Chapter 20

Owen pulled into the diner's parking lot and climbed out of the car. I watched him look around for signs of danger then he opened my door. He offered me his hand to help me out of the car and informed me, "don't worry, we're not staying."

I was too exhausted and emotionally drained to question his decision, so I grabbed his hand and followed him. The bell above the door rang out when we hustled into the eatery. Owen's eyes darted around the restaurant looking for our friends.

"Over here!" Matt smiled and waved to Owen.

"Where the hell have you two been? I've been worried sick about you!" From across the room Casey proclaimed half with humor and half with actual concern. "This is not the time to go running off without telling anyone!"

"I don't know about that." Owen said under his breath. He dropped my hand and left me standing by the front door then he marched over to Casey. He grabbed her arm to pull her up from her seat. He whispered sternly, "Come on, we've got to go."

Casey looked up at him, "What gives?"

Kirby stood up and spoke gently to intervene, "Hey O, we saved you two a seat. Are you hungry?"

"No thanks," Owen said quickly then looked down at Casey with urgency, "Let's go."

Pete looked up at his friend, "O, is everything okay?"

"Yeah." Owen answered quickly and pulled Casey up from her chair. "We gotta go."

"Go where? What's happened?" Casey asked as Owen pulled her towards the front door. "We didn't even have a chance to have dinner. Are we still going to the pool party?"

Owen pulled Casey along as he gently guided me out of the diner. He opened the car door and pulled the passenger seat back. "Scout climb in." I followed his direction.

Casey sat down in front and looked back at me as Owen closed her door. "Scout, honey, you okay? You don't look okay. What happened?"

I watched Pete and Kirby come out of the diner with concern on their faces.

Owen jogged around to his side of the car. Before he could get in and escape the scene Pete asked, "Owen, what's going on?"

I noticed Kirby look around the parking lot for any signs of trouble.

Owen wedged himself between his car and car door. He looked at his friend, "Hey Pete, I want you to know, that whatever you hear, we are going to be fine. Don't worry about us. Okay? I have everything under control."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Pete furrowed his brow and leaned down to look through the windshield at me. "Scout, are you alright? What's going on?"

Owen looked at his friend, "about the other night…as usual, she was drunk, screaming at Olivia." Owen laughed absurdly at the memory, "I lost my temper and ran to Ollie's room and picked up his toys if you can believe that."

"What?" Pete asked in shock because he knew that Ollie's room was a beloved shrine.

Owen looked over at a few more of his friends who had come outside to determine what was going on. "She was furious, she attacked Scout, so I tackled her to the floor so hard she couldn't breathe. Then we bolted and she called the cops. We went back and I told them everything! They locked her up, and I could care less if they threw away the key. Turns out my dad's no better, he's telling me Ollie's death was his fault too. Said he pushed my mother into the garage and told her to leave that day even though she was drunk."

Pete blinked away the shocked look on his face. "Owen, come inside and let's talk."

Owen laughed at himself and wiped away the tears from his eyes, "I gotta get outta here for a while. I'm going for a drive to clear my head, to clear everyone's heads."

Pete was concerned when he asked, "So we'll see you at Kirby's house tonight?"

Owen gave his friend a weak grin then climbed into the car and drove away, leaving his best friend dumbfounded on the curb.

Casey was able to stay quiet for two city blocks before she turned to interrogate my boyfriend, "What was all that about, and where are we going? Owen, I like you but you're starting to freak me out. You gotta tell me what's going on? And what happened with Scout?"

"Scout needs to rest, she's not ready to be in a crowd of people just yet, so we're taking a drive to clear our heads."

"You pulled me away from my cheeseburger because Scout needs a nap! You could have done that and then come and got me." Casey ranted, "Wait! What about my dinner and the pool party tonight? Kirby said this party was going to be at his mansion!"

Owen laughed a little. "You're not missing much, besides, Kirby's house is smaller than mine."

"Yeah, but it's bigger than mine and it has a pool, and I think he was kinda diggin' me."

"Kirby digs all the chicks! Just trust me. This ride will be good for all of us." Owen smiled. "I'll pick you up some food, you can eat in the car. We can probably swim too. Just give me some time to get everything figured out."

Casey turned and looked back at me. "Scout, are you okay? You look like something is really bothering ya. Did you have another spell of some kind?"

"I think she's exhausted." Owen answered for me. He looked at me in the backseat. "Why don't you lay your head down and see if you can get some rest. That may help you feel better."

"Better from what? What in the hell happed with you two while you were gone?" Casey looked at me. "You still got that blade?"

I pulled the blade out of my pocket and showed it to her.

"You didn't pull that on someone already, did you?" Casey asked.

"No." I rubbed my temples to ease my pain then looked up at her. "I was being stubborn and thought I was well enough to be alone. I ended up scaring the dickens out of myself and making a scene at the bank."

"Awe honey, you oughtta know better than that. When you gonna realize it's okay to be scared. Let the people who love you take care of you and listen to them. They know what you need!" Casey grabbed a sweatshirt Owen had laying on the back seat and balled it into a pillow for me. "Come on now, lay down and I'll rub your head for you."

I took my friend's advice and laid down in the backseat. Casey reached back and rubbed my head with her fingers. The motion was soothing. I asked her, "What should I do when the people I love disagree about what they think I need?"

"Go with your gut. If it feels right to you, then it is." Casey said softly and continued to massage my scalp and relieve the tension from my headache.

I gently laughed at my friend's wisdom. I let me eyes fall shut and gave into my exhaustion while Casey continued to care for me.

._.

"Scout, honey, wake up. We've gone as far as we are going to go tonight." Owen told me as he gently shook me awake.

I opened my eyes to find the sky outside pitch black. I was disoriented. "Where are we? Is it past eleven? Darry expects us home by eleven." I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes and looked out the back window of the car at the neon motel sign flashing, 'vacancies'. I sat up at attention and yelled, "What the hell? Where are we?"

"Don't get mad until you hear me out." Owen said gently with a smile. "Come on inside and we'll explain."

"Inside where?" I looked out the windshield at the motel room door. My mouth dropped open in shock. "Did you bring me to a motel?"

Owen laughed a little. "Yeah, but it's not what you might think. Come on inside."

I crawled out of the car and followed him to the motel room. "Are we even in Tulsa?"

Casey was waiting in the room for us. "Isn't this place fancy! Did you see they got a pool out there? Owen promised me a pool party, so we're all going swimming before bed. No arguing with me about it, you're going!"

"What is going on?" I asked in confusion.

"Road trip!" Casey exclaimed. "Y'all are driving me back to New Mexico so I don't have to take the bus all by my lonesome! Great idea, don't you think?"

I looked at my boyfriend and shrieked. "Have you lost your damn mind? Darry'll kill us! What time is it? We need to get home by eleven before he finds out we left?"

"Scout, calm down." Owen said softly. "We're not going back tonight. There's no way we could be back in Tulsa by eleven because we are near the Texas border.."

"Texas! …Texas! What the Hell! … I think I'm going to have another panic attack!" I said as my pulse began to race.

"Just breathe!" Casey told me. "It's gonna be fun!"

"Fun for you two! Your parents let you do whatever you want whenever you want. Darry's not like that!"

"Don't get worked up." Owen tried to reason with me. "That's why we're here. I figured the further you get from Tulsa the safer you're going to feel."

I sat down on the bed and muttered, "I think I'm gonna have a heart attack! Which doesn't matter if I do 'cause Darry's gonna kill me anyway."

Owen sat down next to me and held my hand. "Just relax. For the next few days, you won't be anywhere near Tulsa, or the newspapers, or the Northside gang. By the time you are back home everyone's going to have moved on with their lives and forgotten about you... in a good way. Don't worry about Darry, I'll give him a call and let him know what we are doing."

"Maybe we shouldn't call him. He is not going to be happy." I suggested,

"We have to tell him." Owen said as he walked over to the phone. "Wish me luck."

Casey remarked with a giggle, "You don't need luck now, you're gonna need it when you get home and Darry tries to break both of your legs!"

Owen picked up the phone and placed the long-distance call. I could hear the ringing of the phone through the receiver before someone answered. "Hey Soda, it's Owen, Is Darry there? ... Yeah everything is fine! I just need to let Darry know a few things before I bring Scout home… I don't want to talk about the blade right now. Please, just get Darry."

I nervously rubbed my hands together as I waited for Darry to come to the phone. After all that had happened, I wasn't looking forward to upsetting my brother again.

"Darry, hey… remember when you asked me to always take good care of Scout? … I have to tell you something, and you're not going to be happy." He took a deep breath and exhaled before breaking the news to my brother. "I've decided to drive Casey back to New Mexico tonight, and I've taken Scout with me."

The hush in the motel room made it easy to hear Darry's shocked response through the telephone receiver. "You what?!"

"I have had a chance to think about everything that's happened to us in the past few days, and I don't think it's fair to put Casey on a bus all by herself, or a good idea for Scout to be in Tulsa right now."

"You listen up!" Darry yelled and Owen pulled the receiver away from his ear. "I don't care what you think! You're a sixteen-year-old kid and you better have my fifteen-year-old sister home in the next hour like you promised!"

"That's not going to happen... we can't be home in an hour because we have already left town. We are calling from a motel near the Texas border."

"Texas! Did you just say, Texas?!"

Owen started to answer my brother's question, but Darry didn't want to hear it. I heard Darry holler. "You listen up! You hear me? You get my sister back home now, or… or… for every day you're gone with her, that's one-week Scout's grounded from you when you get back! That starts now, so if you're not back by midnight tonight, that's immediately two weeks! You hear what I'm saying? No talking to her, no coming to visit, you won't even be able to send her a postcard! Do you hear me!"

"Darry, listen, I know your upset." Owen pressed the receiver against his ear and turned away from me so I wouldn't hear my brother's fury. "... Darry you asked me to take care of her, you need to trust me... you don't have to worry. I have plenty of money ... every night we'll call you to tell you where we are, and that we're safe..."

Owen intently listened to Darry then handed the receiver to me. "He wants to speak with you."

My eyes widened, and I whispered, "I don't wanna talk to him."

Owen covered the receiver with his hand and looked at me. "Talk to your brother. Let him know everything will be okay."

I swallowed hard and put the receiver to my ear. I was ready for a verbal lashing. My emotions swelled, and my voice whimpered, "Darry?"

"Scout! Are you okay?" Darry asked hurriedly.

"Yeah… Right now, my only worry is upsetting you."

My brother exhaled, "I'm upset, but I'm not upset with you."

"Darry, I didn't know this was gonna happen. I fell asleep in the backseat and woke up here."

"Let me know where you are, and I will come get you." Darry told me.

I turned away from Owen and Casey and lowered my voice. "No."

"No? No? What do you mean no?"

"I mean, maybe Owen isn't wrong. Before we left town, I had another spell and caused a scene at Owen's bank."

"What? What happened?"

"I was being stubborn, and I waited in his car by myself. I wasn't ready to be alone and I my fears got the best of me. I bolted into the bank to look for Owen and when I didn't see him, I panicked. I screamed at a security guard who was trying to help me, and I had the blade in my pocket. I was lucky I didn't lose it with the guard like I did with the cops. I don't know what would have happened if Owen hadn't found me." I paused in thought then told him. "Maybe being gone from Tulsa will be a good thing. It will give me a chance to relax and clear my head."

"If you needed to get out of town all you needed to do was ask. Anyone of us would have gone with you."

"One of you did. He'll look after me. It's going to be okay."

"Maybe, but next time I see Owen I'm gonna rip his arms off so he can't drive you anywhere anymore." Darry ranted.

I let out a little laugh, "And this way Casey doesn't have to travel alone either. It would have been a long bus ride, and she's been through a lot too."

"I know." Darry exhaled as he started to think more about how this trip could be good for each of us. "I'm gonna be worried sick about you."

"I'm gonna be worried sick about you too." I told him.

"I'd feel a lot better if Pony was there with you."

"Yeah, because he never gets himself into trouble when he runs away from home." I joked.

My brother's mood lightened up. "Just don't be sleeping in any abandoned churches. You hear me?"

"I hear you."

"And don't be sleeping with any boys either! You hear me?"

"I hear you!"

Darry's tone grew strict again. "When you get home, don't expect to be seeing Owen again for a very long time! I already told him that for every day you're gone, you two are grounded from each other for a week, so you better hurry back. You hear me?"

"Yes Sir." I wanted to argue with him, but I knew it wasn't the right time to question his decision.

"Tell Owen I want to speak with him again."

I handed the receiver back to my boyfriend. "He wants to talk to you again."

Casey and I couldn't hear what Darry was saying, but we could tell it was a serious scolding for what he had done. Owen responded, "Yeah Darry, I get it, but if this works and I have to give up weeks of being with her for her to be better, it will be worth it… Yes Sir… I understand… Yes Sir." Owen handed the receiver to Casey. "He wants to speak with you."

A huge grin spread across Casey's face as she grabbed the phone from Owen's hand. She got comfy on the bed as if she was planning to have a long chat with a good friend. "Hey Darry! Don't be worrying about us. Owen's gonna pay for everything, and best part is, I don't gotta ride the bus home by myself. Also, this place we're staying at has a pool that's open 'til midnight, so we're all going swimming soon as you get off the phone." Casey paused to let Darry speak. "Midnight aint too late, the pools like 10 feet from the motel room… you worry too much… I know…thanks Darry, I hope you know how much I have appreciated all you've done for me... You ain't got nothing to worry about, I'll make sure they behave. Besides, we don't want them bringing home a baby like you and Kathryn, huh?" Casey laughed at her joke, but I couldn't imagine Darry was laughing with her.

I buried my face in my hands upon the realization that my brother and my friend were talking about sex.

Casey grinned, looked at Owen and me and told my brother, "you know their babies are going to be adorable! ... Fine then, change the subject. Owen says he'll pay you back to ship my things to me… tell me about it... no worries when you're hanging out with Richie Rich! Right? … other than him leaving town with us, but I wouldda run off anywhere with him anyway. He's a sweetie. …You don't be too hard on him when he gets home… He loves her just as much as y'all do... he just wants her to get better… it's gonna be okay…. I'll keep my eye on her for you... good night." Casey hung up the phone. She looked over at me. "He's gonna ground you so bad when you get home, but it'll be worth it! Now let's go swim!" Without modestly, she jumped off the bed and pulled her shirt off.

Owen quickly looked away and said, "You two get ready. I've gotta call my dad."