Runaways

by V. C. Andrews

  "What is going on?" she asked.

  "I'm not sure," I said, slowly approaching the bathroom. "Crystal?" I heard a sob and then we all entered the bathroom.

  Crystal was sitting on the edge of the tub, a towel wrapped around her body, her arms around herself, shuddering. She was still soaked, the soap dripping from her hair

  "What happened?" I asked. Raven closed the door behind us.

  "He . . . he ... just came in here and . . ." "Gordon? While you were bathing?" Raven asked quickly.

  Crystal gazed up at us, her eyes filled with tears. She nodded.

  "I didn't hear him open the door. I was practically asleep in the tub."

  "Didn't you lock it?" Raven asked.

  "Yes, of course. He must have unlocked it," she said. "He didn't knock or anything. Next thing I knew, he was standing right here, looking down at me. I had my head back and my eyes closed. I was resting and suddenly, I felt his presence and looked up. His face. . . it was . . . so red and he had this mad grin. For a moment I couldn't speak."

  "What did he do?" I asked, my own breathing quickened.

  "He started to touch me," she said.

  "I knew it," Raven muttered.

  "He touched you?" I asked.

  "He reached down and said . . ."

  "What?" Butterfly asked.

  "'Let's see how ripe those apples are.' That's when I screamed and he pulled his hand away. 'I'm just here to fix a leak in the sink,' he claimed. 'Don't get yourself in an uproar.' I screamed again and he turned and left."

  "Leak in the sink? No one said there's any leak in that sink," I declared, inspecting the pipes quickly. "He didn't come in to fix any leak."

  "We should tell Louise," Butterfly said.

  "What good would that do? He'd claim Crystal left the door unlocked and how was he to know she was in the tub," I said.

  "Brooke's right," Raven said.

  "But what about the things he said to her. They were nasty things," Butterfly declared. "He didn't really mean apples."

  "He'll deny saying it, Butterfly," I said. "Please. Let me just think a minute "

  We all looked at Crystal again. She was still shaking. Raven went to the tub and sat beside her, putting her arm around her.

  "Easy."

  "I was so . . . scared."

  "Let's join," Butterfly said.

  "Now?" I asked.

  Raven nodded.

  We moved closer to them and we all touched our heads.

  "We're sisters. We're together. Nothing bad can happen to one of us as long as we're together," we chanted, Crystal finally joining in. Color returned to her face.

  "It was awful," Crystal whimpered.

  "I know how it can be," Raven said. She looked from one of us to the other. "I've caught him looking in on me sometimes, too."

  "You never told me that," I said.

  She shrugged.

  "He didn't ever touch you, did he?" I couldn't believe that Gordon was so evil.

  "No. Never. I didn't tell anyone because I didn't want to get everyone any more scared of him," she said. "But if he ever tried to touch my apples, I'd raise his voice a few octaves."

  "What does that mean?" Butterfly asked. "Never mind," I said. "Are you all right?" I asked Crystal.

  "I'm fine now. just dry myself of and go to

  bed. Thanks, everyone."

  "Let's all get to bed," I decided. We started for the door.

  "Brooke."

  I turned.

  "What?"

  "I want to hear your plan, every detail. After tomorrow's tests," Crystal said.

  I nodded, sad that this was the way Crystal had come to believe in me and my plans.

  "You really have a plan, I hope," she said, swallowing down her sobs.

  "Oh yes," I answered. "I have a good plan. Did you get the maps?"

  She nodded,

  "Tomorrow," I said and gazed from Butterfly to Raven and then to Crystal. "Tomorrow we get together and put the finishing touches on it."

  I was so angry about what Gordon had done to Crystal and anxious about leaving at the same time that I couldn't get my mind to stop racing. I had to get some rest for my exams, but it was as if my mind had turned into a pinball machine with the idea of our escape bouncing from one exciting possibility to another, lighting up the darkness, ringing bells and rattling chimes.

  Finally, I got up and went to the bathroom. When I returned, I paused because I saw a light sweep across the front of the Lakewood House. Raven was fast asleep and hadn't noticed anything. Curious, I went to the window and gazed down at two silhouetted figures walking toward the driveway. One was definitely Gordon. I couldn't mistake that hulking figure no matter how dark it was outside. The other man was considerably shorter. For a moment I thought they were arguing. Gordon raised his arms and then lowered them quickly to put one around the other man's shoulders. They disappeared around the corner and then reappeared near Gordon's station wagon. I knew a door was opened because it lit up inside the car, but no one got in. Then the shorter man departed and Gordon closed the door, watched the other man as he walked away, got into his car and drove off.

  Gordon stood there a moment longer and then turned and looked up as if he sensed me in the window. My heart fell into my stomach. I backed away and waited. When I looked out again, he was gone and the darkness seemed thicker than before.

  3 Like Thieves in the Night

  I wanted to get started on plans for our trip as soon as we were finished with school the next day. It was difficult to concentrate on anything else. There were things I wanted us to have on the journey and I thought we could stop by the department store on the way home from school. But I had forgotten that Raven, Crystal and I had dining room duty at the house. Crystal reminded me when we met at the lockers and I told her what I wanted to do.

  "We can't. We've got to get right back and help Grandma Kelly get things ready for supper. If we're late, Gordon will come after us," she said. After what he had done to her in the bathroom the night before, she was absolutely terrified of the thought.

  "Stop worrying. We won't be late," I assured her. "It only takes us twenty minutes to walk home."

  "We'll get whatever we need tomorrow. We have all afternoon, don't we?" she said, her face twisted with fear.

  Crystal didn't look like she believed we were going to run away. It was as if she were still humoring me. Raven gave me a look of warning and I nodded my understanding.

  "All right. Let's go," I said reluctantly.

  So we took the bus back instead of preparing for our trip. We didn't even talk about it on the bus. Instead, along with the other students, we babbled about the exams we had just completed. I began to feel like maybe Crystal was right, maybe it was just a pipe dream, a fantasy.

  Remarkably, I hadn't found my final exams as difficult as I had anticipated. Most of what I had been studying stuck or could be easily retrieved from the shelves and boxes in my memory. It was as if my brain had been electrified by the excitement and every thought had a neon sign announcing where it was stored.

  Crystal remained pensive. She simply said she had done well, but uncharacteristically, refused to elaborate. Usually, she gave us a critique of her tests, whether we wanted it or not, rating the teacher on how well he or she covered the important things. I knew what Gordon had done to her the night before lay like a lump of lead on her mind. She was terrified of setting eyes on him or him setting eyes on her, but she was just as nervous and afraid of what I had proposed we do.

  When we arrived at the Lakewood House, she rushed into the building and up to her room to change, hoping to avoid seeing him.

  "She's a mess," I told Raven. "Getting her out of here is the best thing we could do for her?'

  "Best thing we can do for all of us," Raven responded. "I hope you really do have a good plan, Brooke."

  "I do," I promised.

  Butterfly, who trailed along like an anxious puppy, listened and widened her eyes with worry. She wasn't o
n the roster with us, but she came along to work in the kitchen anyway. With the knowledge of just what kind of evil Gordon was capable of, she was too nervous to stay anywhere by herself.

  I wanted to go over our plans in detail as soon as possible, but with Grandma Kelly hovering over us, it was difficult to talk in the kitchen. I was so frustrated, I thought I would burst like an overly filled balloon. Raven and I looked at each other expectantly, but worked efficiently and quietly beside Crystal and Butterfly, stacking dishes, organizing silverware and preparing the serving trays.

  "We'll meet in your room right after we clean up," I whispered to Crystal soon after we had gotten started in the kitchen, "and explain everything."

  She nodded, her eyes darting from the doorway to our work periodically. It wasn't difficult to see that she was terrified.

  Gordon did appear at one point and stood in the doorway of the kitchen gaping at the four of us. Raven, the most defiant, flashed her black eyes at him and then turned her back on him I saw his lip twitch in the right upper corner. Crystal, practically shaking in her shoes, kept her eyes down, her fingers fumbling around the hot plates carelessly until she burned the tip of her thumb. Gordon's smile widened and then he left us.

  Raven muttered a curse under her breath.

  "What's that, dear?" Grandma Kelly asked.

  "Nothing," I said quickly. "We're just hungry and wish it was time to serve and eat," I added.

  That started her on a story about the Lakewood House in its prime, describing how the guests appreciated the food and gorged themselves to the point of bursting.

  "They usually had to take long walks after each meal. I would drive home and see the line of them along the road. Afterward, many of the guests would fall asleep in the big wooden chairs or hammocks in the shade. Everyone wanted to be sure he got his money's worth," she added with a laugh. Then she sighed deeply and shook her head as she gazed around the kitchen. "It was so different when Louise's mother and father ran things I wish you girls were here then."

  She looked down at Butterfly, who listened to her stories as if they were fairy tales.

  "Look at this sweet little face," she said and hu: ed her. "If I were twenty years younger, I'd adopt you myself. I'd adopt all of you," she told us before continuing her cooking.

  We would miss her, I thought sadly. She was practically the only person we would miss. I wanted to walk up to her and hug her, too, and then say, "Good-bye, Grandma Kelly. This is the last time we'll be in the kitchen helping you Thanks for liking us, for caring about us, for treating us as you would treat your very own grandchildren. Now take my advice and get out of here right after we go."

  Of course, I said nothing. We couldn't give anything away and we didn't want to burden her with any of our secrets. We served the meal, ate and cleaned up as quickly as we could. Megan noticed how hard we were working and remained behind to tease us.

  "Boy, you're all working like little eager beavers tonight. What are you trying to do, get on Gordon's good side?" she taunted.

  "He doesn't have a good side," Raven quipped.

  "How would you like me to tell him you said that?" Megan replied. Crystal glanced at me fearfully.

  "Just leave us alone, Megan," I warned.

  She stared a moment, deciding whether or not to challenge me. She was still smarting from what we had done and from suffering room restriction for an entire weekend.

  "I'm watching you all," she said. "I'll get my chance. You can bet on that."

  She turned and left us.

  "If she ever figured out what we were planning . ." Crystal said.

  "She won't. We'll be long gone before she does," I promised.

  We said good night to Grandma Kelly and just as she had a hundred times before, she thanked us for being good helpers. We quietly made our way up to our rooms along with the others who had to study for the final day of exams. The young children went to the recreation room to watch television. After we settled in, Raven and I joined Crystal and Butterfly in their room. I closed the door softly behind me. Finally, we were getting down to it. The air was so thick, I felt like I was moving through a room filled with cobwebs.

  "Where are the maps?" I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.

  Crystal turned and produced them side by side at her desk.

  "This is the northern and this is mid-country," she said. "There is also a southern route. I found out that it could still snow and be nasty in the Rockies," she continued, "so we might want to avoid that. We take 17 East to the Jersey Turnpike for starters," she said.

  "How long does it take to get all the way to California?" Butterfly asked.

  "It depends on the route we eventually follow, but if someone traveled all day, every day and didn't sightsee, probably four days," Crystal replied. Then she turned to me.

  "All right, Brooke, I did what you asked. Now, tell me just how you intend to get us all across the United States of America," she said and sat back with her amts folded across her chest.

  "I'm driving us," I said, shrugging as if it were the most obvious thing.

  "You don't have a license," she quickly pointed out. "You never went for your test."

  "You need a license to be legal, not to drive. Don't forget, I took drivers' education."

  "Okay, but you need something to drive," she countered. It was as if we were playing chess with words.

  "We have it."

  "We have it?" She looked at Raven, who shrugged, and then at Butterfly, whose eyes widened with surprise. "Where is it?"

  "Right out there," I said, grinning and nodding at the window, "waiting for us."

  Crystal started to smile, thinking I was joking, and then stopped as she realized what I meant. She rose and went to the window. Butterfly and Raven joined her and they all looked down at Gordon's station wagon.

  "You want to take his car?" Raven asked first.

  "Why not? He takes from us, doesn't he?"

  They were all quiet, staring at me as if I had gone completely bonkers. Then Crystal gathered her wits and put on her teacher's face.

  "If you take his car, he'll call the police and they'll come after us," she said.

  "Not for a while, and anyway, all we need is to get far enough away to find other means of transportation, maybe buses or a train. We can study those maps and try to stay off the most traveled highways. We don't have to cross the country in four days or five or even ten. We can take our time," I said.

  "It takes money to take your time, Brooke. Traveling is expensive," Crystal said.

  "I know. Tomorrow, we'll all go to the bank and take out our savings. Unless you all spent some that I don't know about, I calculate that together we have nearly fourteen hundred dollars," I said.

  "It's not a lot of money when you consider what we want to do. We'd probably use it up the first few days. There's gas and food and tolls," Crystal replied. "Not to mention motel rooms and unforeseen problems with the vehicle."

  "So? We'll find work along the way. You, Raven and I have all held jobs before and Butterfly . . ." I smiled at her. ". . Butterfly can probably get people to give her money easily. She'll dance on a street corner or something."

  "This is a pipe dream," Crystal said, wagging her head. "I knew it."

  "Stop saying that," I cried. "It's not a pipe dream to me. I have it all planned out. I know where Gordon keeps his car keys. He keeps them in that beat-up leather jacket that he leaves hung on the inside of his bedroom door. I've seen him put them there."

  "You're going to sneak into Gordon's bedroom and steal his keys?" Butterfly asked.

  "I am. It won't be hard. Louise doesn't lock their door at night."

  Butterfly stared at me, amazed at my courage.

  "He might not call the police," Raven said suddenly, her eyes dark with thought. "He might just come after us himself in his truck."

  That made even me quiet for a moment, contemplating a maddened Gordon Tooey racing over the highway, his mouth contorted, his nostrils flared
, his eyes bulging as he pressed down on the accelerator in pursuit. If he caught up with us, there was no telling what he would do. We'd be luckier to be caught by The police.

  Crystal gazed down at her maps.

  "We could send him on a wild goose chase," she muttered, still looking at the documents.

  "How?" I asked.

  "We'll leave the route we don't choose behind. Maybe . . . pretend to drop it. He'll find it and think he has an easy way to find us and go off in the wrong direction," she said.

  "That's brilliant, Crystal. That's really brilliant," I said, encouraged that she offered a helpful

  suggestion.

  "It's still a huge long shot, Brooke. I don't know," she said, taking off her glasses to wipe the lenses as she shook her head.

  "It's better than just sitting here and waiting to turn eighteen," I said, "or until Gordon tries to touch one of us again. There's no telling who he'll go for next."

  I turned toward Butterfly and gazed at her. I was determined to use anything and everything to get Crystal to see.

  "She's right, Crystal," Butterfly said. "I'm willing to try if you are."

  "We don't have to spend money on motel rooms if we use the station wagon," I continued. "It's big enough to sleep the four of us when I put the back seat down. Tomorrow night, after everyone's asleep, Raven and Crystal will go to the kitchen and pack up as much food as you can. That will save us money, too. Between now and then, everyone choose only enough clothing to fill a pillowcase. We can't take much and we can use the stuffed pillowcases as pillows."

  "You've really been thinking about this awhile, haven't you?" Crystal asked me.

  "Longer than you can imagine," I said.

  "Don't forget your toothbrushes," Butterfly said. Even Crystal had to laugh.

  "Okay," I said, "let's study the map we're going to use."

  Crystal looked at Raven and Butterfly to see if they were still all for this, and then she put one of the maps on her desk. We gathered around.

  "We'll leave this route for Gordon to find," Crystal said, "to Pennsylvania, Virginia, Florida, Texas. Maybe he'll get as far as Florida before he realizes he's on a wild goose chase. By that time, we'll be long gone."