The Don's Puppet

CHAPTER 2. THE RUNAWAYS.

I couldn’t sleep.

My heart felt like it had been lit on fire with bits of pins poking at my intestines. It had to be a product of my imagination, but I couldn’t take any chances.

Whoever had called knew who we were and maybe even where we were, he sounded confident. Almost like he was trying to tell me not to bother trying to leave, he’d find us. But I was stubborn, so the moment the clock struck six, I rushed out to get some supplies.

I was back within twenty minutes, carrying a bag of hair dye, sunglasses and snacks from the vending machine in the reception lobby.

“Alice.” I tugged at the blanket wrapped around her body, urging her to get up. I tried to keep my voice leveled, so she wouldn’t suspect a thing but what exactly was I going to tell her? “We need to leave.”

She stirred, her eyes barely open, trying to focus on the four corners of the room, “It wasn’t a dream?” She sighed in defeat.

“Ally, get up.” I yelled.

She jumped, confused at my sudden aggression. “What is it? Where are we going?” She asked, watching me pack our belongings. Her eyes landed on the heap of hair products I had scattered unto the dressing table. “What’s that for?”

“Listen to me,” I pleaded, pulling her into the bathroom so I could get started on her hair. “We need to get out of here, start somewhere new.”

She blinked, staring at me like I had totally lost it. “What about school? What about my friends?”

“You’ll make new friends.” I reached for her hand but she pulled away.

“I’m not leaving, Alex.”

“Please Alice, don’t be difficult. We need to go.” I reached for her again, she took several steps back.

She shook her head violently, refusing to look me in the eye. “What have you done now, Alex? What’s going on?”

Ouch. You get arrested one time and suddenly, you’re a bad person.

“I’m going to ignore that because you’re obviously going through a lot, but I really need you to listen to me right now.” I mixed a bunch of chemicals into a bowl and placed it on the sink, “I think it’ll do us both some good if we left this place, it’s f*****g depressing here.”

“What about Max?” She was starting to hyperventilate.

“Who’s that?”

“My boyfriend.” Her face fell, her eyes filling with tears.

I paused, a lot of thoughts running through my head. I couldn’t tell her the real reason we were leaving, but I needed to find something solid enough to make her not want to stay. “Forget him, you’ll meet new boys.”

“Don’t you get it, Alex? I don’t want to meet new people, I like the ones here.”

I sighed, knowing my next words would shut her up. “Something’s happened, Alice.” Her shoulders dropped in defeat, I stared painfully at my little sister as I broke her heart into a thousand pieces. I would not have resulted to this if I didn’t think it was serious. “I need you to trust me, alright?”

She stood in silence for a while, a drop of tears making its way down her left cheek. “Fine, but I’m not changing the color of my hair.”

That was fair. As much as I felt we were in danger, that was a decision I could probably work with.

By past seven, we were out the door and headed for the bus station. We ended up staying blonde, but it was now covered with a hoodie and paired with dark shades to match.

“I still think you did something.” Alice whispered, getting unto the bus. I ignored her, following close behind, looking around to survey our surroundings.

Once we took our seats, I relaxed a little. I didn’t think we’d make it this far without someone recognizing us. So maybe the call yesterday was just a prank, but why did I feel so uneasy?

My phone buzzed, I pulled it out of my pocket to see what it was this time. Two words, written in capital letters, stared back at me from the glowing screen; GOING SOMWHERE?

My heart caught in my throat. I looked out the window of the moving vehicle to check if there was any car in sight, there was none. The road was clear, as expected on a Saturday morning.

WHO IS THIS?

I clicked send, my heart thumping in my chest. I watched my little sister as she opened a bag of chips, finally coming to terms with us skipping town. She beamed each time she threw a piece of chip into her mouth, without a care in the world.

LOOK UP!

The response came as a shock, sending shivers down my spine. I took in a deep breath, said a silent prayer, then raised my head.