“You’re scaring me.”
“You need to be more scared than you are right now. I can’t believe I let you eat in the house!” He looks down at my feet in terror. “And your dirty feet! Fuck, my dad is going to kill me. There’s little footprints on the wood floors too.”
I stare at him like a deer in headlights. “I have no clue what to do right now,” I say.
Bryce claps his hands. “Right, first thing, raid my pantry. Bring whatever snacks you want. My parents will not find it too hard to believe I ate them today anyways. I am going to grab the travel bag and my mom’s clothes and the cash. I must make sure she won’t notice her clothes are missing. I’ll dig in the back of her closet.” At this point, I feel like Bryce is more talking to himself than me. I nod my head and walk into the pantry. He turns to me and looks at the floors in disgust. “And clean your feet!”
Bryce heads upstairs while I grab some snacks from the pantry. A few opened bags of chips, crackers, and a small jar of peanut butter was all I felt I needed for the trip. I still had no clue where the hell I was going to go. I thought of going straight to Candice’s house in the city. They likely would not look for me there. Not unless they had phone records somehow.
How powerful were The Beasts?
I use some paper towels to clean my feet and start cleaning the footprints from the floor.
Bryce comes back downstairs with a small workout bag and some folded clothes in his hands. “This isn’t fashionable exactly, but I know she won’t notice these clothes missing. Some shoes are in the bag. Some cash is in there too, but I have more hidden in the basement. This was my Get-Out-of-Ryland money, so it only seems right that it’s used by you for getting out of this shit town. I will just need to grab the cash, and we can leave. Get changed upstairs in the bathroom.”
I nod my head. I had never seen Bryce give orders like this in such a concise way. Maybe his ex-military dad rubbed off on him in more ways than he noticed.
I walk upstairs and close the bathroom door behind me. Until now, I did not realize how ugly the clothes he gave me really were. Grey jogging pants with a light pink sweater that had a white teddy bear face on it.
Really?
I wanted to open the door and yell at Bryce, but worried that this new stern order giving Bryce would not take my shit. More than that, he has a point—it is time to get the fuck out of Ryland.
I don my new attire as quickly as I can when I hear the front door open downstairs.
“Dad!” Bryce yells. “You’re home early.”
His dad whispers something to him that I cannot hear.
“What are you talking about?” Bryce says to him. “Why would she be here?”
“Don’t play games with me, boy,” his father says with his deep voice. “I’m sick of your games. I asked you a question.”
“Dad, I haven’t seen her. She was supposed to come to my concert last night and ditched me. I’m done with her.”
I can hear his father walking around the home. I look around the bathroom and realize I am in the shittiest place to hide. All I could do if he comes upstairs is hide behind the shower curtain.
I quietly open the bathroom door and walk lightly through the hallway. Bryce’s door is locked, but the room next to it is not. I sneak into the room, and quietly close the door behind me. I notice a lock on the door and turn it.
I turn around and notice a large wooden desk with hanging shelves around it. A large collage of pictures is behind the desk. Even when he was younger, Mr. Jamison looked like a hard ass. It was a bunch of pictures form his time in the army. A large military looking blade is hanging on the wall beside the collage of pictures. I realize I am in Mr. Jamison’s office.
“What are these little tiny footprints doing in my kitchen?” I hear Mr. Jamison yell from downstairs. “Where is she, Bryce? Do you know what is at stake? Do you know what this could mean for us?”
“She left, Dad! She’s gone. I gave her some cash and clothes, and she took off. I have no clue where she went. She—”
Even from upstairs I could hear the smack of his father hitting Bryce. “Enough bullshit! Where is she?”
Suddenly, I hear loud stomps coming up the staircase. Each step causes my heart to pound a bit harder in my chest. I look around the room and open a closet door.
I used to play hide and seek when I was a kid. I was actually fairly good. This was pretty fucking stupid though.
I quietly shut the closet door. Lucky for me, the closet was wide and had plenty of clothes in it that were large to potentially hide behind.
“Why is your room locked?” Mr. Jamison yells at his son.
“I’m sick of you going into my room! I’m eighteen now!”
“Don’t make me hit you again, boy. I will do it harder until you get the point. Open it, now!”
I can hear his father throwing things around Bryce’s room. He goes back into the hallway and opens the bathroom door. I can hear him throw shower curtain aside.
I slink as far back into the closet as I can manage. I sift through some of his father’s clothes as I do. I notice a large green and black military uniform. A
