He’s quick to splash me back, and it’s not long before our water war has spread and we’re out from behind the waterfall, using Ruthie, Hattie, and Saul as human shields.
The lights inside the house suddenly flip on and a voice is shouting, growing louder and louder until we can finally make out that it’s a man and he’s angry. “Who’s out there?”
We all freeze, looking to Saul for our cue.
“Uh,” he says. “Run.”
I practically jump out of the pool, forgetting any embarrassment I might have about running around in my underwear, and grab all the clothes and flip-flops I see, constantly checking behind me for Hattie and Freddie.
I hear the back door slide open. “I’ve called the police,” the deep southern voice says. “And this is private property! I could shoot y’all just for steppin’ a toe past that gate.”
“Fuck,” I whisper the moment we get to the gate. I shove Freddie through.
“What’s this guy even talking about?” Freddie’s voice is frantic. “I thought we had permission to be here.”
My face gives me away.
“Are you serious?” Freddie shouts. “You let me trespass without even telling me?”
“I’m sorry,” I squeak.
Saul is already down at the Jeep, pulling it up the driveway for the rest of us.
I feel horrible, but my guilt will have to wait. “Y’all help Hattie out on the other side,” I tell Freddie and Ruthie.
I squat down, letting her use my thigh as a step stool. “We gotta move, Hattie.”
“I’m trying,” she says. “You try doing this with a beach ball in your shirt.”
“Hey!” the man’s voice calls. And this time he’s much closer. “Y’all ain’t going anywhere. I’m done with you kids sneaking in here when no one’s renting the place. And if you have any doubt, you should know I’m carrying a pistol, so don’t you try nothing funny!”
Hattie topples over the other side of the gate, but Freddie catches her.
The four of us pile into the Jeep, and I’m not even fully in the car before Saul is reversing down the driveway, goingmuch faster than any backward-facing car should.
We’re quiet for a few minutes as Saul weaves in and out of streets, going exactly the speed limit. I sort through all our clothes and try to give everyone their stuff, but I can’t find Ruth’s shorts or Freddie’s sandals.
It’s not until we’ve made it out to the coastal highway that Saul breaks out into hysterical laughter.
And maybe it’s the tension, but so does everyone else.
Except Freddie. And me.
I nudge him with my elbow to try to get a read on him, but he rolls his eyes and shakes his head, turning away.
“Whose house was that anyway?” asks Hattie.
“Just a summer rental house that Todd used to clean. He used to do deliveries for Boucher’s, remember? We hooked up there a few times and would sneak into the pool when no one was renting it. I guess that must’ve been the property manager, though.”
“Yeah, well, that was a little too close,” says Ruth over the wind. “I’m applying to colleges right now, Saul! I can’t really afford to get in trouble.”
“What?” He looks to her in the rearview mirror. “You don’t trust your big bro?”
“It’s not that,” she mumbles.
Saul shakes his head. “Whatever. You think that asshole would’ve actually killed a couple of kids on a rental property? I doubt it.”
Freddie sits in the middle with his arms crossed. “Really? You doubt that. Don’t know what world you’re living in.” It’s quiet for a minute before he adds, “I need you to takeme to my friend’s house.”
