Getting to Texas had been quite an adventure so far. The day my grandmother came by to visit at the hotel and my mother dismissed me, I’d gone into my room and started digging a little deeper into Kia’s sister’s arrest records. They turned out to be extensive and spread out through Tennessee, South Carolina, Louisiana, and most recently, in Waco, Texas. I couldn’t wait to tell Kia, so I slipped out of the suite through the bedroom exit and went to Marie’s Hellfire Club.
“So, she’s in Texas?” Kia asked when I told her what I’d discovered.
“She was a couple of days ago. I’m gonna go find out.”
“What do you mean, you’re gonna go find out?” She looked at me like I was crazy. “You can’t do that, Nevada.”
“Look, my mother is about to ship me off to boarding school. I promised you I’d help you find your sister, but if I’m gonna do it, I gotta go now before my dad and grandpa find out. They’ve made a living tracking people down,” I said.
Kia shook her head. “Well, I’m not letting you go to Texas by yourself. I’m coming with you. She’s my sister. I need to be there.”
“No. You have to, uh, work,” I said. “I don’t want you to get in trouble with Marie.”
“Marie’s my boss, not my pimp. I work when I wanna work, and if I don’t, then that’s on me,” she said, equally defiant. “Now, how the hell are we getting to Texas?”
There was no way I could get on a plane, train, or bus without running the risk of getting caught by my family, who I knew would be out in full force looking for me once they discovered I was gone. I only had one option.
“We can hitchhike.”
“Hitchhike? Are you trying to end up in the hands of a serial killer?” She sighed. “No, I have a better idea.”
“What is it?”
“You’re just going to have to trust me. I’ll get us to Texas. You okay with that?” She stared into my eyes. Even if I didn’t trust her, I still would’ve said yes.
I didn’t even realize I hadn’t answered her question until she said, “Nevada?”
“Yeah.” I nodded. “If you think can pull it off, do it.”
That was a day and a half ago, and she was right. She’d gotten us to Texas. I just wasn’t so sure how happy I was about how we’d gotten there.
I heard a knock on the door, and I jumped up from the bed to open it. I was greeted by Kia’s smiling face. Seeing her standing there was like somebody had plugged me in and repowered my battery. I was grinning from ear to ear.
“Good morning,” she said.
“Morning.” I wanted to hug her but decided against it when friggin’ Bob walked up and affectionately placed his arm around Kia. She looked embarrassed.
Bob was a bald, middle-aged, out-of-shape white guy who owned a Copy Hut store in Manhattan. He was one of Kia’s regular clients and very much in love with her, which was apparent in his willingness to drop everything and drive us to Texas. This guy had been kissing her rear the entire way down to Texas.
“You ready?” Kia asked.
I looked up at Bob with his arm around her and simply said, “Yeah, I’m ready. I just have to get my backpack.”
“Good. I’ve calculated we’ll only need one bathroom stop until our destination,” Bob replied, pushing back his Coke-bottle glasses, which kept sliding down his greasy face. Bob’s picture could have been in the dictionary next to the term degenerate nerd.
“If we hurry, we can catch McDonald’s before breakfast hours end.”
“You do know McDonald’s serves breakfast all day now,” I said.
“That’s a very limited menu. But I wouldn’t expect someone your age to understand. Your mommy probably tries to keep things very simple for you.”
I glanced at Kia, but she just turned and began walking toward the car. When this was all over, I was going to hack this guy’s accounts and send all his money to Oprah’s school for girls in Africa.
We got into the car and headed to our destination, Waco, which was about an hour from where we were. The entire time he was driving, Bob kept telling Kia how beautiful she was, how he had no problem helping her whenever, wherever, and constantly asking if she was okay.
“Is the air too cold, Kia? Do you need me to turn it down some? Are you hungry? Do you need to stop? You are the most beautiful girl in the world, Kia.”
He was making me want to throw up, especially when he reached over and grabbed her hand and kissed it. I felt a slight twinge of jealousy, even though technically we were just friends and there was nothing between us.
“I’m fine, Bobby.” Kia smiled and rubbed his arm. She turned to the back seat and gave me a look that said I’m just going along with this to get what we need. I shrugged, leaned back in my seat, and went to sleep.
After we arrived in the city of Waco, which really seemed more like a town, Bob asked. “So, where exactly do we need to go, sexy?”
“Find the downtown area,” Kia told him.
When he found it, she said, “Just drive. I’ll tell you when to stop.”
We went up and down the streets of downtown Waco for almost thirty minutes.
“You sure you know where you’re going, beautiful?” Bob glanced over at Kia, who was staring out her window.
“Wait. Stop. Pull over there.” She pointed at a small shop.
“Here?” Bob asked. “At the Asian foot massage place?”
“Yeah.”
“You think she’s in there?” I asked.
“It’s possible. Asian foot massage is a usually code for massage parlor that offers a whole lot more than foot rubs.” Kia slid close to Bob. “Bobby, I need you to go inside and ask for something.”
I
