Alone

Chapter 15

Chloe

Everything seems to be falling apart, even more than it already was. David Baker is dragging Riley up the driveway, with Simon in pursuit, and Joe is still glaring at Peter through the windshield as he starts around to the passenger door of the Ford. I watch Peter's hands tighten into fists against his knees. The lock is down, but when Joe pulls on the handle, then points at the lock, Peter moves one hand up to the button. I move a hand as though to stop him, but he is already pressing the button. Joe pulls the door open and reaches for Peter, and I see Peter flinching away. Joe is not holding a strap like David was, but the threat is still there. As Joe pulls Peter out of the pickup, I scramble for the door handle and clamber out after him. As I shut the door, I look back up the driveway at Riley, David, and Simon. David is still holding Riley's arm, pulling her along, and Simon is standing about halfway up the drive, yelling after them. Joe and Peter are walking along the side of the pickup. Peter glances back at me before he climbs in the passenger seat of the Bronco. Joe climbs in the driver's seat and eases the smaller vehicle around the pickup and down the driveway. I stare after the Bronco, then back up the driveway to where David and Riley are approaching the house. Simon is still standing in the middle of the driveway. The cop is turning around, and he waves at David and Riley as they pass him. Simon turns around and walks dejectedly back toward me, but he walks to his car without more than a look in my direction. The cop picks me up behind the pickup and eases around just like Joe did. As we pull out of the driveway, he speaks. "I'm glad you both got home safe, Chloe." I turn to look at him, disgusted. "There is no safe at home for Riley." He shakes his head. "Of course there is, Chloe. I'm going to take you home now, okay?" I shake my head bitterly and turn to look out the window. We drive the rest of the way to my house in silence. Mom and Dad are still fighting in the living room. I walk silently up the stairs and go to my bedroom. I collapse on the pink and yellow bedspread over my queen bed, put my head back, and stare at the ceiling. I can still hear the noise of Mom and Dad fighting in the room below. I listen to the muffled sound of their voices, trying to remember a time when they didn't do this. They have been separated for almost four years. Mom finally filed for divorce about six months ago, and they have been fighting over me ever since. Dad wants me for his image as mayor, and Mom wants me just to hurt Dad. I have kept quiet so far, and we have not gone to court yet, so no one has asked me what I want. I don't really know what I want, or what would be better. I suddenly realize that our kidnapper was at Riley's place, along with a cop, and no one told the cop. When I rush downstairs, the young cop is leaning against the wall beside the living room doorway, listening to Mom and Dad argue. He looks furious when I tell him that Joe was at Bakers' place, and Dad stops talking in the middle of a sentence and comes over to the doorway. "Chloe? The man who kidnapped you is here?" I nod. Dad and the cop bolt for the front door, the cop talking fast into his radio. I look into the living room. Mom is still sitting on one end of the couch, staring at me. I turn and go back up the stairs without speaking to her. I don't get on my bed this time, just walk over to the window and survey the street and neighborhood spread out in front of our big house. This is my home, where I've lived as long as I can remember, but after I discovered David Baker beats Riley, I am wondering who else in this town is lying. Knowing that Riley is not safe makes me wonder if there are others like her here, others who are getting hurt and hiding it. The thought of that makes me cringe, but I am determined to find them, if they are out there, and help them. When the phone rings, I turn away from the window and start for the door. I am at the head of the stairs when Mom picks up the phone, but she turns away and talks low, so I can't hear what she is saying. When I come down the stairs, she quickly hangs up the phone. I sit down on the third stair and meet her eyes when she turns around. I miss her when I remember when the world wasn't quite so bad for Mom, when she wasn't fighting with Dad or getting on me for some reason. Those days used to happen fairly often, but toward the end, before she moved out, they were less and less frequent. I spent as much time as possible out of the house in the weeks before she walked out. Using school as an excuse to get away from home had at least one good result. My grades were wonderful that year, even though they fell some after she left. We stay there for a minute, with me sitting on the step and Mom standing in the hall. Mom has an almost wistful look in her eyes as she meets my stare, but I can't bring myself to even smile at her. When the phone rings again, we both jump. She doesn't take her eyes off me, but she grabs the handset on the hall table. "Hello, Pierson's residence." I stay on the step and listen, but I can't hear the words of whoever is on the other end of the line. Mom makes a shooing motion at me and I finally get up and go back upstairs. I shut my door fairly hard, so she can hear it, then ease it back open and creep down the hall to where I can hear Mom again. She is whispering and has her back to me, but I can still catch some of her words. "It wasn't supposed to happen like this. Nobody was supposed to get hurt." I sit on the carpet with my back against the wall, tipping my head back and staring at the ceiling. After a moment of silence, presumably while the person on the phone talks, Mom speaks again. "I paid you to take her, not to hurt anyone!"