The Stupidest Thing I've Ever Done

Part 8

His fancy, black manger shoes made clicks on the sidewalk, and his breath came out in short wheezes that made him sound more like a cat hacking up a hairball.

When he shouted at us now his voice was croaky and tired. I was starting to think we were going to make it all the way home.

"You--" he panted. "Stop—stop! I'll call—your parents!"

"Liar!" I shouted out bravely.

I had a feeling that this guy was just saying that so he would get us to freeze in our tracks, and then he'd see who we were and actually call our parents. It had been too dark for him to tell who we were, and if he had known all along that he was chasing Tryer Thompson and Cass Sharp he should have called our parents back on the drive-in's landline.

Unfortunately, karma has always seemed to love playing practical jokes on me.

After shouting back at him I tripped over my own two feet and ate the pavement. Cass continued running for a moment until skidding to a stop. She whipped around, a new form of panic crossing her face.

I could hear him getting closer to me. Now that I was more vulnerable he was quickening his pace. His hacky breathing was so close I could almost smell the years of popcorn in his breath.

I scrambled back up, feeling a ghost-like hand grab for the hem of my hoodie.

When Cass saw me standing again she lent out her hand and I grabbed it.

As Cass and I ran to duck behind an alleyway the third pair of footsteps seemed to vanish like the sounds of the drive-in had.

We cut through the alley and to the other side to lean against Vinnie's Convenience Store. I felt like my legs were going to give out on me. If the Manger Man had appeared to us now I thought I might as well flash him my wrists and tell him to slap the cuffs on me. He had chased us halfway through Sutton, he deserved it at this point.

Our foreheads were beaded with sweat, and my lungs felt like cotton.

Parts of my hair had come out of my ponytail during our sprint. I blew at the twisted strands sticking to my forehead, muttering to Cass, "I need to get this chopped off."

We were a hop, skip, and a jump away from Cass's house, but we felt safe enough in familiar territory to relax.

I leaned against Cass when she doubled over, her head between her legs and the chairs sticking out from under her armpits like some weird angel wings. I couldn't believe she ran with those things strapped to her shoulders and our hands clasped together.

I pressed a palm against my chest to hold in my heart and lungs. The warm spit in the back of my throat felt like blood between my teeth.

After a few moments spent catching our breath, Cass looked back up at me. Her eyes were still round, and her face was red. Her blonde curls dangled towards the ground like wilted sunflowers.

"You think he'll call our parents?"