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Cursing under my breath, I looked around, desperate for a hiding place. No way was I getting caught before I could get out of this stupid town. The rose bushes would have to do.
The thorns bit painfully into the soft parts of my flesh as I flattened myself in the flower bed. I tasted dirt and wood chips with every inhale of breath while I squinted through the leaves and waited for the two people to pass me by. Soon enough, a single form came into view. It was a girl, no older than me. She wore her straw-yellow hair in two thick braids down the sides of her head and a matching pale yellow dress that fell down to her knees. Holding up a phone as she walked, she glared at the bright screen.
“I’m just saying, Hank, if you hadn’t felt the need to show off in front of the cheerleaders, I wouldn’t be in this situation right now.”
“I can’t help it, Cassidy,” the guy on the phone answered in a nasally tone. “You know I’m helpless when they shake those pompoms. Blame school spirit. It’s not my fault the pavement had a grudge with me.”
Recognition flared inside of me as she drew closer. That was Cassidy Redmond, a junior up at Blue River High School. We had some of the same classes. She was the typical overachiever. The one that sat near the front of the classroom and always had a seat at the popular lunch tables. Ambitious, smart, going places. Everything I wasn’t. I was pretty sure we’d never said a word to each other in the year I’d spent at the Sweet Oak Teen Ranch. And why would we?
Her dad was only the town sheriff.
Cassidy stopped just a few feet from where I lay on the ground, and only inches from the scene of my crime. I cursed violently into the dirt, instantly regretting not making a break for it. If her dad came along, there’d be no chance for me. I’d be carted back to the ranch in cuffs, with another red mark on my file and security so tight there’d never be another chance for me to slip away. Then I’d never get to find my mom or my brother. I’d be stuck in this crappy town forever.
Cassidy shifted on the sidewalk in front of me, oblivious to her audience, the metal clasps on her sandals catching the light of the streetlamp. She smacked a hand to her forehead, and sighed dramatically at the image of Hank on her screen. “It’s not my fault you decided to do a backflip at the football game last night and bust your leg. Why can’t the doctors just put a steel rod in and be done with it?”
“They said I have to stay off of it for at least six weeks.”
“Which means I’m out a cameraman for my blog.” Her voice broke and she cleared her throat. “You know how important this thing is to me. And my mom. We’re running out of time.”
“I know.” Hank grew quiet. “I’m really sorry, Cas.”
“It’s not your fault.”
She tilted her head to the side, the light of her phone screen reflecting in her eyes. I couldn’t tell for sure from this angle, but she almost looked like she was about to cry. Her chin was puckered, her lower lip quivering. Immediately, an unwanted shot of sympathy went through me. I
tried to brush it off, unwilling to feel anything more than disinterest in the people of this town. Cassidy Redmond didn’t need my sympathy. She was the kind of girl that had everything. I didn’t need to waste my feelings on her. Still, as her voice quivered, it twisted me up just a little bit more inside.
“I’ll figure out what to do, Hank,” she said with a sniffle. Smiling into the camera, she nodded. “Don’t you worry about me. ‘Kay? You just get better as soon as you can.”
She ended the video call and threw her head back, moaning out her frustration. I shook my head, brushing off the unwelcome feelings from moments earlier. More than anything, I was counting the seconds until she left and getting tired of breathing in the dust that had settled beneath the bushes. There were half a dozen scratches along my arms from the thorns and at least one of them had drawn blood. I felt the sensation of warm liquid dripping down my skin, but didn’t dare move a muscle. Cassidy was still standing there.
What was she waiting for?
“Mom, I’m really sorry about this,” she muttered as she placed her hands on her head and turned back to the park. “I know I’m letting you down right now.”
I looked around, searching for the person she was talking to. I hadn’t seen anyone else come up, but maybe I’d been distracted. Still, there didn’t seem to be anyone else. Just Cassidy. Apparently, the girl was guano crazy. No surprise, after growing up in this town.
She sighed, threw her hands down, and then turned in the direction of the gazebo. “What the—?”
Her body went rigid. There was no doubt that she was taking in my art work. I smirked in the dark, feeling slightly proud of myself. At least someone got to see my message before the town white-washed any sign of rebellion from sight.
I could hear her call someone on her phone, but still, I didn’t move a muscle. My left calf was beginning to cramp and my right wrist was killing me. If she didn’t get out of here soon, I was going to be in need of a wheelchair to get anywhere.
“Hey, Daddy?” Cassidy’s feet moved toward the gazebo and I could see her reach up to her tiptoes to get a better look at it. “I’m at the Memorial Park. Someone’s marked it with some red spray paint. Might want to send one of your boys in blue over to have a look.”
I cursed under my breath, anxiety making my stomach turn sour. Of all the people to come around the block at this time of night, it had to be the sheriff’s daughter. And now, I had a police car headed my way.
Cassidy hummed approval into her phone and then nodded with the phone pressed against her cheek. “Yeah, I’m heading home now. See you soon. Love you.”
As Cassidy ended her call with her dad, I began to weigh my options. Either I could stay here, and get picked off like a sitting duck, or I could make a break for it.
The second option won.
With her work now done, Cassidy headed back the way she’d come, her long legs moving at a glacial pace. When she finally rounded the corner to the local hair salon, I shot out of those rosebushes, bursting into a sprint for the other side of the street. Except, it was more of a hobble, as the cramp in my calf doubled down and shot darts of blinding pain up my leg. My boots clapped against the ground like the hooves of a lame horse. Cursing and grunting with every other breath, I managed to get halfway across before I heard a shout behind me.
“Hey! Stop! I see you there!”
I glanced over my shoulder, then swore. It was Cassidy, headed my way once again. She held her phone high as if she were recording my getaway. She must’ve been waiting for me to show my face. The girl was braver than she looked. Fire blazed in her eyes, as if she meant to take me down herself.
