He Started It(28)

I take out my laptop, decide maybe I should get some work done. Every night I download my e-mails to skim through them, because looking at my inbox puts me to sleep. Now, after multiple cups of coffee, it still makes me sleepy.

Before this trip started, I looked at my e-mails first thing in the morning and read them before I was even at work. After one week on the road, I’m wondering how I do this every day.

Maybe that’s what I’ll do with the inheritance. Forget the bills and the house and anything sensible. I’ll quit my job and do something that doesn’t involve staring at a computer.

This idea gives me a lot to ponder during the drive, as I once again avoid reading all those unopened e-mails. Instead, I think about what else I could do. I could train dogs, trim trees, deliver packages, wrap presents, ride horses, or join one of those now-defunct circuses. Read about barbed wire.

Nikki and I can do all of this together. Or we could just hang out on the beach. After I find her, we can do whatever we want.



* * *



–––––

Last time we left the Devil’s Rope Museum, I wasn’t daydreaming and the car wasn’t quiet. Everyone was mad, either yelling or huffing or pouting. Grandpa was furious at Nikki for getting detained by the police for making a scene. He thought it was her fault, just like the police did.

We were back in the car and Nikki was in the passenger seat, practically tied down with the seatbelt. Arms crossed, mouth tight, face red. Nikki was angry about being blamed for everything again. Grandpa was angry the police almost called our parents.

“Do you know what your mother would do to me?” he yelled at her.

He had a point. Mom was always mad about Nikki these days, and getting a call from the police wouldn’t help anything.

“I told you,” Grandpa said. “I explained that your parents are trying to work things out. Don’t you want them to stay together?”

“I don’t care,” Nikki said.

“That’s not nice.”

I couldn’t see Nikki roll her eyes, but I knew she did.

In the back, Portia was crying. She had no idea what was going on, but all those policemen scared the hell out of her.

Eddie had his head down and earphones on, the sound turned up to a thousand. NIN blasted loud enough for all of us to hear.

“Turn that shit down!” Nikki yelled.

Eddie didn’t hear her, didn’t look up.

“Language!” Grandpa screamed, even though he swore all the time.

“Who cares?” Nikki said. “Nobody cares if they get divorced. Nobody!”

Portia cried harder.

“I care,” Grandpa said.

“No you don’t,” I said. “You didn’t want the police to call them because we aren’t supposed to be here.”

Nikki’s head whipped around to face me. “What?”

“Beth,” Grandpa said.

“No, what did you say?” Nikki asked—no, demanded.

So I told her. I told everyone that Grandpa had taken us, and our parents never gave him permission.

I said it for a lot of reasons. Because they were yelling and Portia was crying. Because Eddie wanted nothing to do with any of it. Because Nikki had been so upset ever since the Cadillac Ranch. Because I wanted attention. Because I wanted Nikki’s attention. Ever since she became a teenager, it was impossible to get.

And because I really did think Grandpa would’ve hit Nikki if she hadn’t moved away from his fist.

That was the moment everything changed—for our trip, and for us. A shift in perception about what we were doing and why we were there. You know that switch—when you realize the hunter is being hunted, the predator is the prey.

“He stole us?” Nikki said.

“Beth,” Grandpa said. “You’re being ridiculous. You just spoke to your parents last night.”

I ignored him and spoke only to Nikki. “Haven’t you noticed the way he’s always standing right there when we’re on the phone? And how Mom always sounds like she’s about to explode? And,” I said, leaning closer to Nikki. “Why do they keep asking where we are? Why doesn’t Grandpa tell them?”

Grandpa banged his fist on the dash more than once. “Stop this right now!”

Nikki’s eyes lit up, like she had just found the last piece of a puzzle. “Holyyyy shit. You’re right.”

Eddie took off his headphones. “What’s happening?”

“We’ve been abducted,” Nikki said.

The car lurched to the side, taking all of us with it. Grandpa pulled off the road and he turned around in his seat. He had never been a good-looking man, or maybe he was when he was younger but not when I knew him. He had ruddy skin, a bulbous nose, short legs, and a long torso. “Nobody has abducted you.”

“Then why do you hide your cell phone?” I said.

“Cell phone?”

The stunned look on his face convinced Nikki. She smiled as big as I’d ever seen. Even Portia stopped crying.

“Oh my God,” Nikki said. “This is awesome.”

“Awesome?” Eddie said. “What’s so awesome about it?”

Nikki didn’t answer. She just kept smiling.



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