When Natalie got home from school on a Friday, she was glad to have a calm night at home. It was already almost six, because she'd stayed after school with Henry and practiced for awhile. But she was in for the night, and for once was glad about it- it had been a long week. She decided to watch a movie and order pizza and just relax.
She had settled into the couch to watch some tv before she ordered the food when her dad came into the living room.
"Hey, honey," he said distractedly. "Get ready- we have to go soon."
"What?" she asked, not paying too much attention. "Go where?"
"Your mom's," he said, picking up some stray papers, pens and books from off the kitchen table. "We're going over for dinner, remember?"
"No," she said, raising herself off from the couch and looking at him with an annoyed expression. "You never told me that! And I don't want to go."
"Sorry!" he apologized. "But she's looking forward to seeing you. I just got off the phone with her and she said she'd dying to see you again- how long has it been since we last-"
"It's only been two weeks, dad, so I think she'll live. I don't want to go! I've been studying for my history test, practicing for my recital next week, and getting ready for the ACT all week. I'm tired. I don't want to go!"
"You're going," he said, and that was that.
Natalie was decidedly miserable entirely through dinner. For once, her mother didn't make any mishaps, but the whole ordeal was less than fun. She was exhausted, and totally pissed off at her dad for making her do this.
On the car ride home, her dad started fiddling with the radio, and Natalie reached over and promptly turned it off.
"I want quiet. I'm so fucking tired and you made me go this stupid-"
"Natalie! Your mother wanted to see you tonight, and you're too selfish to give up your precious time-"
"You didn't even askme!" she yelled. She was maybe way more pissed than she should have been, but her fatigue contributed to her mood. "You never ask me! You just drag me around doing things for mom, and you always have! Everything's always about mom, isn't it? Even after she left you! You still do everything for her, and it's not like she even cares!"
They had arrived back home then, and he stopped the car abruptly.
"That's it," he said, and she knew she'd gone too far. But she was so mad at him for always dragging her along in his attempts to make her mom feel better, and she was sick of it! "I don't want to hear another word out of you, Natalie-"
"Fine!" she screamed, getting out of the car and running inside.
She ran up to her bedroom and slammed the door, and fell onto her bed, seething. Her father did not come in to say anything or continue the fight, but she was still so angry.
Around eleven, she decided she was sick of it all. Why did she always have to do what her dad said? Why did everything always have to be about mom?
She wanted her dad to worry about her for a change. So without any planning, she grabbed her coat and quietly sneaked out the front door, just like she used to last year, and started running down the street in the pouring rain.
The night air was freezing- it was November. It was dark, and sort of creepy outside. She didn't have her phone, and she didn't want to go back to get it. Same with the car keys- she should have thought this through. Where would she go?
It only took her a minute to decide- Henry lived only about two miles away. She'd go there.
The house was dark when she arrived- she didn't know what time it was, but she'd gotten lost on the way do to the dark. She knew his mom went to bed early, so she didn't want to ring the doorbell.
Instead, she went around to the side of the house where she saw a light on in Henry's room.
She climbed up the tree next to the house and then stood on the slanting roof, which led right up to his window. She looked inside his room, and saw he was on facebook on his laptop. She tapped on the window, and then giggled when he jumped about five feet in the air.
He opened the window and let her in- she was shivering and her teeth were chattering.
"What's going on?" he asked her, concerned.
"My dad and I got into a fight, and I just ran off-"
"You ran here?"
"Yeah," she said. "It's not that far."
"It is in the cold and rain," he muttered.
"Can I stay?"
"Of course," he said. "Does your dad know you're here?"
"No. And I don't intend on telling him, either."
Henry looked at her with his eyebrows raised, but then shook his head and didn't respond.
"Do you want to take a shower or something and warm up?"
She thought about it- the hot water sounded good, but the bathroom was right next to Henry's mom's room. Turning the lights on and the shower would probably wake her up.
"Thanks, but I don't want to bother your mom. But, er, do you have something I could wear?"
"Oh, yeah," he said, and opened his dresser, giving her a sweatshirt and a pair of gym shorts.
"Thanks," she said. She was about to go change in the bathroom, but then realized that that would defeat the purpose of not showering- she'd probably wake his mom. So, she'd have to change here. "No peaking," she warned, but knew he probably would anyway.
She rolled her eyes, and changed, glad to have warm clothes to wear. She hung her wet clothes over his closet door, hoping they would dry by morning.
"Thanks for letting me stay," she said as they climbed into his bed.
"No problem," he said, wrapping his arms around her. "It's what I'm here for."
She smiled, and fell asleep. Henry idly thought about setting an alarm so that Natalie could be awake, dressed, and gone by the time his mom woke, but he didn't finish the thought before he fell asleep.
The doorbell awoke Henry the next morning. He turned over and looked to see the clock- it was only eight. What was wrong with whoever was at the door, coming at eight o'clock in the morning?
He rolled back over noting that Nat was still asleep, tossed an arm around her, and tried to fall back asleep.
He heard his mother's voice floating up the stairs, and it kept him from falling asleep.
"I don't think she's here. No one was here when I went to bed, I would have known, I didn't hear anyone come in..."
Oh shit.
"Nat wake up," Henry said, shaking her.
"No," she whispered, and tugged the blankets around her.
"Seriously- you have to get up. I think your dad's here."
"Shit!" she exclaimed, bolting out of bed. She ran over to where her clothes were hanging, and they were still cold and damp. Anxiously, she looked at the window and contemplated sneaking out that way, but she sighed. It wasn't worth it- he'd find her eventually, and she figured she'd get in less trouble if he knew she was somewhere safe than if she was somewhere dangerous. She'd wanted him to worry, but she didn't want to get in trouble! She was dead, running away would drive her dad crazy, and she would probably be grounded for the rest of her existence. She really, really didn't want to get caught.
Then they both heard feet coming up the stairs.
"Fuck," Henry swore under his breath.
"Henry?" his mom said through the door. "Mr. Goodman is here and we need to talk to you."
Henry looked at her as if to say, 'well, that's it! We're busted and you're dead.'
No I'm not, she thought, and grabbed her clothes from the top of his closet door, and shoved herself inside of it. Then she coughed, and reminded herself never to go into a boy's closet ever, ever again. It seemed like Henry put all of his dirty laundry and shoes in here unceremoniously.
"Come in," she heard Henry say. "Hey Mr. Goodman," he said. "What's going on?"
"Honey," his mom said, "Have you talked to Natalie recently?"
She hadn't gone over her plan with him, and so she silently begged for him to cover for her.
"Not since yesterday after school," he lied smoothly. She breathed out in relief. "Why?"
"Well, when I woke up this morning she wasn't home. Her bed was made and everything- I think she ran away last night. But she left her phone at home, which is strange," he said, sounding worried. Natalie's stomach clenched with guilt.
"Ran away?" Henry exclaimed, playing his part well and sounding concerned. "Why would she do that?"
"We... er... got into something of a fight," he said. Natalie's guilt left and she found herself angry again- there he was, covering up what was going on, saving face, making their problems sound like non-issues. Like always.
"You're sure you haven't heard from her?" Henry's mom asked, sounding very concerned. "I can't imagine where else she would go, since she's always here... Henry, who else would she go to?"
This time, he hesitated, and for good reason- if Natalie hadn't come to Henry's house, she would have nowhere else to go. It wasn't like she had a huge wealth of friends at school who she would feel comfortable enough with to crash at their houses. "I... I don't know," he said, sounding stressed.
"Oh, God," her dad said. "I feel horrible. This is all my fault- if we hadn't fought last night- no... no, this was long in coming. I deserve this... But I could have sworn she would be here."
Henry didn't respond. He started feeling awkward, stuck in his lie- if this was a real situation and Nat had really gone missing, he would offer to go look for her. But now, if he did that, it seemed like it was only a cheap lie. He knew where Nat was, and he didn't want to prolong Mr. Goodman's anxiety- he couldn't imagine how scared he was.
But if he lied and said he would go help find her, he could wait until his mom and Mr. Goodman left, sneak her out into his car, and drive her home...
But then she'd be stuck and would have to think of a story about where she was, which was very difficult indeed. And if she said she was anywhere other than Henry's house, she would get into even more trouble. Maybe it would be better to just...
"I already called her mom," Dan said. "She hasn't seen her. I'm so scared, because she didn't take her phone and the car is in the garage. She can't be too far, because she would have to have gone on foot, unless she called someone... unless she didn't plan on going anywhere, and someone..."
Henry shuttered, knowing what Dan was thinking.
"Did you look through her recent calls?" he suggested, knowing this was a completely unhelpful bit of information and feeling guilty about it.
Natalie made a face in the closet, pissed that Henry was suggesting her dad go through her phone. This was starting to majorly suck.
"No, I didn't," Dan said, and took her phone out of his pocket. "I brought it with me, I thought it might help... I don't know why I thought it would... It says she hasn't called anyone since she called you Thursday night," Dan said, sighing. He put his head in his hands. "I have no idea where to go from here."
"What can I do?" Henry said as Dan stood up.
"Stay here, I suppose, and keep your phone on in case she tries to call you from somewhere else... but for now, I don't think there's anything to do except go to the police. I didn't want to do that, because it seems like she's really missing," his voice broke on the last word, and Henry saw how hard it was for him to maintain control. He was terrified about losing Natalie, and it was hard to watch, especially knowing exactly where she was. His insides twisted with guilt. But he couldn't let him go to the police, not if he knew full well where she was!
Sorry, Nat, he thought.
He sighed, and stood up, going over to his closet and opening the door.
"C'mon out, Nat," he said. She gave him a look of absolute hatred, and he regretted his decision immediately. Would she ever speak to him again?
Both his mom and her dad were giving them both livid glares.
"Why did you lie, Henry?" his mom said, sounding curt and patient-less.
"Natalie!" her dad yelled, his face red. "Do you know what you put me through?"
"Yes," she jibed. "And you deserve it. It was kind of the whole point."
"I didn't want to rat her out," Henry said, trying to make it sound like it wasn't lying at all.
"But you did anyway," Natalie said, glaring at him.
"Don't be mad at him, Natalie," her dad said. "He did the right thing. Not that he should have lied in the first place-"
"Oh, fine, just side with him!" she yelled.
"I don't want to argue again," her dad said. "We're going home."
Natalie glared at Henry one more time, and his insides shrunk. "Thanks a whole lot," she spat out.
"Sorry," he said in a small voice, grimacing. She just rolled her eyes and looked away.
"Thank you," Dan said to Henry's mom. "I'm sorry to put you through this."
She smiled empathetically. Dan just shrugged and escorted Natalie out of the room.
Henry smiled innocently at his mom, hoping he wasn't going to get yelled at. Of course, he was wrong.
"Henry, why did you lie?" she said again.
"I told you! I didn't want to rat her out!"
"Fine- but why did you say she could stay here anyway? You must have thought about how scared her father would be-"
"I didn't, actually," Henry said. "She was really upset. They got into a huge fight or something- she didn't say much, but she ran here, mom, and she was freezing... and I didn't think. Wouldn't you rather she was here than somewhere else? She was not going to go home, she was too pissed for that. If I didn't let her stay, who knows where she would have gone?"
His mom sighed. "I guess you're right. But couldn't you have called her dad, or told me? That way he wouldn't have worried. Henry, you two can be so stupid sometimes."
"I know," he agreed. "It was dumb."
"Besides- I'm not exactly happy you had your girlfriend in your room all night," she said sternly.
"Mom!" he groaned. "Don't even go there."
She raised her eyebrows. "At least you did the right thing now. Just never do it again."
"I don't think she's ever going to speak to me again, so that won't be a problem," he said bitterly.
Natalie didn't speak to her dad the entire car ride home, and when she got out, she attempted to go inside and right up into her bedroom, but her dad stopped her.
"Not so fast. I need to talk to you."
She rolled her eyes. "Fine. What do you want?"
"I want to you know why you did that!" he exclaimed.
"I was pissed!" she said, pointing out the obvious.
"So you ran away?" he asked. "That was a stupid thing to do, Natalie. Do you know what could have happened to you-"
"At Henry's house?" she said sarcastically. "Yeah, I know. It's so frightening there. His mom might bake brownies at me or something horrible like that."
"Natalie, watch your mouth," he said. "I had no idea where you were."
"That was the point!"
"Don't you realize what a bad decision that was? What if I had to call the police?"
She shrugged, trying not to show that she saw his point and knew he was right for yelling at her.
"Whatever. I'm sorry."
"I'm just glad you're safe," he said, and dropped it.
Henry tried calling Natalie all day on Saturday and Sunday, but got no response. At school on Monday, she ignored him thoroughly, even in math class, when they had to sit next to each other. She just stared straight ahead at the board, ignoring the notes he tried passing her.
She must be really pissed, he thought.
After school, he cornered her by her locker.
"Nat, please just listen-"
"Look, Henry, stop it, ok?"
"Are we back to this?" he asked, noting how dumb this was.
She rolled her eyes.
"Just go away. You ratted me out! What do you expect?"
"I kept your dad from calling the police about where you were! We both know that if you got caught by the police, you'd be in a hell of a lot more trouble now. If he found you at my house, it wouldn't be as big of a deal as it would have been if he found you somewhere else."
"And we both know you only told him because you were sucking up and it makes you look better to have told the truth," she said cruelly.
"No," he argued. "But I know how much it sucks to think you're lost, think you're gone doing something stupid. Remember last year, Nat? Remember how you were high every night, and I had no idea where you were?" She averted her eyes. "You probably don't remember it as well as I do. But I know it sucks. And your dad was going through that, and I wouldn't wish it on anyone. How long are you grounded for, anyway?"
She shrugged. "He didn't say that I was."
Henry raised his eyebrows. "Seriously? You're pissed at me, and your dad didn't even ground you?"
"Henry," Natalie whined. "Please shut up."
"Fine," he said, walking away.
She sighed, regretting how mean she had been already. She knew he'd only been trying to do the right thing, and he was right- she wasn't even in that much trouble. If the police had caught her, or if she'd had to make up another story other than being at Henry's house, she'd be in so much more shit right now.
"Henry, wait!" she called.
He turned, eyebrows raised.
"Do you want a ride home?"
He smiled a half-smile. "Sure."
"No problem."
Thanks for reading everyone! Love to hear your thoughts!