Hidden Under Perfection

Chapter 27: John

I go up to the man manning the drive though at the fast food restaurant, he looks at me weird but then decides that it isn't the weirdest thing he has seen and asks, "how may I help you?"

"This is going to sound a little weird but can we borrow your phone? And then if someone comes around here and asks you about us, don't tell them anything."

"Okay," he says slowly handing his phone over to me with a confused face. I quickly grab the phone from his hands and dial my dad's number, my mom stands next to me, her hands clasped together and close to her chest. She has a small grin on her face and I hold the phone up to my ear. It rings four times, I don't think that he is going to pick up but then I hear my dad's voice say, "Hello?"

"Hi dad, this is John."

"John, are the other's okay? You have been gone for over two weeks, what happened?"

"We are all here Dad, we will explain later. But dad, you need to grab Jennifer and get out of there, come to the fast food restaurant on 36th street in the car, we are all here, we have Mom, please hurry."

"Nora is there?" he says, his voice cracking when he says her name.

"Yes, I'll hand her the phone, just hurry they are right on our tails." I hand the worker's phone to mom and her face breaks into a smile.

"Hi Aaron, how's Jennifer?" I hear her say. Silent tears roll down her cheeks, a grin spreading from ear to ear. "I have missed you so much. Now you hurry so that I can see you, okay? I love you too." She hangs up and hands me the phone, I give it back to the man behind the window. He gives me a weird look before shaking his head and putting back on his head set. We move to the street side of the drive through and we sit on the curb.

It takes about ten minutes for my dad to roll up. Jennifer is asleep in the back seat and the moment he sees mom, he starts crying, he has a wide smile on his face. We all pile into the car, my mom sits up front with my dad, I put Jennifer on my lap, Lynn sits in the middle and Claire sits on Doran's lap. We speed down the rode to the nearest hotel, he parks in front of the hotel and walks in alone. He comes back with a key and we all stumble out of the car. We walk into the hotel, Jeniffer cradled in my arms, the man at the desk gives us a weird look. Then I think about why, we are a bunch of teenagers with no shoes covered in white walking in a group with a child in my arms, I get it. We walk into the elevator and we stand silently until the doors open and we step out onto the third floor. The air is full of cigarette smoke and it makes me cough every time I inhale. I breathe very shallow and when we get to our room the air quality isn't any better. I place Jennifer on the bed and I close the door behind us. I hear my mom squeal and then my dad hugs her tight. Doran and Claire start kissing and I turn away, giving them privacy. I turn to Lynn and she practically jumps onto my arms. I pull her to me and I press my lips against hers, they are soft and I hug her closer. My heartbeats faster and a smile grows on her face, I kiss her and she buries her head in the crook of my neck.

All around me smiles are plastered on faces and we all come together in one group hug. We are out of that hell hole, we made it. We break apart and we high five, celebrating. In the back of my mind is the thought that they will never stop chasing us, until they round us up and they make sure we can't tell anyone the truth. I focus on the now, on the fact that the rooms of white walls are behind us, my mom is alive, and that is something to celebrate. The room has two queen beds and we called for a pullout. My parents sleep on the bed with Jen, and Claire and Doran take the other bed. Lynn and I lay on the pull out cot. It isn't comfortable but it is better than being chained to a bedpost. I wrap my arms around Lynn and soon the room is full of quiet snoring. We skipped dinner because we were so exhausted, my parents passed out and I am pretty sure that Claire and Doran are making out on the bed. I cuddle with Lynn and I feel her heartbeat slow and her breathing even out. She starts snoring and I think that it is the cutest noise. I kiss the top of her head, and then I listen to the rhythmic sound of her breath, it lulls me into a deep, dreamless sleep.