Still Waters (5 page)

Mom hugged her and Hannah was enveloped in her familiar cinnamon scent. Then she was gone, out the door, and climbing into the rust-eaten blue sedan chugging in the driveway.

“Yes!” Hannah wilted against the wall, all the intensity draining away. She closed her eyes. She saw her and Colin sitting in the porch swing at Pine House. The lake made little lapping sounds on
the beach. Colin smiled at her. His eyes perfectly matched the blue of the sky behind his head. He leaned over to kiss her—

“Hannah?” David stood sleep-rumpled on the stairs. He rubbed a fist over his eye. “You woke me up.”

“I’m sorry.”

He looked very vulnerable in his limp football pajamas, with his hair sticking up in whorls. Hannah turned abruptly and walked toward the kitchen.

“Dave, I’m going to be leaving for a little while.” She busied herself extracting the frying pan from the crowded cupboard.

“What? Where’re you going?”

Hannah cracked an egg into a glass. “To a job with Laurie out of town. It’s just for the weekend.” She kept her face turned toward the stove.

“But who’s going to get me ready in the morning? And make dinner?”

Hannah faced him. He stood in the middle of the kitchen, his forehead wrinkled. His bony shoulders pushed at the soft, thin fabric of his shirt. Hannah swallowed. “Dave, it’s going to be fine. Mrs. Robinson’s going to watch you while Mom’s gone. You can go over there after camp today. Maybe she’ll let you take the dog for a walk.”

David looked doubtful. Hannah gave his shoulders a squeeze. “And I’m making you French toast too.”

As soon as David was done eating, Hannah steered him across the dewy grass to Mrs. Robinson’s clapboard bungalow next door.
Economy-size bags of dog food were stacked on the porch three deep, as usual. Hannah rang the bell. David gazed up at her dolefully. “She’s going to make me eat those old cookies again. They had mold on them last time,” he whispered.

“Just say you’re full from breakfast,” Hannah muttered back as the door squeaked open and Mrs. Robinson peered around the edge.

“Davey!” she cried, smiling with her impossibly white teeth. She swung the door open. Her hair was newly dyed and more stridently pink than usual, Hannah noted.

“Hi, Mrs. Robinson,” she said loudly. “I have to go out of town this weekend suddenly, and my mom and I were wondering if you could watch David in the morning before camp and in the afternoon. Just for a couple days.”

“Of course, of course!” Mrs. Robinson already had her arm around David’s shoulders and was ushering him inside. Hannah wasn’t sure if she’d even heard everything she’d told her.

“I just found some cookies hiding in the cupboard, waiting for this young man to eat them,” she caroled. “Have a nice time on your trip.”

The storm door swung shut in Hannah’s face and David cast her one last desperate glance over his shoulder before he disappeared around the corner.

Back in the house, Hannah went straight up to her room, leaving the dirty dishes on the counter. As she drew her duffel bag from the closet, the quivery feeling started in her stomach again. In the space of twenty-four hours, she had snuck into
someone’s house, taken something that wasn’t hers, and lied to her mother. She’d never done that many bad things in her entire life before.
Am I going crazy?
And leaving David too … he was going to miss her. Her hands faltered a minute, buried in the ruffly folds of a sundress as she paused, staring off into space. Then she shook her head and stuffed the sundress into the bag. It was worth it. This might be her only chance to run away with a guy, ever. And not just any guy—Colin.
Oh my God, I am actually going to do this
. She threw jeans and tank tops into the bag and then folded her bikini before sticking a pair of strappy sandals and her hiking boots on top.

She giggled, a trifle hysterically.
Okay, calm down. Colin will be here any minute. Don’t forget the map!
She plucked the file from its hiding place under the mattress. She couldn’t leave that. They’d never find the place and wind up at Sea World instead. Actually, maybe she should Google it too, just to be safe.

Hannah pulled out her desk chair and flipped open her laptop. She poised her fingers over the keyboard, and then paused. The address. Of course, there was no address on the map. Doubtfully, Hannah typed “Pine House” into the search bar. Nothing.

She drummed her fingers on the keys, then examined the map spread out beside her. A tiny dot down from the house was labeled
OXTOWN
. She typed that into Google. Nothing again. The old map was going to have to be it for directions. Luckily there was a highway exit marked in pen, obviously added later on. Hannah recognized the exit. It was on the other side of the state,
a good four hours drive away. Maybe once they got there, the old map would make more sense.

Hannah pushed back her chair and shut down the computer. Then she grabbed her phone from the bedside table and thumbed Laurie’s number. The phone rang once, twice.

“Hi,” Laurie answered. “What’s up? Did you and Colin elope yet?”

“Almost!” Hannah knew she was squealing, but she couldn’t help it. “Listen, I have a huge favor to ask you.” Briefly she filled Laurie in on her discovery of Pine House and the plan to leave. “So, will you cover for me? Tell my mom I’m with you if she calls?” She waited breathlessly, squeezing the phone tight in one hand.

“Okay, let’s see. You’re ditching me on the second day of work to go off on a romantic weekend with your sexy boyfriend. I’m supposed to be thrilled about this?”

Hannah winced. “Not thrilled, just helpful. Please? I-love-you-forever-you’re-my-best-friend, please?”

There was a long pause and then Laurie sighed. “Okay. But only if you promise to tell me every detail of everything that happens. Nothing left out!”

“Thank you, thank you. You’re a goddess.” Hannah made kissing noises at the phone.

“Damn right I am.” Laurie hung up.

Hannah slid the phone into her pocket and paced around the room, chewing her cuticles and plotting her next move. She’d get Colin to take her over to his house, and she’d pack him a bag. Then
she’d tell him they were going on a surprise road trip. She smiled to herself as she thought of his face when he found out they were going away together. And his parents weren’t going to be a problem like Mom. They didn’t say anything when he took off to go skiing in Vermont over winter break, and that was for two weeks.

Outside, Colin’s truck was idling in the driveway. The day could not have been more gorgeous if Disney had designed it—azure sky complete with puffy, high white clouds. Technicolor tulips waving from the neighbors’ lawns.

“Hey there.” Colin’s bright hair was still wet from the shower. He smelled of Irish Spring soap and fresh laundry.

Biting back a grin, she threw her duffel behind the seat and climbed in. “Hey.” She kept her face turned toward the window as he started down the street. A fresh breeze blew through both open windows, ruffling her hair.

Quietly, she unzipped the canvas tote on her lap and slipped her hand inside. “Damn.”

Colin glanced over with mild surprise. “What?”

“Oh, nothing.” She rummaged around in the bag. “It’s just that I think I left my wallet at your house when we were there the other day. And I need my license for work today.” The lie came out smoothly. She was getting better at this.

“No problem.” Colin signaled and turned left instead of right at the end of the street. “We’ll just drop by my place and get it.”

Hannah nodded and settled back in the seat.

When Colin turned into his driveway, he switched off the engine and started to follow her, but she held her hand out. “It’s
okay, I know exactly where it is. Be right back.”

He shrugged. “Okay, I’ll just wait for you.” He tossed her the keys and sat back in the driver’s seat, lacing his fingers behind his head.

Inside the empty house, Hannah ran up the stairs and into Colin’s room. She looked around quickly. Spotting his backpack by the desk, she unzipped it and dumped out the jumble of notebooks and pens inside. She stuffed in handfuls of T-shirts, jeans, and shorts from his dresser, and then added a pair of sneakers, some socks and boxers. She grabbed his camera from its place next to his bed and crammed that in too. Zipping into the bathroom, she grabbed his razor, deodorant, and a bar of green soap from the shower. With difficulty, she tugged closed the bulging zipper, and then heaved the bag onto her back. She threw a glance out the window. The truck was in the driveway, Colin reclining in the front seat. His elbow stuck out the window.
He has no idea the best time of his life is about to start happening now,
she thought.

She flew down the stairs. In the foyer, she paused an instant, imagining Mrs. Byrd’s figure in the living room doorway. Then she shuddered and ran out the front door.

Colin’s brow creased when he saw the backpack. “What’s going on?” he asked as she threw it next to her own and climbed in again.

Hannah inhaled. “Colin,” she said. “I’m not going to work today.”

His eyebrows lifted. “You’re not?”

“Nope,” she said. The grin she’d been suppressing since he
picked her up finally broke through. “We’re going on a road trip this weekend.”

“No way!” he said. “Like, right now?”

She nodded. “I thought you’d like a surprise.”

“Like it!” He leaned over and planted a long kiss on her lips.

Hannah threw her arms around his neck. “This is our last fling, you know, before you leave. I thought it would be fun to run away together for a couple days.” She spoke into the warm crook of his neck.

He pulled away a little so he could look down into her face. “Han, this is so awesome.” His eyes were sparkling. “Totally unlike you, of course. Remember when you got all mad at me for sneaking into your room last year?”

“You freaked me out climbing up the porch like that. I thought you were an ax murderer or something.”

Colin gunned the truck’s engine and backed down the driveway. “So, where’re we going?”

Hannah looked at him sideways. “That’s a secret.”

Colin laughed. “This just keeps getting better and better.” He reached over and squeezed her knee, steering with the other hand. “What happened to responsible Hannah Taylor?”

Hannah bit her lip and imagined the file glowing behind her as if illuminated by an X-ray. “She took a break for a while.” She leaned back. “Your parents won’t care, right?”

Colin exhaled through his nose. “Forget them.” Keeping one eye on the road, he speed-dialed on his cell. The corners of his lips were tight as he waited for the phone to ring. “Hi, Mom.
Listen, something’s come up, okay? I’m going to take off for a couple of days.” He listened to the voice on the other end and his nostrils flared. “Nothing big, okay? Trent’s just going to his dad’s cabin for a few days and he wants me to come, that’s all. I’ll be back”—he paused and eyed Hannah—“on Sunday?”

Hannah nodded. She could hear his mom’s voice in little squawks over the receiver.

“Okay. Mmhmm. Yeah. Bye.” He snapped the phone closed and pretended to fling it out the window. “Thank God that’s over.”

Hannah blew out her lips. “Was she okay with it?” she said.

Colin shrugged. “Who cares? They’ll probably be relieved I’m gone. No big sullen teenage son slouching around the house.” He tapped out a little rhythm on the steering wheel. “So! Which direction should I go? Or is that part a secret too?”

Hannah closed her eyes and pictured the map in her head. “Just take I-70 north. I’ll tell you what to do after that.”

They waded through the heavy city traffic for the next ten miles or so, and then gradually, the cars thinned along with the exits. The office parks and subdivisions were replaced by endless flat fields of corn on one side and soybeans on the other. Occasionally the monotony was relieved by a few black and white cows scattered in a field. Giant billboards advertised
TRUCKERS’ WORLD
,
GIRLS XXX
, and
IF JESUS CAME TODAY, WOULD YOU BE READY?

Hannah snuck a glance over at Colin, who was nodding his head along with the oldies music on the radio. He must have sensed her look because he grinned suddenly and reached over to pull her against his shoulder.

“So, you’re really not telling me where we’re going?” he asked.

“Nope.” Hannah pressed her face against his T-shirt, feeling its moleskin softness against her cheek.

“Can I guess?”

She straightened up and grinned. “Go ahead. I’ll tell you if you’re right, but you’ll never guess.”

Colin wrinkled his forehead ostentatiously. “Alaska.”

“Ha-ha.”

“Greece.”

“You’re doing great,” she told him. “Keep going.”

“Thailand—no, wait, I’ve got it. New Zealand.”

“Yes! That’s it.” Hannah leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. “You guessed it. We’re driving this truck straight to New Zealand and never coming back.”

“Now
that
sounds like a great idea.” Colin glanced over, and his eyes were alight. “Running away together somewhere cool for as long as we wanted.”

Hannah smiled at the thought and clasped his free hand. “Just hiking around and sleeping under the stars.”

“We should do it. Instead of me going to Pratt, let’s backpack around the world.”

“Right!” Hannah laughed. “I’ll just make sure I’m back for my mom’s funeral because she’d keel over if I ever told her I was doing that.”

“That’s why this trip now is such a great surprise.” Colin squeezed her hand. “It’s like a little taste of that life.”

They drove in companionable silence for a while. Hannah
idly flipped through the radio channels, eventually settling on a bluegrass station. Occasionally, Colin looked over at her with a questioning glance but she just smiled at him mysteriously.

After a couple of hours, she lifted her cramped legs up onto the dashboard and pointed her toes. She stretched her arms over her head. Colin cracked his neck from side to side. “So, mystery woman, when’s the surprise up?” he asked idly, draping an arm over the back of her seat and rubbing her neck with his fingers.