The Silent One

{Nine}

2:45 a.m.

The light from my laptop is the only light in the black hotel room. Outside, I can hear crickets chirping and owls hooting; inside, the clicks from my mouse and keyboard keys echo in the silence. Anxiously, I twist the bobby pin in my mouth with my tongue; it's a nervous habit I really should stop.

My eyes scan the screen, searching for words. Names. A few names in particular.

I check jail records and releases. I search through newspaper headlines, school records, and the most recent census. And slowly, piece by piece, I find all the names and faces I need. All except for one.

No matter how hard I've tried to forget- because I have tried. For all these years... - their faces are still crystal clear in my mind. Especially... my dad's.

My heart twists- painfully- whenever I remember him. There are so many memories from my childhood that have him in them. So many good memories. My first ballet recital, my first day of school, that whole day we spent at the town carnival... And then, his hands, once so comforting and steady, turned angry and abusive. He started coming home from work with clouded eyes and alcohol on his breath. Soon after that, he tried drugs. And then, there was just no turning back. By then, he wasn't a father anymore. He wasn't the same person anymore, and he never would be again.

Without even realizing it, I shudder. And then a hand touches my shoulder.

Can you blame me for freaking out? I throw my elbow back and push myself out of my chair when I jab someone's gut. The person grunts when my elbow rams into him/her and I hit the ground on my side. Pain shoots up my hip and I wince, but I'm on my feet in the next second. There's no time to hesitate. I have to get out of here.

I'm halfway across the room when I stop. My throat closes. Kevin. Where is he?

Arms slide around my waist and I choke back a scream. Panicking, I squirm and kick as hard as I can, but the grip holding me doesn't loosen. Hot breath brushes past my ear and I violently jerk my head away.

Then, on a sudden inspiration, I make myself go limp, and I fall to the floor. Just as I'm about to scramble back onto my feet and run, I hear Kevin's voice.

"Angie!" he hisses. I spin around, and my eyes widen in shock. "Angie, calm down! It's just me!"

My heart's racing, I can't catch my breath, and for some reason, my cheeks are wet and my vision's blurred. Snarling, I get up and stomp over to my laptop. He follows me. With trembling hands, I open Microsoft Word and type a reply; my fingers fly across the keyboard.

'Why didn't you say something? You should know better than to come up and touch me like that!'

Kevin frowns and types back. I' just touched your shoulder! And I tried to say something, but you wouldn't stop moving!'

'You scared me. A lot. I was about to run and get the police. The only reason I stopped was because I remembered you.'

He sighs. 'I'm really sorry. I didn't mean to scare you. I was just worried. You were crying, did you know that?'

'...it's okay. I'm sorry for freaking out on you. And I wasn't crying.' -was I?

'Uhh... yeah, you kind of were crying Ang.'

'No I wasn't.'

'Yeah, you wer-'

I shove him out of the way to interrupt his typing.

'No. I wasn't. Drop it.'

Kevin smirks and puts his hands up on defeat. "Okay Ang. You weren't crying." he says.

I nod, stick my tongue out like a five-year-old, and close the document. He stands behind me when I sit back down and pushes his eyebrows together when he sees what I'm doing.

"Prison records? Pictures of grown men? Angie, what are you doing?"

I roll my eyes and pull up another document. 'Research. I don't want to do this completely blind. And I wanted to show you what they look like.'

Kevin leans over me to type back his answer and I catch a whiff of his smell. I can't describe what he smells like, but it's somehow already familiar to me. And comforting. It makes me feel... safe.

'Do what exactly?' he types. 'I don't even know where we're going, and I barely know where we are. I trust you, but it would be really nice if you would give me some more details about all of this... And you wanted to show me what who looks like?'

I bite my lip. 'I wanted to show you the guys that were in the gang that my dad was in... And I'm sorry I can't tell you exactly what we're doing, because, to be honest, I'm not really even sure myself. I just... I just need revenge. I need them to regret what they did... And I don't know how I'll make that happen, but... I've gone too long living like this. I need to DO something. And I never dreamed that someone else would be with me, but now you're here, and I'm glad you are.'

'This is really serious, isn't it?'

I resist the urge to roll my eyes and type back, 'Of course. Why else would I "run away" from home?'

Kevin snorts and then replies, 'Alright, alright, I get the point. So... in that case, I'm glad I'm here with you too. You'll need the protection.'

'Ha. Haha. Ha. Me? Need protection? You're crazy.'

'You'd be surprised. And yeah, I'm pretty crazy. I did follow some girl that I met week or two ago, into the middle of nowhere. I dropped whatever "life" I had, and just drove away... Yeah, I'm pretty crazy.

Anyways... Tell me what I need to know, or do. Let's get this show on the road Ang(:'

'Great... I've got a crazy person coming with me on the trip of my life... Haha on that note, here's what we need to do...'

And we set our plan. Tomorrow, everything would change.

Everything.

And, for once, I was ready for it.

Or... at least, I was as ready as I'd ever be.

- Alyssa <3