring topics like golf sound exciting. His idol was Tiger Woods, and he was being groomed by a professional coach and already competing in golf tournaments.
“This tournament will be my first televised one, and first place is fifty big ones. Just wait, babe, I’m turning pro.”
“Cool.” We turned on Mercy Avenue, a few blocks from Community Central. I tensed, clawing the leather seat. Getting closer. One more turn and we’d enter the hospital parking lot. But what would I find there?
