The Nights Were Young (20 page)

XXIII

“My butt looks great!” Kate said.
 

It was Friday night.  Marie’s mother and father had gone to a dinner banquet with his company, and her mother believed Marie to be home alone. Marie was with Kate, in Kate’s bedroom. Kate had her back turned to her mirror.  She examined her new jeans.  Marie was on the edge of Kate’s bed, putting on lip gloss. Her mother couldn’t control her forever, and she would never know anyway. The night was young and waiting to be lived, and Marie couldn’t let it slip past her… not anymore, even if Travis wasn’t there. 

              “What do you do at a winter festival?” Marie asked.

              “Uh, you have a good time, that’s what.” Kate turned and looked at Marie. “I don’t mean to be a jerk or anything, honey, but you’ve been pretty depressing lately.”

              Marie did not respond. 

Kate turned back to the mirror. “It’s Travis isn’t it? Why haven’t you talked to him?  It’s been days.”

              “He’s been avoiding me,” Marie said. “I tried texting him yesterday and he never said anything back.”

              “Give him some time, Marie.  He loves you.  He’ll come back around.”

              A car honked from outside.

              “That’s Joey,” Kate said.  “You ready?”

The Crossfalls Winter Festival was more impressive than Marie had expected.  The fair grounds were coated in bright Christmas lights.  There were fluorescent Santa’s and neon reindeer.  There were booths and stands.  Joey was spending what money he had playing games for Kate.  It took him three times to pitch a ball into bowling pins, stacked in a pyramid, and knock them over, winning her a stuffed elf.  A live band played on a small stage.  There was a Ferris wheel, there were food and drinks, and there were countless couples hand in hand.  Marie’s hands were in the pockets of her jacket.  

“Are you sure you don’t want me to ride with you?” Kate asked.

They were at the front of the line for the Ferris wheel.

“I’m fine,” Marie said.  “You two have fun.”

Kate hugged her and squealed. “I’m so afraid of heights.  Joey, you better not rock the damn cart.” 

The attendant led her and Joey into their seats, and they were lifted away.

Marie’s phone vibrated in her pocket.  The screen read:
NEW MESSAGE.
  It was from her mother.

MOM: We’ll be home by 9. Make yourself dinner.

Marie rolled her eyes.  It was seven-thirty.

“You don’t have anyone to ride with you?” the attendant asked.

“No,” Marie answered.

“I’ll ride with her,” said a voice from behind her. 

Marie turned around. 

It was David, the jock Travis had fought in the parking lot.

“Hell no,” Marie said.  “I’ll just pass.” 

She moved around David and walked away from the ride.

“What?  You still don’t like me?”  He followed her.

“That’s an understatement,” Marie said. “Please go away.”

“Come on.  I was wondering if you ever wanted to take me up on my offer for a date.” 

Marie turned around.  The boy was smirking. 

“It’s still a no,” she said. 

She kept walking.  When she noticed he was still following her, about to say more worthless words, she whipped around and lied. “You know Travis is here with me tonight.  You want him to kick your ass again?”

David laughed. “I don’t think Travis is here with you.”

Marie gulped. “Yes he is.”

“I’m pretty sure I saw ‘Trailer Trash’ and his buddies catching a movie on my way in here.”

“What?” 

“Yeah, well I’m sure it won’t be long before the cops arrest their sorry asses anyway,” he said as he pointed behind her.

Marie turned around and saw two officers talking with a group of kids.  The kids were pointing away from the fairgrounds. Marie tried to make out what they were saying, and she believed she understood one of them say the words “that way.”

“I would tell ‘em where they are, but I can’t risk a breathalyzer,” David said.

“Where’s Travis?” she asked him. 

“Why would I tell you that?” he sneered. “You don’t want to be around him, Marie.  You’ll end up in jail.  Just hang out with me for the rest of the night.”

Marie turned around and walked quickly.  She moved past booths and tents.  She stayed out of sight of the officers.  When she was far enough away from them she started running, faster and faster.  David had said Travis and his friends were “catching a movie.”  There was only place in that direction close enough to the fairgrounds for him to see Travis on his way in: the drive-in theatre. 

The drive-in theatre was dark.  It was closed.  The nearest light was a streetlight on the corner, but it still left most of the area in shadow. 

Marie approached slowly.  She could hear voices from inside the wall of metal panels.  She circled around it and found one of the panels had been pulled from the bottom far enough to leave a space for entrance. Marie took a deep breath.  Her stomach dropped with nerves, but she could already imagine the blue and red lights surrounding the drive-in and officers putting Travis in handcuffs.  She crouched down, pulled up the panel, and slid in. 

“Damn it!” she exclaimed.  There was a sharp edge that cut her arm. 

When she stood she saw three shadowy figures staring her way and whispering. 

“Who is that?” she heard one say.  It was a girl’s voice.  It was a familiar voice.

She could see Travis.  He was holding a smoking joint in one hand, and a bottle in the other.  Marie walked forward. “Travis?”

“Oh God,” he said in surprise. “Marie, why are you here?” His arm moved, and he held the bottle behind his back. 

She could see them under the sliver of moonlight now.  There was Travis.  There was an older man, maybe in his twenties, with a goatee and a skull cap on his head.  There was the older girl there that she had seen at the party by the cliffs, Kristen.  Upon seeing her, Marie immediately felt her face turning red and her jaws clenched.  She almost forgot the smell of weed that surrounded them in her fast growing anger and jealousy. 

“Why is she here, Travis?” Marie asked.

“Who the hell are you?” Kristen said. Then she got a better look at Marie. “Travis,
this
girl again?”

“Kristen, be quiet,” Travis said as he walked to Marie.  “Marie, I didn’t think I’d see you tonight.”

She could have screamed at him and knocked the bottle out of his hands.  She could have grabbed that girl’s hair and threw her to the ground, but time was running out until the police arrived. “Travis, we need to get out of here.”    

“Get her out of here, Trav.” the man in his twenties said.

“I’m taking care of it,” Travis said.

“Who is that?” Marie asked about the man.

“That’s Benji.  Don’t worry about him.  What’s wrong?”

“There are cops coming,” Marie said.

“What?” Benji yelled.  “You brought the cops with you?”

“No.  I saw them at the fairgrounds.  I think they’re on their way here.”

“Shit,” Kristen said.  “Let’s go.”

“How do you know?” Travis asked.

“I saw them asking around, and it looked like some people were pointing them here,” Marie said, and she grabbed Travis by the hand.  “Come on.  We need to go.”

The girl yanked Marie’s hand off of Travis’s.  She grabbed Travis’s shoulder. 

“Leave him alone,” Kristen said.  “You should get out of here.” 

“I think she’s lying,” Benji said.  “I don’t see any lights.”

Travis pulled away from both girls.  He dug into his pocket and retrieved some cash.  He put it in Benji’s hand. “She wouldn’t lie, man.” 

Then Travis turned around to see the two girls standing before him.  He looked back and forth between them.  He marched to Marie and grabbed her by the hand. 

“Come on, Marie.”

“Travis,” the girl yelled.

There was no stopping them.  Travis went out of the drive-in wall first and held the panel out for Marie.  They locked hands and carried swiftly across the dirt and grass to the shadows of the trees, away from the street.  There were faint lights coming from the distance.  When they came closer, it was clear that the lights were blue and red.

“Shit,” Travis said. 

He darted left into of a group of bushes in a vacant lot that was next to the street.  He dragged Marie quickly along by her arm, and together they crouched among the tall weeds.  Travis was in front of her, his shoulders raised and arms outstretched, with both hands on the ground seeming ready to lift him into a run.  

The police car raced to the drive-in and screeched to a halt at the metal wall.  The officers jumped out and began circling, shining flashlights on every inch of the premises.  Moments later the panel lifted and two shadowy figures of Benji and Kristen crawled out.  They ran, but before they could get around the corner they were stopped by one of the officers.  The next moment they were surrounded on either side by both.  Kristen was screaming something, and Benji remained silent.

“Damn,” Travis whispered. 

“Are they gonna tell where you are?” Marie asked.

“I don’t know.  Benji won’t say a word.  I can’t promise about Kristen.” He stood and said in a low tone, “We need to get out of here.”

They moved past the vacant lot and past a few streets.  They passed through the edge of the fairgrounds and then away from the lights and all the people.  Marie’s phone vibrated.

KATE: Where are you?

“Come on, we gotta move faster,” Travis said.

Marie nearly lost him he was moving so fast.

MARIE: I’m with Travis.  I’ll call you when I can.

They came to an abandoned house.  It was tucked away in an area of small woods near the lake.  It was small, built of bricks, covered in unkempt vines and resting among feet tall weeds and grass.  Many of the windows were broken, what little furniture left in the house was in pieces, and the only sounds around it were the soft ripples from the lake and singing crickets out in the wilderness. 

“This place is creepy,” Marie whispered.

“Yeah, but the cops aren’t gonna look here.” Travis moved easily into the house.

Marie hesitated at the doorway.  Travis came back to her and extended his hand. 

“Have you been here before?” she asked.

Travis paused.  He looked back into the dark, empty space of the house. “I used to live here.”

Marie took his hand and walked inside.  The walls were stripped bare.  All that was left of the floor was concrete. 

“You lived here?” she asked.

“When I was little.  It was before my dad left.” He paced like he was seeing a memory.  He stopped and placed his hand on a crack on the wall.  It was obvious something had hit the wall there, hit it hard. 

“When did you leave?” Marie asked.

Travis was quiet.  He looked up and took his hand away from the wall. “When my dad left.”

He came to a broken window and leaned on the sill.  He lit a cigarette. “Thanks for getting me out of there.”

“You’re welcome.” She approached him.  There was a lump in her throat when the question arose. “Why were you with her tonight? Kristen. Why were you with her?”

“She came with Benji,” he said after taking a long drag of his cigarette, and then he stood up from the window sill.  “I wasn’t
with
her.”

“Benji.  What’d you buy from him?”

“Always so many questions with you, pretty girl.” 

He started pacing again.

“I just want to know,” she said.

He pulled a small, plastic bag from his pocket and waved it in front of her.  There were tiny, pellet-sized pills in it that Marie could not see clearly in the dark. “Pills, Marie. I bought some pills from him.”

She shook her head. “Travis…”

“Oh Travis what?” he said.  “Why do you care, huh?  Where have you been all week?”

“Where have
you
been?” she said.  “I tried talking to you and you never answered.”

He groaned. “Whatever.” He threw the cigarette down and stomped on it. 

“I’m sorry,” Marie said.

He looked at her, confused. “For what? Sorry for what?”

She stumbled for words. “For, for pushing you away.  And for letting you… do all these things.”

“Do all these things?  What does that mean?”

“The drinking and stuff.”  She looked down. “I shouldn’t tell you not to do the things you want to when I did the same with you.”

He laughed. “Alright. Well it’s ok I guess.  I don’t really give a shit.”

The words jolted her.