Lethal Weapons

Chapter 4

“They're here, Riley!” Mom yells through the house. Leo and I get up from sitting at my desk going over everything we packed. He had insisted since he didn’t pack for camping that we go shopping for a few essentials that we didn’t have at the house. The doorbell rings and I hear mom and Lisa greeting people as they come inside.

I lead the way down the hallway to meet my friends. “Hey!” Jen says, catching everyone's attention to Leo and me.

“Hi.” Jen comes up to hug me. I see all my friends talking with my mom who is talking about remembering seatbelts, but the one person I'm looking for is staring right at me. He smiles at me, making me smile back.

Jen pulls back and then says, “Oh, wow, this is Leo! Hi Leo, it's so good to see you again! Glad you're coming along with us.”

“So am I. this is going to be a fun time.” He says.

“Well we better start putting all of our things in the truck. Let's go.” Ginger says. We all walk out onto the front porch and then to the van and Leo's truck. Leo has a nice big truck, the kind with a backseat behind the driver and passenger seat. Sean opens the van door and everyone starts taking their own luggage and tossing it to Leo and Ginger who are making sure the bags are secure.

After Link hands his luggage to Ginger, he walks over to me. “You have a nice house.” He says. I laugh and look down to the ground.

“So…” Link and I hear behind us. Oh goody, it's dad. “Riley I do believe you haven’t introduced me to this young fella here.” Dad says almost too coolly.

“Oh, right. Um, dad, this is Link Lamond. He's-”

“The foreign exchange student.” Dad stares right into Link's eyes, boring into them like razors.

“Well I was going to say Frank's nephew, remember Frank? He's the super nice guy in town that owns the sub shop?”

“The foreign exchange student from Scotland. That's quite a ways away, isn't it?”

“Yes sir, it is.” Link says.

“Son,” dad slaps a hand down on Link's left shoulder, “you see that man over there?” He points to Leo.

“Yes, sir.” Link watches Leo set down Claudia's bag. His muscles are plainly displayed with picking up the truck load of stuff Claudia would bring.

“If you so much as think about doing my daughter any harm, he'll be the one that makes your casket closed at your funeral because no one will want to see the damage that has been done. You understand?”

“I couldn’t understand more, sir. I understand, sir.” Dad laughs and pats Link's arm again.

Then, his face is serious. “Do me a favor, son, stop calling me sir. It makes me feel old.”

“Right, Mr. Worthington.”

Dad walks off and sits down on one of the front porch rockers next to Leo's dad, a shotgun in between them. It’s a shame Link doesn’t know they are going to the shooting range after we leave. Link is probably terrified.

“Don’t pay any attention to my dad. He's just being protective and putting down the solid line of rules.” I say. Link laughs and then waves at my dad, my dad waving back.

“Naw, I like him. I appreciate what he just did. If he didn’t just do that I would have been disappointed with him about his love and care of you.” We laugh right as Leo and Ginger hop down from the back. Leo pops the hatch on and we then say goodbye to my parents and Leo's parents. Time to get the show on the road!

“Hey Link, how would you like to ride with me?” Leo asks.

“Sure, I'll be right there.” Link says. Leo gets in and closes the driver's side door, waiting for Link and Ginger's van to get a move on. Link turns to me and has a funny look on his face.

“What?” I ask.

“I am more afraid of him. I really believe he'd kill me.”

I laugh so hard that my side hurts. Leo would never do that! He might beat him up if Link ever hurt me, which I don't think Link would, but he wouldn’t kill him. “I wouldn’t be afraid of him. Actually, if you like me you might like him- as a friend. We are a lot alike.”

“Alright. Have your phone with you, I'll text you.”

“Ok.” I say with a smile. I turn away from him, as much as I don't want to, and I am the last one into the van. There is no Sean to close the door after me so I lean out of the van once I am standing in the body to close it. But before I do, I get a good look at my home.

The last memory of my childhood home before the enemy came. My mother's flowers in the front she loved so much. My dad's antenna on the house from his hobby of CB radio. My car in the driveway, the one I could not drive because I failed the test every time I went to take it. My dad sitting on the front porch, clueless as to what was going to happen in just a couple of days.

I close my eyes as Phil still holds on to me. Tears fall down my cheeks. A chill runs up my spine, making bumps rise and the hair on the back of my neck stand tall. Memories of my childhood running up to my father and picking me up into his arms fly into my mind. I remember the last time I saw him, after the enemy came. I was so frightened. He was so frightened. I was scared of his safety, my safety, if I was ever going to see him again.

Phil's sobbing makes my eyes open. “Phil…” I mutter. He pays no mind to it. I keep looking down at the lake; the sun has risen over the mountains now, shining on the still water. But that is not what I stare at. The trucks file around the lake in perfect arrangement, almost as if it were a car dealership. They pile up in lines, leaving a perfect amount of space in between them.

“Phil.” I say more serious.

All too quickly, everything happens in a blur. A stick breaks behind us. Phil seems to have gotten up from where he was sitting next to me, ready with a knife. I stay where I sit. I am in too much shock to move.

“I'm back.”