Lie Until You Laugh

33- Rescue Missions

“Mom?”

“Sienna,” She exclaims over the phone. “How are you dear?”

“I’m fine,” I assure her. This is the first time that I’ve spoken to my mother in so long, ever since my dad took her phone away from her. I’ve talked to Jo a few times, but it’s too risky for my mom to use Jo’s phone because if he finds that phone, he’ll get explosively mad. I’ve missed her voice a lot but now is not the time to get nostalgic. “Jo told you that I’m coming, right?”

“Yes. I think it’s a very bad idea,” My mom says.

“No it’s not,” I deny. “It’s the only way to get you out of that house. I’ve talked to Uncle Chase and he’s sending some money to help get us on our feet and there’s a house set up for you here. It’ll all be okay, Mom.”

She laughs and sniffles. “I’m the one who’s supposed to be protecting you.”

“We do what we have to do, Mom,” I sigh. “Anyway, we’ll be there tomorrow at around eight right when he leaves for work, you have to pack as much as you possibly can. Okay?”

“I know the plan,” She assures me. “Jo’s very excited to see you. It’s hard to get her to stop talking about it in front of him.”

“Where is he right now?” I ask her. “Isn’t it like, eleven o’clock over there?”

“I’m in Jo’s room. I actually have to go now because he thinks that I’m just tucking her in. I love you, baby.”

“I love you too, Mom,” I say just before she hangs up.

It’s Friday night and I’m on my way to Penn’s dorm so that we can drive to the airport. I went to the bonfire tonight per Stella’s request, so I’m wearing a blue lacy skater dress and black flats (because I refused to wear heels) and I got so caught up in the party that I forgot to leave myself time to go back to my dorm and change which means that I’ll be traveling in this dress. Penn didn’t go to the bonfire because he said that I should spend the night with my friends since I’d be gone almost all weekend.

When I get to the instructor dorm building, I go up to Penn’s dorm and knock on the door a few times, nervously stepping from foot to foot because I’m such a ball of intense emotion right now that I can’t stand still. He opens the door (shirtless) and I walk in. I’m actually too nervous to admire my boyfriend’s lovely abs and that’s really saying something because they’re seriously amazing.

“Hello,” He greets me. “How was the party?”

“Hey,” I breathe. “It was fun. Just an ordinary bonfire. I didn’t have time to change though.”

“I’m not complaining, you look really amazing,” He smirks, stepping forward and pressing a soft kiss to my lips. “Are you ready then?”

I nod shakily. “I’m ready. When do we have to leave?”

He checks his phone before sliding a shirt over his head. “Right now would work. Why do you seem so nervous?”

“I am pretty nervous,” I admit. “But I’m also incredibly excited to see my mom and Jo. Chace said that his PI can’t get anything solid to convict him of anything, which is total shit but Chace said that the PI said that he goes into work at seven now but he comes home for lunch at noon. Probably to make sure that my mom and Jo are still at home. That means that when we get there at eight, we’ll have about four hours to get in and out.”

Penn throws a small duffel bag over his shoulder and places my hand in his. I have a small Victoria Secret bag that belongs to Stella over my shoulder as well. It has everything in it that I’ll need to get on an airplane- passport, license, just stuff like that. I assume that’s the same thing that’s in Penn’s bag too. “Everything will go just as planned. This time tomorrow, your mom and Jo will be safely sleeping in their new house.”