“I’m calling in the National Guard…well…my version of it anyway,” he said, then hit the speaker button so she could hear it ringing until a woman’s voice answered. “Hi, Mom, I’ve got a huge problem and I think you and Dad are our best hope.”
CHAPTER 19
***MALCOLM***
Two hours later, Malcolm slowed as they drove into the little town of Bakersfield in the mountains of New York. Rose had been asleep for most of the trip, but she opened her eyes just as they hit the town. “I’m sorry I fell asleep, I should have stayed awake to keep you company,” she said. “I just couldn’t keep my eyes open.”
“I think you needed it,” he said. “And I was just fine, it was an easy drive. Now I just need directions to the school.”
“I’ve never been here before, but I know it’s on the south side of town,” Rose said, getting her phone out of her purse. “I’ll get directions.”
A few minutes later, they pulled through a set of wrought iron gates and onto a beautiful campus tucked away in the trees. “I can see why your sister wouldn’t want to give all this up,” Malcolm said, following the signs for visitor parking. “How are we going to find her?”
“They must have a main office or something, we could ask there,” she said, then saw a sign. “Look right there, and there’s a parking space right in front of the building.”
He let Rose take the lead when they got inside. “Hi, I’m looking for Chloe Timmons. I’m her sister, Rose,” she told thewoman. “My boyfriend and I just happened to be in town and I wanted to stop by and see her. She’s not answering her phone, I think she’s in class. Would there be any way you could get a message to her? We’d be happy to wait as long as it takes. I’ve been out of the country for months, and we haven’t been able to see each other, so this would be a wonderful surprise.”
“Oh, how nice, Chloe talks about you all the time,” the woman said, then started tapping away at her computer. “We don’t normally give out students’ information, but I think in this case I can make an exception. Let’s see…oh, yes, Chloe has gym this period, she’ll be out on the track with the rest of the class. I’m sure she’ll be thrilled to see you.”
“Thank you so much,” she said. “You have no idea how much this means to me…to us.”
They found the track easily enough, and Rose spotted Chloe right away. “There she is,” she said, then started running toward her sister, calling her name.
He got there just as they finished hugging, “Chloe, this is Malcolm, he’s my…boyfriend,” she said, feeling a blush spreading across her cheeks when she saw the surprised look on her sister’s face. “We just starting seeing each other.”
“But it’s very serious,” he said, holding out his hand. “It’s nice to meet you, Chloe. Rose has told me some wonderful things about you.”
“Well, she hasn’t mentioned you, in fact, she hasn’t called me in weeks,” Chloe said, crossing her arms over her chest. “Chet said you didn’t want to talk to me, he said you wanted to live your own life without us.”
“He lied, I told you he’s a bad guy, Chloe,” she said, pulling her sister away from the rest of the class. “We need to talk somewhere private.”
Chloe studied her for a second, “Fine, just let me tell the coach. She’ll kill me if I leave without telling her,” Chloe said, then hesitated. “Mom’s okay, isn’t she?”
“Yes, it’s nothing like that,” Rose said, then pointed to a bench under a stand of trees. “We’ll meet you over there.”
When Chloe sat down next to Rose, she pulled out her phone, then turned to her sister and took a deep breath, then let it out slowly. “Chet blackmailed me into spying on Malcolm and his friends. It’s a long story, but this is a recording of my last meeting with him,” she said, then pressed the play button and sat back while Chloe listened. When it was finished, she put her arms around her sister. “I’m sorry, I know that was hard to hear, but we’re going to take you with us. You’ll be safe, and Chet will never get his hands on you.”
“I thought he really cared about me,” Chloe cried. “I thought he was going to be my dad too. He’s such a creep. I can’t believe I was so stupid.”
“It’s okay, he’s good at hiding what he really is,” Rose said, rocking her sister as she cried. “I saw the real Chet from the very beginning, that’s why he didn’t like me, but we’re going to be just fine. Malcolm is going to take us someplace safe. Let’s go pack a few of your things, then we need to go.”
They were driving out of town an hour later. Chloe was curled up in the backseat, staring out the window a shocked look on her face and he felt sorry for her. “You’re going to love my family, they’re loud and obnoxious, but they’ll treat you like one of their own and take good care of you,” he said, hoping to reassure the teen. “But first, I don’t know about you, but I could use a cheeseburger and a chocolate shake. I bet we can find a burger place in the next town.”
That perked Chloe up a little bit. “I haven’t had a burger in a month because they never let us off school grounds,” she said. “Can I have strawberry instead of chocolate?”
He looked over at Rose who was smiling with relief. “You can have chocolate and strawberry if you want,” he said, grinning at Chloe in the mirror. “But don’t get used to it, my parents live on the farm, and even saying the word fast food is like cussing around them.”
Chloe groaned. “A farm, with like animals and stuff,” she said. “I bet it’s going to smell bad.”
“Well, sometimes it does, but most of the time, it smells good, like things growing,” he said, shaking his head. “Besides, you get used to the smell after a while.”
“Gross, I bet I don’t, but I’ll try,” Chloe said, then met his eyes in the mirror. “Thank you for coming to get me.”
***Rose***
The sun was beginning to sink in the sky when they finally turned off the highway onto a dirt road. Her body ached from being in the car so long and all the stress she’d been under, but she didn’t complain. She was thankful that they had a place to go, a place that was safe and welcoming, something they hadn’t experienced much during their lives. Glancing into the backseat at her sister, she was relieved to see Chloe watching out the window at the passing landscape with a look of interest on her face.
When they pulled up in front of the farmhouse, her sister was out of the car before it even came to a stop. “Are those horses?” she asked, bouncing on her toes to see across the yard. “I love to ride, but Chet won’t pay for lessons anymore. I miss it so much.”
