Most of the employees were Academy, and many of them, including some of us, had been at camp all week.
Kota turned off the engine. He twisted in the seat to look back at me. “Remember,” he said, “go in, tell him you’ve been at school camp. You can give him most of the details. Whatever might convince him this was just a normal school thing and you decided to go. Given his history, he’s probably only concerned because it could lead to exposure, so just promise not to do it again.”
Despite his calm demeanor, his eyes were wide, and his knuckles were still white from having gripped the steering wheel so tightly and now being balled into fists.
Victor pulled out his own phone and passed it to me. “You’ll need to hang on to this,” he said. “I turned the sound off. It’s probably best if you hide it.” The case was white. Mine had cracked, and in the chaos, I wasn’t exactly sure where it was at the moment.
I didn’t have a bra on right now, so I tucked the phone into my underwear at my back. With the shorts’ waistband tight, it should stay at my waist if I didn’t bounce around too much. “Can you still listen with it at my back?”
“We can listen through it or through your father’s cell phone if needed,” Victor said. “And we’ll have the cameras running so we can see what’s going on. It’ll drain the battery, so don’t forget to charge it.”
Nathan opened Gabriel’s door, allowing him to get out, and then Nathan reached in and took my hand to help me scoot along until I was stepping on the gravel of the parking lot.
“No matter what,” Nathan said as he closed the door, “if you feel threatened, walk out the door. I’m not going to be far.”
“Me, either,” Gabriel mumbled. His crystal eyes darkened, his lips taut.
Nathan shot him just as dark a look.
No one was happy with this.
Or they were still moody after the fight they’d had. It was hard to tell.
There was no time to tell them what I’d heard, and I didn’t dare bring it up. In the moment, my heart was pounding so loud. This was worse than the week leading to camp. There had been no warning, and now I was returning home for the first time in what felt like eons.
I breathed in the cold January air. I wasn’t sure of the time, but I considered it had to be past noon at least. How different my world had become since yesterday, or even this morning. Camp had changed me. Despite my issues with being around girls, and the disaster I’d become around the shower, the Academy had shown me a world of kindness. Coming back had been a trip through a wardrobe...the Academy had been Narnia, and now I was back, blinking, wondering if it had all been a dream, because the real world wasn’t nearly as nice.
I needed to avoid being seen coming in, just in case.
I repeated what I needed to do in my head while we walked along the path through the woods.
I’d walk in.
He’d ask where I’d been.
I would say I was at camp.
He’d fuss about it, but I’d say sorry, wouldn’t happen again.
He might stay a day or two, but even so, he’d be gone for work. By Monday at the latest, he’d go.
He wouldn’t come upstairs. I might even just go for a walk while he was there.
I’d avoid him, like before.
I’d be able to sneak out to be around the guys, and they could sneak inside at night.
Once my father left, and we were sure he was gone, I’d be free again.
A thin layer of leaves crunched under my feet as I walked. Kota led the way and carried a pack loaded with a laptop to monitor everything. Nathan and Gabriel walked beside me. Victor followed.
“If you need someone to vouch, we can always call Carla,” Kota said, talking about a sort of friend I’d made at camp. “She’ll even do it without a favor.”
I didn’t dare bother Carla. She was nice, even if we’d started out at odds that week. Between her and the other girls, as much as they were very nice, I’d left under poor circumstances, in the middle of the night, and never wanted to see them again. I was too embarrassed.
Still, in my heart, I knew if I asked her, Carla, or Lake, or anyone at the Academy would help if I asked.
It was a thought that was supposed to calm me down; however, my heart wouldn’t stop racing.
I swallowed a thousand times on that walk. My heart felt like it was in my throat. My nerves were overwrought with anxiety. I didn’t think I’d ever feel calm again, I’d been so high-strung for so long.
When the path twisted and I found the bridge that led to the backyard, we stopped.
We stood together in a line, with me in the center, and we watched.
We waited.
Nathan shifted until he was behind me, looking over my head. His hands found my shoulders, and he massaged.
Victor claimed my right hand.
Gabriel my left.
Kota gripped the pack he was wearing.
We all stared.
Waiting for explosions.
The house didn’t seem any different to me, but we were seeing the back. The shed blocked the view of the drive. The screened-in back porch was empty.
The blinds were down. That was normal for my house.
The trampoline we had finished stood quietly, the metal rim reflecting sunlight. The grass was a little overgrown, but the process had slowed for winter, and patches of it were brown. Despite the break in clouds and the blue sky above, the day still felt gray and gloomy with the bare trees and the chill.
“I’ll get this over with,” I said, suddenly determined. My father wouldn’t stay on. “He’s just here to pay a bill and check up on us. He’ll leave again.”
“Let’s hope so,” Kota said. He found his phone. He turned it on, pushed a pink heart...my icon. The screen gave an option for video feeds, and he checked one. “I see him,” he said. “He’s in his bedroom, making the bed.” He picked his head up and looked out toward the back window that led to my parents’ en suite bathroom. “So he’s staying at least one night.”
“Okay,” I said. That was in sync with what I was thinking before. “Yes. He’s here for a night. Maybe two. He’ll be gone on Monday. I can probably walk in there, show my face, and once he’s busy, I’ll sneak right back out again.”
“We’ll send someone in,” Kota said, not looking at me but continuing to look at the house. “We’ll keep an eye on it and find a good time to head up. Someone will be in the attic at all times at the least.”
“You said he wouldn’t hurt her,” Victor said. He turned to face Kota, looking past me to do so. “Why send someone in if she isn’t staying?”
“It’s not about him,” Kota said and turned back to me. His green eyes had a depth of sadness I’d rarely seen in them, and it now seemed to envelop him enough to scare me. “It may take a few hours for you to establish a routine, and figure out if you’ll be able to get out. And you should really rest a bit since...because...” He paused, lowering his eyes to the ground. I knew he was thinking about this morning, when I’d fainted. “But it’s up to you. Do you want us to?”