Finders Keepers (14 page)

           
“Then call your phone.
 
Maybe he’s got it.”

           
Actually, the exact thought had occurred to Ellie and was also the reason she hadn’t tried calling her phone yet.
 
She was the one who broke their agreement.
 
She turned her back on Gibbs, and seemingly, chose his brother over him.
 
Did she really think she could just call and he would say, “No worries we can still be friends and oh by the way, here’s your phone back.”
 
Then, there was the problem of being warned to stay away.
 
Both Sarah and Sky had made it clear that in order to stay safe, she needed to cut all ties to the underground.
 
It’d been just over a day… that didn’t show much resolve on her part.
 

           
Taylor pressed the remote key lock on her keys and unlocked the door.
 
After throwing her book bag and purse into the back, she slid into the driver’s seat.
 
Ellie followed suit on the opposite side.
 
Once seated, instead of starting the car, Taylor reached under her seat and produced a shiny black object.
 
A small, cheap cell phone glistened in her palm.

           
“It’s one of those throw away ones.
 
Call your number, if he answers, great.
 
If you panic and hang up… meh…he’ll never know.”
 
Taylor shrugged as if to say she didn’t really care if Ellie did or didn’t, but Ellie knew better than to assume it didn’t matter to her either way.
    

           
Without waiting to consider all the reasons why this was a bad idea, Ellie swiped the phone from Taylor.
 
There’s no harm in trying to locate my phone.
 
I’ll act surprised if he has it.
 
With her plan solidified in her mind, she dialed her number.
 
She ignored Taylor’s triumphant smile.
 
Closing her eyes, she concentrated on her next words.
 
Hi, I was just looking for my phone.
 
Hi, I was trying to track down my phone.
 
Hi, did you by chance find my cell phone?
 
It’s pink.
 
Duh, he knew that.
 
And did I mention I think I love you?

           
The voice that answered was completely unfamiliar to Ellie and she didn’t recognize the owner until it said, “Hi, it’s Ellie.
 
Leave a message and I’ll call you back unless I’m on a
smokin
’ hot date.”
 

           
She snapped the phone shut like an oyster shell.
 
Her phone message seemed innocent enough when she’d recorded it in September.
 
So innocent that she’d completely forgotten what it said.
 
Now the thought of what Gibbs would think of her if and when he ever heard it...
 
Shallow.
 
Superficial
.
 
She knew how it looked, like she’d played him and then dropped him like a rock for Sky.
 

“Voicemail.”
 
Ellie flattened her lips.

A tiny scrunch of Taylor’s nose was her only indication of disappointment.
 
Taylor started the car and they pulled into the flow of traffic exiting the high school parking lot when the phone began to buzz.
 
Thrown off guard, Ellie tossed the phone hot potato style into Taylor’s lap.
 
While making a sharp left Taylor flipped the phone open and answered it.
 
Her eyes opened wide and the color faded from her face.

“Ellie!”
 
She waved her free hand frantically at Ellie and Ellie grabbed the steering wheel.

“Oh no, you’re cutting out.
 
Can you speak louder?
 
Oops, you’re gone.”
 
Taylor closed the phone and resumed control of the steering wheel.
 
The first chance she got she veered violently into a random driveway.
 
Not taking the time to slow down Ellie jostled around in her seat as the car sped over the bump and then her body slammed against her seatbelt when abruptly Taylor stomped on the brake.
 
The generic ringtone of the phone started up again.
 
Taylor made no move to answer it.
 
Ellie watched it for a second, then with curiosity brimming over, she snatched it.

“I wouldn’t answer that,” Taylor said.
 
Her voice was hushed.
 
Her color didn’t return to her face.
 

Ellie hesitated.
 
“Why?”

“Because it’s you.
 
You’re the one on the other end of the phone.”

“Who is this?” Ellie demanded into the speaker.
 

“Oh hello
Eliiiza
.
 
I suppose if you’re sitting next to your friend, then my little game must be up.”
 
It was almost like she could see his eyes flashing.
 
“I bet it frightened her, though, didn’t it.”
 
He laughed.
 
It sounded like cracking glass.
 
“Now is there anything I can do for you?
 
Since you called me, I don’t think that would be breaking my agreement with Sky.
 
Unless of course you called looking for Sky, in which case, you called the wrong person.
 
Because I could care less about you two and your overdone, cliché impossible-love scenario.”

There were so many things Ellie wanted to confess or shout at him, but his tone was so unforgiving and the mention of an agreement distracted her.
 
“What agreement?” she asked suspiciously.

“Hmmm…you know for someone who was willing to put you in harm’s way time and time again, I am surprised Sky didn’t trust you with more information.”
 
Ellie was about to burst out and demand he explain himself, but Gibbs spoke again before she could locate her tongue.
 
“The agreement is something along the lines of not having any contact with you, never going near you, not harming you in any way, no terrorizing etc. etc. etc., and especially no kissing.”

No kissing
.
 
Ellie caught her breath.
 
Why did she think that?
 
He sounded nothing like the boy from the cave.
 
“In exchange for what?”

“He comes back to the family and finishes his project.
 
Don’t strain your pretty little head playing Nancy Drew.
 
What Sky never told you is that his hand was blown off while working on a bomb which had a sole purpose of obliterating all the traitors of my kind.
 
”

 
“Traitors?”

“The ones who felt that our families’ passing jeopardized our race.
 
They are the ones who caused the mine accident.”
 
The stress on the word “accident” was all too suggestive of what he really thought.
  
“They are going to pay, just as soon as Sky picks up where he left off.”

Ellie’s stomach twisted and knotted and her throat tightened.
 
“Who are
they
?”

“As they say, if you’re not with us, you’re against us.
 
They
are all the ones who are not with me.”

There was silence on both ends of the phone.
 
Ellie’s lips parted, unable to speak.
 
Sarah.
 
Sarah helped her escape.
 
She betrayed Gibbs.
 
Now she could be in trouble and it was Ellie’s fault.
 
Was Gibbs as vindictive as he sounded?
 
Was he as dangerous as Sarah had made him out to be?
 
The boy on the phone was definitely not the boy she knew.
 
And where did that put her?
 
Was she with Gibbs or not?
 
Ellie closed the phone without saying anything more.
   
“I need to get home, Taylor.
 
Now.”

One thing was for certain, she needed to find Sarah.
 
She would decide the rest later.

The minute they screeched into Ellie’s drive, Ellie bounded out of the car.
 
She leaped up the front steps and tore down the hallway toward her bedroom without a second glance.
 
She’d told Taylor not to meet her back until 8 p.m.
 
“Wear black and tell your mom you’re sleeping over.”
 
So, technically, she had a few hours yet, but the adrenaline inside of her made her feel like every second was counting down.

She dropped her backpack onto the floor and started in on her dresser, yanking open the drawers and searching for the place where she’d hidden Sarah’s clothes.
 
When she found the bundle, she pulled it out and then continued digging until she located black leggings, black pants, and a black t-shirt.
 
Moving to her closet she shifted through the hangers until she located a dark hooded sweatshirt.
 
It wasn’t black, but it’d have to do.
 
The weather had turned decidedly frigid.
 
No snow yet, but dressing in layers was a no-brainer.
 
Next she found her running shoes.
 
They still had that new shoe smell on them and the reflective pieces were still shiny.
 
The shoes were her first purchase after what had happened two weeks ago.
 
She used the birthday money she’d been saving for car insurance to buy them.
 
The deal with her parents was that if she paid for her car insurance, her dad would get her a car to drive.
 
The real hang up was that her father didn’t approve of Ellie holding a job during the school year.
 

Oh well.
 
She could continue to let Taylor drive her around.
 
Besides the clothes, she needed something else--a bit of flashy bait.
 
She glanced through her closet briefly.
 
It wasn’t going to come from her things.
 
She left her room and treaded down the hall.
 
Her mom was sitting at the kitchen table talking on the telephone.

“Moody.
 
Yes, she came tearing in here, not so much as a hello.
 
I don’t know what to do with her Dave.
 
Should I call Dr. Collins again?”

“Hi Mom,” Ellie said loudly.

Ellie’s mom waved at her and then turned her back and continued in a lower tone.
 
Once upon a time this kind of behavior from her mother would have been reason enough for Ellie to pick an argument.
 
Instead she fished through the fridge, found some grape juice and poured two glasses.
 
She set the first one in front of her mother, retrieved the second and headed to the sliding glass door to check the food she’d set out earlier for Pinstripe.
 
Hot dogs and chips were his favorite, but she’d alternated with mac and cheese and Ritz crackers.
 
The first night the food remained untouched.
 
On the second, from the looks of the footprints, raccoons or a skunk discovered the loot.
 
A couple of times the tray had been flipped in spite of the large rock Ellie used to weight it down.
 

The macaroni noodles were still on the tray when she looked out, but different from when she’d plopped a cheesy mound on it this morning before school.
 
She pushed the sliding glass door open and braved the gust of cold to take a few steps closer.
 
The noodles had been pushed around the tray until they spelled one word in capital letters.
 
“MINE.”

Ellie gasped.
 
Then, screwing up her face she shouted into the wind, “He’s not yours, you slimy two-faced little goblin.
 
I’m going to stop you.”