Gone (Parallel Trilogy, Book 1) (20 page)

“Wow. You must really like it.”

“Of course. Don’t you?”

Should I admit that I actually hated to run or should I pretend that I loved it as much as he did? “Uh, well, to be perfectly honest, running’s not my favorite activity.”

He laughed. “Then why did you choose the track team?”

Plainly, I’d made the wrong choice in my answer. What was I supposed to say now? That I had only decided to join because
he
was on the team? That was
not
going to happen. “Well,” I stammered. “Actually, Lori said they needed someone for the relay team and asked me if I’d do it.” I laughed. “For some crazy reason, I said yes.”

“Lori, huh? Why’d you do her any favors? She doesn’t seem to like you much.”

“Oh, you noticed.”

“Yeah. Seriously though. Why do you think she hates you? I mean, you just barely moved here.”

In a way, I wanted to tell him the truth; that she was jealous because he was paying attention to me. But I knew I could never admit to that because that would either A) scare him away, or B) make him think I was some kind of freak for thinking he liked me when he didn’t. “I don’t know why she hates me,” I said instead. “Do you have any idea? You seem to know her better than I do.”

He laughed. “I think she just likes to have someone to hate. You’re just a convenient target.”

“Lucky me,” I muttered.

“Hey,” Connor said. “I was thinking of getting some more ingredients for you so that you could make me another batch of your delicious cookies.”

Suddenly I had a sinking feeling that Connor was only being nice to me because I was like his drug dealer. Only his drug of choice was homemade cookies. “Sure,” I quickly answered, because I didn’t have enough self-respect to turn down any chance to have his attention.

“Cool.”

A few minutes later we pulled up to my house and I climbed out of the car.

“I might come by tonight to drop the stuff off,” he asked. “Is that okay?”

“Yeah. I should be home.” I shut the door, then added in my mind,
I have nothing better to do than wait around for you to stop by for thirty seconds to drop off some sugar and chocolate chips.
I waved as Connor backed out of my driveway, then I went into the house and got started on my homework. Pathetically, I wanted to make sure it was done before Connor came over so I would have time to make the cookies that night.

Half-way through one particularly difficult math problem, I asked myself why I was trying so hard on the assignment and decided my time would be better spent preparing for the soon-to-arrive day of my departure. I took out a blank sheet of paper and made a list of the items I thought I should bring.

Map

GPS device

Flashlight, maybe two—
don’t want to get stuck in dark tunnel
!

Water

Food

Warm jacket, scarf, gloves—it will be November

I reread my list and thought I had remembered everything. Then I pictured arriving back in the hut and how the tree had fallen on the door, which was why I’d had to leave through the tunnel in the first place, and knew I needed to have a way to get out of the damaged structure. I picked up my pen and wrote down one more item.

A tool to use to get out of the hut.

Satisfied that I had thought of everything, I decided to gather what I could and stash the items in my room somewhere. First, I went out to the garage to look through Dad’s tools. I wasn’t sure what tool would be 1) good to use to get out of the hut and, 2) small enough to carry on my journey.

As I was about to begin my search I heard Goldie scratching at the garage door and let her in. Happy to have the company, I gave her a hug and enjoyed the feeling of her unconditional love. She didn’t care what size my body was; she just wanted to be with me.

“I need to look for a tool,” I told her. She panted happily, her tail wagging.

I dug around in Dad’s stuff, choosing one item before discarding it, then another, until finally I decided on a sturdy-looking ax. It would make my backpack heavier, but it was crucial that I get out of that hut once I followed the tunnel back to the cellar.

With Goldie following me, I carried the ax up to my room and hid it under my mattress. As I thought about what Mom’s reaction would be if she found it hidden in my room, I laughed, which made Goldie bark.

“She’ll think I’ve gone insane,” I said to Goldie. “Or do you think it’s normal for a teenage girl to hide an ax under her mattress?”

Next, I went into Mom’s closet to see if she stored any flashlights there like my mom and dad in the other world did. Standing on my tiptoes, I looked on the shelves and was happy to see several flashlights of varying sizes. I took them all down and set them on the floor, then turned on each one to see which ones were working and had the brightest light. One didn’t even have any batteries in it, but two of them seemed to work well. I put all but those two back on the shelf, then took the two that I had selected back to my room.

I looked around and wondered where I could put them. They didn’t necessarily need to be hidden, but I wanted to keep all of my supplies together and some of the items, like the food and water, would bring unwanted questions from Amy or Mom.

Then it occurred to me that I could put everything in a pillowcase and then put it in the garage. In my other world, the garage had always been Dad’s domain, so I figured that was true here too. If I stashed my supplies in a cabinet in the garage, the chances of someone finding them would be slim.

Feeling good about my plans, I went into the kitchen to see what food I could take for my journey. As I looked through our half-empty pantry I felt guilty even considering taking any food, but knew I would need something. I noticed a box of the power bars everyone seemed to like so much and I picked it up, wondering if I should take a few. I read the front of the package with interest.

Now available in three additional flavors! Seventy-five calories and all the nutrition you need! Includes a federally-approved appetite suppressant!

If all of the promises were true, and it included an appetite suppressant, no wonder so many kids at school ate them for lunch. I decided to try one to see if they tasted any good. I took one out of the box and unwrapped it, then took a small bite. The flavor was actually pretty good, but I wondered what was in it. Like, was it really safe? I ate the whole thing and figured unless I ate them by the pallet-f, I should be fine.

In any case, they would be a good thing to bring on my journey back to my world. But was I willing to take food from Mom’s pantry when she had so little? Then I remembered the twenty dollars I’d taken from the Candee’s (what kind of person was I becoming that I just helped myself to the belongings of others?), and decided I should use it to buy extra batteries for the flashlights, as well as water and some of these power bars.

Feeling better about my options, I closed the cupboard and went upstairs to the linen closet and found a king-size pillowcase. I put the flashlights inside as well as the ax, then carried the bundle downstairs and out to the garage. I looked inside the cabinets and found one where Dad had put some extra cans of paint. Stuffing the pillowcase behind the cans, I made sure it was somewhat hidden, then closed the cabinet.

I went back into the house just as Amy and the boys got home. Now that I’d begun making preparations to leave, and not knowing for sure how my journey would end, I suddenly felt a desire to spend time with my siblings. What if I went through the tunnel and when I reached the hut I was in a different world altogether? A world where my family didn’t even exist?

The thought made my heart ache. I so much wanted to get back to the world I was used to, but was I willing to take the risk?

“Hi, Morgan,” Brandon said.

“Hi, buddy.” I smiled at him, noticing for the first time in a long time what a sweet face he had. “Hey, how about I help you with your homework so Mom doesn’t have to tonight?”

“I don’t want to do my homework,” he said, a look of unhappiness on that sweet face.

“I know. That’s how I feel about my homework too. But you know what?”

“What?”

“If you get it over with right after school, then you have more time for fun stuff the rest of the day.”

“I guess,” he said, though obviously still not liking the idea.

A few minutes later I had him and Zac sitting at the table working through their assignments.

Needless to say, when Mom came home and the boys announced that they had already finished their homework, she was thrilled.

When we sat down to dinner I made an extra effort to be engaged in the conversations, feeling a new appreciation for my family. I also noticed I wasn’t as hungry as I usually was and wondered if that was due to the appetite suppressant in the power bar.

Later that evening when the doorbell rang, I rushed to answer it before any of my younger siblings could get to the door. The only downside to that was how anxious I must have appeared to Connor.

“Hi, Morgan.”

I smiled at him and tried to act casual, not like I had been waiting all evening for him to stop by, which I had been. “Hi. Do you want to come in?”

“Sure.”

Kind of surprised that he did, I opened the door wider. He walked into the living room to the gawking stares of the rest of the family. Reluctantly, I introduced him to everyone. Mom was nice enough to take the kids upstairs so we wouldn’t have to visit under their curious gazes.

“You can put the groceries on the counter.”  I pointed toward the kitchen and then watched as he set the bag he’d been holding on the counter. Then he turned toward me.

“I really appreciate you doing this for me, Morgan.”

Even though I felt slightly used, my heart warmed under his attention. “I like to bake, so it’s no big deal.”

“Even so, I want you to know that it’s nice of you.”

“Do you want to sit down?”

“I wish I could stay, but I didn’t get all my homework done.”

I nodded, hiding my disappointment. “Okay. Well, I guess I’ll see you at school tomorrow.”

After he left, I immediately started making the cookies. Even though it felt like he only liked me for my baking services, I made the cookies anyway. But then I thought about our almost-kiss and wondered whether he had briefly lost his mind or if perhaps he actually did like me for more than what I could do in the kitchen. I popped a cookie in my mouth and smiled, thinking about Connor’s comment that every time he ate one of my cookies, he thought about me.

The next day at school Connor sought me out, which pleased me immensely.

“I have something for you,” I said, a secret smile on my face.

“I was hoping you would.”

Being as discreet as possible, I handed over the cookies and he stashed them in his backpack.

“You’re the best, Morgan.”

The sound of my name in his mouth made my heart skip a beat, although the message he was sending frustrated me. “I think you’re just using me for my ability to bake cookies.” He looked as surprised by my comment as I felt. I hadn’t meant to say that out loud, but once the words were out, I was glad I had said them.

“Is that what you think?” To my pleasure, he actually looked dismayed.

“Well, kind of. Yeah.”

“Wow. I’m really sorry that I came across that way.” He paused. “Let me make it up to you. I have to work tonight, but tomorrow’s Saturday. Let’s hang out.”

Was he actually asking me on a date? “Okay. I think I can fit you in.”

He grinned. “Cool. I’ll come by your house after work, about four o’clock. I’ll have something fun planned.”

“Okay.”

“Hey. What’s your cell number?”

“I, uh, I don’t have a cell phone.”

“Oh.”

I hoped he didn’t think I was a complete loser.

“That’s cool.” Then he reached into his backpack and took out a scrap of paper and wrote something on it. “Here’s my number.” He held it out. “You know. Just in case.”

I took it from him, grateful he hadn’t cancelled our date then and there. “Thanks.”

“See you later, Morgan.”

His smile made me forget my lack of a cell phone and I smiled back, thrilled to have his attention focused solely on me. I headed toward class and found myself actually looking forward to talking to Lori, now that I had some news to share.

Chapter Twenty-Four

When I slid into the seat next to Lori, I couldn’t hide the happiness I felt and knew Lori would see it too. Feeling her gaze on me, I ignored her and pulled out my notebook, slowly turning to a blank page. Out of the corner of my eye I could see her turned in my direction. I set my pencil down next to my notebook and glanced at her, but didn’t say anything.

As I thought about how much fun I was going to have with Connor on our date, I couldn’t keep the grin off of my face. 

“What’s going on, Morgan?”

I suddenly wondered if I should tell her about my date. “I’m just happy about something,” I said.

“What is it?”

Surprised that she was having a civil conversation with me, I almost didn’t say anything. But then I thought about how she so deliberately interrupted the day before when Connor was about to kiss me and then how she made me leave with her to go to the locker room and all worry about her feelings fled.

“I can’t tell you. It’s kind of private.” As I waited for her to respond, I saw her face redden.

“It’s about Connor, isn’t it?” Her face seemed to twist with jealousy.

A warning bell went off in my head, but I ignored it, too excited about my news to listen to my internal caution. “As a matter of fact it is.” I paused dramatically. “He’s taking me on a date tomorrow.”

Lori’s eyes seemed to flash for a moment, but then she became very calm. “Well, I hope you have a good time.”

“Thank you.” I was glad she hadn’t gotten upset.

There was no track practice that afternoon and I didn’t see Connor again until school got out. This time Anne drove home with us and when we got to my house and I climbed out of the car, Connor grinned at me.