Endless Night Part 21

"In Evelyn's room. Same as my clothes and stuff."

"Wow. It had your name?"

"It had the whole shebang. My brand new driver's license was in it. So if they got their hands on my purse, they know right where to find me."

"Oh, man."

"It's all right. Dad knows."

"That doesn't make it all right."

"You don't know Dad."

Andy shook his head. His face was very red.

"Calm down," Jody told him. "They won't get me."

"How do you know?"

"I know."

"Oh, G.o.d, I don't like it. They're gonna come after you, I know it. And I'm not gonna be around to... I've been to Phoenix. Do you know how far away it is?"

"It's not all that far."

"It's like eight hours on the freeway."

"It isn't that far."

"Oh, no? I don't want to be in Phoenix when they come after you."

"I told you, everything will be all right. My dad can handle them."

"He's just one guy."

"Yeah. But he's Kong Fargo. Besides, he's got the whole LAPD with him. They're probably just hoping those creeps will make a move."

"I've gotta be here when they do."

"No you don't." She turned Andy around by his shoulders and eased him backward. He hopped on his good foot, then dropped to the mattress. Jody picked up the shorts and tossed them onto his lap. "Put these on. I'll throw your jeans in the wash so they'll be good and clean before you leave."

"I'm not leaving."

"You have to, Andy." She turned her back to him. "Off with them."

"Don't peek."

"Why would I?"

He didn't answer. Jody heard the zipper slide down, then a soft sound of rumpling denim.

"Maybe you could hide me," he said.

"I'm not going to hide you. You'll be a lot better off in Phoenix."

"Why? If it's safe here like you said."

"It might not be that safe."

"See? See what I mean?"

She heard another zipper. "Have you got the shorts on?"

"Yes." She turned around. His legs were bare below the cuffs of the blue shorts. The right knee was wrapped with an Ace bandage, but both legs had their share of bandages, bruises and scratches.

"Nice gams," she said.

"Huh?"

"Gams. Gams are legs."

Andy's eyes lowered to her gams.

"Let's get done in here," she said. "See if the shoes fit."

"See if the foo s.h.i.ts." Andy grinned. Then his mouth shook and twisted, his face went red, and his eyes flooded.

If the foo s.h.i.ts, wear it.

One of Evelyn's favorite sayings.

Andy hunched over his knees and hid his face behind both hands. His shoulders jumped as he sobbed.

Jody sat beside him and rubbed his back. She felt bandages through the shirt. She stopped rubbing, and kept her hand on a place that didn't have a bandage underneath. She drew circles there with her fingernail, hoping to distract him so he would quit. If he didn't stop soon, she would start bawling, and she didn't want that.

"Hey, come on," she said after a while.

"I'm sorry. "

"Here. I'll help." She picked up the socks. When she knelt on the floor in front of him, Andy sat up straight. He stopped looking tortured, and looked puzzled, curious.

Jody drew his right foot slowly toward her. She rested its bandaged heel on her thigh, just below a bandage of her own, and began to work one of the socks over his toes. "Whew."

"Ha ha." He sniffed. "Jody?"

"Huh?"

"How are we gonna see each other again?" He sniffed again. He wiped his eyes with the back of his hand. Jody finished with the first sock and eased his foot away. "I mean it. I don't think they mean to just keep me for a week, or something. I'll be living there." She lifted his other foot onto her thigh. "It'll be ... like permanent. It's not like a vacation or something."

"I know."

"What if we never see each other again?"

She pulled the second sock over his foot and up his ankle. "Then you can keep my clothes."

"I mean it."

From the sound of his voice, Jody suspected he was about to resume crying. "We'll get together again. You can count on it. You and I are ... I don't know ... tied together. Because of last night, you know? We'll always be like that, no matter how far apart we are. No matter what."

"Really?"

"You bet."

"But when'll we get together?"

Jody shrugged. "I don't know. But we've got all summer before school starts, and you're only gonna be a day's drive away. We'll work out something."

"If they let me come, can I stay here?"

"Sure."

"Don't you have to ask your dad?"

"I know what he'll say. He'll say you can stay here any time you want. That's what we've got the guest room for."

He let out a long, heavy sigh. "I want to stay here right now."

"I wish you could."

He looked doubtful. "Really?"

"Of course, really."

"Then help me hide."

"Hey."

"Why not? I can hide in your attic, or something. You can tell them I ran away."

Jody shook her head. She cupped Andy's unhurt knee with her hand. "Hey. No. For one thing, if you go and pull a disappearing act, everyone'll think the creeps from last night got their hands on you."

"Not if you tell them I ran away."

"It won't work, Andy."

"Sure it'll work."

"No, it won't. I'd have to lie."

"So ?"

"I'm not going to."

"Why not?"

"I'd have to lie to Dad. I won't do it. And you shouldn't even be asking me to do something like that."

He stared at her. He looked confused, betrayed. "I thought you wished I could stay. Isn't that what you said?"

"Yeah. And it's true. I'd like it very much. But there are right ways and wrong ways to do things. I might want to-I don't know-maybe spend a week at Disney World, you know? But I wouldn't rob a bank to do it."

Now, he was scowling. "n.o.body's asking you to rob a bank. Cripes! All it'd take is a little fib. I'd tell a fib for you, you know."

She let go of his knee and stood up. "It'd never work anyway, so forget it. Even if I did lie-and I won't-you're crazy if you think your uncle's gonna drive all the way out here and then just turn around and drive home without you. Just forget it. It's not gonna happen."

"You probably want me to go away with him."

"I do not."

"Yeah, sure."

"Just shut up and try on the shoes, okay?"

"Who wants your stupid old shoes, anyway?"

Jody kicked her right foot high and flicked off her moccasin. It jumped at Andy fast, tumbling, and its soft leather sole smacked his forehead. The moccasin dropped to his lap. He gaped at Jody.

"Why'd you do that?"

"Felt like it."

"Well..."

She kicked her other moccasin at him. His hand swiped through the air and caught it in front of his face.

"Jody!"

"Ta ta for now," she said, grabbed his jeans off the floor, and hurried from the room.

Chapter Sixteen.

Jody entered the garage through its rear door off the hallway, and tossed Andy's jeans into the washer. She dumped some detergent in, started the machine, then returned to the corridor.