Despite the rational side of me saying she couldn’t blameme for not being there, I understood why she did. I was her big brother, her defender, her savior. I was supposed to be there. There’d been no one to save her, to hold her and tell her everything would be okay. But tonight, and for the rest of our lives, there would be. I wasn’t letting her go again.
Rule 16 - Priest
Don’t trust anyone else to watch your final girl.
Eight years old.
“Did you have a fun time at Camp Risky, sweetie?” Mom asked. I sat in the back of the car with my damp bags and sleeping bag. The last few days of summer camp had thunderstorms so severe that we had to run and take shelter in the mess hall. All of our belongings that had been left in the cabins were soaked.
“It’s Risky Rush Overnight Camp, Mom.” I rolled my eyes. “I made a bracelet for Laney.” I’d only made it because I’d been forced to do arts and crafts one of the afternoons because another camper had gotten hurt pretty badly and they didn’t want anyone on the slides.
“You’re such a good big brother.”
I nodded. Sure, she was kind of annoying. She was six and I was eight. That was loads older. But despite having run out the door, so glad to be leaving for a week, I found myself missing Laney.
“Why didn’t she come to pick me up at the airport?” I asked, looking at the empty seat on the other side of the car.
“She’s with a nanny. We took a mini vacation ourselves.” Dad and Mom shared a look, and I grimaced. I knew what that look meant. They wanted to make a baby.
“Which one?” I demanded.
“What was her name, sweetie?” Dad looked at Mom.
“Laurie, I think.”
“That the Strode’s girl?”
“Yes, darling.”
“She had the fun one?” I crossed my arms and glared. Why couldn’t I do something special and she just be stuck at home?
“Oh, it was just the weekend. I’m sure she misses her big brother. Don’t worry, I don’t think it was too much fun,” Dad teased.
I napped at some point and woke up just as we were passing the welcome sign for town.
“Oh my god. I didn’t realize the storm had been that bad,” Mom gasped. I perked up and looked out the window. All over, people were standing in their yards with pieces of roof and wood in their hands. Firetrucks raced past us, and a few police cars were at various houses. People were crying and holding each other.
“What happened?” I asked.
“Well, they said a tornado touched down, but the news made it sound like there was barely any damage.” Dad’s face scrunched up.
“Ron, she didn’t answer this morning,” Mom muttered. She didn’t want me to hear, but I had. He was talking about the babysitter.
“She was probably just busy with Delaney,” Dad replied, but his tone made my stomach nervous.
“I’ll just call her parents and see if they can get a hold of her.” Mom pulled out her cell phone and made a call.
“Hello, hi. Yes, we just wanted to see if you’ve heard from Laurie today. She’s not answering the phone back at home.”
Mom visibly paled and her eyes widened.
“What? No, she was supposed to stay all weekend. Both nights! We paid her in advance! Oh my god, Ron, we need to get home.” She hung up, and Dad floored the car.
“Laurie told her mom that we didn’t need her for nights, and she came home and went out with her boyfriend. Both times!” Mom began to sob. “She called her mom last night to tell her she was sleeping at her boyfriend's and hasn’t come home yet. Delaney has been alone almost the entire weekend!”
Dad was too angry to console her. His eyes lowered into slits and he gripped the steering wheel so tight his knuckles turned white. My stomach was a bundle of nerves as I tried to understand what was going on. Laney had been left alone during a tornado. I stared out the window at people holding their families and crying as they stood in front of their destroyed homes. What if ours had been torn down? With Laney inside?
We got home in record time and everyone flew out of the car and bound toward the front door, only to stop short all at once. There was a girl on our lawn, facedown, with a fence post going through her back. Her yellow sweater was a deep red all around the wood, and she looked like she’d been rained on all night. Mom’s shrill scream caused me to look away from the body and Dad to take action.
