“Kota’s heading to his house. I don’t know if he intends to play basketball with Jimmy and Nathan, or if he’s just saying hello and circumventing anything his sister or mom might say.”
He nodded shortly and then motioned to all of the equipment on the bed. “Keep this all in here in case they come back. No one besides us comes in here. Lock that back door. Shut the blinds. We’re in blackout mode.”
“What’s blackout mode?” I asked in a hushed tone.
North directed his dark gaze to me. “Just stay in here. If they come back, you don’t want to get caught.”
“I’ll take care of it,” Luke said. “Go back to sleep.”
North’s lips twisted like he was going to bark something at him.
I reached for him, holding his arm. Now wasn’t the time.
He paused, freezing for a long moment before he relaxed and he let out a sigh. “Fine. But you’ll have to do Kota’s job while he’s out. Call in Victor. Have him park at the diner and come in through the back way. Maybe call in Silas if he’s awake.”
“Will do,” Luke said with a smile and a three-fingered salute. “We’ve got everything covered. Don’t worry about a thing.”
He rolled his head back, shooting glares at the ceiling. “This Carol situation is killing me.” He retreated, heading back to Nathan’s bedroom.
I didn’t know what was scarier: Jimmy almost discovering we were here, or North getting woken up.
Blackout
––––––––
Luke explained more about what blackout mode was. No more people just showing up via the front door. No more parking cars here. Everyone parks at the diner and walks in the back. No one sits in the kitchen. Go get what you need and bring it into the safe room.
“It seems a little extreme,” I said. “He may not come back.”
“It’s the chance he comes back, or is now going to be stopping by randomly,” Luke said. “It’ll make it easier if we don’t have to remember if we left things out in the main rooms, where he might be able to see them. Or if he’s paying attention at all to who’s parking where.”
The master bedroom was designated as the best choice for a safe room in Nathan’s house. Equipment could be set up and the door secured. If Jimmy was invited over, even if he got a little nosy, he couldn’t get through the locked door without someone noticing.
It was easy enough to explain, That’s my parents’ bedroom. Don’t go in there.
Luke and I walked as silently as we could through Nathan’s house to allow North to get back to sleep. We put away the packages from breakfast, cleaned what we could of the house, and made sure any lingering equipment got placed into the bedroom. In the end, the rest of the house looked relatively normal.
Kota didn’t return, so we did our best to set up what we could in the master bedroom with the cameras for observation.
The waterbed was a little strange to me. Anytime I sat on it, I felt like I was leaning to one side. When Luke sat on the bed, I tilted into him, unable to sit up straight.
Luke smirked when I finally relaxed and just allowed myself to use him to prop myself up with. “I like this bed.”
“There’s a bubble or something in the middle.”
“We’ll need to let out the air pocket, and possibly add more water.”
I wasn’t sure I liked waterbeds, but we were able to spread out phones, the laptop and a couple of tablets, along with notebooks around us.
Luke shut the door and locked it. Any one of the guys would be able to open it, but it would be a small barrier for Jimmy if they returned.
Luke opened a laptop, checked in with Carol, who was still cleaning, and then frowned. “I know we’re waiting to find out if your dad or Marie or someone spills the beans about you and what she might know. Never stops you from feeling guilty, even when the cause is right.”
“Like when you break into homes?”
“Oh, I’d never do that,” he said, his face changing into a grin. “But supposedly, if you were to do that sort of thing, there’s always someone innocent involved. We’re doing this so we don’t have to deal with a police investigation about you and your background, and risk you getting put into the system, possibly sent to a foster home. We know this. I know it. It just sucks they’re in the middle of it.”
While he set up what he thought we needed, I typed messages to Victor, who said he was on the way. Dr. Green checked in, letting me know he was at the hospital and was going to be busy for a few hours. Gabriel was going to get picked up with Victor. Silas was at the diner, filling in for North, but he’d be by when someone replaced him.
The last one I messaged was Mr. Blackbourne, giving him an update.
Sang: Victor and Gabriel are headed here. Dr. Green is at work. Silas is at the diner. North is asleep.
I sent that message, counted the names on the screen. We were a large group to keep up with. I sent a follow-up.
Sang: Nathan and Kota are playing basketball with Jimmy to make friends. Luke and I are keeping an eye on things from Nathan’s house.
I sent that message too, and then second-guessed sending something so formal without saying anything else.
Sang: How are things with you?
That seemed awkward. Time passed as I tried to think of something to follow up with, but the longer he went without responding, the more awkward it was.
He usually got back to me pretty quickly. I hoped he wasn’t having problems.
He was the only one unaccounted for now. Did anyone ever stay by him?
What did he do when he wasn’t around the rest of us?
Luke had a mountain of pillows propped up behind us so we could relax and spread out. I opened a paper notebook, and at first just to have something physical in my hands. All I could think to do was doodle along the edges. Luke was watching the laptop. He wedged his leg under mine, until my thigh was propped up above his knee. To make it comfortable, I rearranged myself so I was leaning with my legs over his and using his arm to prop the notebook up on. He kept the laptop on top of my legs. The laptop warmed my skin, but for the moment, it was cozy.
Waiting for Carol to talk to my dad, or for anyone to say things that we needed to know, was taking so long. If they never spoke of it, what would happen?
Guilt weighed on me for watching them so closely.
Carol and I had different desires. She wanted to get married to my dad, to do what was best for her family, to move, and seemed interested in giving Marie and me direction in life. I appreciated it, but I wanted to be with the guys in the Academy.
Pretending to have returned and to be okay with everything going on worried me. It was taking steps further from what I wanted.
As I doodled in the notebook, I glanced on occasion at Carol and her cleaning, willing her to say something that made it so I didn’t have to go back.
It was horrible to think I wanted her to do something horrible to me. Some sinister action from Carol could expedite my escape from the house.
The line of thinking scared me. I hated that I thought so direly about them.