“I’ll see if I can find some shoes.” He came back with a couple pairs of old sneakers, scuffed, laces ratty, and some flip-flops that had also seen better days. “He wears them until they fall off.”
He pointed out the bathroom, which was down the hall a little but still in view of the living room. Dani told me to go in first. I gave her the rifle, grabbed my packsack, then quickly changed and washed my face and hair. Next Dani went in with Courtney, handing me back the rifle. I waited outside the door, my packsack by my feet, the rifle gripped in my hands. I wondered if Gavin and Brian had another truck. If they were already back in town and looking for us.
Allen was in the kitchen, opening a can of soup, watching me. His gaze drifted down, focused on my wrists, his forehead pulling together in a frown. For a brief moment his eyes flicked to the phone at the end of the counter.
“You better not call anyone!” I said. I took a step toward him, glanced over my shoulder, but Courtney and Dani were still in the bathroom. I didn’t know what to do. My head felt light, my body shaky from fear and lack of food.
He held out a hand. “Easy. I was just thinking the cops would want to know if the boys hurt you.”
“You call them, and I’m going to have to hurt you.” I brandished the gun.
“Nobody has to hurt anybody, okay?”
Dani and Courtney came out of the bathroom. Their hair was damp. The clothes were baggy on them, but I was glad to see them out of the dresses.
“What’s going on?” Dani rushed toward me.
“He was going to call the cops.”
“Why?” Dani said. “We told you. Nothing happened.”
He looked at us. “Something happened.”
“We won’t talk to them,” Dani said. “But those boys, they might hear that you made a call about them.” She gave him a look.
The man stared at her, his hands still on the can of soup, weighing her words, then nodded.
He motioned to the kitchen table. “Let’s talk about how we can get you girls out of town.”
Courtney and Dani sat on one side, dumping their packsacks down by their feet. I stayed leaning against the wall where I could see their faces, the rifle still in my hands but pointed at the floor. The man got a pot out of a cupboard, dumped a couple cans of chicken noodle soup into it. My mouth watered. I wanted to eat it cold, wanted to run over and slurp it from the pot. I glanced at Dani’s face, noticed her staring at the stove. She looked away, slowly, her neck stiff.
“It’s better if you girls leave your truck behind,” the man said.
“We need it. We just have to drug the dog or something,” Dani said.
“The garage, it’s got cameras out back.”
“You didn’t tell us that before,” I said. The soup was boiling on the stove. The man stirred it, the aroma filling the air. My stomach grumbled.
“Didn’t want to scare you. Brian’s uncle, he checks that camera all the time.”
“Shit,” Dani said, gnawing on her nails.
“When you don’t claim your truck, they’ll chop it up for parts. I don’t know where you came from or who you’re running from, but you took a chance driving it out here. Trucks need gas, trucks break down. If you leave it, it’s like you disappeared here.”
Like we died here. I glanced at Courtney. She was holding her arms tight around her body, her eyes still vacant in that way that scared me.
“How else are we going to get to Vancouver?” I said.
“There’s a bus. First thing in the morning—”
“We can’t stay here that long.” My voice was frantic.
He looked thoughtful. “My son can drive you to Armstrong tonight. You can get on the bus there.”
“We don’t have any money,” Dani said, her chin high.
“I’ll help you. Do you have any family where you’re going?”
Dani shook her head. “No one.”
“So what are you going to do?” He pulled some bowls down out of the cupboard.
“We’ll live on the streets or a shelter or something,” she said.
He looked over his shoulder at us. “Three girls alone on the streets of Vancouver.… That’s just asking for trouble.”
“We’re already in trouble,” she said.
He nodded, looked like he was thinking something over.
“I have an old friend.… He has a gym, works with teenagers from the streets. He might be able to find you a place to stay.”
Dani looked at Courtney, who was staring down at the table, then over to me. I shook my head, frowning. She looked back at Courtney, then turned to the man.
“Can you call him? We’d appreciate it.”
“We don’t need anyone,” I said. “We can figure it out on our own.”
Dani glared at me. “Shut up and let me handle this.”
“We should get a say in this too!”
“Why don’t you girls talk it over?” the man said.
Dani and I glanced at Courtney.
“I’ll watch her,” he said. “You can use my son’s room.” He pointed toward the back of the apartment.