Since She Went Away(93)

But before she pulled her keys out, she heard the lock unlatching from the other side. Jared yanked the door open, stepping back as Jenna came in. He looked unhurt, but his eyes were wide.

“What’s the matter?” she asked.

He closed the door behind her and locked it again. She spun to see him better and asked the question once more.

He placed his hand on her arm and started guiding her toward the kitchen. “You’ve got to be cool, Mom.”

“About what?”

“I thought about not calling you. I really did. I thought about leaving and maybe telling you later where we were.”

“Why would you do that? And who’s we?”

“But I think we need your help,” he said. “I think we’re all in over our heads at this point.”

They reached the entrance to the kitchen, his hand still on her arm.

Jenna saw Natalie Rose sitting at their table.

? ? ?

The girl looked scared. And dirty.

Her left cheek was smeared with something that might have been blood and might have been mud. Her jeans were streaked with dirt, and the material on her right knee was torn, exposing her skin. Her hair was greasy and matted as though she hadn’t bathed for days.

“Shit,” Jenna said. “Are you okay?”

The girl nodded, averting her eyes.

Jenna dropped her purse and coat on the floor. She moved away from Jared and toward the girl she knew was named Natalie. She watched Jenna with big, scared eyes. Jenna came alongside her and did the only thing she could think to do. She wrapped her arms around Natalie and pulled her close. Natalie didn’t resist. She smelled musty and rank, but Jenna wouldn’t let go. She didn’t care about anything else but making sure the girl felt safe.

“Thank you,” Natalie said, her voice just above a whisper.

Her mother was probably dead. How long had it been since someone had held her this way? The way only a mother could?

Jenna straightened up. “How did you end up here?”

“Mom, can we go easy on her? She’s been through hell to get here. She came to the door right after you left, so it hasn’t even been that long.”

He was right. She knew he was. Jenna turned back to Natalie and once again took in her condition. Dirty, ragged, smelly, and scared. No one wanted to sit around like that.

“Are you hurt?” Jenna asked. “I’m a nurse, you know. Is anything on your body hurt?”

“No. Not really.”

“Do you want to take a shower?” Jenna asked. “Have you eaten anything?”

“I ate a little. But I would like a shower, if you don’t mind.”

“We don’t mind. I have some clothes you can borrow. We can . . . let’s put these in the laundry room.”

“You can throw them away,” Natalie said. “I don’t even want to see them again.”

“Sure. Do you know where the bathroom is? You were here once before. At least.”

“Only once,” Jared said, his voice defensive.

“You can show her to the bathroom, then. Show her the towels and all that. I’ll find some clothes for her to wear.”

Jenna went to her bedroom and fumbled through her drawers in a haze. She tried to imagine the trail of craziness that had brought that girl to their door. She had nowhere else in the world to go, no one else she trusted or cared about. She looked so young, scared, and alone. Such a young age to be so adrift.

Jenna carried a small stack of things back to the bathroom door. She had sweatpants, yoga pants, a couple of Tshirts, and a sweatshirt. Jenna knocked lightly on the door and handed them through the narrow opening. “Take your time, honey.”

Natalie thanked her. Once the door was closed and locked, the water started running.

Jenna nodded to Jared and they walked out to the living room together.

“Do you know what happened?” Jenna asked.

“Not really. She got away from her dad and came back here. She was looking for me. I don’t think she trusted anyone else, not even the police.”

“I don’t doubt that. But we are going to have to call them.”

“Mom, no way. You can see what kind of shape she’s in. It’s like she’s shell-shocked or whatever. You know, PTSD. You can’t have the cops come and question her.”

“She’s part of an investigation,” Jenna said. “If we don’t call, we get in trouble.”

“Is that all you care about?”

“I’ll ignore that remark. You know better than that.” She went out to the kitchen and started pulling food out of the refrigerator. She could make grilled cheese or soup. Maybe heat up a leftover chicken breast and potatoes. She put the kettle on for tea or hot chocolate. Or both. Whatever the girl wanted. She felt Jared behind her, watching her movements in the kitchen. She waited for him to speak.

“Mom?”

“Yeah.”

“Can we just take it slow? Let her get cleaned up. Let her eat.”

And let her tell the story. Jenna wanted to hear it as much as Jared. Maybe more.

“Okay,” Jenna said. “I’ll be patient. For a short time.”





CHAPTER SIXTY-EIGHT


When Jared saw Natalie enter the kitchen—her hair and face clean, a shy smile on her face—he felt the electric desire rising inside his body again. She looked so beautiful, so fresh and perfect, like a vision, even though she wore just an old sweatshirt of his mom’s, one that advertised a clothing store in the mall nobody went to anymore.