RAW (5 page)

“I’ll explain more. But we really need to hit the road, like, ten minutes ago.”

“Okay. Give me five minutes, all right?” Caelyn asked.

“We’re already behind schedule, so I guess five more minutes can’t hurt too much.” He grinned his lopsided grin.

Caelyn leaned in and kissed his lips once more. She tasted Elijah, smelled him—

and she still couldn’t believe he was real.
She wanted nothing more than to sit next to him and take in his essence, bathe in Elijah’s protective aura.

But she needed to hurry and get her purse, license, cash and credit cards, maybe even a few items of clothing. Caelyn got out of the car, as Elijah watched her go. She couldn’t help but keep looking back over her shoulder as she did her best to rush to the house.

She needed to know that he was really still there.

Even as she got to the front door, looking back once more, Caelyn was certain his car would be gone and she’d have finally lost her mind completely.

But the car was still there, waiting. Waiting for her return.

Caelyn smiled, her heart leaping, as she crept inside the house. Her heart was hammering in her chest and she felt flush. Climbing the steps to the second floor, all Caelyn could think about was the fact that somehow he’d come for her once more.

I’ll never doubt him again. Elijah will always find me. Always.

She went to her bedroom and immediately began gathering her things. She had a small beach bag that she used to put a few items of clothing in, and then she grabbed her purse.

Caelyn scanned her room, making sure she’d left nothing important, as she didn’t intend to come back anytime soon.

Thank God I can get out of this place. I won’t miss it.

Her old room felt like a prison cell that she’d found the key to, and now she could just walk out into the fresh air, a free woman.

“Going somewhere?” a familiar voice said loudly. It was Deena.

Caelyn spun, letting out a tiny yelp of surprise. “You startled me.”

“That’s probably because you’re guilty.” Deena cocked an eyebrow and walked into the bedroom. She was wearing a long t-shirt and nothing else, as if she’d been sleeping. But she looked completely awake.

“Guilty of what?” Caelyn asked, her heart pounding harder now. She thought it might break through her ribcage.

Stay calm, Caelyn. If Deena smells even a hint of what you’re doing, she’ll ruin it
all without a second thought.

“Well, I don’t know,” Deena sighed. She pointed at the beach bag, filled with clothes. “What’s that for? Are you running away from home?”

Caelyn glanced at the bag as if she’d never seen it before in her life. “Oh, this?

This is for when I go to rehab tomorrow. I’ll need a change of clothes.”

“Oh, that makes sense.” Deena nodded thoughtfully. “It just seems strange that you’re packing a bag and getting your purse all ready at this time of night. Besides, I could’ve sworn I heard you going outside.”

Caelyn stared at her younger sister, the bright embers of hatred burning as she realized that Deena was merely toying with her. She knew. She knew that Elijah was outside waiting, and this was the fun she wanted to have before she ripped out Caelyn’s heart.

“Deena, please.”

“Please? You must really be desperate, Caelyn.”

“Please just let me go. I don’t want to do this anymore.”

“Do what?”

“This. Fight. Aren’t you tired of it yet?”

Deena grinned, showing her teeth. “You’re only tired of it because you’re losing.” She came another step towards Caelyn. “No, let me rephrase. You’re only tired because you lost.”

“Fine, have it your way. I lost. You won. Just let me go.” Caelyn tried to walk by her, but Deena stepped into her path.

“Not so tough this evening, are you?” She put her hands out and shoved Caelyn, causing her to stumble backwards, the back of her knees hitting the bed. Caelyn fell onto the bed, staring up at her sister, who was giggling.

“Deena…” Caelyn said.

“Stop saying my name. You make me hate my name when you use it.”

“I’m sorry.”

“You’re not sorry enough—not even close to as sorry as you’re going to be. You know that he’s going to be arrested again, don’t you? I’m going to call the cops the second you walk out of this room. You’ll be lucky if you make it five miles before you get pulled over again.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“So that’s not Elijah in that car outside, then?” Deena asked, pointing at the window.

“No,” Caelyn lied. “It’s his brother.”

“Bullshit.”

“Deena, it’s true. You know Elijah’s in jail. How could he be here?”

Deena smirked and folded her arms over her chest. “Maybe he escaped. I guess he has enough brains to do that—but not enough to stay away from you.”

“That’s ridiculous. It’s just Elijah’s brother. We’re friends.”

“Well whoever it is, we’ll see what happens when the police pull them over. If they’re related to Elijah, then they’re probably a criminal with a warrant out for their arrest anyway.”

Caelyn sat up and tried to compose herself. She needed to give Deena something to appease her. “Listen, I’ll give you all my money.”

“You don’t have any.”

“My credit cards.” Caelyn grabbed her purse and started digging. “You can charge them up, I’ll never say a word.”

“I don’t want your stupid cards. I can get money if I want it. Plenty of money.”

Deena smirked again. “I have everything I want, except one thing.”

“What’s that?”

“You. Miserable. In this house.” Deena’s smirk turned into a genuine smile as she considered this. “I want you to be here, where you’re absolutely at your lowest point.

No friends, no Elijah, nothing. And I get to watch you sink deeper and deeper into despair. That’s what I want.”

“What did I do to you, Deena? Why do you hate me so much?”

Deena’s smile faded and her expression turned icy. “Don’t ask me that, you stupid bitch. I don’t owe you an explanation. I don’t care if you “get me” or not.” She turned and started towards the door. “Time to make a phone call. I figure the cops will want to know about any suspicious vehicles parked outside our house—“

“Deena, I know your secret,” Caelyn called after her.

Deena froze in her tracks, her hand on the doorknob as she prepared to leave the room. “What did you say?” Deena asked, turning toward Caelyn.

“You heard me,” Caelyn said. “I know everything. You’ve been bad. Really, really bad, and you were also stupid. You left the easiest password ever on your computer.”

Deena’s eyes narrowed. “You’re lying.”

“Really?” Caelyn got up and stood firmly, her legs feeling sturdier all of a sudden. “I mean, I was flattered when I guessed it. I figured you were obsessed with me, but that password really confirmed my suspicions.”

“If you try and tell anyone, I’ll hurt you worse than you could imagine,” Deena said.

“How can you hurt me any worse than you’ve already hurt me?” Caelyn asked.

“Try me.”

“Listen, we should call a truce. You let me go right now, and you keep your evil mouth shut. Then I won’t tell Mom and Dad and the rest of the world what you’ve really been doing when you pretend to go studying at the library.”

Deena just stared at her. “You’re bluffing. You can’t prove anything. I’ll change my password.”

“There’s this little thing called email,” Caelyn said calmly. “So don’t worry.

You can rest assured that even if your computer mysteriously went up in flames, I’ve got backup copies of everything. And I mean everything.”

Deena licked her lips. “You’d really do that to Mom and Dad just to get back at me?”

“I’d enjoy it, too,” Caelyn said, staring Deena down. “And you know I would.”

Deena’s mouth opened and shut. For the first time in her life, Caelyn thought, she seemed to have absolutely no comeback.

Caelyn smiled at her younger sister as she grabbed her beach bag and purse.

“How do I know you won’t leave and tell them anyway?” Deena asked, as Caelyn pushed by her.

“Don’t worry about me, Deena. You’ve got enough on your hands, especially with that stressful English class that seems to take up so much of your time lately.”

Deena’s jaw quivered. “Caelyn. Promise me you won’t—“

“Get out of my life and I’ll get out of yours, okay?” Caelyn said, and then she walked briskly out of the room and downstairs. When she left through the front door, she took one look back and saw Deena staring down at her from the second floor railing.

Caelyn walked outside, took a nice long breath of cool air, and then continued to Elijah’s car. She got inside where it was toasty warm and dropped her bag down next to her leg.

“You okay?” Elijah asked, as he pulled away from the curb and into the empty street, and then began driving off at a fast clip.

“I’m okay.”

Silence descended for a moment and Elijah shifted gears. “Got enough room for your legs?”

Caelyn nodded. Then she looked at him. “Did you somehow…I don’t know…did you escape from prison?”

Elijah let out a loud laugh. “Escape from prison? You make it sound like a TV

movie of the week or something.”

“Did you?”

He stopped laughing and looked at the road. “No.”

She let out a sigh of relief. “Thank God. For a second I actually believed—“

“I escaped from the courthouse.”

She put a hand over her mouth, staring at him in shock and horror. “Elijah, please tell me you’re joking. Please.”

He glanced at her. “You realize that I was going back to jail for three years, right? Three fucking years, Caelyn.”

“You can’t know that for sure.”

“I do know it for sure. They told me at my last hearing that I’d get an automatic reinstatement of the rest of my sentence if I violated parole again. Once your sister planted that credit card on me, I was toast.”

Caelyn shook her head. “But they’ll catch you and then you’ll go back for even longer.”

“They’re not going to catch me.”

Caelyn took a deep breath and let it out shakily. “I’m so glad you’re here with me, but I’m terrified, Elijah.”

He looked over at her. “You’re terrified of me?”

“Of what you’re doing. Of what’s going to happen to us.”

“What’s going to happen to us is we’re going to be together.” He smiled. “This is a good thing, Caelyn.”

“The police will be looking for you.”

He sighed. “I’m small potatoes. They don’t give a shit about me, I’m not a mass murderer. I’m just some two-bit criminal that got away. Sure, they’ll have a warrant out for my arrest, but as long as I stay under the radar, I’m fine.”

“Maybe you should slow down,” Caelyn said. “You’re going seventy and the speed limit’s fifty on this road.”

Elijah nodded patiently. He looked out the front windshield, his expression seemingly happy, content even. “I love you, Caelyn—even when you’re being mean.”

“I’m not being mean.” She shifted in her seat. Part of her was so overjoyed that he was in the car and she was with him, soaking in his presence. Another part of her was angry that he was being so totally irresponsible and not even seeming to be aware of how serious this was for both of them.

“You’re being a little bit grouchy,” he said.

“Well you’re not taking this seriously enough. I’m involved now, too.”

His grin faded. “I’m not stupid, Caelyn.”

For the first time, she was noticing this new car that he was driving and wondering just how it was that he’d been able to acquire it. She glanced in the backseat and saw an umbrella, a magazine, and a children’s book called The Great Ape Goes to Bed Early.

“Elijah, whose car are we in right now?” she asked, her voice unsteady.

His shoulders hunched. “I think we should talk about this later.”

“We’ve got plenty of time to talk about this.”

“No we don’t.” He glanced in his rearview mirror. His strong jaw jutted out. “I want to tell you the plan.”

“Oh, so there’s a plan?”

He glanced at her, his dark eyes flashing briefly. “Don’t be like this, Caelyn.”

She sat back and released her clenched fists. “Fine. I’ll play, Elijah. Tell me the plan.”

He licked his lips. “I know a place in upstate New York we can go. It’s safe and quiet, and almost impossible for us to be found.”

“What kind of place is it?”

“A friend of mine lives there. I haven’t seen him in a long time, but I know he’ll let us stay with him. He owes me.”

“Great,” Caelyn said, unable to keep the sarcasm out of her voice.

Elijah smirked. “Yeah, that’s what I was thinking. Great.”

They fell into silence again. Caelyn was watching him drive, still unable to fathom the fact that he’d actually found a way to come back into her life.

Why are you being so hard on him?
She asked herself.

Because.
He escaped from jail.

He never should have been there in the first place. Did you want him to rot in a
jail cell for three years just so he didn’t break any rules?

Caelyn felt torn. She was so unbelievably grateful to be with him, to watch his perfect eyes as he scanned the road, to feel the rush of adrenaline when he so much as looked her way, to admire the slope of his muscular shoulders, the length of his arms, see how gracefully he moved even when driving.

When he looked at her, she couldn’t stay angry.

But then she thought about the fact that this couldn’t last, because the police would eventually capture him. And when they did, he would go back to jail, only this time it would be for much longer.

Not only that, but she would likely go to jail right along with him.

Why do you care?
She asked herself.
Would you rather he’d left you in your own
little prison, sitting in that bedroom listening to your family live their lives while you went
quietly crazy
?

Would that really have been preferable?

Caelyn knew that it wouldn’t have been. “I’m glad you came for me,” she whispered, and slid her hand onto his leg. His muscular thigh emanated heat.