“You’re going to see them to the bus station.” Allen walked over to a china cabinet at the other end of the room, reached under, and grabbed something.
He pulled out a rifle and a box of ammo.
“What’s that for?” Dani said, her voice loud and scared.
“In case someone doesn’t want you to leave town.” He walked back over and handed the gun to Owen. “Load it and put it under the seat.” Owen nodded.
I didn’t like the idea of Owen having a gun, but I didn’t much like the idea of him not having a gun either. How long would it take for Brian and Gavin to get back to town? The first place they’d look was at the garage. I wondered if they’d gotten rid of all our other stuff or if it was still in the truck. We couldn’t get to it regardless. I was glad Dani had found our packsacks. I reached in, felt my camera, and wanted to cry when my fingers touched the broken lens.
I glanced at my sisters. Courtney was still curled into a ball, Dani watching her as she rubbed her leg soothingly like our mom used to do for us.
“You girls should crouch down when he’s driving out of here,” Allen said. “Even in the next town, the Luxton boys know people.”
My body filled with fear. What if the cops from Littlefield were still looking for us? Would they show photos of us to people at the station?
“We should change our looks,” I said.
“Yeah, we need disguises.” Dani looked at the man.
“We should be able to rustle some stuff up,” he said. “Owen, why don’t you go make the girls some sandwiches first?”
“Not peanut butter,” I said, my voice frantic. They both stared at me. My face flushed.
“She’s allergic,” Dani said.
The boy left the room. I heard cupboard doors opening and shutting.
Allen sat in the chair across from me.
“You should leave that here,” he said as he pointed to the gun.
“We need it,” Dani said.
“It’s probably registered. You get found with it, all kinds of trouble could come up. I’ll get rid of it for you.”
Everything was being stripped away, our truck, the gun. Dani was looking at me and I knew what she wanted me to do. I didn’t meet her eyes.
“Give it to him,” Dani said.
The man stood, held his hand out for the gun.
I thought about what he’d said. He was right, the gun was probably registered and it wasn’t like I could get on a bus with a rifle.
I handed it over.
He opened the clip, dumped the bullets into his hand, and put them in his pocket. Then he slid the gun under the couch.
“I better get downstairs before people start wondering. Owen will take care of you now.”
“Thanks,” Dani said, “for helping us.”
He stopped at the top of the stairs, gave us one last look. “Take care, girls.”
We were left with Owen. He packed our sandwiches in brown paper bags and handed them to Dani. She shoved them into her packsack. He gave Courtney a curious look, but his face was sympathetic.
“Don’t look at her,” I said.
He glanced over at me. “There’s medicine in the back closet, from when my mom was sick. Pain stuff. Do you want them?”
I glanced at Dani. She looked unsure for a moment, then said, “Yeah.”
He came back with some bottles and handed them to Dani. “Directions are on the label.” He pointed to a bottle. “That’s for anxiety. It’s really strong, though, so don’t give her too many.”
Dani turned to Courtney. “Sweetie, take this.” She held out a small blue pill. Courtney didn’t lift her arm or her head.
“Just open your mouth,” Dani said. Courtney opened it up, then closed it as soon as Dani placed the small pill under her tongue. Dani turned to the boy. “Did your mom have any makeup?”
“I’ll look.” Owen went into the back of the apartment. I could hear doors opening and closing, then he came out. “I left some makeup on the bathroom counter.” He handed me a black bandanna and two strips of black fabric. “I figured this could kind of go with your outfit, like to cover your hair, and your wrists.” I was surprised, hadn’t even seen him look at my wrists. “If you put on a bunch of dark makeup, maybe you could look like a heavy metal chick or a skater girl, you know?”
I nodded, wrapping the bandanna around my head, like a do-rag, and the strips of fabric around my wrists, hating how it made me feel bound again, but glad for the protection from prying eyes.
He turned back to Dani and Courtney. “We don’t really have much for you except baseball caps, but they’d look weird with what you’re wearing. Those blouses, they’re kind of old-fashioned, so I brought some tank tops.” He looked embarrassed, like he wasn’t used to talking to girls like this. “You can wear them under, and the blouses open, like girls do, you know?” He also handed Dani a purple scarf. “If one of you wears this around your neck, people might remember that and not your face. As long as you don’t pull the shirtsleeves up, you should be okay with your wrists. But your hair…” He was looking at Dani’s long hair.
“I’ll cut it,” she said.