The Phantoms

Chapter 5

Evan and I agreed that he'd pick me up at my house when we hashed out the specifics of our plan.I run through the basics quickly in my mind then shrug and start to draw a butterfly on the inside of my wrist.With my green gel pen this time.
The noise of an engine outside the house stills my hand.In two motions I thrust the pen into my pocket and swing a bag onto my back.Looking out the window to see a familiar shiny black Bugatti,I curse.I told him I needed to sneak out.Why does he have to bring something so conspicious?
I grab my new HD laptop-the perks of having a rich,desperate soon to be stepfather-with a new urgency.I put on the first music choice I can find and shove a black,curly wig with ends I'd dyed purple and two large pillows under the covers of my unmade bed making sure some of the wig sticks out.Now if anyone checks it'll just look like I fell asleep with my laptop on.It'll give me a day or two.
I climb out of the window and test the ledge at my feet gingerly.Steady.
I swing onto my hands and let go only to fall onto the balcony of the next floor.
I repeat the process with the next two balconies before I finally land on the front porch.I look through the windows.Mom and Carson are standing by the dinner table,laughing together,completely oblivious to the world outside them.Still,I'm happy Evan's parked out of their view.
I sprint to the car and slide in."Drive."I order.
He backs out of the street at the pace of a turtle.I try not to glare at him because I know it'll only slow us down even more.
In the one afternoon I'd strategized with him I've learned that he loves infuriating me.
I finally breath when we swoosh out of Ebony.Long curly black hair blows into my face from the wind coming through the broken  window.Someone's removed the jagged edges so now it just looks like it's been rolled open.Smart.
I close my eyes and lean back,savoring the speed of the car and the coolness on my face.It brings back memories of sitting in Jared's old car, music blasting out,singing cheesy pop songs with Cam and Thomas.Although Jared's old Hyundai wouldn't be able to go as fast as the Bugatti is right now without breaking down.A tiny smile settles on my face at the thought.My hand settles on the outline of my phone in my jeans pocket wondering if I should answer Cam's calls.
No.I've been staying low ever since I moved and I don't want hunters tracking us because I acted on a passing nostalgia.
My fingers accidentally knock into the car's glove.Something scrunches within.
I open my eyes,at the sound,so familiar and beautiful to my ears.Evan watches warily out of the corner of his eye as I open it.Four packs of Oreos lie inside looking more gorgeous and appealing than Snow White will ever be.
I don't hesitate to stuff my face.Evan snorts.
I nod to a bag on the backseat,mouth still full. "The clothes?"
"Yup.Had to guess your size.I don't know how we can hide your hair though." Hunters are never girls.But I can work with that.I've seen some wear hoods.
"I do."
He eyes me through the mirror. " You should just cut it."
"If things get that desperate I will."
It's not really an irrational move.Even if I have little onto the way of curves and I give in and chop off my hair,my full lips and wide eyes would still scream girl.
Evan rolls his eyes."So vain."
"So quick to judge."
He changes the subject.
"Got the credit?"
I swipe out a Visa from my pocket and flash it at him.He watches it warily.
"What if your mom notices it's gone?"
"She won't."I assure him.I could take a thousand dollar cheque and the blonde queen still wouldn't notice.
I stay silent.I wish we could just book a plane but it's too risky.Tickets give away too much information and take a lot of time.I can afford neither.
I glance at Evan.His earrings glint in the sun,drawing my eyes.For all my nicknaming,this is the first time I've seen them up close.
There are four of them.A tiny  twinkling red one,a circular one in a dull sort of silver,a diamond shaped dark green one and another piece of silver,shinier this time.
I remember what he'd said to me back at Pump when we were planning this trip.
"We have to take special care of you." He'd all but sighed,leaning tiredly back on the chair that was previously Fabien's.I'd  looked up from the very unreliable map we'd made based on guesses and what were two solid facts according to Evan.The first being that the portal was in Oklahoma.The second,that it had some sort of relation to Will Rogers World airport.
"What?" I'd asked a little irritably.We'd been turning every pebble and stone in our heads for three hours and I've stopped feeling any positive emotions at the second one.
"Your face.It's too memorable.Too pretty."
It's amazing how he called me pretty.Like it's an insult with a tiny bit of a compliment hidden behind it.
I'd looked up and smiled like I hadn't caught his meaning when we both knew I did. "Yeah,my beauty's always made me stand out.What do you propose?"
He ignored my silent defiance but I see his lips tighten. It looks like he's forcing back a smile.
"Cut your hair.And lashes.Wear something baggy."
"Hunters have skintight uniforms.It'll be weird.Like a football player wearing ankle socks."
"That's dramatic.Plus no one notices socks."
"I do."
He blew out a breath of annoyance.
"Well suprise,suprise you're not a hunter.So excuse me if I don't give a shit."
In turn,I ignored that but only because I was busy hating at the mention of hunters.
I look at him,but I'm seeing something else,something far off.
"They won't really look." I say,unconcernedly. "They're too cocky to.You'd be as well if you were so well hidden that no one could find you for-I don't even know how long our kind has existed.Centuries?Millenia?"
He'd given me a mocking look. "Is that what you think?We're the phantoms not the other way around."
I'd laughed. "If you think like that after all of this-" I'd gestured to the wreck of papers on our table, "Then you're an idiot.We clearly don't know anything about them."
"And they don't know anything about us." He pointed out. "Our names,our families.They just track us with a couple beasts when we use our powers and try to kill us.If they did have anything on us,you think they wouldn't use it?"
"I thought the whole point of us meeting was that none of us did use our powers when they found us."I'd retorted,although his words had made me feel a lot lighter. They were true and I'd known that way before he said them.But it still felt good to be reminded,no matter how rudely.
Unfortunately,my words were true too.Hunters had only been able to find us when we used our powers.Although it felt like being forbidden to use an arm,it'd been worth it to stay alive.The prospect that they've found another way to track us,and increase their already freaky beasties in size is just terrifying.
Evan and I spend most of the time in a drowsy silence,both of us lost in our own thoughts.We only stop for petrol and food.From time to time I keep glancing at Evan's face for hidden deceptions then at  Google maps on my phone for proof that we're going in the right direction.I still don't trust him.
Unfortunately,I still have to admire his resilience .Four hours of driving and he hasn't uttered a single complaint.His fatigue is obvious though,in his drooping,red rimmed eyes and limp arm which is braced against the wheel.He closes his eyes for a moment.
That's when I force him to pull over and rest.Turns out that even exhausted and half asleep,Evan can still put up a terrific arguement.I'm both impressed and annoyed.
"You need to rest.We're stopping here."
"Like hell we are.I can drive some more."
"No you can't.You're going to kill us."
"I've gotten us this far haven't I?"
"Which is great and all but we're still stopping."
"No we're not.My car,my say."
"Not when I'm still stuck in it with you."
"God,you're annoying.I should just ditch you here."
"You can't pull this off by yourself."
"Wanna bet?"
I throw my hands up into the air.
"Why am I arguing with you over this?If you're so eager to get going,fine.Get out.I'll drive."
"Hell no."
"Then we're not leaving here."
"You probably don't even have a license."
"So?Are you choosing the hunters over the police?"
He hesitates.I bite the inside of my lip to keep from saying anything,sensing that one wrong word could send us right back to where we were.I see the moment his resolve cracks and exhaustion wins.His shoulders fall. "Fine.But if anything happens to my car-"
"Just get out."
We switch sides.Out of the corner of my eye,I watch his head fall to the head rest.Asleep.
Or so I thought.Before he speaks and I almost jump.
"You're a terrible driver."
It takes awhile for my heart to calm itself. "You're not asleep."
"What?Of course I am.This is my dream talking zombie mode.Gonna eat your brains gah gah gah."
It's so childish and unexpected,I laugh.I look at him through the review mirror.He's watching me,a tiny smile of his own playing on his lips.
"As I was saying,you're going to fail your driving test.You're sixteen right?Suprised you don't have one already."
"I'm supposing you already passed yours to be so smug about it."
"It's why I have a car."
"God,you brag so much,you should be a rapper. Mommy got you a Bugatti cause you're eighteen.So what?"
"My mom didn't get me this."
I wave my hand dismissingly. "Father,uncle,aunt.I don't care."
"A little judgemental,don't you think?" His tone is casual but I hear a hint of anger.We stop talking for awhile,both having succeeded in dynamiting our newfound ease with each other.
"My mom's dead." I don't know which of us is more suprised at his admission.I look at him,through the mirror again,studying his expression.He's not watching me this time.Instead his eyes are on the window,pain etched onto his features.I wonder if he's lying.People are always making up sob stories to gain sympathy.And sympathy gains trust.
But Evan has been nothing short of harsh and stubborn and completely truthful with me ever since we'd met.For all his flaws,he isn't a liar.
The pain on his face intensifies as his eyes flick to me for a second.He loved her.I can tell he already regrets telling me.
"Worst feeling in the world isn't it?" I say,my hand tightening on the wheel.
He shoots me a dark look. "How would you know?Last time I checked you still have yours."
I sneer derisively as my mom's deceptively innocent,sickeningly beautiful face fills my vision."Trust me,I lost my real mother years ago."
"And your dad?Where is he?" I'd forgotten he's been at the engagement.He knows I'm about to have a stepfather.
"Dead."
He straightens up,his face clearing of the pain a little.He looks interested.
"How'd it happen?"
I stare unseeingly out at the road.
"Hunters.Your mom too?"
"No.She had cancer."
I nod,slightly,feeling a strange kind of understanding between us.A gamble that started the moment I handed him that journal in exchange for the portal's location.Secret for secret.
Trust for trust.
I pull over at an underground parking lot of a lavish-looking hotel when darkness  falls.My eyes fall on the name at the entrance.Armond.
The guard around it smiles at me.I wink at him as I reverse into the slot.You never know when you'd need a favor.
"C'mon."I tell Evan.We step out of the Bugatti together,Evan schooling his features into annoyance. I doubt it was too hard for him. "Staying the night?" The guard says it teasingly,his tone suggestive,but his eyes are too hawkish.He knows I'm a minor.If we reply in kind,I'd bet he'd call the police the moment we step through the front doors.
Evan snorts. "Hell will freeze over first,"he says,jogging away making sure to act like an annoyed brother.I shoot the guard an apologetic look and follow,my hand playing with my bag's strap.
Checking behind him to see if the guard isn't looking,Evan quickly veers away from the entrance and to the shadowy left side of the hotel. In a practiced mode,as if he's done it a hundred times.Which he has because I'd made him rehearse that bad at Pump.
I jump up the entrance steps and walk over to the receptionist.She looks up.
"Can I use your washroom?"I ask her in the most angelic tone I can muster.She looks exhausted. Probably dealing with some kind of customer crisis.
Out of the corner of my eye,I observe the room.A set of stairs leading downwards draw my gaze.Perfect.
Minutes later,I emerge from the bathroom,quietly,careful not to draw the receptionist's attention.When I succeed in going down the stairs without attracting it,I breath a sigh of relief,but still keep my fast pace.
Evan is waiting for me in the backseat of his car.I sidle behind the wheel,making sure none of the guards catch sight of me.
I turn my head to face Evan. "No one saw you?"
"Yup.They think we've checked in." I smile in satisfaction.Now everyone thinks this car is empty.No one will bother us.
Well,maybe car thieves will but I can deal with that.
"Good." I ruffle through my bag and draw out a thin black blanket.I toss it to Evan who lets it fall on his lap,his face conflicted.He still doesn't trust me.
Which strangely makes me feel safer.
Finally,he picks up the blanket and stretches out on the seat.He covers himself fully and starts dozing,head pillowed on his arm.
I turn back to the front window.My eyes wander to the stars. It's been a long time since I've really seen them.
I wish I'd parked in a graveyard.It would have been comforting,even if I can't raise the dead without alerting the hunters.
I look back at the now sleeping boy behind me.I wonder what he would find comforting.