Chapter Fourteen
New Orleans
"Wake up," an angry voice said.
Johnny wasn't sure if he was awake or dreaming until he felt someone shaking him. He slowly opened his eyes and saw that Neil's face was about three inches from his. He looked angry; his face was so red that it was almost purple.
"What's going on?" Johnny asked tiredly.
"I should ask you that," Neil said. "Where were you?"
"What?" Johnny asked. He had no idea what was going on.
"Do you have any idea what time it is?" Neil screamed.
"No," Johnny said timidly.
"Well, it's midnight, and Ana and I have been driving around the city looking for you," Neil said.
"Huh?" Johnny asked.
"Neil, leave him alone," Ana said as she walked into the room. "I'm sure it's all just a misunderstanding."
"I'm not leaving him alone!" Neil said. "The boy is a delinquent, and he needs some discipline."
"I still don't know what's going on," Johnny said. "And I'm tired."
"See Neil, he's tired," Ana said. "Let's just talk to him in the morning."
"We are talking to him now," Neil said. He spoke slowly and spaced his words evenly. He was trying to control his temper.
"Will someone please tell me what's going on?" Johnny yelled.
"We came home and you were gone," Ana said. "I was so worried."
"I wasn't," Neil muttered.
"You're acting like he's the only one that's in trouble," Ana said. "You're forgetting that America was having a party."
"Never mind that," Neil said. "The point is that you were gone, and we've been driving around for the past three hours looking for you, but it turns out that you were here, sleeping."
Johnny knew that he should have apologized, but instead he said "What were you doing home so early?"
"The restaurant was infested with roaches," Neil said. "They're very common here. Anyway, that's why we came home so early. Ana came upstairs to check on you, but, of course, you weren't there. I want to know where you were, and I want to know now."
Johnny didn't know what to say. He couldn't tell them that he'd left to get a bus ticket. It would just make Neil angrier, and Ana would be upset. He didn't say anything.
"I bet you were out smoking cigarettes, weren't you?" Neil said. "Or maybe you were smoking pot. That's why you're so tired, isn't it? That's why you can't answer my question."
"Neil, we're all tired," Ana said. "Let's all just go to bed, and we'll talk about this in the morning."
Neil ignored Ana. He kept yelling at Johnny. "We gave you a roof over your head and saved you from your parents, but you've caused us more trouble than you're worth. I bet a year of military school would get this rebellious streak out of you."
"You haven't given me anything," Johnny said to Neil. "You're no better than my dad."
Neil stared angrily at Johnny for a few minutes before he stalked out of the room. Ana walked over to Johnny's bed and sat next to him. She looked sad and disappointed. After a few minutes, Johnny realized that she was crying.
"I was so worried about you," she sobbed. "I don't care if you were out doing drugs; just please tell me where you were."
Johnny didn't know what to say. If he told Ana where he was, she would know that he was going to run away. He thought about telling Ana that he had been out smoking pot. She said that she wouldn't care, but what if she did? He decided not to say anything.
"Johnny, please," Ana begged. "I won't be mad, I promise."
Johnny shook his head. "I can't tell you," he said.
"Yes you can," Ana said. "You can tell me anything."
"Not this," Johnny said. "I can't tell you where I was tonight. I'm sorry."
Ana stared at Johnny for a few minutes. Then she shook her head and sighed.
"We're both tired," she said. She was trying to keep from crying. "I hope that this is all just a misunderstanding and that you'll talk to me in the morning. I'm going to bed now, and I think that you should go back to sleep. Good night, Johnny."
Ana left the room and closed the door behind her, and Johnny flopped back on to his pillow. He felt awful. Ana seemed so disappointed, and Neil was probably going to kill him. To make things worse, it was only Sunday. He didn't leave for Tulsa until Wednesday.
Johnny rolled over and looked at the arm that his cast had been on. The skin was peeling off of it, and it looked a bit smaller than the other one. He thought that he would be glad to get his cast off, but he kind of missed it. It was kind of a security blanket, and his last link to home. Maybe he'd gotten the cast off because he was about to go home. Johnny sighed. Just three more days until he could go home. He could make it. At least, he hoped so.