I couldn't believe this was happening.
I told myself that it couldn't be happening. I tried to calm my pounding heart and steady my trembling hands as I dumped thick bricks of white powder and baggies of hard white rocks into the hollowed-out space that Shard had made underneath the floor earlier that evening.
"Hurry up, Kyla," he coached, thrusting products at me faster than I could receive them. "Hurry up." he repeated "I'm going as fast as I can," I said.
The insistent sound of wailing sirens were steadily approaching. My hands automatically moved three times faster, energized by the terrifying thought of possibly losing my freedom. I glanced up at Shard and saw uncertainty but no fear. I never saw fear in his eyes. Maybe that was why I loved him so damn much. He was everything I had always wished I could be: strong, independent, and fearless.
We worked together to fill the remainder of the space. Then we covered it with the large piece of carpet that he had cut away from the floor.
"Go take a look out the window." Shard's tone was con-trolled. "Are they out there yet?" I rushed to the window and peered out just in time to see three unmarked cars screech to a halt in the motel parking lot. "Yeah," I frantically replied. "Here they come."
I leaned against the window ledge and took several deep breaths. I felt like I was on the verge of a panic attack. All twenty years of my life started flashing before my eyes, and I realized that I was not ready for this. I wasn't ready to be led outside in handcuffs. I wasn't ready to don an orange jumpsuit and listen to the sounds of metal clanging against metal, locking me away from the outside world.
I looked back at Shard again, but as always, he was calm, cool, and collected. He grabbed my hand and whisked me off toward the small bathroom. His lips said nothing; but his eyes spoke volumes to me. They told me to try to be as relaxed as he was.
I watched nervously as he stepped up on the ledge of the ugly green bathtub. The grids on the bottoms of his wheat-colored Tims held him steady on the smooth surface as he used all of his upper-body strength to slide the window up. He seemed completely oblivious to the jagged, barely-healed cut on his left forearm. The window let out a dull screech as it finally gave and opened.
"Come on," he instructed me as he reached for my hand and gave me a boost up next to him. My cork sandals hit the bathtub rim with a loud "clap" sound. The thumping of my heart rang much louder in my ears, though. I had always tried to listen to my heart. I had always believed that it would never steer me wrong. Suddenly, I wasn't so sure about that anymore, though.
I wondered what would happen next. What would my family think? Surely, they would find out all that I had been doing for the past three years. My granny had always told me that everything done in the dark had to come to the light eventually.
I sighed softly as I started through the window. What would Granny think if she saw me now?
