Five! Wah! My life is so lacking in entertainment! Plus it's only 5:47 PM and it's pitch black outside TT_ TT Oh, well. I love writing this, so it's no big deal. Anyway, on with the story! SQUEE! I LOVE THIS ONE *ᴥ* Please enjoy and stuff.
Chapter Fourteen
Fang
I'd grabbed everything I might need and laid it out on my desk. I'd always had a little bag of things, just in case I had to make a quick middle-of-the-night escape. I'd never had to. Until now, that is.
I had a pen and paper on the desk, too. I'd planned to write a little note, just like I always did (I'd done this way too often for it to be healthy). But suddenly, just before I'd started to write, something inside me just felt wrong. Something said to me that this was no way to thank the people who had housed you for almost three years. So I made a decision.
I'd face the Neills and tell them I was leaving. For real.
It was about mid-day. I figured that gave me enough time to get at least half-way back to my old place in Colorado. It was Saturday, so Allison was at home, as well as Mrs. Neill. I slung my bag over my shoulder and headed down the stairs to the kitchen, where Allison and her mother were eating lunch.
Or so I thought. Instead, the two women were standing in the middle of the room, staring at me as I walked through the doorway. They were smiling, but it didn't touch their eyes. It only made me feel worse about what I was about to do.
"Nick," Allison's mother said, arms extended. She took a few steps toward me, and I reluctantly allowed her to wrap me in a motherly embrace. Which wasn't all that bad. I'm just not into the whole hugging concept.
Allison was next to step toward me. She didn't hug me, though. Just held my shoulders and stared straight into my eyes.
"You're really gonna do it, huh?" she said. I sighed, closing my eyes. They weren't making this any easier.
"I have to," I reminded her. She nodded and turned, rejoining her mother.
"Nick, you know we hate to see you go," Mrs. Neill said. I nodded.
"I know," I agreed. "I hate to go."
"But we understand that you have to go and make something of yourself, since you were never given that opportunity." She reached behind her and pulled something out of her pocket. She stepped toward me again, took my hand, and dropped a tiny black form in it. I stared stupidly at the object, unsure what to make of it. I'd never had one. I didn't think I'd even seen one. And now someone had dropped one in my hand. I looked back up at Mrs. Neill for help.
"It's a phone," she explained, though I already knew that. "We were hoping to give it to you for your birthday in a couple months, but when Allison told me that were planning on leaving, we couldn't wait." She beamed widely at me and I sort-of-half-smiled back.
"Thanks," I said. Allison stepped forward again, and this time, she did hug me. I'm not sure if it was because she wanted to, or just so she could whisper in my ear.
"I got one of the tech nerds at school to program it so that it can't be tracked," she breathed. "For a small fee. Please use it."
She stepped back, gave me a pleading look, and stepped back toward the island. I could tell by her tone and expression that the fee was a lot more than small. I just hoped that the payment had consisted of money and not her body.
"You guys have been so great to me for the past three years. Really. And I couldn't ask for a better family to take care of me when I needed it," I said. Mrs. Neill wiped her eyes with her finger. "But I've accepted your hospitality for far too long already. I have to fulfill my purpose. I won't promise I'll be back, but I will try if possible."
Mrs. Neill was frowning, but Allison smiled, knowing this was the closest thing to a guarantee she was going to get from me. I slipped the little phone in my bag and headed for the door. The Neills followed closely on my heels. I stood on the driveway and glanced up and down the street. There was no one in sight.
"Thanks again, Mrs. Neill," I repeated. "And it was really nice going to school with you, Allison. But now…" I shrugged and let my wings unfold for the first time in way too long. "I gotta fly."
I winked at Allison, jumped a bit, and took off into the sky. God, it felt good to be flying again. I could just imagine the looks of shock on Allison and Mrs. Neill's faces. That thought brought me all the way to the edge of Colorado when I realized that it was dark out and I should land for the night. It was a good plan, and ordinarily I would have obeyed my thoughts. But something made me keep going. I couldn't explain it very easily. It was like a string was attached to my body and it pulled me forward. It was like my instinctual sense of direction almost, only more forceful.
I was so driven by the force that I didn't realize until I almost ran straight into it that I'd reached the house where I'd lived, still secluded in the middle of nowhere, just the way Max liked it.
And I was right in front of her bedroom window.
I jiggled it silently until the latch gave and I slipped in as quietly as I could.