Get Out If You Can

One Year Ago

Caitlyn Tejada watched from the corner of the passageway as her sister left her room.

She shut the door behind her. Caitlyn waited till she heard the sound of the door inserting itself in its frame with a gentle, metallic click.

Her sister reached into her pocket, pulled out a little compact mirror, and added some finishing touches to her makeup. Caitlyn sighed. She wished she could pull the stuff out of her hands. She wished she could get her to be reasonable. She wished for the truth.

But she knew, if she made so much as a move to try, she'd be at a total loss. Her mother had warned her yesterday. Yeah, 'warned' is definitely the right word to use. Her mother had described their little chat as something like a 'coming home' talk to her grandmother, but Caitlyn knew the tone she'd taken.

It screamed 'don't be an embarrassment. Not again.'

That wasn't even what bugged her. What really did bug her was the way her sister sat beside her, nodding and smiling at whatever her mother said. After she knew Caitlyn was right. After she knew Caitlyn had been sent to that place for no reason.

After she knew she was the reason.

Caitlyn's fingers gripped the edge of the wall she was hiding behind. Her palms were already sweaty — and she hadn't even started her work yet. It had been one thing to get out of her room without her parents noticing, and it would be a grand load of another to get into her sister's room and log in to her computer without anyone in the family noticing. Caitlyn just hoped nobody had put some sort of hidden laser detectors at the entrance. However, given how her family had been acting, she wouldn't put it past them. She wouldn't put anything past them.

She watched as Kari pulled out her phone, checked the time, then stuffed the device back into her handbag. She smoothed her black cocktail dress and left in a moment.

Caitlyn shut her eyes and squeezed them hard. She just hoped for it not to happen again. If it did, though, there'd be no denying that she'd been right all along. Her parents, sister, her entire family — would have no excuse.

But Caitlyn thought it was simply downright evil to wish for someone else's hurt just to prove yourself right.

She listened to the gentle staccato of Kari's heels on the staircase. When the occasion tap-tapping got softer, and finally disappeared, she came out of her hiding place.

The surveillance cameras her parents had installed — or, at least, those that they said they'd installed — pricked her back like thousands of little needles. She felt cold beads of sweat perspire on her forehead, and a funny, cool flame blazing in her throat. She glanced around, and when she was convinced that no one was around, she slipped into her sister's room, silently shutting the door behind her.

Once she was sure no one was after her, she took off her slippers. Her feet met the soft carpet that lined the floor of Kari's room. Kari's room was, in many ways, prettier than Caitlyn's. Caitlyn's was medium-sized, and had the things you'd usually have: a desk, a bed, some chairs — that sort of thing. Kari's had a huge balcony at one end, separated from the rest of the room by a glass panel that stretched from the ceiling to the floor. Sunlight filtered through the mustard curtains, lighting the furniture in mellow orange.

Caitlyn's eyes moved to the bed. Great. Kari's laptop was right there.

Fingers clasped tightly over the pendrive in the pocket of her shorts, she tiptoed across the carpet to the bed.

Just brilliant. Kari'd left her laptop on.

Caitlyn climbed on the bed and set it on her lap. She clicked on the Finder application in the Dock.

She scrolled in her sister's Documents. There was nothing apart from school work. But she was sure her laptop held something she wasn't supposed to have. Otherwise, her sister wouldn't have had to lock it in her bag every time she was out of the house. She'd started doing it only recently — before Caitlyn left, that is. Prior to one particular day, she'd been as careless with her stuff as she'd been with her life. She just didn't see a reason to care.

Caitlyn scrolled up. Caitlyn scrolled down. She found nothing other than boring reports on the efficacy of cell organelles. Basically Latin shit.

And then two things happened at the same time.

Caitlyn's heart froze in her chest as she saw the folder she'd come all this way for. It froze even more when she heard the doorknob of the room click.

Her lungs forgot how to breathe. She scooped the laptop under her arm and ran straight ahead, just as she heard the contraptions of the doorknob clicking more.

For the first time in her life, she was glad Kari didn't bother to shut her closet door. Caitlyn hoped she hadn't made too much of a racket when she shut the door closed, because she knew she slammed it pretty damn hard.

She heard the door open. Heat built up in her chest as she heard the carpet muffle someone's footsteps.

If they caught her — she'd be trucked off to that place again. She'd be gone yet another time. She'd get the pass she needed for the train to Hell.

Might as well make the most of her time here. She lifted up a knee — thank God the closet was huge — and propped the laptop on it. Struggling between balancing and trying not to make too much noise, she somehow managed to navigate to the folder she needed. It was titled 'homework', but when she clicked on it, she found nothing related to homework. She found audio files.

She slipped the pendrive in the USB slot and waited for the computer to recognize its presence.

Thump.

Her eyes shot open as the pendrive icon showed up. She clicked on the folder and dragged it to the pendrive, wobbling precariously.

Thump.

She waited for the copying process to finish.

Creak.

The last of the file transferred to her pendrive. She ejected the pendrive as slowly as her trembling fingers allowed.

Creeeak.

She shut her eyes. Here it is, her exposition. She'd been caught. But at least the first step of her mission was complete.

She waited for the sunlight to stream into her eyes. She waited for the yell to come.

But it didn't.

She felt blood rush back into her veins, and her heart pumped triumphantly in her chest as the footsteps receded and the door shut behind them.

Mission accomplished.