~
Before Caledonia could say anything Calvin spoke, struggling to open his eyes, “Cali?”
“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry,” she sobbed.
“What happened?”
“You got tased, bro,” Jarod answered, helping him up and walking him over to sit on the couch. “Just breathe … you’ll be back to normal in a minute.”
Caledonia followed behind them with her head bowed, tears of guilt and relief blending on her cheeks. She had brought this trouble down upon all of them, and the horrible truth dawned on her all at once. Staying here would only hurt Calvin and Jarod; her safe haven had just been yanked out from beneath her. She felt like she was going to be sick.
“You okay, Cali?” Crystal asked.
She wiped her eyes and fought to regain her composure. “Thank you. If it wasn’t for you …” She turned to Jarod, “I’m so sorry.”
A burly biker poked his head in the door. “Everything okay in here?”
Crystal and Jarod went out front to thank their friends, leaving Calvin and Caledonia alone. She sat down by his side, looking into his eyes anxiously. “Are you sure you’re all right?”
He swallowed, taking her hand. “We have to call the cops. They can’t just walk into our house and kidnap you!”
“No,” she said firmly. “We can’t call the police. You heard them. The professor will have your brother thrown in jail. He has the law on his side.”
“But if we tell them–”
“They won’t believe us,” she said quietly. She already had too much experience not being believed.
The sounds of motorcycles leaving rumbled away in the background. A few minutes later Crystal and Jarod came back in and stood in silence, unanswered questions hanging in the air.
“Excuse me,” Caledonia said woodenly, getting up to go to Calvin’s room. She pushed back all of her turbulent emotions, and slowly, methodically changed back into her dirty clothes. She reached into her pocket, counting what was left of her money. She could hear Calvin’s voice, telling his brother what they had learned about the professor, and she shuddered to think how close she had just come to being taken by the man she now knew to be completely ruthless.
Her parents’ blood whispered in her veins, telling her she must not ever allow it to happen. She had to run away again, and as scared as she was of being alone, she was even more frightened at the prospect of being under the professor’s control. Calvin came into the bedroom to find her strapping her hunting knife onto her calf.
“What do you think you’re doing?” he blurted out. She looked up and could see that he already knew.
“I’m going to try and get back home. I have to leave before they come back.”
“NO WAY!”
“Don’t you see? He knows where I am, and he won’t stop now. For whatever reason, he’s determined to–collect–me. He won’t give up, and he doesn’t care who he hurts. I can’t stay here any longer. I’ll only get you and your brother in trouble.”
He sat down next to her, taking both of her hands. “We can fight him! We can get a lawyer or something …”
She shook her head. “You don’t understand. He won’t give up because he knows. I tried to change them today … I tried as hard as I could but it wouldn’t work. That’s why they wore the glasses.”
“So you couldn’t see their eyes?” he guessed.
She nodded grimly. “Will you–” the words caught in her throat, “Will you please give me a ride to the bus station?”
“NO! You can’t just leave!”
She squeezed his hands. “It’s okay. In a few months I turn eighteen. I’ll be able to come back and visit then.”
“A few months? You can’t just take off alone! What if something happens to you?”
“I’m not your responsibility just because of … of … of what happened.” She looked down, her cheeks flushed.
He wound his arm around her waist, resting his chin on her shoulder. “That’s too bad, because now I’m yours.”
He turned her face to his, laying his hand on her cheek and finally pressing his lips to her forehead. Caledonia was the finest, best thing he’d ever had in his life, and he wasn’t about to let her walk out of it. He got up and pulled a leather bag out of his closet, rummaging through his drawers to pull out a few things and stuff them in hastily. She watched him with eyes like saucers.
He talked while he packed. “For the past few years I stopped thinking about what I wanted to do with my life. I’ve just been letting it happen, you know? My mom used to say that when I found something I loved that I’d know it. Well … I found you. And you’re not leaving without me.”
“But I’m not even sure where I’m going …”
“We’ll figure it out together.”
“You can’t just–”
“Oh yes I can. I’ll go anywhere you want to go.”
“But–”
He silenced her with a long and passionate kiss, the kind that left her unable to think clearly.
“Wait right here,” he demanded, leaving the room to go talk with his brother. Caledonia sat in a daze, listening to voices coming from the next room. When they grew louder she got up, timidly creeping down the hall and peering around the corner to see their heated discussion.
“What about your graduation?” Jarod asked. “I promised Dad I’d send him some pictures.”
“I don’t care about that crap. If you want to send him something, send him the diploma.”
Jarod sighed. “I suppose that’s better than I did. But I still don’t see why you have to take off.”
“We only have to be gone a few months,” Calvin explained.
“No way!” Jarod was upset. “Don’t let those dudes chase you away!”
Calvin shook his head. “We have to get away from here. Those guys can make a whole lot of trouble for us.”
“They don’t scare me! I can handle them!” Jarod stuck out his chest belligerently.
“Not from inside a jail cell,” Calvin said.
Crystal nodded in agreement, looking up to see Caledonia’s stricken face watching them. She raced over to give her a hug. “You poor thing! First you lose your folks and now some weird dude is trying to kidnap you? How screwed up is that?”
The Athena Effect Page 41
