I gently pull my elbow away from his grip. “You got to see your mom, right? You saw her in the backyard?”
“Yeah,” he sighs. His eyes find his shoes.
“You got to see your mom, so I get to see Sarah.”
“That doesn’t make as much sense as you think it does. We got the transmitter, remember? This is why we’re in Paradise. It’s the only reason.” Sam hands me the tablet, and I stare at its blank screen. I touch every inch of it. I try telekinesis. I hold it to my forehead. The tablet remains off.
“Let me try,” Sam says. As he fumbles with the tablet, I tell him about the ladder, the huge skeleton with the pendant, and the desk and wall covered in papers.
“Six grabbed a handful of the papers, but it’s not like we can read them,” I say.
“So my dad had a secret underground lair?” Sam smiles for the first time in hours, handing the tablet back. “He was so cool. I’d really like to look at the papers Six took.”
“Absolutely,” I say. “Right after I see Sarah.”
Sam opens his arms in astonishment. “What can I do to change your mind? Just tell me.”
“Nothing. There’s nothing you can do to stop me.”
The last time I was at Sarah’s house it was Thanksgiving Day. I remember walking up the driveway and seeing Sarah wave from the front window.
“Hey, handsome,” she said when she opened the door, and I turned around to look over my shoulder to pretend she meant it for someone else.
Her house looks completely different at two in the morning. With every window dark, with the garage doors closed, the house looks cold and empty. Uninviting. Sam and I are on our bellies in the shadow of a house on the corner, and I don’t know how I’m going to talk to her.
I pull the prepaid cell phone I’ve had turned off for days out of my jeans. “I could text her until she wakes up.”
“That’s actually a pretty good idea. Just do this already so we can get out of here. I swear, Six is going to kill us, or worse, maybe she’s about to be killed by a swarm of Mogs and we’re here lying in the grass about to go through a scene from
I power up the phone and type: I promised I’d come back. U up?
We count to thirty after I send it, and then I type: I love you. I’m here.
“Maybe she thinks you’re pranking her,” Sam whispers after we wait another thirty seconds. “Say something only you would know.”
I try: Bernie Kosar misses you.
Her window lights up. Then my phone buzzes with a text: Is it really you? You’re in Paradise?
I pull up a handful of grass, I’m so excited.
“Chill out,” Sam whispers.
“I can’t help it.”
I respond: I’m outside. Meet me at the playground in 5?
My phone buzzes immediately: I’ll be there. :)
Sam and I are hiding behind a Dumpster at the end of the street when Sarah takes her first steps onto the concrete playground. From the moment I see her, I’m breathless, flooded with emotions. She’s twenty yards away, wearing dark jeans and a black fleece jacket. A white winter hat is pulled over her head, but I can still see her long blond hair, and it brushes over her shoulders in the slight wind. Her flawless complexion glows in the lone playground bulb, and I feel instantly self-conscious about being covered in dirt and Mog ash. I take a step away from the Dumpster, but Sam grabs my wrist and holds me back.
“John, I know this is going to be really hard,” he whispers. “But we have to be back in those woods in ten minutes. I’m serious. Six is counting on us.”
“I’ll do my best,” I say, not even thinking of the repercussions at this point. Sarah is right there, and I’m so close I can practically smell her shampoo.
I watch Sarah turn her head back and forth looking for me. Finally she sits down on a swing and twists herself, the ropes above her becoming taut. Sarah starts to spin slowly, and I shuffle around the perimeter of the playground, pausing behind trees, watching her. She looks so beautiful. So perfect.
I wait until she’s facing the other direction before stepping out of the shadows, and when she twists around again, there I am.
“John?” The toes of Sarah’s sneakers scrape on the concrete to stop her from twisting back around.
“Hey, beautiful,” I say. I can feel my smile reaching the corners of my eyes.
Sarah covers her mouth and nose with her hands.
I walk towards her and she tries to get off of the swing, but its ropes are too taut for her to escape.
I jump forward and catch the swing’s ropes in my hands. I twist her towards me and raise my arms, lifting her and the seat so her face lines up with mine. I lean in and kiss her, and the instant our lips meet, it’s as if I’d never left Paradise.
“Sarah,” I say into her ear. “I’ve missed you so, so, so much.”
“I can’t believe you’re here. This can’t be real.”
I kiss her again, and I don’t stop while I twist us both around and around until the ropes above her separate. Sarah pushes off from the seat and lands in my arms. I kiss her cheeks and her neck, and she runs her hands over my head, gripping my short hair between her fingers.
I set her down and she says, “Somebody got a haircut.”
“Yeah, it’s my whole tough-guy-on-the-run look. What do you think? You into it?”
“I am,” she says, pressing her palms to my chest. “But you could be bald for all I care.”
I take a step back to cement this image of Sarah. I note the brightness of the stars behind her, the tilt of her winter hat. Her nose and cheeks are red from the cold; and as she bites her lower lip and stares at me, a small cloud of breath floats from her mouth. “I’ve thought about you every single day, Sarah Hart.”
“I promise I’ve thought about you twice as much.”
I lower my head until our foreheads touch. We stay this way wearing ridiculous grins until I ask, “How are you? What are things like for you around here right now?”
“Better now.”
“It’s so hard being away from you,” I say, kissing her cold fingers. “I’m constantly thinking about what it feels like to touch you and hear your voice. I’ve come close to calling you every single night.”
Sarah cups my chin and runs her thumbs over my lips. “I’ve sat in my dad’s car so many times just wondering where you are. All I needed to know was which direction and I would’ve started to drive.”
“I’m right here. Right in front of you,” I whisper.
She drops her hands. “I want to come with you, John. I don’t care. I can’t go on like this.”
“It’s way too dangerous. We
Her shoulders shake, and tears dot the corners of her eyes. “I can’t stay here, John. Not with you out there and me not knowing if you’re dead or alive.”
“Look at me, Sarah,” I say. She raises her head. “There’s no way I’m going to die. Knowing that you’re here waiting for me, it’s like a force field. We’re going to be together. Soon.”
Her lip quivers. “It’s so hard. Everything is awful right now, John.”
“Everything’s awful? What do you mean?”
“People are jerks. Everyone’s saying hateful things about you, and they say a lot of things about me, too.”
“Like what?”
“That you’re a terrorist and a murderer and you hate the United States. Guys at school call you names like Bomb Smith. My parents say you’re dangerous and I’m never supposed to talk to you again no matter what; and as an added bonus, there’s a reward on your head, so people are always talking about shooting you.”
She puts her head down. “I can’t believe you have to put up with all that, Sarah,” I say. “At least you know the truth.”
“I’ve lost almost every friend I had. Plus I’m at a new school where everyone just thinks I’m this weirdo.”
I’m devastated. Sarah was the most popular, most beautiful, most liked girl at Paradise High School. Now
